Pyritic sulfur, organic sulfur and elemental sulfur are removed from coal by subjecting an aqueous slurry of coal to flotation for removal of most of the pyritic sulfur after which the coal obtained from the flotation is treated with dilute nitric acid which oxidizes any remaining pyritic sulfur and most of the organic sulfur, thus solubilizing the sulfur and reducing the sulfur content thereof. This coal can be filtered, washed and dried, if desired. Further reduction of organic sulfur is obtained by chemical treatment with unsaturated hydrocarbons which bind the organic sulfur thus lowering the sulfur content of the coal sufficiently so that the final product meets all requirements for use for power plants as well as for the metallurgical industry.

An increased demand of fuel for power plants and for other types of industries, particularly in view of the high cost of oil, as well as the short supply of fuel oil, has created a situation in which coal has become most valuable and cheapest fuel available. An important factor which influenced the change from coal to oil and gas in previous years has been the cleaner burning of the oil and gas which reduced the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere.
Among the most damaging of the air pollutants are the sulfur oxides resulting from the burning of sulfur-containing fuels. Natural ambient air quality standards and emission standards can generally be met in the case of the burning of coal only if the coal contains less than 1% of sulfur.
The sulfur in coal occurs mainly in organic and inorganic forms, only a small amount of elemental sulfur sometimes being included. A substantial amount of the inorganic sulfur (pyritic sulfur) may be removed from sulfur by cleaning the coal with water and surface active agents which help to separate the coal from the heavier sulfur-containing minerals. However, these known processes result in substantially all of the organic sulfur remaining in the coal subjected to such flotation treatment, as well as a part of the pyritic sulfur also remaining therein.


An optical imaging system includes lenses. A prism is disposed adjacent to a first lens of the lenses and a second lens of the lenses, and is configured to refract light from the first lens to the second lens. A reflecting member is disposed adjacent to a fifth lens of the lenses and an imaging plane, and is configured to reflect light from the fifth lens to the imaging plane.

1. Field
The following description relates to an optical imaging system including a prism.
2. Description of Related Art
An optical imaging system commonly includes a plurality of lenses. For example, four or more lenses are desired in order to improve the resolution of an optical imaging system. An optical imaging system including a plurality of lenses has a significant length. For this reason, it is not easy to mount the optical imaging system including the plurality of lenses in an electronic device that is desired to be thinned, such as a mobile phone.
Therefore, there is a desire to develop an optical imaging system capable to be easily mounted in a thinned electronic device.


This disclosure is directed to a method of forming an interlevel dielectric glass layer (16) on a semiconductor device, the layer having a plurality of feed-through apertures (17--17) therein. A CW laser beam (29) is continuously raster scanned over the surface of the glass layer (16) to reflow the layer to densify the material and form a smooth surface topography about the apertures (17--17).

In the manufacture of miniature electronic devices, such as Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) devices, it is frequently necessary to establish electrical connections between two sections of the device by means of a conductive film making contact therebetween. Typically, this conducting film has a portion that overlies an insulating dielectric layer or film and makes contact through small feed-through apertures in that dielectric layer to the underlying areas of the device. To accomplish this a thin layer of dielectric material is deposited on a semiconductor substrate and the feed-through apertures are formed using well known photolithographic masking and chemical etching techniques. Such chemically etched feed-throughs typically have sharp corners resulting in insufficient thickness of conductive material deposited at the corners during subsequent processing steps, which can lead to failure of the device under high current densities.
One solution to this problem is to place the device, with the apertured insulating layer thereon, in a furnace for a predetermined period of time at an elevated temperature until the insulating material reflows to form a smooth surface topography around said apertures. Although such a technique can be most effective, it has been found that undesirable diffusion of dopants within certain devices accompany the high temperature furnace reflow operation.
Accordingly, there is a need for an insulation reflow technique which can form a smooth surface topography around the feed-through apertures without the attendant undesirable dopant diffusion.


An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This turbine engine assembly includes a body, a shell and a heat shield panel. The panel is attached to the shell with a tapered cooling cavity between the shell and the panel. The panel defines a cooling aperture configured to direct air out of the cooling cavity to impinge against the body.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to a turbine engine and, more particularly, to cooling a multi-walled structure of a turbine engine.
2. Background Information
A floating wall combustor for a turbine engine typically includes a bulkhead, an inner combustor wall and an outer combustor wall. The bulkhead extends radially between the inner and the outer combustor walls. Each combustor wall includes a shell and a heat shield that defines a respective radial side of a combustion chamber. Cooling cavities extend radially between the heat shield and the shell. These cooling cavities fluidly couple impingement apertures defined in the shell with effusion apertures defined in the heat shield.
During turbine engine operation, the impingement apertures direct cooling air from a plenum adjacent the combustor into the cooling cavities to impingement cool the heat shield. The effusion apertures direct the cooling air from the cooling cavities into the combustion chamber to film cool the heat shield. This cooling air subsequently mixes and reacts with a fuel-air mixture within the combustion chamber, thereby leaning out the fuel-air mixture in both an upstream fuel-rich primary zone and a downstream fuel-lean secondary zone. The primary zone of the combustion chamber is located between the bulkhead and the secondary zone, which is generally axially aligned with quench apertures in the combustor walls.
In an effort to increase turbine engine efficiency and power, temperature within the combustion chamber may be increased. However, increasing the temperature in the primary zone with a relatively lean fuel-air mixture may also increase NOx, CO and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions.
There is a need in the art for an improved turbine engine combustor.

Cooling a multi-walled structure of a turbine engine


A cup holding apparatus has a cup holder for holding a cup, a containing portion for containing therein the cup holder, and a hinged lid provided on a base portion which constitutes the containing portion such that the cup holder can be held between the lid and the base portion when the lid is closed. A first link is rotatably connected at one end thereof to the base portion and is rotatably connected at the other end thereof to a first pivot portion which is provided on the cup holder. A second link is rotatably connected at one end thereof to the lid and is rotatably connected at the other end thereof to a second pivot portion which is provided on the cup holder away from the first pivot portion. A link mechanism which has the cup holder as an intermediate link is thus constituted to take the cup holder into or out of the containing portion by the closing or opening operation of the lid.

This invention relates to a cup holding apparatus which is provided mainly inside a motorcar room.
In the Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application No. 179850/1987, there is disclosed a cup holding apparatus in which a base portion, which constitutes a containing portion for containing therein a cup holder for holding a cup, is concavely provided in an instrument panel or a console box inside a motorcar room, and a hinged lid is attached to the base portion such that, at the time of closing the lid, the cup holder can be contained in such a manner as to be held between the lid and the base portion. This apparatus is arranged as follows. Namely, a pair of first links are rotatably connected at respective one end to the base portion. A pair of second links are rotatably connected at respective one end to the lid. The other ends of the first pair of links are rotatably connected to the other ends of the second pair of links, respectively. A cup holder is rotatably supported by one pair out of the two pairs of links so that it can be inclined about a horizontal axis. When the first and the second links are extended obliquely at the time of opening the lid, the cup holder is pulled or taken out of the containing portion.
The reason why the cup holder is rotatably supported by one pair out of the two pairs of links is to make sure that the cup holder can be inclined into a posture along the base portion when the two pairs of links are folded down. As a consequence, in the above-described apparatus, when the cup holder is pulled out by the opening operation of the lid, the holder must be manually changed in its posture to a horizontal one, resulting in a troublesome operation. It has another disadvantage in that the cup holder is unstable, even after making it horizontal, resulting in lack of stability.


A diffuser assembly with a buoyancy vessel and a chamber for buoyantly raising the diffuser assembly for maintenance work. The diffuser assembly has a support structure, diffusers connected to the frame, and a buoyancy vessel positioned on the frame, capable of alternating between a state of buoyancy or ballast.

In the treatment of wastewater, it is known in the industry to use aeration equipment in order to aerate and mix the wastewater. This aeration equipment may be positioned generally at the bottom of the wastewater basin at an intermediate level in the basin, or allowed to float on the surface of the wastewater reservoir. It is common to use submerged diffusers capable of discharging air into the treatment basin. An example of a particularly effective diffuser is a flexible membrane diffuser. U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,412 issued to Tharp provides an example of an air diffuser and mounting arrangement for use in a water treatment system.
One arrangement for aerating and mixing large wastewater basins makes use of a large number of diffusers contained in separate multi-diffuser modules in a grid pattern throughout the basin. The aeration equipment typically includes a large capacity gas supply source for supplying air to the diffusers. Each individual diffuser is connected to the main air supply conduit via a branch conduit with the diffusers appropriately located throughout the basin to provide thorough mixing and aeration.
When many individual diffusers are positioned in a grid pattern to aerate a large wastewater treatment reservoir, general maintenance and repair become problematic. Locating and retrieving an individual diffuser module is difficult for a variety of reasons. Mechanical retrieval can be expensive and cumbersome, requiring massive cranes to pull each module up from the bottom of the basin. Modules may be located in the center portion or a far-side portion of the basin where they cannot be accessed at all by a crane. In large basins, many modules are inaccessible even to cranes with lengthy booms.
After the repair or maintenance is completed, the individual modules must be placed back in position on the bottom surface of the basin, again with a crane. In order to position the module in the proper orientation on the bottom surface of the basin, the module should not appreciably tip or roll during its descent, which might result in the structure landing improperly on its side or planing sideways during descent. Likewise, if a module is removed from a diffuser grid structure, it should be carefully repositioned within the pattern of the grid. The module should be lowered steadily over its position within the grid, preferably with the module being maintained substantially horizontal as it descends.
In some applications, the main air supply pipes or laterals float on the surface with large diffuser modules suspended from them above the bottom of the basin. The modules are typically suspended on a plurality of flexible air supply lines attached to the floating air laterals. Retrieval of these large diffuser modules in this type of system presents the same types of problems as with bottom mounted modules.


