The present invention provides a method of operating a solid fuel fired boiler comprising introducing a solid fuel and an iron-bearing material into the boiler. The solid fuel is at least partially combusted in the boiler to produce an ash slag, wherein the ash fusion temperature characteristics (i.e., one or more of the IDT, ST, HT, and FT) of the ash slag are different than the ash fusion temperature characteristics of the ash slag that would result on combustion of the solid fuel alone. The method of the present invention is particularly applicable to slag tap boilers, including cyclone-type boilers. These boilers are, typically, designed to operate with a liquid ash slag.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention is directed to the operation of slag tap-type combustion apparatuses for the production of steam, generation of electric power, or for any other purpose. Application of the present invention to solid fuel-fired slag tap-type boilers will allow a reduction in noxious emissions of these boilers. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the addition of iron-bearing compounds to solid fuel-fired slag tap-type boilers for the purpose of fluxing the ash of fuels that would otherwise produce ash slag with high ash fusion temperatures and/or high viscosity, or that would otherwise be incompatible, for environmental or other reasons, with such boilers. As described in detail below, many different industrial products and by-products may be used as the iron-bearing compounds utilized in the method of the present invention. The method of the present invention may be used in heat, steam, and power production, and in any other applications of solid fuel-fired slag tap-type boilers.
The combustion of solid fuel releases energy that may be harnessed for the production of heat, steam, electricity, or for other purposes. Solid fuels presently combusted for the production of heat, steam, electricity, or other purposes include, but are not limited to, coal, biomass, petroleum coke, and other synthetic fuels. The most widely used solid fuel for electricity generation is coal. Coal is a macromolecular network composed of groups of polynuclear aromatic rings, to which are attached subordinate rings connected by oxygen, sulfur, and aliphatic bridges. Combustion of the organic matter of the macromolecular network generates heat that typically is used to generate steam that drives steam turbines and generates electricity. Along with the generation of heat, combustion of coal produces flue gases and fuel ash slag. The ash slag generally consists of the mineral matter remaining after combustion of the organic matter in the coal. Thus, the slag may include, for example, silicas, aluminas, iron oxides and other inorganic compounds.
Coal is abundant in the United States, more abundant than oil, for example, and coals from different regions of the United States and the world have different characteristics, such as chemical composition, heat value, and physical properties. Much of the coal from the eastern region of the United States has a high sulfur content and when combusted produces an ash that can be handled as a liquid at conventional combustion chamber temperatures. Conversely, low sulfur coal from the eastern region of the United States produces an ash that cannot be handled as a liquid at these temperatures, due to elevated melting temperatures. Handling low-sulfur coal from the western United States may present handling problems similar to those encountered with eastern region low sulfur coals, or they may present operational difficulties due to unfavorable slag viscosity characteristics.
Certain boiler systems that are fired with solid fuels, and more particularly fired with coal, are designed to operate with a continuous flow of liquid fuel ash or xe2x80x9cslagxe2x80x9d out of the bottom region of the boiler. Boilers of this type are variously referred to as xe2x80x9cslag tapxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwet bottomxe2x80x9d boilers. The operation of these boilers is limited to coals that combustion produce an ash slag having a low ash fusion temperature (AFT), low viscosity, or other characteristic that allows the ash slag to flow from the combustion chamber of the boiler during operation of the boiler. The ash fusion temperature properties of the resultant fuel ash slag may be characterized in a number of ways, including initial deformation temperature (IDT), softening temperature (ST), hemispherical temperature (HT), and fluid temperature (FT). The AFT properties are commonly determined by the procedure outlined in ASTM Standard D-1857. This procedure defines the IDT as the temperature at which the first rounding of the tip of a cone formed from the ash of the coal being evaluated occurs; the ST is defined as the temperature at which the cone has fused down to a spherical lump having a height equal to the width of the base; the HT is defined as the temperature at which the cone has fused down to a hemispherical lump having a height which is one half the width of the base; and the FT is defined as the temperature at which the fused mass has spread out in a nearly flat layer with a maximum height of one sixteenth of an inch. In this specification, these temperatures are collectively referred to as the Ash Fusion Temperature or AFT characteristics of a particular ash.
Slag tap boilers fall into two general categories, both requiring production of a liquid ash slag from combustion of the solid fuel to operate properly. The first category is characterized by boilers that fire the fuel in pulverized form. Such boilers are referred to herein as xe2x80x9cpulverized fuelxe2x80x9d boilers. The second category includes boilers commonly referred to as cyclone boilers. In a cyclone boiler, crushed coal is fed into the burner end of a water cooled, horizontally oriented cylinder. Combustion air is introduced into the cylinder tangentially to impart a whirling motion to the coal. Coal fired boilers in both of these broad categories require the use of coal that produces an ash with properties characteristic of low AFT and favorable viscosity properties over the temperature range experienced in the combustion environment. Such AFT and viscosity properties are necessary to allow the ash slag to flow from the boiler. Typically, coals and other fuels with the low AFT characteristics or favorable ash viscosity properties required for use in slag tap boilers also have high sulfur concentrations. High sulfur content coals and other fuels produce greater sulfur dioxide and noxious gases when combusted in fuel-fired boilers.
Slag tap boilers are typically individually designed to bum coal from the local area. Therefore, the combustion chamber is designed to operate with the particular ash produced from a certain coal type. Conversely, coal meeting certain predetermined specifications must be used in each slag type boiler to ensure proper operation. These specifications include, but are not limited to, specifications for AFT characteristics, ash slag viscosity temperature profile range, ash slag base-to-acid ratio, as well as others. Coals which do not meet the specifications engineered into a certain designer""s slag tap boiler cannot be used in the boiler.
Phase I of the Acid Rain Program of the 1990 Clean Air Act placed a limit on the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) that can be emitted annually by certain sources. SO2 emissions from coal fired electric utility plants located in the eastern and midwestern states were typically limited to a greater degree than other sources. Sources of SO2 air pollution are allocated allowances, or xe2x80x9crights to pollutexe2x80x9d, based on their historic level of SO2 emissions. Each allowance permits one ton of SO2 to be released into the air and cannot be used again. At the end of each year, polluting sources must hold enough allowances to cover their SO2 emissions for that year. Any remaining allowances can be sold, traded, or banked for future use. If a source of air pollution does not have enough allowances to cover its SO2 emissions, it can buy allowances on the open market. Every year the limit on the amount of SO2 that can be emitted annually is reduced. Allowances are, therefore, a valuable commodity and emissions of SO2 are becoming more expensive every year. Phase II of the Acid Rain Program, which began in the year 2000, further tightens the annual SO2 emission limits imposed on coal fired utilities and on smaller, cleaner burning plants.
Therefore, burning of high sulfur coals has become or will shortly become cost prohibitive for many electric or steam generation facilities. Since slag tap or cyclone boilers were designed to operate using high sulfur coals with low AFT characteristics, continued operation of these facilities using high sulfur coals and conventional power production methods will continue to become increasingly costly, to producers and consumers alike. Lower sulfur coals generally have ash chemistry and AFT characteristics that are outside the range for which these boilers were originally designed and, therefore, use of these alternate fuels can cause significant operational problems. For example, lower sulfur coals typically have higher AFT characteristics (i.e., higher IDT, ST, HT, and FT) and, therefore, the resultant fuel ash may not flow from the bottom of the boiler, a requisite with slag tap boilers.
In order to address the problems associated with the use of alternate coal types in slag type boilers, attempts have been made to modify the AFT characteristics of coals. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,421 describes a process wherein bituminous coal, which is unsuitable for use in slag tap boilers, is blended with lignitic coal. The blend is adjusted such that the resultant fuel ash has a viscosity at or below 250 poise at 2600xc2x0 F., the operating temperature of the combustion chamber. The ""429 patent states that coals having ash viscosity in this range are suitable for use in slag tap boilers. However, the technique of blending coals to adjust AFT characteristics has major limitations because the amount of high sulfur coal that can be blended with low sulfur coal and still operate with the sulfur emissions regulations is limited. Also, the blending of coals has only a limited effect on the properties of the ash slag. Therefore, this method has limited industrial applicability.
Thus, there exists a need for a method of modifying the operation of solid fuel-fired slag tap boilers to allow the boilers to operate with alternate fuels for which the boilers were not designed. There also exists a need for a method of altering the AFT characteristics of low sulfur coals to render them suitable for use in certain slag tap boilers.
In addition, there exists a need for a method of maintaining stable boiler operation when operating slag tap boilers with solid fuels that would produce ash slag with AFT characteristics outside the range for which the boilers were originally designed.
The present invention provides a method of operating a solid fuel fired boiler comprising introducing a solid fuel and an iron-bearing material into the boiler. The solid fuel is at least partially combusted in the boiler to produce an ash slag, wherein the ash fusion temperature characteristics (i.e., one or more of the IDT, ST, HT, and FT) of the ash slag are different than the ash fusion temperature characteristics of the ash slag that would result on combustion of the solid fuel alone. The method of the present invention is particularly applicable to slag tap boilers, including cyclone-type boilers. These boilers are, typically, designed to operate with a liquid ash slag.
The iron-bearing material may be, but is not limited to, at least one of iron ore beneficiation tailings, iron ore fines, pelletized blends of coal and iron-bearing material, pelletized solid fuel containing iron-bearing compounds, iron-bearing boiler ash, mill scale from steel production, dust from blast furnace gas cleaning equipment, flue dust from sinter plants, and other materials including iron or including material that bears iron. The iron-bearing material may be blended with the coal or other solid fuel that is to be fired in the boiler prior to or during combustion to modify one or more properties of the ash slag to meet the design specifications of the boiler. These properties may be, but are not limited to, ash fusion temperature characteristics, ash slag viscosity, ash slag base-to-acid ratio, as well as other properties.
According to the present invention, the iron-bearing material may be fed into the slag tap or other solid fuel fired boiler in one or more of several different locations. In pulverized fuel slag tap boilers, the material bearing iron compounds may be fed into, for example, the fuel pulverizers, the fuel transfer system, directly into the boilers, into the combustion chamber enclosure or any other location in the system. In cyclone slag tap boilers, the iron-bearing material may be fed into, for example, the fuel storage bunker, the fuel transfer system, the cyclone boilers directly, the combustion enclosure, or any other location in the system.
The method of the invention allows lower sulfur coals, as well as other fuels typically unsuited for use in slag top boilers, to be used in such boilers, significantly reducing SO2 emissions.
The reader will appreciate the foregoing details and advantages of the present invention, as well as others, upon consideration of the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention. The reader also may comprehend such additional details and advantages of the present invention upon making and/or using the stainless steels of the present invention.

