A DRAM output protection circuit (100). A dummy NMOS transistor (116) is connected in parallel with the NMOS output transistor (102). The gate of the dummy transistor (116) is connected through a resistor (122) to ground (108). The resistor 122 value and the gate capacitance (121,127) of the dummy transistor (116) are adjusted to achieve the desired gate matching between the dummy transistor gate (120) and the NMOS output transistor gate (110).

In synchronous DRAM applications, the output buffer comprises a NMOS pull-up transistor and a NMOS pull-down transistor. ESD protection needs to be provided at this output buffer without the use of any protection device that would require a series resistor due to the high speed requirements of the device. The synchronous DRAM is designed to operate at greater than 60 MHz, so switching of the outputs high and low is critical. Any resistance in the speed path will slow down the output driver. Furthermore, a protection scheme that works for both positive and negative stress polarities is beneficial.
One prior art output protection scheme used in logic applications is shown in FIG. 1. This scheme uses a pull-up PMOS transistor 20 to power the dummy protection transistor 22 during an ESD pulse. The dummy protection transistor 22 is connected in parallel with the output NMOS transistor 24 and has a gate tied off (i.e., to 0V) with Vcc power up through PMOS transistor 20 and a source tied to a grounded substrate. The pull-up PMOS provides automatic protection to Vcc. In other applications, the gate of transistor 22 is directly connected to ground.
Unfortunately, in DRAM applications, a PMOS pull-up is not available to power up Vcc during ESD. The prior art dummy transistor relies on the PMOS pull-up for its operation during ESD. Furthermore, without the pull-up PMOS, there is no automatic protection to Vcc. Finally, for floating substrate DRAMs, there is no diode to substrate and if the gate of the protection is not properly controlled or is grounded, the ESD level will be lower for negative stress polarities. It is now well known that ESD protection levels in a multi-finger NMOS transistor can become erratic when a grounded gate protection device is used.
Accordingly, a protection scheme that is more appropriate for floating substrate DRAMs, as well as one that can be extended to grounded substrate technologies, is desired.


A process for rehabilitating sewer pipes whereby a plurality of plastic pipes made of thermoplastics is inserted into a sewer pipe, closing off any incoming house drain inlets, and is subsequently connected to the house drain inlets. For this purpose the position of the house drain inlet in the area closed off by the plastic piping is located, and a through-hole is created in the plastic pipes in the area in which they close off the house drain inlet. The size of the through-hole is at least equal to the projection of the cross-section of the house drain pipe. A saddle-type branch fitting, having a pipe segment member and a pipe socket integral therewith and outwardly extending therefrom, is placed in the closed-off area so that the pipe socket projects into the house drain inlet via the through-hole. The pipe segment member is secured to the plastic pipe in the area of contact. A rubber sleeve with exterior sealing elements is inserted into the house pipe inlet so that one of its end portions lies firmly against the interior wall of the house drain pipe while its other end portion lies firmly against the interior wall of the pipe socket extending from the saddle-type branch fitting.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sewer pipe rehabilitation process whereby a plurality of inner liners made of thermoplastics is inserted into a sewer pipe, closing off any incoming house drain inlets, and is then connected to said house drain inlets by a method involving the creation of a through-hole theretoward in that area of the plastic piping which closes off the house drain inlet. The through-hole is at least the size of the projection of the cross-section of the house drain pipe. A saddle-type branch fitting comprising a pipe segment member and a pipe socket integral therewith and outwardly extending therefrom is positioned in the closed-off area so that the pipe socket will project into the house drain inlet via said through-hole. The pipe segment member is then secured to the plastic pipe. A sleeve with exterior sealing elements is inserted into the incoming house drain inlet so that one end portion of said sleeve is placed tightly against the interior wall of the house drain pipe while its other end portion is placed tightly against the interior wall of the pipe socket extending from said saddle-type branch fitting. The invention further relates to a device and a manipulator for carrying out said process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The rehabilitation of sewer pipes is becoming increasingly important, both for technical reasons and as a result of a growing environmental awareness. Diverse attempts are known in the art to provide mechanized processes and devices for the rehabilitation of pipelines. Such mechanized solutions are of universal interest, given that working conditions are already difficult in walk-through pipes, while in the rehabilitation of non-walk-through pipes they are such as to make mechanized aid altogether indispensable. A particular difficulty lies in the rehabilitation of pipelines near house drains terminating in the sewer.
A prior process and apparatus for the rehabilitation of sewer pipes is known from DE 39 31 616 C 2. According to this publication, plastic pipes made of a thermoplastic material are first inserted into a sewer pipe. Inside the sewer pipe thus lined. A deformation member is then positioned with the aid of a carriage before an incoming house drain inlet, which is initially closed off by the wall of the plastic piping. The deformation member is then pressed against the wall of the plastic pipe from the inside of the sewer pipe, and is heated so as raise the temperature of the plastic pipe until the latter becomes plasticized. The deformation member is then forced into the house drain inlet, forming a socket of that area of the plastic pipe material which had initially closed off the house drain inlet. This socket is then trimmed, and the deformation member is retracted towards the carriage. No special sealing is provided in the annular space between the plastic pipe and the house drain inlet.
The disadvantages of such a solution include the fact that, inter alia, the process can only be used with thermoplastic material, while the geometry of the socket thus formed cannot be exactly defined in advance. Variations will be found both in the wall thickness, and hence the strength, as well as in the length of the socket. Moreover, there is virtually no sealing between the socket and the house drain inlet. This is a result of the fact that the junction is fabricated in-situ, i.e., subject to operating conditions and procedures which cannot be controlled with any degree of precision. In addition, this process requires the center of the house drain inlet to be determined with particular accuracy, since a satisfactory result can only be obtained if the socket is properly centered. Another problem with this solution lies in the fairly large equipment dimensions involved, making the apparatus suitable only for use in sewer lines of appropriately large diameter.
EP 0 640 727 A1 discloses a process and apparatus for connecting and sealing a lateral inlet or house sewer to a main sewer pipe to be rehabilitated with a thermoplastic inner liner. With this system a thermoplastic pipe socket having a flange and an outwardly projecting cylindrical portion integral therewith which extends into the lateral inlet is thermally fused with the inner liner. For this process a cylindrical insert or sleeve, having exterior sealing strips on its end portions, is inserted with the aid of a heatable expander device positioned therein. Once the cylindrical portion and the sleeve have been heated to the point of softening, they are expanded by the expander device so as to be placed firmly against the lateral inlet, with the front sealing strips engaging the interior wall of the lateral inlet and the rear sealing strips engaging the interior wall of the cylindrical portion of the pipe socket, whereupon the expander device is removed.
A drawback of this process lies in the fact that the thermal fusion process whereby the plastic pipe socket is joined to the inner liner may produce questionable and unreliable results in the presence of moisture and in difficult-to-clean mounting locations. Moreover, the strain on the junction due to thermally induced shear stress and other effects will be so intense as to become virtually unmanageable with plastic sockets and saddle-type fittings in a reasonable wall gauge range, particularly if significant restrictions in cross-sectional area are to be avoided.

Process and device for refurbishing drains


A phenyl tin compound is synthesized by using a derivative having various functional groups and a bromo- or iodo-benzene ring as a labeling material of a radioactive ligand. On the other hand, a novel hydroxytosyl iodobenzene compound having an electron-donating group is obtained by oxidizing iodobenzene having one or more electron-donating groups and reacting it with tosylic acid. Then, a diphenyliodonium salt which is a labeling precursor is synthesized by reacting the resulting compound with various phenyl tin compounds. Finally, a 18F-labeled ligand having various functional groups and a [18F] fluorobenzene ring is synthesized by reacting the resulting diphenyliodonium salt with [18F]F−.

