A tool revolver, in particular for a machine tool, includes a tool disk (1) rotatable about a revolver axis and provided with a plurality of tool stations distributed along the disk circumference and movable to an operation position by the disk (1) rotation. At least one part of the tool stations (13) has a reception area (25) for receiving a tool holder (3). A fixing device is used for fixing a corresponding tool holder (3) at a defined position in the reception area (25). The interaction between an elastic adjusting body (31) protruding perpendicularly to the reception area (25) and used in the form of an orientation element for positioning and adjusting surfaces (41, 43) deepened into a base surface (7) of the tool holder (3) enables the tool holder to take an adjustment position when a screw fitting is fastened.

Tool revolvers of this type are known, for example, in publication WO 93/23191. Due to the possibility of being able to position tool holders with various machining tools in rapid alternation by controlled rotation of the tool disk, these tool revolvers are advantageously used to a large extent in industrial engineering.
The disadvantage in these tool revolvers is that when the machining tools are being changed, when the pertinent tool holders are to be mounted on the receiver of the tool disk, the tool holder on the receiver must be adjusted to align the machined workpiece to the desired position. For known tool revolvers of the aforementioned type, adjustment must be done using adjustment screws for each tool holder.


The polymeric pigment dispersants of this invention are polyester/acrylic comb polymers which are the reaction product of 20-85% of a carboxylic functional polyester copolymer, 10-50% of an oxirane substituted acrylic copolymer, and 2 to 20% of an imide compound. These materials disperse a wide variety of pigments and are useful in solvent borne coatings where they can provide improved efficiency of pigment use, lower paint viscosity, and reduced emission of volatile organic solvent.

The most useful pigment dispersants are broadly compatible with other polymers, selectively adsorbed by a wide range of pigments, soluble in a wide range of solvents, and not displaced from pigment surfaces by polar solvents.
Polymeric pigment dispersants are discussed by J. D. Schofield, in chapter 3 of the Handbook of Coatings Additives, Vol. 2, ed. by L. J. Calbo (Marcel Dekker, Inc., NY 1992). Much of the past activity has been with random copolymers, but these relatively inefficient materials are being replaced by structured pigment dispersants having AB block copolymer or comb structures.
Pigment dispersions are thought to work by forming a layer of polymer which extends into the surrounding medium to provide entropic stabilization. The pigment particles do not come close enough to one another to flocculate, unless the stabilizing layer on one pigment particle can be be forced into the layer on another. This causes an increase in concentration within the area between the pigment particles, and this ordering is counter to the entropic tendency in nature to disorder. Further reference to this theory can be found in T. Sato, "Stability of Dispersions", J. Coating Technology, 65, p. 113, 1993.
H. L. Jakubauskas has investigated the relative effectiveness of random and structured copolymers as dispersants and indicates that comb and block configurations are likely to be equally effective for dispersion, and more effective that random copolymers which can cause false body by bridging between pigment particles ("Use of A-B Block Polymers as Dispersants for Non-aqueous Coating Systems," J. Coatings Technology, Vol. 58, p. 71, 1986).
Recent work on methacrylate AB block copolymer dispersants is described in "Acrylic Pigment Dispersants Made by Group Transfer Polymerization" by C. S. Hutchins and A. C. Shor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,226 (1987). Functional groups which give less yellowing when the dispersant is exposed to light were discovered by M. W. J. West, "Dispersants Resistant to Color Change," U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,512 (1989).
All-acrylic comb polymer pigment dispersants are described by Chu, Fryd and Lynch in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,131. These materials were made by a macromonomer approach. The polymeric backbone is hydrophobic in comparison to side chains. The polymer is functional in carboxylic acid groups so it can be used to make waterborne pigment dispersants. They do not disclose mixed polyester/acrylic comb polymers, nor the use of imides as pigment active groups.
Comb polymer salts using polyester teeth and polyalkyene imine backbones are described by A. Topham, in "Polymeric Dispersing Agents," GB 2001083 (1979). Agents for dispersing solids, particularly dyestuffs and pigments, in organic liquids, comprise a poly(lower alkylene)imine chain attached to which are at least two polyester chains by means of salt and/or amide links and are obtained by reacting a poly(lower alkylene)imine with a polyester having a free carboxylic acid group. Poly-12-hydroxystearic acid is typically the acid copolymer.
In "A New Approach to the Design of Pigment Dispersing Resins," K. Tsutsiu et al., J. Coatings Technology, Vol. 69, 27-35 (1990), star-shaped acrylic resins were prepared by the reaction of terminal carboxyl groups, at one end of an acrylic prepolymer, with oxirane groups of polyglycidyl compounds. Star-shaped polyester resin was also synthesized in the same manner as the star-shaped acrylic resins, but using a carboxyl terminated polyester pre-polymer in place of an acrylic prepolymer. The presence of the star-shaped acrylic/polyester resin improves compatibility between linear acrylic resin and polyester resin, which minimizes color difference, because the star-shaped acrylic/polyester resin possesses good compatibility with both acrylic and polyester resins.
The preparation of comb polymers with polyester teeth inserted via a macromonomer route into a methacrylate polymer backbone containing amino groups is described by T. Yamamto et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,969 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,229. A pigment dispersing agent for paints is constituted with a particular acrylic polymer component having a tertiary amino group and/or a basic nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring and a particular polyester component. This pigment dispersing agent is applicable to both acrylic resin series and polyester resin series paints as well as thermosetting type paints.
Comb polymer dispersants with polyester teeth, acrylic backbone, and nitrobenzoate introduced through glycidyl methacrylate have been described in JP9 3036460B and JP 59174620A. These dispersants also include a hydroxyl containing comonomer in the backbone. They are more completely described as thermosetting resins containing lactone-modified copolymers that comprise (1) 5-30 wt. % of hydroxyl group containing ethylenically unsaturated monomers, (2) 2-20 wt. % of glycidyl group containing ethylenically unsaturated monomers, (3) 5-50 wt. % of 4-22 carbon straight, branched or cyclic alkyl group containing ethylenically unsaturated monomers, (4) 0-30 wt. % of other ethylenically unsaturated monomers, (5) 10-70 wt. % of lactone compounds, and (6) 1-20 wt. % of glycidyl group reactive aromatic compounds. A group (1) monomer is, for example, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate; a group (2) monomer is, for example, glycidyl methacrylate; a group (3) monomer is, for example, butyl methacrylate or stearyl acrylate; a group (4) monomer is, for example, methyl methacrylate, styrene or itaconic acid; and group (5) monomer is, for example, beta-propiolactone or epsilon-caprolactone; and a group (6) member is preferably p-nitrobenzoic acid or p-amino benzoic acid. The resins have improved mutual solubility in binder and pigment dispersibility.
Past work therefore indicates that comb polymers can be outstanding dispersing agents if properly structured. Nevertheless, dispersants which are effective in dispersing a wide variety of pigments in various coatings, which minimize color and improve the properties of the coatings in which they are used, and which are readily prepared, are needed in the field of high performance coatings.


Systems and methods are provided for evaluating an asymmetry metric. A receiver receives a synchronization signal, a filtered signal, and a reference signal. A processor processes the synchronization signal and the reference signal to obtain a peak indicator signal, identifies a first set of values and a second set of values from the filtered signal based at least in part on the peak indicator signal, and evaluates an asymmetry metric from the first set of values and the second set of values.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the inventors hereof, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Signals received from a read head of a hard drive may be asymmetric. It is important in processing signals received from the read head to correct for any asymmetry in the signal to accurately process data from the hard drive. An ideal, symmetric signal received from a read head includes positive peak amplitudes that are, on average, equal in magnitude to negative peak amplitudes, while a non-ideal, asymmetric signal received from a hard drive may include positive peak amplitudes that are not equal in magnitude to negative peak amplitudes. If asymmetry in the signals is not corrected, the asymmetry may cause errors when reading the data from the hard drive.

Systems and methods for asymmetry detection based on a synchronization mark


Described herein are recognition modules that bind specifically to a template nucleic acid and which ligate together in a reducing environment to produce a gamma peptide nucleic acid (γPNA) oligomer. Also provided are methods of synthesizing a γPNA oligomer on a template using the recognition modules.

