A semiconductor memory apparatus may include a row address control block configured to output an address as a row address or output a counted signal as the row address in response to a refresh signal and the address, and generate an auto-precharge signal and a pre-bank active signal in response to the refresh signal and a bank active signal. The semiconductor memory apparatus may include a bank control block configured to generate the bank active signal in response to an active signal, a precharge signal, a bank address signal, the auto-precharge signal and the pre-bank active signal.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments generally relate to a semiconductor integrated circuit, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory apparatus.
2. Related Art
Semiconductor memory apparatuses are configured to store data and output stored data.
Semiconductor memory apparatuses may be classified into two categories. One category may include nonvolatile semiconductor memory apparatuses and the other may include volatile semiconductor memory apparatuses. The volatile semiconductor memory apparatuses perform a refresh operation to retain stored data.
In the volatile semiconductor memory apparatus, developments have continuously been made to improve the refresh operation.


An image processing apparatus, includes: a contrast enhancer which changes a color coordinate value of a color correction region in an image signal, which corresponds to a color to be corrected within the image signal, to a corrected color coordinate value in a range to perform a color correction; and a controller which determines a difference between the color coordinate values before and after the color correction by the contrast enhancer, and controls the contrast enhancer to output the image signal having the unchanged color coordinate value if the difference is greater than or equal to a reference value.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to image processing, and more particularly, to image processing which improves a quality of an image signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image processing apparatus, such as a television (TV) and a monitor, displays an image with red (R), green (G) and blue (B) colors.
To improve the quality of a displayed image by adjusting a display state of the image, RGB image signals which are supplied to the image processing apparatus are converted into HSV image signals to respectively process hue (H), saturation (S) and value or brightness (V) thereof More specifically, saturation and/or hue components are increased or decreased to adjust the color of an image.
Korean Patent Publications No. 2005-0023652 and No. 2006-0093821 which have been filed by the assignee of the instant application disclose a display apparatus and an apparatus for adjusting color of an input image selectively and a method thereof, which convert a color distributed in a predetermined domain of a color space and adjust the color.
A memory color such as a skin color, sky-blue color and grass-green color is displayed most frequently, and it is most familiar to human eyes.
Since a user is more sensitive to a change in the memory color than other colors, it is necessary to adjust a display state of the memory color more precisely to prevent color distortion, e.g., due to excessive color change and to enhance the viewer's experience.

Image processing apparatus and control method thereof


A memory apparatus includes a memory cell array in which a plurality of memory cells are arranged in a matrix formation and divided into blocks, a writing part for serially writing data to the memory cell array through a set of writing bit lines, each of the writing bit lines connected to one of the blocks, a reading part for serially reading the data from the memory cells of the memory cell array through a set of reading bit lines, each of the reading bit lines connected to one of the blocks, and a set of precharging units each for presetting one of the reading bit lines to a prescribed voltage when data is read from one of the blocks of the memory cell array. In this apparatus, when a first reading cycle is carried out to read data from one memory cell of a first block and a second reading cycle is consecutively carried out to read data from one memory cell of a second block lying consecutively to the first block, one of the precharging units presets the reading bit line connected to the second block to the prescribed voltage during the first reading cycle before the data is read from the memory cell of the second block.

The present invention generally relates to a memory apparatus, and more particularly to a serial-access memory apparatus having precharging units, in which data is serially written to and read from a plurality of memory cells arranged in a matrix formation.
In digital processing systems, FIFO (first-in, first-out) memory devices are commonly used to store information (for example, digital image signals). FIG. 1 shows a FIFO memory device according to the prior art. The FIFO memory device shown in FIG. 1 includes a memory cell array 10 in which sixty-four memory cells MCmn (m=0, . . . , 7; n=0, . . . , 7), each of which stores 1-bit data, are arranged in an 8.times.8 matrix formation, a writing unit 20 for writing serial input data DI to the memory cell array 10, a write address pointer 21 for pointing to a specific location of the memory cell array 10 (a writing word line WWLn thereof) at which the serial input data DI is written, a reading unit 30 for reading out data DO from the memory cell array 10 and for serially outputting the data DO, and a read address pointer 31 for pointing to a specific location of the memory cell array 10 (a reading word line RWLn thereof) from which the output data DO is read out. In the reading unit 30 of the memory device, a memory sense amplifier (not shown in FIG. 1) senses the output levels of the memory cells of the memory cell array 10 and the measurement of the data in the memory cell array 10 is amplified.
When a reset signal RSTWB with a low level is input, the write address pointer 21 is initialized to reset the writing address of the memory cell array 10 to memory cell MC00. In synchronism with a writing clock WCK, which is input to the write address pointer 21 and the writing unit 20, the memory cell MCmn to which the first piece of the input data DI is written is selected, and the write address pointer 21 outputs a line select signal WBSm to the writing unit 20, the line select signal WBSm indicating the writing bit line WBLm of the memory cell array 10 at which the selected memory cell MCmn is located. Also, in synchronism with the writing clock WCK, the write address pointer 21 outputs a high-level signal to the writing word line WWLn connected to the memory cell MCmn of the memory cell array 10.
When a reset signal RSTRB with a low level is input, the read address pointer 31 is initialized to reset the reading address of the memory cell array 10 to the memory cell MC00. In synchronism with a reading clock RCK (which is input to the read address pointer 31 and the reading unit 30), the memory cell MCmn from which the start piece of the output data DO is read is selected, and the read address pointer 31 outputs a line select signal RBSm to the reading unit 30, the line select signal RBSm indicating the reading bit line RBLm of the memory cell array 10 at which the selected memory cell MCmn is located. Also, in synchronism with the reading clock RCK, the read address pointer 31 outputs a high-level signal to the reading word line RWLn connected to the memory cell MCmn of the memory cell array 10.
In the FIFO memory device described above, in order to quickly read out data from the FIFO memory device, a known precharging method has been used. In this precharging method, precharging units apply an electric voltage to the reading bit lines RBLm before data is read from the memory. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 1-137491 and 61-271683 disclose such precharging methods which are applied to the FIFO memory device.
FIG. 2 shows the operation of the conventional FIFO memory device shown in FIG. 1 including the above mentioned precharging units. Hereinafter, the term "leading edge of a signal" denotes a signal portion at which the signal changes from the low level to the high level, and "trailing edge of a signal" denotes a signal portion at which the signal changes from the high level to the low level.
In the FIFO memory device shown in FIG. 2, a precharge signal PRC is set to the high level before a reading cycle RCO in which data is read from the memory cell MCmn has started, and all the reading bit lines RBL0 to RBL7 connected to the memory cell array 10 are preset to a prescribed voltage. After a reading clock RCK changes from the low level to the high level, the high-level precharge signal PRC changes to the low level, so that all the precharging of the eight reading bit lines is completed. In response to the trailing edge of the precharge signal PRC, the signal, output from the read address pointer 31 to the reading word line RWLn, changes from the low level to the high level. In response to the leading edge of this signal, the data from the memory cell MCmn connected to the reading word line RWLn is output to the reading bit line RBLm. One of the eight reading bit lines RBL0 to RBL7 is selected by the bit line select signal RBSm from the read address pointer 31. The voltage of the selected bit line is sensed and amplified by the memory sense amplifier of the reading unit 30, so that the output data DO is read out by the reading unit 30. After a sensing end signal appears, the signal output to the reading word line RWLn is reset to the low level. In response to the trailing edge of the reading word line signal, a leading edge of the precharge signal PRC appears so that the precharging of the eight reading bit lines RBL0 to RBL7 is performed in order to serially read out data from the memory cell array 10. In other words, when the reading word line signal changes to the low level, the precharge signal changes to the high level for precharging the eight reading bit lines, and then data is read from the next memory cell MC(m+1)n.
Therefore, in the conventional memory device described above, it is necessary to precharge all the reading bit lines RBL0-RBL7 to the prescribed voltage for reading out data from one of the memory cells of the memory cell array. Also, the conventional memory device uses a relatively large amount of electric power for reading out the data. Thus, for each reading cycle, the conventional memory device requires the access time for reading out the data as well as the precharging time for precharging all the reading bit lines, and the total reading time is relatively long.

Serial memory apparatus having units for presetting reading bit lines to a given voltage


Sensors for outputting signals indicative of a rate of change of torque experienced by a magnetized member in response to a change in torque experienced by the member are described. Such sensors include at least one sense element capable of detecting a change in a magnetic parameter of a magnetized region of the member positioned proximate to the sense element in response to a change in torque applied to the member. Devices for detecting and/or measuring rates of changes in or of torque that employ one or more of these sensors are also described, as are various applications for such devices.

