A catalyst composite may include a molecular sieve having pores of 10- or more-membered rings and a metal silicate different from the molecular sieve. The metal silicate may include at least one alkaline earth metal and one or more of the following metals: Ga, Al, Ce, In, Cs, Sc, Sn, Li, Zn, Co, Mo, Mn, Ni, Fe, Cu, Cr, Ti and V. The catalyst composite may include at least 0.1 wt % of silicate. The catalyst composite may be used in an XTO reactor or for catalytic cracking.

The limited supply and increasing cost of crude oil has prompted the search for alternative processes for producing hydrocarbon products. One such process is the conversion of oxygen-containing (for example methanol), halogenide-containing or sulphur-containing organic compounds to hydrocarbons, in particular, to light olefins, i.e. C2 to C4 olefins, or gasoline and aromatics. In the present application the conversion of said oxygen-containing (also referred to as oxygenates), halogenide-containing or sulphur-containing organic compounds to hydrocarbons, especially light olefins, is referred to as the XTO process. The interest in the XTO process is based on the fact that feedstocks, especially methanol can be obtained from coal, biomass, hydrocarbon residues, petcoke, organic waste or natural gas by the production of synthesis gas, which is then further processed to produce methanol. The XTO process can be combined with an OCP (olefin cracking process) process to increase production of olefins. The XTO process produces light olefins such as ethylene and propylene, as well as heavy hydrocarbons such as butenes and above. These heavy hydrocarbons are cracked in an OCP process to give mainly ethylene and propylene.
In accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,990 methanol and/or dimethylether is converted to light olefins in the presence of a catalyst, which contains at least 0.7% by weight of phosphorus and at least 0.97% by weight of rare earth elements, which are incorporated within the structure of the catalyst and allegedly enhance the hydrothermal stability of the zeolite. The rare earth elements are preferably rich in lanthanum, the content of lanthanum in the catalyst being preferably comprised between 2.5 and 3.5% by weight of the catalyst. The rare earth elements are introduced via impregnation onto the crystals in an aqueous solution of a lanthanum salt, for example La(NO3)3, or of mixed rare earth salts rich in lanthanum. The zeolite ZSM-5 based catalyst presents a mole ratio SiO2/Al2O3 comprised between 40 and 80, a crystal size comprised between 1 and 10 μm and adsorption capacities of n-hexane and water of from 10 to 11% by weight and of from 6 to 7% by weight respectively. Said ZSM-5 is synthesized in the presence of a template, then extruded with colloidal silica and converted to the hydrogen form by ion exchange using hydrochloric acid.
US 20060144759 A1 is related to the production of ethylene and propylene from the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons, which may include an unsaturated bond, but no mention is made of oxygen-containing feedstocks. The aim was to find a catalyst, which could be used in a reactor permitting continuous regeneration of the catalyst. The zeolite thus cited as suitable is a high silica zeolite, preferably a ZSM-5 and/or a ZSM-11, having a SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio ranging from 25 to 800 and carrying a rare earth element preferably chosen from lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium and dysprosium. It is stated that mere physical mixing of the zeolite with the rare earth compound is not sufficient. The zeolite may also contain other components such as an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, a transition metal, a noble metal, a halogen and phosphorus.
In accordance with US 2007/0032379 A1, an alkaline earth metal-containing MFI zeolite is disclosed, having a Si/Al atomic ratio of from 30 to 400, an alkaline earth metal/Al atomic ratio ranging from 0.75 to 15, and an average particle diameter ranging from 0.05 to 2 μm. This zeolite is selective for the production of lower hydrocarbons, e.g. ethylene and propylene, from dimethyl ether and/or methanol and is stated to have an extended catalyst life. The zeolite is obtained by synthesising a zeolite raw material solution, which contains a SiO2 source, a metal oxide source, an alkali source and a structure-directing agent, i.e. a template, in the presence of an alkaline earth metal salt, such as calcium acetate, and a zeolite seed crystal. This implies that the metal salt is present within the zeolite crystal structure.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,573, a catalytic process is provided for converting lower monohydric alcohols to a hydrocarbon mixture rich in ethylene and propylene and mononuclear aromatics with a high selectivity for para-xylene, using a catalyst comprising a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite having a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12, a constraint index in the range of 1 to 12, said catalyst having been modified by the addition thereto of a minor proportion of an oxide of boron or magnesium either alone or in combination, optionally with an oxide of phosphorus. The zeolite can be ion-exchanged to form metal-modified zeolites for example with nickel, zinc, calcium or rare earth metals. There is no mention of adding metal silicates to the zeolite.
In accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,041, methanol or dimethyl ether is subjected to conversion, at a temperature of at least about 300° C., with a catalyst comprising a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite having a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12, a constraint index of about 1 to 12, and containing phosphorus incorporated within the crystal structure thereof in an amount of at least about 0.78 percent by weight, preferably not higher than about 4.5 percent by weight. The zeolite, preferably, also has a dried crystal density of not less than about 1.6 grams per cubic centimeter. The crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite is first converted to the hydrogen form, then phosphorus is introduced by reaction with a phosphorus-containing compound having a covalent or ionic constituent capable of reacting or exchanging with a hydrogen ion. Thereafter, the phosphorus-modified zeolite is heated. There is no steaming of the zeolite prior to introduction of phosphorus. Preferably, prior to reacting the zeolite with the phosphorus-containing compound, the zeolite is dried, preferably in the presence of air and at an elevated temperature. The phosphorus-containing zeolite thus obtained may be further modified by impregnating the zeolite with zinc. This can be carried out by contacting the zeolite with a solution of a zinc salt, so that the zinc salt can fill the pore volume of the phosphorus-containing zeolite. Zinc-impregnated phosphorus-containing zeolites are claimed to have higher levels of conversion than those zeolites not impregnated with zinc.
Sano et. al. (Applied Catalysis, 33 (1987) 209-217) discusses the differences of Ca—H-ZSM-5, CaCO3/Ca—H-ZSM-5 and CaO/Ca—H-ZSM-5. The Ca—H-ZSM-5 zeolite was obtained by mixing aluminium nitrate, colloidal silica and calcium acetate, template and sodium hydroxide in solution. Thus, the calcium is contained within the crystal structure of the zeolite. After crystallisation of the zeolite from the hydrogel, the crystals were filtered off and then washed, dried, calcined at 500° C. for 16 hours, protonated and calcined again at 500° C. for 6 hours to obtain CaCO3/Ca—H-ZSM-5. To obtain CaO/Ca—H-ZSM-5, the CaCO3-containing catalyst was calcined once more for a further 24 hours at 600° C. The catalyst stabilities and long-term aging of Ca—H-ZSM-5, CaCO3/Ca—H-ZSM-5 and CaO/Ca—H-ZSM-5 were then compared in methanol conversions. Very slow decays of conversion and selectivity were observed for the CaCO3/Ca—H-ZSM-5 and the CaO/Ca—H-ZSM-5 zeolites. However Ca—H-ZSM-5 decayed rapidly, which is claimed to be due to the increased coke deposition on the catalyst surface. The amount of coke deposited on the CaCO3/Ca—H-ZSM-5 and the CaO/Ca—H-ZSM-5 zeolites was far less. On the other hand, the modification of the calcium-containing catalyst to a CaCO3— or CaO-containing catalyst did not seem to affect resistance to steaming. Thus, the extended catalyst life was attributed to the improved resistance to coking and not to the improved resistance to hydrothermal treatment.
EP448000 relates to a process for the conversion of methanol or dimethylether into light olefins in the presence of water vapour over a silicoaluminate of the pentasil structure having a Si/Al ratio of at least 10, thereby producing at least 5 wt % of ethylene, at least 35 wt % of propylene and at most 30 wt % butenes by (1) using a total pressure of 10 to 90 kPa, (2) a weight ratio of water to methanol of 0.1 to 1.5, (3) a reactor temperature of 280 to 570° C. and (4) a proton-containing catalyst of the pentasil-type, having an alkali-content of at most 380 ppm, less than 0.1 wt % of ZnO and less than 0.1 wt % of CdO and a BET surface area of 300 to 600 m2/gram and a pore volume of 0.3 to 0.8 cm3/gram.
WO2007/043741 discloses a catalyst for producing light olefins from a hydrocarbon feedstock wherein the catalyst consists of a product obtained by the evaporation of water from a raw material mixture comprising 100 parts by weight of a molecular sieve with a framework of Si—OH—Al groups, 0.01-5.0 parts by weight of a water-insoluble metal salt, and 0.05-17.0 parts by weight of a phosphate compound. The water-insoluble metal salt is a metal salt with a solubility product (Ksp) of less than 10−4, i.e. a pKsp of more than 4. This includes oxides, hydroxides, carbonates or oxalates of metals with an oxidation state of more than +2, preferably alkaline earth metals (Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba), transition metals (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) and heavy metals (B, Al, Ga, In, Ti, Sn, Pb, Sb and Bi). Metal silicates are however not disclosed. There is also no indication that this catalyst can be used in XTO processes.
Molecular sieves in combination with matrix and binder components for XTO and OCP processes are known in the arts. Usually, the binder and matrix are chemically neutral materials, typically serving only to provide desired physical characteristics to the catalyst composition. Usually, they have very little effect on catalytic performance. These molecular sieve catalyst compositions are formed by combining the molecular sieve and the matrix e.g. an inorganic oxide such as alumina, titania, zirconia, silica or silica-alumina with a binder, e. g. clay, to form a coherent, stable, attrition-resistant composite of the sieve, matrix material and binder. In particular, the use of silica (SiO2) as a binder/matrix material is well known in the art. This solid is neutral and is selected when catalytic effects of the binder/matrix are undesired. Metal modified zeolites, particularly, P-zeolites and their use as XTO catalysts are known in the art. Typically, rare earth elements, which are very expensive, are used in such catalyst composites.
Metal is introduced typically in the form of water-soluble metal salts, mainly oxides/oxide-precursor salts, by ion-exchanged/impregnation. However, ion-exchange/impregnation potentially leads to the modification of the acidity of catalytic sites throughout the whole microporous structure of the molecular sieve. This could lead to decreased catalytic activity. Metal oxides are chemically active compounds. Without taking special precautions during pre-treatment and catalyst formulation these compounds may partially damage the molecular sieve pore structure. The proposed current invention is very different from the prior art. The combination of molecular sieves with chemically inert metal silicates allows selectively modifying only the sites located on the external surface and in the pore mouths of the molecular sieve. As a result, the formation of side products is avoided and coke formation is decreased without losses in the catalyst's activity by minimising reactions outside the microporous space.
A huge variety of naturally occurring and synthetically produced silicates are known in the art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,429 discloses layered complex metal silicate compositions, in particular chrysotiles, and their preparation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,585 discloses the production of a hydrous calcium silicate composed preponderantly of xonotlite in the shape of rod crystals, which is described as having outstanding refractory properties, whereby moulded bodies comprised primarily of xonotlite provide strength unattained by other inorganic materials. The specification discloses that hydrous calcium silicate of the xonotlite type has use in construction as a fire proof coating material, as a fire proof moisture retaining material and as a potential filler for plastics and rubber products.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,652 discloses a method of producing calcium silicate-based products, such as drain pipes and insulating material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,539 discloses a method of producing hydrous calcium silicates such as xonotlite, tobermorite and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,725 discloses a process for producing hollow spherical aggregates of xonotlite, which are employed to form shaped articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,386 discloses the production of globular secondary particles of the woolastonite group of calcium silicate crystals, including woolastonite and xonotlite.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,294,604 discloses the use of calcium silicate as a catalyst support for metal supported hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts.
Thus, the current invention proposes an improved catalyst for XTO and/or OCP processes.
It is thus an aim of the invention is to find a catalyst for XTO and/or OCP processes with an increased yield of light olefins.
It is another aim of the invention to find a catalyst for XTO and/or OCP processes with a higher stability.
In addition, it is another aim of the invention to find a catalyst for XTO and/or OCP processes with reduced selectivity for paraffins.
It is an aim of this invention to avoid the use of heavy and expensive rare earth metals.
The invention fulfils at least one of the above aims.

