Accessories and methods are disclosed for projecting content generated by a hand-held device (100) on reality. An accessory (2) includes a housing (102) configured for mechanically attaching to the hand-held device, and viewing optics (108) within the housing configured to project an image of content generated by the hand-held device on reality via a see through display (23). In some applications, the hand-held device is a smartphone.

Augmented reality uses either direct or indirect viewing of the reality, where the reality is further augmented by overlaying additional information, typically computer-generated one, on reality. Devices using direct viewing of the reality typically contain a See-Through Display, i.e. a semi-transparent mirror (usually referred to as a combiner), through which the reality can be observed and combined with the overlaid information.
These devices typically contain a positioning element such as GPS and orientation elements such as IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) which further contains gyros, accelerometers and magnetometer.
Example of such an Augmented Reality device is HMD (Head Mounted Display), e.g. Microsoft's HoloLens. These devices are typically bulky and heavier compared to regular eyewear, less comfortable, less esthetic and expensive. These drawbacks are among the main barriers preventing HMDs from gaining wide consumer acceptance.
To overcome these drawbacks, attempts of using mobile phone for augmented reality applications are being made. Mobile phones contain built in camera, GPS, IMU, Display, processor and wireless connectivity and are vastly used as a consumer product. As such, mobile phones lend themselves as platforms for Augmented Reality applications. Nevertheless, mobile phones enable only indirect viewing of the reality on their display screen. Therefore, when smartphone applications for augmented reality are used, the overlaid information is combined with the image of reality acquired by the phone camera, rather than the reality itself.
Mobile phone applications for augmented reality include applications developed by, for example, Layar and Metaio.
Since the viewing of the reality is indirect, i.e. only an image of the reality as opposed to the reality itself appears on the smartphone display screen, mobile phone applications as described above have significant shortcomings because display images are 2D, depend on the camera Field of View and as such provide neither a sense of distance, nor a sense of objects' dimensions, making the orientation very difficult.
Another attempt to provide augmented reality on a smartphone is the introduction of phones with transparent display screens, i.e. Lenovo's Zuk (http://gadets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/lenovos-zuk-unveils-transparent-display-smartphone-prototype-728043). In this application the user can view the reality through the transparent screen, while additional information is displayed on the display screen. A major drawback is that the displayed information cannot be aligned with the landscape because of parallax, i.e. even if the phone is stable and the user moves his/her head, the location of the annotation on the landscape will change. This is because the landscape is far (typically tens to hundreds meters) while the phone display is near (typically 23 to 30 cm).

Apparatus and method for augmented reality


A folding carton or box is provided with a detachable panel preferably in the form of a business reply card. An informational brochure or pamphlet is suitably secured between the outside front panel of the box and the detachable panel or business reply card. The detachable panel is folded over the informational material and the open end of the detachable panel is secured down to the box by seals. To gain access to the information an end user need simply to break the seals. The detachable panel or business reply card can then be simply removed from the box and returned to the manufacturer or company.

It is known in the art to attached an outsert to the outside of a container, for example, a medicine bottle. An outsert is a folded piece of paper containing printed information or instructions regarding a product or the content of the container to which the outsert is affixed. Typical outserts are folded numerous times into a compact package which is then shrink wrapped to the side of the container, such as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,374 issued to Vijuk, et al. on Oct. 17, 1995. Other known outserts are folded and attached to the side of a bottle through adhesive such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,991 issued to McDonald on Oct. 4, 1994.
However, while these folded outserts are suitable for attachment to the sides of containers such as medicine bottles, items which are shipped and are sold in boxes obviate the need for attaching such outserts to the container since informational material may simply be inserted into the carton or box in which the product is shipped and is sold. However, there is a disadvantage to inserting printed sheet material into boxes. For example, pharmaceutical companies supply doctors, who in turn supply patients with medicine samples in a box. Instructions printed on sheet material are also inserted into the box. However, the pharmaceutical companies often have to place the printed information into the boxes by hand resulting in a time-consuming process. Further, doctors and/or patients who received these boxes containing the medicine samples often do not take the time to read the instructions because they are difficult to remove from the carton. Additionally, many companies and manufacturers wish to include business reply cards inside boxes. However, all to often, these cards are never seen or hard to extract from the box and thus intentionally overlooked and discarded with the box.
Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient, time-saving package design that is easy for users to readily access the printed information pertaining to the product therein and/or the company or manufacturer, and further that is easy to use, can be readily accessed, and is time efficient to manufacture. The present invention solves the problems related to inserting printed information into boxes by providing a folding carton with an attached informational booklet, brochure, pamphlet or the like to the outside of the box and including a business reply card which is detachable from the outside of the box and is used to cover and protect the informational brochures.

Folding carton with attachment and cover


An oxide thin film for bolometer having a vanadium oxide represented by VOx, where x satisfies 1.5xe2x89xa6xxe2x89xa62.0, part of vanadium ion in the vanadium oxide being substituted by metal ion M, where the metal ion M is at least one of chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti). Also, provided is an infrared detector having a bolometer thin film defined above. The oxide thin film for bolometer offers a low resistivity and a large TCR value. Also, the infrared detector offers a finer temperature resolution capability (NETD) as low as 0.03xc2x0 C.

