Difficulties in starting a gas turbine engine at high altitudes may be avoided by the method of starting such an engine which includes the steps of introducing fuel into the combustor (26) of the engine through at least one fuel injector (46) having an outlet (76, 78) within the combustor (26), atomizing the fuel with a burst of oxidant at elevated pressure from a source (92) of pressurized stored oxidant until ignition is obtained, and thereafter discontinuing the burst of oxidant from the source (92).

The starting of air breathing, gas turbine engines at high altitudes presents substantial difficulties, particularly in the case of relatively small gas turbine engines. At high altitudes, the temperature of the environment is quite cold with the consequence that fuels have high viscosity making it quite difficult to atomize the fuel sufficiently to ignite properly.
Furthermore, and as is well known, in the operation of turbine engines, the higher the altitude, the lower the fuel flow required to maintain any given standard of operation. Consequently, at high altitudes, relatively low fuel flows are required and that in turn means a reduction in the pressure applied to the fuel to achieve the reduced flow rate. Thus, where the turbine fuel injectors are of the pressure atomization type, the lesser fuel pressure utilized at high altitude means insufficient pressure to cause the required degree of atomization necessary to achieve a start. If it is attempted to overcome this difficulty by increasing the pressure, frequently, expensive altitude compensation control systems for fuel flow must be added to the system and even then, there will frequently be over fueling of the engine which in turn results in hot spots once ignition is obtained.
Further, particularly in the case of relatively small turbine engines, it is necessary to utilize so-called "start injectors" in addition to main fuel injectors. Start injectors are specially designed to provide the desired degree of atomization at maximum operating altitudes and typically are used only during the starting operation. They are turned off after ignition is obtained with fuel thereafter being supplied by the main fuel injectors. Again, the use of special injectors such as start injectors undesirably adds to the cost of the engine and still may not provide the desired degree of start reliability at high altitude of, say, thirty thousand or forty thousand feet.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems

Method and apparatus for high altitude starting of gas turbine engine


The invention relates to an apparatus for removing solid components from a fluid in a trough (1) having a transport device (3) in the form of a transport trough (4) and a rotationally driven transport helix (6), the transport device (3) having at one end a solids outlet (9) and at the opposite end a sieving surface (15) at least in portions of the surface, in which the solid components are able to be sieved out of the fluid and are able to be transported to the solids outlet (9) via the transport helix (6) in the axial direction of the transport device (3). In order to provide apparatus which can also process larger quantities of fluid and do so during variations in supply quantities, it is proposed that the transport device (3) have a sieving apparatus (19) between the solids outlet (9) and the sieving surface (15) located at the input side in the transport direction, whose sieving surface when projected upon the transport device (3) is larger than the diameter of the transport trough (4), the sieving apparatus (19) being located at the height of the maximum fluid level in the trough (1) and discharging sieved out solid components into the transport device (3).

Such apparatus is known from the prior art. For example, there is available such apparatus which consists of a conveyor trough and a conveyor pipe which are located coaxially one behind the other and within which a transport helix is rotatably driven. The transport trough of this previously known apparatus consists of a sieve plate having a semi-circularly curved cross-sectional shape. The helix is so positioned in the sieve plate that solid components deposited on the sieve plate are transported by the helix in the axial direction of the apparatus and are discharged at a discharge end of the apparatus. Such devices are used in communal and industrial water treatment installations, in paper manufacturing, slaughter houses, fish and food industry plants, textile factories, tanneries, chemical and pharmaceutical industry plants or sewage disposal plants. The purpose of such apparatus is to carry out fine filtering of waste water, slurry sieving or flotation screening. However, by means of such apparatus there also is feasible the cleaning of process and recycling water, the conditioning of cooling water, or the recovery of raw materials. To this end the above-described apparatus is positioned in a trough which device extends generally horizontally with a slight downward slope, the width of the trough generally corresponding to the cross-section of the transport trough. The transport trough extends to the base of the trough. The fluid which is to be cleaned flows through the perforated sieve surface, while the coarse and fibrous material contained in the fluid stream are retained in the sieve portion of the transport trough. The sieve portion of the transport trough is cleansed by the adjacent helix. The washing effect achieved by this technique has the effect that organic components, for example, remain largely present in the water, whereas solid components in the form of impurities are removed. The helix transports the sieved material through the transport pipe to an outlet where the removed solid components can be packed in bags, for example.
A disadvantage of this known apparatus is that only relatively small quantities of fluid can be processed, because the diameter of the transport trough relative to the helix or worm cannot be made arbitrarily large due to manufacturing considerations. Consequently the effective sieve surface is dependent upon the structurally determined limitation of the helix, or worm diameter. It has also become apparent that the tolerances between the helix or worm and the transport trough or transport pipe increase as the diameter of the worm or helix increases. However, with increasing tolerances the output capacity of the above-mentioned apparatus becomes inadequate. Due to large tolerances, only a fraction of the solid components is removed, while a large part of the solid components remains on the sieve surfaces and clogs these, so that the apparatus has to be shut down and cleaned. Practical dimensions of such a worm or helix, or of the trough into device which these components extend, range up to a diameter of 600 mm. Due to these dimensions and the rate of rotation of the helix or worm the operating capacity of such apparatus is limited so that only a predetermined quantity of fluid flow can be treated during a given time period.

Filtration system comprising sieving trough, helix and additional sieving apparatus


Electromagnet coil driving circuitry in a magnetic resonance imaging system is modified to include a flux-driven closed-loop real-time feedback control. The result is more accurate and efficient control of the net actual gradient flux generated by the coil even in the presence of magnetic circuit materials exhibiting hysteresis effects and/or electrical conductors giving rise to eddy current effects. Such driver control can be used to simultaneously correct the magnetic flux changes induced by environmental, ambient or other outside disturbances affecting the net magnetic field within a patient imaging volume of a magnetic resonance imaging system.