Interference pigment flakes and foils are provided which have color shifting properties. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a reflector layer, can have an asymmetrical coating structure with all of the layers on one side of the reflector layer, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around a core reflector layer. The coating structure of the flakes and foils includes a reflector layer, a dielectric layer on the reflector layer, and a titanium-containing absorber layer on the dielectric layer. The pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. The pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant compositions for subsequent application to objects or papers. The foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to interference pigments and foils. More particularly, the present invention relates to multilayer color shifting pigment flakes and foils which have titanium-containing absorber layers.
2. Background Technology
Various color shifting pigments, colorants, and foils have been developed for a wide variety of applications. For example, color shifting pigments have been used in applications such as cosmetics, inks, coating materials, ornaments, ceramics, automobile paints, anti-counterfeiting hot stamps and anti-counterfeiting inks for security documents and currency. Such pigments, colorants, and foils exhibit the property of changing color upon variation of the angle of incident light, or as the viewing angle of the observer is shifted.
The color shifting properties of the pigments and foils can be controlled through proper design of the optical thin films used to form the flake or foil coating structure. Desired effects can be achieved through the variation of parameters such as thickness of the layers forming the flakes and foils and the index of refraction of each layer. The changes in perceived color which occur for different viewing angles or angles of incident light are a result of a combination of selective absorption of the materials comprising the layers and wavelength dependent interference effects. The interference effects, which arise from the superposition of light waves that have undergone multiple reflections, are responsible for the shifts in color perceived with different angles. The reflection maxima changes in position and intensity, as the viewing angle changes, due to the absorption characteristics of a material which are selectively enhanced at particular wavelengths from the interference phenomena.
Various approaches have been used to achieve such color shifting effects. For example, small multilayer flakes, typically composed of multiple layers of thin films, are dispersed throughout a medium such as paint or ink that may then be subsequently applied to the surface of an object. Such flakes may optionally be overcoated to achieve desired colors and optical effects. Another approach is to encapsulate small metallic or silicatic substrates with varying layers and then disperse the encapsulated substrates throughout a medium such as paint or ink. Additionally, foils composed of multiple layers of thin films on a substrate material have been made.
One manner of producing a multilayer thin film structure is by forming it on a flexible web material with a release layer thereon. The various layers are deposited on the web by methods well known in the art of forming thin coating structures, such as PVD, sputtering, or the like. The multilayer thin film structure is then removed from the web material as thin film color shifting flakes, which can be added to a polymeric medium such as various pigment vehicles for use as an ink or paint. In addition to the color shifting flakes, additives can be added to the inks or paints to obtain desired color shifting results.
Color shifting pigments or foils are formed from a multilayer thin film structure that includes the same basic layers. These include an absorber layer(s), a dielectric layer(s), and optionally a reflector layer, in varying layer orders. The coatings can be formed to have a symmetrical multilayer thin film structure, such as:
absorber/dielectric /reflector/dielectric/absorber; or absorber/dielectric/absorber.
Coatings can also be formed to have an asymmetrical multilayer thin film structure, such as:
absorber/dielectric/reflector.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,812 to Phillips et al. discloses optically variable thin film flakes having several different configurations of layers such as transparent dielectric and semi-transparent metallic layered stacks. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,590 to Phillips et al., incorporated by reference herein, a symmetric three layer optical interference coating is disclosed which comprises first and second partially transmitting absorber layers which have essentially the same composition and thickness, and a dielectric spacer layer located between the first and second absorber layers.
Color shifting platelets for use in paints are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,624 to Phillips et al., which is incorporated by reference herein. These platelets are formed from a symmetrical multilayer thin film structure in which a first semi-opaque layer such as chromium is formed on a substrate, with a first dielectric layer formed on the first semi-opaque layer. An opaque reflecting metal layer such as aluminum is formed on the first dielectric layer, followed by a second dielectric layer of the same material and thickness as the first dielectric layer. A second semi-opaque layer of the same material and thickness as the first semi-opaque layer is formed on the second dielectric layer.
Interference pigments having titanium dioxide layers have been previously produced. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,664 to Kimura et al. discloses a pigment that is made by coating a first layer of TiO2 onto mica followed by coating the TiO2 layer with powder particles of at least one of the metals cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, tin, gold, and silver. The metallic powder layer is deposited by an electroless wet chemical process. Electron micrographs showed that these particles are in the form of finely divided rods.
Interference pigments incorporating titanium oxide layers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,467 to Schmid et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,584 Ostertag et al. Each of these patents teaches colorless, non-absorbing TiO2 layers or selectively absorbing metal oxide materials for overcoating platelet-like silicatic substrates (micas, talc or glass flakes) or platelet-like metallic substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,504 to Schmid et al. discloses pigments with titanium(III) oxide, titanium oxynitride, and titanium nitride coatings, formed by the reduction of titanium dioxide. The pigment particles are composed of various metal substrates upon which is deposited a selectively absorbing coating of titanium oxynitrides and titanium nitride with titanium dioxide and titanium III oxide by using hydrolytic decomposition of titanium tetraisopropoxide or titanium tetrachloride and subsequent reduction with ammonia.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,394 to Ostertag, metal oxide coated aluminum pigments are disclosed, which include a substrate of platelet-like aluminum coated with layers of titanium oxides of different thicknesses. The titanium oxide layers are formed by a chemical vapor deposition process whereby titanium tetrachloride is reacted with water vapor. Optionally, the titanium dioxide layer can then be reduced to form TiO, TiN, or titanium oxynitrides through the use of H2, CO, hydrocarbons or NH3.
The electroless deposition methods and pyrolytic methods used in conventional techniques such as described above produce large islands or dots of material deposited on the substrate material. Hence, a continuous coating is only obtained at the expense of depositing enough coating material to sufficiently coat the gaps between the islands or dots. This extensive deposition leads in turn to a relatively thick coating which, because of its thickness, does not generate the best chromatic colors.
Prior techniques for forming titanium-based coatings on a substrate have been limited to reducing an underlying titanium dioxide layer, resulting in a non-discrete layer interface. It is believed that the reduction of TiO2 layers results in high stress as the coating changes in chemical structure. As a result, voids may form in the coating if the new chemical structure requires less surface area and volume. Alternatively, bubbling may occur if the coating expands beyond its current surface area and volume because of a larger surface area being required to accommodate the change in chemical structure. The structural flaws degrade the optical qualities of the pigment.
Another difficulty with prior titanium coating techniques is that following the deposition of a titanium coating on a powdered substrate, the coated powder may auto-ignite by the spontaneous oxidization that can occur with a release of heat, as can happen during atmospheric venting of the vacuum chamber in a vacuum deposition process. Since the powder particles are poor conductors of heat, the heat is trapped and a runaway oxidation occurs which consumes the entire powder mass.
Accordingly, there is a need for alternative absorber materials and coating techniques which avoid the above drawbacks.
It is an object of the present invention to provide interference pigment flakes and foils which exhibit color shifting properties.
It is another object of the invention to provide color shifting flakes which may be easily and economically utilized in colorants such as paints and inks for various applications.
It is a further object of the invention to provide color shifting flakes and foils with environmentally safe absorbers.
Another object of the invention is to provide color shifting flakes that have non-stick properties during fabrication.
A further object of the invention is to provide color shifting flakes that are not prone to auto-ignition during fabrication.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a titanium-based absorber that can be deposited as a discrete uniform layer of easily repeatable thickness during fabrication of pigment flakes or foils.
A further object of the invention is to provide color shifting interference pigments and foils that exhibit high chroma and good stability toward water, acid, base, bleach, and ultraviolet radiation exposure.
To achieve the forgoing objects and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, interference pigment flakes and foils are provided which have color shifting properties. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a reflector layer, can have an asymmetrical coating structure with all of the layers on one side of the reflector layer, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around a core reflector layer. The coating structure of the flakes and foils includes a reflector layer, a dielectric layer on the reflector layer, and a titanium-containing absorber layer on the dielectric layer. The absorber layer can be composed of elemental titanium, a titanium-based compound, or a titanium-based alloy. The titanium-containing absorber layer provides the benefits of having benign chemical characteristics, as well as avoiding metal welding during the flake coating process. Titanium-based absorbers are also provided herein which avoid the auto-ignition problem of prior titanium coating techniques.
The pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. The pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant compositions for subsequent application to objects or papers. The foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.
The foregoing objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

Titanium-containing interference pigments and foils with color shifting properties


A nasal model simulator for surgical/anatomical training includes (a) an anatomic model representing one or more anatomical structures; (b) a boney midface structure that simulates osseous midface and nasal structures; and (C) a simulated septal cartilage configured to fit within the boney midface structure and is constructed of a material which simulates cartilage tissue.

