An electrical converter having pluggable converter components includes a first electronic assembly having electronic parts an assembly carrier, a housing chassis and a housing cover, wherein at least one of the electronic parts is a power semiconductor switch having a wide band gap and made of GaN or of InGaN. The power semiconductor switch is operated with a reverse bias of at least 400 V and at a clock frequency of at least 40 kHz during operation of the electrical converter. The first electronic assembly is mechanically plugged into the assembly carrier by connecting elements, and the first electronic assembly together with the assembly carrier is mechanically plugged and locked by further connecting elements to the housing chassis or to the housing cover using corresponding locking elements on the housing chassis or to the housing cover, respectively.

The invention relates to an electrical converter for the operation of intermateable converter components with a first electronic module with electronic components, a module frame, an enclosure chassis and an enclosure lid.
Electrical or electronic converter components of electrical converters, such as for example electronic modules in the form of printed circuit boards with electronic components, module frames for accommodating the electronic modules and enclosure chassis and enclosure lids of the electrical converter are generally mechanically interconnected by force-locking connecting means during assembly of the electrical converter.
Such force-locking connecting means are for example screws for mechanically detachable connections or also rivets for mechanically nondetachable connections. These force-locking connecting means, which often consist of metallic materials, are also used in today's electrical converters because in particular the module frames, the enclosure chassis and optionally also the enclosure lid of these electrical converters either are part of solid metallic heat sinks for dissipating heat from the electronic components, in particular for dissipating heat from power semiconductor switches or from modules with power semiconductor switches, or are even in their entirety metallic heat sinks.
This is in particular also the case if for example conventional (Si or SIC) IGBT power semiconductor switches are operated in service with high blocking voltages, for example of greater than 400 V, high clock frequencies, for example of greater than 40 kHz, and with switching currents of for example greater than 7 A.
These converter components, which substantially constitute the heavy metallic materials, are generally designed with regard to such force-locking connecting means for high loading of their mechanical connections.
Furthermore, for reasons of reducing costs in the production process or materials usage, material-bonded connection technologies, such as for example adhesive bonding, soldering or other mainly mechanically nondetachable connection technologies, are also being used.
This may be of assistance in terms of the structure and assembly of compact electrical converters with regard to the functional integration of their converter components, material savings and reduction of steps in the production process, since it is in this case possible very largely to dispense with detachable mechanical connections and the associated space and material requirements. However, using such material-bonded connection technologies in particular prevents rapid and nondestructive disassembly of the converter components during maintenance and repair activities.
Another aspect to be taken into consideration with connection technologies for electrical converters are the efforts made by manufacturers to preassemble electronic modules on the module frame, for example with screwed connections, and to enclose this preassembled combination of the stated converter components with enclosure elements of the electrical converter and then likewise fasten these elements, for example by means of screwed connections.
This method of construction often results in tolerance problems, however. The enclosure elements here have to be assembled from different joining directions and be oriented to one another within tight tolerance limits in order, for example, to meet the necessary requirements with regard to IP protection classes (International Protection Codes) and EMC (electromagnetic compatibility).
Screwed connections, for example for mechanically connecting the module frame to electronic modules on the converter enclosure, also require sufficient installation space, which conflicts somewhat with a compact, space-saving structure of the electrical converter.
Another alternative approach to constructing electrical converters is, for example, tower construction of electronic modules, wherein the latter are placed on a mounting chassis or the enclosure chassis and often screwed in place. This structure of electronic module and mounting chassis or enclosure chassis is then surrounded or enclosed by an enclosure envelope or the enclosure lid and likewise usually mechanically connected by means of screwed connections.
This type of construction technology is often only suitable when the chassis does not have high walls since there is otherwise a risk of the electronic modules not being fitted within mechanical and electrical tolerances, which may in turn impair functioning of the electronic modules in operation.
Apart from applying to electrical converters for drive and power supply technology, these considerations also apply in principle to automation devices for further automation tasks, such as for example automation devices with programmable controllers (PLC) as well as actuators (control elements, valves etc.) and sensors (measuring transducers) for process automation which are not or not exclusively intended for drive and power supply solutions.
The problem addressed by the invention is therefore that of providing an electrical converter which, for mechanically connecting converter components such as the electronic module, module frame, enclosure chassis and enclosure lid, provides a connection technology which, while ensuring constant mechanical loading capacity, enables a more compact, installation space-saving structure of the electrical converter and further reduces the use of metallic materials with regard to these mechanical connections.


A method for displaying temporal data via a graphical user interface in a manner designed to facilitate easy review and comprehension includes displaying, to a user via a display screen of an electronic device, a radial graphical user interface element configured to display the return of results, the radial graphical user interface element displaying a plurality of icons positioned in one or more circumferential rings of the radial graphical user interface element, the icons representing abnormal readings or measurements having an associated time falling over a displayed twelve hour period, and an indication, in a central area of the radial graphical user interface element, of a total number of abnormal readings or measurements falling over a certain period; wherein each of the icons is displayed on the radial graphical user interface element in a position corresponding to the time associated with the icon it represents.

The present invention generally relates to the visual presentation of data. Data, and in particular temporal data, such as task data or event data, is commonly displayed in a visual format for viewing. Such a visual format may include, for example, a scheduled view or a horizontal display. However, for example with respect to tasks, if there are a lot of tasks due to be done across a span of hours, viewing this data can involve a lot of scrolling and it can be difficult to visualize how time should be distributed throughout the time interval.
A need exists for improvement in the visual presentation of data. This, and other needs, are addressed by one or more aspects of the present invention.

Radial view for display of temporal data


A light level sensor for use in controlling the switching of artificial lighting. The sensor comprises a photoelectric transducer which provides an output signal at a level which is significant of the illumination level of incident light. An A-D converter and a microprocessor are located in circuit with the transducer for detecting the level of the transducer output signal and for any cyclic variation of the transducer output signal resulting from cyclic variation of the level of incident light. Further circuit means are provided for generating a sensor output signal if either (a) the level of the transducer output signal is below a predetermined level or (b) the level of the output signal is above the predetermined level and, at the same time, cyclic variations occur in the level of the transducer output signal. When the sensor is used to switch artificial lighting on, with falling ambient light, the sensor output signal is used to energise a lighting control relay when the ambient light falls below the predetermined level. The relay thereafter is held ON if the sensor detects the presence of a high light level, provided that the high light level is attributable only to the artificial lighting as recognised by detection of cyclic variation of the transducer output signal.

Conventional light level sensors normally incorporate photoelectric transducers which have an inherently slow response time, typically significantly greater than 20 milliseconds. The transducers produce a dc output signal, the level of which varies with the illumination level of incident radiation. Also, the response time of the complete sensors is normally damped to allow for transitory events, such as temporary cloud cover, and the total effective response time of the sensors may be fixed as high as 30 seconds.
Consequently, conventional types of light level sensors cannot distinguish between natural (ambient) light and artificial light that normally is modulated at a rate equal to the supply frequency or, in the case of lighting sources such as compact fluorescent lamps that have their own power supply, at a rate in the range 20 to 50 kHz. This means that the sensors must be shielded from the artificial light, a factor that sometimes escapes the attention of electricians and others who are responsible for siting the sensors, in order to prevent "confusion" arising from the existence of artificial light and to prevent the establishment of a slow ON-OFF switching cycle.
At least one attempt has been made to solve this problem by providing a sensor housing that incorporates a movable shield to hide the sensor from an adjacent artificial light source, but the present invention is directed to a more general solution of the problem by providing a sensor that detects for the presence of modulated light and uses this to distinguish between high light levels produced on the one hand by natural light and on the other hand by artificial light.

