A method is provided for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle. An automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited as a function of predetermined operating conditions. The automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited, if the internal combustion engine was started by a tow start process within a current operating cycle or within a predetermined number of previous operating cycles.

The invention relates to a method for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle wherein an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited as a function of predetermined operating conditions.
In order to reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions, the current trend is to develop methods and systems (and to some extent they have been already installed) that automatically switch-off the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle under certain conditions and/or in the presence of predetermined shut-off conditions and automatically re-start the internal combustion engine in the presence of predetermined start-up conditions. Such methods and systems, in the nature of start/stop devices, are suited, above all, for urban traffic, in order to reduce the consumption of fuel since in urban traffic a vehicle often comes to a standstill at traffic lights or owing to the traffic and it is not necessary to run the internal combustion engine.
DE 101 61 343 A1 discloses an automatic stop and start-up control device for an internal combustion engine. In this case, the control device implements corresponding measures for shutting-off the internal combustion engine when all of the shut-off conditions are met. For example, the speed of the vehicle has to be below a predetermined limit value. In the case of manual transmissions no gear may be engaged, and in the case of automatic transmission vehicles the gear shift position of the transmission must be in a neutral position.
However, under certain circumstances it may occur that the driver does want the internal combustion engine to shut-off automatically and initiates all of the necessary actions required to this end, but owing to the absence of the system sided prerequisites an automatic shut-off is not possible. Thus, DE 100 30 290 A1 discloses a method and a system for automatically shutting-off and starting-up again an internal combustion engine. In this case, an automatic shut-off process is inhibited when the charge state of the battery of the vehicle is below a predetermined threshold.
Furthermore, an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine ought to be inhibited in all cases, in which it can be assumed with high probability that a renewed start-up process cannot be easily initiated irrespective of whether it concerns an automatic or a conventional manual start-up process. If the internal combustion engine were to be shut-off and thereupon a renewed start-up process were not possible, the result would be customer complaints.
The object of the invention is to provide a method, which is intended for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine and by which an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited, if it can be assumed with high probability that a renewed start-up process is not possible without more effort.
This object is achieved by a method for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle, wherein an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited as a function of predetermined operation conditions. An automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited, if the internal combustion engine was started by a tow start process within this operating cycle or within a predetermined number of previous operating cycles. Advantageous further developments are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The invention is based on the recognition that an internal combustion engine, which owing to a defect in the starter or another component of the start-up system or the (starter) battery state (for example, defective or empty battery) could not be started by means of the starter that is intrinsic in the vehicle electric system, but rather was started on the basis of a tow start process, should not be automatically shut-off, because presumably a renewed start-up process would be possible only by means of a tow start process. Therefore, the driver does not want the internal combustion engine to be automatically shut-off.
Accordingly, when an internal combustion engine is started on the basis of a tow start process, an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine has to be blocked. The inventive method for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle is characterized in that an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine is inhibited, if the internal combustion engine was started by a tow start process within this operating cycle, thus, until the next manually conducted shut-off process of the internal combustion engine, or within a predetermined number of previous operating cycles.
It is advantageous to inhibit an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine by deactivating a function, which carries out the automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine and which may be a part of a so-called "automatic start/stop system" or a "hybrid control unit." The deactivation offers the advantage that even on the grounds of a malfunction, for example, on the grounds of an erroneous signal evaluation, an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine cannot be initiated for the duration of the deactivation. Moreover, a deactivation of the entire system leads to a decrease in the load on the system (utilization of the processor and the memory).
The tow start process of the internal combustion engine is detected advantageously by detecting and evaluating a signal, which represents the activity and/or inactivity of the starter unit. In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, a tow start process of an internal combustion engine is detected, when following detection of a successful start-up process of the internal combustion engine, the signal, representing the activity and/or inactivity of the starter unit, has not displayed any activity of the starter unit since the beginning of the start-up process. Therefore, the exclusive principle allows one to conclude in the absence of a starter actuation that external influences have caused the start-up process of the internal combustion engine, and, hence, an automatic shut-off of the internal combustion engine is inhibited.
A successful start-up of the internal combustion engine is detected advantageously when the initiation of a start-up process is detected, and when, for example, at the end of the start-up process a speed overrun of the crankshaft speed is detected. A (successful) start-up process of the internal combustion engine, thus, a transition from the immobile engine to the running engine, can be detected by evaluating a signal that represents the activity of the internal combustion engine, for example, by evaluating the crankshaft speed. Then, a successful start-up is detected at the end of the start-up process by a speed overrun that occurs and is detectable and/or by reaching the idle speed. Such a detection of a successful start-up can be rendered plausible in its temporal sequence of events by an evaluation within a time frame and can be improved by additional timing and debounce mechanisms.
If a start-up process is identified as a successful start-up, then the activity and/or inactivity of the starter unit of the internal combustion engine is checked by evaluating the signal, which represents the activity and/or inactivity of the starter unit of the internal combustion engine, advantageously for a predetermined time frame or speed that is predetermined for the internal combustion engine. The signal, representing the activity and/or inactivity of the starter unit, is configured advantageously in such a manner that when the activity of the starter is detected, the signal changes its status from "inactive" to "active." The signal can be reset from the "active" status to the "inactive" status after a predetermined time interval and successful evaluation or on reaching the end of the start-up process and successful evaluation. As the final condition for a successful tow start process, there must occur, in addition to the inactivity of the starter upon initiation of the start-up process, also the success of the tow start process through the detection of the termination of the start-up process—only then may the tow start process be evaluated as having occurred.
In addition to inhibiting an automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine, it is possible, on detection of a tow start process of the internal combustion engine, to initiate additionally a variety of measures with respect to the operating mode of the internal combustion engine or the whole vehicle. These measures lead to an improvement in the operating mode when vehicles with internal combustion engines are tow started.
If the motor vehicle is equipped, for example, with a hybrid drive unit, consisting of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor for driving the motor vehicle, it would be logical, for example, to inhibit the drive from changing from the internal combustion engine to the electric motor (that is, an automatic stop process of the internal combustion engine), if a tow start process of the internal combustion engine was detected, for example, owing to a defective start-up system. This measure would prevent the vehicle from coming to a standstill following a change-over of the drive from the internal combustion engine to the electric motor, because even then the start system cannot re-start the internal combustion engine owing to a defect in the start system. In that case, it would not be possible to re-start the internal combustion engine. Hence, there exists the risk of a "breakdown."
In summary, it must be pointed out that upon detecting a tow started internal combustion engine, in addition to deactivating a function that carries out the automatic shut-off process of the internal combustion engine, a variety of different measures can also be initiated in order to avoid a so-called "stranded vehicle." In this way, warranty costs and customer complaints can be avoided. Moreover, in the tow started case, individual components or subsystems can also be operated in a conservative "emergency mode" or the like in order to avoid a potential failure.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Method for controlling an automatic shut-off process of an internal combustion engine

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


The present invention provides a magnetic induction pad. The magnetic induction pad includes a deformation body and a plurality of magnetic induction modules. The interior of the deformation body includes a filling space that is in connection with the outside via at least one gas nozzle. The external of the deformation body includes a first surface and a second surface. The first surface and the second surface include a plurality of first bag bodies and a plurality of second bag bodies, respectively. The plurality of first bag bodies are mutually arranged to form a first pattern. The plurality of second bag bodies are mutually arranged to form a second pattern that are the same as the first patterns, so as to enable the position of each of the plurality of first bag bodies on the first surface to have a corresponding arrangement to each of the plurality of second bag bodies of the second surface. The plurality of magnetic induction modules includes a group of magnetic members and a group of induction members. The group of magnetic members and the group of induction members are respectively arranged at the corresponding positions within the plurality of first bag bodies and the plurality of second bag bodies. According to the magnetic theory, it enables the determination of whether a human body lies down on a bed, on the basis of the degree of compression of the magnetic induction pad between the plurality of magnetic induction modules.

For the majority of patients, including the patients with reduced mobility, those with physical disabilities or the elderly, resting in bed is a must in order for their health to be nursed back. Since these patients need to rest in bed for long periods of time, as such, surveillance cameras and surveillance equipment have often been set up by a lot of care centers, rehabilitation centers and hospitals, in order to ensure that the patient is still resting on the bed at specific times of the day. In addition, the surveillance cameras and surveillance equipment are also set up to help determine whether the patient has fallen off the bed after turning, or to help determine if the patient has left the bed. However, the presence of surveillance cameras can often make the person being monitored to feel uncomfortable, or even feel psychological pressure and as such is unable to have proper rest. Moreover, there may also be the concern that the privacy of the person being monitored may be violated.
Following changes in time and space, much progress has been made in the development of human technologies and also in the medical industries. With the maturation of these technologies, the traditional cameras that are used for monitoring whether a person is still resting on the bed are sufficiently replaced by various inventions, and moreover, these inventions may be installed in the interior of the bed, or may be installed to be in connection with the bed. For example, the weight sensing device may be installed in the four corners of the bed, or may be installed under the bed, such that it is in connection with the wheels. This arrangement enables the surveillance equipment to be connected to the structure of the bed from the outside.
However, although the aforesaid inventions of installing the surveillance cameras elsewhere such that the camera is not directed at the person being monitored may have prevented the problem of the person having psychological discomfort caused by the surveillance camera being directed at the person. However, using the method of the weight sensing device also has the problem of having a large margin of error and low sensitivity of detection, which may be caused by local compressions resulting from the person lying down or sitting on the bed.


