User interfaces for editing text in pen-based computing systems include: (a) a display portion that displays text; and (b) a correction interface that displays an editable text portion corresponding to at least a portion of the text. The correction interface accepts input via a stylus to enable changes to the editable text portion on a character-by-character basis (e.g., to add, delete, or change individual characters). The correction interface further may include or associate with a “suggestion list” portion that includes alternative(s) to substitute into the editable text portion and/or a “task list” portion that displays potential actions available through the interface. The invention also relates to systems, methods, and computer-readable media to activate, provide, and operate such interfaces.

Typical computer systems, especially computer systems using graphical user interfaces (GUIs), are optimized for accepting user input from one or more discrete input devices, such as a keyboard for entering text, and a pointing device, such as a mouse with one or more buttons, for operating the user interface. An example of such a GUI is the user interface for the Windows® computer operating system (available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.). The ubiquitous keyboard and mouse interface provides for fast creation and modification of documents, spreadsheets, database fields, drawings, photos, web pages, and the like.
Recently, however, pen-based computing systems, such as tablet PCs and the like, have been increasing in popularity. In pen-based computing systems, user input advantageously may be introduced using an electronic "pen" or stylus (e.g., akin to writing with a pen or pencil on a piece of paper). Indeed, in at least some pen-based computing systems, all user input is capable of being entered and manipulated using an electronic pen input device, and the user interface is fully controllable using only the electronic pen.
As pen-based computing systems are becoming more popular, users are increasingly entering more data in the form of electronic ink. In many instances, users may wish to convert the original electronic ink data to machine-generated text, i.e., text suitable for use and manipulation by conventional word processing programs and other application programs. While handwriting recognition technology for converting handwritten electronic ink text to machine-generated text has improved in recent years, recognizers of this type still are quite error prone, particularly for users with poor handwriting, users that write at an angle, and/or users that write very quickly. Accordingly, much machine-generated text produced by a recognizer still needs to be corrected and/or otherwise changed or edited by the user.
Additionally, one major advantage of computing systems and their associated networks lies in the ability for multiple users to access, review, edit, and otherwise make changes to or comment on electronic documents. Accordingly, pen-based computing system users also have a need to access, review, edit, change, or add text in electronic files and documents from many different sources using their pen-based computing system and the associated electronic pens. Not all of these electronic files and documents originate from electronic ink data and/or from handwriting recognition programs or engines.
At least some existing user interfaces for editing, changing, and/or correcting machine-generated text using only an electronic pen and a pen-based computing system can be awkward, cumbersome, and difficult to use. Also, in many application programs or document types, the electronic document itself cannot be changed or edited using only an electronic pen. These difficulties in using an electronic pen to correct or edit machine-generated text and documents on a pen-based computing system can lead to user frustration, and it can hamper use and adoption of the pen-based computing system. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved correction interfaces that allow users to quickly, easily, and efficiently access, review, edit, and change machine-generated text using electronic ink and/or an electronic pen associated with a pen-based computing system.


An improved technique involves providing read-only access to the file system while FSCK is running. After a storage processor detects corrupted data in the file system, the storage processor brings the file system offline and provides FSCK with read-only access to the file system. The storage processor then begins a repair process on the disk by starting to run FSCK, which writes corrupted blocks to a secondary storage device. Upon receiving a request from a user for access to a file in the file system, the storage processor mounts the file system with read-only access. Upon completion of FSCK, the storage processor brings the file system offline, applies the corrected blocks from secondary storage to the blocks in primary storage, and brings the file system online with full read and write access.

Storage systems use file systems for organizing files stored on disks or flash drives in the storage system. Some file systems have an associated inode table, which serves as an index to inodes, which in turn store block locations on the disks where the files of the file system are stored, as well as metadata associated with those files. A directory is a table providing a mapping between a filename for a file and the location of the inode of the file; the directory may also contain subdirectories. This mapping is encapsulated in a directory entry for the file, which stores both the filename of the file and an inode number. The inode number uniquely identifies the file and provides the location of the content of the file on disk. When a client requests access to the file in a directory, the file system looks up a directory entry for the file and obtains the inode number.
Occasionally, files stored on the disks become corrupted. One cause of corruption is that metadata associated with the files is either erased or has failed to update along with changes in the content of the files. Consequences of corruption include an inability to access the affected files. File systems such as Network File System (NFS) allow a storage controller to detect such corruptions and repair them.
A common tool for such repairs is a utility known as File System Check (FSCK), which searches through the inodes in a file system and performs consistency checks on metadata in those inodes.

Accessing a file system during a file system check


An electro-optical liquid crystal display with active-matrix addressing, in which the liquid-crystal layer has a homeotropic or tilted homeotropic alignment in the switched-off state and which contains a liquid-crystalline medium of negative dielectric anisotropy. The medium contains. A) 30-70% by weight of two or more compounds of the formula I ##STR1## and B) 20-50% by weight of two or more compounds of the formula II ##STR2## in which R.sup.1, R.sup.2, ##STR3## and m are as defined in claim 1. The displays are particularly capable of operation based on the vertically-aligned cholesteric or nematic (VAC or VAN) effect.

Liquid-crystal displays with active-matrix addressing in which the liquid-crystal layer has a homeotropic or tilted homeotropic alignment in the switched-off state, such as, for example, displays based on the ECB (electrically controlled birefringence) effect or the DAP (deformation of aligned phases) effect, are known. They were described for the first time in M. F. Schiekkel and K. Fahrenschon, Appl. Phys. Lett. 19, 3912 (1971).
However, liquid-crystal displays of this type have some disadvantages compared with known active-matrix TN displays, in particular a high viewing-angle dependence of the contrast and of the grey shades.
A newer variant of ECB displays is active-matrix displays based on the VAN (vertically aligned nematic) effect or the VAC (vertically aligned cholesteric) effect. VAN displays have been described, inter alia, in S. Yamauchi et al., SID Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 378ff (1989), and VAC displays have been described in K. A. Crabdall et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 65, 4 (1994).
Like the ECB displays which were known earlier, the more-recent VAN and VAC displays contain a layer of liquid-crystalline medium between two transparent electrodes, where the liquid-crystalline medium has a negative value for the anisotropy of the dielectric constants .DELTA..epsilon.. The molecules in this liquid-crystal layer have a homeotropic or tilted homeotropic alignment in the switched-off state, i.e. are aligned substantially perpendicular to the electrode surfaces. Owing to the negative .DELTA..epsilon., realignment of liquid-crystal molecules parallel to the electrode surface takes place in the switched-on state.
In contrast to conventional ECB displays, in which the liquid-crystal molecules in the switched-on state have a parallel alignment with a uniform preferential direction over the entire liquid-crystal cell, this uniform parallel alignment in VAN and VAC displays is restricted only to small domains within the cell. Disclinations exist between these domains, which are also known as tilt domains.
As a consequence, VAN and VAC displays have a greater viewing-angle independence of the contrast and of the grey shades than conventional ECB displays. In addition, such displays are simpler to produce, since additional treatment of the electrode surface, such as, for example, by rubbing, for uniform alignment of the molecules is no longer necessary.
In contrast to VAN displays, the liquid-crystal media in VAC displays additionally comprise one or more chiral compounds, such as, for example, chiral dopants, which, in the switched-on state, produce a helical twist of the liquid-crystal molecules in the liquid-crystal layer by an angle of between 0 and 360.degree.. The twist angle in the preferred case is about 90.degree..
In particular for these novel VAN and VAC displays, special customized liquid-crystal media are required. For example, it has been found that the liquid-crystalline media of negative dielectric anisotropy disclosed hitherto, as described, for example, in EP 0 474 062, have low values for the voltage holding ratio (HR) after UV exposure. They are therefore not very suitable for use in the displays described above.

Merck Patent Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung


A force sensor component comprising a dimensionally stable body of electrically conductive material, the body having a selected outer surface formed into a predetermined topography; the body including an electrically conductive material in an amount sufficient to render the body electrically conductive at least throughout the selected outer surface of the body; the predetermined topography of the outer surface of the body comprising a plurality of interconnecting ridges across the outer surface of the body.

The present invention relates to working components in force sensors and more particularly to force sensor components having an operable irregular surface topography which comprises a plurality of interconnecting ridges which reinforce each other against bending.
There has developed a need for pressure sensitive conductive components. For an electrical switch which normally has only on and off positions, a need has arisen in the ability of the switch to vary current flow with the degree of pressure between the components which close the switch. Such force sensor components could be incorporated into music synthesizers such as keyboards, drums, woodwinds, and the like where the touch of the musician may determine the volume, timbre, or the like of the instrument. Similarly such force sensitive components could be incorporated into product components for computers (e.g., graphics pads), television, and stereo controllers, security pressure sensors, biomedical devices, robots and household appliances.
The force sensor components of the invention may be used for purposes of making direct contact with or being used in close proximity with conductive circuitry. The performance of the force sensor components herein at different pressures could be utilized to vary a variety of different electrical properties such as resistance or voltage and with a dielectric layer in between as a function of its capacitance properties. Prior force (or pressure or weight) sensitive resistors have been developed which employ patterned surfaces having compressible conductive protrusions, peaks, fingers and the like or rigid conductive particles mounted on deformable bases. Such prior force sensors depend in their performance on force exerted on the tips or top ends of protrusions. When contact under force is made between the force sensor and the circuit or other conductive surface by which a circuit is to be closed, the tips or top ends of the protrusions can bend or buckle. Another disadvantage in using such systems is that the tips or top ends of protrusions provide a limited surface area for enabling electrical conductivity contact even if the peaks or protrusions are compressible. Prior force sensors also typically provide a relatively limited performance range over which conductivity may increase with pressure and vice versa.


