A bearing support system for a piston and its connecting rod in which the bearing system supports the combined piston and connecting rod by only two bearings, a gas bearing at the piston and a radially acting spring bearing at its connecting rod. A non-compliant connecting rod is fixed to an end of a piston which has a clearance seal length in the range of 0.3 times the diameter of the piston and 1.5 times the diameter of the piston. The distance from the gas bearing to the effective point of connection of the radially acting spring bearing to the connecting rod is greater than the seal length of the piston. The piston and connecting rod unit is not supported by additional bearings that introduce additional alignment problems.

This invention relates generally to free-piston Stirling machines and more particularly relates to non-contact bearing support systems that support their power piston and/or displacer piston and their respective connecting rods attached to them. The invention improves the life, reliability and cost of free-piston machinery by providing a simple and reliable means to implement non-contact bearings in a manner that reduces the difficulty of aligning the bearings or allows more accurate alignment or both.
Although free-piston Stirling cycle machines have been shown in the prior art in a very extensive variety of configurations, most have a displacer piston and a power piston that reciprocate in the same cylinder or in different cylinders. An end of the power piston and often an end of the displacer piston is ordinarily rigidly fixed to a connecting rod that reciprocates with the piston. These components together as a unit are supported within a casing of the Stirling machine. The casing contains a working gas that alternately expands and compresses as the working gas is shuttled between an expansion space and a compression space.
Stirling machines are designed to provide either: (1) an engine having a power piston and displacer piston driven by applying an external source of heat energy to the expansion space and transferring heat away from the compression space and therefore capable of being a prime mover for a mechanical load, or (2) a heat pump having the power piston (and sometimes the displacer piston) cyclically driven by a prime mover for pumping heat from the expansion space to the compression space and therefore capable of pumping heat energy from a cooler mass to a warmer mass. The heat pump mode permits Stirling machines to be used for cooling an object in thermal connection to its expansion space, including to cryogenic temperatures, or heating an object, such as a home heating heat exchanger, in thermal connection to its compression space. Therefore, the term Stirling "machine" is used to generically include both Stirling engines and Stirling heat pumps, the latter sometimes being referred to as coolers. Both Stirling engines and Stirling heat pumps, like electromagnetic motors and generators or alternators, are both basically the same power transducer structures capable of transducing power in either direction between two types of power.
In order to minimize the frictional wear of the reciprocating components of a free-piston machine, it is desirable to avoid contact between the reciprocating bodies and their cylinders or other supports within the casing. Conventional lubricants cannot be used for this purpose because they substantially degrade the properties of the working gas and result in a substantial decrease in the efficiency of the free-piston Stirling machine. For these reasons, free-piston Stirling cycle machines commonly use gas bearings and also radially acting spring bearings, such as planar springs. Although both kinds of bearings are known in the art, some explanation of gas bearings and radially acting spring bearings is desirable because some aspects of their operation are relevant to the invention.
A bearing is a device that supports, guides, and reduces the friction of motion between at least two parts that move with respect to each other. A bearing supports the two parts in a relative position or orientation with respect to each other but permits one part to move with respect to the second part in one or more directions of motion. It is often desirable to minimize the friction between the parts and minimize the force applied by one part to the other in the permitted directions of motion. A "non-contact bearing" supports the parts in a manner that the parts themselves that are moving relative to each other do not come into contact. The bearing itself, such as a planar spring bearing, may contact both parts, but it does not rub or slide against either part.
A gas bearing is one type of non-contact bearing that is often used on free-piston Stirling machines to maintain the separation of a piston in a cylinder or a connecting rod in a cylindrical bore. The gas bearing uses a gas, typically the working gas, that is pumped between relatively moving surfaces and functions as a lubricant to maintain separation of the relatively moving surfaces. Gas bearing systems have a fluid flow loop in which working gas is pumped out of ports in the piston or cylinder into the clearance gap between the piston and cylinder. To construct an effective gas bearing, the clearance fit between the two moving surfaces must be a close fitting clearance and the distance range of that clearance for a gas bearing in a Stirling machine is known to those skilled in the art. There must be at least three such ports spaced around the cylindrical periphery, preferably equi-angularly (every)120°, so that there will be radially inwardly directed centering forces applied toward centering the piston regardless of the radial direction in which the piston may become off center. Because gas bearings require close fitting clearances, if a cylindrical surface of one body has a close fit clearance with a cylindrical surface of another body because there is a gas bearing between them, the axes of the two cylindrical surfaces must be aligned to avoid contact.
A close fit clearance between a cylindrical surface of one body with a cylindrical surface of another body can also provide a "clearance seal". It is commonly desirable to provide a seal between two parts, such as a piston and the associated cylinder in which it reciprocates. The seal is intended to prevent or minimize the flow of a fluid between the piston and cylinder from one end of the piston to the other. However, it is desirable to simultaneously prevent contact between the piston and its cylinder in order to prevent wear and therefore gas bearings are used. Although not perfect, the clearance between the piston and its cylinder can be made sufficiently small to provide both reasonably effective sealing as well as a non-contact bearing. Such a seal using a small clearance fit is a clearance seal. The "seal length" of a clearance seal may be defined as the effective length in the axial direction of the portion of the piston's cylindrical periphery that is formed as the clearance seal; that is, the close fit clearance portion. Most commonly, that is the entire length of the piston. However, if the piston at times is displaced along the cylinder to a position where it protrudes from the cylinder, then the effective seal length of the clearance seal is shortened slightly and more particularly is the time averaged length of the clearance seal interface between the piston and its associated cylinder. The "axial center" of the clearance seal may be defined as the center, along the axial direction, midway between the axially opposite ends of the clearance seal. That midway position is the axial center and can be used to define the position of the clearance seal.
A radially acting spring bearing is another type of non-contact bearing that has been used on free-piston Stirling machines. Although the term "radially acting spring bearing" is not commonly used, it has been adopted because it is believed to best describe one of the bearings that is used in embodiments of the invention. A "radially acting spring bearing" is a spring that is connected to each of the two bodies that are to be supported in a non-contact relationship with one body moving with respect to the other. This bearing applies its spring force in a radial direction opposite its radial direction of deflection from its central axis when it is deflected away from its relaxed condition at the central axis. Its spring force in a radial direction is 0 for no deflection from its axis which means that it introduces no side loading. It can additionally apply a spring force in an axial direction so that it has two components of spring force, axial and radial. So a radially acting spring bearing is a spring that has a component of force in the radial direction, applies no radial force when centered and its force in the axial direction can be 0 or finite. For the invention, it should apply no significant net side forces as it is deflected.
An example of a commonly used radially acting spring bearing that is known in the prior art is a planar spring. A planar spring typically has arms extending from a central hub to an outer rim along a spiral-like or involute-like path. The arms, hub and rim are usually in a plane in their relaxed state. Typically the arms have a width in the plane considerably greater than their thickness perpendicular to the plane. Planar springs used as bearings are very stiff for deflection in the radial direction, but also apply a spring force, with far less stiffness, when deflected in the axial direction.
A common coil spring, in which a wire is wound as a helix, cannot be used as a radially acting spring bearing if oriented in an axial direction because it applies significant side forces when deflected axially. However, it would be possible to use several radially oriented coil springs arranged along radials of an axis of reciprocation as a radially acting spring bearing. Also usable is a spiral or involute spring, similar to a planar spring and typically constructed of spring wire wound in a plane along a spiral-like pattern, with connections to the other machine components at the innermost, centrally located end of the wire and at the outermost peripheral part of the wire. A conical coil spring might also be used but risks the introduction of side loads like the coil spring.
Great effort has been expended in the prior art in order to avoid oil-type lubricants to prevent wear of the internal components of Stirling cycle engines and coolers while avoiding contamination of the working gas. The free-piston configuration greatly reduces side loads because the free-piston configuration does not use a motion translating mechanism that introduces side loads, such as a connecting rod connected to a crankshaft. However, it is still necessary to provide bearing support for a reciprocating part in order to avoid excessive wear. Two techniques in the prior art have found common application to solve the problem of supporting a free piston that has a close fit clearance in a manner that avoids contact between the close fit surfaces and yet allows reciprocation of the piston.
The first technique, referred to as flexural bearing support (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,133, Penswick et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,214, Beckett et al), is to support the moving components entirely on planar springs so that there is no contact between the cylinder and the moving component (power piston or displacer piston). This bearing support system is shown in FIG. 1 implemented on a posted-displacer configuration free-piston Stirling machine. A piston 2 is supported by flexures 4 and 6 at points 8 and 10 on the piston 2 so that close-fitting clearance A is maintained with cylinder 12. The displacer 14 is similarly supported by flexures 16 and 18 at points 20 and 22 so that close-fitting clearances B and C are maintained. All of these flexures are planar springs. Flexures 4 and 6 are securely held on support structure 24 so that there is essentially no radial motion while providing limited axial motion. The support structure 24 is fixed to the casing 26 so that the peripheral rim portion of the flexures 4 and 6 are effectively fixed to the casing 26. "Fixed to the casing" means attached directly or indirectly in a fixed position relative to the casing because a component part can be fixed to an interposed structure that is itself fixed to the casing. Flexures 16 and 18 are supported peripherally on the displacer 14 and at their centers on the displacer rod 28. The displacer rod 28 is rigidly attached to the cylinder 12 which in turn is fixed to the casing 26. A linear alternator/motor 30 provides electrical output or mechanical input depending on whether the free-piston machine is an engine or a heat pump, respectively. The casing 26 is hermetically sealed and contains the moving parts.
