An apparatus for removal of contaminants from water includes an openable enclosure with one or more inlet openings through the sides for admitting water and debris into the enclosure. Intake modules attached to the outer surface of the enclosure draw water from the enclosure through an intake conduit and out an upper port in the side of the intake module. A pump module adjacent to the intake module has a side port corresponding to the upper port of the intake module so that water is drawn by a pump from the intake module and exhausted through an outlet channel of the pump module. A snorkel attached to the pump module with its lower end located adjacent to the pump propeller draws air down into the snorkel and into a fitting disposed below the pump propeller for injection into the enclosure.

Bodies of water near populated areas are commonly subject to pollution from both chemical and solid waste. Considerable effort has been addressed to the removal of oil slicks or other chemical films that float on the water surface. Among such efforts are the floating weirs of McHugh, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,458 issued Sep. 20, 1983) and Wessels (U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,592 issued Feb. 7, 1989). Both of these systems are remote from the pumping unit, being connected by a suction hose, and are similar to well-known pool cleaners. Another system is that of Shubert (U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,833, issued Jul. 22, 1986) which is a floating trough for removal of effluent fluid at a predetermined level beneath the surface of the water. While advances have been addressed to liquid separation, solid waste is still primarily dealt with by manually collecting the debris with nets.
Solid waste and chemical contaminants in bodies of water are frequently found in marinas and harbors, where natural flow patterns are modified by floating docks and pilings. Carelessly discarded paper and plastic containers and wrappings fall into water from boats or are blown into the water from land. Fuels, oil, and maintenance materials (cleaning solutions, solvents, etc.) used on boats are not adequately contained during and contaminate the water. Run-off from roads and parking lots from irrigation or rain create oil slicks in nearby water. Collectively, these materials pollute the water and degrade quality and aesthetics of the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,600 to the present inventor disclosed a floating apparatus that could be attached to a dock or floating platform to draw pelagic contaminants into a collection basket where it would be retained for periodic removal. While the device was highly effective in removing materials such as plastics, bottles, paper, oil sheen, and driftwood from marinas, it occasionally experienced difficulties handling large plastic bags because they tended to clog the pump, which was located at the bottom of the enclosure. In addition, the large amounts of trash could become so compacted that the pump would clog. One attempted solution involved moving the pump away from the center bottom of the enclosure and the use of hoses to direct the pump suction to the center bottom, underneath a grating that captured the debris. This approach experienced problems when marine life (barnacles, chitons, tube worms, etc.) accumulated in the hoses, again clogging the suction path.
Accordingly, the need exists for an effective system for removal of pelagic contaminants from bodies of water that does not suffer the drawbacks of its predecessors.

System for removal of contaminants in water


This invention relates to high frequency electromagnetic circuits, in particular to those made on planar or quasi-planar substrates, where the circuit is patterned on a metallic or superconducting film on top of a dielectric in any of the configurations known to those skilled in the art (for instance micro-strip, strip-line, co-planar, parallel plate or slot-line configurations). A part of the circuit such as the characteristic strip or slot of said configurations is shaped in a novel space-filling geometry which allows a significant size reduction of the circuital component. Miniature transmission lines, capacitors, inductors, resistors, filters and oscillators can be manufactured this way.

There are many applications where planar circuits are used which would benefit from a reduction in the circuit size. This is the case, for example, in aerospace applications and mobile communication systems where weight and volume of the equipment is severely restricted. This reduction is also desirable when the cost of a substrate (the dielectric and metals or superconductors covering it) is expensive.

Fractal and space-filling transmission lines, resonators, filters and passive network elements


An oven 1 includes a nozzle module 4 which is constructed such that a plurality of nozzle units 6 are alternately connected to an opposing pair of air chambers 5 arranged on the opposite sides of a conveyor 2. Each nozzle unit 6 has an upper nozzle 10 and a lower nozzle 11 both of which base end sides are pivotally supported to turn about support shafts 13 and 15 and of which foremost end sides are operatively supported by opening/closing units 16. Each opening/closing unit 16 has an elongated flexible member 17 suspended from a sprocket 18, and the opposite ends of the elongated flexible member 17 are operatively connected to the foremost end sides of the upper and lower nozzles 10 and 11. As the sprocket 18 is rotated, the upper and lower nozzles 10 and 11 are turned in the upward/downward direction, whereby each nozzle unit 6 is opened or closed in the vertical direction. A radiator 7 is arranged on the conveyor 2 side relative to each air chamber 5 while extending in the vertical direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a transverse stretching apparatus for stretching a film such as a resin film, or the like, to a predetermined width. More particularly, the present invention is an oven including a nozzle module for allowing a film to be subjected to heat treatment by blowing hot air toward the film from above and below.
2. Description of the Related Art
A transverse stretching apparatus is generally constructed such that the opposite ends of a film to be transversely stretched are captured by a conveyor and the film is then subjected to a series of treatments including preheating, stretching, thermal curing and cooling, while moving through an oven, until a predetermined width is obtained.
The oven includes a single nozzle module or a plurality of nozzle modules in each treatment region so that a film is heated up to a predetermined temperature. A typical conventional oven of the aforementioned type is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 273825/1987. Specifically, the oven is constructed such that an opposing pair of air chambers, each including a radiator, are arranged on the opposite sides of a film passage and a plurality of nozzle units each having an upper nozzle for blowing a hot air over the entire width of a film from above and a lower nozzle, arranged opposite to the upper nozzle, for blowing a hot air over the entire width of the film from below, are alternately connected to the air chambers to constitute a nozzle module.
With the conventional oven constructed in the above-described manner, hot air is distributively supplied from the air chambers and flows in the upper and lower nozzles of adjacent nozzle units in the opposite direction, thus a slight temperature gradient appears in the upper nozzle across the whole width of the film and a slight temperature gradient appears in the lower nozzle across the whole width of the same so as to substantially cancel each other out. Consequently, the appearance of a temperature gradient over the whole nozzle module is suppressed, whereby temperature distribution becomes uniform across the entire width of the film passage. However, since the radiators are arranged on the film passage side of the air chamber while extending in parallel with the film passage, the base end side of each nozzle must have a stepped configuration in order to avoid any interference with the radiator and to assure that the upper and lower nozzles of each nozzle unit are connected to the air chambers with a predetermined distance therebetween. Thus, the geometrical structure of each nozzle is very complicated.
In addition, with respect to the conventional oven, the front nozzle unit can be opened in the forward direction, while the rear nozzle unit can be opened in the rearward direction. However, since the intermediate nozzle unit is fixedly secured to the air chambers, a sufficiently wide working space cannot be reserved for an operator to perform inspection, maintenance service, removal of a broken film or cleaning of the oven. Accordingly, these services are difficult to perform.

Oven for a transverse stretching apparatus


A method and apparatus for simulating the operation of a rechargeable battery. A value is obtained for at least one parameter that describes an internal state of the battery. The obtained value is used for calculating a prediction value for a characteristic of the battery that is observable outside the battery. These steps are repeated a multitude of times in order to simulate the operation of the battery over a certain period of time. A difference is detected between a calculated prediction value and a known value of a corresponding characteristic in a corresponding situation. The obtained value of the at least one parameter is corrected before a further prediction value is calculated by an amount that is proportional to the detected difference.

