An exercise machine is provided that includes two stepping platforms pivotally interconnected to a frame. The stepping platforms are moved in a substantially vertical direction by the application of forces during the stepping motion by the user. The applied forces are resisted by fluidic cylinders. A rocker assembly is used to raise one of the stepping platforms while the other stepping platform is moved downwardly. A pair of lifter elements interconnects the stepping platforms with the rocker assembly. The ends of the lifter elements pivotally move during the vertical movement of the stepping platforms. Preferably, the pair of lifter elements is replaceable by another pair of lifter elements having a different length for use in varying the range of vertical movement of the stepping platforms. The stepping platforms are of a size to allow the user to vary the force required to cause vertical movement of the stepping platforms.

Because labor saving devices have both substantially decreased the physical activity required by individuals and provided more recreational time, health-related exercise devices for realizing safe, enjoyable physical exercise have been developed. These exercisers are intended to achieve or include at least some of the following benefits: (i) large skeletal muscle development such as leg muscles; (ii) variable resistance responsive to the strength of the user; (iii) adjustability such that both the amount of resistance and the range of motion can be tailored to substantially all users; (iv) training capability for strength, endurance and/or cardiovascular conditioning; (v) compatibility with the mechanical movements of the human body; and (vi) durability, portability and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.
These worthwhile advantages are found to some extent in the following prior art stepping exercisers. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,847 issued to Matt, a portable stepping exerciser is disclosed that uses springs for resistance and is integral with its own carrying case. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,500 issued to Dunn, a stepping exerciser is disclosed that has a center pivot about which two foot pedals reciprocate in see-saw or rocking fashion. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,860 issued to Setnes, a stepping exerciser is disclosed that has a central inclined support between two foot platforms such that a crossbar pivots in see-saw fashion upon the end of the support projecting away from the floor. The crossbar is attached to the foot platforms such that the crossbar provides a mechanism for reciprocating the foot platforms. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,001 issued to the inventor of the exerciser disclosed herein, a stepping and arm exerciser is disclosed in which foot pedals reciprocate to each other and via the action of arm-manipulated levers.
Despite the large number of stepping exercise machines that have been proposed or devised, it would be worthwhile to provide a machine that incorporates more of the foregoing identified benefits in a single exercise machine.


Devices and methods are provided for testing weld strengths of a test coupon joint. A test coupon is positionally fixed to a base of the testing device. A punch assembly having a head portion is provided so as to exert an axial force against an upright part of the test coupon to thereby determine weld strength between the planar and upright parts of the test coupon (e.g., a maximum force at which weld failure occurs).

Friction stir welding (FSW) is commonly used to weld two or more work pieces formed of various metals, such as aluminum, magnesium, copper, titanium, steel and the like, one to another. FSW techniques may be employed satisfactorily to form welded lap joint, L-joint and/or T-joint.
During conventional FSW processes (including continuous and segmented friction stir welding), a FSW tool having a specific geometry is forced into, and traversed through the material to be welded. The key structural components of the tool include a shoulder and pin (sometimes called a "probe" in art parlance) extending outwardly from the shoulder. During the FSW process, the pin travels physically in and through the material along a joint line, while the shoulder is in surface contact with the material. Heat is generated by the tool shoulder by virtue frictional rubbing on the material surface it is in contact with and by virtue of the pin mixing the softened material below the shoulder. This mixing action of the softened material during the FSW process permits the material to be transferred across the joint line which forms a stirred region. Process variables affecting the FSW process may include rotation and travel speeds, tool design, orientation, position and tool forging load. Conventional FSW processes are disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,225,966 and 7,240,821 (the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated hereinto by reference.
There is currently no known shop floor testing device or method near a FSW machine whereby welding parameters may be rapidly assessed in order to evaluate the quality of the weld. Instead, according to current practices, in order to analyze the quality of the welded joint during a research and development phase, several sets of FSW parameters (for example, welding speed, rotation speed and axial force) are established. A number of test specimens (coupons) formed of FSW welded components are thereafter produced in accordance with each set of FSW parameters in order to evaluate the welding quality associated with each set of parameters. Off-line testing such as metallography, tensile and pull-out tests are typically performed before selecting the set of FSW parameter for a given design criteria. As can be appreciated, this conventional iterative process is quite time consuming and is therefore quite expensive.
It would therefore be desirable if devices and methods were provided locally at a friction stir or other welding machine which could more easily and economically enable a manufacturer to verify and test the quality of welding joint strengths on coupons. It is towards providing such devices and methods that the embodiments disclosed herein are directed.
According to certain embodiments as disclosed herein, a device for testing weld strength of a test coupon joint is provided which includes a base defining a receiving region to receive and support a lower part of the test coupon and a clamp for positionally fixing the lower part of the test coupon to the base. A punch assembly having a head portion is provided so as to exert an axial force against the upright part of the test coupon to thereby determine weld strength between the planar and upright parts of the test coupon. A U-shaped receiver can be fixed to the base to define the receiving region. The base may include a rearward projecting portion to provide attachment and support for the clamping assembly.
The punch assembly may include a tail portion axially extending from the head portion for connection to a force actuator. According to some embodiments, the punch assembly may include a clamp piece connected to the head portion of the punch assembly for axial adjustments relative to a front face of the head portion so as to clamp the upright part of the test coupon thereagainst.
A guide assembly is provided according to certain embodiments and is removably connected to the base. The guide assembly in some embodiments will define a guideway for the tail portion of the punch assembly to allow for reciprocal axial movements thereof. The guideway will thus positionally capture the tail portion of the punch assembly to allow only axial movements thereof towards and away from the upright part of the test coupon. According to some embodiments, the base may include a forward projecting portion so that the guide assembly may be removably connected thereto. Certain embodiments of the device will be provided with a guide assembly comprised of opposed end blocks and a bridge section connected to and spanning the distance between the end blocks.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided whereby the weld strength of a joint of a test coupon may be tested. In general, such a method will include clamping the lower part of the test coupon to a base of a testing device, moving a punch assembly of the testing device to exert an axial force against the upright part of the test coupon, and determining a maximum force of weld failure between the planar and upright parts of the test coupon.
According to some embodiments, the method may include providing a guide assembly which defines a guideway for positionally capturing a tail portion of the punch assembly to allow only axial movements thereof towards and away from the upright part of the test coupon. A clamp piece may be positioned relative to a front face of the head portion to clamp the upright part of the test coupon against the front face of the head portion. Such claim piece may be axially adjusted so as to positionally clamp the upright part of the test coupon against the front face of the head portion.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.

Device and methods for testing quality of welding joints


An optical instrument using a plurality of lasers of different colors with parallel, closely spaced beams to stimulate scattering and fluorescence from fluorescent biological particulate matter, including cells and large molecules. A large numerical aperture objective lens collects fluorescent light while maintaining spatial separation of light stimulated by the different sources. The collected light is imaged into a plurality of fibers, one fiber associated with each optical source, which conducts light to a plurality of arrays of detectors, with each array associated with light from one of the fibers and one of the lasers. A detector array has up to ten detectors arranged to separate and measure colors within relatively narrow bands by decimation of light arriving in a fiber. A large number of detectors is mounted in a compact polygonal arrangement by using reflective transfer legs from multiple beam splitters where the transfer legs arise from a polygonal arrangement of beam splitters in a circumference within the circumferential arrangement of detectors.

