A method of grinding a ferrous roll may include: rotating a grinding wheel on a machine spindle to form a rotating grinding wheel; rotating a ferrous roll to form a rotating roll surface; bringing the rotating grinding wheel into contact with the rotating roll surface; traversing the rotating grinding wheel across an axial roll length of the rotating roll surface; and grinding the roll surface while varying at least one or both of a grinding wheel rotational speed and a said mill roll rotational speed at an amplitude of +/−1 to 40% with a period of 1 to 30 seconds.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a grinding wheel for use in ferrous roll grinding applications and a method to regrind rolls to desired geometrical quality. The disclosure also relates to grinding wheels comprising cubic boron nitride as the primary abrasive in a bond system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rolling is a forming process used to produce strips, plates, or sheets of varying thickness in industries such as the steel, aluminum, copper and paper industries. Rolls are made to varying shapes (profiles) with specific geometric tolerances and surface integrity specifications to meet the needs of the rolling application. Rolls are typically made out of iron, steel, cemented carbide, granite, or composites thereof. In rolling operations, the rolls undergo considerable wear and changes in surface quality and thus require periodic re-shaping by machining or grinding, i.e., "roll grinding", to bring the roll back to the required geometric tolerances while leaving the surface free of feed lines, chatter marks and surface irregularities such as scratch marks and/or thermal degradation of the roll surface. The rolls are ground with a grinding wheel traversing the roll surface back and forth on a dedicated roll grinding machine (off-line) or as installed in a strip rolling mill with a roll grinding apparatus (on-line) attached to the roll stand in a mill.
The challenge with both of these methods is to restore the roll to its correct profile geometry with minimum stock removal and without visible feed marks, visible chatter marks or surface irregularities. Feed lines or feed marks are imprints of the wheel leading edge on the roll surface corresponding to the distance the wheel advances per revolution of the roll. Chatter marks correspond to wheel-work contact lines that occur periodically on the circumference of the roll either due to wheel run out error or due to vibrations that arise from multiple sources in the grinding system such as grinding wheel imbalance, spindle bearings, machine structure, machine feed axes, motor drives, hydraulic and electrical impulses. Both feed marks and chatter marks are undesirable in the roll, as they affect the durability of the roll in service and produce an undesirable surface quality in the finished product. Surface irregularities in the roll are associated with either a scratch mark and/or thermal degradation of the working surface of the roll following grinding. Scratch marks are caused by either loose abrasive particles released from the wheel or grinding swarf material scratching the roll surface in a random manner. A visual inspection of the roll is normally used depending on the application to accept or reject the roll for scratch marks. Thermal degradation of the roll surface is caused by excessive heat in the grinding process resulting in a change in the microstructure of the roll material at or near the ground surface and/or sometimes resulting in cracks in the roll. Eddy current and ultrasonic inspection methods are employed to detect thermal degradation in the rolls following grinding.
Typically for an off-line roll grinding method, a grinding machine is equipped such that the grinding wheel rotational axis is parallel to the work roll rotational axis and the rotating wheel in contact with the rotating roll surface is traversed along the axis of the roll back and forth to produce the desired geometry. Roll grinding machines are commercially available from a number of vendors that supply equipment to the roll grinding industry including Pomini (Milan, Italy), Waldrich Siegen (Germany), Herkules (Germany), and others. The grinding wheel shape used in off-line roll grinding is typically a Type 1 wheel, wherein the outer diameter face of the wheel performs grinding.
It is common practice in the roll grinding industry to grind iron and steel roll materials with grinding wheels comprising conventional abrasives such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or mixtures thereof, along with fillers and secondary abrasives in an organic bonded resin wheel system, e.g., a shellac type resin or a phenolic resin matrix. It is also known in the industry to use diamond as the primary abrasive in a grinding wheel made with a phenolic resin bonded matrix to grind roll materials made of cemented carbide, granite or non-ferrous roll materials. Inorganic bonded or vitrified or ceramic bonded abrasive wheels have not been successful in roll grinding applications compared to organic resin bonded wheels, because the former has a low impact resistance and low chatter resistance compared to the latter. The organic resin bonded wheels are known to work better in roll grinding applications because of their low E-modulus (1 GPa-12 GPa) compared to inorganic vitrified bond wheels, which have a higher E-modulus (18 GPa-200 GPa). Another problem associated with the vitrified bonded conventional wheel system is that its brittle nature causes the wheel edge to break down during the grinding process, resulting in scratch marks and surface irregularities in the work roll.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 20030194954A1 discloses roll grinding wheels consisting essentially of conventional abrasives such as aluminum oxide abrasive or silicon carbide abrasive and mixture thereof, agglomerated with selected binder and filler materials in a phenolic resin bond system to give improved grinding wheel life over a shellac resin bond system. In the examples, a cumulative grinding ratio G of 2.093 after grinding 19 rolls is demonstrated, representing an improvement of 2-3 times the G observed for shellac resin bonded wheels. The grinding ratio G represents the ratio of volume of roll material removed to the volume of wheel worn. The higher the value of G, the longer the wheel life. However, even with these improved grinding wheels the rate of grinding wheel wear is still quite large in grinding steel rolls, that continuous radial wheel wear compensation (WWC) is employed during the grind cycle to meet geometrical taper tolerances (TT) in the roll. In the art, taper tolerance TT corresponds to the allowable size variation in the roll from one end of the roll to the other end. WWC is done by continually moving the grinding wheel feed axis into the roll surface as a function of the axial traverse of the wheel. The requirement of WWC in roll grinding dictates the need for sophisticated machine controls as well as added complexity to the grinding cycle.
There is a second disadvantage with the grinding wheels employing conventional abrasives of the prior art. The wheels undergo rapid wheel wear during the roll grinding process, requiring multiple corrective grinding passes to generate both a roll profile and taper within the desired tolerance, which is typically less than 0.025 mm. These additional grinding passes result in the removal of expensive roll material, leading to a reduction in the useful work roll life. Typically in the prior art, the ratio TT/WWC ranges from 0.5 to 5 (where TT and WWC are expressed in consistent units) to meet roll specifications with conventional abrasives. A higher ratio of TT to WWC is particularly desirable to maximize the useful roll life and grinding wheel life, and thus improve the efficiency of the roll grinding process.
The third disadvantage of corrective grinding passes is increased cycle time, thus reducing the productivity of the process. Loss of productive time also occurs due to frequent wheel changes that result from accelerated wear of the organic resin bonded wheels. Yet a fourth disadvantage faced with conventional abrasive wheels is that the useful wheel diameter typically decreases from 36-24 inches (914-610 mm) over the life of the wheel, the compensation for which can result in a large cantilever action of the grinding spindle head. The continuous increase in cantilever action results in continually changing stiffness of the grinding system, causing inconsistencies in the roll grinding process.
A number of other prior art references, i.e., European patent documents EP03444610 and EPO573035 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,569,060 and 6,220,949, disclose an on-line roll grinding method, Japanese patent document JP06226606A discloses an off-line roll grinding apparatus and operation, wherein a planar disk face wheel (a cup face wheel) Type-6A2 is used to grind the roll. The grinding wheel axis in this type of grinding system is perpendicular to work roll axis, such that the axial side face (working face) of the wheel is pressed with a constant force in frictional sliding contact with the outer circumferential roll surface. In this design, the wheel spindle axis is tilted slightly so that contact with the work roll surface occurs on the leading face of the wheel. The grinding wheel in this method is either passively driven with the aid of torque of the work roll, or positively driven by a grinding spindle motor.
In another prior art reference, European patent document EP0344610 discloses a cup face wheel used in on-line roll grinding having two abrasive annular ring members integrally bonded, wherein the wheels comprise aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, CBN or diamond abrasives in two different bonding systems such as organic or inorganic bond system for each abrasive member respectively. The vitrified bonded abrasive layer (having higher E-modulus 19.7-69 GPa) is the inner ring member; and the outer ring member is made with an organic resin bonded system (lower E-modulus 1-9.8 GPa) to avoid chipping and cracking of the wheel. As the rates of grinding wheel wear are not the same for the two members of different bonding systems, profile errors, chatter, and scratch marks may frequently be experienced in grinding the roll.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,569,060 and 6,220,949 disclose a cup face phenolic resin bonded CBN wheel with different flexible wheel body design to absorb the vibrations induced in the rolling mill stands while grinding the work roll. With a flexible wheel body design herein, the contact force between the wheel face and roll surface is typically controlled at a constant magnitude (between 30-50 kgf/mm width of the grinding wheel face) during the grinding process to achieve uniform contact along the working wheel face.
This type of flexible wheel design is also applied in the off-line grinding method disclosed in Japanese patent publication JP06226606A. Grinding with a constant wheel flexure or a constant wheel load with a cup face grinding wheel means that the material removal rate depends on the sharpness of the wheel and the type of roll material that is being ground. Since the wear on the work roll in the mill operation is not always uniform, it can be very challenging when the work roll wear is large (in excess of 0.010 mm) as non-uniform contact between the cup wheel face and the roll surface develops. This results in uneven wheel wear, affecting the cutting ability or the sharpness of the wheel along its working face, causing uneven stock removal in the work roll along its axial length and resulting in profile errors and chatter in the process.
A stable grinding process with a cup face CBN grinding wheel is then possible by frequently grinding the rolls and correcting the surface irregularities before a large wear amount develops on the roll. With this approach, it is conceivable that the ratio TT/WWC can be increased beyond 10 compared to the conventional abrasive Type 1 wheel that is used in the off-line grinding method. A limiting factor of the cup face wheel design, however, is that it can present considerable challenge and difficulty in keeping the ratio TT/WWC greater than 10 when grinding rolls of various shapes such as a convex crown, concave crown or a continuous numerical profile along the axis of the roll.
The off-line and on-line roll grinding methods offer two different approaches to resurface the work rolls and back up rolls with their different kinematic arrangements and grinding process strategies. The grinding article used in the off-line method is used to grind a single work roll material specification, or more often multiple work roll material specifications such as iron, high speed steel-HSS, high chromium alloy steel, etc., during the useful life of the wheel. On the other hand, the on-line wheel grinds only a single work roll material specification that is used in that stand over the life of the wheel. Therefore, grinding wheel article specifications and wheel manufacturing methods used for making a cup face planar disk wheel (Type 6A2) design cannot be translated to making a Type 1 grinding wheel as their application methods are significantly different.
As mentioned earlier, grinding without chatter marks and feed marks are extremely important in grinding mill rolls. Japanese Patent No. JP11077532 discloses a device to grind rolls without chatter. In this device, vibration sensors mounted on the grinding spindle head and the roll stand continuously monitor the vibration level during the grinding process and adjust the grinding wheel and roll rotational speeds such that it does not exceed a threshold chatter vibration level. This method, however, requires that the speed ratio between the revolution speed of the grinding wheel and the revolution speed of the roll be kept constant, which adds complexity in grinding a good quality roll.
There is a need for an improved and simplified roll grinding method to grind the work rolls of various profile shapes and ferrous material specifications with a single wheel specification such that the ratio TT/WWC is greater than 10. Maximizing TT/WWC ensures significant cost savings in expensive roll materials. There is also a need for a grinding wheel having improved grinding wheel life to improve roll quality, thereby reducing the total consumable cost in the roll shop and in the strip mill.
The disclosure contained herein describes attempts to address one or more of the problems described above.