Rechargeable batteries are the most commonly used energy source of modern port-able electronic appliances. Additionally rechargeable batteries are very often used as back-up energy sources in applications where uninterrupted supply of electrical power is needed. The basic area of application of the present invention is in solutions of the latter kind, although the general principles of battery modeling and model-based predicting can also be used for other purposes. The battery type that is especially discussed in this patent application is the VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) battery, but the invention is equally applicable to all kinds of rechargeable batteries for which comparable mathematical models can be presented.
It is typical to UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) applications that only relatively seldom comes a real need for using the power stored in the batteries. However, if and when such a situation occurs, it should be certain that the performance and energy supplying capacity of the batteries is good enough. Internal electrochemical processes of the batteries cause slow but inevitable decrease in performance, which should be somehow accounted for. A "brute force" solution is to replace all batteries with new ones according to a predefined timetable, but because the timetable must in that case include an ample safety margin, it is clear that also batteries that would still be perfectly usable will be replaced. A more elegant solution is to compose a mathematical model of the structure and behaviour of a battery, to perform some basic voltage, current and temperature measurements and to use these as inputs to the mathematical model to obtain a prediction of the behaviour of the battery in a discharge situation. Only if such a mathematically calculated prediction indicates that the performance level of a battery may not be sufficiently high any more, an alarm is generated to alert a human operator about the need of replacing the battery. Using mathematical models to describe the behaviour of actual physical processes that take place inside a battery is often referred to as soft-sensor characterization, because the modeling software produces similar "measurement" results as could be obtained by placing measuring devices inside the battery.
Mathematical simulation of lead-acid batteries has been treated in various prior art publications, including but not being limited to J. Newman and W. Tiedemann: "Simulation of Recombination Lead-Acid Batteries", J. Electrochem. Soc. vol. 144, no. 9, pp. 3081-3091,1997; H. Gu, C. Y. Wang and B. Y. Liaw: "Numerical Modeling of Coupled Electrochemical and Transport Processes in Lead-Acid Cell", J. Electrochem. Soc. vol. 144, no. 6, pp. 2053-2061, 1997; and J. Landfors, D. Simonsson and A. Sokirko: "Mathematical Modelling of a Lead-Acid Cell with Immobilized Electrolyte", Journal of Power Sources, no. 55, pp. 217-230, 1995. These publications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c illustrate schematically certain conventional principles of simulating the behaviour of a battery or arrangement of batteries when they are used as a power source. FIG. 1a shows the situation to be simulated: a battery 101 is coupled to a load 102 in order to provide the load with an operational voltage V and an electric current I. A set of parameter values 103 is known that describe the structure and state of the battery 101. An explicitly shown parameter value is the temperature T of the battery, which is measured continuously or regularly with a measuring arrangement 104. Simulating aims at providing an answer to the question: starting from the moment when the battery 101 is coupled to the load 102 to replace a normally used power source, how long time will it take before the battery 101 is discharged so much that it can not sustain a sufficient supply of electric energy to the load 102?
The terms "back-up time" and "cut-off time" are used (sometimes even a bit confusingly) to define two slightly different kinds of answers. Back-up time is defined in relation to the remaining capacity of the battery 101, usually so that back-up time ends when 90 percent of the original battery capacity has been used up. Cut-off time is defined in relation to a sufficient voltage level. Cut-off occurs when the voltage per cell in the battery 101 drops below a certain minimum level, for which different values may exist depending on load current. A widely used cut-off voltage level for VRLA batteries under high-rate discharge is 1.55 volts per cell.
FIG. 1b illustrates a known trivial method which has relatively little to do with actual mathematical simulation. The method of FIG. 1b is based on the fact that one has obtained a large set of experimental data and composed a look-up table where each of a large number of potentially occurring initial conditions is associated with a corresponding experimentally verified back-up or cut-off time. At step 111 the present state of the battery is checked by obtaining up-to-date values for certain parameters. At step 112 these actual parameter values are compared with those that have been stored as indicators of starting conditions in the experimentally handled example cases, and those stored parameter values are selected that match the actual values as closely as possible. At step 113 there is simply read from the look-up table that experimentally obtained back-up or cut-off time that has been associated with the selected initial condition parameter values.
FIG. 1c illustrates a known more simulation-oriented approach. Again at step 121 certain parameter values are obtained that describe the present state of the battery. The simulation algorithm sets a TIME variable to zero at step 122 and calculates at step 123 the value of the voltage V that can be obtained with the parameter values as they are. At step 124 the simulation algorithm checks, whether the obtained volt-age value is above the above-mentioned minimum level. If the mathematical model handles battery capacity instead of voltage, steps 123 and 124 are adapted so that battery capacity replaces voltage. Typically at this stage the result of step 124 positive, because the simulation calculations are only at the very beginning. Therefore the algorithm proceeds to step 125 where it increases the value of the TIME variable by a certain relatively short simulation interval dt in order to simulate the passing of time. Thereafter the simulation algorithm calculates at step 126, how did the parameter values change during the simulation interval dt. A return to step 123 occurs so that the simulation algorithm now calculates a new value for the voltage V (or the battery capacity) that takes into account the new parameter values calculated at step 126. Again the newly calculated voltage value (or battery capacity) is checked against the minimum level at step 124. The algorithm executes the loop that consists of steps 125,126, 123 and 124 in this order over and over again until at some stage the calculated voltage value or battery capacity value fails the test in step 124. Thereafter the algorithm exits the loop into step 127 and announces the final value of the TIME variable as the length of time it took for the battery to discharge.
The drawback of prior art simulation methods and devices is mainly their limited accuracy in predicting the actual behaviour of a battery. The simulation approach shown in FIG. 1c is only as good as are the assumptions made about the time-dependent behaviour of the parameters that describe the state of the battery. Even a small inaccuracy in the predicted behaviour of a parameter may lead to remarkable deviations from a correct result, because the typically relatively large number of simulation steps that are taken before the voltage or capacity value drops below the minimum level has a tendency to amplify the effect of such inaccuracies.

Method and apparatus for soft-sensor characterization of batteries


A ramming mass for the block lining of at least some of the refractory elements of a refractory lining of a metallurgical vessel such as a blast furnace, said ramming mass being composed of a mixture of a granular phase and a binder phase, wherein the granular phase and/or binder comprises at least one component having a microporous structure or capable of forming a microporous structure by firing during the blast furnace campaign. The ramming mass is in particular intended for forming the joint between two concentric annular assemblies forming a side wall of the vessel or between a lower part of an inner annular assembly and the periphery of one or more refractory layers forming the floor of the vessel.

In the specific case of blast furnaces, the internal refractory lining is conventionally made up of an assemblage of a plurality of refractory elements, in the form of blocks or bricks, of identical or different sizes and shapes depending on the location of each block or brick. The material of which these refractory elements are composed also depends on where they are located in the stack. Accordingly, the hearth floor, or bottom, is commonly fitted with a plurality of superposed layers of elements, for example two or three layers of carbon blocks surmounted by two layers of ceramic elements, the upper layer forming the hearth floor which is in contact with the molten iron. The refractory lining of the side walls of the hearth is itself also usually formed from a superposed arrangement of a plurality of annular refractory layers. In the lower part, each layer may comprise an outer annular part, located closest to the metal wall of the stack, and an inner annular part, which forms the side wall of the hearth in contact with the molten iron, or closest thereto. Each annular part is formed of a plurality of circumferentially juxtaposed blocks and the material of the various blocks is adjusted to its location in the various layers and rings. Furthermore, elements of a specific shape and material are used at the level of the tapholes and also, higher up, at the level of the tuyeres.
The ramming masses are used in constructing the internal refractory lining of the stack for filling the gaps between the refractory elements, which are blocks or bricks, typically made of carbon or ceramic, and the walls or other metal elements forming the blast furnace stack, as well as for filling the gaps between adjacent refractory elements or between different layers or courses of such elements, and in particular between certain refractory elements of the bottom and certain other elements of the side walls of the hearth.
Depending on their location, there will thus be "cold" joints between the blocks of the outer rings and the cooling panels, and hot joints between the blocks of an inner ring and those of an outer ring.
The distance between an inner ring and an outer ring may be substantially constant, for example of the order of 50 mm, with a precision of a few mm as a result of the good dimensional tolerance of the blocks.
In contrast, due to the geometric irregularities of the stack, in particular the imperfect circularity thereof resulting from the much larger tolerances of the cooling panels of the stack wall, the distance between the blocks of an outer ring and the cooled stack walls may vary substantially around the circumference, the thickness of the joint to be produced typically being 80 mm, ±20 mm.
Moreover, account must be taken of the elevated temperature differential, which prevails in service, between the internal wall of the hearth and the external face of the lining, located close to the metal wall of the stack, and of the variation in this temperature differential over the various operating phases, in particular during start-up. This is because when the lining blocks are initially laid they are all at low temperature, whether they are located towards the inside of the hearth or towards the stack wall, whereas when the blast furnace is in operation the outermost blocks remain relatively cold, while those in contact with the molten iron are heated to very high temperatures. Some variation in the gaps between the blocks must therefore be allowed, in particular in the radial direction, between the blocks of two concentric rings, in order to offset the significant differentials in expansion when, in particular during commissioning, the inner layer of the lining heats up much faster than the outer layer. It is therefore highly advantageous for the joint between two rings to be compressible. By way of example, the compressibility of the joints between these two layers may amount to 15 to 20%.
At the level of the joints between the inner rings of the wall and the upper layers of the bottom, the gap may also be quite irregularly shaped, in particular due to the shape of the bottom blocks or bricks which are arranged in accordance with a plan, but possibly being assembled in this plan in parallel lines, whereas the blocks of the ring are arranged in a circle. Apart from the significant dimensional variations in these joints, which may also be known as hot joints, the joints are furthermore created between blocks which may be made of different materials, for example carbon for the ring blocks and ceramic for the bottom, which results in different behaviour in the event of any temperature fluctuations, in particular during the start-up phase of the blast furnace.
It is therefore necessary to use ramming mass to compensate any irregularities which may leave gaps between adjacent blocks, the mass therefore acting to fill the irregular and/or variable gaps between the blocks. The ramming mass also has the function of ensuring satisfactory thermal transfer from the hot internal face of the lining towards its cooled external face, and of at least not disrupting the thermal transfer which takes place through the refractory elements. The ramming mass also, importantly, has the function of providing a compressible body, in the manner of a plastically compressible joint capable of absorbing and reducing the thermomechanical stresses which may develop between refractory elements, in particular due to temperature fluctuations, especially between the bricks of the bottom and the inner layer of blocks of the side lining, as well as between said inner layer and the outer layer of this lining.
Known ramming masses are commonly composed of a mixture of a granular phase composed of calcined anthracite or electrographite, or a mixture of these, with the possible addition of SiC, and a binder generally of the tar or resin type, with the aim of providing the above-stated compressibility.
Various ramming mass compositions are already known for example from JP 2002121080, CN 1544389, CN1690012 or CN101823891.
One general problem with ramming masses is that they are generally placed by manual compaction, possibly assisted by compacting machines, but they are always less homogeneous and less compact than the refractory blocks or bricks manufactured by sophisticated pressing or extrusion methods. Since the granular phase is furthermore essentially based on standard carbon or graphite, the erosion and/or corrosion resistance of the joints formed by these ramming masses when exposed to molten metal and aggressive agents such as alkalis, steam etc. is much lower than that of the prefabricated refractory elements.
Furthermore, the commonly used tar type binder may remain relatively flexible up to a temperature of the order of 500° C., but at higher temperatures, for example from approximately 800° C., it polymerises and forms a very strong bond between the granules of the ramming mass, so destroying its relative flexibility. Accordingly, prior art ramming masses comprising a binder of this type may be used at the level of "cold" joints, since in this case the relatively low temperature makes it possible to preserve the required compressibility of the joint, particularly between the outer rings, or outer refractory layers, and the cooled metal walls of the stack. In contrast, at the level of the above-mentioned hot joints, hardening of the joint leads, above a temperature of the order of 500° C., to a loss of compressibility. This hardening of the joint may also lead, in particular at the level of the joints between the bottom and side wall, to an increased risk of infiltration due to cracking of the joints.

