A system, method, and ink for printing a data carrying mark on a green ceramic honeycomb structure is provided. The system includes a printer having an ink jet print head that prints a mark, preferably in the form of a two-dimensional data matrix barcode, on a side wall of the green ceramic honeycomb structure. The ink may be a heat resistant ink that comprises a mixture of a glass or glass ceramic frit and a metal oxide colorant. An optical reader is provided for determining if the data is accurately reproduced in the printed mark, as well as any noise factor which may be present due to defective printing. The system includes a turntable that positions the green body for the printing operation, and then rotates the green body to position the printed mark first in front of a dryer, and then in front of the optical reader to determine the quality of the mark. Marked green and ceramic honeycombs are also provided as well as a method for repairing a defective applied bar code on a honeycomb structure.

Ceramic honeycomb structures are widely used as anti-pollutant devices in the exhaust systems of automotive vehicles, both as catalytic converter substrates in automobiles, and diesel particulate filters in diesel-powered vehicles. In both applications, the ceramic honeycomb structures are formed from a matrix of relatively thin ceramic webs which define a plurality of parallel, gas conducting channels. In honeycomb structures used as ceramic catalytic substrates, the cell density may be as high as about 900 cells per square inch. To reduce the pressure drop that the exhaust gases create when flowing through the honeycomb structure, the web walls are rendered quite thin, i.e. on the order 2-6 mils. Ceramic honeycomb structures used as diesel particulate filters generally have a lower cell density of between about 100 and 400 cells per square inch, and are formed from webs on the order of 12-25 mils thick. In both cases, the matrix of cells is preferably surrounded by an outer skin.
Such ceramic honeycomb structures may be formed by an extrusion technique in which an extruded body is cut into segments that form green ceramic bodies. After drying, these honeycomb green bodies are fired at temperatures of at least 1100° C. or higher, and typically 1300° C. or higher in order to sinter the batch constituent particles present in the extruded material into a finished ceramic honeycomb structure. The finished fired honeycomb bodies may be subjected to additional heating steps in which they are fired again to a lower temperatures, for example, on the order of 800° C. or more. The finished ceramic structures may also be subjected to a coating process that coats the gas contacting surfaces with a washcoat, possibly containing catalytic metals. In this application, the term "unfinished" ceramic structure refers to any precursor to a finished ceramic structure, including a dried green body or an unfired or partially fired green body.
Unfortunately, due to the thinness of the outer skin and the inner cell-forming webs, the substantial thermal stresses that the unfinished ceramic structures undergo during the firing processes, and the necessary mechanical handling of the green and fired bodies during the manufacturing process, defects such as internal cracks and voids may occur, as well as separations between the outer skin and the inner matrix of webs. Additionally, upsets due to raw material deviations from specifications may also occur possibly leading to property variations. To reduce the occurrence of such defects, it would be desirable to have a quality control procedure which allowed the manufacturer to reliably trace any defective ceramic honeycomb structure back to the specific factory, kiln, and batch that it originated from and to other processing steps undertaken. Such a procedure would allow the manufacturer to review the particular manufacturing parameters used to fabricate the defective unit and to modify its manufacturing operation in order to reduce the occurrence of such defects in future articles. Accordingly, it is a known procedure to mark, after the final firing or heating step, finished ceramic honeycomb structures with marks containing manufacturing information so that remedial manufacturing operations may be implemented.
Unfortunately, the applicants have observed that such a marking procedure does not reliably result in an accurate recovery of the manufacturing information associated with a particular ceramic honeycomb structure. In particular, the applicants have observed that subsequent to the manufacture of the green bodies of such structures, different batches of green bodies from different kilns may become mixed together in order to efficiently implement other stages of the fabrication process. Hence a quality control process where manufacturing information is printed on the finished ceramic honeycomb structures may not accurately reflect the actual manufacturing conditions and history of the structures, i.e., reliable traceability is not achievable.
To avoid the aforementioned problems, it is necessary to print a data carrying mark on the skin of the green bodies that ultimately form finished completed ceramic honeycomb structures. However, there are a number of problems associated with implementing such a method due to both the fragility of the green bodies, the high temperatures they are subjected to during the firing process, the speed with which they must be marked in order to avoid a production bottleneck, and the tendency of some inks to run or blur when printed on the green body, or to degrade or react with the unfired material forming the skin of the green body.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for printing a data-carrying mark on the skin of a green ceramic honeycomb structure which does not apply potentially damaging pressure on the thin sidewalls of such structures, and which is capable of withstanding the firing temperatures at or above 800° C., at or above 1100° C., or even at or above 1300° C. Ideally, such a method would be capable of printing a unique mark on each one of a particular batch of green ceramic structures, so that the manufacturing history of each particular ceramic honeycomb structure (such as date of manufacture, specific factory, kiln and batch) can be accurately traced. It would be desirable if the information contained in the resulting mark would be maintained even if a portion of the mark were obliterated during the use of the ceramic honeycomb structure.
Such a marking system and method should be rapid and reliable and compatible with high-speed manufacturing techniques so as not to create an expensive production bottleneck. The ink used to form the mark should be nontoxic, and able to survive firing temperatures of at least 800° C., or even 1100° C. or more, or even 1300° C. or more, and be chemically compatible with the unfired ceramic material forming the body. The ink should not blur or run when printed, and it should have similar thermal expansion and contraction properties so as to create a clear mark that does not crack or peel during the firing and cooling steps of manufacture, and does not create excessive thermal stresses. Finally, the ink should not degrade or react with the ceramic material forming the wall of the structure during any phase of the manufacturing process, and should visibly contrast not only against the fired ceramic material forming the finished structure, but also against any catalytic washcoat applied to the structure.

Ink for printing data carrying mark on honeycomb structures


In one embodiment, an exemplary method includes receiving multi-dimension information from a data domain operating system running on the server; determining that multiple drive failures occurred within a predetermined time frame based on the multi-dimension information; and extracting a list of system-level events and a timestamp of each event from the multi-dimension information. The method further includes determining a list of components impacted by the list of the system-level events based on the list of system-level events and the timestamp of each event; and determining one or more system-level events associated with one or more impacted components as root causes of the multiple drive failures based on the multi-dimension information. The method uses information from multiple regions of the DAE and correlate the information using a predetermined algorithm to automatically more efficiently identify one or more possible root causes of the multiple drive failures.

A data storage system, e.g., a data domain restorer (DDR), can include multiple disk array enclosures (DAEs). Each DAE can include multiple disk drives, and can tremendously impact the backend storage health in a production environment.
However, due to the complexity of the DAE, many factors may degrade the health of a DAE's drive, and eventually cause issues in the DAE, such as a failure in a disk of the drive. In this document, these issues caused to a DAE by these factors are referred to as DAE-context issues. Examples of these factors may include temperatures in the DAE, power instability, and abnormality caused by human operations.
When a disk failure occurs in multiple drives in a DAE, it can be complex to perform a triage procedure to identify a particular factor as the root cause of the disk failures due to the multiple contributing factors.

Method of identifying DAE-context issues through multi-dimension information correlation


An ink jet ink includes at least a coloring material. The coloring material is at least one of C.I. Food Black 2 and C.I. Direct Black 195, and a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet ink, a method for producing ink jet ink, an ink jet recording method and an ink cartridge.
2. Related Background Art
An ink jet recording method is a recording method of applying a small ink droplet to any one of recording media such as plain paper, glossy media and the like to form an image, and has become rapidly widespread owing to reduction in its costs and improvement in its recording rate. In addition to improved quality of the recorded image, and concurrently with the rapid spread of digital cameras, users of ink jet printers now demand to output recorded matter which are comparable to a silver halide photograph.
As a necessary requirement for a recorded matter which is obtained from an ink jet recording method and is comparable to a silver halide photograph, it is cited that both high image density and durability of the obtained recorded matter are realized simultaneously. In particular, increasing the image density of a recorded matter obtained using black ink is important in order to provide a recorded matter comparable to a silver halide photograph. Compared with silver halide photographs, a recorded matter obtained from a conventional ink jet recording method has especially low durability (ozone resistance, in particular), and when exposed for a long period of time to factors such as light, humidity, heat and environmental gas present in the air, the coloring material on the recorded matter would deteriorate. There has been, therefore, a problem in that such recorded matters were susceptible to varying in color tone and fading of the image. Of the above-mentioned environmental gas, deterioration of the recorded matter from ozone is a particular problem.
To resolve the above-described problems, especially those of color tone and fading by ozone gas, inks which comprise a specific coloring material have been proposed (e.g. see Japanese Patent No. 02919615 and Japanese Patent Publication No. H08-26263).

