There is a provided method for use with a printing system in which a second halftone pattern is selectively substituted for a first halftone pattern. The printing system preferably buffers one or more of print jobs and places each of the one or more print jobs in a print ready format. The printing system further includes a processing system in which the placing of the one or more print job into the print ready format is performed, as well as a halftone substitution subsystem for selectively operating on one or more halftone patterns which reside in one of the one or more print jobs. The one of the one or more print jobs includes the first halftone pattern and the method comprises the steps of: a) determining, with the halftone substitution subsystem, whether the first halftone pattern is renderable into a corresponding image whose image quality at least equals or exceeds a preselected image quality threshold; and b) in response to determining, with step (a), that the image quality of the corresponding image will not equal or exceed the preselected image quality threshold, substituting the second halftone pattern for the first halftone pattern, the second halftone pattern equaling or exceeding the preselected image quality threshold.

This invention relates generally to a printing system and, more particularly, to a halftone pattern enhancement system which substitutes a second halftone pattern for a first halftone pattern in response to a determination that the image quality of an image corresponding with first halftone pattern will not exceed a preselected image quality threshold.
Personal computers have become commonplace on the desks of most office workers. Typically, much of the work product of such computers is intended to be transformed into hardcopy via a printer using digital imaging technology. A typical printer configuration for this purpose comprises a dedicated printer coupled to the personal computer ("PC"). However, printers used for this purpose are typically small laser printers which have limited functions and features such as a limited tray capacity which restricts the number and types of copy sheets that can be used to make prints on, or which do not have a finishing capability, etc.
On the other hand, larger high speed laser printers normally have a great deal of finishing and copy sheet capability which would allow the PC user to have, for example, custom printing and finishing of his work product, an option which for many PC users would be highly desirable. In practice, the PCs can be used advantageously with a network printing system of the type combining a number of client inputs, such as the PCs, or the like, and one or more printer outputs. In one example of such network printing systems, a client at one of the inputs sends electronic documents that comprise a job over a local area network (LAN) to one of the printers selected for printing of the job. In particular, LANs provide a means by which users running dedicated processors are able to share resources such as printers, file servers and scanners. Integration of shared resources has been a problem addressed by LAN managers. LAN managers have made different network protocols transparent to devices running different network protocols LANs also have a variety of print drivers emitting different page description languages (PDLs), which are directed to specific print devices.
Examples of some recent patents relating to network environments of plural remote terminal shared users of networked printers include Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,483,653, 5,243,518, 5,226,112, 5,170,340 and 5,287,194. Some patents on this subject by others include U. S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,355, 5,113,494(originally filed Feb. 27, 1987), 5,181,162, 5,220,674, 5,247,670; 4,953,080 and 4,821,107. Further by way of background, some of the following Xerox.RTM. Corporation U.S. patents also include examples of networked systems with printers: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,153,577; 5,113,517; 5,072,412; 5,065,347; 5,008,853; 4,947,345; 4,939,507; 4,937,036; 4,920,481; 4,914,586; 4,899,136; 4,453,128; 4,063,220; 4,099,024; 3,958,088; 3,920,895; and 3,597,071. Also noted are IBM Corp. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,651,278 and 4,623,244, as well as Canon U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,458 and Jap. Pub. No. 59-63872 published Nov. 4, 1984. Some of these various above patents also disclose multi-functional printing systems.
Some other network system related publications include "Xerox Office Systems Technology" "Xerox 8000 Series Products: Workstations, Services, Ethernet, and Software Development" .COPYRGT.1982, 1984 by Xerox Corporation, OSD-R8203A, Ed. T. Linden and E. Harslem, with a "Table of Contents" citing its numerous prior publications sources, and an Abstract noting the April 1981 announcement of "the 8110 Star Information System, A New Personal Computer . . . "; "Xerox System Integration Standard Printing Protocol XSIS 118404", April 1984; "Xerox Integrated Production Publishers Solutions: " Booklet No. "610P50807" "11/85"; "Printing Protocol-Xerox System Integration Standard" .COPYRGT.1990 by Xerox Corporation, XNSS 119005 May 1990; "Xerox Network Systems Architecture", "General Information Manual", XNSG 068504 April 1985, with an extensive annotated bibliography, .COPYRGT.1985 by Xerox Corporation; "Interpress: The Source Book", Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1988, by Harrington, S. J. and Buckley, R. R.; Adobe Systems Incorporated "PostScript" Language Reference Manual", Addison-Wesley Co., 1990; "Mastering Novell Netware.RTM.", 1990, SYBEX, Inc., Alameda, Calif., by Cheryl E. Currid and Craig A. Gillett; "Palladium Print System" .COPYRGT.MIT 1984, et sec; "Athena85" "Computing in Higher Education: The Athena Experience", E. Balkovich, et al, Communications of the ACM, 28(11) pp. 1214-1224, November, 1985; and "Apollo87 The Network Computing Architecture and System: An Environment for Developing Distributed Applications", T. H. Dineen, et al, Usenix Conference Proceedings, June 1987.
Noted regarding commercial network systems with printers and software therefor is the 1992 Xerox Corporation "Network Publisher" version of the 1990"DocuTech.RTM." publishing system, including the "Network Server" to customer's Novell.RTM. 3.11 networks, supporting various different network protocols and "Ethernet"; and the Interpress Electronic Printing Standard, Version 3.0, Xerox System Integration Standard XNSS 048601 (January 1986). Also, the much earlier Xerox Corporation "9700 Electronic printing System"; the "VP Local Laser Printing" software application package, which, together with the Xerox "4045" or other Laser Copier/Printer, the "6085" "Professional Computer System" using Xerox Corporation "ViewPoint" or "GlobalView.RTM." software and a "local printer print service! Option" kit, comprises the "Documenter" system. The even earlier Xerox Corporation "8000" "Xerox Network Services Product Descriptions" further describe other earlier Xerox Corporation electronic document printing systems. Eastman Kodak "LionHeart.RTM." systems, first announced Sept. 13, 1990, are also noted.
Current popular commercial published "systems software" with LAN workstation connections include Novell DOS 7.0, "Windows.RTM." NT 3.1, and IBM OS/2 Version 2.1.
Disclosures of all of the patents cited above are incorporated herein by reference.
Commonly, a PDL transmitted across a network from a client to a target printer includes one or more bitmaps representing a halftone pattern. In a typical network printing context, it has been found that the image quality of each halftone pattern rendered at the target printer will vary as a function of either the degree to which the target printer handles incoming halftone patterns or the manner in which each halftone pattern is generated at the client. In particular, with respect to known PostScript applications, handling of halftones is optimized since the default halftone designed for the printer is used. On the other hand, problems can arise with respect to those applications in which a printer specific halftone in the print driver is ignored and, instead, a set of halftones which ignores the particular marking capability of the target printer is generated.
For example, a typical PCL application generates a set of halftones suitable for use on a "write black" printer while certain PCL capable printers incorporate "write white" technology. It has been found that halftone image quality can, to a significant degree, be dependent on whether the printer is write white or write black. Accordingly, when a job with one or more halftones, generated with a PCL application, is provided to a write white printer, image degradation may result in marking unless certain selected image processing (e.g. bit adding, shifting, overstriking and/or ORing) is performed on the one or more halftones. An example of image processing useful in compensating for image quality degradation resulting from the interpretation of a PCL generated job at a white write printer can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,615 to Mailloux.
While image processing of the type found in '615 Patent may represent one viable solution to alleviating, such image processing can be less than desirable since it can represent added cost and may, under certain circumstances, not even provide the level of image quality demanded by the customer. Additionally, image processing of a halftone pattern may require a level of both processing and memory overhead that is undesirable. It would be desirable to provide a simple and economic technique which facilitates the printing of a job on a printer which is at least partially unsuitable for generating halftones in the job due to either the manner in which the job was orginally created or certain constraints of the printer upon which the job is to executed.

Printing system with halftone substitution capability


The present invention relates to amphiphiles for the formation of a synthetic ion channel in a phospholipid bilayer or biomembrane. The synthetic channel selectively transports chloride ions across the phospholipid bilayer or the membrane. Said amphiphiles impart ion permeability to the phospholipid bilayers or biomembrane and also modulate cellular volume in mammalian cells in vitro.

