A leaning vehicle suspension. Preferred embodiments have two transversely-mounted steerable front wheels and a single rear wheel, but the vehicle suspension of the present invention may be used with two-wheeled vehicles or four-wheeled vehicles, and front and rear coupled vehicle suspensions may be employed. Two preferred embodiments of the vehicle suspension of the present invention are described. Both have a transverse leaf spring, left and right rotary dampers, and independent left and right parallelogram transverse control arms movably mounting left and right wheel mounting members to the vehicle's frame. A rocker member, to which the rotary dampers and leaf spring are mounted, is pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame by a central pivot bearing, permitting the rocker member to pivot about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The parallelogram geometry holds the front wheels at even camber throughout the suspension travel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to vehicles, and in particular, to a vehicle suspension for a leaning vehicle, i.e., one that leans side-to-side as it turns.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Motorcycle accidents claim over 5,000 lives per year and over 1,000 lives per year in single-vehicle accidents. Two-wheeled motorized vehicles such as motorcycles have excellent acceleration, efficiency, and cornering prowess, but poor control and stability. Four-wheeled vehicles such as all-terrain vehicles ("ATVs") have good control and stability but lack the efficiency and cornering ability of motorcycles.
Motorcycles are known to be susceptible to so-called "low-side crashes", which are caused by loss of front wheel traction during a turn, and which are the most prevalent cause of single-vehicle motorcycle accidents. Motorcycles are also known to be susceptible to so-called "high-side crashes", which are caused by a sudden increase in rear wheel traction that quickly leans a motorcycle out of a turn, and which are the most violent of single-vehicle motorcycle accidents.
It is therefore desirable to have a safer leaning vehicle suspension that provides a stable high-performance vehicle, that substantially eliminates low-side crashes and high-side crashes common in prior art vehicles, and that combines the high cornering speeds and low vehicle weight of a motorcycle with stability and control heretofore only possible with four-wheeled vehicles.
It is further desirable to have improved front wheel braking performance as compared with prior art two-wheeled motorcycles, and to significantly reduce the danger of front wheel lockup under heavy braking conditions.
It is still further desirable to provide a leaning vehicle suspension that improves safety and permits use with a fuel-efficient vehicle that has high performance while also being inexpensive to construct.
Prior art three-wheeled ATV designs are known that were popular in the late 1980s, subsequently banned as unsafe by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which had a single steerable front wheel and a pair of rear wheels mounted on a solid rear axle. Such prior art designs are incapable of nimble handling and have poor performance characteristics.
Two principal factors, namely, gyroscopic forces and steering input, are known to affect balance and stability of a two-wheeled vehicle.
Typically, gyroscopic precession forces only contribute significantly to balance at high speed. Greater wheel masses, of course, impart greater stabilizing forces. When riding a motorcycle at high speeds, it can be noted that steering effort becomes "heavy". The rider experiences a much higher resistance to steering inputs because of the gyroscopic stabilization effect. However, at low speeds this effect is quite minor and not nearly significant enough to generate the forces required to balance a motorcycle. Experimentation with vehicles equipped with counter-rotating wheel weights confirms that two-wheeled vehicle balance and stability remain largely intact even when gyroscopic forces have been canceled.
By far the greatest influence on two-wheeled vehicle balance is steering input. As long as the vehicle and rider's combined center of gravity sits on the line connecting the front and rear, a two-wheeled vehicle is in balance. As anyone who has ever ridden a bicycle through a puddle might notice, tracks left by the front wheel are akin to a sine wave, weaving left and right across the track of the rear wheel. Balance on a two-wheeled vehicle is a series of falls. As described from a rider's perspective, when the bicycle starts to tip to the left, for example, the center of gravity also moves left. Thus, to maintain balance, the rider must steer left so that the front wheel moves left. At some point in this maneuver, the bicycle leans back upright. In a typical case, however, the rider will still have the handlebars turned slightly left, causing the center of gravity to move to the right of the line connecting the front and rear ground contact patches, thereby causing the bicycle to now lean to the right. The rider compensates by steering to the right, and the process repeats. Skilled riders are often so smooth, and their oscillations so minor, that this balance mechanism goes unnoticed. Performance motorcycle riding schools worldwide, however, teach the mantra "push right to go right". In other words, pushing on the right handlebar (which turns the front wheel to the left) initiates a rightward vehicle lean. This "fall" allows the rider to set a cornering lean angle that is appropriate for the vehicle's speed and intended trajectory. The rider then turns the front wheel back to the right to maintain balance.
The inventors are aware of the following patents and publications, some of which may be relevant to the present invention: Bourne, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,469 (issued Nov. 25, 1986); Satoh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,859 (issued Apr. 9, 1991); Brudeli, U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,419 (issued May 12, 2009); Suhre et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,337 (issued Sep. 22, 2009); Suhre et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0075517 A1 (published Apr. 5, 2007); Brudeli, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/1076384 A1 (published Aug. 2, 2007); MMT 280897—Tracer Steering Geometry (Dec. 6, 2000) (Millennium Motorcycles, North Fremantle, Australia); MMT 030100—Tracer Steering Hub Honda VT 250 Wheels (Dec. 6, 2000) (Millennium Motorcycles, North Fremantle, Australia); HyperTrike (Dec. 6, 2000) (Millennium Motorcycles, North Fremantle, Australia); Monotracer—Expanding a Sustainable Concept of Driving (Apr. 3, 2008) (Peraves AG, Winterthur, Switzerland); TL1000 Motorcycle Service Manual (1997) (rotary damper shown on pages 6-33, 6-34, 6-35, and 6-36) (Suzuki Motor Corporation, Takatsuka, Japan); YZ250T1 Motorcycle Parts Reference (2005) (rear wheel shown in Drawing 5NY1100-A271) (Yamaha Corporation, Shizuoka, Japan).
None of these references, either singly or in combination, discloses or suggests the present invention.


The disclosed invention relates to novel 3'-N-O, 9-O-oxime protected, 6-O-alkyl erthyromycin derivatives, a process of preparing the same. The invention also relates to a process of preparing 6-O-alkyl erythromycin A by eliminating the 3'-N-oxide group and 9-O-oxime protecting groups and optionally deprotecting the hydroxy groups at the 2'- and 4"- positions under suitable reaction conditions.

6-O-methylerythromycin A (clarithromycin), shown below, is a potent macrolide antibiotic disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,803. ##STR1##
In general, the process for making clarithromycin can be thought of as a four-step procedure beginning with erythromycin A as the starting material:
Step 1: optionally convert the 9-oxo group to an oxime;
Step 2: protect the 2' and 4" hydroxyl groups;
Step 3: methylate the 6-hydroxyl group;
Step 4: deprotect at the 2', 4" and 9-positions.
A variety of means for preparing 6-O-methylerythromycin A have been described. 6-O-methylerythromycin A can be prepared by methylating a 2'-O-3'-N-dibenzyloxycarbonyl-des-N-methyl derivative of erythromycin A (U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,803). 6-O-methylerythromycin A can also be made from 9-oxime erythromycin A derivatives (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,274,085; 4,680,386; 4,668,776; 4,670,549 and 4,672,109 and European Patent Application 0260938 A2).
In those reports relating to 9-oxime erythromycin A derivatives, the oxime is protected during methylation with a 2-alkenyl group (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,670,549 and 4,668,776), a benzyl or substituted benzyl group (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,386, and 4,670,549) or a moiety selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl, substituted alkyl, lower alkenyl, aryl substituted methyl, substituted oxalkyl, and substituted thiomethyl (U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,109).
There are drawbacks to the existing methods for producing 6-O-methylerythromycin A. By way of example, failure to protect the 2'-OH group leads to undesired methylation of that group. Existing methods for protecting the 2'-OH group are unsatisfactory because those methods also require protection of the 3'-nitrogen. U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,386 discloses protection of the 2'-OH group with a benzyloxy carbonyl moiety. Under such circumstances, however, the 3'-nitrogen also undergoes N-demethylation followed by N-benzyloxy carbonyl formation. This 3'-N-benzyloxy carbonyl group must be deprotected following 6-O-methylation. The 3'-dimethylamino group is regenerated following 6-O-methylation by N-methylation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,549 discloses protection of the 2'-OH group as a benzyl or like substituent. Under these circumstances, the 3'-nitrogen group must also be protected as a quaternary salt. This quaternary salt must be removed following 6-O-methylation to regenerate the 3'-dimethyl amino group. By way of further example, the use of benzyloxycarbonyl groups for protection of the 2'-hydroxy group (U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,803) requires large amounts of benzyl chloroformate, which is severely irritating and toxic.
There continues to be a need to provide a rapid, efficient method of producing 6-O-alkylerythromycin compounds that uses mild, neutral synthetic conditions. In particular, it is desirable to provide a process which does not require protection of the 2'-hydroxy group.