Grinding wheel for roll grinding and method of roll grinding


A control circuit to stop an integrated circuit internal clock includes a signal distribution trace connected to a clock stop pipeline. The signal distribution trace creates a large phase delay signal for a first integrated circuit internal clock cycle which activates the clock stop pipeline, and a small phase delay signal for a final integrated circuit internal clock cycle that deactivates the clock stop pipeline. The clock stop pipeline includes a first circuit component to generate an intermediate stop instruction in response to a clock stop command and the large phase delay signal of the first integrated circuit internal clock cycle. The intermediate stop instruction proceeds through the clock stop pipeline in response to clock cycles following the first clock cycle. The clock stop pipeline includes a final circuit component to produce a final stop instruction when the intermediate stop instruction and the small phase delay signal of the final integrated circuit internal clock cycle are received at the final circuit component. The final stop instruction is used to lock the integrated circuit internal clock in a single digital state.

It is difficult to test very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. Nevertheless, it is essential to verify that such circuits function properly. The internal clock is one of the most important components of any synchronous VLSI circuit. A fully controllable integrated circuit internal clock is very important when debugging a VLSI circuit. By manipulating the internal clock in different ways, the circuit can be controlled to run in different modes and at different speeds during debug operations. These modes can be used either on a tester or in a system environment. Critical information about the state of the integrated circuit is obtained from clock manipulation of this type.
Integrated circuit internal clocks are commonly operated in accordance with a boundary scan test method. In the boundary scan test method, test data is serially loaded into locations within the integrated circuit and then the integrated circuit executes logical operations on the serially loaded data. The resultant output data is then verified for accuracy. The most prevalent boundary scan test method is described in "IEEE Standard Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture", IEEE STD 1149.1-1990 (referred to herein as IEEE 1149).
In IEEE 1149, it is specified that the clock must be capable of being stopped indefinitely in a selected state, without causing any change to the state of the test logic. The clock is stopped, for example, when a test system needs to fetch data from backup memory.
As VLSI circuits grow in size and increase in speed, the length of the signal distribution network that a clock signal must traverse also grows. In some cases, a clock signal phase displacement of over one-half cycle can exist between the input node and the output node of the signal distribution network. In such a case, it is difficult to coordinate a stop clock command with a clock signal. If such coordination cannot be insured, then the clock signal cannot be deterministicly stopped at a selected signal transition. As a result, it is difficult to capture certain error states in an integrated circuit. Thus, debugging operations are compromised.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide a control circuit to deterministicly stop an integrated circuit internal clock. More particularly, it would be highly desirable to provide such a control circuit for integrated circuits with signal distribution networks with a clock signal phase displacement of over one-half cycle.

Control circuit for deterministic stopping of an integrated circuit internal clock


This invention relates to a method and plant for energy-efficient removal of CO2 from a gas phase by means of absorption. The invention is particularly suitable for use in connection with thermal power plants fired by fossil fuels, and is also well-suited for retrofitting in existing thermal power plants. A processing plant according to the invention comprises three sections: a primary CO2-generating process that serves as main product supplier; a CO2-capture and separation plant based on absorption and desorption of CO2 respectively by/from at least one absorbent; and a second CO2-generating process where combustion of carbonaceous fuel in pure oxygen atmosphere serves as energy supply to at least a part of the thermal energy necessary to drive the regeneration of the absorbent in the desorption column(s).

For almost 100 years fossil fuels have been man's most important energy source. At the present time fossil fuels cover approximately ⅘ of the world's energy consumption, and there is hardly any sector of society in the industrialised countries today that is not dependent on fossil fuels as energy carrier including the energy sector where the electricity supply in many countries is largely based on thermal power plants fuelled by coal, oil or natural gas.
Fossil fuels are remains of ancient biological material which has been converted to pure carbon structures and/or hydrocarbons in certain types of geological formations. Due to the fact that it is recovered from geological deposits, carbon from fossil sources is added to the present day global organic carbon cycle, disturbing its state of equilibrium. When fossil fuels are combusted, CO2 is created, and water vapour if it is a hydrocarbon. At present, man's use of fossil fuels results in the release of approximately 25 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. The result is that CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere and in the sea, in addition to which a great deal of CO2 is bound up as biomass. About half of the carbon from fossil sources is accumulated in the atmosphere, with the result that from 1850 until today the atmosphere's CO2 content has increased from about 280 to about 370 ppm.
CO2 is one of several greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, i.e. gases which have the capacity to absorb the heat radiation from the earth's surface, thereby checking the heat loss from the earth out into space. This is a welcome effect since the total greenhouse effect today raises the temperature of the earth atmosphere in the troposphere by about 30° C., resulting in a comfortable global mean temperature of around 15° C. In recent times, however, increasing concern has been expressed that if the greenhouse gas continues to increase in the atmosphere at the same rate as today for the next decades, it could severely disturb the earth's heat balance with potentially dangerous consequences as a result of extensive glacier melting, altered precipitation patterns, increased incidents of extreme weather, etc. This concern is based on work carried out and discoveries from climate research in recent years, and has resulted in many scientific communities beginning to issue warnings that it may be dangerous for coming generations if we who are alive today continue to steadily release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This message is now in the process of finding a footing in political opinion in many countries, and increased requirements for reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases are expected in the near future.
After almost 100 years of development of infrastructure based on fossil fuels as energy carrier, it is impossible in practice and economically impossible to scrap this infrastructure in the near future. For example, large deposits of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and not least coal still exist, representing enormous values. A realistic expectation with regard to early reductions in emissions should therefore be based on a combination of purposeful implementation of new technology which in the long term will replace today's infrastructure and development of purification systems in existing infrastructure based on utilisation of fossil fuels as energy source.

Method and plant for removing carbon dioxide from flue gas


A call processing system, which may include multiple distributed call center sites, utilizes a local back-off approach to endpoint registration. The call processing system comprises a plurality of endpoints and at least a first server, wherein the endpoints register with the first server in order to send and receive calls in the call processing system. Responsive to an end-to-end connectivity failure or other designated event, a registration process is initiated in the call processing system for a given one of the endpoints. The issuance of at least one message of the sequence for the given endpoint is controlled so as to provide a local random back-off or other local back-off of the controlled message at that endpoint. For example, a second server implemented as an aggregation server may be operative to control the issuance of messages by the endpoints so as to provide a local random back-off for each of the plurality of endpoints by staggering the delivery of failure notifications to the endpoints.