This invention relates to an oxide thin film for bolometer-type uncooled infrared detector with a small temperature resolution capability.
A bolometer uses a thermal variation of resistance in metal or semiconductor thin film that is thermally isolated from a substrate material. Japanese patent application laid-open No. 5-206526 (1993) discloses a technique that n-or p-type doped amorphous silicon (a-Si) is used as a bolometer material. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,915 discloses a technique that an alloy of nickel-iron is used as a bolometer material.
Characteristics required for bolometer material are a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and a value of resistance. In general, a high resistivity of bolometer material is not suitable since the Johnson noise increases with an increase in resistivity. Also, a low resistivity is not suitable since the difference between the resistivity of wiring except the bolometer and the resistivity of bolometer material becomes small. Thus, it is desirable that the resistivity of bolometer material is about 5 kxcexa9 to 100 kxcexa9 at room temperature. In other words, when a formable thickness of bolometer thin film is 0.05 to 1 xcexcm, it is desirable that a resistivity required for bolometer material is about 0.025 xcexa9cm to 10 xcexa9cm.
The temperature resolution capability (NETD: noise equivalent temperature difference) of infrared sensor is inversely proportional to the absolute value of TCR of bolometer material. Therefore, by using a bolometer material with a big absolute value of TCR, an infrared sensor with a small NETD can be obtained. However, as described in prior arts, although n- or p-type doped amorphous silicon has a TCR as high as 3 to 3.5%/K, its resistivity must exceed 1xc3x97103 xcexa9cm.
Although Japanese patent application laid-open No. 5-206526 does not describe, the resistivity of nickel-iron alloy is as small as 40 to 70 xcexcxcexa9cm (referenced from The Metal Handbook) . Therefore, it is assumed that its absolute value of TCR is similar to that of another metal with a like resistivity and is not more than 0.5%/K. Thus, such a material is not suitable for bolometer material used for an infrared sensor with a small temperature resolution capability.
As a solution to the above problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,976 discloses an infrared sensor that vanadium oxide or titanium oxide is used as a bolometer material. Although this prior art does not describe about the characteristic of these bolometer materials, for example, Tsuda, xe2x80x9cConductive Oxidexe2x80x9d, Shokabo Shuppan, p.24 exhibits graphs illustrating the thermal variation of resistivity about vanadium oxide (V2O3 etc.) and titanium oxide (Ti2O3 etc.). Although these graphs do not relate to thin films, it is assumed that a suitable resistivity and a big TCR can be obtained by setting a suitable temperature. However, near at room temperature, the resistivity and TCR are not always suitable.
Japanese patent application laid-open No. 9-257565 (1997) discloses a technique that applies vanadium oxide, which incurs no phase transition from below the freezing point to over 100xc2x0 C., to bolometer thin film. This prior art describes that its application to infrared sensor is advantageous in that the absolute value of TCR exceeds 1%/K and no variation in volume occurs. However, the absolute value of a TCR obtainable is limited.
In many of oxides with conductivity, there exists a temperature region that a big TCR with phase transition is exhibited at a certain temperature. A technique that shifts the temperature region with a big TCR to room temperature by doping a suitable material is reported. For example, S. Koide et al., xe2x80x9cPreparation of Doped VO2 Single Crystals and Their Electrical Propertiesxe2x80x9d, Applied Physics, Vol.37, No.9, pp.815-820 (1968) reports that transition temperature is shifted by doping titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge) or tin (Sn) into single crystal of vanadium oxide (VO2)
Also, C. B. Greenberg, xe2x80x9cUndoped and Doped VO2 Films Grown from VO(OC3H7)3xe2x80x9d, Thin Solid Films, 110(1983)73-82 reports that VO2 thin films doped with tungsten, molybdenum and niobium are grown on glass by CVD, thereby the transition temperature can be shifted from near 70xc2x0 C. for undoped to a lower temperature. In this report, in case of W 1.4 mol % doping, the transition temperature is about 40xc2x0 C., the resistivity is 1.1 xcexa9cm, and TCR =xe2x88x925.5%/K. Also, in case of Mo 1.8 mol % doping, the transition temperature is about 50xc2x0 C., the resistivity is 0.3 xcexa9cm, and TCR =xe2x88x929%/K. It is reported that these materials are used in applications to a critical temperature thermistor or near-IR switching element. In this regard, it may be assumed that to apply vanadium oxide doped with another element to thin film for bolometer facilitates, in calculation, to give a reduced noise and to give a temperature resolution capability smaller than that in prior art, but there is no literature reporting such application. Measuring the temperature dependency of resistance in Mo-doped vanadium oxide thin film, there is a difference between resistivities in the rising and falling of temperature. In other words, the thermal hysteresis of resistivity is observed. This is an unsuitable characteristic to bolometer material for infrared sensor.
T. E. Phillips et al., Materials Research Bulletin (1987) p.1113 reports that Fe-doped VO2 thin film is formed on a glass substrate by reactive sputtering, and its electrical resistance and transition temperature observed from resistivity are tested. In this report, the resistivity is 1 to 10 xcexa9cm near (35xc2x0 C.) at room temperature. Thus, the resistivity is too high for bolometer thin film. In fact, an application to bolometer thin film for infrared sensor is not suggested in this report.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an oxide thin film for bolometer that offers a low resistivity and a large TCR value.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an infrared sensor that offers a finer temperature resolution capability (NETD).
According to the invention, an oxide thin film for bolometer, comprises:
a vanadium oxide represented by VOx, where x satisfies 1.5xe2x89xa6xxe2x89xa62.0,
wherein part of vanadium in the vanadium oxide is substituted by metal ion M, where the metal ion M is composed of at least one of chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti).
According to another aspect of the invention, an infrared sensor, comprises:
a bolometer;
wherein the bolometer is of oxide thin film that comprises a vanadium oxide represented by VOx, where x satisfies 1.5xe2x89xa6xxe2x89xa62.0,
wherein part of vanadium in the vanadium oxide is substituted by metal ion M, where the metal ion M is composed of at least one of chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti).

Oxide thin film for bolometer and infrared detector using the oxide thin film


A network storage system includes “raw” flash memory, and storage of data in that flash memory is controlled by an external, log structured, write out-of-place data layout engine of a storage server. By avoiding a separate, onboard data layout engine on the flash devices, the latency associated with operation of such a data layout engine is also avoided. The flash memory can be used as the main persistent storage of a storage server and/or as buffer cache of a storage server, or both. The flash memory can be accessible to multiple storage servers in a storage cluster. To reduce variability in read latency, each flash device provides its status (“busy” or not) to the data layout engine. The data layout engine uses RAID data reconstruction to avoid having to read from a busy flash device.

A storage server is a special purpose computer system used to store and retrieve data on behalf of one or more clients on a network. A storage server operates on behalf of one or more clients to store and manage data in a set of mass storage devices, such as magnetic or optical storage-based disks or tapes. In conventional network storage systems, the mass storage devices may be organized into one or more groups of drives (e.g., redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID)). A storage server also typically includes internal memory that is used as a buffer cache, to speed up the reading and writing of data from and to (respectively) the main mass storage system. In conventional storage servers, this buffer cache typically is implemented the form of dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
A storage server may be configured to service file-level requests from clients, as in the case of file servers used in a network attached storage (NAS) environment. Alternatively, a storage server may be configured to service block-level requests from clients, as done by storage servers used in a storage area network (SAN) environment. Further, some storage servers are capable of servicing both file-level and block-level requests, as is the case with certain storage servers made by Network Appliance, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif.
It is desirable to improve the performance of storage servers, and one way to do so is by reducing the latency and increasing the random access throughput associated with accessing a storage server's main mass storage subsystem. In this regard, flash memory, particularly NAND flash memory, has certain very desirable properties. Flash memory generally has a very fast read access speed compared to that of conventional disk drives. Also, flash memory is substantially cheaper than conventional DRAM and is not volatile like DRAM.
However, flash memory also has certain characteristics that make it unfeasible simply to replace the DRAM or disk drives in a storage server with flash memory. In particular, conventional flash memories, such as flash solid-state drives (SSDs), include an on-board memory controller which implements a data layout engine. The data layout engine typically implements a log based system to decide where data should be written in flash and to identify locations in flash where desired data is stored. This internal data layout engine adds a non-trivial amount of overhead to the processes of reading and writing data, which tends to offset the performance gains that could otherwise be achieved by using flash.
In addition, while flash memory generally has superior read performance compared to conventional disk drives, its write performance is generally not as good. One reason is that each time a unit of flash memory is written, it must first be erased, which adds latency to write operations.
Furthermore, the smallest individually erasable unit in a flash memory, which is called a "block", is generally much larger than the smallest individually writable unit, which is called a "page"; for example, a typical page (minimum writable unit) may be 2 kB while a corresponding block (minimum erasable unit) is 64 pages (e.g., 128 kB). Consequently, if a single 2 kB page were to be modified in flash, that would involve first reading back the entire 128 kB block that includes the page, erasing the entire 128 kB block, and then writing the entire 128 kB block back, including the modified version of the 2 kB page. This process is extremely inefficient in terms of latency. Further, this process causes wear on the flash memory cells, which typically have finite lifespans in terms of the number of erases that can be performed on them before failure.
In addition, conventional flash memory used in SSDs requires that writes be done in sequential page order within a block (whereas reads can be random). The SSD internally translates random writes that it receives into sequential writes, which can dramatically lower the performance of the SSDs. Even if sequential writes are performed to an SSD, this translation layer is used, which can increase overhead per unit of performance.
Furthermore, while flash memory generally has very good read performance compared to conventional disks, the latency associated with reads is often highly variable within any given system, even for a given flash chip. When accessing an example of one of today's SSD, with a mix of random read and write operations, this behavior can be observed in that approximately 5% of all reads return in 2-4 msec, whereas the other 95% return in an average of 850 μsec or less. It is believed that this variability is caused by random accesses to a flash device which is in the process of erasing, causing a delay in access to the data. In the case of SSDs, the initial access is much longer; hence, the delay caused by the erase is not amplified as much as in raw flash, but it still exists.
This variability does not lend itself well to predictable system behavior. To understand the cause of this variability, consider how conventional flash memory is normally implemented. NAND-based flash memory shall be discussed here for purposes of illustration.
In NAND-based flash devices, data is read and written in units of pages but erased in units of blocks. The page size varies between devices, but currently the page size is 2 kB and expected to grow to 8 kB over the next few years. Block size is expected to grow similarly to maintain the 64 page per block ratio. Access to a flash memory occurs in two phases, which are referred to here as the operation and the data transfer. The data transfer is where data is transferred to or from an internal buffer in the flash chip, to the system over a bus interface on the flash chip. The operation can be defined as the transfer of data to or from the internal buffer to the NAND flash array or any of various other operations, such as erasing a block.
Most flash devices provide for some minimum level of concurrency between data transfer and operations, by providing two or more memory planes. This configuration requires that overlapped operations be targeted at different memory planes. Operations targeted to the same plane must be processed sequentially.
Consider now the following illustrative access latencies associated with conventional flash memory. A 2 kB data transfer of data may take approximately 50 μsec for either a read or write to load the internal data buffer on the flash chip, while a read page operation may take approximately 20 μsec for that same 2 kB data block, and a write page operation may take approximately 200 μsec for that same 2 kB of data. The erase operation, as mentioned above, may erase 64 pages, or 128 kB in about 2,000 μsec. A complete system read would take approximately 70 μsec to fully return the data. If another read were pending at that time, the total time would extend to 140 μsec. If a write or erase was in progress ahead of the read, the time could extend to 270 μsec in the case of a write or 2,070 μsec in the case of an erase. Having a 30-fold variability in the access time does not lend itself well to predictable behavior.
The above-mentioned performance times are based on floating gate NAND flash technology. Newer generation NAND flash devices are expected to be based on a charge trap design, which will allow smaller memory cells but at the cost of increased erase and write times. The increase in erase time may be many times that of current NAND flash devices. Such an increase will further exacerbate the read access time variability.