Discussed is a display device with integrated touch screen including a panel including a plurality of electrodes; a data driver for converting RGB data into a data voltage, and supplying the data voltage to data lines; a gate driver for sequentially supplying a gate-on signal to n-numbered gate lines to apply the data voltage to pixels of the panel when a driving mode of the panel is a display driving mode; and a touch IC for generating a touch scan signal and supplying the touch scan signal to the plurality of electrodes of the panel when a driving mode of the panel is a touch driving mode, wherein the gate driver sequentially supplies the gate-on signal to the gate lines, and then simultaneously supplies the gate-on signal to the gate lines, and the data driver supplies the data voltage of the same level to the data lines.

Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device with integrated touch screen.
Discussion of the Related Art
Touch screens are a type of input device that is included in image displaying devices such as Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), Field Emission Displays (FEDs), Plasma Display Panel (PDPs), Electroluminescent Displays (ELDs), and Electrophoretic Display (EPDs), and allows a user to input information by pressing or touching a touch sensor of a screen with a finger, a pen or the like while a user looks at the screen of the image displaying device.
Recently, there is an increasing demand for a display device with integrated touch screen of in-cell type in which elements constituting the touch screen are provided inside the display device so as to realize slimness in mobile terminals such as smart phone and tablet PC.
In case of a general in-cell type touch screen, touch data is transmitted to a system once every one vertical sync signal Vsync to define one frame period. Hereinafter, a driving method of a general display device with integrated touch screen of in-cell type will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram illustrating signals of display time and touch time during one frame in a general display device with integrated touch screen.
In case of a general display device with integrated self-capacitive touch screen of an in-cell type, as shown in FIG. 1, display time (D) and touch time (T) are time-divisionally driven according to a data enable DE signal during one frame based on one vertical sync signal.
If using both a display pixel and a touch sensor, a capacitance is affected by a touch sensing for a specific gray level of display, whereby display video content is directly shown in a touch.
For example, a gray level of display data generates an initial capacitance value in a panel regardless of touch, and the capacitance value may exceed a capacitance variation in touch input.
FIG. 2 illustrates values of touch data measured with respect to gray level data of a panel in a general display device with integrated touch screen.
As shown in FIG. 2, on the assumption that a panel 100 is divided into four parts, that is, the panel 100 is classified into black screen and white screen, when white level data is outputted to a display screen, an initial capacitance value is within a range of 60˜125 regardless of touch in touch sensing. Especially, although not shown, an entire screen is changed from the black screen to the white screen, the initial capacitance value is increased up to 90˜260.
This initial capacitance value exceeds the range of 0˜120, that is, the change range of touch data value in the touch input, whereby touch sensitivity may be lowered by the initial capacitance value of the panel 100, and ghost noise may generate. In other words, if data which is inputted to the panel 100 at a moment when the screen is changed from display time to touch time is the white level data, a touch sensing accuracy of the panel 100 may be deteriorated.

Display device with integrated touch screen and method of driving the same


A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery which satisfies four requirements is provided. A porous layer contains α-form polyvinylidene fluoride-based resin in an amount of not less than 35.0 mol % with respect to 100 mol % of a total amount of (i) the α-form polyvinylidene fluoride-based resin and (ii) β-form polyvinylidene fluoride-based resin. A porous film has a temperature rise ending period of 2.9 sec·m2/g to 5.7 sec·m2/g with respect to an amount of a resin per unit area when the porous film is impregnated with N-methylpyrrolidone containing water in an amount of 3% by weight and then (ii) irradiated, at an output of 1,800 W, with a microwave having a frequency of 2,455 MHz. A positive electrode plate has a capacitance of 1 nF to 1000 nF per measurement area of 900 mm2. A negative electrode plate has a capacitance of 4 nF to 8500 nF per measurement area of 900 mm2.

Nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, particularly lithium secondary batteries, have a high energy density and are therefore in wide use as batteries for personal computers, mobile phones, mobile information terminals, and the like. Such nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries have recently been developed as on-vehicle batteries.
Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including a separator which is configured so that a temperature rise ending period in a case where the separator is irradiated with a microwave falls within a specific range.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery


A system comprising an radio frequency (RF) signal input; a plurality of time-skewed, undersampled analog to digital converters (ADCs); a plurality of complex finite input response (FIR) filters in parallel, wherein each complex FIR filter receives the output beam and/or band provided by the plurality of ADCs and generates a corresponding output beam of a given frequency.

In modern radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems, increasing emphasis is being placed on developing systems that provide element or sub array all-digital sampling and beamforming. There is also the added desire to sample very wide (ultra-wide) bandwidths covering, in many cases, up to and beyond X-band. One problem occurs when trying to measure across very wide bandwidths. Extremely fast analog to digital converters (ADCs) for direct analog to digital conversion would be required, or several channels of analog filtering and mixing prior to analog to digital conversion would be needed to facilitate such implementations. However, conventional ADCs do not sample at the very high rates necessary for standard approaches to direct radio frequency (RF) sampling, and normally require at least one stage of intermediate frequency (IF) conversion first. This additional filtering and mixing requires additional hardware, cost, and adds to the overall noise floor of the system. Alternative techniques and systems for performing such signal processing are desired.

System and method for wideband direct sampling and beamforming using complex analog to digital converter


Provided is a DC-DC converter capable of reducing not only a turn-off loss but also a turn-on loss. A snubber capacitor has one end connected to an anode of a step-up diode, a current input end of a step-up switching element and a main reactor. A first snubber diode has a cathode connected to other end of the snubber capacitor, and an anode connected to a cathode of the step-up diode. A second snubber diode has an anode connected to the cathode of the first snubber diode and other end of the snubber capacitor. A snubber reactor has one end connected to the anode of the first snubber diode, and other end connected to a cathode of the second snubber diode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a DC-DC converter.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a power step-up DC-DC converter that handles a high voltage and a large current, a switching frequency by a chopper circuit is increased, whereby efficiency enhancement and downsizing of a device can be achieved. However, the increase of the frequency results in an increase of a switching loss of a power semiconductor element that performs switching. Accordingly, from a viewpoint of the switching loss, the increase of the frequency becomes a cause to inhibit the efficiency enhancement and downsizing of the device. Note that such a problem is not limited to the power step-up converter.
In order to reduce the switching loss, a soft switching circuit is sometimes used. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-201369, there is described a soft switching circuit for reducing a switching loss at the time when a switching element is turned off.
However, in the soft switching circuit of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-201369, a switching loss at turn-on cannot be reduced. Specifically, when the switching element is turned on, the switching element causes hard switching owing to a recovery current of a diode.


Die cast nozzle for use in a die casting hot chamber system for molten metal with at least melting channel (4) in a channel carrier (3) that can be connected to a melt distributor (21), wherein the melting channel (4) passes over into a heating zone (6) and a nozzle tip (8), to which a sprue area (10) is attached, in which a plug of solidified melting can be formed that interrupts the melting flow, wherein the heating zone (6) comprises a heating cartridge (2) and/or a heatable nozzle shaft (33′) and/or the nozzle tip (8) is comprised as heatable nozzle tip (8′) and comprises at least one heating cartridge (2), the heatable nozzle shaft (33), or the heatable nozzle tip (8′) as heating element with electric heating, which comprises high power density in at least one section and low thermal inertia, comprised in a way that a temperature change gradient of 20 to 250 K/s, preferably 150 K/s, can be achieved on the surface of the heating element. A method for operating the die cast nozzle is also the subject matter of the invention.