Light level sensor for detecting the level of incident light and discriminating between natural and artificial light


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array having a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines, and at least first and second page buffers to which the plurality of bit lines are connected. The plurality of word lines are divided into first and second word lines and the first and second word lines are arranged in positions corresponding to the at least first and second page buffers.

This invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a NAND flash memory which can perform a data rewriting operation (write and erase operation).
Conventionally, a NAND flash memory is well known as a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which can be subjected to an electrical data rewriting operation and suitably formed with high integration density and large capacity (increase in memory capacity).
Recently, the integration density of the NAND flash memory has been further increased with the improvement of the memory cell structure and the development of a fine patterning technique. Further, it is strongly required to increase the operation speed with an increase in the memory capacity.
However, in the recent NAND flash memory, the width of and the interval between word lines have been made small with the development of the fine patterning technique. Likewise, the width of and the interval between bit lines have also been made small. Therefore, the resistances of the word lines and bit lines have become larger; the coupling capacitances between word lines, between bit lines, and between word lines and bit lines have become large; and the influence of coupling noise has become large.
Further, in the recent NAND flash memory, peak currents during the read operation and verification operation become larger with an increase in the number of memory cells for each word line. As a method for reducing the peak currents, it is considered to separately perform the read and verification operations a plurality of times (for example, twice). However, in the case of this method, when the potential of a bit line which is first subjected to the read and verification operations is discharged (conducting cell), the potential of the word line fluctuates because of the coupling between the word line and the bit line. In this case, the next read and verification operations cannot be started until the potential of the word line returns to a preset value. The fluctuation in the potential of the word line becomes larger with an increase in the coupling capacitance between the word line and the bit line. That is, since the time length until the potential returns to the preset value becomes larger if the fluctuation in the potential of the word line becomes larger, there occurs a problem that the read and verification operations are delayed.
A NAND flash memory in which page buffers are divisionally driven is already proposed (for example, refer to U.S. Patent Specification No. 2006/0104125 A1).


An ophthalmic dial advancement system for vision testing apparatuses, such as ophthalmic refractors of the type which utilize a single dial sphere control for advancing the lens power of at least one of the lenses positioned within the lens housing. A rotation element is positioned adjacent a portion of the engagement surface of the single dial sphere control so as to facilitate a controlled and sensitive advancement of the single dial sphere control and, in turn, the lenses which are being rotated thereby. A rotation disengagement member is operably attached to a portion of the lens rotation element so as to enable alternatively engaged and disengaged advancement of the single dial sphere control. In addition, barrier pieces are integrally attached to the lens housing of the vision testing apparatus so as to shield the adjustment knobs and dials, and, more particularly, the single dial sphere control positioned thereon, from a patient's hands during an ophthalmic examination, as well as to facilitate manipulation of one or both of the sphere dial and lens rotation elements by the practitioner.

The present invention relates in general to lens advancement devices, and, more particularly, to an ophthalmic dial advancement system for vision testing apparatuses, such as an ophthalmic refractor of the type which utilizes a single dial sphere control for advancing the lens power of at least one of the lenses positioned within the lens housing of the ophthalmic refractor.
Traditionally, vision testing apparatuses, and, more particularly, ophthalmic refractors, have utilized a single dial sphere control, or "diopter dial," for advancement of the lenses within the apparatus housing in 1/4 diopter steps. Accordingly, one complete rotation of the diopter dial would advance the lens through four different diopter powers--wherein one diopter power focuses on an image at a distance of one meter; a two diopter power focuses on an image at a distance of one half of a meter, etc. Such advancement of the diopter dial, and in turn, the diopter power, is necessary to determine the strength of the corrective eye lenses which a patient will need.
Actual advancement of the diopter power is effectuated by the practitioner directly advancing the diopter dial with his or her hand until he or she actually "feels" the lenses within the refractor properly advance to the next 1/4 diopter step. Such a "feel" is achieved by slight resistance imparted to the diopter dial. Unfortunately, inasmuch as diopter dials are generally engineered for smooth and easy advancement, it is not uncommon for a practitioner to inadvertently advance the diopter dial past the next intended diopter step--thus causing additional manipulation of the diopter dial, and, quite possibly, an incorrect diagnosis of the patient's vision.
Although such prior art vision testing apparatuses do offer the advantage of a single dial sphere control (diopter dial) for the advancement of the diopter power, few, if any, have provided a separate lens rotation member which not only reduces the likelihood of excessive advancement of the diopter dial during advancement of the diopter power, but which also imparts increased sensitivity to the practitioner's hands during such advancement--thereby substantially reducing inadvertent under and/or over rotation of the diopter dial with respect to the desired diopter power. Furthermore, few, if any of such prior art has provided such a cooperating lens rotation member which is alternatively positionable between a first engaged position and a second disengaged position with respect to the diopter dial, for alternative advancement of the diopter dial directly or indirectly, with or without the cooperating lens rotation member being engaged therewith respectively.
Additionally, inasmuch as prior art ophthalmic refractors have their adjustment dials and knobs positioned on or partially exposed to the surface of the lens housing which is adjacent to the practitioner during an eye examination, it is not uncommon for the patient to inadvertently, or through curiosity, place his or her hands on the testing equipment, and in turn, on one or more of the adjustment dials and knobs. Inasmuch as the diopter dial has its advancement portion positioned adjacent to the outer peripheral side surface of the lens housing, it is this critical adjustment dial which a patient's hands would most likely contact--thereby potentially moving the diopter dial and, in turn, inadvertently altering the diopter step. Although a patient's inadvertencies and/or curiosities with respect to touching the adjustment mechanisms, and, more particularly, the diopter dial, cannot be totally curtailed, few, if any prior art vision testing apparatuses teach, much less disclose, a barrier member which shields exposure of the diopter dial to a patient, while at the same time serving as a guide for utilization of the present dial advancement system, as a function of the practitioner's manipulation during the examination procedure.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmic dial advancement system which provides a barrier member attached to a vision testing apparatus which helps reduce inadvertent, or curiosity, contact by a patient with the adjustment mechanisms, and more particularly, the diopter dial, on the lens housing, as well as which can serve as a hand guide for the practitioner utilizing the lens rotation member or, when directly advancing the diopter dial.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmic dial advancement system which includes an integrateable lens rotation member for facilitating indirect and more precise and sensitive advancement of the diopter dial, and, in turn, the diopter steps.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmic dial advancement system which includes a lens rotation member which is alternatively positionable between a first engaged rotational position, with respect to the diopter dial, and a second disengaged rotational position.
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmic dial advancement system wherein the diopter dial can be alternatively advanced directly regardless of engagement or disengagement relative to the lens rotation member.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification and drawings.


A method and apparatus for removing sedimented particles from a fluid stream in a settlement basin. In the bottom of the basis there is a sluice which may include a sluice gate. The basin includes a longitudinal, flexible pipe unit which is shaped such that it can seal the edges of the sluice. The pipe unit can move up and down within the basin by filling the pipe with a fluid, i.e. water or air. Depending on the initial position of the pipe, upward or downward movement causes the pipe to seal against the edges of the sluice. By adjusting the amount of water and air in the pipe, it is possible to adjust the extent to which the sluice is sealed.