1. Field of the Invention
Described herein are methods of binding nucleic acids having repeating elements and compositions, particularly γPNA (gamma peptide nucleic acid) compositions, useful in carrying out those methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
For most organisms, the genetic information is encoded in double-stranded DNA in the form of Watson-Crick base-pairing—in which adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T) and cytosine (C) with guanine (G). Depending on which set of this genetic information is decoded through transcription and translation, the developmental program and physiological status will be determined. Development of molecules that can be tailor-designed to bind sequence-specifically to any part of this genetic biopolymer, thereby enabling the control of the flow of genetic information and assessment and manipulation of the genome's structures and functions, is important for biological and biomedical research in the effort to unravel the molecular basis of life, including molecular tools for basic research in biology. This effort is also important for medicinal and therapeutic applications for the treatment and detection of genetic diseases.
Compared to proteins, RNA molecules are easier to target because they are made up of just four building blocks (A, C, G, U), whose interactions are defined by the well-established rules of Watson-Crick base-pairing. Compared to standard, double-stranded DNA (or RNA), the secondary structures of RNA are generally thermodynamically less stable and, thus, energetically less demanding for binding because, in addition to being canonical (perfectly-matched) base-pairs, many of them are noncanonical (mismatched) and contain single-stranded loops, bulges, and junctions. The presence of these local interacting domains is essential for 'tertiary' interactions and assembly of the secondary structures into compact three-dimensional shapes. As such, slight variations in the interaction patterns or bonding strengths within these regions will have a profound effect on the overall three-dimensional folding patterns of RNA. Thus, molecules that can be used to modulate RNA interactions and thereby interfere with the RNA folding behaviors are important as molecular tools for assessing RNA functions, as well as therapeutic and diagnostic reagents.
RNA-RNA and RNA-protein interactions play key roles in gene regulation, including replication, translation, folding and packaging. The ability to selectively bind to these perturbed regions within the secondary structures of RNA is important in manipulating their physiological functions.

Template-directed γPNA synthesis process and γPNA targeting compounds


An energy and water saving pasteuriser capable of maintaining a stable temperature distribution pattern even when transfer work are interrupted during the operation, or a tunnel type refrigerator (10) allowing hot work such as bottles and cans filled with the products sterilized at a high temperature of generally 75xc2x0 C. to allow temperature of generally 25xc2x0 C., wherein plural cooling vessels (11a, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 13a, 13b) are disposed in a row from the upstream side to the downstream side so as to form a first cooling region (11), an intermediate cooling region (12), and a final cooling region (13), an adsorption freezing machine (19) is installed between the first cooling region (11) and final cooling region (13), and a cooling tower (20) is installed in the intermediate cooling region (12).