3'-N'oxide, 3'-n-dimethylamine, 9-oxime erythromycin a derivatives


An x-ray examination apparatus includes an x-ray source for emitting x-rays and an x-ray detector for deriving an image signal from an x-ray image. The x-ray detector has a semiconductor element including one or several sensor elements. Further the x-ray examination apparatus is provided with a bias radiation source for irradiating the x-ray detector with electromagnetic radiation. In particular, the x-ray detector is an x-ray sensor matrix having a multitude of semiconductor sensor elements. Preferably the bias radiation source is arranged to emit infrared radiation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an x-ray examination apparatus comprising an x-ray source for emitting x-rays, an x-ray detector for deriving an image signal from an x-ray image, and including a semiconductor element.
2. Description of Related Art
Such an x-ray examination apparatus is known from the European patent application EP 0 642 264.
In the known x-ray examination apparatus the x-ray detector is an x-ray sensor matrix. The known x-ray examination apparatus is provided with a correction unit. The correction unit counteracts disturbances in the image signal which are caused by delayed emission of electric charges from the x-ray image sensor matrix. Incident x-rays release electric charge carriers, i.e. photocharges, notably photoelectrons, in the x-ray image sensor matrix and these electric charges are detected. The signal levels of the image signal represent the detected electric charges. A part of the electric charge carriers can be trapped in a trap-state, be retained in such a trap-state, and can escape from the trap-state at a later stage and are detected as electric charges with a delay. If the image signal with the disturbances were applied to a monitor for displaying the image information, not only the image information of the instantaneous image would be reproduced, but at the same time also image information of a previously picked-up image. As a result after-images would be displayed together with the instantaneous image.
The correction unit of the known x-ray examination apparatus utilizes an intricate mathematical model based on physical considerations for the trapping and subsequent release of electric charge carriers so as to correct disturbances due to electric charge carriers emitted in a delayed fashion. A drawback of the correction unit of the known x-ray examination apparatus is that the computations necessary to obtain the corrected image signal are rather complicated so that a powerful arithmetic unit is required. A rather fast and therefore quite expensive arithmetic unit is required to keep short the time which is needed for the correction of the image signal so as to render the known x-ray examination apparatus suitable for imaging rapid dynamic processes. Moreover, the required programming of the arithmetic unit is complicated, so that well educated staff is needed to set up the correction unit.

X-ray examination apparatus with a semiconductor x-ray detector


In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a method may include generating a master cryptographic key for encrypting and decrypting the one or more variables stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible to a basic input/output system of an information handling system. The method may also include encrypting the master cryptographic key with a system password, such that the master cryptographic key as encrypted with the system password may be decrypted and used to encrypt and decrypt the one or more variables in response to entry by a user of the system password. The method may further include encrypting the master cryptographic key with an administrator password, such that the master cryptographic key as encrypted with the administrator password may be decrypted and used to encrypt and decrypt the one or more variables in response to entry by an administrator of the administrator password.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A key component of almost every information handling system is the basic input/output system (BIOS). A BIOS may be a system, device, or apparatus configured to identify, test, and/or initialize one or more information handling resources of an information handling system, typically during boot up or power on of an information handling system. A BIOS may include boot firmware configured to be the first code executed by a processor of an information handling system when the information handling system is booted and/or powered on. As part of its initialization functionality, BIOS code may be configured to set components of the information handling system into a known state, so that one or more applications (e.g., an operating system or other application programs) stored on compatible media may be executed by a processor and given control of the information handling system and its various components.
In the course of its operation, a BIOS may store many variables from boot to boot of an information handling system. A BIOS may store such variables in a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) integral to or otherwise accessible to the BIOS. However, such storage method is inherently insecure, as other processes occurring before and after boot my read this storage area. Some obfuscation methods may be employed, but may be easily defeated by would-be attackers.
Ideally, confidential variables would be secured through encryption before being stored in NVRAM. The variables could then be decrypted before use by the BIOS. However, encrypting variables requires a cryptographic key that must be available at boot time. Possible ways to have such a key available at boot time are to generate the key on each boot or storing the key in a persistent manner from boot to boot. Storing the key persistently is subject to many of the same problems as storing the variables themselves: the key may be easily snooped and could therefore not be trusted with the security of encrypted variables. Generating the key on each boot is also subject to problems, as deterministic algorithms for generating a key on each boot may also be snooped from the BIOS code, and once reverse engineered, employed to replicate a key for multiple informations handling systems.
Another solution might be to use a system/user password, which is already implemented to prevent access to the system by unauthorized parties, in conjunction with a key derivation function to produce an identical key on every boot which may be used to encrypt and decrypt sensitive BIOS variables. However, in some information handling systems, an administrator password may be used to access an information handling system where a system/user password has been forgotten or is unavailable (e.g., due to hardware reallocation, employee termination, etc.). In this situation, a key derivation function applied to the administrator password would generate a different key than the system/user password, and would thus fail to decrypt the previously-encrypted variables.

Systems and methods for securing BIOS variables


A power conversion apparatus includes: a bridge circuit between AC and DC ends; a converter circuit between the bridge circuit and the DC end; and a control device for the converter circuit. The converter circuit includes: first and second switches in series between terminals of the bridge circuit; third and fourth switches in series between terminals of the DC end; and a reactor between an intermediate point of the first and second switches and an intermediate point of the third and fourth switches. The control device includes: a first controller defining a part of a cycle of an AC voltage as a stop period and stopping switching the first and second switches during the stop period; and a second controller performing voltage/power factor correction controls over an entire cycle by switching the third and/or fourth switches.

Patent Document 1 discloses a power conversion apparatus capable of performing step-up and -down operations. This power conversion apparatus makes four switch elements continuously perform switching operations in order to suppress a spike occurring at the switching between step-up and step-down operations. More specifically, two switch elements Q1 and Q2 provided on the side of an AC end perform a step-down operation by switching at a constant duty.
The configuration in the related art has a large switching loss because the switch elements continuously perform switching operations. In particular, the two switch elements Q1 and Q2 provided on the side of the AC end have a large switching loss.
When viewed from a different viewpoint, an input current from the AC end is interrupted by the switching operations of the two switch elements Q1 and Q2 provided on the side of the AC end. A reactor current flowing to a reactor is therefore large. As a result, a reactor loss is increased due to the large reactor current. Further, a conduction loss and a switching loss of the switching elements are further increased due to the large reactor current.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3825386 (JP-A-2004-135372)

Power conversion apparatus that provides power conversion between AC and DC power


This invention provides a sample analyzing device and sample analyzing method designed to suppress nonuniform capture of magnetic particles (10) and detect a desired substance with higher accuracy. The sample analyzing device includes a flow channel (15) that conducts thereinto a sample which contains the magnetic particles (10), and magnetic field generating means (12) that generates magnetic fields for capturing the magnetic particles (10) in a magnetic particles capturing region of the flow channel (15); wherein the flow channel has at least one of structural characteristics that a cross-sectional area of the flow channel, at a downstream end of the magnetic particles capturing region, is larger than a cross-sectional area of the flow channel, at an upstream end of the magnetic particles capturing region, and that the magnetic fields generated by the magnetic field generating means (12) have a greater magnitude at a downstream side of the magnetic particles capturing region than at an upstream side thereof.