The invention concerns a method and means of removing sediments (particles) from a fluid after deposition.
The invention can be used for the extraction of sediments from rivers carrying sediments in suspension, so as to control the processes on the river bed or utilize such sediments for a variety of purposes including: sand and gravel extraction, earth filling, mineral exploration, or the measurement of sediment-transport in rivers.
A specific application of the invention is as a water outlet in river development systems and associated constructions such as hydropower stations, irrigation systems and normal water supply where there is a need to remove sediments in the river water before it is led into the pipelines, tunnels or channels that connect the river to the end user.
Known means of removing sediments from systems which are in continuous operation involve flushing, suction or the mechanical scraping of sediments. Flushing (continuous or periodic) is dependent on obtaining sufficient velocity in the fluid carrying the particles to force the particles out of the fluid stream by means of a flushing device. Despite the substantial fluid consumption, the method produces a correspondingly low concentration of sediments in the flushed outflow. If it is required to separate particles of different sizes, their physical characterists will lead to deposition in different geographical areas of the sedimentation basin. This involves a further increase in the fluid requirements of such flushing systems.
Systems involving the suction of deposited sediments will often prove expensive in operation both because of the machinery involved and the cost of its maintenance.
The removal of deposited sediments from settlement basins can either be done by closing and draining the basin, or while the system is operational.
After drainage, the sediments can either be removed by flushing or mechanical means whilst the rest of the system has been made inoperative. In practical terms this is an extremely costly and inappropriate method, where the operating losses will be enormous.


A method of fabricating a nano-scale resistance cross-point memory array includes preparing a silicon substrate; depositing silicon oxide on the substrate to a predetermined thickness; forming a nano-scale trench in the silicon oxide; depositing a first connection line in the trench; depositing a memory resistor layer in the trench on the first connection line; depositing a second connection line in the trench on the memory resistor layer; and completing the memory array. A cross-point memory array includes a silicon substrate; a first connection line formed on the substrate; a colossal magnetoresistive layer formed on the first connection line; a silicon nitride layer formed on a portion of the colossal magnetoresistive layer; and a second connection line formed adjacent the silicon nitride layer and on the colossal magnetoresistive layer.

An ongoing goal of IC designers is the provision of a memory cell having a very small size, low power and current programming requirements, and long charge retention. A number of IC memory devices are known. A flash memory requires one transistor per memory cell and also requires high programming voltages. This type of non-volatile memory is not suitable for low-power, high-speed application. A ferroelectric-based RAM also requires a single transistor per memory cell, however, known FeRAMS have a relatively short charge retention time, on the order of nano-seconds. There are also problems associated with nano-scale structures when it is required to apply photoresist and to etch the structure. A MRAM requires high current to program data into the memory cell.
Fabrication of nano-scale (10−9 meters) ICs is limited by the resolution of the lithography portion of the fabrication process, which is approximately 0.1 μm (10−7 meters). E-beam lithography may able to define line width as narrow as 0.01 μm (10−8 meters), however, the through put is very slow. A manufacturing process having the reliability and throughput of conventional lithography and etching with nearly the resolution of E-beam lithography is therefore desirable.
Liu et al. Electrical-pulse-induced reversible resistance change effect in magnetoresistive films, Applied Physics Letters, Vol.76, #19, p.2749, May, 2000, describes use of colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) films in memory devices.

Method of fabricating nano-scale resistance cross-point memory array


The switching control apparatus includes a switching driving unit for turning on and off the switch, a control-purpose power supply for outputting electric power, a power transmission unit provided between the switching driving unit and the control-purpose power supply, for supplying or cutting off electric power from the control-purpose power supply to the switching driving unit, and a control unit for controlling the power transmission unit. The control unit controls the switching driving unit to turn the switch on or off, during a period in which the electric power from the power supply to the switching driving unit is cut off by the power transmission unit, or supplied from the power supply to the switching driving unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switching control apparatus configured to control a switch for supplying or cutting off electric power from a commercial alternating current power supply to a predetermined load, and to an image forming apparatus using the switching control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thyristor and a gate-controlled semiconductor switch (generally known as TRIAC (trademark) and hereinafter simply referred to as TRIAC) are known as a switch for supplying or cutting off electric power from a commercial alternating current power supply to a predetermined load. A switching control apparatus for controlling the thyristor or the TRIAC is driven by a control-purpose power supply, and applies or cuts off a gate current supplied from the commercial alternating current power supply to a gate terminal of the thyristor or the TRIAC, to thereby perform switching operation of the thyristor or the TRIAC.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-207241 proposes a thyristor gate drive circuit, in which a photocoupler is connected in parallel to the thyristor, and the thyristor and the photocoupler are controlled to be turned on and off alternately to each other. Thus, even when the control-purpose power supply does not work correctly, electric power can be supplied to a load connected to the commercial alternating current power supply.
However, in the related art described above, although the thyristor can be turned on even when electric power cannot be supplied from the control-purpose power supply to the thyristor gate drive circuit, lower power consumption that is required in recent years is not taken into consideration. It is because two photocouplers need to be turned on for maintaining the OFF state of the thyristor. In addition, a leakage current flowing from the commercial alternating current power supply to the load through the thyristor gate drive circuit when the thyristor is turned off cannot be neglected in order to achieve low power consumption.

Switching control apparatus and image forming apparatus


In a side impact air bag system, a bag is formed of a main body opposing an abdomen portion of a passenger and an upper inflation unit opposing a chest portion of the passenger, a tip portion in the longitudinal direction of the upper inflation unit is deleted and a connection of a gas intake portion to an inflator is shortened to reduce a length of the upper inflation unit than the length of the main body. This reduces the length of the upper inflation unit to be shorter than the main body when the bag is inflated to relax the shock to the chest portion of the passenger when the bag is inflated, thereby positively inflating the bag in the narrow space between the vehicle body and the passenger's seat without excessively increasing the shock to the chest portion of the passenger.

When a shock is applied externally to the side of the vehicle due to a side impact or the like, the vehicle door or the vehicle structure may be deformed by the impact force depending on the magnitude of the shock. In order to relax the shock force to the passenger due to the deformation, various types of air bag are proposed which are inflated between the lateral face and the passenger when a side impact occurs, so that the shock force exerted on the passenger is absorbed by the air bag (e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (OPI) 4-50052, Japanese OPI 4-356246, and so on).
A heretofore proposed side impact air bag system has an air bag folded up together with a gas generating device, both installed inside a vehicle seat (mainly in the seat back) to maintain the relative position to the passenger in a constant value, and is provided with detection means for detecting a side impact to blow the gas from the gas generating device. When a side impact is detected by the detection means, a gas is momentarily blown out from the gas generating device into the air bag to inflate the air bag towards the front side of the vehicle so that the air bag lies between the side of the vehicle and the passenger. By the air bag lying between the side of the vehicle and the passenger in the vehicle compartment, a shock to the passenger by a deformed door and the like is absorbed to protect the passenger.
In the conventional side impact air bag system, since the bag inflation direction is almost perpendicular to the input at collision, it is necessary to inflate the air bag momentarily by a high pressure in order to positively inflate in a narrow space between the vehicle body and the passenger. However, the part opposing the chest portion and the part opposing the abdomen portion of the passenger are inflated with almost the same width, the abdomen portion and the chest portion are applied with a same pressure when the bag is inflated, the shock to the chest portion is relatively high, and a desired shock absorption is not achieved.
With a view to eliminate the above prior art problems, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a side impact air bag system which can be positively inflated in a narrow space between the vehicle body and the passenger.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a side impact air bag system which is improved in restraining of the passenger.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

by Tosiyasu Hatta, Setuko Hatta, legal representatives


Hard resinous polyol esters having a high degree of hydroxyl functionality and a ball and ring softening temperature of at least about 50.degree. C.