1. Introduction
The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any such information is prior art, or relevant, to the presently claimed inventions, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
2. Background
Basic to the operation of modern machinery is the transmission of mechanical energy from source locations to points of utilization by means of rotating shafts transmitting torque. Beyond the nominal torques being transmitted, torque variations are ubiquitous in the rotating parts of machines. In addition to variations reflective of the actual function of the machine (e.g., impulse wrenches, rock crushers, etc.), major torque excursions also originate from kinematic features (e.g., oscillating or reciprocating parts), or inconstant rates of energy input or usage (e.g., as in piston engines, air compressors, etc.). Torque variation with rotational position arises in electrical machines from the needed presence of winding slots ("cogging" in machines having permanent magnet rotors) and commutation ("ripple" in brushless motors). Some sources of variational torque, such as those which arise on, or from the rotation of, ship propellers and helicopter rotors, are more subtle in that they arise simply from the variation with rotational position of the blade's proximity to the hull or fuselage. Moreover, all such active variational torques can stimulate torque oscillations at frequencies dependent on the dynamic relationship between inertia and elasticity within individual or interconnected rotating parts. Since the following factors mirror their causes: (i) the amplitude of torque variation, (ii) the spectrum of torque variation, (iii) timing of events affecting torque variation, and (iv) phase of torque variation relative to rotational position, it follows that sensing and measurement of only the variational torque components can often provide more detailed information concerning machine function than might be apparent from a measurement of torque alone, which is often dominated by its larger, more steady state components. This benefit is analogous to that obtained by using an accelerometer in an airbag sensor system to detect an impending crash, as opposed to a vehicle speed sensor which would not be able to detect a collision rapidly enough in the first place, and sometimes not at all due to the insufficient sensitivity to rapid velocity changes that an accelerometer is able to detect but a vehicle speed sensor is not.
In analogous fashion, torque variation can be fully characterized by its rate of change (ROC). The ROC signal has no features that directly reflect either rotational speed or torque magnitude. Continuous measurement of ROC in or of torque can provide sufficient information to identify specific torque producing events, recognize "signature" abnormalities, and signal the need for controlling action. While ROC information can, in principle, be obtained by differentiating a torque dependent signal, such an approach would fundamentally limit signal quality and frequency response in at least two ways. First, the frequency response of the base torque signal would be limited by the frequency response of the torque sensor system used. Second, the amplitude of variational torque measurable in the torque signal would be limited due to electrical noise present in the torque sensor signal or be hidden within the resolution of the torque sensor signal. Limitations of existing torque sensing technologies, such as frequency response limitations and the difficulty of obtaining an adequate resolution across the full range of torque measurement, have precluded their practical use for detecting rapid and/or small torque variations. Moreover, direct measurement of ROC provides greater sensitivity to rapid and/or small torque variations, thereby exposing detail that could be lost in the frequency response or noise limitations of more complex and more costly torque sensors.
Today, a variety of methods and devices exist for measuring torque on rotating shafts. These include elastic torque sensor systems which measure strain by use of strain gauges or phase shift measurement by way of angular position sensors but whose frequency response is generally limited to approximately 1 kHz at best, making their usage for detecting torque transients rather limited. Torque sensing methods further include magnetoelastic torque sensor systems that measure stress by monitoring the variation of stress-dependent magnetic properties such as permeability or magnetization. Such systems have either limitations on the frequency response or sensitivit/resolution of the measurement of the pertinent magnetic property, limiting their ability to detect small but rapid variational torque components.
It will become apparent in what follows that the ROC systems of the invention overcome such problems, in that:                (1) the frequency response of an ROC system is much greater than that of any existing torque sensor system;        (2) the detectable amplitude of a given variational torque is higher for higher frequencies in an ROC signal than that which can be practically obtained through a differentiated torque sensor signal        (3) small rapid changes in torque representing potentially very important diagnostic or control data, when observed in a torque sensor signal, are either not easily observable by measuring torque alone or not at all, but are detectable by measuring ROC in torque directly; and        (4) restrictions on types of transducer steels having magnetoelastic properties useful for use as the member carrying or subjected to a time-varying torque are far less stringent for ROC sensor systems than for magnetoelastic polarized band torque sensor systems, thereby providing ROC sensors with the combined benefits of high frequency response, ease of implementation, and lower cost.ROC sensors for sensing torque variation provide the following additional benefits and advantages: they require no excitation power, they can withstand very high temperatures, and they are robust.

Devices and methods for detecting rates of change of torque


A cooling structure according to the present invention is provided with: a base material formed with a cooling water flow passageway; a pipe which includes a first layer formed on an outer surface of the base material, and a second layer formed on the outside of the first layer; and a plate having the pipe cast therein. The base material is configured from a highly thermally conductive first material. The first layer is configured from a heat-resistant second material. The second layer is configured from a third material having high affinity with the second material. The plate is configured from a highly thermally conductive fourth material. The second material and the third material respectively have high affinity with the fourth material.

A water-cooling type cooling structure is considered as a method of cooling down a heat-generating element. For example, PTL 1 describes an aluminum plate having a flat cross section as a water-cooling type cold plate, which has a corrosion resistant metal pipe cast therein. The corrosion resistant metal pipe is made of copper and copper alloy, stainless steel, or the like.
PTL 2 describes a mold for blow molding resin, which is a cast of aluminum alloy or copper. PTL 2 describes providing a mold with a passageway through which a cooling medium circulates, not by drilling, but by casting the mold having a pipe inside. The pipe inside is made of pure copper and copper alloy, or steel, throughout the inside of the mold.
PTL 3 describes a method of preventing an accident such as suspension of a broadcast system from occurring in a cooling device using coolant, even when the coolant leaks out.

Cooling structure, cooling structure manufacturing method, power amplifier, and transmitter


A method for operating a computer to determine the operational parameters of an LTE communication system includes an REC and an RE that communicate with one another over a data link utilizing CPRI frames that are translated into LTE frames by the RE is disclosed. The method includes synchronizing the data processing system with the CPRI frames. The computer then determines a plurality of CPRI frame characteristics from the CPRI frames by examining a plurality of predetermined locations in the CPRI frames. The CPRI frame characteristics, a CPRI frame, and a model of the LTE communication system, are used to generate a first LTE frame that would be generated by that CPRI frame if the model accurately described the LTE communication system. The first LTE frame is then tested to determine if it is consistent with the model. The process is repeated until a consistent model is found.

Passive monitoring systems for communications between transmitters in cellular telephone systems are used by operational support system providers to monitor the traffic and sometimes the content of the communications on such transmitters, referred to as user equipment (UE) in the following discussion.
Ideally, monitoring is performed without the active participation of the cellular provider or the UE that is being monitored so that the cellular provider does not need to alter its operation during monitoring. Hence, the monitoring system preferably taps into the data flow between the cellular system and the UE. Monitoring systems for communications in earlier cellular systems tapped a point in the data flow that is no longer available in 4G networks. In addition, the data that is available in 4G networks is in the form of baseband carrier data that encodes the entire set of transmissions between the cellular transmitter and all of the UE in a cell in a manner that can be easily utilized by a radio head transmitter without introducing delays into the transmissions. To monitor any particular transmission, the monitoring system must know the manner in which the communication channel that is available for tapping is organized. This organization can vary from cell to cell in a system, and hence, must be discovered by the monitoring system if the cooperation of the cellular provider is to be avoided.
Remote radio heads and remote radio head controllers use a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) that typically goes through a set of initialization stages when first connected together to negotiate a number of important attributes such as line rate, CPRI word length, number of antenna carriers, IQ sample size for downlink and uplink, and type of padding. While systems that monitor the startup phase can be used to provide the needed information on the organization of the data flow, these systems must have a probe in place during the startup phase of the system. Since a passive CPRI probe may be connected to such interfaces at any time after the system has been configured, it cannot be assumed that the probe will observe this initial negotiation phase to determine the needed parameters. Thus a probe that can learn these parameters from the observed byte stream is needed.

Method and apparatus for determining the configuration of a cellular transmission system


Embodiments of the disclosure are related to routing or switching data of a customer network over a provider's network in Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) to another customer network such that the traffic in the communication channel between the two customer networks is reduced and thus prevents packet loss. The architecture model for routing or switching data of a customer network over a provider's network is a B-component bridge used in backbone networks which performs Σn1 data path protection to prevent packet loss, data aggregation for load sharing, TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) to Ethernet Circuit Emulation.

Current Bridging concept and architecture as specified in IEEE standard 802.1Q describe protection switching, connectivity fault management, etc. Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) describe the abstract level requirements of circuit emulation (E.g. PDH over Metro Ethernet Network in MEF technical specification number 8, MEF 8). There is no prior art for providing zero packet loss with or without load sharing between customer networks using Bridges for TDM streams and/or I-tagged frames over Provider (Backbone) Bridge Network (IEEE 802.1Q) and/or IP/MPLS network as specified in Internet Engineering Task Force's RFCs.
A new architecture for IEEE Bridges, more specifically B-component as specified in IEEE 802.1Q, to enable the above said benefits, but not restricted to these benefits as demonstrated in this disclosure, in a Provider Bridge Network as well as in IP/MPLS networks is proposed.