Ion channels in mammalian systems are the subject of intensive scientific investigation because of the importance and the variety of their functions.1 Such channels are located in the phospholipid bilayer membranes of cells and permit the transport at a high rate of a particular cation or anion. Natural ion channels are generally understood to be polypeptide or protein structures. These large molecules form pores within membranes that provide diffusion pathways for ionic species that are exquisitely controlled and specific. These diffusion pathways control the movement of ion currents in membranes generating membrane potentials and currents that influence all aspects of cellular physiology. Channel proteins have "open" and "closed" states that are sensitive to membrane potential (voltage gating) or to the presence or absence of regulatory molecules (ligand gating).2 The channel molecules typically exhibit selectivity for one particular cation or anion, in vivo. Often, they can permit the selected ion to be transported preferentially in one direction (rectification). In combination, these characteristics allow ion channels to provide the rapid and integrated control of cellular activity required for mammalian function.
The functions of ion channel proteins have generally been studied by using proteins reconstituted from natural sources or expressed by cloning techniques. The proteins thus obtained are then studied for ion conduction in a lipid bilayer membrane. The lipid bilayer prevents ion diffusion except through the channel and allows detailed study of the currents that result. In this configuration, picoAmp currents can be studied allowing characterization of single channel molecules. Using these methods, it is possible to determine channel conductance, ion selectivity, gating kinetics and to study modulation of channel activity. Using these techniques, the characteristics of many different ion channels have been determined showing a diversity of properties that includes cation and anion specific channels for both monovalent and polyvalent ions.
A common failing of existing synthetic channels is their inability to provide the degree of mimetic fidelity to native channels that would permit meaningful use of the synthesized versions in biomedical applications.3-5 The peptide ion channels produced by the synthetic approach of Lear et al.4 were not intended to be mimetic, but were simply designed to show ion transport. These compounds were formed from repeating units involving only leucine and serine. Mutter et al. have suggested that synthetic channel peptides may be made by linking amphipathic α-helix and β-sheet peptides to a synthetic peptide template.6 The compounds of Mutter et al. were less selective and efficient than their natural channel counterparts.
During the past two decades, numerous attempts have been made to develop synthetic ion channels. These include the total synthesis of a simple but natural channel,7 non-naturally occurring peptide aggregates,8 cyclic peptide nanotubes,9 hybrid crown ether-peptide structures,10 oligomeric structures,11 and completely synthetic compounds called "hydraphiles."12 Other synthetic channel structures that have been assessed for their ability to transport cations may be identified from recent reviews on the subject.13 Fewer attempts have been reported to develop anion channels.14
The discovery of functional synthetic ion channels would provide a means to investigate and modulate the regulation of membrane potentials, intracellular pH, cell volume, signal transduction, and transepithelial ion transport in tissues containing absorptive or secretory epithelia under normal and disease conditions. Discovery of novel synthetic ion channel compounds satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions useful in conditions and diseases wherein transport of ions plays a role.
Such channel assemblies can be used, e.g., in the treatment of diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and adult polycystic kidney disease (APKD). Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common fatal genetic disease in Caucasians.15 Approximately one in every 2,500 Americans of European descent is born with the disease. Despite current standard therapy, the median age of survival is only 26 years. Disease of the pulmonary airways is the major cause of morbidity and is responsible for 95% of the mortality.
Based on both genetic and molecular analyses, a gene associated with CF was isolated as part of 21 individual cDNA clones and its protein product predicted.16-18 The protein product of the CF associated gene is called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR).17 CFTR is a protein of approximately 1480 amino acids made up of two repeated elements, each comprising six transmembrane segments and a nucleotide binding domain. The two repeats are separated by a large, polar, so-called R-domain containing nucleotide binding sites and multiple potential phosphorylation sites. Based on its predicted domain structure, CFTR is a member of a class of related proteins that includes the multi drug resistance (MDR) or P-glycoprotein, bovine adenyl cyclase, the yeast STE6 protein and several bacterial amino acid transport proteins.17,19 Proteins in this group, characteristically, are involved in the transport of molecules into or out of cells.
CFTR has been postulated to regulate the outward flow of anions from epithelial cells in response to phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase C.17,20-24 Hence, for CF and other conditions, the development of synthetic anion channels has significant utility in terms of investigating cellular anion imbalances and in modulating such conditions.
Intracellular compartments are critical to the organization of eukaryotic cells. The vast majority of these compartments are used in the intracellular transport of macromolecules to locations within the cell or in the uptake and processing of extracellular objects. These compartments include the endocytic vesicles, secretory vesicles, phagosomal vesicles and lysosomes primarily but also include a number of associated specialized vesicles. These vesicles have in common the ability to acidify and then employ this acidic pH in their required functions.25 The acidification of these vesicles critically depends upon the chloride permeability of their limiting bilayer membrane. Because they insert into bilayer membranes at low concentrations, in one embodiment, applicants' chloride channel assemblies can be used to study the precise role of chloride permeability in the functions of these vesicles. In addition, the modification of these functions will have key influences upon the secretion, uptake and processing of proteins, bacteria and viruses by eukaryotic cells. Specialized cells such as osteoclasts and renal tubular cells use chloride dependent acidification for bone metabolism and critical detoxification activities.


A removable lamp module (14) employs a male (26) and female (22) electrical connector (24) pair that serves multiple functions including connecting a lamp power supply (72) and high-voltage lamp igniter circuit (74) to an arc lamp (39), acting as a safety interlock switch, and mechanically latching the lamp module within a projector cavity (13). The lamp module safely encloses the arc lamp, provides an airflow pathway for cooling the arc lamp, and slidably secures (50) the male half of the connector pair. The lamp module slides in a first direction into the cavity, and the male half of the connector pair slides in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, into engagement with the female half of the connector pair to latch the lamp module within the projector cavity. Replacing the arc lamp entails sliding the connector pair out of engagement, removing the lamp module from a projector enclosure (12), and replacing the lamp. Disengaging the connector pair mechanically unlatches the lamp module from the projector enclosure and concurrently opens a safety interlock circuit that electrically disconnects power from the lamp power supply and the lamp igniter circuit, and electrically disconnects the arc lamp from the lamp power supply and the lamp igniter circuit.

There are previously known safety interlocking systems for protecting electrical equipment users and technicians against hazards, such as electrical shock, burns, radiation, and improper operating modes.
For example, it is well known to enclose a hazardous apparatus in a protective cage having an access door or panel, the removal of which actuates a safety interlock switch. Such a safety interlock switch typically removes primary power from the electrical equipment and must, therefore, be rated to carry primary currents and voltages.
In another example, some electrical equipment include a module that is removable for servicing or replacement. Often the removable module is secured behind or attached to an access panel. Typically, such removable modules are secured within the electrical equipment by mechanical fasteners and have separate electrical interconnections, safety interlock switches, and related wiring harnesses.
Portable image projectors present an interesting mix of requirements and hazards. Many such projectors employ a metal-halide arc lamp that operates at a very high temperature, requires a high voltage pulse to ignite the arc, must be readily replaceable, must be compact and lightweight, and must be packaged to protect users and the projector from heat, high voltage, and improper operating modes, such as operation of equipment at excessive temperatures, and high-voltage pulse generation during arc lamp replacement.
Portable image projectors are generally referred to as being "ultra-portable" if they are small enough and light enough to be carried by one hand. However, the above-described arc lamp hazards and requirements generally contribute to making the arc lamp-related apparatus among the bulkiest and heaviest of those used in portable image projectors, rendering them undesirable for use in ultra-portable projectors.
What is needed, therefore, is a compact, lightweight, and safe arc lamp apparatus that is suitable for use in portable and ultra-portable image projectors.

Protection lamp safety interconnect apparatus and method


A clock includes a publicly accessible distributed network, a user interface, and a timing device or a personal computer. The timing device is configured to track universal time and harvest user selected media including text, graphics, sound, video and/or multimedia. The timing device plays the selected media in a programmed order with commercial media at a launch time. After harvesting the publicly accessible network, the media is played in a progressive sequence before the personal computer or the timing device interfaces a Site.

This invention relates to time keeping, and more particularly, to a system and a method that links a user to media through a distributed network at a requested time.
Distributed technology such as the Internet provides users with access to a variety of information and services. Many users access distributed networks to view or distribute information ranging from news to commercial offers. A number of companies advertise through distributed networks and solicit sales. These users create a large domain of information and services that are not always accessible or achieve their desired objectives.
A variety of software is available through distributed networks that measure and display time. Some of this software is also capable of playing a compact disc, simulating a tone, or decoding a media file. In some instances, the media file must be stored in memory before a media player can decode it. Some software cannot receive files or Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) or allow users to display up-to-the-minute or real time audio and visual news, headlines, or sports when the software is not connected to the network. Moreover, some of the software is event driven, meaning the software completes a search only when responding to a user response, such as a user actuating a keyboard command or clicking a button on a mouse. Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that automatically communicates with a distributed network, harvests user selected media, and automatically plays the selected media in a pre-programmed order at a pre-programmed time.
The dashed lines of FIG. 1 represent optional structure. As shown, the speech synthesizer, transceivers, modem, set-top box, etc., are not included in each variation of the first embodiment. Similarly, the dashed lines of FIGS. 2–12 illustrate that other acts can occur before or after each illustrated act. Likewise, the dashed boxes illustrate optional acts.