First, immunoassay is described below as an example of sample analysis.
Immunological testing uses specific reactions between an antigen and an antibody, to detect or quantitatively measure the antibody or antigen in a body fluid such as plasma, serum, or urine, and diagnose a disease, a pathological state, and the like. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is available as a typical method of immunological testing. In the ELISA method, an antibody against an antigen which is to be assayed is immobilized as a first antibody in a bottom portion of a container and then a sample of plasma, serum, or urine is added in the container to bind the antigen in the sample to the first antibody. In addition, an antibody with a label bound thereto is further bound as a second antibody to the antigen bounded to the first antibody, and then a signal emitted from the label can be detected. The presence and quantity of antigen in the sample is thus assayed. A fluorescent substance, for example, is used as the label. In this case, intensity of the light emitted from the fluorescent substance increases in proportion to the number of second antibodies having the label bounded thereto, that is, the quantity of antigen, and using a photomultiplier or the like to detect the light emitted from the fluorescent substance will allow quantification of the antigen in the sample.
In a more specific example of an immunological test device using an ELISA method, magnetic particles are used as a solid phase, with a first antibody being immobilized to the surface of the magnetic particles. A substance with a fluorescent dye bounded thereto as a label, that is, a fluorochrome-labeled substance is bound to a second antibody. When an antigen-antibody reaction is caused by mixing a biologically derived detection substance (antigen) and the magnetic particles having the first antibody immobilized thereto, a specific antigen contained in the sample binds to the magnetic particles via the first antibody. When the second antibody is further made to react, the fluorochrome-labeled substance binds to the magnetic particles via the second antibody, the antigen, and the first antibody. The quantity of fluorochrome-labeled substance depends upon, and thus increases or decreases with, the quantity of detection substance contained in the sample, that is, upon the quantity of antigen.
After the magnetic particles with the detection substance bounded thereto have been captured onto a specific region, a laser or the like is activated for that solution. The fluorochrome-labeled substance bound to the magnetic particles will then emit light. Detection of the intensity of the emitted light will allow the quantity of detection substance in the sample, that is, the quantity of antigen, to be assayed. That is to say, the antigen in the sample can be quantitatively measured.
To conduct highly sensitive immunoassay, the magnetic particles with the detection substance (antigen) bounded thereto are captured onto a specific region using a magnet or the like, and while the magnetic particles remain captured, the solution that contains antibodies unbound to the antigen of interest is replaced with a new solution. That is to say, bound antigen-antibody aggregates and free (unbound) ones are separated from each other. This operation is called "bound/free (B/F) separation".
Methods for causing magnetic particles to be captured onto a capturing region in an analyzing device are described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

Sample analyzing device and sample analyzing method


A method of producing sodium carbonate from any solution or carbonate mineral, especially trona, that includes: removing calcium and magnesium compounds from an input solution; passing the input solution to a precipitator, adding methanol of 30% to 70% by volume to the solution in the precipitator so as to precipitate carbonate from the solution, washing the precipitated carbonate with a methanol-containing solution, and drying the washed precipitated crystals at low temperatures. The present invention provides a refined technique for reducing impurities and increasing efficiency of the process whereby sodium carbonate crystals can be formed of various sizes, shapes, densities and distributions by adjusting various parameters of the process. The sodium carbonate crystals produced from the process may originate from an input solution comprised of calcined-sodium carbonate solution, tailing pond water, waste pond water, sesquicarbonate or uncalcined trona solution, or from various mixtures of carbonates and bicarbonates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processes for manufacturing sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate crystals. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for forming sodium carbonate crystals of a desired size, shape and density.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Much of the world's production of soda ash is produced from natural trona deposits. Natural trona ore is a hydrated mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate along with various organic and inorganic impurities. Currently, soda ash is produced from trona by one of two processes (1) the monohydrate process or (2) the sesquicarbonate process.
In the monohydrate process, trona ore is first calcined in a rotary kiln at temperatures of 175 to 200° C./347 to 397° F. This serves to convert bicarbonate to carbonate. Calcining operations at temperatures between 350 to 400° C. also destroy organic impurities present in the ore. Inorganic contaminants are removed from the calcined trona by dissolving the material in water and recrystallizing sodium carbonate from the filtered solution through the use of heat applied to the water. Soluble inorganic impurities, such as sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate, remain in the mother liquor. Insoluble impurities, such as shale and calcium carbonate, are removed by filtration prior to crystallization. The resulting sodium carbonate crystals, in the monohydrate form, are separated by filtration or centrifugation. The monohydrate crystals are then dried and calcined to anhydrous sodium carbonate. The sesquicarbonate process utilizes basically the same unit operations as the monohydrate process. However, the arrangement of these unit operations differs.
In the sesquicarbonate process, trona ore is first dissolved in hot water and the resulting solution filtered to remove insoluble impurities. Organic impurities are then removed by adsorption of the organics on activated carbon. Pure trona (or sesquicarbonate) is then recrystallized from the purified solution by using triple-effect evaporators. A solution of sodium carbonate (to maintain in excess of 10 to 25% excess carbonate) is recycled in the evaporators so as to obtain the sesquicarbonate. Since trona is an incongruently dissolving double salt, sesquicarbonate cannot be formed by cooling. This, once again, leaves soluble inorganic impurities in the mother liquor. The sesquicarbonate crystals are then calcined to produce sodium carbonate.
These processes are described in detail in various U.S. patents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,133, issued on Nov. 18, 1969, to F. M. Warzel describes the monohydrate process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,655, issued in January of 1964, to Frint et al. describes the sesquicarbonate process. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,567, issued on July of 1966, to Hellmers et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,540, issued on Jan. 2, 1968, to Peverly et al. teach these sesquicarbonate processes.
Both the monohydrate and sesquicarbonate processes produce sodium carbonate crystals having a density range of 0.95 to 1.25 g/cc. Some applications (those in which the sodium carbonate is to be used in solution form) prefer the use of lower density crystals or higher surface area crystals. U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,149, issued on Aug. 27, 1991, to Frint et al., and assigned to the FMC Corporation, describes a process for the manufacture of such low density soda ash crystals. Sodium carbonate crystals obtained from all of the above process will vary greatly in size distribution. A large variety of commercial products are produced by the above-described processes. Each of the sodium carbonate crystals formed by these various processes were analyzed for the purpose of showing the size distribution of the crystals. The attached Table I shows the size distribution and shape of the various commercial products:
TABLE ICommercial ProductsGeneral ChemicalITOCHU ChemSolution IDFMC 100FMC 160FMC 260RP LiteRP DenseSyntheticFine SyntheticMeOH Feed rateN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ARP feed rateN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AMeOH feed rateN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AInitial soln. volumeN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ARPMLocation of additionN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ACrystal Density (lb/ft3)49.461.965.315261.43560.2Size Distribution (%)1000 u0.2 850 u0002.80.303.6 600 u0.038.5 425 u0.9821.1 355 u15.510.111.3828.554.74.1 300 u23.3 250 u30.435.829.3931.733.24.3 213 u24.5 150 u29.4813.5 106 u46.449.217.2132.83135.23.1 75 u7.550.9 63 u184.108.40.2064.10.833.1 45 u1 <45 u0.3 38 u0.10.20.10.314.5 <38 u00008.5ScreenedxxxxxxxNot ScreenedxDetergency (%)Absorptivity (%)13.912.52517.8Sulfate (ppm)30040070010003000200600TOC (ppm)5628Crystal MorphologyLarge rodsSmall rodsBlockyMixed ballsMixed ballsSmall snowflakesSmall BallsDateMay 26, 1995Jun. 28, 1995Sep. 1, 1995Jun. 28, 1995Jun. 28, 1995Jun. 28, 1995November 1995
The various sizes, shapes and distributions of crystals are applicable in various processes. For example, a large size distribution can adversely affect the dissolving rates of the sodium carbonate and also can produce undesirable dust (at less than about 60 microns). This poses a problem if the material is to be used in dry processes, such as glass manufacturing. In addition, a wide particle size distribution can cause serious problems in the filtration or centrifugation processes which are used to separate the crystals from the mother liquor. As such, it is desirable to form sodium carbonate crystals which have a size distribution, shape and density which mirrors that of commercial products while producing such products at a relatively low cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,077, issued on Apr. 22, 1986, to Chlanda et al. describes a process for recovering sodium carbonate from trona and other mixtures of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. This process includes the steps of: (1) forming an aqueous solution comprising sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate; (2) removing a portion of the sodium bicarbonate from the solution so as to form a mother liquor comprising sodium carbonate and a reduced amount of sodium bicarbonate; (3) subjecting the mother liquor to an electrodialytic water splitting by circulating the water liquor through an electrodialytic water splitter to produce a liquid reaction product comprising sodium carbonate substantially free of sodium bicarbonate; and (4) withdrawing the liquid reaction product comprising sodium carbonate substantially free of sodium bicarbonate from the electrodialytic water splitter. In this patent, it was described that the sodium carbonate solution product from the base compartment is fed to a primary absorber wherein a liquid loading substance is absorbed into the sodium carbonate solution. The "liquid loading substance" includes liquids such as ammonia, methanol, ethanol and the like. This is added to the sodium carbonate solution to cause the sodium carbonate to crystallize out as the decahydrate, monohydrate or mixtures thereof. As a reaction product, these can be readily separated from the crystallized sodium carbonate-containing material.
This Chlanda process is an extremely energy inefficient process for producing sodium carbonate from trona. A sodium carbonate solution is produced from an electrodialytic water splitter. Sodium bicarbonate is converted to sodium carbonate prior to reacting with the "liquid loading substance".
U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,385, issued on Feb. 8, 2000, to the present inventor teaches a method of producing sodium carbonate or bicarbonate from any solution or carbonate mineral, but especially from trona, that comprises the steps of: (1) passing a solution containing calcined trona, a solution of carbonate, or tailing pond water to a precipitator; (2) adding methanol of 30% to 70% by volume to the solution in the precipitator so as to precipitate carbonate from the solution, (3) washing the precipitated carbonate with an alcohol-containing solution, and (4) drying the washed precipitated crystals at low temperatures. Fundamentally, the process of the present invention provides a technique whereby sodium carbonate crystals can be formed of various sizes, shapes, densities and distributions by adjusting various parameters of the process. In particular, such sodium carbonate crystals can be produced from various inputs such as from a calcined-sodium carbonate solution, from tailing pond water, from sesquicarbonate or uncalcined trona, or from various mixtures of carbonates and bicarbonates.
Applications of the currently known processes for producing sodium carbonate crystals encounter problems when adjusting for the various types of sodium carbonate containing solutions. Such input solutions range from relatively pure bicarbonate solution, carbonate-bicarbonate solution, sesquicarbonate solution, calcined trona solution, uncalcined trona solution to tailing pond water. Each type of input solution contains various impurities and compounds which reduce the efficiency of the precipitation processes and affect the purity of the sodium carbonate crystals produced.
For example, when processing trona deposits from waste ponds and tailing ponds, the input solution from the ponds contain mostly carbonate and decahydrated carbonate with water impurities over 200,000 ppm and high levels of organics, hardness, silica and sulfates. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,385, issued on Feb. 8, 2000, to the present inventor, the amount of impurities may be minimized in sodium carbonate crystals by making large size crystals. The process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,385 also appears to convert the decahydrate carbonate to a lower hydrate and even to a monohydrate. Thus, when using the process of U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,385, additional heat to dehydrate the decahydrated carbonate is not required, unlike other disclosed processes.
Currently, the methods of precipitating sodium carbonate crystals from the various sources of sodium carbonate solutions requires finding means to reduce the amount of impurities from natural or less-refined sources. One method considered is to freeze the input solution in order to reduce the amount of impurities. For organic impurities, some methods include using organoclay to filter out organic impurities. For the hardness impurities, the removal involves steam stripping. For the silica impurities, alumina is used for the silica removal. Both the silica and hardness removal processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,385 to the present inventor. It is also known that hardness impurities may be removed by contacting with fresh water and the solid crystals in the precipitation process. These hardness impurities removed by this procedure include calcium and magnesium compounds. However, calcium and magnesium remain in the solution even after known means to attempt to purify the precipitated crystals.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the manufacture of sodium carbonate or bicarbonate crystals that reduces scaling and impurity levels caused by hardness compounds, such as dolomite and trace shorite found in trona formations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the manufacture of sodium carbonate or bicarbonate crystals that reduces calcium and magnesium impurities from the input solution.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for the manufacture of sodium carbonate or bicarbonate crystals that washes excess methanol from the precipitated crystals so as to allow the use of direct fire dryers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process that improves the overall heat balance.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a process for removing methanol from the precipitated crystals before drying.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Process for sodium carbonate crystals from solutions