Method for operating a slag tap combustion apparatus

Abstract: The iron-bearing material may be, but is not limited to, at least one of iron ore beneficiation tailings, iron ore fines, pelletized blends of coal and iron-bearing material, pelletized solid fuel containing iron-bearing compounds, iron-bearing boiler ash, mill scale from steel production, dust from blast furnace gas cleaning equipment, flue dust from sinter plants, and other materials including iron or including material that bears iron. According to the present invention also describes methods of introducing the iron-bearing material into the slag tap combustion apparatus. The method of the invention allows lower sulfur coals, as well as other fuels typically unsuited for use in slag top boilers, to be used in such boilers, significantly reducing SO2 emissions.


A power-on reset circuit, which may be utilized with CMOS integrated circuits, includes first and second series-connected inverters, wherein the output of the second inverter provides a reset signal. A series of switches and a biasing line having two series-connected diodes are integrally arranged with the inverters. Capacitive coupling to ground and the supply voltage is employed to prevent any static current path between supply voltage rails. The circuit provides a short duration reset signal which follows the supply voltage and is insensitive both to rebound signals on the supply voltage rails and to internal and external noise.

In integrated circuits, and particularly in micro-logic circuits, there is often the necessity of integrating therewith specific circuits capable of ensuring the resetting of all of the functional elements of the integrated circuit to a certain state whenever power is switched on. This resetting must occur independently of the manner in which the supply voltage is raised from ground potential to the nominal supply voltage level, in order to prevent the occurrence of undesired and uncontemplated integrated circuit element configurations, which may cause malfunctioning and possibly latching of the whole integrated circuit device.
Such circuits are called power-on reset circuits, and are commonly referred to by the acronym POR. POR circuits perform the aforementioned function. These circuits are capable of generating a resetting pulse of predetermined characteristics upon switching on of the integrated circuit (i.e. when power is provided by a supply voltage).
Generally, these POR circuits have an architecture which includes power dissapative static current paths between the potential voltage nodes and, although these static current paths normally have a relatively high impedance, the persistence of a nonnegligeable static power consumption is not, in many cases, compatible with design specifications of CMOS integrated circuit devices, which typically have a null static consumption Therefore, these POR circuits may not be usable with many CMOS integrated circuit devices.
In addition, these POR circuits may internally cause malfunctioning if accidentally stimulated by internal or external transient events, e.g. noise induced by the switching of output buffers and the like.