Ramming mass for the refractory lining of a metallurgical vessel, method for the placement thereof and metallurgical vessel, in particular blast furnace, comprising a lining using said ramming mass


A dispensing device to be fitted to the top of a container and to be used to dispense heavy or viscous fluid from the container. It is a unitary structure that comprises generally a spout having a fluid passageway, a rod extending through the center of the spout, and a skirt bounding the base of the spout. The rod is joined to the inner wall of the spout by a relatively thin rectangular brace. The rod is generally cylindrical and has chamfered ends. An annular, curved member is formed inside the skirt and extends away from the spout to form a bottomless bowl portion interconnecting the spout passageway to form a continuous fluid passageway. The rod provides additional surface area for the liquid to cling to while it is being dispensed and also delays venting as the container is righted after the desired amount of liquid is dispensed, thereby preventing drippage. In addition, the bottomless bowl prevents clogging because it causes the liquid in the passageway to be pulled back from the spout into the container.

In general, due to their higher viscosity, it is more difficult to dispense from containers heavy or "viscous" liquids, such as syrup or oil, than lighter liquids such as water. When the container is righted after the desired amount of liquid is dispensed, for example, the viscous liquids tend to drip more than the lighter liquids. This is because the counter-acting pulling forces of the liquid, which together with gravity cause the liquid to separate, also cause turbulence at the point of separation, in turn causing the liquid to separate even more and, thus, drippage. Although dripping in general is undesirable, it becomes even more of a problem in connection with viscous liquids, which tend to be quite sticky and more difficult to clean up than the lighter fluids.
Another problem associated with the dispensing of viscous liquids is that, because of their thickness and tenacity, they tend to clog up the dispensing opening after one or more uses. Accordingly, after the viscous liquid has been dispensed from a container, the liquid tends to cling to the wall of the dispensing opening and dry up, causing clogging. This residue can also present a sanitary risk, especially when the fluid being dispensed is a food product, such as pancake syrup or vegetable oil.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a device that dispenses viscous liquids from a container in an efficient manner by preventing drippage. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device that also prevents clogging of the container opening usually associated with dispensing viscous liquids.


A compact camera has a flash unit comprising a flash arm pivotally connected to the camera body for movement between a folded position substantially flat against a top face of the camera body and an unfolded position standing up from the top face and a flash head pivotally connected to the flash arm for movement between a folded position covering a lens opening in a front face of the camera body when the flash arm is in its folded position and an unfolded position standing out from the front face. The flash head is releasably held in its folded position to similarly hold the flash arm in its folded position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to a compact camera with a pivotably folding flash unit. More specifically, the invention relates to a compact camera having a flash unit that is flipped up from the camera body to be used and is flipped down against the camera body for storage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A current trend in most camera design is to incorporate an electronic flash unit in the camera housing and yet make the housing relatively small in order to improve its ease of storage, portability and handling. As a consequence of making the camera housing small, however, the separation between the built-in flash unit and the taking lens is reduced, which possibly creates an undesirable effect commonly known as "red-eye". When using a flash unit and color print film, red-eye is typified by the pupils in the eyes of a person being photographed coming out red-tinted on a resulting color print. This phenomenon is attributable to the incidence into the taking lens of the red light reflected from the retinas in the person's eyes illuminated by the flash light.
Red-eye may be substantially avoided by increasing the separation between the flash unit and the taking lens. As a result, the light emitted from the flash unit will reach the eyes of a person being photographed at too great an angle to be reflected by his or her retinas into the taking lens. In this connection, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,140, issued Feb. 2, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,913, issued Aug. 25, 1987, each disclose a folding camera wherein a housing cover portion including a taking lens and a flash unit is pivotable relative to a housing main portion between a closed or folded portion in which the taking lens and the flash unit are concealed within the housing main portion and an open or unfolded position in which the taking lens and the flash unit are elevated above the housing main portion. Once the housing cover portion is raised to its open position, a flash head can be pivoted out of the housing cover portion to orient the flash head in the same direction as the taking lens.

Compact camera with dual-pivot folding flash unit


Different interfacial processes for producing photoactive additives are disclosed. Generally, the photoactive additives are cross-linkable polycarbonate resins formed from a dihydroxybenzophenone, a first linker moiety, a diol chain extender, and an end-capping agent. The resulting additives can be crosslinked with other polymers upon exposure to UV radiation.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/791,886, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and to U.S. Provisional Paten Application Ser. No. 61/780,222, filed Mar. 13, 2013.
The present disclosure relates to processes for producing additives that can be used to crosslink polymers, such as polycarbonate polymers, for improved properties. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to interfacial processes for making such additives.
Polycarbonates (PC) are synthetic engineering thermoplastic resins, and are a useful class of polymers having many beneficial properties. They are useful for forming a wide variety of products, such as by molding, extrusion, and thermoforming processes. Polycarbonate resins are both strong and transparent, and are used for a number of different commercial applications, including electronic engineering (E&E) parts, mechanical parts, etc. Because of their broad use, particularly in electronic applications and auto part applications, the desired properties of polycarbonates include high impact strength and toughness, heat resistance, weather and ozone resistance, and good ductility.
Polycarbonate polymers/resins and blends containing polycarbonate polymers exhibit flame retardance properties. However, such polymers drip when exposed to a flame, and this behavior worsens as the wall thickness decreases. This behavior greatly diminishes their use in transparent and opaque thin wall applications where a V0 or 5VA flame retardance rating is required. These polymers also have relatively poor chemical resistance. It would be desirable to provide additives that can improve these properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Interfacial processes for preparing photoactive additives