A patient examination support system includes a positioning display that displays the patient position required for an examination and/or treatment. Characteristic parameters for the examination and/or treatment of a patient via an X-ray or radiological system are made available at a reduced expense and with substantial reliability, via a preferably remote-controllable positioning display to persons operating the system.

The invention relates, in general, to clinical patient tables or support systems, and more particularly to a patient examination tabletop for a diagnosis and/or treatment system, such as a computed tomography or CT system.
One such patient examination support system is known for instance from German Patent Disclosure DE 101 08 549 A1.
During an examination of a patient by means of a tomography system, the patient can take various positions on a patient examination tabletop, characterized for instance by the designations "head first", "feet first", "face up", and "face down". Medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, technicians, or the like, typically receive instructions on positioning the patient that are required for the examination in writing on a request form. Passing or communicating this information on to an x-ray technician is one possible source of error. In a most favorable case, an error may cause only additional expenditure of time for a required repositioning of the patient. If the error is discovered too late, however, the result can be an imaging examination that does not contribute to the diagnosis.


Methods, systems, and computer programs manage memory of a runtime environment executing on a virtual machine. A runtime environment, such as a Java Virtual Machine, may deterministically arrange immutable data within memory such that a hypervisor may perform page sharing on the immutable data. The runtime environment may page-align the immutable data within memory. The runtime environment may further store the immutable within memory using self-referenced or self-relative pointers.

Virtual computing environments allow multiple virtual machines (VMs) to be run on a single physical platform and to share physical resources. Some virtual computing environments allow configuring the VMs in a way where the total amount of memory designated for use by the VMs is bigger than the actual amount of memory available on the host. This is referred to as memory over-commitment, and it allows more VMs to be packed onto a single host. Some virtual computing environments permit arbitrary boundaries to be placed around computing resources such as memory that may span more than one host. For example, a virtual computing environment may create two VMs, each configured with 4 GB of memory, from a resource pool potentially spanning multiple hosts and having a memory limit of less than the 8 GB required (e.g., a 7 GB memory limit.)
Consolidation of computing systems, which leads to the opportunity to over-commit computing resources, such as memory, is one of the key benefits of virtualization. In some cases, if a VM is not using all of its allocated machine memory, the VM is charged an idle tax so some machine memory is taken away from the VM and made available to other VMs or other processes running in the host. The virtual infrastructure may utilize a variety of memory management techniques to support memory over-commitment without significant performance cost to applications executing inside the guest. For example, the virtual infrastructure may enable sharing of memory between VMs in cases where VMs may be running instances of the same guest OS and have the same applications, libraries, and other data in common. In this technique, the virtual infrastructure identifies and eliminates redundant copies of guest "physical" memory pages across VMs. The virtual infrastructure maps the identical guest "physical" pages to the same machine memory page and enables copy-on-write behavior with regards to that machine memory page.
Unfortunately, there are applications and runtimes that do not work well with memory over-commitment and page sharing. Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is one of the most widely used runtimes in this category. A JVM runtime can be a problematic candidate for page sharing because a Java application and its associated class data is typically loaded into memory in a non-deterministic manner, often based on the order in which a Java application refers to class data. As a result, though JVMs executing on separate VMs may utilize the same Java class libraries for different applications, the memory pages storing the Java class libraries may be unsuitable for page sharing.

Optimizing for page sharing in virtualized java virtual machines


Example embodiments are directed to an enclosure. The enclosure can include at least one wall forming a cavity. The enclosure can also include a conduit receiver disposed in the at least one wall. The conduit receiver can include a housing having an aperture, where the aperture is configured to receive a conduit. The conduit receiver can also include a retaining element disposed within the housing at a distal end of the housing. The conduit receiver can further include a sealing device disposed within the housing at a proximal end of the housing. The conduit receiver can also include a bushing adjacent to the proximal end of the housing, where the bushing extends radially inward from the at least one wall, where the bushing is configured to abut against the conduit when the conduit is received in the aperture, and where the bushing covers an end of the conduit.

Electrical conduit piping systems (also called enclosed raceway systems herein) are used to carry electrical wiring for power and/or communication. An electrical system (also called a cabling system herein) is one of many major systems in a facility (e.g., an industrial facility, a commercial building, a power plant). An electrical system is typically broad reaching, with electrical cables running throughout the facility. In some locations in a facility, a relatively large number of cables are run in a common area. In such a case, cables are laid in cable trays. In other locations in a facility, such as where specific electrical devices are located, a relatively small number of cables are run in a particular enclosed raceway within an enclosed raceway system. A facility often has a large number of enclosed raceways that make up an enclosed raceway system. An enclosed raceway can be rigid and/or flexible.
Enclosed raceways are sometimes run proximate to mechanical and plumbing systems of a facility. An enclosed raceway is often installed along a unique path, having one or more bends (e.g., 90° bends, 45° bends) and straight segments along the length of the enclosed raceway. As such, the path along which an enclosed raceway is installed is flexible. The flexible path of an enclosed raceway is needed to accommodate pre-existing objects (e.g., beams, plumbing, HVAC hardware, wall corners) in a facility. Enclosed raceways are often among the last components of an electrical system to be installed, and so there are likely a number of pre-existing objects around which an enclosed raceway must navigate. Consequently, the electrical enclosed raceways can require a lot of time and material to assemble.
Enclosed raceways provide protection to enclosed cables from impact, moisture, and chemical vapors. As such, conduit can be used to protect cables from being crushed, which can result in a fault condition. Rigid conduit is made in fixed lengths, and so a person (usually an electrician) installing rigid conduit as part of a enclosed raceway may have to perform a number of tasks with respect to the rigid conduit and associated fittings. For example, the installer may have to cut a length of conduit to size, shape a conduit pipe according to a particular curvature required based on the path to be followed, etch mating threads into the conduit, and connect the conduit with one or more fittings to accommodate the path of the enclosed raceway.
In an enclosed raceway system, conduit pipe can be joined to another component (e.g., another conduit pipe, a connector, a junction box, a motor control center, a switchgear cabinet, a control cabinet) using fittings. Such fittings can provide a connection and/or a change in direction. Failure to provide proper joints can cause discontinuity in the enclosed raceway system. Conduit pipe in such cases can be joined using mating threads. Even if a conduit pipe has mating threads disposed on each end, when a conduit pipe is cut to size, mating threads must be etched into the end of the conduit pipe. This process can be messy (leaving, for example, metal shavings, and oil stains) and time consuming. In addition, when conduit pipes are joined by mating threads in a hazardous or explosion-proof application, a flame path formed by the mating threads can be compromised by burrs that result from etching the mating threads into the conduit. The burrs can also damage cable, especially as the cable is being pulled in a cabling system.


A cell holder made up of a top tray, an intermediate tray and a frame. Cells are placed with minimal force in the frame to stand proud of it. The intermediate tray is placed over the projecting tops of the cells and serves to locate the cells. A busbar in the intermediate tray is connected to one set of terminals. A top tray is placed over the intermediate tray and snap-locked through the intermediate tray to the frame. The snap-lock distance is short. A busbar in the top tray is connected to the other set of terminals. The top tray shields the first busbar. Vents may be included to allow for the escape of hot cell gases in the event of failure.

The demand for electrically based vehicles and devices has increased these last years due to their relatively low environmental impact compared to prior technologies. The development of safer and more efficient electrical cells and associated technologies is important for the economic expansion of these fields.
Safely assembling and mechanically retaining battery cells in a battery pack can be difficult. Failures to correctly assemble the battery packs or loose cells in the packs may cause an electrical danger or fire, either during manufacturing, in use or in service.
This background is not intended, nor should be construed, to constitute prior art against the present invention.


A cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine includes a cast cylinder head and a turbocharger housing integrally cast with the cylinder head and having an integrally cast wastegate housing. The turbocharger housing is configured to receive a turbocharger cartridge rotatably supporting a shaft coupled between a compressor wheel and a turbine wheel. The integrally cast wastegate housing defines a wastegate chamber configured to receive a wastegate valve, a flow of exhaust gas from the turbine wheel, and a flow of wastegate exhaust gas.

Turbocharger systems typically account for a good portion of the cost of an engine. Moreover, typical gasoline engine turbine housings have significant amounts of nickel and chrome, thereby accounting for a large portion of the cost of the turbocharger. Further, gaskets, fasteners, mating tubes, ducts and other components associated with the turbocharger often need to be made of premium materials, for example, due to heat, pressure, and vibration induced from the turbocharger. While such turbocharger systems do work well for their intended purpose, it is desirable to provide continuous improvement in the relevant art by reducing cost and complexity.