Ink jet ink, method for producing ink jet ink, ink jet recording method and ink cartridge


A rubber composition is a mixture of 100 parts by weight of at least one rubber component selected from the group consisting of a natural rubber and a synthetic rubber and 1 to 120 parts by weight of a softening agent containing 0.1 to 4% by weight of asphaltene. The rubber composition simultaneously has a high high-loss property, a high fracture property and a good workability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rubber composition, and more particularly, to a rubber composition improved in high-loss property and fracture property due to an asphaltene-containing softening agent blended thereinto in a specific amount.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Asphalt has heretofore been added to rubber compositions for various purposes. For example, European Patent Publication No. 708137 discloses that a tire free from black stains on the surface even after being left standing for a long period of time can be prepared by forming a tire tread from a rubber composition containing asphalt.
It has been known that the high-loss property and fracture property of a rubber composition can be improved by compounding asphalt with the rubber composition. However, since asphalt is viscous and tacky, it is adhered or stuck to a mixer or the like during a mixing process, thereby failing to mix the asphalt into a rubber composition in a prescribed amount. Even when asphalt can be blended into a rubber composition in a desired amount, the fracture property is occasionally not sufficiently exhibited because of an insufficient dispersion thereof in the rubber composition.

Rubber composition containing an asphaltene-containing softening agent


A container system is adapted to withstand impacts and features a first container having a first container body and a second container having a second container body. The second container defines a second body height and a second body wall thickness. A body recess is formed in the second container body for releasably engaging the first container body of the first container. A body recess defines at least one recess top and bottom corner and recess vertical edge having a recess top and bottom corner and vertical edge wall thickness, respectively, and which are intentionally thinned so as to have a thickness that is less than the second body wall thickness. The recess top and bottom corners and vertical edges are specifically configured to be deformable in response to an impact imposed thereagainst such that at least a portion of the impact shock is absorbed by the deformation in order to avoid rupture of the second container.

The present invention relates generally to dual container systems and, more particularly, to an improved dual container system featuring an impact-resistant container which possesses corner portions that are uniquely adapted to deform in response to impacts imposed thereagainst without causing rupturing of the container and spillage of the container contents.
It is a common practice for manufacturers and/or retailers to employ the use of containers for packaging their products and making them available in the marketplace. These containers not only protect the products from contamination but facilitate the use of such products. Indeed, the significance and importance of providing user-friendly containers is appreciated by various industries as such containers can increase the overall attractiveness and appeal of certain products in the marketplace.
One notable type of user-friendly container currently in use is the dual container system which typically allows large and small containers to be cooperatively engaged to one another. Dual container systems offer the convenience and freedom of product mobility as the smaller container can be engaged to the larger container such that both containers can be carried as a single unit. Conveniently, the smaller container can be disengaged from the larger container as desired by the consumer. To illustrate this point by way of an example, the dual container system may be adapted for traveling as the smaller container containing a product such as shampoo or soap may be carried with the larger container. This obviously reduces the total number of items that a traveler must carry.
Although prior art or conventional dual container systems may achieve their primary objective of user-friendliness, they possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility. Perhaps the greatest deficiency of conventional dual container systems is the inability to withstand single or repetitive impacts that may be imposed in certain environments. More specifically, dual container systems of the prior art are frequently subject to tear and/or rupture as they may be repeatedly dropped and/or mishandled during shipment and/or storage.
In particular, the larger container which is used for engaging the smaller container of the dual container system is typically vulnerable to tear and/or rupture along its edges. Even more particularly, areas of the larger container that have the highest susceptibility to rupture are typically located at the outer boundaries of the large container body. Typically, recess edges along the bottom portion of the body recess are most susceptible to rupture. When fabricated of certain materials, such bottom corners of the large container tend to fracture and/or crack upon impact with a hard surface. The fracturing or cracking of the large container is due in part to the geometry of the container body and the material from which it is fabricated.
In this regard, extreme thinness of the bottom corners is understood to be a result of manufacturing deficiencies in which insufficient amounts of preform materials are distributed to that region. As such, much of the effort in the prior art is directed toward increasing the thickness of such corner sections in the larger container. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/945,723 and 11/091,330 have a common assignee as in the present application and being filed, respectively, on Sep. 21, 2004 and Mar. 28, 2005, the entire contents of both being expressly incorporated by reference herein, are directed at increasing the thickness of such corners to a sufficient degree that the corners are resistant to structural failure and rupture of the large container.
More particularly, the above referenced patent applications were directed at increasing the thickness of the bottom corners of the recess to the same or greater thickness as that of the remainder or majority of the larger container. In this regard, others in the prior art have recognized the design deficiency inherent in thinning at the corner areas of plastic containers. It is well recognized in the prior art that unduly thin corners in certain container systems can have the negative impact of spillage of all product contained within the larger container upon impact with an object. The thickening of such bottom corners as disclosed in the above-referenced patent applications has remedied the deficiency associated with rupturing when the corners are subjected to impact.
However, it has been discovered that an alternative approach to preventing rupturing of such dual container system may include the use of a unique geometry which employs manufacturing technology in combination with a complementary material system. More specifically, by intentionally configuring certain impact-prone areas of the container to provide impact absorption instead of attempting to provide impact resistance by thickening of such corners, rupturing of the container is also prevented. Furthermore, it has been discovered that the impact absorption approach to rupture prevention results in a robust container system capable of surviving greater (i.e., more forceful) impacts than prior art containers employing the impact resistance approach.


Systems and methods configured to provide dynamic and deep navigation of web pages using keyboard navigation.

Many accounting and financial services provide web page-based user interfaces with deep navigation levels stemming from an initial main page (also known as the root or root page). That is, the user interface may include an initial main page having information and fields that link to one or more sub-pages and each sub-page may link to other sub-pages, and so on. For example, a main page 10 of an accounting user interface may include a first region 20 with a number of selectable links 22, 24, 26 identifying particular clients/contacts associated with the service. Clicking on one of the links 22, 24, 26 may provide a client-specific sub-page with additional selectable links to one or more additional sub-pages for that client. The client specific sub-page may include links for one or more high-level features of the services provided to the particular client (e.g., banking, sales, expenses). Clicking on another link within the new sub-page may lead to other sub-pages that may include specific functions or features of the high-level feature (e.g., unpaid invoices, paid invoices), with each sub-page potentially containing links to further sub-pages. To get to a lower level sub-page with the particular information the user is looking for, the traditional process requires several link selections and page loads to navigate from the home page to the specific sub-page containing the desired information. For each loaded sub-page, the user must review its contents and then select the appropriate link to navigate to the next sub-page. As can be appreciated, the page downloading process is slow and requires the user to inspect each page or sub-page while it navigates to the sub-page of interest.
As shown in FIG. 1, the main page 10 may include a second region 30 with selectable links 32, 34, 36 to particular features of the service (e.g., clients, team, etc.) and a third region 40 with selectable links 42, 44, 46 to particular features associated with the current client (e.g., dashboard, banking sales, etc.). While the links 32, 34, 36, 42, 44, 46 in these regions 30, 40 may provide direct access to a sub-page, they do not help with further sub-level navigation (e.g., they do not direct the user to a specific function or feature attributable to a specific client). Thus, even with one or more regions 30, 40 comprising links 32, 34, 36, 42, 44, 46 to a specific sub-page, multiple page loads may still be required before the user navigates to the sub-page with the desired information.
For large systems with hundreds or thousands of sub-pages, the traditional navigation method is too slow and uses too much processing and storage resources, as multiple intervening data and graphic intensive page loads are required. Moreover, the traditional navigation method is static and inflexible as it depends on the structure of the user interface's architecture. Thus, there is a need and desire for a faster and dynamic mechanism for navigating a multi-level web page-based user interface.

System and method for providing dynamic and deep navigation of web pages using keyboard navigation


A user may utilize an electronic telecommunications device comprising a wireless communications device to bind a first user device and a second user device. The user can insert the first user device into the electronic telecommunications device and enter authentication information. The first user device and the second user device can be bound over a wireless network enabled by the wireless communications device without requiring any sensitive account information to be entered by the user.

It is possible for a fraudster to put stolen payment credentials on a mobile device and utilize the device to conduct payments. Additionally, payment credentials can be stolen or obtained when a user enters account information during a transaction such as by entering an account number on a keypad associated with a point of sale device. Current methods to prevent this type of theft and fraud include camera systems or other types of authentication for a user. However, current fraud prevention techniques to protect payment credentials or account information are still limited by a user providing sensitive information into a device. Thus, there is a need for a more secure method to bind a mobile device with an account.
Embodiments of the invention address this and other problems, individually and collectively.

Binding process using electronic telecommunications device


An actuating system is provided for a dispenser cartridge that can be mounted on a frame and that has a reciprocatable product-dispensing hollow stem that (A) is biased to an extended position in which the cartridge is unactuated, and (B) is moveable from the extended position to a depressed position in which the cartridge is actuated for discharging the fluent substance through the stem. The actuating system includes a plunger on the frame, and a discharge conduit located adjacent the frame to accommodate relative movement between the discharge conduit and the frame. The discharge conduit includes (A) ml inlet opening communicating with the dispenser cartridge hollow stem, (B) ml outlet opening from which the fluent substance can be dispensed, (C) a passageway between the inlet opening and outlet opening, and (D) an intermediate opening that is in communication with the passageway between the inlet opening and the outlet opening.