Nasal surgery for the treatment of nasal obstruction, cosmetic deformity, trauma, or neoplasm is one of the most common surgeries performed among otolaryngologists, facial plastic surgeons, and general plastic surgeons and provides improved patient quality of life and productivity. Present solutions for understanding and learning how to perform key surgical procedures is difficult to teach due to the complex nasal anatomy and limited visualization of the anatomical structures during surgery. Furthermore, the nose is a very prominent structure on the face and any imperfectly performed procedures are quite visible, limiting the willingness of teachers to allow their trainees to perform key procedures, significantly limiting successful surgical training.
Septoplasty or submucous resection of the deviated septum has been the mainstay of surgical correction for nasal obstruction. It was found to be the third most commonly performed surgical procedure within otolaryngology, third only to myringotomy and tonsillectomy. See Manoukian P D, Wyatt J R, Leopold D A, Bass E B. Recent trends in utilization of procedures in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Laryngoscope (1997)107(4):472-477. This procedure is often performed through the nostril (transfixion or hemitransfixion incision) or through an open rhinoplasty approach. Both of these approaches limit the visibility of the working field only to the primary surgeon, making training and surgical instruction difficult. Failure to maintain the integrity of the mucosa on both sides of the septum can lead to a chronic nasal septal perforation which has significant impacts on patient quality of life. See Bohlin L, Dahlqvist A. Nasal airway resistance and complications following functional septoplasty: a ten-year follow-up study, Rhinology (1994) 32(4):195-197. Turbinoplasty is another commonly performed procedure aimed at improving nasal airflow in which limited visualization of the structure can limit surgical teaching and trainee understanding.
Increasingly, nasal valve dysfunction (NVD) is being recognized as an underdiagnosed, distinct, and surgically treatable cause of nasal obstruction. When present, and when septoplasty alone is performed, it has been found to be a cause of persistent nasal obstruction and need for revision surgery. See Becker S S, Dobratz E J, Stowell N, Barker D, Park S S. Revision septoplasty: review of sources of persistent nasal obstruction, Am J Rhinol. (2008) 22(4):440-444. The external nasal valve, formed by the caudal septum, medial crura of the lower lateral cartilages, alar rim, and nasal sill, and the internal nasal valve, formed by the upper lateral cartilages, dorsal septum, and head of the inferior turbinate, are cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity with the greatest overall resistance to airflow and thus dominant determinants of nasal patency. Dysfunction can occur either due to narrowing of these areas or as a result of lateral nasal wall collapse in the setting of a weak lateral wall owing to the Bernoulli effect as air accelerates through these segments.
Nasal reconstruction with procedures such as placement of spreader grafts, lateral crural strut crafts, alar batten grafts, and alar rim grafts, among others, are the most commonly performed procedures to correct NVD and have been found to be effective at relieving nasal obstruction. Given the growing evidence supporting the importance of recognizing and treating NVD for symptomatic relief of nasal obstruction, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) published a Clinical Consensus Statement (CCS) in 2010 to enhance awareness. The CCS defined NVD as a distinct and primary cause of nasal obstruction that can be successfully treated with surgical intervention. See Rhee J S, Weaver E M, Park S S, et al. Clinical consensus statement: Diagnosis and management of nasal valve compromise, Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. (2010) 143(1):48-59. Unfortunately, techniques to treat NVD are quite complex and many surgeons do not feel comfortable with this procedure, leading it to be frequently overlooked, leading to a high failure and revision rate.
Nasal osteotomies are another common procedure performed during rhinoplasty, both for functional and cosmetic indications. Performance of nasal osteotomies are difficult to teach as they are performed blindly and by tactile feedback alone. A recent study found that most facial plastic surgeons do not allow trainees to perform this critical step in rhinoplasty. See Chen J X, Kozin E D, Dedmon M M, Lee L N. Teaching and practice patterns of lateral osteotomies for rhinoplasty, Am J Otolaryngol. (2017) 38(4):498-500. Further, teaching sessions using cadaveric specimens were found to increase trainee understanding and confidence with the procedure. See Chen J X, Kozin E D, Shaye D A, Hadlock T, Lindsay R, Lee L N. Educational Cadaveric Module for Teaching Percutaneous and Intranasal Osteotomies in Rhinoplasty, Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. (2017)156(6):1088-1090. Unfortunately, cadaveric specimens are expensive and difficult to obtain.
Surgical simulation would allow for improved teaching, practice, and understanding of these procedures. Surgical simulation has gained increasing popularity in the United States medical curriculum and has been found to lead to improved surgical performance, medical knowledge, procedural comfort, and skill retention. The Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), a worldwide organization for medical education, reported that simulation-based healthcare education can be used to help novice trainees become proficient in specific tasks and that simulation-based healthcare education with deliberate practice leads to improved and lasting results compared with traditional clinical education. See Motola I, Devine L A, Chung H S, Sullivan J E, Issenberg S B. Simulation in healthcare education: a best evidence practical guide, AMEE Guide No. 82. Med Teach. (2013) 35(10):e1511-1530.
Finally, patient understanding of nasal anatomy and the structures that are targeted in these surgeries is quite limited. An anatomically accurate model that can explain the procedures they are undergoing can help improve patient understanding, communication, and expectations.

Method, system, and software to simulate and produce nasal molds for a variety of applications


A shift control system for an automatic transmission, comprising a shift unit for selecting by manipulating a shift lever an automatic shift mode, in which a gear stage is determined on the basis of a running state of a vehicle, and a manual shift mode in which a gear state is determined from an output signal based on the manipulation. The shift unit has a drive range capable of setting a plurality of forward gear stages and a plurality of range positions arrayed and includes: a first shift path for guiding the shift lever into the range positions; a second shift path intersecting the first shift path for guiding the shift lever; two third shift paths formed at the two end portions of the second shift path, the third shift paths having at their individual end portions gear stage positions for indicating the forward gear stages in the automatic shift mode and for guiding the shift lever; and a manual shift instructor for outputting a signal instructing a gear stage corresponding to the gear stage position when the shift lever is moved to the gear stage position. The shift control system comprises a gear stage setter for setting the gear stage which is instructed by the output signal of the manual shift instructor.