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pasteurizer for hot sterilization or cold sterilization by cooling product liquid in work containers such as cans, bins and so forth or applying heat energy to product liquid that is filled in the work containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pasteurizer for cooling hot work containers such as cans, bins and so forth in which a sterilized product liquid is filled is known. As shown in FIG. 3 for example, a series of six cooling vessels 51a-51f are disposed from an upper stream toward a downstream to form a tunnel type continuous liquid jet heat exchanger. A solution 52 made by mixing a rinse water for cooling of approximately 15xc2x0 C. with a pure water is provided to the cooling vessels 51b-51f through supplying pipes 52b-52f respectively.
In the cooling vessels 51a-51f, the cooling solution thus provided is sprayed to cool from the upper part of the cooling vessels on work 50 conveyed by a conveyer 50a by means of a circulating-spraying mechanism consisting of sprayers 59 and pumps for circulating-spraying 59a.
Thus, the work 50 in the condition of high temperature approximately 75xc2x0 C., which has been filled with sterilized product under a high temperature, are cooled gradually while conveying through each cooling vessel finally to approximately 20xc2x0 C. at the taking-out end of the downstream.
The cooling solution is made to flow in reverse to the upstream side from the cooling vessel 51f to the cooling vessel 51a of the upstream side by an overflow stream 58 so as to discharge the hot solution heated by heat exchange in the work-cooling process through a drainage disposed at the cooling vessel 51a as a discharge solution 53.
In the pasteurizer for cooling as shown in FIG. 3 and stated above, since the solution 52 supplied, for cooling is supplied evenly to each cooling vessel from the upstream to the downstream without having the difference of the supplying-solution temperature or the supplying-solution volume; so that a problem appeared concerning optimization of spraying temperature.
FIG. 4(A) indicates a schematic construction of another prior art of a pasteurizer for cooling.
FIG. 4(B) illustrates the state of a temperature distribution of each cooling vessel shown in FIG. 4(A). As shown in FIG. 4(A), the pasteurizer for cooling described as another example of prior art is constructed so as to carry in work 50 at approximately 95xc2x0 C. and take out the work after cooling to approximately 40xc2x0 C. A first cooling vessel 60a, a second cooling vessel 60b, a third cooling vessel 60c, a fourth cooling vessel 60d, a fifth cooling vessel 60e and a last cooling vessel 60f are disposed between the upstream side from which the work are carried in and the downstream side to which the cooled work are taken out and the work 50 are finally cooled in the last cooling vessel 60f by spraying a pure water for cooling 65.
A cooling tower 63 is disposed at the outside of the cooling vessels. A cold heat energy obtained from the air outside through the cooling tower and a cold heat energy, obtained by a heat exchanger 62, of the pure water for cooling supplied to the last cooling vessel 60f are given to the first, the second and the third cooling vessel 60a, 60b, 60c by a heat exchanger 64 so as to cool the work through each cooling vessel. As shown in FIG. 4(B), the temperature of the work 50 is gradually decreased from 95xc2x0 C. to 55xc2x0 C. while passing through from the inlet of the first cooling vessel 60a to the outlet of the third cooling vessel 60c and finally is decreased in the last cooling vessel by approximately 15xc2x0 C. to take out the work under the lowered temperature of 40xc2x0 C. The construction is a minimum-drainage, energy-saving and water-saving type.
Meanwhile, a pasteurizer for sterilization having a sterilizing function by a heat energy in the conveying process have been hitherto utilized in comparison to the pasteurizer for cooling having a cooling function without a sterilizing function as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.
As a pasteurizer for sterilization as mentioned above, the type shown in FIG. 5 is publicly known.
FIG. 5(A) schematically illustrates the construction of the pasteurizer. The pasteurizer comprises a tunnel type continuous liquid spraying heat exchanger 69 and a conveyer 50a, the tunnel type continuous liquid spraying heat exchanger 69 being provided from the upstream I to the downstream II in order with heat exchanging chambers for preheating 70 and 71 which form preheating region, heat exchanging chambers for sterilization 72 and 73 which form sterilizing region and heat exchanging chambers for gradual cooling 74 and 75 which form gradually cooling region in order, the conveyer 50a loading and conveying work 50 thereon in the heat exchanger.
Each heat exchanging chamber for preheating, heat exchanging chamber for sterilization and heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling have liquid spraying parts 68 capable of spraying to the work 50 on the conveyer and have liquid storage trays disposed under the conveyer and capable of storing spraying liquid therein. The pasteurizer has a construction capable of transporting the spraying liquid under a pressure through appropriate heating devices by pumps so that a temperature distribution of the stored liquid forms a pattern shown in FIG. 5(B).
Namely, for an example, the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray A is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling F by the pump 76, the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray B is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling E by the pump 77, the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray C is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for sterilization C through the heating device 78 by the pump 79, the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray D is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for sterilization D through the heating device 80 by the pump 81, the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray E is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for preheating B through the heating device 82 by the pump 83 and the spraying liquid in the liquid storage tray F is transported under a pressure to the spraying part of the heat exchanging chamber for preheating A through the heating device 84 by the pump 85 so as to form the aforementioned temperature distribution pattern.
In case the transportation of work is interrupted during the operation by a certain cause, the temperature of the stored liquid rises or declines because the work cease to deprive of or give heat to result in a problem of unusual rising of temperature of the work during transportation or destruction of the containers such as cans, bins and so forth. The invention of a pasteurizer having sterilizing function by an efficient heat energy together with the countermeasure to the no-load state was presented as a title of xe2x80x9cPasteurizer for countermeasure to no-load statexe2x80x9d by the present inventors and disclosed in Japanese Patent publication 10-273117.
The schematic construction of a pasteurizer for no-load state utilizing an adsorption freezing machine as a first example of the above mentioned pasteurizer for no-load state is explained using FIG. 6.
FIG. 7 shows the schematic construction of a pasteurizer utilizing a cooling tower as a second example.
FIG. 8 shows the schematic construction of a pasteurizer having hot water sprayers by steam bubbling, a countercurrent circulating path with heat exchanger for cooling of no-load state, a rinse function for economizing new water and a parallel circulating path for replenishing water to each storage tray as a third, a fourth and a fifth example.
As shown in FIG. 6, a first example of a pasteurizer for no-load state utilizing the adsorption type freezing machine according to the proposal comprises a pasteurizer 90, a heating device 95, an adsorption type freezing machine 94, a cooling tower 96, a return flow path 101 through which water is pumped under pressure from a storage tray of a heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93b at the downstream side to a gradually cooling region 93 to a spraying part of a heat exchanging chamber for preheating 93b at the downstream side to a preheating region 91.
The pasteurizer 90 comprises the preheating region 91, the sterilizing region 92 and the gradual cooling region 93. The preheating region 91 comprises heat-exchanging chambers for preheating 91a and 91b. The sterilizing region 92 comprises heat-exchanging chambers for sterilizing 92a and 92b. The gradually cooling region comprises heat-exchanging chambers for gradual cooling 93a, 93b and 93c.
The heat exchanging chambers for preheating 91a and 91b comprise spraying parts for spraying preheated spraying water to work and storage trays for receiving preheated spraying water, the heat exchanging chambers for sterilizing 92a and 92b comprise spraying parts for spraying hot water to the work and storage trays for receiving hot spraying water and, the heat exchanging chambers for gradual cooling 93a, 93b and 93c comprise spraying parts for spraying gradually cooling water to the work and storage trays for receiving gradually cooling spraying water in order to take out the work after preheating, heating, sterilizing and cooling gradually.
An element for detecting no-load state 92C is disposed at the inlet of the upstream side of the sterilizing region 92. When a no-load state is detected, a hot storing water of the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93a is led to the adsorption-freezing machine 94 and the cooling tower 96 through a leading path 98 and the heater 95 by activation of an electromagnetic valve 97 to be deprived of the heat of the water. Then the heat deprived water is returned to the storage tray of the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93C by the spraying part thereof through a return route of the heat deprived water 100.
The returned heat-deprived water flows through an overflow stream G to the storage tray of the heat exchanging chamber 93b and then is led to the storage tray of the heat-exchanging chamber for preheating 91a by the spraying part thereof through a return path 101. In addition to that, a closed cycle is formed by overflow stream of the direction of the arrow L through each storage tray of the heat exchanging chamber for preheating 91b, the heat exchanging chambers for sterilizing 92a and 92b and the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93a so as to be capable of adjusting the temperature of stored water of a series of the storage trays.
FIG. 7 shows a schematic construction of a pasteurizer utilizing a cooling tower as a second example of a pasteurizer for no-load state disclosed in Japanese Patent publication 10-273117.
In this example, it is designed to cool and adjust the temperature of stored water by depriving of heat from hot stored water, the temperature of which rises because of interruption of carrying in work at no-load state. A return path for deprived heat 103 comprising a detecting element for detecting no-load state 92C, a return flow path 101, an electromagnetic valve 97 and a cooling tower 96 is disposed to a pasteurizer having the same construction as the first invention 90 so as to avoid unusual rising of temperature of the work caused by interruption of carrying in the work.
In case of the above construction, when the detecting element for detecting no-load state 92C is activated, the activation actuates the electromagnetic valve 97 so that the hot stored water of the heat exchange chamber for gradual cooling is led to the cooling tower 96 and is deprived of heat. The heat-deprived water is returned to the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling by way of a deprived heat return path 103.
The returned heat deprived water is led to the storage tray of the heat exchanging chamber for preheating 91 a by the spraying part thereof through the return path 101. In addition to that, a closed cycle is formed by overflow stream of the direction of the arrow L through each storage tray of the heat exchanging chamber for preheating 91b, the heat exchanging chambers for sterilizing 92a and 92b and the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93a so as to be capable of adjusting the temperature of stored water of a series of the storage trays.
On this occasion, an appropriate amount of new water may be led to the heat exchanging chamber for gradual cooling
FIG. 8 shows a schematic construction of a pasteurizer for no-load state having hot water sprayers by steam bubbling, a countercurrent circulating path with a heat exchanger for cooling of no-load state, a rinse function for economizing fresh water and a parallel circulating path for replenishing water to each storage tray as a third, a fourth and a fifth example disclosed in Kokai publication 10-273117.
As shown in FIG. 8, the pasteurizer 90 in the first, the second and the third examples comprises heat exchanging chambers for preheating 91a and 91b, which form a preheating region 91, heat exchanging chambers for sterilizing 92a and 92b, which form a sterilizing region 92, heat exchanging chambers for gradual cooling 93a and 93b, which form a gradually cooling region 93, a heat exchanging chamber 104a of the most downstream region 104 and an unshown passing-through conveyer for transporting work.
Spraying parts 91e and 91f of the preheating region 91 for spraying hot water, heated by steam bubbling, or cooling water to the work on the conveyer for transporting, spraying parts 92e, 92f, 92g and 92h of the sterilizing region 92, spraying parts 93e and 93f of the gradual cooling region 93 and spraying parts 104e and 104f of the most downstream region 104 are disposed at the upper parts in the heat exchanging chambers. Storage trays, which receive spraying water sprayed from each spraying part, are disposed under the conveyer.
A hot water of a designated temperature is made by joining a steam supplied from a steam-heating source 105 with the spraying water pumped up from the storage tray at a steam bubbling part while adjusting the amount of bubbling steam with an automatic control valve disposed at each steam bubbling part. The hot water thus obtained is sprayed to the work.
In this case, the stored water does not need to be so hot at the starting point of the operation as in case of the conventional method because the temperature is determined by the amount of the bubbling steam, so that the waiting time is unnecessary and heat loss while waiting that exist in the prior art can be diminished to a minimum.
Fluctuation of the load can also be freely coped with by adjusting the amount of steam or operating off and on the supplying of the steam.
Further, countercurrent circulating paths 107, 108 are disposed between the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93a and the heat-exchanging chamber for preheating 91b and between the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93b and the heat-exchanging chamber for preheating 91a. The reverse flow circulating paths have heat exchangers for cooling 107a, 108a, which are used in a no-load state such as an uneven load state.
In case of the countercurrent circulating path 107, for example, the water warmed in the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93b is pumped up through the countercurrent circulating path 107 and is sprayed from the spraying part 91e of the heat-exchanging chamber for preheating 91a so as to deprive the 5-10xc2x0 C. work of cold heat and to return to the spraying part 93f in the heat-exchanging chamber in order to utilize heat efficiently and to economize new water by restraining from using excess new water in the gradually cooling region 93.
In the heat-exchanging chamber 104a of the most downstream region 104, a spraying part 104f spraying new water (of approximately 20xc2x0 C.) for rinsing by being supplied from a new water replenishing part 106 and a spraying part 104e spraying cooling water for rinsing through a cooling water circulating path 116, which cools stored water to a designated temperature by pumping up to the cooling tower 110 from the lower storage tray, are disposed in order to suppress the amount of new water used for rinsing.
The water in the storage trays in upstream side becomes insufficient because the work are sprayed with water in the upstream and carry a part of the sprayed water to the down stream so as to be necessary to replenish water. In the heat-exchanging chamber 104a of the most downstream region, a parallel replenishing-water supplying circulating path 114 comprising a replenish-piping part 113a and a return-piping part 113b is disposed so as to supply water individually through the replenish-piping part 113a with the parallel path while controlling the temperature of the water by detecting the temperature and the level of the water in each tray. The water temperature of each storage tray is capable of being controlled, in addition to replenishing an adequate amount of new water, by circulating water to the storage tray of the heat-exchanging chamber 104a while keeping the water level by the return-piping part 113b.
Further, a drainage 112 is disposed so that an appropriate drainage from the preheating region and gradual cooling region is possible.
The element for detecting no-load state 92C is disposed at the upstream side inlet of the sterilizing region 92. The temperature is detected at the inlet of the sterilizing region where, as hot water is sprayed, it is susceptible to influence of heat by interruption of the carried-in work.
By aforementioned operation, it is so constructed that unsterilized products canned or binned with such as juice, light-carbonated fruit drink, milk or Calpico are carried in as a state of 5-10xc2x0 C. to the pasteurizer, are concluded the sterilization at the temperature of 75xc2x0 C. and are taken off as a state of approximately 40xc2x0 C.