This invention relates generally to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomena. It more particularly relates to control of the driver circuits for gradient coils and/or other electromagnet coils utilized to supplement the nominally static main magnetic field B.sub.o of a main magnet structure.
This invention may be considered as generally related to at least the following prior, commonly assigned, U.S. patents and/or patent applications:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,755 issued Jul. 5, 1988 to Carlson entitled "Compact Transverse Magnetic Gradient Coils and Dimensioning Method Therefor";
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,252--Kaufman issued May 9, 1989 entitled "MRI System With Open Access to Patient Image Volume";
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,542--Yao et al, issued Dec. 5, 1989 entitled "MRI Compensated for Spurious NMR Frequency/Phase Shifts Caused by Spurious Changes in Magnetic Fields During NMR Data Measurement Processes";
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,457--Kaufman et al issued Nov. 13, 1990 entitled "MRI Compensated for Spurious Rapid Variations and Static Magnetic Field During a Single MRI Sequence";
5. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/659,181 filed Feb. 22, 1991 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,330 by Kaufman et al entitled "Method and Apparatus For Compensating Magnetic Field Inhomogeneity Artifact in MRI";
6. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/702,428 now pending by Carlson et al filed May 20, 1991 (as a CIP of Ser. No., 07/688,131 filed Apr. 19, 1991 now pending which is, in turn a CIP of Ser. No. 07/686,622 filed Apr. 18, 1991 now pending) entitled "Apparatus and Method for Stabilizing the Background Magnetic Field During MRI"; and
7. U.S. patent application No. 07/705,964 now pending by Kaufman et al filed May 28, 1991 entitled "NMR Relaxometry Using Fixed RF Frequency Band."
The entire content of each of the above referenced related U.S. patents and patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference.
Magnetic resonance imaging systems are now commercially available from a number of sources. There are, in general, several techniques known to those in the art. Some exemplary MRI techniques are set forth, for example, in commonly assigned issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,297,637; 4,318,043; 4,471,305 and 4,599,565. The content of these issued patents is hereby incorporated by reference.
In all MRI systems now commonly used, a main magnet structure is used to provide a substantially uniform homogeneous magnetic field within a patient image volume along a predetermined axis (e.g., the z axis of the usual x,y,z orthogonal coordinate system). When precisely controlled gradient magnetic fields are superimposed within the image volume with respect to various different axes, the detectable NMR characteristics of NMR nuclei can be spatially encoded (in conjunction with suitable RF nutation pulses) so as to produce RF responses that can be detected and processed to provide two dimensional arrays of display pixel values (representing two and/or three dimensional depictions of NMR nuclei within the patient image volume). However, the accuracy of the MRI process is directly related to the degree of homogeneity in the static field and the degree of linearity in imposed gradient fields along the selected axes (the gradient field ideally being a linear function of position with respect to one axis and a constant as a function of position with respect to other orthogonal axes within the patient volume). To the degree that these desired goals of static field homogeneity and of gradient field linearity along precisely selected axes fail to be attained, then inaccuracies and/or artifacts in the resulting displayed image can be expected. Accordingly, considerable effort has been previously expended toward the ends of either attaining these goals or in correcting or compensating for deviations from such goals.
Some MRI systems have main magnet structures that include permanent magnets, iron and/or other ferromagnetic elements in the relevant main magnet magnetic circuit. For example, a relatively low field open architecture main magnet is employed in the MRI system design described by related U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,252 referenced above. In such structures, the ferromagnetic components exhibit remanent magnetization and hysteresis effects as a result of past magnetization history. This can cause a number of undesirable effects such as image distortion, intensity variations, artifacts of various sorts, etc. Superconducting magnets may also include iron flux return elements exhibiting hysteresis.
Remanent magnetization and hysteresis effects are especially troublesome with with respect to the rapid sequentially changing energization of gradient electromagnet coils. For example, the usual phase encoding gradient coils (e.g., oriented to produce a gradient in the y axis dimension) typically are sequenced in 256 steps from a drive pulse of maximum positive value to a maximum negative value (e.g., over 256 successive MRI data gathering cycles). The first large pulse will leave a relatively large remanent magnetization throughout the next 127 successively smaller magnitude positive drive pulses. However, as the drive pulse polarity reverses, the remanent gradient will also be caused to be reversed and will then stepwise increase in magnitude throughout the remainder of the complete imaging sequence to a maximum negative value. Furthermore, even for gradient axes which do not change in magnitude or polarity during the entire imaging sequence (e.g., as along the x axis which is typically energized during NMR RF signal readout), a remanent gradient of some sort will remain to possibly distort a subsequent imaging sequence.
Ambient or other environmental changes can also cause undesirable changes in the magnetic field of an MRI system. For example: local changes in the earth's magnetic field or local magnetic field changes induced by local movements of large magnetically permeable masses (e.g., elevators, locomotives, etc) by the passage of large local electrical currents and their associated magnetic fields (e.g., as in the drive circuits of elevators, trolley cars, trains, subways, etc.), by ambient temperature changes and related changes in magnetic circuit properties, hysteresis effects in magnetically coupled bodies. These are all potential sources of undesired deviations from the optimum spatial distribution of magnetic field orientation and strength within the patient image volume of an MRI system throughout any given imaging procedure--or over the historical period of system installation at a given site or ambient conditions as compared between different sites. The latter may impair the ability to accurately compare images taken at the same site at widely separated intervals of time.
Currently substantial efforts are required during installation of an MRI system at a particular site in an attempt to minimize such difficulties. Extra care must currently also be taken to assure quality and repeatability in magnet production for MRI systems. Many special processing steps or other precautions are often also required to provide reliability and image quality with sufficiently high standards in view of these ongoing problems. Accordingly, there is considerable need for a more comprehensive and efficient technique to further minimize the possible adverse effects of such potential problems.
Other potential sources of similar problems are eddy currents generated by rapidly changing magnetic gradient fields in surrounding electrically conductive materials. Associated with each attempted change in the magnetic gradient flux will be the generation of eddy currents in any nearby unshielded conductors which, in conformance with Lenz's law, will produce magnetic fields which oppose the attempted change in the gradient field. Accordingly, it has long been known that some kind of eddy current compensation must be included in the drive current supplied to a gradient coil.
In other words, consistent, reliable operation of a magnetic resonance imaging system relies strongly on the creation of nearly ideal gradient flux pulses inside the volume to be imaged. Nearby electrically conductive structures inherently support eddy current loops when exposed to the rapidly switched gradient fields and these result in various distortions to the desired spatial distribution of magnetic flux. Such eddy currents, located in various nearby metallic structures, decay in a manner that is characteristic of a collection of somewhat different exponential time constants. If not compensated, the related time variation produced in the net magnetic flux actually present within the patient image volume would be sufficiently severe to distort section profile and end-plane resolution of the imaging system.
As a consequence, magnetic resonance images have long used some kind of compensation to reduce the effect of such secondary "eddy" currents. The most common prior technique is an open loop feedback system whereby the gradient flux demand pulse is purposely initially overdriven (e.g., "pre-emphasized" in a predetermined and pre-calibrated wave form). Determining the exact characteristics of such overdriving for a particular installation site presently requires a considerable and lengthy effort. One prior approach towards automation of this process is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,063, dated May 22, 1990, entitled "Automatic Eddy Current Correction" naming David L. Lampman et al as inventors. Hopefully, once this laborious process has been completed, the open loop control system will overdrive the gradient coil in just the right manner to thereafter anticipate all induced eddy currents and to result in a net actual flux field that approximates the ideal.
However, not only does this kind of conventional system setup consume considerable time initially (and thereafter in a maintenance mode), it is virtually impossible to find one predetermined overdrive specification that will properly compensate for eddy currents under all subsequent changing operational conditions. For example, if the magnet structure is a cryogenic superconducting magnet then, as the cryogen boils off, the temperature of various metallic conductor elements varies which, in turn, causes a significant change in resistivity and a noticeable change in the time response of eddy current subsystems. Future magnet designs may eliminate the baths of cryogens and rely on continuous cooling by external refrigerators. Such designs may have intrinsically larger variations in eddy current behavior with the cycling of the refrigerator.
Furthermore, spatial variations in eddy current fields often do not exactly track the gradient coil flux field. The additional current needed to compensate for eddy currents is a priori dependent on spatial position. Therefore, one cannot successfully completely eliminate eddy current effects in an entire region of space by the open loop compensation of a single coil.
In short, it is virtually impossible for a simple open loop compensation system to exactly correct for eddy current effects. A typical overdrive compensation involves a current overshoot of approximately 20% with a decay to an asymptotic "steady state" value involving two or three time constants--plus a similar undershoot when the drive pulse turns "off," and with a similar multi-time constant decay to the asymptotic current state.
A less common but somewhat better technique for reducing adverse eddy current effects is to wind a shield coil around the gradient coils. Although this may substantially eliminate the effect of some eddy currents (e.g., those induced in the aluminum cryogenic container), it occupies a considerable additional portion of the available magnet bore space thus substantially decreasing access to the image volume while adding substantial cost, weight, etc to the overall MRI system.
As a part of the lengthy setup procedure now required for installation of an MRI system at a particular site, considerable effort is often given to centering the gradient coils in an attempt to avoid asymmetric eddy current effects. If the eddy currents are substantially asymmetric, then there may be no technique known in the prior art for adequately compensating them.

Gradient driver control in magnetic resonance imaging

The Regents of the University of California


Video signal processing apparatus in which at least first and second input video signals are combined to generate an output compressed video signal, the first and second video signals each having respective associated motion vectors from a data compression process applied to the video signals; comprises:

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to video signal processing, for example, video signal processing in which data (possibly compressed data) representing two or more video signals are mixed or otherwise combined.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often desirable to mix, wipe or superimpose two or more video signals. For example, a so-called wipe effect might be used to transition between two different scenes in a television programme, or a so-called logo or other computer-generated signal such as a subtitle or a set of credits might need to be superimposed over a video image without otherwise disrupting the underlying image.
With analogue video signals, or even with uncompressed digital video signals, this operation is relatively straightforward. A key signal can be used to control the level of each of the constituent video signals (say, signals xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d) at each pixel position, with the two level-controlled signals then being added together. A basic relationship between the level of the key K signal, the levels A and B of the input pixels and the level of the output pixel at each pixel position might be:
Output pixel value=A(1xe2x88x92K)+BK
This process is carried out for each output pixel. So, if signal A is to be replaced in its entirety by signal B at a particular pixel position, the key signal would be 1 (otherwise expressed as 100%), and if there is to be a 50:50 mix of the two pixels the key value would be 0.5 or 50%.
The situation is much more difficult when either or both inputs is a compressed video stream. In a compressed video stream such as an MPEG-2 video stream, pixels are generally compressed as blocks known as macroblocks, so that it is not possible to derive the value of a particular pixel directly from the compressed video signal.
Compressed video signals are also often subject to an overall limit on the quantity of data that can be used to transmit or store the signal. While there can be some variation from picture to picture, or even from group-of-pictures (GOP) to GOP, the time-averaged data rate is often constrained to the capacity of a transmission or storage channel. This allowable variation from picture to picture or GOP to GOP can mean that two signals to be combined can have the same nominal data rate but very different instantaneous data rates. So, when constructing a composite video signal from a group of video signals including one or more compressed signals, great care is needed to avoid a data overflow or underflow.
A third feature of compressed video signals relevant to this discussion is that they often make use of motion vectors to indicate blocks of temporally preceding or following pictures which are similar to a block of a current picture and so can cut down the amount of data needed to encode the current picture. Where two signals are being combined, however, it is possible that a motion vector for a current picture block can point to an area of a preceding or following image which has been replaced by or mixed with another input signal, so that the motion vector is no longer useful in the compression or decompression of that block.
One way of handling these problems is to decompress the entire compressed input signals, carry out the mixing or similar process in the non-compressed domain, and then re-compress the resulting composite pictures.
This process is limited by the general principle with compression systems such as the MPEG-2 system that each generation of compression tends to reduce the quality of the resulting images. It is undesirable if the simple addition of logo or similar information causes a deterioration in the overall image quality of the pictures to which the logo information is added.
In order to alleviate this drawback, it is desirable to recompress as much as possible of the composite picture using compression parameters (such as a quantisation parameter Q, motion vectors, DCT frame type and so on) which are the same as those used to compress the corresponding block of the relevant input picture. However, this general aim is made more difficult by the following considerations:
(a) how many (or, looked at another way, how few) blocks need to be re-encodedxe2x80x94with newly derived parametersxe2x80x94because their image content is not related sufficiently closely to one of the input images?
(b) what happens if this re-encoding scheme would lead to too much output data being generated for the transmission or storage channel under consideration?
(c) how can it be detected whether the motion vectors, associated with blocks whose parameters are to be re-used, point to areas of the same image in the preceding or following pictures?
(d) how can these matters be addressed with a manageable data processing overhead?
The invention aims to address or at least alleviate at least one of these problems.
This invention provides video signal processing apparatus in which at least first and second input video signals are combined to generate an output compressed video signal, the first and second video signals each having respective associated motion vectors from a data compression process applied to the video signals;
the apparatus comprising:
means for establishing a set of the motion vectors associated with the first and second video signals which can potentially be re-used in compressing the output compressed video signal; and
means for testing the set of motion vectors, the testing means being operable:
i. to define, with respect to reference images referred to by the motion vectors under test, a first border region of a predetermined width surrounding those parts of the reference images derived in part from the first video signal, and a second border region of a predetermined width surrounding those parts of the reference images derived in part from the second video signal; and
ii. to test whether motion vectors of the set which are associated with parts of each video signal refer either to image areas derived in part from the other video signal, to the first border region or to the second border region;
in which any motion vectors of the set being found by the testing means to refer to images areas derived to at least the predetermined degree from the other input video signal, the first border region or the second border region are not used in the compression of the output compressed video signal.
The invention allows for an efficient selection of which motion vectorsxe2x80x94preferably, from an initial xe2x80x9cshortlistxe2x80x9d, although that shortlist may potentially include all of the available motion vectorsxe2x80x94are suitable for use in the compression of an output video signal derived from two or more input video signals. A test is performed to detect whether each motion vector points either to an image area derived (to at least a predetermined degree such as 100%) from the other input video signal or to a border region established around both or all such image areas.
The border region allows for the possibility, particularly in a system where the reference map is created to a block resolution rather that to a pixel resolution, that a motion vector at an extreme position in one block could point beyond the nominal target block and into an adjacent one.
The use of one border region surrounding image areas derived from both or all input video signals reduces the storage and processing overhead of creating the border region and means that only one test needs to be performed on each potential motion vector.

Abstract: (c) to define, with respect to reference images referred to by the motion vectors under test, a first border region of a predetermined width surrounding those parts of the reference images derived in part from the first video signal, and a second border region of a predetermined width surrounding those parts of the reference images derived in part from the second video signal; and

Abstract: (d) to test whether motion vectors of the set which are associated with parts of each video signal refer either to image areas derived in part from the other video signal, to the first border region or to the second border region;


A new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea plant named ‘DVP Pinky’, characterized by its upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit; large upright flower panicles; and large panicles with white-colored sterile flowers that become purple in color during the fall.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea plant, botanically known as Hydrangea paniculata, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name DVP Pinky.
The new Hydrangea originated from an open-pollination in 1997 of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivar Pink Diamond, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Hydrangea paniculata, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar DVP Pinky was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled environment in Melle, Belgium in 1999.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by softwood cuttings taken in Melle, Belgium since the summer of 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Hydrangea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A trench structure for a drain or chase is presented which can be quickly and economically constructed. A unique cap block, which has a notched face section for accepting a drain grate or trench cover and a laterally offset horizontal support section for retaining a paving member, forms the top rows of the trench side walls.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a trench structure and particularly to a concrete block structure which utilizes a novel cap block design.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Various foundation wall systems have been utilized in the past in which concrete footings are poured and block walls constructed having a top "cap" block. On-site or "field" forming of concrete structures and control of deflection in concrete forms is labor intensive and requires special care to control quality, resulting in high costs. On-site forms for concrete must be disposed of or be stripped, cleaned and oiled prior to their subsequent use which also requires additional labor and expense.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,115 an on-site poured concrete floor having a notch along the upper front edge for positioning a monolithic wall therein is shown. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,134 also illustrates a foundation having an upper wall receiving notch. U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,542 demonstrates an earth retaining module which will interlock with similar modules for providing a stabilizing wall system.
None of the prior art systems described above demonstrate a structure having a block wall system as described herein and these previous systems fail to teach the structure and advantages of the present invention. The invention as described allows the construction of trench structures such as drains and floor chases without on-site concrete form work being required to provide the grating or cover notch, to tie the foundation wall to the floor slab, or to form the paving member, offering substantial reduction in construction costs as compared to prior construction techniques. Chases are generally used for enclosing electrical lines, pipes, hydraulic lines or the like.
Another purpose of the block herein is to eliminate the need for field forming of concrete to construct trench drains or floor chases.
Thus, with the present disadvantages and problems associated with prior art trench drains, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a precast cap block and trench block building system which is economical for contractors and building owners.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a cap block which can be adapted to many varieties of construction styles and techniques.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a cap block which includes a face section having an upper front edge notch and a support section affixed thereto for retaining a concrete slab or paving member such as asphalt or concrete thereon.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a top or cap block which can be readily formed from concrete and which includes a support section which is laterally offset to insure proper mating by a mason during wall construction.
It is yet still another objective of the present invention to provide a cap block which can be mass produced at a factory and conveniently delivered to a job site for use by a mason in constructing trenches, drains, and chases.
Another object of the invention herein is to provide a continuous straight edge for the termination of asphaltic or concrete pavements adjacent to trench drains or chases.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.


A “no filter, no run” filtration system that is designed to verify that an appropriate filter cartridge is installed. A flow control sleeve is provided on a standpipe to control the flow of fluid, for example fuel, into the standpipe. The sleeve can be axially moveable between closed and open positions, with one or more members on an installed filter cartridge designed to release the sleeve to permit the movement from the closed position to the open position to allow fluid flow. A spring acts on the sleeve to bias the sleeve back to the closed position upon removal of the filter cartridge. The sleeve can also be designed without axial movement, but nonetheless is configured to be opened and closed to control fluid flow into the standpipe.

Fuel filtration systems are known that are designed to prevent flow of fuel to an engine if no filter cartridge is installed or in the incorrect filter cartridge is installed. In these "no filter, no run" systems, not only must a filter cartridge be present, but the correct filter cartridge must be used, in order to allow fuel to flow to the engine.
In some fuel filtration systems that use a filter cartridge, whether in a "no filter, no run" system or not, removal and servicing of the filter cartridge can be difficult. Therefore, a fuel filtration system that enhances filter cartridge removal and servicing would be beneficial.

Fuel filter assembly with flow restriction sleeve


A system of combining balanced, independent, self-starting and initially separated internal combustion engines, wherein engines not immediately required for power can be shut down. Shut down engines are disconnected from the running engine or engines, and drive train. This system will dramatically reduce fuel consumption and the amount of exhaust gases. A microprocessor determines vehicle power requirements from engine sensors. Hydraulic pistons under control of the microprocessor bring the individual engine units into and out of engagement with each other. Friction plates and locking pins are provided for coupling the crankshafts at predetermined relative angular positions.