The problem with the prior art of FIG. 1 is that the flexures 4 and 6 must be precisely aligned so that the power piston 2 is unable to make contact with the cylinder 12. Similarly, the flexures 16 and 18 must be precisely aligned so that the displacer piston 14 is unable to make contact with the cylinder 12. Furthermore, the flexures must be sufficiently stiff to support the piston weight if the machine runs with a non-vertical axis of reciprocation in a gravitational field and to support the pistons against other side loads.
The difficulty of this problem of alignment is illustrated in FIG. 2 which is a diagram showing a piston 40 that reciprocates in a cylinder 42. The clearance is greatly exaggerated in order to illustrate the applicable principles. The piston 40 has a connecting rod 44 fixed coaxially to an end of the piston. As used in this description, a "connecting rod" is an essentially rigid link connecting a piston to another component. Commonly, a connecting "rod" is a solid cylindrical rod but it is not necessary that the connecting rod be a solid material throughout its cross section and it is not necessary that it have a cylindrical peripheral surface or even a symmetrical outer peripheral surface when viewed in cross section. For example a connecting rod can be a tube and or have an I-beam or L-beam cross-section. Therefore the term "rod" is used but is not limited to a solid rod but includes other shapes of rigid connecting arms, including multiple smaller arms that together act mechanically as a single connecting arm. Ordinarily, the connecting rod is connected to an axially reciprocating load that is driven by the Stirling machine or a prime mover that drives the Stirling machine. Since it is desirable to minimize the volume of a machine, the "connecting rod" of a power piston can have components of the load or prime mover mounted to it in such a manner that a separate connecting rod is not readily apparent. That is the case with the structure of FIG. 1 in which the reciprocating magnets 54 and 56 of the linear alternator or motor are mounted to a connecting rod that has the same diameter as the piston 2 and is not visibly distinguishable from the piston, although it is functionally distinguishable. Furthermore, the "connecting rod" of FIG. 1 also connects the piston to two flexures 4 and 6 and has a component of the linear alternator/motor interposed between its ends. All these characteristics can be characteristics of a connecting rod.
As seen in FIG. 2, the proper alignment of the piston 40 in the cylinder 42 requires that two points, 46 and 48, be accurately positioned. One point is the intersection of the axis of the piston and a plane perpendicular to the axis at one end of the piston (or more concisely at one end of the close fit clearance). The second point is the intersection of the axis of the piston and a plane perpendicular to the axis at the opposite end of the piston (or more concisely at the opposite end of the close fit clearance). The rightmost two black dots in FIG. 1 illustrate the corresponding points for the embodiment of FIG. 1. Those two intersection points must both be positioned on or very near the axis 49 of the cylinder 42 in order to avoid contact of the outer periphery of the piston with the surface of its cylinder. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, any rotation of the piston 40 and its connecting rod 44 away from coaxial alignment also moves the axis 51 of the connecting rod 44 radially away from the axis 49 of the cylinder 42. At some sufficient angle of misalignment, the peripheral surface at one or both ends of the piston 40 will contact the cylinder 42 as illustrated by dashed lines.
Referring again to FIG. 1, an extension of the piston 2 protrudes out of the cylinder 12 and into the reciprocating component of the electric linear motor or alternator. That extension functions as a connecting rod which couples the motion of the piston 2 of the Stirling machine to the linear motor/alternator. Because that connecting rod is displaced off-center by any misalignment of the piston, in the structure of FIG. 1, it is necessary to simultaneously align two additional points 50 and 52 along the axis of the cylinder 12. Those two additional points 50 and 52 are the intersection 50 of the axis of the piston 2 with a plane perpendicular to that axis at the attachment point of the flexure 4 to the piston 2 and the intersection 52 of the axis of the piston 2 with a plane perpendicular to that axis at the attachment point of the flexure 6 to the piston 2. The problem solved by the invention arises because of the difficulty of obtaining accurate alignment of four points symbolized by the four black dots in FIG. 1. The problem is that radial adjustment of any one point moves the radial position of at least two of the three other points. Of course only the positions of the two flexures 4 and 6 can be manipulated in the alignment procedure. But the movement of one always affects the required position of the other. So the adjustment procedure always requires going back and forth between the two flexure adjustments and is difficult and time consuming to accomplish satisfactory alignment.
FIG. 3 illustrates a beta free-piston Stirling machine with gas bearings, indicated by radially inwardly directed arrows, and with a planar spring 60 as a bearing. A displacer piston 62 reciprocates in a cylinder 64 and has a close fit clearance 66 that is needed for its gas bearing. A power piston 68 reciprocates in the cylinder 64 and is separated from it by a gas bearing formed at the close fit clearance 70. A connecting rod 72 is fixed at one end to the end of the displacer piston 62 and at its opposite end to a planar spring bearing 60. The connecting rod 72 has a cylindrical exterior and extends through a cylindrical bore axially through the piston 68. A gas bearing is formed at the close fit clearance 74 between the connecting rod 72 and the piston 68.
For the displacer piston 62 and its connecting rod 72, there are five points that must be aligned and they are illustrated by the large black dots, not including point 75. There are two points for the gas bearing at the close fit clearance 66, for the reasons explained above, two points for the gas bearing at the close fit clearance 74 and one point for the planar spring bearing 60. For the piston 68 there are five points that must be aligned not including point 77, two for the gas bearing at the close fit clearance 74, two for the gas bearing at the close fit clearance 70 and one point for the planar spring bearing 60.
In order to alleviate the problem of aligning five points, the prior art discloses an implementation of gas bearings with compliance built into the connecting rod as illustrated in FIG. 4 for a beta free-piston Stirling machine. A piston 80 is supported by gas bearings at close-fitting clearance 82 between the piston 80 and the cylinder 84. A displacer piston 86 is similarly supported in the cylinder 84 by gas bearings at the close fitting clearance 88. A connecting rod 90 is connected to the end of the displacer piston 86 and is supported by a gas bearing at close-fitting clearance 92 along the interfacing exterior of the connecting rod 90 and the interior of the axial bore through the piston 80. In order to avoid excessive side-loads and/or assembly tolerance stack-up, the planar spring 94 is connected to the displacer rod 90 by way of flexure rod 96 which is a compliant member. As in the devices of FIGS. 1 and 3, a linear alternator/motor 98 provides electrical output or mechanical input depending on whether the machine is an engine or a heat pump.
As in FIG. 3, the power piston 80 is supported on gas bearings at its peripheral, cylindrical surface, the displacer piston 86 is supported on gas bearings at it peripheral surface and on the displacer connecting rod 90 where the connecting rod 90 is within the piston 80. The compliant member 96 is used to connect the displacer rod 90 to the planar spring bearing 94. The planar spring 94 may provide additional radial compliance to reduce side loads on the displacer due to constructional inaccuracies. The basic concept of using a compliant flexure rod 96 to connect the end of the connecting rod 90 to the planar spring bearing is that the point of the attachment of the compliant flexure rod 96 to the planar spring bearing is not as critical because the machine can operate with the compliant flexure rod 96 in a slightly bent condition without introducing excessive side loading. Therefore, less accurate positioning of that attachment point can be tolerated. Nonetheless, there remain four points that must be aligned as illustrated by the black dots on FIG. 4.
The chief difficulty of this arrangement is that in order to obtain satisfactory stiffness on the displacer rod gas bearing, a very close fit of less than 25 μm diametrical clearance is required with the bore in the piston. In some cases, particularly smaller machines where the rod may be only around 3 to 5 mm in diameter, the clearance may be as small as 8 to 15 μm. This places a requirement of precision that cascades through the structure resulting in further precision requirements of concentricity, straightness and perpendicularity.
The flexural system of FIG. 1 is highly limited in amplitude and requires substantial space for implementation and is therefore associated with bulky configurations. The planar spring bearings 4, 6, 18 and 20 must be sufficiently stiff to support the piston weight if the machine runs on its side in a gravitational field (i.e. with its axis not vertical) and other side loads. Furthermore, since the planar springs are responsible for holding the clearance between the moving part and its cylinder, an extraordinary level of precision is required for the components and their assembly. The conventional gas bearing technique of FIG. 4 has a more relaxed precision but suffers from very feeble support on small diameters, e.g., the displacer rod on free-piston Stirling machines. Thus, a requirement of this technique is to employ compliance so that other components attached to the moving parts (mechanical springs, for example) will not overcome the gas bearing load capacity (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,845, Beale et al).
The above description demonstrates that the bearing systems that have been shown in the prior art require a high degree of precision in the machining of parts and a high degree of precision in the alignment of parts or are limited by very feeble support of gas bearings on small diameters. The purpose of the invention is to reduce the degree of precision required for alignment while maintaining the other favorable characteristics of non-contact bearings.
An ideal bearing system for piston-cylinder assemblies, particularly for use in free-piston machinery, would have the following attributes in addition to non-contact operation:                a. No greater precision required than that for satisfactory performance from the machine. That is, the bearing system should minimize the requirement of additional precision components.        b. The bearing system should require no end-loop adjustments during manufacture.        c. The bearing system should be robust so that there is no possibility of the bearings going out of adjustment over time.        d. The bearing system should be able to tolerate a reasonable level of external shock or component over stroke without becoming misaligned.
The proposed invention has these advantages over current systems.