Process for obtaining a catalyst composite


The present invention provides an optical component having an integral optical array interface formed along a mating face. The optical interface has an optical connector section extending from a front wall and a plurality of lead in surfaces also extending from the front wall adjacent to the optical interface.

This invention is related to optical devices and more particularly to an optical device having an optical array interface.
With the continued miniaturization of optical and optoelectronic components such as lasers and detectors, comes the ability to create dense optical and optoelectronic components on smaller substrates. This technology is currently being utilized to create smaller optoelectronic components such as transmitters, receivers, and transceivers having light source and detector devices for transmitting and receiving fiber optic signals. The transmitters, receivers and, transceivers typically have an electrical interface for passing electrical signals corresponding to the optical signals transmitted and received. As density is increased, the optical interconnection and alignment presents a problem in that, instead of aligning a single transmit fiber and a single receive fiber at the optical interface, it is necessary to align a plurality of fibers at the optical interface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,849 shows a pair of optical connectors forming the optical interface of an optoelectronic device. Each of these optical connectors is adapted to receive a single fiber. A connector guide is provided and includes an apertured body for receiving a guide pin to position, align, or polarize a mating connector. A problem exists with this design in that the apertured bodies are separate from the optoelectronic component and therefore are only roughly aligned to the optical connectors by their position on the mounting structure or circuit board. Since the optical interface includes only two relatively large optical connectors each having a single fiber, a rough alignment is sufficient to establish a reliable optical interconnection. This design however would not be preferred for a relatively small arrayed optical interface. Because the rough alignment provided would not be precise enough to establish reliable optical interconnections in the array.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,991 shows an optical fiber connector with an alignment feature. This patent shows a transmitter and/or a receiver device having a pair of optical connectors similar to those of U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,849 described above. A transceiver adapter is provided to receive a plug and to align the plug relative to the transmitter and/or receiver device. As shown in FIG. 1, the adapter contains many parts including, a shroud, an alignment adapter, pins, and a yoke. Again, a problem exists in that this adapter provides rough alignment to a pair of relatively large single fiber connectors at the optical interface. Also, it is undesirable to have multiple parts for achieving a precise alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,663 also shows an alignment device for an optical transceiver. This device also includes a latching beam mechanism having plug stops for the optical connector. Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,991, this patent teaches a multiple part alignment device having an adapter, a shroud, pins, and a latching mechanism for establishing alignment and for securing a plug to the transceiver device. This design would present similar problems as described above if utilized with a relatively small array optical interface.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an optical interface for an optical electronic component which provides precision alignment to an array of optical signal lines while minimizing the number of parts to perform the alignment.
This and other objects are achieved by providing an optical component having an optical array interface wherein an optical connector portion is integrally molded into the optical component and adapted to have a plurality of light guides disposed in a single ferrule.

Optical device having an integral array interface


An apparatus for removing moisture from an air or gas stream by adsorption is disclosed. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved seal and method for removing the seal and an improved L-, V-, or pie-shaped duct that promotes laminar flow (viz. not turbulent) of a moisture- or solvent-laden stream within the rotary adsorption apparatus. This, in turn, reduces the amount of insulation needed as well as isolates the heated duct from the exterior surfaces. The method allows for simplified maintenance of the rotary adsorption apparatus in comparison with conventional seals, which are typically riveted, screwed, or mechanically attached to an adsorption apparatus.

Rotary adsorption apparatuses are found in residential, commercial, and industrial environments. Specifically, rotary adsorption apparatuses may be used in industrial processes, product drying, material storage, comfort conditioning, air/gas treatment, and solvent recovery. Generally, a rotary adsorption apparatus removes moisture or a solvent from a moisture-laden air or gas stream by exposing this stream to an adsorption media such as a desiccant. (For simplicity of reference, the phrase "moisture-laden air or gas" will be used to represent both moisture- and solvent-laden air or gas streams when describing the manner in which a rotary adsorption apparatus operates. It should be noted that although the term adsorption is used herein, the adsorption medium could also be described as a medium for adsorbing excess moisture.)
One type of adsorption system includes a cylindrical adsorption medium-filled bed in which a thickness of the medium is covered on each side with circular perforated sheet metal disks to permit controlled air or gas passage through the bed. One or more dividers, comprised of a flexible material, radially separates the bed into sections. Dividers serve the purpose of separating the moisture-laden stream from the drier higher temperature air or gas stream. The adsorption medium in the cylindrical bed continuously rotates, exposing different portions of the bed to the process air or gas stream and to the drier air stream.
One section of the bed is utilized for drying a moisture-laden air or gas stream. This section of the bed is referred to as Section A in FIG. 1. The moisture adsorbs to the adsorbent bed. The air or gas stream then exits the adsorption apparatus drier than when it first entered Section A of the apparatus.
The other section of the adsorption bed, referred to as Section B in FIG. 1, has the moisture removed from the pores of the adsorption medium by a stream of heated air or steam. Once the moisture is removed from Section B, this section is then regenerated and is ready to repeat the adsorption process.
In addition to the divider that separates the moisture-laden stream from the dry air stream within the adsorption bed, an elongated flexible seal is secured to the perimeter flange on both ends of the housing for the rotary adsorption apparatus. This seal further separates the two streams from one another. Connected to the housing is the perimeter flange. The perimeter flange surrounds the face of the adsorbent container.
The entire adsorption bed is rotated around a permanent adsorption bearing by a rotor (viz., the rotating part of the motor that includes a shaft and a rotary driver). This, in turn, rotates a drive belt that has treads that interconnect with a drive wheel that is connected to the housing. Alternatively, a timing belt may be used that has cogs on both the belt and on the exterior of the rotating adsorption bed. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,484 issued to Robert N. Schmidt. Mounting angles may be used to secure parts to the rotary adsorption apparatus. For example, mounting angles may be used to fix the heat source assembly in place. Covers to these mounting angles may use polytetrafluoroethylene or Teflon.RTM. tape. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,052 issued to Bruce J. Chagnot on Aug. 24, 1993.
Conventional rotary adsorption apparatuses are disassembled by first supporting the rotor to allow unfastening of the bolts that secure a flange plate along with a shaft extension to the face of the wheel. See FIG. 1. A pillow-block bearing is typically used to support this assembly. If the operator is unable to remove the housing for the adsorption medium, the screws or rivets used to secure the seal to the perimeter flange must be removed.
A problem with the conventional seals used in adsorption apparatuses is that a typical system uses fasteners such as screws or rivets to secure the seal to a perimeter flange. Using fasteners hinders servicing of the adsorption apparatus. Tools are needed to remove the fasteners to allow the operator to take off the seal and perform maintenance on the adsorption apparatus. Additionally, typical seal designs are known to damage the relatively fragile face of rotary absorbers. Moreover, the shaft of the rotor is supported by a pillow-block type bearing making subsequent disassembly more difficult.