Polyol resins are useful sources of hydroxyl functionality in the manufacture synthetic lubricant esters, rosin esters for printing ink vehicles, tackifying resins, and alkyd resins for paints and coatings. Each of these products can benefit from a polyol resin that is "hard". Hard resins are desirable for fast drying ink varnishes or ink vehicles. Hardness is also useful for producing synthetic lubricants with low viscosities at arctic temperatures (about -40.degree. F.) and good thermal stability at higher temperatures. The "hardness" of resins is measured by the conventional ball and ring softening temperature and is an indication of both the melting point and viscosity of the resin.
Resins presented as "hard", however, have different physical forms and relatively low hydroxyl functionality. Many purportedly "hard" resins are highly viscous liquids or gelatinous semisolids which are useful to some extent but are inconvenient to package and transport. These resins usually have a limited degree of hydroxyl functionality at the terminal ends of the polymer chain.
It would be desireable to have a hard polyol resin with a high degree of hydroxyl functionality.
It would also be desireable to have a hard polyol resin that exhibited a solid physical form that could be easily packaged and transported.


A method and system for hiding sensitive data in an electronic spreadsheet. A first output equation expresses output data as a function of at least one first input data and at least one first intermediary result. The at least one first and second intermediary result are assigned as content of intermediary cells of the spreadsheet. A second output equation is generated and expresses the output data as a function of a subset of the at least one first and second input data with no functional dependence on the plurality of intermediary results. Generation of the second output equation utilizes the first output equation and the plurality of first intermediary equations. The output data of the second output equation is assigned as content of an output cell of the spreadsheet. The content of the intermediary cells is removed, resulting in the plurality of intermediary results not being identifiable in the spreadsheet.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to the field of electronic spreadsheets and more particularly to a method, system and computer program for hiding sensitive data within models in an electronic spreadsheet environment.
2. Related Art
Before computers, numerical analyses, particularly financial ones, were usually prepared on an accountant's columnar pad or spreadsheet, with pencil and calculator in hand. By organizing data into columns and rows, spreadsheets afford the rapid assimilation of information by a reader. The task of preparing a spreadsheet on paper, however, is not quite so fast. Instead, the process tends to be very slow, as each entry must be tediously calculated and entered into the spreadsheet. Manually prepared spreadsheets are also prone to errors. Hence, preparation of spreadsheets by hand is slow, tedious, and unreliable.
With the advent of microcomputers, a solution was forthcoming in the form of "electronic spreadsheets." Better known simply as "spreadsheets," these software programs provide a computerized replacement for the traditional financial modeling tools: the accountant's columnar pad, pencil, and calculator. In some regards, spreadsheet programs are to those tools what word processors are to typewriters. Spreadsheets offer dramatic improvements in ease of creating, editing, and using financial models.
A typical spreadsheet program configures the memory of a computer to resemble the column/row or grid format of an accountant's columnar pad, thus providing a visible calculator for a user. Because this "pad" exists dynamically in the computer's memory, however, it differs from paper pads in several important ways. Locations in the electronic spreadsheet, for example, must be communicated to the computer in a format which it can understand. A common scheme for accomplishing this is to assign a number to each row in a spreadsheet, and a letter to each column. To reference a location at column A and row 1 (i.e., the upper-left-hand corner), the user types in "A1". In this manner, the spreadsheet defines an addressable storage location or "cell" at each intersection of a row with a column.
Data entry into an electronic spreadsheet occurs in much the same manner that information would be entered on an accountant's pad. After a screen cursor is positioned at a desired location, the user can enter alphanumeric information. Besides holding text and numeric information, however, spreadsheet cells can store special instructions or "formulas" specifying calculations to be performed on the numbers stored in spreadsheet cells. In this fashion, cell references can serve as variables in an equation, thereby allowing precise mathematical relationships to be defined between cells. The structure and operation of a spreadsheet program, including advanced functions such as functions and macros, are documented in the technical, trade, and patent literature. For an overview, see e.g., Cobb, S., Using Quattro Pro 2, Borland-OsborneIMcGraw-Mll, 1990; and LeBlond, G. and Cobb, D., Using 1-2-3, Que corp., 1985. The disclosures of each of the foregoing are hereby incorporated by reference.
Electronic spreadsheets offer many advantages over their paper counterparts. For one, electronic spreadsheets are much larger (i.e., hold more information) than their paper counterparts; electronic spreadsheets having thousands or even millions of cells are not uncommon. Spreadsheet programs also allow users to perform "what-if" scenarios. After a set of computational relationships has been entered into a worksheet, thanks to imbedded formulas for instance, the spread of information can be recalculated using different sets of assumptions, with the results of each recalculation appearing almost instantaneously. Performing this operation manually, with paper and pencil, would require the recalculation of every relationship in the model with each change made. Electronic spreadsheet systems are well suited to solve "what-if" problems, that is, changing an input and seeing what happens to an output.
Electronic spreadsheets are commonly used for implementing costing and pricing tools, typically for service oriented offerings. Such tools are simply an implementation of a model (either a costing model or a pricing model) featuring a set of output data, based on a set of input data.
Costing/pricing models can be quite complex and the resulting spreadsheet tool can also be complex, involving a large number of formulas spreading across different sheets. Such formulas involve intermediary results, themselves involving either input data or other intermediary data. If a costing/pricing tool spreadsheet is disclosed to a person, this person can easily "reverse engineer" this tool to determine all the different intermediary results which are part of the model. Such intermediary results can contain confidential information that the costing/pricing tool spreadsheet author does not want to share with third parties. Nevertheless the costing/pricing tool spreadsheet author may want to share a tool which produces the output data when fed with the input data.
A typical example corresponding to this case is the following. Assume that a company X is currently delivering an offering through direct sales channel, and wants to rely on indirect channels, like business partners, to reach a wider opportunity base. If an internal cost/price model is disclosed to a business partner, then this business partner will easily access information that this company X refuses to disclose. On the contrary, every effort must be done by the company X to give to this business partner all the relevant tools streamlining the sales cycle, such as a costing/pricing tool.
This dilemma cannot be solved with conventional spreadsheet tools, since spreadsheet protection can easily be broken by cracks available on the Internet.

Method and system for hiding sensitive data in an electronic spreadsheet environment

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention is directed toward monitoring a thermally driven gas evolving chemical reaction with an acoustic apparatus. Signals from the acoustic apparatus are used to control a heater to prevent a run-away condition. A digestion module in combination with a robotic arm further automate physical handling of sample material reaction vessels. The invention is especially useful for carrying out sample procedures defined in EPA Methods SW-846.

The problem of gas bubble detection in a liquid occurs in many processes from fermentation to cavitation. Bubble detection in a liquid is especially necessary in resonant chemical reactions or chemical reactions that are not self limiting. An example of a resonant chemical reaction is the reaction of highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide with organic material as temperature is increased or held constant at an elevated temperature. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with the organic material at a resonant or ever increasing rate. To avoid over pressure, overflow or other operational problems, the bubble formation must be monitored and the hydrogen peroxide/organic mixture removed from the elevated temperature environment upon observing excessive bubble formation.
More specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) soil testing procedure EPA Method #3050 from SW-846 involves multiple acid digestion steps followed by an organic removal step utilizing highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide. In practice, multiple flasks each having a soil sample are subjected to the acid digestion and organic removal. The organic removal involves the use of concentrated (about 30 mol %) hydrogen peroxide that is heated. One of the major requirements of the EPA procedures is to avoid runaway of oxygen effervescence during organic removal. Upon observation of a run away condition, the operator immediately removes the heat source either by switching it off or by removing the flask from the heat source until the run away condition is overcome. Personnel monitoring many flasks are constantly removing run-away flasks and replacing calmed flasks in order to satisfy the EPA Methods and provide reliable soil sample preparation. Clearly, this is labor intensive and subject to human error, especially upon fatigue of the monitoring personnel.