Call centers distribute calls and other types of communications or work items to available service agents in accordance with various predetermined criteria. A given call center may be implemented in a geographically distributed manner, e.g., as a combination of multiple distributed call center sites at different locations. Such an arrangement is commonly referred to as a multi-site call center or more generally a multi-site call processing system. In multi-site systems of this type, a centralized load balancing process is typically utilized in order to distribute communications among the various sites for processing.
An exemplary multi-site call processing system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,640, issued Oct. 14, 2003 in the name of inventors R. A. Cohen et al. and entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Analysis of Load-Balanced Multi-Site Call Processing Systems," which is commonly assigned herewith and incorporated by reference herein.
Despite the numerous advantages provided by the techniques described in the above-cited reference, a need remains for further improvements, particularly in terms of enhancing the dependability of multi-site call processing systems. For example, an important cause of instability in a given multi-site call processing system relates to an overload situation as endpoints attempt to register after a network failure, equipment shutdown or other similar condition. Techniques are needed which can provide improved performance in these and other situations.

Endpoint registration with local back-off in a call processing system


The present invention is directed to a series of vinyl ether based silicone polymers and their use in personal care applications. They are prepared by the hydrosilylation reaction of a vinyl ether and a silanic hydrogen compound. The compounds find use in personal care applications.

Dimethicone compounds conform to the following structure:

Silicone fluids, also called silicone oils, or simple silicone are sold by their viscosity and range from 0.65 cst to 1,000,000 cst. If blending two different viscosity fluids does not make the product the viscosity is related to molecular weight. The viscosity allows for an approximate calculation of the value of "n". The data is shown below.
Viscosity 25 C.ApproximateApproximate(Centistokes)Molecular Weight"n" ValueCompound58009MD9M503,78053MD53M1006,00085MD85M2009,430127MD127M35013,650185MD185M50017,350230MD230M1,00028,000375MD375M10,00067,700910MD910M60,000116,5001,570MD1570M100,000139,0501,875MD1875M
One difficulty that is encountered is that these materials are insoluble in oils, water and in fluoro compounds.
This complication has resulted in difficulty in getting the properties of silicone, including spreadability and feel into systems that contain water or oil.
Molecules that contain water soluble, oil soluble and silicone soluble groups contain in one molecule three mutually insoluble groups. The concept of "hydrophilic and "hydrophobic" is related to water soluble, and in systems containing silicone needs to be expanded to include silicone compounds.
Hydrophilic (water loving)Hydrophobic (water hating)Oleophilic (oil loving)Oleophobic (oil hating)Siliphilic (silicone loving)Siliphobic (silicone hating)
The way to improve solubility of silicone compounds in other types of solvents is to make molecules that contain silicone groups and groups soluble in the other solvent. Such molecules are amphilic, and have desirable properties.
To make a molecule soluble in oils, an oil soluble alkyl group is reacted onto the silicone backbone. A typical structure is shown:
wherein:    R is —(CH2)m—CH3;    m is an integer ranging from 7 to 44.
Some of the undesirable attributes of these products include:
1. They are based upon alpha olefin, CH2═CH—(CH2)m-2—CH3, an impure substance and can contain up to 20% unreactive alkane CH3—(CH2)m-1—CH3.
2. The alkyl group contains no polar groups making them of limited application is solubilizing organic materials that have polarity.
The present invention overcomes these problems and offers unique cosmetic aesthetics by replacing the alkyl group with an alkyl ether group. The raw material used to make the compounds of the present invention are vinyl ethers. They are pure materials (contain no alkane) and have a polar oxygen atom present in the backbone. They satisfy a long felt need n the industry for a chemically pure, polar oil soluble product.
The vinyl ethers useful as raw materials for the synthesis of the compounds of the present invention conform to the following structure:CH2═CH—O—(CH2)zCH3
These compounds are made by the reaction of the alcohol (which is natural, derived from triglycerides) with acetylene. The chemistry is referred to as Reppe chemistry and is the topic of U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,335 issued to Reppe Dec. 8, 1934, incorporated herein by reference.
The reaction is applicable to both aliphatic and aromatic alcohols, primary and secondary alcohols, and phenols. Potassium hydroxide is employed as the catalyst. Ethers and esters and secondary amines also react with acetylene under pressure. For example, the reaction between methyl alcohol and acetylene goes very smoothly at about 200° C. to give methyl vinyl ether in the presence of KOH:

Additional patents related to this chemistry to Reppe include    U.S. Pat. No. 1,941,108 entitled Production of Vinyl Ethers;    U.S. Pat. No. 1,959,927 entitled Production of Vinyl Ethers;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,021,869 entitled Production of Vinyl Ether;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,066,076 entitled Producing Vinyl Ethers, all incorporated herein by reference.
These materials have been heretofore not attached to silicone to make the polymers of the present invention addressing the long felt need in the personal care market and providing the desirable unexpected benefits described above.


A micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of first signal lines, a plurality of second signal lines, a plurality of MEMS switches and a plurality of pixel electrodes. The first signal lines are disposed on the substrate in parallel with one another as well as the second signal lines. The second signal lines intersect with the first signal lines, such that a plurality of pixel regions is defined on the substrate. Each MEMS switch is located at corresponding one of the intersections between the first signal lines and the second signal lines. Each pixel electrode is configured in corresponding one of the pixel regions and electrically connected with the corresponding MEMS switch Compare to thin film transistor, since the operation performance of the MEMS switches would not affected by carrier mobility and on-off current ratio, display performance of the display device can be easily improved. In addition, a display device using the MEMS array substrate is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a display device, and more particular, to a display device with a micro electro-mechanical system (so-called MEMS) array substrate and the MEMS array substrate thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
With progress of the display technique, more and more electrical products, such as computer, television, monitoring apparatuses mobile phones and digital cameras etc., are equipped with display devices.
In the present days, thin film transistors are configured in mostly display devices have as driving elements for controlling the operation of display medium. Since the mobility of carries of the inorganic semiconductor materials is larger than that of the organic semiconductor materials, the inorganic semiconductor materials, such as amorphous silicon, is used in conventional thin film transistors. Also, because the amorphous thin film transistors can be fabricated in low temperature, it has become the main stream in the thin film transistor market.
However, the display performance of the display device is requested more and more, so that the display device has to be provided with the advantages of higher carrier mobility or on-off current ratio. Accordingly, the amorphous thin film transistors could not satisfy the requests of the display device in next generation.

MEMS array substrate and display device using the same


The present invention relates to paint extenders or open-time extenders, which are mixed with an architectural coating, such as aqueous latex paints, to increase the coating's open time. The open-time extender comprises acrylic or vinyl latex particles having a mean diameter of less than about 150 nm, and at least one crosslinkable monomer that can crosslink the latex particles in the open-time extender to the latex particles in the architectural coating at ambient conditions. The open-time extender also comprises water and the total solid content of the open-time extender is less than about 15% by weight.

The "open time" of emulsion paint is the time interval during which freshly applied paint can be blended with subsequently applied paint without the appearance of lack of uniformity. Under one approach, open time can be extended by adding volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as glycols into the emulsion paint formulation. However, environmental regulations limit the level of VOCs in paint compositions. In response to such regulations, low VOC aqueous paints have been developed as an alternative to environmentally unfriendly VOC solvent-based paints.
Currently, in many low VOC aqueous paints, open time becomes unacceptably short, especially under fast dry conditions such as low humidity and high temperature. Open time problems include, but are not limited to, skinning of left-open paints, not being able to cut back or blend in during brushing and rolling, and non-uniformity of sprayed surfaces.
Some attempts involve modifying the aqueous paint composition during the manufacturing process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,380 is related to a method for forming an aqueous coating by combining a latex polymer and modifying compound having complementary reactable groups. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,189 describes methods where the improvement in open time results from the addition of an aqueous polyurethane dispersion to an aqueous coating composition having at least one-film forming latex polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,261 relates to aqueous paint compositions comprising a dispersion of polymeric nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 1 to 50 nanometers, which improves open time. However, the polymeric nanoparticles also include amine functionality and at least one multi-ethylenically-unsaturated monomer.
Another method of improving open time involves the use of a paint extender, which a consumer can add to a pre-manufactured aqueous paint. One latex-based paint extender on the market is Floetrol®, which is commercially available from the Flood Company of Hudson, Ohio. However, when Floetrol® is added to paints, the aqueous paints still tend to form skins, which are indicative of poor open time. Floetrol® also negatively affects water sensitivity and paint flow leveling. Furthermore, Floetrolt® also does not provide compatibility with many commercial low-VOC latex paints since it causes quick syneresis and separation. Floetrol® also reduces the gloss of higher sheen paints, such as semigloss and high gloss paints.
Thus, there remains a need for a latex-based paint extender for low-VOC aqueous paints that overcome the aforementioned limitations of the prior art.