The present invention relates to a shift control system for an automatic transmission capable of effecting an automatic shift mode, in which a shift is executed on the basis of a running state of a vehicle, and a manual shift mode in which a gear stage is selected by the manipulation of a driver.
An automatic transmission for a vehicle basically effects a drive condition suitable a running state such as a throttle opening or a vehicle speed by selecting a gear stage on the basis of the running state. In recent years, there has been frequently used an automatic transmission, in which the running state is detected and converted into electric signals by various sensors, in which the electric signals are computed to determine a gear stage, and in which signals based upon the computation results are outputted to predetermined solenoid valves so that the shift may be executed by actuating the solenoid valves. The so-called "electronic control type automatic transmission" executes the shift directly on the basis of the output signals coming from the computer for the aforementioned computations but can effect the shift by outputting a shift signal on the basis of other input signals without resorting to the computation results based on the running condition. There is known an automatic transmission which is enabled to accomplish the manual shift by making effective use of the degree of freedom of such electronic control type automatic transmission. This known automatic transmission is constructed such that a shift lever is manipulated to output a manual shift signal so that an arithmetic unit may decide a gear stage to be set, on the basis of the manual shift signal, and may output a shift signal for achieving the gear stage.
A shift unit for changing a running range in the automatic shift mode and for switching the shift mode to the manual one and selecting a gear stage in the manual shift mode is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,905,530, 4,987,792, 5,009,128, 5,044,220 and 5,062,314.
In the shift unit disclosed in those U.S. Patent specifications, the individual range positions for the parking (P) range, reverse (R) range, neutral (N) range and drive (D) range in the automatic shift mode are set along a straight groove for guiding a shift lever. In parallel with this straight groove, there is formed a short groove which has one end portion assigned to an upshift position and its other end portion assigned to a downshift position. And, those two grooves are so connected as to transfer the shift lever.
In the shift unit described above, the shift mode is switched from the automatic to manual ones by moving the shift lever from the D-range position to the aforementioned short groove. If the shift lever is moved in the short groove to the upshift position, an upshift switch disposed in the upshift position outputs an ON signal so that an upshift to a gear stage higher by one stage is executed. On the other hand, if the shift lever is moved to the downshift position, a downshift switch disposed in the downshift position outputs an ON signal so that a downshift to a gear stage lower by one stage is executed.
Thus, the shift unit described above can effect the upshift or downshift step by step but cannot perform the so-called "skip shift", in which the gear change is skipped to another higher or lower by two stages or more. In order to effect a shift substantially approximating the skip shift, the shift lever has to be promptly manipulated two times or more so that the shift unit has an unsatisfactory operability.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,376 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 157855/1986, on the other hand, there is disclosed a shift unit which can select the individual gear stages directly in the manual shift mode. In this shift unit, a guide plate for regulating the position of the shift lever is formed with one transverse groove and five or six longitudinal grooves branched from the transverse groove to the two sides. Of these longitudinal grooves, one groove formed at the end portion of the transverse groove is assigned to the parking (P) range position, the reverse (R) range position, the neutral (N) range position and the drive (D) range position, and the remaining four or five grooves are Individually assigned to the shift positions, i.e., the positions for the first to fourth or fifth speeds in the manual shift mode. Moreover, the automatic shift mode is set by setting the shift lever in the D-range position so that the shift is effected on the basis of the detected running state such as the vehicle speed and the throttle opening. Moreover, if the shift lever is positioned in one of the longitudinal grooves assigned to the first to fourth or fifth speeds, the shift mode is switched to the manual one to set the gear stage assigned to that particular longitudinal groove.
According to this shift unit, the gear stage can be directly selected in the manual shift mode. Despite a this advantage, however, the individual range positions in the automatic shift mode and the individual gear stage positions in the manual shift mode are provided in the completely different areas so that a wider space is required for the individual range positions and shift positions. In short, the size of the shift unit is enlarged. Moreover, the stroke for manipulating the shift lever is elongated to deteriorate the operability.
On the other hand, in the shift unit provided with the individual gear stage positions independently in the manual shift mode, there is disposed in each gear stage position a switch which is turned ON so that the shift may be effected on the basis of the signal outputted from the switch. The shift control cannot be effected unless it is decided by an electronic unit in terms of the OFF operations of all the switches that the drive (D) range for the automatic shift is selected. If any switch experiences a short-circuit failure, the D-range cannot be achieved so that the vehicle cannot run in the automatic shift mode. Moreover, if the manual shift switch corresponding to a lower-speed gear stage is short-circuited during the run in the D-range, the electronic control unit decides that the manual shift is executed to the gear stage corresponding to that broken switch, and causes a shift down suddenly. In the manual shift mode, on the other hand, a control can be effected to prefer the higher-speed gear stage by processing the switch signal so as to prevent a downshift to a lower-speed gear stage due to the short-circuit of the switch corresponding to the lower-speed gear stage during the run at the higher-speed gear stage. Then, the shift may probably be fixed at the higher-speed gear stage to make the start impossible if the switch at the higher-speed gear stage is short-circuited.
In the system of the prior art described above, moreover, the selection of the individual ranges in the automatic shift mode and the selection of the individual gear stages in the manual shift mode can be accomplished by moving the shift lever along the transverse groove and by moving the shift lever along the longitudinal grooves perpendicular to the transverse groove. However, the moving direction of the shift lever from the transverse groove is perpendicular to the transverse grove commonly in case a range is to be selected in the automatic shift mode and in case a gear stage is to be selected in the manual shift mode, but the selections are different in the branching positions from the transverse groove in the automatic shift mode and in the manual shift mode. Therefore, in order that the driver may set the shift lever in the gear stage position or the range position desired by himself, he is required to move the shift lever to the desired longitudinal groove after he has confirmed that the shift lever was moved to the end portion of the transverse groove. Thus, the system of the prior art requires the confirming operation of the driver so that its operability is not satisfactory.
Moreover, the shift unit of the prior art is advantageous in that the gear stage can be directly selected in the manual shift mode, but its operation can be carried out by manipulating the shift lever only unlike the manual transmission. Thus, a shifting operation may be performed to a lower-speed stage during the run at a high speed. As a result, the overrun of the engine may probably arise.
Incidentally, in the manual shift mode, the engine braking is effected at all the gear stages. Depending upon the construction of the gear train, therefore, at a shifting time in the manual shift mode, it is necessary to effect the so-called "engagement change", in which engine braking frictional engage means for a gear stage before the shift is disengaged while engine braking frictional engage means for a gear stage after the shift is engaged. If, in this case, the engagement of the other frictional engage means is premature with respect to the disengagement of one frictional engage means, a shifting shock is caused by the tic-up. On the other hand, if the engagement of the other frictional engage means is delayed, the shifting response is deteriorated by the slip. The solution of this problem is of great importance because it is essential especially in the manual shift mode to enhance the shifting response better than in the automatic shift mode.

Shift control system for manually shiftable automatic transmission


A method and apparatus for providing protection from unauthorized use of messages received by a system is described. The receiving system can receive a message from a sending system, for example, over a network or from local media. The message can be an e-mail message, the contents of a Web page, music, or software, etc. The receiving system stores the digital information in a storage device in a manner designed to conceal the message from unauthorized access. When a user of the receiving system wants to view the message, the digital information is accessed, the message is generated from the digital information and displayed at the receiving system. Use of this generated message is restricted. In another embodiment, this use is limited to outputting (i.e., displaying and producing sound) the generated message at the receiving system. The receiving system cannot copy, modify, save, forward, or capture any portion of the generated message. In another embodiment, restrictions on the use of the generated message are relaxed to allow printing a copy of the generated message.

The invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for transmitting digital information over a network. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for protecting such transmitted information from unauthorized replication, publication, and distribution.
The Internet is an international collection of interconnected networks currently providing connectivity among millions of computer systems. One popular form of network communication among Internet users is electronic mail (e-mail). E-mail is a xe2x80x9cstore and forwardxe2x80x9d service that enables sending computer systems to electronically exchange text messages and computer files with receiving computer systems across the globe. The text messages pass over the Internet from computer system to computer system to arrive at their destination. Often computer files accompany the text messages on the journey as attachments.
Attachments when opened can produce a variety of outputs. For example, an output can be the display of a formatted document, execution of a software program, the playing of music or other sounds, or the display of static and animated graphical images. Many e-mail systems, however, typically limit the size of e-mail messages, and attachments are either smaller than this limit or are broken into smaller files and reconstructed by the receiver. Consequently, electronic document delivery systems have emerged as another popular store-and-forward service, to handle the delivery of large files across the network.
Another increasingly popular avenue for exchanging information among computer systems is the World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d). The Web is a part of the Internet that provides a graphics and sound-oriented technology used by computer systems to access a vast variety of digital information, e.g., files, documents, images, and sounds, stored on other computer systems, called xe2x80x9cWeb sites.xe2x80x9d A Web site consists of electronic pages or documents called xe2x80x9cWeb pages.xe2x80x9d Often a Web page has links, called hyperlinks, to files and documents at other Web pages on the Web.
Computer system users can obtain digital information from these Web sites through a graphical user interface produced by executing client software called a xe2x80x9cbrowser.xe2x80x9d Examples of commercially available Web browsers include Netscape Navigator(trademark) and Microsoft Internet Explorer(trademark). Web browsers use a variety of standardized methods (i.e., protocols) for addressing and communicating with Web sites. A common protocol for publishing and viewing linked text documents is HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
To access a Web page at a Web site, a computer system user enters the address of the Web page, called an Uniform Resource Locator (URL), in an address box provided by the Web browser. The URL can specify the location of a Web server or a file on a Web server. Accessing the Web page downloads the contents of that Web page to the requesting computer system. The result of such downloading can be an wide variety of outputs at the computer system, including any combination of text, graphics, audio, and video information (e.g., images, motion pictures, animation, etc.). Accessing the Web page can also invoke execution of an application program.
A consequence of transmitting information using these above-described techniques, however, is that the sender of the information can lose control of that information after e-mailing the information to the receiving system or making a Web page publicly available on the Internet. Control of the information passes to the receiver, and any hope held by the sender to keep the information from further dissemination rests on the receiver. Most often, however, any such hope is misplaced, particularly on the Internet, where the receivers of the information can be numerous and anonymous. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus by which a sender can limit the unauthorized replication, publication, and distribution by a receiver of transmitted information.
The invention features a method for providing protection from unauthorized use of messages by a system. In one aspect, the method includes receiving at the system digital information representing a message. The digital information is stored in a storage device in a manner designed to conceal the message from unauthorized access. The digital information is accessed, the message is generated from the digital information for output at the system, and use of the generated message is restricted. In one embodiment, use of the generated message is limited to outputting the generated message at the system and printing a copy of the generated message. In another embodiment, use of the generated message is limited to outputting the generated message at the system.
In another aspect, the invention features a computer system for providing protection from unauthorized use of digital information received over a network. The system includes a storage device and a processor storing the digital information in the storage device in a manner designed to conceal the message from unauthorized access. A message generator accesses the digital information stored in the storage device to generate the message from the stored digital information for output at the system. However, the message generator restricts use of the generated message. In one embodiment, the computer system includes an output device, and the message generator limits use of the generated message to outputting the generated message at the output device. In another embodiment, the message generator limits the use to outputting the generated message at the output device and at a printing device.
Concealing the message from unauthorized access can be achieved by encoding the digital information before the processor stores the digital information in the storage device, storing the digital information at randomly determined address locations of the storage device, or by other techniques known to one skilled in the art.
The computer system can also include a process monitor for monitoring the computer system for process changes that occur on the computer system while the message is being output at the output device. The process monitor terminates the outputting of the message at the system upon detecting a process change.