As an example of fluorescent light decomposition for bioanalytical studies, in high throughput screening, the ability to simultaneously detect a plurality of fluorescent dyes with good wavelength discrimination enables deeper multiplexing and higher throughput. In another example using fluorescent light analysis, simultaneous detection of multiple dyes associated with cells allows simultaneous assay of cell surface antigens, organelle states, nucleic acid assay, and intercellular protein content to be detected in a single assay. Multiple wavelength detection requires detectors which can separate many bands of colors. This has commonly been done using dichroic mirror beam splitters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,162 to B. Pinsky and R. Hoffman, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describes an instrument for phase resolved fluorescent analysis. The architecture of that instrument is similar to prior art instruments which rely upon color decomposition of a beam of fluorescent light derived from a laser impinging upon a fluorescent target. Such an apparatus is described in the book Practical Flow Cytometry, by H. M. Shapiro, Third Edition (1995), p. 9. The book describes an apparatus similar to what is shown in FIG. 1. A laser beam 12 from an air cooled argon ion laser 11 is used to generate a fluorescent signal which is subsequently decomposed or decimated. The beam 12 passes through focusing elements 13, 14 and 15 to impinge upon a fluorescent substance in a flow cell 41. Fluorescent target material, such as fluorescently tagged cells or particles within a liquid stream 16 flow through the flow cell 41. Particles 43 having passed through flow cell 41 are collected in container 22. Flow is adjusted by a fluidic system 18 which provides a hydrodynamically focused flow of cells within a sheath fluid. As the target substance passes through the flow cell, the focused light beam 12 intersects the liquid stream, causing fluorescent excitation, including the scattering of light. A photodiode detector 21 is positioned to receive forwardly scattered light. The fluorescent light is typically collected at an angle which is 90° relative to the excitation access of the light beam 12. Axis 24 represents the 90° viewing axis for collection of fluorescent light. Objective lens 19 is placed across axis 24 to collect and collimate the fluorescent signal from the target substance. Fluorescent light collected by the lens 19 is formed into a beam 28 which impinges upon the dichroic mirror 25. The dichroic mirror reflects light above 640 nm and transmits the remainder as the transmitted leg 30. Reflected leg 31 is directed to the red light fluorescence detector photo multiplier tube (PMT) having a 660 nm longpass filter. Detector 32 thus registers the red light component of the collected fluorescent signal from the flow cell 41. The transmitted leg 30 impinges upon the dichroic mirror 34 which reflects light above 600 nm. The reflected leg 35 is orange light which is detected by the orange fluorescence detector PMT 33 having a 620 nm bandpass filter. The transmitted leg 36 impinges upon the dichroic mirror 38 which reflects light above 550 nm and transmits the remainder in transmitted leg 42. Reflected leg 39 is detected by the yellow fluorescence detector PMT 40 having a 575 nm bandpass filter.
The transmitted leg 42 impinges upon dichroic mirror 44 which reflects light above 500 nm. The reflected leg 46 impinges upon the green fluorescence detector PMT 47, while the transmitted leg 48 consists of essentially blue light which is directed into the orthogonal scatter detector PMT 50 with a 488 nm bandpass filter, registering blue light. In this manner, the fluorescent signal in beam 28 collected by collector lens 19 is decomposed into five colors with the amplitude of each detector being recorded simultaneously to form a spectral characteristic of the fluorescent material illuminated by the laser beam.
The flow cell 41 is typically a flat-sided quartz cuvet of square or rectangular cross-section with a flow path therethrough. Such a quartz cuvet of the prior art is described in international patent publication WO 01/27590 A2, owned by the assignee of the present invention, shown in FIG. 2.
In that international patent application, the flow cell mentioned above is described with an aspheric reflective light collector, unlike the lens 19 shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus of the international patent application mentioned above is shown in FIG. 2 where a flow cell 17 is a quartz block having a flow channel 20 where a liquid stream containing fluorescent material is directed through the cell in a stream controlled by a nozzle. The flow cell of FIG. 2 has a reflective aspheric light collector 51 collecting light scattered to a side of the flow cell opposite the side where lens 19 is situated. An aspheric reflective element 51, placed on the side of flow cell 17 opposite collector 19 serves to augment the light directed toward lens 19, or in some cases performs the function of lens 19. The reflective collector 51 is coated with a broadband reflecting material for augmenting the amount of light collected from the flow cell. The aspheric shape may be parabolic or ellipsoidal, having focal properties to match light collector 19 of FIG. 1.
The apparatus of FIG. 3 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,020 to D. Recktenwald and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This device shows a pair of lasers 52 and 54 directing light to a flow cell 78 so that two different illumination profiles may be used to illuminate a sample. Each laser is selected for stimulating the desired fluorescent emission from target substances. A set of detectors is associated with a different color band. For example, laser 52 generates a beam 53 impinging upon the flow stream 78 and producing a fluorescent signal collected by lens 56, focused by lens 57 onto dichroic mirror 58, a beam splitter, for analysis by detectors 60 and 62. Similarly, laser 54 generates a beam 55 which impinges upon the flow which includes the particles under study in air and generates scattered fluorescent light, collected by light collector 56 and imaged by lens 57 onto dichroic mirror 64 where the beam is split between detectors 66 and 69. In summary, it is known that groups of detectors can be associated with different lasers simultaneously illuminating the same target substance.
An object of the invention was to provide an improved system for detecting fluorescent light having multiple colors emitted from a target using a greater number of detectors than has been achieved in the prior art.

Fluorescence detection instrument with reflective transfer legs for color decimation


A coil nailing device for finishing materials is invented that comprises a standby part for temporarily retaining and loading the nails into a muzzle. A door is installed adjacent to the standby part to check the nail supply. A door latch consists of a hook, coil spring and latch hinge shaft. The door and door latch are operated in the lateral direction, perpendicular to the axis of the main body. The muzzle consists of an adapter, lever arm and a pair of arc-shaped sliding grooves formed on both lateral surfaces. The adapter is attachable to the nose of the main body. A clearance setting device is designed to allow the use of various sizes of nails by setting the depth of the magazine depending on the loaded nail size. An interval setting device is convenient to nail a series of shingle panels by setting the panel interval while the coil nailing device is sliding along the edge of the panels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coil nailing device, and more particularly, to the coil nailing device having a door latch that releases in the same direction as the door opening and closing direction so that the door is released by one touch of the door latch with a finger, an attachable adapter for easily attaching or removing the nose to/from the main body, a clearance setting means for loading various sizes of nails by setting the depth of the magazine depending on the loaded nail size, and an interval setting means for conveniently nailing a series of shingle panels by setting the panel interval for sliding along the edge of the shingle panels.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
As is well-known, a tacker, used in constructing buildings and in interior construction, is a pneumatic device, such as a nailer, a stapler, or a pinner that is used in joining wood to wood, wood to plastic, wood to steel, and wood to concrete, and is used in various constructions such as interior and exterior decoration of buildings, installation of aluminum sashes, or the like.
General working principles of the tackers are almost identical to each other, but structures of the nailer, the stapler, and the pinner are slightly different from each other.
A general coil nailer 2, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a body 4 in which a piston and a cylinder are installed, a handle 6 installed to the lower side of the body 4 and grasped by a hand and having a supply passage for supplying air to the piston, a magazine 10, installed to the front lower side of the body 4, in which nails, staples, or pins are contained, and a standby part 12 for receiving the nails, staples, or the pins loaded in the magazine 10 and for positioning the nails, the staples, or the pins for firing through a muzzle 14 positioned at the front side of the body 4.
Moreover, the coil nailer 2 further includes a door 16 installed at the lower side of the front standby part 12 of the body 4 that can be opened to visually check the nails, the staples, or the pins supplied from the magazine 10, a door latch 20 for keeping the door 16 closed, and a hinge shaft 18 coupled with a lateral side of the front muzzle 14 of the body 4 by a shaft to open the door 16.
As such, according to the conventional coil nailer, since a plurality of nails (not shown) is welded in the magazine 10 by a coil and is supplied to the muzzle 14, a worker must open the door 16 using the door latch 20, in order to check the state of the nails loaded therein.
However, in the conventional coil nailer, since the door latch 20 of the nailer has a structure wherein the door 16 is opened when the worker grasps the handle with the right hand, holds the door latch 20 with a right thumb and a right forefinger, and lifts the door latch 20 up while pushing the door latch 20 toward the muzzle 14, the direction of opening the door 16 is different from the direction of releasing the door 16 using the door latch 20.
In other words, since the door 16 opens only when the worker of the conventional coil nailer pushes the door latch 20 to the front side to release the door latch 20, and lifts the door latch 20 up, two different actions must be simultaneously carried out to open the door 16. In addition, since the releasing direction of the door latch 20 is aligned with the direction of the muzzle 14, recoil may cause the door latch 20 to be released.
Moreover, since the internal structure of the magazine 10 of the conventional coil nailer 2 can only accommodate nails having a predetermined length, in order to use other nails having a different length, the worker must use another coil nailer 2 to accommodate the other nails. In the case of loading and using smaller nails than those for which the magazine 10 was designed, the nails lifted from the inside of the magazine 10 to the front standby part 12 cannot be smoothly guided.
Additionally, the conventional coil nailer 2 is used in finish work such as shingling. Shingling is the process of attaching partially laminated waterproof sheets on a sloped outer surface of a roof at predetermined intervals.
Until today, shingling has been carried out in the following manner. First, the worker holds a measuring device such as a scale with one hand and measures the interval between a lower waterproof sheet and an upper waterproof sheet to which a part of the upper side of the lower waterproof sheet is attached so as to precisely attach any one sheet in the horizontal direction.
However, in shingling carried out in the above-mentioned way, since the typical worker holds the coil nailer 2 with one hand and holds the measuring device with the other hand, nailing is carried out using only one hand. Thus, the conventional coil nailer is difficult to use and the worker may fail to hold the coil nailer 2 with one hand and may drop the coil nailer 2. Particularly, when dropping the coil nailer 2 during roofing work using a conventional coil nailer 2, there is a high risk of injury to other workers.
Meanwhile, the conventional coil nailer 2 includes a contact arm installed in the longitudinal direction of the body 4 and a contactor contacting an actual striking spot installed in the front side thereof, wherein the contact arm and the contactor are coupled by bolts and welding.
However, since the contactor employed in the conventional coil nailer 2 contacts the striking spot so frequently that the front side thereof is easily worn, the bolts must be released and the welded spots must be separated during the replacement of the contactor after use for a predetermined period of time. Thus, replacement of the contactor is complicated.

Coil nailing device for construction finishing materials


The objective of the present invention is to implement highly accurate general automatic tool assignment with a sheet metal CAD/CAM system. Once CAD drawings are generated (S102), continuous line processing, product outer lines, window cut-out lines and the like are defined (S103) and then assigned tools (S210 through S286).