Architecture for routing data of a customer network over provider's network in provider backbone bridges


An apparatus comprising: a data processing device; and a display coupled to the data processing device at a pivot point and rotatable around the pivot point from a closed position to an open position, wherein the display is viewable in both the closed and the open positions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of data processing devices. More particularly, the invention relates to an adjustable display for a data processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable data processing devices such as Personal Digital Assistants ("PDAs") and programmable wireless telephones are becoming more powerful every day, providing users with a wide range of applications previously only available on personal computers. At the same time, due to advances in silicon processing technology and battery technology, these devices may be manufactured using smaller and smaller form factors. Accordingly, users no longer need to sacrifice processing power for portability when selecting a personal data processing device.
Although processing devices with small form factors tend to be more portable, users may find it increasingly difficult to interact with them. For example, entering data may be difficult due to the absence of a full-sized keyboard and reading information may be difficult due to a small, potentially dim Liquid Crystal Display ("LCD").
To deal with this problem, devices have been produced which physically adjust to an "active" position when in use and an "inactive" position when not in use. For example, the well-known Motorola® Star-TAC® wireless telephone flips open when in use, thereby exposing a telephone keypad, a display and an earpiece. However, when this device retracts to an "inactive" position, the keypad, display, and earpiece are all completely inaccessible.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved, adjustable data processing device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An apparatus to effect the engagement of brake shoes relative to a trailer axle of an associated trailer includes rotating rod members directed from a central housing, wherein the rod members are arranged to project rotatably through the brake backing plate of respective wheel members to effect actuation of a cam structure to effect engagement of the brake shoes of an associated wheel, with a brake drum arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to trailer brake apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved trailer brake set apparatus wherein the same is arranged to effect the setting of trailer brakes preventing inadvertent rolling and movement of the trailer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trailer brake structure o various types are utilized in the prior art exemplified in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,394 to Zwick wherein a wheel lock is arranged for operation with a trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,472 indicates the use of an electronically controlled fluid release fifth wheel structure for braking of a trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,776 to Jeter sets forth a vehicular anti-theft structure, wherein electronic structure is arranged to effect locking of brakes relative to the master cylinder structure of an associated vehicle.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art wherein a locking structure is arranged to provide for selective locking of the trailer brakes of an associated trailer and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


An imaging system (12) for a printing press (10) having an imaging cylinder (44) having a magnetically addressable outer surface (46), a magnetically permeable film (48), a device (50) for passing the film (48) over at least a portion of the outer surface (46) of the imaging cylinder (44), a device (52) for writing magnetic information through the film (48) onto the outer surface (46) of the imaging cylinder (44), a device (56) for passing a magnetic particulate material (58) onto the film (48) over the magnetic information on the cylinder (44) to form an image (80) of the particulate material (58) on the film (48), and a device (62) for bonding the particulate material (58) onto the film (48).

The present invention relates to imaging systems for a printing press.
In the past, printing presses have utilized plate cylinders in conjunction with blanket cylinders in order to form printed images on a paper web as the web passes the blanket cylinders. Such plate cylinders have utilized plates containing the image for printing, and the plates have been secured to the outer surface of the plate cylinders for use. The plate cylinders have passed an ink image onto the blanket cylinders which in turn print the images on the web.
The formation of the plates has been time consuming, and it has been difficult to secure the plates onto the plate cylinders through the use of some locking mechanism. It has been particularly tedious and time consuming to maintain registration between a plurality of associated plate images, thus rendering the printing press more inefficient.
More recently, it has been proposed to form the printing image directly upon a print cylinder, rather than forming separate plates. The print cylinders are then associated with the blanket cylinders, and the printing image is transferred from the print cylinders to the blanket cylinders for printing the image onto the web. However, many difficulties are still found to exist in such direct-to-press imaging systems, and much improvement is needed in such presses to obtain a satisfactory result. For example, such presses have required extensive cleaning of the print cylinders after their use, and have also required surface preparation of the print cylinders prior to placement of the image on the outer surface of the print cylinders.


Methods for collecting neonatal meconium samples, preparing meconium specimens for testing and for chemically analyzing neonatal meconium samples to determine their chemical composition are provided. A novel extraction method is employed in accordance with the invention to provide a non-aqueous, concentrated "cocktail" meconium extract containing substantially all of many possible target analytes in a single extraction step. Preliminary screening by fluorescence polarization immunoassay methods may be performed on the cocktail extract to qualitatively determine the presence of the target analytes in the meconium sample. If a positive preliminary result is obtained, new and improved quantitative GC/MS confirmatory procedures are provided by this invention to unequivocally identify and quantitate the amount of target analyte present in the sample in terms of nanograms of analyte per gram of meconium tested.