Method and apparatus for controlling gas evolution from chemical reactions


A lighting device is disclosed comprising a plurality of semiconductor light sources disposed on a carrier, wherein the light from the light sources is coupled into assigned lightguides at a set angle to the surface normals of the carrier and the lightguides are provided with reflecting and light exit faces such that the envelope of the light outcoupling faces forms a curved surface segment.

Lighting devices, particularly for signal lamps, have heretofore been implemented in a wide variety of ways. Rotating effects of the kind used in blue or orange lights on vehicle roofs have heretofore been achieved primarily by means of a conventional incandescent bulb with an associated reflector that is set in rotation by a motor. The reflector is used for beam forming. A device of this kind is onerous and trouble-prone.
A number of solutions now exist for signal lamps with flashing and rotating effects in which light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are used to generate light.
For example, an LED-based signal lamp is known from the document WO 02/066889 A1. In this signal lamp, LEDs are disposed on printed circuit boards, which themselves are then arranged in a ring around a light body. The advantage of such a signal lamp utilizing LEDs is that rotating and flashing effects can be achieved by electronically driving the individual LEDs without the need for mechanical rotation of part of the lighting device to produce rotating effects. A further advantage of using LEDs is their service life and low maintenance requirements.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,965 describes an arrangement in which the LEDs are mounted on a curved surface.
In arranging LEDs on curved surfaces, the conventionally used standard placement techniques designed for planar printed circuit boards (PCBs) cannot be utilized. Arranging planar pieces of PCB in a curved surface shape necessitates onerous wiring of the individual pieces of board. This requires more effort, and higher costs are the result.

Lighting device comprising a plurality of semiconductor light sources


A semiconductor photodetector includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, a light absorption layer of the first conductivity type on the semiconductor substrate and absorbing light, a diffraction grating layer on the light absorption layer and including a diffraction grating diffracting light, a first light transmissive layer of a second conductivity type on the diffraction grating layer and transmitting light, and a second light transmissive layer of the first conductivity type on the diffraction grating layer and surrounding the first light transmissive layer, the second light transmissive layer transmitting light. The diffraction grating surrounds a region of the diffraction grating layer that is directly below the first light transmissive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor photodetector of the type that receives incident light on its top surface, and more particularly to a semiconductor photodetector adapted to have an increased incident light absorption efficiency and increased response speed.
2. Background Art
When a general semiconductor photodetector is operated to receive light, a reverse bias is applied to its PN junction to form a depletion layer. The light incident through the light receiving surface of the semiconductor photodetector is absorbed by its light absorption layer, which is a region with a narrow energy band, resulting in the generation of carriers within the absorption layer. Since the depletion layer is formed in the absorption layer, the carriers generated by the light absorption are accelerated by the depletion layer. It should be noted that the flow of these carriers results in an electric current component.
There is a need to improve the light absorption efficiency of such semiconductor photodetectors, since this efficiency primarily determines the efficiency of converting the incident light into carries. That is, the light absorption efficiency of a semiconductor photodetector is a measure for indicating the quantity of carriers generated within its depletion layer when the photodetector receives a given amount of incident light. The higher the absorption efficiency, the better, since the incident light-to-current conversion efficiency increases with increasing absorption efficiency. [Techniques for improving the light absorption efficiency are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 1-205573 (1989), 2005-159002, 2003-179249, and 2004-241533.]
Further, there is also a need to increase the response speed of semiconductor photodetectors in order to accommodate high speed modulation. The response speed of a semiconductor photodetector is the time required for the photodetector to generate an electric current after receiving incident light on its light receiving surface. It should be noted that if the current generated in the semiconductor photodetector includes a delayed component, it may prevent the photodetector from accommodating high speed modulation. [A technique for improving the response speed is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-116977 (1992).]
It is common for semiconductor photodetectors to have top and bottom electrodes formed on their top and bottom surfaces, respectively. It should be noted that the top surface is designed to be a light receiving surface. FIGS. 14 and 15 show an exemplary semiconductor photodetector having such top and bottom electrodes. Specifically, FIG. 14 is a plan view as viewed from the top surface of the semiconductor photodetector. In FIG. 14 a top electrode 100 is shown which is formed on an insulating film 102. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 15, a first light transmissive layer 104 of a second conductivity type and a second light transmissive layer 106 of a first conductivity type are formed under the insulating film 102. Both the first and second light transmissive layers 104 and 106 allow light to pass through. A light absorption layer 108 of the first conductivity type is formed under the first and second light transmissive layers 104 and 106. A semiconductor substrate 110 of the first conductivity type underlies the light absorption layer 108. Further, a bottom electrode 112 is formed on the bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate 110.
In this semiconductor photodetector, it is necessary to decrease the distance between the top electrode 100 and the bottom electrode 112 in order to reduce the driving bias voltage and thereby reduce the power consumption. FIG. 16 shows a semiconductor photodetector with a thinned light absorption layer when a driving bias voltage is applied between the top electrode 100 and the bottom electrode 112 of the photodetector. Referring to FIG. 16, the applied driving bias causes a depletion layer 120 to be formed between the first light transmissive layer 104 and the second light transmissive layer 106 and between the first light transmissive layer 104 and the light absorption layer 108. When the semiconductor photodetector with the depletion layer 120 formed therein receives incident light, 116, through its light receiving surface, the light absorption layer 108 absorbs it, thereby generating carriers therein. The depletion layer 120 then accelerates these carriers, thereby generating an electric current component.
As can be seen from the foregoing description, increasing the number of carriers generated in the semiconductor photodetector requires an increase in the thickness of the light absorption layer 108 to increase the percentage of the light absorbed in the layer. However, an increase in the thickness of the light absorption layer 108 means an increase in the travel distance of the generated carriers, resulting in reduced response speed of the semiconductor photodetector.
Referring now to FIG. 17, it happens that some of the light (122) incident on the light receiving surface passes through the light absorption layer 108 without being absorbed. The light, 122, that has transmitted through the light absorption layer 108 is reflected by the bottom electrode 112, etc. The reflected light 122 may be absorbed by the light absorption layer 108 at a location away from the depletion layer 120. In such a case, the carriers generated by this absorption take a certain time to reach the depletion layer 120 and result in an electric current component. That is, this current component is delayed from those resulting from the carriers generated when light is absorbed by the light absorption layer 108 at locations in or near the depletion layer 120. It should be noted that a semiconductor photodetector cannot achieve high response speed if its photoelectric current includes such a delayed component.


A mobile device for distinguishing a user's movement, a method therefor, and a method for generating a hierarchical tree model therefor. Particularly, the mobile device includes: an acceleration sensor; a buffer for collecting the acceleration data outputted from the acceleration sensor according to a user's specific movement; an extraction unit for extracting the characteristic elements of the user's specific movement based on the acceleration data collected by the buffer; and a movement judgment unit for determining to which class the user's specific movement belongs by inputting the characteristic elements extracted by the extraction unit into a pre-structured hierarchical tree model, wherein the hierarchical tree model is pre-structured based on the characteristic elements extracted for each movement.