A method generating chlorine dioxide is provided. The method uses sodium chlorite solution and diluted sulfuric acid to generate chlorine dioxide with a significantly higher rate of conversion of chlorite to chorine dioxide than has been previously reported with sulfuric acid/chlorite chlorine dioxide generation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the generation of chlorine dioxide and more particularly relates to an improved method of chlorine dioxide generation wherein the resultant conversion of chlorite to chlorine dioxide is of an efficiency previously unknown using a two chemical system employing sulfuric acid/sodium chlorite, and in which the precursors can be retained in the reactor for a prolonged time before dilution without loss of chlorine dioxide by reaction with water to form chlorate, as has been reported when hydrochloric acid is used as the proton donor.
2. General Background
Chlorine dioxide is a powerful oxidant and disinfectant. Applications for chlorine dioxide cover a wide spectrum from disinfection of foods and drinking water, treatment of process water, odor control, zebra mussel eradication, Anthrax destruction, disinfection of medical waste, wastewater treatment, and oil- and injection water well stimulation, paper pulp bleaching, and fabric bleaching.
Chlorine dioxide is not available for purchase or may not be readily available for every application in which it might be used. In certain situations, regulatory and economic limitations suggest that the chloring dioxide cannot be shipped, but instead must be generated on site at the time of use. The need for generation has spawned a variety of processes in which a relatively small group of precursors are combined in different ways. These can be broken down into groups depending on the precursor and the method of conversion.
Two generally indispensable precursors around which many chlorine dioxide generation methods are built are sodium chlorate, NaClO3, and sodium chlorite, NaClO2. Sodium chlorate is the less expensive of the two and, as such, has become the precursor of choice for the paper industry, which uses chlorine dioxide daily in tonnage quantities to bleach and delignify paper pulp, as well as for applications such as wet-end biological control on paper machines. Lowering chemical costs justifies the investment in corrosion resistant, operator-controlled titanium machinery suit to carry-out acidic chlorate conversion. There is a commercially available small-scale, three-chemical method for chlorate conversion U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,427, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The method teaches the combination of concentrated sulfuric acid, and a proprietary mix of sodium chlorate and hydrogen peroxide to convert the chlorate to chlorine dioxide.
Other known generation methods employ sodium chlorite, despite its higher cost, because of the relative ease of conversion. Conversion methods can be categorized as one chemical, two chemical, and three chemical, each of which offers a specific advantage. One chemical method includes electrolytic oxidation of chlorite anion, and exposure to ultraviolet light. Current electrolytic methods can generate hundreds of pounds of chlorine dioxide per day, whereas ultraviolet methods are useful in cases where a few pounds per day are adequate.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, it would be desirable to have an improved method of generating chlorine dioxide using two precursor chemicals that may result in high conversion rates, be able to be carried-out in situ, when necessary, and be conducted in a scaleable manner, to meet the needs of large users of ClO2, such as paper mills, and small users such as private water treatment facilities.
Further, many acid-chlorite methods are known. Such methods that employ hydrochloric acid are known to yield no greater than a theoretical 80% conversion rate of the chlorite used into chlorine dioxide, with practical yields closer to 70%. Diluted (9-15%, by weight) hydrochloric acid is commonly used as the acid in the generation of chlorine dioxide from chlorite. Concentrated sulfuric acid cannot be combined directly with chlorite, as it reacts too violently and generates a significant amount of heat, which lends to volatilization of produced chlorine dioxide and possible damage to plastic generation equipment.
It would, therefore, be desirable to have a method which employs 'dilute sulfuric acid' in the generation of chlorine dioxide and results in higher conversion efficiencies than were previously known for this chemistry with little or no conversion of generated chlorine dioxide to chlorate even with prolonged residence time in the reactor. This increase in conversion efficiency would result in obvious economic advantages over previously known methods.


A cooling fan module includes a fan and a PMDC motor. The PMDC motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator has 2P magnetic poles. The rotor includes a rotary shaft, a rotary core, a commutator, and a winding. The rotor core includes m×P pole teeth. The commutator includes k×m×P commutator segments. Adjacent pole teeth define therebetween winding slots for receiving the winding. The winding includes winding units each having P coils. Each of two ends of each winding unit includes a lead-out line connected to the commutator segment. Any two lead-out lines extending out of different winding slots are spaced from each other at locations outside the commutator segments.

Permanent magnet direct current (PMDC) motors have been widely used in many applications. In one application, the PMDC motor is used as a fan motor for cooling a vehicle engine. Because of safety requirements in vehicle, the fan motor is required having stricter safety and reliability than in other applications.
The PMDC motor typically includes a wound-rotor with a commutator. This type of rotor includes a plurality of pole teeth on which an armature winding is wound. The winding surrounds the pole teeth to form coil units. The coil units have lead-out lines connected to segments of the commutator. If the lead-out lines of the coil units that are connected to the commutator segments intersect each other, short-circuit may easily occur, which may cause motor malfunction.

Permanent magnet direct current motor and cooling fan module


The present invention relates to a device for distributing liquid, especially washing liquid for washing paper pulp, in a diffuser having at least one screen plate (1), comprising an apparatus for supplying the washing liquid and at least one elongated nozzle (2, 5) which can be connected to the apparatus and which extends down in front of the screen plate and is arranged to supply the liquid. The nozzle is provided with openings (7 to 12) for washing liquid which open out at different predetermined levels, and whose location is designed to provide an even distribution of washing liquid along the height of the screen plate. A channel (13 to 18) for supplying washing liquid can be arranged to each opening (7 to 12) in the nozzle (2, 5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for distributing liquid, especially washing liquid for washing paper pulp, in a diffuser having at least one screen plate, comprising means for supplying the washing liquid and at least one elongated nozzle which can be connected to the washing liquid supply means, which projects down in front of the screen plate, and is arranged to supply the liquid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a device is previously known through U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,390 which relates to a liquid distribution device in a diffuser with openings being arranged on two different levels--at the top and at the bottom--along the height of the screen plates. The washing liquid is thereby conveyed in separate conduit systems to the different levels, which results in a complicated system for supplying the washing liquid. In addition, it can give rise to uneven distribution of the washing liquid along the height of the screen plate.
In a further development, the washing liquid is supplied through two nozzles, namely a long nozzle which reaches to the lower part of the screen plate and a short nozzle which is designed to supply washing liquid to the upper part. The washing liquid is distributed to each nozzle by means of a rotatable so-called nozzle plate which is provided with a number of holes, more specifically throttle holes, the cross-sectional area of which is predetermined in relation to the current quantity of liquid passing through the nozzle. An uneven distribution of the liquid along the height of the screen plate also occurs when this device is used.