Method and apparatus for preventing unauthorized copying and distributing of electronic messages transmitted over a network


In accordance with the present invention, there is now provided a method for removing asphaltene deposits in a well environment such as the wellbore and near-wellbore regions, comprising the injection of deasphalted oil therein to solubilize the asphaltene deposits obstructing the well environment. More specifically, the method of the invention comprises the injection of deasphalted oil into the wellbore and the near-wellbore formation followed by a soaking period and a production period. The method of the present invention has the great advantage of readily dissolving precipitated asphaltene in a well environment without other costly treatments such as the use of solvents like xylene or toluene. Furthermore, the present method does not require the incorporation of any additives in the deasphalted oil.

Asphaltene is defined as the fraction of crude oil insoluble in n-heptane, and composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur atoms in addition to carbon and hydrogen. Asphaltenes are polar molecules which aggregate together through aromatic .pi.--.pi. orbital association, hydrogen bonding, and acid-base interactions. At the molecular level, asphaltenes consist of n-alkyl chains attached to aromatic rings and n-alkyl bridges connecting two aromatic rings. In both cases, the alkyl group distribution is predominated by the lower hydrocarbon chain lengths.
Asphaltenes generally deposit on pore-containing clay materials in the form of solid deposits or dark sludges. The solid deposits probably result from the growth of asphaltene aggregates on existing surfaces while the sludges are probably formed as large aggregates in solution, which settle out and drag other components out with them. These latter deposits cause serious problems anywhere in the oil production circuit.
In the formation, asphaltene deposition affects oil production in several ways. Pore throats become blocked thus reducing permeability. The formation can also become more oil-wet, changing the relative-permeability relationships. Asphaltene may promote water-in-oil emulsions, leading to much higher viscosities. In the wellbore, asphaltene deposits gradually reduce the area for flow. This results in the need for higher pressure drops to maintain production at an acceptable level. Deposition in downhole safety valves may interfere with their proper operation. Build up in the tubing may damage wireline tools or require different running procedures.
Heavy oils typically contain higher quantities of asphaltenes than conventional oils. Some heavy oils are mobile at reservoir conditions and are produced by primary recovery processes. Most asphaltene deposits in heavy oil are found in unconsolidated formations. Wells that are producing heavy oils often encounter operational problems including well sanding, and rod and tubing parting. Hence, these wells require frequent workovers. Usually, a condensate blend, i.e., a mixture of light hydrocarbons, is used as a workover fluid. Some wells lose their productivity immediately after such workover operation, because the light hydrocarbons in the condensate blend dissolve the heavy oil which may contain up to 20% asphaltenes. This dissolution of heavy oil into the condensate blend disturbs the equilibrium conditions of the asphaltene molecules, which ultimately precipitate. The presence of mobile formation sand around wellbores, along with sludge-type asphaltene precipitates, creates conditions leading to severe near-wellbore formation damage, and eventual termination of the well.
Many oil companies are looking at chemical alternatives to clean up deposits such as asphaltene deposits and prevent their formation. The solvents used most frequently are toluene and xylene. In recent years, research has been looking for alternative solutions because of increasing environmental restrictions and costs related to the use of these solvents. The most common procedure presently used for cleaning facilities and downhole tubing is mechanical scraping. However, it is obvious that this method is totally inappropriate for near-wellbore formation rejuvenation.
Acidizing wells for cleanup or stimulation purposes has resulted in the precipitation of asphaltenes. The pH variation changes the local chemical equilibrium, and causes an elevation of the concentration of some ions, such as iron. The predominant form of asphaltic deposit found after acidizing is iron/asphaltene sludge.
Enhanced oil recovery techniques have also led to asphaltene deposition problems. The use of water floods or CO.sub.2 floods upsets the internal balance within the native oil, while brine increases solids precipitation. The use of CO.sub.2 can support asphaltene solubility to a certain extent in dead oil. However, in a live oil, which contains solution gas, CO.sub.2 destabilizes asphaltenes.
It has also been proposed to use co-solvents for asphaltene removal and prevention of re-occurrence. The preferred solvent was described as a xylene-enriched material with water-wetting properties using moderate-length carbon-chain alcohols. Production recovery was comparable to xylene alone and production improvement was stable for several months (see Society of Petroleum Engineers, paper #21038, 1991, 393).
The use of diesel solvents such as "DP-40" and "DC-40" is described in Can. J. Chem. Eng., 1985, 63, 878. These substances do not however have the solvating power of xylene, but they resolve local problems without drawing asphaltene deposits from other areas to the area to be cleaned up.
The solvating powers of gas oil, high-aromatic diesel fuel and low-aromatic diesel fuel were also compared to that of toluene. Without co-solvents, the high-aromatic diesel fuel had a higher threshold to flocculation (i.e., more solvent could be added to the oil before the onset of flocculation) than that of toluene; the gas oil had a threshold only slightly lower than that of toluene. The use of additives did not enhance the solvating power of the diesel fuel. In studying the effects of light gases on asphaltene precipitation from heavy oils, it was noted that any precipitated asphaltene could be re-dissolved by adding more heavy oil (J. Can. Pet. Tech., 1992, 31, 24). However, this would be possible only if the heavy oil was undersaturated with asphaltene materials.
Various processes have been proposed in the patent literature to overcome asphaltene related problems. For example in Soviet Union patent 1,680,748, the use of a mixture of methanol, colophony, and surfactant is disclosed to remove asphaltene, resin, and paraffin deposits.
In Soviet Union patent 1,682,374, the use of a mixture of salt deposits inhibitor, non-ionic surfactant, hydrochloric acid, and water was suggested for asphaltene-resin-paraffin removal.
In Soviet Union patent 1,677,050, it is stated that a mixture of vat residue from butyl alcohol production (containing butyl esters, butanol butyrates, di- and polyalcohols, butyrals, monoglycol ethers, and high-boiling-point oxygen) and heavy pyrolytic resin successfully removed asphaltene-resin-paraffin deposits.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,556, a mixture of kerosene and alkyl phenol is claimed to be effective in dissolving asphaltenic and paraffinic deposits. Similar disclosure of a mixture of kerosene, chromium anhydride, lower alcohol, and water is found in Soviet Union patent 1,629,493.
Soviet Union patent 1,609,807 describes the removal of asphalt, tar, and paraffin deposits from oil wells using a mixture of gas benzene, oxylated alkylphenol, glycerine, polyacrylamide, and water.
In Soviet Union patent 1,592,478, injection of a hydrocarbon solution of benzene and a specified acidic hydrocarbon emulsion is suggested for asphaltene-resin removal from the wellbore.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,088, asphaltene precipitation in the flow path of an oil production well is claimed to be inhibited by injecting a heavy fraction of crude oil having a relatively high aromaticity and molar weight. The heavy fraction is obtained by separating the light fraction containing gaseous and oil components having a relatively low aromaticity and molar weight from the produced oil stream. However, the previously precipitated asphaltene can only be solubilized in the heavy fraction if such heavy fraction is undersaturated in asphaltene component.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,138, a cyclic thermal solvent recovery method utilizing visbroken produced crude is disclosed. In this method, heavy oil is subjected to visbreaking operation to produce lower viscosity heavy oil. Subsequently, the hot visbroken oil is injected into the formation as a solvent and allowed to undergo a soaking period, and the well is subsequently returned to production. This method relates to the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique. The primary objective of this process is to reduce in situ heavy oil viscosity by injecting hot visbroken heavy oil instead of chemical solvents which are expensive and environmentally unfriendly.
In view of the foregoing, it becomes obvious that there is a great need for an improved method permitting the revival of wells closed due to wellbore or near-wellbore obstruction caused by asphaltene deposits. It would therefore be highly desirable to develop a method of dissolving asphaltene deposits which is not harmful to the environment. Such method would take advantage of the relative solubility of asphaltene in crude oil in order to restore oil production from a closed well in a short period of time.