A foot switch includes at least one pedal rotationally mounted for actuating about at least two axes arranged at an angle with respect to each other. A stop device that can stop a movement of the pedal about one of the two axes is provided.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a foot switch having at least one pedal pivotally mounted for actuation about at least two axes arranged at an angle with respect to each other.
Foot switches with one or more pedals are used in many areas. They are usually designed to close or open an electric circuit following a rocking movement of a human foot. In the medical field in particular, switches usually have a pedal, among other things, with which one or more circuits can be switched on or off or signals can be provided, the type and/or strength of which depend on the current position of the pedal. There are switches with a pedal that can only be moved around one axis, or one that can be moved around several axes, wherein the switched circuits or the signals emitted depend, among other things, on the direction of actuation of the pedal.
For example, the publication WO 03/023544 describes a foot switch for a surgical instrument where the user can operate the pedal in both vertical and horizontal directions. The deflection of the pedal in the respective direction is detected by output signal generators, for example by potentiometers or optical rotation/displacement sensors. As a special feature, the foot switch has a switchable mechanism that generates predetermined pressure points for the vertical movement, providing the operator with feedback on the actuation.
However, for certain applications or by some users, foot switches with pedals that can only be moved around one axis are preferred, accepting the smaller number of controllable functions. The publication WO 2014/172550A1 describes such a switch, in which case the pedal can only be moved vertically.
This now leads to the disadvantageous situation that a supplier or operator of pedal-controlled devices must have foot switches of different designs for the different operating modes.
Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the invention are directed to a foot switch suitable for both operating modes.
A foot switch according to the invention and of the type mentioned above includes a locking device that arrests movement of the pedal about one of the two axes. In this way a foot switch can be used in both desired operating modes. A foot switch manufacturer or a supplier of the equipment to be controlled need only keep one type of foot switch and can configure it according to the user's preference. It may also be provided that a user himself or herself chooses or switches between the two operating modes.
In an advantageous design, the foot switch has a pedal base body that is mounted so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, and a pedal pivot body that is mounted opposite the pedal base body so as to be pivotable about an axis perpendicular to the pedal base body. Thus, two directions of movement of the pedal can be realized, which are separated from each other in that one axis is assigned to each direction of movement. Accordingly, selective locking of one of the two directions of movement can be easily implemented, for example by the locking device acting on the pivoting movement of the pedal pivot body relative to the pedal base body.
The locking device can be manually operated in one design of the foot switch. For this purpose, it may preferably have at least one hand lever coupled to at least one locking pin, wherein the locking pin blocks the pivoting movement of the pedal pivot body in a locking position and enables the pivoting movement in a release position. For example, the at least one locking pin can be retracted into a locking pin chamber of the pedal pivot body in the release position and can be extended from the locking pin chamber in the locking position to such an extent that it acts as a stop opposite the pedal base body. Preferably, two locking pins are provided and arranged in such a way that, in the locking position, they rest laterally against one side of the pedal body.
In another advantageous design of the foot switch, the locking device is designed to be controllable. It can thus be controlled, for example, from the pedal-controlled device to which the foot switch is coupled or from a separate remote control. When controlled from the pedal-controlled device, an automatic default locking state can be set, e.g., depending on the user and/or application. In order to avoid malfunctions or operating errors, it is useful, for example, if the functions and function assignments of the controlled device and the respective switch operating mode automatically adapt to each other. In all cases, a connection between the foot switch and the controlled device can be wired or wireless.
In order to be controllable, the locking device preferably has an actuator with which a locking element can be moved into a locking position and a release position. The locking element can be a locking piston in one design. The actuator moves the locking element, for example electromagnetically or by electric motor.
In another advantageous design, the foot switch has a sensor arrangement to detect a locking state. This allows the functionality of the device controlled by the foot switch to be adapted to the operating mode of the foot switch. This applies in particular if the operating mode of the foot switch can be switched manually or via remote control. However, even if a default locking state is set by the device to be controlled, it can be useful to detect the locking state in order to compare the (actual) locking state with the default locking state and thus to be able to check a controllable locking device for correct functioning. The sensor arrangement can include, for example, a permanent magnet and a reed switch. Alternatively, test contacts can also be used and/or optical position detection of components of the locking device, e.g., locking pins or locking pistons, can be carried out.


A method during a first cycle includes receiving, at a first port of a device, a plurality of network packets. The method may include storing, by the device, at least some portion of a first packet of the plurality of network packets at a first address within a first record bank and storing, by the device and concurrent with storing the at least some portion of the first packet from the first address, at least some portion of a second packet of the plurality of network packets at a second address within a second record bank, different than the first record bank. The method may further include storing, by the device, the first address within the first record bank and the second address within the second record bank in the first link stash associated with the first record bank and updating, by the device, a tail pointer to reference the second address.

In a typical computer network, a large collection of interconnected servers provides computing and/or storage capacity for execution of various applications. A data center is one example of a large-scale computer network and typically hosts applications and services for subscribers, i.e., customers of the data center. The data center may, for example, host all of the infrastructure equipment, such as compute nodes, networking and storage systems, power systems, and environmental control systems. Data centers vary greatly in size, with some public data centers containing hundreds of thousands of servers, which are usually distributed across multiple geographies for redundancy.
In most data centers, clusters of storage systems and application servers are interconnected via a high-speed switch fabric provided by one or more tiers of physical network switches and routers. In some instances, high bandwidth networking switches require the ability to enqueue network packets from multiple sources concurrently with a dequeue process from the same pool of memory while avoiding memory collisions.

Efficient packet queueing for computer networks


The present disclosure provides an optical fibre (100). The optical fibre (100) includes a glass core region (102). The glass core region (102) has a core relative refractive index profile. The core relative refractive index profile is a super Gaussian profile. In addition, the optical fibre (100) includes a glass cladding region (108) over the glass core region (102). The optical fibre (100) has at least one of a mode field diameter in a range of 8.7 micrometers to 9.7 micrometers at wavelength of 1310 nanometers and an attenuation up to 0.18 dB/km. The optical fibre (100) has at least one of macro-bend loss up to 0.5 decibel per turn corresponding to wavelength of 1550 nanometer at bending radius of 7.5 millimeter. The optical fibre (100) has a macro-bend loss up to 1.0 decibel per turn corresponding to wavelength of 1625 nanometer at bending radius of 7.5 millimeter.

With the advancement of science and technology, various modern technologies are being employed for communication purposes. One of the most important modern communication technologies is optical fibre communication technology using a variety of optical fibres. Optical fibre is used to transmit information as light pulses from one end to another. One such type of optical fibre is a single mode optical fibre. The single mode optical fibre is used in FTTx and long haul communication. The telecommunication industry is continuously striving for designs to achieve high data rate capacity and low losses. The ongoing research suggests that the single mode optical fibre of G657 and G652D category are used for FTTx and long-haul applications respectively. The single mode optical fibre of G652D and G657 categories faces major challenges in FTTx and long haul communication respectively. G652D fibres faces major challenges in FTTx application due to high macro bend losses and G657 category fibres face major challenges in long haul applications due to high nonlinear effects as a result of low MFD. Also, low MFD in G657A2 in long haul communication results in a power penalty more than 1.5 decibel as compare to G652D.
The significantly matured G652.D category fibres have already taken millions of kms in current FTTX infrastructure. The one advantage that G652D category fibres have, is its ultra-splicing capabilities but average macro-bending characteristics. To address the need to enhance the macro-bending, the G657A2 and G657A1 optical fibres have been developed and evolved. The replacement of G652.D fibres with G657.A2 or G657.A1 can be a solution. However, G657.A2 or G657 A1 has their own issues when it comes to splicing capabilities. There is always a need to develop an optical fibre that exhibits the property of both G657A2 and G657D so as to achieve flexible splicing capability as well as good macro bend performance i.e. easy splicing of G.657.A2/A1 with G.652.D. It is usually noticed that there is a persisting problem of using G.657.A2 fibres, because of OTDR artifacts that occur when splicing them to standard single mode fibres i.e. G.652D.
There always seems to be a need to develop an optical fibre which would have an optimize design with good macro-bend characteristics, as well as is also compliant to current network installed G.652.D. For example, G657A2 has a mode field diameter is the range as same as mode field diameter as that of G.652.D.
In light of the above stated discussion, there is a need for a single mode optical fibre that overcomes the above sited drawbacks to use for FTTx as well as long haul and access networks.