With the emergence of sheet metal CAD/CAM, control commands (NC commands) for numerical control (NC) machine tools can be output by just placing tools on CAD graphic processing lines, thereby freeing from tool address calculation as well as using calculation expert knowledge for executing NC commands. From the next stage of CAD graphics, outputting automatically executable NC data is currently possible using various methods.
Practical application technology for converting CAD data in unfolded sheet-metal representation drawn with CAD to executable NC data is made up of the following two-step process (see "SHEET METAL AUTOMATIC CAD/CAM SYSTEM CAMPATH FDM-II" Press Technology 1991, March Edition pp. 47-53 (THE NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN, LTD., 1991)).
The flow of this process is described referencing FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a process flow for converting CAD data in unfolded sheet-metal representation drawn with CAD to executable NC data.
1) Process 1: Automatic Tool Assignment for Sheet Metal Expanded Graphics and Internal Generation of a non-executable NC Program
After converting unfolded sheet-metal graphic data generated with CAD (S102) to continuous lines in each shape unit, which represent a product outer line, window cut-out lines, and one-punch lines (as a formed louver that releases heat, the figure is completed through one punch using a forming tool instead of being a processed shape) are defined (S104). Subsequently, a pattern is specified by matching (S106) these continuous lines excluding the one-punch lines with a registered, processing shape pattern file having the same line segment data configuration.
A notched shape and window cut-out shape with variable product outer dimensions included in the sheet metal expanded graphics are processed with automatic tool assignment to each registered, processing shape pattern (S108). With automatic tool assignment, a tool is selected considering information of to-be-used material tensile strength and machine punching tonnage. Punch press sheet metal processing divides a processing shape into multiple processing regions, which are then processed in conformity with a combination of NC processing commands. Problems such as defective overlap processing around divided processing region boundaries, defective processing order, and processing direction as well as the defective shape of the tool to be used and defective processing commands become serious due to formation of material punched slug during processing. With automatic tool assignment, information of material lines, component outer processing lines, window cut-out lines, molding lines, and to-be-used tool shapes is referenced as information to consider these problems, so as to automatically determine the processing order and direction. Problems of unregistered processing shape portions (which should typically be assigned an outline processing tool and require manual correction) that are not assigned an automatic tool, and the defective results of automatic tool assignment are corrected by manual tool assignment (S110). Through these processing, the non-executable NC program (which includes a problem of processing machine damages as is) is internally generated (S112).
2) Process 2: Auto-Correction and Optimization of Non-Executable NC Program
The internally generated, non-executable NC program is automatically converted to an executable NC program, which allows actual processing (S114). This auto-correction and optimization process is incognizant of the processing constraints (such as exceeding the material adjustable range, tool path damaging the processing machine), and an auto-correction process for a manually generated NC program and/or an auto-generated NC program through auto-design and fabrication processes was implemented in the 1970's, wherein a similar process is applied to auto-correction and optimization.
In this manner, through Processes 1 and 2, the sheet metal expanded graphics generated using CAD is converted to an executable NC program.
As described above, after pattern determination in Process 1, a registered processing shape pattern is automatically divided into multiple processing shapes by referencing the tool assignment file for each pattern.
This automatic tool assigning function looks for a processing shape pattern corresponding to a size-variable shape, which has a line segment configuration registered in a sheet metal expanded graphics file (in which continuous line processing, product outer lines, window cut-out lines, material lines, and one-punch lines are defined) generated using CAD, that matches each general processing shape portion in sheet metal processing; thereby applying a corresponding already registered tool selection criterion, to-be-used processing commands, processing order and direction. Automatic tool assigning is implemented for an independent process for each pattern considering overlap processing of adjacent divided processing shapes, processing order, processing direction, or the like. Since unregistered processing shapes are subjected to an outline processing that may leave material slug, manual correction is needed. New processing shape patterns require additional processing; however, there are various types of shapes for every industry, and implementation of highly accurate automatic tool assignment is very difficult.
The above Processes 1 and 2 are basic technologies for automatic conversion of sheet metal CAD graphics to an NC program; however, the remaining greatest concern is solving the problem emanating from a lack of useful registered processing shapes, which are targets for automatic tool assignment.
With punch press machine sheet metal processing, finished products in a single processing industry (e.g., kitchen equipment, control panels, machine tool covers, building outer wall panels) may have the same shape; however, the expanded processing shape may differ for each user. As there are several expanded shapes of a die, various sheet metal part expanded shapes unique to a user develop since sheet metal products pursue specification limits for processing machines (processing size, sheet metal shape interference limitation for bending machines, and the like) and easy assembly fabrication. There are required patterns for the entire sheet metal industry, and thus demands for individual users cannot be met in the future.
There is a pattern backfilling method of controlling the number of registered processing shape patterns, and corresponding various patterns (see Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-292930 'Tool assignment method for sheet metal processing graphics'). It is effective in controlling the number of registered patterns, but it does not resolve the problem for unregistered, newly processing shapes.
If there is precision in automatic conversion from a CAD file to an NC program, with current punch pressing, the environment with many restrictions managing and employing multiple NC programs, which are restricted to specified processing machines and mounted tool positions thereon, may be changed to an environment managing and employing only a CAD file. NC programs may also be output by selecting a target processing machine from the managed CAD file prior to processing.

Abstract: Automatic tool assignment is finished with precedence for priority processing shapes such as simple shapes (arcs, triangles and the like) and shapes that can be punched out using a special tool (S210). A general automatic tool assignment process is then performed. With this process, tools are assigned by dividing each of arcs and oblique lines, which forms a processing shape unit, into shapes to which horizontally/vertically orthogonal lines are added (S250), converting the remaining shapes to rectangles, and assigning a tool to each of those rectangles (S280).

Abstract: Once a non-executable NC program is generated through such tool assignment (S112), the NC program is optimized (S114), and an executable NC program is then output (S116).


The method of forming reinforced fiber base material is provided with: arranging, on the mold having a projection with a upper surface, a platform that is adjacent to the projection and has a flat upper surface at the same height as the upper surface of the projection; forming the laminate by placing reinforced fiber base material in layers on the upper surface of the projection; placing an end of the laminate in the width direction extending out of the upper surface of the projection, on the upper surface of the platform, with the end of the laminate in the width direction sandwiched in a vertical direction by a pair of the films of which outer ends in the width direction are fixed to each other; and removing the platform and pulling out the pair of the films while shaping the laminate along the projection.

The VaRTM method is a molding method of performing resin impregnation in which a preform member composed of composite material such as reinforcing fiber substrate (for example, glass fiber or carbon fiber) is sealed with a vacuum bag film or a molding, and vacuum suction is performed to inject resin into it (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). Use of the VaRTM method has an advantage in that composite material can be molded without necessity for an expensive autoclave (pressurizing furnace) or the like.
As upstream steps of the above resin impregnation, a layup process, shaping step, and hot compaction step are performed for forming a preform member from reinforcing fiber substrate.
The layup process and the shaping step are steps for forming a fiber preform by placing fabric of the reinforcing fiber substrate in layers on a mold and shaping the fiber preform. The hot compaction step is a step for raising the temperature of the shaped fiber preform in the evacuation state. To keep the shape formed at the hot compaction step, thermoplastic powder is adhered to the reinforcing fiber substrate in advance. Note that for parts having a large number of layers, the layup process, shaping step, and hot compaction step are repeated to form layers in multiple steps before the resin impregnation in some cases.

Method of forming reinforcing fiber substrate


Biodegradable blends including a first, polylactic acid-based polymer or copolymer, and a second polymer or copolymer including one or more polyesters, e.g., an aliphatic polyester or a polyester of one aliphatic C.sub.2 to C.sub.20 diacid or of a combination of two more different aliphatic C.sub.2 to C.sub.20 diacids, wherein the first and second polymers are present in a ratio of 9:1 to 1:9, are described.

The invention relates to polylactic acid-based blends.
Succinic acid and diols can form biodegradable aliphatic polyesters and copolyesters through coupling and polycondensation reactions. The main unit structure resulting from these reactions is: ##STR1##
Examples of biodegradable aliphatic polyesters and copolyesters having the unit structure shown above are polybutylene succinate (PBSU), where m is 4 and n is 2, polyethylene succinate (PESU), where m is 2 and n is 2, a random copolymer of polybutylene succinate adipate (PBSU-AD) where m is 4 and n is 2 or 4, and polyethylene succinate adipate (PESU-AD) where m is 2 and n is 2 or 4.
These polyesters and copolyesters have interesting properties including biodegradability, melt processability, and thermal and chemical resistance. One of these, BIONOLLE.RTM., a commercially available aliphatic succinate-adipate polyester, has excellent physical properties. For example, the thermal resistance of BIONOLLE is equivalent to that of polyethylene, but the yield strength is higher than polyethylene. The stiffness of BIONOLLE is between high density and low density polyethylene (LDPE). Particularly for BIONOLLE #3000, its impact strength is equivalent to that of LDPE, while its elongation at break is higher than that of LDPE.
Polylactic acid can be made from lactic acid (lactate). Lactic acid is a natural molecule that is widely employed in foods as a preservative and a flavoring agent. It is the main building block in the chemical synthesis of the polylactide family of polymers. Although it can be synthesized chemically, lactic acid is procured principally by microbial fermentation of sugars such as glucose or hexose. These sugar feed stocks can be derived from potato skins, corn, and dairy wastes. The lactic acid monomers produced by fermentation are then used to prepare polylactide polymers.
Lactic acid exists essentially in two stereoisomeric forms, which give rise to several morphologically distinct polymers: D-polylactic acid, L-polylactic acid, D,L-polylactic acid, meso-polylactic acids and any combinations of thereof. D-polylactic acid and L-polylactic acid are stereoregular polymers. D,L-polylactic acid is a racemic polymer obtained from a mixture of D- and L-lactic acid, and meso-polylactic acid can be obtained from D,L-lactide. The polymers obtained from the optically active D and L monomers are semicrystalline materials, but the optically inactive D,L-polylactic acid is amorphous.
Lactic acid has a hydroxyl group as well as a carboxylic group, and hence can be easily converted into a polyester. These polyesters have some potential advantages when compared to other biodegradable polymers such as polyhyroxybutyrate and polycaprolactone, as to their strength, thermoplastic behavior, biocompatibility, and availability from renewable sources, and have been classified as "water sensitive," because they degrade slowly compared with "water soluble" or "water swollen" polymers. However, while polylactic acid is a biodegradable polymer with generally good processability, it is brittle, and the brittleness increases with time due to physical aging, i.e., densification of the polymer at a molecular level.