Cylinder head with integrated turbocharger


A method of testing an electric motor that is adapted to provide a desired electric motor output torque to a vehicle powertrain system comprising an engine and the electric motor which are operatively and selectively coupled to a transmission. The method includes the steps of determining an initial motor speed of the electric motor, determining a motor torque command as a function of the initial motor speed, applying the motor torque command to the electric motor to produce an output torque from the electric motor, measuring a resultant motor speed of the electric motor and establishing a motor status as a function of the resultant motor speed. The method may be implemented as a computer control and diagnostic algorithm.

An HEV is a vehicle that has a vehicle powertrain system for propulsion that consists of at least one electric motor or electric machine in combination with at least one other power source. Typically, the other power source is a gasoline or diesel engine. There are various types of HEVs depending on how the electric motor(s) and other power source(s) are combined with one another in order to provide propulsion for the vehicle, including series, parallel and compound HEVs, including those having electrically variable transmissions (EVTs) which provide for continuously variable speed ratios by combining features from both series and parallel HEV powertrain architectures.
The development of new HEV powertrain systems and architectures also facilitate and necessitate the development and implementation of novel vehicle operating and diagnostic methodologies which are adapted to utilize and assess novel features of these systems, including assessing the status and availability of certain systems, subsystems and components to perform their intended function. This information is particularly desirable in conjunction with restarting of the HEV from a shutdown or "key-off" condition to a restart or "key-on" condition, because on key-off much of the system is powered off in order to conserve the state of charge of the energy storage system, such as a battery pack or array. As such, changes in the status of many of the vehicle systems, subsystems and components are unknown, and it is preferred to test certain of them in order to verify their operational status prior to utilization of the powertrain system. For example, if maintenance is performed on the vehicle during the key-off condition, it may be desirable to ensure that cetain of the vehicle systems, subsystems and components are working properly prior to returning the vehicle to service. One such item for which information about the status and availability is desired is the electric motor(s) used for propulsion of the vehicle with respect to its integrity or ability to produce the desired output torque for propulsion of the HEV powertrain system.
Therefore, it is very desirable to develop a method for testing the electric motor(s) used for propulsion in an HEV powertrain system prior to utilization of the system in order to determine whether it is capable of producing the desired output torque.

Method of testing motor torque integrity in a hybrid electric vehicle


A system and method is provided to construct a structure using three dimensional printing of extrudable building material to a wall surface of a structure. According to one embodiment, a printing assembly is moveably disposed above the surface, and extrudable building material is applied from a nozzle onto the surface. One or more profilometers measure at periodic intervals along a geometric cross-section of a bead of extrudable building material. One or more controllers compare the measured cross-section to a predetermined, target cross section and one or more controllers periodically change, for example, the rate of application and/or the viscosity of the extrudable building material applied along the longitudinal axis. The nozzle direction can change, and the profilometers can be rotated about the nozzle along different longitudinal axes, or directions, depending on the wall locations being formed.

This disclosure is generally directed to the construction of structures (e.g., dwellings, buildings, etc.). More particular, this disclosure is directed to using a feedback loop to geometrically control the addition of layers of elongated beads of extrudable building material to a wall surface of the structure.
Structures (e.g., dwellings, buildings, sheds, etc.) may be manufactured with a multitude of different materials and construction methods. Among the materials commonly used in the construction of structures is concrete. For example, concrete may be utilized in the foundation of a structure and possibly in the construction of interior or exterior walls.

System and method for constructing structures by adding layers of extrudable building material using a control feedback loop


In one embodiment, an apparatus generally comprises a printed circuit board comprising a first side, a second side, and a plurality of power vias extending from the first side to the second side, the first side configured for receiving an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a power delivery board mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board and comprising a power plane interconnected with power vias in the power delivery board to electrically couple voltage regulator modules and the ASIC. The voltage regulator modules are mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board.

As ASIC process nodes advance and device currents continue to increase in support of even higher very large scale integration (VLSI) gate counts, delivering requisite power to ASICs is becoming more challenging. Power distribution through traces in a conventional printed circuit board plane often results in significant voltage drop and high current density since the plane region below the ASIC is typically heavily perforated by through-hole-vias.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated power delivery board for delivering power to an ASIC with bypass of signal vias in a printed circuit board


A tailgate cover includes at least one pocket to securely fit over a tailgate. In some embodiments, the tailgate cover includes two or three pockets. The tailgate cover is made of stretchable material such as a stretchable fabric which enables the cover to be stretched securely over the tailgate. To further secure the tailgate cover over the tailgate, any coupling device is able to be used. The tailgate cover is able to include any graphic and/or text.

Avid fans do anything to show their pride in their team including wearing clothes, buying trinkets, placing bumper stickers on vehicles and fastening flags onto their vehicles, all with team logos. Furthermore, people are continuously looking for ways of advertising, such as putting signs atop taxicabs, placing ads on the sides of buses and affixing stickers to vehicles.


A single chip microcomputer formed on a semiconductor substrate includes a central processing unit, a ROM storing therein a program for operating the central processing unit, a digital signal processor, and a multi-port RAM. The digital signal processor develops an outline font on the multi-port RAM in accordance with a program stored in a storage unit provided in the digital signal processor. This eliminates the necessity of development of an outline font by the central processing unit and allows high speed execution of such development of an outline font. Further, the central processing unit and the digital signal processor can operate in a parallel relationship.

This invention relates to a data processing system, and more particularly, to a data processing system which utilizes a technique applied to a microcomputer for development of an outline font for a bit map display using a CRT (cathode ray tube), a plasma display device, a liquid crystal display device, or a page printer such as i) a laser beam printer, ii) a liquid crystal printer, or iii) an LED (light emitting diode) printer.
One of the formats used to draw a pattern in a bit map memory is a dot font format wherein a pattern is represented in a dot matrix. The dot font format is easy to handle and allows a pattern to be drawn at high speed because the font data in the matrix is actually a representation of dots corresponding to the picture elements. However, it is difficult to rotate font data to an arbitrary angle. Also, where the dot density is comparatively low, an enlarged display results in a rough or uneven profile. If the dot density is increased, the amount of data will increase.
The problems which arise when using a dot matrix system, such as a rough profile and an increased amount of data, can be eliminated by employing a vector graphics technique wherein a pattern is drawn in accordance with outline font data. The outline font data has a data structure wherein a profile of a pattern is defined as an aggregate of lines.
For example, outline font data includes information indicative of the type of line needed and information concerning the starting point, the end point, and/or some other control points of such line. The type of line can be a straight line or a free curved line such as a short line vector, an arc, a spline curve or a Bezier curve.
When a conventional single chip microcomputer is employed to provide a system which draws an outline font in accordance with outline font data as described above, a CPU (central processing unit) core receives, from an external memory, data indicating the types of lines comprising the outline font. The CPU core includes a direct memory access controller and some other peripheral circuits. The CPU core then decodes the received outline font data and executes calculations for development into a dot pattern. The CPU core transfers the corresponding outline font to an external working memory which functions as a font cache memory. Then, either the CPU or the direct memory access controller transfers the outline font from the working memory to a page memory such as a frame buffer memory. The DMAC is built in the single chip microcomputer and has a data block transfer function such as a BITBLT (bit block transfer) function. Drawing of the outline font into the page memory is completed in this manner. When, for example, the drawn contents of the page memory are to be printed, a drawing/displaying processor, such as a CRT controller, sends out a document composed of an outline font completed on the page memory as video signals to a laser beam printer engine.
An example of a document relating to an outline font drawing system of the type described above is Nikkei Electronics, No. 417, Nikkei MacGraw Hill, Mar. 23, 1987, pp. 205-227.
Investigations of the prior art described above have revealed many drawbacks. In particular, since the CPU core executes generation of an outline font, it cannot execute any other operation simultaneously. This deteriorates the operation efficiency of the entire system. Development of an outline font requires calculations of coordinate points of free curved lines which involve a large amount of floating point calculations. Also, a coordinate transformation such as an enlargement, a reduction or a rotation involves a large amount of floating point calculations. Floating point calculations greatly burden the CPU core.
It may seem advantageous to add an FPU (floating point arithmetic unit) as a co-processor in order to increase the speed of a calculation for a free curved line and a coordinate transformation. But, even though the speed of calculation of existing FPUs is several microseconds for routine calculations, floating point calculations require much more calculating time. There is a limit to the increase of the speed of calculation because of the architecture of the FPU. Since the FPU is closely coupled to the CPU, the CPU core cannot proceed with independent data processing while the FPU is calculating. The instructions for both the CPU and FPU are common to each other so the CPU core does not execute a new command until the FPU completes execution of a required coprocessor instruction. In other words, CPU and FPU instructions are stored in a common memory space. When the FPU is executing calculations which aid in the generation of an outline font, other work cannot be executed by the system. Therefore, the operation efficiency of the entire system is not significantly improved when an FPU is employed.