Process for removing and preventing near-wellbore damage due to asphaltene precipitation


A sensor device for detecting a physical measurement variable is proposed including a sensor module as well as an electronic circuit module, wherein each value of the measurement variable is determined by comparison of an electrical voltage signal generated in the sensor module with a reference voltage generated in the circuit module and each value is output as a digital or analog coded signal at an output. Such a sensor device should solve the technical problem of making information about the amplitude of an internal electrical voltage signal accessible at all times for evaluation of the current tolerance situation. This is achieved in that the amplitude of this electrical voltage signal is represented by the period of a delay between the activation of the supply voltage for the sensor device and the output of the first valid measurement value.

The invention pertains to a sensor device for detecting a physical measurement variable including a sensor module as well as an electronic circuit module, wherein each value of the measurement variable is determined by comparison of an electrical voltage signal generated in the sensor module with a reference voltage generated in the circuit module and each value is output as a digital or analog coded signal at an output.
More specifically, the invention pertains to a magnetostrictive length measurement device that is described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,933. This length measurement device essentially consists of an elongated, acoustic delay line containing a ferromagnetic material exhibiting a magnetostrictive effect, a sensor head at one end of this line that contains the measurement electronics and the evaluation electronics, and a permanent magnet that can be shifted along the line.
The length measurement is achieved by determining the position of the permanent magnet along the delay line relative to the sensor head.
In this way an electrical current pulse is induced in this delay line and simultaneously a time measurement is started. The magnetic field caused by this current pulse interacts with the magnetic field at the location of the permanent magnet in such a way that at that point a voltage state in the delay line is generated in the form of an acoustic torsional pulse that is transmitted along the delay line at the speed of sound that is typical for the material. The acoustic torsional pulse is converted into an equivalent electrical signal in the sensor head and when it exceeds a reference value, an output signal is generated that ends the time measurement.
The determined time is proportional to the length to be measured so that the desired measurement result can be output in digital or analog coded form by the electronics of the sensor head.
Since the amplitude of the torsional pulse and thus also the electrical signal generated in the sensor head by means of this pulse becomes smaller with increased measured length, it is necessary to adjust the threshold value of the comparator, e.g., as described in the cited patent.
However, the amplitude of the electrical signal is also subject to other influencing factors, wherein the ambient temperature plays an important role, so that for the evaluation of the tolerance position of the total system, particularly in view of a sufficient signal to noise margin, the knowledge of the absolute amplitude of the electrical signal is required. However, access to this information with sensor devices of the type used at the present time is not possible.
The task of the present invention is to refine the sensor device of the described art such that information about the amplitude of the internal electrical signal is accessible for the evaluation of the current tolerance situation at all times without requiring an additional interface.
This is achieved in that the amplitude of this electrical signal is represented by the period of the delay between the activation of the supply voltage for the sensor device and the output of the first valid measurement value.
In addition, the task of the present invention is to provide a method for use that can execute simple and fast function testing of such a sensor device.
This is achieved in that the amplitude of the electrical voltage signal generated in the sensor module that is determined by the period of the delay is used for the evaluation of the tolerance situation of the sensor device as well as the output of a good-bad decision in particular.

Magnetostrictive sensor device having one interface providing information regarding mode converter signal volatage and sensed object position


The invention concerns a perforating munition for targets possessing high mechanical strength. A perforating munition, released at very low altitude to prevent destruction by ground-air defense systems, possesses a braking system constituted by a parachute (24) to give the velocity vector of the munition a position that is as close as possible to the vertical, thus enabling an improvement in the effectiveness of the munition on impact. To improve the positioning of the velocity vector with respect to the vertical, the munition has a curvature correction device comprising a back projector (13) that is fixedly joined to the rear part (2) of the munition and is positioned in a ring-like way around a front part (1) of the munition, so as to reduce the curvature of the munition in order to increase the effectiveness of the munition.

The invention relates to a perforating munition for targets possessing high mechanical strength.
Perforating munitions used, for example, against concrete runways are generally placed in an air vehicle, called a carrier, that has to fly over the target at very low altitude and very high speed. To avert the risk of the destruction of the air vehicle by enemy ground-air defenses, this vehicle has an altitude of the order of 75 m and a speed of the order of 300 m/s. At an instant determined so that the desired objective is reached, the air vehicle ejects the different munitions with high horizontal velocity and in a horizontal attitude parallel to the plane containing the target as shown in FIG. 1. Each munition M, at the end of its trajectory, at impact I, should have a velocity vector that is as close as possible to the vertical in order to facilitate the complete penetration of the munition into the target before the final explosion. The munition therefore has an incidence defined as the angle between the vector of velocity with respect to the target and the vertical to the target placed horizontally. To this end, each munition has a braking phase F and an acceleration phase A by which the munition is respectively given an orientation and a velocity necessary for a perforating munition to function in order to damage a concrete runway. The phase of acceleration of the munition should be triggered at an altitude Z sufficient for the end of the propulsion to take place before impact. It being known that this altitude is determined as a function of a length 1 of the propelled-mode trajectory defined by: ##EQU1## -V.sub.o : velocity of the munition at the end of bracking; -V : velocity of the munition at the end of propulsion;
-T : combustion time of the propellant; PA1 -i : angle of incidence which is the angle between the velocity vector with respect to the target and the vertical of the target placed horizontally;
and that these parameters are determined so as to have, for example, an impact velocity V=350 m/s and a combustion time which, in the present state of the art and in view of the geometrical constraints, cannot be reduced to less than 0.2 s, the length of the propelled-mode trajectory will be about 35 m, i.e. the propulsion has to be ignited at an altitude of at least Z=40 m. Furthermore, at the end of the braking phase F, the munition should have an attitude close to the vertical, for example an incidence i=15.degree., after a ballistic drop equal to the difference between the altitude of release and that of the ignition of the propulsion, i.e. under the conditions chosen here above, the altitude of release being 75 m, there are only 35 m available to obtain the desired attitude. To obtain this result, it is necessary to use a braking system, for example a parachute positioned in the rear of the munition, the dimensions and sturdiness of which would be incompatible with the space available.
There are numerous munitions designed to perforate and damage surfaces possessing high mechanical strength. These munitions, the effectiveness of which depends on a large number of parameters (such as the penetration depth, the quantity of explosive charge etc.) are generally released at very low altitude from an air vehicle possessing dictated dimensions that determine a volume in which the munition has to be housed. Since this air vehicle has a determined size, it limits the number and size of the modules contained inside the perforating module. To provide for the performance characteristics of a munition such as this, it is necessary to position the largest number of modules possible within the munition. To this end, it is therefore necessary to find an architecture of the munition in order to exploit the available space as efficiently as possible.

Perforating munition for targets of high mechanical strength


A hose mount of a blood treatment machine, having a hose connection element as a component of the machine's internal hosing including at least one rigid sleeve portion that is adapted to position a flexible hose radially outside over the free end of the at least one sleeve portion, an axial stop formed or arranged on the outer circumference of the sleeve portion at a distance from the free end, and a flexible collar arranged or formed on the at least one sleeve element toward the free end with an axial distance to the axial stop in order to define an external circumferential groove between itself and the axial stop.

In particular with blood treatment machines such as dialysis machines, individual machine components such as heat exchangers, pumps, dialyzers, etc. are fluidically coupled to each other with flexibly bendable hoses. The use of such hoses allows to install the respective machine components individually or in a selected allocation in or on racks which can be pulled out partially from the machine housing for repair and/or maintenance purposes in order to improve their accessibility.
In order to avoid any entangling of the hoses and to reduce the risk of damaging individual hoses, one makes use of the measure of combining lines into so-called line harnesses which is known in particular from automotive engineering. Stated in other words, individually selected hoses are mechanically combined in the simplest case over a predetermined hose length with cable ties. This increases their overall resistance to kinking, so that the risk of damage can be reduced. At the same time, the hose confusion is reduced to a limited set of "hose harnesses" which can be arranged more clearly.
For supporting the hoses on/in the machine, mainly the machine components themselves are used, which are interconnected by hoses. Incidentally, the hoses are laid freely in space partially as a single hose or partially as hose bundles; here, neither hose guides nor hose fasteners are provided which contribute to the positioning and/or fixation of the hoses in the machine.