In some embodiments, the present invention is directed to methods that involve the combination of step-and-flash imprint lithography (SFIL) with a multi-tier template to simultaneously pattern multiple levels of, for example, an integrated circuit device. In such embodiments, the imprinted material generally does not serve or act as a simple etch mask or photoresist, but rather serves as the insulation between levels and lines, i.e., as a functional dielectric material. After imprinting and a multiple step curing process, the imprinted pattern is filled with metal, as in dual damascene processing. Typically, the two printed levels will comprise a “via level,” which is used to make electrical contact with the previously patterned under-level, and a “wiring level.” The present invention provides for the direct patterning of functional materials, which represents a significant departure from the traditional approach to microelectronics manufacturing.

Advanced microprocessors require several (e.g., eight or more) levels of wiring in addition to the transistor gate level. Each wiring level is stacked over the previous level with connections to the levels above and below made through via layers. The dual damascene approach to fabricating these interconnected structures creates a wiring level and a via/contact level simultaneously, and thereby reduces the total number of processing steps. A damascene approach is a necessity when copper is the conductor metal because there are no effective plasma etch processes available for copper. By patterning two layers and then filling both with metal, the dual damascene approach, of which there are several variations, reduces the total number of process steps; however, this method still requires around twenty process steps per wiring layer.
The basic step-and-flash imprint lithography (SFIL) process uses a photocurable imprint resist which is dispensed as a monomeric liquid and is cured while in contact with the template (Colburn, M.; Johnson, S.; Stewart, M.; Damle, S.; Bailey, T. C.; Choi, B.; Wedlake, M.; Michaelson, T.; Sreenivasan, S. V.; Ekerdt, J.; Willson, C. G., Proc. SPIE-Int. Soc. Opt. Eng. 1999, 3676, 379). The role of the imprint resist is only to act as an etch mask or barrier for transfer of the imprinted pattern into an underlying "transfer layer." This imprint resist, or etch barrier, serves the same purpose as photoresist in a traditional photolithographic process. After the printed pattern is transferred to the substrate, any remaining resist is usually removed or stripped. Imprint resists can be used like traditional photoresists to serve as a masking layer, but since the imprint process directly generates topography, it potentially simplifies the process of creating a "functional" material that could serve as part of the final device or the device itself. For example, nanoimprint techniques can be used to make diffractive optical elements (Li, M.; Wang, J.; Zhuang, L.; Chou, S. Y., Appl. Phys. Lett. 2000, 76, 673; Seekamp, J.; Zankovych, S.; Helfer, A. H.; Maury, P.; Sotomayor-Torres, C. M.; Boettger, G.; Liguda, C; Eich, M.; Heidari, B.; Montelius, L.; Ahopelto, J. Nanotechnology 2002, 13, 581-586; Yu, Z.; Wu, W.; Chen, L.; Chou, S. Y., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 2001, 19, 2816) or directly pattern channels for microfluidic devices (Rolland, J. P.; Van Dam, R. M.; Schorzman, D. A.; Quake, S. R.; DeSimone, J. M., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 2322-2323). An imprintable conductive material would allow the direct patterning of wiring circuits; conversely, the ability to pattern an insulator or dielectric material would provide a good starting point for a damascene-like process. As SFIL lithography technology matures, a broader set of imprint materials is becoming available, and many of these uses are being developed.
As a result of the foregoing, a method of combining SFIL with a damascene process to make multi-tiered structures for a multi-level device would be very attractive, particularly from an economic standpoint.

Use of step and flash imprint lithography for direct imprinting of dielectric materials for dual damascene processing

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


To provide a guide core capable of being detachably attached to an insert body and an insert body to which the guide core can be detachably attached, the present invention provides a guide core able to be attached in a detachable way to an insert body, comprising a supporting portion capable of supporting an external terminal face of an area array type electronic component so that external terminals of the area array type electronic component are exposed to the direction of connection terminals of a socket, and a hook receiver able to be engaged in a releasable way with a hook portion provided to the insert body, and an insert body able to be attached in a detachable way with the guide core, comprising an electronic component guide portion comprising a guide core attachment socket to which the guide core is attached, and an electronic component inlet connected with the guide core attachment socket so that an electronic component can be guided to the guide core attached to the guide core attachment socket, and a hook portion able to be engaged in a releasable way with a hook receiver provided to the guide core.

In a production process of semiconductor devices, etc., an electronic component testing apparatus is necessary for testing performance and functions of IC devices and other electronic components. As an example of an electronic component testing apparatus as such, an electronic component testing apparatus comprising an electronic component handling apparatus, an electronic component contact apparatus and a testing main apparatus is known.
As an example of the electronic component handling apparatus, there is known an IC device handling apparatus called a handler for applying a variety of temperature stress, such as a low temperature and high temperature, to an IC device to be tested, mounting the device on a socket, then classifying and holding the IC device to be tested in accordance with the test result. As an example of the electronic component contact apparatus, an IC device contact apparatus for bringing an IC device to be tested to (electrically) contact a main testing apparatus via a socket and a test head is known.
A test of an IC device using the handler is conducted, for example, as below. The IC device to be tested is, after being conveyed to above a test head provided with an IC socket, pressed by a pusher so as to be loaded on the IC socket. As a result, connection terminals of the IC socket contact external terminals of the IC device to be tested, and the IC device to be tested is electrically connected to the main testing apparatus through the IC socket and the test head. Then, a test signal supplied from the main testing apparatus to the test head through a cable is applied to the IC device to be tested and a response signal read from the IC device to be tested is sent to the main testing apparatus through the test head, so that electrical characteristics of the IC device to be tested is measured.
In the test of IC devices to be tested by using a handler, IC devices to be tested are held on a tray to be conveyed to inside the handler and, after the test is completed, the IC devices are reloaded to categorically separated trays in accordance with the respective test results. When a type of a tray to hold the IC devices before and after the test (hereinafter, also referred to as a "customer tray") and that of the tray to circularly convey inside the handler (hereinafter, also referred to as a "test tray") are different, the IC devices are reloaded between the customer tray and the test tray before and after the test.
A plurality of electronic component holders called inserts are provided on the test tray and the IC devices to be tested are held in the inserts provided on the test tray, conveyed to the test head and pressed against the test head while held in the inserts. By using the test tray with the plurality of inserts, a large number of IC devices can be measured at a time.
There are a variety of configurations of the inserts corresponding to package types, etc. of the IC devices to be tested. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, a device guide portion 171a for guiding the IC device to be tested 2 to a guide core 18 is formed on an insert body 17 of the insert 16 for holding an area array type electronic component, such as a BGA type IC device, and the IC device 2 is guided by the device guide portion 171a to be held in the guide core 18. At the lower end of the guide core 18 is formed an opening 182 so that external terminals 22 of the IC device 2 can be exposed to the direction of connection terminals of a socket. An external terminal face of the IC device 2 (a face arranged with the external terminals 22 among outer surfaces of a package body of the IC device 2) is supported by a rim of the opening 182.
Also, the insert 16 is provided with a latch mechanism (for example, disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Publication No. 2001-33518) for preventing the IC device 2 held in the guide core 18 from jumping out or deviating from the position. The latch mechanism is provided with a latch 175, wherein a latch portion 175b is formed at one end, arms 175d and 175e are connected thereto, and the arm 175d has a power point 175a. The arm 175d is formed a through hole 175f as a rotation center, and the latch 175 is supported rotatable about the insert body 17 as a result that a pin is inserted to the through hole 175f. In the latch mechanism, when an outer force is applied from the power point 175a as a lever plate 19 approaches to the insert body 17, the latch portion 175b moves to a position (closed position) of preventing the IC device 2 from jumping out or deviating by covering an upper face of the device 2 held in the guide core 18 as shown in FIG. 19(a). When the application of the outer force to the power point 175a is released as the lever plate 19 recedes from the insert body 17, the latch portion 175b leaves from the upper face of the device 2 held in the guide core 18 to move to a position (open position) of enabling the IC device 2 to be carried out and in.

Insert and electronic component handling apparatus provided with the same


A method for monitoring and controlling convection enhanced delivery of a therapeutic agent to a target tissue is disclosed. A tracer that is detectable, for example, by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or by X-ray computed tomography (CT) is co-infused with the therapeutic agent and used to monitor the distribution of the therapeutic agent as it moves through the target tissue. The images obtained during delivery are used to confirm delivery of the therapeutic agent to the target tissue and to avoid exposure of tissue outside of the targeted area to the therapeutic agent. In addition, the signal intensity of the images may be used to confirm that the therapeutic agent has been delivered to the target tissue at a desired concentration.

