A device for irrigating a wound wherein a syringe fitted with a two-way check valve is filled via a short fill stem that is dipped into irrigant contained in a basin and expelled through a discharge port. The use of a basin allows the irrigant to be positioned immediately adjacent the wound to minimize movement and allows the irrigant to be drawn into the syringe with minimal effort and concentration. The short fill stem minimizes pressure drop and allows the irrigant to be drawn into the syringe as quickly as possible.

The present invention relates to the irrigation of wounds, and more particularly pertains to a device and method that enables a user to quickly, safely, and economically flush a wound with large volumes of irrigant.
In the medical profession lacerations, cuts, abrasions, puncture wounds, and the like are commonly irrigated to remove foreign debris such as road particles, dirt, bacteria, and other contaminants which could predispose to infection. Removal of these contaminants as well as blood which continually emanates from the wound and surrounding tissue is also required to provide the treating medical personnel a clear view of underlying tissue and other vital structures affected by the injury during the exploratory phase of treatment. Wound cleansing is again required prior to wound closure to avoid future medical complications caused by wound contamination.
A number of different devices and associated methods of wound irrigation have been in common use by medical personnel in clinics and emergency rooms as well as in the field. A syringe is commonly employed to direct liquid irrigant at the wound site to thereby impact the wound and mechanically dislodge undesired bacteria and foreign matter from the wound surface and surrounding tissue.
Medical personnel have the option of simply resorting to the use of a syringe and hypodermic needle combination. While the use of such a combination enables a stream of irrigant to be precisely aimed, the technique suffers from a number of shortcomings. Bloody irrigant reflecting off of the patient may contaminate the surrounding area and may pass infection to the irrigator or to other individuals in the immediate vicinity. Moreover, use of sharp instruments always poses the risk of injury, both to the patient as well as to personnel handling the needles, the latter further running the risk of contracting a disease the patient may be infected with. Additionally, in order to expedite the filling process, it is necessary to remove the hypodermic needle each time the syringe is to be refilled.
Another method of wound irrigation utilizes a device which offers several safety advantages over the syringe and needle combination. This irrigation device eliminates the use of a hypodermic needle and minimizes the possibility of disease transmission through rebounding irrigation spray by incorporating a splashback shield as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,003 to Stamler which is incorporated herein by reference. A generally bell-shaped splashback shield which is removably attached to a hypodermic syringe functions to prevent potentially contaminated irrigation fluid from ricocheting off of the wound back towards the irrigator or other nearby personnel. Thus reflected fluids will be restrained by the shield, rather than splash onto and infect surrounding personnel. The shield incorporates an integral, thin-walled, hollow tubule which is capable of engaging a Luer-lock syringe tip. By virtue of the smaller diameter of the tubule relative to the syringe, exiting irrigation fluid forms a narrow irrigation stream which travels down the central longitudinal axis of the shield to impact the wound. While this device provides several safety advantages to the attending medical personnel, repetitive wound irrigation still remains a laborious task as the splashback shield must be removed in order to enable the syringe to be refilled. Similar to the previously described method of wound irrigation, repetitive irrigations require painstaking manipulation of the irrigation device to refill the syringe in preparation for each subsequent irrigation.
Many medical authorities suggest that all wounds require a minimum of 250 cc's of irrigation fluid to ensure proper cleansing of the injured area and surrounding tissue. Following this principle, large, heavily contaminated wounds require even larger volumes of irrigation. To accomplish this with common syringes capable of containing 10-20 cc's of fluid, multiple irrigations are required. Unfortunately the devices described above require the removal of either a hypodermic needle or splashback shield prior to each refilling of the syringe for subsequent irrigations. This functional requirement is both time consuming and adds undesirable complication to methods of wound irrigation utilizing these devices.
Wound irrigation devices are available wherein the above-described refilling problems are addressed. Such devices provide a syringe that is linked to an IV bag via a tube, usually 6' long. A valve fitted to the syringe allows irrigant from the IV bag to be drawn into the syringe upon extension of the plunger and expelled upon compression of the plunger. A spring is usually employed to assist in extending the plunger and a splashshield may be fitted to the syringe.
A number of shortcomings nonetheless become apparent upon using such devices, all a direct result of the saline solution being supplied from an IV bag. Because both the syringe as well as the 6' of tubing extending to the IV bag are initially empty, the system must first be primed with irrigant solution which requires the repeated extension and retractions of the plunger before a wound can be irrigated. Another disadvantage of this method of wound irrigation results from the length of flexible tubing suspended between the syringe and the IV bag containing the irrigant solution . It will be appreciated that the length of flexible tubing, extending from the IV bag to the syringe limits the user's range of motion during wound irrigation and is awkwardly present in the injured area. When the IV bag is located in close proximity to the irrigation site, the excess length of tubing becomes a potential distraction to the irrigator. As the irrigator moves relative to patient and as the syringe is repositioned about the wound site, attention must be given to any excess length of tubing to ensure that it remains clear of the treatment area. Furthermore, the length of tubing through which the irrigant must be drawn each time the syringe is filled also poses a substantial resistance to flow which not only requires a substantial effort to be expended but significantly retards the rate of flow and thereby slows down the whole process. Increasing the force provided by an assist spring is of limited value as such force must then be overcome when the plunger is compressed. Finally, because an IV bag cannot re resealed once accessed, its entire contents must be used or discarded. The need for only a few hundred cc's of irrigant would therefore result in a substantial amount of waste. Saline solution supplied in IV bags is also more expensive than when supplied in bottles.
Thus, there exists a need for a wound irrigation device that enables substantial volumes of irrigant solution to be directed at a wound as quickly as possible with minimal effort, inconvenience, and expense.


An oil holding cylinder for an oil coating roller is provided. The cylinder includes at least a cylindrical non-sintered molded body, which is formulated from a mixture of at least ceramic fiber and an organic binder. In addition, the mixture can further include clay, an inorganic binder, or a combination thereof. The molded body preferably has a porosity in a range of about 30% to about 70%. In operation, the oil holding cylinder disclosed herein can stably and uniformly supply oil to the fixing rollers and the like for an extended period of time, while preventing offset.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil holding cylinder for use in an oil coating roller of a fixing device employed in an electrostatic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most of fixing devices employed in electrostatic copying machines, electrophotographic printers and similar devices have parts called oil coating rollers. When rotating in contact with a fixing roller, this oil coating roller applies a very small amount of silicone oil to the fixing roller so as to improve the separation property of a recording paper. In addition, at the same time, the oil coating roller wipes up toner adhering to the fixing roller so as to prevent offset from occurring.
In some cases silicone oil, with which a fixing roller is coated by means of an oil coating roller, is supplied successively to the oil coating roller from an oil reservoir member provided separately. However, usually a constant amount of silicone oil is held in the oil coating roller itself, and the entire oil coating roller is exchanged for a new oiling coating roller when the oil held therein has been used up.
Although there are various mechanisms for holding silicone oil in an oil coating roller, a system which can hold enough oil to enable the oil coating roller to be used for a long time is characterized by having a core shaft which is made oil-permeable and has a hollow portion, with silicone oil enclosed or charged in the hollow portion. In this system, the enclosed oil is exuded onto the surface of the hollow core shaft gradually, and the exuded oil is distributed, by capillary action, over an oil coating roller surface layer made from felt of heat-resistant fiber. As the oil-permeable hollow core shaft, that which is provided with a number of small-diameter holes in a metal pipe (see JP-U-59-73762, JP-U-60-110854, JP-A-60-136782), that which is made of porous sintered metal (see JP-A-60-247276), and so on have been used.
An oil coating roller using such a conventional oil-permeable hollow core shaft has been disadvantageous in that the quantity of coating oil exuded from the surface varies largely in use of the oil coating roller. Further, the quantity of coating oil can become excessive to thereby stain a recording paper with oil, particularly when the oil coating roller is reused after the oil coating roller has not been used for a long time.

Oil holding cylinder for an oil coating roller and method therefor


A cutting implement dispenser for use with surgical instruments having replaceable cutting implements includes a support structure on which a replacement implement is carried. Operating a release mechanism movably attached to the support releases the implement from the support.

This invention relates to surgical instruments, and in particular to surgical instruments having replaceable cutting implements.
Surgical instruments, for example for arthroscopy, typically include an inner drive member that rotates within an outer member (e.g., a tube). A cutting implement (e.g., a blade or a burr) carried at the distal end of the inner member cuts tissue that extends through a window located at or near the distal end of the outer member.
In some instruments the cutting implement is removably connected to the distal end of the inner member, allowing just the implement to be replaced should it become worn, contaminated, or otherwise unusable. Such a surgical instrument is for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,635, entitled "Surgical Device With Surgical Element Removably Connected to Drive Element," assigned to the present assignee and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
To replace a removably connected cutting implement, the inner drive member is usually first withdrawn from the outer member and the old implement either dislodged from within the outer member or separated from the distal end of the inner member. Typically using a pair of tweezers, an operator (e.g., a surgeon or a nurse) then picks up a replacement implement and drops it into the outer member. The instrument is reassembled by reinstalling the inner member into the outer member.