The present invention generally relates to drug testing methods for determining maternal drug use during pregnancy and fetal exposure to drugs in utero. More particularly, it relates to new and improved qualitative and quantitative methods for testing neonatal meconium tissue samples to provide unequivocal evidence of prenatal exposure to chemical agents such as drugs of abuse by identifying and quantifying the presence of these chemical agents or their known metabolites in the newborn meconium tissue samples.
There is growing concern in society today about the increasing numbers of newborn infants who are born in an undesirably unhealthy condition because they have been exposed to harmful chemical agents in utero. Perhaps the most widespread concern surrounds an apparent increase in maternal abuse of addictive drugs, both licit and illicit, during pregnancy. Primary interest has been focused on the so-called drugs of abuse, e.g., cocaine, opiates, including heroin, morphine and codeine, amphetamines, phencyclidine (PCP), and marijuana-related compounds, such as tetrahydrocannabinoids (THCs). Secondarily, other so-called legally available substances such as barbiturates, muscle relaxers, anti-anxiety agents, i.e. diazepam or lorazepam, alcohol, nicotine and other chemical agents may be shown to affect the health of a developing fetus. Although the present invention is primarily directed to drugs and their known metabolites, other chemical agents capable of becoming protein-bound may also be of interest. For example, gestational exposure to certain insecticides, herbicides, industrial chemicals, air pollutants and water pollutants may also be shown to adversely affect the exposed fetus in utero and the health of the newborn infant.
Maternal abuse, use or exposure to several known chemical agents, such as addictive drugs has been reported to lead to decreased birthsize and birthweight, decreased head circumference, decreased gestational duration and in a few cases, congenital defects. Generally, infants born to drug addicted and/or using mothers may be characterized by being compromised, in ill-health, exhibiting an early failure to thrive and possibly may be expected to show significant developmental delays or anomalies if they survive after the first few days and weeks. For example, neuronal damage may not become recognizable until later in the life of the child.
Proper medical care and treatment for the special needs of these disadvantaged individuals frequently requires that treating physicians and nurses be advised of the fact that the neonate has been exposed in utero. Moreover, the identity of which drug or chemical agent the child has been exposed to as a fetus may also be critical to early courses of treatment and ultimate survival. If latent neuronal damage was caused leading to real or apparent learning disabilities, early detection and possession of the information can really help that newborn in many ways. If learning disability problems are inevitable or likely, early extra educational efforts to assist the child may help to reduce or eliminate any adverse effects to that child. Moreover, if the child is identified early as disabled or handicapped due to in utero drug exposure, Federal educational and social assistance may be available to the child to help with the costs of raising, educating and caring for the child. The financial and human costs of delivering the high-risk neonatal medical care and continuing medical and social care and services for these infants in increasingly higher numbers is staggering.
Recent studies show that maternal abuse of addictive drugs during pregnancy is widespread and increasing. The National Association for Perinatal Addiction Research and Education estimated that approximately 11% of women studied in 36 hospitals had used illicit drugs during pregnancy. In regional areas where drug abuse is known to be a significant problem, the estimates are considerably higher. Recently, in one southern California hospital, authorities estimated that they had delivered at least about 20,000 drug addicted babies in one year. Similarly, a Chicago Municipal hospital estimated delivery of over 12,000 drug-exposed or addicted newborns per year. Conservative estimates by public health experts indicate that there are at least about 500,000 drug-exposed neonates born each year in the United States, about 10% of the annual birth rate.
The severity of this public health and societal problem has come to the attention of several legislatures. Some jurisdictions proscribe the use of addictive drugs during pregnancy and define the presence of such drugs in the neonate as a prima facie child abuse, thereby creating an immediate state interest in the care and custody of these infants- In addition to increased demands for intensive medical care and management, health care providers must also act responsibly in accordance with newly defined and increased duties imposed on them by these new statutes and regulations. Health care providers in some jurisdictions have a duty to screen and identify the drug exposed neonates and their mothers.
Earlier efforts to identify and assess those mothers who used or abused drugs during pregnancy and who thereby exposed their infant newborns to drugs in utero have included obtaining oral admissions from the mother, blood testing and urine testing. Oral histories, as has been mentioned above, are generally not forthcoming or reliable. Testing of blood tissue samples for the presence of drugs or their metabolites is generally time consuming and expensive. The recent AIDS epidemic has made collection, testing and handling of blood tissue samples unwise and undesirable. In addition, the target analytes of the drugs of abuse, typically looked for will not be present in either maternal bloodstream or the neonate's bloodstream even only six hours after the mother has taken the drug. Usually the first neonatal blood samples aren't taken until about 12-24 hours after delivery. Accordingly, blood testing of an infant newborn is expected to provide a ridiculously large number of false negative results.
Urine testing is also problematic for several reasons. Collecting adequate sample specimens from premature infants is difficult at best. Unless the fetus was exposed to the drug within one to three days immediately prior to delivery which is generally unlikely, urine screens frequently yield false negative results. Accordingly, urinalysis is generally inconclusive at best.
More recently, it has been demonstrated that meconium tissue formed in the intestines of a fetus in utero may provide the best physical evidence of maternal drug use. Meconium is a complicated heterogeneous tissue including a matrix of proteinaceous and cellular solids capable of binding, adsorbing and storing various chemical agents per se and/or their respective metabolic end products. Meconium is continuously formed and stored in the fetal intestines from late in the first trimester of gestation i.e., from between about 12-16 weeks, until birth.
Meconium forms the first several excreta of a newborn infant until a change to transitional milk stools is observed. Meconium tissue may therefore act as a biological time-capsule, in that each infant's meconium may reveal the history of the fetus in utero in terms of its exposure to various chemicals which become bound in the meconium matrix as the meconium is formed. The contents of neonatal meconium may provide evidence of exposure to drugs or other chemical agents back in time during the pregnancy, possibly as early as the later part of the first trimester and definitely from the second and third trimesters immediately before birth. The importance of the meconium tissue is that this precious sample is a one-shot deal. Unless the meconium is properly collected and analyzed a great deal of once-in-a-lifetime information is permanently lost. The personal and social implications of not having the important information the tissue can provide are very serious.
A major problem associated with collecting and studying meconium tissue is that it is extremely difficult to work with. Meconium has a thick visco-elastic nature that does not readily lend itself to typical sample analysis methods and equipment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,589 to Ostrea Jr., two distinct methods for testing a meconium sample to qualitatively determine whether or not it contains morphine and/or cocaine metabolites or cannabinoids, respectively, are described. In the assay procedure to qualitatively screen infant meconium for the presence of morphine or cocaine metabolites, a 0.5 to 1.0 gram sample of infant meconium is diluted more than 2 to 1 with an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution. The acidified and diluted sample is vortexed and poured through a glass wool filter to remove gross particulates. The filtrate is centrifuged and an aliquot portion is analyzed for morphine metabolites and cocaine metabolites by radioimmunoassay.
In the Ostrea Jr. method for qualitatively determining the presence of marijuana metabolites, a neonatal meconium sample is admixed with absolute methanol, vortexed and permitted to stand at room temperature for several minutes. Thereafter, the mixture is filtered, centrifuged and an aliquot portion of the supernate is tested for cannabinoid metabolites by radioimmunoassay. The Ostrea Jr. methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,589 suffer from a number of shortcomings. The determinations are qualitative at best and do not offer unequivocal quantitative evidence of prenatal drug exposure needed to meet current forensic standards. Moreover, the qualitative procedures described are generally not reproducible in practice. This is believed to be primarily caused by the broad compositional variations in the heterogeneous meconium tissue in general. For example, a positive or negative result may depend on the location from which the aliquot portion of the meconium sample was taken in relation to the overall meconium specimen. This distributional variation within a single sample can often lead to false negative test results. Furthermore, the procedures are not particularly sensitive in practice. In accordance with the Ostrea Jr. method, a small sample of meconium is diluted with an aqueous acid. Ostrea Jr.'s acid reagents dilute trace amounts of target analytes found in the sample to a large degree. After the immunoassay reagents are added, the target unknowns are diluted even further, often below the minimum detectable concentrations of the immunoassay reagents themselves. The aqueous mineral acids employed are so strongly acid that they not only hydrolyze and denature the meconium matrix to release target analytes into aqueous solution, these acids may also de-nature the recognizable structure of the metabolites being assayed, further lowering their effective detectable concentrations.
Poor sensitivity and non-reproducibility experienced with the Ostrea Jr. method may also result from the fact that Ostrea Jr. requires a glass wool filtration step to remove gross particulates from the acidified mixture. It has independently been observed that untreated glass surfaces, such as those presented by the glass wool filters employed in the Ostrea Jr. method, are reactive with the sample analytes and absorb and bind target substances, thereby taking them out of the assay solutions. Untreated glass surfaces can absorb as much as 10 nanograms of drug or other metabolite for every square centimeter of untreated glass surface area that the drug containing solution is exposed to.
Another disadvantage to Ostrea Jr.'s methods is that different extraction procedures and steps must be performed on the same meconium tissue for each target analyte in order to only make what is an essentially unreliable qualitative determination for that analyte. In a commercial setting, too many separate procedures and duplicative steps disadvantageously increase the time and costs needed to implement the Ostrea Jr. method. Finally, the Ostrea Jr. patent describes making their screening determinations using radioimmunoassays which are undesirable because costly special care, handling and disposal steps are required in order to use these radioactive materials.
Another prior art method for screening neonatal meconium samples is described by Rosenzweig et al. in an abstract appearing in Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 36, No. 6, (1990) at page 1023, Abstract No. 0334. In the method described in this abstract, evidence of drugs and drug metabolites may be qualitatively determined for amphetamine, cocaine metabolite, morphine metabolite and cannabinoid metabolite in neonatal meconium samples by non-radioactive immunoassay methods. In accordance with this screening method, a meconium sample is extracted with methanol, centrifuged and the supernatant is filtered through filter paper. The volume of the filtrate is reduced by evaporation and reconstituted in a phosphate buffer. The buffered sample is then analyzed by enzymatic colorimetric immunoassay or by a fluorescence polarization immunoassay method.
The non-radioactive screening methods described by Rosenzweig also have disadvantages in terms of reliability and sensitivity. The meconium methanol extract is generally too highly colored for direct reading in a colorimetric read assay. Ten fold dilutions are needed to achieve workable readability which reduces analyte concentration to at or below sensitivity limits to the assays. The method includes a paper-filter filtration step which has also been shown to act as a drug sponge undesirably absorbing target analyte out of the sample. Also, the Rosenzweig methods described in the abstract are only qualitative screens and do not provide the unequivocal quantitative evidence needed. Furthermore no special sample preparation steps are described or suggested so that the disclosed method also suffers from lot to lot variability for samples taken from the same patient sample.
In another abstract published in Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 36, No. 6 (1990) at page 1022, Abstract No. 0327, Clark et al, describe a first quantitative procedure for determining quantities of cocaine and its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, from meconium samples. The Clark et al. method includes extracting cocaine and its metabolites from a sample of meconium with methanol and centrifuging to remove solids. The supernatant is concentrated by evaporation, reconstituted with phosphate buffer and extracted with a solid phase cation exchange column. Solid phase bound analytes are eluted into an organic solvent, derivatized and injected into a GC/MS instrument in selective ion monitoring mode. Unknown patient samples were compared with spiked negative samples and quantitative results were obtained from the standard curve. The GC/MS method was reported by Clark et al. to be able to detect cocaine or its metabolite at levels as low as 300 ng of drug per gram of meconium tested.
The earlier GC/MS confirmatory method described by Clark et al. made some progress toward providing a quantitative meconium testing method but suffers from several drawbacks. In practice, a methanol extract as described by Clark et al. results in a meconium sample fluid containing neutral fats and free fatty acids which frequently clog the solid phase extraction columns. The Clark et al. procedures also do not address variability of the meconium samples per se and do not provide for variable dispersability of the meconium in the methanol so that non-reproducible results are often obtained. The sensitivity for these confirmatory procedures was stated to be a drug concentration of about 300 ng/g of meconium for cocaine and benzoylecgonine. Nevertheless, the ability to detect even smaller amounts of drugs or their metabolites and determining exposure as early as within the second and first trimesters of pregnancy is still desired. The Clark et al. article specifically describes a quantitative GC/MS method for cocaine only with limited sensitivity. No teachings or suggestions are provided for making quantitative GC/MS assays for meconium samples for other drugs of abuse, their respective metabolites or other chemical agents of interest.
Accordingly, to overcome the limitations of the prior art procedures and methods, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved testing methods for obtaining unequivocal evidence of prenatal exposure to selected target analytes, such as the drugs of abuse and their metabolites, as well as other chemical agents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide faster, less expensive and more reliable methods for testing neonatal meconium samples to qualitatively and quantitatively determine gestational fetal exposure to not only cocaine and its metabolites, but also to opiates, amphetamines, phencyclidines and cannabinoids, as well as other licit and illicit drug analytes.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide new and improved methods for collecting and preparing neonatal meconium tissue samples for further testing to provide improved analyte separation and recovery.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for making a smooth, substantially uniform time-averaged meconium tissue product for further testing to reduce the incidence of false negative results and aliquot to aliquot variability for neonatal meconium tissue specimens.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for liberating and extracting substantially all target analyte values of interest from a neonatal meconium sample, in relatively concentrated form in a single step, for use in a number of analytical testing procedures.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide new and improved methods meeting currently accepted forensic standards to unequivocally identify and quantitate the presence of drugs of abuse in meconium adapted for use on a commercial scale in a commercial testing laboratory.
It is still another object of the present invention to improve the quality of medical care for newborn infants in our society by providing fast, inexpensive and reliable methods for early detection of those newborns exposed to various harmful chemical agents while a fetus in utero.

Forensically acceptable determinations of gestational fetal exposure to drugs and other chemical agents


An approach is provided for selecting, by a multi-mode device, one among multiple networks. A plurality of overlay parameters associated with a plurality of networks are acquired, wherein the networks are different from one another. Each of the networks is rated using the overlay parameters according to one or more selection criteria. One of the networks is selected based on the rating.