Network storage system including non-volatile solid-state memory controlled by external data layout engine


A noise control method is provided for a cooling system having at least one refrigerant circuit. The refrigerant circuit includes a compressor, a condenser, at least one condenser fan, and an evaporator. Noise control is only performed periodically in response to requirements for reduced operation at predetermined times. The request for reduced noise triggers the commencement of the noise control method. The noise control method involves reducing the operating speed of the compressor, as well as reducing the operating speed of at least one condenser fan, to within a predetermined range of allowable reduced operating speeds. The noise control method temporarily overrides the ability of the cooling system to fully respond to increased cooling or heating demands. When the noise control method is terminated, such as by the end of the stated period of time requiring reduced noise generation, the system is restored to normal operation, and remains fully responsive to cooling and heating demand until commencement of the next period of reduced noise requirements.

The present invention relates generally to a sound reduction control system and method for a cooling system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for reducing the sound generated by a compressor driven chiller system having a variable speed drive by selectively and controllably reducing the speed of the compressor, the speed of the condenser fans, or the number of operating condenser fans in the system.
In chiller, HVAC or refrigeration systems, a refrigerant gas is compressed by a compressor and passed to a condenser where it exchanges heat with another fluid, such as the ambient air forced over condenser coils by one or more condenser fans. From the condenser, the pressurized refrigerant passes through an expansion device and then to an evaporator. An environment to be cooled is cooled by refrigerant passing through the evaporator. The refrigerant returns from the evaporator back to the compressor, and the cycle is repeated.
Large capacity chiller systems are required to provide adequate cooling of the interiors of large buildings. Such systems typically include one or more compressors, as well as one or more air-cooled condensers having condenser fans for cooling the compressed refrigerant. Compressor speed and condenser fan speed, or number of condenser fans running, are interdependent on one another. When the compressor operates at a higher speed, a higher rate of compressed refrigerant is passed to the condenser. In order to cool the increased flow of compressed refrigerant, a larger rate of heat exchange by the condenser is required. One way to increase condenser heat exchange is to increase airflow across the condenser coils. Accordingly, operation of a higher number of condenser fans, or operation of the fans at a higher speed, will increase airflow around the condenser coils, resulting in higher rate of heat exchange by the condenser.
Increasingly, it is necessary to reduce the total sound generated by chillers during certain times, particularly for chillers installed near residential areas. Indeed, some localities have laws that require sound levels at property lines to be lower at nighttime than during the day. One known method of reducing the chiller noise is to disable the system during selected hours, thereby preventing the generation of noise by the chiller system. However, disabling the chiller system means that no cooling can be performed by the chiller systems, thus causing the interior building temperatures to rise to uncomfortable levels. Therefore, it would be advantageous for a building owner to be able to reduce the sound level of the chiller system at selected times, while maintaining some cooling capability within the building.
The sound generated by a typical air-cooled compressor chiller system is predominately created by the compressor and the condenser fans. Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of sound generated by the chiller system, it is desirable that the compressor and the condenser fan(s) be made to operate more quietly. This goal can be accomplished by several known ways. For example, mechanical modifications such as the application of sound-insulating coatings can be made to the compressor, condenser fans, and any housings encasing such components, to reduce operating noise. Alternatively, new compressors and new condenser fans manufactured with sound-absorbing or sound-attenuating features can be installed. However, such modifications or replacements can be expensive as a result of the materials, labor, and downtime costs that are potentially involved. Therefore, what is needed is a cost-effective method for selectively reducing the noise generated by an installed chiller system.

Chiller sound reduction control system and method


A photosensitive drum unit includes a frame and a plurality of photosensitive drums. The plurality of photosensitive drums is supported by the frame and has a shape identical with one another. Each of the plurality of photosensitive drums is rotatable about a rotational axis. The plurality of photosensitive drums is arranged such that a distance between rotational axes of adjacent photosensitive drums is a constant distance P. Each of the plurality of photosensitive drums has a circumferential reference position that is common to all of the plurality of photosensitive drums. Each of the plurality of photosensitive drums has a plurality of marks at circumferential positions that are defined relative to the circumferential reference position. Adjacent two positions of the circumferential positions are spaced by a central angle of {(S−P)/S}×360° where S is a circumferential length of each of the plurality of photosensitive drums.

A tandem-type image forming apparatus is well known in the art. One such tandem-type image forming apparatus has photosensitive drums corresponding to each of the colors yellow, magenta, cyan, and black that are juxtaposed in a horizontal direction. In this tandem-type image forming apparatus, toner images in each color are formed almost simultaneously on the respective photosensitive drums and are then sequentially transferred from the photosensitive drums to a sheet of paper conveyed sequentially past each photosensitive drum so that the images are superimposed on one another, thereby achieving color image formation at substantially the same speed as single-color image formation with a monochromatic image forming apparatus.
However, this tandem-type color image forming apparatus can have problems with color registration when the color toner images are not properly aligned. For example, if a photosensitive drum has eccentricity, the distance between a scanning unit and the exposed surface of the photosensitive drum varies depending on the rotated position of the photosensitive drum, producing error in the laser scanning width on the photosensitive drum. When such error varies for each photosensitive drum, the toner images in each color cannot be properly aligned on the paper, resulting in color registration error.
Technologies, such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-188395, have been proposed for reducing color registration error by canceling the effects of variations in the distance between the scanning unit and the exposure surface of the photosensitive drum caused by eccentricity of the drum. This is achieved by detecting the eccentric phase of each photosensitive drum and adjusting the speed of the motor driving each photosensitive drum to match the exposure start timing (write out timing of the electrostatic latent image) for each photosensitive drum so that the eccentric phase of each photosensitive drum is aligned relative to the image.
However, the conventional method described above requires such components as sensors for detecting the eccentric phase of the photosensitive drums and circuits for processing the detection signals outputted by the sensors, thereby increasing the complexity of the structure of the image forming apparatus as well as manufacturing costs.

Photosensitive drum unit and image forming apparatus capable of suppressing registration error


A brake drum has its strength elevated in its disk portion. The brake drum is formed from a composition having ceramics dispersed in a matrix. The disk portion has a high ceramic content and thereby a high strength. The brake drum has a disk portion and a cylindrical portion. The disk portion has a first ceramic content by volume and the cylindrical portion has a second ceramic content by volume that is less than the first ceramic content by volume as a result of the application of a higher compression ratio to the disk portion.