To achieve a push-button for a game machine, capable of maintaining excellent waterproof performance and having excellent operability even when a large amount of liquid is spilled, or even when liquid is spilled while the push-button is pressed. A push-button for a game machine includes: an elastic body provided in a flange shape integrally with a key top with an outer periphery of the key top and having an outer end held between a base and a bezel; and a discharge path that communicates with a space partitioned by the key top, the bezel, and the elastic body and discharges liquid having entered the space to the outside.

A plurality of game machines such as slot machines produced by various game machine manufacturers are installed in game facilities such as casinos, and a player selects a favorite game machine to play a game. The game machine is thus required to be so appealing as to attract and incline the player to play a game.
In the game machine, an operation unit is provided at a position conspicuous in the appearance of the front (front surface) faced by the player, and the operation unit is a portion directly operated by the player. Therefore, the operation unit is an important portion that appeals the game machine to the player, and a push-button (a push-button for the game machine) disposed on the operation unit is also an important component to appeal the game machine.
As a configuration for making the operation unit and the push-button conspicuous, there has been a configuration where a display device is disposed on the operation unit, and a transparent push-button is placed on the display device so that an image displayed through the push-button is visually recognized. In addition, there is also a method of causing the push-button to emit light by using a display element.
Meanwhile, the operation unit of the game machine as thus described has a problem that liquid such as a beverage may be spilled thereon during the game, as a problem that the operation unit cannot avoid due to being the operation unit of the game machine. When the spilled liquid enters the inside of the push-button, electrical components such as a detection element for detecting the pressing and a light emitting element get wet to cause a failure. In addition, when the liquid enters a visible recognition area where the display image is viewed through the push-button, the display image may become difficult to see.
As a waterproofing measure technique for such a push-button disposed in the game machine, the applicant of the present application has filed a configuration in which liquid having entered the inside of the push-button is discharged outside through the upper surface of a sheet made of an elastic member (Japanese Patent No. 6015241).
The above waterproofing measure technique described in Japanese Patent No. 6015241 is a breakthrough technology in which the spilled liquid is discharged to the outside through a sheet, but there is still room for improvement.
One of the problems is that when a large amount of liquid has entered, the liquid may overflow from a discharge path on the sheet and enter an unexpected place. In addition, no consideration is given to the spilling of the liquid while the push-button is pressed.


A press-in contact having a base, a contact pin and a second pin which extends parallel to the contact pin. The second pin projects beyond the contact pin and has a greatest circumference at the same level as a tip of the contact pin. Simple and accurate positioning between a circuit board and a contact pin disposed in a housing is made possible by the second pin which acts as a pre-centering pin.

German Patent Application No. DE 102 23 382 A1 describes a press-in contact with a press-in base and with at least two contact pins which are referred to therein as press-in pins. Provided in the press-in base there is a slot-shaped recess disposed between the two press-in pins and extending from the underside of the press-in base. That ensures a resilient behavior when the press-in contact having at least two press-in pins is pressed into press-in bores of a circuit board.
German Patent Application No. DE 10 2006 011 657 A1 describes a contact pin for pressing into a through-plated hole, which contact pin has in a press-in portion two contact legs spaced from each other by an elongate opening.
The contact pins have a sharp-edged pin tip formed by a punching and stamping process. In automotive engineering, plastics housings are used into which those press-in contacts may be injection-molded as inserts. A circuit board is insertable into the plastics housing and has openings with copper sleeves in order to make electrically conductive contact with the press-in pins of the press-in contacts. As the circuit board is being inserted into the housing, the press-in pins disposed in the interior of the housing penetrate the copper sleeves. If the circuit board and the housing are not accurately positioned relative to each other during the pressing-in procedure, damage to the copper sleeve occurs. Metal particles that have been chipped off cause electrical short-circuits on the circuit board.

Press-in contact having a base, a contact pin and a second pin


An apparatus includes a processor, configured to designate a memory region in a memory, and to issue (i) memory-access commands for accessing the memory and (ii) a conditional-fence command associated with the designated memory region. Memory-Access Control Circuitry (MACC) is configured, in response to identifying the conditional-fence command, to allow execution of the memory-access commands that access addresses within the designated memory region, and to defer the execution of the memory-access commands that access addresses outside the designated memory region, until completion of all the memory-access commands that were issued before the conditional-fence command.

A memory fence, also known as a memory barrier, is a type of fence instruction that causes a central processing unit (CPU) or compiler to enforce an ordering constraint on memory operations issued before and after the fence instruction.
In "Memory Barriers: A Hardware View for Software Hackers", Paul E. McKenney, Linux Technology Center, IBM Beaverton (Jul. 23, 2010) the author presents the principle and benefit of barrier instructions, and then goes on to describe barrier mechanism in several popular Central Processing Units (CPUs).
In "Handling Memory Ordering in Multithreaded Applications with Oracle Solaris Studio 12, Update 2 Parts 1, 2: Compiler Barriers" (an Oracle White Paper, September 2010), the authors discuss, in Part-1, how compiler barriers can be used to stop the compiler from generating code that is incorrect due to reordered memory accesses; and, in Part 2, how memory barriers or memory fences can be used to ensure that the processor does not reorder memory operations.

Processor with conditional-fence commands excluding designated memory regions


A medical system for minimally-invasive measurement of blood flow in an artery (AT). An interventional device (IVD) with an optical fiber (FB) comprising a plurality of temperature-sensitive optical sensor segments, e.g. Fiber Bragg Gratings, spatially distributed along its longitudinal extension is configured for insertion into an artery (AT). A temperature changer (TC) is arranged in the WD to introduce a local change in temperature (ΔT) of a bolus of blood in the artery, to allow thermal tracking over time with the optical fiber (FB). A measurement unit (MU) with a laser light source (LS) delivers light to the optical fiber (FB) and receives light reflected from the optical fiber (FB) and generates a corresponding time varying output signal. A first algorithm (A1) translates this time varying output signal into a set of temperatures corresponding to temperatures at respective positions along the optical fiber (FB). A second algorithm (A2) calculates a measure of blood flow (BF) at respective positions along the optical fiber (FB) in accordance with a temporal behavior of said set of temperatures. Such system can be used to quickly scan an artery for diagnosing stenotic regions without the need for pullbacks or injection of toxic liquids. A good spatial resolution of the blood flow measurement can be obtained in real-time.

Accurately measuring blood flow resistance in the vasculature is important for diagnosing and treating stenotic regions, such as for diagnosing stenotic regions e.g. in heart coronary arteries. Stenotic regions in an artery are typically identified with fluoroscopy in conjunction with radio-opaque contrast agents, and their functional impact is quantified with the fractional flow reserve (FFR) method in many different clinical contexts, including in coronary and renal arteries. With FFR, a sensor positioned at the tip of a wire is used to measure pressure, and the FFR is calculated from the ratio of the pressure at the distal and proximal end of the stenosis, and a stenotic region is deemed to require treatment when this ratio is below 0.7 to 0.8. However, both of these methods have disadvantages. Iodinated contrast agents are nephrotoxic and thus especially problematic to use on patients with poor renal function. FFR probes are currently expensive to manufacture and require pullbacks for distributed measurements, thus requiring a rather complicated and time consuming invasive procedure.
An accompanying method to quantify the physiological condition of the coronary system is coronary flow reserve (CFR), i.e. the ratio of the blood flow in resting and hyperaemic state, e.g. when induced by acetylcholine challenge, i.e. increased blood flow that is artificially induced in the context of these measurements. CFR quantifies the ability of the coronary circulation to augment myocardial blood flow in response to an increased demand for oxygen and nutrients. CFR is affected by the endothelial dysfunction in the coronary arteries as well as in the vessels of the myocardial microcirculation. A high FFR and high CFR are measured in healthy subjects. A low FFR accompanied by a low CFR indicates a significant stenosis, while a high FFR accompanied by a low CFR is an indication of a microvascular disease.
Most commonly, blood flow rate measurements are performed using a sensor-tipped ultrasound Doppler guidewire. With this method the local blood velocity is measured in the direction of ultrasound beam propagation and needs additional geometry information or assumptions about vessel geometry and hemodynamics (e.g. circular cross-section with fully-developed laminar flow profiles) to assess the flow rate. Alternative methods for blood flow rate measurements are thermodilution and hot film anemometry. In thermodilution an infusion catheter is used to administer a bolus of saline at room temperature in the coronary artery. This cold solution will lower the temperature distal to the infusion catheter, which can be sensed by a temperature sensitive pressure guidewire. In hot film anemometry a film is heated by electrical current. On the other hand, the film is cooled by the blood flow. The temperature of the film is determined by measuring the ohmic resistance of the film. Given the electrical input power and the heat capacity of blood, the flow rate can be evaluated from the steady state temperature of the film. Both hot film anemometry as well as thermodilution are a quantifier for flow rate and can be combined with a pressure wire for FFR. They are, however, single point measurements.
GB 2 308 888 A describes a hollow needle with a fiber optic cable for monitoring blood pressure. Pressure and pressure variations cause compression of the fiber optic cable, the resulting strain causing a modification of the Bragg wavelength of a grating written into the fiber optic cable. Pressure measurement is achieved by monitoring the wavelength of light reflected back from the grating in a measurement system. The hollow needle may comprise a catheter or a hypodermic needle. A glass sphere may be incorporated at the end of the fiber optic cable. Deformation of the sphere caused by pressure variations may exert pressure on a grating written in the cable. Alternatively, the surface of the sphere may form an interferometer for measuring pressure variations and a grating may be found in the fiber to allow temperature measurements also to be made. However, the sensitivity of Bragg gratings to hydrostatic pressure is very low, and thus such system may not be able to detect small pressure drops caused by partial occlusions of an artery. Still further, the method is single point and thus requires pullback of the needle to map the pressure variation in a length of an artery.