Radio communication systems, such as a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Network (GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)), 3GPP2 Network (IS-95 or CDMA2000), WLAN (IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11), WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/g wireless LAN (Wireless Fidelity), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) IEEE 802.16), provide users with the convenience of mobility along with a rich set of services and features. This convenience has spawned significant adoption by an ever growing number of consumers as an accepted mode of communication for business and personal uses. Moreover, multiple radio networks co-exist, providing different and/or complementary services and coverage. Consequently, multi-mode terminals have been developed to take advantage of the variety and diversity of such services. To promote greater adoption, the telecommunication industry, from manufacturers to service providers, has agreed at great expense and effort to develop standards for communication protocols that underlie the various services and features. One key area of effort involves system selection in a multi-mode environment. Conventional approaches have focused on single mode selection standards—i.e., the use of static parameters for determining mode of operation. However, these approaches do not adequately account for changes in transmission conditions, particularly in a mobile environment, resulting in poor selection of the system.

Method and apparatus for providing system selection using dynamic parameters


There is provided a development cartridge capable of switching development colors in a plurality of development cartridges without using development rack. A development cartridge of the present invention has a part of a drive member for switching development colors.

The present invention relates to a development cartridge, a development device and an image formation apparatus.
As one of electrophotography-type image formation apparatuses, a four-cycle color image formation apparatus has conventionally been known. The color image formation apparatus of this type forms color images by forming four color toner images on a photoreceptor by four development cartridges corresponding to four color toners: yellow; magenta; cyan; and black, and sequentially superimposing these four color toner images on an intermediate transfer belt.
In the conventional four-cycle color image formation apparatus, as disclosed in JP 2001-83800 A shown below, the four development cartridges are generally loaded side by side in circumferential direction in a rotatable development rack. Normally, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a development rack 60 is structured such that its peripheral region is divided into four sections by four blade-like members 64 provided radially around a rotation shaft 62 in a standing posture, and four development cartridges 66 are loaded in respective divided regions. Moreover, in both end portions, of the development rack 60 with each development cartridge 66 loaded therein, disc-shaped retention members 68, 70 for retaining each development cartridge are secured. The retention member 70 has an all-around gear formed in its peripheral portion, and the all-around gear is engaged with a drive gear 72. Consequently, the drive gear 72 transmits drive force to the retention member 70, by which the development rack 60 is rotationally driven.
However, the development rack 60 is heavy as four development cartridges 66 filled with toners of respective colors are loaded therein, and this incurs a possibility that torsion is generated due to transmission of rotational drive force from one end portion. Such torsion may cause parallelism between a development roller of a development cartridge at a development position and a photoreceptor off-balanced. Accordingly, in order to prevent the torsion from being generated, the development rack 60 requires properly high rigidity, and this has prevented reduction in size and weight of the development rack 60.
Moreover, on the lateral surface of the retention member 70, four plate-like development position detection pieces 74 are provided in a standing posture at 90 degrees intervals in circumferential direction. By detecting the plate-like development position detection pieces 74 by a sensor such as photointerrupters mounted on the image formation apparatus itself, each development cartridge can be stopped at a development position (referring hereinbelow to the position where the development roller is in contact with the photoreceptor). However, since the retention member 70 is a large member made of resin, it is difficult to secure component accuracy, and even when the development rack 60 is stopped at the position where the plate-like development position detection pieces 74 are detected, sometimes the position accuracy between the photoreceptor and the development roller cannot be secured. Accordingly, in order to secure the position accuracy, the loading positions of the development cartridges 66 need fine adjustment performed in the state that the development cartridges 66, the development rack 60 and the retention members 68, 70 are assembled, and this operation is time-consuming.
Further, in the case of doing maintenance of a certain component around the development rack in the image formation apparatus, the development rack 60 still remains in the apparatus after all the development cartridges 66 are unloaded, making the maintenance operation difficult to perform.

Development cartridge, development device, and image formation apparatus

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


An IS-2000 Rev. A base station enables synchronization of a mobile station configured for receiving, via a sync channel, a sync channel message, based on sending a first sync channel message on the sync channel specifying a first protocol (P_REV=5), and sending a second sync channel message (ESPM) on a common channel (PCH) specifying a second protocol (P_REV=7), enabling the mobile station to synchronize according to one of the first and second protocols based on decoding a corresponding one of the first and second sync channel messages.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to transmission of Sync Channel Messages in digital wireless mobile communications systems. In particular, the present invention relates to operation of Sync Channel Messages transmitted by a base station according to an Interim Standard (IS-2000) Rev. A System, to multiple-configured mobile stations, including IS-95 Mobile Stations, and IS-2000 Rev. A Mobile and beyond
2. Background Art
The first global standards for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems are TIA/EIA IS95 standards that were published by Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in 1993. Since then, the standards have been improved and evolved, which can be distinguished by their protocol revision number (P_REV). For example, the P_REV of IS95-B standard with all required features is P_REV=5 and that of IS-2000 Revision 0 standards is P_REV=6. Also, the IS-2000 Revision A standards has a P_REV value of P_REV=7 and the most recent version of CDMA specification, that is IS-2000 Revision C, has P_REV=10.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating mobile station (MS) states as a CDMA mobile station is powered on. The MS first enters a Mobile Station Initialization State (100) having four substates, namely a System Determination Substate 101, a Pilot Acquisition Substate 102, a Sync Channel Acquisition Substate 103, and Timing Change Substate 104. In the System Determination Substate 101, the MS selects the system to lock on and then the MS acquires pilot channel in step 102 and sync channel in step 103. After the MS correctly receives the Sync Channel Message (SCHM) in step 103, the MS synchronizes its long code timing and system timing to those of the CDMA system during the Timing Change Substate 104. The MS then enters the Mobile Station Idle State 110 in which the MS is monitoring the overhead message and paging message from the Base Station (BS).
The evolution of CDMA system has resulted in the redistribution of messages throughout different channels. For example, the overhead and paging messages in the IS95-B systems and IS-2000 Rev. 0 systems are sent on the Paging Channel (PCH), one of the physical channels sent from the BS. The IS-2000 Rev. A systems, however, added the Forward Common Control Channel (F-CCCH) and Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) to enhance the performance; hence, in the IS-2000 Rev. A Systems, the paging messages are sent on the F-CCCH and overhead messages are sent on the BCCH.
The differences between the IS-95B, IS-2000 Rev. 0 and IS-2000 Rev. A systems are summarized in Table 1:
TABLE 1(Channel)IS-95BIS-2000 Rev. 0IS-2000 Rev. ASCHMP_REV = 5P_REV = 6P_REV = 7MessageMessage Length =Message Length >=Length <28 Octet28 Octet28 Octet11-bitAdded message(EXT_CDMA_FREQfields containfield newly added)BCCH info.PagingUsed to sendUsed to send[Used only to sendChannelpaging andpaging and overheadpaging and overheadoverheadmessagesmessages formessagesbackward compati-P_REV = 5bility of older MSs;in the ESPMpaging channelfunctions moved toBCCH/F-CCCH]BCCH/N/AN/ABCCH used to sendF-CCCHoverhead messageF-CCCH used tosend paging message
The paging channel is no longer used in IS-2000 Rev. A systems except when older-version of MSs (e.g. IS-95B or IS-2000 Rev. 0) are present in the Rev. A system.
To support the BCCH, the Sync Channel Message (SCHM) of IS-2000 Rev. A systems was extended by additional fields that contain the various information regarding the BCCH, such as Code Rate of BCCH, Data Rate of BCCH, Transmit Diversity of BCCH, etc.
The length of Sync Channel Message (SCHM) in IS95-B system is 27 Octets. But in IS-2000 Rev. 0 system, the 11-bit EXT_CDMA FREQ field was added to the SCHM and the length of SCHM was extended to 28 Octets, which caused some of IS-95 Legacy Mobile Stations (MS) from some particular manufacturers, especially from Nokia and Motorola, having difficulty to recognize the extended SCHM. The IS-95 MSs from Motorola and Nokia reliably obtain the SCHM only when the length of SCHM is same as that of IS-95B SCHM (27 octets).
A solution to the problem of reliably obtaining the SCHM, named the "IS-2000 Rev. 0 Workaround Solution", was proposed and adopted as a method to solve this problem without changing any standards. The IS-2000 Revision 0 Base Station (BS) sets P_EV value in the SCHM to '5' and later, the BS lets the MS know the "true P_REV" which is '6' through the Extended System Parameters Message (ESPM) that is sent in the Paging Channel. The ESPM is one of the overhead messages that is sent through Paging Channel to give the MS parameters regarding the corresponding System. The EXT_CDMA_FREQ message can be specified in the CDMA_FREQ field that is sent in the Extended CDMA Channel List Message (ECCLM) which is also sent in the Paging Channel. The ECCLM is another one of the overhead messages sent through Paging Channel to give the MS information regarding the frequencies that the BS uses.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are diagrams illustrating IS-2000 Mobile Station responses to different wireless systems. The IS-2000 Revision 0 Workaround Solution was made possible without changing any standards because there was a CDMA_FREQ field in the ECCLM. FIG. 2A illustrates the normal operation of an IS-2000 Rev. 0 MS within an IS-2000 Rev. 0 system: the MS receives in step 112 the SCHM having a P_REV=6; the MS changes in step 114 the frequency specified in the EXT_CDMA_FREQ field in the SCHM message, obtains the paging channel, and enters its idle state.
FIG. 2B illustrates an IS-2000 Rev. 0 MS within an IS-2000 Rev. 0 system, where the system uses the IS-2000 Rev. 0 Workaround Solution. The MS receives in step 116 a SCHM having a P_REV=5, with no EXT_CDMA_FREQ field included in the SCHM. The MS receives in step 118 the paging channel at the same frequency as the SCHM in step 118. The MS determines in step 119 that the true P_REV is P_REV=6 from the ESPM sent on the paging channel. The MS changes in step 120 the frequency specified by the CDMA_FREQ field in the ECCLM of the paging channel, and enters its idle state. The workaround solution causes some delay while the MS gets the paging channel, however, the MS can get the frequency information.
FIG. 2C illustrates normal operation of an IS-2000 Rev. A MS located within an IS-2000 Rev. A system. In this case, more parameter fields were added to the SCHM to support the Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH). The MS obtains in step 122 the SCHM specifying the P_REV=7, and changes in step 124 the frequency specified by the SCHM and obtains the BCCH. The MS then enters its idle state. Note that in the IS-2000 Rev. A system, no new messages are added to the paging channel that contain information on BCCH. The new parameters are sent only in the SCHM. Hence, if the IS-2000 Rev. A BS sends the SCHM with P_REV set to 5, the problem MS from Motorola and Nokia will work well but the IS-2000 Rev. A MS cannot get information related to BCCH from anywhere. If the IS-2000 Rev. A BS sends the SCHM with P_REV set to 7, the problem MSs will not work since they cannot get the SCHM with the length beyond 28 Octets.
The detailed symptoms of problem MSs are as follows:
Nokia IS95 MS: FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the Sync Channel super frame. The Sync Channel super frame 132 has 3 Sync Channel frames 130. Nokia IS95 MSs were made to add two frames to the received SCHM to estimate the super frame boundary since the length of IS95 SCHM is composed of 7 Sync Channel frames. Hence, the Nokia MSs can align the super frame boundary correctly only when the length of SCHM is (3n+1) frames, where n is an integer greater than 0.
Motorola IS95 MSs are made to reject the SCHM of which the length is greater than 32 Octets. When the length of SCHM is greater than 28 octets, some of the Motorola IS95 MSs go through some delay before they gets the SCHM correctly, the reason of which is unknown. (28 Octet problem).
However, the proposed "IS-2000 Rev. 0 Workaround Solution" would require an additional change in the existing Wireless Specifications IS-2000 Rev. 0 and IS-2000 Rev. A Such a change in the existing Wireless Specifications would adversely affect deployment of newer wireless standards due to the risk of ad hoc changes to the specifications destabilizing design work according to specifications that were considered completed.