Universal optical fibre with super Gaussian profile


The invention is a pharmaceutical composition for intravenous administration to a patient comprising. a) a pharmaceutically effective amount of 2-S-(n-Butylsulfonylamino)-3-[4-(4-(piperidin-4-yl)butyloxy)phenyl]propion ic acid;. b) a pharmaceutically acceptable amount of a citrate buffer effective to provide a pH of between about 5 and 7; and. c) a pharmaceutically acceptable amount of a tonicity adjusting agent effective to make the formulation substantially isotonic with the osmotic pressure of the biological system of the patient.

The invention relates to compositions for inhibiting the binding of fibrinogen to blood platelets, and inhibiting the aggregation of blood platelets by binding fibrinogen receptor antagonists to the gp IIb/IIIa fibrinogen receptor site.
Fibrinogen is a glycoprotein present in blood plasma that participates in platelet aggregation and in fibrin formation. Platelets are cell-like anucleated fragments, found in the blood of all mammals, that also participate in blood coagulation. Interaction of fibrinogen with the IIb/IIIa receptor site is known to be essential for normal platelet function.
When a blood vessel is damaged by an injury or other causative factor, platelets adhere to the disrupted subendothelial surface. The adherent platelets subsequently release biologically active constituents and aggregate. Aggregation is initiated by the binding of agonists, such as thrombin, epinephrine, or ADP to specific platelet membrane receptors. Stimulation by agonists results in exposure of latent fibrinogen receptors on the platelet surface, and binding of fibrinogen to the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor complex.
A multitude of compounds or peptide analogs believed to inhibit platelet aggregation by inhibiting binding to a blood platelet by fibrinogen are known. Duggan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,756, describes sulfonamide fibrinogen receptor antagonists which are useful for preventing and treating diseases caused by thrombus formation. In a hospital setting, where administration of such compounds is desired, administration may include intravenous (bolus or infusion), intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, or intramuscular form, all using forms well known to those of ordinary skill in the pharmaceutical arts. The compounds may be administered to patients where prevention of thrombosis by inhibiting binding of fibrinogen to the platelet membrane glycoprotein complex IIb/IIIa receptor is desired. They are useful in surgery on peripheral arteries (arterial grafts, carotid endarterectomy) and in cardiovascular surgery where manipulation of arteries and organs, and/or the interaction of platelets with artificial surfaces, leads to platelet aggregation and consumption.
The compositions of the present invention are safe, storage stable intravenous solutions which are particularly useful for delivering platelet aggregation inhibitors to patients in need of such inhibition.

Compositions for inhibiting platelet aggregation


A system in which a sending node sends modulated waveform signals to a receiving mode can include the capability to change the waveform type of the modulated waveforms from a current waveform type to a new waveform type. The sending node can generate and send to the receiving node a variable length header that provides the receiving node sufficient information for the receiving node to demodulate modulated waveform signals modulated in accordance with the new waveform type. The variable length header can identify the parameters in a parameter set defining the new waveform type that have different values as compared to the current waveform type.

Some communications or network systems process a communication at one node in a hierarchical stack of processing layers in which the lowest layer in the stack modulates the communication into a waveform and transmits the waveform to another node, which receives and demodulates the waveform with the lowest layer in its stack and then further processes the demodulated waveform through successively higher layers of its stack to reproduce the original communication. Because the lowest layer in the stacks in both nodes, among other things, modulates bits into and demodulates bits from waveforms that are transmitted between the nodes, particular stability and precision is required in the lowest layer in each node. For example, if the carrier frequency, data rate, spreading rate, modulation technique, and/or other such characteristics of the modulated waveforms generated at the sending node drifts, changes, or otherwise is not precisely known or becomes unknown at the receiving node, the receiving node might be unable to demodulate the incoming modulated waveforms and could even lose synchronization or be unable to synchronize with those waveforms. Thus, because the lowest layers in the stacks of the sending node and the receiving node can be processing and detecting at a bit level, the characteristics of the modulation and other processing at those lowest levels should be precise, and an accurate characterization should be had and maintained.
Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to apparatuses and processes for efficiently communicating between the nodes a change in the characteristics of the processing that occurs in the lowest layers in the stacks in the nodes while maintaining the strict precision required to maintain communications between the nodes.

Variable length header for identifying changed parameters of a waveform type


A medicine ball system is disclosed. The system includes a medicine ball and a closure cover configured to receive the medicine ball, where the closure cover includes weighted material that enables a person to simply increase the weight of the medicine ball without having to change to another medicine ball.

Generally, medicine balls were used in gym facilities in order to provide aerobic exercise to a person when the ball is thrown or caught. Typically, medicine balls are relatively heavy and have considerable mass in order to produce optimum expenditure of energy when the ball is in use. The mass is generally provided by surrounding a heavy object with a fibrous material such as loose cotton batting or wadded pieces of cloth. The outside of the ball is generally composed of sections of leather, cloth, rubber or plastic stitched together to form a spherical covering around the heavy, padded central mass. The outside of the ball is soft and pliable so that it can be grasped more easily when being thrown or caught.
The problem with this type of medicine ball is that it would often be necessary to have many different medicine balls in a gym or home to accommodate different expenditures of energy. For example, there may be a need for a 2 pound medicine ball, 4 pound medicine ball or 6 pound medicine ball to expend various amounts of energy in a gym or home, which adds clutter to the gym or home.
There is a need for a medicine ball system that allows a person to use only one medicine ball in a limited amount of space in a gym or a home instead of a number of medicine balls so that the medicine balls don't add clutter to the gym or home.


A method and system for SLC-MLC Wear Balancing in a flash memory device is disclosed. The flash memory device includes a single level cell (SLC) portion and a multi-level cell (MLC) portion. The age of the SLC portion and the MLC portion may differ, leading potentially to one portion wearing out before the other. In order to avoid this, a controller is configured to receive an age indicator from one or both of the SLC portion and the MLC portion, determine, based on the age indicator, whether to modify operation of the SLC portion and/or the MLC portion, and in response to determining to modifying operation, modify the operation of the at least one of the SLC portion or the MLC portion. The modification of the operation may thus balance wear between the SLC and MLC portions, thereby potentially extending the life of the flash memory device.

Non-volatile memory systems, such as flash memory devices, have been widely adopted for use in consumer products. Flash memory devices may be found in different forms, for example in the form of a portable memory card that can be carried between host devices or as a solid state disk (SSD) embedded in a host device. When writing data to a conventional flash memory device, a host typically writes data to, and reads data from, addresses within a logical address space of the memory system.
The flash memory device includes an array of floating-gate memory cells. The memory cells may be operated to store more than two detectable levels of charge in each charge storage element or region, thereby to store more than one bit of data in each. This configuration is referred to as multi-level cell (MLC) memory. Alternatively, the memory cells may be operated to store two levels of charge so that a single bit of data is stored in each cell. This is typically referred to as a binary or single level cell (SLC) memory.
Both SLC and MLC types of memory cells may be used in a memory device, such that the memory device may include an SLC portion and an MLC portion. Ideally, the SLC portion and the MLC portion will wear out at the same time. However, at times, the SLC portion wears out at a different time than the MLC portion. To correct for this, cells within the MLC portion can be reallocated to be part of the SLC portion, which can compensate for the different wear out times of the SLC portion and the MLC portion. However, it may be difficult to reallocate cells within the SLC portion to be part of the MLC portion. In this way, it is difficult to balance the wear of the SLC portion and the MLC portion.