The majority of internal combustion engines designed today, whether eight cylinder, six cylinder or four cylinder, have all cylinders operative at all times, whether cruising at constant speed, accelerating or decelerating. The result of operating all cylinders at all times is an inefficient use of fuel which has become an expensive, if not scarce commodity.
Split or variable environmental internal combustion engines can dramatically reduce fuel consumption. Less fuel consumed equates to less exhaust gases being released into the atmosphere. This will help reduce global warming and improve overall air quality. Prior art suggests deactivating cylinders by closing intake and exhaust valves, leaving crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, and cams to continue in motion. This results in efficiency loss due to friction and pressure differences. Other problems include system breakage (Cadillac""s 1981 Modulated Displacement Engine) and spark plug fouling after periods of xe2x80x9cshut downxe2x80x9d due to oil passing the piston rings.
Other prior art suggests splitting crankshafts and camshafts. These systems suggest the operating segment of the engine must, by means of friction clutch devices, bring non-operating (static) segments up to speed. This results in loss of power to the vehicle because of drag in bringing the static segments up to speed exactly when more power is demanded. In addition, engaging static segments to dynamic segments creates high stress to the coupling parts of the system resulting in failures and worn out parts.
Internal combustion engines are inherently most efficient when the throttle is open and a maximum amount of air is allowed into the cylinders. It is more desirable to have fewer cylinders operating under high load conditions than many cylinders operating with heavily restricted air flow.
The engine of the present invention provides a plurality which may be duplicated to provide identical contact engines which may be interconnected to form a larger engine. Each engine contains either one, two, three or more cylinders. An eight cylinder engine can be constructed by interconnecting two four cylinders engines, by connecting two cylinder engines and a four cylinder engine, or by connecting four two cylinder engines.
The variable environmental engine of the present invention consists of a plurality of independent and balanced internal combustion engines. The independent engine units are coaxially arranged. Clutch means are provided enabling independent engine units to be connected or disconnected from each others crankshafts as power demand changes.
Each independent engine unit has a starter, an independent ignition and fuel delivery system. When more power is demanded, the non-operating engine that is closest to the transmission is started and connected to the operating engine or engines that are closer to the transmission.
Engine units are preferably started by their own electric starters. The advantage is that no power is lost from the already running engines having to engage and start the non running engine or segment as seen in prior art.
Prior art shows the running part of split engines having to engage and start the non-running engine or segment. At the time more power is demanded, there is an actual loss of power as the dynamic segment brings the static segment up to speed. In driving situations this can be dangerous and life threatening.
An object of the invention is to provide an internal combustion engine of the type having a plurality of independent internal combustion engine units with novel and improved means for connecting such engine unit crankshafts to or for disconnecting such engine unit crankshafts from each other.
Another object of the invention is to provide novel and improved means for insuring that the engine crankshafts can be coupled to each other at proper times as concerns their angular and/or mutual angular positions.
A further object of the invention is to provide novel and improved clutch means for use in an engine of the above outlined character.
Another object of the invention is to provide novel and improved means for actuating the clutch which can establish or terminate a torque transmitting connection between discrete crankshafts of internal combustion engines.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple, rugged, compact and accessible torque transmitting connection between discrete crankshafts of internal combustion engine units.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is capable of locking the torque transmitting engagement between discrete crankshafts when the angular velocities of the crankshafts to be coupled are in proper relationship to each other as well as when the angular positions of the crankshafts to be connected are in optimum relation to one another.
An important object of this invention is the ability to successively add individual moveable (combinable) engines one at a time to power the vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compact and fuel saving, less polluting internal combustion engine system which embodies the above outlined apparatus.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated many preferred embodiments of the invention.
The present invention has independent engine units, with independent electric starters. The advantage is that no power is lost at that critical point when more power is demanded, because the engine units are not connected until the newly started engine unit is capable of adding power to the drive train.
Another advantage is that a started engine under no load accelerates very quickly so when connection to the other engine or engines takes place the RPMs are more evenly matched creating very little torque stresses on the parts. Conversely, as seen in prior art, the running part of the engine must bring the non running part of the engine up to operating RPM. This static to dynamic conversion creates great stress from torque to all parts involved. These parts must then be made heavy duty adding weight to the vehicle and cost to manufacture. The present invention provides engines of less weight and lower cost. The present invention also provides engine units that are identical or nearly identical, with interchangeable parts. Vehicles will be equipped with a plurality of these engines and mass production of these interchangeable engine units will enable them to be produced economically.
Another advantage of balanced independent engine units is that an engine unit can be singularly replaced in the event of an engine unit failure which is not easily repaired. Replacing whole engines in today""s vehicles is very expensive and a big time consuming job. Vehicle down time is extensive. The reason for replacement may be only one damaged cylinder that can not be repaired. Vehicles are often junked for this reason. The present invention will enable vehicles to remain xe2x80x9con the roadxe2x80x9d longer, thus saving resources and helping the environment as well as the owner of the vehicle. Light weight, independent engine units can be easily rotated within the vehicle, for example, at 40,000 mile intervals. The engine unit connected to the transmission is always running when the vehicle is in use. The engine unit farthest from the transmission is run the least.
Because engine units are small, light weight and less expensive than conventional engines, replacement engine units, either new or rebuilt, would be more readily available. Vehicle xe2x80x9cdowntimexe2x80x9d would be dramatically reduced as light weight engine units are easily removed and replaced.
Vehicle owners may want to keep a spare engine unit at home. Repair parts will also be more available because parts are interchangeable between engine units. Microprocessor based engine control systems are the standard for today""s automotive industry. Using RPMs, vacuum and relative accelerator pedal positions sensors, microprocessors can provide instruction for operation of this system. A 12 volt reversible motor/hydraulic pump, shown in FIG. 5, powers the hydraulic ram system described in the embodiments and illustrated in the drawings. This system also provides a fail-safe in that if the hydraulic system fails, mechanical springs force the engine units to engage. If eight cylinders were in the system, the engine would remain a V-8 until repairs were made to the hydraulic system. A manual switch will also allow the driver to select the number of engine units operating. This feature may help to keep the vehicle operable in the event of an engine unit failure or a sensor/microprocessor malfunction. The driver may also foresee a situation where manual override of the automatic system would be advantageous such as pulling out quickly into traffic.
A common engine cooling system will be utilized, non-running engine units will be kept warm and ready to operate by the running engine units. Although the description and illustrations show engine units of two cylinders and systems of up to four engine units, there is no implied limit to the number of cylinders per unit, or the number of independent units that may be combined, including combining units with different numbers of cylinders. The minimum would be a system comprised of two, one cylinder engines. Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
Still other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure that follows.
The invention relates to an automotive power generating system for a vehicle, which comprises a plurality of initially separated combinable engines, with each of the plurality of combinable engines having a distinct engine block and a crankshaft with means for transmitting power disposed on a first end of the crankshaft and means for receiving power disposed on a second end of the crankshaft. The crankshaft of each of the plurality of combinable engines is arranged coaxially with the means for receiving power of one of the plurality of combinable engines being disposed at a spaced distance from the means for transmitting power of an adjacent one of the plurality of combinable engines, and a first one of the plurality of combinable engines having a transmission operably connected to the means for transmitting power and being disposable at a spaced distance from each of the other of the plurality of combinable engines. Means for starting each of the plurality of combinable engines is provided as well as means for successively combining each of the other of the plurality of combinable engines to support the first one in providing power to the transmission. In this way, the means for receiving power of each of the plurality of combinable engines have another of the plurality of combinable engines disposed adjacent to the second end thereof can be operably connected to the means for transmitting power of the adjacent one of the plurality of combinable engines to combine and enhance power generation.
Preferably, the means for starting each of the plurality of combinable engines allows each of the plurality of combinable engines to be started independently.
An important aspect of the present invention for an automotive power generating system supplies the plurality of engines with a single cooling system comprising a radiator disposed adjacent to a cooling fan, a water pump, and water circulation lines operably connected to circulate water among the radiator, the water pump, and each of the plurality of engines, so that each of the plurality of engines can be warmed by the water circulating in the cooling system which is warmed by at least one running engine, so that they can be brought up to speed quickly without undue thermal stress. Ideally, each of the engines is identical for easy replacement.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for an automotive power generating system


A hydraulic hammer includes a power cell. A work tool is partially received in, and movable with respect to, the power cell. A sleeve is positioned in the power cell that defines a centerline. A piston is concentrically positioned in the sleeve and movable in the sleeve between a first position in contact with the work tool and a second position out of contact with the work tool. A magnetic guide system includes at least one of a first magnetic guide component disposed in the piston and at least one of a second magnetic guide component disposed in the sleeve that interact to produce magnetic repellent forces therebetween to urge the radial position of the piston towards the center line.

Hydraulic hammers are generally known to include a tool extending partially out of a housing. Such hammers may include a hydraulically actuated power cell having an impact system operatively coupled to the tool. The impact system generates repeated, longitudinally directed forces against a proximal end of the tool disposed inside the housing. The distal end of the tool, extending outside of the housing, may be positioned against rock, stone or other materials to break up those materials. During operation, the hydraulic hammer will form large pieces of broken material as well as stone dust and fine grit. The stone dust may include abrasive material, such as quartz, which could increase wear and cause premature failure of components should it migrate along the tool and into the interior of the hydraulic hammer.
Various seal arrangements have been proposed to address the issue of migrating dust. In many of these devices, the seal is positioned centrally within the housing, near the internal components of the power cell. However, other arrangements of seals and sealing strategies have been proposed, which have resulted in various levels of success in isolating the piston and internal workings of the hydraulic hammer from harmful contamination.
However, despite the presence of various seals, bushings and lubrication in a hydraulic hammer, one of the most common, most critical and most expensive failures for a hydraulic hammer is galling of the piston to the cylinder or sleeve in which the piston reciprocates. There are a number of potential causes of galling, ranging from the presence of harmful contaminants to a lack of precise machining of the piston and cylinder elements and poor quality surface finish.
One use of a hydraulic hammer is tunneling where the hydraulic hammer is used in a horizontal position. Horizontal use of a hydraulic hammer tends to cause more wear on the piston and cylinder assembly. Galling and wear would at least be reduced if it were possible to prevent the piston from mechanically touching the cylinder and if it were possible to maintain a selected clearance between them. Further, galling and wear would be reduced if it were possible to reduce the extent and magnitude of radial motion of the piston within the hydraulic hammer.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventors to aid the reader, and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some respects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.