Data processing system for development of outline fonts


An audio jack connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1) having a number of passageways (111) and a number of slits (112) beside the passageways, and a number of contacts (2) retained in the passageways. Each contact includes a retaining portion (22) retained in the passageway, a contacting portion (21) extending inwardly from the retaining portion, and a horizontal portion (23) bent outwardly from the retaining portion and being located in a bottom face (11) of the insulative housing. The audio jack connector includes a glue plate (3) assembled to the bottom face of the insulative housing. The audio jack connector includes a glue frame (4) having a base portion (41) seamlessly sandwiched between the glue plate and the insulative housing, and a number of protrusions (42) seamlessly sandwiched between the horizontal portions of contacts and the insulative housing. The protrusions are received in the slits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an audio jack connector, and more particularly to a waterproof audio jack connector.
2. Description of Related Arts
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2013/0183867, published on Jul. 18, 2013, discloses an audio jack connector comprising an insulating housing and a number of contacts assembled in the insulating housing. The insulating housing defines a mating face with an insertion hole through which an audio plug is inserted into a receiving channel of the insulating housing, a rear surface opposite to the mating surface, a mounting surface facing a printed circuit board, and a top surface opposite to the mounting surface. The audio jack connector includes an insulative plate attached to the rear surface of the insulating housing and a solidified glue portion formed between the insulative plate and the insulating housing. The insulative plate defines a plurality of holes through which the contacts extend out of the insulating housing. The rear surface of the insulating housing is sealed by the insulative plate and the solidified glue portion. The glue is filled along a rear-to-front direction along which the contacts extend and is lightly filled in the interspace between adjacent two contacts for enwrapping the contacts.
A waterproof audio jack connector of a different structure is desired.


The present invention relates to a temporary ball impression coping (1) for use during the preparation of a overdenture having ball attachment devices for attaching said overdenture to fixtures in the jaw. The coping (1) is provided with a bore (4) for cooperation with a ball part on said ball attachment device. The bore has a cross-section which is polygonal in shape.

The preparation of overdentures involves a series of positive and negative impressions and casts which are used so as to adapt the overdenture to the shape of the oral cavity and so as to orient the fastener elements in the jaw and in the overdenture correctly in relation to each other. During this casting-impression procedure, a temporary coping is placed upon the ball abutments in the jaw and moulded into an impression in an impression spoon. The copings have a bore which is complementary to the ball parts of the ball attachment devices. The copings, which now are located in the impression, are then utilized to hold ball abutment replicas which are moulded into a positive model of the jaw cast into the impression. The snap fasteners or ball housings are then attached to the temporary ball abutment replicas and moulded into or otherwise attached to the overdenture.
The copings normally have an interior bore which is circular in cross-section. This means that the fit between the coping and the ball part has to be very exact. If the bore is too small, it will be difficult to press the coping onto the ball part, and if the bore is too wide, there will be no or insufficient friction to hold the ball abutment and the abutment replica securely. Furthermore, special arrangements have to be made in order to allow the air in the bore to escape, such as channels to the outside etc.
It thus is desirable that there is a specified friction between the bore in the coping and the ball parts of the respective ball abutment This sets a high standard in regard of the dimensional precision of the bore. It furthermore is desirable that any air present in the interior of the coping has a possibility of escaping when the coping is pushed down onto the ball part in order to allow the coping to be fully seated on the ball part.


Apparatus for longitudinally segmenting a cruciform shaped irradiated boiling water reactor control rod having four elongated blades radially extending from a central spline, into four flat panels. The apparatus employs a double bladed band saw with the band saw blades orthogonally oriented at two different elevations and having one side of each band saw blade crossing over the center of the spline of the control rod in between the control rod blades.

1. Field
This invention relates generally to the storage, transportation and disposal of highly radioactive components, and, more particularly to apparatus for vertically segmenting a boiling water reactor control rod blade to facilitate storage and/or transportation.
2. Description of Related Art
One type of commonly used boiling water nuclear reactor employs a nuclear fuel assembly comprised of fuel rods surrounded by a fuel channel. Each fuel channel of a boiling water reactor typically consists of a hollow, linear, elongated, four-sided channel of integral construction, which except for its rounded corner edges, has a substantially square cross section. Commonly, each channel is roughly 14 feet (4.27 meters) long by five inches (12.7 cms.) square and laterally encloses a plurality of elongated fuel elements. The fuel elements are arranged to allow for the insertion of a cruciform shaped control rod, which, during reactor operation, is movable vertically to control the nuclear reaction. As is generally known, the control rods come in a number of similar shapes, e.g., an American version, a Nordic version and a German version, and generally include an upper portion having a handle and four upper ball rollers for guiding the upper portion of the control rod as it moves vertically and a lower portion comprising a lower casting that in at least one of the versions functions as a velocity limiter and lower ball rollers that serve as a lower guide for the vertical movement. The main body structure, between the upper and lower portions, includes four blades or panels which extend radially from a central spline. Preferably, the blades extend longitudinally to at least a height that substantially equals the height of the fuel elements, which is approximately 12 feet (3.66 meters). The width of the control rods at the blade section is approximately twice the width of the panels, which is in the order of 10 inches (25.4 cms.) and the blades are approximately 2.8 inches (7 mils.) thick.
Following functional service, boiling water reactor control rod blades are difficult to store and dispose of because of their size, configuration, embrittled condition, and radiological activity. Heretofore within the United States, in-pool storage of control rod blades has been extremely space inefficient and dry cask storage is not readily available. The control rod design may vary with the manufacturer, but the four-panel design with the panels radially extending from a central spline at 90° intervals around the circumference of the control rod is common to all of the boiling water reactor designs, and thus, a common storage problem.
Control rod blades and other irradiated hardware are typically Class C low level radioactive waste as defined and determined pursuant to 10 CFR §61 and related regulatory guidance e.g., NRC's Branch Technical Position on Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation. Since Jul. 1, 2008, low level radioactive waste generators within the United States that are located outside of the Atlantic Compact (Connecticut, New Jersey and South Carolina) have not had access to Class B or Class C, low level radioactive waste disposal capacity. Lack of disposal capacity has caused boiling water reactor operators considerable spent fuel pool overcrowding. Though currently very uncertain and subject to numerous regulatory and commercial challenges Class B and Class C, low level radioactive waste disposal capacity for the remainder of the United States low level radioactive waste generators is anticipated in the relatively near future.
One technique for reducing the volume of boiling water reactor control rods for spent fuel pool storage has been to sever the upper and lower portions of the control rods from the control rods' blades. In the remaining main blade structure, the individual blade sections have been removed from the central spline by longitudinal cuts and the severed parts are then stacked for storage or burial as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,840. This type of process requires three approximately 4 meter long cuts with handling time in between that makes this an arduous process. The packing of the segmented blades is also inefficient leading to high customer costs. An alternate approach has been taken in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,236, which suggests that a vertical cut be made along the center line of the spline to divide the control rod blades into two chevrons. The chevrons can then be closely stacked for storage. Each of the approaches yields 12-foot (3.6 meters) or longer segments that are costly to shield and transport. U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,840 recognizes that since the blades enclose neutron absorber rods, which contain radioactive gas, the vertical cuts must be made quite near the central spline to avoid releasing the radioactive gases. Thus, horizontal segmentation of the blades, which would cut across the sealed rods that contain the neutron absorber material and the radioactive gases, while making the handling of the blades more manageable, is problematic. Copending patent application Ser. No. 13/612,905, filed Sep. 13, 2012, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,857,027, issued Oct. 14, 2014, overcomes this difficulty, but first requires a convenient way to the vertically segment the blades into four flat panels.
Therefore, for safe and cost effective shipment and storage of a spent boiling water reactor control rod a new apparatus is desired for vertically segmenting the control rod blades in an efficient manner to make the blades more amenable to further lateral segmentation to reduce the storage volume of the component to a manageable size that can be packaged in a dry cask.
Additionally, such an apparatus is desired that will minimize the release of radioactive debris in segmenting a boiling water reactor control rod.

