Systems and methods are provided for eye health and vision examinations. A customer diagnostic center is configured to generate customer examination data pertaining to an examination of a customer's eye. The customer diagnostic center provides a user interface for communicating with a customer and ophthalmic equipment for administering tests to the customer. A diagnostic center server is configured to receive the customer examination data from the customer diagnostic center over a network and allow the customer examination data to be accessed by an eye-care practitioner. A practitioner device associated with the eye-care practitioner is configured to receive the customer examination data from the diagnostic center server and display at least a portion of the customer examination data to the eye-care practitioner. Customer evaluation data is generated pertaining to the eye-care practitioner's evaluation of the customer examination data. An eye health report is provided to the customer via the network.

In today's age of increased awareness of health monitoring and the importance of early detection and prevention of various medical conditions, disorders and diseases, individuals are often required to make visits to medical practitioners for a range of tests and check-ups. For example, it is generally recommended that individuals make regular visits (e.g., once every year, two years, etc.) to practitioners in connection with the monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of medical conditions in number of areas, such as checking heart-health, detecting various cancers, and monitoring for certain genetically predisposed disorders.
One area in which there is a particular need for regular visits to a medical professional is in connection with the examination of an individual's eyes. Typically, the examination of a person's eyes involves the performance of one or more tests for monitoring and diagnosing eye health, such as detecting glaucoma and retinal disorders, inspecting the pupil, and measuring corneal sensitivity, and/or tests for evaluating visual ability and acuity, such as determining refractive error and detecting color blindness.
There are a number of important benefits to obtaining eye health examinations and/or vision examinations on a regular and continual basis. For example, as with many other types of medical examinations, regular visits and checkups by an individual enable practitioners to monitor and track the health of the individual's eyes and to detect and diagnose certain disorders, diseases and other changes in the patient's eyes and/or vision. Significantly, this allows for early detection, diagnosis and treatment of many conditions, which, in turn, frequently increases the likelihood that the treatment will be successful. In fact, many disorders and diseases are generally treatable or even preventable when detected and diagnosed in the early stages. Also, it is well known that changes in vision can often occur somewhat suddenly, such as at certain periods in a person's life, and eyesight can deteriorate continually over time. Accordingly, another important benefit to regular eye examinations is that they help to ensure that optical prescriptions for individuals are up to date and as accurate as possible.
Given these and numerous other benefits associated with regular eye examinations, it is not surprising that many well-known optometric and ophthalmologic associations and organizations typically recommend that individuals visit eye care professionals once every one or two years Moreover, the need to receive regular eye examinations is particularly important for certain individuals, including those who have a higher likelihood of suffering from various disorders and diseases based on their demographics or other characteristics, such as age, race, profession, individual and/or family history of diseases or disorders, etc. As a result, it is often recommended that many such individuals receive eye exams at least once a year or on an even more frequent basis.
Additionally, it is well known and widely accepted in the eye care and vision field that, in order to maximize these benefits, the regular examinations received by individuals may be in the form of comprehensive eye examinations. Typically, to be considered comprehensive, such examinations may include certain approved tests and procedures and/or meet certain minimum standards and requirements for testing and diagnosis. In particular, comprehensive eye examinations may include some or all of the following tests and procedures (or tests and procedures of an equivalent nature): (i) objective and subjective refraction and/or other tests to check visual acuity; (ii) examination of the extraocular muscles; (iii) peripheral vision test (e.g., by checking the visual field by confrontation); (iv) examination of the external eye; (v) examination of the pupils; (vi) color vision test; (vii) test for stereopsis for depth perception; (viii) evaluation of central vision field (e.g., using the Amsler grid); (ix) cover test for strabismus; (x) an optical coherency tomography (OCT) scan and/or slit lamp examination using biomicroscopy; (xi) examination of eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, anterior chamber, iris and lens; (xii) measure eye pressure and/or intraocular pressure; (xiii) imaging of fundus using a retinal camera and examination of macula, vessels, optic nerve, peripheral retina, and vitreous humour. In certain cases, it may also be useful to administer particular types of screenings to individuals for certain diseases or disorders (e.g., glaucoma, macular degeneration or hypertensive retina), such as where there is individual and/or family history of diseases or disorders.
Despite the known importance of regular eye health checkups and vision examinations, many individuals only visit eye care professionals and receive eye examinations on a highly sporadic basis. Other individuals fail to visit an eye care professional at all, or only do so in response to suffering from a medical condition or recognizing a potential problem with their vision. In fact, it is estimated that the average American adult receives an eye examination once every five years or more. Likewise, it is estimated that a large percentage of the individuals in America who require some form of vision correction have the wrong correction or no correction. Moreover, even among the individuals that undergo eye exams on a more frequent basis, the examinations received by these individuals often fail to rise to the level of a comprehensive eye examination. For example, when visiting an eye care professional many individuals may simply receive a vision screening and/or a minimal set of visual acuity tests.
While there are various contributing factors, primary reasons why many individuals fail to regularly undergo eye examinations are based on time, cost, and convenience. Typically, in order to obtain an eye examination, an individual required to expend time and effort to seek out, select and make an appointment with an appropriate eye care professional. In turn, time is spent traveling to and from the practitioner's office, waiting for the practitioner, partaking in discussions with the practitioner and/or nurse or assistant and undergoing the examination. Similarly, from the practitioner's perspective, the number of patients that can be seen and examined are limited by a number of factors, such as the time required to examine each patient, update the patient's records, and prepare equipment. As a result, individuals are frequently forced to visit eye care professionals at inconvenient times and/or travel to other, less conveniently located professionals. Also, in order to maximize the number of patients that can be seen, practitioners may limit the number of tests and procedures and/or the time spent on such tests, thereby reducing the time needed for each patient.
Additionally, the costs associated with visiting a practitioner can dissuade, and even prohibit, many individuals from receiving eye examinations on a regular basis. This can be further compounded by the fact that many individuals lack insurance coverage for such examinations and are required to pay some or all of the costs out of pocket. Thus, making regular visits to an eye care professional can often be a time-consuming, inconvenient and expensive commitment. Accordingly, there is a need for novel approaches to providing eye health examinations and vision examinations that minimize the time and cost required by individuals, and thereby encourage individuals to obtain regular examinations.
There have been some attempts in the past to provide systems that simplify and automate the vision testing and examination process. These prior art systems, however, have exhibited a number of drawbacks and limitations, which have resulted in their failure to be adopted by consumers in any meaningful way. One such drawback is that many of these systems only provide vision screening or visual acuity testing. Similarly, many of these systems are limited to a restricted or incomplete set of procedures and tests and do not allow individuals to obtain a comprehensive eye examination. Another drawback is that many of these systems require an on-site eye care practitioner and/or operator to provide some or all of the examination. Other such systems do not allow for any input or feedback from an eye care practitioner. Yet another drawback is that none of these systems provide a real-time interface between the examinee and a remote practitioner. Still yet another drawback is that many of these systems do not include any functionality for automatically detecting or diagnosing potential disorders, defects or risk factors based on an individual's examination data and/or for automatically generating recommendations and/or referrals.
There is, therefore, a need for an eye testing and evaluation system for providing eye health examinations and vision examinations to individuals. There is also a need for a system that allows individuals to obtain eye health examinations and vision examinations through a user-friendly customer diagnostic center that includes a wide range of ophthalmologic and vision testing equipment. There is further a need for a system which enables individuals to receive a comprehensive eye examination. There is further a need for a system having an automated or semi-automated customer diagnostic center that allows individuals to obtain eye health examinations and vision examinations with little or no on-site assistance.
There is also a need for a system that provides an interface between the customer diagnostic center and a remote eye care practitioner over a network to enable the practitioner to evaluate an individuals eye health and vision. There is further a need for a system that enables the remote practitioner to evaluate an individuals eye health and vision and provides the individual with eye health reports, prescriptions, diagnoses, and/or recommendations from the remote practitioner. There is still further a need for a system that allows a remote practitioner or offsite technician to control or monitor the ophthalmologic and vision testing equipment and/or the administration of various eye health and vision tests to individuals. There is still further a need for a system that can be accessed by individuals at a wide range of convenient locations. There is still further a need for a system that encourages individuals to obtain eye health examinations and vision examinations on a regular basis by reducing the time and cost required.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for enabling customers to obtain vision and eye health examinations