System for distributed blood flow measurement


The new and distinct cultivar of ornamental cultivar of ornamental Bee Balm named Monarda didyma ‘Pardon My Purple’ has short, compact, branching stems, numerous dark fuchsia flowers and resistance to powdery mildew.

The present invention relates to the new and distinct cultivar of Bee Balm, botanically known as Monarda didyma 'Pardon My Purple', and hereinafter also referred to solely as the cultivar 'Pardon My Purple' or the "new plant". The new plant was hybridized in 2006 and separated out for further evaluation in the summer of 2007 by Kevin A. Hurd in the trial gardens fields of a Zeeland, Mich., USA, as a planned hybrid cross of Monarda didyma 'ACrade' U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,580 more commonly known as 'Grand Parade' as the female or seed parent and Monarda didyma 'AChall' U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,582 more commonly known as 'Grand Marshall' as the male or pollen parent. The plant has been asexually propagated by stem cuttings at the same nursery in the greenhouses in Zeeland, Mich., and subsequent asexually propagated plants found to be identical to the original selection.


A cleaner holder includes: a first body having a first charging port configured to charge a cleaner; a second body protruding to a front side of the first body; and a battery accommodating space recessed downward from an upper surface of the second body to accommodate a battery detachably mounted to the cleaner, wherein a second charging port configured to charge the battery is provided in the battery accommodating space, and a cleaner guide configured to perform guiding such that terminals of the cleaner come into contact with the first charging port is provided in the second body.

The present disclosure relates to a cleaner holder.
A cleaner is a device that performs cleaning by sucking and wiping dust or foreign substances on a surface to be cleaned.
Such a cleaner may be classified into a manual cleaner that performs cleaning while a user directly moves the cleaner and an automatic cleaner that performs cleaning while the cleaner is driven by itself. The manual cleaner may be classified into a canister cleaner, an upright cleaner, a handheld cleaner, a stick cleaner and the like depending on types of the cleaner.
The above-described cleaner may have a rechargeable battery embedded therein, and the rechargeable battery may supply electric power for operating the cleaner only when being frequently charged. Thus, the cleaner requires a holder that may simultaneously charge the rechargeable battery and hold the cleaner.
Contents of a vacuum cleaner holder are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2012-0103956 as the prior art.
The vacuum cleaner holder according to the prior art includes a pedestal for holding a head of a vacuum cleaner to simultaneously charge and hold the vacuum cleaner and a support having charging pins for charging the vacuum cleaner.
Meanwhile, the vacuum cleaner holder according to the prior art, which holds a vacuum cleaner having a center on a lower side thereof, is inserted into support pieces on a lower side of the vacuum cleaner to support the vacuum cleaner. However, in case of a cleaner having a center on an upper side thereof, because a charging terminal should be provided on an upper side, the cleaner holder according to the prior art may not hold the cleaner.
Meanwhile, the vacuum cleaner holder according to the prior art may charge a cleaner body but may not separately charge a battery. Thus, because the cleaner body should be charged again when the battery provided in the cleaner body is discharged during cleaning, user's inconvenience may be caused.


A cosmetic or pharmaceutical, particularly dermatological, composition including an effective amount of laminarin or laminarin-derived oligosaccharides as the active ingredient. It has been discovered that laminarin, oligosaccharides derived therefrom and compositions containing same have stimulating, regenerating, conditioning and energising effects on human dermis fibroblasts and human epidermis keratinocytes. Said composition is useful in cosmetics and pharmacology.

The present invention relates essentially to the use of laminarin and oligosaccharides derived from laminarin in cosmetology and for the manufacture of a medicine destined for the treatment of the skin.
It is known that laminarin is a storage polymer of brown algae and consists of polysaccharides whose structures differ slightly according to the nature of the alga.
In general terms, laminarin possesses a molecular mass of less than about 30000 Daltons and consists of 20 to 60 D-glucopyranoside units distributed in a main linear chain, in which these units are joined by .beta.(1-3) linkages, and branches joined to this main chain by .beta.(1-6) linkages.
Some of these chains have a reducing terminal unit consisting of a mannitol unit. The existence of mannose units within this structure is also noted.
Laminarin is generally extracted from brown macrophytt marine algae of the Pheophyceae type, and in particular the Fucales or the Laminariales.
Various extraction methods can be used to obtain the laminarin.
Reference may be made for example to the method described by Black et al., Appl. Chem., 1951, 1, pages 505 to 517.
More generally, laminarin can be obtained from brown algae by any extraction process which enables the constituents other than laminarin (wall polysaccharides, salts, etc.) to be successively removed.
In particular, these processes use steps involving grinding, precipitation in an acid or basic medium, ultrafiltration and dialysis.
Laminarin is also marketed, for example by Sigma Chimie SARL.
Various scientific publications describe the eliciting properties of laminarin, suggesting its use for enhancing plant defense reactions.
Thus Netzer et al. reveal that an infection with the pathogen S. oxysporum triggers the induction of laminarinase (Biological abstracts, vol. 68, No. 1, 1979).
Likewise, Bonhoff et al. reveal the properties of laminarin as an elicitor of phytoalexin and callose (Biological abstracts, vol. 86, No. 4, 1988).
Furthermore, Kurosaki et al. (Biological abstracts, vol. 35, No. 2, 1988) and Pearce (Biological abstracts Vol. 74, No. 8, 1982) confirm the eliciting effects of laminarin, in particular in respect of lignification, while at the same time state that these effects are weak compared with those of the known elicitors.
The French Patent Application No. 92 08387 of the Applicants confirm the eliciting properties of laminarin and its use for enhancing plant defense reactions, and further reveal that laminarin has the properties of an .alpha.-amylase elicitor causing an accelerating action on seed germination and plant growth.
Furthermore, it is known that sulfated laminarin has interesting pharmaceutical properties, in particular anti-coagulant and hypoi-holesterinemiant properties. (K. C. Guven et al., Introduction to Applied Physiology, 1990, pages 67 to 92).

Use of laminarin and oligosaccharides derived therefrom in cosmetics and for preparing a skin treatment drug


A load beam attached to an actuator arm of a magnetic head suspension assembly includes a base section, a midsection and an arm section. An air bearing slider is disposed at the distal end of the arm section. The midsection joins to the base section at a junction boundary which is wider than any of the other sections, and is also positioned at a distance away from the actuator arm. The load beam bends at the midsection starting at the junction boundary. The bending of the load beam allows the slider to fly proximally close to a disk surface during normal operation. The base section, secured to an actuator arm, is integrally formed with ribs. The base section provides a firm platform for the bending of the load beam and effectively shortens the effective length of the load beam, which affords higher vibrational resonant frequency. The suspension assembly also can sustain high shock separation impact.

Presently known magnetic disk drives are widely used for data storage. A disk drive includes one or more disks mounted on a spindle, and a head arm assembly for accessing data tracks on the disk during seek, write and read modes. The head arm assembly includes a load beam and a head gimbal assembly. The gimbal assembly comprises an air bearing slider pivotally attached to a flexure. A magnetic transducer for interacting with the storage disks, is supported by the slider.
During the data seeking mode for example, the disks spin at a high speed about the spindle. The aerodynamics between the slider and the disk surface provides sufficient buoyancy to the slider to fly above the disk surface. On the other hand, the spring force of the resilient load beam pushes the slider toward the disk surface. As a result, an equilibrium point is reached in which the slider flies over the disk surface at a very close spacing, which is the flying height of the slider.
A small flying height provides many advantages and is a major goal for most magnetic head suspension assembly designs. For example, data error is substantially reduced as data can be more reliably written onto or retrieved from the storage disks during the respective write and read modes. Also, the smaller flying height enables recording narrow data track widths, with resultant higher storage capacity.
There are problems associated with reducing the flying height of the slider. The topology of the disk surface, though highly polished, is not at all uniform at microscopic scale. Very often, the disk surfaces are not rotating about the common spindle at a perfectly perpendicular angle. A minute angular deviation would translate into variations in disk-to-slider distances while the disk is spinning. For reliable data writing and reading, the load beam must carry the slider in a manner that the slider can faithfully follow the topology of the disk surface through the thin air film separated the spinning disk and the slider. Accordingly, the magnetic head suspension assembly, including the load beam, must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the uneven disk surface contour. The suspension assembly must also be reasonably robust to resist any physical deformation caused by the rapid movement of the actuator arm.
A rigidly built load beam is inflexible and is therefore ineffective to maintain a small flying height. On the other hand, a load beam made too flexible is more apt to resonate at a low frequency. Furthermore, a highly flexible load beam is more susceptible to deformation. A deformed load beam, would be prone to resonate at a still lower frequency and is detrimental to the performance of the magnetic head.
The problem of shock resistance is also of concern in the design of a magnetic head suspension. For a disk drive during the state of nonuse, the actuator arm is normally parked at a designated track on the disk surface. This is commonly called the "parking position" of the magnetic head. To reach the parking position, the actuator arm moves the slider above the parking track. The spinning disk then decelerates. The slider loses air buoyancy and slowly lands on the parking track. The slider rests on the parking track until the next takeoff for accessing tracks to read or write data or if it experiences mechanical shock. In the latter case, the impact of the shock would momentarily separates the slider from the disk surface. Thereafter, the slider will bounce back and collide with the disk surface caused mainly by the spring force of the load beam. The impact and bounce actions all happen within a short period of time. The collisions can damage the magnetic head and render the entire disk drive inoperable.
The shock is commonly called the "separation shock" and the unit of measure is in g's/gram where g is the gravitational acceleration in vacuum. A rigid load beam provides a higher separation shock. However, the flexibility and agility of the load beam are also compromised.
A typical prior art load beam described above is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. A load beam with a narrow width is used to address the problem of resonant vibrations at low frequencies. The mass of the load beam is correspondingly reduced resulting in a load beam with higher resonant frequency. However, the problem with this approach is that the lateral stiffness of the load beam is also sacrificed. A load beam with low lateral stiffness is more vulnerable to deformation. Once the load beam is deformed, the resonant frequency is greatly reduced. Moreover, a narrow and elongated load beam, such as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, cannot withstand a high separation shock.