It has often been the case in recent years to use an aluminum alloy or an aluminum alloy composite material (MMC) for vehicles to reduce their weight. It is needless to say that a reduction in the weight of the brake system is also important and in an internally expanding type drum brake, for example, there has been sought an art using an aluminum alloy composite material (MMC) for the brake drum rotating with a wheel.
As regards the art using an aluminum alloy composite material (MMC), there is known an art adopting it for pulleys as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2001-316740.
An art adopting an aluminum alloy composite material (MMC) for heat dissipating members is known from, for example, JP-A-2002-66724.
The process for manufacturing a pulley as disclosed in JP-A-2002-316740 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 hereof.
The pulley 301 shown in FIG. 10 has a hub 302 of a composite material in its center, an aluminum alloy disk 303 formed integrally with the hub 302 and a grooved portion 305 fitted about the disk 303 with a shock absorbing member 304 inserted therebetween, and a force for tightening bolts for securing the pulley 301 to a shaft is borne by the hub 302 of high strength.
Referring to the process for manufacturing the pulley 301, the hub 302 is first formed by extrusion molding a cylinder from a composite material and cutting it. Then, the hub 302 is set in a pulley casting mold and a molten aluminum alloy is poured into the mold.
The pulley manufacturing process described above requires the separate steps of making two parts, the hub 302 of a composite material and the disk 303 of an aluminum alloy, and its production calls for a great deal of time and labor. The working conditions in the manufacturing process of both the hub 302 and the aluminum alloy disk 303 are complicated and troublesome.
The process for manufacturing a composite material disclosed in JP-A-2002-66724 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C.
A product 311 of a composite material as shown in FIG. 11A includes a base portion 312 and a plurality of fins 313 formed on a surface of the base portion 312.
Firstly, a metal matrix composite material 314 is produced from an aluminum alloy 315 and fine particles 316 of silicon carbide and formed into a block 317, as shown in FIG. 11B. Secondly, the block 317 which has been heated is placed in a mold 318 (having fin spaces 319) and compressed.
When it is compressed, the aluminum alloy 315 flows into the fin spaces 319 and forms aluminum alloy fins 313, as shown in FIG. 11C.
According to this process for manufacturing a composite material, however, it is impossible to incorporate fine particles of silicon carbide adequately into the fins 313, though it may be possible to save the time and labor for its manufacture, and the fins 313 are exclusively of an aluminum alloy and too low in strength. It is impossible to distribute a desired proportion by volume of silicon carbide in the center of each fin 313 and as a result, it is difficult to utilize the strength of a composite material effectively.
Thus, there is sought an art which makes it possible to increase the strength of the disk portion of a brake drum of a metal matrix composite material (MMC) and manufacture a brake drum having a disk portion of improved strength without calling for a great deal of time and labor.

Brake drum and process for manufacturing the same


A method for producing a beverage using a portion pack including a container made of filter material for containing an extraction material, and a supporting body which encloses the container. The method comprises the steps of: placing the closed portion pack into a filter vessel; opening the container of the portion pack on an upper side and increasing the internal volume of the container by at least 50% compared to the internal volume in the closed container; and applying water to the extraction material for beverage preparation. The portion pack comprises at least one folding edge on the supporting body about which a flap can be pivoted in order to increase the internal volume of the portion pack when opening.

For the preparation of coffee, there are filters which, according to EP 268 847 B1, have a cardboard holding frame which can be placed on a container and a filter bag made of filter paper. This allows the filter bag to be held in a predetermined position by the holding frame, so that the user fills the filter bag to brew coffee and then performs a brewing operation. Although the individual filling of the filter paper and manual brewing allows the coffee taste to be individually taken into account during preparation, grinding and filling the filter bag with ground coffee and subsequent manual brewing is comparatively complex.
DE 195 20 837 A1 shows a portioned coffee filter bag with ground coffee, which may be formed in a vacuum-packed manner and is ready for use after removal from the packaging. Such portion packs are known in many forms and have the disadvantage that the needs are not sufficiently taken into account when preparing coffee. When brewing coffee, the volume of the ground coffee increases and, unlike when making espresso under high pressure, the ground coffee should be able to extend when the coffee is poured over with hot water from above. In addition, a defined ground coffee bed geometry and an even wettening of the ground coffee are required when producing high-quality coffee drinks, which is often not achieved with conventional portion packs.
The EP 401 951 B1 reveals a filtering device with a paper filter bag and a supporting body that can be placed on a cup to perform a manual brewing operation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing a beverage using a portion pack, and portion pack


A hand-held power injector is provided for injecting liquid, such as contrast media, into the vascular system of a mammal. The device comprises a pistol-shaped housing which encloses a battery-powdered D.C. motor for constant-rate delivery of liquid from a syringe. In a particular embodiment the hand-help power injector includes an engagement feature connecting the syringe and the power injector which prevents inadvertent activation of the power injector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand-held controllable power injector as applied to syringes adopted to deliver a liquid into a patient. More particularly, the invention relates to a hand-held controllable power injector for delivering, by injection, x-ray contrast media into a patient prior to or during urographic or angiographic procedures.
In a particular embodiment the invention relates to an engagement feature between the syringe and the power assistor which prevents inadvertent activation of the power assistor and the consequent undesired expulsion of the liquid from the syringe.
2. Reported Developments
Urography is a radiological technique wherein at least a part of the urinary tract of a mammal is rendered opaque by intravenous injection of a contrast medium or by injection into the bladder through the urethra.
Angiography is also a radiological technique wherein the arteries or veins of a mammal are outlined by injecting a radiographic medium.
In both techniques the coated vascular structures are radiographically imaged for diagnostic purposes.
For delivery to the desired site, the contrast medium is placed in an appropriate syringe and forced through a hollow needle or a catheter in such a manner that the contrast medium enters the blood stream or the bladder at the appropriate time and place for taking radiographic images. As contrast medium is being injected to the site to be visualized through the hollow needle or a catheter, high pressures are often encountered, sometimes as high as 1,000 psi. This requires a rather high force to be exerted on the piston in order to deliver the content of the syringe. Furthermore, such force is to be exerted in a constant manner for continuous and even volume delivery of the contrast medium. Early injection systems were designed for manual injection of the contrast medium by means of a hand-held glass syringe. A mechanical injection system activated by a foot switch has also been, and is still being used for most general radiographic procedures. However, this system was only rarely used for coronary angiography for the probable reason that operator control is greatly reduced and the risk of coronary artery dissection increased.
Power injectors in general have certain advantages over hand-operated injectors including the following. They reduce reliance on an assistant enabling the operator to be in complete control of the injection of the contrast medium, they can deliver a precise volume, and the pressure generated can be limited by presetting a pressure limit.
Power injectors are of three types: hydraulic, pneumatic and electric. Hydraulic injectors have an electric motor connected to a hydraulic pump, which drives a ram connected to a syringe that contains the contrast medium. In pneumatic injectors, the source of power is compressed gas supplied by a tank or compressor. Electric injectors are powered by electric motors in which a transmission means serves to change circular motion into linear motion which then drives a ram.
While typical power injectors eliminate the physical effort required with manual injectors, they are not easy to use, are expensive and the perception of instantaneous control present with manual injectors is lost because the syringe and controls for the injectors are not hand-held or not conveniently handleable during the injection process. For example, a gas power-injector hand-held syringe does eliminate the physical effort associated with manual injection and also provides a perceived instantaneous control of the injection, however, it requires a gas system to power the syringe, such as pressurized carbon dioxide gas. The gas delivery system includes a carbon dioxide gas tank with various indicators and controls, which reduces the portability of the device, it requires valuable space in the proximity of the injection, it adds to the complexity of using the device for the intended purpose and requires periodic replacement of the gas tank.
Battery powdered injectors are also available for use in angiography and urography employing a syringe for holding a contrast medium and a plunger connected to a mechanical means to automatically deliver the contrast medium. Some of these injectors include microprocessor technology for programming rates and time delivery and have visual or audio display for ease of controlling the injection process. As these injectors become more sophisticated, the cost of making and using them increases as well as the complexity of use tends to increase the opportunities for breakdown.
The present invention is directed to a hand-held, light-weight power injector which eliminates the physical effort required with manual injectors but otherwise allows the practitioner complete human control of the injection process.