A dual fuel premix nozzle and method of operation for use in a gas turbine combustor is disclosed. The dual fuel premix nozzle utilizes a fin assembly comprising a plurality of radially extending fins for injection of gas fuel and compressed air in order to provide a more uniform injection pattern and homogeneous mixture. The premix fuel nozzle includes a plurality of coaxial passages, which provide gaseous fuel and compressed air to the fin assembly. When in liquid fuel operation, the gas circuits are purged with compressed air and liquid fuel and water pass through coaxial passages to the tip of the dual fuel premix fuel nozzle, where they inject liquid fuel and water into the secondary combustion chamber. An alternate embodiment includes an additional gas fuel injection region located along a conically tapered portion of the premixed fuel nozzle, downstream of the fin assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a fuel and air injection apparatus and method of operation for use in a gas turbine combustor for power generation and more specifically to a device that reduces the emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and other pollutants by injecting gaseous fuel into a combustor in a premix condition while including liquid fuel capability.
2. Description of Related Art
In an effort to reduce the amount of pollution emissions from gas-powered turbines, governmental agencies have enacted numerous regulations requiring reductions in the amount of emissions, especially nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO). Lower combustion emissions can be attributed to a more efficient combustion process, with specific regard to fuel injectors and nozzles. Early combustion systems utilized diffusion type nozzles that produce a diffusion flame, which is a nozzle that injects fuel and air separately and mixing occurs by diffusion in the flame zone. Diffusion type nozzles produce high emissions due to the fact that the fuel and air burn stoichiometrically at high temperature. An improvement over diffusion nozzles is the utilization of some form of premixing such that the fuel and air mix prior to combustion to form a homogeneous mixture that bums at a lower temperature than a diffusion type flame and produces lower NOx emissions. Premixing can occur either internal to the fuel nozzle or external thereto, as long as it is upstream of the combustion zone. Some examples of prior art found in combustion systems that utilize some form of premixing are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIG. 1, a fuel nozzle 10 of the prior art for injecting fuel and air is shown. This fuel nozzle includes a diffusion pilot tube 11 and a plurality of discrete pegs 12, which are fed fuel from conduit 13. Diffusion pilot tube 11 injects fuel at the nozzle tip directly into the combustion chamber through swirler 14 to form a stable pilot flame. Though this pilot flame is stable, it is extremely fuel rich and upon combustion with compressed air, this pilot flame is high in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
Another example of prior art fuel nozzle technology is the fuel nozzle 20 shown in FIG. 2, which includes a separate, annular manifold ring 21 and a diffusion pilot tube 22. Fuel flows to the annular manifold ring 21 and diffusion pilot tube 22 from conduit 23. Diffusion pilot tube 22 injects fuel at the nozzle tip directly into the combustion chamber through swirler 24. Annular manifold ring 21 provides an improvement over the fuel nozzle of FIG. 1 by providing an improved fuel injection pattern and mixing via the annular manifold instead of through radial pegs. The fuel nozzle shown in FIG. 2 is described further in U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,904, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Though this fuel nozzle attempts to reduce pollutant emissions over the prior art, by providing an annular manifold to improve fuel and air mixing, further improvements are necessary regarding a significant source of emissions, the diffusion pilot tube 22. The present invention seeks to overcome the shortfalls of the fuel nozzles described above by providing a fuel nozzle that is completely premixed in the gas circuit, thus eliminating all sources of high NOx emissions, while providing the option for dual fuel operation through the addition of liquid fuel and water passages.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel nozzle for a gas turbine engine that reduces NOx and other air pollutants during gas operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a premixed fuel nozzle with an injector assembly comprising a plurality of radially extending fins to inject fuel and air into the combustor such that the fuel and air premixes, resulting in a more uniform injection profile for improved combustor performance.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide, through fuel hole placement, an enriched fuel air shear layer to enhance combustor lean blowout margin in the downstream flame zone.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fuel nozzle for a gas turbine engine that is premixed when operating on gaseous fuel and has the additional capability of operating on liquid fuel.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a premixed fuel nozzle with improved combustion stability through the use of a plurality of fuel injection orifices located along a conical surface of the premixed fuel nozzle.
In accordance with these and other objects, which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fully premixed secondary fuel nozzle with improved stability and dual fuel capability


A composition of matter suitable for the generation of hydrogen from water is described, the positively charged cation of the composition including the moiety of the general formula. [(PY5Me2)CoL]2+, where L can be H2O, OH−, a halide, alcohol, ether, amine, and the like. In embodiments of the invention, water, such as tap water or sea water can be subject to low electric potentials, with the result being, among other things, the generation of hydrogen.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a new composition of matter and, more specifically, to a new molecular electro-catalyst composed of inexpensive and abundant metals, capable of generating hydrogen from neutral water under ambient conditions at high rates with minimal applied potential, in one embodiment the metal being cobalt.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Owing to issues of climate change and accelerating global energy demands, the search for viable carbon-neutral sources of renewable energy is amongst the foremost challenges in science today. One such alternative is hydrogen, which can potentially be used as a clean replacement for fossil fuels in many applications, including transportation in cars, buses, trucks, trains, and airplanes. It can further be used in fuel cells for powering mobile devices such as lap-top computers and cell phones, as well as for meeting power requirements in buildings and industry. Many industries also use hydrogen as a reactant. One example is the Haber-Bosch process that produces ammonia, which currently relies on steam reforming of natural gas or liquefied petroleum for the production of hydrogen. This is expensive, environmentally unsustainable (based on finite resources of fossil fuel and produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, two major atmospheric pollutants) and necessitates removal of sulfur which deactivates the catalyst used for ammonia production. Hydrogen is also used as a reducing agent for metal ores, for the production of hydrochloric acid and as a hydrogenating agent for unsaturated fats and oils.
this context, where hydrogen has emerged as an attractive candidate for a clean, sustainable fuel as well as a precursor to many essential compounds, an intense interest in creating artificial systems that utilize earth-abundant catalysts for efficient hydrogen production from water has developed. A major quest of this renewable energy research is the search for efficient catalysts for the production of hydrogen from water, which rely on cheap, earth-abundant elements.
Hydrogenase enzymes possessing earth-abundant iron and/or nickel cofactors have been found to catalytically evolve H2 from neutral aqueous solution at its thermodynamic potential, with turnover frequencies of 100-10,000 mol H2/mol catalyst per second. However, the large size and relative instability of these enzymes under aerobic, ambient conditions has led to the search for well-defined molecular complexes outside the biological milieu that can produce H2 from water. Although many examples of air- and moisture-sensitive synthetic iron-sulfur clusters have provided insight into hydrogenase structure and reactivity, they catalyze proton reduction from acids in organic solvents at fairly negative potentials of −0.9 to −1.8 V vs. SHE (the Standard Hydrogen Electrode). Metal complexes that evolve H2 at more positive potentials still require organic acids, additives, and/or solvents, As such, the creation of earth-abundant molecular systems that produce H2 from water with high catalytic activity and stability remains a significant basic scientific challenge.
In related PCT application PCT/US2010/048405 described was a high oxidation state metal-oxo compound that catalytically generates hydrogen from water at neutral pH. In one embodiment, the organo metal-oxo complex is an organo molybdenum-oxo complex, which was successfully used to generate hydrogen for at least 3 days, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of at least 1.47 mol H2/mol catalyst per hour (i.e., 408 mol H2/mol catalyst per second) and a turnover number (TON) of 105 million mol H2/mol catalyst. Moreover, this same molecular system was used to evolve H2 from seawater, the earth's most abundant source of protons.
In more recently filed Provisional Application 61/446,400, reported was another new composition of matter having the ability to catalyze the generation of hydrogen from water, wherein the cation of the composition was represented by the general formula [(PY5W2)MS2]x+, where in one embodiment the metal was Mo. This composition was found to have the ability to catalyze the generation of hydrogen from water with turnover frequencies (TOFs) reaching approximately 500 moles H2 per mole catalyst per second and turnover numbers (TONs) reaching (in one experiment run for 20 hours) over 19,000,000 moles H2 per mole of catalyst. Also described therein was a species of the persulfido [(PY5W2)MoS2]2+ complex where W in one embodiment was methyl, the MoS2 containing salt used as a catalyst to generate hydrogen from water at low pH, especially at pHs significantly lower than 7.
Notwithstanding these results, there still remains a need for even cheaper, more efficient catalysts for the generation of hydrogen from water.