Magnetic head suspension assembly having load beam with high resonant frequency and shock resistance


A time for replacement of a laser diode is decided based on a value of operating current of the laser diode and a value of intensity of laser light output from the laser diode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to management of when to replace a laser diode that has become weak.
2. Description of the Related Art
Laser diodes are used in optical communications and optical systems such bar-code readers. The laser diodes are small and they produce considerable laser output at low cost. However, the output of a laser diode decays with aging. In that case, it is the time to replace the laser diode with a new one.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2001-092920 discloses a technology to determine when to replace the laser diode. Precisely, output of the laser diode is monitored and if the output is less than a specific value, it is determined that the laser diode should be replaced. However, according to this configuration, it is possible to determine when to replace the laser-diode only when the laser diode has become weak. Moreover, device can not be used from when it is determined that the laser diode needs replacement until the laser diode is replaced with a new one.
However, decay of the output of the laser diode is not only due to the aging of the laser diode. The output of the laser diode may also decay due to failure of a driving circuit that drives the laser diode. However, with the known technology, it is possible to decide whether the output of the laser diode has decayed due to the aging of the laser diode or failure of the driving circuit.

Laser diode management apparatus and method


A process for preparing fresh tomato sauce and the sauce prepared thereby. The sauce has a fresh taste and has good viscosity even though diced tomatoes provided therein are not subjected to an enzyme deactivation heating step. In the process, diced tomatoes and a tomato puree are combined in a kettle including firming salts, water and pectinase.

Tomatoes have recently received attention as a healthful food, particularly in view of the carotenoids which they contain. Popular sources of tomatoes in the diet are spaghetti and other red pasta sauces. Many consumers prefer tomato sauces which are freshly prepared because of improved taste. However, a difficulty encountered in the commercial preparation of fresh sauces is that breaking or cutting of tomatoes, eg, during dicing or crushing, especially breaking or cutting the tomato skins, causes the release of enzymes which can result in a rapid and usually undesirable decrease in the viscosity of the product. Consequently, heating to elevated temperatures is used to deactivate these enzymes, with the resulting loss of taste found in processed, as opposed to fresh packed, sauces.
Using fresh tomato products in preparing a tomato sauce (particularly calcium-treated raw diced tomatoes) can result in the sauce gelling. This is a result of the pectin and pectin-related enzymes not being deactivated in the raw tomatoes by heat. Pectin exudes from the raw tomatoes and combines with the available calcium to form a calcium pectate gel. It is usual in the practice of making a spaghetti sauce to use canned or aseptically processed diced tomatoes. The heat processing of the diced tomatoes inactivates the pectin enzymes and sets the pectin in the diced tomatoes. But again, heat processing generally has an impact on taste.
Generally, the best diced tomatoes are made using calcium chloride to firm the dices prior to processing. The calcium treated diced tomatoes can be a source of calcium for the gelling formation, although most tomato products contain enough calcium for gel formation to occur even without an additional source of calcium. The source of pectin is the unprocessed diced tomatoes. Pectin can also come from any fresh puree used in making the sauce although the main source of the excess pectin related to the gel has been identified as coming from the raw diced tomatoes.
Two enzymes which have been implicated in the above are pectin methyl esterase, which catalyzes cleavage of methoxy groups from pectin, and pectinase (also known as polygalacturonase or PG) which catalyzes depolymerization of the cleaved pectin molecules, which causes the reduction in viscosity. It is the demethoxylated pectins which are most suseptible to forming gels by combining with calcium ions.
Pectinase is sometimes used to degrade soluble and insoluble pectins with varying degrees of esterification for viscosity reduction, clarification, and depectinization and maceration of plant tissue in the production of fruit and vegetable juices. It is known that pectin will be deactivated by depolymerization by a small amount of pectinase.
It is documented that raw garlic and onion will under specified process conditions cause a tomato product (i.e., a sauce) to gel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,375, to Mersfelder et al. addresses how to prevent these gels and/or use these types of gels to thicken tomato based products. Mersfelder et al. disclose using the gelation mechanism provided by releasing methyl pectin esterase from onion and garlic to demethoxylate the pectin available in the tomato based product to generate a supply of low methoxyl pectin to increase the viscosity of the sauce. They also disclose that in sauces wherein the tomatoes were initially heat treated to inactivate the enzymes, gelling can be prevented by, e.g., a) heating the onion or garlic prior to their addition to the sauce or b) the addition of pectinase. Crandal et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,047 recognized that high rapid heat treatment of pectin-containing juices will prevent gelling. Crandal et al. were confronted with the fact that the product they wanted to make could not tolerate a high heat manufacturing process without losing its product benefit. Their solution was to subject their product to high shear to destroy or prevent the gel. Unfortunately, high shear tends to destroy the appearance of distinct diced tomatoes in a sauce. Moreover, to subject a fresh pack tomato based sauce to sufficient heat in a short enough time to prevent some of the gelation would produce a product that lacked the flavor and texture benefits derived from making the product at lower temperatures, but results in the product having an undesirable texture because of the gel.

Process for preparing a tomato sauce using a pectinase enzyme

Van den Bergh Foods Co., Division of Conopco, Inc.


Apparatuses, methods and storage medium associated with computer-assisted or autonomous vehicle incident management, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a vehicle incident management system includes a main system controller to determine whether a vehicle hosting the apparatus is involved in a vehicle incident; if so, whether another vehicle is involved; and if so, whether the other vehicle is equipped to exchange incident information; and an inter-vehicle communication subsystem to exchange incident information with the other vehicle, on determination that the vehicle is involved in a vehicle incident involving the other vehicle, and the other vehicle is equipped to exchange incident information. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
With advances in integrated circuits, sensors, computing and related technologies, increasingly, more and more operations of a vehicle receive computer assistance, from parallel parking, to lane changing, and so forth. Fully autonomous driving vehicles are expected to be generally available to the average consumers very soon. Notwithstanding all the advances in sensing and accident avoidance technologies, vehicle accidents or incidents are not expected to be eliminated any time soon.

Computer-assisted or autonomous driving vehicle incident management method and apparatus


Provided is a method for driving a variable resistance nonvolatile storage element that can improve the information holding capability. The method includes: determining whether or not a current that flows through the nonvolatile storage element is larger than or equal to a first verify level IRL (Verify); determining whether or not a current that flows through the nonvolatile storage element is smaller than or equal to a second verify level IRH (Verify); and determining that the nonvolatile storage element is in the second resistance state when the current that flows through the nonvolatile storage element is smaller than a current reference level Iref, and determining that the nonvolatile storage element is in the first resistance state when the current is larger than the current reference level Iref, the current reference level Iref satisfying (IRL (Verify)+IRH (Verify))/2<Iref<IRL (Verify).