FIG. 9 shows an operation state of each constructed part shown in FIG. 8 at the time of an uneven load state. The above operation state at the time of an uneven load state indicates the case of no work in the heat-exchanging chambers for preheating 91a and 91b. In case of the uneven load state, when hot water is sprayed, steam is not bubbled into the spraying parts 91e and 91f of the heat-exchanging parts 91a and 91b but steam is bubbled only into the spraying parts 92e, 92f, 92g and 92h of the heat exchanging chamber for sterilizing.
The spraying part 91e sprays warm water warmed by spraying the stored water of the storage tray 93b of the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93b to the work through the countercurrent circulating path 107. The spraying part 91f sprays warm water warmed by spraying the stored water of the storage tray 93a of the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling 93a to the work through the countercurrent circulating path 108.
For there are work for preheating in the preheating region in case of no uneven load state, the spraying water from the spraying parts 91e and 91f deprives cold heat energy of the work to give and take the heat between the gradual cooling region 93 and the preheating region 91. Since there are no work at the region, a lot of new water is necessary in the gradual cooling region because of unbalance of heat.
With this regard, in the present invention, heat exchangers for cooling 107a and 108a having a cooling tower 110b are disposed in the countercurrent circulating path 107, 108 in order to avoid the usage of a plenty of new water in the gradual cooling region by compensate the unbalance of heat.
In this case, the stored water (new water and circulating water for gradual cooling) of the heat-exchanging chamber 104a of the most downstream region 104 is transported to the heat-exchanging chamber for gradual cooling by an overflow 115 to make good use of the cold heat energy. A parallel replenishing- water supplying circulating path 114 operates in the same as the aforementioned way. A drain 112 is drained only by overflow of new water.
When an element for detecting no-load state 92C is activated, an electromagnetic valve for bubbling steam to the spraying parts 91e and 91f of the preheating region 91, which is not shown in the figure, operates to shut the flow of steam and to put the heat exchanger for cooling 107a and 108a activated.
Meanwhile, when the transportation of the work, which have been continuously carried in, is interrupted by a certain cause under operation, heat of the work is not taken or given so that the temperature of storage liquid in cooling chambers disposed in the course of transportation of the work between a carry-in port and a take-out port rises remarkably, which gives an increase to an unusual temperature change to the work, therefore a certain measure is required.
In order to sterilize the work through the heat treatment process of preheating, heating, sterilizing, precooling and cooling, the work are carried in to the pasteurizer at a state of normal temperature of approximately 30xc2x0 C., held for a prescribed time at a sterilizing temperature of 70xc2x0 C. and cooled gradually to an normal temperature of approximately 30xc2x0 C. Consequently, a large quantity of water is used as a heat-exchanging medium and a lot of heat is consumed so that there leaves much to be desired to be improved from the viewpoint of energy-saving and water-saving.
The present invention has done in the light of aforementioned problem and has an object of offering an energy-saving and water-saving type pasteurizer for cooling and pasteurizer for sterilization, which is capable of keeping a stable temperature distribution pattern even if transporting of work is interrupted while operation.
In case the present invention is functioned as a pasteurizer for cooling, in a pasteurizer for cooling having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function in order to cool work containers such as cans and bins and so forth filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, by carrying in one after another to a plural cooling vessels disposed in serial array, the present invention is directed to a pasteurizer which is characterized by having:
an adsorption freezing machine between a high temperature cooling vessel disposed at carried-in side of work containers and a low temperature cooling vessel disposed at downstream side wherein a cooling liquid obtained by supplying a stored liquid of the high temperature cooling vessel of carry-in side as a heating source liquid to said adsorption freezing machine disposed at the downstream side; and
a means for halting or flowing liquid to stop supplying said heating source liquid in case of no-load.
The present invention is directed to a pasteurizer comprising:
a tunnel type conveyer transporting cooling device in which cooling vessels are disposed in serial array wherein high temperature work such as cans, bins and so forth filled a high temperature sterilized product are gradually cooled from a high temperature state of immediately after filling of approximately 75xc2x0 C. to a low temperature state of approximately 25xc2x0 C. and are taken out, the cooling device including:
a countercurrent cooling means having a circulating-spray cooling function which supplies the rinse water to the most downstream cooling vessels by spraying and an overflow function which flows reversely the supplied cooling liquid from the downstream side to the upstream side whereby the carried-in high temperature work are gradually cooled by circulating-spray cooling through each stored liquid of from the carry-in side high temperature cooling vessel to the taken-out side low temperature cooling vessel.
Further, as a means for enhancing cooling efficiency, the adsorption freezing machine is disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel of carried-in-work side and the low temperature side cooling vessel of taken-out-work side wherein, when loaded by the carried-in high temperature work, the stored liquid of the high temperature side cooling vessel is used as a heating source liquid in order to utilize efficiently the temperature difference between the heating source side and the cooling side and the cold heat obtained at the cooling side is utilized as a cooling source for the low temperature side cooling vessel, while at no-load state, the aforementioned heating source liquid is stopped to be supplied and the freezing machine is also stopped to operate so as not to reduce uselessly the temperature of the stored liquid of the high temperature cooling vessel. The construction is for countermeasure to no-load state.
Further, in a pasteurizer for cooling having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function in order to cool work containers such as cans and bins and others filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, by carrying in one after another to a plural cooling vessels disposed in serial array, a pasteurizer of the present invention is characterized by having:
a cooling tower disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel at the relatively upstream side position along the cooling direction of the work containers and the cooling vessel at the downstream side thereof; and
a means for halting or flowing a liquid to stop supplying said heating source liquid in case of no-load while, when loaded by the carried-in work containers, the stored liquid of the comparatively upstream side cooling vessel is supplied to the downstream side cooling vessel through the cooling tower.
In such construction, the pasteurizer comprises a tunnel type conveyer transporting cooling device in which cooling vessels are disposed in serial array wherein high temperature work such as cans, bins and others filled a high temperature sterilized product are gradually cooled from a high temperature state of right-after-filling of approximately 75xc2x0 C. to a low temperature state of approximately 25xc2x0 C. and taken out, said cooling device including:
a countercurrent cooling means having a circulating-spray cooling function which supplies the rinse water to the most downstream cooling vessels by spraying and an overflow function which flows reversely the supplied cooling liquid from the downstream side to the upstream side whereby the carried-in high temperature work are gradually cooled by circulating-spray cooling through each stored liquid of from the carried-in side high temperature cooling vessel to the take-out side low temperature cooling vessel.
As a means for enhancing cooling efficiency, a cooling tower is disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel at the comparatively upstream side position along the cooling direction of the work containers and the cooling vessel at the downstream side.
The stored liquid of the high temperature side cooling vessel flowed reversely therethrough by a countercurrent means such as the overflow function or the circulating-spray cooling function and others is cooled by the air outside and returned to the low temperature side cooling vessel so as to replenish cold heat energy.
Further, the pasteurizer has a construction for no-load state by which the stored liquid of the high temperature side cooling vessel is stopped to be supplied to the cooling tower in a state of no-load.
In the present invention, in a pasteurizer for cooling having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function in order to cool work containers such as cans and bins and so forth filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, by carrying in one after another to plural cooling vessels disposed in serial array, a pasteurizer is provided with:
an adsorption freezing machine between a high temperature cooling vessel disposed at carry-in side of work containers and a low temperature cooling vessel disposed at downstream side; and
a cooling tower disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel at the relatively upstream side position along the cooling direction of the work containers and the cooling vessel at the downstream side thereof.
According to the invention, the pasteurizer comprises a tunnel type conveyer transporting cooling device in which cooling vessels are disposed in serial array wherein high temperature work such as cans, bins and so forth filled a high temperature sterilized product are gradually cooled from a high temperature state of immediately-after-filling of approximately 75xc2x0 C. to a low temperature state of approximately 25xc2x0 C. and taken out, said cooling device including:
a countercurrent cooling means having a circulating-spray cooling function which supplies the rinse water to the most downstream cooling vessels by spraying and an overflow function which flows reversely the supplied cooling liquid from the downstream side to the upstream side whereby the carried-in high temperature work are gradually cooled by circulating-spray cooling through each stored liquid of from the carried-in side high temperature cooling vessel to the take-out side low temperature cooling vessel.
Further, as a means for enhancing cooling efficiency, the adsorption freezing machine is disposed together with the cooling tower.
Thus, in addition to an adsorption freezing machine which is provided between a high temperature cooling vessel disposed at carry-in side of work containers and a low temperature cooling vessel disposed at downstream side near taken-out side, a cooling tower is also provided between the high temperature side cooling vessel of the upstream side and the low temperature side cooling vessel at the downstream side thereof, which are in a group of intermediate cooling vessels existing between cooling vessels connected through the adsorption freezing machine.
The pasteurizer is also designed to correspond to no-load state therefore,under the state of such, the supply of the heat source liquid to the adsorption freezing machine and the supply of the stored liquid of the high temperature side cooling vessel to the cooling tower are stopped by means of halting or flowing liquid.
In each aforementioned invention, a cold heat energy of the downstream side cooling vessel in a group of the cooling vessels is supplied to the primary side of a heat exchanger so as to make capable of supplying a cold heat energy from the secondary side thereof as a cold heat energy spraying liquid to the adjacent upstream side cooling vessel while circulating to the storage tray of the same temperature as the primary side stored liquid which is heated by giving cold heat energy.
The aforementioned inventions region pateurizer utilizing the adsorption freezing machine, a pateurizer utilizing the cooling tower or a pasteurizer utilizing the both of the adsorption freezing machine and the cooling tower so as to make capable of supplying a cold heat energy from the secondary side thereof as a cold heat spraying liquid to the adjacent upstream side cooling vessel while circulating to the storage tray of the same temperature as the primary side stored liquid which is heated by giving cold heat.
In case of letting the pasteurizer be functioned as a pasteurizer for sterilization, in a pasteurizer having a preheating region, heating region, sterilizing region, precooling region and cooling region along a transporting path from the upstream to the downstream, the pasteurizer comprises:
a line for supplying a cooling or heating energy which forms and holds each temperature region in the each storage tray;
a cross-linked circulating path for spraying liquid which is formed between a circulating spray liquid of the preheating region sprayed in the precooling region and a circulating spray liquid of the precooling region sprayed in the preheating region;
a line for supplying a low temperature which makes a low temperature circulating spray by supplying a cold heat energy to a heat-exchanging chamber of the cooling region; and
a line for replenishing a stored liquid replenishing a stored liquid to an upstream side storage tray by cooling and storing overflow liquid of each storage tray.
The above-mentioned invention brings a sterilizing function to the transportation line of the work. Thus, the work containers such as cans, bins and so forth filled with liquid product are carried in to the pasteurizer at a state of normal temperature of approximately 30xc2x0 C., sterilized at a prescribed temperature for a prescribed time by a high temperature spraying at approximately 70xc2x0 C. and followed by a prescribed cooling to take out the work at a normal temperature of approximately 30xc2x0 C.
As stated above, a preheating region, heating region, sterilizing region, precooling region and cooling region are disposed in series from the upstream to the down stream wherein the transporting work are sequentially preheated, heated, sterilized, precooled and cooled with heat-exchanging function of giving and taking heat by high temperature heat spraying or low temperature heat spraying of heat medium to the carried-in work of normal temperature.
In each region, a spraying part of high temperature heat spraying or low temperature heat spraying for giving and taking heat and a liquid storage tray which receives the sprayed liquid through the work thereunder and performs circulating-spraying by supplying the spraying liquid of a prescribed temperature are disposed so as to give and take heat.
In the pasteurizer having above-mentioned construction, the pasteuriser has a line for supplying cold heat or heat energy in order to set the temperature of stored liquid of a storage tray disposed at each region.
Further, it is so constructed that the stored liquid is circulated in cross-linked wise between the storage tray of the preheating region and the storage tray of the precooling region so as to circulate the spraying liquid whose temperature has risen after cooling the work in the preheating region.
By this construction, in case the heat for treating the work used in the storage tray of the precooling region is equal to that of preheating region, heating energy for heating or cold heat for cooling is not necessary to supply so as to contribute to saving energy.
Further, it is so constructed that a normal temperature of approximately 30xc2x0 C. is prepared by spraying circulatively a low temperature cooling liquid in the cooling region so as to easily treat the work after taking-out.
Further, it is so constructed that overflow liquid of each storage tray is gathered in a tank, cooled to prescribed extent and supplied to the upstream side storage tray as a stored liquid in order to compensate the reduction of water level of the upstream side in comparison to the downstream side because spraying liquid is held on the work to transport to the downstream in the storage tray of each region so as to contribute saving water.
Further, according to the present invention, a ratio of heat treating time of preheating, heating, sterilizing, precooling and cooling is preferably 1:1:2:1:1.
By the above time allotment, the transporting work stay in the sterilizing region for a long time to take enough time of sterilization so as to be able to sterilize perfectly.
Further, concerning the line for supplying a cooling or heating energy, it is preferable to use water as a spraying liquid and a storage liquid and to use a water supplying line which supplies cold heat and a steam supplying line which supplies heating energy.
With the above construction, for setting the temperature of the stored liquid of each storage tray, it is so constructed that water is used as a stored liquid and steam or water is optionally used so as to adjust and hold to a prescribed temperature.
Further, it is preferable to construct so that cold heat is supplied from a cooling part which supplies cold heat to the line for supplying a low temperature and the line for replenishing the stored liquid through the cooling tower.
With the above construction, cold heat for the low temperature circulating-spraying used for cooling the work of the cooling region and cold heat used in the line for replenishing the stored liquid are in charge of the cooling part consisting of an energy saving construction which is dependent on the taking heat by the cooling tower.