An infant crib in the form of a front panel to which is pivotally connected at each end thereof a side panel. The side panels are of a substantially greater height than the front panel. Each side panel is to be wedged along the side of a seat cushion of a couch or chair until the front panel is located directly adjacent the front edge of the cushion thereby forming an enclosed area to confine an infant when located on the top surface of the cushion.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to cribs and more particularly to a crib that is to be formed in conjunction with a conventional couch or chair which includes a padded sitting cushion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Infants have a tendency to roll around when placed in a lying position. Parents have a tendency to place infants when left unoccupied even for a few moments on the most convenient soft lying area available. This frequently is on a padded cushion of a couch or chair. It only takes one quick roll of the infant and the infant rolls right off the couch or chair. Most of the time the infant is not hurt, but merely begins to cry. However, in a small number of cases, the infant falls in just the right position and becomes injured. There is the exceedingly rare possibility that the infant can actually become injured sufficiently as to cause death.
Within the prior art there have been numerous attempts at designing different types of cribs with even some cribs being constructed to be used in conjunction with a couch or chair. However, these cribs have not been of simple construction and frequently included hard members such as wooden rails which also could cause injury to the infant.
It also has been known to construct a mat with the edges of the mat being enlarged forming a ridge of resilient foam material. Such mats work well on a floor of a house but normally do not work well in conjunction with a couch or chair. This requires the user to have to bend over all the way to the floor in order to pick up the infant and also put down the infant. If the user did not need to have to bend over that far and only needed to place the infant on a couch or chair, it would be a lot easier on the user's body especially after repeated picking up and replacing of the infant.


An apparatus and a method for manipulating video, audio, closed-captioned and compressed video packet data embedded in video programming signals includes a video signal processor for embedding data into a broadcast video signal prior to broadcast, the video signal containing at least one of video information, audio information, closed-captioned information and video packet data information. The embedded data is embedded in at least one predetermined line of at least one predetermined frame of the video program signal. An instruction defining a predetermined screening format for at least one of the video information, the audio information, the closed-captioned information and the video packet data information is stored and a circuit is responsive to the embedded data and the stored instruction for reproducing the information in the video signal in a predetermined screening format.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for processing a video signal and, in particular, to a viewer controlled apparatus for video frame scrambling, automatic speech recognition, selective word muting, selective closed-captioned text deletion and compressed video packet storage and display.
Indiscriminate television programming has become increasingly more offensive particularly to the ears, eyes, and minds of youth. The listening and viewing public have no effective means to effectively monitor television programming.
The introduction of the V chip by Presidential Executive Order constitutes a measure of control. However, the utilization of the V chip effectively places entire segments of the broadcast programming under the control of a small segment of people who presumably properly represent the interests of the vast majority of the population. There is no practical procedure for the majority to participate in the television broadcast ratings process. Consequently, the television viewing audience is left with the choice of either selecting or rejecting an entire programming segment based upon the electronic filtering process embedded in the V chip technology.
The present invention performs the following functions: a. scrambles selected frames of video content prior to display on the screen of a target device (i.e., television, monitor, etc.) which are deemed to contain objectionable material (frontal nudity, explicit depictions of sex acts, extreme violence and drug use); b. converts speech to text and mutes words, word combinations and phrases which are deemed to be objectionable; c. deletes words, word combinations and phrases contained in the closed-captioned text strip which accompanies most video programming; and d. stores compressed video packets for display in xe2x80x9cpicture-in-picturexe2x80x9d windows on the screen of a target device. The invention performs these functions as instructed by each individual viewer via a hand held infra-red remote control unit.
The present invention enables the viewer of television programming, obtained from any source, to exercise individual control over those portions of the broadcast content which are deemed to be objectionable, in the privacy of the viewer""s own home or place of business. This integration replaces the V Chip by placing control over the display of content in the hands of the viewer rather than in the hands of an anonymous standards committee.
It is an object of the present invention to produce a method and apparatus under the control of television viewers to enable the selective excise of offensive oral content from a stream of language as it is received by a television receiver. Another object of the invention is to produce a method and apparatus for screening the audio content of a received television signal to protect the rights of freedom of expression and privacy by making possible for the television viewer to proactively select and reject what is received on a real time basis regardless of the programming choices selected by the producer or broadcaster.
It is another object of the invention to produce a method and apparatus under the control of the television viewing audience for removing or deleting a word or phrase from the audio portion of the broadcast signal.
Still another object of the invention is to produce a method and apparatus for removing or deleting selected portions of the audio content by employing a speech recognition program which effectively compares the received audio signal with a library of stored objectionable speech and excises that portion of the received signal which matches the stored objectionable stored speech.
The above as well as other objects and advantages of the invention may be readily achieved by a method and apparatus for removing a portion of a received television broadcast signal, wherein the method includes the steps of recognizing the components of human speech in a highly accurate digital format; discriminating words, phrases, and sound audio signals received by a television receiver; dissecting waveform equivalents of speech and strings of text into discrete components; matching the discrete components of the received television broadcast signal with the components of previously recognized human speech; deleting portions of the received television broadcast signal corresponding to the previously selected and/or recognized human speech and/or text components; and permitting the balance of the sound signals received by the television receiver to be broadcast as originally produced and transmitted.

Viewer controlled multi-function system for processing television signals


A method for providing haptic feedback is provided for a device that produces haptic noise, such as a power tool with an electric motor that produces noises and vibrations while in operation. An environmental condition of the device can be sensed while the device is being operated and generating haptic noise. A haptic noise characteristic of the device can be determined. A haptic drive signal based on the environmental condition and haptic noise characteristic can be generated. The haptic drive signal can be applied to a haptic output device associated with the device.

Some handheld tools produce haptic output through their normal operation. For example, a power drill has a motor which produces vibrations and transmits those vibrations to the user through its handle. These vibrations caused by the drilling action can provide some haptic information. For example, a user that is familiar with the drill can discern when the drill's motor is going slower than usual for some amount of pressure applied to the trigger and material to be drilled. The user could guess that the bit is too hot or dull, that the material is harder than other materials, or that the drill's battery needs recharging. Rather than being left to guess, the user may want more meaningful haptic feedback while using a noisy tool. Although some haptic cues can be discerned, noisy tools do not provide many meaningful haptic cues, especially in comparison to their manual counterparts.
Typically, when a handheld tool such as a power tool operates, it produces a haptically noisy environment. That is, it provides such strong haptics naturally, that it can overpower other haptic feedback. For example, a user drilling through wood may not feel the vibration of a cell phone in their pocket while drilling, even though the location of the phone's vibration is not near the drill.
It may be convenient to a user to receive haptic feedback information from a tool that is in addition to haptic feedback naturally being provided by the tool. Conventional systems, however, can only provide haptic information when there is not another haptic output of the handheld tool to contend with.

Haptic feedback in a haptically noisy environment


A busway joint construction for electrically connecting and disconnecting busway sections of bus bars and characterized by a detachable joint assembly having pairs of plates extending between longitudinally spaced bus bars; one plate being an electrical conductor; the other plate being a non-conductor and having integral transversely extending spacers for maintaining the conductor plates of adjacent bus bars in spaced relation to facilitate insertion of the joint assembly; and the spacers including support surfaces for the electrical conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bridging joints for electrical busways and, more particularly, it pertains to a removable joint assembly for connecting spaced ends of bus bars within adjacent sections of such busways.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Low voltage, high current power is readily transmitted within a building from a power source to load apparatus by an electrical busway system. Generally, such a system includes elongated sections of tubular bus duct connected end-to-end so that a plurality of bus bars may be interconnected.
The present type of single bolt joint on a busway system is constructed so that bus ends overlap. Joint pressure on the bus bars and insulating spacers is applied by an insulated steel bolt. This type of joint involves disadvantages including difficulty in removing a section of duct from the middle of a busway run. There is also a problem of isolating parts of a bus duct run because a section of bus duct must be removed. Moreover, it is difficult or impossible to add power takeoffs to an existing run of bus ducts where the bus bar ends overlap.

Bridging joint for electric power busway


This invention provides an image processing apparatus for executing padding processing at a high speed. For this purpose, the image processing apparatus of this invention is an image processing apparatus for processing image data on the basis of shape information, which includes a left propagation processing section (121) for propagating, of a plurality of pixel data which construct one-dimensional image data, pixel data specified by shape information to the left, a right propagation processing section (123) for propagating, of the plurality of pixel data which construct the one-dimensional image data, the pixel data specified by the shape information to the right, and a calculator group (131) for calculating the average between an output from the left propagation processing section (121) and an output from the right propagation processing section (123) to generate output pixel data.