System and method of tracking time and activating an alarm using a distributed network


An apparatus and method for forming an aperture of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by selective oxidation, in which resonance peak variations during the formation of the aperture can be measured using an optical spectrum analyzer, so that the size of the aperture can be precisely adjusted. The aperture forming apparatus includes: a furnace having a first window and a second window for transmitting light, and a stage for supporting a wafer for the VCSEL with a pre-oxide layer where an aperture is to be formed; a light source placed outside the furnace, for emitting light through the first window onto the top of the wafer seated on the stage; and an optical spectrum analyzer for detecting the light intensity by receiving light reflecting from the top of the wafer for the VCSEL and passing through the second window.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming an aperture of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by selective oxidation and, more particularly, to an apparatus for and method of forming a precise aperture of a VCSEL, while monitoring resonance peak variations through an optical spectrum analyzer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unlike edge emitting laser devices, VCSELs emit a substantially circular beam in the direction in which semiconductor material layers are stacked, so that it is unnecessary to adopt an optical system for shaping the output beam. Also, the size of VCSELs is reducible, and thus it is easy to integrate a plurality of VCSELs in a 2-dimensional array on a single semiconductor wafer. These advantages have expanded the application fields of VCSELs, for example, into optical communications, electronic calculators, audio and video apparatuses, laser printers, laser scanners and medical equipment.
In order to enhance power output characteristics by guiding the flow of current supplied through electrodes, a VCSEL is provided with a high-resistance region in an upper reflector. The high-resistance region can be formed by implanting protons or ions into the upper reflector, and by selectively oxidizing the peripheral region exclusive of an aperture that guides the flow of current, by adjusting the oxidizing time. A disadvantage of the implantation method lies in that it lacks repeatability in high volume manufacturing, because of a non-uniform distribution of protons or ions.
On the other hand, as for the selective oxidation method, after depositing an Al1xe2x88x92xGaxAs layer on a lower portion of an upper reflector, which is to be a high-resistance region, the resultant structure is etched, resulting in individual VCSELs on a wafer. Next, the VCSELs are left in an oxidation atmosphere for a predetermined period of time, to allow diffusion of vapor into the peripheral portion of the Al1xe2x88x92xGaxAs layer. As a result, an oxide insulating layer, Al2Ox layer, is formed at the peripheral portion as the high-resistance region, which limits flow of current, thereby resulting in an aperture surrounded by the high-resistance region.
The oxidative diffusion rate in forming an aperture of a VCSEL is highly sensitive to the temperature of a furnace for use in the oxidative diffusion, oxidation time and the amount of oxygen supplied into the furnace. A variation in the diffusion rate is a fatal problem in mass production that requires high repeatability, and in forming a particular size of the aperture.
To overcome these problems, it would be desirable to employ a furnace with precise temperature control, and to precisely adjust oxygen or vapor pressure in the furnace. However, in the case where the length of an oxidative diffusion region needs to be adjusted on the order of xc2x11xcexcm, precisely adjusting temperature and oxygen or vapor pressure is insufficient. In other words, the area of the Al1xe2x88x92xGaxAs layer to be oxidized during the process needs to be measured, and the length of the oxidative diffusion region must be monitored through a visual system. In practice, it is difficult to construct an optical system having a high enough magnification ratio to easily observe something so small.
The size of the aperture can be adjusted using a dummy sample. In particular, the length of the oxidative diffusion region is measured with respect to dummy samples so as to determine an appropriate oxidation time period. Then, the obtained oxidation time period is applied to form a desired aperture on an actual sample. However, the repeatability of this method is poor.
To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for forming an aperture of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by selective oxidation, in which the degree of oxidation during the formation of the aperture is adjusted by measuring a variation in a resonance peak, which depends on the size of the aperture, using an optical spectrum analyzer, so that the size of the aperture can be precisely adjusted.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for forming an aperture of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by selective oxidation, comprising: a furnace having a first window and a second window for transmitting light, and a stage for supporting a wafer for the VCSEL with a pre-oxide layer where an aperture is to be formed; a light source placed outside the furnace, for emitting light through the first window onto the top of the wafer for the VCSEL seated on the stage; and an optical spectrum analyzer for detecting the light intensity by receiving light reflecting from the top of the wafer for the VCSEL and passing through the second window, wherein the size of the aperture created can be controlled based on the variation of a peak wavelength, which varies according to the degree of oxidation of the pre-oxide layer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming an aperture of a VCSEL by selective oxidation, comprising: providing a furnace having a stage, and first and second windows for transmitting light, and placing a wafer for the VCSEL with a pre-oxide layer where an aperture is to be formed, on the stage; emitting light onto the top of the wafer for the VCSEL seated on the stage through the first window; receiving light reflecting from the wafer for the VCSEL and passing through the second window; supplying at least one of oxygen and water vapor into the furnace to create an oxidation atmosphere; detecting a peak wavelength variation from light received through the second window, which varies according to the degree of oxidation of the pre-oxide layer; and adjusting power and/or oxidation atmosphere of the furnace based on the detected peak wavelength variation to cease the oxidation reaction, thereby adjusting the size of the aperture.

Apparatus and method for forming aperture of vertical cavity surface emitting laser by selective oxidation


A card identifying apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention has a light-receiving portion that reads a card on a pixel basis of a predetermined area as a unit including color information having brightness, RAM that stores image data comprised of a plurality of pixels read by the light-receiving portion, an image data thinning processing section that makes the number of read pixels lower in another direction than in one direction to vary the number of pixels of the image data when the reading means reads the card, and an judgment processing section that identifies authentication of the card based on the image data varied by the image data thinning processing section.

The present invention relates to a card identifying apparatus that identifies the validity of cards such as, for example, bills, coupons, gift certificates and the like having the exchange value (economic value) for various kinds of products and service.
Generally, the cards such as bills, coupons, gift certificates and like are provided with various anti-counterfeit measures to prevent forgery. For example, as one of such anti-counterfeit measures, it is carried out providing a microprint (extremely fine characters, pattern and the like), reading the information of this microfilm to compare with genuine data, and thereby identifying (authentication judgment) the validity. In other words, such a microprint has fine line widths, and thereby is known to exhibit a specific pattern (moire fringes; moire pattern) by interference of light, and it is carried out obtaining the moire fringes (moire pattern) to compare with authorized data, and thereby identifying the validity of the card.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-78620 discloses techniques for forming a hidden pattern comprised of a parallel line tint in an information storage member as the card, and irradiating the hidden pattern using a light source, while detecting the reflected light via a confirmation pattern (a parallel line pattern for confirmation is formed) by a photosensor. In this case, the photosensor is capable of sensing a specific moire pattern by interference of the parallel light tint of the hidden pattern and the parallel light tint of the confirmation pattern, and an authentication judgment on the card is made by comparing the moire pattern with a standard pattern.
In the above-mentioned authentication judgment processing, the genuine comparison data (standard pattern) is moire data obtained via the photosensor by the confirmation pattern and the hidden pattern interfering with each other, and the moire data is generated based on image data such that all the regions where the confirmation pattern and the hidden pattern interfere with each other are captured. Therefore, the data amount of the moire data increases, and a problem arises that the processing speed of the authentication judgment decreases.
Accordingly, a card identifying apparatus is required that enhances the processing speed for the authentication judgment in performing the authentication judgment processing using a microprint formed in the card.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A delay circuit provides a quadrature-delayed strobe, a tightly controlled quadrature DLL and write/read leveling delay lines by using the same physical delay line pair. By multiplexing different usage models, the need for multiple delay lines is significantly reduced to only two delay lines per byte. As a result, the delay circuit provides substantial saving in terms of layout area and power.

A typical memory controller requires the outgoing data (DQ) from the chip to be a quadrature phase off its data strobe (DQS) and the incoming data and data strobe needs to be offset in a similar way. A quadrature phase is equal to ¼ of a clock period. This is to ensure that the data bits (DQ) are sampled by the data strobe (DQS) in the middle of the data bits to achieve maximum setup and hold time margin. This is typically done either by using (1) a multi-phase (typically 4 phases) PLL embedded inside each data byte or (2) by using a master DLL which is periodically calibrated to generate the quadrature setting which is then conveyed to replica delay lines that are present in each byte.
In addition, due to the fly-by topology adopted by DRAM modules in DDR3, CK, commands and addresses of each SDRAM on a given DIMM card have different arrival times. The memory controller, therefore, must compensate the fly-by delay by implementing adjustable delay lines on DQS and DQ such that DQS can be aligned with its corresponding CK at any given byte. This procedure is called write leveling. Similarly for the incoming data, the memory controller also needs to stall data of different bytes with different delays so eventually all bytes can arrive at the same time with respect to the internal CK used by the memory controller; and this is called read leveling.


A ground lock fitting comprises: an upper cover comprises a top surface and an upper sidewall, wherein a guiding hole is provided on the top surface and a thread is provided on the upper sidewall; a lower cover comprises a base surface and a lower sidewall, wherein a mounting hole is provided on the base surface; the upper cover is connected with the lower cover to form a chamber in which a locking bar comprising a mainbody and a stopper attached thereunder is disposed; and a magnetized portion is provided on top of the mainbody in which a locking hole is provided. The ground lock fitting is hidden from view, hard to break open and convenient to use such that it can be widely used in rolling shutter gates for stores and the like.

For convenience of the user, a gate lock is usually mounted outside the existing rolling shutter gate, and a steel column used as the lock bracket must be embedded in the ground outside the gate. If the steel column is embedded in the stoop or in the sill, there is not only an aesthetical impact on the stoop but also increases chances of being stumbled over it and causing bodily injury to the people passing by. If the steel column is embedded beyond the stoop, then it must be extended to reach the sill. In this case, the joint between the steel column and the stoop is exposed and such an extended steel column will render the joint to be easily broken open by a picklock. Therefore the rolling shutter gate is rather easy to break open and dismantle, thereby causing a potential safety issue thereof. Chinese Patent No. 01214242.5 disclosed a built-in theft-proof fitting for the rolling shutter gate. The technical scheme adopted in the patent is to place the gate lock inside the gate so as to minimize the risk of being pried and enhance the security thereof. However, the locking and unlocking operations thereof have to be inconveniently carried out by the user in a narrow space between the lower edge of the rolling shutter gate and the sill thereunder. It has thus been a technical problem, which puzzled designers for a long time, in making a rolling shutter gate having a locking means that is convenient to use, more hidden from view and difficult to break open.