Latex based open-time extenders for low VOC paints


Corrosion management componentry for use in fibrous electrochemical systems for generation/conversion of energy. Fibrous structures are provided for enhanced resistance to oxidative degradation of microcell-based high voltage, high power density fuel cell and battery systems.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to microcell electrochemical devices and assemblies, methods of making same by various techniques, and use of such devices and assemblies.
2. Description of the Art
In the field of energy supplies and energy conversion devices, and particularly in the development of fuel cells and batteries, there has been continuing effort to develop devices with significant power outputs (high current and/or high voltage), high power density, and high energy output per unit volume.
Structurally, electrochemical cells such as batteries and fuel cells are relatively simple, utilizing respective positive and negative electrodes separated in such manner as to avoid internal short circuiting, and with the electrodes being arranged in contact with an electrolyte medium. By chemical reaction at the electrodes, the chemical energy of the reaction is converted into electrical energy with the flow of electrons providing power when the electrode circuit is coupled with an external load.
Battery cells may use separator plates between respective electrodes so that multiple sheet elements are arranged in successive face-to-face assemblies, and/or such sheets may be wound together in a (spiral) roll configuration.
The fuel cell is of significant current interest as a source of power for electrically powered vehicles, as well in distributed power generation applications.
In fuel cells, a fuel is introduced to contact with an electrode (anode) and oxidant is contacted with the other electrode (cathode) to establish a flow of positive and negative ions and generate a flow of electrons when an external load is coupled to the cell. The current output is controlled by a number of factors, including the catalyst (e.g., platinum in the case of hydrogen fuel cells) that is impregnated in the electrodes, as well as the kinetics of the particular fuel/oxidant electrochemical reaction.
Currently, single cell voltages for most fuel cells are in the range of about 0.6-0.8 volts. The operating voltage depends on the current; as current density increases, the voltage and cell efficiency correspondingly decline. At higher current densities, significant potential energy is converted to heat, thereby reducing the electrical energy of the cell.
Fuel cells also may be integrated with reformers, to provide an arrangement in which the reformer generates fuel such as hydrogen from natural gas, methanol or other feed stocks. The resulting fuel product from the reformer then is used in the fuel cell to generate electrical energy.
Numerous types of fuel cells have been described in the art. These include:
polymer electrolyte fuel cells, in which the electrolyte is a fluorinated sulfonic acid polymer or similar polymeric material;
alkaline fuel cells, using an electrolyte such as potassium hydroxide, in which the KOH electrolyte is retained in a matrix between electrodes including catalysts such as nickel, silver, metal oxide, spinel or noble metal;
phosphoric acid fuel cells using concentrated phosphoric acid as the electrolyte in high temperature operation;
molten salt fuel cells employing an electrolyte of alkali carbonates or sodium/potassium, in a ceramic matrix of lithium aluminate, operating at temperatures on the order of 600-700 degrees C., with the alkali electrolyte forming a high conductive molten salt;
solid oxide fuel cells utilizing metal oxides such as yttria-stabilized zirconia as the electrolyte and operating at high temperature to facilitate ionic conduction of oxygen between a cobalt-zirconia or nickel-zirconia anode, and a strontium-doped lanthanum manganate cathode.
Fuel cells exhibit relatively high efficiency and produce only low levels of gaseous/solid emissions. As a result of these characteristics, there is great current interest in them as energy conversion devices. Conventional fuel cell plants have efficiencies typically in the range of 40-55 percent based on the lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel that is used.
In addition to low environmental emissions, fuel cells operate at constant temperature, and heat from the electrochemical reaction is available for cogeneration applications, to increase overall efficiency. The efficiency of a fuel cell is substantially size-independent, and fuel cell designs thus are scalable over a wide range of electrical outputs, ranging from watts to megawatts.
A recent innovation in the electrochemical energy field is the development of microcellsxe2x80x94small-sized electrochemical cells for battery, fuel cell and other electrochemical device applications. The microcell technology is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,916,514; 5,928,808; 5,989,300; and 6,004,691, all to Ray R. Eshraghi. The microcell structure described in these patents comprises hollow fiber structures with which electrochemical cell components are associated.
The aforementioned Eshraghi patents describe an electrochemical cell structure in which the single cell is formed of a fiber containing an electrode or active material thereof, a porous membrane separator, electrolyte and a second electrode or active material thereof. Cell designs are described in the Eshraghi patents in which adjacent single fibers are utilized, one containing an electrode or active material thereof, the separator and electrolyte, with the second fiber comprising a second electrode, whereby the adjacent fibers constitute positive and negative electrodes of a cell.
The present invention embodies additional advances in the Eshraghi microcell technology.
This invention relates to microcell electrochemical devices and assemblies, methods of making same by various techniques, and use of such devices and assemblies.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to an coated fiber comprising a metal fiber formed of a material intrinsically susceptible to corrosion, and a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon of a pyrolyzed organic material, having a thickness imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal fiber.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a fibrous microcell structure comprising:
an inner electrode,
a microporous membrane separator in contact with the inner electrode,
an electrolyte in pores of the microporous membrane separator,
an outer electrode,
wherein at least one of the inner and outer electrodes includes a current collector comprising a coated fiber including a metal fiber formed of a material intrinsically susceptible to corrosion, and a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon of a pyrolyzed organic material, having a thickness imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal fiber.
A further aspect of the invention relates to an electrochemical device comprising a current collector formed of a corrosion-susceptible metal with a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon of a pyrolyzed organic material, having a thickness imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal current collector.
A further aspect of the invention relates to a fuel cell comprising microcell fibrous elements including a current collector or an electrode coated with an amorphous metal composition.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a fuel cell comprising microcell fibrous elements including a current collector or an electrode coated with a metal composition having hydrogen storage capability.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a microcell structure comprising:
an inner electrode,
a microporous membrane separator in contact with the inner electrode,
an electrolyte in pores of the microporous membrane separator,
an outer electrode,
wherein at least one of the inner and outer electrodes includes a carbon or graphitic current collector in intimate contact with a non-carbon or non-graphitic current collector susceptible to degradation producing electrical discontinuity thereof.
One method aspect of the invention relates to a method of fabricating a corrosion-resistant fiber, comprising:
providing a metal fiber formed a material intrinsically susceptible to corrosion;
applying to the fiber a coating of an organic material having a thickness providing a pyrolysis product imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal fiber;
pyrolyzing the organic material on the fiber to form a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon.
A still further aspect of the invention relates to a method of making a fibrous microcell structure comprising:
an inner electrode,
a microporous membrane separator in contact with the inner electrode,
an electrolyte in pores of the microporous membrane separator,
an outer electrode,
wherein at least one of the inner and outer electrodes includes a current collector, such method comprising forming the current collector as a coated fiber including a metal fiber formed of a material intrinsically susceptible to corrosion, and a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon of a pyrolyzed organic material, having a thickness imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal fiber.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of fabricating an electrochemical device comprising forming a current collector of a corrosion-susceptible metal and coating a continuous carbonaceous coating thereon of a pyrolyzed organic material, having a thickness imparting corrosion-resistance to the metal current collector.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of fabricating a fuel cell comprising coating microcell fibrous elements including a current collector or an electrode coated with a metal composition having hydrogen storage capability.
An additional aspect of the invention relates to a method of fabricating a microcell structure comprising:
an inner electrode,
a microporous membrane separator in contact with the inner electrode,
an electrolyte in pores of the microporous membrane separator,
an outer electrode,
comprising providing as at least one of the inner and outer electrodes, a carbon or graphitic current collector in intimate contact with a non-carbon or non-graphitic current collector susceptible to degradation producing electrical discontinuity thereof.

Microcell electrochemical devices assemblies with corrosion management subsystem, and method of making and using the same


An oligosaccharide derivative of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R is --SR.sup.2, ##STR2## R.sup.1 is an optically detectable group, etc.; R.sup.2 is alkyl or substituted alkyl; and n is zero or 1-5, is effective as a substrate for measuring .alpha.-amylase activity and can be synthesized easily in high yield.