Molecular cobalt pentapyridine catalysts for generating hydrogen from water

The Regents of the University of California


The invention is directed to a method for producing acidic milk beverages, characterized by homogenizing fermented milk, then adding water-soluble hemicellulose thereto for mixing, followed by an additional step of homogenization. The method provides stable acidic milk beverages which undergo less sedimentation or separation of whey during product storage, and which have favorable flavor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing an acidic milk beverage which has stable properties and undergoes less sedimentation or separation of whey during product storage.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, acidic milk beverages containing live bacteria, such as fermented milk, have widely been consumed as health-promoting beverages having physiological activities such as activity that promotes intestinal health and immunopotentiating activity. Also, since a culture liquid (fermented milk) of lactic acid bacterium or biffidobacterium has a unique flavor, it is sterilized and used for production of acidic milk beverages.
Acidic milk beverages as described above are desirably stable and undergo less sedimentation and less separation of whey. Stability of lactic acid bacteria beverages is intimately related to casein protein, one of the components of milk. When the pH of the product approaches 4.6, which is the optimum pH of casein protein, molecules of casein protein coagulate and precipitate, forming sediment at the bottom of the container, or separation of whey. From this, reducing pH of acidic milk beverages to a value far less than 4.6 is considered desirable. However, in view that milk beverages having a pH value of less than 3.5 have poor flavor, the above approach of reducing pH has limitations. Thus, in order to stabilize acidic milk beverages, currently, homogenization or addition of a stabilizer is generally performed. As stabilizers, pectin and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) are used. However, use of these stabilizers may impart a viscous tint to the product, rendering an unfavorable texture in terms of flavor. In addition, pectin and CMC are problematic in that they gelatinize the product within a low pH range.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 7- 59512 discloses that stable acidic milk beverages which do not provide unfavorable pasty sensation can be obtained by subjecting dairy products such as milk to fermentation by lactic acid bacteria in the presence of water-soluble hemicellulose originating from soybeans (hereinafter referred to as a soybean polysaccharide). However, soybean polysaccharides have relatively weak stabilizing power, and therefore, addition thereof in small amounts cannot attain satisfactory stabilizing results; whereas addition in large amounts increases production costs and impairs flavor of the acidic milk beverage.
Stability is well known to depend on the concentration of solid matter, or in other words, on product viscosity. That is, the higher the viscosity, the greater the effect of suppressing coagulation of casein protein, to thereby improve stability. As the solid matter, a sweetener such as sugar is generally used. However, in order to meet recent, mounting demands resulting from consumers"" keen awareness of nutrition which call for low calorie products and beverages having light flavor, sugar and other sweetening agents which have heretofore been used have come to be used in smaller amounts. This also places limitation on stabilization of products achieved by increasing the content of solid matter.
In view of the foregoing, the present inventors have conducted extensive studies, and have found that when water-soluble hemicellulose such as a soybean polysaccharide is used as a stabilizer in the production of an acidic milk beverage, and two or more steps of homogenization treatments are performed at specific stages of the production process, there can be obtained an acidic milk beverage which is endowed with excellent stability and remarkable texture, thus leading to completion of the invention.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide an industrially advantageous methodxe2x80x94which has minimal effect on product flavor and texturexe2x80x94for producing an acidic milk beverage providing no unfavorable pasty sensation and exhibiting excellent storage stability.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing an acidic milk beverage, characterized by homogenizing fermented milk, then adding water-soluble hemicellulose thereto for mixing, followed by an additional step of homogenization.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing an acidic milk beverage, characterized by homogenizing fermented milk, then adding thereto a mixture of water-soluble hemicellulose and a dairy product for mixing, followed by an additional step of homogenization.

Method for producing acidic milk beverages


The present invention provides for a method for detecting the presence of isocyanate in a sample by (a) contacting an isocyanate derivatizing reagent having the formula I EQU R--R' (I). wherein R is 9-anthracenylmethyl or a derivative thereof and R' is a radical having a single isocyanate-derivatizing functionality comprising a radical derived from a cyclic secondary amine with a sample under conditions suitable to the formation of a reaction product capable of detection and (b) detecting the presence or absence of the reaction product as an indication of the presence or absence of isocyanate in said sample. The present invention also provides a method of quantifying the total isocyanate presence by quantifying the reaction product.

Isocyanates are a class of chemicals which are used in the production of a wide variety of chemical compounds. These chemical compounds are in turn incorporated into a vast number of products which are used in great quantities world-wide. Monoisocyanates are used as intermediates in the production of herbicides, crop protection agents, and antidiabetic pharmaceuticals, while long-chain aliphatic monoisocyanates are used for the surface treatment of textiles. Diisocyanates and polyisocyanates are intermediates in the manufacture of polyurethane materials. These materials include rigid foams for insulation, flexible foams for seating, and paints yielding durable finishes. In preparing these and other commercial products, manufacturers utilize the various species of isocyanates, both alone and in combination, in order to obtain the desired characteristics in the final product.
While isocyanates provide a great many benefits, their use is unfortunately accompanied by certain problems. One of the most serious of these is the effect of isocyanates on the human respiratory system. Upon inhalation, isocyanates act as respiratory irritants. Fortunately, in the short term, the symptoms resulting from isocyanate inhalation usually disappear after removal of the person from the contaminated environment. Repeated exposure to isocyanates over a prolonged period, however, can lead to progressive and permanent impairment of pulmonary function. This impairment manifests itself in the form of shortness of breath and increased stress on the heart. More seriously, a "sensitized" condition arises in approximately 5 percent of all persons exposed to isocyanates. In this condition, asthmatic symptoms present themselves almost immediately upon exposure to even relatively low concentrations of isocyanates, i.e., concentrations which do not affect those who are not sensitized to isocyanates.
Because of the serious adverse physiological effects associated with isocyanate inhalation, attention has been given to devising methods for the detection of isocyanates. Several of these methods are concerned with determining the concentration of particular airborne isocyanate species in an environment, while others are directed toward measuring the residual isocyanate monomer content in various isocyanate starting materials, e.g., bulk isocyanate prepolymers and the like. In addition, methods for determining the percentage of free isocyanate groups present in urethane-based polymers have also been developed. Although such methods are predominantly spectrophotometric or chromatography-based, polarography, potentiometry, dielectric constant determination, detector tubes, impregnated paper tapes, and coated piezoelectric crystals have also been used for this purpose. An overview of various methods presently available for the detection of isocyanate species in air is provided in Dharmarajan et al., "Recent Developments in the Sampling and Analysis of Isocyanates in Air, Sampling and Calibration for Atmospheric Instruments," Am. Soc'y for Testing & Materials, Spec. Tech. Pub. No. 957, pp. 190-202 (1987), and Purnell et al., "Methods for the Determination of Atmospheric Organic Isocyanates: A Review," Analyst, 110, 893-905 (1985).
While the detection and quantification of particular isocyanate species are important, it is also desirable that a method be able to detect and quantify the total number of isocyanate groups present in an environment, regardless of the particular isocyanate species which are present. This arises from the fact that the health risks mentioned previously may not occur only as a result of exposure to a single isocyanate species. In recognition of this, the United Kingdom has adopted an exposure standard for isocyanates which is based upon the total isocyanate groups present in an environment. Silk et al., Ann. Occup. Hyg., 27 (4), 333-39 (1983).
One particular method which could conceivably be used to determine the total isocyanate groups present in a sample is described in Marcali, "Microdetermination of Toluenediisocyanates in Atmosphere," Anal. Chem., 29 (4), 552-558 (1957). The method described in that article comprises initially hydrolyzing a toluenediisocyanate (TDI) monomer to prepare a derivative thereof, i.e., a toluenediamine (TDA). Diazotization of the TDA, and subsequent coupling of the stable diazo compound with N-1-naphthylethylenediamine, is then undertaken. This results in the production of a compound having a reddish-blue color, which compound may be measured spectrophotometrically to determine the isocyanate level.
This method was originally intended by its developers to enable the detection of trace quantities, i.e., down to 10-20 ppb, of particular isocyanate monomer species in air, namely toluenediisocyanates. However, in practice, it was discovered that the method was susceptible to interferences which subverted that goal. For example, it was found that TDA and any other aromatic amines present in the sample were also diazotized and bonded to the N-1-naphthylethylene diamine. As TDI is converted to TDA in the reaction scheme, TDA present in the air sample will result in a false positive reading for TDI. Moreover, the method possesses poor sensitivity (in the range of 20 ppb) relative to HPLC methods developed in the 1980's. Further, different isocyanates have different response factors. Accordingly, quantification of isocyanates can only be accomplished for those species for which the response factor is already known. In addition, mixtures of isocyanates for which the response factors are known cannot be accurately quantified without knowing their relative amounts. For example, 2,4-TDI and 2,6-TDI, which are typically found together in products, have different response factors. As such, obtaining an accurate measure of the total isocyanate species depends upon knowing the relative amount of each.
A method which has been used for detecting the total isocyanate presence in a sample involves derivatizing isocyanates by forming ureas therefrom using 1-(2methoxyphenyl)piperazine (MOPP): ##STR1##
The resulting ureas are then analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with ultraviolet (UV) and electrochemical (EC) detectors. Isocyanate-derived peaks are identified on the basis of their UV/EC response ratio and all such peaks are quantified using an isocyanate monomer standard. The total airborne isocyanate concentration is then calculated from the sum of all isocyanate-derived HPLC peaks as described in "Health and Safety Executive: MDHS 25, Methods for the Determination of Hazardous Substances: Organic Isocyanates in Air," Health & Safety Executive/Occupational Safety and Hygiene Laboratory (1987).
An evaluation of this method, however, has revealed that neither detector (UV or EC) response was found to be proportional to the number of derivatized isocyanate groups present in model urethane oligomers. See Streicher et al , . "Investigation of the Ability of MDHS 25 to Determine Urethane-Bound Isocyanate Groups," presented at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, Boston, Mass., May 30-June 5, 1992. This non-proportional response makes the method unreliable in terms of both its ability to correctly identify isocyanate species and inaccurate in its quantification of such species.
Another reaction scheme which has been considered in an effort to quantify the total isocyanates in a sample, e.g., air, involves passing the air through an impinger containing propanol under favorable conditions, wherein the isocyanate species reacts with propanol to yield their respective propyl carbamates. The excess propanol is then removed from the reacted mixture, the carbamate is subsequently hydrolyzed, and the resulting propanol is analyzed. The amount of propanol provides a quantification of the total isocyanates present. See Robertson, "Determination Of Total Isocyanate Concentrations In Air By Headspace Gas Chromatography," Section Paper of the Health & Safety Executive, Research & Laboratory Services Division (1986).
This methodology, however, suffers from at least three drawbacks. First, since the derivatizing reagent and the analyte are identical (propanol), the derivatizing reagent may introduce inaccuracies into the analysis if it is not completely removed after the formation of the carbamate. Secondly, the conditions required to regenerate the propanol from the carbamate are relatively harsh, and, thirdly, the rate of the hydrolysis reaction varies substantially with the various isocyanate species.
Yet another method utilizes tryptamine: ##STR2## as the derivatizing reagent for the isocyanate. After derivatization, HPLC with fluorescence and electrochemical detection in series is employed. See Wu et al., "Application of Tryptamine as a Derivatizing Reagent for the Determination of Airborne Isocyanates: Part 3. Evaluation of Total Isocyanates Analysis by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography With Fluorescence and Amperometric Detection," Analyst, 115, 801-807 (1990).
While this method provides a relatively higher degree of selective detection and a less-variable response factor than the method which uses 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine, there are certain aspects that could be improved upon. For example, a reagent which reacts with isocyanates faster than tryptamine would be desirable. This is because the more reactive the reagent is with an isocyanate, the smaller is the problem of losses of isocyanates to side reactions after the isocyanate is collected but prior to derivatization. Secondly, a reagent that provides a greater detector response than tryptamine would enable determination of the quantity of isocyanates at lower concentration levels. Finally, a reagent that yields derivatized isocyanates whose detector responses vary less than those derived from tryptamine would enable a more accurate identification and quantification of isocyanate species.
Other reagents have also been utilized to derivatize isocyanates, rendering them analyzable. For example, 9-(methylaminomethyl)anthracene (MAMA): ##STR3## and 1-(2-pyridyl) piperazine: ##STR4## have been used in an effort to determine the presence of particular isocyanate species present in a sample as opposed to the total species present therein. With respect to MAMA, this reagent could conceivably be used to detect total isocyanate species present in a sample. However, in practice, the response of the derivatized isocyanate formed thereby would be influenced by the physical proximity of the isocyanate functionality, thus introducing error into attempts to quantify the total isocyanate presence. In addition, it would be advantageous if a means were provided by which isocyanates could be derivatized at a rate which is faster than that provided by MAMA.
However, it is believed that MAMA and 1-(2-pyridyl)piperazine have not been used to determine the total amount of isocyanates present in a sample. Moreover, and as regarding MOPP, it would be advantageous if a means were available whereby certain properties, e.g., the rate of reaction with isocyanates and detectability, could be improved over that provided by MOPP.
Thus, there exists a need for a method which will provide a relatively safe and simple means for the quantitative detection of all isocyanate species present in a sample at low concentrations. Moreover, there exists a need for a method which minimizes the problems associated with the detection of isocyanates due to their instability.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method which is able to derivatize an isocyanate functionality and thereby provide a means by which the presence of low amounts of isocyanates can be detected both readily and with a high degree of accuracy. Another object is to provide a means for quantifying the total presence of isocyanate species in a sample, regardless of the particular species present in the sample. A related object of the present invention is to provide a method which provides for the derivatization of isocyanates at a relatively rapid rate as compared to known methods. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method wherein the reagents are analytically distinguishable from the reaction product which is analyzed to determine the presence of isocyanates, i.e., the analyte.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