Enabling mobile stations of multiple configurations to sync to a CDMA system based on multiple protocol identifiers on multiple channels


A method and apparatus for modifying the inner surface of a tube by ion surface modification techniques, such as ion implantation, ion mixing and ion beam assisted coating. The apparatus includes a plasma source, preferably a vacuum arc, a first magnet for guiding the plasma into a drift tube. A second magnet is spaced from the first magnet and has a current running opposite to the first magnet. A radial extractor surrounds the area between the magnets, which form a cusp therebetween. The plasma follows the field lines, exiting the drift tube to the extractor, where the ions are removed and accelerated outwardly in a radial direction. With the entire apparatus placed in a tube, the ions will impact the inner wall of the tube. The resulting ion implantation advantageously modifies the surface, typically increasing wear and erosion resistance, improving corrosion resistance, increasing fatigue life, etc. The apparatus may be used to coat the tube interior with the cathode material by operating the extractor at a lower voltage or omitting the extractor. The apparatus may be inserted in tubes and moved along the tube to treat the walls of very long tubes.

This invention relates in general to ion impact surface modification techniques and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus for improving the physical characteristics of the internal walls of tubes by ion impact treatments including ion implantation, ion mixing, and ion beam assisted deposition of coatings.
Piping in power plants and the like often suffers from corrosion and erosion. These problems require regular inspection and replacement, which often requires the plant to close down for repair and replacement work. Improvements in interior surface hardness and improved corrosion resistance would reduce the need for such costly repairs.
Corrosion in nuclear reactor piping systems is a particularly significant problem. Corrosion products from the pipes and other system components flow into the reactor and become radioactive. These then settle in low points in the system, typically valves, drains and pumps, representing a radiation hazard to personnel doing maintenance on the reactor. Corrosion products circulating in reactor piping also adversely affects the operation of flow venturies that are used to measure flow. The venturies are restrictions that permit water flow to be calculated from the measured pressure drop across the restrictions. Corrosion products selectively deposit in these venturies, altering the flow calibration such that the reactor power level must be reduced by as much as a few per cent, at significant cost to the plant operator. Various additives are used to reduce corrosion and expensive, more corrosion resistant, metals must often be used. Thus, there would be significant savings in any pipe treatment that reduced corrosion.
Erosion of the interior of pipes subjected to high flow rates is a problem in many piping systems. Reduction in erosion could significantly increase the life span of such piping components. Uniform hardening of the interior surfaces could significantly reduce erosion damage.
High vacuums are required in various specialized tubular systems, such as high energy physics experiments (such as the Superconducting Super Collider) and fusion energy systems. In order to maintain high vacuums in such systems, outgassing through the component walls must be reduced or eliminated. Presently, no full effective system for preventing such outgassing exists.
Effective treatment or coating of the interior surfaces of such tubes or tubular components could be very advantageous in reducing corrosion, erosion and outgassing.
A number of different methods have been developed for depositing materials, generally metals, in the form of particles or ions onto a target surface to form an adherent, uniform coating. Among these are thermal deposition, cathode sputtering and chemical vapor deposition. While useful in particular applications, these methods suffer from several problems, including a tendency to coat other system surfaces than the target with the material being deposited, requiring frequent cleaning, contamination problems when the coating material is changed and a waste of often expensive coating material. Generally, these processes require that the target surface be heated to a very high temperature which often damages the target material. The high deposition temperatures also lead to thermal stresses that may cause coating delamination. These processes are quite effective in coating flat or slightly curved surfaces, but are not adaptable to coating the interior surface of relatively narrow tubes. Where not very highly adherent, these coatings may not effectively harden or change the surface to increase resistance to corrosion and erosion, and generally are too porous to prevent outgassing.
Vacuum arc deposition has a number of advantages for coating difficult materials, such as refractory metals, onto targets. Vacuum arc deposition involves establishing an arc, in a vacuum, between a cathode formed from the coating material and an anode, which results in the production of a plasma of the cathode material suitable for coating. The process does not involve gases, making control of deposition rate easier and simplifies changing coating materials. Typical vacuum arc deposition systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,566,185, 3,836,451 and 4,714,860. Vacuum arc deposition, sometimes referred to as cathodic arc deposition, is used commercially, typically to produce titanium nitride coatings on tooling. While the coatings formed by these methods are generally hard and resistant to erosion, they may not resist corrosion or erosion to the full extent required. Vacuum arc deposition is a line-of-sight process, making it virtually impossible to modify or coat the inner surfaces of tubes and pipes with existing technology.
Thus, there is a continuing need for methods and apparatus for treating and/or coating the interior surfaces of pipes and tubes to form a corrosion, erosion and outgassing resistant surface.

Method and apparatus for ion modification of the inner surface of tubes


Disclosed herein is a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, which is constructed such that an intake duct for introducing a coolant, such as air, which cools a battery pack, into the battery pack from a predetermined region is not included, air existing inside a vehicle at a region around a battery pack isolated from a cabin of the vehicle is directly introduced into the battery pack, and the air having passed through the battery pack, which has been heated, is discharged through an exhaust duct connected to an internal space of the vehicle, in which a possibility of air to be recirculated to the region around the battery pack is low. The battery pack cooling system according to the present invention uses air existing inside the vehicle. Consequently, the control of temperature and humidity is easier than when external air is used, and generation of noise and backward flow of flames and toxic gas generated during a fire, which are problems caused when the air in the cabin is used, are prevented. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the cooling efficiency of the battery pack without the provision of the intake duct for introducing air into the battery pack.