With the development in digital technologies in recent years, electronic devices such as mobile information equipment and information home appliances have higher functionality. Thus, demands for increasing the capacity of nonvolatile storage elements included in these devices, reducing the write power, accelerating writing and reading operations, and increasing the life span of these devices have been increasing.
To meet such demands, attention is focused on a new variable resistance nonvolatile storage element (also referred to as "variable resistance element") including a variable resistance layer as a material of a storage unit. Since the variable resistance nonvolatile storage element has such a simple structure and simply performs operations, it is expected that the nonvolatile storage element can further be miniaturized and the cost can be reduced. Since the resistance state of the variable resistance nonvolatile storage element sometimes changes between the low resistance state and the high resistance state by orders of magnitude not longer than 100 nanoseconds (ns), the attention is further focused on the variable resistance nonvolatile storage elements in view of its higher operating speed.
Such variable resistance nonvolatile storage elements comprising metal oxides can be largely divided into two types, depending on a material to be used in each of the variable resistance layers.
One type is the variable resistance nonvolatile storage elements comprising perovskite materials in the variable resistance layers, as disclosed in PTL 1 and others. The other is the variable resistance nonvolatile storage elements that are compounds comprising only transition metals and oxygen, using binary transition metal oxides.
In the binary transition metal oxides, controlling the compositions when manufactured and forming the films are relatively easy. Furthermore, the binary transition metal oxides have relatively favorable compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing processes. For example, PTL 2 discloses variable resistance elements comprising, as variable resistance materials, (i) transition metal oxides of stoichiometric composition, such as nickel (Ni), niobium (Nb), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and chrome (Cr), and (ii) oxides whose composition is deficient in oxygen compared to its stoichiometric composition (hereinafter referred to as oxygen-deficient oxides). Furthermore, PTL 3 discloses a nonvolatile storage element comprising an oxygen-deficient tantalum (Ta) oxide as a variable resistance material.
Furthermore, it is also reported that a variable resistance nonvolatile storage element has two different operation modes, namely, unipolar (monopolar) switching and bipolar switching.
The unipolar switching is an operation mode in which a resistance value changes with application of electric pulses having the same polarity and different amplitudes between a lower electrode and an upper electrode of a variable resistance nonvolatile storage element, which is disclosed by PTL 2 and others. In contrast, the bipolar switching is an operation mode in which a resistance value changes with application of electric pulses of positive and negative polarities between a lower electrode and an upper electrode of a variable resistance nonvolatile storage element, which is disclosed by PTLs 1 and 2.

Method for driving nonvolatile storage element, and nonvolatile storage device

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A refrigeration cycle has a compressor, an outdoor rotary-type heat exchanger, a motor-operated expansion valve, and an indoor rotary-type heat exchanger which are sequentially connected to each other to circulate a refrigerant. A tank is set in a connected state or a non-connected state with respect to a refrigerant discharge side of the compressor. A detector detects at least a pressure at one side of each of the exchangers. A first controller sets the tank in a non-connected state when a normal operation of an air conditioner is to be started, and controls the capacity of the compressor, the rotational speed of the exchangers, and the opening degree of the valve in accordance with an air-conditioning load, thereby performing the normal operation of the air conditioner. A second controller causes the compressor to keep operating at a predetermined capacity until a detection pressure from the detector coincides with a preset value, when the air conditioner is to be stopped, and sets the tank in a connected state while controlling the valve to a predetermined opening degree, thereby recovering a refrigerant in the tank. A third controller rotates the exchangers at a predetermined speed when the air conditioner is to be started, and sets the tank in a connected state while controlling the valve to a predetermined opening degree, thereby filling the refrigerant in the exchangers from the tank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an air conditioner and, more particularly, to an air conditioner having rotary-type heat exchangers as indoor and outdoor heat exchangers of a refrigeration cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a device for forming a refrigeration cycle in an air conditioner, a device having a rotary-type heat exchanger is available.
This rotary-type heat exchanger has both the function of a heat exchanger and the function of a fan. The rotary-type heat exchanger is designed to perform heat exchange between air and a refrigerant while taking in and blowing air by its own rotation.
The rotary-type heat exchanger is more advantageous in saving a space than a conventional finned tube type heat exchanger. If, for example, the rotary-type heat exchanger is used as an indoor heat exchanger, a reduction in the size of an indoor unit can be achieved. If it is used as an outdoor heat exchanger, a reduction in the size of an outdoor unit can be achieved.
In an air conditioner using a rotary-type heat exchanger to form a refrigeration cycle, however, a liquid refrigerant collects in a bottom portion of the rotary-type heat exchanger during a non-operation period. At the start of the next operation, therefore, the center of gravity of the rotary-type heat exchanger is shifted to cause unbalanced vibration. This unbalanced vibration adversely affects the service life of the rotary-type heat exchanger.
In an air conditioner of this type, if the seal structure of a rotary-type heat exchanger does not have a sufficient sealing effect with respect to a refrigerant, the refrigerant may leak outside during a non-operation period. In such a case, the circulation amount of a refrigeration cycle becomes insufficient, causing difficulty in performing a proper air-conditioning operation and adversely affecting the service life of a refrigeration cycle unit such as a compressor.

Air conditioner using rotary-type heat exchangers


The subject invention includes methods and devices for separating at least two constituents of a highly aqueous fluid. The subject methods include contacting a highly aqueous fluid with a stationary phase having a low density hydrophobic bonded phase under conditions to separate at least two constituents. Also provided are systems that include a stationary phase having a low density hydrophobic bonded phase, a highly aqueous fluid comprising at least two constituents and a device configured to perform liquid chromatography. Kits for use in practicing the subject methods are also provided.

The goal of many chemical analysis protocols is to separate a sample (blood, tears, urine, water from a well, etc.) into its individual components or constituents so that each component may be evaluated without any interference from other components. One technique that is often employed to separate various constituents of a sample from each other is chromatography, where liquid chromatography ("LC") is often employed. Liquid chromatography is an analytical chromatographic technique that is useful for separating ions or molecules that are dissolved in a liquid or solvent. If the sample solution is in contact with a second solid or liquid phase, the different solutes will interact with the other phase to differing degrees due to differences in adsorption, ion-exchange, partitioning, or size. These differences allow the mixture components to be separated from each other by using these differences to determine the transit time of the solutes through a column. Chromatography may be coupled with a suitable detection system that can characterize each type of separated constituent. One liquid chromatography protocol that is often employed due to its versatility is high performance liquid chromatography ("HPLC").
Generally, HPLC includes passing a sample of constituents in a high pressure fluid or solvent (called the mobile phase) through a tube or column. The column is packed with a stationary phase. The stationary phase is typically composed of a substrate such as particles, e.g., porous beads or the like. The pore sizes can be varied to allow certain sized analytes to pass through at different rates. As the constituents pass through the column they interact with the mobile and stationary phases at different rates. The difference in rates is due to the difference in one or more physical properties of the constituents, e.g., different polarities. The constituents that have the least amount of interaction with the stationary phase, or the most amount of interaction with the mobile phase, will thus exit the column faster.
As the various constituents exit the column, they can be detected by various techniques, e.g., refractive index, electrochemical, or ultraviolet-absorbance, which can indicate the presence of a constituent. The amount of constituent exiting the column may be determined by the intensity of the signal produced in a detector. A detector is employed to measure a signal peak as each constituent exits the column. By comparing the time it takes for the peak to show up (also referred to as the retention time) with the retention times for a mixture of known compounds, the constituents of unknown sample mixtures can be identified. By measuring the signal intensity (also referred to as the response) and comparing it to the response of a known amount of that particular analyte, the amount of analyte in the mixture can be determined.
One particularly useful mode of HPLC—particularly for the separation of highly polar or ionizable constituents, is reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography ("RP-HPLC"). RP-HPLC primarily operates on the basis of hydrophilicity and lipophilicity to separate various constituents of a liquid medium from each other. The stationary phase includes a substrate (which may be a plurality of particles) that has bound chemical moieties (i.e., a bonded phase), such as hydrophobic chains, e.g., bound alkyl chains, and the like, which facilitate the separation of the constituents. Accordingly, the greater the hydrophobicity of the bound chemical moieties, the greater is the tendency of the hydrophobic constituents in the mobile phase to be retained in the column while the hydrophilic constituents are eluted more rapidly from the column than the hydrophobic constituents.
Regardless of the type of liquid chromatography protocol employed, the particular mobile phase employed is important to the outcome of the protocol. For example, in order to achieve sufficient retention of certain constituents, it may be necessary to use a high aqueous mobile phase. However, when such high aqueous mobile phases are used, it is not uncommon to observe a decrease in retention of constituents over the course of the chromatography procedure, where oftentimes retention times are decreased to a point that any separation of constituents is lost.
While it is not completely clear why this loss in retention occurs when employing a high aqueous mobile phase with a stationary phase that includes hydrophobic functional groups—as is the case with RP-HPLC, it is hypothesized that the hydrophobic bonded phase (e.g., bonded alkyl chains) that is fully extended or solvated in an organic phase (e.g., 100% methanol) collapses in the highly aqueous mobile phase employed in the chromatography protocol. In other words, this behavior of retention decreasing over time in a high aqueous mobile phase is thought to be attributed to the chains of the functional groups of the stationary phase "collapsing" onto other chains and onto the surface of the particles to which they are bonded. Accordingly, this phenomenon is often referred to as "phase collapse". When phase collapse occurs, the surface of the stationary phase is less accessible as compared to a surface where the chains are fully extended. Accordingly, when phase collapse occurs, there is less availability of the bonded phase to interact with sample constituents and consequently retention decreases.
A variety of techniques have been developed to try to combat phase collapse. One such technique that is often employed reverses the phase collapse process. This is accomplished by flooding the stationary phase with significant volumes of a high organic content mobile phase followed by quickly switching back to the high aqueous phase. However, this is not a complete solution as the retention will again decrease when the highly aqueous mobile phase is used. Another technique is to incorporate polar groups near the substrate surface which interact with the highly aqueous phase and provide a solvated surface that helps prevent phase collapse. However, this technique also has disadvantages, as retention times are typically much lower than protocols without these polar groups and the protocols for fabricating such stationary phases increases in complexity, thus increasing manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, there continues to be an interest in the development of new methods and devices for separating constituents of a highly aqueous fluid. Of particular interest is the development of such methods and devices that do not exhibit phase collapse, are easy to use and are cost effective.
REFERENCES OF INTEREST INCLUDE: J. E. O'Gara, et al., Embedded Polar Group Bonded Phases for High Performance Liquid Chromatography, LCGC, 19(6), 632 (2001); Reid, et al., Compatibility of C18 HPLC Columns with Pure Aqueous Mobile Phase, American Lab., 7, 24 (1999); Przybyciel, et al., Phase Collapse in Reversed-Phase LC, LCGC, 20(6), 516 (2002).