A sensor-equipped wheel support bearing assembly capable of accurately detecting load acting on the vehicle wheel by reducing concentration of strain on a cutout portion corner area of a strain generating member in a sensor unit is provided. The wheel support bearing assembly having rolling elements interposed between rolling surfaces in outer and inner members, includes at least one sensor unit provided in a stationary member, which is one of the outer and inner members. The sensor unit includes a strain generating member, having two or more contact fixing segments secured to the stationary member in contact therewith, and a sensor fitted to the strain generating member for detecting a strain in the strain generating member. The strain generating member has a cutout portion between the contact fixing segments, and corner area of such cutout portion is of an arcuately sectioned shape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor-equipped wheel support bearing assembly having a load sensor incorporated thereon for detecting a load imposed on a bearing unit employed in an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a technique for detecting a load imposed on each of vehicle wheels of an automotive vehicle, a sensor-equipped wheel support bearing assembly has been suggested, in which a sensor unit, made up of a strain generating member and a strain sensor fitted to this strain generating member, is fitted to a stationary ring of the bearing unit and in which the strain generating member has a contact fixing segments, provided at least two locations, relative to the stationary ring and also has a cutout portion, at least one location, between the neighboring contact fixing segments, with the strain sensor arranged in this cutout portion. (See, for example, the Patent Document 1 listed below.)
According to this sensor-equipped wheel support bearing assembly, when a load is imposed on a rotating ring incident to travel of the automotive vehicle, the rotating ring deforms through rolling elements and such deformation in turn brings about a strain in the sensor unit. The strain sensor provided in the sensor unit detects a strain induced in the sensor unit. If the relation between the strain and the load is determined by means of a series of experiments and/or simulations in advance, the load acting on a vehicle wheel can be detected from an output of the strain sensor.
Other than the above, as a related technique, a sensor-equipped wheel support bearing assembly has also been suggested, in which the load is detected by detecting a strain occurring in a flange outer diametric face of an outer ring of the wheel support bearing assembly that serves as a stationary ring. (See, for example, the Patent Document 2 listed below.). In addition, a wheel support bearing assembly including a strain gauge provided on an outer ring of the wheel support bearing assembly for the detection of a strain has been suggested. (See, for example, the Patent Document 3 listed below.)
[Patent Document 1] JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-057299
[Patent Document 2] JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-098138
[Patent Document 3] JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-530565


Infrastructure network service measurements of time needed to complete data transfers are used to determine the capacity of a technology sector of a wireless packet data communication base station, such as a 1xEV-DO sector, using infrastructure network service measurements. The process, for example, may predict when the radio-frequency link between wireless data subscribers and a wireless base station becomes sufficiently congested that each user experiences reduced data speeds. The determination of capacity can be made down to the sector-carrier (a single carrier within a base station sector) level. The prediction can be cast in terms of time, which allows network service providers to plan the growth of their base stations to meet subscriber needs.