In one embodiment, a method for deterministic registration for communication networks comprises transmitting a node register command over a network, the node register command comprising a first plurality of bits and a second plurality of bits, the first and second plurality of bits addressing a range of nodes that should respond to the node register command, and a plurality of time slot delays, during each of the plurality of time slot delays, listening to the network for a response from a node in the range of nodes, the node determined by each of the plurality of time slot delays, and responsive to detecting a response, determining a responding node corresponding to the response and designating the responding node as registered.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to registration systems and, more particularly, to registering nodes in a communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional time division multiplex data communication systems where the exact participants are unknown, a procedure must exist to account for and handle the possibility of messages being transmitted at substantially the same time and, thus, being "garbled." The procedures to handle the garbled messages vary depending on the communication system. In a classic ALOHA network, a network participant transmits its message and listens at the same time, or after some predefined delay. If the transmitting network participant hears its own garbled message, then the network participant backs-off and waits a predetermined amount of time before retransmitting its message.
A variation to the classic ALOHA network is the slotted ALOHA network scheme. Slotted ALOHA improves on the performance of a pure ALOHA network by requiring the network participants to transmit within predefined time boundaries. A drawback to this approach is its requirement that one participant provide a timing marker for the other network participants.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) networks provide an improvement over ALOHA networks by requiring that each participant listen for another transmission before attempting to transmit. In Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) schemes (e.g., IEEE 802.3), a sender (i.e., a transmitting participant) must determine that the voltage level on the medium is not greater than that generated by the sender, (i.e., itself). If the detected voltage level is greater, a collision is detected (e.g., another participant is also transmitting). In IEEE 802.3, the sender will then follow a binary exponential back-off scheme until it can send its message in the clear (i.e., without collision).
Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (MACA) techniques use the broadcast of RTS and CTS messages to minimize the likelihood of collisions. However, when a collision does occur, a binary exponential back-off scheme is used to determine when a retry is to be attempted.
The aforementioned methodologies have at least two things in common. First, each participant in the network is responsible for determining if a collision has occurred. Second, retries occur at random times after the collision, either over a fixed period of time or over a period of time that continually expands, possibly exponentially. These two factors are the basis for potential drawbacks with the aforementioned schemes.
One drawback is that each unit in the network must be capable of detecting collisions, potentially even while the unit is transmitting a message. In radio-frequency-based networks, this may be a difficult, if not impossible, task. Another drawback is that, if a network is lightly loaded and the time within which units may retry transmissions after detecting a collision is fixed, there may be a significant amount of wasted time. Alternatively, if the network is heavily loaded, collisions may be excessive, and no message gets through. If the retry time is permitted to expand, then the delay time might, again, be excessive.
One possible solution to the bus contention and message collision problems is to use a command-response scheme. The command-response approach requires a primary, or "base," unit that controls all communication between the network participants. That is, the secondary, or "remote," units will not transmit unless commanded by the base. While this addresses the bus contention problem once the network is established, a drawback is the requirement that the base unit know the identifiers of all remote units on the network. The problem of initially registering the remote units into the network when their number and identifiers are unknown still remains. One approach would be to use the aforementioned collision resolution methodologies to initially set up the network, but, this would incur all the problems inherent in the collision resolution methodologies, if only for the initialization phase.
One of the inherent problems is potential and likelihood of collisions. Where a network contains a large number of nodes, it is very likely that a substantial number of these nodes will be simultaneously transmitting during the initialization phase and, thus, causing a collision. The voltage or energy level of a collision is proportional to the number of nodes that participated in or contributed to the collision, and a high voltage or energy level associated with a collision can have damaging consequences.
For example, in a radio frequency (RF) network with a large number of nodes capable of communicating with one another, a collision involving a large number of these nodes will result in a substantial increase of energy in the RF field. The resulting increase of energy in the RF field can have drastic consequences depending on the environment in which the RF network is operating. By way of example, an increase of energy in the RF field can cause the detonation of energy sensitive devices or materials, can have harmful side effects for humans or animals, as well as other undesirable side effects. Therefore, it may be important to limit the number of nodes (i.e., transmitters) that can transmit at any one time, thus, limiting the energy in the RF field by reducing the interference and RF noise.
Thus, a system and method for initializing a data communication network without a priori knowledge of the identity of the node addresses in the network, and which avoids the issues and problems associated with collision resolution methodologies is desired. Additionally, a system and method of limiting the number of nodes that can transmit at any one time is also desired. Furthermore, a system and method of registration that is accomplished in a deterministic amount of time is likewise desired.

System and method for deterministic registration for communication networks


A method, computer system, and computer program for simulation based interpretation of geological data stored in a geoscience model. Data is acquired and interpreted to produce a geoscience model. A simulator is applied to a simulation input model to produce synthetic data. The synthetic data is compared to the acquired data, which was used to build the geoscience model. The geoscience model is edited to reduce the difference between the acquired data and the synthetic data.

This invention relates to performing geoscience interpretation with simulated data.
Geologists, geophysicists, petroleum engineers and production engineers use models, including computerized models, of the earth's shell to plan exploration and production of hydrocarbons and, to a lesser extent, other minerals. As hydrocarbons become more and more scarce, the accuracy of the computerized models becomes increasingly important to limiting the cost of locating and producing hydrocarbons and the associated cost of hydrocarbon products, such as gasoline and heating oil.
Existing modeling systems use an "inversion" technique to model geoscience structures from acquired data. Acquired data, such as velocity measurements or data collected through seismic instrumentation, is "inverted" and used to predict the location of subsurface structures and the physical properties of those subsurface structures.
Once the inversion process produces predictions of the locations and physical properties of the subsurface structures, they are modeled geometrically. Such models must be capable of representing complicated geometrical shapes, such as the shape of a salt dome or salt wall or the shape of a group of folded sedimentary beds.
Commonly, modeling systems use a grid system to represent subsurface structures. In a grid system, the subsurface structures are represented by points in space regularly spaced in the x-y plane and having a single value in the z plane. The values corresponding to those subsurface structures between the regularly-spaced points are determined by interpolation. In a model for a large subsurface region, the number of points in space can be numerous, requiring a great deal of storage, even if the subsurface structures are uniform in topography and physical properties across that space.
Another modeling system that has been applied to the problem of modeling subsurface structures is constructional solid geometry ("CSG"). Under this approach, two or more solid primitives (such as cylinders or spheres) are combined to form a more complicated solid. The process begins with objects that are known to be solid and adds or subtracts other solids to create new shapes. For example, subtracting a cylinder from a box will produce a box with a hole in it.

Performing geoscience interpretation with simulated data


An instrument caddy and protection device is disclosed having a retentive pocket configured to closely adapted to, retain against displacement and protect an electronic instrument therein such as, for example, a multi-meter. The instrument caddy includes at least one magnet that enables the caddy to hold an instrument against a metallic surface during use while simultaneously protecting the instrument against breakage. Alternate embodiments of the caddy are disclosed wherein the retentive pocket is initially filled with sectioned and removable foam insert material enabling custom sizing of the retentive pocket so as to adapt to an instrument having given dimensions. In addition, preferred embodiments of the caddy provide for passageways for test cables and/or instrument straps to be attached to the instrument while it is held with the retentive pocket. Further embodiments are disclosed which include a magnetic shield incorporated within the caddy and positioned between the retentive pocket and the at least one magnet so as to protect the instrument against magnetic interference from either the caddy magnet(s) or interference originating from the surface upon which the caddy is placed.

Multi-meters, automotive test meters and assorted electronic specialty meters are in common use in the work place. Often these instruments are utilized in an environment posing hazzards to the instrument itself such as, for example, shock, vibration, heat and, very often, accidental dropping of the unit. These instruments may be placed in very harsh environments such as, for example, within an engine bay, or on top of a heating or air conditioning unit during use. In the past, holsters enabling service technicians to clip such devices to their belts were provided. However, such holsters did not provide a suitable and practical means of stabilizing the instrument during actual use. In addition, most of the instrument holsters of the past have been made for a specific meter or provide a relatively poor adaptation requiring removal of the instrument/meter during actual use. Once the instrument is removed from the holster for use, the meters are, of course, vulnerable to damage.
In addition to the heat and vibration relatively delicate meters are exposed to, strong magnetic fields can alter the readings of such devices. Prolonged exposure to strong magnetic fields can also damage electronic measuring tools. Many of the above described environments—in which these meters must be utilized—inherently produce strong magnetic fields. Motors within air conditioning, heating and blower units generate considerable magnetic flux. In addition, power supplies, power lines, transformers, generators and alternators can all effect delicate electronic circuitry.
What is needed is an instrument caddy which provides meter protection, close adaptation and steady positioning. It would also be highly advantageous if an instrument caddy was provided which could be adapted to closely fit electronic meters having various outside dimensions. In addition, it would be highly advantageous if a caddy could be devised which would provide protection against magnetic interference and damage to a meter protected thereby.

Instrument caddy with anti-magnetic shield


A drive system for a covering device, which can be rolled up or folded, for motor vehicles is equipped with a control device. The control device has a current sensor for detecting the current applied to an electric motor of the drive system in the course of moving the covering device. The control system measures a current parameter at the start of the movement of the covering device and switches off the current to the motor as soon as switch-off criteria derived from the current values measured at the start of the movement have been reached.

The present invention relates generally to a retractable covering or separating device for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a retractable covering or separating device that is operated by an electric motor.
There are a number of retractable covering (or separating) devices used in motor vehicles, which can be rolled up or folded and are driven by an electric motor. Examples of such covering device are windup rollers for rear windows, such as described in DE 44 12 557. Many of these covering devices have a windup shaft on which a web, such as a windup roller web or a separating screen, is fastened along an edge and can be rolled up onto the shaft. The windup shaft is pre-stressed in the winding direction of the respective web by means of a spring drive, and the web is pulled off or unwound from the windup shaft with the aid of an electric motor against the action of the spring.
Two pivot levers are provided in the above mentioned rear window windup roller, which are seated next to the windup shaft and are rotatable around an axis extending perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the windup shaft. The pivot levers are moved with the aid of two coupling rods. One end of each coupling rod is fastened by means of a hinge to one of the pivot levers, and the other end of each coupling rod is connected to a respective crank pin, which are in turn fixed on the output shaft of the gear motor. It is also known to use a kinematic reversal, wherein the pivot lever is pre-stressed by means of springs in the unwinding direction, while the windup roller itself is driven by the electric motor. Another variation consists of foldable covering devices, wherein a hoop is driven. Typically, the hoop travels the greatest distance during retraction and extension.
A time function element is typically used for controlling such rear window windup roller and covering devices, which puts the motor into motion for a defined length of time when activated. By means of the time function element, it is intended to relieve the burden on the driver of the vehicle. By a brief actuation of the appropriate directional switch, the windup roller is either completely retracted or completely extended. The driver is not required to either operate the activating button for an appropriate length of time or to remember to bring the switch back into its off position.
In order for this type of control to operate properly, it is necessary that the mechanical drive be sufficiently robust to withstand, without being destroyed, the maximum torque the motor can exert in case of blockage. For this reason, the mechanical parts of the drive systems are typically greatly over-dimensioned, particularly with respect to movement in connection with which pressure forces occur, which could lead to warping of the respective rods. Crank pins are another weak point, which cannot be permitted to break off in case of blockage.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to create an improved drive system for a motorized retractable covering device that is able to shut the electric motor off before excessive forces can occur. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccovering devicexe2x80x9d is intended to include separating devices.
In accordance with this and other objects of the invention, the present invention provides a drive system for a retractable covering device used in a motor vehicle that is operated by an electrical motor to move between two end positions. The drive system includes a current sensor for detecting the current applied to the electric motor and uses the detected current information to decide when to shut off the electric motor. To that end, the drive system includes a control device that monitors the current and measures at least one electrical current parameter when the electric motor is supplied with current to move the covering device to leave one end position toward another end position. The value of the electrical current parameter measured in this way is stored as a reference value, and subsequently measured values of the electrical current parameter are compared with the reference value in order to switch off the current for the electric motor when the comparison between the reference value and a subsequently measured value of electrical current parameter meets a pre-defined condition.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:

Drive system for retractable covering devices for motor vehicles


A technique of employing a rotor having anti-saliency and being rotatable about a predetermined axis in an axial gap type motor is provided. A plurality of magnets are disposed annularly on a substrate with polarities being symmetric around a shaft hole. For instance, the magnets exhibit N pole and S pole, respectively, on the side of a stator (on this side of sheet of drawing). A plurality of magnetic members are disposed to extend perpendicularly to the direction of a rotation axis, and more specifically, between the magnets.

Conventionally, many radial gap type motors have been used in which the gap between the stator and rotor is provided along a cylindrical surface parallel to the rotation axis for applications requiring high outputs such as a compressor, machine tool, etc. However, because of the recent higher performance of magnetic materials or the like, the study of employing an axial gap type motor in a compressor or the like has been started.
This is to respond to a request to solve the problem that a stainless pipe or the like for preventing permanent magnets from being scattered by centrifugal force increases gaps or eddy-current loss and a request to apply a plate-like magnet to a cylindrical rotor.
Patent document 6 describes that an axial gap type motor reduces axis and bearing load for compressor application. A rotor employed here has permanent magnets exposed at its surface.
Patent document 1 discloses an axial gap type motor, and employs so-called distributed winding for a stator. In a rotor employed here, permanent magnets magnetized in the axial direction are embedded in a disc part made of a non-magnetic material.
Patent document 2 discloses an axial gap type motor, and employs so-called concentrated winding for a stator. In a rotor employed here, a plurality of permanent magnets are fixed by a non-magnetic ring from their outer sides and by a magnet holder from their inner sides.
Patent document 3 discloses an axial gap type motor having magnetic poles on both sides of a rotor and stators on its both sides. In the rotor employed here, permanent magnets having a plurality of poles are disposed on both sides of a ring-shaped yoke member.
Patent document 4 discloses an axial gap type motor. In a rotor employed here, permanent magnets magnetized in the axial direction are embedded in a disc part made of a non-magnetic material.
Patent document 5 discloses an axial gap type switched reluctance motor.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-268754
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-126277
Patent document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-164779
Patent document 4: Japanese Utility Model No. 3062085
Patent document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-166354
Patent document 6: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-52657

Rotor, axial gap type motor, method of driving motor, and compressor


Systems, computer program products, and methods are described herein for implementing data analytics in a mainframe environment. The present invention is configured to determine one or more data analytics resources associated with natural language processing algorithms; initiate one or more compiler protocols on the one or more data analytics resources to build one or more executable code for the one or more data analytics resources capable of being executed on a mainframe environment; establish a communication link with a job control language (JCL) subsystem associated with the mainframe environment; transmit the one or more executable code for the one or more data analytics resources to the JCL subsystem; generate one or more job control statements configured to be executable on the mainframe environment; generate a log of the one or more job control statements; and initiate an execution of the one or more job control statements on the mainframe environment.

Mainframe environments include computing systems are capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data very quickly. Most entities still use mainframe computers to process large amount of data efficiently. But analyzing this data by directly querying the mainframe computing system can be complex and costly, with billing based on MIPS (millions of instructions per second). To meet evolving business needs, entities need to integrate mainframe data into big data analytics platforms.
There is a need for a system for integrating data analytics resources into mainframe computing systems.

System for implementing data analytics in mainframe environments


A stator core is integrally moulded with an insulator employing an insulating resin material, together with a fixed shaft which is inserted into a centre hole in a core back portion, and the stator core and a motor circuit board are assembled as a single piece by mating a plurality of circuit board insertion pieces protruding on an axial end of the insulator on the opposite side to an output end with circuit board insertion holes.

In an outer rotor type DC brushless motor, a metal attachment plate is supported by a metal bearing housing made of brass or the like, for example, and a circuit board is assembled as a single piece with said metal attachment plate. An oil-containing bearing is assembled inside the bearing housing, and a rotor shaft is rotatably supported by the oil-containing bearing.
One end of the rotor shaft is joined as a single piece to a rotor hub that holds a rotor yoke. A metal component made of brass or the like is used for the rotor hub, and said rotor hub is swaged with the cup-shaped rotor yoke and assembled as a single piece therewith. Furthermore, a metal motor gear wheel is press-fitted to another end (output end) of the rotor shaft.
A stator is assembled as a single piece with the bearing housing. Specifically, an annular core back portion of a stator core is press-fitted and bonded to the outer circumference of the bearing housing and assembled therewith. Furthermore, a coil is wound, with an insulator interposed, on pole teeth extending radially outside of the core back portion. Magnetic flux action surfaces constituted by tooth tips of the pole teeth are assembled in such a way as to face an annular rotor magnet provided on the inner circumference of the rotor yoke.
In order to maintain axial perpendicularity of the rotor shaft in the abovementioned motor, the stator core is fixed to a member having high rigidity such as a metal motor case or bearing housing.
Furthermore, a coil lead which leads out from a coil wound on the stator pole teeth is connected to a circuit board for energization control, or a sensor board such as a Hall IC is provided, and an electrical wiring connection with a control board of a higher-order device is made from the circuit board or the sensor board by means of an external connection terminal.
Metal components are used for the bearing housing and the bearing, which are constituent components on the stator side of an outer rotor type motor, and metal components are also used for the rotor shaft and the rotor yoke, etc., which are constituent components on the rotor side that are rotatably supported by the bearing, the rotor hub and the rotor shaft being assembled as a single piece by means of press-fitting, etc. (see Patent Document 1: JP 2001-298893 A, and Patent Document 2: JP 2014-18068 A).

Outer rotor type motor having assembly mechanism in which axial, perpendicularity between a stator unit and a rotor unit is maintained


An expert diagnostic agent for use in diagnosing intermittent and/or difficult to reproduce software failures in computing devices is disclosed. The expert diagnostic agent gathers data about the operating system of a computing device and a plurality of software components coupled to the computer operating system; applies rules to the data to identify software failures; invokes tools as needed to attempt to correct the software failures; and reports information about software failures. The expert diagnostic agent may be invoked directly or activated by certain events in computer system.