In some situations, it may be desirable to dispense a substance in a convenient manner from a supply of the substance to a receiver or target region. For example, it may be desirable to dispense a human body skin care moisturizing lotion or cream from a container through a discharge spout or conduit to a person's hand or other body part. Examples of finger-actuated pumps for dispensing lotions, creams, etc. from a small container onto a person's hand are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,746, No. 6,332,561, and No. 6,364,181.
The inventors of the present invention have observed that after a quantity of a lotion or similar substance has been dispensed from some types of dispensers, a residual drop or residue of the substance sometimes remains hanging like a "tail" from the end of the discharge spout or conduit. Such a residual, hanging tail of the substance might be more likely to occur and/or be more pronounced in a dispenser wherein the substance is relatively viscous and/or wherein a portion of the spout or discharge conduit is vertically oriented at the discharge opening. The inventors of the present invention have discovered that, at least in some applications, the existence of a hanging tail of the substance may be aesthetically undesirable and/or may even result in an unwanted deposit of the substance if the tail later drops or falls away.
The inventors of the present invention have determined that for at least some applications using some types of dispensers to dispense some types of fluent substances, it may be desirable to provide an actuating system that can eliminate, or at least reduce or substantially minimize, the formation of a residual tail of the substance hanging from the discharge opening of the discharge conduit.
The inventors of the present invention have further determined that it would be beneficial to provide an improved actuating system for a dispensing system containing a substance (i.e., product) that can be readily applied to a target region. Such an actuating system could be advantageously employed in a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, applications for dispensing consumer products, for example, cosmetic products.
The inventors of the present invention have also discovered that it would be desirable to provide, at least for one or more types of products (i.e., substances), an improved actuating system that can be configured with the dispensing system so as to permit the systems to have one or more of the following attributes or features:    A. a design that prevents, or at least reduces, the ingress of dirt or other contaminants from the exterior environment, and    B. a design that prevents, or at least reduces, leakage of the product and reduces or minimizes messiness.
The inventors of the present invention have also discovered that it would be desirable to provide, at least for one or more types of products (i.e., substances), an improved actuating system that can be configured with the dispensing system so as to have one or more of the following advantages:    A. ease of manufacture and/or assembly, and    B. low cost manufacture and/or assembly.

Actuating system for a fluent substance dispensing system


An automatic transmission control system is capable of quickly and accurately judging the normal state and faulty state of an input shaft rotation speed sensor and/or an output shaft rotation speed sensor. The system includes an input shaft rotation speed sensor condition judging device for judging whether an input shaft rotation speed sensor detecting a rotation speed NI of an input shaft of the automatic transmission is in a normal or faulty state, an output shaft rotation speed sensor condition judging device for judging whether an output shaft rotation speed sensor detecting a rotation speed No of an output shaft of the automatic transmission is in a normal or faulty state, a multiplying means for multiplying the rotation speed No of the output shaft with a current transmission gear ratio, and comparing and judging means for judging whether the multiplied value is coincident with the rotation speed NI of the input shaft. On the basis of those judgements, the output shaft rotation speed sensor is judged whether it is in the normal state or not by the output shaft rotation speed sensor condition judging device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control method for an automatic transmission and a system therefor, which can judge whether a rotation speed sensor for detecting rotation speed of an input shaft and an output shaft of an automatic transmission is in normal condition or abnormal condition.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an automatic transmission, it is required to progressibly vary supply pressure for frictional engaging element newly engaging upon shifting operation. At the same time, an output torque of an engine is temporarily lowered for reducing variation of torque which can be caused upon shifting operation and thus achieving smooth shifting operation without causing shift shock. Therefore, there is generally employed a method for appropriately adjusting a supply pressure for frictional engaging element by means of a line pressure controlling valve or so forth, on the basis of detection signals detected by employing an input shaft rotation speed sensor detecting rotation speed of an input shaft of the automatic transmission and an output shaft rotation speed sensor detecting rotation speed of an output shaft of the automatic transmission.
However, when failure is caused on the input shaft rotation speed sensor or the output shaft rotation speed sensor, it becomes impossible to perform appropriate control for reducing shift shock as set forth above. Therefore, in the prior art, when failure is caused in the input shaft rotation speed sensor or the output shaft rotation speed sensor, an appropriate gear ratio is set or a supply pressure for the frictional engaging element is set in order to avoid problem in a control system. Such fail-safe control system for the automatic transmission has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 97765/1990.
A fail detection system for an automatic transmission as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 97765/1990 may detect any failure caused on the input shaft rotation speed sensor or the output shaft rotation speed sensor.
However, in such conventional systems, it is not possible to identify which of the input shaft rotation speed sensor or the output shaft rotation speed sensor is the faulty sensor. Therefore, it becomes difficult to optimally perform the fail-safe process. Therefore, the fail-safe process is inherently performed under assumption that all sensors are in faulty condition. For instance, despite of the fact that failure is caused only in the input shaft rotation speed sensor, a gear ratio of the automatic transmission is held at third speed ratio, in which the input shaft and the output shaft of the transmission are directly coupled for rotation at equal speeds, and the supply pressure (line pressure) to be supplied to the frictional engaging element which becomes engaged upon shifting is adjusted to the maximum value. Therefore, it inherently cause degradation of riding quality, and an unnecessarily long period is required for restoration from this condition.
On the other hand, since the faulty rotation speed sensor cannot be identified, it is also difficult to store the individual fault history of the rotation speed sensor.

Method and system for controlling automatic transmission


Systems and methods of adjusting a pre-alarm time are provided, including detecting, by a sensor, an entry into a building by a person and generating detection data according to the detected entry. A processor communicatively coupled to the sensor adjusts a pre-alarm time according to the detection data. An alarm is output, by an alarm device communicatively coupled to at least the processor, according to the detection data and the adjusted pre-alarm time.

Traditional home security systems must be disarmed by a user after entering a home to avoid having an alarm be activated. Typically, a user has a preset time (i.e., pre-alarm time), such as 30 seconds to disarm the home security system once the user has returned and entered the home. Generally, false alarms occur when the user is entering their own home. That is, when a user enters their home when the home security system is activated, the system detects the user and enters into a pre-alarm (i.e., heads-up) mode. At that point, the user has the preset time (e.g., 30 seconds) to disarm the alarm. If the user does not disarm the alarm (e.g., by entry of a security code or the like), an audio and/or visual alarm is output, and law enforcement or a security company will be contacted.

Systems and methods of dynamically varying a pre-alarm time of a security system


A display substrate according to the present invention comprises a gate line formed on a substrate, a data line, a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line respectively and pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor, wherein a channel of the thin film transistor is formed in a direction perpendicular to the substrate and, a layer where the channel is formed includes an oxide semiconductor pattern. ON current of thin film transistor of the display substrate can be increased without loss of aperture ratio.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display substrate and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, a display substrate for displaying an image and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device which is a display device for displaying images includes a display substrate, a counter substrate disposed opposite the display substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two substrates.
Generally, a display substrate includes gate wirings, data wirings, thin film transistors (TFTs) and pixel electrodes that are formed on the transparent substrate to drive a plurality of pixels independently. The counter substrate includes red, green and blue color filters, a black matrix and a common electrode opposite the pixel electrode.
As is well known, ON current (Ion) of the TFT is improved as W/L, a ratio of channel width and channel length of TFT, is increased and as effective mobility is increased. However, in conventional TFT structures in which the channel is formed in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate, there is a limitation in reducing the channel length (L) due to an exposure limitation. Thus, a vertical TFT in which the channel is formed in a direction perpendicular to the substrate has been introduced recently. In this case, the channel length (L) can be reduced more than the conventional structures because the channel length (L) can be controlled by controlling the thickness of the channel layer, and therefore, ON current (Ion) can also be improved to some extent. However, even in such a case, there is a need for increasing ON current by increasing the effective mobility.

Display substrate having vertical thin film transistor having a channel including an oxide semiconductor pattern


The present invention provides a sprayer that has on the sprayer itself capability for simultaneously controlling on/off function and flow selection. A forward button can be pressed by a forefinger to turn flow on, while a rearward rocker can be controlled by a thumb to select between aerated and non-aerated flow. The on/off control is biased to the off position.