In recent years, mobile communications have become a widely used part of everyday life. As user demand for wider varieties of mobile service have expanded, network operators have begun deploying networks that provide wireless wide area communications utilizing packet transport. Such networks support traditional voice and text messaging services, and they support a variety of multimedia data services including services that may require substantially larger throughput than was available through older network technologies. For example, operators of networks based on CDMA (code division multiple access) technologies migrated from IS-95, to cdma200 and are now migrating to single carrier of evolution—data-only (1xEV-DO) network technologies. The 1xEV-DO system is a CDMA based data-only system optimized for high-speed packet data services.
As with any network technology, the network operator must manage the network resources and when appropriate deploy additional or upgraded resources to meet increasing demand for services through the network. For management purposes, a number of techniques have been developed to measure the traffic load on wireless network resources, particularly for earlier network technologies.
One approach is to assign a fixed maximum value (theoretical capacity) of usage to all sector-carriers in a network, based on theoretical calculations. Planning can then be based on the extent to which actual and/or expected usage approaches the theoretical capacity of particular cells of the network. It is well known in the industry that in actual fact, each individual sector of a cell in a system has a different maximum capacity, depending on height above average terrain, clutter environment, geographic distribution of users, etc. Hence, this simplistic approach does not provide an accurate estimate of capacity, in many real-world situations.
Another approach is to estimate the Erlang capacity of each sector carrier by estimating the number of actual users of the sector. The method entails: (1) obtaining operational measurement of transmitted power and peak number of users (note that the quantity "peak number of users" is obtainable from some infrastructure manufacturers); (2) finding the quotient to find "average power per user;" (3) finding the maximum number of permissible users, by dividing the maximum available transmit power by the average power per user; (4) converting the maximum number of users to the equivalent maximum Erlangs of traffic using an Erlang table lookup for a specified grade-of-service; and (5) dividing the maximum Erlangs of traffic by the current Erlangs of traffic to estimate "growth factor." This method, while more accurate than the first method, has significant disadvantages in application thereof to a wireless network, particular a data-only type wireless network. The Erlang model is predicated on discrete, equal capacity, limited resources (e.g. lines, or trunks in telephony parlance). However, resources of cell sectors in a public wireless network are not used in a discrete and equal manner. In a 1xEV-DO type network, for example, the limited resource is transmission time, users are assigned differing amounts of time based on their link quality and the amount of data they are to receive. Therfore the Erlang models of the past hundred years are not applicable to this field.
Earlier iterations of cellular networks allocated users exactly "enough" power to provide service, but no more, to minimize interference with other coded communications on the band. For such networks, a technique was developed that utilized resource usage data and resource power level data from the wireless network to develop metrics, for example, regarding capacity, usage or performance. However, in the newer technology data-only networks, the power level may be a constant and not a limited resource. For example, in a 1xEV-DO network, the forward channel transmit power for transmitting from the base station to mobile stations is fixed, and users are allocated varying amounts of time for the downstream transmission of their data.
For a data-only network, in which power is fixed, capacity planning has used lagging indicators. Those indicators were the average data speed for the entire sector, or a sample user data speed obtained from drive testing (operating a mobile station through a particular sector, e.g. while driving). The average data speed for the sector is a "noisy" data point and subject to significant variability as more users access the network. Drive testing is time-consuming and expensive, and only yields data valid for the precise time the drive testing was done. Neither method is a leading indicator. Hence, a current deficiency could be detected, but there was no effective way to extrapolate current condition to a potential future deficiency.
Hence a need exists for an accurate technique to estimate values of capacity for resources of a data-only wireless communication network based on actual operations of the network, which allows extrapolation of current operational conditions to predict future performance or capacity needs.

Methodology to analyze sector capacity in data-only mobile-wireless network


A combination garment bib system that includes a garment having an absorbent layer backed by a fluid impermeable layer positioned in front of the neck opening of the garment and a bib having an absorbent layer backed by a fluid impermeable layer. The bib is attachable to the garment at the front of the neck opening such that the bib provides the primary protection while the garment provides an addition protective element.

It is often desirable to have a bib when feeding a small infant or child. Because the bibs can twist around and be moved by the child, it would be a benefit to have a combination garment bib system that included a garment having an absorbent layer backed by a fluid impermeable layer positioned in front of the neck opening of the garment and a bib having an absorbent layer backed by a fluid impermeable layer that could be attached to the garment at the front of the neck opening such that the bib provides the primary protection while the garment provides an addition protective element.


Augments systems and methods for attaching two or more augments to an underside (50) of a tibial baseplate (16) are disclosed. An augment system (100) can include a first augment (102) having a superior surface (106) and an inferior surface (108), the superior surface configured for attachment to the underside of the tibial baseplate. The augment system can include a second augment (104) having a superior surface (110) and an inferior surface (112), the superior surface configured for attachment to the inferior surface of the first augment. The first and second augments can be formed of different materials. One or more additional augments can be used with the first and second augments, and the augment system can be stacked on a resected surface of the tibia. In an example, the augment that directly contacts the resected surface of the tibia can be formed of a porous material, such as to facilitate bone growth.

Orthopedic prostheses are commonly utilized to repair and/or replace damaged bone and tissue in the human body. For example, a knee prosthesis may be used to restore natural knee function by repairing damaged or diseased articular surfaces of the femur and/or tibia. Knee prostheses may include a femoral component implanted on the distal end of the femur, which articulates with a tibial component implanted on the proximal end of a tibia to replicate the function of a healthy natural knee. The distal portion of the femur and the proximal portion of the tibia may each by resected by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the femoral and tibial components such that the effective overall lengths of the femur and tibia remain substantially unchanged after implantation of the prosthesis.
In some cases, the proximal tibia or distal femur may have moderate to severe degeneration, trauma, or other pathology which necessitates resection of more bone than can be compensated for by traditional femoral and tibial components. In some cases, such as where a knee prosthesis is implanted in a younger patient, a revision surgery may eventually become necessary to repair or replace damaged or worn out prosthesis components. In an example, removal and replacement of the original tibial component can led to removal or damage of existing bone.


A service management system may include a data storage device storing a hierarchy of a network in a user premises. The hierarchy may include virtual network layers and devices in each layer. The devices may be connected to the network in the user premises. The storage device may also store service profiles for services associated with the virtual network layers and the devices. The system can create services for the devices and identify services to trigger based on data received from the devices and the hierarchy.

The digital-connected home is ubiquitous, and consumers today have high expectations for the kind of services they can get in their connected homes. The growth of digital services in the home has been primarily aimed at enabling connection of devices to a single local area network (LAN), and service providers deliver services into the home from outside the LAN to the devices connected to the LAN.
The primary premise for this model of providing services in the home is that service providers will be able to provide all the services needed in the home over a network. This model may be valid now; however, many factors hinder service providers from providing a full range of services to the home given this model. For example, the innumerable configurations across different systems and network devices in the home pose huge challenges for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers to provide connectivity for receiving services. The connectivity problem also applies across software applications that may or may not have application program interfaces (APIs) for exchanging information with service providers. Generally, as more and more services are desired in the home, and with the explosion of different types of devices having different capabilities, as well as different interfaces, the full range of possible service scenarios may not be supportable by service providers outside the home.
In addition many of the services made available through service providers, for example, over the Internet or via a service provider network, are not customizable by the user or have a minimal number of settings that can be changed by the user. Thus, users are restricted by the type of available services and by the capabilities of their devices to be used to receive and administer the services.


Techniques include: identifying scalable parts and unscalable parts of image modules that are to be scaled to fit within a fixed dimension; determining scaling factors that are to be applied to the scalable parts of the image modules to scale the image modules; applying the scaling factors to the scalable parts of the images modules to produce scaled image modules that fit within the fixed dimension, where the unscalable parts are unaffected by the scaling factors; and generating data for displaying the scaled image modules on a computing device display screen.

This disclosure relates to scaling image modules.
The Internet provides access to a wide variety of resources. For example, the Internet provides access to video files, audio files, and Web pages. Access to these resources presents opportunities for other content (e.g., advertisements) to be provided with the resources. For example, a Web page can include slots in which advertisements can be presented. A Web page can also include an electronic advertising circular. In an example electronic advertising circular, advertisements may be arranged in row format, in which rows of advertisements are presented, or column format, in which columns of advertisements are presented.


A rigid packaging container having an integral locking assembly is a rigid U-board having a bottom wall, a first sidewall, and a second sidewall, the bottom wall, the first sidewall and the second sidewall forming a channel. The first and second sidewalls each have a cut therethrough, forming a first channel section and a second channel section. An integral tab in the first sidewall of each of the first channel section and the second channel section is configured to form an integral locking assembly which may be pushed inwardly or pulled outwardly to secure the first channel section at an angle relative to the second channel section.

The present invention is directed to a packaging container. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a packaging container having an integral locking mechanism.
U-shaped packaging containers, or U-board, are known packaging material for many objects. The board is formed from a layered, or laminated, construction of paper and/or paper board that is subsequently formed into a U-shape (U-shaped cross-section). The board generally is rigid; that is, the walls are rigidly formed into the U-shape (transverse relative to the base) and are rigid longitudinally along the length of the channel. The walls do not fold down onto the base, nor can the board, without more, be folded length-wise onto itself.
U-board is used for a wide variety of commonly packaged items. U-board can be used to package long, fragile items to prevent creasing or other damage that may be caused by dropping, bumping, or general handling of the package. In a common use, U-board is used for such large items as doors and windows. The U-board is folded up and around the corners of the door or window, for example, and then is secured in place by tape, fastening strap, string, plastic wrap, and the like.
While U-board has been used with a great deal of success for packaging, typically, two people are required to properly package an item—one person to hold the U-board folded about the object, and another to secure the U-board around the item with the tape, strap, plastic, or the like. This can be time consuming and cumbersome.
Accordingly, there is a need for a rigid protective packaging that can be easily wrapped around an item. Desirably, such packaging minimizes the amount of additional materials and cost needed to fasten the unit together. More desirably, the U-board is readily made and usable, and has a high degree of integrity.