The present invention relates to a die cast nozzle and a method for operating a die cast nozzle for use in a die cast hot chamber system for molten metal with at least one melt channel in a channel carrier that can be connected to a melt distributor, wherein the melt channel passes over into a heating zone and subsequently into a nozzle tip, where a sprue section is connected. The die cast nozzle is intended for the formation of a plug in the sprue section made of solidified melting that interrupts the melt flow and can be re-fused entirely.
The sprue as a by-product of the casting that solidifies in the channels between the die cast nozzle and the casting mold in conventional die casting procedures and connects the cast parts after demolding in an ultimately undesirable manner, brings with it additional material input that is usually between 40 and 100 percent of the cast part's weight. Even if the sprue is melted down again for material recycling, this is connected with energy and quality losses due to emerging slag and oxide shares. The die cast without sprue avoids these drawbacks.
For die cast without sprue it is necessary to bring up the melting in liquid form from the crucible to the mold either for every cast and then bring it back, which results in loss of quality however, or at the least in loss of time, or as an alternative to this to hold the melting in liquid form up to the sprue of the mold. The latter is done in the hot chamber process, where all channels up to the sprue are heated in a way that the melting remains liquid and is at best prevented from reflowing to the crucible at the same time.
Reflow into the crucible can be prevented by valves, but also in a particularly advantageous manner by a plug of solidified melting that seals the sprue opening in the die cast nozzle.
Devices and methods for die cast or injection molding without sprue with the formation of a plug of solidified melting that seals a sprue section against melt flow and that can be re-fused again are known in the state of the art. Such devices and methods are particularly described for injection molding of plastics, but occasionally for die casting of non-ferrous metals.
The publication EP 1201335 A1 describes a hot chamber process for non-ferrous metals with a heated sprue die, the sprue section, where a reflowing of the melting into the channels and the crucible is prevented by a plug in the unheated nozzle die. The sprue die is heated externally. The plug comes loose from the wall of the sprue die when heated and is ejected from the nozzle die by the melting injected during the next molding procedure.
An intake room for the plug is required, so that the solid plug is not immediately injected into the mold. However, the flow of the melting during injection is obstructed by this. As this enters the mold with a velocity of 50 to 100 meters per second, the mold could be damaged by a loose plug that is carried by the melting. A controlled and complete re-fusing of the plug is not possible. Even if this was attempted, very long cycle times that would impair productivity would be required due to the sluggish external heating.
DE 33 35 280 A1 describes an electrically-operated heating element for heating molten metal in a hot chamber tool, whereby not only the die but the largest portion of the melting could be heated. Similar heating elements are extensively known in the state of the art for use within die cast nozzles for plastic melting. However, they perform a different task here. Because due to poor thermal conductivity and increased sensibility against local overheating, it comes down to ensuring an even temperature of the heating element when die casting plastics that is not too much in excess of the melting temperature. For use in metal die casting however, such heating elements can rarely be found even in literature.
The abovementioned publication DE 33 35 280 A1 has set itself to use such a one heating element in metal die casting. To do this, a heating element formed as a metal core is encompassed by an insulation layer that insulates the heating element against the metal outer sheath that is preferably made of construction steel.
The drawback here is that the heating rod has high thermal inertia due to the metal core, the insulation between heating and outer sheath as well as the metal outer sheath itself. It is possible to keep the melting in the die cast nozzle evenly warm however, but dynamic operation in time with the casting process is impossible. In particular it is not possible to seal the sprue section after every casting process using solidified melting and then re-fuse it afterwards, but the melting can only be permanently maintained in liquid form. Also, the metal outer sheath is exposed to the aggressive melting that would form an alloy with it in the interaction of high temperatures in the contact area between melting and outer sheath and that would corrode it in a short time.
The publication DE 10 2005 042 867 A1 also describes a die cast nozzle that is suitable for forming a plug that seals the sprue. However, the external heating on the nozzle leads to high thermal inertia, since the entire nozzle tip must be warmed for re-fusing and cooled down for the solidification of the plug. Due to inertia, long cycle times and as a consequence, low productivity or only partial melting of the plug ensues, that is then ejected into the mold. The abovementioned advantages of the specified documents of the state of the art bring along that the use of methods with solidifying plugs in the sprue section is not made. Low productivity and wear issues do not allow for use in practice so far.
This results in the task of providing a die cast nozzle with a heating cartridge and a method for its use, wherein the die cast nozzle should have thermal dynamics at high service life that enables operation in time with the casting process in a manner that the melting solidifies at least in a section of the die cast nozzle after every casting process insofar as a temporary seal of the nozzle ensues and emission or reflow of the melting is prevented.

Die casting nozzle and method for operating a die casting nozzle


A process is disclosed for electrochemically treating p-nitrotoluene-2-sulfonic acid salts under oxidizing conditions to form 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid or the salts thereof. The process provides satisfactory yields of the stilbene compound while enabling substantial recycling of reaction materials. Substantial benefits are obtained when lithium hydroxide is employed in the reaction medium, including recovery of product of high purity, and improved recovery and recycling of lithium to the process.

Commercial processes for preparing 4,4''-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-dilsulfonic acid and the salts thereof generally consist in subjecting p-nitrotoluene-2-sulfonic acid salts to an oxidative condensation reaction in strongly alkaline medium.
Typically in such processes, a chemical oxidizing agent, such as oxygen or oxygen-enriched air (usually with a catalyst), sodium hypochlorite or chlorine, is employed in the presence of alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxide compounds to result in the coupling of two molecules of p-nitrotoluenesulfonic acid salts to form one molecule of the 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid salt, usually via formation of a stable intermediate compound, 4,4'-dinitro-dibenzyl-2,2'-disulfonic acid salt.
However, conventional oxidizing processes are associated with various operating problems and expenses, e.g., safety hazards involved in the use of oxygen gas or chlorine solutions; or loss of reaction medium in effluent gas at the high oxygen sparging rates which are generally necessary. Additionally, the tendency for oxidative dye by-products to form may necessitate that numerous purification steps be carried out to isolate stilbene compound of sufficient purity for its predominant use as an intermediate in the synthesis of optical brightening agents and dyestuffs.
A particular problem associated with the known chemical oxidation processes concerns treatment and disposal of the large volumes of environmentally deleterious waste which are created, which in general comprise highly alkaline mixtures of hydrocarbon materials, including reaction by-products such as colored dyes and unreacted starting material, as well as metal compounds in high concentration Where chlorine is employed as the oxidizing agent, chlorinated hydrocarbons may also persist as an environmentally objectionable component. Extensive purification of the effluent, including steps of neutralization, removal of organics, and recovery of metal salts, is needed for compliance with environmental standards as well as to recover certain costly starting materials, e.g., compounds of alkali metals such as lithium.
It has therefore been an objective to provide a preparative process which overcomes certain of the limitations associated with the known oxidation processes, especially as these relate to effluent treatment and recovery of starting materials.

Electrochemical process for preparing 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid and the salts thereof


A method of initializing a phase transformation-type optical disk. The initialization method includes the steps of: (a) preparing a phase transformation-type optical disk in which a first dielectric layer, a recording layer including a small amount of crystalline structure in a major amorphous structure, a second dielectric layer and a reflective layer are sequentially deposited on a substrate; (b) irradiating a high power laser beam, which is enough to heat the recording layer to a temperature above its melting point, onto the optical disk, thereby transforming the crystalline structure in the recording layer into an amorphous structure; and (c) irradiating a lower power laser beam, which is capable of heating the recording layer to a temperature range above a recrystallization temperature and below its melting point, onto the optical disk, thereby transforming the amorphous structure of the recording layer into the crystalline structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of initializing a phase transformation-type optical disk capable of overwriting data, and more particularly, to a method of initializing a phase transformation-type optical disk capable of improving jitter characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an optical disk is classified into a read only optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a rewritable optical disk capable of overwriting information, and a write once read many (WORM) optical disk capable of recording information once.
As the rewritable optical disk, a phase transformation-type optical disk has been widely used, which records information using the phase transformation of its recording layer. As shown in FIG. 1, the phase transformation-type optical disk 10 includes a first dielectric layer 2, a recording layer 3, a second dielectric layer 4 and a reflective layer 5 which are sequentially stacked on a substrate 1. The recording layer 3 is deposited in an amorphous phase. That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the recording layer 3 has an amorphous portion A in which a small amount of crystalline grains (C) is distributed. For recording information in the recording layer 3, the recording layer 3 must be transformed from the amorphous phase to a crystalline phase by irradiating laser beams, which is called "initialization" of an optical disk.
That is, through the initialization, the state of the recording layer 3 is changed from the amorphous phase which has a reflective index that is relatively low, to the crystalline phase which has a reflective index that is relatively high.
In a conventional initialization method of an optical disk, low power of laser beams of 3.about.6 mW is irradiated onto the amorphous recording layer 3 to crystallize the amorphous recording layer 3. Then, a high power of laser beams, e.g., 8.about.13 mW, which is enough to heat the recording layer 3 above the melting point thereof, is irradiated onto the crystalline recording layer 3, to change the crystalline phase into the amorphous phase having a lower reflective index, thereby recording information. That is, information is written or erased using the difference in reflective indices between the crystalline and amorphous phases.
However, in the initialization of the recording layer 3, as shown in FIG. 2B, the amorphous portion A is changed into a crystalline portion A' containing small grains, and the small crystalline grains (C) grow to coarse crystalline grains C'. According to experimentation, it was observed that the crystals C having a diameter of 9.about.10.ANG., distributed in the amorphous portion A of the deposited recording layer, grew to grains having a diameter of approximately 13.ANG.after initialization. Thus, after the initialization process, the small grains and coarse grains coexist, resulting in an inhomogeneous structure. Accordingly, jitter error increases. Here, jitter error represents deviation between the length of an information signal to be recorded in the recording layer 3 and the length of the actual recorded information signal. As such deviation increases, the playback characteristics deteriorate. As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 5, the jitter error increases until the information is written and erased one to five times on the same position of the recording layer, thereby lowering reliability of the phase transformation-type optical disk. Meanwhile, the jitter error is relatively low after 5 write and erase processes. This is because the structure of the recording layer, which was not uniform in the initial state, gradually becomes homogeneous by repeated heating using the laser beams.
According to a second conventional method of initializing a phase transformation-type optical disk, a recording layer of an optical disk is crystallized by irradiating high power laser beams, e.g., 250.about.700 mW, onto the recording layer. However, as shown by the dot-and-dashed line of FIG. 5, jitter error increases over 1.about.10 rewriting processes. In particular, jitter error is the highest after two rewritings. Also, in the initialization process of an optical disk according to the second conventional method, crystals coexisting within the amorphous recording layer grow to make the structure uneven, thereby causing errors. Thus, a method of initializing a phase transformation-type optical disk, capable of suppressing the jitter errors which are quite high when several rewritings are performed at the initial stage, has been required.