This invention relates to a non-reducing end modified oligosaccharide derivative useful as a substrate for measuring .alpha.-amylase activity, a process for producing the same, and .alpha.-amylase activity assay using said derivative as a substrate.
Measurement of .alpha.-amylase activity in samples, particularly in saliva, pancreatic juice, blood and urea in human living bodies is important in medical diagnosis. For example, .alpha.-amylase activity in blood and urea remarkably increases compared with a normal value when suffered from pancreatitis, cancer of the pancreas, and parotid gland. As to processes for measuring .alpha.-amylase activity, various processes have been reported. These processes can be divided into two groups, one of which uses long-chain natural products such as starch, amylose, amylopectin, etc. and modified materials thereof, and another of which uses oligosaccharides having 3 to 7 glucose residues.
Among these processes, there is widely used a coupling enzyme process using as a substrate maltooligosaccharide derivatives having a uniform structure and a clear substrate, that is, having a color forming group at the reducing end and having a modified group at the 6-position or 4- and 6-positions of the non-reducing end glucose unit. Since these substrates do not become a substrate for a coupling enzyme such as .beta.-glucosidase, .beta.-glucosidase, glucoamylase, etc. and the detection can be carried out by measuring the amount of colored substance released, they are particularly significant as substrates for measuring .alpha.-amylase activity. Particularly, maltooligosaccharide derivatives modified only at the 6-position of non-reducing end glucose and disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication Nos. 63-170393 (EP 0252525) and 61-83196 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,917) are highly reactive as a substrate for .alpha.-amylase and excellent in storage stability, so that they are substrates for measuring .alpha.-amylase activity with almost high completeness. But they have a problem in that the conversion at the synthesis of these maltooligosaccharide derivatives is so low that they are not suitable for practical production.
Therefore, novel non-reducing end modified oligosaccharide derivatives capable of becoming excellent substrates for measuring o-amylase and able to be synthesized in a high yield are now desired.

Oligosaccharide derivatives suitable for .alpha.-amylase determination


A method and system for processing incompatible NUI data in a meaningful and productive way. An NUI system capable of combining NUI events from multiple NUI devices and producing a standardized output is described. NUI adaptors covert low level input data into high-level NUI events. These events are stored in a repository. A behavioral analysis engine makes use of the stored NUI events and produces a combined output for users making use of behavioral pattern rules. The behavioral analysis engine also makes use of NUI events for training the system to create and utilize new pattern rules.

One of the major advances in digital technology is the emergence of Natural User Interfaces (NUI), which allow users to make use of technology without needing special training or knowledge. A NUI is a system that enables human-computer interaction so that the user operates through intuitive actions such as gestures, speech, natural motions, expressions, eyesight movements and so on. There are multiple NUI technologies being developed like Multi-touch, speech inputs, gestural inputs, augmented reality, behavioral analysis and interpretation and so on.
Although each NUI technology enhances user interface with computing and provides a definite output, a combination of the NUI technologies in a combined NUI will allow users to take advantage of benefits from various NUI technologies simultaneously. Consider an example of monitoring a patient. A frantic waving of hands recognized by a gesture recognition device, combined with the recognition of the words 'Pain', or 'Not able to breathe' with the help of a speech recognition solution can provide a reasonably accurate alarm for a heart attack victim.
However combining these NUI technologies to form a single NUI is complicated and has some issues. Generally, different companies develop NUIs and depending on the preference of the company providing the technology, the core programming platform used by the companies may differ. This may lead to issues related to platform compatibility and interoperability when trying to combine various NUIs. Also the same technology manufactured by two different companies differs in specification and performance. Further, data from different NUIs cannot be correlated.

Method and system for processing incompatible NUI data in a meaningful and productive way


A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes dynamic latches, switch circuit, capacitor, first static latch, and first transfer gate. In refreshing data of the dynamic latches, data stored in the first static latch is moved to the second node through the first transfer gate and saved. The data of the dynamic latch is bootstrapped. The bootstrapped data is transferred to the first node to distribute charges, thereby setting the potential of the first node. The set potential is written back to the dynamic latch to refresh it. The saved data of the second node is moved to the first node through the first transfer gate and written back to the first static latch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a dynamic latch refresh method thereof and, more particularly, to a NAND cell flash memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sense amplifier of a NAND cell flash memory includes a plurality of latches, as disclosed in, e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-118940. A quaternary sense amplifier requires more latches than a binary one; an octonary one, more latches than a quaternary one; and a hexadecimal one, more latches than an octonary one. For example, a quaternary sense amplifier requires only three latches; however, a hexadecimal sense amplifier requires six (four corresponding to the 4-bit structure of the hexadecimal sense amplifier, one for program data storage, and one for quick pass write).
In a NAND cell flash memory, generally, one sense amplifier is necessary for one bit line pair. When the number of latches in each sense amplifier increases, the size of the sense amplifier increases noticeably, resulting in a large chip size.

Semiconductor memory device and dynamic latch refresh method thereof


The field magnet is formed of, for example, two permanent magnets, and a width of the field magnet increases from a center toward both ends thereof in a monotonically non-decreasing manner. The field magnet includes, at the both ends thereof, projecting portions projecting to a side opposite to a rotation axis. The field core includes a penetration hole through which the field magnet is caused to penetrate. The penetration hole includes penetration surfaces which cover magnetic pole surfaces of the field magnet, respectively. Specifically, the penetration surface includes concave portions with which the projecting portions are fitted. When the field magnet is inserted, the penetration surfaces serve as a guide which guides the field magnet, and accordingly the field magnet can be caused to penetrate through the penetration hole with ease.

Patent Document 1 discloses a rotor in which permanent magnets each composed of a plurality of unit magnets are inserted into insertion holes.
Technologies related to the present invention are disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3690067    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-261169    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-328963


A method for measuring NOx having a specific discharge lamp. The method controls a photometric analysis device, in which an electrically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel is used to change various shutters and/or filters in a beam path with beam source, cuvette and detector. The filter and/or shutter wheel is controlled in such a way that the measurement time is greater than the transfer time. This control improves the detection limit of the NOx resonance absorption method.

This invention relates to a method for measuring NOx and more particularly to the NO resonance absorption method for measuring NOx.
The brochure CLD 70E/February 1997 produced by ECO-Physics discloses an analysis unit for measuring low NO concentrations which uses the chemiluminescence method (CLD). However, the equipment associated with this method has a number of drawbacks.
Firstly, an ozone generator is required in order to produce the ozone which is required for the chemiluminescence reaction. Ozone is highly toxic and a relatively high outlay is required in order to prevent ozone from escaping from the equipment. For example, an ozone annihilator is required to be arranged at the measurement gas outlet.
Secondly, the CLD method requires a vacuum pump with pressure regulation. A drawback of this is that the vacuum pump is susceptible to faults and involves high maintenance. A further drawback is the relatively high production costs of the CLD equipment.
A further brochure, produced by ABB Analytical, has disclosed the FTIR method, which can be used to detect low NO concentrations. In this case too, a relatively high outlay on equipment has to be incurred. Firstly, a long-path absorption cell has to be used in order to achieve the high measurement sensitivity. At the same time, the high volume of this cell prevents, for example, the rapid measurement which is desired when carrying out measurements in automotive exhaust gas. Secondly, chemical measurement calculations are required in order to suppress interfering cross-sensitivities. These calculations are complex and likewise hinder rapid measurement.
Finally, DE 2541162 has disclosed the photometric nitrogen oxide resonance absorption method. Although this method is simple to carry out and is highly selective for nitrogen oxide, the measurement sensitivity which has been achieved to date is insufficient to detect very low NO concentrations. Hitherto, this technique has employed a modulation method in which a uniformly revolving filter wheel produces a measurement phase and a comparison phase.
The actual measurement time in the measurement and comparison phases is relatively short with respect to the revolution time of the filter wheel. The unfavorable time ratio means that the optimum signal-to-noise ratio which is required is not produced and therefore nor is the optimum measurement sensitivity. Therefore it is desirable to increase the measurement sensitivity of the NO resonance absorption method.
In a device for measuring NOx having a specific discharge lamp as a beam source and a cuvette and a detector in a beam path from the beam source, an electrically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel to change various shutters or filters in a beam path from the beam source, a cuvette and a detector, a method for measuring NOx comprising the steps of:
(a) using an electronically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel in the beam path between the cuvette and the detector to change various shutters and filters between measurement and comparison phases; and
(b) controlling the filter wheel or shutter wheel to make the measurement time of the detector greater than the transfer time of the detector.
A device for measuring NOx comprising:
a. a specific discharge lamp as a beam source;
b. a cuvette and a detector in a beam path from the beam source;
c. an electrically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel for changing various filters or shutters in the beam path between the cuvette and the detector wherein the rotation of the filter wheel or the shutter wheel takes place in steps such that the measurement time of the detector is greater than the transfer time of the detector.
In a device for measuring NOx having a specific discharge lamp as a beam source and a cuvette and a detector in a beam path from the beam source, an electrically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel to change various shutters or filters in a beam path from the beam source, a cuvette and a detector, a method for measuring NOx comprising the steps of:
(a) using an electronically rotatable filter wheel or shutter wheel in the beam path between the cuvette and the detector to change various shutters and filters between measurement and comparison phases;
(b) controlling the filter wheel or shutter wheel by a stepper motor having a step width to make the measurement time of the detector greater than the transfer time of the detector; and
(c) determining the step width so that the position of the filter wheel or shutter wheel can be transferred directly between the measurement and comparison phases.