One of the biggest problems caused from vehicles using fossil fuel, such as gasoline and diesel oil, is creation of air pollution. A technology of using a secondary battery, which can be charged and discharged, as a power source for vehicles has attracted considerable attention as one method of solving the above-mentioned problem. As a result, electric vehicles (EV), which are operated using only a battery, and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), which jointly use a battery and a conventional engine, have been developed. Some of the electric vehicles and the hybrid electric vehicles are now being commercially used. A nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) secondary battery has been mainly used as the power source for the electric vehicles (EV) and the hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). In recent years, however, the use of a lithium-ion secondary battery has been attempted.
High output and large capacity are needed for such a secondary battery to be used as the power source for the electric vehicles (EV) and the hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). For this reason, a plurality of small-sized secondary batteries (unit cells) are connected in series or in parallel with each other so as to construct a battery module, and a plurality of battery modules are connected in parallel or in series with each other so as to construct a battery pack.
In such a high-output, large-capacity secondary battery, however, a large amount of heat is generated from the unit cells during the charge and the discharge of the unit cells. When the heat generated from the unit cells during the charge and the discharge of the unit cells is not effectively removed, heat is accumulated in the unit cells with the result that the unit cells are degraded. Consequently, it is necessary to provide a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, which are high-output, large-capacity secondary batteries.
Generally, a cooling system for vehicle battery packs is constructed in an air-cooling structure using air as a coolant. In the air-cooling structure, air outside or inside the vehicle is introduced to cool the battery pack, and is then discharged out of the vehicle. Consequently, various technologies to improve the efficiency of the cooling system has been developed.
For example, Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-57628 discloses a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, which includes a heater and an evaporator for controlling the humidity and the temperature of air when the air outside or inside the vehicle is used as a coolant. Also, Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-70726 discloses a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, wherein cooling fans are disposed at an intake port and an exhaust port, respectively, so as to improve the cooling efficiency. Furthermore, Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-41323 discloses a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, wherein the area of an air flow channel is variable so as to improve the cooling efficiency.
The above-mentioned disclosures have advantages of improving the cooling efficiency of the battery pack. Since air, as a coolant, is supplied from the outside of the vehicle, however, it is necessary to provide additional devices for controlling the temperature and the humidity of the air with the result that the size of the cooling system is increased. Also, since the air having passed through the battery pack, which has been heated, is discharged out of the vehicle, the size of the cooling system is further increased.
As another example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-1683 discloses a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, wherein an intake duct for introducing air extends to the upper part of a cover sheet of a trunk located at the rear of a rear seat of a vehicle. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-71759 discloses a cooling system for vehicle battery packs, wherein an intake duct extends to a cabin of a vehicle. These disclosures have advantages in that air existing inside the vehicle, the temperature and the humidity of which are maintained at specific levels, respectively, is used, and therefore, additional devices, which are necessary for the above-mentioned Korean Unexamined Patent Publications, are not used.
However, when the intake duct extends to the cabin or a region adjacent to the cabin so as to use air in the cabin or in the region adjacent to the cabin, noise resulting from the operation of the cooling system is transmitted to the cabin. Furthermore, when a fire occurs in the vehicles due to various causes (including fire or explosion caused due to the abnormal operation of the battery pack), flames or toxic gas may flow backward to the cabin through the intake duct. Also, the air having passed through the battery pack, which has been heated, is discharged out of the vehicle. Consequently, the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications also have the same problems as described above.
Meanwhile, the vehicle battery pack must be mounted in a restricted space in the vehicle, and therefore, it is preferable that the vehicle battery pack be constructed in a compact structure. The size of the vehicle battery pack is decided depending upon the size of the battery module, which is constructed by stacking unit cells one on another, and the size of the cooling system, which covers the outer surface of the battery pack. In connection with this case, the above-mentioned prior arts essentially include an intake duct for introducing air from the outside of the vehicle or the cabin into the battery pack and an exhaust duct for discharging the air having passed through the battery pack, which has been heated, out of the vehicle. These ducts have a predetermined size, and therefore, the ducts serve as a principal factor deciding the size of the battery pack based on the cooling system for the battery module with the same condition.

Cooling system of battery pack for vehicle


According to the present invention there is now provided a body cemented carbide provided with at least one wear resistant layer, which body contains a toughness increasing surface zone. Increase in toughness is obtained due to the presence of a surface zone having increased WC grain size and/or increased Co content. The invention is most suitable for WC—Co cemented carbides.

The present invention relates to coated cemented carbide cutting tools with improved properties obtained by a heat treatment of the cemented carbide before the application of a wear resistant coating. The invention is, in particular, applicable to WC+Co based cemented carbide but can also be applied to cemented carbide of WC+Co+gamma phase (gamma phase is a common name for solid solution carbide, mainly comprising W as well as Ti, Ta and Nb).
A common method for achieving an improvement in toughness of coated cemented carbide cutting tool inserts is by various types of gradient sintering methods in which Co enriched surface zones are formed, Two major methods are used.
In one method, an addition of nitrogen in the form of TiN or Ti(C,N) to WC—Co-gamma phase grades is used, which during sintering develops a Co— enriched surface zone free from gamma phase with a thickness of up to 30 μm.
In the other method, a controlled slow rate of cooling down from the sintering temperature is used, whereby a Co-enriched surface zone having Co in the form of a stratified structure is formed. This is achieved in WC—Co-gamma phase or WC—Co based cemented carbide having a carbon content over the carbon saturation point and thus containing free graphite.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,930 discloses a surface refined sintered alloy body which comprises a hard phase and a binder phase. The concentration of the binder phase in the surface layer is highest at the outermost surface thereof and approaches the concentration of the inner portion, the concentration of the binder phase decreasing from the outermost surface to a point at least 5 μm from the surface. The method for making the same includes applying a decarburization treatment at the surface of the sintered alloy at temperatures within the solid-liquid co-existing region of the binder phase after sintering or in the process of sintering.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,886 discloses a process for forming a coated cemented carbide cutting insert by chemically vapor depositing a layer of titanium carbide under suitable conditions to form a titanium carbide coated insert with eta phase in the cemented carbide substrate adjacent to said titanium carbide coating. Subsequently, the titanium carbide surface is contacted with a carburizing gas for a sufficient time and at a sufficient temperature to convert substantially all of said eta phase to elemental cobalt and tungsten carbide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,431 is similar but relates to a titanium carbonitride coating.
WO 99/31292 discloses a body of cemented carbide provided with at least one wear resistant layer, which body contains a zone in the cemented carbide and, adjacent to the applied layer, containing triangular WC platelets with a specific orientation.
WO 98/35071 relates to a method comprising the steps of: a) removing carbon from a surface layer of a cemented carbide substrate at a temperature in the region of about 900° C. to about 1400° C. and in an oxygen-containing atmosphere b) reintroducing carbon into the surface layer of the substrate at a substrate temperature in the region of about 900° C. to about 1400° C. in a carbon-containing atmosphere; and c) coating the substrate with a hard material.
WO 00/31314 describes coated tools and a method of manufacture. The process includes formation of an eta phase-containing surface zone, and a conversion treatment in at least a partial vacuum during which a surface is obtained with microroughness greater than 12 microinches and comprising eta phase and fibrous tungsten carbide grains.
EP-A-0 560 212 describes coated cemented carbide with a Co-enriched surface zone used for cutting tools and having improved resistance to chipping without sacrificing wear resistance. Zr and Hf comprising phases are present within the cemented carbide. The Co enriched surface zone comprises WC grains with increased grain size compared to the inner parts of the cemented carbide.


A throttle valve for an internal combustion engine, the throttle valve having: a valve seat; a throttle disk, which engages the valve seat and is rotated by an electric motor between an open position and a closed position; a gear transmission connecting the electric motor to a shaft of the throttle disk; a position sensor for determining the position of the throttle disk; a housing chamber housing the electric motor, the gear transmission, and the position sensor; and a rigid plate, which is housed inside the housing chamber, and supports a stator of the position sensor, electric terminals of an electric connector, and a connecting printed circuit which connects the stator of the position sensor and the electric motor electrically to the electric terminals of the electric connector.

Petrol-fueled internal combustion engines normally comprise a throttle valve for regulating air flow to the cylinders. A throttle valve comprises a valve body housing a valve seat engaged by a throttle disk, which is fitted to a drive shaft and rotated between an open position and a closed position by an electric motor connected to the shaft by a gear transmission. One end of the drive shaft is fitted with a position sensor, which determines the angular position of the drive shaft (i.e. of the throttle disk) to permit feedback control of the electric motor by a control unit.
The position sensor comprises a rotor fitted to the drive shaft, and a stator facing the rotor to determine the angular position of the rotor, and may be a "contact" type (typically comprising a potentiometer), i.e. the rotor and stator are connected mechanically, or a "contactless" type, i.e. with no mechanical connection between the rotor and stator of the position sensor. One example of an inductive "contactless" position sensor commonly used to determine the angular position of the drive shaft of an electronically controlled throttle valve is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,199B1.
The electric motor, the gear transmission, and the position sensor are housed inside a chamber housing the valve body, and which is closed by a removable cover normally made of plastic or metal material. The cover is fitted with an electric connector for connecting the throttle valve electrically to the internal combustion engine electric system; and an inner surface of the cover is fitted with a printed circuit supporting the position sensor stator and the electric connections between the position sensor and the electric connector and between the electric motor and the electric connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,818B1 describes one example of a throttle valve, in which the position sensor stator is fixed to the housing chamber cover.
Producing a cover of the type described above, however, is extremely complex, in that the cover must be airtight to prevent in-service contamination of the housing chamber by external agents, and must also ensure a high degree of precision in terms of planarity and position of the position sensor stator, to avoid position sensor reading errors.
U.S.2005155780 discloses a cover for a chamber of a housing of a throttle valve, said cover comprising an approximately plate-type carrier carrying a network of conductors which is embodied as a pressed screen and provided with a sensor.
U.S.2005106928 discloses a contact unit including a contact plate and a connection plug for an adjusting device; a position sensor is disposed on the contact plate whose electrical contact results over conductor tracks molded into the contact plate.