The present invention relates to sprayers useful in connection with faucets. More particularly it relates to sprayers having an on/off control and also a separate selector that can select between two different types of flow.
Sprayers are often used in connection with devices such as kitchen faucets. Some of these devices are mounted as a pull-out sprayer on the faucet itself. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,424 and 6,738,996.
Other sprayers, known as "side sprays", are mounted separately from the faucet upper housing along a counter top, sink or the like, with a supply hose that ultimately links to the same mixing valve that supplies the faucet. The supply hose is usually a retractable and flexible hose that extends under the counter top.
When pulled out from its rest seat such a side spray is typically activated by a lever or other activator at the spray head, to permit water to flow to the sprayer. This causes a diverter to simultaneously cut off flow through the faucet's outlet spout. Such a side sprayer is often used to emit a spray for closely rinsing utensils or dishes in a sink, or rinsing particular portions of a human in a bathtub or the like. Side sprays achieve this without requiring the visible aesthetics of the faucet housing to be disrupted.
There have been a variety of attempts to provide varied flow options and controls activatable at spray heads themselves. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,145,114, 5,158,234, 5,383,604, 5,575,424, 5,690,312, 5,707,011, 5,797,011, 5,806,771, 5,937,905, 6,045,062, 6,145,757, 6,151,729, 6,296,011, 6,370,713, 6,691,933, 6,738,996, 6,935,375, 6,938,835, 7,000,854, 7,070,125, and 7,104,473. See also U.S. patent application publications 2005/0103895, 2005/0103896, 2005/0189438 and 2006/0016912.
Some such spray heads only provide control at the spray head between two types of flow (but not also volume control as volume control is left to the main faucet valve). It can be awkward for a consumer to be controlling both volume and type of flow at distinctly separately places. Other such spray heads only control on/off at the spray head, and provide no flexibility in spray type.
Still other such spray heads both provide on/off control and flow selection at the spray head. However, they do so in a non-intuitive manner, or require awkward hand manipulations to achieve such control, or default the flow to the on position (as they are intended to provide a pause function).
Accordingly, there is a need for improved sprayers having both on/off control and flow selection at the spray head itself.


A collector ring unit includes a base, and a plurality of insulated spacer rings sleeved onto the base respectively and each having a ring body, a plurality of through holes through the ring body, and a notch formed on the ring body. A plurality of conductive slip rings are respectively sleeved onto the ring bodies of the insulated spacer rings and each have a socket. A plurality of conductive trips each have one end inserted into the socket of one conductive slip ring and received in the notch of one insulated spacer ring, and the other end passing through the through holes of the other insulated spacer rings and protruded out of the outermost insulated spacer ring. By means of addition or reduction of the numbers of the spacer rings, slip rings and conductive strips, the dimension of the collector ring unit of the invention can be changed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a collector ring unit which is used to be cooperated with carbon brushes for transmitting electrical power from a stationary component to a rotatable component, and more specifically to a combination-type collector ring unit that is easier to assemble than the conventional collector ring unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional collector ring unit mainly includes a metallic tube and a plurality of conductive slip rings spacedly sleeved on the metallic tube and electrically isolated from one another. The way to assemble the conventional collector ring unit is comprised of the steps of placing the metallic tube on which the electrically conductive slip rings have been spacedly sleeved in a mold and covering two ends of the metallic tube with plastics by means of injection molding for retaining the conductive slip rings on the metallic tube.
Because the components of the conventional collector ring unit have to be placed in the injection mold when they are assembled, the diameter and the thicknesses of the conventional collector ring unit are restricted by the dimension of the mold used, such that the dimension of the conventional collector ring unit is fixed subject to a specific dimension of the injection mold used. The more the dimensions of the convention collector units are required by the customers the more the dimensions of the injection molds are needed for the manufacturers, which is relatively cost inefficient. Therefore, it is a need to provide an improved collector ring unit that is easier to assemble than the conventional collector ring unit.


A projection apparatus for generating a moving star field and a cloud-like effect comprises a means for generating a cloud-like effect using at least one non-coherent light source, a means for generating a moving star field using at least one coherent light source and a means for regulating and supplying electric power. The means for generating cloud-like effect using at least one non-coherent light source comprises at least one pair of condenser lenses and an interferential filter wheel rotated by a motor, disposed between at least one pair of condenser lenses. The means for generating the moving star field using a coherent light source comprises a grating wheel rotated by a motor and a diffractive optical element disposed between the at least one coherent light source and the grating wheel.

Projection apparatuses are employed in home, office, architectural lighting, and planetarium applications etc. Several projection apparatuses have been developed in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,588 to Sadler discloses a planetarium projector comprising a point light source having substantially symmetric light intensity and an apparent cross-section of less than about 2 mm which is capable of generating a beam of high-intensity light having a certain cone angle, an enclosure having opaque regions and transparent regions that correspond to locations of individual celestial stars, wherein the enclosure includes an inner surface and an outer surface, and a light dispersing lens assembly disposed within the enclosure. The projector also includes a portable point light source comprising a light source, a light collection element and a light conducting conduit suitable for use in providing high intensity light with a small cross-sectional area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,447 to Hinkle discloses a star projection device formed from an opaque film sheet folded to form a six-sided, cubical enclosure, the film having transparent spots extending over its entire area representing star positions when projected onto a surrounding surface, and a small, point-like light source is positioned at the center of the enclosure for projecting light simultaneously through all of its six sides to produce a substantially 360 degrees horizon less projection of the stars onto surrounding surfaces. Nearby stars are represented by linear extensions from the transparent spots representing vectors corresponding to the magnified heliocentric parallax motion of the star.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,666 to Kuehn discloses an improved projector for projecting fixed stars in planetarium increasing the brightness and the brilliance of the projected sky by using fiber optical light guides. The device comprises at least one light source, one condenser, one star plate or templates and one lens, which projects the star plate template on the planetarium dome. A fiber optical light guide cable, the light-entry end of which faces the condenser and which consists of fiber optical light guides or fiber optical light guide bundles, is provided between the condenser and the associated star plate or template. The other end of the fiber optical light guide cable is split up into fiber optical light guides and/or fiber optical light guide bundles, the light-emergence ends of which are assigned to the locations on the star plate or template which are to be illuminated.


The present disclosure relates to a remotely operated underwater vehicle and a control method therefor. The remotely operated underwater vehicle comprises a body having an imaging unit and a control unit; a power unit disposed on the body; a beacon unit for being worn on a part of a user's body, wherein the beacon unit can emit a plurality of optical control signals with different brightness; and the control unit can control the power unit to respond according to the optical control signals collected by the imaging unit to adjust an action and a posture of the body.

Divers or swimmers usually take pictures when they find beautiful sceneries or commemorative things in the water. Generally speaking, they will carry underwater cameras with them for recording. However, this kind of shooting method cannot completely integrate themselves with the background, and cannot let themselves integrate into the beautiful sceneries. Therefore, they can only rely on their partners to shoot for themselves or rely on underwater cable-controlled robots.
At present, a common remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) uses a cable to connect the ROV body and a terminal controller to control ROV movement. This method requires the user to control the ROV through the cable, and the cable is prone to entanglement, knotting, and inconvenient to carry.

Remotely operated underwater vehicle and control method therefor

Tianjin Deepfar Ocean Technology Co., Ltd.


Dynamic adjustment of audio characteristics for enhancing musical sound during a networked conference is disclosed. In an embodiment, a method is provided for sound enhancement performed by a device coupled to a network. The method includes receiving an audio signal to be transmitted over the network, detecting when musical content is present in the audio signal, processing the audio signal to enhance voice characteristics to generate an enhanced audio signal when the musical content is not detected, processing the audio signal to enhance music characteristic to generate the enhanced audio signal when the musical content is detected, and transmitting the enhanced audio signal over the network.

With the increasing popularity of digital electronics and network communications, real-time interactive networked conferences have become more popular. For example, video conferencing applications allow people to communicate with each other from remote locations and exchange audio and video content in real time.
Audio sharing during a networked conference is an important feature. A meeting attendee, for example, can receive and transmit audio information with other attendees. A typical conferencing system is configured to optimize voice transmission between attendees. Thus, the system may be configured to transmit the best voice quality so that attendees can easily understand each other. However, networked conferences can transmit other types of shared sounds, such as music, which has different sound characteristics than voice. If the system is configured to optimize audio transmissions for the characteristics of voice or speech, using this same configuration to transmit other types of sounds, such as music, may result in sound quality that is less than desired.

Methods and apparatus for enhancing musical sound during a networked conference


An implantable cardiac stimulation device applies pacing stimulation pulses to a heart and senses evoked responses to the pacing stimulation pulses. A pulse generator applies the stimulation pacing pulses to the heart in accordance with a pacing configuration. A sensor control selects an evoked response sensing electrode configuration from among a plurality of evoked response sensing electrode configurations in response to the pacing configuration. A sensor is then programmed to sense the evoked responses with the selected evoked response sensing electrode configuration. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, signal-to-noise ratios obtained with the various electrode configurations are used to select a best electrode configuration for sensing evoked responses.