To the present time, in the production of a radioactive ligand having a 18F-labeled fluorobenzene ring, an electrophilic substitution reaction or a nucleophilic substitution reaction has been used.
In the electrophilic substitution reaction, a phenyltin derivative has been used as a labeling material. And 18F fluorine gas has been used as a fluorine reagent. The electrophilic substitution reaction, however, has a disadvantage in that the labeling efficiency and the reaction yield are low. Furthermore, the specific activity, which is an important factor in radiopharmaceuticals, of the compound obtained by this substitution reaction is only a few mCi/μmol.
To overcome this disadvantage, a nucleophilic substitution reaction of a benzene ring by 18F has often been used. In the nucleophilic substitution reaction, as compared with an electrophilic substitution reaction, the reaction yield is high and the obtained compound is expected to have a high level of specific activity.
However, the most noticeable characteristic of the nucleophilic substitution reaction is that the presence or absence of substituents on a benzene ring or the position and kind of the substituents has an effect not only on the yield of the reaction, but also on the progress of the reaction. Specifically, the nucleophilic substitution reaction requires an electron-withdrawing substituent (e.g., NO2, CN, CHO, COOMe, or COOH) at the para- or ortho-position of the benzene ring. It also requires NO2, Cl, Br, I, +NMe3 or the like as a leaving group. Thus, the production, utilizing the nucleophilic substitution, of a radioactive ligand having a fluorobenzene ring places severe requirements on the substrate, and therefore, lacks general usability.
In such circumstances, the present inventors thought of an idea that the reaction of a diphenyliodonium salt with [18F]F− could be used to synthesize a radioactive ligand having a 18F-labeled fluorobenzene ring.
There have been reported various methods for synthesizing a diphenyliodonium salt as a labeled precursor. However, in any one of the methods, the synthesis must be carried out under severe conditions, for example, using an oxidant. Thus, it is difficult to synthesize a diphenyliodonium salt, which is expected to be used for various radioactive ligands having complex structures, by any one of the conventional methods. To the present time, in fact, there had been reported no radioactive ligand which was synthesized utilizing the reaction of a diphenyliodonium salt with [18F]F− except for the synthesis of only simple (substituents: H, Me, Cl, OMe, etc.) [18F]fluorobenzene derivatives.
A method for producing hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodobenzene is described in Non-Patent Document 1. A method for producing diaryliodonium triflates is described in Non-Patent Document 2. And the reaction of diaryliodonium triflate with [18F]F− is described in Non-Patent Document 3.
Non-Patent Document 1: G. F. Koser et al., J. Org. Chem., 42, 1476 (1977)
Non-Patent Document 2: T. Kitamura et al., Synthesis, 147 (1994)
Non-Patent Document 3: V. W. Pike et al., J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun., 2215 (1995)

Method for synthesizing radioactive ligand having

National Institute of Radiological Sciences


An integrated tuner is programmable to optimize its components for either analog signal reception or digital signal reception. Power to the components is increased for analog operation and decreased for digital operation. The tuner also includes a selectable and integrated low noise amplifier that may be selected for single-signal reception and bypassed for multi-signal reception.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to RF tuners and more particularly relates to programmable tuner circuits that are integrated on a single chip.
2. Background
Radio frequency (RF) tuners for receiving and interpreting broadband signals over coaxial cable have many applications. They are found in cable modems to allow high speed access to Internet data; in cable set top boxes and television receivers to allow a television to receive and decode digital television broadcasts as well as Internet data; in personal computers to provide multi-media capability; and in many other broadband cable access devices. In many of these and other applications, tuners are being called upon to receive and tune both analog and digital signals, and also to receive and tune multiple signals for concurrent display. A cable set top box, for example, may receive analog television signals and digital Internet data. Moreover, the set top box may be required to receive and tune these signals simultaneously.
Although a single tuner is often capable of receiving and tuning both analog and digital signals, it is usually not optimized for both types of signals. In a tuner employing a known superheterodyne "dual" or "double" conversion architecture, for example, more power is consumed for analog reception than for digital reception. Analog reception requires more power than digital reception because the tuner needs better linearity to maintain lower intermodulation distortion products. Digital reception has less stringent linearity requirements and hence consumes less power than does analog reception. Hence, when digital signals are received and tuned on a tuner optimized for analog operation, power is wasted.
Discrete "canned tuner" solutions have been proposed using a front-end tracking filter and a single conversion architecture to optimize the tuner for lower power consumption. The front-end tracking filter enhances the linearity of the tuner without significant power consumption. The linearity enhancement provided by the tracking filter is sufficient to support both analog and digital reception without a difference in power consumption. The disadvantage to this solution, of course, is that all tuner components are not integrated on a single IC. Alternative solutions provide separate, dedicated chips in the tuner for analog and digital reception.
A dual conversion tuner can be integrated on a single IC, which provides several advantages relative to a discrete single conversion tuner. These include better gain flatness over input frequency, a significantly lower external component count, no manual or automated tuning, and a cheaper tuner solution. A suitable solution has not been found, however, to optimize power consumption in a dual conversion tuner.
In addition to the challenge of mixed analog/digital operation, advanced receivers such as set top boxes and cable modems often require multiple tuners in order to simultaneously receive and support multiple types of broadband signals, such as a main video signal, cable modem Internet access, picture-in-picture, video-on-demand and so on. In a multi-tuner receiver, a single RF input (which may include multiple broadband signals) is split and provided to separate tuners. In this manner, each tuner can extract its desired signal from the RF input (i.e., main video, picture-in-picture, etc.) and the multiple signals may be displayed simultaneously if desired.
A typical multi-tuner receiver receives multiple signals at different frequencies on a single RF input. The input RF signal is amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA) optimized for multi-tuner operation, and split among multiple paths to separate tuners that each tune and amplify a different band of the RF signal, permitting concurrent receipt and display of multiple signals. Since the front-end performance requirements for the individual tuners differ depending on application, a fully integrated tuner with fixed performance specifications is not practical.
Typically, the LNA in an integrated tuner design is either not integrated or not selectable. Where the LNA is not integrated, the LNA is chosen in order to optimize the particular receiver application. For instance, in a single signal reception environment an LNA with a certain specification is used, and in a multiple signal reception environment an LNA with a different specification is used. Where the LNA is integrated, conversely, it is not selectable. Hence, an LNA optimized for a single reception environment could not be bypassed in a multiple reception environment. Instead, a completely different tuner IC with a different LNA would be necessary. A tuner IC having an integrated and selectable LNA, capable of operating in both a single-tuner and multi-tuner environment, is highly desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and apparatus extracts a foreground image and a background image from a color document image. The color document image is divided into a plurality of multiscaled grids. Each of the grids includes a plurality of blocks and the resolution of the plurality of blocks increases for each successive grid. The background color and the foreground color of each block of the largest grid is first determined. Then the background color and the foreground color of each block of the smaller grids are determined iteratively, using biasing information from each block's corresponding block, until the background and foreground colors of all of the blocks of all of the grids have been determined. Finally, the foreground and background images are formed from the determined background color and foreground color of each block of the smallest grid.

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for processing a color document image. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for extracting a foreground image and a background image from a color document image.
The popularity of the Internet has led to a dramatic increase in the need to transmit electronic color document images over wide area networks. Because of bandwidth limitations in most networks, the color images typically must be compressed before they are transmitted.
Most known compression techniques are optimized for data with specific attributes. For example, the Joint Bi-level Image Experts Group ("JBIG") compression technique, disclosed in the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU") Recommendation T.82 (1993), places a high emphasis on maintaining the detail and structure of the input. Therefore, JBIG is ideally suited for compressing black & white text and line-art data ("bilevel data"). Similarly, the Joint Photographic Experts Group ("JPEG") compression technique, disclosed in ITU Recommendation T.81 (1993), is ideally suited for compressing color pictures and other color images because it places a high emphasis on maintaining the smoothness and accuracy of the colors.
The Mixed Raster Content Color ITU-T Recommendation T.44 (1997) discloses that it is desirable to decompose a color image into three layers before compressing the image: 1) a bilevel layer of text and line art; 2) a color layer representing the background color of the image; and 3) a color layer representing the foreground color of the image. Each of the layers can then be compressed using the most optimum compression technique and transmitted independently However, ITU recommendation T.44 does not disclose a method or apparatus for extracting the background and foreground layers.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a method and apparatus for extracting a foreground image and a background image from a color document image.