Internal combustion engine throttle valve


An improved device, method, and system efficiently couple high-frequency energy from radiation-assisted field emission. A radiation source radiates an emitting surface with an electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field reduces the potential barrier at the emitting surface, allowing electrons to tunnel from the surface. The tunneling electrons produce a current. The electron tunneling current oscillates in response to the oscillations of the electromagnetic field radiation. Two or more electromagnetic fields of different frequencies radiate the emitting surface, causing photomixing. The electron tunneling current oscillates in response to the difference of the frequencies of the electromagnetic fields.

1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices, methods, and systems for field emission oscillators and modulators. Specifically, the invention relates to devices, methods, and systems for high-frequency energy coupling in radiation-assisted field emission.
2. The Relevant Art
The increasing performance demands of high-speed computing and communications require the generation of electromagnetic signals at ever-higher frequencies. High-frequency signals are needed to exploit opportunities for higher-speed processing and data transmission. High-frequency signals are also essential for many new applications such as imaging and spectroscopy for identification of molecules in chemical and biological agents or communications signals capable of propagating through highly ionized gases.
Yet the physical constraints of materials and electromagnetic radiation have limited the generation of switchable, tunable signals at frequencies of one terahertz and above. The high-frequency characteristics of vacuum tubes are limited by physical scaling and metallic loses. The high-frequency characteristics of semiconductor-based electronic devices are limited by resistive loses, reactive parasitics, and carrier transit delays. These limitations result in sharp power roll-offs above 1 Terahertz.
The operating frequencies of electronic devices have been increased by taking advantage of the higher switching speeds of optoelectronic devices. The Auston Switch uses pulsed lasers to modulate the conductivity of a photoconductive substrate such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). The laser pulse excites electrons from a valence band to a conduction band, changing the substrate from an insulator to a conductor. Auston Switches have switching times of about 500 fs, allowing them to generate extremely narrow electrical pulses or high-frequency signals.
Lasers have also been used to modulate the current in field emission or Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. In field emission, an applied electric field reduces the potential barrier at the surface of a metal or semiconductor. When the potential barrier is reduced to be near the Fermi level of the electrons, the electrons "tunnel" from the metal or semiconductor. The tunneling electrons create an electric current.
A laser pulse can modulate the tunneling of electrons. The response time of field emission to a laser pulse can be as brief as 2 fs, less than one per cent of the response time of the photoconductive substrate in an Auston Switch. Laser-modulated field emission-based devices could be used for high-frequency switching and signal generation. For example, two lasers of different frequencies may excite a tunneling current that oscillates at the difference of the laser frequencies.
In a radiation-assisted field emission device, one or more lasers radiate to an emitting surface, producing a tunneling electron current. The tunneling electron current oscillates or switches at extremely high frequencies. Radiation assisted field emission devices are capable of producing extremely high-frequency signals with high frequency agility, the ability to rapidly change the output frequency. However, the high-frequency response pertains only to the current emitted from the apex of an emitting tip. The high-frequency energy must be effectively coupled for field emission devices to have practical application as switches or signal generators.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,872 teaches three techniques for coupling high-frequency energy from the apex of a field-emitting tip. U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,872 is incorporated herein by reference. The techniques include: coating the metal emitting tip with a dielectric so that a Goubau wave may propagate energy along the tip to a load; using a Sommerfeld wave to excite a dielectric waveguide to carry energy to a load; and forming a traveling-wave antenna to radiate energy to a second antenna connected to a load. Although the techniques of U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,872 are partially effective, additional enhancements are required for practical application to laser-modulated field emission devices.
Nanoscale field emission tubes have been built and field emitter arrays with as many as 1010 tips per square centimeter are now used in flat panel displays. Miniature multifunction field emission devices could be built if energy could be efficiently transmitted from field emissions. What is needed is an improvement to the energy coupling from field emission devices, to increase the useful energy from radiation-assisted field emission devices. Improved energy coupling will support the creation of practical terahertz sources.

Efficient high-frequency energy coupling in radiation-assisted field emission


A computer-based method and system for buying and selling stocks and other securities. In general, the method creates an indicator for the purchase point or period and selling point or period for a stock. The method uses various technical indicators that converge to form zones, roughly in the form of triangles when viewed in a graphical display. A buy, sell, or take no action indicator is then determined based upon the comparison of price linear regression data to the other indicators described above. When the linear regression line or data at a point or for a period is greater than (i.e., above) all of the other indicators, this results in a buy indication. When the linear regression line or data at a point or for a period is lower than (i.e., below) all of the other indicators, this results in a sell indication.

Stock market forecasting and analysis systems and tools are well known, and have been used in various forms for many years. In general, these tools and methods attempt to predict the market behavior of stocks and securities, allowing the user to make better informed and more profitable decisions about when to purchase or sell a stock or security.
Examples of such systems include a method that employs historical data related to a particular stock in order to rapidly analyze trading potential and generate two graphical displays (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/945,965, Pub. No. 2002/0073017); a method that determines a "health rating" for stock market indices (U.S. application Ser. No. 10/273,645, Pub. No. 2004/0133496); a method for quantifying the market sentiment regarding a stock (U.S. application Ser. No. 11/680,877, Pub. No. 2008/021598); and a method for calculating moving average with weighed transaction volume (U.S. application Ser. No. 12/625,199, Pub. No. 2010/0121751); all of which are incorporated herein by specific reference in their entireties for all purposes. However, there is a need for improved methods and systems as prior art methods do not provide accurate indicators in timely manner, or require obtaining complex or difficult to acquire information.

Method for buying and selling stocks and securities


A contact tray for use in a mass transfer or heat exchange column and having a tray deck with an inlet area and a remotely positioned outlet for respectively receiving liquid on the tray deck and then removing the liquid after it has flowed across the tray deck and interacted with another fluid on and above the tray deck. A plurality of barriers are positioned between the inlet area and the outlet. The barriers each have spaced-apart pickets and openings in the spacing between adjacent ones of the pickets. The pickets impede the flow of the liquid and increase the upstream liquid loading on the tray deck as the liquid flows from the inlet area, through the openings, and then into the outlet. At low liquid flow rates, this increase in the liquid loading may significantly increase the vapor handling capacity of the tray.

The present invention relates generally to columns in which mass transfer and heat exchange occur and, more particularly, to contact trays for use in such columns to facilitate interaction between fluid streams flowing within the columns and to a method of using the contract trays for mass transfer and/or heat exchange.
Mass transfer columns are configured to contact at least two incoming fluid streams in order to provide product streams of specific composition and/or temperature. The term "mass transfer column," as used herein is intended to encompass columns in which mass and/or heat transfer is the primary objective. Some mass transfer columns, such as those utilized in multicomponent distillation and absorption applications, contact a gas-phase stream with a liquid-phase stream, while others, such as extraction columns, may be designed to facilitate contact between two liquid phases of different densities. Oftentimes, mass transfer columns are configured to contact an ascending vapor or liquid stream with a descending liquid stream, usually along multiple trays or other mass transfer surfaces disposed within the column.
Various types of trays are commonly used in mass transfer columns to promote the desired contact and mass transfer between ascending and downwardly flowing fluid streams. Each tray normally extends horizontally across substantially the entire horizontal cross section of the column and is supported around its perimeter by a support ring welded to the inner surface of the circular column wall or shell. A number of trays are positioned in this manner with a uniform vertical spacing between adjacent trays. The trays may be located in only a portion of the column to perform one part of a multi-step process occurring with the column. Alternatively, the trays may occupy substantially the entire vertical height of the column.
Trays of the type described above contain one or more downcomers that are positioned at outlet openings in the tray deck to provide passageways for liquid to descend from one tray to an adjacent lower tray. Prior to entering the downcomer, the liquid on the tray deck interacts with ascending vapor that passes through apertures provided in selected portions of the tray deck and then flows over an outlet weir into the outlet opening on the tray deck. Those areas of the tray deck containing vapor apertures are commonly referred to as "active" areas because of the vapor and liquid mixing and frothing that occurs above those areas of the tray.
Under low liquid flow rates, such as rates that produce a liquid load at the outlet weir of less than 25 U.S. gallons per minute per horizontal foot of the outlet weir (25 gpm/ft), significant portions of the liquid flowing across the active area of the tray may become entrained as droplets in the ascending vapor and be carried with the vapor to the overlying tray. The smaller entrained droplets may be carried with the vapor through the vapor apertures in the overlying tray deck, while the larger droplets may impact against and form a film on the undersurface of the overlying tray deck. Portions of the film may then be carried by the vapor through the vapor apertures in the overlying tray. As this entrained liquid is carried by the vapor through the vapor apertures, it restricts the cross-sectional area available for vapor flow and increases the pressure drop across the tray. The entrained liquid also bypasses the desired interaction with vapor on the lower tray and leads to reduced operating efficiencies.
A current approach to attempt to reduce the entrainment of the liquid and thereby increase the vapor handling capacity of the tray at low liquid flow rates involves the use of what is commonly known as a picketed outlet weir. The picketed outlet weir has a plurality of upstanding pickets that are spaced apart to form openings in the spacing between adjacent pickets. The pickets impede the flow of liquid into the outlet opening on the tray deck and have been thought to increase the liquid load on the tray deck and the vapor handling capacity of the tray.

Contact tray having picketed liquid flow barriers and method involving same