The present invention provides, in one embodiment, a method of transmitting a message. The method includes transmitting a first codeword from a transmitter to a relay. The method also includes subsequently transmitting a second codeword based on the first codeword from the relay and a third codeword from the transmitter wherein the second and third codewords are transmitted concurrently.

Information theory usually models a communication channel by a conditional probability distribution. For example, a model for communicating a symbol from one point to another might involve the conditional probability distribution PY|X(•) that evaluates to:PY|X(b|a), aεX,bεY,  (1)where X and Y are random variables taking on values in the discrete and finite alphabets X and Y, respectively. The aim of communication is to transmit reliably a message index W taking on one of M values from a transmitter to a receiver. Suppose that to accomplish this task one transmits a string of n symbols Xn=X1, X2, . . . , Xn over the channel. The rate of communication is thenR=log2(M)/n  (2)Bits per channel use. The maximum rate C at which one can transmit reliably is called the capacity of the channel.
A relay channel is a multiterminal channel with three parties or nodes: a transmitter (node 1), a relay (node 2), and a receiver (node 3). A possible model for relaying might involve the probabilitiesPY2Y3|X1X2(b2,b3|a1,a2),  (3)where X1 is the transmitter's channel input, Y3 is the receiver's channel output, and X2 and Y2 are the relay's input and output, respectively. The idea is that the transmitter and receiver can only transmit and receive, respectively, but the relay can both transmit and receive. Suppose that the transmitter and relay transmit the strings X1n=X11, X12, . . . , X1n and X2n=X21, X22, . . . , X2n, respectively, over the channel. Suppose further that the relay can react quickly so that its input X2i can be any function of its past outputs Y2i−1. The relay channel is said to be memoryless if one hasPY2iY3i|WX1iX2iY2i−1Y3i−1(b2i,b3i|ω,a1i,a2i,b2i−1,b3i−1)=PY2Y3|X1X2(b2i,b3i|a1i,a2i)  (4)for all a1i, a2i, b2i, b3i, and i=1, 2, . . . , n. Only memoryless channels will be considered. Again, the maximum rate C at which one can transmit reliably is called the capacity of the channel.
A relay network is a generalization of a relay channel to a system with T nodes: a transmitter (node 1), T-2 relays (nodes 2 to T-1), and a receiver (node T). A model for relaying would involve the probabilitiesPY2Y3. . . YT|X1X2. . . XT−1(b2,b3, . . . bT|a1,a2, . . . ,aT−1).  (5)The relay network is memoryless if the natural extension of the condition (4) is true, that is, if the ith channel outputs Yti, t=2,3, . . . , T, depend only on the ith channel inputs Xti, t=1, 2, . . . , T−1, given the message, the present (or ith) and past channels inputs, and the past channel outputs. The capacity C is again the maximum rate at which one can transmit reliably.
Several types of relaying strategies may be employed in relay channels or networks. In an amplify-and-forward strategy, the relay amplifies the most recent Y2. More generally, the relay transmits some function of a small number of the past Y2. In a compress-and-forward strategy, the relay quantizes, compresses, and channel encodes a string of Y2 and transmits the resulting quantized values digitally to the receiver. A more sophisticated quantization exploits the statistical dependence between Y2 and Y3 to reduce the compression rate. In these systems, the transmitter transmits and the relay is silent in a first block, and then the transmitter is silent and the relay transmits in a second block. This mutually exclusive transmitting between the transmitter and the relay typically causes the transmission rate of the transmission system to suffer.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a way to overcome the limitations of the current art.