Method and apparatus for extracting a foreground image and a background image from a color document image


A blade information handling system server prevents excess power demand from blade information handling systems by inventorying the power consumption of each blade information handling system before startup. Another power consumption inventory performed after startup ensures an accurate power consumption inventory for making subsequent startup decision. The baseboard management controller performs the first power consumption inventory with the processing components of the blade information handling system in an off state. The power inventory is communicated to the chassis management controller to obtain authorization to startup based on the power available at the chassis. The second power inventory is performed with the processing components in an on state and forwarded to the chassis management controller for use in subsequent determinations of power available at the chassis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system power management, and more particularly to a system and method for blade information handling system power inventory in a reduced power consumption state.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Often, especially with larger enterprises, large numbers of information handling servers perform functions critical to enterprise success, such as interfacing with customers or coordinating enterprise operations. Enterprises typically have difficulty placing large numbers of server information handling systems in a common location due to the physical footprint of the systems as well as power and cooling constraints. One solution increasingly selected by enterprises is the installation of blade servers. A blade server generally has a chassis with slots sized to accept ten or more blade information handling system. Each blade information handling system is essentially a motherboard with a processor, storage and network interfaces that engage in the blade server chassis slot; however, the blade information handling systems share common support resources, such as power and cooling resources. The use of a single set of power and cooling resources in a chassis reduces the footprint of the chassis. Further footprint efficiencies are gained by the use of a single housing instead of a separate housing for each blade. A chassis management controller (CMC) manages the chassis-level subsystems while a baseboard management controller (BMC) on each blade manages the physical operation of the blade, such temperature sensors and application of power. Remote management through the CMC and BMC are available through in band and out of band communication.
One difficulty associated with blade servers is ensuring that the power available through a blade chassis is sufficient for all blade information handling systems that are loaded in the chassis. A typical blade chassis has a longevity of five or more years. Over the time that a blade chassis is deployed, empty slots are sometimes filled and existing blade information handling systems are sometimes replaced with new blades or upgraded with new components. Often, newer information handling systems and components have greater power needs than older components. To avoid overburdening a blade chassis power supply, an estimated power consumption of blade information handling systems is applied that will minimize disruption in operations. Typically, a power consumption inventory is made at power up of each blade information handling system. However, if the blade chassis has an upgraded, replaced or new blade information handling system then powering up the blade information handling system to take the power inventory can cause the blade chassis to exceed its power capacity.

System and method for blade information handling system power inventory


Methods and systems are provided for downhole analysis of formation fluids by deriving differential fluid properties and associated uncertainty in the predicted fluid properties based on downhole data less sensitive to systematic errors in measurements, and generating answer products of interest based on the differences in the fluid properties. Measured data are used to compute levels of contamination in downhole fluids using, for example, an oil-base mud contamination monitoring (OCM) algorithm. Fluid properties are predicted for the fluids and uncertainties in predicted fluid properties are derived. A statistical framework is provided for comparing the fluids to generate robust, real-time answer products relating to the formation fluids and reservoirs thereof. Systematic errors in measured data are reduced or eliminated by preferred sampling procedures.

Downhole fluid analysis (DFA) is an important and efficient investigative technique typically used to ascertain the characteristics and nature of geological formations having hydrocarbon deposits. DFA is used in oilfield exploration and development for determining petrophysical, mine ralogical, and fluid properties of hydrocarbon reservoirs. DFA is a class of reservoir fluid an alysis including composition, fluid properties and phase behavior of the downhole fluids for characterizing hydrocarbon fluids and reservoirs.
Typically, a complex mixture of fluids, such as oil, gas, and water, is found downhole in reservoir formations. The downhole fluids, which are also referred to as formation fluids, have characteristics, including pressure, live fluid color, dead-crude density, gas-oil ratio (GOR), among other fluid properties, that serve as indicators for characterizing hydrocarbon reservoirs. In this, hydrocarbon reservoirs are analyzed and characterized based, in part, on fluid properties of the formation fluids in the reservoirs.
In order to evaluate and test underground formations surrounding a borehole, it is often desirable to obtain samples of formation fluids for purposes of characterizing the fluids. Tools have been developed which allow samples to be taken from a formation in a logging run or during drilling. The Reservoir Formation Tester (RFT) and Modular Formation Dynamics Tester (MDT) tools of Schlumberger are examples of sampling tools for extracting samples of formation fluids for surface analysis.
Recent developments in DFA include techniques for characterizing formation fluids downhole in a wellbore or borehole. In this, Schlumberger's MDT tool may include one or more fluid analysis modules, such as the Composition Fluid Analyzer (CFA) and Live Fluid Analyzer (LFA) of Schlumberger, to analyze downhole fluids sampled by the tool while the fluids are still downhole.
In DFA modules of the type mentioned above, formation fluids that are to be analyzed downhole flow past sensor modules, such as spectrometer modules, which analyze the flowing fluids by near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectroscopy, for example. Co-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,476,384 and 6,768,105 are examples of patents relating to the foregoing techniques, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Formation fluids also may be captured in sample chambers associated with the DFA modules, having sensors, such as pressure/temperature gauges, embedded therein for measuring fluid properties of the captured formation fluids.
Downhole measurements, such as optical density of formation fluids utilizing a spectral analyzer, are prone to systematic errors in measurements. These errors may include variations in the measurements with temperature, drift in the electronics leading to biased readings, interference with other effects such as systematic pump-strokes, among other systematic errors in measurements. Such errors have pronounced affect on fluid characterizations obtained from the measured data. These systematic errors are hard to characterize a priori with tool calibration.

System and methods of deriving differential fluid properties of downhole fluids


A process for preparing a polyurethane prepolymer containing carboxylic group(s), or both carboxylic group(s) and double bond(s), which comprises the steps of 1) preparing a diol or triol monomer having carboxylic group(s), or having both carboxylic group(s) and double bond(s) by performing an addition reaction of at least one acid anhydride(s) which may contain double bond(s), with at least one triol or tetraol derivative(s) containing three or four hydroxyl groups in a molar ratio from 0.5:1 to 2:1; and then 2) reacting the obtained diol or triol monomer, or their mixture with a polyol and a diisocyanate or a diisocyanate polymer to give polyurethane prepolymer having an NCO content of 0.1 to 30%, is disclosed. In addition, a process for preparing a water-stable aqueous polyurethane dispersion by neutralizing, dispersing, and chain extending the polyurethane prepolymer obtained above is provided. As the polyurethane dispersion according has excellent luster, elasticity, and water-repellency, it is very useful as a coating agent, an adhesive, or a paper sizing agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a polyurethane prepolymer, which comprises addition reacting acid anhydride derivative with triol or tetraol compound to give a diol or triol monomer which has carboxylic acid moiety or both carboxylic acid moiety and a double bond, and reacting polyol with diisocyanate by the use of the diol or triol monomer to prepare polyurethane prepolymer; and a process for preparing a water-stable aqueous polyurethane dispersion by neutralizing the polyurethane prepolymer obtained as above, dispersing it in water, and performing a chain extension.
Further, the present invention relates to a use of the aqueous polyurethane dispersion for a coating agent, an adhesive agent, a fiber treating agent, a paper processing agent, a leather treating agent, an adhesive for plywood, a blending agent for cement, a resin for synthetic leathers, or the like.
2. Prior Arts
A variety of processes for preparing aqueous polyurethane dispersions have been known. The dispersions are largely divided into two groups of ionic type and nonionic type, depending on the existence or non-existence of ion in the chain. Ionic type dispersions are divided into anionic type and cationic type.
In case of anionic type, sulfonate type and carboxylate type dispersions are widely used, while in case of cationic type, quaternary amine type dispersions are widely used. The most general type among these is anionic type including a carboxylic acid moiety.
In other words, a water-dispersible polyurethane is obtained by admixing dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA) having carboxylic acid with the polyol or diisocyanate to perform an addition reaction to give a prepolymer whose end is terminated by NCO; neutralizing and dispersing the prepolymer in water by self-emulsification; and performing a chain extension reaction. In the process, a variety of methods have been disclosed on the introduction of a hydrophilic group (for example, --COOH group) which is able to be self-emulsified.
For instance, according to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,077 (issued to von Bonin et al.), an unsaturated carboxylic acid having double bond(s) was mixed with various type of polyols, and the mixture was homopolymerized with a free radical initiator to obtain a graft polymer. In other words, a carboxylic group is introduced by graft polymerization to the main chain. In the patent, the precise mechanism of the polymerization is not shown.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,738 (issued to Frentzel et al.) discloses a process where a carboxylic group is introduced by a free radical addition reaction on a main chain of polyether polyol, which is an oxyalkylene adduct. By using tripropyleneglycol as a polyether polyol, and maleic acid, fumaric acid, or itaconic acid as a monomer having carboxylic group(s), and by introducing a peroxide-type free radical initiator thereinto, a polyether polyol having carboxylic acid was prepared in a radical addition reaction.

Preparation process of polyurethane prepolymer, preparation process of aqueous dispersion obtained therefrom, and use thereof


Various embodiments of the present technology comprise a method and apparatus for rotation detection of a brushed DC motor. The method and apparatus may detect switching of the commutators and utilize signals indicative of switching to determine speed and/or rotation information of the motor. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises an ADC, a difference circuit, an absolute value circuit, and a comparator connected in series with each other.

Brushed DC motors are used in a variety of applications, such as in an automobile. In an automobile application, the brushed DC motors may be used to control the position of side mirrors, the up/down position and control of windows, the position of the seat, the optical axis of the headlights, and the like. Accordingly, it is desired to detect rotation information of the motor to improve performance of the motor and/or provide improved motor control.