Intrinsic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including the brain, the brainstem, the spinal cord and peripheral nerves, often result in serious morbidity, death or impairment of mobility because there is no effective surgical or medical therapy. Although an expanding number of potentially therapeutic compounds exist for treating these disorders, inadequate delivery of these agents to the CNS limits their effective use. Currently available delivery techniques rely on systemic or intrathecal drug administration, both of which have a number of inherent limitations. For example, systemic toxicity and the inability of many compounds to cross from the circulatory system to the CNS frequently restrict systemic delivery, and even if systemically delivered agents do enter the CNS, their distribution is either heterogeneous or non-targeted [see, for example, Langer, "New methods of drug delivery," Science, 249:1527-1533 (1990); Morrison, "Distribution models of drug kinetics," in Principles of Clinical Pharmacology, Atkinson et al (eds), Academic Press, New York, pp 93-112 (2001); and Pardridge, "Drug delivery to the brain." J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 17:713-731 (1997)]. Penetration into the nervous system following intrathecal delivery (including intrathecal injection, direct intratumoral injection, intracavitary instillation, or controlled release from polymer implants), like systemic delivery, relies on diffusion and also produces non-targeted, heterogeneous dispersion throughout the CNS [see, for example, Blasberg et al., "Intrathecal chemotherapy: brain tissue profiles after ventriculocisternal perfusion," J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 195:73-83 (1975)]. Potentially therapeutic substances have yet to be effective in the treatment of intrinsic diseases of the CNS due to the limitations of these delivery methods.
Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) may be used to overcome some of the restrictions associated with other delivery systems. CED utilizes a pressure gradient to infuse substances directly into the interstitial space of a solid tissue (interstitial infusion). Since CED relies on bulk (convective) flow, rather than diffusion, it can be used to distribute both small and large molecular weight substances over clinically relevant volumes within solid tissue [see, for example, Morrison et al., "Focal delivery during direct infusion to brain: role of flow rate, catheter diameter, and tissue mechanics," Am J Physiol, 277: R1218-1229 (1999) and Morrison et al., "High-flow microinfision: tissue penetration and pharmacodynamics," Am J Physiol, 266: R292-305 (1994)]. Furthermore, substances are delivered at relatively constant concentration throughout the volume of distribution.
Factors that influence delivery of a therapeutic agent by CED include the type of tissue infused (for example, white or gray matter) and the tissue binding properties, metabolism and microvascular permeability of the agent. In addition, the volumetric flow rate, duration of infusion, and the size of the cannula (or catheter) used to deliver an infusate may affect the distribution of therapeutic agents delivered by CED.
Of particular concern during CED is retrograde flow (backflow) along the shaft of the cannula that is used to deliver the infusate to a tissue. Backflow may cause infused therapeutic agents to reach unintended tissue, and cause underexposure of the intended target. Theoretical studies of the factors affecting backflow indicate that it may be minimized by using a small diameter cannula, and that minimal backflow may be maintained by offsetting an increase in flow rate with a similar decrease in cannula radius. However, control of backflow remains a concern, particularly if CED is used in a clinical setting.
Furthermore, while a number of studies of CED have shown that there is a roughly linear relationship between the volume of infusate delivered (volume of infusion) and the volume over which the infusate is ultimately distributed (volume of distribution), they also show that other factors that influence the spread of an agent delivered by CED may not always be known for a given subject. These factors include existence of preferential pathways for fluid flow in the target region (for example, fiber tracts in white matter) which may lead to asymmetrical agent distribution, variable cell receptor density that may affect the timing and extent of an agent's spread, and large target volumes that may require long infusion times or multiple sites of delivery.
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has been applied to visualize the spread of an agent delivered by CED, but the method does not offer sufficient resolution to provide details of agent distribution [see, for example, Laske et al., "Chronic interstitial infusion of protein to primate brain: determination of drug distribution and clearance with single-photon emission computerized tomography imaging," J. Neurosurgery, 87: 586-594 (1997)]. As such, SPECT provides only an estimate of the volume of distribution and no detailed information about the shape of the infusion envelope in the tissue.
Since many therapeutic agents, especially those used to destroy tissue, such as cancer tissue, are highly toxic, control over the site of delivery during CED is especially important in the clinical setting, where minimization of side effects is a concern. A method that enables more precise control over the CED process would help ensure proper delivery of therapeutic agents to target regions of tissue without exposure of surrounding tissue to the agents. Such a method would fill a long-felt and heretofore unmet need in the art.

Method for convection enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services


A computer implemented method to generate and display objectives for evaluating decision alternatives is disclosed. The method begins by computer system working interactively with the decision maker in identifying and displaying alternative solutions to a decision. Pros and cons of the alternatives are then identified by the decision maker with the assistance of the computer and displayed by the computer. Significantly, the pros and cons are used by the decision maker to identify and to be converted into objectives. The objectives, which are the key to a rational evaluation of the alternatives are then structured and displayed by the computer hierarchically in preparation for evaluation and choice by the decision maker. The decision maker then decides on a particular course of action based on the hierarchically displayed objectives.

The literature contains three different terms used to describe decision making methodologies: Multi-criteria decision making, Multi-attribute decision making, and Multi-objective decision making. Although these three terms are used interchangeably, we have found that in practice they are not interchangeable and have concluded that the decision making process is greatly facilitated by focusing on objectives. In some decision making contexts, the objectives are clear to the decision maker(s); in many other situations, they are not.
Generally, decision making becomes difficult when the decision maker is unable to intelligently identify objectives supporting a complex decision. In this situation, the decision maker is faced with an array of data supporting and opposing a particular decision. The decision maker generally becomes confused and focuses on one aspect or only a subset of the compiled data, essentially making the decision based on a "gut instinct" or "seat of the pants" approach. In this situation, the decision maker generally uses the compiled data to confirm an already decided course of action. That is, the decision maker is unable to make a truly objective decision.
We have found that the decision making process is greatly facilitated by constructing a meaningful list of objectives for use by the decision maker in selecting a particular course of action. To effectuate this emphasis on developing a meaningful list of objectives, a computer implemented system is utilized to prompt the decision maker to develop, enter and organize pros and cons that have been developed for a given decision to be made. Having developed an acceptable list of pros and cons, the computer implemented system prompts and assists the decision maker to convert the list of pros and cons into an acceptable list of objectives.
Utilizing this developed list of objectives, the decision making process is greatly facilitated, and the decision maker is able to effectuate a well-reasoned decision, and perform a course of action responsive to the selected decision. This invention is a computerized method to be used by decision makers in identifying and displaying their objectives, as well as selecting a specific course of action responsive thereto.

Computer implemented method of generating and displaying objectives from pros and cons for evaluating decision alternatives


The light emitting device includes a light emitting chip, and an optical lens provided over the light emitting chip. The optical lens includes an incident surface into which a light emitted from the light emitting chip is incident, a recess portion opposite to the incident surface and recessed in a direction of the incident surface, an exit surface provided at a peripheral portion of the recess portion to output a light incident through the incident surface, and a convex portion protruding between the recess portion and the exit surface and connected with at least one of the recess portion and the exit surface through an inflection point. The convex portion is located inward of a line segment ranging from the light emitting chip to a first inflection point provided at an outermost portion of the recess portion.

The embodiment relates to an optical lens, a light emitting device, and a lighting device having the same.
A light emitting device, for example, a light emitting diode is a kind of a semiconductor device to convert electrical energy into light. The light emitting device has been spotlighted as a next-generation light source to substitute for a fluorescent lamp and an incandescent bulb according to the related art.
Since the light emitting diode generates light using the semiconductor device, the light emitting diode requires only significantly low power consumption when comparing with the incandescent bulb to generate light by heating tungsten (W) or the fluorescent lamp to generate light by allowing UV (ultraviolet) light, which is generated through a high-intensity discharge lamp, to collide with a fluorescent body.
In addition, since the light emitting diode generates light by using the potential gap of the semiconductor device, the light emitting diode represents a longer life span, a rapid response characteristic, and an eco-friendly property as compared with those of existing light sources
Accordingly, many studies and researches to substitute the existing light sources with the light emitting diode have been carried out. In addition, the light emitting diodes are increasingly used as light sources of a variety of lamps used in indoor and outdoor places and lighting devices such as liquid crystal displays, electronic display boards, and streetlamps.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Optical lens, light emitting device, and lighting device having the same


The MOSFET of the invention has a switching element connected between its gate and its source. The switching element causes a reduction of the gate-to-source voltage of the MOSFET. The switching element is driven via a diode, which is connected in the blocking direction between the drain of the MOSFET and a control terminal of the switching element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a MOSFET with temperature protection wherein a switching element is connected between a gate terminal and a source terminal of the MOSFET.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a MOSFET with temperature protection is known, for instance, from German patent disclosure DE 43 05 038. The switching element of that disclosure connected between the gate and source electrodes switches the MOSFET off when a critical temperature is reached. A temperature-dependent signal is produced for this purpose which drives the switching element and which, when a temperature is reached below the critical temperature, short-circuits the gate and the source of the MOSFET via the load path of the switching element. This reduces the gate-to-source voltage of the MOSFET and thus the current flowing therethrough. The increase in temperature is accordingly slowed.