Distributed transmission involving cooperation between a transmitter and a relay


A coupling for joining sections of an underwater towed acoustical array iudes male and female couplers. The male coupler has an annular end portion with an axial bore that receives a first towed array section and a first connector and an annular body integral with and extending coaxially from the annular end portion. An outer groove is disposed around an outer circumference of the annular body. The female coupler has an annular end portion and an axial bore that receives a second towed array section and a second connector and a cup-shaped body portion integral with and extending from the annular end portion. The cup-shaped body portion has an inner groove disposed on the inner surface and an aperture through the cup-shaped body portion communicating with the inner groove. The inner groove is located so as to be in registry with the male coupler outer groove when the annular body is inserted into the cup-shaped body portion to form an annular channel. A retaining means, in the form of a cord or ball bearings, is inserted through the aperture and into the annular channel to maintain the annular body in fixed position within the cup-shaped body portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to underwater towed transducer arrays and, more particularly, to a coupling fabricated from a non-metallic, composite material and operable to join adjacent sections of towed transducer arrays while simultaneously reducing towed array self-noise.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Our desire to detect foreign submarines and ships in the face of improving foreign technology has led to the development of ever-increasingly sensitive oceanographic instrumentation operable to, for example, detect or monitor sound underwater. However, the development of improved systems for supporting highly sensitive towed acoustic arrays has not kept pace with the development of the instrumentation itself. As a result, serious problems attributed to mechanical and electrical interaction between the instrumentation and their support systems has been uncovered. In general, a typical towed acoustic array system includes an electrical signal-carrying, weighted cable towed from a vessel, a vibration isolation module connected to the underwater end to the tow cable, an acoustical array containing one or more hydrophones or transducers connected to the vibration isolation module and electrical signal receiving and processing equipment connected with the ship-board end of the tow cable. Each of the transducers in the acoustical array is operable to produce electrical signals responsive to detected sound pressure waves travelling underwater. The electrical signals produced by the transducers pass through the vibration isolation module and the tow cable to the electrical signal receiving and processing equipment located aboard ship. This electrical equipment manipulates the electrical signals received in a well known fashion to determine the range and bearing of an acoustic signal in the ocean.
An example of a support system which has failed to keep pace with improved towed acoustic array systems is the coupling used to join individual sections of the acoustical array. Typically, the acoustical array, or acoustical transducer array, is formed from a series of individual towed array sections joined in end-to-end fashion. The individual sections are joined via metallic couplings, and these metallic couplings have been found to both mechanically and electrically interact with the acoustical array so as to denigrate the quality of the electrical signals that are produced by the array. In particular, these presently used metallic couplings have been found to produce sag between adjacent acoustical array sections due to the negative buoyancy of the metallic couplings themselves. This sag between adjacent sections disrupts the flow of water along the outer surface of the acoustical array at the location of each coupling as the acoustical array is pulled through the water by the tow vessel. This disruption of water flow causes turbulence around each of the couplings and results in an increase in towed acoustical array self-noise. This self-noise, in the form of sound pressure waves, is detected by the transducers in the towed acoustical array along with the sound pressure waves intended to be detected. It is apparent that these sound pressure waves, generated as a result of the negative buoyancy of the metallic couplings used to join a multiplicity of towed array sections, adversely affect the signal to noise ratio of the incoming acoustic signal.
Consequently, there is a need for a coupling operable to join individual towed acoustical array sections which overcomes the difficulties associated with the metallic coupling known and used today. In particular, there is a need for a coupling for joining adjacent towed acoustical array sections which is fabricated from a non-metallic, composite material to greatly reduce sag between adjacent towed array sections and thus reduce the amount of towed acoustical array self-noise.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A gas grill that is structurally engineered such that it can be easily and rapidly assembled by a person of limited technical ability in a simplified manner with only a single open end wrench. The gas grill of the present invention comprises a base or bottom shelf, four legs, four casters, a firebox, a main upper body, a burner assembly, a pivotable door or lid, a rock grate, briquette or lava rock, a cooking grid, one or more warming racks, two side shelves, one or more front panels, a pair of side panels, a propane assembly, and a valve assembly. The firebox, main upper body, and the legs of the gas grill of the present invention are secured together by a plurality of externally threaded bolts which pass through openings in the main upper body, the firebox and the upper end portion of each leg.

The present invention relates generally to a cooking device and its method of assembly, and more particularly to an improved gas grill for cooking food and the method of assembling same.
Gas grills are very popular for outdoor cooking. They generally comprise a cart, a firebox or cooking chamber, a cover for the firebox or cooking chamber, one or more gas burners, controls for the gas burners, lava rock or briquettes, one or more propane (gas) cylinders, cooking grid, side shelves or burners, and perhaps one or more warming racks. Numerous models exist in all types, styles, sizes and shapes. While some are pre-assembled, most must be assembled by the consumer or owner. The assembly of a gas grill can range from fairly easy to extremely difficult and normally are labor and tool intensive.
In a continuous effort to improve upon current designs and products, add new features, and ensure ease of assembly of the grill with minimum tools, the present invention was developed.
The assembly of the instant invention is structurally engineered such that it can be easily and rapidly assembled by a person having limited technical ability without the use of numerous tools and in a simplified manner. All that is needed to assemble the grill of the present invention is an open end wrench. The gas grill of the present invention has tremendous curb appeal with real advantages being in its simplistic assembly through the use of four externally threaded bolts.
The gas grill of the present invention is structurally engineered such that it can be easily and rapidly assembled by a person having limited technical ability without the use of numerous tools and in a simplified manner as only a single open end wrench is required during the assembly process.
The gas grill of the present invention in its preferred embodiment generally comprises a base or bottom shelf, four legs, four casters, a firebox, a main upper body, a burner assembly, a pivotable door or lid, a rock grate, briquette or lava rock, a cooking grid, one or more warming racks, two side shelves, one or more front panels, two side panels, a propane cylinder, and a valve assembly. The principal components of the preferred embodiment of the gas grill of the present invention can be easily assembled and held together by a few externally threaded bolts which pass through respective openings in the firebox, the main upper body, and internal threads in the upper end portions of the legs.
There is a real need for a gas grill that can be easily assembled by a person of limited technical ability and that does not require a lot of tools to assemble same. The gas grill of the present invention fulfills these needs.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved gas grill that can be easily and efficiently manufactured and assembled without the need for many tools.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved gas grill wherein it major components can be rapidly assembled by an inexperienced person with limited technical ability.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved gas grill whose major components are assembled and held together by a plurality of threaded bolts passing through openings therein.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Gas grill and method of assembling the grill


A method for manufacturing a liquid-cooled stator bar suitable for use in a generator. The method includes providing a stator bar comprising a plurality of conducting strands collectively formed into a desired shape, wherein at least one of the conducting strands is configured to channel a liquid for cooling the stator bar. At least one layer of ground wall insulation is applied to the outer portions of the stator bar, and then at least one layer of a conductive tape is applied to an outer area of the ground wall insulation. The ground wall insulation and the conductive tape are cured.

This invention relates generally to a method for applying a conductive material to stator bars, and more specifically, to methods for applying a conductive tape to liquid-cooled stator bars for high-voltage generators.
In at least some known high-voltage generators, a stator yoke surrounds an armature core and partially encloses a plurality of stator bars, which are sometimes referred to as "stator windings" or "armature windings". At least some known stator bars include a plurality of strands of copper conductors that are wound in the armature to form loops. The stator bars are generally positioned in slots of the power generator so that desired voltage and current characteristics can be generated during operation. High-voltage insulation is wrapped around the stator bars to maintain ground insulation between the conductors and the stator core and other grounded objects.
While in the slot of the power generator, stator bars are subject to a cross-slot flux produced by the normal load current. If the stator bars are loose within the slots, vibration or "bar bouncing" caused by the magnetic forces can damage the stator bars. Thus, in order to reduce this motion, the final size of the stator bars must be carefully configured so that the bar is tightly wedged into the slot.
At least some known methods for fabricating stator bars include adding a conductive material or coating in order to prevent corona discharges between the stator bar and stator core laminations. Corona discharges deteriorate the high-voltage insulation which leads to premature failure of the stator bar. Thus, material having a lower resistance than the insulation is applied to the outer surface of the insulation in order to prevent or limit the corona activity.
In one known method, particularly for after-market liquid-cooled stator bars, electrical insulation is first applied around the stator bar. The insulation is then cured in a vacuum-pressure autoclave. After curing in the autoclave, the bar is inspected to confirm that it satisfies dimensional requirements. A conducting adhesive is then applied to the cured ground insulation, followed by wrapping the coated insulation with a glass tape or other material (e.g., fabric, felt, or mat). Typically, the width of the tape is approximately one and a half inches wide, making the process of wrapping the bar labor intensive. After the adhesive and the tape dries, which takes approximately eight hours, a conductive paint is applied to the glass tape. The conductive paint helps obtain the desired surface resistivity for the final stator bar. The paint takes approximately eight hours to dry. In some cases, the bar is held (e.g, on sawhorses) which requires the bar to be moved so that those areas covered by sawhorses can be painted. Another eight hours of curing time is then needed.
After the paint cures, the stator bar is then inspected again to verify the bar is appropriately sized. Furthermore, the stator bar can be surface resistance tested, in order to ensure the surface resistivity is within an appropriate range. Bars are then "high potential" proof tested at elevated voltages relative to operation in order to identify any flawed ground wall insulation.
However, the armoring process described above can be labor intensive. Also, the process requires substantial time in curing the paints and adhesives applied to the stator bars (approximately 16 hours) and substantial time in manually sizing the bar and applying the armor. Lastly, a significant amount of bar handling is required due to the number of process steps for armoring and this presents the potential for handling damage to occur.
Overall, the above process can be inefficient and costly. Furthermore, generators may include a variety of stator bar configurations and/or require a variety of stator bar sizes. As mentioned above, it is important to control the finished size of the bar to prevent them from being loose in the slot. Thus, alternative methods and more cost-efficient methods for manufacturing stator bars and for applying a conductive material are desired.