Implantable cardiac stimulation devices are well known in the art. Such devices apply electrical stimulation pulses to one or more chambers of the heart. The energies of the applied stimulation pulses are selected so as to be above the pacing energy stimulation threshold of the respective heart chamber to cause the cardiac tissue of that chamber to depolarize. Depolarization of the cardiac tissue of the respective chamber in turn causes the respective chamber heart muscle to contract. In this manner, the required pumping action of the heart is sustained.
It is therefore desirable to ascertain the pacing energy stimulation threshold of a heart chamber to be paced. A pacing energy may then be selected which is above the threshold to assure reliable pacing.
When a pacing pulse is effective in causing depolarization or contraction of the heart muscle, it is referred to as "capture" of the heart. Conversely, when a pacing pulse is ineffective in causing depolarization or contraction of the heart muscle, it is referred to as "lack of capture" of the heart.
An electrogram (EGM), as is also well known in the art, is an electrical signal representing the electrical activity of a heart muscle. The electrical manifestation of lack of capture in a heart muscle is typically a negative deflection in the electrogram baseline. This is referred to as polarization (POL). The electrical manifestation of capture in a heart muscle is typically an exaggerated biphasic deflection in the EGM. This is generally referred to as the evoked response plus polarization (ER+POL).
When a cardiac stimulation device performs a pacing energy stimulation threshold search or test, it applies a succession of test pacing pulses at a basic rate. The energy of each successive pacing pulse is reduced by a known amount and capture is verified following each pulse. Capture may be verified by detecting the evoked response.
Each stimulation includes a pair of pulses, a primary pulse and a subsequent backup pulse. The stimulation pulses of each pair are timed such that, if the primary pulse captures, the backup pulse will be delivered during the refractory period to provide a measure of polarization. The polarization waveform is subtracted from the evoked response plus polarization waveform to determine if capture occurred.
Sensing of evoked responses is therefore useful for capture verification and threshold assessment. Unfortunately, sensing of evoked responses is often difficult. Polarization after potentials tend to obscure the evoked responses when leads are used which have polarizing electrodes, such as electrodes formed of polarized platinum. Further, a number of leads, like active fixation screw-in leads continue to include electrodes formed of polarizing materials. Still further, leads that are retained for further use at device replacement tend be early generation leads having polarizing electrodes.
The present invention addresses the issues of sensing evoked responses. More specifically, as will be seen hereafter, the present invention provides for the automatic selection of the best evoked response sensing electrode configuration from among the most propitious evoked response sensing electrode configurations offered by a cardiac stimulation system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Implantable cardiac stimulation device with automatic evoked response sensing electrode configuration selection and method


Deep desulfurization of hydrocarbon feeds containing undesired organosulfur compounds to produce a hydrocarbon product having low levels of sulfur, i.e., 15 ppmw or less of sulfur, is achieved by first subjecting the entire feed to an extraction zone to separate an aromatic-rich fraction containing a substantial amount of the aromatic refractory and sterically hindered sulfur-containing compounds and an aromatic-lean fraction containing a substantial amount of the labile sulfur-containing compounds. The aromatic-rich fraction is contacted with isomerization catalyst, and the isomerized aromatic-rich fraction and the aromatic-lean fraction are combined and contacted with a hydrotreating catalyst in a hydrodesulfurization reaction zone operating under mild conditions to reduce the quantity of organosulfur compounds to an ultra-low level.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hydrotreating processes to efficiently reduce the sulfur content of hydrocarbons.
Description of Related Art
The discharge into the atmosphere of sulfur compounds during processing and end-use of the petroleum products derived from sulfur-containing sour crude oil poses health and environmental problems. Stringent reduced-sulfur specifications applicable to transportation and other fuel products have impacted the refining industry, and it is necessary for refiners to make capital investments to greatly reduce the sulfur content in gas oils to 10 parts per million by weight (ppmw) or less. In the industrialized nations such as the United States, Japan and the countries of the European Union, refineries have already been required to produce environmentally clean transportation fuels. For instance, in 2007 the United States Environmental Protection Agency required the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel to be reduced 97%, from 500 ppmw (low sulfur diesel) to 15 ppmw (ultra-low sulfur diesel). The European Union has enacted even more stringent standards, requiring diesel and gasoline fuels sold in 2009 to contain less than 10 ppmw of sulfur. Other countries are following in the footsteps of the United States and the European Union and are moving forward with regulations that will require refineries to produce transportation fuels with ultra-low sulfur levels.
To keep pace with recent trends toward production of ultra-low sulfur fuels, refiners must choose among the processes or crude oils that provide flexibility that ensures future specifications are met with minimum additional capital investment, in many instances by utilizing existing equipment. Conventional technologies such as hydrocracking and two-stage hydrotreating offer solutions to refiners for the production of clean transportation fuels. These technologies are available and can be applied as new grassroots production facilities are constructed. However, many existing hydroprocessing facilities, such as those using relatively low pressure hydrotreaters, represent a substantial prior investment and were constructed before these more stringent sulfur reduction requirements were enacted. It is very difficult to upgrade existing hydrotreating reactors in these facilities because of the comparatively more severe operational requirements (i.e., higher temperature and pressure) to obtain clean fuel production. Available retrofitting options for refiners include elevation of the hydrogen partial pressure by increasing the recycle gas quality, utilization of more active catalyst compositions, installation of improved reactor components to enhance liquid-solid contact, the increase of reactor volume, and the increase of the feedstock quality.
There are many hydrotreating units installed worldwide producing transportation fuels containing 500-3000 ppmw sulfur. These units were designed for, and are being operated at, relatively mild conditions (i.e., low hydrogen partial pressures of 30 kilograms per square centimeter for straight run gas oils boiling in the range of 180° C. to 370° C.).
With the increasing prevalence of more stringent environmental sulfur specifications in transportation fuels mentioned above, the maximum allowable sulfur levels are being reduced to no greater than 15 ppmw, and in some cases no greater than 10 ppmw. This ultra-low level of sulfur in the end product typically requires either construction of new high pressure hydrotreating units, or a substantial retrofitting of existing facilities, e.g., by incorporating gas purification systems, reengineering the internal configuration and components of reactors, and/or deployment of more active catalyst compositions.
Sulfur-containing compounds that are typically present in hydrocarbon fuels include aliphatic molecules such as sulfides, disulfides and mercaptans as well as aromatic molecules such as thiophene, benzothiophene and its long chain alkylated derivatives, and dibenzothiophene and its alkyl derivatives such as 4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene.
Aliphatic sulfur-containing compounds are more easily desulfurized (labile) using mild hydrodesulfurization methods. However, certain highly branched aromatic molecules can sterically hinder the sulfur atom removal and are moderately more difficult to desulfurize (refractory) using mild hydrodesulfurization methods.
Among the sulfur-containing aromatic compounds, thiophenes and benzothiophenes are relatively easy to hydrodesulfurize. The addition of alkyl groups to the ring compounds increases the difficulty of hydrodesulfurization. Dibenzothiophenes resulting from addition of another ring to the benzothiophene family are even more difficult to desulfurize, and the difficulty varies greatly according to their alkyl substitution, with di-beta substitution being the most difficult to desulfurize, thus justifying their "refractory" appellation. These beta substituents hinder exposure of the heteroatom to the active site on the catalyst.
The economical removal of refractory sulfur-containing compounds is therefore exceedingly difficult to achieve, and accordingly removal of sulfur-containing compounds in hydrocarbon fuels to an ultra-low sulfur level is very costly by current hydrotreating techniques. When previous regulations permitted sulfur levels up to 500 ppmw, there was little need or incentive to desulfurize beyond the capabilities of conventional hydrodesulfurization, and hence the refractory sulfur-containing compounds were not targeted. However, in order to meet the more stringent sulfur specifications, these refractory sulfur-containing compounds must be substantially removed from hydrocarbon fuels streams.
The relative reactivity of thiols and sulfides are much higher than those of aromatic sulfur compounds, as indicated in a study published in Song, Chunshan, "An Overview of New Approaches to Deep Desulfurization for Ultra-Clean Gasoline, Diesel Fuel and Jet Fuel," Catalysis Today, 86 (2003), pp. 211-263. Mercaptans/thiols and sulfides are much more reactive than the aromatic sulfur compounds. It should be noted that non-thiophenic sulfides such as paraffinic and/or naphthenic are present in diesel range hydrocarbons as seen from the relative reactivity chart shown in FIG. 1.
Studies have been conducted related to increasing the relative reactivity of sterically hindered sulfur-containing hydrocarbons. In particular, isomerization of 4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene into methyl-migrated isomers and tri- or tetramethyl-dibenzothiophenes was studied. See Isoda et al., "Hydrodesulfurization Pathway of 4,6-Dimethyldibenzothiophene Through Isomerization over Y-Zeolite Containing CoMo/Al2O3 Catalyst", Energy & Fuels, 1996, 10, 1078-1082, and Isoda et al., "Changes in Desulfurization Reactivity of 4,6-Dimethyldibenzothiophene by Skeletal Isomerization Using a Ni-Supported Y-Type Zeolite," Energy & Fuels, 2000, 14, 585-590.
McConnachie, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,838 describes a process in which a diesel boiling range feedstream which includes nitrogen-containing compounds and hindered dibenzothiophenes is subjected to removal of nitrogen-containing compounds by contacting the feedstream with a sulfuric acid solution, contacting the reduced nitrogen stream with a solid acid catalyst to isomerize certain sulfur-containing molecules; and hydrotreating the isomerized effluent. However, the described process in McConnachie, et al. prefers that the entire feed is both subjected to the removal of nitrogen-containing compounds by contacting the feedstream with a sulfuric acid solution, and contacted with the costly and sensitive (i.e., easily poisoned) solid acid isomerization catalyst. This requires that the nitrogen-removal apparatus have a capacity suitable for the entire feedstream, and impart excessive demand on this isomerization catalyst and its reactor capacity.
McVicker, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,768 teaches a desulfurization process in which an entire feedstream is hydrotreated using conventional catalysts. The partially hydrotreated effluent is fractionated, whereby sterically hindered sulfur-containing hydrocarbons are removed with the bottoms stream. The bottoms stream is passed to a reactor containing isomerization catalyst. The effluent from the reactor containing isomerization catalyst is returned to the hydrotreating reactor. However, in McVicker, et al., the entire initial feed is passed through the hydrotreating reactor, including refractory sulfur-containing hydrocarbons which are likely not desulfurized in this initial pass-through, thus decreasing the overall process efficiency.
None of the above-mentioned references describe processes for desulfurization of including specific sub-processes and apparatus for targeting different organosulfur compounds. With the steady increase in demand for hydrocarbon fuels having an ultra-low sulfur level, a need exists for an efficient and effective process and apparatus for desulfurization.