An inverter includes an intermediate circuit, inverter bridge branches downstream of the intermediate circuit for outputting a power signal, and a controller operable for individually turning on and off the inverter bridge branches. The controller may individually turn on and off the inverter bridge branches as a function of an electrical quantity. The electrical quantity may be indicative of a voltage or a change in voltage occurring in the intermediate circuit during operation of the inverter. The electrical quantity may be indicative of the output power signal. The inverter bridge branches may include three inverter bridge branches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical inverter having an intermediate circuit and a plurality of inverter bridge branches.
2. Background Art
An inverter has one, two, or three inverter bridge branches on its output side to correspondingly produce an output voltage having one, two, or three phases. A typical inverter switches on as an entire unit. As a result, a problem with the typical inverter is that the inverter immediately has full intrinsic consumption.
DE 199 37 410 A1 describes an inverter having three inverter bridge branches on its output side to produce a three-phase current. A problem is that this three-phase inverter has a lower efficiency in low load operation than a single-phase inverter or a two-phase inverter.
The efficiency of an inverter, especially a photovoltaic inverter, for low load operation substantially contributes to the overall efficiency of the inverter.


An integrated interface structure for a nested body to provide an electrical connection. The interface structure includes nested bond pads which electrically interface with leads. The nested bond pads are fabricated on a microstructure to provide an interface to drive circuitry for transducer elements of a slider or head supported by the microstructure.

A disc drive includes a head which reads or writes data from or to a data storage device or disc. Heads include transducer elements, such as inductive, magneto-resistive or magneto-optical transducers which are coupled to a slider and electrically interface with drive circuitry for read/write operations. Typically, heads are electrically interfaced with drive circuitry through wire leads or through leads printed on a flexible circuit. These known interface techniques require complex interconnect steps to complete the electrical connection and can interfere with operation of the data head. The present invention addresses these and other problems and offers solutions not previously recognized nor appreciated.

Integrated interconnect and method of manufacture therefor


A system and method that automatically terminates an application. A method includes monitoring activity data points for an application launched by a client device within a workspace environment. The activity data points may include user interactions with a physical interface component. State data for each file associated with the application is monitored and, if a determination is made that the application is inactive based on the activity data points, the method determines if a file associated with the application includes unsaved content based on state data. If it is determined that no files for the application include unsaved content, the method forecasts whether the application will be inactive for a future period based on the activity data. The application is terminated if it is determined that no files for the application include unsaved content and the application is forecast to be inactive.

Users of enterprise computing resources often run multiple applications concurrently. For example, at any given time, a user may be running an email application, a word processing application, a customer relationship management (CRM) application, a database application, etc. Some of the applications being run by a given user may be accessed frequently, while others are only accessed infrequently. Often, those applications not being accessed at a given time by the user simply run with the application window in the background or a minimized state. Nonetheless, all applications, whether being accessed or not, consume enterprise resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Auto termination of applications based on application and user activity


A frequency band, or test band, located between the uplink and downlink frequency bands of a distributed, frequency duplexed network is used in a novel way to isolate block-level faults within the network. A test signal having frequencies within the test signal band is generated and fed into a downlink path of a branch of the communication network. When the test signal encounters a remote station having duplexing means, the test signal leaks through the duplexing means into an uplink path of the remote station. This occurs because the real filters of the duplexing means do not work perfectly, frequencies outside of the uplink and downlink bands, especially those in the test signal band, will leak through its components. The amount of attenuation of the test signal in leaking through the communication station indicates the operability status of the components therein. By monitoring the power level of the test signal in the uplink and downlink paths of the branch, faults can be quickly isolated.