Chain wheel for a chain drive assembly having a driven and/or driving chain wheel including teeth and tooth spaces, the flanks or profiles of which optionally are defined by circle sections or involutes, each tooth space being designed with a concave roll bed having a geometrically defined center of curvature continued into the adjacent entry and exit profiles, wherein said tooth space is designed asymmetrically on behalf of the steepnesses of its entry and exit profiles and related to a reference plane containing said center of curvature and the axis of said chain wheel.

Chain wheels for chain drives as are known from practical applications, which are for example used in internal combustion engines or in the engineering industry in general, have a mirror-image or symmetrical tooth space shape with respect to a reference plane that contains the center of curvature of the roll bed and also the chain wheel axis. Upon engagement of the chain, a force or speed pulse which is approximately normal to the surface occurs, inter alia, in the impact point of each chain roll on the entry profile. Upon exit of the chain from the chain wheel, vibrations of the chain that might lead to shocks on the exit profile are unavoidable. The pulses occurring at the impact point and the shocks generated upon exit of the chain produce noise and wear. Theoretical considerations suggest that noise and wear at the entry profile should be the smaller the smaller the opening angle of the tooth space is, i.e. the steeper the profiles are. Practice, however, shows the opposite, i.e. tooth spaces with a small opening angle (e.g. minimum tooth space shape according to the German industrial standard DIN) are noisy and subject to great wear, whereas chain wheels with a large opening angle of the tooth spaces (e.g. maximum tooth space shape according to the German industrial standard DIN) are not so noisy and less prone to wear. Moreover, investigations suggest that in a chain drive the chain wheel does not form a source of uniformly propagating noise, but that the entry portion and the exit portion of the chain are two significant sources of noise and wear, and that the exit portion may even be the predominant source. The reasons for this phenomenon are not sufficiently known. The running noise and the proneness to wear of known chain wheels with symmetrical tooth space shapes are considerable. Even damping rims, which are known in practice, can reduce this disadvantage at both sides of the teeth and the tooth spaces on the chain wheel only to a small extent and only over a short service life, with said damping rims being also acted upon by the straps of the chains. Users of such chain drives, for example car or engine manufacturers, make increasingly greater demands on less noise and wear in chain drives.


A method using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to detect corrosion within metallic structures such as aluminum under non-ferromagnetic coatings without first having to remove the coatings. The metallic structure is placed within an external static magnetic field. A series of radio frequency preparation and inspection pulses is applied to the metallic with the preparation pulses, and for generating a series of nuclear magnetic resonance response signals with the inspection pulses. The response signals are detected and the amplitudes of the response signals are compared with the spin--spin relaxation time of corrosion for detecting the presence of corrosion in the structure.

As large metallic structures, such as, for example, aircraft, age, significant damage to their corrosion protective systems may occur. These corrosion protective systems typically include various sealants, primers and paint. For examples paint on the structure may scratch and crack around fasteners and other joints, sealants may become disbonded from the underlying substrate, and tiny cracks may develop in the coatings through ordinary use. When such damage occurs, water, salt, and other contaminants may intrude through the corrosion protective system and initiate corrosion in the underlying metallic structure.
In general, corrosion occurs by oxidation of the metal in an anodic area with concurrent reduction, typically of hydrogen, in the cathodic region. When corrosion initially develops, it is generally difficult to detect under the paint, primer and/or sealant that may be applied to the surface of the metallic structure. As the metallic structure ages, the potential for failure resulting from stress corrosion induced cracking, disbanding of stiffeners, and structural weakening due to loss of material increases. Having the ability to detect corrosion early in its development would greatly reduce repair costs and, in some instances where the metallic structure is used in, for example, an aircraft, a pressure vessel, a ship, or any other aluminum structure, increase safety. Corrosion on such structures can cause the structures to be life-limited or require patches or fittings to strengthen an area that has had deep corrosion removed. These repairs, which often require structural analysis, are especially costly. Early detection of the corrosion would eliminate the need for such repairs or allow for early and inexpensive repairs to be made.
Several prior art methods exist for detection of corrosion on metallic structures. Such methods include visual inspections, fluorescent penetrant, eddy current, ultrasonics, and radiography. Visual inspection methods (even if aided by a magnifier or borescope) and fluorescent penetrant methods typically only permit detection of corrosion on the outer layer of the structure and do not have the ability to quantify the amount of corrosion. The use of paint, primer and sealants on the structures greatly decreases the effectiveness or usefulness of these two detection methods as generally the coatings must be removed from the structure prior to using either of these two methods. Additionally, visual inspection techniques generally require highly trained personnel with field experience in detecting and identifying corrosion.
Ultrasound, eddy current and radiography techniques are only sensitive to material thinning, not the presence of corrosion. Significant material loss, for examples greater than 5%, must occur before eddy current or ultrasonic techniques can reliably detect material loss due to corrosion. While radiography has proven to be effective in detection of hidden corrosion in certain structures, a quantitative assessment of material loss due to corrosion cannot be made. Radiography has the additional disadvantages of high cost, safety concerns, and lack of portability.
These prior art techniques suffer from significant disadvantages in addition to those previously mentioned. For example, they are severely limited for use in detecting hidden corrosion in inaccessible areas.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a nondestructive evaluation method that can be used to detect and characterize hidden corrosion within a complex metallic structure such as an aircraft. Such a method would desirably detect corrosion hidden underneath non-ferromagnetic paint, primer, sealants, polymers, and fillers; be sensitive to water ingress; and demonstrate sensitivity to nascent or incipient corrosion on aluminum and aluminum alloys. In addition, the method would quantify the amount of corrosion present in the structure.

Method and apparatus for detecting corrosion under non-ferromagnetic coatings


A pipe for transporting hydrocarbons including textile tape of fibers or fiber windings having a thicker central section and thinner longitudinal edge regions, the tape being wound in a helical winding.

The present invention relates to a flat tape intended for the manufacture of one layer of a flexible pipe for subsea transport of hydrocarbons and gases, especially an unbonded flexible pipe of the offshore type as defined in the API 17B and 17J recommendations of the American Petroleum Institute.
Such pipes are formed from layers—partly metallic and partly polymeric—that are not bonded together. These pipes have at least one polymeric pressure sheath surrounded by a pressure vault, at least partly produced by the helical winding of elongate metal elements leaving a slight clearance between their turns called the "inter-turn gap" or "gap" (generally at least one layer of elongate metal elements, especially profiled wires, wound with a short pitch) and one or more plies of reinforcing elements wound with a long pitch.
One of the problems encountered in practice is creep of the pressure sheath into the gaps existing between the turns of the pressure vault. This creep takes place owing to the combined effect of the internal pressure and of the temperature of the fluid transported in the pipe. Depending on the effluent and its temperature, the plastic sheaths used may, for example, be produced from materials of the polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF type (for example the coatings known under the brand names Coflon® and Gammaflex®, for applications at relatively high temperatures, typically above 80° C.). These materials have a tendency to undergo relatively substantial creep into the inter-turn gaps of the vault. This creep leads to the formation of creep pips in the gaps.
In dynamic applications, such as in risers, these pips are a source of fracture initiation because of the movements of the vault turns which tend to shear these pips.
One solution commonly used for trying to solve the creep problems is the production of anticreep layers as described in document FR 2 743 614, which covers the specific end-fitting of such pipes. These layers are expensive in terms of raw materials, but also in terms of production costs.
Another solution envisioned for solving this problem could consist in using a conventional tape wound with a short pitch around the pressure sheath, the tape being intended to prevent said sheath from creeping. However, this solution is excessively difficult to implement for the following reasons.
The overlapping of a tape with a unidirectional fiber during short-pitch taping would induce an overstress in the fibers at the overlapping part, resulting in substantial deterioration in the fibers, extending as far as the fracture at the edge of the tape. Such a fracture would then cause the tape to be destroyed, which would no longer fulfil its anticreep function. To avoid these overlaps, it would be necessary to lay the unidirectional tape edge to edge, that is to say without a clearance. However, to wind a tape without a clearance is virtually impossible because of the following reasons: the precision of existing tape winders (pitch control, tension variation in the tape laid, resulting in a variation in tape width), the geometry of the pipe (tolerance on the diameter) and the sag of the pipe (slightly domed shape of the pipe under its own weight during the taping operations in the tape winder), etc.