In recent, mobile devices such as smart phones have been widely used, and various applications (APPs) utilizing sensors equipped within smart phones such as acceleration sensors, gyroscope sensors, geomagnetic sensors, gravity sensors, optical sensors, proximity sensors, and motion recognition sensors are being developed.
Especially, research on a technology of determining in what state a user who is using a smart phone is moving, and research on a technology of providing a smart service based on the determination technology are also being conducted. In this case, to determine a user's movement behavior, a technology that can purify data received from a sensor within a smart phone to obtain meaningful data is necessary.
In this regard, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2011-0126057 (Title of Invention: Device for Determining Movement Sate, Method for Determining Movement State, and Recording Medium) describes determining the state of a user, by comparing an acceleration fluctuation cycle of a vertical component and an acceleration fluctuation cycle of a horizontal component with each other from outputs of an acceleration sensor.
However, a method that can more accurately distinguish a user's movement behavior in another way different from the above-described technique has been continuously demanded. Especially, the conventional technology that distinguishes a user's movement behavior by using GPS, a microphone or the like has had a problem in that it increases consumption of a battery of a smart phone.

Mobile device for distinguishing user's movement, method therefor, and method for generating hierarchical tree model therefor

SOONGSIL UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CONSORTIUM TECHNO-PARK


A fire hose coupling comprises a body having a first end connected to a fire hose and a second end having threads. The fire hose coupling comprises a recessed portion formed in an outer surface of the body. The recessed portion is shaped to define a visuotactile directional indicator such as an arrow. The recessed portion may include a light-reflecting surface to enhance visibility such as a super reflective metal film, a photo luminescent coating, or a phosfluorescent coating. The recessed directional indicator may be formed in either female or male couplings.

Fire hoses are coupled together with fire hose couplings. These couplings are well known in the art. Typically, one side of a coupling has an expansion ring to attach the coupling to its respective hose. On the other side of the coupling are usually a set of internal or external threads for fastening the coupling to complementary (external or internal) threads of another coupling. In addition to these male and female couplings, there also exist so-called "sexless couplings" or Storz coupling (see U.S. Pat. No. 0,489,107). Usually, a fire truck is provided with a male connector to which a female coupling is fastened. A fire hose assembly is then concatenated by coupling together sequential male and female couplings.
Firefighters operating in dark and smoke-filled environments are prone to becoming disoriented. In conditions of poor visibility, it is extremely helpful to have some means for the firefighter to determine which way leads to the exit, i.e. which hose direction leads back toward the fire truck. Firefighters may be taught to seek out, for example, the female coupling of the connection as an indicator that this side of the connection leads back to the fire truck. However, this method is not satisfactory because a firefighter, in the heat of the moment, may not remember which coupling points back to the fire truck or he may not be able to properly see or feel the couplings. Furthermore, the fire hoses may not have been assembled in the expected (conventional) way, and thus reliance on the assumption that, for example, the female coupling, leads back to the fire truck, may in fact lead the firefighter to head the wrong direction. As will be appreciated, these issues are a matter of life and death to firefighters. Improvements on conventional techniques are thus extremely important.
To address the aforementioned problems, a number of different bands, clamps, and collars have been developed for sliding over fire hoses to indicate the direction to safety. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,135 (Ruiz) discloses a flexible identification collar for hoses. U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,000 and U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 382,501; 345,520; 345,519 and 312,390 (all to Clement) disclose direction-indicating bands for attaching to firefighting hoses. These slide-on devices are inherently problematic because they represent an additional component to be assembled to the hose, thus slowing down the assembly of the fire hose when time is of the essence. Furthermore, these external bands, clamps, etc. may catch or snag on objects (e.g. ledges, nails, splintered wood, etc.) as the hose is dragged through the burning building. Moreover, they may slide down the hose, out of reach and out of sight.
In a similar vein is a fire hose directional indicator disclosed by Tamez, Jr. et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,761. This gasket-like annular body fits over the male threads of the male coupler and is captured between the threads of the abutting male and female couplers. The disadvantage of this device is that it represents a further component that has to be assembled. The coupling only has tactile indicator extensions that require a firefighter to feel the direction to safety. If the device is out of the firefighter's reach, it may be of limited utility, particularly in conditions of poor visibility.
Also known in the art are various fire hose couplings with directional indicators. These offer the advantages of not requiring assembly of additional components and not being prone to slide up and down the hose out of reach and out of sight.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,890 (Lenske) which discloses a fire hose coupling with directional finger-like extensions. An embossed word ("EXIT") is provided on the extensions. This provides both visual and tactile indication to the firefighter of the direction of the exit. The Lenske coupling requires that the firefighter either feel the direction of the finger-like extensions or be able to see the finger-like extension with the embossed word "EXIT". If the firefighter is not within reach of the coupling or if the firefighter cannot see the coupling due to poor smoke, darkness or other vision-impairing reasons, the device cannot inform the firefighter of the direction to safety. One disadvantage of having an embossed word exposed on the outer surface of the extensions is that the embossed word is prone to abrasion and wear. Over time, the embossed word may become so worn as to be illegible. Furthermore, the extensions may not only cause the hose to hang up (snag or catch) when dragged but also trap or collect hot debris under the extensions causing spot burn throughs. A further problem with these extensions is that, when the hose is slack, i.e. not filled with water, the extensions may puncture or damage the hose when folded or rolled tightly for storage.
Accordingly, a need remains for an improved fire hose coupling that addresses one or more of the deficiencies of the aforementioned prior art.

Fire hose coupling with directional indicator


The present invention relates to an asphalt product. The asphalt product includes an asphalt binder and a bio-oil blend comprising a mixture of a non-hydrogenated bio-oil and a partially hydrogenated bio-oil, where the bio-oil blend is mixed with the asphalt binder to form an asphalt product having a shear stiffness of 0.20 kPa to 11,000 kPa at a temperature ranging from 25° C. to 85° C. and/or a viscosity of 0.15 Pa·s to 1.50 Pa·s at a temperature ranging from 120° C. to 165° C. The present invention further relates to methods of producing an asphalt product and methods of applying an asphalt product to a surface.