In the plasma reaction vessel (1) of the invention, two or more laminate-structures (6) having ceramic formed bodies (3, 4) in which a plasma generating electrode (2) capable of generating plasma is formed in two-tape-form, and an electrically continuous film-like electrically conductive electrode (5) held between the two ceramic formed bodies (3, 4) are formed in such a manner as to form a plasma generating space (7) containing mutual laminate planes therein. Of the electrically conductive electrodes (5), adjacent ones are capable of having electric discharge produced therebetween so as to generate the plasma in the plasma generating space (7) and of generating uniform stabilized plasma at low electric power, it being possible to reduce a passage resistance to a gas passing therein.

It is known that silent discharge occurs when applying a high-voltage alternating current or a periodic pulse voltage to a dielectric disposed between two electrodes, and active species, radicals, and ions are produced in the resulting plasma field to promote a reaction and decomposition of a gas. This phenomenon may be utilized for removing toxic components contained in engine exhaust gas or various incinerator exhaust gases.
For example, a plasma reactor or the like which processes NOx carbon particulate, HC, CO, and the like contained in engine exhaust gas or various incinerator exhaust gases in the plasma field by causing the engine exhaust gas or various incinerator exhaust gases to pass through the plasma field has been disclosed (e.g. JP-A-2001-164925).
However, since the distance between the electrodes must be reduced in order to form a structure which uniformly and stably generates plasma at low power consumption and allows a gas such as exhaust gas to efficiently pass through the plasma field, the number of parts is increased and assembly becomes complicated. Moreover, a variation of the dimensions of each part which makes up the electrode used to generate plasma adversely affects the performance of the plasma reactor. Furthermore, engine trouble or an increase in fuel consumption occurs due to an increase in the passage resistance of the gas which passes through the plasma reactor.

Plasma reaction vessel, and method of producing the same


A method for the identification of whether a lubricant in a compressor is an alkylbenzene or a naphthenic oil. This method comprises adding 3,3-bis (p-hydroxyphenyl) phthalide and observing whether there is an absence or presence of turbidity.

This invention relates to a novel method of distinguishing lubricants utilized in compressors. Lubricants have been used in compressors generally to protect the frictionally engaged components therein from wear. More particularly, this invention relates to a simple yet accurate method of distinguishing between an alkylbenzene and a naphthenic lubricant which are widely used as lubricants in compressors. Thus, for example, lubricants have been used in conjunction with refrigerants in compressors of mobile refrigeration systems. Earlier on naphthenic oil, such as Suniso 3GS was widely used. Lately, an alkylbenzene such as Zerol-150 (Shrieve Chemicals) has been used exclusively. Chemically, the naphthenic oils are completely saturated hydrocarbons consisting of cyclic structures e.g. cycloparaffinic molecules. Alkylbenzenes contain aromatic rings with branched hydrocarbons having a general formula as shown in FIG. 1: ##STR1## in which n is a positive integer.
They are prepared for example by the known Friedel-Crafts reaction such as by alkylation of benzene with alkylchlorides or olefins.
Commercial manufacturers of refrigeration systems such as Thermo King has used alkylbenzenes as a lubricant in combination with fluorocarbon refrigerants available under the tradename R-12, R-22, R-500 and R-502 within the last decade. However, it is estimated that there are about a half-million refrigeration systems currently in use which have utilized both types of lubricants.
There is no easy and quick method of distinguishing which of these two lubricants are used in the system. The present practice is to withdraw a lubricant sample from the compressor and bring it to the laboratory for analysis. Most common method presently used to distinguish these two types of compounds relies on a spectroscopic technique (infra-red spectrophotometer) which gives distinct absorption peaks due to aromatic benzene at 1600 cm.sup.1 in alkylbenzene lubricants.
With the recent legislative changes, which prohibits the use of high Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and high Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants, refrigerants such as R-12 which is dichloro difluoro methane has to be replaced by compounds such as MP-66 which is a ternary blend of chloro difluoro methane, difluoro ethane and tetrafluoro ethane or R-134a which is tetrafluoro ethane. It has been concluded that while R-134a will be suitable for new compressors, it may not be economically feasible to retrofit the existing compressors with R-134a, because of certain compatibility problems. Refrigerant MP-66 has been suggested as a suitable replacement of R-12 in existing compressors. The lubricant of choice with MP-66 is alkylbenzene. Therefore, it is important for manufacturers of refrigeration systems to find out the type of oil in the existing compressors. The primary reasons to learn the identity of the lubricant are:
a. Savings--if the existing lubricant turns out to be alkylbenzene, then one needs to replace only R-12 refrigerant with MP-66, without changing the lubricant. PA1 b. If the lubricant is a naphthenic oil, then one would need to replace both the refrigerant and lubricant with MP-66 and alkylbenzene to avoid any compatibility problems.

Quick method to distinguish alkylbenzene and naphthenic lubricants in compressors


A power transmission belt having elastomer teeth based on an ethylene alpha-olefin elastomer, provided with an external film, is provided in which the external film is based on a thermoplastic olefin, the thermoplastic of the film being associated with a silicone elastomer that represents at least 20% by weight of the total weight of the film and with a compatibilizing element that ensures, within the film, compatibility between the thermoplastic and the silicone elastomer.

Power transmission belts are known in which the gum is made of a polybutadiene and chloroprene material (also known as polybutadiene rubber/chloroprene rubber or (BR/CR)).
That material is capable of satisfying some of the above-mentioned constraints, in particular mechanical constraints and acoustic constraints.
Nevertheless, that material does not behave well at high temperatures.
Too great a temperature constraint leads to bakelization of the belt which can no longer operate correctly.
Power transmission belts are known in which the teeth are made out of an ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer (EPDM) material. This applies for example to patent application FR 2 779 731 where the belt also has cords.
That material, unlike the BR/CR material, presents good high temperature properties.
Nevertheless, it presents a coefficient of friction with pulleys that is relatively high. Unfortunately, a high coefficient of friction can lead to high levels of shear stress at the interface between the gum and the cords. These stresses can thus lead to the cords being torn out, or sometimes to the teeth being torn off.
Furthermore, too high a coefficient of friction can lead to a level of (acoustic) noise that does not comply with the ever stricter requirements being imposed by clients.
Numerous solutions have thus been sought to deal with these problems of cords being torn out and of noise on belts having teeth made of a material based on EPDM.
For this purpose, Documents FR 2 898 171 and FR 2 936 291 propose adding a protective film on the outer surface of the teeth that might be made of EPDM, which film is for coming into contact with the pulleys.
More precisely, application FR 2 898 171 shows the presence of a thermoplastic film containing polyethylene. Nevertheless, in certain situations of high thermomechanical stresses, the film can abrade quickly and thus no longer perform its function.
In application FR 2 936 291, the protective film has a barrier layer made of thermoplastic and an outer coating, e.g. made of polyethylene that is partially included in the thermoplastic barrier layer. That solution is complex to implement and expensive.
There therefore exists a need for a power transmission belt that presents excellent performance for satisfying the mechanical and/or thermal and/or acoustic constraints that are now being required.

Power transmission belt with thermoplastic film containing a silicone elastomer


A two-dimensional (2D) mesh is applied over a distortion surface to approximate a lens roll-off distortion pattern. The process to apply the 2D mesh distributes a plurality of grid points among the distortion pattern and sub-samples the distortion pattern to derive corrected digital gains at each grid location. Non-grid pixels underlying grid blocks having a grid point at each corner are adjusted based on the approximation of the lens roll-off for the grid points of the grid block. In one example, bilinear interpolation is used. The techniques universally correct lens roll-off distortion irregardless of the distortion pattern shape or type. The technique may also correct for green channel imbalance.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of image processing and, more specifically, to techniques for universally correcting lens roll-off distortion and/or green channel distortion.
II. Background
Due to the cost-saving consideration and size issue, the lens mounted on the camera of a cell phone tends to be small and inexpensive. Because of its small size and inferior material, the captured image shows brightness attenuation near the edge of the image. The luminance of the pixels near the edge is considerably darker than the pixels in the center. Furthermore, the color tone may also shift.
In one attempt to correct the roll-off distortion, a radial-based lens roll-off correction method was employed. However, due to the placement of micro lens on the pixel array for high pixel count sensors, the color shift is not radially symmetric. Instead, it is globally directional. Thus, the distortion was marginally improved. Furthermore, there are varying types of roll-off patterns such as, a kidney type, oval shape and radially symmetric roll-off patterns. For an aspherical lens creating the kidney type, radial symmetry assumption is violated in the radial-based lens roll-off correction method. Likewise, the oval shape roll-off pattern violates a circular symmetry assumption of the radial-based lens roll-off correction method.
When the image sensor pixel count increases, the photo diode size shrinks in order to maintain a reasonable die size. Due to the pixel downsizing, the green channel imbalance becomes a serious issue.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques for universally correcting lens roll-off distortion and/or green channel imbalance.

Surface mesh matching for lens roll-off correction


The invention concerns scintillation proximity assays performed in multiwell plates where a charge coupled device is used to image the wells. Conventional phosphors emit blue light (350–450 nm) which is absorbed by yellow or brown assay components. This problem is addressed by the use of phosphors that emit radiation of longer wavelength (480–900 nm).