Flat textile strip forming one layer of a flexible duct that is used for hydrocarbon transport and the duct thus formed


A cable for high speed data communications and methods for manufacturing such cable are disclosed, the cable including a first inner conductor enclosed by a first dielectric layer and a second inner conductor enclosed by a second dielectric layer. The cable also includes conductive shield material wrapped in a rotational direction at a rate along and about the longitudinal axis around the inner conductors and the dielectric layers, including overlapped wraps of the conductive shield material along and about the longitudinal axis, the conductive shield material having a variable width. Transmitting signals on the cable including transmitting a balanced signal characterized by a frequency in the range of 7-9 gigahertz on the cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, cables for high speed data communications, methods for manufacturing such cables, and methods of transmitting signals on such cables.
2. Description of Related Art
High speed data communications over shielded cables are an important component to large high-end servers and digital communications systems. While optical cables provide long distance drive capability, copper cables are typically preferred in environments that require a shorter distance cable due to a significant cost savings opportunity. A typical copper cable used in environments requiring a shorter distance cable, is a twinaxial cable. A twinaxial cable is a coaxial cable that includes two insulated, inner conductors and a shield wrapped around the insulated inner conductors. Twinaxial cables are used for half-duplex, balanced transmission, high-speed data communications. In current art however, twinaxial cables used in data communications environments are limited in performance due to a bandstop effect.
For further explanation of typical twinaxial cables, therefore, FIG. 1 sets forth a perspective view of a typical twinaxial cable (100). The exemplary typical twinaxial cable (100) of FIG. 1 includes two conductors (106, 108) and two dielectrics (110, 112) surrounding the conductors. The conductors (106, 108) and the dielectrics (110, 112) are generally parallel to each other and a longitudinal axis (105). That is, the conductors (106, 108) and the dielectrics (110, 112) are not twisted about the longitudinal axis (105).
The typical twinaxial cable (100) of FIG. 1 also includes a shield (114). The shield, when wrapped around the conductors of a cable, acts as a Faraday cage to reduce electrical noise from affecting signals transmitted on the cable and to reduce electromagnetic radiation from the cable that may interfere with other electrical devices. The shield also minimizes capacitively coupled noise from other electrical sources, such as nearby cables carrying electrical signals. In typical twinaxial cable, the shield has a constant width, that is, the shield does not have a variable width. The shield (114) of FIG. 1 is wrapped around the conductors (106, 108). The shield (114) includes wraps (101-103) about the longitudinal axis (105), each wrap overlapping the previous wrap. A wrap is a 360 degree turn of the shield around the longitudinal axis (105). The typical twinaxial cable of FIG. 1 includes three wraps (101-103), but readers of skill in the art will recognize that the shield may be wrapped around the inner conductors and the dielectric layers any number of times in dependence upon the length of the cable. Wrap (101) is shaded for purposes of explanation. Each wrap (101-103) overlaps the previous wrap. That is, wrap (101) is overlapped by wrap (102) and wrap (102) is overlapped by wrap (103). The overlap (104) created by the overlapped wraps is continuous along and about the longitudinal axis (105) of the cable (100).
The wraps (101-103) of the shield (114) create an overlap (104) of the shield that forms an electromagnetic bandgap structure ('EBG structure') that acts as the bandstop filter. An EBG structure is a periodic structure in which propagation of electromagnetic waves is not allowed within a stopband. A stopband is a range of frequencies in which a cable attenuates a signal. In the cable of FIG. 1, when the conductors (106, 108) carry current from a source to a load, part of the current is returned on the shield (114). The current on the shield (114) encounters the continuous overlap (104) of the shield (104) which creates in the current return path an impedance discontinuity—a discontinuity in the characteristic impedance of the cable. The impedance discontinuity in the current return path at the overlap (104) created by the wraps (101-103) acts as a bandstop filter that attenuates signals at frequencies in a stopband.
For further explanation, therefore, FIG. 2 sets forth a graph of the insertion loss of a typical twinaxial cable. Insertion loss is the signal loss in a cable that results from inserting the cable between a source and a load. The insertion loss depicted in the graph of FIG. 2 is the insertion loss of a typical twinaxial cable, such as the twinaxial cable described above with respect to FIG. 1. In the graph of FIG. 2, the signal (119) is attenuated (118) within a stopband (120) of frequencies (116) ranging from seven to nine gigahertz ('GHz'). The stopband (120) has a center frequency (121) that varies in dependence upon the composition of the shield, the width of the shield, and the rate that the shield is wrapped around the conductors and dielectrics. In typical twinaxial cable, the shield has a constant width, that is, the shield does not have a variable width. The center frequency (121) of FIG. 2 is 8 GHz. Although the exemplary stopband of FIG. 2 is described as ranging in frequency from seven to nine GHz, readers of skill in the art will recognize that the stopband may include other frequencies, ranging from 3 GHz, for example, to greater than 9 GHz.
The attenuation (118) of the signal (119) in FIG. 2 peaks at approximately −60 decibels ('dB') for signals with frequencies (116) in the range of approximately 8 GHz. The magnitude of the attenuation (118) of the signal (119) is dependent upon the length of the cable. The effect of the EBG structure, the attenuation of a signal, increases as the length of the EBG structure increases. A longer cable having a wrapped shield has a longer EBG structure and, therefore, a greater attenuation on a signal than a shorter cable having a shield wrapped at the same rate. That is, the longer the cable, the greater the attenuation of the signal.
Typical twinaxial cables for high speed data communications, therefore, have certain drawbacks. Typical twinaxial cables have a bandstop filter created by overlapped wraps of a shield that attenuates signals at frequencies in a stopband. The attenuation of the signal increases as the length of the cable increases. The attenuation limits data communications at frequencies in the stopband.

Cable for high speed data communications

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a method of making an acrylic graft polymer, especially a urethanized acrylic graft polymer. The method of the invention requires an ethylenically unsaturated monomer mixture (a) comprising a monomer (ai) of a particular structure having at least one cyclic carbonate group and the polymerization of the monomer mixture (a) under free radical polymerization conditions to make an acrylic backbone polymer (b) comprising one or more cyclic carbonate functional groups (bi). At least one grafting moiety (c) is then provided, said grafting moiety (c) comprising at least one amine group (ci) selected from primary amines, secondary amines, and mixtures of both primary and secondary amines. The grafting moiety (c) is then grafted onto acrylic backbone polymer (b) via reaction between the at least one amine group (ci) and cyclic carbonate functional groups (bi) so as to make an urethanized acrylic graft polymer.

Acrylic graft polymers have been known for use in the coatings industry as binders for thermosetting compositions. Acrylic graft polymer binders typically have a plurality of functional sites reactive with the functional sites of one or more crosslinking agents and upon cure, produce hard, durable, glossy films suitable for use in a variety of coating applications. Preferred applications include automotive primers, basecoats, and clearcoats. Such coatings may be waterborne, solventborne, powder, or combinations thereof.
The manufacture of acrylic graft polymers has typically involved the production of an acrylic backbone polymer having one or more functional sites per molecule. At least one of these functional sites must be capable of subsequent or concurrent reaction with at least one functional group of a graft moiety.
Graft copolymerization processes have traditionally been used to incorporate moieties that cannot be incorporated via the free radical polymerization of the acrylic backbone. Examples of such moieties include polymers such as polyesters, polyurethanes and the like, surfactants, halogenated compounds, certain water dispersible groups, especially nonionic groups, and simple alkyl groups.
However, numerous problems occur during such prior art graft copolymerization processes. In particular, in the processes of the prior art, the reaction of the graft moiety and the acrylic backbone polymer results in reaction products which are reactive with one or more species, including the acrylic backbone functionality, other intermediate species, and/or the graft moiety. Such undesirable side reactions result in uncontrolled molecular weight growth, the loss of desired functionality, and/or gellation.
In addition, the uncontrollable reactivity of the functional group used as the grafting site on the acrylic backbone limits the use of additional functionality on the acrylic backbone and hinders the production of multifunctional acrylic backbone polymers. As a result, it has been difficult to obtain certain multifunctional graft copolymers using the processes of the prior art.
For example, if an epoxy group is used as the grafting site on the acrylic backbone, ethylenically unsaturated monomers having functional groups reactive with epoxy must be avoided during the polymerization of the acrylic backbone if the epoxy group results from the use of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer such as glycidyl methacrylate. Illustrative functional groups that would have to be avoided include active hydrogen containing groups such as amine functional ethylenically unsaturated monomers, acid functional ethylenically unsaturated monomers, and depending, on the polymerization conditions, hydroxy containing ethylenically unsaturated monomers.
Assuming that the acrylic backbone polymer's functionality is limited to epoxy groups, the use of amine, hydroxy, or acid functional graft moieties will result in a variety of intermediate species which are reactive with the graft moiety, the epoxy functionality of the acrylic backbone or both. As a result, attempts to use an amine or acid functional graft moiety will often lead to uncontrolled molecular weight growth, the loss of desired functionality on the backbone, and/or gellation.
It would thus be advantageous to provide a method of graft polymerization that would address the deficiencies of the prior art. In particular, what is desired is a method of graft polymerization that would facilitate the production of multifunctional graft acrylic polymers, especially multifunctional graft polymers wherein at least one functional group of the acrylic backbone polymer is hydroxyl. Such improved acrylic graft polymer manufacturing processes would have a decreased risk of uncontrolled molecular weight growth, the loss of desired acrylic backbone functionality, and/or gellation.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a method of making multifunctional graft acrylic polymers and copolymers that eliminates the disadvantages of the prior art.
In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of obtaining an acrylic graft polymer having at least two functional groups that would be reactive with each other under polymerization conditions. That is, the at least two functional groups would react with each other if incorporated via the free radical polymerization of at least two ethylenically unsaturated monomers having such functional groups.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of making a urethanized acrylic graft polymer having at least one hydroxyl group.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of making a urethanized acrylic graft polymer having at least one hydroxyl group and at least one functional group which is not hydroxyl and would be reactive with a hydroxyl group under free radical polymerization reaction conditions.