Initialization method of phase transformation-type optical disk


Disclosed are a motion image compensation method and a device, and a display device. The motion image compensation method comprises: acquiring a first image corresponding to a pre-motion picture and a second image corresponding to a post-motion picture; dividing the first image and the second image respectively into several image blocks; performing computations on any pair of mutually corresponding image blocks in the first image and the second image based on a phase correlation method; performing edge detection on the first image and the second image respectively; and according to a preset condition, acquiring, from the at least one displacement vector, a displacement vector matched with a transformation between the edge feature patterns within the pair of mutually corresponding image blocks as a displacement vector corresponding to the pair of image blocks during a motion compensation process.

Motion estimate and motion compensation (MEMC) algorithm is a moving image compensation technology commonly used in prior liquid crystal TVs. Its principle is to insert a motion compensation frame between two traditional frames of images using a dynamic image system to increase the 50/60 Hz refresh rate of a common flat television to 100/120 Hz. In this way, the motion pictures are more clear and fluent and better than the normal response effect. The introduction of motion compensation frame may clear the ghost of the last frame of image, improve the dynamic definition, and further reduce the image trailing to the extent that is difficult to be perceived by human eyes. In a class of MEMC algorithms based on block features, the key for a good compensation is to determine the displacement vector of each image block in images accurately.
In this regard, the phase plane correlation (PPC) method may utilize the phase correlation degree in frequency domain of previous and next images to determine the displacement vector of each image block, with advantages of good accuracy and high flexibility. However, the displacement vector with the highest phase correlation degree does not necessarily reflect the actual motion of the image block, would therefore cause partial determined displacement vector experience large deviation of actual motion for the next image with respect to the previous image, thereby influencing the final moving image compensation effect.

Motion image compensation method and device, display device


Disclosed herein is a nailer having an improved safety device. With the improved safety device, a movable plate, which is adapted to slidably move along a lower surface of a guiding unit, is formed, at a certain location thereof, with an insertion hole for the insertion of a protrusion formed at a trigger. Thereby, if the trigger is pulled in a pressed state of the movable plate, a nailing operation is accomplished. Also, in the course of pulling the trigger, the movable plate can be further inserted rearward by a predetermined distance under interaction of the insertion hole and protrusion. This has the effect of eliminating the risk of causing scratches on a nailing surface of a target structure even if the movable plate is moved while coming into close contact, at a front end thereof, with the nailing surface, resulting in several advantages, such as for example, easy nailing operation, operator's convenient working posture, and rapid and safe nailing operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nailer having an improved safety device, and, more particularly, to a nailer having an improved safety device wherein a movable plate, which is adapted to slidably move along a lower surface of a guiding unit, is formed, at a certain location thereof, with an insertion hole for the insertion of a protrusion formed at a trigger, so as to be moved rearward by a predetermined distance under interaction of the insertion hole and protrusion while allowing implementation of a nailing operation when the trigger is pulled in a pressed state of the movable plate, thereby eliminating the risk of causing scratches on a nailing surface of a target structure even if the movable plate is moved while coming into close contact, at a front end thereof, with the nailing surface and consequently, resulting in several advantages, such as for example, easy nailing operation, operator's convenient working posture, and rapid and safe nailing operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known, nailing machines are designed to attach a variety of articles, such as furniture, fabrics, etc., to specific target structures. The nailing machines include a variety of sub-categories on the basis of the kinds of projectile objects used therein. Examples of the nailing machines include a pneumatic tacker, stapler, nailer, pinner, and the like. Generally, the nailing machines serve to attach a variety of materials, such as thin wood boards, fabrics, and the like, to fixed structures made of wood, soft plastics, or the like, by use of pins, staples, tacks, and nails. Nowadays, The nailing machines are widely used by virtue of their several advantages of rapid and convenient use, strong attachment force, etc.
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a nailing machine having a safety device according to an exemplary embodiment of the prior art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional nailing machine 2 is of a pneumatic tacker type in which a piston is fitted in a cylinder (not shown) and adapted to be operated by compressed air, so as to hit tacks with a hitting rod (so called "piston driver") thereof. In the shown conventional pneumatic tacker, the size and shape of a tack ejection port as well as the cross sectional area and shape of a hitting surface portion provided at the hitting rod are selected to coincide with the area and shape of a horizontal push portion of tacks.
Specifically, the conventional nailing machine 2 includes, within a body 4 thereof, a mechanism for generating compressed air required to advance the hitting rod. The body 4 is provided at a rear end thereof with a body cover 6. A magazine 8 is coupled to a front portion of the body 4 at a lower end of the front portion and used to charge a plurality of tacks therein. Also, a guiding unit 16 is provided at an upper end of the magazine 8 and connected to the front portion of the body 4. If tacks are successively raised from the magazine 8, the guiding units 16 allows the tacks to be launched under the action of compressed air.
The magazine 8 is provided at a lower end thereof with a latch 10 to keep the magazine B at a fixed position. The body 4 is provided at a rear portion thereof with a handle 12. The handle 12 extends vertically from a lower end of the rear portion of the body 4. A lower end of the handle 12 is secured to the latch 10 by means of a bracket 14.
A trigger 13 of the conventional nailing machine 2 is provided at a corner of an inner connecting portion between the body 4 and the handle 12. With the manipulation of the trigger 13, tacks can be launched from the nailing machine 2.
In operation of the nailing machine 2 having the above described configuration, if compressed air is introduced into the cylinder to apply a certain pressure to the piston fitted in the cylinder, the piston is advanced to push out tacks, pins, staples, or the like charged in the magazine 8, thus allowing the tacks, etc. to be launched to desired positions by way of the guiding unit 16 in this case, a plunger 29 is mounted in the handle 12 to come into contact with the trigger 13, to impart an opening pressure to the cylinder.
When using the above described conventional nailing machine 2, however, it should be noted that the nailing machine 2 has the risk of fatal accidents if long or large projectile objects including tacks, nails, etc. are launched to unwanted target structures by unintentional trigger pulling manipulation.
To solve the above problem, most conventional large-scale nailing machines, which are designed to launch long projectile objects, such as tacks, nails, etc., have a separate safety device. The safety device serves to allow the trigger 13 to be manually operated only under specific conditions while preventing unintentional launch of projectile objects even when the trigger 13 is pulled.
Conventionally, two types of safety devices have been used in nailing machines. A first type of safety device is provided at a lower surface of the guiding unit 16 so that a contact surface portion thereof is partially exposed to the outside from a front end of the guiding unit 16. Thereby, only when the exposed contact surface portion of the safety device is pressed in a pulled state of the trigger 13, the launch of projectile objects is allowed.
A second type of safety device is adapted to allow the launch of projectile objects only when the trigger 13 is pulled in a state wherein the exposed contact surface portion of the safety device is pushed by a nailing surface of a target structure. The first type of safety device is used when it is required to perform a rapid continuous nailing operation, while the second type of safety device is used when it is required to perform an accurate nailing operation. Meanwhile, it is noted that the above described safety devices have not been used in most small-scale nailing machines.
The above described safety device may be configured to have various configurations, and one example of the various configurations will now be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the safety device takes the form of an L-shaped movable plate 18, which is forwardly and rearwardly slidable along the lower surface of the guiding unit 16 and adapted to be pressed by the trigger 13. The movable plate 18 acts to allow the trigger 13 to be pulled only when a front end thereof is pressed by a target structure. Accordingly, to accomplish a nailing operation, the movable plate 18 is first positioned to be pressed by the target structure and then, the trigger 13 is pulled. The above described type of safety device shows approximately the same operational manner as in conventional nailing machines shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, except for the fact that the nailing machine shown in FIG. 1 uses a safety device in the form of an L-shaped iron plate, the nailing machine shown in FIG. 2 uses a safety device in the form of an iron wire, and the nailing machine shown in FIG. 3 has an auxiliary trigger as a safety device.
When using the above described safety device, however, since the trigger 13 can be pulled to accomplish a nailing operation only after the movable plate 18 is pressed by the target structure, the conventional nailing machine 2 has problems of inconvenient nailing operation and excessively long nailing time. Furthermore, if the movable plate 18 is moved in a state wherein a front end thereof is pressed by the target structure, there is the risk of imparting scratches to the target structure. Meanwhile, not described reference numeral 20 in FIG. 1 designates an auxiliary lever for achieving rapid opening of a guide cover when tacks are jammed in the guiding unit 16.
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a nailing machine having a safety device according to another embodiment of the prior art. The nailing machine 22 comprises the body 4, magazine 8, and guiding unit 16 similar to the above described nailing machine 2 of FIG. 1, but the trigger 13 of the nailing machine 22 is installed to be spaced apart forward from the plunger 29. In this case, an inner trigger piece 28 is provided in a rear end portion of the trigger 13 so that a lower end of the inner trigger piece 28 is coupled to a lower end of the trigger 13.
The nailing machine 22 further comprises a movable wire 24 serving as a safety device. The crooked movable wire 24 has a crooked front end to be inserted into the guiding unit 16 and an L-shaped rear end adapted to press the inner trigger piece 28.
In operation of the above described nailing machine 22, if the front end of the movable wire 24 is pressed by the target structure in a state wherein the trigger 13 is pulled on the basis of a trigger hinge shaft 26 to accomplish a nailing operation, the rear end of the movable wire 24 acts to cause the inner trigger piece 28 to come into close contact with the plunger 29 as the movable plate 24 is moved rearward, thus imparting a pressure force to the inner trigger piece 28. With the pressure force, the inner trigger piece 28 presses the plunger 29, causing the launch of certain projectile objects, such as nails, tacks, pins, or the like.
If the front end of the movable wire 24 serving as the safety device is pressed by the target structure in a state wherein the trigger 13 is not pulled on the basis of the trigger hinge shaft 26, the rear end of the movable wire 24 does not cause the inner trigger piece 28 to come into close contact with the plunger 29 even if the movable wire 24 is moved rearward. In a state wherein the inner trigger piece 28 does not come into close contact with the plunger 29, there is no launch of nails, tacks, pins, or the like.
However, the above described conventional nailing machine 22 also has a problem in that it may cause scratches on the target structure if the movable plate 24 is moved in a state wherein the front end thereof is pressed by the target structure.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown the configuration of a safety device mainly used in small-scale nailing machines. As shown in FIG. 3, a conventional small-scale nailing machine 30 comprises the body 4, magazine 8, guiding unit 16, latch 10, handle 12, plunger 29, and body cover 6 similar to the above described nailing machine 2 of FIG. 1. A differentiated feature of the nailing machine 30 is to install an auxiliary trigger 32 as a safety device and a leaf spring 34 to continuously apply a restoration force to the auxiliary trigger 32. The leaf spring 34 is connected to the handle 12 to come into close contact with a lower surface of the trigger 13. The auxiliary trigger 32 is located below the trigger 13 and adapted not to be rotated by a pressure force applied by the trigger 13. In this case, only when the trigger 13 is pulled in a state wherein the auxiliary trigger 32 is rotated by a separate manual force, the nailing machine 30 can accomplish a nailing operation.
Accordingly, to accomplish a nailing operation, the auxiliary trigger 32 has to be pulled rearward prior to pulling the trigger 13. If the trigger 13 is pulled without pulling the auxiliary trigger 32, the lower surface of the trigger 13 comes into contact with an upper end of the auxiliary trigger 32. Accordingly, the trigger 13 cannot be pulled further, and therefore, no nailing operation is accomplished.
When using the auxiliary trigger 32, however, since the operator has to pull the trigger 13 with the first finger in a state of pulling the auxiliary trigger 32 with the second finger, it can be said that the auxiliary trigger 32 actually has less safety effect and has a high risk of causing an unintentional nailing operation. Accordingly, the nailing machine 30 using the auxiliary trigger 32 as a safety device suffers from a rate of accidents.