Method for manufacturing liquid-cooled stator bars


A valve body for an electromechanically operable valve is produced by providing a base element with a circumferential sidewall having a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, the sidewall being made of a ferromagnetic material and enclosing a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis. The third portion is positioned in longitudinal direction between the first portion and the second portion. A thickness of the third portion is smaller than a thickness of the first portion and the second portion. Hardening the third portion is achieved by laser heating, which transforms a material structure of the third portion into a martensitic structure. The locally decreased thickness creates a bottleneck for a magnetic flux, and a magnetic flux bypass in the valve body is reduced due to magnetic saturation; however, a structural resistance of the valve body remains high due to the laser induced hardening.

Injectors for internal combustion engines usually comprise a valve body which must be resistant to the pressures within the injector and, at the same time, capable of guiding a magnetic flux created by a coil of the injector. The valve body itself is typically ferromagnetic which causes the problem that a magnetic flux bypass through the ferromagnetic valve body wall is created. Such a magnetic flux bypass causes a general worsening of injector dynamic responses.
In order to overcome this disadvantage, paramagnetic valve bodies which shield impervious the magnetic flux have been applied in injectors. These paramagnetic valve bodies reduce the overall efficiency of a magnetic circuit of the injector and worsen any injector dynamic response due to a big radial gap between armature and housing as well as washer and housing.
Another possible solution for overcoming said disadvantage is described in document GB 2 262 659 A in which a non-magnetic portion is positioned between two magnetic portions of the valve body. Although such a solution reduces the magnetic flux bypass, mechanical properties, and—as a result—the resistance to pressure is reduced as well.

Method for producing a valve body for an electromechanically operable valve, a valve body, and an electromechanically operable valve comprising the valve body


A dosing device with a dosing chamber unit receiving dosing fluid and actively ejecting dosing fluid, which includes at least one dosing chamber, an inflow channel which fluidically connects a dosing chamber with an inlet and in an inflow orifice opens into the dosing chamber, and a backflow channel which fluidically connects the or a dosing chamber with a backflow and which in a backflow orifice proceeds from the associated dosing chamber, is able to exactly eject minimum amounts of fluid. Inflow and backflow orifice are spaced from each other. A 3-way valve is provided with a common port for the inflow and the backflow channel.

High-quality media, e.g. in the pharmaceutical area, or aggressive media must be dosed with high accuracy e.g. for test laboratories or also in production processes. The quantities to be dosed in part are extremely small, e.g. in the single-digit μl range. For this purpose, syringe pumps, diaphragm pumps or peristaltic pumps usually are employed. Depending on their construction, these types of pump have advantages and disadvantages. Syringe pumps for example are expensive due to the required electronic actuation and are not able to deliver continuously. Peristaltic pumps and diaphragm pumps often are not accurate enough for precise dosing. From DE 20 2012 003 948 U1 there is known a dosing device which employs a diaphragm pump. Before and after the dosing chamber diaphragm valves are configured in the inflow channel and in the outlet channel, which can be actuated pneumatically, in order to limit the fluid quantity supplied to the diaphragm pump. The pneumatic back pressure which so far has occurred in such dosing devices when ejecting the fluid from the dosing chamber does not lead to a problem in this dosing device, because the upstream diaphragm valve closes safely.
It is the object of the invention to create a dosing device which is constructed very simple and nevertheless provides for safe dosing reliable above all over an extended period.

Dosing device and method for operating a dosing device


A turbine blade with a squealer tip having a cooling circuit formed from a number of rows of multiple impingement cavities that extend across the blade tip from the pressure side wall to the suction side wall. One of the impingement cavities (main impingement cavity) in each row is connected to a cooling pressure supply channel through a main metering and impingement hole. The remaining impingement cavities in the row is either a pressure side impingement cavity or a suction side impingement cavity, and each are connected to the main impingement cavity through secondary metering and impingement holes. The impingement cavities located on the ends and adjacent to the side walls of the blade tip are connected top film cooling holes. Cooling air from the supply channel flows through the main metering and impingement holes and into the main impingement cavities, then flows into the pressure side impingement cavity or cavities through the secondary metering and impingement holes or through the pressure side impingement cavities through the secondary metering and impingement holes. At the last cavity adjacent to the walls, the cooling air flows through the film cooling holes to discharge from the blade tip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a gas turbine engine, and more specifically to a turbine blade with a cooled squealer tip.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In a gas turbine engine, a hot gas flow is developed in the combustor from the burning of a fuel with compressed air from the compressor and then passed through a multiple staged turbine to produce mechanical power. In an aero engine, the mechanical power drives the rotor shaft that is connected to a bypass fan. In an industrial gas turbine engine, the rotor shaft is connected to an electric generator that will produce electrical power. In both engines, the engine efficiency can be increased by passing a higher temperature gas into the turbine. However, the turbine inlet temperature is limited to the material properties of the first stage turbine airfoils, these airfoils being the stator vanes and the rotor blades.
Complex internal airfoil cooling passages have been proposed, to provide high levels of airfoil cooling using a minimal amount of cooling air. Higher turbine inlet temperatures are obtainable by providing improved airfoil cooling. Also, since the compressed air used to cool these airfoils is taken from the compressor, the use of a minimal amount of compressor bleed off air for the airfoil cooling will also increase the engine efficiency.
Airfoil cooling is also important in increasing the life of the airfoils. Hot spots can, occur on sections of the airfoils that are not adequately cooled. These hot spots can cause oxidation that will lead to shortened life for the airfoil. Blade tips are especially subject to hot spots since it is nearly impossible to total eliminate the gap between the rotating blade tip and the stationary shroud that forms the gap. Without any gas, blade tip rubbing will occur which leads to other problems. Because of the presence of the tip gap, the hot gas can flow through the gap and expose the blade tip surface to the extreme high temperatures of the gas flow. Therefore, adequate blade tip cooling is also required to reduce hot gas flow leakage and to control metal temperature in order to increase part life.
In the prior art, an airfoil tip edge is cooled by using multiple film cooling holes. FIG. 1 shows a prior art blade tip region with a row of film cooling holes just below the tip edge on the suction side. FIG. 3 shows a row of film cooling holes on the pressure side. FIG. 2 shows a prior art turbine blade. These film cooling holes are fed from the blade internal cavity and exit at various gas side discharge pressures along the blade tip peripheral. As a result of this cooling approach, cooling flow distribution and pressure ratio across these film cooling holes for the pressure side and the suction side film cooling holes are predetermined by the internal cavity pressure. In addition, the blade tip region is also subject to severe secondary flow field which requires a large number of film cooling holes and a large amount of cooling flow to cool the blade tip periphery.

Turbine blade with multi-impingement cooled squealer tip


A chick cage system particularly adapted for the raising of chicks into pullets including upper and lower cage rows, the upper cage rows overlying the lower cage rows for approximately one-half of their width. The feed trough in the lower cage is offset laterally from beneath the upper cages so as not to be contaminated by falling manure. The upper cages, within which the chicks are started, include a barrier for reducing the size of the cage and a feed saver mechanism swingable with the barrier. The troughs run centrally of the cages to permit bird access thereto from both sides.

This invention relates to cage systems for the raising of poultry and, more particularly, for the raising of chicks into pullets and the like.
It is customary, particularly in the raising of pullets, to confine the birds within a cage, suitable provisions being made for watering, feeding and manure disposal. The chicks, ordinarily, remain in the cages for approximately twenty weeks, having been debeaked and redistributed at the end of the first ten day period.
Poultry houses of the type wherein pullets are raised are, of course, expensive to construct, and it is highly desirable to utilize space with maximum efficiency. Factors affecting such efficiency, however, include not only bird density but feed and energy efficiency, serviceability, equipment cost, maintenance and the like. Optimally, by combining these and other such factors, a particular group of chicks is reared with maximum efficiency.
Many widely differing types of cage systems have been proposed for the raising of the chicks. These include the present Assignee's FLAT DECK and TRI-DECK CHIK-EZE cage systems. The FLAT DECK system, briefly, consists of a single tier of back-to-back cages suitably suspended above a manure pit or the like. The feed troughs traverse the bottoms of the cage at a central location, a swingable barrier of the general type hereinafter discussed being provided to reduce the cage size during the initial period the birds are contained therein. After this period has passed, the barrier is retracted, permitting the birds to have access to the feed trough from either side thereof.
The FLAT DECK CHIK-EZE system has achieved considerable commercial success and, certainly, its use results in high quality pullets. It is relatively inefficient, however, from a bird density and energy standpoint. There has also been a marked tendency to waste feed during the period prior to debeaking, since the birds tend to push the same through the barrier from whence it drops into the manure pit.
The TRI-DECK CHIK-EZE cage system includes three tiers of aligned rows of cages. The feed troughs are positioned along the front of each of the cages. Complicated scraping mechanisms are required to remove manure from above the lowest and middle tiers of cages. While this system is highly efficient from a bird density standpoint, the facts that the feed is accessible to the birds from only one side of the cage and the significant initial investment and maintenance costs required to maintain it present significant drawbacks.
Cage arrangements other than those discussed above have been utilized. One such arrangement involves the placement of two rows of cages directly over two other rows of cages such that the floors of the top cages form the ceilings of the lower cages. While such a system, again, is quite efficient from a bird density standpoint, the fact that the manure from the birds in the upper cages is constantly falling into the food, etc., in the lower cages makes the system unsatisfactory. Lighting and ventilation problems in the lower cages, along with the difficulty in removing birds therefrom, also markedly detract from the efficacy of this system.
Another prior art proposal has been to laterally offset two bottom rows of cages completely from two adjacent top rows of cages positioned thereabove. Feed troughs, in this system, were placed at the exterior of each cage. While the system has many advantages insofar as lighting, ventilation and the like are concerned, it is bad from bird density and food accessibility standpoints.
Another problem which is encountered with cage systems of the type described is the tendency of the birds to spill feed from the trough. This has been remedied in the TRI-DECK CHIK-EZE cage and cages similar thereto by the provision of a permanent metal feed guard extending from the outer extremity of the feed trough up the front of the cage. This guard prevents birds from knocking food out of and over the trough into the aisleway when eating. The use of such a guard, however, has been limited to cages having the feed troughs on one side thereof. While the guard in these cages has served to retard food spillage, the fact that the feed trough is on the exterior of the cage prevents optimal feeding access which is obtained only when the trough is in the center of the cage and accessible by birds confined on either side of it.