A roller is equipped with an elastic layer comprising a foam, wherein at least a part of the elastic layer is subjected to permanent compressional deformation by heating compression, and the cells in the elastic layer subjected to permanent compressional deformation by heating compression outnumber the cells therein before the heating compression; and a process for producing the above roller in high efficiency. The above process enables the production of the roller in which the surface state of only an arbitrary portion thereof is modified according to the purpose of use, and the roller thus obtained can exhibit high performances in a variety of applications including paper feed roller, developer conveying roller and so forth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roller and a process for producing the same. More particularly, it pertains to a roller such as a developer conveying roller (also referred to as "developer feed roller"), electrifying roller, transfer roller, developing roller, cleaning roller and paper feed roller each to be used in an electrophotographic apparatus or electrostatic recording apparatus such as a copying machine and printer; and to a process for producing said roller.
2. Description of Related Arts
An electrophotography recording apparatus which is widely utilized for a copying machine, a laser beam printer and the like is equipped generally with a photosensitive body in the form of a drum (herenafter referred to as "photosensitive drum") and functions so as to form an electrostatic latent image by carrying out electrification and exposure against said photosensitive drum; then allow a developer such as a toner (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "toner") to adhere to the photosensitive drum in accordance with the latent image on the drum to proceed with development; subsequently transfer the toner on the drum to a recording medium such as a recording sheet for the purpose of image transfer; thereafter electrically discharge the drum to a prescribed potential and clean the toner remaining on the drum; and then prepare the recording. The toner carried on the recording medium by means of image transfer is fixed onto the recording medium by being molten and pressure stuck, thus completing a series of recording work.
In the following, simple description will be given of the conveyance of the developer in the aforesaid series of recording work. Specifically, for example, a developer which is filled in a developing apparatus is fed to the surfaces of a developing roller by means of a developer conveying roller (developer feed roller) and is regulated to a uniform thin layer by a blade. While the developing roller is rotated in contact with or in close proximity to a photosensitive drum under the above-mentioned developer condition, the developer is stuck to the electrostatic latent image on the drum from the developing roller to visualize said latent image.
With recent progress of electrophotographical technique, a variety of requisite characteristics come to be imposed upon a roller such as a developer conveying roller, electrifying roller, transfer roller, developing roller, cleaning roller and paper feed roller each being used in an electrophotography recording apparatus. One of the aforesaid requisite characteristics is that an alteration be made in the surface conditions of only an arbitrary part of a roller.
The reason for such requisite characteristics being demanded varies depending upon the type of a roller as described hereunder. In the case of an electrifying roller, transfer roller, developing roller and cleaning roller, there have been a problem in which since the roller is rotated in contact with a photosensitive drum, the frictional force between the roller and the drum, when being excessively strong, results in a large-sized electric motor for driving the roller, the need for replacing the existing electric power source with a power source having a larger capacity.
On the other hand, in the case of a paper feed roller, whose general structural drawing is given in FIG. 3, a shaft 21 is equipped with ring bodies 22 made of a synthetic resin, over which are fitted rubbery elastic layers 23. Such a paper feed roller in which a shaft 21 is equipped in advance, with a plurality of elastic layers 23 is directed to the prevention of meandering of a recording medium which feeds sheets of paper. However, a paper feed roller of such a structure has involved the problems of intricate and large number of production steps and consequent high production cost.
In addition, the developer conveying roller is called upon (1) to make an elastic layer low in hardness, smoothen its surface, secure a nip between the developer conveying roller and the developing roller and ensure a sufficient amount of a developer to be conveyed; (2) to enhance the density of cells on and around the surface of the developer conveying roller so as to prevent the surface thereof from being clogged with the developer; and (3) to eliminate scuffing on the surface of the developer conveying roller and prevent foreign matters such as a foam and cellular material from mixing in a developing apparatus.
Under such circumstances, various methods have been developed for the purpose of producing a developer conveying roller which satisfies the requisite characteristics in the preceding items (1) through (3). The above-developed methods, however, have both advantages and disadvantages, thus failing to readily produce a developer conveying roller which simultaneously satisfies all the aforestated requisite characteristics.

Roller for electrophotographic apparatus


The invention relates to a liquid-cooled choke comprising a choke core (1), a choke coil (2) and a path (3) for a cooling liquid to cool the choke. The choke core (1) is divided into at least two parts (1a, 1b) arranged in a cooling profile (4) to which the path (3) for the cooling liquid is arranged and which at the same time provides the choke with a frame and an assembly jig.

The invention relates to a liquid-cooled choke comprising a choke core, a choke coil and a path for a cooling liquid to cool the choke.
Heat losses occur both in the choke core and the choke coil. This heat should be transferred efficiently to the cooling liquid so that the choke would not be heated too much but would remain in the optimal operating temperature range defined for it.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,906 discloses a known solution where a two-piece coil is encapsulated such that a cooling liquid is circulated between the adjacent coils and on their edges in water channels arranged in the middle and ends of the encapsulation. Considering the basic structure of the choke, the implementation is relatively complex, and only the coil will be cooled in this way.
Another, newer arrangement is disclosed, for instance, in EP Patent 459326 where cooling liquid channels are arranged between different layers of the coil in the cast-resin body of the coil. Also this structure is very difficult to implement and it does not take the cooling demand of the core into account.
Typical of the former structures is that the cooling is in one way or another implemented in connection with the coil. These implementations also make the assembly and structure of the choke difficult and complex.


A method of providing a field test protocol for determining evaporator airflow verification for existing vapor compression cycle equipment.

In view of the rising costs of energy and the effects of global warming, it is the goal of certain government agencies and electric service providers to save energy and, in particular, electricity by improving the efficiency of equipment that utilizes electricity. Two active players in this endeavor are the California Energy Commission and the Southern California Edison Company. A program implemented in California and will likely be adopted by other states is the Refrigerant Charge and Airflow Verification Program (RCAVP).
Under the RCAVP, refrigeration systems, including Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems in general, have their refrigerant charge and air flow verified and, if necessary, adjusted in order to improve efficiency and save energy. It was found that HVAC systems with TVX (thermostatic expansion valves) were just as likely as non-TVX systems to require adjustment to operate at peak or near-peak efficiency.
Based on studies, it was determined that HVAC technicians do not (or are not trained to) finely tune refrigeration systems upon installation, and that proper charge in refrigeration systems tend to degrade over time. More disturbing was the fact that HVAC technicians did not understand the relationship between refrigerant charge and operating efficiency.

Method for determining evaporator airflow verification


A reliable packet network is constructed with nodes and links where the nodes use a method for fast distribution of link state information. This permits a rapid update of the routing information at all nodes in case of a link failure, minimizing the number of lost packets.