Bearing support system for free-piston stirling machines


An apparatus for the thermal destruction of waste which includes an afterburner assembly for removing pollutants from industrial waste streams by high temperature thermal destruction using a mixture of gas and gaseous hydrocarbons which is injected into the combustion chamber of the assembly using a ring injector assembly of novel construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for the thermal destruction of waste. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel afterburner apparatus for removing pollutants from bio-medical and industrial waste streams by high temperature thermal destruction, optionally using hydroxy gas, in lieu of atmospheric air.

Apparatus for thermal destruction of waste


In a boiling water nuclear reactor fuel bundle, a debris catching arrangement is disclosed for incorporation within the flow plenum up stream or below the rod supporting grid of the lower tie plate assembly. The device is preferably placed within the lower tie plate flow plenum between the fuel bundle inlet orifice and the rod supporting grid structure supporting the fuel rods; alternate placement can include any inlet channel upstream of the fuel rods including the fuel support casting. Paired plates defining offset holes and bosses are utilized. The bosses are supported at plate webbing between the respective holes. The holes are preferably square in plan with appropriately relieved and rounded corners defining the edges of the webbing. The bosses may be cylindrical, square or rectangular in cross-section. In confrontation of plates to form the debris catching grid, each boss from one plate confronts a hole from the remaining plate. A system of edge ridges in conjunction with the bosses at each plate edge maintains the plates spatially separated with the bosses of each plate spaced from the webbing of the opposite plate. In the preferred embodiment, the plates are captured in the flow plenum of a two part tie plate. There results a three dimensional and sturdy debris catching construction which has low flow resistance through the continuum of defined flow passages while maintaining excellent debris entraining properties.

Boiling water nuclear reactors operate for many years. Commencing with their initial construction and through their service lives, these reactors may accumulate debris in their closed circulation moderator systems. This debris can become an operating hazard if the debris is allowed to enter into the fuel bundle containing core region having the heat generating fuel rods. In order to understand this problem, a summary of reactor construction as it relates to the accumulation of debris in the core needs first to be given. Thereafter, fuel bundle construction will be set forth. Emphasis will be given to the need to preserve substantially unchanged the regions of pressure drop within the fuel bundles. Thereafter, the effects caused by debris entering into the fuel rod region of the fuel bundles will be summarized.
Boiling water nuclear reactor construction can be simply summarized for purposes of understanding the debris entrainment problem. Such nuclear reactors are provided with a large, central core. Liquid water coolant/moderator flow enters the core from the bottom and exits the core as a water steam mixture from the top.
The core includes many side-by-side fuel bundles. Water is introduced into each fuel bundle through a fuel bundle support casting from a high pressure plenum which is situated below the core. Water passes in a distributed flow through the individual fuel bundles, is heated to generate steam, and exits the upper portion of the core as a two phase water steam mixture from which the steam is extracted for the generation of energy.
The core support castings and fuel bundles are a source of pressure loss in the circulation of water through the core. This pressure loss assures the substantially even distribution of flow across the individual fuel bundles of the reactor core. When it is remembered that there are as many as 750 individual fuel bundles in a reactor core, it can be appreciated that assurance of the uniformity of flow distribution is important. To interfere with the pressure drop within the fuel bundles could affect the overall distribution of coolant/moderator within the fuel bundles of the reactor core.
Having set forth the construction of the boiling water nuclear reactor in so far as is appropriate, attention can now be directed to the construction of the fuel bundles themselves.
The fuel bundles for a boiling water nuclear reactor include a fuel rod supporting lower tie plate assembly, which lower tie plate assembly is a cast structure. The lower tie plate assembly includes at its lowest point a downward protruding bail covering an inlet nozzle. This inlet nozzle includes entry to an enlarged flow volume within the lower tie plate. At the upper end of the flow volume, there is located a rod supporting grid. Between the supporting grid and the nozzle there is defined a flow volume.
The rod supporting grid has two purposes. First, the rod supporting grid provides the mechanical support connection for the weight of the individual fuel rods to be transmitted through the entire lower tie plate to the fuel support casting. Secondly, the rod supporting grid provides a flow path for liquid water moderator into the fuel bundle for passage between the side-by-side supported fuel rods.
Above the lower tie plate, each fuel bundle includes a matrix of upstanding fuel rods--sealed tubes each containing fissionable material--which when undergoing nuclear reaction produce the power generating steam. The matrix of upstanding fuel rods includes at the upper end a so-called upper tie plate. This upper tie plate holds at least some of the fuel rods in vertical side-by-side alignment. Some of the fuel rods are attached to both the upper and lower tie plates. Usually, there are included between the upper and lower tie plates water rods for improvement of the water moderator to fuel ratio, particularly in the upper, highest void fraction region of the fuel bundle.
Fuel bundles also include about seven fuel rod spacers at varying elevations along the length of the fuel bundle. These spacers are required because the fuel rods are long (about 160 inches) and slender (about 0.4 to 0.5 inches in diameter), and would come into abrading contact under the dynamics of fluid flow and nuclear power generation within the fuel bundles. The spacers provide appropriate restraints for each fuel rod at their respective elevations and thus prevent abrading contact between the fuel rods and maintain the fuel rods at uniform spacing relative to one another along the length of the fuel bundle for optimum performance. As will hereafter be developed, these spacers are sites where debris can be trapped and damage the fuel rods.
Each fuel bundle is surrounded by a channel. This channel causes water flowing between the tie plates to be restricted to only one bundle in an isolated flow path between the tie plates. The channel also serves to separate the steam generating flow path through the fuel bundles from the surrounding core bypass region, this region being utilized for the penetration of the control rods. The water in the bypass region also provides neutron moderation.
In the operation of a boiling water nuclear reactor, it is important to understand that the maintenance of the originally designed flow distribution is important. Specifically, from the lower (high pressure) plenum inlet to the core to the outlet from the core of the steam and water mixture through the upper tie plates of the fuel bundles, about 20 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure drop is encountered at typical 100% power/100% flow operating conditions. About 7 to 8 psi of this pressure drop occurs through the fuel support casting. This pressure drop is mainly to assure the uniform distribution of coolant/moderator flow through the many fuel bundles making up the core of the reactor and is related to the prevention of operating instabilities within the reactor at certain power rates of the reactor. At the lower tie plate of each fuel bundle, from the inlet nozzle into the flow volume and through the fuel rod supporting grid, about 1 to 11/2 psi pressure drop occurs which contributes to establishing flow distribution between the individual fuel rods of each fuel bundle. Finally, through the fuel bundle itself--from the lower supporting grid to the exit at the upper tie plate--about 11 psi of pressure drop usually occurs.
When new fuel bundles are introduced into a reactor core, these pressure drops must be preserved. Otherwise, the coolant/moderator flow distribution could be compromised.
Having summarized the construction and operation of a boiling water nuclear reactor, the problem of debris resident within the closed circulation moderator system of the reactor can now be understood. Typically debris within boiling water nuclear reactors can include extraneous materials left over from reactor construction. Further, corrosion during the reactor lifetime also liberates debris. Finally, and during the numerous outages and repairs, further debris accumulates. It will therefore be understood that nuclear reactors constitute closed circulation systems that essentially accumulate debris with increasing age.
It has been discovered that a particularly vexing and usual place for the accumulation of debris is in the fuel bundles between the fuel rods particularly in the vicinity of the fuel rod spacers. It will be remembered that each fuel rod is surrounded by the spacer at the particular elevation of the spacer. Debris particles tend to lodge between the spacer structure and the fuel rods and often dynamically vibrate with the coolant/moderator flow in abrading contact to the sealed cladding of the fuel rods. Such flow induced vibration within the reactor can damage--as by fretting--as well as rupture the cladding of the fuel rods. If a sufficient number of cladding ruptures occur, plant shutdown could be necessary.
It is to be understood that modern nuclear plants have both redundancy and many safety systems designed to counteract anticipated operating casualties, such as fuel rods becoming punctured by debris. Such failures are not catastrophic. However, in almost all cases they result in the plant operating at less than optimum efficiency. Thus, it is highly desirable to reduce the incidence of debris damage to fuel rods.
It will be further understood that to a certain extent the rod supporting grid of the fuel bundle acts as a strainer. Debris exceeding the dimension of the grid cannot pass to the fuel bundles. However, it has been found that debris--especially debris with "sail areas"--such as metal shavings, wire and the like--work past the rod supporting grid and can become lodged between the fuel rods and spacers.