Device for distributing liquid, especially washing liquid, for washing paper pulp


A sheet conveying apparatus includes a first sheet conveying path, a second sheet conveying path branched from the first sheet conveying path, a switching member capable of moving in the branch portion of the first sheet conveying path and the second sheet conveying path, and a first regulation member and a second regulation member which regulate the movement of the switching member, wherein when the first regulation member is abutted against the switching member, the first regulation member forms a gap having a first interval through which the sheet can pass to the second sheet conveying path, when the switching member is further moved forward, and when the second regulation member is abutted against the switching member, the second regulation member forms a gap having a second interval smaller than the first interval through which the sheet can pass to the second sheet conveying path.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus in which the periphery of a switching member, which switches a sheet conveying path, can be opened as an access space used to process jam and to an image forming apparatus having the sheet conveying apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copy machine, and the like employs a sheet conveying apparatus for conveying a sheet while switching a sheet conveying direction at the branch portions of a plurality of sheet conveying paths using a switching member. In the sheet conveying apparatus, since sheet jam may occur in the peripheries of the branch portions of the sheet conveying paths, the sheet conveying apparatus is ordinarily provided with an openable/closable exterior cover (hereinafter, referred to as a jam processing door) so that the peripheries of the branch portions can be accessed easily to process the jam.
As an example of the sheet conveying apparatus, there is a sheet conveying apparatus which is mounted on an image forming apparatus main body and can stack sheets, which have images formed thereon, on many trays after they are sorted. The sheet conveying apparatus has a sheet conveying path for convey sheets in a direction where the trays are disposed, a plurality of sheet conveying paths branched from the sheet conveying path to the respective trays, and switching members which switches the conveying directions of the sheets in the respective branch portions. Further, the sheet conveying apparatus is provided with an openable/closable jam processing door so that the peripheries of the branch portions where the respective switching members are disposed can be easily accessed. Accordingly, when jam occurs in the peripheries of the branch portions where the switching members are disposed, a user can extract a jammed sheet by opening the jam processing door.
However, in the sheet conveying apparatus, when the user opens the jam processing door and extracts the jammed sheet to process jam in the peripheries of the branch portions, there is a possibility that the jammed sheet is caught by a switching member in a branch portion and broken. Further, when it is intended to forcibly extract the jammed sheet caught by the switching member in the branch portion, there is also a possibility that the switching member is broken.
As a countermeasure for solving the problem, there is a method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-39602. According to this method, when a jam processing door is opened, a switching member is evacuated together with the jam processing door in association the opening of the door to thereby open a jam processing space.
However, this technology is defective in that the number of parts, the size of an apparatus, and a cost are increased because parts which cause the jam processing door to be associated with the switching member are necessary although breakage of a jammed sheet and the switching member can be prevented.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus


Various embodiments are described herein for switched reluctance machine configurations. In at least one embodiment, a switched reluctance machine configured according to the teachings herein includes an axially extending shaft, an axially extending rotor mounted to the shaft, the rotor having a plurality of salient rotor poles, an axially extending stator disposed coaxially and concentrically with the rotor, the stator having a plurality of salient stator poles protruding radially from the stator towards the rotor poles, a plurality of stator teeth and tooth-tips, and a plurality of electrical coils wound about the stator poles to define a plurality of phases of the switched reluctance machine, where a number of stator poles can be determined according to the following equation and at least one constraint condition:

Electric machines convert electrical energy to mechanical energy, or mechanical energy to electrical energy. To accomplish this, electrical machines establish and control electromagnetic fields to create the desired electromagnetic performance.
One variety of electric machines is a switched reluctance machine ("SRM"). A typical SRM includes two basic components, namely i) a stationary component which generates a rotating electromagnetic field, generally referred to as the 'stator'; and ii) a rotating part, generally referred to as the 'rotor'. An advantage of SRM is that there is no excitation source on the rotor.
SRM operates based on varying reluctance. In an SRM, the electromagnetic torque is produced by the magnetic attraction of the steel rotor to steel electromagnets. Enhanced torque performances can be obtained by improving the structure of the stator. However, conventional configurations of SRMs have conventional concentrated windings that may result in long flux paths and increased core losses.

Multi-teeth switched reluctance motor with short flux path

Abstract: N    s    =                              N          t                ×                  LCM                                (                                          N                s                            ,                              N                r                                      )                                                N          r                ×                  N          ph                ×                  S          1                ×                  S          2                      .


A pillar slab system using precast concrete pillar slabs for constructing a pillar, pergola or other stone structure comprises a body comprising at least four sides. Each exterior side surface comprises at least one simulated stone face. At least first and second side surfaces also have at least one simulated joint defining a visual separation between simulated stone faces. The simulated joints in the side surfaces are disposed at different horizontal positions, so that when one pillar slab is stacked on an identical pillar slab in a different orientation, the simulated joints in adjacent surfaces are vertically staggered relative to one another to avoid obvious repeating patterns and provide the appearance of a natural stone construction.

Pillars have always been popular vertical elements in landscape design. Pillars are often made of stone or precast concrete, which as construction materials have extremely high durability and resistance to the elements. A pillar can be incorporated into another vertical element, for example forming the end of a seat wall or fence; or can stand alone, for example supporting a horizontal element such as a pediment or other roof structure, or an elevated deck. A pillar can thus serve as a structural support and/or as an aesthetic element in landscaping and building construction applications.
Conventionally the two most common methods of constructing a pillar are:
1) Laying individual masonry units such as stones or precast concrete elements in a pattern to form the basic shape desired, which is typically square or rectangular in cross-section. Each subsequent course is laid over the immediately preceding finished course, with the pattern of joints being repeated or a variation of it used, while maintaining consistent outside dimensions. It is desirable from a structural point of view to have the elements overlapping on the next subsequent course, in order to tie the individual units together to create a coherent structure. However, each individual unit within a course must be leveled independently, which is time consuming, and then fit together with adjacent elements and subsequent courses. The process of laying and stacking the individual masonry units is thus time-consuming, and generally difficult enough to require a skilled artisan such as a mason to ensure that the pillar dimensions are maintained through each course and the desired aesthetic appeal is achieved in the finished pillar.2) Constructing the core of the pillar with concrete elements such as cinder blocks, reinforced with mortar and reinforcing steel, and then facing the resulting structural pillar core with stone and mortar, brick, stucco, or some other facing material to provide a desired aesthetic finish. However, the process of constructing the pillar core requires labourers who are skilled in block construction, mortar, and reinforcement techniques. Furthermore, the core structure must be left to cure and solidify before beginning to face the core exterior, which prolongs the pillar construction process, and the facing itself requires mortar or expensive adhesives which require additional time to cure.
It would accordingly be advantageous to provide a pillar construction system that eliminates one or more of the disadvantages of conventional pillar construction techniques.


A processor, such as a TV processor, determines which one of at least two audio-video components is sending signals to a TV for display. Based on the determining act, the processor establishes a color of a bezel of the TV.