Method for selective graft polymerization


A solar collector for absorbing solar energy and for conversation thereof into thermal energy includes an aluminum foil. One side only of the aluminum foil is blackened to an extent such that it will absorb solar energy, preferably to an extent approximating a black body. The blackening is achieved by subjecting the one surface of the aluminum foil to an electrochemical surface etching treatment.

The present invention relates to a solar collector for absorbing solar energy and for converting such solar energy into thermal energy. The invention particularly relates to such a solar collector formed from aluminum foil. The present invention also relates to a method for production of such solar collector.
The term "solar collector" in the broadest sense is employed to mean any radiation receiver that responds to electromagnetic radiation and converts it into thermal energy. Examples of such radiation receivers are, inter alia, bolometers, thermal converters, and similar devices. One problem with solar collectors or radiation receivers is bringing the absorption capacity of the surface acted upon by the electromagnetic radiation near to the value 1. Those bodies that have the absorption capacity 1, that is to say that absorb all incident radiation and convert it fully into heat, are referred to as "black bodies". Black bodies or black radiators/emitters in practice are formed by a cavity having a small opening. The walls of the cavity are impermeable or impenetrable to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, so that a radiation equilibrium becomes established in the cavity. Black bodies of this type however are unsuitable for use as solar collectors.

Solar collector and method for production thereof


A method for determining when to change a lubricating fluid flowing within an apparatus includes monitoring the lubricating fluid flowing within the apparatus by passing radiation through the lubricating fluid from a radiation source. The lubricating fluid is analyzed for a presence of particles in the lubricating fluid based on the radiation passing through the lubricating fluid. A concentration of the particles in the lubricating fluid is determined when the presence of particles is detected. An alert to change the lubricating fluid is generated when the concentration of particles in the lubricating fluid exceeds a threshold.

Many machines and tools are internally lubricated by lubricating fluids, such as lubricating oil, which has to be replaced periodically. The life expectancies of engines are influenced by the quality of the lubricating oil, which serves to protect engine parts against wear during operation. The most widely known example is car engine oil, which typically requires an oil change at least once per year. Similarly, periodic oil changes are performed in various machines used in the oil field industry. As the quality of engine oil degrades over time, the engine oil's ability to protect the engine against wear degrades, and eventually has to be replaced to prevent the machine from being damaged. Typically, oil changes are simply performed at fixed intervals, for example once per year, or after every five hundred hours of using the machine.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for timely determination and/or detection of need for lubricating fluid change. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.

Determining timing for lubricating fluid change


A compound of the invention is a specific compound having a phosphorylcholine group, and a polymer of the invention comprises at least 1 mol % of repeating units with a phosphorylcholine group and has a number-average molecular weight of 1,000 or more, the repeating units with a phosphorylcholine group being represented by the formula (II):

It is a known fact that living organisms react defensively against implanted artificial organs or medical devices to show prominent rejections such as blood coagulation, inflammation and encapsulation. This is a result of a series of bioactivation reactions that start from adsorption of proteins on materials constituting the artificial organs and medical devices. Accordingly, treatments with such artificial organs or medical devices entail simultaneous use of drugs, for example anticoagulants such as heparin and immunosuppressants.
However, side effects of these drugs have been concerned when the treatment extends over a long period of time or as the patients grow older.
Thus, development is under way for a series of medical materials capable of solving such problems, known as biocompatible materials. Of the biocompatible materials developed so far, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) homopolymers and copolymers with other monomers (hereinafter "MPC polymers") show particularly remarkable biocompatibility (Ishihara et al., Polymer Journal, Vol. 22, p. 355, 1990). These polymers are developed focusing on the structure of biomembrane surfaces such that they have phosphorylcholine groups which are phospholipid polar groups.
MPC, which is a methacrylate, is water soluble as a homopolymer and can be rendered water insoluble by copolymerization with other vinyl monomers to attain suitable structures for surface treatment of the medical devices.
By coating the device surface with the MPC polymer, blood coagulation can be prevented without giving the anticoagulant, and subcutaneous implementation tests have proven very high biocompatibility (Ishihara et al., Surgery, Vol. 61, p. 132, 1999). With such properties, the MPC polymers have been used as surface-coating materials for medical devices already applied in clinical settings in the United States and Europe. The number of approvals given to such coated devices has been increasing also in Japan. These movements have created expectations that medical device effectiveness will be dramatically improved and the patients can enjoy higher quality of life.
However, resistance to heat in autoclave sterilization, hydrolysis resistance and mechanical strength are still insufficient because of the flexible main chain structures of the MPC/vinyl compound copolymers in addition to the MPC's inherent hydrophilicity. There is therefore a need for a new material that exhibits improved heat resistance, hydrolysis resistance and mechanical strength while maintaining superior biocompatibility and processability of the MPC polymers.

Compound having phosphorylcholine group, polymer thereof and process for producing the same

Abstract: wherein A is a bond selected from a single bond, —O—, —COO—, —OOC—, —CONH—, —NH—, —NHCO—, —NR2— and —CH2O— where R2 is an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms; and m is an integer of 1 to 12.


Described herein are systems and methods for securing transmission of content from a smart card in a host television receiver to a client television receiver. The smart card can receive the encrypted content stream from the television service provider, decrypt the content stream with the global network key, identify the client television receiver as the destination of the content stream, generate a unique key specific to the content stream, encrypt the unique key with a local key known to the client television receiver, encrypt the content stream with the unique key, and transmit the encrypted content stream along with the encrypted unique key to the client television receiver. The client television receiver can then receive the encrypted content stream and the encrypted unique key, decrypt the unique key, decrypt the content stream with the unique key, and transmit the content stream to a display device of the client television receiver.

Television service providers distribute television services using television receivers located in television subscriber's homes. The television subscribers can have a host (i.e., main) television receiver which houses a smart card that can authenticate the subscriptions the television subscriber has paid for/subscribed to and control access to content based on the television subscriber's subscriptions. Television subscribers may wish to have televisions in multiple rooms capable of displaying content subscribed to from the television subscriber. To accommodate this functionality, client television receivers (also sometimes referred to as thin clients) can be used. Client television receivers do not have a smart card. In past systems, the client television receiver can receive content from the host television receiver, which houses the smart card. In such systems, typically the content is transmitted to the host television receiver, which is trusted by the smart card. The host television receiver can then transmit the content to the client television receiver. In such systems, however, the smart card may not know about the client television receiver or have control over the content transmitted to the client television receiver. Also, the transmission from the host television receiver to the client television receiver is not a strongly secure transmission. Such systems leave open many ways for signal thieves to access content and steal multiple streams of content for many different televisions without subscribing to or paying for the content or excessive use on multiple televisions. Therefore, there is a need to enable the smart card in a host television receiver to control access to content from client television receivers.

Strong authentication of client set-top boxes


A micro-roll forming device for providing a cylindrical blank metal article with a minute convexoconcave bearing surface, comprises a powered article holding structure that, when energized, rotates the cylindrical blank metal article about its axis; a forming tool that includes a form roller with a corrugated circular ridge; a tool holding structure that holds the forming tool in such a manner that the corrugated circular ridge of the form roller is directed toward and in contact with an outer surface of the cylindrical blank metal article rotatably held by the article holding structure; a biasing member that is incorporated with the tool holding structure to press the form roller against the outer surface of the cylindrical blank metal article with a given pressing force; and a powered moving structure that, when energized, moves at least one of the article holding structure and the tool holding structure in such a manner that the selected one moves in both a first direction perpendicular to an axis of the unselected one and a second direction parallel with the axis of the unselected one.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to micro-roll forming devices that form a minute convexoconcave bearing surface on a cylindrical metal article such as a camshaft, a piston or the like for providing the bearing portion of the article with a sufficiently low friction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one conventional device for providing a cylindrical metal article with a minute convexoconcave bearing surface will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B of the accompanying drawings, which is shown in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application (Tokkai) 2000-227119.
As is seen from FIGS. 10A and 10B, the device is a shot peening device. In operation, a masking sheet 101 having a plurality of fine openings 101a is pasted on a cylindrical outer wall of a metal work piece "W", and then, with the work piece "W" being rotated, fine hard balls "P" of steel or ceramics are blown against masking sheet 101 together with a blast of air from an injection nozzle 102. With this, portions of the cylindrical outer wall of work piece "W" that are exposed to fine openings 101a are formed with a plurality of fine recesses, so that work piece "W" has a herringbone type grooved surface on the cylindrical outer wall thereof.


The present invention provides an organic electroluminescence element having a high luminous efficiency.

Organic electroluminescence elements (organic EL elements) are electronic elements each including a pair of electrodes and an organic compound layer disposed between the electrodes. Electrons and holes are injected from the pair of electrodes to generate excitons of a light-emitting organic compound in the organic compound layer, so that the organic electroluminescence elements emit light when the excitons are returned to the ground state.
Organic electroluminescence elements have been recently significantly developed, and characteristics thereof include low drive voltages, a variety of emission wavelengths, high-speed response, and the possibility of reduction in thickness and weight of light-emitting devices.
In addition, light-emitting organic compounds have been actively created so far. This is because the creation of compounds having excellent light emission properties is important for providing high-performance organic electroluminescence elements.
Examples of compounds that have been created so far include compound 1-A described below and proposed in PTL 1.