Methods and apparatus for rotation detection of a brushed DC motor

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A triggering system of a message processing service invokes a dispatch function to execute code to determine a set of message consumption functions to launch in order to process a set of messages from a queue. The dispatch function determines, based at least in part on the number of messages in the queue, the number of message consumption functions of the set that are to process these messages. The dispatch function invokes, based on the determination, the set of message consumption functions to process the set of messages from the queue.

Computing resource service providers and other service providers often invoke a variety of resources for the performance and processing of messages provided by customers of these service providers. In the event that network traffic increases beyond the capacity of the set of resources implemented by a service provider, the service provider provisions additional resources to increase the capability of the service provider to process the increased network traffic and, hence, messages. However, if the network traffic decreases, it can be difficult to determine when to reduce the number of resources as it can be difficult to predict when another increase in network traffic will occur. This can lead to additional expense to service providers and their customers, as there us an additional cost to maintaining these additional resources during a lull in network traffic and the processing of messages.

Automatic scaling of resources for message processing


A transmission assembly for use in a power seat adjuster. A mechanical brake in the form of a coned-disk spring is included in the transmission to prevent back driving of the transmission by application of a force to the seat assembly which could otherwise produce unintended movement of a seat within a vehicle body.

The present invention relates to a transmission assembly with a mechanical brake to prevent back driving and in particular to a transmission assembly for use in a power driven vehicle seat assembly wherein the brake prevents unintended movement of the seat due to back driving of the transmission assembly caused by application of forces to the seat assembly.
Vehicle seat assemblies are typically provided with a horizontal adjuster to enable fore and aft adjustment of the seat position relative to the vehicle body. Many seat assemblies have a motor driven power adjustment mechanism which moves the seat fore or aft upon actuation of a control switch. A power seat adjuster typically includes an elongated lead screw, or threaded shaft, rotatably attached to the moving part of the seat assembly. A nut, having a threaded bore, is attached to the lower, fixed portion, of the seat assembly with the lead screw threaded therethrough. An electric motor has an output shaft that is coupled to the lead screw through a transmission assembly. Upon actuation of the motor, the lead screw is rotated, causing the lead screw to move axially through the nut, changing the position of the movable portion of the seat assembly.
In a power adjustment mechanism, it is desirable to minimize noise and vibration produced during seat adjustment. One way to reduce noise and vibration is to reduce the amount of friction between the moving components of the adjustment mechanism. By reducing friction, less force is required to move the seat assembly, thus less noise and vibration is produced. Furthermore, smaller and lighter weight components can be used. However, friction and inefficient gearing within the drive mechanism has a positive benefit of preventing back driving, i.e. unintended rotation of the lead screw caused by forces applied to the seat assembly. If the amount of friction in the drive mechanism is sufficiently reduced, it may be possible to back drive the adjustment mechanism by applying a load to the seat, causing the lead screw to rotate. The result is unintended movement of the seat relative to the vehicle body.
The present invention provides a brake within the transmission assembly to prevent rotation of the lead screw when a large force is applied to the seat assembly. The brake is only operated as a result of a high load applied to the seat assembly. During normal seat operation, the brake is not applied and the drive mechanism has the benefit of the low friction.
The transmission assembly of the present invention utilizes a coned-disk spring, such as a belleville washer, disposed between a radial shoulder formed by the lead screw and a radial shoulder formed by the transmission housing. The spring is frusto conical in shape in its normal state. When a load is applied to the seat causing movement of the transmission housing relative to the screw in the proper direction, the shoulder on the screw moves toward the housing shoulder. The coned-disk spring is flattened therebetween causing the spring to tightly grip the lead screw. Simultaneously, the outside diameter of the spring bears outwardly against the transmission housing. The result is a locking of the screw to the housing, thereby preventing rotation of the lead screw and back driving of the adjustment mechanism.
The transmission housing and lead screw are designed to slightly compress the coned-disk spring within its elastic range to put a pre-load on the spring and to bias the lead screw against a thrust bearing support in the transmission housing.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Transmission assembly for vehicle seat adjuster with mechanical brake to prevent back driving


A method for thermal volume modeling of the pipe fluid volume change by taking temperature change measurements of pipe fluid taken at a single location, and comparing it to the changes in the fluid volume inside a tank hydraulically connected to a said pipe; a method of determining a fluid leak by comparing a calculated fluid volume inside a tank(s) and the actually measured tank fluid volume, where calculations are based on the method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to detection of leaks. More particularly, the present invention relates to detection of oil leaks in pipes with electrical transmission piped-type cables.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Current installed leak detection systems for fluid pipe systems such as underground piped-type cables and others, use pressure decay and/or flow monitoring in order to determine if a leak exists. Leak Detection Systems for oil pipe systems such as underground piped-type cables and others, monitor the pressure in the pipe or oil tank to interpret pressure drops. In addition, in some cases the frequency of pressurization pumps starts is used as an indication of larger oil leaks. However, these systems often initiate false leak detection alarms when a heat source is removed, such as de-energizing the electric underground cable, resulting in fast cooling of the oil. This causes decreases the interrelated oil volume and pressure inside the oil pipe or tanks setting off the alarm. Other methods include systems which monitor the flow of oil in the pipes, such as underground piped-type cables and others, interpret the differences in flow at different pipe locations to detect leakages.
When the accuracy of oil tank level gages, flow meters, and temperature variations of the oil inside the pipe or tanks is taking into account, detecting leakages of oil becomes very difficult. Resulting in the detection of only large oil leaks as a result of prolonged small oil losses having accumulative effects, or more rapid oil loss having little drag effect.
Past attempts to compensate for the temperature changes of the oil inside the pipe or oil tanks, such as piped-type cables and other systems, face two (2) obstacles:
1. The temperature of the oil along the pipes, such as underground piped-type cables and other systems, typically varies along the pipe, and a large number of measuring devices is required in order to monitor oil temperature. This is not practical or economical. In addition, temperature monitoring along the pipe is very difficult and expensive for existing oil pipes. PA1 2. Small leakages are difficult to detect in existing leak detections systems due to the accuracy of the instrumentation used at the present time (instrument errors). This is more apparent when oil pipes, such as piped-type cables and other systems, may contain oil volumes ranging typically between 100,000 to 200,000 gallons. Even with the assumption that the calculated oil volume in the pipe is accurate, leak detection accuracy due to temperature effects and accuracy in the measuring instrumentation yields results with sensitivity that is unacceptable from the environmental point of view (500-1,000 gallons).
For actual electrical underground transmission systems, a traditional leak detection method consists of monitoring the amount of oil in the system by reviewing and comparing oil tank level readings that are recorded on charts recordings. These readings are taken continuously during seven day periods and then they are sent to an engineering office for further analysis. This way, the leaks are detected only after substantial accumulation of oil loss.
Numerous innovations for Leak Detection System have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,255, titled Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Distinguishing Leaks Using Reflectometry and Conductive Tests, invented by Douglas S. Bailey, a method and apparatus for detecting and locating fluid leaks, particularly liquid leaks, and determining whether the leaking liquid being detected is non-conductive liquid such as hydrocarbon or conductive liquid such as water utilizes a composite detection cable having a pair of insulated conductors and a pair of un-insulated conductors. Pulses are applied to the insulated conductors and leaks are detected and located utilizing time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniques. The resistance between the un-insulated conductors is measured to determine whether or not the leak is conductive.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention requires a special cable having a leak detecting cable embedded within the primary cable. Time Domain Reflectometery is used to detect the leak. The present invention measures one temperature at the output of a cable at a given pressure and the volume in a reservoir tank at the same time. A second temperature and volume measurement is made some time later at the same pressure. The changes in temperature and volume are compared to determine if a leak is occurring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,032, titled Pressurized Piping Line Leak Detector, invented by Ernest A Flippi and Kenneth L. Miller, a line leak detector system which does not require modifications to existing piping or installation. The system requires a controller and transducer and installs at existing fuel dispensers. The two components are connected by a length of electrical cable. The invention detects leaks in underground pressurized piping systems for fuel products and other incompressible liquids. The system performs three levels of leak detection, broken pipe, 3 gph and 0.2 gph. Existing piping systems variables relating to bulk modules, variable pump off pressure and thermal differential between fuel and piping with surrounding soil influence, are compensated for. The status of the leak test is reported by encoded lights and horn. In various combination of flash, blink and steady state lights plus chirp, or audible horn. The transducers and cable are intrinsic safe, permitting installation in hazardous environments. The system permits selection of functional modes, thereby making the system able to report leak status to existing underground fuel tank inventory systems.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention measures only pressure changes compensated for temperature and bulk modulus. The present invention measures one temperature at the output of a cable at a given pressure and the volume in a reservoir tank at the same time. A second temperature and volume measurement is made some time later at the same pressure. The changes in temperature and volume are compared to determine if a leak is occurring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,477, titled Leak Detecting Cable, invented by Hiroyuki Sugibucti, a liquid leak detecting sensor in cable form is provided wherein an element of the cable material which is easily deformable and which on deformation, maintains the cable in deformed configuration.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention requires a specially constructed cable that has a pair of sensing wires that sense the leakage of a conductive liquid. The present invention measures one temperature at the output of a cable at a given pressure and the volume in a reservoir tank at the same time. A second temperature and volume measurement is made some time later at the same pressure. The changes in temperature and volume are compared to determine if a leak is occurring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,251, titled Apparatus to Monitor Electrical Cables, Including Splice Joints and the like, of the ingress of Moisture, invented by John P. McNaughton, Wayne E. Domenco, and David E. Vickey, Apparatus for monitoring electrical cables for the presence of moisture within the cable along the full length of the cable and at specific points such as splices along its length comprised of a pair of dielectrically separated conductors arranged along a central station and remote stations along the length of the cable at the specific stations to be monitored. The remote stations each include a further dielectrically separated pair of conductors for sensing moisture at the point and signals along the first pair of conductors to the central station. The central station detects moisture by an increase in current in the conductors and also detects a signal from remote stations. Branch cables spliced into the main cable include dielectrically separated conductors also spliced into the main conductors with the remote station at the splice including means for disconnecting the branch cable conductors from the main cable conductor under control from a signal from the central station.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention detects the presence of outside moisture inside a cable. The patented invention is not designed to function in conjunction with a liquid filled cable. The present invention measures one temperature at the output of a cable at a given pressure and the volume in a reservoir tank at the same time. A second temperature and volume measurement is made sometime later at the same pressure. The changes in temperature and volume are compared to determine if a leak is occurring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,181, titled Method of Detecting Liquid Leak and a Cable Therefor, invented by Sadamasa Ochiai in the method for detecting liquid leak of the present invention, the inventive cable, I.E. a parallel pair or a coaxial cable insulated with porous polymer material, is placed along or under a storage and/or transport means for conveying chemicals. If a leak occurs, the leaked liquid permeates into two conductors from each other, and varies the characteristic impedance of the cable to some detectable extent. The variation of impedance is electrically measured by a pulse reflection method (TDR). The invention method comprises; sending pulse waves from one end of the cable, sensing the reflected and deformed pulse shape, and thus detecting and locating the liquid leak.
The patented invention differs from the present invention because the patented invention utilizes a parrallel pair or a coaxial cable insulated with porous polymer material. If a leak occurs, the leaked liquid permeates into two conductors varying the characteristic impedance of the cable to some detectable extent. The patented invention requires a specially built cable. If a leak occurs, the leaked liquid permeates into two conductors from each other, and varies the characteristic impedance of the cable to some detectable extent.
Numerous innovations for Leak Detection System have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A buffer circuit uses (e.g., active) inductors for driving capacitive loads. In one embodiment, the buffer circuit has one or more stages, each stage having one CMOS inverter. Each CMOS inverter has one NMOS transistor and one PMOS transistor and is coupled to a stage input and a stage output. Additionally, at least one stage of the buffer circuit has two inductors, each coupled between a different voltage reference for the buffer circuit and the stage output. One inductor has a PMOS transistor coupled to the gate of an NMOS transistor and the other inductor has an NMOS transistor coupled to the gate of a PMOS transistor. When driving capacitive loads, the inductors partially tune out the apparent load capacitance CL, thereby improving the charging capabilities of inverter and enabling quicker charge and discharge times. Furthermore, partially tuning out apparent load capacitance facilitates the driving of larger capacitive loads.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic circuits, and more specifically to buffer circuits used for driving capacitive loads.
2. Description of the Related Art
In integrated circuits, CMOS inverters are often used as buffers to drive on-chip and off-chip capacitive loads. Typically, a single-stage buffer comprising one inverter is not sufficient to drive capacitive loads that are excessively large, so a series of gradually scaled-up stages are configured together to create a "super buffer." While super buffers are effective in driving large capacitive loads, they are relatively complex and consequently they consume a significant amount of chip area. The teachings of Kang, et al., "CMOS Digital Integrated Circuits," and Rabaey, "Digital Integrated Circuits," both of which are herein incorporated by reference, discuss the operability of the super buffer design.