Methods and systems for separating constituents of a highly aqueous fluid


New chlorohydrosilane derivatives having the general formula (I) and preparation method thereof. The chlorohydrosilane derivatives (I) of the present invention which have both Si--Cl and Si--H bonds are prepared by partially reducing chlorosilane of the formula (II) which have at least two Si--Cl bonds with lithiumaluminum hydride. The chlorohydrosilane derivatives (I) of the present invention, which have both Si--H and Si--Cl bonds in a molecule can be advantageously used in preparing various compounds because a Si--H bond enables the hydrosilylation with unsaturated organic compounds, while a Si--Cl bond can participate in hydrolysis or in a reaction with a nucleophilic compound such as Grignard reatent: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is straight, branched, or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, which can include an aromatic group or heterocyclic group, and R.sup.2 represents chloro group, or straight, branched, or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, which can include an aromatic group or heterocyclic group.

The present invention relates to the new chlorohydrosilane derivatives having the following formula (I) and a preparation method thereof. The chlorohydrosilane derivatives of the formula (I) of the present invention which have both of the Si--H and Si--Cl bonds in their molecular structures are prepared by reacting chlorosilane of the following formula (II) which has at least two Si--Cl bonds with lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH.sub.4). Because a Si--H bond enables the hydrosilylation reaction with the unsaturated organic compounds and a Si--Cl bond can participate in hydrolysis or the reaction with a nucleophilic compound such as Grignard reatent, the chlorohydrosilane derivatives of the present invention which have both of the aforementioned bonds are important organo silane compounds which can be employed in manufacturing various compounds. ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 is straight, branched or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms which can include an aromatic group or heterocyclic group, and R.sup.2 represents chloro group, straight, branched, or cyclic alkyl group alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, which can include an aromatic group or heterocyclic group.
Generally, a Si--Cl bond is converted into a Si--H bond by using a reducing agent such as lithiumaluminumhydride (C. Eaborn, "Organosilicon Compounds", Academic Press Inc., New York, 1960). A typical method comprises drop addition of silane compounds into a flask which contain lithiumaluminum hydride in a solvent such as ethylether or tetrahydrofuran in a room temperature or under reflux temperature. EQU 4Me.sub.3 SiCl+LiAlH.sub.4 .fwdarw.4Me.sub.3 SiH+LiAlCl.sub.4
It has been known to be difficult to partially reduce a halogen group of a silicon compound having at least two halogen groups by using lithiumaluminum hydride. McCusker and his colleagues reported that although they tried to prepare chlorohydrosilane by partially reducing an excess amount of ethyltribromosilane with a small amount of lithiumaluminum hydride at low temperature, only they obtained were totally reduced ethylsilanes [P. A. McCusker and E. L. Reilly, J. Am. Chem. Soc.,75, 1583(1953)]. ##STR3##
In addition, Opitz and his colleagues reported that they failed to get partially-reduced chlorohydrosilane even though they reacted an excess amount of tetrachlorosilane by using lithiumaluminumhydride or calciumhydride at low temperature [H. E. Opitz J. S. Peake and W. H. Nebergall, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 78, 292 (1956)].
The redistribution reaction of a silicon compound is a reaction wherein each of the hydrogen, halogen, phenyl, or alkyl group attached to silicon are mutually exchanged in the presence of a metal catalyst.
Whitmore and his colleagues reported on the synthesis of diethylchlorosilane and diethylsilane by redistribution of diethyldichlorosilane and triethylsilane in the presence of aluminum chloride catalyst. (F. C. Whitmore, E. W. Pietrusza, and L. H. Sommer, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 69, 2108(1947)). ##STR4##
In addition, Borisov and colleagues reported that exchange reaction of Si--H and Si--Cl easily occurs in the presence of aluminum chloride catalyst. (S. N. Borisov, M. G. Voronkov, and B. N. Dolgov, Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 114, 93(1957)). ##STR5##
In another example, Ponomarev and his colleagues reported that the reaction of phenylchlorosilane and methylchlorosilane at 250.degree.C. in the presence of lithiumaluminum hydride catalyst resulted in the redistribution into the compounds having both phenyl group and methyl group. (V. V. Ponomarev, V. N. Penskii, S. A. Golubtsov, K. A. Andrianov, and E. N. Chekrii, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Ser. Khim. 1972,1379)
While studying the partial reduction of chlorosilane compounds with the known reaction as aforementioned, the present inventors have found that a partially reduced silane compound can be obtained as a main product in case the lithiumaluminum hydride and chlorosilane compound are reacted at high temeprature without using solvent. ##STR6##
The compounds of general formula (I) are very important intermediates in organosilicon chemistry, because Si--H of the general formula (I) compounds makes it possible to easily introduce an organic group through the hydrosilylation with unsaturated organic compounds.
The inventors of the present invention previously invented a preparation method of a new (2-arylpropyl) alkylsilane derivatives by hydrosilylating (2-arylpropyl) silane derivatives and olefin compounds (I. N. Jung, B. R. Yoo, B. W. Lee, S. H. Yeon, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,050(1995)). ##STR7##
By subjecting the (2-arylpropyl)alkylsilane derivatives to partial reduction according to the present process and then to a hydrosilylation reaction, it becomes possible to prepare new organosilicon compounds to which various alkyl groups have been introduced. Further, the inventors of the present invention invented a catalyst system for olefinic polymerization wherein organosilicon compounds are used as an electron donor. (I. N. Jung, J. S. Han, E. J. Cho, Y. T. Jeong, K. K. Kang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,822(1996)).
As an organosilicon compound used as an electron donor, it can be generally mentioned a dialkyldialkoxysilane compound which can be easily prepared by partially reducing alkyltrichlorosilane compound by means of this method of the present invention, and introducing alkyl group through hydrosilylation and then, conducting alcohollization reaction.
A typical reaction process of the present invention comprises reacting chlorosilane compound of the formula (II) with lithiumaluminum hydride in the amount of 30 to 50 mole % of the chlorosilane compound (II) in a flask equipped with a reflux cooling device under nitrogen atmosphere while heating to 100 to 200.degree. C. Optionally, aluminum chloride can be added in the amount of 5 mole % relative to the silane compound. If a chlorosilane compound of the formula (II) cannot be heated above 100.degree. C. due to its low boiling point, it can be reacted in a sealed autoclave made of stainless steel. The reaction state is monitored by a gaseous element analyzer, and when the products reach equibrium state, temperature is decreased, and non-polar solvent such as normal hexane is added so as to solve the products, which then is filtered to remove the solvent, and followed by a distillation under vacuum or atmospheric pressure to isolate the final products.
The invention will be understood more readily with reference to the following examples; however these examples are intended to illustrate the invention and are not to be construed to limit the scope of the invention.

Chlorohydrosilane derivatives and their preparation method

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


An invention for measuring, maintaining and correcting synchronization between signals which suffer varying relative delays during transmission and/or storage is shown. The preferred embodiment of the invention finds particular use in measuring the relative delay between multiple audio signals and an associated video signal of a television type program which is compressed via MPEG or other compression for a transmission and/or storage system. The invention marks the video signal at a time when a particular event in the associated audio occurs. The mark is carried with the video throughout the video processing. After processing the same event in the audio is again identified, the mark in the video identified, the two being compared to determine the timing difference therebetween.