A frequency duplexed system provides a common form of bi-directional communication. In a frequency duplexed system, separate frequency bands are used for the transmission of information flowing in opposite directions of a bi-directional link. FIG. 1 shows how a network of such links is typically employed to provide radio frequency (RF) distribution. A bi-directional central station receives all signals from the outside world to be distributed over the network. The network might, for example, provide radio coverage within various rooms of a building structure. Likewise all signals that are initiated at the network's bi-directional links (called remote stations), are fed through the network to be re-broadcasted to the outside world through the central station. Further, intermediate stations provide bi-directional branching points within the network. Such a system is highly advantageous for providing wireless two-way communication service especially within structures or around other obstacles, man-made or natural, which otherwise tend to block or disrupt radio waves.
It is evident that such networks can get relatively large with extensive branching and having many remote stations. This can make it difficult to locate sources of faults or problems when the network is not working properly. For example, when a component within an intermediate station or a remote station malfunctions it can cause problems which can propagate throughout large portions of the network. Ideally, one would like to have an efficient fault detection scheme that would detect faults and indicate which station has the faulty component. Once isolated, that faulty station can be replaced (more often than not, it is most cost effective to replace a broken station rather than spend time and money to find and fix a component within a circuit board of a station). The fault detection system should be easy to implement and independent of the specific realization of the communication network.
Such an error detection scheme should be inexpensive to incorporate and require minimal or no additional cabling. For example, suppose a bi-directional communication system were implemented over a 10 base T cable. The cable is inexpensive, is common and pre-existing to much building infrastructure and contains four twisted pair cables, two of which are used for bi-directional communication. For this system, an error detection scheme which could be implemented over one of the remaining twisted pair cables would be highly desirable as no new cabling would need to be installed. For this to be done with one cable it is desirable, if not necessary, that each station report its status (operability) over one wire. Or better yet a fault detection method should not even need this extra wire, but make use of the up- and down- link wires to simultaneously flag errors.
Although the prior art has addressed fault detection for distributed communication systems, the solutions tend to be complicated and, hence, expensive and in some respects incomplete. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,223, Gilbert describes a method for monitoring the operational status of CATV components remotely located along a cable system. Each remote component is given a fixed address code. Using this address, a head-end system individually polls the remote components to check their status. When polled, the remote component reports its status using a low-frequency (LF) modulated signal superimposed on the power line. This LF signal is received and re-transmitted by upstream components located between the polled component and the head-end system. However, in this system the cable signals travel only downstream, not bi-directionally, and the status signals are specially coded and travel upstream. Furthermore, each component is responsible for determining its own fault status, yet Gilbert does not teach how this is done.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,430, Thompson and Schoenbeck teach a method for remotely interrogating and monitoring the operation of television sets in a cable TV system for the purpose of identifying the on/off time of the television set and the channel to which the set is tuned. Furthermore, the invention aims to provide such interrogation and monitoring in a relatively short period of time. The operation of this invention uses FM modulated signals to transmit digital information. The digital information includes an address for the purpose of selecting individual remote sites. Each remote site must store and, when requested, transmit any required data. The signals transmitted to and received from the remote sites are separated in frequency and only one address may be interrogated at a time in this architecture. Again such a system is complicated and expensive, and not directed towards bi-directional, frequency duplexed communication system. In addition, this patent does not teach how a malfunctioning TV set or remote station appropriately discovers its faulty condition. Ideally, a malfunctioning station should automatically report its status without having to be polled.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,968 provides a means for determining the physical location of faults along a transmission line with multiple repeaters placed along the line. The invention is specifically intended for use in a cable PCM (Pulse Code Modulated) communication system. However, the existence of a fault must be know a priori, e.g., the fault could be made known by a customer complaint. The invention works by having a pulse generator at each possible fault point (each repeater) send back pulses to the original transmission source. The transmission source then detects the amplitude and time delay of the pulse in order to determine the fault location.

Fault detection in a frequency duplexed system


Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to optical elements comprising an at least partial coating having a first state and a second state connected to at least a portion of a substrate, the at least partial coating being adapted to switch from the first state to the second state in response to at least actinic radiation, to revert back to the first state in response to thermal energy, and to linearly polarize at least transmitted radiation in at least one of the first state and the second state. Other embodiments relate to optical elements comprising a substrate and at least one at least partially aligned photochromic-dichroic compound connected to at least a portion of the substrate and having an average absorption ratio greater than 2.3 in the activated state as determined according to CELL METHOD. Still other embodiments relate to security devices, liquid crystal cells and methods of making the same.

Various embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to optical elements, security liquid crystal cells and methods of making the same.
Conventional, linearly polarizing elements, such as linearly polarizing lenses for sunglasses and linearly polarizing filters, are typically formed from stretched polymer sheets containing a dichroic material, such as a dichroic dye. Consequently, conventional linearly polarizing elements are static elements having a single, linearly polarizing state. Accordingly, when a conventional linearly polarizing element is exposed to either randomly polarized radiation or reflected radiation of the appropriate wavelength, some percentage of the radiation transmitted through the element will be linearly polarized. As used herein the term "linearly polarize" means to confine the vibrations of the electric vector of light waves to one direction or plane.
Further, conventional linearly polarizing elements are typically tinted. That is, conventional linearly polarizing elements contain a coloring agent (i.e., the dichroic material) and have an absorption spectrum that does not vary in response to actinic radiation. As used herein "actinic radiation" means electromagnetic radiation, such as but not limited to ultraviolet and visible radiation that is capable of causing a response. The color of the conventional linearly polarizing element will depend upon the coloring agent used to form the element, and most commonly, is a neutral color (for example, brown or gray). Thus, while conventional linearly polarizing elements are useful in reducing reflected light glare, because of their tint, they are not well suited for use under certain low-light conditions. Further, because conventional linearly polarizing elements have only a single, tinted linearly polarizing state, they are limited in their ability to store or display information.
As discussed above, conventional linearly polarizing elements are typically formed using sheets of stretched polymer films containing a dichroic material. As used herein the term "dichroic" means capable of absorbing one of two orthogonal plane polarized components of at least transmitted radiation more strongly than the other. Thus, while dichroic materials are capable of preferentially absorbing one of two orthogonal plane polarized components of transmitted radiation, if the molecules of the dichroic material are not suitably positioned or arranged, no net linear polarization of transmitted radiation will be achieved. That is, due to the random positioning of the molecules of the dichroic material, selective absorption by the individual molecules will cancel each other such that no net or overall linear polarizing effect is achieved. Thus, it is generally necessary to suitably position or arrange the molecules of the dichroic material by alignment with another material in order to achieve a net linear polarization.
One common method of aligning the molecules of a dichroic dye involves heating a sheet or layer of polyvinyl alcohol ("PVA") to soften the PVA and then stretching the sheet to orient the PVA polymer chains. Thereafter, the dichroic dye is impregnated into the stretched sheet and dye molecules take on the orientation of the polymer chains. That is, the dye molecules become aligned such that the long axis of the dye molecule are generally parallel to the oriented polymer chains. Alternatively, the dichroic dye can be first impregnated into the PVA sheet, and thereafter the sheet can be heated and stretched as described above to orient the PVA polymer chains and associated dye. In this manner, the molecules of the dichroic dye can be suitably positioned or arranged within the oriented polymer chains of the PVA sheet and a net linear polarization can be achieved. That is, the PVA sheet can be made to linearly polarize transmitted radiation, or in other words, a linearly polarizing filter can be formed.
In contrast to the dichroic elements discussed above, conventional photochromic elements, such as photochromic lenses that are formed using conventional thermally reversible photochromic materials are generally capable of converting from a first state, for example a "clear state," to a second state, for example a "colored state," in response to actinic radiation, and reverting back to the first state in response to thermal energy. As used herein the term "photochromic" means having an absorption spectrum for at least visible radiation that varies in response to at least actinic radiation. Thus, conventional photochromic elements are generally well suited for use in both low-light and bright conditions. However, conventional photochromic elements that do not include linearly polarizing filters are generally not adapted to linearly polarize radiation. That is, the absorption ratio of conventional photochromic elements, in either state, is generally less than two. As used herein the term "absorption ratio" refers to the ratio of the absorbance of radiation linearly polarized in a first plane to the absorbance of the same wavelength radiation linearly polarized in a plane orthogonal to the first plane, wherein the first plane is taken as the plane with the highest absorbance. Therefore, conventional photochromic elements cannot reduce reflected light glare to the same extent as conventional linearly polarizing elements. Further, conventional photochromic elements have a limited ability to store or display information.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide elements and devices that are adapted to display both linearly polarizing and photochromic properties. Further, it would be advantageous to provide elements and devices that are adapted to display circular or elliptical polarization and photochromic properties.

Polarizing, photochromic devices and methods of making the same


An aircraft axisymmetric exhaust nozzle (36) is provided for reducing noise in an intermediate bypass ratio turbofan engine. The nozzle (36) includes a plurality of chute ejectors (38) placed equal distances about the circumference of a nozzle outer structure (46). A translatable centerbody (52) is located within the outer structure (46). The annular space between the outer structure (46) and the centerbody (52) defines a convergent-divergent exhaust duct (56). Each chute ejector (38) includes an inlet ramp (70) rotatably connected to the outer structure (46) along a ramp forward end (78). Each inlet ramp (70) moves between opposed stationary side panels (39) that extend inwardly from the outer structure interior surfaces (50). The side panels (39) are located in longitudinal planes and are triangular in shape. Nozzle aft flaps (114) are used to form the rearmost portions of the nozzle (36). During noise suppression, the inlet ramp (70) is rotated inwardly to allow ambient air (40) to enter the exhaust duct (56) at aspiration ratios of less than 40% of the engine exhaust. When noise suppression is not needed, the inlet ramp (70) is rotated outwardly to a position that is flush and pressure sealed with the outer structure exterior surface (48).