An electronic device may have a housing surrounding an interior in which electrical components are mounted. A display may be mounted to housing structures in the device. The housing may have a rear wall. The display cover layer and rear wall of the housing may be formed from transparent glass layers. Coatings may be formed on inwardly facing surfaces of the transparent glass layers. A coating on a transparent glass layer may be formed from a thin-film interference filter having a stack of dielectric layers. The coating may include an ink layer on the thin-film interference filter.

Electronic devices often contain displays. A display may have an active area with pixels that display images for a user and an inactive area alongside the active area. A layer of glass may serve as a protective display cover layer. The layer of glass may overlap the active area and the inactive area. A layer of glass may also form part of a housing for an electronic device. To hide internal components from view, surfaces in an electronic device such as the inner surface of a layer of glass forming a housing for an electronic device and the inner surface of the protective display cover layer in the inactive area of a display may be covered with a layer of ink.
It may be desirable to improve the outward appearance of the display cover layer in the inactive area or the output appearance of a glass housing layer. This can be challenging, because glass is sensitive to stress. If care is not taken, a coating on a glass layer in an electronic device may make the glass layer susceptible to cracking. It can also be difficult to control the appearance of coating layers, which can make it difficult to manufacture electronic devices of uniform appearance.

Coatings for transparent substrates in electronic devices


The present invention is to provide an organic EL panel that is able to prevent the problems resulting from the unnecessary bank residues at a relatively low cost and has excellent light-emitting characteristics and a long life, and manufacturing method of the organic EL panel. Specifically, an organic EL element is obtained by forming organic EL elements by sequentially laminating an anode, a transparent conductive film, a hole-injection layer, a buffer layer, an organic light-emitting layer, a cathode, and a passivation layer on one surface of a substrate. Each bank residue positioned on the surface of the hole-injection layer has a diameter not greater than 0.2 μm in one direction when the substrate is seen in plan view. Preferably, when the substrate is seen in plan view, the area of each bank residue is set to be not greater than 0.4 μm2, or more preferably not greater than 0.04 μm2.

In recent years, progress is being made in research and development of diverse functional elements which involve the use of an organic semiconductor.
Organic EL elements are known as being one of the most common among such functional elements. An organic EL element is a current-driven light-emitting element, and commonly includes a pair of electrodes consisting of an anode and a cathode, and a functional layer containing organic material disposed between the pair of electrodes. The functional layer includes layers such as an organic light-emitting layer and a buffer layer. Further, there are cases where a hole-injection layer is disposed between the functional layer and the anode. The hole-injection layer is disposed for injecting holes to the functional layer. When driving the organic EL element, voltage is applied between the pair of electrodes. The emission of light from the organic EL element is caused by an electric-field light-emitting phenomenon taking place as a result of the recombination of holes which are injected from the anode to the functional layer, and the electrons which are injected from the cathode to the functional layer. Now, more attention is being given to the application of organic EL elements as a light-emitting element or a light source for various display devices. This owes to the advantageous characteristics of the organic EL element, which include: high visibility resulting from self-luminescence; and excellent shock resistance resulting from the fully solid-state structure thereof.
Organic EL elements can be largely divided into two types, according to the material used for forming the functional layer therein. The first type of organic EL elements is a vapor deposition type. A vapor deposition-type organic EL element has a functional layer that is mainly composed of organic low molecular material and that is formed as a film by applying a vacuum process such as a vapor deposition method. The second type of organic EL elements is an application type. An application-type organic EL element has a functional layer that is mainly composed of ink including either organic high molecular material, or organic high molecular material having an excellent thin film forming property, and that is formed as a film by applying a wet process in which the ink is applied and dried, such as an inkjet method and a gravure printing method.
Nowadays attempts are being made to realize the manufacturing of larger organic EL panels by using application-type organic EL elements. As already described in the above, a functional layer is formed by applying ink including specific material via a wet process in an application-type organic EL element. In the application of the wet process, the precision with which the application of functional layer material of the respective colors to corresponding positions on the substrate is performed is not influenced by the size of the substrate. Hence, the technical barrier to be overcome in realizing the manufacturing of larger organic EL panels is relatively low.

Organic EL panel and manufacturing method thereof


A process for treatment of hydrocarbon refinery wastewater producing a low bio-sludge, the process including utilizing microbial consortia comprising at least one species of Pseudomonas and at least one species of Bacillus in a ratio of 10:1 to 1:10. The species of Pseudomonas and species of Bacillus have constitutive expression of at least one hydrocarbon degrading gene. The species of Pseudomonas are selected from the group consisting of Pseudomonas stutzeri (MTCC 25027), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 5389), Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain IOC DHT (MTCC, 5385), Pseudomonas putida IOCR1 (MTCC 5387), Pseudomonas putida IOC5a1 (MTCC 5388) and a mutant thereof. The species of Bacillus are selected from the group consisting of Bacillus subtilis (MTCC 25026), Bacillus substilis (MTCC 5386), Bacillus thermoleovorans (MTCC 25023), Bacillus stearothermophilus (MTCC 25030), Lysinibacillus sp. (MTCC 25029), Lysinibacillus sp. (MTCC 5666) and a mutant thereof. The microbial consortia is used in concentration of at least 102 cfu/ml.