Buffer with inductance-based capacitive-load reduction


An 82Sr/82Rb generator column is made using a fluid impervious cylindrical container having a cover for closing the container in a fluid tight seal, and further having an inlet for connection of a conduit for delivering a fluid into the container and an outlet for connection of a conduit for conducting the fluid from the container. An ion exchange material fills the container, the ion exchange material being compacted within the container to a density that permits the ion exchange material to be eluted at a rate of at least 5 ml/min at a fluid pressure of 1.5 pounds per square inch (10 kPa). The generator column can be repeatedly recharged with 82Sr. The generator column is compatible with either three-dimensional or two-dimensional positron emission tomography systems.

As is well known in the art, 82Rb is used as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for measurement of myocardial perfusion (blood flow) in a non-invasive manner.
Recent improvements in PET technology have introduced 3-dimensional positron emission tomography (3D PET). Although 3D PET technology may permit more efficient diagnosis and prognosis in patients with suspected coronary artery disease, the sensitivity of 3D PET requires very accurate control of the delivery of 82R activity to a patient being assessed.
As is well understood in the art, 82Rb for myocardial perfusion imaging is produced using a strontium-rubidium (82Sr/82Rb) generator which is eluted using a sterile saline solution (0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection) to produce an 82Rb eluate ([82Rb] Rubidium Chloride Injection) that is injected into the patient during the PET imaging. Due to the above-noted sensitivity of 3D PET it is desirable to deliver the 82Rb elution to the patient as far away from the patient's heart as can be practically achieved. This is best accomplished by using a small vein in the patient's hand, for example, as the 82Rb elution injection site. Doing so, however, requires a low pressure, low flow rate elution and precision flow control.
There therefore exists a need for an 82Rb generator that enables low pressure elution and facilitates precision flow control of patient elution injections.

Rubidium generator for cardiac perfusion imaging and method of making and maintaining same


A silicone rubber composition that does not foam or evolve an unpleasant odor during its cure and that cures into low-surface-tack, non-yellowing silicone rubber moldings comprises:. (A) polydiorganosiloxane gum with the average component formula R.sub.a SiO.sub.(4-a)/2 where R represents substituted and unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon groups and a is from 1.9 to 2.1, PA1 (B) microparticulate silica, PA1 (C) bis(ortho-methylbenzoyl)peroxide, and PA1 (D) bis(para-methylbenzoyl)peroxide,. wherein the component (C) to component (D) weight ratio is from 1:9 to 8:2.

This invention relates to silicone rubber compositions and methods for molding silicone rubbers for use in the extrusion molding of tube, sheet, wire and cable coatings, and to a method for molding the corresponding silicone rubbers. More particularly, this invention relates to silicone rubber compositions with a new combination of organoperoxide curing agents.
Silicone rubbers are frequently used for the extrusion molding of tube, tape, sheet, wire and cable coatings, and the like because these rubbers offer an excellent heat resistance, cold resistance, weathering resistance, and electrical characteristics. 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide has been used as a curing agent for effecting the cure of the silicone rubber compositions used as the feedstock in these extrusion molding applications. However, various problems are associated with silicone rubber compositions that contain this organoperoxide: they evolve an unpleasant odor when cured, their cure yields moldings that have a sticky, or tacky surface, and blooming occurs onto the surface of their silicone rubber moldings. This blooming is caused by the gradual bleed out of curing agent decomposition products with an associated whitening of the molding's surface. These decomposition residues can also cause environmental pollution. A number of investigations have already been carried out in order to solve these problems. For example, Yonezawa et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,536 propose a method for preparing low-surface-tack silicone rubber moldings that uses bis(2,4-dichlorobenzoyl)peroxide and di-tert-butyl peroxide as curing agent. However, this is not a completely satisfactory method because it still leads to the evolution of an unpleasant odor during cure and because it does not completely suppress surface tack in the molding. Japanese Patent Application Laid Open (Kokai or Unexamined) Number Sho 59-18758 (18,758/1984) teaches a method that uses bis(ortho-methylbenzoyl)peroxide as curing agent for silicone rubber compositions. This method avoids the evolution of unpleasant odor and does not cause blooming. Dorn, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,671 teach a method that uses bis(para-methylbenzoyl)peroxide as curing agent for silicone rubber compositions, and this method also solves the same problems. However, the silicone rubber moldings afforded by thermosetting a silicone rubber composition prepared by the former method are susceptible to yellowing, or taking on a yellowish tinge. Silicone rubber compositions prepared by the latter method suffer from slow cure rates and tend during curing to foam with the formation of extremely small bubbles, creating voids in the rubber.
An object of the present invention is to provide a silicone rubber composition that does not foam or evolve an unpleasant odor during its cure and that cures into low-surface-tack, non-yellowing silicone rubber moldings. An additional object of the invention is to provide a method for molding silicone rubbers.