Jet exhaust noise results from the turbulent mixing of exhaust gases with the atmosphere. The noise is influenced by the shearing action caused by the relative speed and temperature between these airflows. This noise can be reduced by mixing these two airstreams internally and/or by reducing their relative temperature and velocity. Supersonic airplanes require a propulsion system that produces high specific thrust (high exhaust velocities) for acceleration and cruise at supersonic speeds. Therefore, the engines for supersonic airplanes are straight jets or very low bypass ratio engines. To produce sufficient thrust for take-off, these engines have to be operated at or near their maximum power capability, producing high exhaust velocities. Therefore, the exhaust noise is especially high and hard to reduce on supersonic airplanes.
Ejector nozzles are currently used in pure jet and low bypass ratio engines as noise suppression devices. Generally, ambient air is introduced (i.e., aspirated) into a nozzle duct through auxiliary inlets. The ambient air mixes with the high velocity and hot engine exhaust, thereby reducing the overall velocity and temperature of the engine exhaust before it exits the nozzle. Mixing devices are generally used in conjunction with the ejectors in the pure jet and low bypass ratio applications in order to more thoroughly mix ambient air with exhaust gas.
Turbojet and low bypass ratio engines require high aspiration levels (i.e., generally greater than about 60% of the engine exhaust) in order to provide adequate levels of noise suppression. High aspiration levels require the ability to significantly vary nozzle geometry. This requires ejectors capable of assuming a wide range of positions. In addition, the ejectors and mixing components must be capable of being selectively removed from the nozzle duct airflow path in order to transition the nozzle to an acceptable performance configuration for high speed flight, when noise suppression is not required. The combination of these requirements often results in nozzle designs that are heavy, complex, and have poor performance characteristics.
In contrast to the pure jet and low bypass ratio engines, intermediate bypass ratio engines (i.e., generally in the range of 0.6 to 1.2) usually create less jet exhaust noise to begin with due to their ability to produce thrust with lower average exhaust velocities. Noise reduction for intermediate bypass ratio engines generally consists of using a common or integrated exhaust nozzle that partially mixes the bypass and primary exhaust gases prior to their ejection into the atmosphere.
It is known to use ejector nozzles to improve nozzle performance in specific flight conditions. In particular, adding ambient air around the periphery of the exhaust gases of a straight jet or low bypass engine reduces aerodynamic boattail drag at transonic conditions. This is done during transonic and supersonic flight conditions where noise suppression is of no concern. For low bypass ratio applications, ejector nozzles are used to reduce jet noise. But this has generally only been done as a retrofit to older subsonic airplanes to bring them in compliance with new and stricter noise rules. It has been proven repeatedly that an ejector does not provide performance benefits at low speed operation such as take-off and landing. Ejectors may provide a small thrust augmentation statically, if well designed. But at typical take-off speeds the thrust augmentation has been eliminated by external drag and internal losses. At subsonic cruise speeds a deployed or fixed geometry ejector causes significant thrust losses and is absolutely useless, since noise reduction is not needed in cruise.
Up to very recently, it was a common belief that the optimum engine cycle for supersonic airplanes are straight jets or very low bypass ratio engines. In order to meet stage 3 or more stringent future noise rules these engines needed jet noise suppressers with a capability of up to 22 decibel. This called for ejector nozzles with aspiration ratios of 80 to 120%. The huge geometric variation required cannot be met by an axisymmetric exhaust system, but required two-dimensional ejector nozzles of large dimensions, high complexity and high weight. Also, the high exhaust gas temperatures of these engines make the material selection for those exhaust systems very difficult.
Newer engine optimization studies indicate that when engines are treated to the same low jet noise level, the engine cycle for supersonic airplanes optimizes at significantly higher bypass ratios (0.8 or even higher). Since the engines for supersonic airplanes are generally sized by end-of climb thrust requirements, they produce excess thrust at low speeds. They can therefore be operated at less than full power for take-off. Increased bypass ratio and the associated part power take-off both contribute to lowering jet velocities and the requirements for jet noise reduction with the help of an ejector nozzle. The increased bypass ratio also lowers the mixed flow gas temperature and makes the materials choice for the exhaust system simpler.
These discoveries suggest that an optimum noise suppression solution for some supersonic aircraft is to aspirate a relatively small amount of ambient air into the engine exhaust of intermediate bypass ratio turbofan engines during takeoff climb-out and landing conditions. This has resulted in a need for such an ejector nozzle. The ideal nozzle should be light, compact, simple, and reliable. The ideal nozzle should include mixing components to further increase the mixing of ambient air with exhaust gas in a way that does not adversely affect the engine and nozzle performance. Also, the ejector nozzle should be operable and efficient at speeds up to Mach 0.7 or 0.8 to permit jet noise suppression during climb-out. Further, the ideal nozzle should not adversely affect the nozzle performance during nonsuppression flight at high speeds.
The efficient operation of an ejector depends on several parameters. First, the internal high energy (pressure) engine exhaust flow has to be accelerated to a very high velocity, so that its pressure drops and helps suck in low energy (pressure) ambient air. Secondly, to maximize the amount of ambient air sucked in through a given inlet passage, it is also important to increase the length of shear layer between the streams, which calls for a lobed confluence of the flows or alternating channels. Thirdly, in order to get as complete mixing as possible inside the limited length nozzle, to treat and contain the associated mixing noise, the cross-sectional size of the interspersed flows has to be small. The present invention is directed to provide an ejection nozzle that meets the afore listed objectives.