Because of the complexity of computer software, defects may exist in a software product even though great care is taken while designing, implementing, and testing a software product. Software products include operating systems, applications, programs, device drivers, etc. Once a software product is deployed, a software defect may manifest itself as one or more software failures. Software failures lie along a spectrum ranging from software failures having clear and easily reproducible symptoms to software failures having soft and/or difficult to reproduce symptoms.
Examples of software failures with clear, easily reproducible symptoms are automatic reboots, improper system accesses, operating system lockups, pronounced or severe performance degradation, severe connectivity problems, and/or severe data corruption. Such software failures usually leave evidence in easy to find and interpret sources like: (a) the memory of a computer device; (b) files stored on magnetic disks or like storage media; and/or (c) the execution stack of the computer. Prior art tools and techniques allow software failures having clear, easily reproducible symptoms to be relatively easy to discover. As a result, the software defects that cause such software failures are relatively easy to correct. Software failures with ambiguous and/or difficult to reproduce symptoms, hereafter be referred to as "soft failures" are more difficult to discover and, thus, the defects caused by such software failures are more difficult to correct.
Examples of soft failures are a loss of control of software components which provide an interface to hardware components, a loss of control of an executing process, intermittent poor performance of an operating system or software applications, and/or intermittent connection problems. Soft failures often require substantial investigation before the symptoms are able to be reliably reproduced and analyzed to identify the software defect, or defects causing the failure. Soft failures require substantial investigation because soft failures require: (a) an understanding of most, or all, of the major components of the computing device and the operating system running on the computing device; (b)the intervention of multiple specialists; (c) expertise in the use of multiple tools; and (d) specific defect detection experience for most or all of the major components of the computing device and the operating system.
The difficulties of reproducing the symptoms of a soft failure and the difficulties of identifying a soft failure, are exacerbated when the soft failure happens on a software product installed in a customer's computer, i.e., in the field. When a soft failure happens in the field, the engineer or technician supporting the software product is often unable to gather information about the failure directly and must guide a user through an information gathering process. Besides being inconvenient for both the user and support engineer, this information gathering process is usually time consuming and expensive.
The information gathering process involves extracting and interpreting information about the computing system and its components at, or just before, the time of failure. One way to accomplish this extraction is to add ftmctions to the computer system's software to generate a memory dump when a soft failure happens. A memory dump may be considered a sort of snapshot of the condition of the computing system at the time of the failure. A memory dump is usually stored in one or more files which reside on the computer device's hard disk or other storage volume. The condition of the computing system at the time the soft failure occurred can be assessed by analyzing information in the memory dump about the various hardware and software components in the computing system.
Substantial interpretation and analysis is usually required to transform memory dump information into knowledge leading to a solution that eliminates the software defect or defects that caused the soft failure. Often such interpretation and analysis is provided by one or more computer software programmers. The programmer or programming team receives a description of the symptoms of the soft failure and the memory dump. The description and the memory dump information is used by the programmer or members of the programming team to attempt to reproduce the soft failure, deduce the cause or causes of the failure, and develop a deployable solution that keeps the failure from reoccurring.
A programmer or programming team may spend weeks or months performing the aforementioned procedure. To help reduce the time and effort programmers expend to investigate soft failures, computing systems may include one or more software tools designed to assist the programmer in diagnosing soft failures. Computer software diagnosis tools are usually designed to run in the background while a computing system is operating. Such tools gather information intermittently or when triggered by certain events. When a soft failure occurs, the gathered information is passed on to a computer system support technician, engineer or software product programmer with the hope that the gathered information will narrow the scope of investigation.
Computer software diagnosis tools can be loosely categorized by the scope of the problem domain a diagnosis tool encompasses and by the level of automation a diagnosis tool provides. FIG. 1 shows these two axes of categorization with the vertical axis representing the scope of the problem domain from strict to open-ended and the horizontal axis representing the level of automation from partial to complete.
In order to maximize the utility of a computer software diagnosis tool, it is desirable to maximize the scope of the problem domain the tool encompasses and maximize the level of automation of the tool. A computer software diagnosis tool applicable to a wide variety of problems is more desirable than a tool that is only applicable to a small number of problems, or a single problem. Further, a computer software diagnosis tool that can be operated with little or no intervention by a human operator is more desirable than a tool that must be constantly tended to by a human operator. Prior art software tools are represented in FIG. 1 by the block labeled "Existing Diagnostic Tools" while more desirable tools are represented by the block labeled "Future Software Diagnostic Tools." In FIG. 1, it can be seen that prior art software diagnosis tools have low automation, i.e., prior art software diagnosis tools require a high amount of human interaction. Further, the scope of the problem domain is strict, i.e., relatively small. In contrast, "Future Software Diagnostic Tools" i.e., desired but not yet available software tools have higher automation and a problem domain scope that is more open-ended, i.e., broader.
Although the prior art does include some software diagnosis tools and tool sets that are fairly automated and have a reasonably broad scope, in the past, such tools and tool sets have required large amounts of new and original computer software design and programming to develop. As a result, such tools tend to be expensive. Such tools also tend to be restrictively complex and difficult to operate.
What is needed is a relatively inexpensive, easy to use software diagnosis tool and associated method capable of assisting computer support personnel and computer software programmers in resolving soft failures that provides a useful level of automation and addresses a reasonably broad problem domain. The present invention is directed toward providing such a tool and method.


A process for producing refined sugar directly from plants of cane or beet raw juices which bypasses the traditional manufacturing of an intermediate product called "raw sugar". After treatment of the sugar juice with a flocculant, the juice has pressurized air dissolved in it, followed by rapid lowering of the pressure to ambient in a dissolved air flotation cell to separate impurities by aeration. Further amounts of flocculant are added, and the juice is passed through a serpentine flocculator comprising a pipe containing a plurality of relatively straight section interrupted by sharp bends to expose the juice sequentially to different turbulent regimes defined by different ranges of Reynolds numbers to form flocs containing undissolved solids. Flocs and other undissolved solids are separated from the juice by flotation and settling. The sugar juice or liquor is partially evaporated to a concentration between about 45.degree. and 50.degree. Brix to form a syrup, after which the syrup is again contacted with a flocculant. Following further treatment in the serpentine flocculator and dissolved air flotation cell, the remaining syrup is passed through filters such as silica sand, activated carbon and diatomaceous earth. The filtered syrup is contacted with ion exchange resins to decolorize and deash the syrup, and then it is evaporated to a concentration of 62.degree.-64.degree. Brix. Thereafter sugar is crystallized from the syrup.. The apparatus for separating undissolved impurities by flotation and settling passes sugar liquor between an assembly of closely spaced plates having corrugations in a direction perpendicular to the direction of flow of the liquor. The plates are disposed at an angle so that settled impurities may slide to the bottom of the assembly.

This invention is directed to a process for producing refined sugar from raw juices and an apparatus useful in such process to separate undissolved impurities from such juices.
The manufacture of refined sugar for human consumption begins with the treatment of dark colored juices which are extracted from plants. The raw juice may contain gums, waxes, proteins, organic acids, minerals, vegetable particles, sand, dirt, and other suspended solids. This manufacturing process primarily utilized in the prior art occurs in two main steps: (1) production of raw sugar, and (2) refinement of the raw sugar.
Meade and Chen, in their Cane Sugar Handbook, Eleventh Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 1985), disclose a process for the manufacturing of the raw sugar in which, after the extraction of the juice from the sugar cane or beet, hot or cold juices are treated with the addition of lime (calcium hydroxide). The line reacts with the organic acids in the juice when it is heated, by which flocculation insoluble flocs are formed. These are separated in a tray clarifier or multicell or some other device used in a "boiling house". Gravity forces the flocs with the most suspended solids to settle in the bottom of the tray while the clear juice is collected in the top of the tray. The juice is then evaporated in a multi effect system to 60.degree.-62.degree. Brix, and the concentrated syrup is then crystallized in a sugar pan. The crystals of raw sugar are then separated from the mother liquor by centrifugation. In many instances, the raw sugar crystals have impurities included inside the crystal.
The raw sugar is refined by washing the crystals with hot water to remove the film of syrup over the crystal. While more water gives better results, too much water can dissolve the sugar and decrease the yield of sugar. The sugar then is melted to begin the treatment. Most of the raw sugar refineries use phosphatation to remove parts of the impurities in the solution and also to remove some of the color bodies. Phosphoric acid and lime are added to the solution which is then heated in a clarifier, creating formation of insoluble flocs. Separation occurs when an air is pumped through the clarifier to rise the flocs to the surface of the solution. The clear liquor is then filtered to remove the remaining solids, and the scum is desweetened, to recover the sugar. Following this, the liquor is decolorized by contact with bone char, granular activated carbon or other absorbents, and, in some instances, ion exchange resins. When carbon beds are used, the carbon may lose its absorbent power and must be reactivated in a furnace. Ion exchange resins may be regenerated inside the chamber. After decolorization, the liquor is crystallized in a sugar pan, and sugar is separated from the mother liquor by centrifugation and is washed. The sugar is then dried in a continuous dryer and packed according to market needs.
There has been a long felt need in the industry to simplify the production of refined sugar and improve efficiency, but, to date, no such process has been developed which would be commercially viable. Given the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for refining sugar from raw juices which is simpler and more efficient than those in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for refining sugar from raw juices which avoids the intermediate production and handling of raw sugar.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for refining sugar from raw juices which utilizes methods and apparatus to reduce the time of production, including the time for removing undissolved impurities in sugar juices.

Process for producing refined sugar from raw juices


A heavy-duty hybrid vehicle power system includes a main power unit located in an engine compartment; an electric propulsion motor; a DC bus that receives DC power from the main power unit; a vehicle accessory traditionally powered directly from an internal combustion engine of a conventional heavy-duty vehicle and requiring more than 1 kilowatt of power; an electric accessory motor, which is electrically coupled with the DC bus and mechanically coupled with the vehicle accessory, configured to supply power to the vehicle accessory, and the electric accessory motor and vehicle accessory carried by the heavy-duty vehicle either inside or outside of the engine compartment; and at least one of an ultracapacitor pack and a fly wheel coupled with the DC bus and configured to store power when the main power unit is on and supply power in place of the main power unit when the main power unit is off.