Silicone rubber composition and method for molding silicone rubber


An air conditioner filter removing system for air filters located in elevated return-air vents, such as return-air vent mounted in a ceiling or upper wall. The device consists of a filter-grabbing mechanism that can be mounted to an extension pole. The filter-grabbing mechanism has teeth protruding from it to grab an air filter and a holding plate where the filter is balanced once engaged by the teeth. In its preferred embodiment, the system has one or more magnets for holding the return-air vent door closed so the filter-grabbing mechanism can easily pull the vent open. Further, the preferred embodiment also has kicker plates that help removal of the teeth out of the grill louvers they are inserted into, on the vent door.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a filter changing system for HVAC systems that have return-air vents mounted in elevated places such as ceilings or upper walls. More specifically, the invention relates to a filter-grabbing device that can be mounted to an extension pole. The filter-grabbing device is configured to open the vent door on an elevated return-air vent, take the dirty air filter from the vent, replace the dirty air filter with a clean air filter, and close the vent door.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within the field of HVAC repair and maintenance, there are numerous tools for repairing, calibrating, and generally maintaining HVAC systems. These tools are geared toward ensuring that the HVAC system is performing at its optimal level. Despite the crowded field, no known tool exists for changing air filters when the air filter is located in an elevated return-air vent.
During normal operation of an HVAC system, air is continually re-circulated through the system. As part of the re-circulation process, a blower inside the HVAC system pulls external air through a return-air vent. External air is the air located within the structure being heated, cooled, and/or ventilated by the HVAC system but not within the HVAC system itself. As the blower pulls external air through the return-air vent, the external air passes through an air filter and enters into the HVAC system. The number of return-air vents and corresponding air filters in an HVAC system varies, depending on the design of the particular system.
Air filters help prevent harmful dust and other particles from entering into the HVAC system. The filter media accumulates the dust and other particles as the external air passes through it. Once the filter media becomes saturated, the blower must work harder to pull the external air into the system, thereby increasing the strain on the blower. Increased strain on the blower may cause the blower to overheat and may cripple the HVAC system altogether. Thus, proper maintenance of an HVAC system requires air filters to be changed regularly.
To change the air filter, the return-air vent typically contains a vent door that is affixed to the vent perimeter of the return-air vent with hinges. When closed, one or more levers lock the vent door in place within the vent perimeter of the return-air vent. To open the vent door, an HVAC technician slides levers on the return-air vent into the unlocked position and pulls the vent door open. With the vent door now open, the technician removes the dirty air filter and replaces it with a clean one.
When return-air vents are located in elevated positions such as ceilings or upper walls, the technician cannot reach them without using a ladder. From a safety standpoint, each time a technician climbs a ladder to change an air filter there is a risk that the technician will fall from the ladder and sustain an injury. Further, if an elevated return-air vent is located over a piece of furniture or another item that is difficult to move, placing a ladder directly under the return-air vent may not be possible. Instead, the technician must position the ladder as close to the return-air vent as possible and reach for the vent. Of course, reaching for the vent while standing on a ladder only further increases the risk posed by elevated return-air vents. It is these elevated return-air vents to which the present invention is directed.


The present invention provides a process for conditioning double metal cyanide (DMC) catalysts, which are employed in the preparation of polyether polyols based on starter compounds having active hydrogen atoms, the preparation of polyether polyols using the conditioned catalysts and the use of the polyether polyols prepared in this way for the preparation of polyurethane materials.

Polyether polyols which are suitable for the preparation of polyurethane materials can be obtained via various preparation processes. On the one hand, the base-catalyzed addition of alkylene oxides to starter compounds having Zerewitinoff-active hydrogen atoms and on the other hand, the use of double metal cyanide compounds as catalysts for the addition of alkylene oxides to starter compounds having Zerewitinoff-active hydrogen atoms are of importance on the large industrial scale. The (Lewis) acid-catalyzed addition of alkylene oxides on to suitable starter compounds is of minor importance.
The base-catalyzed addition of alkylene oxides, such as, for example, ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, to starter compounds having Zerewitinoff-active hydrogen atoms is carried out in the presence of alkali metal hydroxides, alkali metal hydrides or also amines, such as N,N-dimethylbenzylamine or imidazole. After the addition of the alkylene oxides has taken place, the polymerization-active centers on the polyether chains must be neutralized with dilute mineral acids, such as sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid, or also organic acids, such as e.g. lactic acid, and the salts formed must be separated off, if appropriate. Working up of the alkaline polymers is also possible with the aid of acid laminar silicates or by means of acid cation exchangers. In amine-catalyzed alkylene oxide addition reactions, further working up can be omitted if the presence of the amines in these polyether polyols does not impair the preparation of polyurethane materials. In addition to the necessity of the polyether polyols having to be worked up, if appropriate, before their use as polyurethane components, two further disadvantages of the base-catalyzed addition of alkylene oxides on to starter compounds having Zerewitinoff-active hydrogen atoms are to be mentioned. Only polyethers having relatively low equivalent weights can be obtained via amine catalysis, in this context see, for example, Ionescu et al. in "Advances in Urethane Science & Technology", 1998, 14, p. 151-218. Under alkali metal hydroxide catalysis, undesirable side reactions increase significantly as the molar mass of the polymer increases. The isomerization of propylene oxide to allyl alcohol, which, at high equivalent weights (or low OH numbers), leads to a high content of monofunctional polyether species in the reaction mixture, is to be mentioned in particular here. The monofunctional polyether molecules have an adverse effect on the full curing properties and the profile of physical properties of polyurethane systems.
By employing double metal cyanide catalysts, it has become possible to speed up the addition of alkylene oxides, in particular propylene oxide, to starter compounds having Zerewitinoff-active hydrogen atoms down to very low OH numbers, without the abovementioned isomerization of propylene oxide to allyl alcohol occurring to a noticeable extent. Highly active DMC catalysts, which are described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,813, EP-A 700 949, EP-A 743 093, EP-A 761 708, WO 97/40086, WO 98/16310 and WO 00/47649, furthermore have an exceptionally high activity and render possible the preparation of polyether polyols at very low catalyst concentrations (25 ppm or less), so that it is no longer necessary to separate off the catalyst from the finished product. Typical examples are the highly active DMC catalysts described in EP-A 700 949, which, in addition to a double metal cyanide compound (e.g. zinc hexacyanocobaltate(III)) and an organic complexing ligand (e.g. tert-butanol), also contain a polyether having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 500 g/mol.
A characteristic of DMC catalysts is their pronounced sensitivity to high concentrations of hydroxyl groups, which can be caused, for example, by large amounts of starter compounds such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerol, trimethylolpropane, sorbitol or sucrose, and polar impurities of the reaction mixture. The DMC catalysts then cannot be converted into the polymerization-active form during the reaction initiation phase. Impurities can be, for example, water, compounds having a high number of hydroxyl groups in close proximity, such as carbohydrates and carbohydrate derivatives, or compounds having basic groups, such as, for example, amines. Substances having carbonyl groups in close proximity or carbonyl groups adjacent to hydroxyl groups also have an adverse effect on the catalyst activity. In order, nevertheless, to be able to subject starter compounds having high concentrations of OH groups or starter compounds with impurities which are to be regarded as catalyst poisons to DMC-catalyzed alkylene oxide addition reactions, the concentration of hydroxyl groups must be lowered or the catalyst poisons rendered harmless. For this purpose, in the past prepolymers were first prepared from these starter compounds by means of base catalysis, and, after thorough working up, it was then possible to convert these into the desired alkylene oxide addition products of high molar mass by means of DMC catalysis. An important further development in this connection was the development of continuous metering of starter compounds, which is disclosed in WO 97/29146. In this case critical starter compounds are not initially introduced into the reactor, but are fed to the reactor continuously during the reaction, alongside the alkylene oxides. In this process, prepolymers can be initially introduced into the reactor as the starting medium for the reaction, and the use of small amounts of the product to be prepared itself as the starting medium is also possible. The necessity of having first to prepare prepolymers suitable for further alkylene oxide additions separately was eliminated with the latter procedure.
However, if short-chain polyether alcohols having OH numbers of greater than 200 mg KOH/g are to be obtained, it is necessary to increase the ratio of starter compound to alkylene oxide in the educt stream metered in, so that there is again the danger of reaching critical concentrations of hydroxyl groups and polar impurities. In such cases the catalysts increasingly lose activity during the starter compound metering phase, which manifests itself e.g. by an increase in pressure in the reactor as a consequence of an increasing concentration of free alkylene oxide.
If compounds of varying purity, for example those which are obtained from renewable sources of raw materials, are employed as starter compounds, unknown secondary components can likewise significantly impair the catalyst activity. In this case either the catalyst cannot be converted into the active form at all, or the loss in activity described above is observed.
The problems described on the one hand, can of course be counteracted by an increase in the catalyst concentration, and on the other hand an attempt can also be made to free the starter compounds from impurities by suitable pretreatments, such as intensive stripping at temperatures above 80° C., distillation or extraction. All these alternatives are time-consuming and cost-intensive.