Hydrotreating of aromatic-extracted hydrocarbon streams


A medical image processing apparatus including processing circuitry configured to obtain MR dynamic images acquired by MR imaging on a subject, in which a contrast agent has been injected, in accordance with an examination-time imaging condition including magnetic field information, contrast agent information, and/or tissue information, set a standard imaging condition, and calculate a first index value indicating a temporal change of an MR signal value caused by the contrast agent, the index value being standardized by conversion from the examination-time imaging condition to the standard imaging condition based on the MR dynamic images, the examination-time imaging condition, and the standard imaging condition.

Software for generating, from MR images acquired by contrast-enhanced MR examinations, a contrast enhancement parametric map that expresses distribution of values of indexes (hereinafter referred to as contrast enhancement parameters) that indicate a temporal change of a contrast agent is on the market. Statistics such as an average value of a lesion in the contrast enhancement parametric map are used for diagnosis. However, contrast enhancement parameter values inevitably vary depending on the imaging conditions, such as the magnetic field strength, the contrast agent type, and the contrast agent injection amount; therefore, upon diagnosis using contrast enhancement parameters, the dependency of contrast enhancement parameter values on the imaging conditions inhibits correct diagnosis.

Medical image processing apparatus and method


A stop collar is assembled using a method including the steps of receiving a bore of a base having a set of fingers extending along an exterior of a tubular, receiving a bore of a sleeve onto the tubular adjacent the set of fingers, and receiving the sleeve onto the set of fingers in an interference-fit. In alternate embodiments, the base comprises a plurality of angularly distributed fingers and/or the base comprises a gap to permit conformance of the base to the tubular. A fingerless base may cooperate with one or more separate fingers to form a base. In an embodiment of the method, the sleeve may be thermally expanded prior to the step of receiving the sleeve onto the set of fingers. The sleeve may be heated to expand the bore prior to being received onto the set of fingers.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to tubulars, for example, tubulars used in transporting fluids, in drilling, completion and/or production of oil and gas wells, or in injecting and/or producing gas, brine and/or water. This invention also relates to methods and apparatuses to hold to tubulars.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Tubular strings may be used, for example, to transport fluids and to produce water, oil and/or gas from geologic formations through earthen bores. In geologic applications, a drilled bore may be cased with a string of tubulars (e.g., a casing) to prevent collapse of the bore and to facilitate deeper drilling. In casing operations, a number of devices are generally coupled to a tubular. For example, devices that may be coupled to a tubular may include bore wall scrapers and wipers, packers, centralizers and landing collars. Devices may be coupled to a tubular, either at a fixed position or within a range of positions, using holding devices called stop collars.
Stop collars may be used to limit or prevent movement of a device coupled on the exterior of a tubular. A device may be coupled to a tubular in a floating mode (e.g., axially and radially slidable) intermediate two axially-spaced stop collars secured to the tubular. For example, a bow-spring centralizer may be movable along a tubular, but limited from further axial movement by the end collars of the centralizer being disposed between two stop collars (or intermediate a stop collar and a non-flush tubular connection). This configuration is called a straddling configuration, and permits the centralizer to "float" or move along the exterior of the tubular within a range defined by the axial separation of the stop collars (or by the axial separation of a stop collar and a non-flush tubular connection).
A bow-spring centralizer may be coupled to a tubular in a floating mode using a stop collar secured to the tubular between the two end collars of a bow-spring centralizer, e.g., within the span of the bow-springs. This configuration facilitates pulling the bow-spring centralizer through restrictions during the running of the tubular into a bore.
In another application, stop collar may be used to position an expandable packing member on a tubular to form a packer. In one packer embodiment, stop collars may serve a dual purpose. First, the stop collars may each comprise a packer face disposed to straddle the packing member and thereby limit or prevent axial expansion of the packing member. Second, the stop collars may prevent a pressure differential applied across the expanded packing member from moving the packing member relative to the tubular. Pressure differentials may be applied across a packing member in, for example, cementing, perforating, fracture isolation and other downhole operations.
FIG. 1A is schematic of a packer 110 comprising an expandable packing member 160 received on a tubular 8 between straddling stop collars 132 and 134. The tubular 8 and packer 110 are illustrated as being run into a bore 7 of a larger tubular (e.g., casing) 88. Depicted stop collars 132 and 134 each comprise packer faces 132A and 134A, respectively, that engage ends of the packing member 160 to restrict movement of the packing member 160 during running of the tubular into the bore 7. The packing member 160 may comprise a material that swells upon contact by an activating fluid (not shown) to an expanded mode, for example as illustrated in FIG. 1B, to isolate an annulus first portion 7A from an annulus second portion 7B.
After expansion of a packing member 160′, e.g., in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1B, the packer faces 132A and 134A may stabilize the packing member 160′ of FIG. 1B against being moved by a pressure differential between the annulus first portion 7A and the annulus second portion 7B. The packer faces 132A and 132B may be disposed at an angle to an axis of the bore of the tubular 8, which angle may be perpendicular as illustrated in FIG. 1B or any other angle desired.
Instead of a swellable packing material, a packer may comprise an inflatable packing member. The tubular and the attached packer may be run into a bore and the packing member may be inflated using a source of pressurized fluid. As with the swellable packing member, the packer faces may also restrict the axial expansion of an inflatable packing member and thereby force the packer to radially expand upon inflation of the packing member to engage the bore 7, which may be the bore of a larger tubular, such as casing, or the bore of an uncased earthen hole.
In low-clearance applications, the thickness of a stop collar is an important design parameter because a stop collar adds to the positive outer diameter (P.O.D.) of the tubular and may determine whether the tubular to which the stop collar is coupled will pass a bore restriction. Restrictions may be presented by, for example, the diameter of the bore of a tubular larger than the tubular to which the stop collar is secured (e.g., casing), a blow-out preventer (BOP), valve, liner or a bore irregularity. As a result, a low-clearance stop collar may be essential to certain downhole operations.
Load capacity may also an important design factor relating to stop collars, especially for low-clearance stop collars. A stop collar may be required to bear potentially large forces imparted to the stop collar while moving the tubular through the tightest passable restrictions. The tubular string may weigh hundreds of tons, and forces imparted to a stop collar, for example, due to impact with a restriction, may exceed about 45 kN (10,116 pounds).
As another example of how loads may be imposed on a stop collar, a low-clearance, bow-spring centralizer may be coupled to a tubular using a low-clearance stop collar secured to the tubular between the end collars of the bow-spring centralizer. The bow-spring centralizer may pass through bore restrictions that require flexible collapse the bow-springs to lie substantially flat along the exterior of the tubular on which the centralizer is coupled. A low-clearance stop collar secured to the tubular between the end collars of the centralizer will not substantially impair collapse of the bow-springs. The reactive force provided by the stop collar to pull the leading end collar of the centralizer through such a restriction will be at least equal to the force imparted by the restriction on the bow-springs of the centralizer as they collapse to lie along the exterior of the tubular.
Conventional stop collars may be too large in outer diameter for certain applications. Additionally, conventional stop collars may not provide sufficient holding force without damaging the tubular. A conventional stop collar may be coupled to a tubular using, for example, a set screw. For example, a set screw comprising a shaft threadably received in an aperture machined in a collar. The shaft is rotatable to threadably advance radially inwardly to engage and bite into the exterior of the tubular. Set screw-type stop collars rely on highly localized contact with the tubular and typically do not provide adequate load capacity on tubulars of hardened materials, such as high-carbon steel or other extremely hard alloys, because the set screw does not sufficiently penetrate the surface of the hardened tubular. Even a set screw-type stop collar having multiple set screws "bites" into only a small cumulative area on the tubular, and the load capacity is limited, especially on hardened tubulars.
When the load capacity of a set screw-type stop collar is exceeded, the set screws may slip and cause scratching and scoring of the tubular, thereby damaging any protective coatings and/or possibly creating corrosion initiation sites.
Other conventional stop collars may be crimped onto a tubular. FIG. 2 is schematic of a prior art expandable packer (packing member 165 in the retracted mode) mounted on a mandrel having internally threaded connections 124 at the ends for connection between adjacent tubular segments of a tubular string. The collars 125 and 129 may include set screws 99 to position the collars on the tubular 8 to be crimped, by application of radially inward forces, to grip the tubular 8 and prevent movement of the packing member 162 along the mandrel 123. In the crimping process, the collars 125 and 129 are deformed to engage the tubular 8.
A shortcoming of crimped stop collars is that they generally require deformation of the wall of the tubular 8 (or the mandrel) on which the stop collar is installed in order to provide sufficient load capacity, and deformation of the tubular (or the mandrel) may be impractical or undesirable. Also, crimping a collar onto a tubular may require a heavy machine to generate the forces required to deform the collar and/or the tubular, and this requirement may prohibit field installation. A shortcoming of a sub-mounted packer (see FIG. 2) is that the packer must be positioned at a threaded connection within a tubular string, and it cannot be conveniently disposed at any location along any tubular segment.
Another type of stop collar comprises an adhesively-secured pad of epoxy adhesive and/or plastic resin material disposed in a pre-activated condition on the exterior of a tubular using, for example, the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,730 to Calderoni, et al. The epoxy adheres to the tubular and resists movement once the epoxy or plastic resin cures. Adhesively-secured stop collars, like set-screw type stop collars, may lack sufficient load capacity required to, for example, push or pull a centralizer through a tight restriction. Adhesively-secured stop collars may also require careful surface preparations such as, for example, cleaning, degreasing, brushing and/or sand blasting, to ensure that the adhesive will adhere to the tubular. Adhesively-secured stop collars may also require a period of inactivity after application for the adhesive to cure enough for the stop collar to bear a load. Other stop collars may comprise a plastic compound or resin molded onto the tubular. A stop collar comprising a plastic compound molded onto the tubular may chip or shatter from impact with bore restrictions, and a piece of the stop collar may break off and become lodged in a critical piece of equipment, such as a BOP or valve, or it may otherwise impair movement of the tubular within a the bore.
What is needed is a stop collar for securing a device on a tubular that can be installed at a field location, such as a pipe yard or on a rig. What is needed is a stop collar that can be installed at any position along the length of a tubular. What is needed is a stop collar that is compatible with low-clearance applications. What is needed is a stop collar that provides a sufficient load capacity. What is needed is a stop collar that is compatible for use on expandable tubulars. What is needed is a stop collar that can reliably secure a device to premium grade or hardened tubulars. What is needed is a stop collar that minimizes or eliminates marking, scarring and scoring of the tubular on which it is secured. What is needed is a stop collar that can be secured to a tubular without the need for heavy machines, without highly skilled personnel, and without the need for time-consuming surface preparation. What is needed is a stop collar that can be secured on a tubular in any climate.