Apparatus for vertically segmenting a boiling water reactor control rod blade


A small-scale dynamic simulator for crude oil refinery desalters has a pressurized oil deviblis configured to hold a supply of crude oil and a water deviblis configured to hold a supply of wash water. At least one chemical feed pump selectively adds emulsion breaker chemicals to the desalter simulator and a low shear metering pump is configured to pump crude oil and wash water through the desalter simulator. An emulsion forming device forms a crude oil-wash water emulsion that is then received in a desalter vessel. The desalting vessel is fitted with electric grids which simulate those found in electric desalters. The emulsion is resolved within the desalter vessel with the assistance of the emulsion breaker chemicals so the wash water and crude oil form distinct phases, with substantially desalted crude oil removed from an upper portion of the desalter vessel and substantially oil-free wash water removed from a bottom portion of the desalter vessel. A portion of the desalter vessel is substantially transparent to allow visualization of the demulsification process and at least one light source is positioned adjacent to the desalter vessel to aid in visualization of a rag layer formed in the desalter vessel. A heated jacket surrounds the desalter vessel to maintain the desalter vessel at the desired temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the small-scale simulation of crude oil refinery desalters, free water knockouts and heater treaters, and more particularly, to a dynamic desalter simulator that enables the direct observation of the rag layer at the crude oil and water interface and the ability to remove samples of the fluids or emulsions during the simulation and monitor parameters such as temperature, pressure, conductivity, chloride, and pH.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquid hydrocarbon phase, such as crude oil, naturally contains a variety of contaminants that have detrimental effects on process equipment and in the operation of a refinery. These contaminants are broadly classified as salts, bottom sediment, water, solids, and metals. The types and amounts of these contaminants vary depending on the particular hydrocarbon phase. Additionally, native water present in the liquid hydrocarbon phase as droplets may be coated with naturally occurring surfactants such as asphaltenes, naphthenic acid salts, resins, or with solids including but not limited to iron oxide, silica, carbon, carbonates, or phosphates. Removing the water from the crude oil is essential at crude oil production facilities as it impacts the value of crude oil and its economic transportation. The presence of salts, especially chlorides of Group I and Group II elements of The Periodic Table of Elements, causes corrosion of oil processing equipment. In order to mitigate the effects of corrosion, it is advantageous to reduce the salt concentration to the range of 1 to 5 ppm or less and water content to about 0.10 to 1 wt % by weight of the crude oil prior to transportation and processing of the oil.
A standard treatment for removing small particles of solids and bottom sediment, salts, water and metals is a phase separation operation commonly known as dewatering or desalting. A fresh water wash in the range of typically 4 to 15 vol % is injected into the crude oil. The crude oil and wash water are subjected to shear to thoroughly mix the water and the crude oil to form an emulsion and to transfer the contaminants from the crude oil into the fresh water. Frequently a chemical emulsion breaker is also added to the emulsion, and often the emulsion is subjected to an electrostatic field so that water droplets in the mixture of crude oil, wash water, and chemical emulsion breaker coalesce in the electrostatic field between electrodes. The coalesced water droplets settle below the oleaginous crude oil phase and are removed. The treated crude oil is removed from the upper part of the separator.
One problem encountered with dewatering and desalting is that some crude oils form an undesirable "rag" layer comprising a stable oil-water emulsion and solids at the water-oil phase boundary in the desalter vessel. The rag layer often remains in the vessel but it may be removed for storage or for further processing. Rag layers at the water-oil phase boundary result in oil loss and reduced processing capacity. Heavy crude oils containing high concentrations of asphaltenes, resins, waxes, and napthenic acids exhibit a high propensity to form rag layers.
Additives may be added to improve coalescence and dehydration of the hydrocarbon phase, provide faster water separation, improve salt or solids extraction, and generate oil-free effluent water. These additives, also known as demulsifiers, are usually fed to the hydrocarbon phase to modify the oil/water interface. It is also possible to feed these materials to the wash water or to both the oil and water. These additives allow droplets of water to coalesce more readily and for the surfaces of solids to be water-wetted. The additives reduce the effective time required for good separation of oil, solids, and water.
Development of new chemical demulsifiers has typically been done using static simulations. In the past, static tests using a simple apparatus such as glass bottles or glass tubes and are referred to as "bottle testing". These methods have proven to be useful but they often fail to adequately simulate many critical parameters of a desalter and have been of limited use particularly in heavy oils or systems that have a propensity to develop rag layers. In particular, bottle testing fails to simulate the development of a rag layers since these develop over time in dynamic systems that continually refresh the oil.
In the simplest embodiment, oil samples with treatments are added to prescription bottles and shaken. The rate of demulsification (water removal) is then monitored as a function of time by observing the amount of "free" water that collects at the bottom of the bottle. This simulation is sufficient for desalting vessels that are operated at low temperatures with light oils. However, it fails to correctly simulate the size of the water drops in the actual emulsion and the actual temperature. The equation below is Stokes Law and describes the settling velocity of spherical water drops in a fluid.
      V    s    =            2      9                                    r          2                                  g                                (                                          ρ                p                            -                              ρ                f                                      )                              η                      where:        VS is the particles' settling velocity (cm/sec) (vertically downwards if ρp>ρf, upwards if ρp<ρf),        r is the Stokes Radius of the particle (cm),        g is the gravitation constant (cm/sec2),        ρp is the density of the particles (g/cm3),        ρf is the density of the fluid (g/cm3), and        η is the fluid viscosity (dyne sec/cm2).
The simplistic bottle shaking simulations often fail to correctly simulate the drop diameter and the temperature and viscosity (η), which is a function of temperature. This results in data that fails to properly describe the system being studied. For heavier oils, the bottle shaking simulation is even worse. Actual desalting temperatures are between 120° C. to 150° C., and these simple simulations are not close to actual conditions of viscosity, drop size and in materials like SAGD fluid or Venezuelan Extra Heavy crude since the density difference between the water and the oil is significant at the higher temperatures. Thus, this driving force for separation is incorrectly simulated. Historically, people add diluents, a light aliphatic hydrocarbon, in efforts to better simulate the viscosity and density differences, but this changes the polarity of the oil and can precipitate the asphaltenes and completely change the nature of the oil. Without the addition of the diluents to reduce the viscosity, the separation time at low temperatures can be many hours.
Dynamic test simulators that allow actual operating conditions of a desalter to be used in the experiments have been built. These devices include "pilot" units that use hundreds of barrels per day to laboratory systems that use 50 to 100 gallons of oil per day. These devices still use sizeable quantities of crude oil, have limited abilities to modify system parameters, and the ability to observe the development of a rag is not possible.
It is desired to improve simulation methods such that one may select the most efficacious chemistries and operating conditions to optimize the emulsion breaker chemistries, oil mixtures, temperatures, emulsion size, and other parameters.


A memory package comprising a first circuit board having a plurality of memory element sockets and a second circuit board coupled to the first circuit board and comprising a controller chip. The first and second circuit boards are disposed within a tray having a base and two sides. A handle is connected to the tray such that the handle is pivotal with respect to the tray. The handle has a lever system and latch that is slidably engaged with the lever system.

In certain computer-based systems, such as servers, there may be items that require upgrades, repair or replacement. For example, servers may use a plurality of memory modules that may be upgraded or replaced periodically. In some systems, the server is shut down while the appropriate memory modules are removed or replaced. This can be problematic when the server or other computer-based system is utilized in an application that requires or benefits from continuous operation.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A switching regulator system having a switching regulator configured to generate regulated voltage pulses at a switching output in response to a setpoint of an output voltage at a setpoint input and feedback of the output voltage at a feedback input is disclosed. A power inductor is coupled between the switching output and a filtered output, and a filter capacitor is coupled between the filtered output and a fixed voltage node. A transistor having a control input is coupled between the filtered output and the fixed voltage node. A transition comparator has a first comparator input coupled to the setpoint input, a second comparator input coupled to the feedback input, and a comparator output coupled to the control input, wherein the transition comparator is configured to monitor for a setpoint voltage dropping below a feedback voltage and in response turn on the transistor to discharge the filter capacitor.

An impressive growth of high bandwidth applications for radio frequency handheld devices has led to increased demand for efficient power-saving techniques to increase battery life. Because the radio frequency power amplifier of the mobile device consumes a large percentage of the overall power budget of the mobile device, various switching regulator systems have been proposed to increase the overall power efficiency of the radio frequency power amplifier. As such, there remains a need to further improve the power efficiency of mobile devices to provide extended battery life. In this regard, there is a need to improve the switching regulator systems of mobile devices.

Switching regulator system with transition detection and filter capacitor discharge circuitry


In accordance with the progress of a performance, a CPU 10 supplies word data indicative of words to be displayed. The CPU obtains a color change function passing coordinates which are specified by color change function data indicative of: a length of each of sections which are obtained by dividing a word display region to be displayed in accordance with the word data; and a time period required for changing a color of the section. The CPU instructs a color change in accordance with the color change function. A video circuit 18 changes the color of the words which are displayed on the basis of the word data, in accordance with the color change instructions, and a monitor 19 displays the words.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for displaying words in a karaoke system which generates musical tones on the basis of performance data, displays words, and changes the color of the words in accordance with the progress of the performance.
2. Related Art
In a known technique of this kind, word data (lyric data) are supplied so that words (lyric) are displayed on a monitor or the like, and information indicative of the speed of changing the color of the displayed word region is supplied in synchronization with the progress of the performance. According to this technique, when the user or the singer can sing a song in accordance with the color change of the words, the singing process can correspond to the progress of the performance.
However, the technique has drawbacks as discussed below. In order to finely change the color change speed of the words, or to smoothly conduct the color change in a stepless manner in an extreme case, information instructing the color change speed must be supplied with finely changing it for each of minute sections. Actually, such a control is very difficult to conduct and requires a massive amount of data.

Apparatus for displaying words in a karaoke system


A breathing assistance unit for providing pressurized heated humidified air to a user increases user compliance. The breathing assistance unit generates positive emotional and cognitive states of a user about the therapy.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for sensing a condition of a body of a living thing receiving a respiratory gas. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for improving patient compliance in continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) treatment. Compliance, as used in the CPAP field, can mean the duration of nightly use of the device, or the amount of time that the device is switched on and being worn.
Description of the Related Art
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep breathing disorder affecting approximately 2-4% of the middle-aged population. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) are two treatments for OSA. While CPAP and BiPAP provide an effective treatment of OSA, compliance is often low.