A skeg device and system and the like, for mounting on snowboards or skis to improve performance, maneuverability, tracking and balance. Skegs are designed to easily mount on snowboards, and has blades for controlling the snowboard path in a variety of snow conditions from powder, to hard snow, to ice. Each skeg is comprised of a mounting plate for easily installing the skegs on a snowboard and a blade rotably mounted on a shaft that is spring loaded. The spring loaded rotatable shaft allows the blades to deflect when engaging a hard surface to constantly self-adjust to snow conditions. Depth adjustment is provided by a thumbscrew that adjusts the rotational position of the shaft and thus, the depth that the blade extends below the surface of the snowboard. By rotating the thumbscrew, a rider can dial in the tracking of the blade on each skeg individually.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved performance stabilizer for snowboards, and more particularly relates to skegs to improve the maneuverability, tracking and stability of snowboards, skis and the like.
2. Background Information
Snowboards have become increasingly popular in recent years. Their popularity is due to the fact that they are much easier to learn to use than skis, and are much more maneuverable.
In snowboarding, the rider stands on the board in bindings which allows the board to glide on the surface of the snow in either direction. That is, the snowboarder can be gliding over the snow, and then reverse the board 180.degree. front-to-back. Such maneuverability enhances the enjoyment of snowboarding.
However, in snowboarding, as with skis, some surfaces are better than others for controlling the direction and balance. Snowboards perform particularly well on a variety of surfaces; soft snow to hard snow, and even ice. However, the maneuverability, as with skis, is more difficult on hard snow and ice because it is more difficult to "track" with the edges of the board into the surface of the snow. It would be advantageous if some type of stabilizing and tracking improvement could be provided for snowboards.
It is therefore, one object of the present invention to provide stabilizing skegs for snowboards.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide spring loaded skegs for snowboards that constantly adjust to various snow conditions.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a skeg system for snowboards that feature a depth adjustment for the skeg blades.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a skeg system comprised of three skegs on each end of a snowboard that are easily installed with a pair of T-nuts for each skeg.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a skeg system that improves rider performance and stability when mounted on snowboards.


An improved tire/vehicle system for an automotive vehicle has two pneumatic front tires and two pneumatic rear tires. The rear tire treads and the front tire treads and are each divided circumferentially into first, second, and third zones. The edge between the second and third zone in each front tire is in the center of an aquachannel. The edge between each of the three zones in the rear tires are in the center of an aquachannel. Both the front and rear tires have a tread groove pattern that is asymmetric in character.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to tire/vehicle systems designed for four-wheeled automotive vehicles, and specifically for such systems wherein a portion of the rear tire tread tracks a front tire tread.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In automotive vehicles, proper traction between the tire and the road surface is necessary for effective operation of the vehicle. Under certain weather conditions, such as rain, the traction of the tire on the road surface can be impaired. For example, a vehicle traveling on a rain-soaked road surface at high speed can "hydroplane" and lose contact with the road surface altogether. For this reason, it is desirable that tires be able to channel water away from the footprint of the tire to ensure good traction between the tire and road surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,766 discloses a tire tread designed to provide good traction on slippery road surfaces.
A second problem is that four-wheeled vehicles are usually fitted with identical tires at all four wheel positions even though the operating conditions and performance requirements at each wheel may be different. For example, the functions necessarily performed by each tire, such as steering, load bearing, and transmitting driving torque from the engine to the road surface are usually different at each wheel position.
Some tire designers have sought to maximize vehicle performance by tuning each tire to its wheel position. German Patent 1,480,962 discloses a front and rear tire combination in which the compound in the front tire is different from that in the rear tire, the combination designed to improve treadwear. German Patent 2,536,470 discloses a front and rear tire combination in which the tread pattern on the front tire is varied slightly from the tread pattern on the rear tire to limit the noise generated by the combination. Japanese Patent 58-164360 discloses a front and rear tire combination in which the tread pattern of the front tire differs from that of the rear tire in order to maximize the cornering characteristics of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,616 discloses tire/vehicle system for an automotive vehicle. Whereas the use of such tires on dry pavement has met with immense success, there is still unacceptable traction on wet surfaces.


A fan includes a fan housing and an impeller. The fan housing includes a frame, a base disposed in the frame, a plurality of stationary blades disposed between the frame and the base, and a plurality of airflow-guiding elements extending inward from the frame and toward the base. The airflow-guiding elements and the stationary blades are alternately arranged. The impeller is disposed in the fan housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fan and a fan housing, and in particular relates to a fan and a fan housing provided with wing-shaped stationary blades and airflow-guiding elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional axial fan housing 1 includes a frame 10, a base 11 disposed in the frame 10, and a plurality of stationary blades 12 disposed between the frame 10 and the base 11. During rotation of the fan blades (not shown, mounted in the fan housing 1), turbulent flow is generated at the airflow outlet of the fan housing 1. Thus, the airflow produced by the fan blades fails to effectively dissipate heat from a heat source. Such a situation is more serious particularly when the fan blades operate under high back pressure, wherein turbulent flow is generated along the curved surface of the stationary blade 12 as shown in FIG. 2. In this situation, the fan blades may lose speed, the airflow may fail to effectively do work, and excessive noise is generated.

Fan and fan housing with airflow-guiding stationary blades


A power demand management apparatus comprising a power demand acquiring section acquiring a predicted power demand; a consumer house information holding section that, for each of a plurality of request methods or request conditions, and for each of a plurality of consumer houses, holds a sensitivity indicating a probability that the consumer house will comply with a request; a consumer house selecting section that, when the predicted power demand exceeds a target value, selects a first consumer house whose sensitivity for a first request method or request condition is no less than a first reference value and selects a second consumer house whose sensitivity for a second request method or request condition is no less than a second reference value; and a restriction requesting section that issues requests for power demand restriction to the first and second consumer houses respectively using the first and second request methods or request conditions.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power demand management apparatus and a power demand management system that manage power demand of a consumer house.
2. Related Art
Citation 1 describes a system that, when the power consumption in a certain geographical region exceeds a prescribed reference value, broadcasts a power conservation request to consumer houses in this region. Citation 2 discloses a system that, based on actual data concerning the compliance of each device in a consumer house with a request for power demand restriction, predicts whether each device in the consumer house will comply with such requests in the future.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-345177    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-142023
However, there are cases in which a company such as a specified power supplier uses a grid system of a general power supplier, and supplies power to consumer houses under contract from an owned or contracted power supply. Such companies predict the power demand during certain periods in the future, and purchase in advance power for these periods in order to fulfill the predicted power demands.
In recent years, in consideration of reducing carbon dioxide, for example, there are cases where it is undesirable to purchase in advance enough power to fulfill the predicted power demand and then provide this power to the consumer houses.
Therefore, the present invention provides a power demand management apparatus and a power demand management system that realize energy conservation.

Power demand management apparatus and power demand management system


A system for utilization with a logic controller comprises an interface component that receives a request to embed human-machine interface (HMI) logic into control logic. Thereafter, an embedder component executes the request and embeds the HMI logic into the control logic. In an example, the control logic can be ladder logic, and the logic controller can be a combined controller/HMI device.