Home entertainment systems come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. One or more individual electronic pieces may make up the entertainment system. Often individual pieces of equipment work separately, such as a TV by itself, or can synchronize their functions to perform tasks that no single piece could accomplish, i.e. TV displaying a picture from a DVD player and sending its sound to a stereo system.


An imaging apparatus includes a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion units having plural first photoelectric conversion units and plural second photoelectric conversion units, a drive section and a signal processing section. The drive section controls the solid-state imaging device to read first pixel signals that are accumulated over an exposure period, from the first photoelectric conversion units, respectively, to read low-sensitivity pixel signals from the second photoelectric conversion units, respectively, to read second pixel signals that are accumulated in at least a part of the exposure period, from the second photoelectric conversion units, to mix the first pixel signals and the second signals for producing a high-sensitivity pixel signals. The signal processing section combines the low-sensitivity pixel signals and the high-sensitivity pixel signals and produces an image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a signal processing method for the same.
2. Description of Related Art
As an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera or the like, there has been known an imaging apparatus in which adopted is a process for consecutively performing high-sensitivity photographing and low-sensitivity photographing within a short period of time and synthesizing the obtained two images in order to obtain an image with a wide dynamic range.
In an imaging apparatus including a solid-state imaging device having relatively high-sensitivity photoelectric conversion units and relatively low-sensitivity photoelectric conversion units, an image having a wide dynamic range is produced by synthesizing signal charges from the high-sensitivity photoelectric conversion units and signal charges from the low-sensitivity photoelectric conversion units. For example, JP 2004-55786 A (corresponding to US 2004/0017497 A), JP 2004-336469 A (corresponding to US 2004/0262493 A) and JP Hei.7-250286 A describe this type of solid-state imaging device.

Imaging apparatus and signal processing method


The present invention is directed to a method for the packaging and handling of sterile syringes. More specifically, a syringe and a syringe package are sterilized. The sterilized syringe is placed into the sterilized syringe package, which package is sealed to enclose the sterilized syringe. A fluid is introduced into the sterilized syringe. The sterilized syringe with fluid is then delivered into a sterile field by removing the syringe from the syringe package. The syringe package is preferably a peal-open sheath with a fitting member at one end. The fitting member extends partially into and partially out of the syringe package. It has a connector inside the syringe package for connecting to the sterile syringe, which connector is fluidly connected to an exterior connector. Thus, the fitting member provides a fluid connection from outside the syringe package to the enclosed sterile syringe.

A conventional process of obtaining a biological or other fluid samples such as a blood sample and transfer of such samples to a sterile field usually require multiple steps of fluid transfer with use of multiple devices. In particular, to preserve the sterility of the external surfaces of a syringe to be used in a sterile field, typically a sterile operator (e.g. operating room nurse) holds a sterile syringe while a non-sterile operator holds a non-sterile syringe, and the two must cooperate to dock the syringes and transfer the fluid into the sterile syringe.
In each fluid transfer, the syringe containing the fluid sample and other devices need to be sterilized or disinfected. Hence, such multiple steps and devices in preparation of the fluid sample can cause extra cost and time and overall inconvenience. In addition, risks of contamination of the sample and/or infection of the medical personnel can increase as the amount of handling and the number of devices increase.
Various U.S. patents disclose different syringe coverings for encasing syringes therein. However, these syringe coverings are usually designed to protect the encased syringes from contamination during transportation before such syringes are used for a fluid processing. None of these coverings allows the encased syringe to be used in various fluid processing, such as drawing a fluid, but still remain uncontaminated. Rather, these coverings only provide sterility during storage or during injection. Hence, fluid transfers will be necessary prior to delivering the encased syringe to a sterile environment.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,092 issued to Fischer discloses a syringe sheath for containing a syringe and preventing contamination of the syringe. The syringe in Fischer has an extruding portion which passes the sheath, via an aperture, to deliver a material. The extruding portion attached to the syringe can inevitably cause damages to the sheath during transportation of the syringe covering leaving the sterile syringe exposed to contamination. Further, when an aperture is provided on the sheath for passing through the extruding portion on the syringe, the same problem can occur as well.

Method for sterile syringe packaging and handling


A method of applying printing ink to cylindrical objects includes coating the external surfaces of cylindrical objects with migration-preventing plastic material which has an affinity for ink, and advancing the coated objects continuously, in series, one after the other, through an ink application zone wherein printing inks are transferred from a flexible carrier onto the coated surfaces of the objects. The ink sublimes in the heat, and the carrier is under tension during contact with selected portions of coated surfaces of the cylindrical objects which roll along the carrier during passage through an ink application zone. At least the carrier is heated above the sublimation temperature of the printing ink, and a temperature gradient is established in the plastic coats from the inside to the outside prior to, or not later than upon, entry of objects into the ink application zone. To this end, the ink application zone immediately adjoints a production line for the objects. The objects in the production line must be heated to an elevated temperature anyway for the purpose of producing and applying the plastic coats.

The invention relates to a method of printing on cylindrical objects by resorting to the following steps:
Coating the surface of a cylindrical object with a migration-preventing plastic material that has an affinity for dye, such as printing ink;
Advancing cylindrical objects continuously in a row, one after the other, through an ink application zone in which printing inks are transferred from an endless flexible carrier onto the surfaces of the objects in that the endless, flexible carrier of printing ink, which sublimes in the heat, contacts under tensile stress a portion of the surface of each cylindrical object;
Rolling the cylindrical objects relative to the carrier during advancement through the ink application zone; and
Heating at least the auxiliary carrier above the sublimation temperature of the printing inks.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for implementation of the method.
A method of the above outlined character and an appurtenant apparatus are known from published German Pat. application Ser. No. 32 29 815. This publication proposes to advance the cylindrical objects, which are contacted by the ink-bearing carrier, through a heating zone. In the heating zone, the objects and the carrier are heated up so that the printing inks can migrate from the carrier into and diffuse in the plastic layers at the surfaces of the objects. With the known method and the known apparatus, objects can be printed in a highly satisfactory manner. The method is being used in particular for printing on beverage cans with a detailed motif, that is, on beverage cans whose external surfaces bear the name of the manufacturer and identify the contents of the can, together with relatively detailed motifs, similar to printed labels on beverage bottles.
It has been ascertained that the quality of printing in accordance with the proposal in the published German patent application is indeed quite high but that the appearance of the cans will suffer after even slight damage to the plastic layer, e.g., as a result of small scratches on the surface. When handling the cans, for example during filling in the bottling plant of a beverage production facility, where several thousand cans must be handled every hour, such damage cannot always be reliably prevented. As a rule, the damage does not amount to removal of plastic layer down to the bare metal of the can. Rather, the damage is in the form of light scratches or similar flaws which affect primarily the image of the print because, as a rule, a portion of the dye is removed. In order to reduce the adverse effects caused by such scratching to a minimum, attempts were made to introduce the ink deeper into the plastic layer. This can be achieved, for instance, by increasing the temperature in the heating zone. However, an increased amount of energy is required to increase the temperature, and this results in increased costs.