Process for the preparation of polyether polyols


An image forming apparatus is provided in which an application of air for separating a sheet from a fixing section can be performed in a stable manner with an appropriate air quantity and air velocity. In the image forming apparatus, a control section sets, on the basis of an individual difference of a separation fan motor, a fan motor drive condition for a sheet passing period in which the sheet passes through a nip portion N, and the control section maintains the fan motor drive condition thus set throughout the sheet passing period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (such as a printer, copier, and facsimile machine) applies laser light based on image data to a charged photoconductor (light exposure) to form an electrostatic latent image. Then, the image forming apparatus directly or indirectly transfers a toner image, which is formed by causing toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image, onto a sheet, and then heats and presses the toner image to fix the image to the sheet, thereby forming an image on the sheet.
A fixing device of the image forming apparatus that performs the above-mentioned fixing is occasionally provided with an air separator that applies air toward an end portion of a sheet having passed through a nip portion, in order to prevent a fixing defect caused by a sheet wound around a heating section for heating a toner image (for example a fixing belt). In particular, since a thin sheet with a small basis weight tends to easily wind around the heating section, it is required to direct high-speed air jets toward such a sheet. In order to deal with such a requirement, the air separator typically has a duct having a form in which its air outlet is substantially smaller than its air inlet.
There are known compressor type air separators that use a compressor as a source of air, and fan type air separators that use a fan motor as a source of air (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 10-265067 and 11-157678).
When the compressor type air separators and the fan type air separators are compared, the fan type air separators have advantages over the compressor type air separators in that the size can be reduced, manufacturing cost can be kept low, and the operation noise is small. However, since fan type air separators have significantly low static pressure as compared to compressor type air separators, a significantly large air quantity is required for obtaining an air velocity at which the sheet separation can be caused, and heat loss at a heating section is accordingly great. In addition, when the air quantity is large, a sheet having passed through a nip portion may flap, and as a result, wrinkles may be formed on the sheet and a sheet ejection path may be jammed with sheets, making ejection of sheets impossible. Therefore, it is important not only to ensure an air quantity required for obtaining an air velocity at which the sheet separation can be achieved, but also to suppress the air quantity to the degree that side effects such as the above-mentioned heat loss and flapping of sheets are not caused.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-197654 discloses a technology for optimally adjusting the quantity of air from an air source. A fixing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-197654 measures the amount of air pressure in an air passage by using a pressure sensor and optimizes the quantity of air by a feedback control based on a measured pressure value.
However, in existing fan type air separators, pressure loss of air passing through a duct is caused due to a substantially narrowed air outlet. When the feedback control of air based on the measured pressure value is performed in such a state, it is difficult to stabilize the air velocity since responsiveness to control is not good. As described, when the velocity of air jets directed toward sheets passing through a nip portion is unstable and varies, the position of sheets separated from the heating section may become unstable, and thus a jam may be caused in the sheet ejection path.


A method of transforming input image data into output image data in order to form an output image which comprises a plurality of specified image areas is provided. The method comprises providing a plurality of different sets of color transform look-up tables, associating the different sets of look-up tables with the plurality of specified image areas. The output data is coded to identify an associated one of the different sets of look-up tables responsive to one of the specified image areas for which the output data is being obtained. A color transformation is then performed on the input image data to obtain the output data using one of the different sets of look-up tables identified by the coding. An apparatus for carrying out the method is also provided.

Digital images can be obtained from many different sources. Each of these sources requires a different color transform properly to map its color space to the output image color space. Thus, if more than one type of digital image source is used within an output page several different types of color transformations are required. For example, images obtained from different input devices require a color transform table which is matched to the input device, e.g. various different types of input scanners, or photo CD or digital cameras. Also, photographic images require a different output rendering which preserves relative differences as contrasted with spot colors which require a rendering that preserves an absolute colorimetric match within the available output gamut. A typical output page will contain regions such as spot colors which require an output rendering that preserves an absolute colormetric match within the available output gamut, whereas the rest of the page requires a photographic look output rendering which preserves relative differences. In addition, transformations are required for editing performed by the user which can comprise the whole frame or may be spatially selective.
MacDonald et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,480 describe a method of transforming data into a single acceptable color space. Ruetz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,921 recognized the problem of different color output capabilities for different output devices and described the creation and use of a border table to transform unprintable colors to printable colors having equivalent color differentiation and which are therefore perceived as being equivalent. Neither MacDonald et al nor Ruetz addressed the problem of producing an output rendering based on multiple input devices, or of achieving multiple output rendering intents.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a color processing system and method for performing different color transformations in real time during plotting of an output image.

Digital image processing system and method


The invention provides an inexpensive phototaking lens system comprising a reduced number of lenses, which makes use of a diffractive optical element to make correction for first-order longitudinal chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification, and eliminates higher-order chromatic aberrations of magnification produced in a wide-angle lens system. The phototaking lens system comprises a front group having negative power, an aperture stop and a rear group having positive power, with the rear group comprising at least one positive lens and a diffractive optical element having a diffractive surface D of positive power, and satisfies conditions for making good correction for chromatic aberrations produced at a refractive system with the diffractive optical element and conditions for making well-balanced correction for longitudinal chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a phototaking lens system, and more particularly to a phototaking lens system used with electronic cameras using CCD imaging elements, video cameras, monitor cameras, cameras mounted on vehicles, etc.
2. Discussion of Related Art
So far, phototaking lens systems using imaging elements such as CCDs have been required to have a good telecentric property on image sides thereof for the purpose of preventing color shading due to color filters located in front of solid-state image elements or light bundle leaks due to microlenses. The phototaking lens systems are also required to have a back focus long enough to receive optical elements such as low-pass and color filters between the final surfaces thereof and the imaging elements. For this reason, they are often designed in the form of a retrofocus type comprising two groups, one being a front group having negative power and the other a rear group having positive power. This retrofocus type is favorable for making sure of the back focus, but tends to produce large quantities of off-axis aberrations such as coma, astigmatism and distortion because the lens layout is asymmetric with respect to an aperture stop so that a light bundle diverged by the front group is converged by the rear group. For a phototaking lens system having a wide field angle, a doublet consisting of a low-dispersion convex lens and a high-dispersion concave lens is often located between an aperture stop and an image side thereof for the purpose of making good correction for chromatic aberrations. To keep the same power throughout the rear group, therefore, it is required to increase the power of the positive lens. To make good correction for the off-axis aberrations and the chromatic aberrations as well, therefore, it is required to increase the number of lenses involved. However, this is undesirable because of an increase in the cost of the lens system. Such problems may be solved by making the powers of individual optical elements weak, but another problem arises, that is, the overall length of the lens system becomes too long. Recently developed wide-angle lens systems comprising a reduced number of lenses, for instance, are disclosed in JP-A's 6-148518, 7-333499 and 8-5908. These lens systems are each composed of a small number of lenses, for instance, three or four lenses, with a rear group comprising a doublet consisting of a low-dispersion positive lens and a high-dispersion negative lens, thereby making correction for chromatic aberrations. A wide-angle lens system well corrected for off-axis aberrations and chromatic aberrations, for instance, is disclosed in JP-A 6-107070. This lens system comprises about five lenses, as described in examples of the publication.
On the other hand, JP-A's 6-230275 and 4-43607 disclose wide-angle lens systems comprising two lenses, i.e., a negative lens and a positive lens, each having a Fresnel lens surface. A Fresnel lens makes use of the refraction of light, and makes good correction for off-axis aberrations due to its aspheric effect but has little action on the correction of chromatic aberrations, i.e., longitudinal chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification.
Recently, attention has been paid to a diffractive optical element (DOE) making use of a diffraction phenomenon. Unlike a conventional refractive lens, the DOE is optically characterized by having inverse dispersion and extraordinary dispersion properties, as expressed by an Abbe number .nu.=-3.453. This has already been proposed in an article by Thomas Stone and Nicholas George, "Hybrid diffractive-refractive lenses and achromats", Applied Optics, 27, 14, 2960-2971 (1988.7.15). It is thus well known to utilize these properties to make correction for chromatic aberrations with a cemented lens consisting of a refractive lens having positive power and a diffractive optical element having weak positive power. This is more favorable than a conventional cemented lens in view of the correction of aberrations because the powers of individual lenses can be diminished due to the fact that they are positive, so that off-axis aberrations can be reduced.
In recent years, many optical systems using DOEs have been put forward. Examples of U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,314 disclose eyepieces, Petzval type lenses, large-aperture lenses, telephoto lenses, etc., and teach that if DOEs are used in these optical systems, it is then possible to make correction for chromatic aberration, and other off-axis aberrations. Further, JP-A's 6-324262, 6-331898, 6-331941 and 6-347700 filed by the applicant disclose applications of DOEs to telephoto lenses, objectives, projection lenses, etc. One application of a DOE to a wide-angle lens system is an endoscope objective disclosed in JP-A 6-194571 filed by the applicant. However, one example of this publication discloses an optical system peculiar to an endoscope objective which, albeit having a wide angle, produces considerably large distortion. Thus, this system is not preferable for the field to which the present invention belongs.
Some wide-angle lens systems comprising a reduced number of lenses are available, as disclosed in JP-A's 6-148518, 7-333499 and 8-5908. These systems are well corrected for longitudinal chromatic aberration, but cannot be for chromatic aberration of magnification and off-axis aberrations. A wide-angle lens system sufficiently corrected for longitudinal chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification, and satisfactorily corrected for off-axis aberrations as well, for instance, is disclosed in JP-A 6-107070. For this lens system, however, it is required to increase the number of lenses inclusive of a cemented lens.
In view of the aforesaid problems with conventional lens systems, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive phototaking lens system comprising a reduced number of lenses, which makes use of a diffractive optical element to make good correction for first-order longitudinal chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification while high image-forming capability is maintained even at peripheral areas of the field angle, and which can eliminate higher-order chromatic aberrations of magnification produced in a wide-angle lens system.