In one aspect, a method of performing an operation in a wellbore is disclosed that in one embodiment may include: placing a first device at a first location in the wellbore, wherein the first device includes a plurality of circumferentially placed tags at known orientations in the wellbore, conveying a second device in the wellbore, the second device including a sensor that provides signals in response to detecting signals from each of the tags in the first device, determining from the signals from the sensor orientation of the second device in the wellbore. In another aspect the method may include a plurality of axially placed tags on a first device and the sensor on a second device, wherein the sensor provides signals when it passes proximate each of the axially spaced tags and determining from the sensor signals location of the second device relative to the first device.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to orienting a tool and performing an operation in a wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many operations are performed in wellbores for recovery of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) include milling a portion of a casing in the wellbore or forming a lateral wellbore from a main cased or open wellbore. Windows are milled or the lateral wellbores are formed at specified locations in the main wellbore. To perform such a cutting operation, a downhole tool is conveyed in the wellbore that includes a whipstock connected to a cutting device or tool, such as a mill or drill bit. The cutting tool is typically operated by a fluid-driven motor, such as a progressive cavity motor. The downhole tool is rotated to orient the whipstock along the direction where the milling operation is desired to be performed. Once the tool is oriented, an anchor connected below the whipstock is positioned to fixedly set the whipstock along the desired direction. The mill is disengaged from the whipstock and moved along the drill whipstock to contact the wellbore. The mill is rotated to mill a window in the casing and/or to drill a lateral wellbore from the main wellbore. It is desirable to determine the whipstock orientation before setting the anchor and to determine the mill location relative to the whipstock depth (down the whipstock) when milling a window during a casing exit operation.
The disclosure herein provides apparatus and method for orienting the whipstock and determining location of the mill relative to the whipstock in a wellbore.

Apparatus and method for determining orientation of a device and mill position in a wellbore utilizing identification tags


An improved inter-axle differential locking clutch is provided that aligns the actuator and the clutch member thereby reducing space and material requirements in the axle assembly housing. The clutch also eliminates the need for a pushrod and shift fork thereby reducing tooling and production costs, as well as eliminating issues associated with misalignment of the piston and pushrod, relative rotation of the shift fork and clutch member, and tipping of the shift fork. The clutch includes one or more pistons disposed within either the axle housing or a carrier supporting the input shaft bearing. Fluid pressure actuates the pistons against a clutch member causing selective engagement between the clutch member and either a side gear driven by the inter-axle differential or a differential case housing the differential gears of the inter-axle differential.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inter-axle differential, and more particularly, to an improved locking clutch for inter-axle differentials.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A conventional tandem axle assembly for heavy-duty trucks used in on-road and off-road service includes forward and rear axle assemblies and an intermediate drive shaft assembly connecting the two axle assemblies. The forward and rear axle assemblies each include a pair of axle half shafts extending therefrom on which one or more wheels of a vehicle are mounted. The axle half shafts in each axle assembly are driven by a wheel differential. The wheel differential includes a pinion gear in mesh with a ring gear (which in turn drives a plurality of bevel gears to cause rotation of the axle half shafts).
Tandem axle assemblies commonly employ an inter-axle differential to divide power between the forward and rear axle assemblies. The inter-axle differential enables speed differences between the drive axles, e.g., to allow torque balance between the drive axles during the vehicle cornering, to compensate for tire size differences, etc.
The inter-axle differential is generally housed within the forward axle assembly. The inter-axle differential for a conventional tandem axle assembly typically includes an input shaft extending into a housing of the forward axle assembly and a spider (or cross-member) mounted on the input shaft and supporting a plurality of bevel pinion gears. The inter-axle differential further includes a pair of side gears in mesh with, and driven by, the pinion bevel gears. One side gear is used to drive the pinion gear of the forward axle assembly wheel differential. The other side gear is coupled to an output shaft that extends outwardly from the forward axle assembly housing and drives the intermediate drive shaft assembly and, indirectly, the pinion gear of the rear axle assembly wheel differential.
At times, it may be necessary to lock the inter-axle differential. For example, during hazardous driving conditions it may be necessary to prevent power from being delivered to a wheel that has lost traction. In conventional inter-axle differentials, a locking clutch member is disposed about the input shaft and can be shifted into engagement with a second clutch member typically defined by one of the side gears to lock the inter-axle differential. Shifting of the locking clutch member is typically accomplished using a shift fork that is received within the clutch member and is moved through mechanical or electronic actuation. In particular, a piston may urge a pushrod against the shift fork.
Conventional locking clutches for inter-axle differentials have several drawbacks. First, the pushrod and piston are commonly located at a radial distance from the clutch members thereby consuming valuable space and material in the axle assembly housing. Second, tooling for the piston, pushrod and shift fork are relatively expensive, and production of these components is also relatively expensive. Third, relative rotation occurs between the shift fork and clutch member that causes wear on the shift fork. Fourth, the tendency to place the piston and pushrod bores in separate parts creates misalignment concerns. Finally, the offset load applied to the shift fork by the pushrod causes the shift fork to tip, increasing wear on the fork and clutch member and potentially resulting in binding of the clutch splines.
The inventors herein have recognized a need for a clutch for an inter-axle differential that will minimize and/or eliminate the above-identified deficiencies.

Inter-axle differential lock shift mechanism


An aspect of the present invention is a process for producing a liquid ejection head including an ejection orifice member provided with ejection orifices for ejecting liquid. The process includes supplying to a surface of a base material for forming the ejection orifice member a mixture of a first composite for imparting a hydrophobic characteristic to the surface and a second composite being able to exhibit a hydrophilic characteristic by being irradiated with light; imparting a hydrophobic characteristic to the entire or a part of the surface by utilizing the first composite; and then irradiating the second composite with light in a partial region of the surface for imparting a hydrophilic characteristic to the region irradiated with the light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head for ejecting liquid and a process for producing the head. Specifically, the invention relates to an ink-jet recording head for conducting recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium and relates to a process for producing the head.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an example of surface treatment of the face surface of an ink-jet head, U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,330 discloses a technique in which titanium oxide having photocatalytic activity is disposed on the face surface of an ink-jet head (hereinafter referred to as IJ head).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,330 relates to an IJ head having a passage configured by stacking two Si substrates. This IJ head is produced by forming a Ti compound (amorphous titania) on an orifice plate made of a Si substrate and then baking it at 400 to 500° C. The baking at a high temperature changes the Ti compound to anatase type titanium oxide. Therefore, the titanium oxide generated on the face surface is changed to be superhydrophilic by being irradiating with UV light, resulting in inhibition of adhesion of ink. As an additional effect, it is disclosed that the UV light decomposes the ink adherent. The IJ head disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,330 has such a self-cleaning function, but the IJ head must be produced with an inorganic material because of the baking at a high temperature. Therefore, since the process and the material thereof are thus limited, it is concerned that it may be difficult to inexpensively produce the IJ head having high resolution.
US patent Publication No. 2007/0085877 discloses an IJ head having a hydrophobic layer that is composed of a hydrolyzable silane condensate including fluorine and a cation polymerizable functional group. This IJ head is produced by a photolithographic process, and it is supposed that the hydrophobic surface composed of a condensate of a silane compound is hard and is also excellent in blade durability. In addition, in US patent Publication No. 2007/0085877, it is disclosed that a partial hydrophobic region is provided by not imparting a hydrophobic characteristic to the region. Recently, various types of ink are used for ejection, and, thereby, further diversification of the face surface of the ejection orifice is required.

Liquid ejection head and process for producing the same


A device includes an image data receiving component, a vegetation index generation component, a spatial structure variance generation component, a classification component and a water budget component. The image data receiving component receives multiband image data of a geographic region. The vegetation index generation component generates a vegetation index based on the received multiband image data. The spatial structure variance generation component generates a spatial structure variance image band based on the received multiband image data. The classification component generates a land cover classification based on the received multiband image data, the vegetation index and the spatial structure variance image band. The water budget component generates a water budget of a portion of the geographic region based on the land cover classification.