Method of applying printed matter to cylindrical objects


A contact center, system, and method of operating a contact center are provided. In one example, the system includes a quantum computing resource and a server. The server is configured to receive a contact from a customer communication device, provide information about the contact to the quantum computing resource, receive a probabilistic output from the quantum computing resource based on the quantum computing resource processing the information about the contact, and make a work assignment decision for the contact based on the probabilistic output.

Conventional contact centers employ classical computers and computing resources to enable functionality of the contact center. A downside to relying upon classical computers and computing resources is that such devices reach a performance ceiling requiring both extreme processing power and memory in addition to long database searches.
For example, a conventional contact center is incapable, regardless of the computing power it employs, of accurately and timely assigning a best or most optimal agent to a new caller. As a result, callers experience drastic wait times. As new callers call into the contact center, the number of callers on hold increases. Such a contact center may thus be incapable of operating as required. These issues are most acute for contact centers having a high number of agents and when the callers outnumber the agents or when the number of callers far exceeds the number of available (i.e., free) agents.

Systems and methods of contact center client assignment leveraging quantum computation


A disk drive including a negative pressure type head slider having a transducer for reading/writing data from/to a disk having a plurality of tracks, and an actuator for moving the head slider across the tracks of the disk. The actuator includes an actuator arm rotatably mounted on a base of the head slider, a suspension fixed at a base end portion thereof to a front end portion of the actuator arm, and the head slider mounted on a front end portion of the suspension. The head slider includes a front pad having a raised surface and a step surface lower in level than the raised surface, the transducer formed near the air outlet end, and a first groove for generating a negative pressure by expanding air once compressed at the front pad. The bottom surface of the first groove is formed with a plurality of second grooves continuously extending from the downstream side of the front pad to the air outlet end. The second grooves are spaced from each other in the transverse direction of the head slider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a magnetic disk drive, and more particularly to a negative pressure type head slider for a magnetic disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent magnetic disk drives with decreasing size and increasing storage capacity, it has been desired to reduce the flying height of a head slider and realize contact recording/reproduction such that the head slider flies a microscopic height from a recording medium such as a magnetic disk or comes into contact with the recording medium. To reduce the flying height of the head slider, the surface roughness of the surface of the magnetic disk must be reduced. In a contact start and stop (CSS) type magnetic disk drive heretofore widely used, a flying surface of a magnetic head slider comes into contact with a magnetic disk upon stoppage of rotation of the magnetic disk, and flies above the surface of the magnetic disk during rotation of the magnetic disk by the action of an air flow produced in concert with the rotation of the magnetic disk.
In the CSS type magnetic disk drive, high flying stability and microscopic flying height (on the order of submicrons) can be ensured. However, the air bearing surface (flying surface) of the head slider comes into contact with the magnetic disk upon stoppage of rotation of the magnetic disk, and slides relative to the magnetic disk at starting and stopping the disk drive. To cope with this, a protective film formed of a hard material such as carbon and a lubricating layer for reducing the friction and wearing of the protective film to improve the durability of the magnetic disk are formed on a recording layer of the magnetic disk. Although the friction and wearing of the protective film can be reduced by the presence of the lubricating layer, there is a possibility of stiction between the magnetic disk and the head slider in the rest condition of the magnetic disk, causing a problem that the disk drive cannot be started.
With a recent increase in amount of information, the recording density or storage capacity of the magnetic disk drive is remarkably increasing and the size of the magnetic disk drive is remarkably decreasing. The size reduction of the magnetic disk drive is accompanied by a decrease in torque of a spindle motor in the disk drive, and the disk surface of the magnetic disk is smoothened for the increasing recording density. Due to these factors, much attention is now focused on the stiction problem causing a defective operation. As measures against this stiction problem, it has been proposed to apply texture forming by laser to a CSS zone of the magnetic disk or provide a plurality of projections on the flying surface (air bearing surface) of the head slider, thereby reducing a contact area between the head slider and the disk surface.
A negative pressure type magnetic head slider is widely used in recent magnetic disk drives, so as to reduce the flying height of the magnetic head slider from the magnetic disk. Such a negative pressure type magnetic head slider has a groove for generating a negative pressure by expanding air once compressed near an air inlet end of the head slider. In the magnetic disk drive using the negative pressure type magnetic head slider, there is a possibility that dust or dirt may be deposited on the bottom surface of the groove of the head slider in the CSS operation or seek operation, and when the amount of dust or dirt deposited exceeds a permissible amount, it may fall onto the disk surface to cause head crash.

Negative pressure type head slider and disk drive


A conversion kit for boat running lights for converting a running light into a lantern for illuminating a boat's deck includes a conversion base portion coupling with an existing socket of a boat's running light. A conversion adapter portion is provided having electrical contacts with the conversion adapter portion being receivable through the conversion base and into the existing socket of the running light such that the electrical contacts of the adapter portion operationally connect with the contacts of the existing socket. The adapter has an upper socket portion extending upwardly therefrom for receiving a light bulb therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to boat lights and more particularly pertains to a new conversion kit for boat running lights for converting a running light into a lantern for illuminating a boat's deck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of boat lights is known in the prior art. More specifically, boat lights heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art boat lights include U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,315 to Ahroni; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,225 to Wiggerman; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 355,864 to Lantz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,603 to Camarota et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,725 to Komon; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,452 to Pingel et al.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new conversion kit for boat running lights. The inventive device includes a conversion base portion coupling with an existing socket of a boat's running light. A conversion adapter portion is provided having electrical contacts and is receivable through the conversion base and into the existing socket of the running light with the electrical contacts communicating with contacts of the existing socket. The adapter has an upper socket portion extending upwardly therefrom for receiving a standard light bulb therein.
In these respects, the conversion kit for boat running lights according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of converting a running light into a lantern for illuminating a boat's deck.