Piston and magnetic bearing for hydraulic hammer


A flashlight having a main body with a light emitting source at a distal end thereof powered by a battery power source within the main body and a switch at an opposite proximal end encapsulated within a resilient switch jacket defining an oral grasping portion adapted to be held between a user's upper and lower front teeth such that a biting force exerted thereon serves to operate the switch between an open position and a closed position. The proximal end of the main body is sized and configured to prevent accidental, forced entry of the flashlight into the user's oral cavity during use. A neck strap attached at opposite ends to the main body allows the flashlight to be hung about the user's neck in a readily accessible orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a flashlight adapted to be held in the mouth of a user, and specifically by the user's teeth, so that the user can perform various functions requiring the use of two hands when light is needed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Often, the performance of various tedious tasks as encountered in many professions and hobbies requires the use of two hands. A problem occurs during the performance of such tasks when the ambient light conditions require the use of a flashlight or other artificial light source. In such instances, the person performing the task, such as a locksmith working on a light in dark conditions or a person baiting a fish hook at night, is unable to hold a flashlight in a conventional manner without sacrificing the use of one hand. In an attempt to solve this dilemma, many individuals, including locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, fisherman, and the like, commonly hold a conventional-type flashlight in their mouth so as to direct light to the required area, thereby allowing for the use of both hands.
However, a common problem associated with holding a conventional flashlight in one's mouth is the inability to properly hold and control movement of the flashlight so as to properly direct the light emitting therefrom. Further, placement of a conventional flashlight within one's mouth substantially interferes with the ability to properly communicate with others who may be assisting in the performance of the task. This unconventional method of holding a flashlight in one's mouth further interferes with the individual's ability to swallow properly and usually results in excessive drooling which can be uncomfortable and distracting, not to mention messy. Finally, one of the most significant problems associated with holding a conventional-type flashlight in one's mouth is the danger of having the flashlight inadvertently force back through the oral cavity into the upper throat resulting in a painful, and possibly severe injury.
Even in view of the many problems associated with holding a conventional-type flashlight in one's mouth, many individuals, especially locksmiths, continue to practice this method in the absence of a satisfactory solution. Primarily, this is due to the fact that not only does holding a flashlight in one's mouth free up both hands for performing a certain task, but it also provides a direct beam of light along the individual's line of vision, thereby providing optimum lighting conditions.
Accordingly, in view of the problems associated with holding conventional-type flashlights in one's mouth as discussed above, there still exists a need in the present flashlight art for a specifically designed flashlight which is adapted to be held in an individual's mouth in a comfortable, effective manner.

Hands-free flashlight held between teeth


In flue-gas desulfurization equipment, in order to gypsumize sulfur dioxide in a byproduct at approximately 100% and to make desulfurization rate approximately 100%, the flue-gas desulfurization equipment (1) according to the present invention is provided with a basket-shaped rotation cylinder (20) arranged in the fixing duct (10) in a state of being supported rotatably around a horizontal shaft (21), a rotation packed bed (30) formed by filling fillers for gas-liquid contact in the basket-shaped rotation cylinder (20), a slurry storage tank (40) having plural communication storage sections (41) located below the rotation packed bed (30) and divided by separation plates (43) each of which has a communication part (43a), and slurry spraying means (63) which are provided corresponding to the plural communication storage sections (41) and which spray the absorbent slurry extracted from the corresponding communication storage sections (41) to upper parts of the communication storage section (41) in the rotation packed bed (30) respectively.

The present invention relates to flue-gas desulfurization equipment (hereinafter, FGD equipment) for removing sulfur dioxide from gas exhausted from factories or electrical power plants, especially to a FGD equipment which can reduce slurry circulating volume and draft pressure loss leading to energy consumption, which has approximately 100% of desulfurization rate by assuming a case of installing it as a preceding step of a device for recovering carbon dioxide gas which is installed sometime in the future and which can make byproducts gypsum at approximately 100%.
In the past, the FGD equipment removing sulfur dioxide gas from processed gas by flowing adsorbent slurry down in vertical direction in a cylindrical casing and by flowing the processed gas therein is known.
Especially in Japan, the FGD equipment whose system uses a vertical type of a cylindrical body and makes the processed gas flown vertically is used widely.
However, in the FGD equipment whose system uses the vertical type of the cylindrical body, there is problem such that energy consumption becomes large as slurry circulating volume is increased. Concretely, in the FGD equipment, since gas throughput is increased with the square of a diameter of the cylindrical body, the circulating volume of the slurry being absorbent is increased with the square of the diameter of the cylindrical body.
On the other hand, though an exhaust desulfurizer whose system is to flow the processed gas in horizontal direction by using a horizontally cylindrical body arranged so as for a rotation shaft to extend in horizontal direction is similar to the FGD equipment using the vertically cylindrical body in point that the gas throughput is increased with the square of the diameter of the cylindrical body, the slurry circulating volume is increased only in direct proportion to the diameter of the cylindrical body.
Accordingly, without pausing to image a linear expression graph and a quadratic expression graph, because the slurry circulating volume in the case of using horizontally cylindrical body is less than one in the case of using vertically cylindrical body and the energy consumption is less, so that it is advantageous to use the horizontally cylindrical body. Especially in a large type of the FGD equipment, as a cylindrical body becomes larger, it is remarkably advantageous to use the horizontally cylindrical body rather than to use the vertically cylindrical body.
Besides, the reason that the FGD equipments using the vertically cylindrical body are used widely in Japan is thought to be due to applying attitude of a gas adsorption device developing based on an original small size device to the FGD equipment being a large size device.
For instance, what are shown in Japanese utility model publication No. sho 53-19171 and Japanese patent No. 4418987 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,527,679B2/CN 101099922B) are known as the FGD equipment using the horizontally cylindrical body.
Japanese utility model publication No. sho 53-19171 is that a lot of lifters or troughs consisting of U-shaped tubs for scooping up desulfurizing agent are provided in parallel to axial direction on an inner wall of a rotation cylinder with an annular end plate having a processed gas inlet port at one end thereof and an annular end plate having an outlet port at the other end thereof, and the rotation cylinder in which a lot of separated fillers having apertures or holes are filled in a whole internal space is arranged horizontally and rotatably, and a means for supplying absorption slurry is provided at one end of the rotation cylinder and an outlet of the slurry is discharged at the other end of the rotation cylinder.
In this FGD equipment, while the fillers positioned at a lower part are immersed in the slurry retained below of the rotation cylinder, the rotation cylinder is rotated so as to bring the processed gas into contact with the absorption slurry in countercurrent flow or in parallel flow, so that gas-liquid contact can be achieved.
As an actual achievement of working the FGD equipment described in Japanese utility model publication No. sho 53-19171, there are a prototype machine with 1 m diameter of the rotation cylinder (a rotation packed bed), a first practical machine with 3.2 m diameter of the rotation cylinder, a second practical machine with 4.5 m diameter of the rotation cylinder and a third practical machine with 4.5 m diameter of the rotation cylinder, and all of them are successful, and especially the first and the second practical machine have approximately 40 years operation performance. Here, they have 3 m length in axial direction of the rotation cylinder. Besides, if considering that byproducts are calcium sulfite, the length of the rotation cylinder can be made shorter (approximately by 1 m).
The succession of these machines is to support the above opinion such that "it is remarkably advantageous to use the horizontally cylindrical body rather than to use the vertically cylindrical body in the FGD equipment being a large device".
The operation performance of every machine is shown in Table 1:
TABLE 1GasSlurryThroughputDiameterLengthCirculating(Nm3/h)(m)(m)Volume (m3/h)Prototype Machine5,00013150First Practical60,0003.23480MachineSecond Practical90,0004.53675MachineThird Practical90,0004.53675Machine
As shown in Table 1, the slurry circulating volume is increased only in direct proportion to the diameter of the cylindrical body in each machine, it is understood that "it is remarkably advantageous to use the horizontally cylindrical body rather than to use the vertically cylindrical body in the FGD equipment being a large device".
Thus, in the FGD equipment described in Japanese utility model publication No. sho 53-19171, about the slurry circulating volume, it should be noted that circulating volume of the slurry must be considered in proportion to the diameter of the rotation cylinder.
Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, every machine has 3 m length in the axial direction of the rotation cylinder (the rotation packed bed), and this shows it is advantageous to use the horizontal cylinder rather than to use the vertical cylinder in the case that the diameter of rotation cylinder becomes more than 3 m.
Here, it is another factor that should not be overlooked that the larger the diameter of the rotation cylinder, the larger the dropping height of the slurry in proportion to the diameter of the rotation cylinder. Namely, chemical reaction quantity associated with once dropping of the slurry is 3.2 times in the case of 3.2 m diameter of the rotation cylinder, and 4.5 times in the case of 4.5 m diameter of the rotation cylinder, based on the case of 1 m diameter of the rotation cylinder. Accordingly, in the case of a fourth trial designed machine as will become apparent below, as the diameter of the rotation cylinder is 24.3 m, the chemical reaction quantity associated with once dropping of the slurry becomes 24.3 times.
This may be thought for it to be a root that it is advantageous to flow the gas horizontally rather than to flow the gas vertically.
On the other hand, operation of the FGD equipment described in Japanese utility model publication No. sho 53-19171 is, in an aspect of chemical reaction, to produce gypsum as a byproduct by using limestone slurry as an absorbent for sulfur dioxide. In this case, process such that calcium sulfite is produced as a medium product, and then, the calcium sulfite is oxidized by oxygen in the processed gas (exhaust gas) to be gypsum is carried out.
For the process for gypsumization of the calcium sulfite, it was known that there is delicate relation between oxygen concentration in the processed gas and pH of the gypsum slurry discharged from the device.
Arranging knowledge about the process of gypsumization of the calcium sulfite as mentioned above, it is considered as follows.SO2+H2O→H2SO3  (1)CaCO3→Ca2++CO32−  (2)Ca2++H2SO3→CaSO3+2H+ (aqueous calcium sulfite)  (3)CO32−→CO2+½O2  (4)CaSO3+½H2O→CaSO3.1/2H2O (crystalline calcium sulfite)  (5)CaSO3+½O2+2H2O→CaSO4.2H2O (gypsum crystal)  (6)
In acid slurry in a slurry outlet side (a gas introducing inlet side), crystalline calcium sulfite is dissolved, and reaction shown in the following formula (7) is undergone.CaSO3.1/2H2O→CaSO3+½H2O  (7)
Furthermore, reaction shown in the following formula (8) is undergone by reacting with ½ O2 in the above formula (4) and O2 of excess air in the processed gas.CaSO3+½O2+H2O→CaSO4.2H2O  (8)
Besides, a desulfurizer for harmful gas described in Japanese Patent No. 4418987 is provided with installation of a basket-shaped rotation cylinder which is supported rotatably around a horizontal shaft in a fixed duct and inside of which gas-liquid contact fillers is filled, a slurry storage tank located below of the basket-shaped rotation cylinder, and a back-flow means for pumping up absorbent slurry in the slurry storage tank and flowing back it to an outer peripheral surface of the basket-shaped rotation cylinder. In the desulfurizer for harmful gas, since the basket-shaped rotation cylinder can be rotated only by flowing the absorbent slurry back, an electrical driving means for the basket-shaped rotation cylinder can be unneeded, it is possible to minimize the device and to reduce electrical consumption.
Recently, it is said that carbon dioxide gas that causes global heating because of smoke exhausted from factories or power plants must be recovered. And, as a previous step of recovering the carbon dioxide gas from the exhaust smoke, though a FGD equipment for removing sulfur dioxide from the exhaust smoke is used, not only low-cost but also high-performance (approximately 100% desulfurization) is required.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 4505041 by the present inventors is shown as a patent invention in relation with it.