The present invention generally deals with systems and method of managing water.
With states across the country dealing with unprecedented levels of drought, water utilities are scrambling to find effective ways to analyze water usage within their districts and target their conservation efforts. In order to do this, they need to create an accurate water budget that shows them how much water each land parcel in their water district needs given the evapotranspiration (ET) rates of its land cover composition. An evapotranspiration rate is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's land and ocean surface to the atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbodies.
This information, combined with actual customer water use data, provides the water district with information on where to target water conservation marketing efforts. Without technology, this process must be done by manually surveying each parcel, which is a costly, time consuming, and error-prone process.
A conventional solution has three main stages: water budget calculation, result display, and comparison between the water budget and the customer water use data.
Satellite imagery is conventionally used to determine the square footage of each parcel by land cover type, e.g., trees, grass, natural water body, man-made surface, man-made water body, etc. The final water budget will be calculated by multiplying the area of each parcel's land cover type by the associated ET rate and combining these products. These calculations essentially show how much of each land cover type is present on each parcel (i.e., blacktop, grass, swimming pool, etc.) and therefore how much water each parcel should need. For example, trees may have a higher ET rate than a blacktop, so a parcel of land of trees will need more water than a parcel of land of blacktop.
A parcel's water budget is then compared with the actual water use taken from customer water meter data. Parcels with large discrepancies indicate abnormal water use that can be targeted for further outreach and investigation. This solution uses satellite imagery, geo-located parcel data, customer water use data, and an external source for ET rates.
A conventional system and method for managing water will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-6.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional system 100 for managing water.
As shown in the figure, system 100 includes resource managing component 102 and a network 104. Resource managing component 102 includes a database 106, a controlling component 108, an accessing component 110, a communication component 112, a vegetation index component 114, a classification component 116, a zonal statistics component 118, a water budget component 120 and a delta component 122.
In this example, database 106, controlling component 108, accessing component 110, communication component 112, vegetation index component 114, classification component 116, zonal statistics component 118, water budget component 120 and delta component 122 are illustrated as individual devices. However, in some embodiments, at least two of database 106, controlling component 108, accessing component 110, communication component 112, vegetation index component 114, classification component 116, zonal statistics component 118, water budget component 120 and delta component 122 may be combined as a unitary device. Further, in some embodiments, at least one of database 106, controlling component 108, accessing component 110, communication component 112, vegetation index component 114, classification component 116, zonal statistics component 118, water budget component 120 and delta component 122 may be implemented as a computer having tangible computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such tangible computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Non-limiting examples of tangible computer-readable media include physical storage and/or memory media such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. For information transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer may properly view the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
Controlling component 108 is in communication with each of accessing component 110, communication component 112, vegetation index component 114, classification component 116, zonal statistics component 118, water budget component 120 and delta component 122 by communication channels (not shown). Controlling component 108 may be any device or system that is able to control operation of each of accessing component 110, communication component 112, vegetation index component 114, classification component 116, zonal statistics component 118, water budget component 120 and delta component 122.
Accessing component 110 is arranged to bi-directionally communicate with database 106 via a communication channel 124 and is arranged to bi-directionally communicate with communication component 112 via a communication channel 126. Accessing component 110 is additionally arranged to communicate with vegetation index component 114 via a communication channel 128, to communicate with classification component 116 via a communication channel 130, to communicate with zonal statistics component 118 via a communication channel 132, to communicate with water budget component 120 via a communication channel 134 and to communicate with delta component 122 via a communication channel 136. Accessing component 110 may be any device or system that is able to access data within database 106 directly via communication channel 124 or indirectly, via communication channel 126, communication component 112, communication channel 138, network 104 and communication channel 140.
Communication component 112 is additionally arranged to bi-directionally communicate with network 104 via a communication channel 138. Communication component 112 may be any device or system that is able to bi-directionally communicate with network 104 via communication channel 138.
Network 104 is additionally arranged to bi-directionally communicate with database 106 via a communication channel 140. Network 104 may be any of known various communication networks, non-limiting examples of which include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a wireless network and combinations thereof. Such networks may support telephony services for a mobile terminal to communicate over a telephony network (e.g., Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Non-limiting example wireless networks include a radio network that supports a number of wireless terminals, which may be fixed or mobile, using various radio access technologies. According to some example embodiments, radio technologies that can be contemplated include: first generation (1G) technologies (e.g., advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), cellular digital packet data (CDPD), etc.), second generation (2G) technologies (e.g., global system for mobile communications (GSM), interim standard 95 (IS-95), etc.), third generation (3G) technologies (e.g., code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc.), 4G, etc. For instance, various mobile communication standards have been introduced, such as first generation (1G) technologies (e.g., advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), cellular digital packet data (CDPD), etc.), second generation (2G) technologies (e.g., global system for mobile communications (GSM), interim standard 95 (IS-95), etc.), third generation (3G) technologies (e.g., code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc.), and beyond 3G technologies (e.g., third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (3GPP LTE), 3GPP2 universal mobile broadband (3GPP2 UMB), etc.).
Complementing the evolution in mobile communication standards adoption, other radio access technologies have also been developed by various professional bodies, such as the institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), for the support of various applications, services, and deployment scenarios. For example, the IEEE 802.11 standard, also known as wireless fidelity (WiFi), has been introduced for wireless local area networking, while the IEEE 802.16 standard, also known as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) has been introduced for the provision of wireless communications on point-to-point links, as well as for full mobile access over longer distances. Other examples include Bluetooth™, ultra-wideband (UWB), the IEEE 802.22 standard, etc.
Vegetation index component 114 is additionally arranged to communicate with classification component 116 via a communication channel 142. Vegetation index component 114 may be any device or system that is able to generate a vegetation index, or a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI).
A vegetation index is a simple graphical indicator that can be used to analyze remote sensing measurements, typically not necessarily form a space platform, and assess whether the target being observed contains live green vegetation or not. For example, data associated with an image may include RGB data per pixel in addition to location data associated per pixel. Clearly, any number of frequencies may be used, particularly when using a hyperspectral imaging system. However, for purposes of discussion, let the image data include RGB data. In any event, the red, green and blue values per pixel are used in a predetermined manner, for example, with predetermined weighting factors, to determine a likelihood that a particular pixel is associated with live green vegetation.
An NDVI is a normalized vegetation index. In an example embodiment, a normalized difference vegetation index is generated using the following equation:(vNIR−vR)/(vNIR+vR),  (1)where vNIR is the near infrared band and where vR is the red band. Therefore, in accordance with an example embodiment, the near infrared and red bands are used to find a normalized difference vegetation index. It should be noted however, that any band or combination of bands may be used to generate a vegetation index as known to those of skill in the art of classifying vegetation.
Classification component 116 is additionally arranged to communicate with zonal statistics component 118 via a communication channel 144. Classification component 116 may be any device or system that is able to classify each pixel, or group of pixels, of an image as one of the group of predefined land cover classes. In some non-limiting examples, classification component 116 is able to classify each pixel as one of the group consisting of grass, a tree, a shrub, a man-made surface, a man-made pool, a natural water body and artificial turf.
Zonal statistics component 118 is additionally arranged to communicate with water budget component 120 via a communication channel 146. Zonal statistics component 118 may be any device or system that is able to generate a land cover classification per parcel of land. For example, zonal statistics component 118 may determine that a specific county, as the parcel of land, has 38% tree cover, 18% shrub cover, 16% blacktop cover, 12% grass cover, 8% natural water cover and 8% man-made structure cover based on the classification of the pixels of the image within the county as defined by the parcel data. In some embodiments, zonal statistics component 11 may determine the percentages of cover by dividing the number of pixels of the image within the parcel by the number of pixels of a particular type of classification (cover).
Water budget component 120 is additionally arranged to communicate with delta component 122 via a communication channel 148. Water budget component 120 may be any device or system that is able to calculate a water budget per parcel of land in view of the evapotranspiration rates for the parcel of land. For example, water budget component 118 may determine the water budget of the county discussed above (having 38% tree cover, 18% shrub cover, 16% blacktop cover, 12% grass cover, 8% natural water cover and 8% man-made structure cover) based on the ET rates of trees, shrubs, blacktop, grass, natural water and man-made structures.
Delta component 122 is additionally arranged to communicate with communication component 112 via a communication channel 150. Delta component 122 may be any device or system that is able to generate a difference of an amount of water, Δ, by comparing the water budget with the water meter readings within the parcel of land. For example, delta component 122 may determine Δ of a parcel of land based on the following:Δ=wm−ΣET,  (2)where wm is the total amount of metered water in the parcel of land, ET is the ET rate of a pixel within the parcel of land.
Communication channels 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148 and 150 may be any known wired or wireless communication channel.
Operation of system 100 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2-6.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional method 200 of managing water.
As shown in the figure, method 200 starts (S202) and image data is received (S204). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 retrieves image data from database 106. In some embodiments, accessing component 110 may retrieve the image data directly from database 106 via communication channel 124. In other embodiments, accessing component 110 may retrieve the image data from database 106 via a path of communication channel 124, communication component 112, communication channel 138, network 104 and communication channel 140.
Database 106 may have various types of data stored therein. This will be further described with reference to FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of database 106 of FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 includes an image data database 302, a training data database 304, a parcel data database 306, an evapotranspiration ("ET") rates database 308 and a water meter database 310.
In this example, image data database 302, training data database 304, parcel data database 306, ET rates database 308 and water meter database 310 are illustrated as individual devices. However, in some embodiments, at least two of image data database 302, training data database 304, parcel data database 306, ET rates database 308 and water meter database 310 may be combined as a unitary device. Further, in some embodiments, at least one of image data database 302, training data database 304, parcel data database 306, ET rates database 308 and water meter database 310 may be implemented as a computer having tangible computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.
Image data database 302 includes image data corresponding to an area of land for which water is to be managed. The image data may be provided via a satellite imaging platform. The image data may include a single band or multi-band image data, wherein the image (of the same area of land for which water is to be managed) is imaged in a more than one frequency. In some embodiments, image data may include 4-band image data, which include red, green, blue and near infrared bands (RGB-NIR) of the same area of land for which water is to be managed. In other embodiments, the image data may include more than 4 bands, e.g., hyperspectral image data. The image data comprises pixels, each of which includes respective data values for frequency (color) and intensity (brightness). The frequency may include a plurality of frequencies, based on the number of bands used in the image data. Further, there may be a respective intensity value for each frequency value.
Training data database 304 includes training data to train a classification component to distinctly classify an image pixel. For example, training data for a 4-band image may include specific 4-band pixels data values associated with each land cover classification. In other words, there may be training data for a pixel associated with an image of a tree and different training data for a pixel associated with a man-made surface such as blacktop.
Parcel data database 306 includes geographically divided portions of the land. This may be provided by government agencies or public utilities. Non-limiting examples of geographically divided portions include country, state, county, township, city or individual land owner borders.
ET rates database 308 includes ET rates for regions. These ET rates may be provided by government agencies or public utilities.
Water meter data database 310 includes water meter readings as provided by government agencies or public utilities.
Returning to FIG. 1, in some cases, database 106 is included in resource managing component 102. However, in other cases, database 106 is separated from resource managing component 102, as indicated by dotted rectangle 110.