A container for a potable liquid in the form of an elongated cylinder having a screw cap with two holes secured to the top of the cylinder. The cylinder is double walled and includes an insulating material disposed between the two walls. A drinking straw passes from the liquid through one of the holes, forms a loop outside the container, and the outer end of the straw is insertable into the second hole. An annular sealing ring is provided in each hole so that the straw fits snugly in the two holes in a manner such that the loop can serve as a handle for carrying the container.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers for potable liquids.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Attempts have been made to provide a container for a potable liquid which is provided with a "built-in" drinking straw. Hermes in U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,879; Mainere in U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,234; and Petriccione in U.S. Pat. No. 2,844,267 each disclose a container wherein a drinking straw is positioned in the container with the suction end of the straw protected by the bottle cap. In each case access to the straw is attained by the removal of the cap or a portion thereof.
Kennedy in U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,307 describes a similar container wherein two straws are used. In this case the straws extend through the bottle cap and the ends of the straws are protected by corks, individual caps or closure elements.
Although some convenience may be gained by the type of straw described in the art it is believed the consumer needs additional utility in such structures particularly in their transportation and reuse.
My prior co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 597,296, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,814, discloses a potable liquid container in which a straw can be alternatively used to consume liquid within the container or as a handle to carry the container. The present invention provides an improvement to such a container.


An interconnected lock assembly which can remotely engage a mechanism to couple operation of an inside handle to operation of an outside handle to enable the door to be unlocked from the outside of the door without requiring a key. The interconnected lock assembly is mounted in a door and comprises a first lock assembly including an inside handle and an outside handle, and a second lock assembly interconnected to the first lock assembly. The second lock assembly comprises a deadbolt assembly operably connected to a deadbolt latch having a deadbolt movable between an extended position and a retracted position. Rotation of the inside handle operates to move the deadbolt into a retracted position. The interconnected lock assembly further comprises a remote unlocking mechanism selectively engageable to automatically couple the outside handle to the inside handle such that rotation of the outside handle moves the deadbolt into a retracted position thus unlocking the door.

An interconnected lock assembly is characterized by an inside handle, either knob or lever, which simultaneously retracts both a deadlatch and a deadbolt. Such a lock assembly is commonly found in public accommodations such as hotels and motels in which, for security purposes, the occupant wishes to set both a deadlatch and a deadbolt. The same type of lock assembly may also be found in a residential or other environments. It is particularly important that both locks be retracted by the turning of a single inside operating member as it has been found that in the event of a fire or other panic situation it is desirable that the occupant only need turn a single knob or lever to operate all of the lock mechanisms in a particular door.
Such interconnected lock assemblies have been on the market for a number of years. Some interconnected lock assemblies are adjustable to compensate for varying distances between the latch assemblies. The adjustable feature is particularly helpful if there is a slight misalignment of the latch assembly bores, or when retrofitting an existing door if the distance between bore centerlines is not the same as the distance between the latch assemblies of the interconnected lock. U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,933 discloses an adjustable interconnected lock which enables interconnection of an exterior assembly that has an adjustable spacing between the exterior dead bolt assembly and a lower lock assembly.
One problem with interconnected lock assemblies is that when leaving, the user can open the door by using just the interior handle, even if the door is locked, but must use a key to unlock the door from the outside. This can provide an inconvenience especially when the keys are not readily available, the user is carrying objects, the user does not have a key, or the user is in a hurry. Thus the convenience and ease of operation provided by the interconnect lock is lost.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present interconnected lock assembly designs. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interconnected lock assembly which can remotely engage a mechanism to couple operation of an inside handle to operation of an outside handle to enable the door to be unlocked from the outside of the door without requiring a key. This and other objects of the present invention are provided by an interconnected lock assembly for mounting in a door comprising a first lock assembly including an inside handle and an outside handle, and a second lock assembly interconnected to the first lock assembly. The second lock assembly comprises a deadbolt assembly operably connected to a deadbolt latch having a deadbolt movable between an extended position and a retracted position. Rotation of the inside handle operates to unlatch the first lock assembly and move the deadbolt into a retracted position. The interconnected lock assembly further comprises a remote unlocking mechanism selectively engageable to automatically couple the outside handle to the inside handle such that rotation of the outside handle operates to unlatch the first lock assembly and moves the deadbolt into a retracted position, thus unlocking the door.

Interconnected lock with remote unlocking mechanism


An antenna includes an antenna element in which a predetermined electrode is provided on a dielectric base member and a substrate in which a predetermined electrode is provided on a base. A feed-terminal connecting electrode to which a feed terminal provided on the lower surface of the antenna element, an external-terminal connecting electrode to which an external electrode is connected, and a ground-terminal connecting electrode to which a ground terminal provided on the lower surface of the antenna element are provided on the upper surface of an ungrounded area of the substrate. A chip inductor is connected between the external-terminal connecting electrode and the feed-terminal connecting electrode, and a chip inductor is connected between the external-terminal connecting electrode and the ground-terminal connecting electrode. The shortcut of a current route achieved by each of the chip inductors is provided.

Examples of a single antenna that supports a plurality of frequency bands are disclosed in Patent Document 1 (International Publication No. WO 2006/073034) and International Publication No. WO 2006/077714 (Patent Document 2).
Here, the configuration of the antenna illustrated in Patent Document 1 is described on the basis of FIG. 1. In the example of FIG. 1, a feed radiation electrode 7 is provided on a rectangular columnar dielectric base member 6. This feed radiation electrode 7 resonates in a fundamental mode and a higher mode. The feed radiation electrode 7 has a first end formed as a feed end 7A for use in connection to a circuit for wireless communication. The feed radiation electrode 7 has a second end formed as an open end 7B. The position of a capacitance-loading portion α is set in advance between the feed end 7A and the open end 7B of the feed radiation electrode 7. The capacitance-loading portion α is connected to a capacitance-loading conductor 12. The capacitance-loading conductor 12 produces a capacitance for use in adjusting the resonant frequency in the fundamental mode between the feed end 7A and the capacitance-loading portion α.
In the antenna illustrated in Patent Document 2, a dielectric base member on which a feed radiation electrode and a non-feed radiation electrode are disposed is arranged in an ungrounded area of a substrate, each of the feed and non-feed electrodes having a spiral slit, and capacitance is formed in the spiral slit.
With the antenna illustrated in Patent Document 1, the magnitude of the capacitance connected between the feed end 7A and the capacitance-loading portion α is specified by the capacitance-loading conductor 12. The use of this can adjust the resonant frequency in the fundamental mode. Setting the position of the capacitance-loading portion α in advance enables the adjustment of the resonant frequency in the fundamental mode while the resonant frequency in a harmonic mode remains substantially constant.
However, in order to adjust or change the load capacitance, it is necessary to alter the shape of the electrode pattern on the rectangular columnar dielectric base member. The same applies to the antenna illustrated in Patent Document 2. For example, when it operates as a double-channel antenna for the 2 GHz band and the 900 MHz band, the resonant frequency in the fundamental mode is set as the 900 MHz band and the resonant frequency in the harmonic mode is set as the 2 GHz band. In order to change the resonant frequency in the fundamental mode by using the load capacitance, as well as in order to change the resonant frequency in the harmonic mode, it is necessary to alter the electrode pattern. Because of this, development and design time is required, and a problem also exists in an increase in cost.

Antenna and wireless communication device