A method and apparatus for verification of designed logic in a processing unit (100) that performs multiprocessing functions is presented. Once the multiprocessing unit to be exercised as the device under test (350) is defined, an irritator (330) is constructed to provide the stimuli to the interface of the device under test (350) such that the device under test (350) is exercised. The irritator (330) receives instructions (314) as its input, where relevant instructions are converted to transactional stimulus that is applied to the device under test (350). The irritator (330) also monitors the interface of the device under test (350) to detect when multiprocessing operations executed by other processing units (340) included in the system (5) require a response. The response is produced via signal stimulus on the interface of the device under test (350) to which the irritator (330) is coupled.

The present invention relates generally to testing, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for verifying multiprocessing design in a unit simulation environment.
In order to achieve large amounts of processing bandwidth, multiple processors are often combined in a single system such that parallel-processing operations can occur. In such systems, the multiple processing entities often share a single memory structure that is accessed via a common bus. Another feature that increases the processing capabilities of such multiprocessing systems is the inclusion of one or more cache structures in one or more of the processing entities. High performance processing systems often include more than one cache structure in each processing entity.
Because of the shared memory structure and the inclusion of the cache structures within the processing entities, data integrity, which is crucial to proper system operation, becomes an issue that must be addressed. In one example, data integrity may be compromised in such systems if the data corresponding to a particular memory address is cached in a modified form in one of the processing entities, and another processing entity which desires to utilize the same data retrieves it from memory without notification that an updated version of the data is present in the cache structure of the other processing entity. Although various parameters are included in the caching structures to indicate the various potential states of cached data, the interaction between the multiple processors requires constant monitoring and maintenance of these parameters in order to ensure data integrity.
In prior art systems that include multiple processors, verification of the logic that controls the interactions that assist in maintaining data integrity was not adequately verified until late in the design process. The reason for the late occurrence of verification of the multiprocessing portion of the system design was often due to the need for verification of the other functional blocks within each of the processors prior to verification of the multiprocessing logic. For example, the sequencer that operates on the instructions and the execution units that perform operations on instructions had to be verified in order to allow instruction-based test programs to be executed. Verification of the multiprocessing logic at the system, or chip level, is difficult as the chip model is complex, and therefore execution of test sequences at this level is slow and often does not provide optimal exercising of the multiprocessing portions of the system intended to be verified.
In some prior art systems, transaction-based verification of the multiprocessing blocks is performed at the unit level where the multiprocessing logic is isolated and specifically targeted by the testing. Transaction-based verification applies specific transactions, or signal stimulus sets, at an interface between the multiprocessing block and the other blocks in the processing system. The interface can then be monitored to determine if the proper transactional response occurs.
One drawback of transaction-based testing is that the transaction-based tests are often deterministic tests that were compiled for particular scenarios and required an understanding of the expected results. Random test generation is typically only possible if a behavioral model of the multiprocessing portion of the processor is available to generate expected results. Because the behavioral model must accurately model the operation of the multiprocessing logic as designed, any change to the logic within the multiprocessing portion of the processor requires similar modification to the behavioral model. Maintenance of the behavioral model requires diligence and presents the potential of modeling errors, both of which make random transaction-based tests undesirable.
Another drawback of transactional testing is that as the integration of the multiprocessing portion with other blocks in the processing module occurs during the design process, the transactional tests used to exercise the multiprocessing portion cannot be reused at higher levels of integration. This is because the transactional tests are designed to provide stimulus to a particular interface to the multiprocessing block. This stimulus does not exercise any other portions of the system, and therefore do not provide any benefit at subsequent integration levels. As such, new test sequences must be created in order to properly exercise the design at higher levels of integration.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that allows for verification of multiprocessing functionality in a manner that permits instruction-based test sequences to be utilized to exercise the multiprocessing portions of the system at a unit level in a manner that is efficient and exercises this portion of the system at a high rate of speed.

Method and apparatus for verifying multiprocessing design in a unit simulation environment