The process of oil refining distills crude oil into different fractions as part of the manufacturing for many products. Asphalt binder is one of the heaviest fractions produced during refining of petroleum crude, and is a co-product of the oil refining process. The lighter petroleum crude fractions are used for making higher economic value products such as gasoline and specialty chemicals, and their value is tied to the price of oil. When the price of oil increases, lighter component products such as gasoline increase in price, thus incentivizing increased production of said lighter components during petroleum crude refining. To increase production of higher economic value lighter components, refineries equipped with vacuum tower equipment run vacuum distillation to extract more from crude oil. From this process vacuum tower distillation bottoms ("VTB") are produced. VTB is very stiff due to the loss of saturates from the vacuum tower distillation process to produce more lighter components, and thus is not typically used wholly for paving a roadway as an asphalt binder and can be terminally blended for producing the appropriate asphalt binder grade.
There are many different terms used for materials that restore an aged binder rheological properties similar to its original unaged state. These terms are used interchangeably as rejuvenators, recycling agents, softening agents, fluxes, and extenders. These materials are then named interchangeably as either modifiers or additives. Restoration is achieved through the renewal of the volatiles and oils generally improving flexibility and adhesion properties.
During the construction and service life of a pavement asphalt binder material properties change in such a way that asphalt binders become stiffer and less resistive to fatigue/low temperature cracking. This is because a binder's volatile components evaporate and oxidize from the time it is constructed to the end of its service life. Oxidation of the binder over its service life causes polymerization to occur. Polymerization is the process by which the binder becomes more viscous at high temperatures and less viscous at low temperatures, thus called aging (Gerardu, J. & Hendriks, C. F., "Recycling of Road Pavement Materials in the Netherlands," In: Road Engineering division of Rijkswaterstaat, Delft.). The main determinant of an asphalt's viscosity is based on the amount of asphaltenes in the binder because they are more viscous than both resins and oils (Airey, G. D., "Rheological Properties of Styrene Butadiene Styrene Polymer Modified Road Bitumen," Fuel 82:1709-19 (2003); Wu et al. "Investigation of Temperature Characteristics of Recycled Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures," Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 51:610-20 (2007). From oxidation the oil component in asphalt is converted to resins and the resin component is converted to asphaltenes. This is the reason hardening occurs in asphalt over time (Wu et al. "Investigation of Temperature Characteristics of Recycled Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures," Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 51:610-20 (2007); Kandhal et al., "Performance of Recycled Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures," National Center for Asphalt Technology Auburn (1995)). Rejuvenators are materials that contain saturates/oils and through a certain method of application are able to restore partially to fully the oxidized asphalt binder properties to its original viscoelastic state (Brownridge, J., "The Role of an Asphalt Rejuvenator in Pavement Preservation: Use and Need for Asphalt Rejuvenation," In: Compendium of Papers From the First International Conference on Pavement Preservation, Newport Beach, Calif. p. 351-64).
Several studies have been published investigating the use of rejuvenators with laboratory-aged asphalt binder, recovered binder from recycled asphalt pavement ("RAP") and by applying rejuvenators on high-RAP mixtures. Rejuvenators act to restore an aged asphalt binder's rheological properties. Asphalt binder restoration is the process in which volatiles and oils are renewed while still keeping the adhesion properties stable. The intent is for a rejuvenator to return the ratio of asphaltenes/maltenes (resigns and oils) in an aged asphalt binder to its original (i.e., virgin, unaged) state (Asli et al., "Investigation on Physical Properties of Waste Cooking Oil—Rejuvenated Bitumen Binder," Constr. Build. Mater. 37:398-405 (2012); Chen et al., "Physical, Chemical and Rheological Properties of Waste Edible Vegetable Oil Rejuvenated Asphalt Binders," Constr. Build. Mater. 66:286-298 (2014); Chen et al., "High Temperature Properties of Rejuvenating Recovered Binder with Rejuvenator, Waste Cooking and Cotton Seed Oils," Constr. Build. Mater. 59:10-16 (2014); D'Angelo et al., "Asphalt Binder Modification with Re-Refined Heavy Vacuum Distillation Oil (RHVDO)," Fifty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Canadian Technical Asphalt Association (CTAA) (2012); Johnson & Hesp, "Effect of Waste Engine Oil Residue on the Quality and Durability of SHRP MRL Binders," Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting (2014); Romera et al., "Rheological Aspects of the Rejuvenation of Aged Bitumen," Rheol Acta 45:474-478 (2006); Zargar et al., "Investigation of the Possibility of Using Waste Cooking Oil as a Rejuvenating Agent for Aged Bitumen," J. Hazard. Mater. 233-234, 254-258 (2012)).
Currently, the increased use of recycled asphalt pavement ("RAP") in hot mix asphalt ("HMA") mixtures has caused use of rejuvenators to increase (Shen et al., "Effects of Rejuvenating Agents on Superpave Mixtures Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement," J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19:376-384 (2007)). Literature shows that as the dosage of rejuvenators in RAP extracted and recovered binder increase, both high and low temperature performance grade ("PG") temperatures decrease linearly (Shen et al., "Effects of Rejuvenating Agents on Superpave Mixtures Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement," J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19:376-384 (2007); Ma et al., "Compound Rejuvenation of Polymer Modified Asphalt Binder," Journal of Wuhan University of Technology, Mater Sci. Ed. 25:1070-1076 (2010); Shen et al., "Effects of Rejuvenating Agents on Superpave Mixtures Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement," J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19:376-384 (2007); Shen & Ohne, "Determining Rejuvenator Content for Recycling Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement by SHRP Binder Specifications," Int. J. Pavement Eng. 3:261-268 (2002); Tran et al., "Effect of Rejuvenator on Performance Properties of HMA Mixtures with High RAP and RAS Contents," Auburn, Ala.:National Center for Asphalt Technology (2012); Zaumanis et al., "Determining Optimum Rejuvenator Dose for Asphalt Recycling Based on Superpave Performance Grade Specifications," Constr. Build. Mater. 69:159-166 (2014)). However, this decrease assists in restoring the RAP extracted and recovered binder PG to virgin unaged PG grade or better (Zaumanis et al., "Determining Optimum Rejuvenator Dose for Asphalt Recycling Based on Superpave Performance Grade Specifications," Constr. Build. Mater. 69:159-166 (2014)). Due to the restorative properties of rejuvenators to RAP and RAP extracted and recovered binder, evaluation of waste products such as recycled motor oil ("RO") for use as a rejuvenator has also been evaluated (Romera et al., "Rheological Aspects of the Rejuvenation of Aged Bitumen," Rheol Acta 45:474-478 (2006)). In the work by Romera et al., "Rheological Aspects of the Rejuvenation of Aged Bitumen," Rheol Acta 45:474-478 (2006), it was found that by adding 20% RO to an aged asphalt binder (pen grade 0-10) they were able to achieve the same penetration grade as a commercially used pen grade 60/70. If RO can be successfully used as a rejuvenator of RAP binders, then the same idea could work with vacuum tower bottoms (VTB) through the use of bio-derived materials ("BDMs").
Vacuum tower distillation bottoms ("VTBs"), is an asphalt material produced from coking in petroleum refineries to increase production of higher economic value lighter components such as gasoline and jet fuel. Due to the loss of saturates from this process, VTBs are very stiff and are heavily limited for use in paving.
When considering what rejuvenator to use in aged asphalt binder an important item to examine is the effect of the rejuvenator on the oxidative aging of the restored binder. Asphalt oxidation occurs when an asphalt's molecules are exposed over time to "polar, oxygen-containing chemical functionalities" causing the asphalt to harden (Petersen, J. C., "A Review of the Fundamentals of Asphalt Oxidation: Chemical, Physicochemical, Physical Property, and Durability Relationships," Transportation Research E-Circular (E-C140) (2009)). Depending on how an asphalt binder is affected by oxidation it could shorten a pavement's service life because of substantial premature fatigue cracking. The chemical makeup of asphalt is categorized into four fractions: asphaltenes, saturates, aromatics, and resins. Changing the proportions of the four fractions in an asphalt binder will change the performance grade either making it stiffer or softer. Asphaltenes (heavier component) are the portion of asphalt that gives asphalt its stiffness, while the other three fractions—maltenes (saturates, aromatics, and resins), the lighter components give asphalt its softening effect (Petersen, J. C., "A Review of the Fundamentals of Asphalt Oxidation: Chemical, Physicochemical, Physical Property, and Durability Relationships," Transportation Research E-Circular (E-C140) (2009)).
For simulating field aging of asphalt binder in the laboratory there are three stages of aging; unaged, short-term aged, and long-term aged testing. During short-term aging, the binder hardens due to oxidation and volatilization of the lighter components to simulate manufacture and laydown of pavement in the field, while long-term aging is caused by oxidation at in-service temperatures. Over both stages of aging the asphaltene content increases and the maltene content decreases, but at different rates. In short-term aging, more of the maltene phase is lost due to volatilization than due to chemical changing into asphaltenes. In long-term aging more maltenes are changed chemically into asphaltenes from oxidation than those lost to volatilization. As asphaltene content increases, flocculation and gelation of the colloidal structure are increased, thus leading to higher viscosity/greater stiffening effect. As stated earlier the role of rejuvenators is to reverse the effect of aging by returning the ratio of maltenes to asphaltenes in the aged binder to its original state (Romera et al., "Rheological Aspects of the Rejuvenation of Aged Bitumen," Rheol Acta 45:474-478 (2006)).
Another impact from asphalt binder rejuvenation is that mixing and compaction temperatures as determined through rotational viscosity testing decrease. Mix and compaction temperatures are important because they dictate what temperatures should be used in a hot mix asphalt plant during the drying and mixing of aggregates with asphalt binder as well as the laydown temperatures at the field site. Effects from reduced temperatures are seen in the form of reduced fuel usage, cost savings, as well as reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—CO2, NOX, SOX, and CO. Like rejuvenators, warm mix asphalt technologies have similar effects on mixing and compaction temperatures of asphalt mix. There have been numerous studies done on warm mix asphalt (WMA) primarily concerned with the reduction in production temperatures, fuel usage, and emissions, as well as the cost savings associated with these reductions (Almeida-Costa et al., "Economic and Environmental Impact Study of Warm Mix Asphalt Compared to Hot Mix Asphalt," J. Clean. Prod. 112:2308-2317. Part 4. (2016); Harder et al., "Energy and Environmental Gains of Warm and Half-Warm Asphalt Mix: Quantitative Approach," In: Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting (2008); and Rubio et al., "Warm Mix Asphalt: An Overview," J. Clean. Prod. 24, 76-84 (2012)). The extreme of WMA is half warm mix asphalt (HWMA) which is produced at even lower temperatures than those used for WMA. Rubio et al., "Comparative Analysis of Emissions From the Manufacture and Use of Hot and Half-Warm Mix Asphalt," J. Clean. Prod. 41:1-6 (2013) showed that production of HWMA at temperatures between 60° C. and 100° C., reduced CO2 and SO2 emissions by 58.5% and 99.9% when compared to the emission levels of a HMA control produced between 150° C. and 190° C.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.