A memory unit has, for each bit line, a latch circuit for holding data read out of a memory cell until the next access takes place, and a comparator for comparing data to be written into the memory cell and the data held in the latch circuit. If read and write operations consecutively occur at the same address and if some data bits to be written agree with corresponding data bits held in the latch circuits, there is no need of writing data for these bits. Accordingly, the write operation is disabled for these bits and is enabled only for bits that show disagreement between the data to be written and the data stored in the latch circuits. The power consumption of memory cells in a write operation is far greater than that in a read operation. Accordingly, omitting unnecessary write operations in the manner mentioned above greatly reduces the power consumption of the memory unit and the power consumption of a microprocessor that employs the memory unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reducing the power consumption of a memory unit, and particularly, to a low-power-consumption memory unit and a microprocessor that employs such a memory unit and is suitable for use with portable apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of portable apparatus are widely used. They must operate for a long time with batteries, and therefore, semiconductor memories incorporated therein must operate at low power consumption. The portable apparatus also needs a high-speed microprocessor. To improve performance and reduce power consumption, the microprocessors employ a cache memory that helps reduce the number of access operations with respect to a main memory.
FIG. 1 shows a microprocessor 101 incorporating a cache memory 102, according to a prior art. The cache memory 102 has an address decoder 103 for decoding an address provided by a CPU 190, a tag memory cell array 104 for storing tag data that is accessed with the decoded address, a data memory cell array 105 for storing data related to the tag data stored in the array 104, a conventional read/write circuit 106 for reading and writing data from and to the array 104, a comparator unit 107 for comparing tag data that is read out of the array 104 through the conventional read/write circuit 106 with a tag address that is a part of the address provided by the CPU 190 and determining whether they agree (hit) or disagree (miss) with each other, and a conventional read/write circuit 108 for reading and writing data from and to the array 105. The microprocessor 101 has a cache controller 109 for controlling the cache memory 102, and a bus interface unit 110 serving as an interface with respect to an external memory 200.
The CPU 190 provides a memory access request that includes an address where data must be read. Lower bits of the address are supplied to the address decoder 103 and are used to access the tag memory cell array 104 and data memory cell array 105. The accessed memory cells of the arrays 104 and 105 provide each a minute voltage signal of about 100 mV to the respective conventional read/write circuits 106 and 108. The read/write circuits 106 and 108 amplify the minute voltage signal and generate data. The comparator unit 107 compares the read tag data with a tag address represented with higher bits of the address contained in the memory access request provided by the CPU 190. If the comparator unit 107 determines that they agree with each other, the data memory cell array 105 has the requested data, and therefore, the data read out of the data memory cell array 105 is transferred to the CPU 190. If the comparator unit 107 determines that they disagree with each other, the data memory cell array 105 does not have the requested data, and therefore, the cache controller 109 provides the bus interface unit 110 with an access request for the external memory 200.
To improve system performance, the cache memory 102 must hold frequently accessed data. For this purpose, the data transferred from the external memory 200 to the CPU 190 is simultaneously stored in the cache memory 102 under the control of the cache controller 109. This operation is called a refill operation. In the refill operation, the tag address of the accessed address and the data read out of the external memory 200 are written into the arrays 104 and 105 through the conventional read/write circuits 106 and 108.
FIG. 2 shows examples of the conventional read/write circuit 106 and comparator unit 107 of the tag memory cell array 104. The conventional read/write circuit 106 has, for every bit-line pair that consists of a pair of bit lines BL and BL, a write circuit 111 for writing tag data and a sense amplifier 112 for amplifying tag data read through the bit lines BL and BL. The comparator unit 107 has a comparator 113 provided for every bit-line pair, for comparing a tag address provided by the CPU 190 with tag data read by the sense amplifiers 112, and a hit/miss logic 114 for receiving comparison results from the comparators 113 and determining whether or not the tag address agrees with the tag data.
When the cache memory 102 is accessed, a sense amplifier enable signal becomes active to make each sense amplifier 112 amplify a minute voltage signal sent from a memory cell through the bit lines BL and BL. The amplified minute voltage signal from each sense amplifier 112 represents one bit of tag data, which is compared by the comparator 113 with a corresponding bit of a tag address. Comparison results of the comparators 113 are supplied to the hit/miss logic 114. If the tag data agrees with the tag address bit by bit, the hit/miss logic 114 provides a hit signal, and if not, a miss signal. The hit or miss signal is sent to the cache controller 109.
If the hit signal is provided, data read out of the data memory cell array 105 at the instant is sent as it is to the CPU 190, and the cache memory access completes. On the other hand, if the miss signal is provided, an access request for the external memory 200 is made by the cache controller 109. When the requested data is read out of the external memory 200, a refill operation starts. In the refill operation, a write enable signal becomes active to make the write circuits 111 provide the bit-line pairs with tag data to be written into the tag memory cell array 104.
FIG. 3 shows an example of one of the write circuits 111. Transfer gates 115 and 116 connect the bit lines BL and BL to write buffers 117 and 118, respectively. The transfer gates 115 and 116 are opened and closed in response to write enable signals EN and EN. The write buffers 117 and 118 buffer data to be transferred to the bit lines BL and BL through the transfer gates 115 and 116. When writing data, the transfer gates 115 and 116 become conductive, and the write buffers 117 and 118 fully swing the bit lines BL and BL between predetermined source voltages.
The conventional read/write circuit 108 of the data memory cell array 105 has the same structure as the conventional read/write circuit 106 of the tag memory cell array 104. The conventional read/write circuit 108, however, is not provided with the comparator unit 107, and therefore, data read out of the data memory cell array 105 is directly provided outside, and data to be written into the data memory cell array 105 is provided by the external memory 200.
In the refill operation of the cache memory 102, every bit line of the arrays 104 and 105 is subjected to a write operation. The write operation fully swings each bit line between a high level supply voltage and a low level supply voltage. Since the bit lines have load such as wiring capacitance and transistor junction capacitance, the full-swing write operation consumes a lot of electric power compared with a read operation that involves the minute voltage signal and a small current. In a low-power-consumption cache memory, currents produced by the charging and discharging of bit lines reach about a half of the power consumption of the refill operation. As a result, the power consumption of the refill operation is about 30% larger than that of any other access operation. A store operation (a write operation) also consumes a lot of electric power because it involves a write operation of a data bit width.
This large power consumption problem occurs not only in the cache memories but also in other types of memories. Namely, a current consumed by a write operation is larger than a current consumed by a read operation because the write operation fully swings bit lines between the high and low level supply voltages to charge and discharge the wiring capacitance and transistor junction capacitance.
More precisely, the prior art writes data by fully swinging bit lines for a supply voltage of 5 V, 3.2 V, 2 V, or 1.5 V. This involves large power consumption compared with a read operation that needs only a minute voltage of about 100 mV. This is the reason why it is difficult to reduce the power consumption of a cache memory although the portable apparatus that uses the cache memory is required to operate at low power consumption.

Cache memory and microprocessor having the same


A hinge for eyeglasses has a first and a second frame part, the parts being joined in an articulated manner by a spindle element, the end of the first frame part having a bend which encloses at least in part the spindle element in a pivoting manner, wherein the bend of the first frame part forms two vertically spaced closed loops of a first diameter. The second frame part has a through hole of a second diameter and is positioned in the space between the two loops, such that the first frame part and the second frame part are swivelably connected by the spindle element, which reaches through both the loops and the through hole.

The invention relates to a screwless hinge for a pair of eyeglasses.
Screwless hinges are generally known in principle and have the advantage over the usual screw connection in the hinge that tends to loosen over time, especially leading to a wobbly frame or loss of the screw and disconnection of the hinge.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,484,844 B2 discloses a hinge for spectacles, the hinge having two spectacle frame parts joined in an articulated manner by an axis element, the end of the first spectacle frame part having a first bend which encloses at least in part the axis element in a pivoting manner, and the second spectacle frame part being secured against rotation to the axis element. Also disclosed is a spectacle frame having this type of hinge. The disclosed hinge for spectacles is characterized in that an elastic tongue is formed in the second spectacle frame part, on the side of the hinge, having a second bend which encloses at least in part the first bend of the first spectacle frame part.
Such hinges are relatively complicated to manufacture and assemble and disassemble. Further they are not always suitable in terms of design or aesthetic aspects.

Screwless hinge for a pair of eyeglasses


Digital watermarking technology is used in conjunction with map data, such as is acquired by satellite and other aerial sensors, and as may be generated from databases based on such aerial data. For example, an image including steganographically hidden location data is analyzed and a refinement to the location data is made. The refined location data is then steganographically hidden in the image. In one implementation a method of steganographically embedding auxiliary data in imagery is provided. The method includes receiving imagery including a first geolocation estimate steganographically embedded therein. The first geolocation estimate corresponds to at least one area depicted in the imagery. The method further includes determining a second geolocation estimate, the second geolocation estimate comprising a more precise geolocation estimate, relative to the first geolocation estimate, for the at least one area depicted in the imagery, and steganographically embedding the second geolocation estimate in the imagery.

Acquisition of aerial imagery traces its history back to the Wright brothers, and is now commonly performed from satellite and space shuttle platforms in addition to aircraft.
While the earliest aerial imagery relied on conventional film technology, a variety of electronic sensors are now more commonly used. Some collect image data corresponding to specific visible, UV or IR frequency spectra (e.g., the MultiSpectral Scanner and Thematic Mapper used by the Landsat satellites). Others use wide band sensors. Still others use radar or laser systems (sometimes stereo) to sense topological features in 3 dimensions.
The quality of the imagery has also constantly improved. Some satellite systems are now capable of acquiring image and topological data having a resolution of less than a meter. Aircraft imagery, collected from lower altitudes, provides still greater resolution.
For expository convenience, the present invention is particularly illustrated in the context of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). A DEM, essentially, is an "elevation map" of the earth (or part thereof). One popular DEM is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and details terrain elevations at regularly spaced intervals over most of the U.S. More sophisticated DEM databases are maintained for more demanding applications, and can consider details such as the earth's pseudo pear shape, in addition to more localized features. Resolution of sophisticated DEMs can get well below one meter cross-wise, and down to centimeters or less in actual elevation. DEMs—with their elevation data—are sometimes supplemented by albedo maps (sometimes termed texture maps, or reflectance maps) that detail, e.g., a grey scale value for each pixel in the image, conveying a photographic-like representation of an area.
There is a large body of patent literature that illustrates DEM systems and technology. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,405 details a method of generating a Digital Elevation Model from the interference pattern resulting from two co-registered synthetic aperture radar images.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,581 discloses a technique for generating a Digital Elevation Model from two images of ground terrain, by reference to common features in the two images, and registration mapping functions that relate the images to a ground plane reference system.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,423, 6,023,278 and 6,177,943 disclose techniques by which a Digital Elevation Model can be transformed into polygonal models, thereby reducing storage requirements, and facilitating display in certain graphics display systems.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,995,681 and 5,550,937 detail methods for real-time updating of a Digital Elevation Model (or a reference image based thereon), and are particularly suited for applications in which the terrain being mapped is not static but is subject, e.g., to movement or destruction of mapped features. The disclosed arrangement iteratively cross-correlates new image data with the reference image, automatically adjusting the geometry model associated with the image sensor, thereby accurately co-registering the new image relative to the reference image. Areas of discrepancy can be quickly identified, and the DEM/reference image can be updated accordingly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,972 details how interferometric synthetic aperture radar data can be used to generate a Digital Elevation Model.
From systems such as the foregoing, and others, a huge quantity of aerial imagery is constantly being collected. Management and coordination of the resulting large data sets is a growing problem.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, digital watermarking technology is employed to help track such imagery, and can also provide audit trail, serialization, anti-copying, and other benefits.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, incoming imagery is automatically geo-referenced and combined with previously-collected data sets so as to facilitate generation of up-to-date DEMs and maps.
The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description.