The compound 1-A has acenaphtho[1,2-k]benzo[e]acephenanthrylene as a basic skeleton. Light emitted from the acenaphtho[1,2-k]benzo[e]acephenanthrylene skeleton is blue light.
PTL 2 proposes compound 1-B below, and PTL 3 proposes compound 1-C below.

Organic compound, organic electroluminescence element, and image display device

Abstract: An organic electroluminescence element includes an anode, a cathode, and at least one organic compound layer disposed between the anode and the cathode, wherein at least one of the at least one the organic compound layer contains an organic compound shown in Claim 1.


Hardware access is provided for an operating system by allocating a portion of firmware address space of a data processing arrangement for use as a virtualized data interface that emulates a first hardware device. The virtualized data interface is presented to the operating system. The operating system accesses the virtualized data interface using a standardized kernel component of the operating system adapted to interface with the first hardware device. Data is exchanged between the virtualized interface and a second hardware device based on accesses of the virtualized data interface by the operating system via the standardized kernel component.

Modern personal computers (PC) have benefited from many technological innovations over the past decades. Performance gains have been achieved by increasing processor speed, as well as increasing data transfer speed over input-output (I/O) busses. The progress in I/O speeds has largely come about through the implementation of new interface standards, although backwards compatibility has required that many legacy interfaces still be included on PCs.
In the "x86" processor architecture, the original standard I/O interfaces included serial and parallel ports for external peripherals, the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus for plug-in cards, and the Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface for floppy disk and hard drives. Modern PCs may still contain some of these interfaces, but there has been a steady transition to Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 for external peripherals, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus for cards, and Enhanced IDE and AT Attachment (ATA) hard drives. Other specialized interfaces have been developed for various hardware and environments, such as Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) devices for portable computers and Advanced Graphic Processor (AGP) bus interfaces for video cards.
Even with these advances in computer I/O standards, the operating system may still need access to a well-known, generic interface. These generic interfaces represent a lowest common denominator that can safely be used under a number of circumstances. For example, some versions of the Windows™ and Unix™ kernels allow access to the operating system via a terminal device. Historically, these terminal devices were "dumb" terminals that connected to a serial port of the computer. Certain critical tasks such as kernel message logs can be directed to this terminal (also referred to as the "console"). These terminals may be used for system inputs, such as providing a login for user access or inputs to a kernel debugger.
A dumb terminal is usually connected to a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) of the host machine. The UART sends and receives data over serial transmission lines. The UART serializes outgoing data and assembles incoming serial data into bytes and places those bytes in a buffer. Although many commonly used UARTs communicate asynchronously on the transmission lines, similar devices exist that communicate synchronously, e.g., where both communicating devices are synched to a clock signal.
An operating system may also require other lowest common denominator devices, such as keyboards, mice, and displays. In a data center environment it may not be practical to provide each of these actual devices for each computer, along with the associated connectors and power supplies that may be required by such devices. Including additional hardware with the computing systems increases costs, space required, and power consumption. In many densely packed data centers, all three of these factors are at a premium. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a way to provide legacy device access on a computer without increasing hardware size, cost, and power consumption.

Providing virtual device access via firmware

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The average propylene cycle yield of an oxygenate to propylene (OTP) process using a dual-function oxygenate conversion catalyst is substantially enhanced by the use of a combination of: 1) moving bed reactor technology in the catalytic OTP reaction step in lieu of the fixed bed technology of the prior art; 2) a separate heavy olefin interconversion step using moving bed technology and operating at an inlet temperature at least 15° C. higher than the maximum temperature utilized in the OTP reaction step; 3) C2 olefin recycle to the OTP reaction step; and 4) a catalyst on-stream cycle time of 700 hours or less. These provisions hold the build-up of coke deposits on the catalyst to a level which does not substantially degrade dual-function catalyst activity, oxygenate conversion and propylene selectivity, thereby enabling maintenance of average propylene cycle yield for each cycle near or at essentially start-of-cycle levels.