Interference-fit stop collar and method of positioning a device on a tubular


A method to simultaneously remediate mixed-waste underground contamination, such as organic liquids, metals, and radionuclides involves chemical tailoring of steam for underground injection. Gases or chemicals are injected into a high pressure steam flow being injected via one or more injection wells to contaminated soil located beyond a depth where excavation is possible. The injection of the steam with gases or chemicals mobilizes contaminants, such as metals and organics, as the steam pushes the waste through the ground toward an extraction well having subatmospheric pressure (vacuum). The steam and mobilized contaminants are drawn in a substantially horizontal direction to the extraction well and withdrawn to a treatment point above ground. The heat and boiling action of the front of the steam flow enhance the mobilizing effects of the chemical or gas additives. The method may also be utilized for immobilization of metals by using an additive in the steam which causes precipitation of the metals into clusters large enough to limit their future migration, while removing any organic contaminants.

The present invention relates to removal of underground contamination, particularly to a method of insitu decontamination using steam injection, and more particularly to a method of chemically tailoring of the steam for in situ underground mixed-waste remediation.
Cleanup of underground contamination by organics, metals, radionuclides, etc. has been a major concern, especially where the contaminated areas are located adjacent to underground water. Various approaches have been utilized to eliminate the soil contamination, often caused by leakage of fuel or oil tanks, industrial wastes, etc. These prior approaches have included physical removal (excavation) of the contaminated soil, as well as methods to flush contaminants from the soil. In many contaminated areas the contaminants are beyond the depth where excavation is possible, and fluid and steam injection used alone or coupled with soil heating has been utilized to remove the contaminants. One of the more recent approaches to solving this problem is a steam injection/subatmospheric pressure removal system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,576 issued May 28, 1991 to K. S. Udell et al. for the rapid cleanup of underground organics.
However, many of the contaminated areas or spills also contain mixed-waste, i.e., metals, radionuclides and organics. There is no known prior method to clean such spills or contaminated areas if they are beyond the depth where excavation is possible.
This problem is solved by the present invention which involves the simultaneous remediation of underground contamination by mixed-waste composed of organic materials and metals or radionuclides. The method of this invention utilizes steam injection in combination with injection of gases or chemicals which mobilize the mixed-waste as steam pushes the waste through the ground toward an extraction well where the waste is withdrawn by subatmospheric pressure, or immobilize waste such as metals into large clusters to prevent migration.

Chemical tailoring of steam to remediate underground mixed waste contaminents

The Regents of the University of California


A dental tubing and cable retraction apparatus is provided to selectively retract and release dental tubing and cabling from a cabinet when not in use, to a work site when in use. The apparatus comprises a single acting pneumatic cylinder, a cylinder rod, an actuator arm connector, an actuator arm and a pneumatic actuator switch. When the cylinder is disconnected from a source of pneumatic pressure, the cylinder rod is freely moving axially within the cylinder; when the cylinder is actuated by being connected to a source of pneumatic pressure, the cylinder rod is extended from the cylinder. The first end of the actuator arm is pivotally connected to the actuator arm connector at the outer end of the cylinder rod. A guide loop is pivotally attached to the second end of the actuator arm, and the dental tubing or cabling is fed through the guide loop so as to be retracted when the cylinder is actuated.