The invention relates to measuring, maintaining and correcting synchronization between two signals which suffer varying relative delays during transmission and/or storage, and in particular to measuring the relative delay between multiple audio signals and an associated video signal of a television type program which is compressed via MPEG or other compression method for transmission and/or storage.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of transmitting and storing multiple electronic signals where synchronization of the signals is of concern. When such transmitting and storing are of a nature which makes the corresponding receiving and recovering of said signals subject to timing errors resulting from differing amounts of processing delays the present invention is useful in measuring the relative timing errors or delays between signals with such delay measurement being used as a meter of quality of the transmitting and storing and for maintaining or correction of relative delays between such signals.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
It is known in the television signal transmission field to measure and correct audio to video timing errors by measuring the delay which a video signal experiences and using that measurement to delay a companion audio signal by a corresponding amount.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,135 by the present inventor shows to compare relatively undelayed and delayed versions of the same video signal to provide a delay signal responsive to the delay thereof and to couple that delay signal to a variable audio delay to cause the audio delay to delay the companion audio signal by a corresponding amount.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,431 and 5,675,388 by the present inventor show transmitting an audio signal as part of a video signal so that both the audio and video signals experience the same transmission delays thus maintaining the relative synchronization therebetween.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. RE 33,535 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,355 shows in the preferred embodiment to encode in the vertical interval of a video signal, a timing signal derived from an audio signal and transmitting the combined video signal and the audio signal. At the receiving location the timing signal is recovered from the video signal and a new timing signal is generated from the received audio signal. The two timing signals are compared at the receiving location to determine the relative delay between the timing signal recovered from the video and the newly generated timing signal, thus determining the relative delay between the video and audio signals at the receive location. It is also suggested to put a timing signal in the audio signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,761 by the present inventor shows in the preferred embodiment to encode a pulse in the vertical interval of a video signal before the video signal is delayed. The encoded pulse is recovered from the vertical interval of the delayed video signal. Various methods responsive to the encoded pulse or the timing thereof for the undelayed video and the encoded pulse recovered from the vertical interval of the delayed video are shown which enable the determination of the delay, or the control of a corresponding audio delay.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,483 by the present inventor shows determining video delay by sampling an image of the undelayed video and sampling images, including the same image of the delayed version of the video and comparing the samples of the undelayed image to the samples of the delayed images until a match is found indicating that the undelayed image in delayed form is being compared. The time lapse between the sampling of the undelayed image, and the finding of the matching delayed image is used as a measure of video signal delay.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,261 by the present inventor shows a method of determining the relative delay between an audio and a video signal by inspecting the video for a speaker's mouth and determining various mouth patterns of movement which correspond to sounds which are present in the audio signal. The time relationship between a mouth pattern which creates a sound and the occurrence of that sound in the audio is used as a measure of audio to video timing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,368, a CIP of U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,483 shows the use of comparing samples of relatively delayed and undelayed versions of video signal images for determining the delay of multiple signals.
Applicant incorporates all of the above prior art patents herein as fully as if they were set forth in their entirety for the purposes of enabling one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the present invention in so far as the present invention utilizes many elements which are taught therein. In particular, attention is called to U.S. Pat. No. RE 33,535 and the teachings of generating a timing signal in response to an audio signal, and the comparison of a recovered timing signal and a newly generated timing signal at the receiving site to determine the relative delay therebetween.
The above cited inventions often prove to be less than complete solutions for modern television systems and others which transmit or store a plurality of signals for various reasons including for example those problems recited below. In particular, the current transmission of MPEG compressed television signals has proven to have particular difficulty in maintaining audio to video synchronization, and the prior art has particular problems in dealing with such.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,135 compares relatively undelayed and delayed versions of the same video signal to provide a delay signal. This method requires connection between the undelayed site and the delayed site and is unsuitable for environments where the two sites are some distance apart. For example where television programs are sent from the network in New York to the affiliate station in Los Angeles such system is impractical because it would require the undelayed video to be sent to the delayed video site in Los Angeles without appreciable delay, somewhat of an oxymoron when the problem is that the transmission itself creates the delay which is part of the problem. A problem also occurs with large time delays such as occur with storage such as by recording since by definition the video is to be stored and the undelayed version is not available upon the subsequent playback or recall of the stored video.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,431 and 5,675,388 show transmitting an audio signal as part of a video signal so that both the audio and video signals experience the same transmission delays thus maintaining the relative synchronization therebetween. This method is expensive for multiple audio signals, and the digital version has proven difficult to implement when used in conjunction with video compression such as MPEG.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. RE 33,535 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,355 shows in the preferred embodiment to encode a timing signal in the vertical interval of a video signal and transmitting the video signal with the timing signal. Unfortunately many systems strip out and fail to transmit the entire vertical interval of the video signal thus causing the timing signal to be lost. It is suggested to put a timing signal in the audio signal, which is continuous thus reducing the probability of losing the timing signal. Unfortunately it is difficult and expensive to put a timing signal in the audio signal in a manner which ensures that it will be carried with the audio signal, is easy to detect, and is inaudible to the most discerning listener.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,761 shows to encode a pulse in the vertical interval of a video signal before the video signal is delayed. This method also suffers when the vertical interval is lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,483 shows determining video delay by a method which includes sampling an image of the undelayed video. This method also requires the undelayed video, or at least the samples of the undelayed video, be available at the receiving location without significant delay. Like the '135 patent above this method is unsuitable for long distance transmission or time delays resulting from storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,261 shows a method of determining the relative delay between an audio and a video signal by inspecting the video for particular sound generating events such as a particular movement of a speaker's mouth and determining various mouth patterns of movement which correspond to sounds which are present in the audio signal. The time relationship between a video event such as mouth pattern which creates a sound and the occurrence of that sound in the audio is used as a measure of audio to video timing. This method requires a significant amount of audio and video signal processing to operate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,368, a CIP of U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,483 shows the use of comparing samples of relatively delayed and undelayed versions of video signal images for determining the delay of multiple signals. Like the '483 patent the '368 patent needs for the undelayed video or at least samples thereof to be present at the receiving location.
Attempts have been made to add various timing related signals in television program streams in order to maintain audio to video synchronization. In particular in MPEG systems control signals such as time stamps are utilized. Unfortunately the inclusion of these signals does not guarantee proper audio to video synchronization at the receive side output of the system for a variety of reasons, including the fact that there are significant video delays which occur which can not be tracked by the time stamps.

A/V timing measurement for MPEG type television


The present disclosure relates to an automatic inspection apparatus for generator turbines and a system using the same. The automatic inspection apparatus adjusts the height of an arm via a lifter, adjusts a rotating angle relative to an inspection object via a rotator, and adjusts forward or backward movement of a probe relative to the inspection object via an expansion/contraction unit while moving the arm having the probe on a rail in accordance with positions of a turbine to be inspected. Furthermore, a compression unit may be used to control contact pressure of the probe to the inspection object at a desired level to allow the probe to closely contact the inspection object, thereby preventing disturbance due to vibration of the probe. In addition, the automatic inspection apparatus has a simple and lightweight configuration so as to be easily installed or removed in a work site.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic inspection apparatus for generator turbines and, more particularly, to an automatic inspection apparatus for generator turbines and a system using the same, which may eliminate disturbance due to vibration by stabilizing contact pressure of a probe to an inspection object to enhance inspection reliability, and which has a light weight to be easily installed or removed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, generating facilities have a turbine 1 that drives a generator using high temperature and pressure vapor from a nuclear reactor or boiler to generate electricity, as schematically shown in FIG. 1. The turbine 1 includes a rotor 2, which includes a plurality of discs 3 arranged at predetermined intervals, and blades 4 having different diameters from one another and coupled to the discs 3, respectively. Thus, a vapor having high temperature and high pressure is introduced to collide with and rotate the blades 4, so that the rotor 2 can be rotated to generate electricity through a generator (not shown).
However, since the blades 4 of the turbine 1 are directly exposed to the high temperature and pressure vapor and are subjected to both vibration and centrifugal force, a root 5 at which the blade 4 is fastened to the disc 3 is likely to suffer from cracking. Accordingly, it is necessary to perform periodic inspection of the turbine 1 during operation of the generating facilities or in an inspection term. In particular, it is necessary for the root 5 to be subjected to thorough inspection.
Generally, a nondestructive testing method employing ultrasound waves is employed to inspect the turbine 1. However, the complex structure of the turbine 1 makes it difficult to perform general automatic inspection. Therefore, manual inspection is usually applied to the turbine 1. During manual inspection, a worker evaluates a signal generated when an ultrasound probe is brought into contact with the root 5 of the blade 4. However, the accuracy and reliability of the manual inspection are low because inspection must be performed within a small and narrow space and there are several hundred blades 4 within the turbine 1 to be inspected. Accordingly, a variety of methods and apparatuses for automatic inspection have been developed.
One example of the apparatus for automatic inspection includes an inspection apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. 2. The inspection apparatus 10 employs ultrasound waves for inspecting the roots (not shown) of the blades 12 in the turbine 11 and performs inspection while moving along a rail 13 disposed in a longitudinal direction of the turbine 11 or in a state of being attached to a body of the turbine 11.
Specifically, the turbine 11 to be inspected is retracted from a turbine casing (not shown) and both ends of the rotor 14 are seated on a stand 15. On the rail 13, the inspection apparatus 10 moves to a position for inspection. Then, the root is inspected using a probe (not shown) mounted on a leading end of an arm 16 while rotating the turbine 11 360 degrees with respect to the stand 15.
Due to a very small gap between one root and another adjacent root of the circumferentially arranged blades 12, this inspection method causes vibration when the turbine 11 rotates. The vibration may cause insufficient contact between the probe and an inspection object, i.e. the root.
Further, the arm 16 is too long to enhance contact of the probe or to achieve satisfactory contact, thereby making it difficult to obtain accurate ultrasound signals and necessitating additional inspection.
In addition, since the inspection apparatus 10 needs to be relatively heavy in order to stably support the long arm 16, there is a need to improve installation and maintenance of the excessively heavy inspection apparatus 10.
A variety of automatic inspection apparatuses are known in the art. For example, Korean Utility Model No. 20-270825, filed on Mar. 23, 2002, discloses a probe device, entitled "Probe device for Nondestructive Inspection of Blade Root of Steam Turbine in Power Plant." In this device, a holder body supporting a probe is connected to an inspection apparatus magnetically attached to a turbine and the probe is movable upward, downward, forward and backward through the holder body.
Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-0008552, filed on Jan. 27, 2006, discloses an inspection apparatus, entitled "Nondestructive Inspection Apparatus for Turbine Blade Root in Power Plant." This apparatus performs inspection by fixing a probe to the blade without retracting the turbine from the casing. That is, the blade is inspected by adjusting the height and rotation of the probe through a plurality of joints.
Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2007-0013007, filed on 30 Jan. 2007, discloses an apparatus and method for inspection, entitled "Apparatus and method using a multi joint robot for automatic ultrasonic inspection of a steam turbine in a power plant." In this apparatus, the multi-joint robot is provided with an ultrasonic sensor at a leading end of an arm, and inspects the front and back of the blade while moving along control traces of a controller. However, the apparatus does not have a traveling function.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,075,296, filed on 11 Jul. 2006, discloses an apparatus, entitled "Inspection carriage for a turbine blade." This inspection carriage inspects the front and back of the blade while using a motor to drive forward and backward movement and rotation of an ultrasound probe, but the apparatus itself is not capable of motion.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0126493, filed on May 21, 2009, discloses an apparatus, entitled "Nondestructive inspection head for parts having a limited enveloping space." The inspection head is controlled by an independent driver and performs inspection while freely moving and rotating between blades using multiple shafts.
However, reliability and efficiency of the conventional automatic inspection apparatuses are limited due to vibration occurring between a part to be inspected and the probe or it is difficult to maintain constant contact pressure of the probe. Further, the inspection apparatuses are so heavy that installation and removal of such apparatuses require a hoisting device or take too much time and labor.