A friction puller for an injection mold is disclosed. The friction puller has a bolt with a head portion and a threaded portion. The friction puller has first and/or second first substantially hemispherical wedges having a first and/or second passages running through them for the bolt and allow lateral float about the bolt. The friction puller also has a deformable jacket having a third passage running through is for the bolt and first and second substantially hemispherical cups for receiving the first and second substantially hemispherical wedges. The first hemispherical wedge can have a vent relief notch disposed in a top surface of the first hemispherical wedge. The deformable jacket can have a jacket vent notch disposed in a top surface of the deformable jacket. The bolt head and the jacket can have alignment indicator marks thereon. The bolt threads can have a variable pitch diameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to injection molding devices, and more specifically to a friction puller of a multiple plate injection mold.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Friction pullers are used in injection mold application to help control the sequential movements of various plates during mold operations. One such friction puller is shown in German Patent No. DE 2815698, which is assigned to the HASCO Company. Friction pullers made according HASCO have a bolt which has a substantially conical shaped shank. The bolt is inserted into a resin jacket that has a corresponding substantially conical shaped passage for receiving the bolt shank. When the bolt is tightened, the bolt head compresses the jacket lengthwise and the shank presses laterally on the jacket. The result is that under the load from the tightened bolt, the jacket has an increased diameter compared to when it is in an unloaded condition.
Another type of friction puller is also produced by HASCO. In these friction pullers, a bolt with a straight set of threads is used. The bolt is secured into a key member that passes through one of the mold plates. The key has at least one flat surface to prevent the key from rotating inside the mold plate. The end of the key that receives that bolt has a hemispherical wedge section integral to or fixed to the key member. A resin jacket is again used. The jacket has a hemispherical cup inside one end of the jacket to correspond to the hemispherical wedge on the key member. The other end of the jacket has a second hemispherical cup for receiving a hemispherical washer used between the bolt head and the jacket. Again, when the bolt is tightened, the hemispherical washer and hemispherical wedge compress the jacket lengthwise forcing the jacket to increase slightly in diameter.
A problem encountered with both of these types of friction pullers is that they do not accommodate typical manufacturing conditions with respect to installation or operational environments, which results in inconsistent performance. For example, these products are fix mounted into the mold plates. Thermal expansion, build tolerances and the like can lead to the pullers not being centered with respect to the respective pockets in the opposing mold plates. While small, these misalignments can cause the mold to lock because of different force levels exerted by each of the friction pullers in the mold. Typically, multiple friction pullers are used in a single mold.
Another problem encountered with both of the types of friction pullers described above is the creation of air pressure differentials during use. As the pullers are designed to friction fit into the pockets that receive them, often the puller creates an air tight seal against the pocket. During mold close, the mold has to compress the air in the pocket to close the mold. This compressed air wants to push the puller out of the pocket. Alternatively, if the air escapes-the pocket during mold closure, but the jacket creates an air tight seal once the mold is fully closed, a vacuum is created in the pocket when the puller attempts to pull out from the pocket. Neither of the friction pullers described above provide for air to flow in and out of the pocket during mold open an mold closure operations. Accordingly, either the compressed air or vacuum conditions can occur randomly, creating an undesirable variation in the force exerted by the friction pullers.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved friction puller. There remains a need for a self-aligning friction puller. There remains a need for a friction puller to controllably allow air to pass into and out of the pocket that receives the friction puller.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Progressive Components International Corporation


A device and method for dispensing precise amounts of dry particulate matter, such as agricultural chemicals, directly into a liquid carrier stream, such as a flow of water, and a method of employing such a device to distribute chemicals. The device includes a bin for holding a quantity of particulate matter, a conduit for transporting a stream of liquid carrier, and a meter at the bottom of the bin for controllably releasing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin into the conduit while disallowing entry of the liquid carrier to the bin. The bin, conduit and meter are all mounted upon a portable structure for transportation with particulate matter in the bin. The meter includes a multi-vaned rotor turned by a controlled motor, and defines discrete pockets of known volume. The operator simply connects the device to a flow of water and keys into the controller an amount of material to be released. The rotor releases the material into a chamber under vacuum pressure generated by a venturi, through a check valve, and into an eductor. Agricultural chemicals may be advantageously distributed to end users in particulate form, to be mixed with a liquid carrier at the work site, without possibly harmful exposure to chemical dust and fumes.

This invention relates to a device and method for shipping and dispensing precise amounts of dry particulate matter, such as fertilizer and pesticide products and such, into a liquid carrier stream.
Many useful agricultural chemicals and other such products are distributed in dry bulk form, either as powders, granules or small pellets, but are ultimately dissolved into a liquid carrier for application by spraying or irrigation equipment. Thus, a farmer will either purchase the chemicals dry, either in bags or bins, and mix them with water or other liquid carrier as needed, such as by pouring the chemicals and liquid carrier separately into a mixing tank, or will transport a tank to a chemical dealer who will dispense a pre-mixed solution into the tank. Unfortunately, environmental and safety regulations are typically more stringent regarding the transportation of chemicals in liquid form than in dry form.
Pneumatic systems have been developed for metering and transporting dry particulate matter in a stream of air, from a bulk storage bin to a mixing tank for subsequent mixing with a liquid. A useful example of such a system is a portable unit described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,673 and sold under the trade name "ACCUBIN". The entire contents of the above-referenced patent are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.
With many agricultural chemicals, prolonged exposure to high concentration of air-borne particulates is not desirable.

Controlled injection of dry material into a liquid system


A window curtain includes a first curtain body and multiple second curtain bodies attached to the first curtain body. The first curtain body allows light to penetrate therethrough. Each second curtain body has a connection edge formed on the top edge thereof so as to be connected to the first curtain body. Multiple first magnet units and multiple second magnet units are connected to the rear side of each second curtain body. The rear side faces the first curtain body. When folding either of the second curtain bodies relative to the first curtain body, the first and second magnet units are magnetically attracted to each other.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window curtain, and more particularly, to a window curtain having a first curtain body and multiple second curtain bodies attached to the first curtain body, each second curtain body has magnet units which may be attracted to each other when folding the second curtain bodies.
2. Descriptions of Related Art
The conventional window curtains are equipped with operation ropes which hand downward from the top box, and the users pull the operation ropes to fold or expand the curtain. However, the hanging ropes can easily wrap around kids' neck when kids playing the operation ropes. Therefore, U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,304 discloses a cordless blind structure which includes multiple magnets connected to the blind body so that when the users operate the bar at the bottom of the blind to fold the blind body, the magnets are attracted row by row to fold the blind body in sequence. The blind body is expanded by pulling the bar downward to separate the magnets. No worm gears, pulleys and ropes are needed for the cordless blind structure.
However, when folding the blind body from the bottom thereof, the lower portion of the window that is not covered by the curtain body will introduce light into the room from outside. The light from outside of the room may be too bright for the users in the room.
The present invention intends to provide a cordless curtain which includes a first curtain body and multiple second curtain bodies which can be folded relative to the first curtain body by attracting magnet units on the second curtain bodies, so that the light outside of the room can be controlled to be introduced into the room.


The present invention is concerned with flexible cooking containers which the user can fill with selected foodstuff and then seal same prior to inserting in the microwave oven for preferably cooking the contents at greater than atmospheric pressure for improved health/hygiene reasons and for improved taste and flavor. The user can thus select the nature of the foodstuffs which are to be cooked.