This invention concerns scintillation proximity tests, that is to say assays or other experiments involving the scintillation proximity principle.
Current scintillation proximity assay (SPA) technology involves the use of scintillant beads made from either cerium-doped yttrium silicate (Y2SiO5:Ce) (hereafter referred to simply as yttrium silicate or YSi) or polyvinyltoluene (PVT) containing an organic scintillant such as PPO. Assays are carried out in aqueous buffers using radioisotopes such as 3H, 125I, 14C, 35S or 33P, that emit low-energy radiation, the energy of which is easily dissipated in an aqueous environment. For example, the electrons emitted by 3H have an average energy of only 6 keV and have a very short path length (˜1 μm) in water. If a molecule labelled with one of these isotopes is bound to the bead surface, either directly or via interaction with another molecule previously coupled to the bead, the emitted radiation will activate the scintillant and produce light. The amount of light produced, which is proportional to the amount of labelled molecules bound to the beads, can be measured conveniently with a liquid scintillation (LS) counter. If the labelled molecule is not attached to the bead surface, its radiation energy is absorbed by the surrounding aqueous solvent before it reaches the bead, and no light is produced. Thus, bound ligands give a scintillation signal, but free ligands do not, and the need for a time-consuming separation step, characteristic of conventional radioligand binding assays, is eliminated. The manipulations required in the assays are reduced to a few simple pipetting steps leading to better precision and reproducibility.
PCT WO 91/08489 (Packard Instrument Company Inc.) describes a support body for use in scintillation proximity radioimmunoassay, the support body being constructed of a scintillating material, having coupled to its surface a multiplicity of ligands such a antigens, antibodies, etc. capable of selectively binding a reactant of interest. Preferably the support bodies consist of yttrium silicate activated with an inorganic cerium salt such as the oxide, carbonate, or chloride.
WO 94/26413 concerns the study of cellular and biochemical processes in living cells or in components of cells. Specifically described are devices and methods for the study of cellular and biochemical processes, using the scintillation proximity principle.
The simplicity of the scintillation proximity format allows almost complete automation of assays using robotic sample processors and microtitre plate scintillation counters. Consequently, SPA technology is capable of high throughput, which is particularly valuable in the case of drug- or sample-screening assays. SP assays have been carried out routinely in 96-well microtitre plates which are counted 6 wells at a time in specially designed microtitre plate scintillation counters. The search for increasingly higher throughput has led the manufacturers of these counters to produce instruments capable of counting 12 wells at a time, thus doubling throughput. It has also seen the advent of 384-well plates, although at present these can still only be counted 12-wells at a time.
A problem associated with SPA is that of colour quenching, caused by the presence in the assay medium of coloured compounds that absorb the light emitted by the current SPA bead types. Colour quenching attenuates the signal, thereby decreasing signal to noise and hence the sensitivity. Many of the samples being screened by SPA assays are coloured and the majority of these are yellow or brown in colour and absorb light in the blue region of the visible spectrum. Both PVT- and Y2SiO5:Ce-based SPA beads emit light in the blue region (maximal emission normally in the range 350 nm–450 nm) and so are susceptible to this effect.
An alternative detection system suitable for use in low to ultra-low light level imaging applications in the biological and biomedical sciences is CCD (Charge Coupled Device) Detection which has been used, for example, in assays which involve chemiluminescent, bioluminescent and fluorescence detection. Applications include immunoassays (Hooper et al, J. Biolum. Chemilum., 9,113–122, (1994)), and the analysis of specific fluorescent dye-labelled nucleic acids by hybridisation following electrophoretic separation of nucleic acid samples (EP 214713 to Astromed Ltd.). Ultra low-light imaging using CCD technology is quantitative and fast and the new generation of imaging instruments which use CCD cameras for detectors can image the whole of a plate at once and so have great potential for increasing sample throughput compared with microtitre well plate scintillation counters. Area imaging, i.e. the simultaneous imaging by CCD of all wells in a microtitre well plate is considered to be particularly advantageous when used in conjunction with high well-density plates containing 96, 384, 864, or more wells, since the time required to make measurements is significantly reduced compared with conventional scintillation counting techniques.
Imaging technology, in particular area imaging, has also been applied to isotopically labelled materials as an alternative to autoradiography. This approach has been most widely used in applications such as the quantitative analysis of proteins by 2-D gel electrophoresis (Patterson, et al, Biotechniques, 15(6), 1076, (1993)) and receptor localisation (Tang, et al, Biotechniques, 18(5), 886, (1995)). An imaging plate, coated with a radiation sensitive agent (e.g. strontium sulphide/samarium/cerium or barium fluorobromide/europium) is exposed to a radiolabelled sample and an image is formed due to radiation incident on the lanthanide metal coating of the plate. Following exposure, the image is read by means of an imaging plate reader.
CCD detection of SPA counts has also been reported (Englert, D., Society for Biomolecular Screening, Second Annual Conference Oct. 14–17, (1996), pp 209–221) using PVT-based microspheres. However, the photon count from the SPA wells was not sensitive enough to enable usable results to be obtained, due to low light output of the beads, sub-optimal signal detection capability of the system, as well as quenching by coloured samples. For conventional scintillation counting, instruments can be calibrated to take into account colour quenching. However, in the case of CCD detection using conventional SPA beads and under normal assay conditions, the number of photons detected per disintegration was insufficient to enable determination of quenching levels and quench correction was not possible. To date there appear to be no reports of working assays in which sample detection and measurement was obtained using this technique.


A device for the implantation of electrolytically severable occluding spirals in body cavities or blood vessels comprising a source of electrical power, a cathode, a catheter and an occluding spiral adapted to serve as an anode and able to slide in the catheter in the longitudinal direction, wherein the occluding spiral (3) is designed to be electrolytically corrodible at several spaced apart points so that when in contact with a body fluid one or more variably dimensioned lengths of the occluding spiral (3) may be severed by electrolysis.

The use of endovascular techniques for the occlusion of body cavities such as arteries, veins, fallopian tubes or vascular deformities such as for example vascular aneurysms is known in the art. The occlusion spiral is in this case usually introduced with the aid of an endovascular guide wire through a catheter into the cavity to be occluded and deposited therein.
The severance of the occluding spiral necessary for deposit thereof is in particular technically problematical, since the device required must on the one hand be as small as possible in design in order to be guided through the fine bore of the catheter to its destination, while on the other hand it must bring about a reliable severance of the occluding spiral, since otherwise on withdrawal of the catheter there might be an unintended removal of the occluding spiral from the cavity to be occluded and thus injury and/or rupture of the wall of the cavity or vessel.
Mechanical methods for the severance of occluding spirals from the insertion means do not take much time to perform but however the rigidity necessitated by technical features of the connection means between the occluding spiral and the introduction means impede the introduction of the implant. Furthermore, the low load carrying capacity of the connection due to its rigidity entails a not inappreciable risk of premature detachment of the insertion means from the occluding implant. Moreover, in the case of mechanical separation of the inserting wire and the occluding spiral, energy must be transmitted (as a rule by rotation of the inserting wire) and this may mean that the implant is dislodged out of the correct position.
The electrolytic severance of stainless steel wire ends during transcatheter electro-coagulation of blood vessels or deformities of the same was initially described in 1979 by Thompson et al. and by McAlister et al. (Radiology 133: 335-340, November 1979, AJR 132: 998-1000, June 1979).
Based on this method the European patent publication 0 484 468 described an occluding spiral involving the electrolytically corrodible design of the end of the guide wire at the connection between the guide wire and the occluding spiral. Although this device elegantly makes use of the voltage, applied to the occluding spiral serving as an anode for electro-thrombization, for the simultaneous severance of the wire end and the occluding spiral thereon, it does, just like the above mentioned mechanical severance method, suffer from the disadvantage that only implants of predetermined length can be detached or severed. It is therefore as a rule generally necessary for the length, that is to say the longitudinal extent, of the occluding spiral to be inserted, to be predetermined directly prior to the insertion of the implant on the basis of the size of the cavity to be occluded. Since the irregular form of body cavities to be occluded makes it difficult to correctly assess the length of the occluding spiral necessary for filling, there is the likelihood of excessively long or excessively short occluding spirals being introduced into the cavity to be occluded, something which may involve on the one hand an incomplete occlusion or on the other hand injury to or rupture of the wall of the cavity (or of contiguous vessels) to be occluded.
A further disadvantage of the electrolytic severance of the end of the guide wire is the fact that for production of the guide wire the only materials which can be utilized are those, which have a sufficiently high degree of strength to enable reliable guidance of the occluding wire through the guide wire. The selection of materials for forming the point of eventual electrolytic severance is consequently extremely limited.
In the case of prior art devices for the electrolytic severance of occluding spirals the latter and the guide wire are not produced integrally, but as a rule mechanically connected with each other. This design has the inherent disadvantage that in order to ensure sufficient strength in the proximal zone of the guide wire and for the purpose of rendering possible the electrolytic, corrosive severance of the wire end in the distal part of the wire the guide wire must be tapered toward its end in an involved grinding operation. This corrodible zone of the end of the guide wire at the connection between the guide wire and the occluding spiral must not, in order to ensure sufficient strength of the connection point, have a diameter below a certain minimum value of approximately 0.05 mm, since it is subjected to a high flexural load. The corrodible wire end representing the connection point between the occluding spiral and the guide wire is consequently extremely rigid and requires a relatively long time for electrolytic corrosive severance.
The German patent publication 4,445,715 C2 describes the severance of an occluding spiral from the insertion means by means of a laser beam directed or focussed on the point of severance of the implant using an entrained fiber light guide. This device renders possible severance of an optimum length of the occluding spiral in the course of an operation as needed for filling the cavity. Thus even in the case of the use of occluding spirals of uniform length this method renders possible the severance and deposit of a the length best suited for filling the cavity. The technology necessary for the application of this device is however presently extremely expensive.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Device for the implantation of occlusion spirals


A work cutting apparatus in which clearance adjustment is simultaneously possible for the two sides of the L-shape of the blade by a single adjustment operation and in which the elevation system of the movable blade has a simple arrangement. The work cutting apparatus is provided with a fixed blade of which the plan shape is approximately L-shaped, and a movable blade that moves vertically and comprises an approximate l-shape in alignment with the fixed blade. The movable blade is mounted on the tip of a ram that pivots vertically via a pivot support shaft arranged on the lower frame. The pivot support shaft is an eccentric shaft and, by adjusting the rotation of the angle of the shaft, the oscillation center of the ram is changed and the clearance adjustment of the blades is possible. The axial direction of the pivot support shaft is angled with respect to both sides forming the L-shape of the fixed blade and by adjusting only the rotation angle of the pivot support shaft, clearance adjustment of both sides forming the L-shape of the blades may be simultaneously performed.