A typical packet network 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1, showing a few exemplary nodes and links. Nodes 10, 12, 14, and 16 are interior nodes, which have no connections outside the network, and nodes 18, 20, and 22 are edge nodes. The network has interior links 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 42, each link joining a pair of nodes, and external links 44, 46, and 48 going outside of the network.
User packet traffic enters and leaves the network over the external links 44, 46, and 48 at edge nodes 18, 20, and 22 respectively. Packets of a particular packet stream are forwarded from the edge node where they enter (a source node), through one or more interior nodes to the edge node where they leave (a destination node).
A schematic view 50 of the network 1 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2, showing a division of the network 1 into a control plane 100 and a data plane 102. Each node and link of the network has a representation in the control plane as well as in the data plane. The Control Plane 100 shows the logical representation of the network, held in the data tables of computing means 106 associated with each node (but not necessarily residing at the nodes), and the algorithms running in the computing means 106. The data plane 102 shows the physical resources needed to process and forward packets.
In more detail, the computing means 106 includes a Routing function 108 comprising a Link State Data Base (LSDB) 112, and a Protection function 110. A copy of LSDB 112 exists in the control plane 100 of each node, and uniquely determines the network topology. Normally, the contents of the LSDB 112 at each node are identical. The Routing function 108 uses the LSDB 112 to generate forwarding tables specific to each node. The Protection function 110 is a local function at each node to monitor links and update the (local) LSDB 112 and Routing function 108 when failures occur or are recovered from. The Routing function 108 then ensures that these changes are propagated to all other nodes in the network, in order that the LSDBs 112 at each node are again a representation of the true state of the network.
The Data Plane 102 contains the Transmission function 111, which includes the ability to detect link failures (Failure Detection 113), and Forwarding function 114 (which includes Look Up Tables (LUT) 116 and Switching 117).
The Transmission function 111 in the Data Plane 102 is linked to the Protection function 110 in the Control Plane 100. This link serves to report link failures detected by the Transmission function 111 to the Protection function 110.
The Routing function 108 in the Control Plane 100 is linked to the Forwarding function 114 in the Data Plane 102. This link serves to load the Look Up Tables (LUT) 116 in the Forwarding function 114 from the forwarding tables computed by the Routing function 108 of the computing means 106.
The path taken by the packets from the source node to the destination node is determined in the source node (source-routing). This is made possible by a routing protocol such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First, described, e.g. in IETF document rfc2328), which distributes the network topology information to LSDBs 112 at the nodes. Normally, the LSDBs 112 of all nodes contain the same information through the operation of OSPF.
However, when a link fails, the information in the LSDBs 112 is temporarily incorrect until OSPF in the node adjacent to the failed link discovers the failure, and distributes updated LSDB information to the other nodes. The OSPF method of maintaining correct link state information runs in the distributed control plane 100 of the network 1, and requires a long time (up to several seconds in large networks) before all nodes have the updated LSDB 112 information after a link or node failure. Until that time, some packets continue to be lost if they are routed over a path that includes the failed link. Node failures can be treated like link failures, where each of the links to or from the failed node appears to have failed simultaneously. Again, the adjacent nodes discover the failure, update their own LSDBs, and distribute the information to the rest of the network via OSPF protocol, which is slow.
Although in a network offering traditional best effort packet services only, lost packets cause a deterioration in the service but are often recovered by the users, however, in networks offering high levels of service reliability, or offering packetized circuit emulation services, such a situation is not acceptable.
To solve this problem, it has been suggested to use a reliable physical layer in the network through the use of spare links and to provide an automatic protection switching at that layer. Where such systems are used, the OSPF routing layer is prevented from discovering failed links, because through its protection mechanism, the physical layer substitutes working links on a very short time scale, typically of the order of 10 to 50 milliseconds. Time delays built into OSPF are designed to bridge such short outages precisely, because the rapid recovery at the link layer is expected. Earlier physical layer protection systems used parallel links in a 1:1 or 1:N redundancy configuration. More recently, physical layer link protection schemes have been proposed, which use rings or mesh networks. One example of a physical layer protection scheme is an optical ring proposal, which can be found in an IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) draft [IETF draft-papadimitriou-optical-rings-00.txt]. Another mesh network restoration scheme using spare links is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,835 ("Method and Apparatus for Self-Restoring and Self-Provisioning Communication Networks") to W. Grover, improvements to which are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,125 ("Automated Restoration of Un-Restored Link and Nodal Failures") to W. Russ and U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,505 ("Method for Preconfiguring a Network to Withstand Anticipated Failures") to W. Grover et al.
While physical link protection schemes have the advantage of restoring links transparently and without regard to the type of user traffic on the links themselves, physical layer protection schemes have a high cost since they require unused spare links to be provisioned in anticipation of possible failures. On the other hand, the network recovery mechanism provided by the routing protocols alone such as OSPF is too slow to satisfy the service needs of networks that offer highly reliable services and are not acceptable in many practical situations.
Accordingly, there is a need for the development of an improved packet network and a method therefor which would avoid the aforementioned problems and provide an efficient and fast method distribution of node related information, e.g. in order to recover from link and node failures.

Packet network providing fast distribution of node related information and a method therefor


An image pickup apparatus including: CCD image pickup device; a light blocking plate for shutting out light incident upon the image pickup device; an exposure period controlling section for setting exposure time by controlling the light blocking plate and the image pickup device; a dark signal storing section for storing dark signals obtained from the image pickup device in a state where light is shut out by the light blocking plate; a subtracting section for subtracting the dark signals from main image pickup signals of the image pickup device; a defect detecting section for detecting defects from the subtracted image pickup signals outputted from the subtracting section; and a defect correcting section for performing correction of the detected fault pixels. It is thereby possible to achieve an image pickup apparatus capable of detecting and correcting at high accuracy those fault pixels occurring afterwards because of changes due to the passage of time or those fault pixels transiently occurring under certain modes.

The present invention relates to image pickup apparatus in which pixel defects occurring on image are adaptively detected and corrected in accordance with an image scene or an operating state of the apparatus.
The rate of occurrence of defect pixels, i.e., fault pixels is generally higher in such image pickup apparatus as a high-definition electronic camera where a solid-state image pickup device having a large number of pixels is used. Technology for the detection and correction thereof has become indispensable. The yield of solid-state image pickup device becomes higher and the price of the apparatus is greatly reduced by correcting pixels of singularities represented by these fault pixels.
The known technology for electrically correcting such fault pixels includes the following techniques. In particular, Japanese patent laid-open application 55-156482 for example discloses the technique of preparing a memory in which locations of fault pixels occurring peculiarly to each solid-state image pickup device are previously retained at the time of manufacturing the solid-state image pickup device. Such a memory is mounted on the image pickup apparatus such as an image sensor. While continuously surveying output signals from the memory, the fault pixels at the predetermined locations are interpolated for example by means of average values of adjoining pixels.
Further Japanese patent laid-open applications Hei-6-6685 and Hei-9-289614 for example disclose the technique of providing a mode to detect fault pixels under certain image pickup conditions for example at the time of introducing power or at the time of an adjustment involving the operation for shutting out light incident upon the solid-state image pickup device so that, though a memory is provided, information on the detected defects is updated at each occurrence of such certain image pickup conditions.
Further Japanese patent laid-open applications Hei-7-23297 and Hei-9-247548 for example disclose the technique of making correction by determining an arbitrary pixel of an arbitrary image as to its defect based on its correlation with the surrounding pixels during photographing operation of camera.
Furthermore Japanese patent laid-open application 2000-59690 discloses an electronic camera which previously retains location data of fault pixels in a memory and at the same time has a function capable of detecting defects also from an arbitrarily selected taken image in accordance with the exposure time so that it can deal with transient defects occurring at the time of a long exposure.
Now, the one disclosed in the above described Japanese patent laid-open application 55-156482 requires an exclusive memory for each individual sensor, i.e., each image pickup apparatus such as a camera. It cannot be jointly used by separate image pickup apparatus. Further, it cannot deal with the types of defect occurring due to the passage of time after the shipment of the image pickup apparatus. Furthermore, there is also a problem of increase in both price and dissipation power due to the fact that memory size for storing defect locations becomes very large proportionally to the increase in the number of pixels as a result of achieving a high-definition image. Moreover, there is another problem that it cannot deal with the types of defects which occur transiently in a long time exposure or under high temperatures.
The ones disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open applications Hei-6-6685 and Hei-9-289614, on the other hand, are capable of dealing with those defects which occur due to the passage of time. These, however, cannot deal with those transiently occurring defects such as the defects in the case of a temperature hike after continuation of normal image pickup conditions, since the certain image pickup conditions for detecting defects are the conditions outside the normal photographing. Moreover, in the case of detecting defects under certain image pickup conditions, since it is necessary to enter the defect detecting operation mode with limiting to such certain image pickup conditions, there is a problem that images cannot be taken during a long time period of such certain defect detecting operation mode.
Further, the techniques disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open applications Hei-7-23297 and Hei-9-247548 are capable of dealing with changes after the shipment or in temperature, since detection/correction of defects is performed for each image. There are many edge patterns, however, in an arbitrarily selected image and it is difficult to detect defects around edge. An attempt for accurately detecting the defects therefore results in a problem that the size of circuit and program becomes very large. In addition, while a high processing speed is a prerequisite in detecting defects in real time for each taken frame, an exceedingly large circuit and program size slows down the processing speed and makes a real time defect detection and correction thereof impossible.
Furthermore, while the electronic camera disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open application 2000-59690 is adapted to be capable of dealing with transient defects occurring at the time of a long time exposure, it is not uncommon that the occurrence of such transient defects under a long time exposure is concentrated in a small area. In such a case, an accurate detection of the defects is difficult. Also, there is another problem that the technique disclosed therein is incapable of dealing with those defects resulting from changes due to the passage of time after the shipment of the electronic camera.


A license server (10) includes a CRL database (306) holding a revocation list recording therein classes predetermined corresponding respectively to a memory device, such as a memory card, and a content reproduction circuit, such as a cellular phone, that are subjected to revocation of distributing, reproducing and transferring content data. A distribution control unit (315) suspends an operation distributing content data if the distribution is addressed to a class listed on the revocation list. The revocation list is also held in the memory card and distribution control unit (315) in distributing content also transmits information for updating the revocation list in the memory card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data distribution systems for distributing information to a terminal such as a cellular phone and particularly to data distribution systems capable of protecting a copyright for copied information and memory cards for use in the systems.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years the Internet and other similar information communication networks have advanced and a cellular phone or the like is used for a personal terminal to allow the user to readily access network information.
On such an information communication network a digital signal is used to transmit information. As such, if a user copies music, video data or the like transmitted on such an information communication network as described above, each individual user can copy such data almost free of significant degradation in the quality of sound, image and the like.
Thus, if music data, image data or other similar content data in copyright is transmitted on such an information communication network without any appropriate approach taken to protect the copyright, the copyright owner may have his/her right infringed significantly.
However, prioritizing copyright protection and preventing content data distribution on a rapidly expanding digital information communication work, is disadvantageous to copyright owners, who basically can collect a predetermined copyright fee for copying content data.
In contrast, if digital data recorded in a recording medium, e.g., music data recorded in a normally sold compact disc (CD), is copied to a magneto-optical disk (such as an MD), it may be copied, as desired, as long as the copied data is solely for personal use, although an individual user who example digitally records data is required to indirectly pay as a bond to the copyright owner a predetermined portion of the price of the exact digital recording equipment, MD or any other similar media used by the user.
In addition, if music data in a digital signal is copied from a CD to an MD the information is digital data copied without significant degradation and accordingly equipment is configured to prevent copying data from a recordable MD to another MD and thus protect copyright.
As such, distributing music data, image data and other similar data to the public on a digital information communication network is itself a behavior subject to a restriction attributed to a public transmission right of a copyright owner and a sufficient approach is accordingly required for protection of copyright.
This requires preventing further, arbitrarily copying content data that has been transmitted to the public on an information communication network and received.