Method of steganographically embedding geo-location data in media


An information processing apparatus includes a stored data acquiring unit configured to acquire stored data that is stored in a predetermined storage location of an output apparatus that is connected to the information processing apparatus via a network. The stored data is acquired from the predetermined storage location based on destination information of input data. The information processing apparatus further includes an editing unit configured to execute editing operations of combining the input data and the stored data acquired by the stored data acquiring unit to generate one single set of output data, and a delivery control unit configured to control delivery of the output data generated by the editing unit such that the output data is delivered, based on the destination information, to the predetermined storage location from which the stored data has been acquired.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a delivery system is known for delivering an input image file that is input by a scan process or the like to a folder designated by a user (see e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-074316).

Apparatus, system, and method for editing and delivering data files


The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display panel including a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixels, a gate driver connected to the plurality of gate lines and configured to apply a gate-on voltage, a data driver connected to the plurality of data lines and configured to apply a data voltage, and a signal controller configured to receive an image signal and controlling the gate driver and the data driver, wherein the signal controller is configured to generate two correction data for each image signal referring to two compensation lookup tables, and the two compensation lookup tables are provided to make absolute values of pixel voltages for each polarity substantially identical to each other with respect to the same gray scale value.

Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid crystal display and a driving method thereof.
Discussion of the Background
A liquid crystal display is one of the most common types of flat panel displays currently in use, and is a device that displays an image by changing alignment of liquid crystal molecules by forming an electric field with application of different potentials to a pixel electrode and a common electrode of a liquid crystal display panel and controlling the amount of light transmittance therethrough.
Since degradation occurs when the electric field of one direction is continuously applied to a liquid crystal material, polarity of a voltage applied to the pixel electrode is inverted with respect to polarity of a voltage applied to the common electrode to prevent occurrence of the degradation.
A thin film transistor is used as a switching element in the liquid crystal display panel, and parasitic capacitance generated between a gate electrode and a drain electrode of the thin film transistor causes generation of a kick-back voltage. The kick-back voltage distorts a voltage applied to the pixel electrode, and the voltage distortion due to the kick-back voltage is appeared in a drag-down direction regardless of polarity thereof, and the magnitude of the kick-back voltage, that is, a degree of voltage distortion, is different for each gray scale value.
Therefore, the kick-back voltage causes asymmetry between a valid voltage of positive polarity and a valid voltage of negative polarity of the pixel electrode, and this may cause a residual image, a flicker, crosstalk, and the like in display of an image in the liquid crystal display panel so that display quality of the liquid crystal display may be deteriorated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Liquid crystal display and method for driving the same


A system for detecting the walk of a person has a housing (BT) with at least a biaxial movement sensor (CM). The housing is attached to the upper portion of the body of the person, so that a first measurement axis of the sensor (CM) coincides with the anteroposterior axis (AP) or the vertical axis (VT) of the body and so a second measurement axis of said sensor (CM) coincides with the mediolateral axis (ML) of the body. An analysis means (MA) analyzes the measurements delivered by the sensor (CM). The analysis means includes a processing means (MT) for processing over a time window the measurement signals delivered by the sensor (CM), which includes means for searching for a dominant frequency (MRFD) in said signals. The analysis means also includes a detection means (MD) for detecting the walk of the person when a ratio between the dominant frequency of the signal of the first measurement axis and the dominant frequency of the second measurement axis, or between the dominant frequency of a Euclidian norm of the vector of measurements transmitted by the sensor (CM) and the dominant frequency of the signal of the second measurement axis, is substantially equal to two.

Systems for the analysis of movement of persons are becoming increasingly widespread in the biomedical field, notably for analyzing the physical activity of a person.
The detection of the walking activity of a person provides information which makes it possible, for example, to estimate an energy expenditure of a person, to evaluate a level of sedentariness of a person, or to estimate the quality or loss of functional capacity after a surgical intervention or a medicinal treatment.
A document entitled "Ambulatory system for human motion analysis using a kinematic sensor: monitoring of daily physical activity in the elderly," Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 711-723, June 2003, by Najafi, B., Aminian, K., Paraschiv-Ionescu A., Loew, F., Bula C. J., and Robert, P., describes a 2A1G movement sensor (a biaxial accelerometer and monoaxial gyrometer that is worn on the trunk of a person and of which the vertical acceleration signal is filtered by a 0.62-5.00 Hz band-pass filter). At least three evenly-spaced occurrences of peak amplitude higher than a threshold are sought on this filtered signal. It is difficult to set a universal threshold a priori, which notably involves a lack of reliability of such a system.
A document entitled "Reference data for normal subjects obtained with an accelerometric device", Gait & Posture, October 2002 Vol. 16, Issue 2, Pages 124-134, by Bernard Auvinet, Gilles Berrut, Claude Touzard, Laurent Moutel, Nadine Collet, Denis Chaleil, and Eric Barrey, describes a frequential analysis of a walking activity considered to be a substantially periodic activity, which creates a power peak at a frequency that depends on the walking speed. The study of the ratio between even and odd harmonics of the vertical acceleration signal makes it possible to study the stability of the walk. This does not involve detecting a walking activity, but analyzing or characterizing a walking activity of a person when it is already known that the person is walking.
The document entitled "Classification of waist-acceleration signals in a continuous walking record", Medical Engineering & Physics 22 (4) (2000), pp. 285-291, by M. Sekine, T. Tamura, T. Togawa and Y. Fukui, describes the use of a wavelet transform to distinguish, in a signal representative of the walk of a person, whether the latter is walking on a horizontal surface, climbing stairs or going down stairs. The content of this document does not make it possible to detect a walking activity.

System and method for detecting the walk of a person

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES


An aluminum-alloy sheet includes 0.10 to 0.40 mass % of Si, 0.35 to 0.80 mass % of Fe, 0.10 to 0.35 mass % of Cu, 0.20 to 0.80 mass % of Mn, and 1.5 to 2.5 mass % of Mg, the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein a content ratio (Si/Fe) of the Si to the Fe is 0.75 or less, the area fraction of Mg2Si intermetallic compound grains having a maximum length of 1 μm or more is 0.10% or more in a region of a section of the aluminum-alloy sheet, the region being a central region in the thickness direction of the aluminum-alloy sheet, and the aluminum-alloy sheet has a proof stress of 225 to 270 N/mm2 after having been baked at 270° C. for 20 seconds.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaging container used for a beverage or a food, in particular, to an aluminum-alloy sheet that is to be covered by a resin film and then formed into can bodies; and a method for producing the aluminum-alloy sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In drawn and ironed (DI) cans and bottle cans (hereafter, DI cans and bottle cans are collectively referred to as aluminum cans), the fabricability, flange formability, and curl formability (formability of opening portions of bottle cans) of the walls can be effectively improved by enhancing ductility of wall portions and neck portions after can forming and heat treatment and by making the Mn content in the aluminum alloy be less than a certain value (to reduce microprecipitates that strongly fix dislocations and inhibit formation of subgrains). On the other hand, Mn is considered as an essential element for achieving high ironing workability and high can strength. Typically, aluminum alloys have a Mn content of 0.5 mass % or more, often 0.8 mass % or more. Accordingly, improvements in the fabricability, flange formability, and curl formability have certain limits, which is a factor that hinders a decrease in the wall thickness and a decrease in the weight of aluminum cans.
Since aluminum-alloy sheets for producing aluminum cans desirably have high formability and a low earing ratio, complete recrystallization textures need to be formed in the stage of hot-rolled sheets. Accordingly, such aluminum-alloy sheets are generally produced in the following manners.
A double soaking in which a slab is subjected to a homogenization heat treatment at a high temperature of about 600° C., then cooled, and heated again is performed so that the solute Mn content of the slab is made less than a certain value and generation of microprecipitates is suppressed (precipitates are grown and made coarse); thus, the production conditions are controlled so that the complete recrystallization texture is obtained at the coiling temperature of the finish hot rolling. Other than the double soaking, there is also two-stage soaking in which a slab is subjected to a homogenization heat treatment at a high temperature of about 600° C., then cooled to about 500° C. at a certain cooling rate, and subsequently hot-rolled.
The techniques of producing aluminum-alloy sheets for aluminum cans from aluminum alloys having the above-described Mn content in the standard manners are disclosed in, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 4 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-219929, paragraphs [0018] to [0020]; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-204793, paragraph [0030]; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-244701, paragraphs [0037] to [0038]; and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-342657, paragraphs [0054] to [0062]).

Aluminum-alloy sheet and method for producing the same