Wastewater is produced as a by-product in various processes like desalting, cooling towers, storm water, distillation, or cracking in oil refineries and petrochemical plants. In order to re-use the wastewater in a typical petroleum processing industry, it is treated in an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) by various physico-chemical methods in which the economically recoverable products like hydrocarbons are recovered and the pollutants are treated in biological units by microbial action. The unrecoverable oil and grease and other organic contaminants are reduced by microbial catabolism in aeration chambers by activated sludge process. The extent of degradation depends on the presence of a required catabolic gene pool, the type and functionality of the microorganisms in the microbial community and their number.
The majority of the wastewater biological treatment is done by using the "activated sludge" process. In all activated sludge plants, once the industrial wastewater has received sufficient treatment, an additional step of settling out the biological floc is required. Part of the settled material, the sludge (biomass), is returned to the system to re-seed the new industrial wastewater entering the tank. The remaining sludge then needs to be disposed of. The bio-sludge contains biomass, hydrocarbons, metals and other hazardous materials, hence, need to be disposed safely.
The biological treatment of industrial wastewater by activated sludge process is often disrupted by seasonal variation and shock load from organic (e.g., chlorinated organic, phenolic compounds, surfactants, and herbicides) and inorganic (e.g., heavy metals, sulfides, and ammonia) chemicals present in the wastewater stream. This disruption of biological processes results in decreased carbon removal and modification of sludge compaction properties.
U.S Pat. No. 6,916,427 discloses an electrochemical method of purifying wastewater. The method includes the steps of running the wastewater as affluent into headwork where some preliminary treatment takes place. From there the fluent is passed into a primary reservoir. The primary reservoir analyzes the fluent as to certain control parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen and/or dissolved solids. Thereafter the fluent flows into a primary reactor having a plurality of electrolytic cells therein. While in that reactor the fluent is subjected to electrical contacts which are located at the bottom and the top of the reactor. The effluent from the primary reactor passes through a ratio weir into a secondary receptor. The secondary receptor contains sensors for the measurement of control parameters such as pH, DO (dissolved oxygen) TDS (total dissolved solids) and chlorine. Thereafter, the fluent is passed to a filtering device. The overall purification system can be termed an electrolytic chemical system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,428 discloses a method and apparatus for treating waste material to remove selected components form the waste is described using a reactor or a series of reactors in fluid communication with each other for receiving the waste to be treated as influent. The influent forms a biomass including the waste and microorganisms and is treated by controlling the metabolic activity of the microorganisms by monitoring the oxygen utilization rate or the potential oxygen utilization rate of the biomass so as to determine the required amount of oxygen to be supplied to the biomass and to determine the period of aeration of the biomass in order to maintain a predetermined oxygen utilization rate or value so as to remove the selected components of the waste.
WO 2008128032 A2 relates to wastewater treatment in general and to methods of controlling odors and degrading compounds contained in wastewater in particular by adding to the wastewater a wastewater composition comprising a strain of Mucor racemosus, Paecilomyces lilacinus, Asperfillus ustus or Trichoderma inhamatum.
US 20080047903 discloses a system and process for optimizing chemical additions, mixing energy, mixing time, and other variables while treating a contaminated liquid stream. Samples from the contaminated liquid stream are tested to determine the optimal parameter for each variable, including type and amount of the chemicals to be added, chemical sequence, mixing energy, mixing time, temperature, and pressurization. A system of mixers, a flotation chamber, and a dewatering subsystem are designed to achieve optimal turbidity of the wastewater stream. The system can be modified in real-time in response to a continually changing contaminated liquid stream via a controller and set of sensors, valves, and ports.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,475,714 discloses a method of treating wastewater in a wastewater treatment system. The wastewater treatment system receives an influent of the wastewater and having at least a first bioreactor and a second bioreactor each having therein bacteria for treating the waste material. The method comprises: monitoring a load parameter being indicative of a load on the second bioreactor; responsively to a monitored value of the load parameter, controlling at least one flow rate selected from the group consisting of (i) a flow rate from the influent to the second bioreactor through the first bioreactor, and (ii) a flow rate from the influent directly to the second bioreactor, so as to maintain a generally constant and predetermined load on the second bioreactor.
US 20080308493 discloses system and method for treating wastewater by continuously flowing wastewater into a chemostat and continuously discharging clean water out of the chemostat. The system can include sensors and an electronic controller for on-line measuring ambient parameters in the chemostat and adjusting the chemostat's operating conditions accordingly.
However, the methods known in the prior art requires energy intensive steps to recover the biological floc biomass and recycling. Other shortcomings such as disposal of waste sludge, very high biomass concentration of [mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)>3000 ppm] and the problem of most biomass remaining in the in inactive late log phase of growth cycle pose considerable challenges for effective solutions for bio-sludge reduction.
The inventors of the present application have developed an improved process for treatment of hydrocarbon refinery wastewater using specific microbial consortia, which produces a low bio-sludge to improve the overall efficiency of the process.

Process for bio-sludge reduction in hydrocarbon refinery effluent treatment plant through microbial interventions


The invention relates to a protective garment made of water-tight and air-tight outer cloth formed by superimposing an external layer of a film of polyvinyl chloride and an internal layer of woven cloth, the film and the woven cloth being bonded together. At least one section of the garment is lined internally by a lining made with cloth and including a foam sheet extending in the lining, the cloth of the lining being bonded at least on its periphery to the woven section of the external cloth in bonding zones, the foam sheet being arranged substantially free between the cloth of the lining and the external cloth, the foam sheet being integral with the external cloth and/or with the cloth of the lining at least towards its upper section in order to be held and not fall in the lining. The garment can be a vest, a pair of trousers or an apron.

Water-tight and air-tight garments are used widely in professions or in leisure activities where users wish to be protected from the environment. However, such tightness exhibit certain shortcomings due to the fact that the internal space of the garment, on the user side, is insulated from the outside and consequently, water in the form of steam or liquid, for example sweat, cannot be discharged efficiently. Moreover, waters steam (sweat) is generally at a temperature greater than that of the outer environment of the garment and it has a tendency to condensate on the cold sections of the garment. There results that the inside of the garment becomes eventually covered with a water film, due to condensation, whereof the presence and the physical features (notably thermal conduction) will cause an unpleasant feeling to the user and, as well, compromise the quality of the thermal insulation of the garment. These sensations and effects mainly take place in the tightened zones, i.e. wherein the garment is in contact with the user and especially the tightened section or the upper sections of the garment, the lower sections being generally more ample in order to confer a certain freedom of movement to the user.

Oilskin-type water-tight and air-tight protective garment


Network buses in vehicles and other assets are monitored in order to obtain information and calculate alternate values of parameters relating to components connected to the bus and to send them to a management server. The device includes main code, which is common to the different vehicles or assets in a group, and a script, which is specific to each type of vehicle or asset. The script, which may be customizable, is responsible for defining the parameters to obtain and for defining how the values of the parameters are to be calculated. The script compensates for differences in the way different buses and components operate in different assets, which means that the values of like parameters obtained from different sources are all in conformance with each other. The script can be updated without interrupting the operation of the main code and the monitoring of the bus.

Since the advent of wireless networks and GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, specialized wireless devices have been installed in vehicles to facilitate fleet operations management. Such devices have also been installed in virtually anything that moves or is moved to enable asset tracking. These monitoring devices may interface with many kinds of other vehicular-based devices and systems to collect information and/or data and to transmit this to a remote server and/or fleet manager. When used by fleet operators, the monitoring devices provide a wealth of useful information such as driver behaviour, compliance with traffic rules, compliance with government regulations, and detailed time tracking.
To enhance use of vehicle buses in a vehicle electronic network, standards have been developed that describe mainly the data link layer and some aspects of the physical layer. Other protocol layers are left to a network designer's choice. Each vehicle manufacturer may be provided with parameter group numbers for their own proprietary use. As such, a vehicle bus standard may define a large number of parameters that may or may not be available on a bus installed on a particular vehicle. Vehicle manufacturers and equipment manufacturers for vehicles decide which parameters to support. Vehicle manufacturers and equipment manufacturers for vehicles may also add unique proprietary parameters. Internal calculations based on sensed values of parameters may be different from manufacturer to manufacturer, and there are no specific standards to which these calculations must adhere. As a result, this introduces limitations for vehicle owners and asset managers seeking to consistently monitor a number of vehicles of different models and/or makes that may have varying operation and performance criteria. Proprietary standards may therefore affect the usefulness of a remote asset monitoring system.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,751,098 to Faus discloses a method of monitoring CANbus (Controller Area Network bus) information. Original parameters associated with sensors are converted into virtual sensors to provide selective vehicle information to an equipment management system. A terminal may then apply logic to the virtual sensor by performing calculations indicating a comparison against a threshold, validations, and alert generations, for example.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0140278 to Breed discloses providing a vehicle with software to enable it to operate and interact with components thereof. Updating the vehicle software occurs via a wireless transmission from one or more remote locations, e.g., a location maintained by a dealer or manufacturer of the vehicle. The software may be diagnostic software for a diagnostic module, which diagnoses the operability of components of the vehicle.