Due to advances in computing technology, businesses today are able to operate more efficiently when compared to substantially similar businesses only a few years ago. For example, high speed data networks enable employees of a company to communicate instantaneously by email, quickly transfer data files to disparate employees, manipulate data files, share data relevant to a project to reduce duplications in work product, etc. Furthermore, advancements in technology have enabled factory applications to become partially or completely automated. For instance, activities that once required workers to put themselves proximate to heavy machinery and other various hazardous conditions can now be completed at a safe distance therefrom.
Further, imperfections associated with human action have been minimized through employment of highly precise machines. Many of these factory devices supply data related to manufacturing to databases (or web services referencing databases) that are accessible by system/process/project managers on a factory floor. For example, sensors and associated software can detect a number of instances that a particular machine has completed an operation given a defined amount of time. Further, data from sensors can be delivered to a processing unit related to system alarms. Thus, a factory automation system can review collected data and automatically and/or semi-automatically schedule maintenance of a device, replacement of a device, and other various procedures that relate to automating a process.
To quickly and easily effectuate control of a system or process within industrial automation environments, equipment manufacturers typically create specialized human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that are employed by operators to deliver commands to industrial systems/processes and/or receive data from industrial systems/processes. In other words, HMIs provide an essential communication link between operators and automation devices, wherein such HMIs enable operators to, among other things, implement and control devices and receive feedback by monitoring device status and health during operation. Without these interfaces, high-level industrial automation would be difficult if not impossible to achieve.
Over time, HMIs have undergone several and drastic changes. For instance, a push-button that commissions and de-commissions a machine is a simplest form of a HMI, and these interfaces have been existent for several years. Terminals were later designed that displayed text messages to end users, wherein such messages are indicative of a process performed by a server or processor associated with an automation device. For example, a failed device can generate an internal error code representing a determined error which can then be matched with a particular error message. This message can thereafter be displayed to an operator on a display device. Development of client-side processing has enabled graphical depictions of status and control commands to operators, which has shifted a burden from an automated device or associated processor to a client-side graphical user interface. These graphical user interfaces improve an ability of users to access information quickly and easily.
Today's HMIs typically include several devices, which can be push-buttons or other suitable devices, which can operate together to effectuate control over a process, indicate status of a process, and/or the like. Interfacing these devices with control process, however, is a complex and mistake-prone process. In more detail, HMIs are conventionally separated logically from controllers, such that interfacing an HMI and a logic controller requires use of a "tag database." In other words, to enable interaction between an HMI device and a logic controller, an intermediate tag or memory location is utilized, such that an HMI device reads and writes to the memory location and a controller responds to changes to data to such location. The HMI device has no concept or association of how data associated with the memory location is being employed, and the logic controller has no knowledge with respect to an interface or device generating data. Thus, a significant amount of time is required to define and test intermediate tags that act as holding places for communicating an interface associated with the device between such device and the controller. Furthermore, inefficiencies result, as the control logic must constantly monitor tag locations for alterations in data to ensure that an industrial process is being properly controlled.


Described herein are systems and methods for extending the dynamic range of assay methods and systems used for determining the concentration of analyte molecules or particles in a fluid sample. In some embodiments, a method comprises spatially segregating a plurality of analyte molecules in a fluid sample into a plurality of locations. At least a portion of the locations may be addressed to determine the percentage of said locations containing at least one analyte molecule. Based at least in part on the percentage, a measure of the concentration of analyte molecules in the fluid sample may be determined using an analog, intensity-based detection/analysis method/system and/or a digital detection/analysis method/system. In some cases, the assay may comprise the use of a plurality of capture objects.

Methods and systems that are able to quickly and accurately detect and, in certain cases, quantify a target analyte molecule in a sample are the cornerstones of modern analytical measurements. Such systems and methods are employed in many areas such as academic and industrial research, environmental assessment, food safety, medical diagnosis, and detection of chemical, biological, and radiological warfare agents. Advantageous features of such techniques may include specificity, speed, and sensitivity.
Many of the known methods and techniques are limited by the dynamic range of the concentrations the methods and techniques can detect accurately (e.g., limited dynamic range) and/or do not have the sensitivity to detect molecules or particles when they are present at very low concentration.
Accordingly, improved systems and methods for extending the dynamic range of analytical assays and systems used for determining a measure of the concentration of molecules or particles in a fluid sample are needed.

Methods and systems for extending dynamic range in assays for the detection of molecules or particles


An apparatus includes a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to hold values indicative of known relative positions of multiple position sensors of a position tracking system that are coupled to a medical device. The processor is configured to receive one or more signals indicative of estimated positions of the position sensors, as measured by the position tracking system, and to initiate a responsive action in response to detecting a discrepancy between the known relative positions and the estimated positions.

Various medical procedures involve inserting a tool into a cavity in the patient body. Techniques for tracking a medical device in a patient body are known in the art.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0065481, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,467,853 on Jun. 18, 2013, describes an image guided catheter navigation system for navigating a region of a patient. The catheter includes an imaging device, a tracking device, a controller, and a display. The imaging device generates images of the region of the patient. The tracking device tracks the location of the catheter in the region of the patient. The controller superimposes an icon representing the catheter onto the images generated from the imaging device based upon the location of the catheter. The display displays the image of the region with the catheter superimposed onto the image at the current location of the catheter.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0251814, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,536,859 on Sep. 17, 2013, describes a method for tracking a position of an object. The method includes using a field sensor associated with the object to measure field strengths of magnetic fields generated by two or more field generators, in which a measurement of at least one of the field strengths is subject to a distortion.


A microphone includes a capsule module including a carrier, a primary transducer unit and a secondary transducer unit. The carrier includes a hollow part mounted to a handle unit, and first and second carrier parts extending oppositely from the hollow part. The primary transducer unit is mounted to the first carrier part, and converts sound waves and vibration into a primary electrical signal a first secondary electrical signal, respectively. The secondary transducer unit is mounted to the second carrier part, and converts the vibration into a second secondary electrical signal for counteracting the first secondary electrical signal. The secondary transducer unit includes a diaphragm disposed within an airtight space.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional microphone 9 capable of passively counteracting noise attributed to undesired vibration. The conventional microphone 9 includes a handle unit 91 defining an accommodating space 910 therein, a capsule module 92 disposed in the accommodating space 910, a windscreen 93 connected to a top end of the handle unit 91 and covering the capsule module 92, a damping unit 94 disposed in the accommodating space 910, and a terminal 95 disposed at a bottom end of the handle unit 91.
The capsule module 92 includes a transducer 921, a carrier 922 sustaining the transducer 921, and a wiring board 923. The transducer 921 is a conventional dynamic microphone capsule, and is configured for converting sound waves into an electrical signal. The wiring board 923 of the capsule module 92 is disposed at a bottom surface of the carrier 922, and is electrically connected to the transducer 921 and the terminal 95 for transmitting the electrical signal from the transducer 921 to the terminal 95. The damping unit 94 includes a connecting part 941 and two damping parts 942. The connecting part 941 of the damping unit 94 is mounted to the handle unit 91, and is proximate to the top end of the handle unit 91. Each of the damping parts 942 of the damping unit 94 is connected between a respective one of two opposite ends of the connecting part 941 and the carrier 922 of the capsule module 92.
The carrier 922 of the capsule module 92 of the conventional microphone 9 is glued directly to the damping parts 942 of the damping unit 94. When a user uses the conventional microphone 9, the user may inevitably rub his hand against the handle unit 91, turn and shake the handle unit 91, and operate a switch of the convention microphone 9. Those movements will cause a vibration on the handle unit 91. The wave of the vibration will propagate through the handle unit 91 and sequentially to the connecting part 941 and the damping parts 942 of the damping unit 94. Subsequently, the vibration is absorbed by the damping parts 942, and the amplitude of the wave of vibration is decreased. However, the vibration from the handle unit 91 cannot be entirely absorbed by the damping parts 942, and thus, a remaining part of the wave of the vibration is still propagated to the transducer 921 and is converted into an undesired noise signal. Moreover, when the amplitude of the vibration on the handle unit 91 is considerably large, the noise signal may be significant since the damping parts 942 can only absorb a certain amount of energy of the vibration.

Microphone capable of actively counteracting noise attributed to undesired vibration