In conventional vehicles, i.e., vehicles that are neither hybrid vehicles nor electric vehicles, accessories such as hydraulic pumps, water pumps, vacuum pumps, and compressors for air brakes or air conditioning systems are powered directly from the internal combustion engine. The power required by these accessories may be steady over extended periods of time, as in the case of a water pump that is used to help cool the engine, or it may be required in short bursts when needed by the accessory, as in the case of hydraulic accessories or air brakes. Because such accessories have relatively high power requirements, the most economical and efficient source of power for these accessories is the internal combustion engine.
In hybrid vehicles that include an internal combustion engine, either in series or in parallel with the electric motor, these same accessories are often powered from the internal combustion engine in much the same way as in a conventional vehicle. Alternatively, in some hybrid vehicles and in most electric vehicles, the traditional accessories are replaced with a wholly electric version of the accessory to perform the same function, such as an electric air conditioning system or an electrically powered compressed air brake system.
In implementing either of the above solutions to power vehicle accessories, however, inefficiencies are introduced into a vehicle. These inefficiencies may affect the cost of the vehicle, the performance of the vehicle, or both. For example, if a hybrid or electric vehicle includes electric versions of one or more accessories, the inefficiency introduced in the hybrid vehicle is in the overall cost of the vehicle. The increased cost arises because the electric version of an accessory must initially be developed and tested. Additionally, the cost of the electric version of the accessory will typically remain high over a period of one to several years because vehicles which use the electric version of the accessory do not have the high production quantities of conventional vehicles.
Conversely, if a hybrid vehicle implements a vehicle accessory in the traditional manner, i.e., powered directly from an internal combustion engine, the vehicle will experience inefficiencies in fuel economy. The inefficiencies arise when the internal combustion engine provides power directly to the accessories and the electric motor and/or the batteries do not require power. During these periods, the engine necessarily consumes fuel to provide the power required by the accessories. Any excess power generated by the engine, however, is lost because it cannot be otherwise used or stored by the vehicle.
Series and parallel hybrid-hydraulic drive systems for heavy-duty vehicles have been developed by Eaton Corporation, Dana Corporation, Permo Drive, and others, but none of these developments have included separate hydraulically driven accessories.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for powering accessories in a hybrid vehicle


The invention relates to a method for transmitting a data telegram from a non-real-time domain to a real-time domain, comprising the following steps: generation of a non-real-time data telegram comprising a useful data zone, the data telegram containing a real-time or a non-real-time identifier in addition to a data telegram identifier (identifier i) in the useful data zone thereof when the real time identifier is provided; monitoring of the non-real-time data telegram for the presence of a real time identifier by the coupling unit if the real-time identifier is provided; transmission of the useful data and real-time identifier (identifier i) from the useful data zone of the non-real-time data telegram to a user interface of the coupling node; storage of the useful data in a storage zone of a communication memory which is associated with the identifier.

An asynchronous, clocked communication system with equidistant characteristics is taken to mean a system a system with the least two subscribers who are connected via a data network for the purposes of mutual exchange of data. in this case data is ex changed cyclically in equidistant communication cycles which are specified by the communication clock used by the system.
Subscribers are for example central automation devices, programming, project planning or operating devices, peripheral devices such a s input/output modules, drives, actors, sensors, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) or other control units, computers or machines which exchange electronic data with other machines and process data, especially from other machines. Subscribers are also called network nodes or nodes.
Control units in this document are taken to mean closed-loop controllers or control units of all types, for example coupling units (known as switches) and/or switch controllers. Typical examples of data networks used are bus systems such as Field Bus, Profibus, Ethernet, Industrial Ethernet, FireWire or also PC-internal bus systems (PCI), etc., but especially also the isochronous Realtime Ethernet.
Data networks allow communication between a number of subscribers by networking, that is connecting the individual subscribers to each other. Communication here means the transmission of data between the subscribers. The data to be transmitted is sent in this case as data telegrams, i.e. the data is packed into a number of packets and sent in this form over the data network to the corresponding recipient. The term data packet is thus used. The term transmission of data is used in this document fully synonymously with the above-mentioned transmission of data telegrams or data packets.
In distributed automation systems, for example in the area of drive technology, specific data must arrive at specific times at the intended subscribers and must be processed by the recipients. This is referred to as realtime-critical data or data traffic since if the data does not arrive at its intended destination at the right time this can produce undesired results at the subscriber by contrast with non-realtime critical, for example Internet or Intranet based data communication. In accordance with the IEC 61491, EN61491 SERCOS interface successful realtime critical data traffic of the type mentioned can be guaranteed in distributed automation systems.
Automation components (e.g. controllers, drives, . . . ) nowadays generally have an interface to a cyclically clocked communication system. A run level of the automation components (fast-cycle) (e.g. positional control in a controller, torque control of the drive) is synchronized to the communication cycle. This defines the communication timing. Other lower-performance algorithms (slow-cycle) (e.g. temperature controllers) of the automation components can also only communicate via this communication clock with other components (e.g. binary switches for fans, pumps, . . . ), although a slower cycle would be adequate. Using only one communication clock for transmission of all information in the system produces high demands on the bandwidth of the transmission link.
A peripheral image is made up of a sum of data sets which are exchanged using realtime communication with other automation devices. Data sets which are received from an automation device using realtime communication are input data. Data sets which are sent from an automation device using realtime communication are output data. In an automation device input data is processed and new output data created in an application program which is called in cycles. The application program can comprise a number of different functions which work at different times with different data sets. It is not mandatory for all functions of the application program to be called in each application cycle. This means that all input data is not processed and new output data generated in each application cycle.
A system and a method for transmitting realtime critical and non-realtime critical data via switchable data networks is known from DE 10058524 A1. Here the transmission cycle is subdivided into a subcycle for the realtime critical data and a subcycle for the non-realtime critical data.
A common disadvantage of communication systems with realtime capabilities known from the prior art is that existing non-realtime capable system components cannot be inserted into the real time capable communications system. For this reason setting up a realtime capable communication system requires a high level of investment since all the existing non-realtime capable systems have to be replaced.

Method for transmitting a data telegram between a real-time domain and a non-real-time domain and a coupling unit


Disclosed is a vacuum reactor for etching substrates having a low thermal conductivity to a high degree of etch rate uniformity, wherein the substrates to be etched are arranged in a holder at a predetermined spacing from the cathode to which RF energy is applied. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cathode is raised in the area of the substrate to be etched to within a spacing of about 0.2 mm from the bottom side of the substrate. The cathode is made of aluminium, and is provided in the area of the substrate to be etched with a layer which acts as a black radiator. The heat formed during RIE is removed by radiation, and the radiation reflected from the cathode to the substrate is absorbed by the layer. Also disclosed is a method of etching substrates having a low thermal conductivity, in particular plastic substrates.

In the past few years, the etching of semiconductor substrates, dielectric materials and plastic substrates has been marked by a shift from wet chemical to what is known as dry or plasma etch processes. Such "dry" processes, i.e. processes carried out in a vacuum, which are used primarily in semiconductor technology but also in the processing of plastic materials, require an accurate temperature control. Thus, for example, etch processes, such as PE (plasma etching), RIE (reactive ion etching), ECR (electron cyclotron resonance plasma etching), MRIE (magnetic confinement reactive ion etching), triode etching, CAIBE (chemically assisted ion beam etching), photon assisted etching, and the like, necessitate cooling to prevent damage to the substrates to be etched or the films, such as photoresist films, arranged thereon.
Therefore, substrate holders are generally heated to a moderate temperature by scavenging them with liquids, such as water or special oils. Heat transfer between the substrate and the substrate holder is, however, impeded by the gap existing therebetween, which has led to a number of suggestions as to how this might be remedied. U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,924, for example, describes an apparatus for ion implantation, wherein the substrates are pressed against the convexly curved surface of a substrate holder by means of a ring or clamps, and heat transfer between the substrates and the substrate holder, through which the cooling liquid flows, is improved by a thin intermediate layer of an elastomer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,016 describes a substrate holder, wherein contact to the substrate is improved by the latter being fixedly attached by electrostatic attraction between the substrate and the substrate holder electrically insulated therefrom. Heat transfer can also be improved by filling the gap between the substrate and the substrate holder with a liquid metal (U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,881).
During vacuum treatment, an article is best cooled by introducing a gas with a high thermal conductivity between the article to be treated, such as, a semiconductor wafer, and the substrate holder. Suitable gases are nitrogen, neon, hydrogen and, in particular, helium (U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,636and many others). Effective heat transfer between the semiconductor wafer and the substrate holder is ensured only if a static gas pressure ranging from about 1.33 to 13.3 mbar, preferably of about 1.33 mbar, is maintained between the two elements. This, in turn, requires that the substrates to be treated be mechanically or electrostatically fixed to the liquid-cooled substrate holder and be sealed from the reaction chamber to prevent an ingress of heat-transferring gas which might noticeably affect the production result.
The previously-described apparatus and methods require mechanically stable substrates which may be readily clamped and sealed from the reaction chamber. In any of these cases, heat transfer is effected by heat conductance in the material or by convection in gas, with the uniformity of cooling depending respectively on the support of the substrate on the substrate holder and the homogeneity and pressure of the heat-conducting gas. Only in a few special cases will the entire substrate surface rest on the substrate holder. Normally, the support will be a multi-point support which poses no problems where the etch rate, as, for example, during plasma or reactive ion etching, is independent of temperature and/or where the thermal conductivity of the substrates to be etched is very high, also ensuring a uniform substrate temperature.
There are, however, substrate materials whose etch rate is strongly temperature-dependent. This holds in particular for plastic substrates. Plastic materials frequently have a low thermal conductivity so that highly irregular etch rates may occur if the substrates are fixed and cooled as described in the previously-cited prior art. Thus, for instance, etch rate differences of more than a factor of two have been detected within a few square centimeters of substrate surface during the reactive ion etching of substrates of polyoxymethylene homo- or copolymers, leading to poor yield.

Method of etching substrates having a low thermal conductivity

International Business Machines Corporation