As accessing component 110 will be accessing many types of data from database 106, accessing component 110 includes many data managing components. This will be described with greater detail with reference to FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of accessing component 110 of FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 4, accessing component 110 includes a communication component 402, an image data receiving component 404, a training data receiving component 406, a parcel data receiving component 408, an ET rates data receiving component 410 and a water meter data receiving component 412.
In this example, communication component 402, image data receiving component 404, training data receiving component 406, parcel data receiving component 408, ET rates data receiving component 410 and water meter data receiving component 412 are illustrated as individual devices. However, in some embodiments, at least two of communication component 402, image data receiving component 404, training data receiving component 406, parcel data receiving component 408, ET rates data receiving component 410 and water meter data receiving component 412 may be combined as a unitary device. Further, in some embodiments, at least one of communication component 402, image data receiving component 404, training data receiving component 406, parcel data receiving component 408, ET rates data receiving component 410 and water meter data receiving component 412 may be implemented as a computer having tangible computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.
Communication component 402 is arranged to bi-directionally communicate with database 106 via a communication channel 124 and is arranged to bi-directionally communicate with communication component 112 via a communication channel 126. Communication component 402 is additionally arranged to directionally communicate with image data component 404 via a communication channel 414, to communicate with training data component 406 via a communication channel 416, to communicate with parcel data component 408 via a communication channel 418, to communicate with ET rates data component 410 via a communication channel 420 and to communicate with water meter data component 412 via a communication channel 422. Communication component 402 may be any device or system that is able to access data within database 106 directly via communication channel 124 or indirectly, via communication channel 126, communication component 112, communication channel 138, network 104 and communication channel 140. Image data component 404, training data component 406, parcel data component 408. ET rates data component 410 and water meter data component 412 may each be any device or system that is able to receive data from communication component 402 and to output the received data.
Image data component 402 is additionally arranged to communicate with vegetation index component 114 via communication channel 128. Training data component 406 is additionally arranged to communicate with classification component 116 via communication channel 130. Parcel data component 408 is additionally arranged to communicate with zonal statistics component 118 via communication channel 132. ET rates data component 410 is additionally arranged to communicate with water budget component 120 via communication channel 134. Water meter data component 412 is additionally arranged to communicate with delta component 122 via communication channel 136. Communication channels 414, 416, 418, 420 and 422 may be any known wired or wireless communication channel.
Returning to FIG. 1, at this point accessing component 110 has received the image data. An example of such image data will now be described with reference to FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 illustrates a satellite image 500 of a plot of land.
As shown in the figure, satellite image 500 includes a grass 502, trees 504, man-made surfaces—including building 506 and road 508, and a man-made pool 510.
As for a broad view of method 200, system 100 will be able to determine the amount of water that is received within the area of land within satellite image 500, to determine, with the ET rate of water within the area of land within satellite image 500, the amount of water used (by residents for example) within the area of land within satellite image 500 and to determine a surplus or deficit (A) of water within the area of land within satellite image 500. This will now be continued by returning to FIG. 2.
After the image data is received (S204), a vegetation index is generated (S206). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 provides the received image data to vegetation index component 114 via communication channel 128. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 accessing component 110 retrieves image data from database 106. As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 provides the image data from image data database 302. As shown in FIG. 4, communication component 402 receives the image data from image data database 302 and provides the image data to image data receiving component 404 via communication channel 414. Returning to FIG. 1, image data receiving component 404 (of accessing component 110) then provides the image data to vegetation index component 114 via communication channel 128.
Vegetation index component 114 generates a NDVI vegetation index for the image data and provides the vegetation index to classification component 116 via communication channel 142.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the vegetation index is generated (S206), classification results are generated (S208). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 provides the received image data additionally to classification component 116 via communication channel 130. Further, vegetation index component 114 provides the vegetation index to classification component 116 via communication line 142. With the image data from accessing component 110 and with the vegetation index from vegetation index component, classification component 116 classifies each pixel of data as one of many predetermined classes.
For example, returning to FIG. 5, a pixel within image 500 at the location of trees 504 will have colors (frequencies) and intensities indicative of trees. As such, classification component will use information from the vegetation index in addition to the image data for that pixel to classify the pixel as a tree. Similarly, a pixel within image 500 at the location of road 508 will have colors (frequencies) and intensities indicative of a road. As such, classification component will use information from the vegetation index in addition to the image data for that pixel to classify the pixel as a road. This classification continues for each pixel within image 500.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the classification results are generated (S208), training data is received (S210). For example, as shown in FIG. 1 accessing component 110 retrieves training data from database 106. As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 provides the training data from training data database 304. As shown in FIG. 4, communication component 402 receives the training data from training data database 304 and provides the training data to training data receiving component 406 via communication channel 416. Returning to FIG. 1, training data receiving component 406 (of accessing component 110) then provides the training data to classification component 116 via communication channel 130.
It should be noted that in the example discussed above, generating the classification results (S208) is prior to receiving training data (S210). However, in some embodiments, generating the classification results (S208) may occur after receiving training data (S210). Further, in some embodiments, generating the classification results (S208) may occur concurrently with receiving training data (S210).
Returning to FIG. 2, after the training data is received (S210), a final classification is generated (S212). For example, every pixel within the entire image 500 of FIG. 5 will have been classified. This will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 illustrates a classified image 600 of the plot of land within satellite image 500 of FIG. 5.
As shown in FIG. 6, classified image 600 includes an area 602, an area 604, an area 606, an area 608 and an area 610. Area 602 corresponds to grass 502 of satellite image 500 of FIG. 5. Area 604 corresponds to trees 504 of satellite image 500 of FIG. 5. Area 606 corresponds to building 506 of satellite image 500 of FIG. 5. Area 608 corresponds to road 508 of satellite image 500 of FIG. 5. Area 610 corresponds to man-made pool 510 of satellite image 500 of FIG. 5.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the final classification is generated (S212), parcel data is received (S214). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 provides the parcel data to zonal statistics component 118 via communication channel 132. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 accessing component 110 retrieves parcel data from database 106. As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 provides the parcel data from parcel data database 306. As shown in FIG. 4, communication component 402 receives the parcel data from parcel data database 306 and provides the parcel data to parcel data receiving component 408 via communication channel 418. Returning to FIG. 1, parcel data receiving component 408 (of accessing component 110) then provides the parcel data to zonal statistics component 118 via communication channel 132.
At this point, the boundaries of land are known by way of the parcel data. These boundaries may include country boundaries, state boundaries, county boundaries, city/town boundaries and boundaries of individually owned parcels of land. These boundaries may be provided by government entities and/or private entities. Zonal statistics component 118 may use the boundaries as identified in the parcel data to establish the land cover per parcel of land.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the parcel data is received (S214) and the land cover has been classified per parcel of land, the land cover by parcel is generated (S216). For example, as shown in FIG. 1
Zonal statistics component 118 then generates the land cover classification per parcel of land. For example, if the image data were to include the image of an entire state, zonal statistics component 118 may be able to generate the land cover classification per county, per town, or even per parcel of land by organizing the land cover classification per county, per town, etc. More particularly, polygons are drawn around each land cover type. The end result is a vector layer of land cover polygons that are then used to calculate area. Zonal statistics is not often used, but is used in more general remote sensing applications. The biggest difference is that zonal statistics are derived directly from the imagery. On the other hand, land cover calculation using vector layers has an intermediary step of transforming the image into a vector layer for each land cover type, and then the area for each vector layer is calculated within the parcel.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the land cover by parcel is generated (S216), the ET rates are received (S218). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 provides the ET rates data to water budget component 120 via communication channel 134. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 accessing component 110 retrieves ET rates data from database 106. As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 provides the ET rates data from ET rates data database 308. As shown in FIG. 4, communication component 402 receives the ET rates data from ET rates data database 308 and provides the ET rates data to ET rates data receiving component 410 via communication channel 420. Returning to FIG. 1, ET rates data receiving component 410 (of accessing component 110) then provides the ET rates data to water budget component 120 via communication channel 134.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the ET rates are received (S218), the water budget per parcel is generated (S220). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, water budget component 120 determines a water budget per parcel in light of the ET rate of the respective parcel. For example, for purposes of discussion, let the plot of land within image 500 of FIG. 5 be a delineated parcel of land.
At this point of method 200, land cover of the parcel of land within image 500 has been determined. As shown in FIG. 1, zonal statistics component 118 provides the land cover of the parcel of land to water budget component 120 via communication channel 146. Further, the ET rates are known from ET rates database 308. As such, the ET rates of the plot of land within image 500 of FIG. 5 may be determined.
A water budget may be determined with a pre-determined upper threshold of retained water and a predetermined lower threshold of retained water. The retained water is determined by subtracting the amount of evaporated water, as determined from the evapotranspiration rate, from the amount of received water.
Returning to FIG. 2, after water budget per parcel is generated (S220), the water meter readings are received (S222). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, accessing component 110 provides the water meter data to delta component 122 via communication channel 136. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 accessing component 110 retrieves water meter data from database 106. As shown in FIG. 3, database 106 provides the water meter data from water meter data database 310. As shown in FIG. 4, communication component 402 receives the water meter data from water meter data database 310 and provides the water meter data to water meter data receiving component 412 via communication channel 422. Returning to FIG. 1, water meter data receiving component 412 (of accessing component 110) then provides the water meter data to delta component 122 via communication channel 136.
The water meter readings indicate the amount of metered water used in the parcel. For example, in a county, the sum water meter readings of the individual property owners will provide an accurate estimate of the amount of water used and disposed of by the county.
Returning to FIG. 2, after water meter readings are received (S222), the Δ is generated (S224). For example, as shown in FIG. 1, delta component 122 determines a water surplus or water deficit per parcel of land. Water budget component 120 provides the water budget per parcel to delta component 122 via communication line 148. Further, as noted above, accessing component 110 provides the ET rates to delta component via communication channel 136.
The amount of water retained by the land will include the precipitation within the parcel of land minus the metered water, minus the evaporated water, wherein the evaporated water is determined by the ET rate. Typically, it is a goal to maintain a constant amount of retained water, wherein the amount of precipitation is equal to the amount of metered water and evaporated water. In this light, a water budget is based on the amount of precipitation—the amount of water received, and the amount of evaporated water—derived from the ET rates. If the amount of water received is less than the combined amount of metered water and the amount of evaporated water, then the parcel of land will have a water deficit, wherein the Δ for the parcel of land will be negative. If the amount of water received is more than the combined amount of metered water and the amount of evaporated water, then the parcel of land will have a water surplus deficit, wherein the Δ for the parcel of land will be positive.
Returning to FIG. 2, after the Δ is generated (S224), method 200 stops (S226).
A problem with the conventional system discussed above is that classification component 116 may inaccurately classify some pixels because the classification is based solely on the vegetation index. There may be circumstances that non-vegetation has a similar image to vegetation. In such cases, the non-vegetation as imaged by the satellite platform may have a similar vegetation index generated by vegetation index component 114. Therefore, the non-vegetation would incorrectly be classified as vegetation by classification component 116. This would ultimately lead to an incorrect land cover, an incorrect water budget and an incorrect A.
Another problem with the conventional system discussed above is there are many available individual classification methods that may be employed classification component 116, wherein each classification method has its strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, there is no perfect classification method for all images. Therefore, in some cases, many pixels of the image may incorrectly be classified by classification component 116, again which would ultimately lead to an incorrect land cover, an incorrect water budget and an incorrect A.
Accordingly, for at least the foregoing reasons there exists a need to provide an improved method and apparatus of managing water.