An image (especially a moving image) has a very large data amount. Hence, compression processing of largely decreasing the data amount is indispensable for storage or transmission of an image. As processing of compressing (encoding) a moving image, international standards such as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 are already defined. These schemes are applied to only an image in a rectangular region, which is sensed with, e.g., a TV camera.
Images have various characteristic features. There are many images each formed from background and an object to be sensed (object) before the background. Generally, a background image exhibits no large motion but moves as a whole as the camera used for sensing moves, or various components in the background exhibit delicate movement. To the contrary, an object sometimes largely moves. That is, an object and background have different features.
MPEG-4 which is being standardized next to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 is designed to form an active relationship to an image and allow new expressions by separately treating an object and background, reusing a useful object to increase the productivity of a moving image content, and preparing an environment that allows an image viewer side to manipulate an object.
However, since an object has not a rectangular shape but an arbitrary shape, the compression technique used in the conventional MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 cannot be directly applied.
In compressing a moving image, the data amount is further reduced using correlation between frames. Use of correlation between frames means that in encoding data of the current frame of an object, a strongly correlated region in another frame is referred to, and the difference value between the frames is encoded.
When an object has an arbitrary shape, the object in another frame to be referred to also has an arbitrary shape, and no value is present outside the object, so motion vector information for each block cannot be obtained.
In this case, padding processing is executed for the object of interest to extend it to a rectangular region, and then, a motion vector is searched for in units of blocks.
Padding processing for image data in a two-dimensional range is implemented by sequentially executing one-dimensional padding processing in the horizontal and vertical directions. The one-dimensional padding processing is executed in the following way.
An external region (row or column) sandwiched between a plurality of objects is replaced with the average value of pixel data in the objects at the two ends of that region. Another region outside the objects is replaced with pixel data in the object in contact with the region.
FIGS. 10A to 10C are views showing an example of the padding processing. FIGS. 10A to 10C show binary shape information (attribute data) and pixel data of one row in a block to explain horizontal (lateral) padding processing. Since pixel data in a region outside an object is replaced with another value, the original value is almost insignificant. Hence, pixel data values in regions outside objects are omitted.
FIG. 10A shows binary shape information, and FIG. 10B shows pixel data in object regions. In this example, the number of pixels of one row in a block is 16. The 16 pixels has four regions outside the objects. More specifically, the regions outside the objects are a region formed from one pixel on the left side of a pixel with a pixel value "78", a region formed from four pixels between a pixel with a pixel value "74" and a pixel with a pixel value "56", a region formed from two pixels between a pixel with a pixel value "64" and a pixel with a pixel value "42", and a region formed from three pixels on the right side of the pixel with a pixel value "42".
Since the regions at the two ends are replaced with pixel data in the objects in contact with these regions, the pixel at the left end is replaced with a pixel with a pixel value "78", and the three pixels at the right end are replaced with a pixel with a pixel value "42".
The two remaining regions are sandwiched by pixels in the objects on the left and right sides. Hence, the four pixels on the left side are replaced with a pixel having an average value "65" of the pixel values "74" and "56", and the two pixels on the right side are replaced with a pixel having an average value "53" of the pixel values "64" and "42". Pixel data as shown in FIG. 10C is obtained as a result of padding processing.
Block data is formed from a plurality of row data. When the horizontal padding processing is executed for each row data, pixel data in object regions shown in FIG. 11A are extended to those shown in FIG. 11B. Each hatched portion represents regions in the objects and pixel regions where data are padded by padding processing.
Vertical padding processing is executed next to the horizontal padding processing. The vertical padding processing method is the same as the horizontal padding processing method except that the processing unit changes from a row to a column. After the vertical padding processing, the entire block is filled with significant pixel data, as shown in FIG. 11C.

Image processing apparatus, image encoding apparatus, and image decoding apparatus


Method of making a catalytic metal oxide selective to catalyzing the conversion of given gas species, comprising intimately supporting a solid film of catalytic metal oxide (i.e., TiO.sub.2, SnO.sub.2, FeO, SrTiO.sub.3, CoO) on an electrically conducting material (i.e., Au, Pt, TiN, Pd, Rh, Ni, Co), the film having an exposed outer surface spaced no greater than 1000 angstroms from said conducting material, the composition of the conducting material being matched to the composition of the oxide to change the electron state of the exposed outer surface to promote only a reaction between given gas species and said oxide.. A composite metal oxide catalyst system, comprising: a substantially nonconducting support; an electrically conducting film on the support; and a catalytically active ultra-thin outer layer of a catalytic metal oxide on and in intimate contact with the conducting film.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the technology of influencing the catalytic activity of metal oxides useful in gas sensors and/or catalytic converters, and more particularly to the technology for increasing or decreasing catalytic activity of TiO.sub.2 for oxidation of oxidizable molecules such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Metal oxides, such as TiO.sub.2, have been used as materials for gas sensors and catalysts when promoting oxidation of gas molecules such as CO, H.sub.2, and HC. Such metal oxides are not selective as catalysts or as chemical sensor materials, that is, they catalyze or sense much more than one chemical at the same time. It would be desirable to achieve some degree of selectivity by such metal oxides without contaminating the material and/or reducing its effectiveness.
U.S. patents disclosing use of TiO.sub.2 in automotive catalyst systems have restricted its function to a barrier or stabilizer coating over other elements, which may be conductive, the latter acting as the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,782 suggests that titania may be used as a thick protective outer layer over a catalytically effective amount of a noble metal (i.e., platinum) which in turn is supported by alumina. All layers, including the titania and alumina, are coatings achieved by dipping in a slurry. The resulting TiO.sub.2 coating is 0.003-0.01 inches thick, preventing its use as a modifier of catalyst selectivity. The titania is not used as an active catalyst, but rather as a barrier to lead poisoning in the presence of SO.sub.2. Such reference does not teach how to activate titania as an oxidizing catalyst, particularly for use as an electrode in gas sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,797 is another automotive exhaust gas converter disclosure which deposits a mixture of catalytically active amounts of platinum and titania over a metallic substrate, but is separated by an intervening insulating washcoat layer of alumina. Data in such patent shows that there is no difference in the efficiency between catalysts with or without titania for conversion of CH.sub.4 and C.sub.2 H.sub.4 (see FIG. 3). Accordingly, this reference does not teach how to activate titania as an oxidizing catalyst nor make TiO.sub.2 more selective to certain gases.

Method of making a catalytic metal oxide selective for the conversion of a gas and a coating system for the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide


Provided is a personal content providing system for providing customized content according to a personalization context. The personal content providing system includes a context reader configured to receive a context beacon including the personalization context from one or more of a context terminal and a context tag, a content generation device configured to generate personal content, based on the personalization context, a content service device including a content output device that outputs the generated personal content, a local space switch configured to connect the context terminal, the context tag, the context reader, and the content service device which are disposed in a predetermined local space, and an infrastructure management device configured to manage the context terminal, the context tag, the context reader, and the content service device which are disposed in the predetermined local space.

A personalization service denotes providing information and a service in consideration of the age and taste of a person. In the personalization service, a method has been the most widely known where the Internet web companies such as Amazon, Netflix, Google, and/or the like collect a purchase history of a customer, Internet search information, social network profile information, and/or the like to recommend the purchase of a product.
In order to provide the personalization service, personal information may be collected through an operation of agreeing to provide the personal information. Also, the personal information may be collected in a state where a person does not trace or check the personal information through the web beacon or cookie of a web browser.
Web service companies may share the collected information to estimate personal information. However, the collected information is protected on the assumption that the collected information is completely prevented from being leaked to the outside.
As described above, it is impossible to trace the use of personal information under control and management by a person, and moreover, a person who is to blame for leakage of personal information is not clear. For this reason, a problem where personal information is misused is further increasing.
Moreover, the personalization service is provided based on estimation information which is not under control by a person. However, it is difficult to provide a service at a level equal to an accurate personalization service based on information directly provided by a person.
Moreover, the personalization service is applied to only an online Internet service at present. As described above, in the personalization service, a space infrastructure which includes physical devices disposed in a certain space is not constructed in a space personalization service infrastructure form for providing the personalization service in response to a person.
Particularly, an infrastructure where content service devices in a space suitable for a condition of a person check the characteristic of the person on the basis of a place and a time to provide the personalization service at an appropriate time is not constructed.
In this context, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0028014 "method and system for providing webpage personalization service" discloses technology where a specific region of a webpage is set as a personalization region, and when a user accesses or logs in a server, the personalization region displays personal content information, which is frequently used by the user, such as weather, a calendar, an electronic calculator, a photograph, and/or the like.

System and method of providing personal content

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A system and method is provided for pumping fluid. A pump incorporates composite components that provide a high degree of formability while maintaining wear resistance for use in potentially abrasive environments. The composite components may comprise one or more impellers and/or one or more diffusers.

In a variety of environments, such as wellbore environments, pumps are used to produce or otherwise move fluids. For example, multiple stage, centrifugal pumps are used in the production of oil. A centrifugal pump is connected into an electric submersible pumping system located, for example, in a wellbore drilled into an oil-producing formation. The centrifugal pump uses a plurality of stages with each stage having an impeller and a diffuser. The impellers are rotated by a shaft to move the fluid, while the diffusers guide the flowing fluid from one impeller to the next.
The fluid can contain particulate matter, such as sand, having abrasive properties. As the fluid flows through the pump, the particulate matter can abrade pump components, potentially shortening the life of the pump. Certain components, such as impellers and diffusers, are particularly susceptible to abrasion during operation of the pump.