Method and apparatus for increasing therapy compliance


An error detecting circuit of a system time clock is described, which includes a counter section for counting the pulses of the system time clock and resetting the count value at every given period, an error generating section for generating an error value, a loop filter for outputting a voltage value in accordance with the error value, and a voltage controlled oscillator for providing a clock signal corresponding to the voltage value from the loop filter. The frequency of a system time clock of a decoder is modified in accordance with the difference of the system time clock of the decoder from that of an encoder, thereby synchronizing the system time clocks of the decoder and the encoder.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an error detecting circuit of a system time clock (STC), and more particularly, to an error detecting circuit of a system time clock for a moving picture experts group 2 (MPEG2) system decoder.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In view of the current technical trend toward digitalizing information, an image compression technology is important as a basis for the development of multimedia technology.
Under these technical environments, and in view of the fact that an international standard for compressing a digital signal of a moving picture image is essential in the field of multimedia, a moving picture experts group (MPEG) standard has developed as an international standard.
The MPEG standard relates to video and audio systems wherein a digital video signal is compressed using an MPEG standardized video algorithm, a digital audio signal is compressed using an MPEG standardized audio algorithm, and synchronizing and multiplexing the bit stream of compressed video and audio signals.
The MPEG has the basic frame compression features of the joint photograph experts group (JPEG) standard, but has an additional function of deleting time duplexity among frames. The JPEG standard is one of the proposed standards in the technology of static picture compressing. The MPEG-2 standard is prominent among MPEG standards, and is capable of providing a high resolution image at the level of high definition television (HDTV). Accordingly, many technical developments are currently directed to MPEG-2 systems and decoder chips for MPEG-2 video/audio systems.
The present invention specifically relates to an MPEG-2 system decoder.
According to international standard draft no. 13818 prepared by International Standard Organization(ISO)/International Electrotechnical Conference(IEC), synchronizing each elementary stream in a transport stream is carried out on the basis of a program clock reference(PCR) and a system time clock(STC).
The system time clock is obtained by means of a counter which counts a clock signal of a certain frequency, for example, 27 MHz. The STC is used on both an encoder side and a decoder side of a transport stream, and the STC of an encoder is required to be synchronized with the STC of a decoder.
In order to satisfy this requirement, the STC values of an encoder are sampled out as PCRs at constant time intervals, which are then transferred through the transport stream.
On the decoder side of the transport stream, the STC of a decoder is synchronized with the STC of an encoder by means of the PCRs which are transferred as described above.
For the purpose of the synchronizing operation, there should be provided an error detecting circuit on the decoder side, by which an error is detected between a current STC and the PCR from the transport stream and then the STC of the decoder is revised with reference to the error.

Error detecting circuit of a system time clock for an MPEG system decoder


Acid mist may be removed efficiently from a gas stream using at least one fiber bed mist eliminator operating at elevated pressure of typically at least 2 bar (0.2 MPa), e.g. at about 4 bar (0.4 MPa) to about 50 bar (5 MPa). The invention has particular application in methods for processing carbon dioxide flue gas in which SO2 and/or NOx contaminants are converted at elevated pressure to sulfuric acid condensate and/or nitric acid condensate respectively.

The present invention relates generally to a method for removing acid mist from a gas stream. In particular, the invention relates to the purification of carbon dioxide by removing acid mist. The present invention has particular application in the purification of flue gas containing SOx and NOx generated by oxyfuel combustion of a fuel selected from hydrocarbon fuels and carbonaceous fuels, in which sulfur dioxide (SO2) and NOx are converted to at least sulfuric acid condensate and nitric acid condensate respectively.
The term "SOx" means oxides of sulfur and includes SO2 and sulfur trioxide (SO3). The term "NOx" means oxides of nitrogen and includes primarily nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). NOx may comprise one or more other oxides of nitrogen including N2O, N2O4 and N2O3.
It has been asserted that one of the main causes of global warming is the rise in greenhouse gas contamination in the atmosphere due to anthropological effects. The main greenhouse gas which is being emitted, carbon dioxide (CO2), has risen in concentration in the atmosphere from 270 ppm before the industrial revolution to the current figure of about 378 ppm. Further rises in CO2 concentration are inevitable until CO2 emissions are curbed. The main sources of CO2 emission are fossil fuel fired electric power stations and from petroleum fuelled vehicles.
The use of fossil fuels is necessary in order to continue to produce the quantities of electric power that nations require to sustain their economies and lifestyles. There is, therefore, a need to devise efficient means by which CO2 may be captured from power stations burning fossil fuel so that it can be stored rather than being vented into the atmosphere. Storage may be deep undersea; in a geological formation such as a saline aquifer; or a depleted oil or natural gas formation. Alternatively, the CO2 could be used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
The oxyfuel combustion process seeks to mitigate the harmful effects of CO2 emissions by producing a net combustion product gas consisting of CO2 and water vapor by combusting a carbonaceous or hydrocarbon fuel in pure oxygen. This process would result in an absence of nitrogen (N2) in the flue gas, together with a very high combustion temperature which would not be practical in a furnace or boiler. In order to moderate the combustion temperature, part of the total flue gas stream is typically recycled, usually after cooling, back to the burner.
An oxyfuel process for CO2 capture from a pulverized coal-fired power boiler is described in a paper entitled "Oxy-combustion processes for CO2 capture from advanced supercritical PF and NGCC power plants" (Dillon et al; presented at GHGT-7, Vancouver, Sep. 2004), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Oxyfuel combustion produces raw flue gas containing primarily CO2, together with contaminants such as water vapor; "non-condensable" gases, i.e. gases from chemical processes which are not easily condensed by cooling, such as excess combustion oxygen (O2), and/or O2, N2 and argon (Ar) derived from any air leakage into the system; and acid gases such as SO3, SO2, hydrogen chloride (HCl), NO and NO2 produced as oxidation products from components in the fuel or by combination of N2 and O2 at high temperature. The precise concentrations of the gaseous impurities present in the flue gas depend on factors such as on the fuel composition; the level of N2 in the combustor; the combustion temperature; and the design of the burner and furnace.
In general, the final, purified, CO2 product should ideally be produced as a high pressure fluid stream for delivery into a pipeline for transportation to storage or to site of use, e.g. in EOR. The CO2 must be dry to avoid corrosion of, for example, a carbon steel pipeline. The CO2 impurity levels must not jeopardize the integrity of the geological storage site, particularly if the CO2 is to be used for EOR, and the transportation and storage must not infringe international and national treaties and regulations governing the transport and disposal of gas streams.
It is, therefore, necessary to purify the raw flue gas from the boiler or furnace to remove water vapor; SOx; NOx; soluble gaseous impurities such as HCl; and "non-condensable" gases such as O2, N2 and Ar, in order to produce a final CO2 product which will be suitable for storage or use.
In general, the prior art in the area of CO2 capture using the oxyfuel process has up to now concentrated on removal of SOx and NOx upstream of the CO2 compression train in a CO2 recovery and purification system, using current state of the art technology. SOx and NOx removal is based on flue gas desulphurization (FGD) schemes such as scrubbing with limestone slurry followed by air oxidation producing gypsum, and NOx reduction using a variety of techniques such as low NOx burners, over firing or using reducing agents such as ammonia or urea at elevated temperature with or without catalysts. Conventional SOx/NOx removal using desulphurization and NOx reduction technologies is disclosed in "Oxyfuel Combustion For Coal-Fired Power Generation With CO2 Capture—Opportunities And Challenges" (Jordal et al; GHGT-7, Vancouver, 2004). Such process could be applied to conventional coal boilers.
US 2007/0122328 A1 (granted as U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,716 B1) discloses the first known method of removing SO2 and NOx from crude carbon dioxide gas produced by oxyfuel combustion of a hydrocarbon or carbonaceous fuel, in which the removal steps take place in the CO2 compression train of a CO2 recovery and purification system. This process is known as a "sour compression" process since acid gases are compressed with carbon dioxide flue gas. The method comprises maintaining the crude carbon dioxide gas at elevated pressure(s) in the presence of O2 and water and, when SO2 is to be removed, NOx, for a sufficient time to convert SO2 to sulfuric acid and/or NOx to nitric acid; and separating said sulfuric acid and/or nitric acid from the crude carbon dioxide gas.
It is well known that producing sulfuric acid and/or nitric acid using a condensation process can result in the formation of "acid mist" which is an aerosol of liquid acid condensate. In the context of the present invention, the term "aerosol" refers to a suspension of fine liquid droplets within a gas. The size of liquid droplets in an acid aerosol or mist such as a sulfuric acid mist may range from about 0.05 microns to about 10 microns (μm).
Acid mists must be removed efficiently from vent streams in order to meet stringent environmental emission regulations. In this connection, the maximum allowable emission into the atmosphere of sulfuric acid mist from sulfuric acid plants in the US is 0.15 lb (68 g) acid mist/ton 100% sulfuric acid produced, which works out to about 11 ppmv as an emission concentration. This maximum is similar to the European requirements. In addition, acid mists are highly corrosive and will damage downstream processing equipment if not removed to an adequate extent. Therefore, there is a need to reduce or eliminate acid mists in effluent gas from processes that form sulfuric acid and/or nitric acid condensates.
There is a problem, however, in that acid mists in general, and droplets of acid condensate having a mean average particle size of less than about 3 μm in particular, have proven to be very difficult to remove from gas streams.
Fiber bed mist eliminators have been used in the sulfuric acid industry to capture sulfuric acid mist prior to venting waste gas. Examples of the use of fiber bed mist eliminators in this way are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,190 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,624 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,373 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,257 A and U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,544. In each case, the feed gas containing the acid mist is fed to the fiber bed mist eliminator(s) at about atmospheric pressure.
The Inventor is not aware of any industry that uses of fiber bed mist eliminators at elevated pressures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,263 A discloses a process to produce sulfuric acid operating at an elevated pressure from about 5 bar to about 50 bar (0.5 MPa to 5 MPa) in which elemental sulfur is combusted in an oxyfuel combustion unit to produce SO2 which is in turn is oxidized catalytically to form SO3. The SO3 is then absorbed in water at a temperature from about 50° C. to about 200° C. to produce a concentrated aqueous sulfuric acid solution. Residual gas is heated, expanded and then vented to the atmosphere. The reference is, however, entirely silent on the issue of acid mist production and subsequent removal from the residual gas.
Since the amount of acid mist produced for a given volume of gas in flue gas desulfurization (FGD) processes is much less than in sulfuric acid processes, the focus to date in FGD processes has been primarily on preventing acid mists from forming in the first place rather than on removing acid mists that may have been formed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,206 in the name of Haldor Topsøe A/S of Denmark discloses a process in which emission of sulfuric acid mist is maintained below 5 ppmv by "heterogeneous nucleation control" which involves the addition of a specific amount of smoke or aerosol of solid particles to a flow of gas containing SO3 and water upstream of a cooling tower or condenser. The solid particles may be produced by combusting hydrocarbons with more than 2 carbon atoms or silicones, or may be added as smoke from electric arc or welding. The solid particles act as minute nucleation cores that promote condensation of sulfuric acid. Indeed, according to promotional literature entitled "The Topsøe SNOX™ technology for cleaning flue gas from combustion of petroleum coke and high sulfur petroleum residues" (revised May 2006) produced by Haldor Topsøe A/S, formation of aerosol in the condenser is avoided by heterogeneous nucleation control. U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,373, also to Haldor Topsøe, discloses an alternative process for reducing acid mist formation that involves carefully controlling the temperature of an acid recycle stream in a sulfuric acid tower. Both of these processes operate at about atmospheric pressure.
The problem of sulfuric acid mist formation in FGD processes operating at about atmospheric pressure in power generation applications has also been addressed using wet electrostatic precipitators (WESPs) which are particulate collection devices that remove particles from a gas flow using an induced electrostatic charge. Processes involving the use of WESPs in this way are disclosed in JP 2009/195860 A and in "Experiences of wet type electrostatic precipitator successfully applied for SO3 mist removal in boilers using high sulfur content fuel" (Fujishima and Nagata; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.; ICESP IX conference; South Africa; May 17-21; 2004).
Mesh pads have been suggested for use to capture acid mists in an HCl scrubber operating at 122 psia (8.4 bar) and 82° F. (28° C.) (Case Study #1; "The Engineered Mist Eliminator" brochure; ACS Industries Inc., Houston, Tex. 77053, USA; 2004). However, whilst mesh pads are reasonably efficient at removing droplets in acid mists at elevated pressures having a mean diameter of more than about 5 μm, their use in elevated pressure applications is limited since they are not suited for removing droplets in acid mists having a mean diameter of less than about 5 μm. In this connection, mesh pads demonstrate good removal of about 99% of mist at a droplet size of 5 μm or above. However, the "d50" value for this type of mist eliminator is about 2.5 μm, i.e. only 50% removal is expected at the 2.5 μm droplet size which is where most of the acid mist droplet size is expected.
There is a need to develop new methods for the efficient removal of acid mists from streams of gas such as carbon dioxide at elevated pressure, particularly from crude carbon dioxide gas such as flue gas produced in an oxyfuel combustion process. The new methods should remove at least substantially all, and preferably all, of the acid mist. In addition, the new methods should be able to remove effectively droplets of an acid mist in an aerosol that have a mean diameter of less than about 5 μm. The methods should ideally also be less complicated and less expensive, both in terms of the capital and operating cost, than existing technologies.
In particular, it is an object of preferred embodiments of the present invention to improve the methods disclosed in US 2007/0122328 A1 by providing an effective means by which acid mist may be removed from the carbon dioxide gas at elevated pressure.