An method for cleaning and disinfecting a soft contact lens, characterized by immersing the soft contact lens in a treating solution which does not generate any hypohalite during electrolysis, supplying a direct current, and raising the temperature of the treating solution; and a treating solution for a soft contact lens, characterized by containing a treating agent mainly composed of boric acid and borax in a concentration of at most 2.2 w/v % and having an electrical conductivity of at most 8 mS/cm are disclosed.

A soft contact lens (hereinafter referred to as lens) has some apprehensions that eyes are injured when the lens is continuously worn in eyes as it is for a long period of time because stains in the surroundings, microbes, proteins contained in tear fluid, and the like adhere to the lens while the lens is worn in eyes. Accordingly, there is a necessity to clean or disinfect the lens regularly, preferably every day.
As a method for cleaning a lens, a method comprising washing a lens with a solution containing a surface active agent by fingers has been conventionally carried out, and according to the method, stains on the surface of the lens can be removed. However, stains such as proteins got into the internal of a lens cannot be removed. Further, when the lens is boiled to disinfect as it is, denaturation or coagulation of the proteins being got into a lens proceeds, and denatured proteins or coagulated proteins are more stiffly adhered to the lens. As a result, there occurs a problem of generation of cloudiness of the lens.
As a cleaning agent for reusing a lens stained with proteins, a cleaning agent containing a proteolytic enzyme has been conventionally known. However, according to the cleaning method of using this cleaning agent, although proteins adhered to the surface of a lens can be decomposed, besides taking a long period of time for revealing the cleaning effects, sufficient removing effects of proteins cannot be revealed because the proteolytic enzyme itself should be immersed into the internal of a lens so that proteins being denatured in the internal of a lens can be decomposed.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,185 discloses a method for cleaning a lens comprising establishing an electric field in a determined direction in a boric acid-EDTA buffer solution having a range of pH 8 to 9 and immersing a lens in the solution to remove proteins from the lens by electrophoresis. When this method is carried out, contaminated proteins in the internal of the lens can be removed. However, the method requires that proteins should not be denatured nor ionized, and there are some problems in the method such that it takes a long period of time for the treatment. Further, according to the method disclosed in the above U.S. Patent, boric acid is used in a high concentration such as 0.808 mol/l and pH is kept at an alkaline level of 8 to 9 so that a lens can be disinfected by antiseptic effect and disinfecting effect of boric acid because the lens cannot be heated to prevent thermal denaturation of proteins. When boric acid is used in such a high concentration, disinfecting effect is exhibited. However, since pH and/or osmotic pressure are/is too high, wearing a lens in eyes after the treatment is dangerous, and there is a problem in safety for eyes.
On the other hand, as a method for disinfecting a lens, a method comprising immersing a lens in a sodium chloride aqueous solution and generating hypochlorite by applying an electric current to the solution to disinfect the lens, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 68454/1981 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 153658/1982, a method comprising immersing a lens in an H.sub.2 O.sub.2 aqueous solution to disinfect the lens and decomposing H.sub.2 O.sub.2 with a metallic catalyst, a reducing agent and an enzyme catalyst to make the solution harmless, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 38559/1983, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 68858/1985 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 217333/1985, and the like have been known other than the above-mentioned method for disinfecting a lens comprising boiling a lens to disinfect.
However, according to the method of generating hypochlorite by electrolysis, it takes a long period of time for the natural disappearance of hypochlorite remaining in a treating vessel after disinfecting, and the procedures are also complex because the solution should be reduced so that hypochlorite does not remain in a lens. Further, when the above procedures are applied to a colored contact lens or a dye-marked lens, there are some problems such that decoloration or discoloration of the colored lens or the dye-marked lens occurs due to the above treatment.
Also, according to the method of using an H.sub.2 O.sub.2 aqueous solution, besides taking a long period of time for the treatment since H.sub.2 O.sub.2 remaining in the lens should be decomposed, stimulation such as smarting of eyes occurs if H.sub.2 O.sub.2 remaining in the internal of the lens is not completely decomposed. Therefore, the above method is not a suitable disinfecting method.
As a soaking solution for soft contact lenses, saline solution; liquid agents prepared by adding a preservative such as thimerosal, chlorhexidine, methylparaben, propylparaben or sorbic acid, and a chelating agent such as ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid, gluconic acid or citric acid to saline solution; liquid agents prepared by dissolving a tablet of the above-mentioned compounds in purified water or distilled water on use, and the like have been known.
However, when a soft contact lens is immersed in these soaking solutions for soft contact lenses and a direct current is applied to the solutions to clean and disinfect the soft contact lenses, chlorine ion existing in the solutions forms hypochlorite, and thereby there occurs some problems that the hypochlorite deteriorates the material of the soft contact lenses, and further colored soft contact lenses or dye-marked soft contact lenses are decolored or discolored.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of cleaning a lens giving no wrong influence to eyes, having safety for eyes and excellent detergency, and also disinfecting the lens.
Also, it is the second object of the present invention to provide a treating solution for soft contact lenses giving no wrong influence to eyes, having safety for eyes, and also giving no wrong influences to soft contact lenses when the soft contact lenses are electrically treated.
Further, it is the third object of the present invention to provide a treating solution for soft contact lenses having a property mechanically distinguishable from conventional treating solutions for soft contact lenses when the conventional treated solutions are misguidedly used.