Lower tie plate strainers having double plate with offset holes for boiling water reactors


A combination of a vest and a versatile, adaptable bag allows a person to comfortably carry articles, even while physically active. The vest is contoured to the shape of a person's body, limiting the jostling of the vest and integrally attached bag as the person moves. One advantageous feature of the convertible bag is that its size can adapt to the desired contents: the upper portion of the bag acts either as a flap for the lower portion, or as a vertical extension of the lower portion when the bag contents are more voluminous. Further, the vest portion sits high on the chest of the person wearing the vest. This increases comfort to the person by distributing the weight better, and reduces sweating, particularly during physical activity such as riding a bicycle.

One way for a person to carry articles is in a handbag or satchel, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,609 and U.S. Pat. No. D464,197. One disadvantage of a handbag or satchel is that the hand holding the bag is fully occupied. This disadvantage is particularly pronounced when the user is engaged in an activity, such as riding a bicycle or hiking. In addition, if the articles in the handbag or satchel are heavy, the bag places a significant strain on the user's hand and arm.
Another way for a person to carry articles is in a backpack, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,103. A backpack does not occupy the hands of a user, and does not strain the user's hand or arm. However, a typical backpack design places significant strain on the two shoulder straps. In addition, a bulky fix-sized backpack creates a center of gravity away from a user's back. To compensate, a user will frequently have to lean forward in an awkward posture. Further, even with two shoulder straps and a belt strap, a backpack is typically unstable, with articles jostling around as the user moves.
There have been some proposals to combine a pack and a garment. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,707, U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,998, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,644. These designs, however, have several drawbacks. First, the garments typically cover the entire torso, which is undesirable for a user engaged in active movement such as bicycling. In addition, the designs have fixed-size pack area, which is either not as useful because it is small, or awkward because it is large.
An object of the present invention is to provide a garment with both a bag and a vest that overcomes the foregoing disadvantages and drawbacks.


Configurations of heterostructure semiconductor lasers and LEDs are desribed which enable emission wavelengths in the blue to ultra-violet region to be achieved. The structures are based on an n-type layer formed of a (ZnCd) (SSe) II-VI semiconductor and a p-type layer formed of Cu(AlGa) (SSe).sub.2 or (ZnCd)Ga.sub.2 (SSe).sub.4 semiconductor, epitaxially formed successively on a substrate, with each layer having an identical value of lattice constant to that of the substrate.

1. Field of Application
The present invention relates to semiconductor light-emitting devices such as semiconductor lasers, light-emitting diodes, etc, and in particular relates to semiconductor light-emitting devices having emission wavelengths in a range which includes the blue to ultra-violet region of the spectrum.
2. Prior Art Technology
In recent years semiconductor lasers have been realized in practice, which utilize AlGaAs/GaAs III-V semiconductor materials. When a semiconductor laser is used in a data processing application such as data readout from an optical disc, or in a laser printer, it is desirable that the emission wavelength of the light produced from the semiconductor laser be as short as possible, in order to maximize the data processing performance. However with semiconductor lasers that have been utilized hitherto, even if the activation layer of the laser is formed of a material such as AlGaInP, which has a large size of forbidden energy gap and is among the direct-transition type III-V semiconductor materials, it is only possible to achieve an emission wavelength that is in the range 580 to 690 nm. Thus, the emission wavelength cannot be made sufficiently short to reach the blue region of the visible spectrum. Another direct-transition type compound semiconductor material which has an even larger value of forbidden energy gap is Zn(SSe), which is a II-VI compound semiconductor. However due to the difficulty encountered in controlling p-type conduction in this material, it has not been possible to utilize it to obtain emission in the blue to ultra-violet region of the spectrum.
A similar problem arises with light-emitting diodes. Red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which employ AlGaAs and green LEDs utilizing GaP are now widely utilized as display devices. However there is a need for a capability for practical manufacture of blue-emission LEDs, in order to increase the number of colors which can be used in such display applications. This has not been possible up to the present.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of operating a drink-blending machine to change the operational speed of an ice-shaver motor initiates operation of an ice-shaving process to supply a portion of shaved ice to a pitcher. Accordingly, the ice is moved past a blade to produce shaved ice. According to the rate of ice-shaving, the operational speed of the ice-shaver motor is adjusted. In doing so, the method compensates for dullness of the blade to maintain rate of ice-shaving with a specified range.

Very popular beverages today are those commonly referred to as "frozen" drinks whereby a portion of liquid, which often includes a quantity of liquor and flavored drink mix, and a portion of ice are mixed in a blender to create an almost slush-like drink. In the past, the most typical manner to create such drinks required an operator to put a quantity of liquor, flavored drink mix, ice, and possibly other ingredients in the pitcher of a blender, and, thereafter, operate the blender until the frozen drink is perceived to be adequately mixed. The frozen drink is then transferred from the pitcher of the blender to a patron's glass for consumption.
Such a procedure has many disadvantages. For example, this procedure, in the sometimes busy environment of some establishments, requires the constant attention of the operator. Instead of operating the blender, the operator could be giving his or her attention to making other drinks while the frozen drink is being prepared.
Moreover, in the above-described manner, a skilled operator would have difficulty making frozen drinks which are consistent in quantity and quality That is, dependent on the number of drinks to be made, the operator is required to estimate the proper portions of liquid and ice to mix in the blender. If too small a quantity of liquid and ice are blended, the patron's glass will not be filled on the first try, and the operator will be required to blend additional portions of liquid and ice. Or, as often is the case, the operator may blend too large a quantity of liquid and ice, which, if not eventually used, is wasteful to the economic detriment of the establishment. Furthermore, there is no way to assure that the quality of the drink is consistent from drink-to-drink. If patrons have enjoyed a good first drink, they expect that their second drink will be of the same quality, which cannot always happen when the operator is required to "eyeball" the portion of liquid relative to the portion of ice to be blended.
One proposed solution to at least some of the aforementioned problems is to provide a combined ice dispenser and blender whereby the portion of ice supplied is proportioned by weight to the portion of liquid provided in the pitcher. This solution has many advantages. However, operation of the combined ice dispenser and blender will eventually dull the blade used in shaving the ice. Such dullness decreases the ice-shaving rate of the ice dispenser. As such, there is a need to compensate for inconsistencies of the blades to maintain the ice-shaving rate within an acceptable range.