Automatic inspection apparatus for generator turbine and system using the same


A drive-on watercraft (10) has removable/replaceable bunks (50, 80). The bunks are configured to define two rails (64,66; 94a,b). In one embodiment, one rail (64) is higher than the other rail (66). This bunk with rails of different heights can be positioned on the body of the lift with either rail facing inwardly, such that the lift can be configured to receive watercraft of different sizes. In a second embodiment, the bunk (80) has a ramp (84) positioned to extend rearwardly from the back of the lift body when the bunk is mounted to the lift body. The bunk ramp (84) provides a sacrificial point of first contact for of a watercraft with the lift and provides for a softer ride for the watercraft onto the lift.

This application relates to drive-on watercraft lifts, and, in particular, to a watercraft lift having adjustable/replaceable bunks or slide members.
Drive-on watercraft lifts are often provided with rollers or elongate slide members upon which watercraft rest when positioned on the lift. An example of such rollers/glides is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,872, which is incorporated herein by reference. The rollers/glides disclosed therein are mounted on brackets which allow for the rollers/glides to pivot relative to the watercraft lift, to thereby accommodate watercraft hulls of different sizes or shapes. However, in many watercraft lifts, the rollers/glides are not pivotal, and thus, on many types of watercraft lifts, the rollers/glides or bunks cannot be adjusted or altered to accept watercraft of different sizes.

Drive-on watercraft lift with adjustable bunks


A filtration system for metalworking fluids has panel filter elements arranged in cells in which the filter frames and panels are approximately parallel to one another. The filter frames are disposed such that the filter surfaces are oriented at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the drag-out tank within which they are installed. The filter elements are constructed by affixing a microscreen filter to a wire mesh support structure. The wire mesh structure provides as much support as the perforated plates of the prior art, while featuring significant gains in effective filter area when compared with perforated plate constructions.

This invention relates generally to a filtration system adapted for industrial application, and in particular to a filtration system and automatic settling tank combination designed to remove industrial contaminants, and is more particularly directed toward a filtering system adapted to remove particulates from recirculated fluids used in the metalworking industry for metalworking processes.

Filtration system for metalworking fluids


In the case of an arrangement of a 2-path torsion damper unit and a friction disk clutch in a hydrodynamic torque converter, a coupling member for the torque transmission from the clutch to the torsion damper unit as well as the latter are fixed in their position with respect to the hub of a turbine wheel, particularly for avoiding wobbling.

The invention relates to an arrangement of a 2-path torsion damper unit and a friction disk clutch in a hydrodynamic torque converter. In such an arrangement, one path of the torque transmission leads from the clutch to the torsion damper unit--while the other path is laid from the turbine wheel to the torsion damper unit, from which in both cases the torque is delivered to the output shaft.
In a known arrangement of the above-mentioned type, such as German Patent document DE 195 14 411 A1; FIGS. 1 to 3, the hub of the turbine wheel has an axial driving serration on its inner circumference, into which a corresponding driving serration on the outer circumference of the hub of the secondary damper part engages with a defined circumferential backlash. This is done in order to, on the one hand, permit the torsional path of the torsion damper unit and, on the other hand, in the conversion range, protect the torsion damper unit from high torques. The clutch only has a single friction disk which cooperates with a friction surface of the housing shell and is constructed in one piece with a ring-disk-shaped piston. For the torque transmission from the clutch to the primary damper part, a coupling member is selected in the form of a ring disk which either interacts as a separate component with the outer circumference of the ring disk by means of a loose drive-type connection and has a riveted connection with the outer shell of the turbine wheel as well as with the primary damper part or, as a damper disk of the primary damper part which has higher dimensions with respect to its wall thickness, has on its outer circumference a loose drive-type connection with the radially exterior area of the piston and is connected on its inner circumference by corresponding axial driving serrations with the hub of the turbine wheel. Measures for counteracting the wobbling, on the one hand, of the friction disk piston component with respect to the housing shell and, on the other hand, of the secondary damper part with respect to the turbine wheel, are not provided in this known arrangement.
From European Patent document EP 0 732 527 A2, a different type of arrangement is known for a 2-path torsion damper unit and a friction disk clutch in a housing shell of a hydrodynamic torque converter. In this arrangement, the clutch is operatively connected with the hub of the hub-shaft connection of the output shaft by means of a torsion damper assigned to it and arranged radially on the outside with respect to the axis of rotation of the converter, and the turbine wheel is operatively connected with the hub of the hub-shaft connection of the output shaft by means of a torsion damper assigned to it which is arranged radially on the inside. On its inner circumference, the secondary damper part of the turbine-side torsion damper is riveted to the hub and, on its outer circumference, is connected by means of driving devices with the secondary damper part of the clutch-side torsion damper. While the piston is constructed in one piece with the single friction disk of the clutch and, in the engaged condition, hydraulic working medium therefore cannot flow through the clutch for the cooling, the outer shell of the turbine wheel is riveted on its inner circumference with a ring flange constructed as a sheet steel stamping. This ring flange is constructed on its outer circumference as a primary damper part of the pertaining torsion damper and is supported in the area of its inner circumference in one direction of the axis of rotation of the converter by way of a stop disk with respect to the hub and in the opposite direction by way of a roller bearing with respect to an overriding clutch of the stator of the torque converter. Radially on the outside with respect to this support, driving devices of the hub engage with a predetermined circumferential backlash in window openings of the ring flange in order to protect the springs of the turbine-side torsion damper from excessive torques. Also in the case of this known arrangement, no measures are provided which could attempt to avoid the wobbling explained with respect to the state of the art on which this application is based.
The object on which the invention is based is essentially that of avoiding the above-mentioned wobbling which occurs in the known arrangements.
This, and other objects, are achieved according to the present invention by an arrangement of a 2-path torsion damper unit and a friction disk clutch in a housing shell of a hydrodynamic torque converter. The housing shell, which can be driven by a driving engine and is non-rotatably connected with the outer shell of a pump impeller, accommodates a turbine wheel with a hub which is immobile with respect to the latter. The torsion damper unit has a primary damper part and a secondary damper part which are connected with one another in a torsionally elastic manner by means of torsion springs. The primary damper part can be connected by way of the clutch with the housing shell, and the secondary damper part can be connected by means of a releasable form-locking shaft-hub connection with an output shaft which is coaxial with respect to the central axis of the torque converter. The turbine wheel has a play-free connection with the primary damper part as well as a rotational mobility with respect to the secondary damper part limited by driving devices. The two hubs of the turbine wheel and of the secondary damper part are mutually supported transversely to the central axis by a radial bearing and are mutually supported in the directions of the central axis by way of one axial bearing respectively. The play-free connection between the turbine wheel and the primary damper part as well as the receiving devices for limiting the rotational mobility between the turbine wheel and the secondary damper part with respect to the central axis are arranged radially on the outside with respect to the bearings of the two hubs.
The description herein contains further advantageous developments of the invention.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed it description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Arrangement of a 2-path torsion damper unit and a clutch in a hydrodynamic torque converter