An imaging agent, a method of production of the imaging agent, and the use of the imaging agent for microseismic monitoring of subterranean formations such as those generated during hydraulic fracturing. The acoustic emitting agent is tailorable for emission delay to ensure placement and frequency emission profiles for well region differentiation. This monitoring tool is highly useful in gas, oil, and geothermal well defining and stimulation monitoring.

Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized energy production from domestic resources, including tight oil and gas formations, and unlocking geothermal energy. Hydraulic stimulation was first used in the 1940s, but has since evolved and is now an essential technique in the development of oil and gas reserves. These techniques are largely responsible for development of the Barnett Shale, Haynesville Shale, Fayetteville Shale, and Marcellus Shale gas fields. Hydraulic fracturing can also liberate oil from tight rock units as has been done with the Bakken Shale and Niobrara Shale. Estimates reported by The National Petroleum Council expect hydraulic fracturing to eventually account for nearly 70% of natural gas production in North America.
The production of natural gas and oil from North American sources is feeding a manufacturing renaissance and reducing our reliance on foreign sources while facilitating a switch from coal and oil/gasoline to cleaner natural gas. The development of unconventional oil and gas (particularly gas) resources, as well as geothermal energy, remains very expensive and can be repeated multiple times on a well before successful results are realized. Reducing the cost through understanding and optimizing completion operations in hydraulic fracturing is essential for continued development of unconventional energy resources.
Monitoring of microseismic/acoustic events induced by hydraulic stimulation has become a key tool in evaluation of induced fractures. Microseismic technology "listens" to the formation as it is breaking apart during a hydraulic fracture (through the use of sensors such as geophones, fiber optic sensors and accelerometers placed in calibrated sensing arrays along with computer analysis and triangulation algorithms) to give well operators a picture of how a well is fractured, and any faults in the formation. For more advanced applications, microseismic technology it is used to estimate the size and orientation of these induced fractures. The main goal of subterranean fracture monitoring is to completely characterize the induced fracture structure and distribute conductivity of the fractures within a formation. Currently, the monitoring of these forming fractures has been limited to fracture stimulation while the well is actively being pumped. This pumping and formation movement contributes to the active noise down well. The accuracy of microseismic event mapping is dependent on the distribution of sensitive sensors—the resulting signal to noise. Hence, signal resolution can be low and limited to microseismic mapping of active generated fractures, and not to the actual fractures that are maintained by proppant. The next advancement in fracture monitoring and understanding is to know the location of proppant within the fracture and the distribution of fracture conductivity after pumping.
Microseismic monitoring technology, when used in combination with hydraulic fracturing, offers significant value propositions over other methods of learning about a well site. Current advanced tools in seismic recordings are completed with sensitive geophones or with the newer distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). Again, their monitoring of microseismic events can offer low resolution of imaged fractures and only show active fracture formation, and not maintained fractures.
There are existing prior art patents relating to seismic generation for improving seismic mapping of geological formations. U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,775 describes a controlled explosive by using dissociative water's hydrogen and oxygen. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,038,631; 3,909,776; 3,718,205, and 3,221,833 describe the use of a mechanical impacting device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,726 describes a controlled charge for initiating a large hollow vessel implosion. These patents disclose the use of energy from a hydrostatic implosion from the well bore's high pressures to create a seismic source emission. However, the technology taught by the prior art still requires wiring and layering the charge ignition, and is far too large to fit into fractures. Additionally, the production of machining the tool limits its use as a seismic source for only mapping by the interpretation of seismic changes as the signal traverses through the formation to the sensors.
The rupture and implosive collapse of hollow cavities has been utilized in marine studies. Examples of these works include: Orr, M. and Schoenberg, M.'s "Acoustic Signatures From Deepwater Implosions of Spherical Cavities", Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol 59, No. 5, pg. 1155 (1976); Reader, W. T. and Chertock, G.'s "Transient Sounds Due to Implosions of Simple Structures Under Hydrostatic Pressure", presented at 82nd meeting of Acoustic Society of America (1976); And Urick, R. J. "Implosion as Sources of Underwater Sounds", Journal of Acoustical Society of America, pg. 2026 (1964). The disclosures in the prior art, however, only implode at the first experience of the hollow cavities collapse strength limit under hydrostatic pressure, and are not designed to be able to provide the controlled implosive release of acoustic signal needed in subterranean seismic (microseismic) well monitoring.


The present invention provides a control circuit for controlling the path of voice and data signals in a communication system which comprises at least a speaker phone, a cellular transmit/receive unit (TRU), a cellular (CU) handset and a computer having at least a communications software program, a keyboard and an I/O port for communications. The control circuit receives voice and data signals from a plurality of different input sources and routes or switches the received voice and data signals to different selectable destinations. The control circuit comprises analog switching circuitry, a CPU, a modem, landline interface circuitry, TRU interface circuitry and cellular handset interface circuitry which are operatively connected together.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the transmission and reception of voice and data signals and, more particularly, to the control of the path of voice and data signals received from a plurality of different input sources and to the control of the path of voice and data signals transmitted to different destinations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable computers such as lap-top computers are well known. Similarly, data networks such as those known as local area networks (LAN) are also well known. It is also well known to control radiotelephone transceivers by microprocessors as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,624 of Puhl et al.
There have been numerous attempts in the past to combine general purpose computers, normally portable or lap-top computers, with various degrees of telephone transmission capability. It is certainly common and well established to have a built-in modem to modulate and demodulate signals between the computer and a telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,791 issued to Read et al shows a computer with a built-in conventional telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,068 of Kelly et al shows a telephone cradle which can be used with a computer or communication terminal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,456 of Paulsen et al shows a lap-top computer adapted to incorporate an acoustic coupler or telephone handset. A portable information display, which incorporates what appears to be a standard modem, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,943 of Greenblatt. U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,127 of Neely et al discloses a vehicle computer which makes use of a communication's controller. A computer equipped with an infrared or other line-of-sight transmitter is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,793 of Baker et al.
The present invention is intended to provide a solution to various prior art deficiencies which include the inability to transmit voice and/or data signals by either cellular telephone or landline from a lap-top or portable computer and receive voice and/or data signals at the same lap-top or portable computer using a cellular handset, a speaker phone, a telephone-type headset and a modem.

Method and apparatus for controlling transmission of voice and data signals


A utility cart that is capable of being converted into a collapsed position, a flat cart position, a dolly position, and a tilted position. The utility cart generally includes an interconnected frame that includes three sections, namely, a first section connected to a second section by a first joint, with the second section further being connected to a third section by a second joint. The utility cart also includes a fourth section (a base), which has a set of wheels affixed thereto. The utility cart further includes a support arm mechanism that attaches to the second section at a first end and to a bottom portion (of the base) of the utility cart at a second end. The second end of the support arm mechanism may be reversibly securable to a plurality of different points along the bottom portion of the utility cart.

Many utility carts exist today which may be contorted into various positions—with each position being particularly adapted for a specific type of use (or to support a load in a particular manner). However, a majority of these utility carts may only be transformed into two or three primary positions. With respect to those utility carts that purportedly may be configurable into more than three positions, such utility carts often do not easily convert from a first position into a second position. Moreover, in many cases, the multi-functional utility carts that are available today are not structured to withstand a substantial load, while simultaneously being capable of collapsing into a compact and lightweight storage position. Still further, the currently-available utility carts are often unstable during use.
As explained further below, the present invention addresses many of these shortcomings of the utility carts that are available in the marketplace today.


There is described a device and method for magnetically transferring indicia to a coating composition, such as an ink or varnish, applied to at least a part of the surface of a substrate, the coating composition comprising at least one type of magnetic or magnetizable particles. The device comprises a body subjected to a magnetic field generated by appropriate electromagnetic means, which body carries determined indicia in the form of engravings on a surface of the body, which engravings influence orientation of field lines of the magnetic field. The body comprises at least one layer of material of high magnetic permeability in which the engravings are formed. In unengraved regions of the layer of material of high magnetic permeability, the field lines of the magnetic field extend substantially parallel to the surface of the body inside said layer of material of high magnetic permeability.