A major portion of the worldwide petrochemical industry is concerned with the production of light olefin materials and their subsequent use in the production of numerous important chemical products via polymerization, oligomerization, alkylation and the like well-known chemical reactions. Light olefins include ethylene, propylene and mixtures thereof. These light olefins are essential building blocks for the modern petrochemical and chemical industries. The major source for these materials in present day refining is the steam cracking of petroleum feeds. For various reasons including geographical, economic, political and diminished supply considerations, the art has long sought a source other than petroleum for the massive quantities of raw materials that are needed to supply the demand for these light olefin materials. In other words, the holy grail of the R & D personnel assigned to work in this area is to find a way to effectively and selectively use alternative feedstocks for this light olefin production application, thereby lessening dependence of the petrochemical industry on petroleum feedstocks. A great deal of the prior art's attention has been focused on the possibility of using hydrocarbon oxygenates and more specifically methanol or dimethylether (DME) as a prime source of the necessary alternative feedstock. Oxygenates are particularly attractive because they can be produced from such widely available materials as coal, natural gas, recycled plastics, various carbon waste streams from industry and various products and by-products from the agricultural industry. The art of making methanol and other oxygenates from these types of raw materials is well established and typically involves the use of one or more of the following procedures: (1) manufacture of synthesis gas by any of the known techniques typically using a nickel or cobalt catalyst in a steam reforming step followed by the well-known methanol synthesis step using relatively high pressure with a copper-based catalyst; (2) selective fermentation of various organic agricultural products and by-products in order to produce oxygenates; or (3) various combinations of these techniques.
Given the established and well-known technologies for producing oxygenates from alternative non-petroleum raw materials, the art has focused on different procedures for catalytically converting oxygenates such as methanol into the desired light olefin products in order to make an oxygenate to olefin (OTO) process. These light olefin products that are produced from non-petroleum based raw materials must of course be available in quantities and purities such that they are interchangeable in downstream processing with the materials that are presently produced using petroleum sources. Although many oxygenates have been discussed in the prior art, the principal focus of the two major routes to produce these desired light olefins has been on methanol conversion technology primarily because of the availability of commercially proven methanol synthesis technology. A review of the prior art has revealed essentially two major techniques that are discussed for conversion of methanol to light olefins (MTO). The first of these MTO processes is based on early German and American work with a catalytic conversion zone containing a zeolitic type of catalyst system. Representative of the early German work is U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,263 which was filed in May of 1982 in the U.S. without a claim for German priority. This '263 patent reports on a series of experiments with methanol conversion techniques using a ZSM-5 type of catalyst system wherein the problem of DME by-product recycle is a major focus of the technology disclosed. Although good yields of ethylene and propylene were reported in this '263 patent, they unfortunately were accompanied by substantial formation of higher aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons which the patentees speculated might be useful as an engine fuel and specifically as a gasoline-type of material. In order to limit the amount of this heavier material that is produced, the patentees of the '263 patent propose to limit conversion to less than 80% of the methanol charged to the MTO conversion step. This operation at lower conversion levels necessitated a critical assessment of means for recovering and recycling not only unreacted methanol but also substantial amounts of a DME intermediate product. The focus then of the '263 patent invention was therefore on a DME and methanol scrubbing step utilizing a water solvent in order to efficiently and effectively recapture the light olefin value of the unreacted methanol and of the intermediate reactant DME.
This early MTO work with a zeolitic catalyst system was then followed up by the Mobil Oil Company who also investigated the use of a zeolitic catalyst system like ZSM-5 for purposes of making light olefins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,373 is representative of Mobil's early work and it acknowledged and distinguished the German contribution to this zeolitic catalyst based MTO route to light olefins. The inventor of the '373 patent made two significant contributions to this zeolitic MTO route the first of which involved recognition that a commercial plant would have to operate at pressure substantially above the preferred range that the German workers in this field had suggested in order to make the commercial equipment of reasonable size when commercial mass flow rates are desired. The '373 patent recognized that as you move to higher pressure for the zeolitic MTO route in order to control the size of the equipment needed for commercial plant there is a substantial additional loss of DME that was not considered in the German work. This additional loss is caused by dissolution of substantial quantities of DME in the heavy hydrocarbon oil by-product recovered from the liquid hydrocarbon stream withdrawn from the primary separator. The other significant contribution of the '373 patent is manifest from inspection of the flow scheme presented in FIG. 2 which prominently features a portion of the methanol feed being diverted to the DME absorption zone in order to take advantage of the fact that there exists a high affinity between methanol and DME thereby downsizing the size of the scrubbing zone required relative to the scrubbing zone utilizing plain water that was suggested by the earlier German work.
Primarily because of an inability of this zeolitic MTO route to control the amounts of undesired C4+ hydrocarbon products produced by the ZSM-5 type of catalyst system, the art soon developed a second MTO conversion technology based on the use of a non-zeolitic molecular sieve catalytic material. This branch of the MTO art is perhaps best illustrated by reference to UOP's extensive work in this area as reported in numerous patents of which U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,163; U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,308 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,141 are representative. This second approach to MTO conversion technology was primarily based on using a catalyst system comprising a non-zeolitic molecular sieve, generally a metal aluminophosphate (ELAPO) and more specifically a silicoaluminophosphate molecular sieve (SAPO), with a strong preference for a SAPO species that is known as SAPO-34. This SAPO-34 material was found to have a very high selectivity for light olefins with a methanol feedstock and consequently very low selectivity for the undesired corresponding light paraffins and the heavier materials. This ELAPO catalyzed MTO approach is known to have at least the following advantages relative to the zeolitic catalyst route to light olefins: (1) greater yields of light olefins at equal quantities of methanol converted; (2) capability of direct recovery of polymer grade ethylene and propylene without the necessity of the use of extraordinary physical separation steps to separate ethylene and propylene from their corresponding paraffin analogs; (3) sharply limited production of by-products such as stabilized gasoline; (4) flexibility to adjust the product ethylene-to-propylene weight ratios over the range of 1.5:1 to 0.75:1 by minimal adjustment of the MTO conversion conditions; and (5) significantly less coke made in the MTO conversion zone relative to that experienced with the zeolitic catalyst system.
The classical OTO technology produces a mixture of light olefins primarily ethylene and propylene along with various higher boiling olefins. Although the classical OTO process technology possesses the capability of shifting the major olefin product recovered therefrom from ethylene to propylene by various adjustments of conditions maintained in the reaction zone, the art has long sought an oxygenate to propylene (OTP) technology that would provide better yields of propylene relative to the classical OTO technology. The driving force for this shift in emphasis towards propylene is the growth rate of the propylene market versus the growth rate of the ethylene market. The existing sources of propylene production in the marketplace are primarily based on conventional steam cracking of naphtha, LPG streams, propane streams and the like. Another major existing source of propylene is of course the olefins that are produced in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) hydrocarbon conversion process in the modern day refinery. Because the basic raw material used in an OTO process is derived from natural gas which is widely available particularly in remote areas of the world but unfortunately markets for this gas are typically not conveniently available near the location of the remote gas fields. These remote gas fields tend to be quite large and because of the relatively well-developed technology for converting natural gas to methanol and other oxygenates are viewed by those skilled in this art as being the next logical source of large-scale propylene production provided a commercially acceptable OTP process can be established which possesses intrinsic high selectivity for the desired propylene product.
Workers at Lurgi Oel Gas Chemie GmbH have recently announced a new fixed bed methanol to propylene (MTP) process which according to Lurgi offers the potential to satisfy the arts' thirst for a propylene selective OTO type of process. It appears that the basic flow scheme and technical details of the Lurgi process offering in this field have been relatively recently disclosed in a U.S. application publication, Publication No. US2003/0139635A1 which was published on Jul. 24, 2003 and describes a process for selectively producing propylene from a feedstock which comprises methanol and/or DME. Analysis of the two figures attached to this patent publication make it clear that Lurgi contemplates a reactor flow configuration for the oxygenate to propylene (OTP) synthesis portion of its flow scheme wherein three reactors are utilized with a steam diluent and fixed beds of oxygenate conversion catalysts in a parallel flow arrangement with respect to the oxygenate feed. The reactors are connected in a serial flow arrangement with respect to the effluents of the first reactor and the second reactor. The dual function OTP catalyst system taught as being useful in this flow scheme is rather narrowly defined in paragraph [0005] of this patent publication as a pentasil-type (i.e. ZSM-5 or ZSM-11 type) having an alkali content less than 380 ppm and a zinc oxide content of less than 0.1 wt-% coupled with a restriction on cadmium oxide content of the same amount. The teachings with respect to this catalyst are derived from a European patent, EP-B-0448000, filed by Sud Chemie and Lurgi claiming priority from an original German application that was filed in March of 1990. Thus the catalyst contemplated for use in Lurgi's flow scheme is well known to those skilled in this art. According to Lurgi's marketing presentation, the on-stream portion of the process cycle for this MTP process is expected to be 500 to 700 hours before in situ regeneration becomes necessary. (See Rothaemel et al. "Demonstrating the New Methanol to Propylene (MTP) Process" presented to the ERTC Petrochemical Conference in March of 2003 at Paris, France). The activity-stability of the MTP catalyst in this Lurgi presentation show a significant drop in conversion activity over the first five cycles with each cycle being terminated after the oxygenate conversion level drops to about 94% to 95% of the oxygenate feed. No mention is made in this paper of a corresponding drop in propylene yield and instead the average once-through propylene selectivity over the on-stream cycle is discussed and a table presented showing that it ranges from 30% to 40% of the converted products with a number between 68% to 71% presented as an estimate of the average cycle yield for propylene over the 500 to 700 hour cycle length expected to be achieved by this flow scheme with full by-product olefin recycle. Lurgi also contemplates that at the end of the cycle when the conversion has dropped to a level of about 94% of the equivalent in the feed that the reactors will be shut down and the catalyst regenerated in situ using an air/nitrogen mixture to burn off the detrimental coke deposits.
Although Lurgi does not state exactly what countermeasures it takes during its process cycle in order to compensate for the falloff in activity of its dual-function MTP catalyst due to coke deposition, we believe that Lurgi undoubtedly follows the conventional procedure for compensating for activity decay in a catalytic operation involving an increase in the average reactor temperature in order to attempt to hold conversion in the targeted range of greater than 94% of the oxygenate charge. Under these circumstances it is our considered opinion based on experimental results with similar dual-function catalysts and similar feeds that the falloff of propylene yield over the cycle is accelerated by the coke deposition, by the use of a steam diluent and by the attempt to take countermeasures to compensate and we believe that the yield falloff will be greater than the activity falloff by a factor of 1.25 to 3.5 or more depending somewhat on the exact composition of the catalyst used, its hydrothermal stability and the operating condition changes that are made during the cycle to attempt to compensate for the falloff in activity.
ExxonMobil in EP-B-1025068 has proposed a two reaction zone solution to the problem of effectively converting an oxygenate feed and a by-product fraction containing C4+ hydrocarbons to ethylene and propylene. According to this teaching the advantages of a two reaction zone system include independent selection of catalyst and conversion conditions for each zone. This '068 patent in fact teaches the use of non-zeolitic molecular sieve catalyst such as the preferred SAPO-34 for the oxygenate to light olefin reaction zone and either a non-zeolitic molecular sieve catalyst or a zeolitic catalyst such as the preferred ZSM-5 material for the auxiliary reaction zone which operates to convert the C4+ by-product fraction to the desired light olefin (i.e. C2 and C3 olefins). In Example III of this '068 patent evidence is presented showing that a relatively high temperature of about 600° C. provides superior conversion and light olefin selectivity with a SAPO-34 catalyst in the second or auxiliary reaction zone. This '068 patent does not in fact teach moving bed technology for either reaction zone preferring a circulating fluid bed or a riser reaction for the first reaction zone (see [0030]) and a fluid bed or a fixed bed or a fixed tube reactor for the second reaction zone (see [0031]). The '068 patent also does not teach a propylene selective process but one focused on making both C2 and C3 olefins, nor does it teach any C2 olefin product recycle to its first reaction zone for conversion to additional quantities of propylene.
The problem addressed by the present invention is then to modify this Lurgi OTP or MTP process of the prior art which we believe uses a dual-function catalyst system that suffers from hydrothermal instability and which uses a C4+ by-product recycle to the OTP or MTP reaction zone, in order to enhance its average propylene yield not only over its on-stream cycle time but also on a cycle-to-cycle basis and thereby diminish the requirement for recycle of olefin products other than propylene in order to compensate for lower propylene yield. We have now discerned that overall propylene yield is a function not only of reaction conditions and of average coke level deposited on the OTP conversion catalyst during the on-stream portion of each of the process cycles but also of the hydrothermal stability of the dual-function catalyst system utilized when it is exposed to steam at relatively high conversion temperatures necessitated by recycle of the relatively refractory C4+ by-product material to the OTP reaction zone. We have discovered furthermore that the use of moving bed technology in conjunction with a two reaction zone system can be used to shift the conversion of the relatively refractory C4+ by-product material to a separate moving bed reaction zone, thereby controlling the temperature required in the OTP reaction step to a lower range. Put another way we have now found that average propylene yield in an OTP process operated in a moving bed mode can be significantly enhanced if a dual reaction zone system is used therein with the second zone operating at an inlet conversion temperature at least 15° C. higher than the maximum temperature used in the OTP reaction step and using a feed thereto the C4+ olefin by-product material from the OTP reaction step, thereby enabling the OTP reaction step to run under less severe conditions which in turn suppresses hydrothermal deactivation of the dual-function catalyst used therein.
The instant application is a companion case to UOP's prior filed cases on the application of moving bed technology to an OTP process. The first was filed Jun. 25, 2004 as application Ser. No. 10/876,394; the second filed Sep. 16, 2004 as application Ser. No. 10/943,833; the third filed Sep. 21, 2004 as application Ser. No. 10/946,605 all of the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference and the fourth was filed on Nov. 12, 2004 as application Ser. No 10/988,136.

Conversion of oxygenate to propylene using moving bed technology and a separate heavy olefin interconversion step