Systems and methods for gas turbine or jet engines may include, among other things, one or more electric heating elements located within a combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine, a combustion chamber of a jet engine, or an afterburner of a jet engine. A combustion chamber and/or an afterburner may be configured to generate heated gas by using the one or more electric heating elements to heat gases within the combustion chamber and/or afterburner. A combustion chamber and/or an afterburner may be configured to generate an exhaust output based on the heated gas. The exhaust output may drive a turbine which generates electricity or mechanical energy. Thrust from the exhaust output from a jet engine may propel a vehicle.

The generation of power is fundamental to modern society. Currently, electrical power is primarily generated by electromechanical generators driven by heat engines fueled by nuclear fission or fuel combustion. Most modes of transportation are powered by engines fueled by electricity or fuel combustion. However, a major source of global warming is the use of fossil fuels in the production of electricity and in powering modes of transportation.
The majority of power plants around the world utilize fossil fuel, nuclear fission and biomass to boil water thereby creating extreme heat, steam and pressure. Fossil fuel is expensive, unsustainable and contributes to global warming. Examples of the effects of global warming can be found in Australia with the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, the rising of sea water and the warming of the planet. Also, the warming of the earth has led to larger and stronger hurricanes in recent years.
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is methane gas that can leak into the atmosphere prior to combustion with an effect worse than carbon dioxide. Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas and the fracking operations utilized to extract the natural gas with hydraulic fracturing can contaminate groundwater supplies. The use of heavy fuel oil to power cruise ships and cargo vessels is both less expensive and more damaging to the environment. This type of fuel for maritime shipping adds sulfur emissions in the atmosphere, resulting in acid rain. Automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, helicopters, propeller driven airplanes and jets all contribute to global warming.

Electric heating systems and methods for gas turbine engines and jet engines


A field emission cathode and methods for fabricating such a cathode from at least one body containing a first substance. The steps include a preparation of at least one irregularity in an emitting surface of the body, adding to the emitting surface of the body ions of a second substance with a low work function, and modifying the emitting surface by inducing field emission in applying a variable electric field to the body and increasing the field strength in steps.

In order for field emission illuminating devices to become useful, there is a need for a field emission cathode with a higher efficiency than known cathodes. Once a field emission cathode is achieved with a low work function, high durability, non-polluting composition and low production cost, it will be possible to replace a great variety of light sources with light sources including a field emission means in combination with a fluorescent surface for emission of visible light.
For example, great efforts are made today for reducing problems with commonly used fluorescent tubes, which require complicated external electrical devices and contain material with negative environmental effects. In present fluorescent tubes, gas discharge is employed for emitting radiation onto a fluorescent material that emits visible light in turn. A new type of emission means is desired for eliminating drawbacks of present fluorescent tubes.

Field emission cathode and methods in the production thereof


A magnetic coupling device for charging an electric vehicle includes: a primary unit having a primary core and a primary coil wound on the primary core; and a secondary unit having a secondary core and a secondary coil wound on the secondary core, the secondary unit disposed on the electric vehicle and coupled with the primary unit, so that the primary and secondary cores constitute a closed loop-like magnetic circuit; each of the primary and secondary cores having a junction face which contacts with each other under the coupling, wherein the junction faces of the primary and secondary cores have a mutually opposing relationship in which the junction faces intersect with an attaching direction of the primary unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic coupling device which is used for charging an electric vehicle by using electromagnetic induction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a system of the noncontact type which uses the electromagnetic induction as described above was developed. An example of such a system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 5-258962. In the disclosed system, as shown in FIG. 27, a secondary unit 1 is disposed on the body of an electric vehicle, a primary unit 6 connected to a charging power source 5 is set to the secondary unit 1 so as to attain the electromagnetic coupling state, and an AC current is then supplied to the primary unit 6, thereby generating an power on the side of the secondary unit 1.
In the system of the .related art, the secondary unit 1 is configured by forming a pair of case-like cores 2 in each of which one face is opened and a pair of secondary coils 3 housed therein, and causing the opened faces of the case-like cores 2 to oppose each other via a gap for inserting a primary coil 7.
Therefore, the secondary unit 1 requires the two sets of the core 2 and the secondary coil 3. This produces a problem in that the whole of the magnetic coupling device is large and heavy.
Furthermore, the coils 3 and 7 are coupled to each other by slidingly inserting the primary coil 7. Consequently, the secondary unit 1 must have a structure in which an insertion stroke is ensured so as to have a depth which corresponds at the minimum to the length of the primary coil 7. As a result, the depth of the secondary unit 1 which is to be disposed on a vehicle is increased, thereby producing a problem in that the magnetic coupling device is large as a whole.
In the configuration, the whole of the primary coil 7 is exposed. During a period when the device is handled in order to charge an electric vehicle, therefore, the coil is easily damaged. This produces another problem in that a countermeasure for protecting the coil must be taken.
Further, after the primary coil 7 is set to the secondary unit 1, by closing the gap between the pair of the case-like cores 2 by a switching device (not shown), the electromagnetic coupling state is attained. Therefore, the switching device has to be provided in the electric vehicle side, thereby causing the increase of the size of the magnetic coupling device in the electric vehicle side.