Method for controlling the blending of drinks


There are provided an image display apparatus having a display unit capable of sensing a touch made by a pointing device, and a method for operating the same. The method includes outputting a synchronous signal through the entire region of the display unit, transmitting a first scanning signal and a second scanning signal respectively scanning the display unit in a first direction and a second direction to the pointing device; and acquiring touch position information regarding a touch made by the pointing device by using touch time information regarding time points when the pointing device receives the first scanning signal and the second scanning signal after sensing the synchronous signal. Accordingly, an error in touch recognition caused by the delay of a synchronous signal can be minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus and a method of operating the same, and more particularly, to an image display apparatus capable of performing synchronization for touch recognition, and a method of operating the same.
2. Related Art
An image display apparatus is an apparatus equipped with the function of displaying an image that can be viewed by a user. A user may view a broadcast program through the image display apparatus. The image display apparatus displays broadcasting selected by a user from among broadcasting signals emitted from broadcasting stations. The current broadcasting scheme is being converted into digital broadcasting from analog broadcasting.
In the digital broadcasting, digital video and audio signals are emitted. As compared to the analog broadcasting, the digital broadcasting ensures less data loss due to high resistance to external noise, is advantageous for error correction, has a high level of resolution, and provides a clean image. Unlike the analog broadcasting, the digital broadcasting is capable of providing an interactive service.
In this respect, a user wants to input information to an image display apparatus by using various methods and receive results accordingly, not just to view images or information on the image display apparatus. To this end, a user interface is also in development.
In particular, various electronic devices having image display and information processing functions, such as TVs, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), computers, and the like, are becoming multifunctional. Thus, the importance of communication and information storage through the input of data or the like in information devices is being increased.
According to the related art, data is input to electronic devices by pressing input keys. Of late, a data input method using a touch screen has been increasingly used for electronic devices. In general, a touch screen is an input device substituting an input key, a keyboard, or a mouse. After the touch screen is mounted on a screen, a user directly touches the screen with a finger or a pointing device to thus input data. Here, the touch screen allows a user to intuitively handle work in a graphic user interface (GUI) environment, is suitable for a portable input device, and may be widely used in the fields of computer simulation application, work automation application, game application, and the like.
However, since a finger, a stylus pen, or the like comes into direct contact with a touch panel used in a touch screen as mentioned above, the surface of the touch panel may have fingerprints or scratches left thereon. A user's demand for recognition timing or sensitivity with respect to a touch is growing. Also, in the case where a level of touch intensity is low or subtle or where a touch is made at such a high speed, there is a growing need for an image display apparatus to operate with high sensitivity thereto.

Image display apparatus and method of operating the same


An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display system which is related to the field of display technology. The display system enables a display device to be switched between a normal display mode and an anti-peeping display mode. This display system comprises a display device which comprises a display panel for displaying content. The display system further comprises: a display mode switch configured to switch between display modes of the display device, the display modes comprising a normal display mode and an anti-peeping display mode; a signal processor configured to provide signals to the display device, wherein the signal processor provide a normal signal to the display device when the display device is in the normal display mode, and the signal processor provide the normal signal and an interference signal alternately to the display device when the display device is in the anti-peeping display mode; and a shutter eyeglass configured to be enabled when the display device is in the anti-peeping display mode, wherein the shutter eyeglass is in an open state when the signal processor provides the normal signal, and the shutter eyeglass is in a closed state when the signal processor provides the interference signal.

With development of the network technology, the number of persons who are shopping or performing an account transaction via the Internet is increasing. During the above operations, an operator may have to input personal information into a display device, such as, a computer, a mobile phone, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), or a ticket machine, and thus the personal information may be divulged easily. Therefore, the anti-peeping feature of a display device is attracting more attention.
To be specific, a display device having an anti-peeping feature mainly comprises a display means and a pair of eyeglasses. A lower polarizer is disposed only on one side of an array substrate on the display means. The lenses of the eyeglasses are polarizers corresponding to the lower polarizer on the array substrate, and the operator wears the eyeglasses to perform respective operations. Since a non-operator does not wear the eyeglasses, he/she can only observe an empty image and the anti-peeping is thus achieved.
When using a display device actually, the present inventors find out that the display device with the above anti-peeping feature will stay in the anti-peeping display mode always and this brings a lot of troubles. For example, an operator cannot decide whether or not to enable the anti-peeping feature based on his/her own requirements. Alternatively, without wearing the eyeglasses, an operator cannot determine whether the display device malfunctions or not, and thus may perform some unnecessary operations.


A test arrangement for printed wiring boards or the like employs a scanned laser beam which impinges upon a photoemissive grid mounted close to the board under test. The laser beam causes the grid to locally emit electrons which are attracted toward the board due to an electric field between the grid and a conductive plane behind the board. The spacing between the grid and the workpiece is very small so the electron beam is very localized and travels a short distance; there is no need for deflecting the electron beam, because it is the laser beam which is scanned. The charge transferred from the grid to the part under test by electron flow is detected and correlated with the position of the beam to provide an indication of the status of the conductive pattern. Undesired shorts or open circuit conditions among the conductors on the board is determined by comparing the charge transfer as a function of beam position with the desired standard pattern produced by a fault-free board.

This invention relates to methods for testing electrical devices, and more particularly to a testing arrangement for printed circuit boards or the like.
Electrical components such as printed (or etched) circuit boards must be tested after manufacture has been completed. The testing is primarily directed to determining whether or not all of the conductive paths are in their designated positions and no conductors are unintentionally shorted, and whether electrical continuity exists where it should. Various functional tests may be executed using the external connectors (those included for operation in the end equipment), and also visual inspection can provide an indication of the quality of the part. Such methods can be time-consuming and expensive, however, and in any event are not always effective in discovering shorts or opens which may be hidden form view or not exercised in the electrical functional tests chosen. For these reasons, various other test mechanisms have been proposed which perform the function of scanning the surface of a etched circuit board and providing an indication of the wiring integrity.
Electron beam technology is used to scan an integrated circuit chip or an etched circuit board under test while detecting secondary electrons emitted by the pattern on the board. One of these methods is referred to a Voltage Contrast Electron Beam (VCEB) technique; these testers are like logic analyzers which probe functional electronic circuits on semiconductor integrated circuit chips. The VCEB technique is described by Woodard et al, J. Vac. Sci. Technol., Nov./Dec. 1988, p. 1966, "Voltage Contrast Electron Beam Testing Experiments on Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit Chip Packaging Substrates". When used for testing relatively large devices, the VCEB technique requires complex and expensive electron beam deflecting arrangement, as well as requiring a large evacuated chamber.
Another testing method using a scanned E-beam is described in Abstract No. 129, Extended Abstracts, The Electrochemical Society, Spring Meeting, May 10-15, 1987, Vol. 87-1, p. 185, by Paul May et al, "Laser Pulsed E-Beam System for High-Speed I.C. Testing"; May et al describe an instrument for non-invasive testing using a laser beam impinging upon a gold-coated quartz photocathode to produce an electron beam, but again the electron beam must travel a large distance and must be focused and scanned by some intervening mechanism.
A laser beam is used instead of an electron beam in a test method shown by A. M. Weiner et al, "Picosecond Temporal Resolution Photoemissive Sampling", Applied Physics Letters, May 1987. Emission of electrons from a part under test at the point where the laser beam impinges is detected. A similar test method is shown by R. B. Marcus et al, "High-Speed Electrical Sampling by fs Photoemission", Applied Physics Letters, Aug. 11, 1986, p. 357, where a method for contactless probing of high-speed electrical waveforms, by spectral analysis of the photoelectrons emitted when a signal-carrying electrical conductor is illuminated by ultrashort laser light pulses.
In a copending application Ser. No. 424,624, filed Oct. 20, 1989 by Ellsworth W. Stearns, for "Single-Probe Charge Measurement Testing Method", assigned to Digital Equipment Corporation, a testing method is disclosed which uses the charging and discharging of nodes on a printed circuit board or the like by a probe physically touching the nodes. The current resulting from this charging is observed to determine whether the correct X-Y pattern is exhibited for charging these nodes.


An integrated circuit device in which a CPU not to be used of a plurality of CPUs formed on one chip can easily be disconnected by an external signal in order to reduce the costs of developing an LSI. In accordance with a CPU selection signal inputted from the outside, a decoder generates an internal selection signal for selecting a CPU to be operated and sends the internal selection signal to the plurality of CPUs. Only the selected CPU can perform valid access to a bus to use peripheral modules.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to an integrated circuit device with a plurality of central processing units on one chip.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is known that there are various specifications for central processing units (CPUs) included in general-purpose microcontrollers, microcomputers, and the like.
That is to say, specifications for such CPUs differ as to, for example, cache size, whether a memory management unit (MMU) or a memory protection unit (MPU) is included, whether a Java (registered trademark) accelerator is included, and whether a floating-point operation unit is included.
If CPU specifications differ, then operating systems (OSes) and the like under which CPUs can operate also differ. Therefore, one-chip large-scale integrated circuits (LSIs) have conventionally been developed and provided according to CPU specifications to meet customers' needs.
In addition, techniques, such as a dual CPU system, for forming a plurality of CPUs on one chip are disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-58672, FIG. 1).
FIG. 7 shows a lineup of conventional LSIs.
Specifications for CPUs 51a and 51b differ. The same peripheral circuits (peripheral modules) 53-1, 53-2, and 53-3 are connected to a bus 52a on chip A, a bus 52b on chip B, and a bus 52c on chip C. The peripheral modules 53-1, 53-2, and 53-3 are a timer, an interrupt controller, and the like.
As shown in FIG. 7, three kinds of LSI chips (chips A, B, C) are developed according to CPU specifications. The two CPUs 51a and 51b are formed on the chip C, which is referred to as a dual CPU system.