Effective use of optimizing techniques during compilation is difficult in programs that make liberal use of pointers or indirect function calls. The indirection often means that the compiler cannot precisely determine the set of objects pointed to by a pointer at a specific location in the program, and therefore cannot efficiently eliminate pointer redundancies in the code. The present invention provides an optimising method that reduces the size of alias sets associated with program pointers. During an initial compilation phase, intraprocedural information about pointer variables referenced in each function of the program is gathered and saved in a data structure called the pointer alias graph. In the middle phase, the pointer alias graphs from all the compilation units for the program are combined to form a universal pointer alias graph and then transitive closure is performed on the universal pointer alias graph to produce a reduced graph containing the list of objects that each pointer variable can point to. In the final phase, all the files are re-compiled using the universal pointer alias graph as input, resolving all occurrences where pointer variables are de-referenced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to compiler optimizations, and in particular to a technique for reducing redundant pointer information.
2. Background Description
Compilation is a process used for translating high level language statements in a computer program into machine instructions executable by the target computer. Optimization is a general term for modifications applied to source code, object code or any intermediate code present during compilation, in order to improve the efficiency of the program being compiled. Usually optimization either:
a) aims to overcome pessimistic assumptions implied by language rules that can cause redundancies in the compiled code. This can result in unnecessary memory allocation for the additional (that is, redundant) code; or PA1 b) exploits a particular hardware for different environments. The present invention is directed to an optimization technique of the first type. PA1 1) "Efficient context-sensitive pointer analysis for C programs", Robert Wilson and Monica Lam, SIGPLAN '95; PA1 2) "Points-to analysis in almost linear time", Bjarne Steensgaard, Technical Report MSR-TR-95-08, Microsoft Corporation; PA1 3) "A safe approximate algorithm for interprocedural pointer aliasing", William Landi and Barbara Ryder, SIGPLAN '92; PA1 4) "Almost linear time points-to analysis", William Landi, in POPL '95; PA1 5) "Context-sensitive interprocedural points-to analysis in the presence of function pointers", Maryam Emami, Rakesh Ghiya and Laurie Hendren, SIGPLAN '94; PA1 6) "Interprocedural may-alias analysis for pointers: Beyond k-limiting", Alain Deutsch International Conference on Computer languages, IEEE '92; and PA1 7) "Efficient flow-sensitive interprocedural computation of pointer-induced aliases and side effects", Jong-Deok choi, Michael Burke and Paul Carini, SIGPLAN '93.
Compilation may, broadly speaking, be divided into a front end phase in which the source code program is translated, through steps of lexical, syntactic and semantic analysis, into an intermediate representation, and a back end phase in which the intermediate representation is translated for output in object code modules, called compilation units, for linking into executable files. Optimization may take place at various stages during this compilation process, but generally speaking, occurs in the back end.
Usually optimization algorithms work on a representation of the aspect of the program to be optimised. This representation is usually produced by a pre-compilation step or by the first pass of a two-pass compiler. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,418 for "Method for Representing Scalar Data Dependencies for an Optimizing Compiler" describes a method for creating a local scalar data dependence graph for each basic block of the program. This local analysis is used to form a global data dependence graph that shows data dependencies in the context of a control flow graph within a single function that can be used for later optimizations in the compiler.
Most modern programming languages offer the capability to access a data object, or function object in the case of object oriented programming languages like C++, indirectly through the use of a pointer variable. A pointer is a reference to the location or address of some region in memory where the data or function is stored. Typically, the value of the pointer variable is the object's address in storage. Because the reference to the object is indirect, through the pointer, calls that use function pointers are referred to as indirect calls.
Pointer references are particularly useful in complex programs where the exact number of elements in different types of data structures may not be ascertainable at compilation time. The number may vary with the program's actions as it is running. The use of pointer references allows individual pieces of storage to be allocated as needed, so that the required amount of storage is available at any given moment during program execution.
When used, the pointer variable is first initialised to the address of the specific object, and then de-referenced in order to access the object. Some languages permit the user to modify or copy pointer variables for the purpose of traversing an aggregate object, such as an array. Pointers may also be modified or copied for dynamically selecting an object to be operated upon.
These types of manipulations of pointer variables can lead to situations where the compiler cannot precisely determine the set of objects (data or function objects) pointed to by a pointer variable at a specific location in the program. In these situations, the compiler must use safe assumptions to determine the scope of the pointer's object set. These assumptions, called aliasing assumptions, are usually specified by the language being compiled. Aliasing assumptions are often very pessimistic. They drastically reduce the level of optimization that can be performed by reducing the level of redundancies which can be eliminated.
This problem can be illustrated using the following simple code example in which the use of *p and *q indicate de-referencing of the pointers p and q, respectively:
s1: p=&a; s2: q=&b; . . . . . . . . . . . . s5: . . =*p+2; . . . . . . s7: *q=. . . . . . . . . s9: . . =*p+2;
The compiler can trace the values of p and q, and determine that they are handles to different objects by keeping track of the set of objects associated with a pointer variable. This set of objects is the alias set associated with the pointer variable.
However, the compiler cannot normally tell if statement s7 invalidates the value of the expression in statement s5, and as a result, it cannot assume that the same expression found in statement s9 is redundant. It must generate code which will recompute the value of the expression *p+2 for statement s9.
While the example illustrates only a single redundancy, the magnitude of the problem can be realised over a large program of thousands of lines of code.
One way to reduce the size of the alias sets is to provide the user with alias assertion options giving direct control over the aliasing assumptions. However, correct use of these options requires great skill and time on the part of the user, and increased program complexity makes it much more difficult to generalise appropriate aliasing assumptions.
The preferred approach is to develop an automatic solution to the problem, and to that end, a number of techniques have been developed for computing the approximate set of objects that a pointer can point to at any specific point in the program, such as the following:
Many of the existing techniques are computationally expensive and don't provide a solution for programs that contain indirect calls.

Optimizing compilation of pointer variables in the presence of indirect function calls

International Business Machines Corporation


A component mounting apparatus having a feature in which the component mounting apparatus includes a component mounting unit including a nozzle and a distance detector for optically detecting a distance between a component held by the mounting nozzle and a board, and an illuminated region formed by the distance detector is located in a vicinity of a portion obtained by projecting the mounting nozzle onto the board.

Operations of mounting electronic components on boards of various electronic products are currently automated, using a component mounting apparatus. The size of such electronic components has been reduced year by year. A trend in the size of electronic components is 0.4 mm×0.2 mm in the year of 2011 and is expected to be mainly 0.3 mm×0.15 mm in the year of 2014, and required packaging speed and accuracy are expected to increase.
A conventional technique for preventing damage of an electronic component is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-45785, for example. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-45785 discloses that damage of a component can be prevented by detecting curling of a board, which is a major cause for damage of an electronic component, before a production run.


In a rotor for a centrifugal separator there is delimited at one rotor end a distribution chamber (24) for a pressurized liquid supplied to the rotor for being cleaned from particles, and at the opposite rotor end there are liquid outlets arranged for reaction drive of the rotor. The liquid outlets open on the rotor outside in a liquid free space radially spaced from the rotational axis of the rotor. The separation chamber (7) of the rotor, which is situated between the distribution chamber (24) and the outlets (27), contains arcuate separation discs (11), which are distributed around the rotational axis (10) of the rotor and formed such that a lot of axially extending separation channels are delimited, which have a relatively small through-flow resistance to liquid to be cleaned. The separation channels extend axially from the distribution chamber (24) to a collecting chamber (25). The collecting chamber (2) communicates with an outlet chamber (26) at a radial level in the rotor corresponding to that of the radially innermost parts of the separation discs. Thus, efficient separation can be accomplished and the largest possible part of the pressure of the supplied liquid can be used for the rotation of the rotor.

Rotors of this kind, formed for reaction drive by means of an overpressure of the liquid to be cleaned, are previously known. As a rule they have been used for cleaning of relatively small liquid flows and have been relatively small and light.
In connections where rotors of this kind have been used the demands on separation efficiency have not been extremely large, but still certain means in the form of rotor inserts of different kinds have been suggested for improvement thereof.
Thus, inserts have been suggested in the form of filters of different kinds. GB 1 089 355 and GB 1 595 816 show examples of such filter inserts. Furthermore, different kinds of separation inserts have been suggested which are formed such that they shorten the sedimentation distance for particles, which are to be separated within the rotor from liquid supplied thereto. For instance, GB 729 169 shows a separation insert in the form of a helical wall, which delimits a helical flow path within the rotor for the liquid to be cleaned. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,217 shows a separation insert having conical separation discs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,067,273 shows a further construction of a centrifugal rotor of the initially defined kind. In this centrifugal rotor there is mounted a separation means including a lot of separation discs, which are arranged within the casing between the center axis and the surrounding wall of the casing and distributed around the center axis, so that they form a lot of axially extending separation channels. Each separation disc extends both axially and in a direction from the center axis towards the surrounding wall of the casing from a radially inner edge to a radially outer edge, forming an angle with imaginary radii extending from the center axis to the surrounding wall.

Centrifugal separator having axially-extending, angled separation discs


A magnetic injection port assembly for a tissue expander system or similar inflatable medical device. The injection port assembly includes an injection port body having a cavity, a needle guard assembly, and a magnetic material therein. The needle guard assembly is positioned to prevent a hypodermic needle from passing through the medical device or interfering with the magnetic material. The magnetic material is affixed to the injection port body outside the cavity and the needle guard assembly. The magnetic material is spatially aligned with the region of the body into which the needle should be inserted so that this region may be located by locating the magnet with an external, non-invasive magnetic detection device.