Methods and devices for magnetically transferring indicia to a wet coating composition are already known as such in the art, for instance from International applications Nos. WO 2004/007095, WO 2004/007096, WO 2005/000585, WO 2005/002866 and European patent application No. EP 1 650 042.
According to these methods, a layer of coating composition, such as an ink or varnish, is first applied to at least a part of the surface of a substrate, which coating composition comprises at least one type of magnetic or magnetizable particles. While the layer of coating composition is still wet, the layer is exposed to a determined magnetic field generated at a surface of a magnetic-field-generating device, thereby orienting the magnetic or magnetizable particles along field lines of the magnetic field. The layer of coating composition is then dried or cured, thereby fixing the orientation of the magnetic or magnetizable particles.
European patent application No. EP 1 787 728 (which application was published only after the priority date of the present application) discloses a magnetic plate for printing of optical effects, which plate comprises a magnetizable composite material that is selectively magnetized so that one or more first regions across the surface of the plate provide a first magnetic field having a predetermined direction. These first regions form a logo, indicia or image of an object. Magnetic material in one or more other second regions surrounding the first region are either unmagnetized or magnetized differently from the one or more first regions so as to provide a contrast in magnetic field.
Magnetic or magnetizable particles (also designated as "magnetic flakes"), which have the particularity that they can be oriented or aligned by an appropriately-applied magnetic field, are discussed in particular in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,648, European patent application EP 0 686 675, and International applications WO 02/073250, WO 03/000801, WO 2004/007095, WO 2004/007096 and WO 2005/002866.
Such particles or flakes are in particular used as optically-variable pigments in so-called optically-variable inks, or OVI®'s (OVI® is a registered trademark of SICPA Holding SA, Switzerland) to produce high-level security patterns, especially for banknotes.
The most convenient method to apply the above magnetic flakes is by silk-screen printing as discussed in the above-mentioned International application WO 2005/000585. This is mainly due to the fact that the flakes have a relatively important size which restricts the choice of available printing processes for applying inks or varnishes containing such flakes. In particular, one has to ensure that the flakes are not destroyed or damaged during the printing process, and silk-screen printing constitutes the most convenient printing process to achieve this goal. Furthermore, silk-screen printing has the advantage that the inks or varnishes used in such a process exhibit a relatively low viscosity which favours proper orientation of the magnetic flakes.
Nevertheless, other printing processes could be envisaged to apply coating compositions containing magnetic flakes, such as flexographic printing or gravure printing. In European patent application EP 1 650 042, it is even proposed to apply such magnetic flakes in an intaglio printing process, whereby the paste-like intaglio ink containing the magnetic pigments is heated to decrease the viscosity of the ink and thereby allow the flakes to be oriented more easily with a magnetic or electric field. This can be performed in a conventional intaglio printing press, since the plate cylinder of such presses is commonly brought to an operating temperature of approximately 60 to 80° C. during printing operations.
Orientation of the magnetic flakes contained in the wet coating composition is carried out by applying an adequate magnetic field to the freshly-applied layer of coating composition. By appropriately shaping the field lines of the magnetic field, the magnetic flakes can be aligned in any desired pattern producing a corresponding optically-variable effect which is very difficult, if not impossible to counterfeit. An adequate solution for orienting the magnetic flakes, as discussed in International application WO 2005/000585 consists in bringing sheets carrying layers of wet coating composition in contact with a rotating cylinder carrying a plurality of magnetic-field-generating devices.
International application WO 2005/002866, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a particular type of magnetic-field-generating device comprising a body, such as a flat plate or a cylindrically curved plate, made of a permanent magnetic material which is permanently magnetized in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface of the body. The said surface of the body furthermore carries indicia in the form of engravings causing perturbations of its magnetic field.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a magnetic field simulation taken from the above-mentioned International application which illustrates an example of a vertically magnetized permanent magnetic plate, designated by numerical reference 1, comprising a rectangular engraving 2. In this example, the engraved plate 1 is made of Plastoferrite (such as the Plastoferrite model M100.8 sold by Maurer Magnetic AG, CH-8627 Grüningen, http://www.maurermagnetic.ch) magnetized in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the plate 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, as the permanent magnetic body 1 is vertically magnetized, the field lines of the magnetic field are mostly vertical in the region of the surface of the body, except in the region of the vertical walls of the engraving 2. This implies that most of the magnetic pigments contained in the wet composition are aligned in a vertical manner, perpendicularly to the surface of the substrate. In other words, considering the fact that the pigments are mostly reflective when they are aligned substantially horizontally, the resulting pattern induced in the coating composition by means of the device of FIG. 1 is mostly not reflective, when seen and illuminated perpendicularly to the surface of the substrate.
FIGS. 2a to 2c are greyscale photographs, taken along three different viewing angles, of a magnetically-induced pattern representing the value "50" within an oval shape which was produced by means of a device according to the principle of International application WO 2005/002866 illustrated in FIG. 1. More precisely, the pattern was produced using a body having engravings representing the value "50" within an engraved oval shape.
The layer of coating composition was applied with a silk-screen printing process on top of a black offset background using an OVI® silk-screen ink comprising gold-to-green optically variable magnetic pigment corresponding to the 7-layer pigment design disclosed in WO 02/73250. The purpose of the black (or dark) offset background is to increase the contrast in the induced pattern by making the reflective parts of the pattern (i.e. the portions where the pigments are oriented substantially horizontally with respect to the surface of the substrate) stand out as compared to the less reflective parts of the pattern (i.e. the portions where the pigments are oriented substantially vertically with respect to the surface of the substrate, thereby revealing the underlying background).
As already mentioned hereinabove, most part of the induced pattern produced according to the known method disclosed in International application WO 2005/002866 is relatively dark, i.e. the pigments are mostly aligned vertically, thereby making the dark offset background visible through the layer of coating composition. As can be seen from the photographs of FIGS. 2a to 2c, the most reflective portions of the magnetically-induced pattern correspond to the position of the walls of the engravings. Looking at the pattern, one basically has the impression that the oval shape and the value "50" stand out in relief above the background as illustrated in FIGS. 2a to 2c.
The patterns that can be produced according to the known method disclosed in International application WO 2005/002866 discussed above are already quite an improvement as compared to the patterns that could previously be produced. A need has nevertheless arisen for an improved approach which would enable to produce different patterns, albeit with comparable means, especially patterns exhibiting a comparatively lighter, more reflective optical effect.
A distinct approach is proposed in International application No. WO 2006/114289 which discloses a method for creating color effect images on a carrier substrate. According to this method, a latent magnetic image comprising magnetic pixels and non-magnetic pixels is created on a magnetizable printing form. A carrier substrate provided with a decorative layer containing non-spherical, preferably needle shaped or lamellar magnetic color effect pigments is guided past the magnetizable printing form such that the orientation of color effect pigments of the decorative layer relative to the carrier substrate changes with the aid of the images of the field lines created by the magnetic pixels of the magnetizable printing form. The color pigments are ultimately fixed in the decorative layer with the orientation thereof modified by the magnetizable printing form.
According to WO 2006/114289, the magnetizable printing form comprises a soft magnetic band and electromagnetic printing heads are used to locally change the magnetic coercivity of the soft magnetic band to form the desired magnetic pixels. A "soft magnetic" material is commonly understood as designating a magnetizable material which has the ability to lose its memory of previous magnetizations, as opposed to "hard" or "permanent" magnetic material which stay magnetized for a long time. According to WO 2006/114289, each magnetic pixels thus acts as an elementary magnet locally affecting the orientation of the field lines of the magnetic field.
This approach is fundamentally different from that of WO 2005/002866 in that it is not based on the use of an engraved body for influencing the orientation of the field lines of a magnetic field generated by separate electromagnetic means. Moreover, since a soft magnetic material is used according to WO 2006/114289, there is a high risk that the magnetic configuration of the magnetizable body may become lost or be affected by external magnetic fields. The solutions of WO 2005/002866 and WO 2006/114289 may not therefore be combined together. The solution of WO 2006/114289 is furthermore less robust than that of WO 2005/002866 and is thus not suited for use in a conventional production environment such as that of a printing plant and/or for implementation thereof on a printing press.

Device and method for magnetically transferring indicia to a coating composition applied to a substrate


An electric heating catalyst (EHC) in which a short circuit between a heat generation element and a case in EHC is suppressed. The EHC includes a heat generation element (catalyst carrier) electrically energized to generate heat; a case receiving the heat generation element; an insulating support member between the heat generation element and the case; a tubular inner pipe inserted into the insulating support member and located between the heat generation element and the case. The inner pipe has an end protruding into an exhaust gas from the insulating support member's end face, and the inner pipe has an electrically insulating layer formed on an entire surface, or the inner pipe is formed of an electrically insulating material; and an inner pipe heater supplied with electricity through a path different from a path through which electricity is supplied to the heat generation element, thereby heating the inner pipe's protrusion portion.