Integrated circuit device including processor selection in a multiprocessor system


A system predicts die loss for a semiconductor wafer by using a method referred to as universal in-line metric (UILM). A wafer inspection tool detects defects on the wafer and identifies the defects by various defect types. The UILM method applies to various ways of classification of the defect types and takes into account the impact of each defect type on the die loss.

Semiconductor ICs are formed on a semiconductor wafer that is divided into a plurality of dice each being an IC device. The wafer is tested at different stages of manufacturing for defects to ensure the quality and yield of the ICs. The defects may be inherent in the semiconductor material of the wafer or may result from any step of the manufacturing. Depending on the type and location, a defect may cause an IC to fail, require some repair work of the IC, or be harmless. In some examples, the potential impact of a defect on the die loss depends at least partially on the potential use (or grade) of the IC. Some defects can be tolerated because of functional redundancy provided by design. Some defects can be corrected during the manufacturing process once they are detected.
Inspection and die loss prediction at various stages of IC manufacturing substantially reduces the cost of ICs. The cost of an IC includes the cost of testing at different stages as well as the cost to perform each step of manufacturing. Detection of failing dice potentially saves the cost for performing further manufacturing and test on parts that are known to fail. In addition, the detection of the defects and identification of the type of defect allows for a decision on whether the manufacturing process of a wafer or other wafers in the lot should be continued, terminated, or adjusted (for example, to allow repair of defects) following each step of wafer inspection. To make such a decision, the die yield is to be predicted after each step of wafer inspection. Wafer inspection tools that detect defects on wafers and identify the detected defects by various defect types are commercially available. What is needed is an analysis system that predicts the die loss for a wafer based on defects detected by a wafer inspection tool during each step of wafer inspection.

Die loss estimation using universal in-line metric (UILM)


An air conditioning control apparatus for controlling an air conditioner in a room which accommodates a computer, includes obtaining repetitively a detected value of a total power consumption of the computer and the air conditioner and a detected value of a air temperature at the air inlet, storing the obtained values into a memory, determining an approximate expression representing a relation between the total power consumption and the air temperature on the basis of the values stored into the memory, determining a value of the air temperature corresponding to the lowest value of the total power consumption, by using the calculated approximate expression, and controlling the air conditioner so that the air temperature become equal the calculated air temperature.

Conventionally, there are techniques related to an air conditioning control apparatus which circulates air in a room such as a datacenter or a machine room in order to cool IT equipments 303A to P such as a computer in the room.
However, in the above air conditioning control apparatus, efficiency of the IT equipments 303A to P in terms of energy consumption has not been considered. Therefore, techniques aiming to improve energy efficiency of an air conditioning control apparatus have been proposed.
For example, a technique has been proposed in which energy efficiency is improved by selecting a sensor considered to be important for determining a target temperature from among a plurality of control temperature sensors (as temperature detectors) installed in a room, setting the target temperature, and controlling an air conditioning adjustment function section such as a compressor and a blower. Also, a technique is proposed in which energy efficiency is improved by comparing an air map prepared in advance with an actually measured air map, and optimally controlling cool air distribution.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-118837 and Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2006-504919 are examples of related art.
However, in the above conventional techniques, there is no technique in which air conditioning is controlled in consideration of both energy efficiency of the air conditioning system and that of the IT equipment, although there is a technique in which efficiency of an air conditioning control apparatus alone is considered to control air conditioning for cooling IT equipment.
Generally, energy efficiency of an air conditioning control apparatus improves as a setting temperature of the air conditioning increases. On the other hand, energy efficiency of IT equipment improves as the setting temperature of the air conditioning decreases. Therefore, in the conventional techniques which focus only on energy efficiency of the air conditioning system, it cannot be said that energy efficiency of the IT equipment is optimized. As described above, at present, it is not possible to control air conditioning while considering energy efficiency of both the air conditioning system and the IT equipment, in other words, while considering energy efficiency of the entire datacenter.

Air conditioning control apparatus and air conditioning control method


A system, method, and computer program product are provided for automatically mapping business models to technical models. In use, business entity information and corresponding business entity fields are received for defining a business model. The business entity information is associated with one or more business entities selected by a user in accordance with a business request. Additionally, each business entity of the one or more business entities and the corresponding business entity fields are mapped to one or more technical entities and corresponding technical entity fields of a technical model. Further, an online translation of the business model to the technical model is performed such that changes or updates to the business model will cause changes or updates to the technical model, based on the mapping.

During design of new business requests, the translation of business requests to a catalog model may lead to back and forth between business and information technology (IT) units. This is because of different terminology between the units and the use of different models.
When the business request is cleared, an IT user (implementer) will be using the information gathered from the business team to 'translate' the needed changes to the technical model. Current master enterprise catalogs (MECs) are technically structured and require technical expertise and targeted training for the data model and tool.
There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.

System, method, and computer program for automatically translating business models to technical models


Compounds and methods for diagnosing prostate cancer are provided. The inventive compounds include polypeptides containing at least a portion of a prostate tumor protein. The inventive polypeptides may be used to generate antibodies useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of prostate cancer. Nucleic acid sequences for preparing probes, primers, and polypeptides are also provided.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among males, with an estimated incidence of 30% in men over the age of 50. Overwhelming clinical evidence shows that human prostate cancer has the propensity to metastasize to bone, and the disease appears to progress inevitably from androgen dependent to androgen refractory status, leading to increased patient mortality. This prevalent disease is currently the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the U.S.
In spite of considerable research into therapies for the disease, prostate cancer remains difficult to treat. Commonly, treatment is based on surgery and/or radiation therapy, but these methods are ineffective in a significant percentage of cases. Two previously identified prostate specific proteins—prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP)—have limited therapeutic and diagnostic potential. For example, PSA levels do not always correlate well with the presence of prostate cancer, being positive in a percentage of non-prostate cancer cases, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Furthermore, PSA measurements correlate with prostate volume, and do not indicate the level of metastasis.
In order to improve cancer treatment and survival, it would be beneficial to identify prostate tumor proteins that permit an earlier or more accurate diagnosis. In addition, further antigens are needed to facilitate the selection of a course of treatment and monitoring of patients. The present invention fulfills these needs and further provides other related advantages.

Compounds for immunodiagnosis of prostate cancer and methods for their use


Provided is a culture product having a mild rose aroma and suitable for imparting the rose aroma to a cosmetic product, a food or a drink, a pharmaceutical product, and the like.

2-Phenylethanol (2PE) and phenylethyl acetate (PEAc) are known as typical rose aroma components. Such compounds are generally chemically synthesized and used in the flavoring of various commodities including cosmetic products.
However, since the aroma of these chemical synthetics is monotonous and strongly irritating, a milder and more natural aroma has been demanded. Further, there is a concern that the solvent used in the synthesis may remain.
In addition, it is known that certain types of yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae produce an aroma component, and the culture products have been used as aromatic culture products for food, drink, or the like (Patent Literatures 1 to 3).
Kluyveromyces marxianus is known as a yeast producing 2-phenylethanol, and it has been reported that 2-phenylethanol can be efficiently produced by culturing the yeast in a medium added with L-phenylalanine, which is a precursor (Non Patent Literature 1). However, when the culture is performed using a common yeast medium, it is difficult to use the culture product as it is for cosmetic products or the like because of the strong odor of yeast extract, peptone, or the like contained in the medium, and it is necessary to perform a distillation treatment or isolate and purify 2-phenylethanol.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that alcoholic beverages can be produced by distilling a fermented liquid obtained by fermenting cheese whey with Kluyveromyces marxianus ATCC10022, and that the distillate contains volatile components such as ethyl acetate in addition to alcohols such as isoamyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, 1-propanol, and isopentyl alcohol (Non Patent Literature 2).

Aromatic culture product of microorganism

Abstract: A culture product, which is obtained by fermenting a lactic acid bacterium culture product in a medium containing a milk component with Kluyveromyces marxianus, and comprises isoamyl alcohol in an amount of 0.3 to 5 parts by mass with respect to 1 part by mass of phenylethyl acetate.