New genes for pinosylvine synthase ("pinosylvine synthase genes") have been found, which can be incorporated into the hereditary factors (the genome) of plants that generate no pinosylvine or only inadequate pinosylvine, whereby an increased resistance of these plants to pests can be brought about. Also disclosed are vectors, host organisms, and plants transformed with the new pinosylvine synthase genes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to new genes, isolated from plants, for pinosilvine synthase and to their use for the transformation of vectors, host organisms and plants and for generation of plants which have an increased resistance to pests.
2. Description of Related Art
3,5-Dihydroxy-stilbene, which occurs in plants and has a toxic action on pests, in particular fungi, bacteria and insects, and is therefore suitable for warding off these pests, is called pinosylvine. The capacity for synthesis of these substances by the plants is regarded as an important defence mechanism. Unfortunately, only few beneficial plants have the capacity to form pinosylvine or to generate it in an amount which imparts to them an adequate resistance to pests.
The use of stilbene synthase genes for generation of plants having an increased resistance to pests is already known from EP-A-0 309 862. A resveratrol synthase gene from groundnut plants (Arachis hypogea) is described specifically in this publication.


A piezoelectric cable for use in detecting under water acoustic wave while being trailed by a boat is disclosed, which includes a core electrode, an outer electrode surrounding the core electrode, a piezoelectric layer disposed between the core electrode and the outer electrode, a sheath surrounding the outer electrode, and a shape retaining member extending axially within the cable and formed of a shape memory alloy whose phase is transformed between an austenite phase and a martensite phase by changing the temperature thereof and memorizing a predetermined shape in the austenite phase of the alloy. One of the core and outer electrodes may be formed of the shape memory alloy and, in this case, the shape retaining member can be omitted.

This invention relates to a piezoelectric cable suitable for use in fish finding or detection of marine seismic conditions and to a method of unwinding a wound cable.
It is known to utilize a piezoelectric cable for finding fish or for detecting marine seismic conditions. Illustrated in FIG. 11 is one known piezoelectric cable 30' which includes a core electrode 31, a piezoelectric layer 32 surrounding the core electrode 31, and an outer electrode 33 provided to surround the piezoelectric layer 32. The piezoelectric layer 32 is polarized by impressing a direct voltage across the core and outer electrodes 31 and 33. In use, one end of the cable 30' is connected to a winch mounted on a boat. The cable 30' is trailed by the boat with the other end thereof being rendered free. Acoustic waves propagating through sea water are thus detected by the piezoelectric layer and the detected signals are outputted from terminals 34 leading from the core and outer electrodes 31 and 33.
As the piezoelectric layer 32, an organic piezoelectric material such as a polyvinylidene fluoride, a polyvinyl fluoride, a polyvinylidene chloride, a polyvinyl chloride and a polyamide, or a composite-type piezoelectric material containing finely divided ferroelectric ceramic such as lead titanate or lead titanate zirconate dispersed in an organic matrix such as a synthetic rubber or a synthetic resin is used because the acoustic impedance of such flexible piezoelectric materials resembles that of water.
The known piezoelectric cable, however, suffers from a drawback that, as shown in FIG. 12, when the cable 30' wound around a winch 35 on a boat 36 is unwound for immersion into sea water, it is curled or waved. Such curls cause cavitation or random flows thereabout when the cable is trailed so that undesirable signals generally called "flow noises" are generated.


A soil reinforcing element for a mechanically stabilized earth structure may include two wires spaced apart from each other (e.g., substantially parallel to each other). Each wire may include at least two wire strands twisted about one another. A flexible outer member may enclose the two wires, may extend between the two wires, and may couple the two wires with each other. The flexible outer member may maintain the two wires spaced apart from each other, and may define at least one aperture between the at least two wires. The flexible outer member may have a protrusion extending along the length thereof. In another exemplary embodiment, a plurality of transverse wires may be coupled to the two parallel wires.

Retaining wall structures that use horizontally positioned soil inclusions to reinforce an earth mass in combination with a facing element are referred to as mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) structures. MSE structures can be used for various applications including retaining walls, bridge abutments, dams, seawalls, and the like.
The basic MSE implementation is a repetitive process where layers of backfill and horizontally-placed soil reinforcing elements are combined and compacted in series to form a solid earthen structure, taking the form of a standing earthen wall. In some instances, the soil reinforcing elements may be attached or otherwise coupled to a substantially vertical wall either forming part of the MSE structure or offset a short distance therefrom. The vertical wall is typically made either of concrete or a steel wire facing and not only serves to provide tensile resistance to the soil reinforcing elements but also prevents erosion of the MSE structure.
Although there are several different configurations and types of soil reinforcing elements known in the art, including different materials from which they are made, it nonetheless remains desirable to find improved configurations or materials that are easier to store and transport and provide greater resistance to shear forces inherent in such structures.

Soil reinforcing element for a mechanically stabilized earth structure


An object is to provide a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor, which has stable electrical characteristics and high reliability. In a manufacturing process of a bottom-gate transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer, heat treatment in an atmosphere containing oxygen and heat treatment in vacuum are sequentially performed for dehydration or dehydrogenation of the oxide semiconductor layer. In addition, irradiation with light having a short wavelength is performed concurrently with the heat treatment, whereby elimination of hydrogen, OH, or the like is promoted. A transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer on which dehydration or dehydrogenation treatment is performed through such heat treatment has improved stability, so that variation in electrical characteristics of the transistor due to light irradiation or a bias-temperature stress (BT) test is suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor.
In this specification, a semiconductor device means all types of devices which can function by utilizing semiconductor characteristics, and an electro-optical device, a semiconductor circuit, and an electronic device are all semiconductor devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique for forming a transistor by using a semiconductor thin film formed over a substrate having an insulating surface has attracted attention. Such a transistor is applied to a wide range of electronic devices such as an integrated circuit (IC) or an image display device (display device). As a semiconductor thin film applicable to the transistor, a silicon-based semiconductor material is widely known. Moreover, an oxide semiconductor has been attracting attention as another material.
For example, a transistor whose active layer includes an amorphous oxide containing indium (In), gallium (Ga), and zinc (Zn) and having an electron carrier concentration of lower than 1018 /cm3 is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

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