A device whereby a movable blade is vertically moved has been proposed as this type of conventional work cutting apparatus. Apart from this, a device has been used whereby an L-shaped blade is vertically moved about a pivot support shaft parallel to one side.
However, in either devices, the adjustment of one side of the blade and the other side of the blade must be performed independently in order to adjust the clearance between the fixed blade and movable blade corresponding to the thickness of the work, and thus the adjustment operation is time consuming.
Moreover, two types of adjustment systems, are necessary and the structure becomes complicated.
Furthermore, the elevation guide and elevation drive systems of the device, which vertically move the movable blade, become complicated and increase the cost.


Power is contactlessly supplied from a power transmitting portion to a power receiving portion. A transmitting efficiency detecting portion detects the transmitting efficiency, and a determining portion determines whether the transmitting efficiency is equal to or greater than a specified value. If the transmitted efficiency is less than the specified value, an obstruction may be present so power temporarily stops being transmitted. Power is then periodically transmitted with a minute power and the efficiency is detected. If the efficiency is equal to or greater than the specified value, power starts to be transmitted again with regular power.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a power supply system and a control method thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a countermeasure for an obstruction near a system that contactlessly supplies power.
2. Description of the Related Art
A non-contact power supply system that uses electromagnetic induction is known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-258182 (JP-A-2001-258182) describes one such a non-contact power transmitting apparatus. FIG. 13 shows the structure of this related art. This power transmitting apparatus contactlessly supplies power between a main body 1 that has a first coil 6 which receives power supplied from a commercial power supply, and a terminal 2 that has a second coil 7 which is coupled by electromagnetic induction to the first coil 6. A temperature increase preventing device which automatically stops the supply of power to the terminal 2 when a temperature equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature is detected is provided in the main body 1.
In this power transmitting apparatus, the supply of power is stopped in response to an increase in temperature. However, if an object or a person approaches the power transmitting apparatus while power is contactlessly being supplied, this is unable to be detected. That is, when using a non-contact power supply system with a facility such as a power supply station as the power transmitting side and a movable body such as a vehicle as the power receiving side, and power is contactlessly supplied to the movable body, it is possible that an occupant of a vehicle or the like may come near the power supply system, in which case it is desirable to quickly stop supplying power.

Controlling the wireless transmission of power based on the efficiency of power transmissions


A hybrid drive unit for vehicles, in which a power distribution device is arranged in a power transmission route between an engine and a wheel, in which the power distribution device has a first to fourth rotary elements capable of rotating differentially with one another, in which a first motor generator is connected to the second rotary element and a wheel is connected to the fourth rotary element, and which is capable of steplessly controlling a speed change ratio of the first rotary element and the fourth rotary element of the power distribution device comprising: a second motor generator connected to the third rotary element of the power distribution device; a third motor generator connected to the wheel in a power transmittable manner; and an electric circuit for allowing exchange of electric power among individual motor generators.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hybrid drive unit for vehicles having a plurality of prime movers such as an engine and a motor generator.
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-150845 filed on May 20, 2004 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A hybrid vehicle, which has an engine and a motor generator as a prime mover, is known in the art. This kind of hybrid vehicle is capable of improving the fuel consumption and abating emission by utilizing the characteristics of the engine and the motor generator. One example of the hybrid vehicle thus having the engine and the motor generator as a prime mover is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-346187.
The hybrid vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-346187 comprises an engine and an assist motor as a prime mover, and a planetary gear mechanism is arranged between the engine and a drive shaft. The planetary gear mechanism comprises three rotary elements such as a sun gear, a ring gear, and a carrier holding a pinion gear meshing with the sun gear and the ring gear. In the planetary gear mechanism, the carrier is connected to the engine side, and the ring gear is connected to the drive shaft. The assist motor is also connected to the drive shaft, and a motor is connected to the sun gear.
There is provided a transmission in the route from the engine to the carrier. The transmission comprises three rotary elements such as a sun gear, a ring gear, and a carrier holding a pinion gear meshing with the sun gear and the ring gear. In the transmission, the carrier of the transmission is connected to the engine, and the ring gear of the transmission is connected to the carrier of the planetary gear mechanism. Moreover, there are provided a clutch for allowing integral rotation between the carrier and the ring gear of the transmission, and a brake for selectively halting the rotation of the sun gear of the transmission. Additionally, a battery is connected to the motor and the assist motor.
The torque outputted from the ring gear is transmitted to the drive shaft by using the motor to function as a reaction element while inputting an engine torque to the carrier of the planetary gear unit. The motor functioning as the reaction element carries out a regenerative control (i.e., an electric power generating control), and generated electric power is stored in a battery. It is possible to control a speed change ratio steplessly by controlling the speed of the motor. Here, the speed change ratio is a speed ratio of the carrier of the planetary gear unit and the ring gear of the planetary gear unit. Namely, the planetary gear unit functions as a continuously variable transmission utilizing a differential action of the three rotary elements. It is also possible to fill in the gap between a demand torque of the vehicle and an engine torque transmitted to a drive shaft by driving an assist motor.
In case the brake is applied and the clutch is released, the speed of the ring gear of the transmission increases in comparison with the engine speed. On the contrary, in case the brake is released and the clutch is applied, the output shaft of the engine and the ring gear of the transmission rotate integrally. Besides, the hybrid vehicle having a plurality of prime movers such as the engine and the motor generator is disclosed also in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-78105, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-142146, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-32802.
According to the hybrid vehicle taught by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-346187, it is necessary to increase the speed of the motor functioning as the reaction element in order to increase the speed ratio between the speed of the carrier of the planetary gear unit and the speed of the drive shaft. That is, in order to run the vehicle at low speed by keeping the engine speed at a predetermined speed, the motor functioning as the reaction element has to have a high output so that the size of the motor may be large. In order to reduce the speed ratio between the speed of the carrier of the planetary gear unit and the speed of the drive shaft, a drive torque is applied to the sun gear of the planetary gear unit in a counter direction by reversing the motor, and a synthesis of the engine torque and the drive torque of the motor is outputted from the ring gear to the drive shaft. On the other hand, the assist motor carries out a regeneration of the energy and the generated electric power is supplied to the motor. Therefore, power circulation may occur.


A hydraulic desalination system, device and method includes lowering the pressure of liquid saltwater to the vaporization point by generating flow through piping and accompanying infrastructure that may include valves that impart friction and control flow, capturing the vapor, condensing the vapor using higher pressure supplied by the ambient surroundings producing freshwater, recovering the heat released during condensation by maintaining ambient temperatures greater than vapor temperatures, and then using the recovered heat to enhance and perpetuate vaporization in a cyclical manner. A novel spring-loaded pump for pumping fluids may facilitate the process.

1.0 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a desalination device and a method for desalinating salted water, such as for example, seawater.
2.0 Related Art
About 97% of the world's water is undrinkable seawater. The remaining 3% of water, freshwater, is the only water in the world that's naturally drinkable. As demand for freshwater increases along with the growing human population, the already precious resource will become even more valuable in the future. Over the years, processes for desalinating seawater have been developed in an effort to tap into that 97% of the world's water that surrounds us seemingly everywhere. So far, the processes have not reached a level of economic efficiency to promote widespread use for desalination. However, this could change if a new desalination process were developed that was so cost effective that it would rival the cost of finding and using freshwater, particularly when freshwater is distant or remote, or difficult to access.
Presently, in general, two basic types of technology are used for desalinating seawater. The first technology is called thermal desalination, and the second technology is called membrane process desalination. Almost all existing desalination processes can be categorized, ultimately, as either thermal or membrane-based. The primary problem with each technology is that it requires large amounts of energy to succeed. For thermal processes, large amounts of heat must be supplied to cause evaporation. Temperatures for these processes can reach 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or higher. For membrane-based processes, large amounts of pressure must be supplied to seawater to screen the dissolved salt out of the water. Pressures for these processes can reach 1,000 pounds per square inch (psi), or higher. Since ambient temperature and pressure are typically 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 psi, respectively, it becomes evident why so much energy needs to be brought into these systems. The ambient surroundings alone cannot support these processes. A new desalination process supported entirely by ambient temperature and pressure conditions appears to have an inherent advantage in that its energy requirements should be much lower than the energy requirements of other existing processes.

Hydraulic desalination device and method