According to a parking lock control computer, in a case where there is a switching request from a non-parking lock state of a parking lock mechanism to a parking lock state based on a driver's manual operation of a P switch or a vehicle power switch, the P switch or the vehicle power switch is operated in a state where a vehicle speed V exceeds a P lock permissible vehicle speed Vp, a parking lock operation is inhibited, and a parking lock rejection history is stored, switching to the parking lock state of the parking lock mechanism by a door opening operation is permitted.

1. Technical Field
The present embodiment relates to a control device for a parking lock mechanism which switches a parking lock mechanism to a parking lock state according to an operation of a door. In particular, the present embodiment relates to a technique for suppressing switching to the parking lock state according to a driver's unintended door operation and executing switching to the parking lock state according to a door operation in a case where the drive intends for switching to the parking lock state.
2. Description of Related Art
A control device for a vehicular parking lock mechanism including a manual operation parking lock control unit which switches the parking lock mechanism to a parking lock state at a vehicle speed equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed by an actuator configured to operate in response to a command from a parking lock operating device, on which an operation input is performed manually, and a door operation parking lock control unit which switches the vehicular parking lock mechanism to the parking lock state based on an operation of a door of the vehicle is known. For example, a control device for a vehicular parking lock mechanism of Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-40516 (JP 6-40516 U) is known.
In the control device for a vehicular parking lock mechanism of JP 6-40516 U, for example, if the door is opened when it is a seat belt off state (a state where the seat belt is removed), it is a non-parking lock state, and a vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed which is an upper limit speed of the vehicle speed for switching from a non-parking lock state to a parking lock state, the parking lock mechanism is switched to the parking lock state by the door operation parking lock control unit. With this, for example, if the door of the vehicle is opened when switching from the parking lock state to the non-parking lock state is not performed due to an operational omission of the parking lock operating device, since the parking lock mechanism is switched to the parking lock state, getting-off of the driver in the non-parking lock state is prevented.


Apparatus for application of primer with the aid of vacuum, includes a reservoir (26) for liquid primer, an applicator nozzle (14) having an applicator chamber (16) and a suction chamber (18), a supply system (24, 26) for supplying primer from the reservoir (28) to the applicator chamber (16), a suction system (30, 32) for withdrawing air and primer from the suction chamber (18) and a separator (34) for separating primer from the withdrawn air and recirculating the separated primer into the reservoir (28), wherein the separator (34) is a cyclone.

The invention relates to an apparatus for applying a primer coating with the aid of vacuum, comprising a reservoir for liquid primer, an applicator nozzle having an applicator chamber and a suction chamber, a supply system for supplying primer from the reservoir to the applicator chamber, a suction system for withdrawing air and primer from the suction chamber, and a separator for separating primer from the withdrawn air and for recirculating the separated primer into the reservoir.
When work pieces such as plastic profiles for windows, doors and the like are to be provided with a surface decor, e.g. a layer of lacquer or a coating such as a film coating, it is convenient that, at first, a primer is applied to the surfaces which are to be coated with the decor in order to assure a sufficient adhesion of the lacquer or adhesive that will be applied later. An apparatus with the features indicated above, which apparatus is manufactured and distributed by the applicant, has turned out to be particularly useful for applying the primer. In the known apparatus, the separator is formed by a baffle onto which the withdrawn mixture of air and liquid will impinge so that the liquid will be caught at the baffle and will drip down whereas air substantially free of primer will be exhausted.
However, during extended operation, several effects, especially the evaporation of solvent components of the primer and precipitations of solid pigments from the primer, result in a gradual change of the composition of the primer recirculated in the system so that the primer will be usable only for a limited time. Moreover, increased accumulation of precipitations in the system results in short cleaning intervals. It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus which permits to extend the usage time of the primer.

Apparatus for applying a primer coating with the aid of vacuum


A fixing device includes a pair of detachable rollers and applies heat and pressure to a sheet nipped between the rollers to fix a toner image formed on the sheet to the sheet. The fixing device includes a biasing part which gives a biasing force to bring one of the rollers into tight contact with the other, an adjusting part which adjusts the biasing force of the biasing part, and a guide indication part providing a guide for an amount of adjustment to be made by the adjusting part in accordance with the hardness of the surface layer of a roller of the rollers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
A fixing device of an image forming apparatus applies heat and pressure to a sheet, on which a toner image has been formed, with the sheet between a fixing roller and a pressure roller each having an elastic material layer on its surface. The fixing device thus fixes the toner image on the sheet.
The support shaft of the pressure roller of such a fixing device is rotatably supported by support arms, to which biasing members such as coil springs are attached. The biasing force of the biasing members allows the pressure roller to press the fixing roller at a given pressing force to maintain a constant nip width of the nip portion formed by the fixing roller and the pressure roller (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006-259738 and 2003-177625).
In a process of producing conventional fixing devices, the biasing force of a biasing member is adjusted while the pressing force between a fixing roller and a pressure roller is measured, so that the nip width will be a given width.
The pressure roller and fixing roller of such a fixing device are detachable to be replaced when worn out.
If the hardness of a pressure roller etc. is the same before and after the replacement, the pressing forces to be obtained are the same before and after the replacement. In this case, a nip width can be maintained constant before and after the replacement. This enables maintenance of constant fixing properties and load torque of the roller, achieving uniform printing results.
Unfortunately, however, the hardness of a pressure roller etc. for replacement is not necessarily constant but varies from roller to roller. A change in hardness of a pressure roller etc. before and after the replacement results in a change in nip width. This leads to a change in fixing properties and load torque of the roller, making it difficult to achieve uniform printing results. In order to maintain the nip width at a given width, it is necessary to adjust the biasing force of a biasing member while measuring the pressing force each time a pressure roller etc. is replaced, which requires great workload.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus


A highly pure asiaticoside and a pharmaceutical grade asiatic acid can be prepared, along with salts of asiatic acid, for use in formulating therapeutic compositions that are suitable for treating arthritis, psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases, as well as pulmonary fibrosis, diabetic nephropathy, and other fibrotic diseases.

As first reported by Bontems, Bull. Sci. Pharmacol. 49: 186-91 (1941), asiatic acid and its trisaccharide asiaticoside can be extracted from Centella asiatica, a small, herbaceous annual, native to the Asian Pacific Rim, which is a member of the carrot and dill family, Apiaceae. The chemical structures of asiatic acid and asiaticoside are shown below:
See Polonsky, Compt. Rend. 232: 1878-80 (1951), and Bull. Soc. Chim. 173-80 (1953).
The management of skin scars and chronic ulcers illustrates known uses for C. asiatica extracts that contain asiatic acid and asiaticoside. In a related vein, the literature also discloses employing C. asiatica extracts in the treatment of skin deformity associated with tuberculosis and leprosy. For example, see Boiteau et al., Bull. Soc. Chim. 31: 46-51 (1949).
For such wound healing, the pharmacological mode of action has been linked to the induction of keratinization, see May, Eur. J. Pharmacol. 4: 331-39 (1968), particularly through promoting skin fibroblast proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix components, including collagen I. For instance, see Lu et al., Int'l Dermatol. 43: 801-07 (2004); Skukla et al., J. Ethnopharmacol. 65: 1-11 (1999). According to Bonte et al., Planta Med. 60: 133-35 (1994), a comparison of asiaticoside and acid indicates that the former's sugar moieties seem unnecessary for this biological activity. As discussed in Grimaldi et al., J. Ethnopharmacol. 28: 235-41 (1990), moreover, asiaticoside is completely converted to plasma asiatic acid after oral administration to human subjects.
Knowledge of these wound-healing properties has informed proposals, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,437, of dermatological agents that include asiatic acid or one of its derivatives. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,349, which speaks of a palliative effect, in a liver-fibrosis animal model, achieved by peritoneally administering a water-soluble extract of asiaticoside and madecassoside, a related compound also produced by C. asiatica. In addition to wound-healing and anti-fibrotic properties, orally administered asiaticoside has been reported to reduce the levels of spleen cells and inflammatory molecules, including COX-2, PGE2, TNF-alpha, and IL-6, with resultant inhibition or reduction of multiple arthritis parameters, such as paw swelling, arthritis score, and synovial hyperplasia in a standard (collagen-induced) rodent model of arthritis. See Li et al., Yao Xue Xue Bao (Acta Pharma. Sinica) 42: 698-703 (2007).
Although these and other disclosures implicate a therapeutic potential for asiatic acid and asiaticoside, realizing that potential has been hindered by the fact that extracting either compound has proved difficult, with relatively poor yields and low purity. In addition, little is known about producing salts of asiatic acid for use in therapeutic compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,891,063 describes certain asiatic acid salts, primarily with an ammonium cation, that are said to be suitable for topical treatment.