This invention relates generally to injection fill ports used with tissue expander systems and similar inflatable medical devices. Particularly, this invention relates to an improved injection port structure wherein a magnetic material is incorporated in an injection port assembly. The magnetic material is positioned so that the injection port can be easily and accurately located by noninvasive means. The magnetic material is positioned in the port structure so that it does not interfere with the use of a hypodermic needle for filling purposes.
A tissue expander or similar inflatable medical device is typically implanted under a patient""s skin. In order to expand the tissue structure, fluid is injected using a hypodermic needle or similar device by filling an injection port which is in communication with the tissue expander. As far as is known, the prior art has not proposed or developed a structure which incorporates a magnet with an injection port so that the magnet does not interfere with the injection of a hypodermic needle as does the present invention. For example, in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,447 teaches using a metal plate and X-ray procedure to find an injection port of an implanted tissue expander system, thus exposing a patient to radiation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,255 describes a tissue expander system that incorporates a magnet or magnetically detectable material into the injection port by mounting the magnetic material in a recess of the needle guard assembly. The needle guard and/or magnetic material has the propensity to obstruct the end of a hypodermic needle which is injected into the injection port. The latter patent also teaches the use of an inverted hemispheric member to achieve a self-sealing injection port, which complicates the injection port assembly. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings of the prior art by incorporating several structural improvements.
The present invention incorporates a magnet or magnetically detectable material into an injection port of a tissue expander system or into an inflatable medical device for port detection by an external detection means that is constructed and arranged to sense magnetic fields. The magnetic material or element which generates a magnetic field is permanently affixed in the injection port so that its location can be accurately determined by non-invasive external means, thus providing the user with a rapid, convenient, and precise means for locating the injection port. Further, the magnet material is incorporated in the structure which does not interfere with the needle used for filling the tissue expander system.
An object of the present invention is to provide the magnetic material in the injection port but outside of the injection port cavity so that the magnetic material does not obstruct the end of a needle while injecting fluid into the port. Another object of this invention is to completely enclose the magnetic material in a polymer to protect it from environmental exposure. Another object of this invention is to use magnetic material that has been surface treated to prevent the magnetic material from corroding. Yet another objective of this invention is to develop an injection port that is simple in design and easy to manufacture.
This invention provides a magnetic injection port for use with a tissue expander or an inflatable device for implantation. An injection port is used in communication with a tissue expander to permit the tissue expander to be filled with fluid. The tissue expander and injection port are located under the skin and must be properly located in order to permit the filling or inflation of the tissue expander.
The invention incorporates a magnet or magnetically detectable material into the injection port of a tissue expander system or similar inflatable medical device for port detection by an external detection means that is constructed and arranged to sense magnetic fields. The injection port has a body defining a cavity into which the end of a hypodermic needle or similar device is inserted to inject fluid into the cavity. When a desired volume of fluid has been injected into the cavity, fluid flows under pressure via a means of fluid communication, the only means of egress from the cavity, from the injection port into the tissue expander or other medical device. The region of the injection port body into which the needle is inserted is self-sealing to such punctures.
A needle guard member is positioned spacially from and on the opposite side of the injection port body from where the needle enters, to prevent the needle from puncturing the injection port and entering into the tissue expander of the patient. A magnetic material is affixed in the injection port body outside the injection port cavity and the needle guard member. The magnetic material is positioned outside the injection port cavity so that its placement does not interfere with the normal and proper insertion of a needle into the injection port cavity. The magnetic material may be any shape or dimension, and made of any magnetically detectable material. For example, the magnetic material may include samarium cobalt or neodymium iron boron, a combination thereof or like material. The outermost perimeter of the magnetic material is spatially aligned with or within the perimeter of the region of the injection port into which the needle is injected, thus demarcating this region as a target for the needle. The magnetic material also has a surface treatment to prevent it from corroding, such as a nickel coating or the like, and is completely enclosed in a polymer, such as a silicone elastomer or the like, to protect it from environmental exposure.
To locate the injection port, a magnetic detection means is scanned across the region of skin containing the system to establish at least four points of reference creating a coordinate system. The location for inserting the needle is at the intersection of two line segments, each defined by a pair of the reference points established by two passes of the detection means. This intersection is where the magnetic injection port is located and where the medical procedure should be performed.


An LCD (Liqid Crystal Display) holder involves a holding unit which holds an LCD panel for illumination and a volume control unit fastening unit which is engaged with a volume control unit to hold the volume control unit, the holding unit and the volume control unit fastening unit being formed integrally with each other. The use of the LCD holder permits the LCD panel and the volume control unit to be easily fastened to a base plate.

Generally, a display unit such as an LCD and a manipulating unit such as a volume control unit are disposed on the front of an escutcheon provided on front of an acoustic device. Members are provided for holding on the back of the escutcheon the LCD and volume control unit in position in the device and/or on a wiring board.
As an example of such an acoustic device, a car stereophonic device as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is known. In this car stereophonic device, an escutcheon 32 is attached to the front of a device casing 31. An LCD panel 33, a cassette tape insertion dust-proof door 34 and a knob 35 to adjust the sound volume, tone and balancing by turning the knob are attached to the escutcheon.
In this device, a conventional structure which fastens an LCD 36 and a volume control unit 37 is proposed as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. A plate-like front chassis 38 is provided on the back of the escutcheon 32 in parallel relationship thereto. A pair of holes 39 is provided in an upper portion of the front chassis 38 to pass therethrough the corresponding volume control units 37. An opening (not shown) is provided in a lower portion of chassis 38 at a position corresponding to that of the LCD 36 to watch the LCD therethrough.
The device casing 31 includes an upper casing portion 31a and a lower casing portion 31b which includes a bottom plate and side plates. A volume baseplate 41 and a main baseplate 42 extend backwardly from the upper portion of the front chassis 38 and from the lower portion of the LCD panel 33 such that they are parallel to the upper casing portion 31a and to the lower casing bottom, respectively.
The volume control unit 37 includes an adjusted volume body 37a, a portion 37b fastened to the front chassis 38, and a manipulating unit 37c connected to the knob 35. The LCD 36 includes the LCD panel 33 as the front display, a holding unit 44, a light emitting element 43 for transparently illuminating the LCD panel 33 and a terminal 45 provided on the holding unit 44. The terminal 45 is provided in the form of an L so as to cover the lower end of the panel 33 and a forward part of the bottom 42.
The LCD 36 and volume control unit 37 are fastened such that the LCD panel 33 is disposed in a cutout 40 in the lower portion of the front chassis 38. The holding unit 44 is disposed behind the LCD panel 33. The LCD panel 36 is connected at its lower end to the main baseplate 42 through the terminal 45. The body 37a of the volume control unit 37 is attached to the underside of the volume baseplate 41. The fastened portion 37b of the volume control unit 37 extends through the hole 39 in the front chassis 38 while the manipulating unit 37c protrudes forwardly through the escutcheon 32. By tightening a nut 46 against the fastened portion 37b, the volume control unit 37 is fastened to the front chassis 38.
However, the structure which fastens the LCD holder and volume control unit requires many volume control unit fastening members such as the front chassis 38 and volume baseplate 41 and hence the steps of fastening those members. In order to securely fasten the volume control unit 37 at a position spaced from the main baseplate 42, a troublesome process for tightening the nut 46 against the plate-like front chassis 38 is required. Thus, generally, in the prior art, the number of parts assembled and the number of steps of assembling the parts are large and complicated. Therefore, there is a correspondingly increasing probability that the fact will be a cause of failures and that the manufacturing cost will increase.

Structure which fastens an LCD holder and a volume control unit


A variable sample rate recursive digital filter is an adaptive digital filter where its coefficients are recalculated for each sample rate being processed in such a way as to maintain a constant frequency rate for all sample rates. An equivalent resampling is done by taking the ratio of the bilinear transforms at the respective sample rates. From an initial or calibrated sample rate and a corresponding initial filter coefficient, a new filter coefficient for a new sample rate is obtained by multiplying the initial filter coefficient by a constant or coefficient factor that is a function of the initial filter coefficient and a ratio of the initial and new sample rates:zFactor(z,R):=(1/z){(z(1+R)+(1−R))/(z(1−R)+(1+R))}The resulting new filter coefficient provides the adaptive digital filter with a constant frequency response when compared to the initial sample rate frequency response.

The present invention relates to digital filtering, and more particularly to a variable sample rate recursive digital filter that maintains a constant frequency response over a range of sample rates.
A problem that is common to several signal processing applications, such as sampling rate conversion, jitter/wander compensation and/or measurement, picture quality measurement and the like, is trying to maintain a constant frequency response over a range of sample rates. In picture quality measurement based on human vision models where test and reference video sequences are viewed with different formats, displays (frame rates, spatial resolutions) and viewing distances (different spatial sample rates within the field of view for the human eye), it is important to maintain both efficiency and accuracy. Maintaining the spatial and temporal frequency response of an adaptive filter, such as that described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/858,775 filed May 16, 2001, allows one to simulate the perceptual difference between viewing a video sequence close to a display (i.e., two screen heights) and far away (i.e., 10 screen heights) without the need for re-sampling, for example.
Prior methods require either re-sampling or re-calibration of the human vision model. Calibration may be very time consuming, so it is not desirable to calibrate for every distinct viewing distance. Re-sampling involves resampling the data twice, once for the input to the human vision model and then for the intermediate human vision model image just prior to calculations involving both reference and test video (differencing). This requires extra processing and introduces interpolation inaccuracies.
What is desired is a variable sample rate recursive digital filter that maintains a constant frequency response over a range of sample rates without requiring re-sampling or re-calibration for each new sample rate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Variable sample rate recursive digital filter