Magnetic coupling device for charging an electric vehicle


A saddle for a backing assembly in a rolling mill has non-cylindrical bearing surfaces that accommodate wear by allowing the saddles to self-align. The non-cylindrical bearing surfaces help prevent the needle bearings from being pinched and driven into the gear rings. The non-cylindrical bearing surfaces are provided in different locations such as intermediate the eccentric and eccentric ring or intermediate the eccentric ring and the saddle ring.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to metal-working rolling mills and, more particularly, to improved saddles that support the backing assemblies that support the second intermediate rolls of the mills. Specifically, the present invention relates to a saddle for a backing assembly in a cluster mill or a Z-mill wherein the saddle includes improved bearing surfaces that accommodate adjustments to reduce wear.
2. Background Information
Rolling mills such as cluster mills, 20-high cluster mills, and Z-high mills are known in the art for cold rolling metal strips. Exemplary mills are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,169,711; 2,187,250; 2,479,974; 2,776,586; 4,289,013; 5,471,859; and 5,481,895. These mills are commonly known as "Sendzimir" mills, "Z" mills or "Sendzimirs."
A prior art cluster mill is depicted in FIGS. 1-5 of the present patent application. FIGS. 1-5 were originally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,859 and substantial portions of this description are repeated herein for the benefit of the reader. A schematic view of a cluster mill 2 is shown in FIG. 5. Cluster mill 2 generally includes a pair of work rolls 12 that are supported by a set of four first intermediate rolls 13 which are in turn supported by a set of six second intermediate rolls including four driven rolls 15 and two non-driven idler rolls 14. A strip of metal 8 passes back and forth between work rolls 12 in order for metal strip 8 to be cold rolled.
The second intermediate rolls 14,15 are supported in turn by eight backing assemblies (identified as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H). Each backing assembly includes a plurality of roller bearings 30 mounted upon a shaft 18. Shaft 18 is supported at intervals along its length by saddles 19. Each saddle 19 includes a ring 31 and a shoe 29. Shoes 29 are mounted to a mill housing 10. An example of mill housing 10 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,401. Saddles 19 also include eccentrics or eccentric rings 23 that are keyed to shaft 18 with a key 24. Each ring 23 includes a bearing surface at its outside diameter. As described below, the outer bearing surface of each ring 23 either directly engages the inner surface of saddle ring 31 or indirectly engages the inner surface of saddle ring 31. This arrangement provides radial motion of shaft 18 when shaft 18 or ring 23 is rotated.
The art generally labels backing assemblies A-H and the components of backing assemblies A-H as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5 (the operator's side or front of mill 2), the left most upper assembly is labeled "A" and working clockwise around mill 2, the remaining assemblies are labeled "B" through "H." This labeling convention is generally followed in the art and will be followed in this specification such that the labels A-H are applied to backing assemblies and the parts of each backing assembly.
In the case of backing assemblies A, D, E, F, G, and H, saddles 19 are known as "plain saddles" and rings 23 mount directly within saddle rings 31 and slide within rings 31 as shafts 18 are rotated. In these plain saddles, the outer bearing surface of ring 23 directly and frictionally engages the inner bearing surface of saddle ring 31. The direct frictional engagement between ring 23 and saddle ring 31 creates high frictional forces and does not allow shafts 18 to be adjusted under load (during rolling of metal strip 8). Rings 23A, 23D, 23E, and 23H are known as "side eccentrics." Rotation of these side eccentric rings and these side eccentric shafts is used to adjust the radial position of their bearings (30A, 30D, 30E, and 30H) to take up wear on rolls 12-15.
Rings 23F and 23G are known as the "lower screwdown eccentrics." Rotation of shafts 18F and 18G (along with rings 23F and 23G) can be used to take up for roll wear as described above, but is more frequently used to adjust the level of the top surface of lower work roll 12. This is known as "adjusting the pass line height" or "pass line adjustment."
In the case of backing assemblies B and C, saddles 19B and 19C are known as "roller saddles." In small mills that do not have a crown adjustment, the construction of backing assemblies B and C is the same as for the plane saddles, with the exception that a single row of rollers (similar to those shown at 37 in FIG. 3) is interposed between the outside of each ring 23 and the inside of the mating saddle ring 31. The addition of rollers 37 enables the shafts 18B and 18C and rings 23B and 23C to roll within saddle rings 31B and 31C. Rollers 37 reduce the friction sufficiently for adjustment to be made under load. This adjustment is known as the "upper screwdown" or "screwdown" and is used to adjust the roll gap (the gap between work rolls 12) under load. The adjustment is made by using double racks (not shown), one engaging gears 22 on shafts 18B and 18C at the operator's side, and one engaging gears 22 on shafts 18B and 18C at the drive side (see FIG. 4). Each double rack is actuated by a direct acting hydraulic cylinder, and a position servo is used to control the position of the hydraulic pistons, and so control the roll gap.
For larger mills and other newer small mills, provision is made for individual adjustment of the radial position of shaft, bearings, and eccentric rings at each saddle position. This type of adjustment is known in the art as "crown adjustment" and the prior art construction used to achieve "crown adjustment" is generally shown in FIGS. 1-4. On the B and C saddles, saddle rings 31 are provided with a larger diameter bore 32, so that a second set of rollers 33 and a ring 34 (the outside diameter of which is eccentric relative to its inside diameter) can be interposed between saddle ring 31 and rollers 37. Rings 34 are known as "eccentric rings" or "crown adjust rings." A gear ring 38, having gear teeth 40, is mounted on each side of each eccentric ring 34 and rivets 39 are used to retain gear rings 38, eccentric 23, eccentric ring 34, saddle ring 31, and shoe 29, with two sets of rollers 33 and 37, together as one assembly, known as the saddle assembly 19.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a double rack 41 is used at each saddle location to engage with both sets of gear teeth 40 on each gear ring 38 on both B and C saddle assemblies 19. A hydraulic cylinder, or motor drive jack (not shown), is used at each saddle location in order to translate rack 41. In the example of FIG. 4, seven individual drives are provided with one drive positioned at each saddle location. These drives are known as "crown adjustment" drives. If one drive is operated, its respective double rack 41 moves in a vertical direction, rotating the associated gear rings 38 and eccentric rings 34. This causes radial movement of eccentrics 23 on shafts 18B and 18C at the saddle location on which the eccentric rings 34 rotate, and a corresponding change in the roll gap at that longitudinal location. When this occurs, shafts 18 bend to permit the local adjustment.
Cluster mills of the type described above and depicted in FIGS. 1-5 were designed to slowly shape metal strip 8 by passing strip 8 back and forth between work rolls 12 many times. In today's environment of international price competition, the cluster mills are being pushed beyond their design limits so that the shaping of metal strip 8 may be achieved with fewer passes through work rolls 12. For instance, cluster mill 2 may be designed to adjust the shape of metal strip 8 2% with each pass through work rolls 12. The industry is now running cluster mill 2 to change the shape up to 7% with each pass through work rolls 12. Using cluster mill 2 in this manner increases the wear on the elements of saddles 19 requiring the owners of cluster mills 2 to replace the parts of mill 2 on a frequent maintenance schedule. Specifically, rollers 37 and 33 (also referred to as needle bearings) are pinched by the large adjustments and driven against gear rings 38. When this type of wear occurs, the owner of cluster mill 2 must replace gear rings 38 and grind the appropriate bearing surfaces so that larger needle bearings (rollers 33 and 37) may be retrofit into saddle 19. In addition to worn gear rings and rollers 33 and 37, saddle shoes 29 become warped and must be replaced. This type of undesirable wear is likely to increase as the industry requires faster and faster mill times. The industry will continue to push existing cluster mills to perform shaping operations beyond the original design limitations of the mill creating more and more wear on saddles 19. The art thus desires a saddle configuration that accommodates this type of cluster mill operation in order to reduce wear. Such a saddle configuration must be able to be retrofit into existing cluster mills when the saddles are being repaired.

Saddle for backing assemblies in a rolling mill


An apparatus includes a head portion, an undercarriage portion, and a telescopic portion configured to adjustably move into a plurality of different lengths. A first end of the head portion is rotatably attached to a first end of the undercarriage portion and a second end of the undercarriage portion is rotatably attached to a first end of the telescopic portion. A second end of the head portion is rotatably attached to a second end of the telescopic portion. In a first position, the telescopic portion has a first length of the plurality of different lengths and the head portion and the undercarriage portion form a first angle. In a second position, the telescopic portion has a second length of the plurality of different lengths and the head portion and the undercarriage portion form a second angle different from the first angle.

Tilting television wall mounts are generally known in the art. For example, US Publication No. 2008/0283694 (which publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) describes a display wall mount with a wall bracket configured to couple to a wall and having a first wall bracket edge, a display bracket configured to couple to the display and having a first display bracket edge, and a curvilinear bar moveably coupled between the first wall bracket edge and the first display bracket edge, where the display bracket is moveably coupled to the wall bracket.