In the past, as an exhaust gas purification catalyst arranged in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine, there has been developed an electric heating catalyst (hereinafter referred to as an EHC) in which a catalyst is heated by means of a heat generation element which generates heat by electrical energization thereof.
In the EHC, an insulating support member which serves to support the heat generation element and to insulate electricity is arranged between the heat generation element which generates heat by electrical energization thereof, and a case in which the heat generation element is received. For example, in Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a technique in which in an EHC, a mat of an insulating material is arranged between a carrier which is electrically energized to generate heat and a case in which the carrier is received.
In addition, in Patent Document 2, there is also disclosed a construction in which a catalytic converter having an EHC and a plasma reactor are arranged in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine which is mounted on a hybrid vehicle. With the construction described in Patent Document 2, a voltage is supplied to the EHC and the plasma reactor through a high voltage supply system from a battery which functions as a power supply of a motor-generator.


A bulk degaussing apparatus and method for erasing magnetic media of various sizes. A plurality of fixed magnetic poles are predisposed around a gap for projecting magnetic flux across the gap such that the spacing of the poles is provided at roughly equal intervals or sets of intervals across the gap to form sets of magnetic fields at the staggered intervals. A media passage is provided such that across the width of the passage at every point, media passing therethrough is linearly exposed to the magnetic fields provided through the gap. An adapter constrains location of the media passing through the gap by way of the media passage such that the plurality of magnetic poles effectively degausses regions formed between the poles. Placement of the magnetic poles is provided with partial overlap of facing poles on opposite sides of the pathway of the media passage. Two or more multi-pole degaussing regions provided with differing orientation avoid regional weaknesses or singularities in the magnetic field.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to information erasure by magnetic degaussing fields of effective strength and multi-dimensional direction applied to magnetic tapes and disks traversing a pathway. In particular, this invention specifically relates to apparatus with multiple and generally duplicate magnetic field generating elements of simple geometry, capable of generating and concentrating multiple interacting flux density fields, predisposed such that media passage causes a range of erase conditions over all points within that media, thereby addressing geometric and material variations internal to the media.
2. Description of the Prior Art
More common in the prior art are magnet means placing two or more poles proximal to one side or both sides of the media. Electromagnet cores in the form of extruded xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cExe2x80x9d profiles promote efficient application of windings, such that poles form at the ends of the core appendages for projection of magnetic flux into the media. Problems arise with magnet poles applied only to one side of thick media, as magnetic strength or flux density tends toward inverse proportion with the square of distance from a source such as a pole.
Many forms of prior art bulk degaussers predispose magnetic poles on both sides of magnetic media. Most prior art operates with sets of like poles facing each other across the gap provided for bulk degaussing magnetic media in order to obtain magnetic flux parallel to a plane of mirror image symmetry. U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,230 discloses switching means to change electromagnet operation from like poles to unlike poles facing, yielding flux directed parallel to and perpendicular to the symmetry plane at different times. U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,280 specifies connections that reverse current in one of four coils predisposed about legs of otherwise symmetrically disposed xe2x80x9cExe2x80x9d cores, leading to a known commercial practice exhibiting small magnet size in relation to capability. U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,664 discloses offsetting two electromagnetic xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d cores from alignment of unlike poles closest to each other. All of these examples demonstrate the advantages of less symmetric field generating apparatus as compared to more easily constructed and commonly applied apparatus having multiple mirror-image symmetry.
In the interest of protecting information recorded on magnetic media, means placing the media in close proximity to even a single strong magnet can impede recovery of information by ordinary means. Depending on the direction of magnetization of the magnetic material, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,413 may disclose a single pole, permanent magnet degausser. Depending of the material used for the frame of that invention, it may provide a path of low magnetic reluctance for purposes of returning flux from the working pole to an unlike pole of the magnet distal to the pathway for magnetic disks defined by the frame.
Common forms for information storage on magnetic media include disks and tape wound on reels. In themselves, circular tracks on disks and anisotropic magnetic coatings on nearly circular layers of tape wound on reels exhibit a range of directions. The prior art cited thus far either cannot apply more than fringing flux everywhere in the circular direction of tracks, or else requires more than simple linear motion of the media with respect to the magnetic field. That motion might be accomplished by a human with some skill and diligence, as in the case of a hand-held degausser, or with an automated sequence of motions generally involving rotation either of the media or of magnets generating the degaussing fields.
Problems arise in attempting to configure a complex-motion degausser to a wide variety of media. For example, media can have multiple axes of circularity, as in the case of a partially rewound, 2-reel tape cassette. Some disk drive housings contain the axis of circular disks but do not reveal its location. Also, application of magnetic flux only in the direction of tracks does not ensure erasure of locally magnetized regions having off-track components, as result both from perpendicular components of magnet record head fields, and from fringes along edges of record heads. All but the simplest prior art cited thus far attempts exposure to a variety of magnetic flux directions.
Phased excitation of large, orthogonal coils specified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,603 electrically rotates the direction of a magnetic field equal to the media size. Since the electrically rotating field exists everywhere in the media at once, no media motion is required. But phased, media-sized fields imply control over a great quantity of energy, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,933. Adding a third orthogonal winding to the cavity degausser enables field generation in any direction, but again at added cost and complexity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,460 also discloses means to degauss by electrical rotation of media-sized fields, in this case by phased excitation of multi-pole cores somewhat larger than the target media.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,581 discloses rotating, multiple-pole permanent magnets predisposed with mirror-image symmetry so that like poles face each other across a gap admitting a tape cassette intended to be translated through the field that they generate. Given enough rotation per unit translation, all points of tape on either reel will see field in the tangential direction of tracks, but symmetry imposes zero strength in the transverse direction across the tape along a center plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,860 further discloses rotation of permanent magnets disposed about a degaussing gap at different speeds, leading to a conditions alternating from like poles facing and flux directed parallel to the symmetry plane, to unlike poles facing and flux directed perpendicular to that plane.
Fixed or rotating magnets arrayed for degaussing with simple, linear media motion can become bulky. The Electro-matic Products Co. model HE15VB exemplify the extremes of dimensions, weight and input power applied in the prior art of bulk degaussing large sizes of high coercivity media on a linear conveyor.
A particular challenge in the adaptation of a general-purpose bulk degausser to the erasure of entire hard disk drives arises because certain massive ferromagnetic components of such disk drives experience strong force interactions with the degaussing magnets. Means to turn the magnets off to relieve such forces as practiced in U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,665 are not possible in the art of degaussing with permanent magnets.
The present invention treats all points within media to an extended range of magnetic directions, regardless of internal geometry, as a safeguard against fringing effects intrinsic to magnetic patterns encoding information on coatings of the magnetic media, by means not practiced in the art but particularly adaptable to the use of permanent magnets as field generators. In doing so, it can avoid the need for any electrical power, including even battery-powered process monitoring circuitry.
It is an object of the present invention to provide means and apparatus for bulk degaussing magnetic media which solves various problems in the prior art.
It is an object of this invention to provide means and apparatus to vary magnetic field direction while maintaining field strength in such a way as to expose all points within media to three-dimensional directions at effective strengths.
It is yet another object of this invention to produce such multi-directional strength with essentially zero energy input, excepting energy that may be provided by human operators to introduce media into the degausser, to extract media from it as needed, and for manual adjustments to accommodate different media thickness.
Briefly, the present invention relates to bulk degaussing apparatus, and more particularly to means which changes field direction using fixed arrays of magnet poles constructed with simple geometries and predisposed about a path provided for bulk degaussing media.

Bulk degausser with fixed arrays of magnet poles


An ink jet recording method according to an aspect of the invention includes: discharging droplets of a glitter ink composition containing a glitter pigment onto a recording medium to form a glitter region on the recording medium; and discharging a colored ink composition containing a colorant onto the glitter region to form a colored glitter region on the recording medium, wherein when light is irradiated on the colored glitter region at an angle of 45 degrees, with a normal direction with respect to the colored glitter region as 0 degrees, the ratio [(C*45°)/(C*0°)] between the saturation of the colored glitter region measured based on light reflected at an angle of −45 degrees (C*45°) and the saturation of the colored glitter region measured based on light reflected at an angle of 0 degrees (C*0°) is equal to or greater than 1.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method and a recording matter obtained therewith.
2. Related Art
In the related art, hot stamping printing using printing ink, using gold powder and silver powder created from brass, aluminum fine particles, and the like as a pigment, or a metallic foil, a thermal transfer method using a metallic foil, and the like have been used as techniques of forming a coated film with metallic gloss on a recording medium.
In recent years, there have been many application examples for an ink jet recording method in printing, and metallic printing for obtaining an image with metallic gloss is known as one such application example. For example, obtaining an image with metallic gloss using an ink containing metallic fine particles is described in JP-A-2003-292836.
However, there were cases where images obtained using the ink described in JP-A-2003-292836 did not have excellent metallic gloss. In particular, there were cases where it was difficult to record an image with excellent reproduction of color phases from colorants and excellent metallic gloss from a glitter pigment.

Ink jet recording method and recording matter