Asset-agnostic framework with asset-specific module for alternate bus parameter calculation


System, methods, and apparatus allow for creating translucent surfaces within a three-dimensional model. One or more implementations render a three-dimensional model of a layout of a design space within an architectural design environment. Additionally, one or more implementations identify a first portion of the three-dimensional model that is positioned behind a translucent surface within the three-dimensional model. Furthermore, one or more implementations render a visual distortion effect for the identified first portion of the three-dimensional model. Further still, one or more implementations display on a display device the three-dimensional model comprising the translucent surface, such that the three-dimensional model is displayed behind the translucent surface in a distorted form based on the rendered distortion effect.

1. The Field of the Invention
This present invention relates generally to computer-aided design or drafting software.
2. Background and Relevant Technology
Computer systems now play a critical role in building and/or architectural design. In particular, architects and interior designers ("or designers") use a wide range of computer-aided design (CAD) software for designing the aesthetic as well as functional aspects of a given residential or commercial space. For example, a designer might use an architectural design program (e.g., a CAD program) to design the interior layout of an office building. The designer might then render the layout to create a three-dimensional model of the interior of the office building that can be displayed to a client.
Some CAD programs may provide the designer with the ability to create three-dimensional models using a variety of different building materials. For example, the designer may be able to design a particular entryway within the three-dimensional model to have marble floors and wood paneling on the walls. Similarly, the designer may design an office space to have a large window looking outside and a frosted glass window inset within an office door. One will understand that allowing a designer to utilize a variety of materials when designing a three-dimensional model will result in a more visually appealing three-dimensional model. Additionally, allowing a designer to utilize a variety of materials when designing the three-dimensional model will allow the model to more accurately reflect a real-world building.
In at least some situations, a designer may choose to use a glass panel as a wall within the three-dimensional model. For example, when designing a restroom shower, a designer may choose to create the shower stall with a glass panel as a door. Similarly, a designer may choose to use a glass panel within a three-dimensional model of an office. Specifically, the designer may use the glass panel as a part of a door to the office or as a decorative feature positioned as a wall.
Some conventional CAD programs may provide a designer with the ability to incorporate glass panels into a three-dimensional model. In some cases, however, a designer may desire to incorporate a translucent panel into a three-dimensional model. For example, a designer may desire to create a decorative wall portion that is constructed of a translucent glass (e.g., a frosted glass panel inset within a door). Unfortunately, certain types of effects for viewing translucent surfaces within a three-dimensional model tend to be very limited.
For example, many translucent surfaces allow only distorted images and distorted light to pass through the surface. Many conventional CAD programs, however, have only limited, if any, ability to distort the objects on the opposing side of the translucent surface in a realistic manner. In some cases, conventional CAD programs may completely neglect to distort the image in any way. In contrast, some conventional CAD programs may render the surface such that there is essentially no indication of any objects on the opposing side of the translucent surface. One will understand that providing a realistic distortion effect caused by translucent surfaces can be beneficial to designers using CAD programs because it will allow a designer to visualize and understand in a more realistic way the three-dimensional models that the designer has drawn.
Accordingly, an advantage in the art can be realized with systems, methods, and computer program products that distort images that are at least partially viewable through translucent surfaces.

Visual distortion effects through translucent structures in design software


A liquid-crystal display (LCD) comprises an LCD device, including a substrate (107) with substrate pads (106) on the top surface of the substrate (107) and a chip (105) with chip electrodes (104) operatively connected to said substrate pads (106). Additionally, an interposer device (100) is mounted between the chip (105) and the substrate (107), wherein the interposer device (100) inter-connects the substrate pads (106) configured in a first pattern with the electrodes (104) configured in an arbitrary second pattern on the chip area, wherein the electrodes (104) have a reduced electrode pitch essentially smaller than said pad pitch.

The present invention relates to an arrangement of mounting a chip on a substrate, and more particularly to an interposer device for use in an arrangement of mounting a chip on a substrate for operatively connecting chip electrodes with substrate pads in a liquid-crystal display (LCD).
Liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology is commonly used in mobile telephone portable PCs and other portable electronic devices. Increasing demands for displays providing even higher reformation content. e.g greyscale functionality, larger number of pixels, etc, result in an increased silicon area of the LCD driver chip, However, the area of the driver chip already constitutes a significant part of the total silicon area in for example state of the art mobile phones.
A Chip on Glass (COG) LCD is an LCD having a semiconductor or an LCD driver chip mounted directly on an LCD substrate, preferably a glass substrate. COG has become commonly used due to its relatively low cost and that the mounting method is space efficient and provides a compact solution. However, conventional COG has a disadvantage. The pad layouts of an LCD driver used in the conventional COG implementation have to meet certain restrictions. The restrictions are mainly due to the layouts rules that the conductive line pattern on the LCD substrate has to follow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,210 discloses an arrangement of bonding an IC chip to an LCD device. The IC chip is a xe2x80x9cbare IC chipxe2x80x9d in which a single surface of a semiconductor bulk has multiple semiconductor devices fabricated thereon and a passivation film covers the semiconductor devices fabricated side, so that only terminals for connection to a device outside the chip are uncovered. The bare IC chip lacks a lead frame to which the bare IC chip is bonded, leads, bonding wires connecting the terminals of the bare IC chip to the leads, and a package of ceramic etc.
A prior art solution of a Chip On Glass LCD device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,210 or the like is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. According to FIG. 1, electrodes 1 are provided on a single line along the circumference of a driver chip 2, which is the only possible pattern for the electrodes. Segment output electrodes are provided along one side 3, and row output electrodes are split up in two halves on each side 4 and 4xe2x80x2 of the segment output electrodes 3. Further, the logic supply input electrodes and the I/O interface electrodes are placed on the opposite side 5 of the chip to the segment output electrodes 3, The chip 2 is mounted on a lower glass substrate 6 in the form of a rectangular board by a bonding method. In the bonding method employed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,210, the chip includes bumps swelling from the electrodes. An anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive is applied to substrate pads 7 on the substrate 6. The anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive comprises an adhesive medium and electrically conductive particles dispersed in the adhesive medium so as to separate from each other. The anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive possesses an electrical conductivity only along the thickness thereof. The chip 2 is bonded to the pads 7 of the lower glass substrate 6 so that the bumps of the electrodes 1 are bonded to the pads 7.
A top view of an LCD device comprising the chip 2 mounted on the lower glass substrate 6 as described above is shown in FIG. 2. Further, an upper glass substrate 8 in the form of a rectangular board is mounted on the larger lower glass substrate 6, and a rectangular area 9 including a grid constitutes a display area in which data lines and scanning lines cross in the form of a matrix.
An obvious solution in order to limit the increase of the silicon area and/or reduce the total silicon area of the driver chip 2 would be to use silicon processes with finer line widths.
Today, a minimum pad pitch of about 50-100 xcexcm can be used on the substrate whilst maintaining an acceptable yield loss from the driver mounting process. An LCD driver chip has several hundred electrodes for connection to the pads of the glass substrate, which sets a minimum silicon area of the chip. If the silicon area needed for the implementation of the functionality of the driver is less than the area set by the circumference on the chip needed to lay out the pads with the associated pad pitch, the driver is pad-limited. A further reduction of the chip area needed for the functionality by using silicon processes with finer line widths will, however, not lead to a smaller total chip area. Increasing demands for displays providing even higher information content result in driver chips with an increased number of pads and, consequently, a larger chip size. As described above, the driver chip will be pad-limited and the total chip area will not decrease even if smaller line widths are used.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of mounting an IC chip on a substrate in order to reduce the problem of pad limitation.
This object is accomplished by an interposer device according to the invention for use in the arrangement of mounting the IC chip on a substrate. interposer electrodes are mounted on said interposer device according to a first pattern corresponding to a configuration of chip electrodes on the IC chip with a reduced electrode pitch. Further, interposer pads are mounted on said interposer device according to a second pattern corresponding to a configuration of substrate pads with a particular pad pitch on the substrate. In order to operatively connecting the chip electrodes with the corresponding substrate pads, the interposer pads are interconnected with interposer electrodes via interconnecting leads printed on the interposer.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved liquid-crystal display (LCD) with a reduced silicon area on the LCD driver, whereby the disadvantages caused by substrate pad-limitation are reduced.
This object is accomplished by a liquid-crystal display (LCD) according to the invention, including an interposer device mounted between the IC chip and the substrate, wherein said interposer device operatively interconnects substrate pads configured in a first pattern on the substrate with electrodes configured in a second pattern on the driver chip, wherein said electrodes have a reduced electrode pitch essentially smaller than the pad pitch of the substrate pads.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of mounting an IC chip on a substrate in order to reduce the problem of pad limitation.
This object of the invention is accomplished by a method according to the invention, wherein the chip is bonded to an interposer device, and then the interposer device is bonded to the substrate, wherein the interposer device interconnects substrate pads configured in a first pattern on the substrate with electrodes configured in a second pattern, wherein said electrodes have a reduced electrode pitch essentially smaller than the pad pitch of the substrate pads.
An advantage of the LCD according to the invention is that a total cost reduction is achieved, because the cost per areas of the interposer means is lesser than the cost per area of the chip.