A palladium-boron composition and methods of making and using same are provided. In one aspect, the invention comprises an alloy comprising palladium and boron, the boron being in solid solution in the palladium and the alloy having a two-phase structure, wherein each phase of the two-phase structure has the same crystal structure as the other phase and has a different set of lattice parameters from the other phase such that the palladium is greatly hardened by the presence of the smaller phase crystals within the spaces between the larger phase crystals. The composition is carefully prepared by a process wherein palladium and an amount of boron sufficient to place the boron in solid solution, but insufficient to combine with the palladium, are placed together and repeatedly are melted, cooled and turned over until sufficiently mixed. The hardened composition can be used to create thinner membranes for hydrogen purification and improved electrodes for generation of heat energy, and other electrochemical processes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to processes for the production of a high-strength alloy that may be used as a gas purification membrane, as an electrode for numerous applications including the generation of heat energy or other electrochemical processes, and more particularly to the preparation and use of two-phase palladium-boron alloys which have greater strength and hardness than other palladium metals or alloys and which thus can be advantageously utilized in a variety of applications including hydrogen purification membranes or electrodes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With increased use of electrical processes and hardware, processes utilizing the excellent reliability and conductivity of palladium, an extremely valuable but expensive metal, have become of increasing importance, particularly when used as an electrode. However, it has long been known that the hardness of palladium is often less than optimal for many of these processes. Accordingly, there has been a distinct need in this field to develop palladium alloy electrodes that are harder and more resilient than pure palladium while still offering the superior electrical characteristics of pure palladium.
In addition, interest has increased in the quick and efficient production of hydrogen, which has, because of its many industrial and scientific applications, assumed greater importance. Hydrogen is typically purified from surrounding gas by using a membrane permeable to hydrogen, but not to the other gases. In this process, the hydrogen passes through the membrane and is collected on the other side. With respect to hydrogen production, there is much interest in methods of increasing the hardness and durability of these membranes which are again typically composed of palladium. One proposed solution to overcoming the hardness problem would be to harden the palladium metal without affecting its hydrogen purification characteristics, which would allow for thinner membranes than those of pure palladium. This would allow either the same amount of hydrogen to be purified at a great cost savings, or a larger amount of hydrogen could be purified for the same cost. However, suitable methods for developing palladium or palladium alloys with sufficient hardness have not yet been achieved.
Further, the demand for energy increases each year while the world's natural energy sources such as fossil fuels are finite and are being used up. Accordingly, the development of alternative energy sources is very important and a number of potential new energy sources are under study. Although there have been many attempts to develop a palladium compound which can be utilized in processes to generate heat, such as through the introduction of aqueous deuterium, none of these attempts have been successful or repeatable, and there is thus a distinct need to develop palladium alloys which can be utilized for the generation of heat as a potential energy source.
Previously, it has been known to prepare single-phase alloys made of palladium and other minor elements. For example, the prior art includes various palladium alloys which include boron, such as Weber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,556 (a boron-containing surface layer), Hough et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,846 (an electroless boron/palladium plating material), Smith Jr. et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,577 (a brazing alloy containing boron, palladium and other metals) and Prosen U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,561 (an alloy for porcelain applications containing boron, palladium and other metals).
However, what is lacking in the prior art is a pure boron/palladium composition of sufficient strength to be used as a reactive structure rather than a coating material, and which may be used in thin hydrogen purification membranes or as an electrode in a heat-generating process. There thus remains a distinct need to develop palladium alloys which can be utilized advantageously in a variety of applications where pure palladium is unsuitable either because of the expense or insufficient hardness.

Palladium-boron alloys and methods for making and using such alloys

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A positive displacement pump includes a reservoir for storing fluid, a cylinder for receiving and discharging the fluid and a piston within the cylinder for forcing the fluid into and out of the cylinder. The pump further includes a four-way valve having an inlet port connected to a reservoir, a pair of bidirectional ports connected to the opposite ends of the cylinder and an outlet port. Mechanisms are provided for receiving a user flow waveform expressed in terms of predetermined flow rate as a function of time and in response moving the piston and configuring the four-way valve to provide fluid flow from the reservoir through the valve and into one of the opposite ends of the cylinder, and from the other one of the opposite ends of the cylinder through the valve to the outlet port in accordance with the user flow waveform.

The ability to reproduce realistic arterial flow waveforms in vitro is essential in the study of vascular haemodynamics. Simulated pulsatile flow has been used extensively in previous investigation of flow in arterial models with bifurcations and stenoses. Many different techniques have been used to measure flow in these models, including (1) laser Doppler anemometry (Ku, D. N, and Giddens, D. P. (1987): Laser Doppler Anemometer Measurements of Pulsatile Flow in a Model Carotid Bifurcation J. Biomechanics, 20, 407-421), (2) Doppler ultrasound (Cho, Y. I., Back, L. H., Crawford, D. W., Cuffel, R. F. (1983): Experimental Study of Pulsatile and Steady Flow Through a Smooth Tube and an Athersclerotic Coronary Artery Casting of Man, J. Biomechanics, 16, 933-946.); and (Fei D. Y., Billian, C., Rittgers, S. E. (1988): Flow Dynamics in a Stenosed Carotid Bifurcation Model-Part 1: Basic Velocity Measurements, Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., 14, 21-31), (3) magnetic resonance (Evans, A. J., Hedlund, L. W., Herfkens, R. J., Utz, J. A., Fram, E. K., (1987): Evaluation of Steady and Pulsatile Flow with Dynamic MRI Using Limited Flip Angles and Gradient Refocused Echoes, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 5, 475-482); and (4) digital radiography (Cunningham, I. A., Yamada, S., Hobbs, B. B., Fenster A., (1989): Arterial Flow Characterization with a Photodiode Array Based Imaging System. Med. Phys., 16, 179-187).
Physiological pulsatile flow waveforms are also required to investigate the role of pulsatility in tissue perfusion (Tranmer, B. I., Gross, C. E., Kindt, G. W., Adey, G. R., (1986): Pulsatile Versus Nonpulatile Cardiovascular Studies, Med. & Biol. Eng. & Comput., 22, 86-89).
Finally, the ability to mimic arterial flow is essential for quality assurance and calibration of all clinical techniques of blood flow measurement, such as Doppler ultrasound (McDicken, W. N. (1986): A Versatile Test-object for the Calibration of Ultrasonic Doppler Flow Instruments, Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., 26, 245-249); and Shortland, A. P., Cochrane, T., (1989): Doppler Spectral Waveform Generation in vitro: An Aid to Diagnosis of Vascular Disease, Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., 15, 737-748).
Most of the prior art techniques for the investigation of time-varying flow require gated acquisition of many cardiac cycles, so cycle-to-cycle variability in the flow waveform must be small. Longterm stability is equally important for quality assurance applications where the flow source may be used for absolute calibration of clinical instruments. Therefore, a blood flow simulator must be capable of producing a wide range of flow rates in order to simulate flow in the peripheral vasculature, where peak flow rates of 30 ml s.sup.-1 have been reported (Marquis, C., Meister, J.-J., Mooser, E., and Misoman, R., (1986): Quantitative Pulsed Doppler Measurement of Common Femoral Artery Blood Flow Variable during Postocclusive Reactive Hyperemia, J. Clin. Ultrasound, 14, 165-170). It must be easily programmed to produce a variety of pulsatile waveforms, including waveforms with flow reversal. The simulator must be capable of producing continuous steady flow, which is required as the basis for many experimental investigations and calibration procedures. It is essential that a pumping mechanism not produce gas bubbles or cavitation, since bubbles change the hydrodynamic properties of the fluid, and their presence will produce measurement artifacts, particularly with ultrasound instrumentation. Finally, a device to stimulate physiological flow should operate as an ideal flow source, capable of generating sufficient pressure to be unaffected by changes in the peripheral resistance of the model vascular system under investigation.
Many different pumps have been proposed to meet these requirements, and Law, Y. F., Cobbold, R. S. C., Johnson, K. W., Bascom, P. A. J., (1987): Computer-controlled Pulsatile Pump System for Physiological Flow Simulation. Med. & Biol. Eng. & Comput., 25, 590-595 provides a thorough review of previous work. Briefly, prior art devices can be categorised according to their basic pump type; gear, peristaltic or piston.
Gear pumps have been used (Issartier, P., Sioffi, M., Pelissier, R., (1978): Simulation of Blood Flow by a Hydrodynamic Generator, Med. Prog. Technol., 6, 39-40) to generate pulsatile waveforms. However, the drawbacks of this approach include damage to suspended particles and sensitivity to cavitation due to the action of the gears.
Modified peristaltic pumps have been used (Douville, Y. Johnston, K. W., Kassam, M., Zuech, P., Cobbold, R. S. C., Jares, A., (1983): An in vitro Model and its Application for the Study of Carotid Doppler Spectral Broadening, Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., 14, 21-31; Law, Y. F., Cobbold, R. S. C., Johnson, K. W., Bascom, P. A. J., (1987): Computer-Controlled Pulsatile Pump System for Physiological Flow Simulation, Med. & Biol. Eng. & Comput., 25, 590-595) to simulate physiological flow waveforms by mechanical manipulation of the backplate or computer-control of the roller. This approach allows the production of only a limited subset of waveforms and is not well suited to the production of steady flow. It is also difficult to program new waveforms, or produce reverse flow with this technique.
Cam-driven piston pumps have been used (Kiyose T. A., Kusaba, M., Inokuchi, Y., Takamatsu, U., (1977): Development of a Pump System for Experimental Model Simulation of Blood Flow in Peripheral Artery, Fucuota Acta Med., 68, 86-91; Appugliese R., Jares, A., Kassam, M., Johnston K. W., Cobbold, R. S. C., Hummel, R. L., Arato, P. (1980): Pulsatile Visualization for in-vitro Haemodynamic Studies Related to Doppler Ultrasound, Dig. 8th Can. Biol. Eng.. conf., 3-4; and Poots, K., Cobbold, R. S. C., Johnston, K. W., Appugliese, R., Kassam, M., Zuech, P. E., Hummel, R. L., (1986): A New Pulsatile Flow Visualization Method Using a Photochromic Dye Application to Doppler Ultrasound, Ann. Biodmed. Eng., 14, 203-218) to simulate peripheral arterial flow. This class of pumps share the general disadvantages of difficulty in programming new waveforms and difficulty in producing steady flow.
All of the flow simulators described above have one other significant disadvantage, namely that some form of flow monitoring must be performed to provide feedback and to determine the output waveform.
A variation of flow simulator reported by Werneck, N. M., Jones, N. B., Morgon, J., (1984): Flexible Hydraulic Simulator for Cardiovascular Studies, Med & Biol. Eng. & Comput., 22, 86-89, makes use of a servomotor driven piston pump which acts as an ideal flow source. This approach overcomes many of the limitations of previous designs, but is not well suited to the production of uninterrupted constant flow.