Method for cleaning and disinfecting soft contact lens and treating solution for soft contact lenses


A phase locked loop frequency synthesizer has a controlled oscillator for generating an output signal at a desired frequency, a phase/frequency detector module for comparing a feedback signal derived from the controlled oscillator with a reference signal to generate an error signal, a loop filter for processing said at least one error signal from said phase/frequency detector module to generate a combined control signal for the controlled oscillator. The gain of the phase/frequency detector module can be adjusted, preferably by varying the pulse width and pulse cycle, to maintain the overall gain of the phase locked loop within a given range and thereby maximize signal to noise ratio.

There is an increasing need for highly accurate stable clock sources to drive modern digital electronics equipment, especially in the telecommunications sector. For example, the new LTE-A standard in mobile telecommunications requires clock sources operating at a frequency in the order of 100 MHz with a jitter of 100 femtoseconds or less. The jitter represents the high-speed fluctuations from the desired center frequency. The SONET standards OC-3, OC-12 require clock frequencies of 155.52 MHz (OC-3), 622.08 MHz (OC-12) respectively with RMS jitter of in the tens of picoseconds range.
The common way of generating the desired frequency is to derive it from a lower frequency stable source, such as a very stable crystal oscillator, using a phase locked loop (PLL) with a frequency divider in the feedback path. The frequency divider can be integer-based, in which case the output frequency is an integer multiple of the clock frequency, or fractional. A fractional divider generally includes a sigma-delta modulator to modulate the divisor.
One problem with this approach is that the various components within the phase-locked loop introduce noise that manifests itself as jitter or rapid fluctuations in the output signal. Various attempts have been made to solve this problem.
One approach is described in the paper "A Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizer Architecture Utilizing a Mismatch Compensated PFD/DAC Structure for Reduced Quantization-Induced Phase Noise", IEEE Trans. On Circuit & Systems, November 2003 (SiLabs). This paper describes a technique employing a digital signal processor (DSP) in the loop filter to increase the loop gain and to minimize the jitter and die size. This technique works reasonably well when chip size is not too small. However, at small die sizes, it eventually suffers from interference between analogue and digital circuits on the die.
A multi-die solution is an option, but this solution requires extra inter-die communication lines, which not only increase the manufacturing cost, but also add additional noise. The DSP approach may also introduce extra quantization noise from the Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and interference from the DSP processor. A high-speed sampling circuit is required to reduce the quantization noise, which in turn increases the manufacturing cost.
Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,085,097 (Hittite). This patent employs a high-order steep analog filter to reduce noise, which increases cost. The high order or steep analogue loop further has a stability issue that is sensitive to the individual analogue parameters and makes the precise control over manufacture difficult.
Yet another solution is described in the paper: "A 2.4 GHz Monolithic Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizer With Robust Phase-Switching Prescaler and Loop Capacitance Multiplier", IEEE Journ. of Solid-State Circuits, June 2003 (Texas Instruments). In this approach, the overall gain is increased through the use of dual loops, which implies double the cost.
The paper entitled "A Low Noise Multi-PFD PLL with Timing Shift Circuit", IEEE MTT-S International, 2012, describes a PLL with a series of phase/frequency detectors (PFDs) and loop filters arranged in parallel, each PFD-loop filter combination providing a separate input to the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) of the phase locked loop. The phase comparison of each PFD is time-shifted is to avoid noise correlation. However, this approach is limited by the correlation length, which limits noise removal to a specific reference band. Also, mismatch between each parallel PFD gives rise to implementation difficulties.

Phase locked loop frequency synthesizer with reduced jitter


Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes parsing by a processor on an aircraft, metadata of media content received by the aircraft, while the aircraft is in flight, the media content includes a media file and the metadata. The metadata indicates a start date when the media content can be presented to a device on the aircraft and an end date when media content is to become inaccessible. The method further includes dynamically generating a unique identifier for the media content by the processor, the unique identifier based on an aircraft identifier; updating the metadata by the processor by associating the unique identifier with the media content; storing the media content with the updated metadata and an indicator when the media content is to be deleted; and using the unique identifier by the processor for tracking usage of the media content on the aircraft.

Transportation vehicles, for example, aircraft, trains, buses, recreation vehicle, boats and other similar vehicles use various computing devices for providing various functions, including entertainment, system control, content storage, and other functions. These computing devices include hardware (for example, servers, switches, network interface cards, storage adapters, storage devices and others) and software (for example, server applications, operating systems, firmware, management applications, application programming interface (APIs) and others).
Transportation vehicles today have individualized functional equipment dedicated to a particular passenger seat, which can be utilized by a passenger, such as adjustable seats, adjustable environmental controls, adjustable lighting, telephony systems, video and/or audio entertainment systems, crew communication systems, and the like. For example, many commercial airplanes have individualized video and audio entertainment systems, often referred to as "in-flight entertainment" or "IFE" systems.
It has become quite commonplace for travelers to carry personal electronic devices (PEDs) having wireless communication capability, such as cellular phones, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, and other portable electronic devices. This includes passengers and crew traveling on all types of transportation including the vehicles of common carriers, such as airplanes, passenger trains, buses, cruise ships, sightseeing vehicles (e.g., ships, boats, buses, cars, etc.). Many of these personal electronic devices have the capability to execute application software programs ("apps") to perform various functions, including controlling other devices and systems.
In conventional systems, typically media content loading on transportation vehicles is scheduled. For example, for an aircraft, media content is typically loaded on a monthly basis while the aircraft is on the ground. This operation is referred to as "monthly media loading", when an airline sends media content to an IFE system provider on a monthly basis. The IFE system provider uses a portable media loader to update media content to the aircraft. This conventional approach is inefficient because the airline has to wait for a month to upload media content to the aircraft. The portable media loader also requires technicians to manually load media content, which makes the process labor intensive. Continuous efforts are being made to develop computing technology for making media content available on transportation vehicle at any instance.

Methods and systems for dynamically processing media content on transportation vehicles