A piston for an air spring of a heavy-duty vehicle includes a sidewall and a central hub. The sidewall and the central hub are attached to a first bottom plate of the piston. A top plate is removeably attached to a top portion of the sidewall and a top portion of the central hub. A bottom portion of said central hub includes a second bottom plate that is recessed relative to the first bottom plate for attachment to a piston mounting pedestal that is in turn mounted to a beam of a suspension assembly of the heavy-duty vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the art of axle/suspension systems for heavy-duty vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to air-ride axle/suspension systems for heavy-duty vehicles, which utilize an air spring to cushion the ride of the vehicle. More specifically, the invention is directed to a piston for an air spring of a heavy-duty vehicle air-ride axle/suspension system, in which the air spring piston upper portion is formed in two parts, including a top plate and a continuous stepped sidewall. Forming the top plate as a discrete part from the continuous stepped sidewall allows for more efficient manufacture of the air spring piston. A downwardly extending piston bottom plate allows for increased piston volume, which in turn provides a reduced spring rate, and/or better damping characteristics to the air spring.
2. Background Art
The use of air-ride trailing and leading arm rigid beam-type axle/suspension systems has been popular in the heavy-duty truck and tractor-trailer industry for many years. Although such axle/suspension systems can be found in widely varying structural forms, in general their structure is similar in that each system typically includes a pair of suspension assemblies. In some heavy-duty vehicles, the suspension assemblies are connected directly to the primary frame of the vehicle. In other heavy-duty vehicles, the primary frame of the vehicle supports a subframe, and the suspension assemblies connect directly to the subframe. For those heavy-duty vehicles that support a subframe, the subframe can be non-movable or movable, the latter being commonly referred to as a slider box, slider subframe, slider undercarriage, or secondary slider frame. For the purpose of convenience and clarity, reference herein will be made to main members, with the understanding that such reference is by way of example, and that the present invention applies to heavy-duty vehicle axle/suspension systems suspended from main members of: primary frames, movable subframes and non-movable subframes.
Specifically, each suspension assembly of an axle/suspension system includes a longitudinally extending elongated beam. Each beam typically is located adjacent to and below a respective one of a pair of spaced-apart longitudinally extending main members and one or more cross members, which form the frame of the vehicle. More specifically, each beam is pivotally connected at one of its ends to a hanger, which in turn is attached to and depends from a respective one of the main members of the vehicle. An axle extends transversely between and typically is connected by some means to the beams of the pair of suspension assemblies at a selected location from about the mid-point of each beam to the end of the beam opposite from its pivotal connection end. The opposite end of each beam also is connected to an air spring, or its equivalent, which in turn is connected to a respective one of the main members. A height control valve is mounted on the hanger or other support structure and is operatively connected to the beam and to the air spring in order to maintain the ride height of the vehicle. A brake system and one or more shock absorbers for providing additional damping to the vehicle axle/suspension system are also included. The beam may extend rearwardly or frontwardly from the pivotal connection relative to the front of the vehicle, thus defining what are typically referred to as trailing arm or leading arm axle/suspension systems, respectively. However, for purposes of the description contained herein, it is understood that the term "trailing arm" will encompass beams, which extend either rearwardly or frontwardly with respect to the front end of the vehicle.
The axle/suspension systems of the heavy-duty vehicle act to cushion the ride, dampen vibrations and stabilize the vehicle. More particularly, as the vehicle is traveling over the road, its wheels encounter road conditions that impart various forces, loads, and/or stresses, collectively referred to herein as forces, to the respective axle on which the wheels are mounted, and in turn, to the suspension assemblies that are connected to and support the axle. In order to minimize the detrimental affect of these forces on the vehicle as it is operating, the axle/suspension system is designed to react and/or absorb at least some of them.
These forces include vertical forces caused by vertical movement of the wheels as they encounter certain road conditions, fore-aft forces caused by acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, and side-load and torsional forces associated with transverse vehicle movement, such as turning of the vehicle and lane-change maneuvers. In order to address such disparate forces, axle/suspension systems have differing structural requirements. More particularly, it is desirable for an axle/suspension system to be fairly stiff in order to minimize the amount of sway experienced by the vehicle and thus provide what is known in the art as roll stability. However, it is also desirable for an axle/suspension system to be relatively flexible to assist in cushioning the vehicle from vertical impacts, and to provide compliance so that the components of the axle/suspension system resist failure, thereby increasing durability of the axle/suspension system. It is also desirable to dampen the vibrations or oscillations that result from such forces. A key component of the axle/suspension system that cushions the ride of the vehicle from vertical impacts is the air spring, while a shock absorber typically provides additional damping to the axle/suspension system.
The typical air spring of the type utilized in heavy-duty air-ride axle/suspension systems includes three main components, a flexible bellows, a bellows top plate and a piston. The bellows is typically formed from rubber or other flexible material, and is sealingly engaged with the bellows top plate and also to the top portion of the piston. The volume of pressurized air, or "air volume", that is contained within the air spring is a major factor in determining the spring rate of the air spring. More specifically, this air volume is contained within the bellows and, in some cases, the piston of the air spring. The larger the air volume of the air spring, the lower the spring rate of the air spring. A lower spring rate is generally more desirable in the heavy-duty vehicle industry because it allows for softer ride characteristics for the vehicle. Typically, the piston either contains a hollow cavity, which is in communication with the bellows and which adds to the air volume of the air spring by allowing unrestricted communication of air between the piston and the bellows volumes, or the piston has a generally hollow cylindrical-shape and does not communicate with the bellows volume, whereby the piston does not contribute to the air volume of the air spring. The air volume of the air spring is in fluid communication with an air source, such as an air supply tank, and also is in fluid communication with the height control valve of the vehicle. The height control valve, by directing air flow into and out of the air spring of the axle/suspension system, helps maintain the desired ride height of the vehicle.
The prior art air spring piston is generally cylindrically shaped and includes a continuous generally stepped sidewall attached to a generally flat bottom plate. A top plate is formed at the top of the piston. The bottom plate is formed with an upwardly extending central hub. The central hub includes a bottom plate formed with one or more central openings. A fastener is disposed through the openings in the central hub bottom plate in order to attach the piston to the beam of the suspension assembly at its rear end. The top plate, sidewall and bottom plate of the piston define a piston chamber having an interior volume. The top plate of the piston is formed with a circular upwardly extending protrusion having a lip or barb around its circumference. The barb cooperates with the lowermost end of the air spring bellows to form an airtight seal between the bellows and the piston. A bumper is attached to a bumper mounting plate, which is in turn mounted on the piston top plate by a fastener. The bumper extends upwardly from the top surface of the bumper mounting plate and serves as a cushion between the piston top plate and the bellows top plate in order to cushion contact between the two plates during operation of the vehicle. The piston is typically formed from steel, aluminum, fiber reinforced plastic or other rigid material.
Because the prior art air spring piston typically has a relatively complex integral one-piece structural design, manufacture of the piston from composite materials can be complicated. More particularly, because the lip or barb is integrally formed in one piece on the upwardly extending protrusion, which in turn is integrally formed in one piece with the top plate of the piston, manufacture of the piston from composite materials can be quite complex and therefore inefficient, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, because the bottom plates of the piston and the central hub, respectively, are generally flat, the volume contained in the piston is generally limited because of spatial limitations between the beam of the suspension assembly and the main member of the vehicle.
The air spring piston for heavy-duty vehicles of the present invention, overcomes the problems associated with prior art air spring piston designs by providing an air spring piston upper portion formed in two parts that are assembled. Moreover, the air spring piston for heavy-duty vehicles of the present invention includes a downwardly extending piston bottom plate that allows for an increased piston volume while still utilizing the same mount configuration and hardware existing in prior art designs. This downwardly extending piston bottom plate allows for an increased piston volume without the need for redesigned or additional mounting brackets and without changing the spatial measurements between the beam and the main member. Therefore, the air spring piston for heavy-duty vehicles of the present invention provides for more efficient and simple manufacture that reduces manufacturing costs and provides for an increased piston chamber volume using existing piston-to-beam mounting hardware, whereby the increased piston chamber volume provides a reduced spring rate and/or better damping characteristics to the air spring.

Piston for an air spring of a heavy-duty vehicle