Computer controlled positive displacement pump for physiological flow simulation

University Hospital (London) Development Corporation


A measurement system of a device under test (DUT) includes a reference clock synthesizer configured to generate a master reference clock signal, a transmitter unit connected to the reference clock synthesizer and configured to connect to the DUT, and a measurement control system connected to the transmitter unit and configured to control the transmitter unit to generate a test signal pattern based on a first reference clock signal derived from the master reference clock signal, and generate a signal for passing through the DUT based on the test signal pattern. A receiver unit connected to the reference clock synthesizer is configured to connect to the DUT and to detect the signal and generate a digital signal based on the signal and a second reference clock signal derived from the master reference clock signal. The measurement control system is configured to provide an output signal based on the digital signal.

As the speed of transmission keeps increasing, it is important to characterize passive communications channels such as a cable to ensure that the distortion caused to the signal due to the channel transmission parameters is within acceptable limit. Typically, bit error ratio (BER) measurement or eye-diagram measurement is used for this assessment. However, BER measurement is time-consuming, whereas eye-diagram measurement can be intuitive and fast, and so it is a widely adopted measurement method. Currently available test setups for eye-diagram measurement employ a plurality of measurement equipment connected for performing the eye-diagram measurement.

System and method for temporal signal measurement of device under test (DUT) and method of forming system


The present invention relates to vulcanizing agent containing metal alkanedithiols for unsaturated rubbers.

Sulphur continues to be the most commonly used vulcanizing agent for unsaturated rubbers, e.g. natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), butadiene rubber (BR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). From about 0.25 to 5.0 parts by weight of sulphur, based on 100 parts by weight of rubber, are used in the production of soft rubber. The amount of sulphur effectively used depends on the selected amount of vulcanization accelerator, and this is ultimately determined via the vulcanizate properties desired.
Vulcanization systems very frequently used are the conventional vulcanization system and the semi-efficient vulcanization system. The conventional vulcanization system has high sulphur content and low content of vulcanization accelerator, whereas the semi-efficient vulcanization system has a moderate proportion of sulphur and of vulcanization accelerator. The typical proportions are known to the person skilled in the art. By way of example, they are described in W. Hofmann, Kautschuk-Technologie [Rubber Technology], Genter Verlag, Stuttgart, 1980, p. 64 and 254-255. Conventional vulcanization systems give vulcanizates with good resistance to dynamic load, but these are very susceptible to ageing and reversion. Semi-efficient vulcanization systems usually give vulcanizates which have less resistance to dynamic load but are somewhat more resistant to ageing and reversion.
Reversion is a network-bridging-rearrangement process which takes place on heating in the absence of oxygen, causing impairment of service properties of the vulcanizate and therefore being undesirable (anaerobic ageing). Reversion inevitably takes place in one instance during the vulcanization of very thick and voluminous components, e.g. truck tyres and fenders. Physical explanation of this is simple: when the inner parts of the rubber mixture have been vulcanized to exactly the right extent via the heat flux introduced by way of the hot vulcanization mould, those parts of the rubber mixture that are immediately adjacent to the hot vulcanization mould have naturally by this stage been over-vulcanized. Secondly, heat build-up occurs in the rubber component during its use when there is prolonged, intensive dynamic load due to hysteresis deficiencies (in tyre flexing), the result of this being vulcanizate reversion. The extent of reversion can even be sufficient to cause breakdown of the vulcanizate.
In recent years, some specialized reversion stabilizers have been disclosed, and these either minimize reversion via incorporation of network bridges which are thermally stable and practically incapable of reversion (cf. EP 530 590), or replace the fractured conventional sites in the network by other more stable sites after reversion has occurred (cf. R. N. Datta and W. F. Helt, Rubber World, August 1997, p. 24 seq).
Examples of specialized reversion stabilizers available commercially are the disodium salt of hexamethylene 1,6-dithiosulphate dihydrate and 1,3-bis(citraconimidomethyl)benzene.
A general disadvantage of these commercially available specialized reversion stabilizers is their relatively high price, partly the result of starting materials available only in limited quantities, and also of the difficult and complicated preparation of these products, therefore preventing any broad use in the rubber-processing industry, which is subject to constant pressure for cost reduction, and especially in the tyre industry. One specific disadvantage of the disodium salt of hexamethylene 1,6-dithiosulphate dihydrate is its inconvenient supply form. Because it has the character of a salt, it has to be very finely ground to permit good incorporation by mixing, but the result of this is that the powder has to be oil-coated for reasons of health and safety at work, to suppress dusting.
One specific disadvantage of 1,3-bis(citraconimidomethyl)benzene is that within the vulcanizate it can become active only when reversion has already begun in the sulphur-crosslinked unsaturated rubber, and when, therefore, conjugated olefins have formed, which themselves can undergo a post-crosslinking reaction with the citraconic derivative (via a Diels-Alder reaction) to give a new network, but a network of a different type.
A disadvantage of the vulcanizing agents of EP 530 590 is that their molecular weight is high when compared with the actual species active in crosslinking.
The preparation of α,ω-alkanedithiols derivatized by zinc, by cadmium, by indium, by thallium, by copper or by silver has long been known. For example, H. E. Mabrouk et al. (Inorganica Chimica Acta, 145 (1988), 237-241) describes the direct electrochemical synthesis from zinc or cadmium to give the corresponding derivatives. There is no description of use of a crosslinking agent for unsaturated diene rubbers.
EP 0 383 150 describes the use of cobalt hexanyidithiol or of nickel hexanyldithiol as an adhesion promoter for adhesive mixtures based on unsaturated rubbers. These mixtures are usually crosslinked by adding large amounts of sulphur, and the adhesion promoter is intended to improve adhesion between the sulphur-crosslinked rubber matrix and the reinforcing material (brass-plated steel cord). There is no description of any use as crosslinking agent.
Wide-scale production of vulcanizates from unsaturated rubbers usually uses only sulphur and accelerators as vulcanizing agents, i.e. uses no agents which prevent or reduce reversion. However, rubber vulcanizates produced conventionally, using conventional and semi-efficient vulcanization systems, have unsatisfactory properties. There is therefore a need for a vulcanizing agent for unsaturated rubbers which is largely based on components which are readily available in large quantities at low cost, can partially or completely replace exudation-susceptible crystalline sulphur, and which gives vulcanizates with improved resistance to reversion, in particular after overheating.

Use of metal alkanedithiols as crosslinking agents for unsaturated rubbers