The present invention relates to apparatus for use by dental practitioners, specifically dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, oral surgeons, and the like. The present invention provides an apparatus which retracts dental tubing or cabling which is attached to or associated with various dental instruments used by the dental practitioner, when the dental instruments are not in use. However, when the dental instruments are to be used by the dental practitioner, and are removed from a holder therefor, the associated dental tubing or cabling is released from its retracted position so that it may be pulled into place at the dental work site by the dental practitioner.
Typically, dental practitionersxe2x80x94most usually dentists and dental hygienists and the likexe2x80x94employ a number of different dental instruments while performing many different dental procedures on their patients. Several of those dental instruments might be used at one time, for example a turbine and a suction device, x-ray or video camera devices together with a suction device, and so on. Typically, there may be four or as many as eight such devices that may be employed by the dental practitioner, and they are arranged in a cabinet which is placed either at the head of the patient when the patient is in a dental chair, or at the side of the patient when the patient is in a dental chair. The practitioner will work on the patient while standing or sitting beside the patient at either side or at the top of the patient""s head; and the various instruments will be employed by the dental practitioner by being brought to the dental work site in the patient""s mouth with their associated dental tubing or dental cabling being placed beside the head or beside the shoulder of the patient.
However, when the dental practitioner no longer wants to use the dental instrument, he or she will place the dental instrument back into the holder on the cabinet, together with the other dental instruments which may be employed. Unfortunately, each of those dental instruments is associated with dental tubing or cabling, and unless that dental tubing or cabling is retracted into the cabinet, it could get tangled with other dental tubing or cabling, or it could become a hazard over which the dental practitioner or a dental assistant could trip. Moreover, if the dental tubing or dental cabling becomes entangled or snarled, and a circumstance arises where the dental practitioner suddenly and quickly requires the use of one of the dental instruments, it may be possible that the dental instrument is not available immediately due to the entanglement of its respective dental tubing or dental cabling with the dental tubing and dental cabling of other instruments.
The present invention provides a simple and effective solution to the problem of retracting and releasing dental tubing and dental cabling, by taking advantage of certain facts relating generally to the practice of dentistryxe2x80x94at least as it is known in North America. Specifically, the present invention acknowledges that modem dental instruments are provided which either are associated with pneumatic tubing, hoses, and the like, or certain dental instruments may be associated with optical fibre. In either case, the dental tubing or cabling is flexible. Also, when dental tubing is employed, as noted, it will either be connected to a source of suction; and more particularly, for dental instrumentation required for drilling or polishing, and the like, all such instrumentation is pneumatically driven. Belt driven instrumentation is no longer employed.
Thus, it is convenient in the organization of a dental practitioner""s operatory to gather all of the dental instruments which will be employed into a single cabinet, located beside or at the head of the patient, as noted above. That cabinet will be connected to a source of pneumatic pressure; and that fact is employed by the present invention.
The present invention also provides fail-safe operation. That is, if there is a source of pneumatic pressure whereby the dental practitioner can practice dentistry on patients, then that same source of pressure can be employed to ensure that the dental tubing and dental cabling associated with unused dental instrumentation at that instant in time is, indeed, retracted. If there is a failure of the source of pneumatic pressure, then the retraction of the dental tubing and dental cabling is relieved.
Still further, because a source of pneumatic pressure will be associated with the cabinet in which the dental tubing and dental cabling for the various dental instrumentation is to be retracted, the holder for each specific dental instrument can be associated with the source of pneumatic pressure in such a manner that when the respective dental instrument is removed from its holder, the respective dental tubing or dental cabling is released. This comes about as a consequence of the use of single-ended or single-acting pneumatic cylinders, which require connection to a source of pneumatic pressure if the cylinder rod or piston within the cylinder is to be extended. Immediately upon the release of pneumatic pressurexe2x80x94that is, immediately when the single-acting pneumatic cylinder is disconnected from the source of pneumatic pressurexe2x80x94the cylinder rod is free to move axially within the cylinder, without any appreciable resistance.
All of these matters are discussed in greater detail hereafter.
A number of prior art approaches are known, by which dental cabinet appliances, retractors, and the like, are provided. They include the following:
Suter Canadian Patent 1,111,679, issued Nov. 3, 1981, teaches a dental unit which is intended to position dental instruments at a location which is convenient to a seated or standing dentist. In particular, a four-bar linkage is provided which swings a holder for various dental instruments from a low stored position to an in-use position. In the lower position, the dental instruments are convenient to a seated dentist; in the higher position, the instrument holder is convenient to a dentist who is standing. However, there is no consideration given to the associated dental tubing or cabling for the various dental instruments.
Japanese Patent abstract 62133308, published Dec. 7, 1988, teaches a dental apparatus whose purpose is to make the delivery of the flexible hose for a handpiece sufficiently long, by providing a flying arm which tilts forwardly. The flexible hose is delivered forwardly while sliding through an elongated hole in a base, and thence through a hole on the flying arm. The purpose is to permit the flexible hose to be extended while reducing the space in which the apparatus is stored.
Another Japanese Patent Abstract, 05334135, published Jul. 25, 1995, teaches a device which winds instrument hose or tubing, wherein a pulley and block moves along a guide, with the instrument hose being wound around a pulley.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,883 issued Mar. 12, 1968 to Ota, teaches a rotatable apparatus that is employed to pay out or draw in dental hoses. Means are provided to bias the rotatable apparatus in one direction about the rotation axis, so as to thereby draw in the hose.
Wahler et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,850, issue Jan. 6, 1970, teaches a similar device where the flexible hose is wound onto a pulley-like arrangement which is spring biassed so as to return the hose to a storage position.
McGaha U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,171, issued May 26, 1970, teaches a dental instrument cabinet and storage mechanism in which a partitioned and compartmented housing has a plurality of individual compartments into each of which a separate instrument and connecting hose means may be stored. The compartmented storage means is slidably mounted in the interior of the housing and is pulled out from the housing when it is desired for the instruments to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,258, issued Sep. 26, 1972 to Fulton et al teaches a retractor for a dental handpiece, where the retractor is equipped with a spring-supported weight which trips the release mechanism of the retractor when the hose is pulled abruptly. The dentist may select the length of the hose; and when the dentist wants the hose to be retracted, an abrupt pulling force upon the hose causes the hose to be retracted back into a cabinet.
Roland U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,764 issued Jul. 22, 1975, teaches a retracting device whose purpose is particularly to deliver and retrieve multichanneled hose as used by a dentist. The hose is wound onto a collecting reel; means are provided to ensure that the hose will not crimp or kink during the retrieving action.
Another patent issued to McGaha, U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,273, issued Sep. 19, 1978, teaches a very complicated console for extending and retracting operating flexible hoses, particularly in cases where the instrumentation is placed in an over-the-patient position. The extending and retracting of the flexible hose is controlled by a pawl and ratchet mechanism.
Hirth U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,648 issued May 1, 1979, teaches a dental apparatus which retracts supply hoses, and which employs a coil spring. The hose is interposed between windings of the spring, and when the hose is extended, the radius of the coil contracts, which causes control switches to be activated. A ratchet is employed to prevent unwanted retraction. When the ratchet is released, the coil spring expands thereby drawing the hose back into the housing.
Another device for storing dental handpieces is taught in Heuback U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,811 issued Sep. 11, 1984. Here, the hose for each dental handpiece is permitted to hang freely in a loop-like fashion, where a guidance roller together with another element guide the hose during movement of the handpiece from the stored position to an extended position. No attempt is made to retract or hide the dental tubing into a cabinet; and thus the housing is generally one which is employed in a relatively high position compared to the position of the patient.
Hamula U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,874, issued Sep. 19, 1995, teaches a device which retracts and stores a length of dental instrumentation hose. Here, the length of hose is anchored at one end and is routed under a spool and through an opening of an instrument panel. The hose hangs in a loop or bight with the spool supported on the bight, and the hose is kept under tension by the weight of the spool. When the dental instrument is to be used, the spool is lifted onto and secured by supports, and tension is thereby released from the hose. Then, a quick jerk or pull on the hose dislodges the spool from its support, causing it to fall vertically into the compartment and drawing the hose back into the compartment with it.
Another flexible hose assembly which employs weights is taught by Upton in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,354, issued Jul. 7, 1998. However, in this case, the weights do not interact with the dental hose per se. A xe2x80x9cblock and tacklexe2x80x9d arrangement is provided, where the counterweights are at least partially immersed in a damping liquid. The purpose is to prevent hose snap-back. It should be noted, however, that the hoses are of the sort generally used in automobile repair and service centres, of the sort that may deliver water or air to the mechanic working on a vehicle.
Finally, Behringer U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,717, issued Feb. 23, 1999, teaches another device where supply hoses are essentially permitted to hang free. The purpose is to preclude activation of a dental handpiece until such time as it has been lifted away from a holder.
The present invention provides an apparatus for selectively retracting and releasing dental tubing and dental cabling, whereby the dental tubing and dental cabling is retracted into a cabinet when it is not in use, and is released so as to be extended to a work site when in use. The apparatus comprises the following:
First, there is a single-acting pneumatic cylinder having a cylinder rod which is freely moving axially within the cylinder when the cylinder is disconnected from a source of pneumatic pressure. The cylinder rod is extended from the cylinder when the cylinder is actuated by being connected to a source of pneumatic pressure.
There is an actuator arm connector which is secured to the outer end of the cylinder rod, and is movable therewith.
An actuator arm having first and second ends is pivotally connected at its first end to the actuator arm connector. The second end of the actuator arm has a guide loop pivotally attached thereto.
There is also provided a pneumatic actuator switch which is mounted on the cabinet for selective actuation of the pneumatic cylinder.
The actuator arm is pivotally mounted on a pivot axis which is located at a point intermediate the first and second ends thereof. The mounting is such that when the pneumatic cylinder is actuated by being connected to source of pneumatic pressure, the second end of the actuator arm is located at a position behind the pivot axis. Also, when the pneumatic cylinder is deactivated by being disconnected from a source of pneumatic pressure, whereby the cylinder rod is freely axially movable within the cylinder, the second end of the actuator arm may be located at a position which is in front of the pivot axis.
A length of dental tubing or a length of dental cabling is passed through the guide loop in such a manner that when the pneumatic cylinder is actuated by the pneumatic actuator switch connecting the pneumatic cylinder to a source of pneumatic pressure, the guide loop is behind the pivot axis and the dental tubing or dental cabling is retracted into the cabinet within which the apparatus is mounted. When the pneumatic cylinder is deactivated by being disconnected by the pneumatic actuator switch from the source of pneumatic pressure, the dental tubing or dental cabling may be withdrawn from the cabinet so as to be extended to a work site by a dental practitioner.
Typically, the guide loop is formed of a smooth, plastics material.
Also, typically there is a wrap bar which is located in the cabinet below and in front of the pivot axis. The dental tubing or dental cabling is passed in front of the wrap bar when the pneumatic cylinder is actuated.
The apparatus of the present invention may further include a pneumatic safety cut-off switch, whereby the pneumatic cylinder may be deactivated by selectively placing the pneumatic safety cut-off switch in its cut-off position.
In that case, it is usual that the pneumatic safety cut-off switch is physically associated with the pneumatic actuator switch.
In the apparatus of the present invention, any dental instrument may be associated with the dental tubing or dental cabling, and the dental instrument is placed into the pneumatic actuator switch when it is not in use.
The pneumatic actuator switch is normally activated when the dental instrument is placed therein, and it is deactivated when the dental instrument is removed therefrom.
Thus, when the dental instrument is placed in the pneumatic actuator switch, the switch is activated so as to actuate the pneumatic cylinder, and so as to retract the dental tubing or dental cabling into the cabinet.
On the other hand, when the dental instrument is removed from the pneumatic actuator switch, the switch is deactivated so as to deactuate the pneumatic cylinder, and so as to permit the dental tubing or dental cabling to be extended away from the cabinet, to a work site.
In the circumstances wherein a length of dental tubing is associated with a pneumatically operated dental instrument, that pneumatically operated dental instrument will be pneumatically parallel to the pneumatic cylinder, and the parallel pneumatic cylinder and pneumatically operated dental instrument are pneumatically in series with the pneumatic activator switch and a source of pneumatic pressure.

Dental tubing and cable retraction apparatus