Rejuvenation of vacuum tower bottoms through bio-derived materials

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.


A home automation system, for controlling a plurality of uniquely identifiable appliances within a dwelling having several rooms, each room designated as a zone, using a zone controller located within each room. Each appliance has a designated zone according to the room it is located within. Each zone controller is capable of receiving user customizable voice commands. When each voice command is received by one of the zone controllers associated with one of the appliances, a command is transmitted by that zone controller to the associated appliance if within the zone. If the appliance is within another of the designated zones, the zone controller receiving the voice command transmits a command to the zone controller having the same zone designation as that appliance, which in turn transmits the command to the appliance.

The invention relates to an electronic automation system. In particular, the invention is an electronic automation system having a master unit and a plurality of working units each connected to a light switch or electrical outlet. The master unit is programmable to retain inputted information, and sends signals to the working units according to the user's instructions.
New technology can make tasks easier and more convenient. In addition, control system technology promises to allow us to manage our technology effectively. Where automation has allowed most manufacturing and business processes to be performed as desired with minimal human interaction, comprehensive home automation has been slow to develop. Voice recognition systems enable people to operate individual electronic devices, such as appliances and telephones, simply by speaking commands into the device. However, the ability to universally control a large variety of devices with a single integrated system would be highly desirable—especially in the home.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.


A discharge capacitor for use in electronic circuits is described. The discharge capacitor has first internal electrodes in electrical contact with a first external termination and second internal electrodes parallel to and interleaved with the first internal electrodes wherein the second internal electrodes are in electrical contact with a second external termination. A dielectric is between the first internal electrodes and adjacent second internal electrodes. A first discharge gap is between at least one first internal electrode of said first internal electrodes and said second external termination.

Overvoltage protection is typically provided by voltage dependent resistors, such as Schottky diodes based on SiC, or varistors, based on ZnO, which work on solid state principles related to grain boundary conduction.
The most popular type of voltage dependent resistors, or varistors, are based on zinc oxide doped with other elements to control the grain boundaries. These devices depend on their non-linear I-V behavior transient voltage surges. However, there are some significant compromises that result from their use. Voltage permanently applied to the varistor must be carefully limited to avoid excessive power dissipation. Since they often have a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity a runaway condition can easily be precipitated. Subjecting varistors to electric fields can change the characteristic and result in an increase in current and power dissipated as heat degrading performance.
There has been an ongoing desire for an overvoltage protection device which does not have the deficiencies of the prior art.


A variety of embodiments of varactor diodes are disclosed ranging from an N.times.N matrix assembly of individually packaged diodes arranged in N rows and columns to a multi-continuous layered varactor. The matrix assembly varactor has N rows of discrete devices electrically coupled in parallel and multiple rows vertically aligned and electrically coupled in series to each other. The overall matrix assembly capacitance equals the individual diode capacitance of such assembly. When used as a tuning component across a tank coil transmission line, the RF voltage across any device in the matrix assembly is equal to the tank voltage divided by N.

The present invention relates to communication systems and more specifically to high power UHF filter elements.
Relays are used extensively for high power, UHF, switched-capacitor filters. The relay tuning time is presently restricted to approximately 1 millisecond. Switched-capacitor filters utilizing PIN-diodes can achieve tuning speeds of 100 microseconds or faster but require high-voltage and high-current power supplies to bias the PIN diodes in order to attain such high speed operation. Another limitation to contend with is that the current state of the art in PIN-diode technology does not support filter power-handling levels of 100 watts or greater. The highest power level for reasonable bandwidth, frequency-agile, switched-capacitor filters is approximately 25 watts, as typified by the F1556 which utilizes a bias supply of 500 Vdc and is available from the assignee of the present invention.
The F1556 filter represents a state of the art UHF switched-capacitor filter which uses PIN-diodes to achieve an approximate tuning time of 100 microseconds. Although the 100 microsecond tuning time can be met with PIN-diode switching, the resulting filter would require PIN-diode bias voltages greater than 1000 volts to achieve the 100 W power level. Such high switching voltage causes amplifier slew rate and EMI/noise problems. Moreover, suitable PIN-diodes with low "on" resistance, high "off" resistance, and 2000 V breakdown voltage are not presently available as commodity items.
Varactor tuned filters are an alternative to PIN-diode switched capacitor filters. Unfortunately, varactor diode tuned filters are currently limited to power levels less than 1 W because of the impracticality of building varactor devices with tuning voltages greater than 100 volts while retaining high unloaded Q (Qu). High-voltage varactors characteristically have high series resistance which degrades the Q.
Prior art in varactor diode tuning has included back-to-back varactors and some attempts at layering varactors to reduce the RF voltage across a given varactor. These prior attempts were typically unsuccessful, in part because standard miniature packaging concepts were not suitable for power applications that require special large scale packaging. In some instances, varactors were integrated into a size where the high lead inductance limited the tuning range as it approaches series resonance, and degraded the unloaded Q of the varactor because of the higher current and consequently conductor loss in the bond wires.
The solution to this large scale packaging problem is the novelty of the proposed invention.

High power tuning device using layered varactors