Data distribution system and recording device and data provision device used therefor


An endoscopic cardioplegic infusion cannula and its method of use is provided for occluding the ascending aorta and infusing cardioplegic fluid into the coronary arteries. A cannula is inserted suprasternally and the distal end of the cannula is inserted into the ascending aorta. An occlusion balloon on the distal end of the cannula is inflated and occludes the ascending aorta. Cardioplegic fluid is infused through the cannula proximal to the occlusion balloon and perfused into the coronary arteries. In order to effect a better seal where the distal end of the cannula is inserted into the ascending aorta, an outer sheath having a flange is advanced over the cannula into contact with the ascending aorta to compress a portion of the ascending aorta between the flange and the occlusion balloon. Cardiopulmonary bypass is effected in a known manner to supply the patient with oxygenated blood. The cannula and its method of use can be used in a closed or open chest procedure. Sternal lifting is used in conjunction with the present invention to create a greater working space over the heart.

Various cardiovascular procedures have been performed for many years typically by opening the sternum (referred to as a median sternotomy), and connecting the patient to cardiopulmonary bypass equipment to maintain the circulation of oxygenated blood throughout the patient's circulatory system. In this manner, the heart can be stopped and various surgical procedures performed such as coronary artery bypass grafting and replacement of aortic, mitro and other heart valves. Numerous other surgical procedures have been performed in a similar manner.
As taught by conventional techniques, cardiopulmonary bypass is established by a venous cannula introduced into a major vein such as the inferior vena cava, or into the heart itself, to withdraw deoxygenated blood from the patient and route it to a cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) machine for oxygenation. Generally, an arterial cannula is introduced into a major artery such as the aorta, or a femoral artery, to deliver oxygenated blood from the cardiopulmonary bypass machine to the patient's arterial system.
In surgical procedures where cardiac function is arrested, the heart and coronary arteries must be isolated from the patient's arterial system. Using conventional techniques, the sternum is cut longitudinally, referred to as a median sternotomy, to provide access to the heart and other thoracic vessels. One method taught in the prior art, is to mechanically cross-clamp the ascending aorta downstream of the ostia of the coronary arteries, but upstream of the brachiocephalic artery, which will allow oxygenated blood from the cardiopulmonary bypass machine to reach the arms, neck, head, and the remainder of the body. A catheter can then be introduced into the ascending aorta between the cross-clamp and the aortic valve. Cardioplegic fluid is then infused through the catheter and into the coronary arteries.
One particular prior art device currently under development and disclosed in the literature, includes partitioning the patient's ascending aorta between the coronary ostia and the brachiocephalic artery to isolate the heart and coronary arteries from the remainder of the arterial system, arresting cardiac function, and introducing a balloon catheter through a femoral or other artery. More particularly, all blood flow through the ascending aorta is blocked by an inflatable balloon disposed on the distal end of a catheter which has been introduced through the femoral artery. The expandable balloon is positioned in the ascending aorta between the coronary ostia and the brachiocephalic artery so that it will block substantially all blood flow therethrough. The device includes a port at the proximal end of the catheter shaft for delivering cardioplegic fluid into the patient's ascending aorta upstream of the occluding means.
For the purposes of the present application, "downstream" means in the direction of normal blood flow through a blood vessel, i.e., further from the heart in the arterial system, and closer to the heart in the venous system. "Upstream" means in the direction opposite of the downstream direction. References herein to the "proximal" direction, means in the direction toward the end of the device that is closest to and held or manipulated by the physician, while "distal" means in the direction away from the user, and opposite the proximal direction.
The prior art devices also disclose means for providing cardiopulmonary bypass systems in which a bypass cannula is introduced into an artery (typically the femoral artery), and a blood flow lumen in the bypass cannula is connected to a lumen for delivering oxygenated blood into the patient's arterial system. A bypass cannula also can be positioned in a vein in the patient, and the blood flow lumen in the bypass cannula is connected to a means for receiving deoxygenated blood from the patient's venous system.
Generally, with the prior art devices, the aorta occluding device, generally a catheter having an inflatable balloon, is typically introduced transluminally, generally from a femoral vein or artery and advanced intraluminally into the ascending aorta. Due to various reasons, it may not always be possible to insert a catheter into the femoral artery or veins, thus making this prior art technique sometimes difficult or impossible to perform.
Improved methods and devices are therefore necessary to establish CPB which will eliminate the need to introduce catheters or cannulas through the femoral veins or arteries for the purpose of occluding the ascending aorta and for infusing cardioplegic fluid. The present invention provides alternative devices and methods which will accomplish the desired surgical procedure without the attendant risks and problems associated with the conventional procedures described.

Endoscopic cardioplegia infusion cannula and method of use


An antifoam formulations comprise                (A) antifoam agent based on siloxanes and        (B) branched polyether/polysiloxane copolymers comprising structural units of the formulaY[—CnH2n—(R2SiO)m—Ap—R2Si—G]x  (I)in which Y is a multivalent, optionally heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon radical, R are monovalent optionally halogenated hydrocarbon radicals, A is a radical —R2Si—R2—(R2SiO)m—, G is a monovalent radical —CfH2f-2k—Z or a divalent radical —CnH2n— bonded to a radical Y, Z—(R6)v—(OCH2CH2)a[OCH2CH(CH3)]b[OCH2CH(CH2CH3)]c—OR3,in which R3 is hydrogen, a hydrocarbon radical, or a radical R—C(O)—, R6 is a divalent hydrocarbon radical, v is 0 or 1, a, b and c are 0 or an integer between 1 and 1000, the sum (a+b+c) being from 2 to 2000, x is 3 to 10, f is 2 to 12, k is 0 or 1, n is 2 to 12, m is at least 1, and p is 0 or a positive integer, the branched polyether/polysiloxane copolymers (B) containing on average at least one group Z.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to antifoam formulations comprising (A) antifoam agents based on siloxanes and (B) branched polyether/polysiloxane copolymers, and the use thereof for the defoaming of aqueous media, in particular media obtained in pulp production.
2. Background Art
In many liquids which contain surface-active compounds as desired or undesired components, particularly aqueous systems, problems may arise due to foam formation if these systems are brought into more or less intensive contact with gaseous substances, for example during the gassing of wastewaters, during the intensive stirring of liquids, in distillation, scrubbing or dyeing processes or in filling processes. This foam can be controlled by a mechanical method or by the addition of antifoams. Siloxane-based antifoams have proven particularly useful.
Antifoams based on siloxanes are prepared, for example according to DD-A 056 762, by heating hydrophilic silica in polydimethylsiloxanes. The process is very complicated, but the efficiency of the antifoams thus prepared is still not satisfactory. The distribution of hydrophobic silica in a polydimethylsiloxane, for example according to DE-A 29 25 722, is a more rational process, but the efficiency of the antifoams obtained is likewise worthy of improvement.
The use of modified polyorganosiloxanes in antifoam preparations is also known. Thus, for example, the use of branched polysiloxane antifoams in combination with polyether/polysiloxane copolymers as antifoams is recommended for pulp production (EP-A 341 952). Polyether/polysiloxane copolymers are said to have a positive effect also in combination with mineral oils as a carrier oil (U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,019). According to WO 98/000216, siloxanes having dimethyl-3-hydroxypropylpolyoxyethylenepolyoxypropylene groups are said to be particularly suitable as surfactants in antifoam formulations.
EP-A 663 225 and EP-A 1076073 describe, respectively, crosslinked and branched polyorganosiloxanes which carry at least one polyether group, as one of the two components of an antifoam formulation. The crosslinking is effected via alkylene groups, via polydimethylsiloxanes or via polyether groups. As a result of the linkage via Si—C bonds, the products are stable to hydrolysis. In contrast, the process proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,024 leads to linkages via Si—O—C groups, which are not stable to hydrolysis, particularly in acidic or basic media, and thus such compositions rapidly lose their efficiency in a foaming aqueous medium.
In addition to the drawbacks discussed above, the antifoam formulations prepared according to the prior art do not always have sufficient efficiency.