Therapeutic formulations based on asiatic acid and selected salts thereof

Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry


A game card includes a playing matrix with squares arranged in rows and columns. Starter words or starter letters may be pre-printed in the playing matrix. The player examines advertisements to derive words which are to be inserted in the playing matrix. Aligned with the rows of the playing matrix are spaces for the player to identify the sources of the advertisements or for the sources to be identified to the player. A word completion matrix aligned with the rows of the playing matrix is provided to receive the terminal portions of any words that are too long for the playing matrix. After the player has completed the playing matrix he examines it in an attempt to find the maximum number of row words in the rows of the playing matrix and the maximum number of column words in the columns of the playing matrix. The game card additionally includes a row word scoring region and a column word scoring region to guide the player in determining a row total and a column total, which are then combined into a game score. The game score depends both on the player's word knowledge and artful selection of words derived from the advertisements and the player's verbal agility in identifying words in the rows and columns of the playing matrix. The game card may be combined with a periodical such as a magazine to provide an educational amusement device, but it may also be used with other forms of advertising such as television commercials.

The present invention relates to an educational amusement device which includes a game card in combination with a publication, such as a magazine having pages with advertisements which are used to play the game. The invention also relates to a method for using a game card in a word game which employs advertisements as a component part, regardless of whether the advertisements are presented in a publication or another medium, such as television. As used herein, the term "game" also means "contest" if the game is played competitively by different players.
What might be called "reader's time" is probably the most valued goal sought by advertisers in printed publications such as magazines. Similarly, "viewer's time" is sought by television advertisers, "listener's time" is sought by radio advertisers, and so forth. Vast amounts of money are spent on advertisements in various media in an attempt to persuade consumers to use the advertised products or services, but in our advertising-saturated society many consumers tend to skim over or pay scant attention to advertisements in any of the media. As a result there is a constant quest in the advertising business to devise fresh advertisements which will present the merits of a product or service to the consuming public in an entertaining or otherwise memorable manner.
Word games of various types have long been enjoyed as a relatively cerebral way to provide entertainment. Crossword puzzles are a familiar example. In a cross-word puzzle a matrix of squares is provided along with a set of definitions or other guides to words which are to be inserted by a player to complete the puzzle. The popular word game "Scrabble" also relies on a matrix of positions, but in this case players draw playing pieces which are then deposited on the matrix to form words. In another type of word game, groups of letters are dissected to identify different words. For example a school teacher in the elementary grades might deaden the pain of a spelling lesson by presenting a contest in which the members of her class are asked to consider an assigned word and decompose it into the maximum number of smaller words.

Educational amusement device which includes a game card, and method for using the game card


A circuit for controlling a sense amplifier of a semiconductor memory apparatus including a sense amplifier control unit that controls an enable point of a sense amplifier control signal which is generated by an active command and a precharge command, according to whether a refresh signal is enabled. A sense amplifier driver that generates a sense amplifier driving signal in response to input of the sense amplifier control signal and a bit line equalization signal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a circuit and method for controlling a sense amplifier of a semiconductor memory apparatus, and more particularly, to a circuit and method for controlling a sense amplifier of a semiconductor memory apparatus that prevents a malfunction due to lack of an operation voltage for bit line sensing during a refresh operation.
2. Related Art
In general, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) performs a data input/output operation by sensing a pair of bit lines BL and /BL, that is, a bit line BL and a sub bit line /BL connected to a memory cell as a core voltage level Vcore and a ground voltage level VSS, respectively. In a bit line sense amplifier that performs a bit line sensing operation, a sense amplifier driving signal that applies the core voltage level is referred to as RTO, and a sense amplifier driving signal that applies the ground voltage level is referred to as SB. In order to sense a bit line of an arbitrary memory bank, it is necessary that an active command and a precharge command are input from the outside of a memory apparatus to a sense amplifier control circuit and then a sense amplifier driving signal is generated and transmitted to each sense amplifier. The sense amplifier driving signal is generated on the basis of a sense amplifier control signal. The sense amplifier control signal is a general term for an RTO enable signal and an SB enable signal, which will be described below.
In a general semiconductor memory apparatus, one-by one, a plurality of memory banks perform a bit line sensing operation during a normal operation. However, in a refresh operation, the plurality of memory banks simultaneously perform the bit line sensing operation. When a refresh signal is enabled, each area in the semiconductor memory apparatus goes into a refresh operation mode.
Hereinafter, a sense amplifier control circuit according to the related art will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a circuit for controlling a sense amplifier of a semiconductor memory apparatus according to the related art.
The illustrated circuit for controlling sense amplifier includes a sense amplifier control unit 10 and a sense amplifier driver 20. The sense amplifier control unit 10 receives an active command act and a precharge command pcg and generates and outputs an RTO enable signal RTO_enb and an SB enable signal SB_enb, which are sense amplifier control signals. The sense amplifier driver 20 generates an RTO signal and an SB signal, which are sense amplifier driving signals, in response to the RTO enable signal RTO_enb, the SB enable signal SB_enb, and a bit line equalization signal bleq.
When the active command act input to the sense amplifier control unit 10 is enabled, the RTO enable signal RTO_enb and the SB enable signal SB_enb are enabled and output. The enabled states of the RTO enable signal RTO_enb and the SB enable signal SB_enb are held until the precharge command pcg is enabled.
When the bit line equalization signal bleq input to the sense amplifier driver 20 is enabled, the voltage level of the RTO signal and the SB signal is equal to the bit line precharge voltage level. However, when the bit line equalization signal bleq is disabled, the supply of the bit line precharge voltage is cut off. Thereafter, when the RTO enable signal RTO_enb is enabled, the voltage level of the RTO signal is equal to a core voltage level, and when the SB enable signal SB_enb is enabled, the voltage level of the SB signal is at the ground voltage level.
In this case, the bit line equalization signal bleq is a signal enabled by the precharge command pcg. The bit line equalization signal bleq is disabled in an active mode and enabled in a precharge mode.
The RTO signal and the SB signal generated by the sense amplifier driver 20 are transmitted to a sense amplifier and convert the voltage levels of a pair of bit lines BL and /BL into the bit line precharge voltage level in the precharge mode and into the core voltage level and the ground voltage level in the active mode, respectively.
FIG. 2 is a graph that explains a bit line sensing operation according to the related art and illustrates a process in which the bit line BL and the sub bit line /BL are sensed as the level of the core voltage Vcore and the level of the ground voltage VSS, respectively.
In FIG. 2, a variation in the voltage levels of the pair of bit lines BL and /BL during the bit line sensing operation of the sense amplifier is shown. When a word line WL is enabled after the active command act is enabled, the bit line sensing operation starts. Thereafter, when sense amplifier control signals ctrl, that is, the RTO enable signal RTO_enb and the SB enable signal SB_enb, are enabled, a voltage difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL is amplified. When the voltage difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL is amplified to at least a predetermined level, it is possible to perform a read or write operation in a memory cell. When the precharge command pcg is enabled after a predetermined time has elapsed, the pair of bit lines BL and /BL are precharged to have a voltage level of Vcore/2. In FIG. 2, the bit line sensing process for only one period is illustrated.
As described above, in the refresh operation, all the sense amplifiers provided to a plurality of memory banks simultaneously perform the bit line sensing operation. Therefore, the driving power of the sense amplifier is lower than a normal operation in which only one memory bank is operated. As a result, the voltage difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL is smaller or is amplified later, as compared to the normal operation. When the voltage difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL is not amplified to the predetermined level, a malfunction can occur in the read or write operation of a memory cell. The bit line sensing process in the refresh operation is the same as shown by dotted lines (A) in FIG. 2.
In order to improve the driving power of the sense amplifier, an initial voltage difference dV between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL should be a predetermined level or more from after the word line WL is enabled to before the sense amplifier control signal ctrl is enabled. In the refresh operation in which the driving power of the sense amplifier decreases, an initial time for a bit line sensing operation longer than that in the normal operation is required in order to ensure the initial voltage difference dV of the predetermined level or more. However, in the related art, since the initial voltage difference dV is not sufficiently ensured in the refresh operation, the potential difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL is not sufficiently amplified. Therefore, a malfunction may occur in the read or write operation of the memory cell.

Circuit and method for controlling sense amplifier of semiconductor memory apparatus