The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to cooking containers for use in cooking foodstuffs, particularly microwave cooking of foodstuffs.
There are several cooking containers in the market place which are usually in the form of bags or pouches, and contain foodstuffs sealed therewithin. Such containers are usually rectangular in shape and are formed of plastics film material, suitably laminated.
A problem associated with such containers is that when the container is heated in a microwave oven, vapour generated from the foodstuffs in association with the heating increases the gas pressure inside the container and this increased gas pressure may burst open the container so that the product may be destroyed and scattered inside the microwave oven. In order to alleviate such gas pressure increase the container may be partially broken open or an opening be cut therein so as to communicate the inside of the container with the ambience to allow escape of the vapour generated from the foodstuff during its heating. However, such method can make the heat cooking more problematic. In addition, if the user forgets to form such opening procedure prior to heating and the foodstuff remains sealed in the container when same is heated, then such may well result in the bursting of the container body.
Further devices are available which are provided with means whereby, when the container is being heated and the pressure builds up, the pressure is allowed to be removed by suitable venting means which become operational when the pressure within the container reaches a selected level.
Currently, the majority of cooking containers, in the form of bags or pouches, are prepared in a ready sealed manner with the foodstuff therein. Such containers are purchased from a retail outlet and the user then places same in the microwave oven and cooks same with the pressure being relieved by the venting means referred to above.


Filtering data packets in a manner that promotes efficient flow of data through a communication path. A filter stack includes one or more filter instances that may filter data packets that pass through the filter stack. The filter stack is associated with one or more protocol stacks that function in communication paths between a computing device and a network. When filtering instances are inserted to or removed from a filter stack, associated protocol stacks may remain capable of transferring data. An abstract interface facilitates inserting and removing filter instances by passing data to filter drivers that create filter instances. A filter driver may create multiple filter instances. Filtering operations associated with filter instances may be bypassed based on the direction of data flow, control flow, and characteristics of packets.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to filtering data packets. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems, methods, and computer program products for an abstract interface to manage insertion of filter instances into a filter stack, removal of filter instances from a filter stack, and bypassing the functionality of a filter instance without disrupting associated protocol stack operations.
2. Background and Relevant Art
In today's world, a large number of computers are coupled to one another through computer networks, such as the Internet, which allow the computers to exchange data. However, the majority of these computers are not directly coupled in a one-to-one relationship. Instead, these computers typically exist in a network environment wherein multiple computers are interconnected, and each computer may exchange data with all other computers included in the network. As the number of computers coupled to conventional networks has increased, the amount of data transferred across such networks has also increased. As a result, techniques for efficient and reliable transfer of data across a computer network have developed.
One technique that promotes efficient transfer of data across a network is "packetizing." Packetizing is a technique whereby larger amounts of data are broken into smaller segments, or "packets." Packets require fewer resources to process than bulk amounts of data. Additionally, by using packets, data may be received in an incremental manner, which reduces the amount of data that must be re-sent when an error in transmission occurs.
Another technique is the use of the Open Systems Interconnect ("OSI") model, which defines a networking framework for implementing communications protocols. The OSI model breaks down the operations for transferring data into seven distinct "layers," each designated to perform certain operations in the data transfer process. Although some networking applications have implemented each of the layers, many applications implement only selective layers for use in transferring data across a network. Two layers incorporated by most protocol stacks are the transport layer and the data link layer. The transport layer is typically associated with packetizing data. An example of a transport layer protocol is the Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP"). The data link layer is typically associated with encoding bits into packets and decoding packets into bits.
Sending data from a computing device to a network typically includes a transport layer driver packetizing bulk data, a data link layer driver decoding the packets into bits, and network hardware, such as a network interface card, transmitting the bits onto the network. A computing device receiving data from a network typically includes these operations in reverse order. That is, a hardware device receives bits, a data link layer driver encodes the bits into packets, and the packets are sent to a transport layer driver to be combined into bulk data. Data link layer drivers may perform specific operations on data when decoding packets into bits for dispatch to network hardware and when encoding bits into packets for dispatch to a transport layer protocol. This is beneficial because data may need modification before it is sent across a network or to higher level protocols.
Historically, data link layer drivers were written or designed for a specific platform to facilitate compatible transfer of data. As the number of protocols and hardware device types has proliferated, this has led to problems. To delete, add, or modify the operations performed by a data link layer driver, the driver must be completely rewritten. Rewriting data link layer drivers is extremely costly, involves a high level of technical expertise, and frequently causes existing hardware to become obsolete or causes the user of such hardware to forego enhanced functionality. Furthermore, when a plurality of data link layer drivers are present within a computer system, functions included in various data link layer drivers may be redundant, yet required for proper operation.
As a result, other methods were developed to perform operations on data, at the data link layer of a protocol stack. One such method is the "IP firewall hook," which "hooks" data packets as they pass between the data link layer and the transport layer of a protocol stack. The benefit of hooking packets is that data monitoring functions may easily be performed, such as checking the originating address of a packet to determine if the packet should be processed or discarded. However, packet hooking has otherwise limited benefits as packets may not be modified and inserted back into the data flow. Furthermore, other more modern networking techniques have developed which are incompatible with packet hooking. For example, IP firewall hooking is not interoperable with the widely used Internet Connection Sharing technology.
Another method for performing operations on data packets passing through a data link layer of a protocol stack is to use "intermediate drivers." Intermediate drivers sit between the transport layer and data link layer and may perform conventional data monitoring as well as other more advanced filtering functions, such as data compression and encryption. Intermediate drivers allow functionality to be added to or deleted from a protocol stack without having to rewrite an underlying link layer device driver. Additionally, multiple intermediate drivers may be layered to perform a series of functions on data passing through a data link layer.
While intermediate drivers provide increased functionality as compared to IP firewall hooking, intermediate drivers have certain inherent problems. Installation and configuration of intermediate drivers often involves incorporating data from or supplying data to an operating system component such as a registry. Filtering environments where intermediate drivers process operating system data is detrimental for at least two reasons.
Installing or removing an intermediate driver from a protocol stack may require the protocol stack to be torn down and rebuilt. This may result in the protocol stack having to be rebuilt in order to add the functionality of the intermediate driver. Likewise, an intermediate driver writing data may cause a protocol stack to malfunction if it is not rebuilt. Tearing down and rebuilding a protocol stack may include rebooting a computer system so data may be properly initialized for an intermediate driver. Additionally, under certain circumstances, an installed intermediate driver may only need to look at network data after the intermediate driver is activated. However, even if inactive, the intermediate driver will remain installed, use valuable operating system resources, and as a result, degrade network performance.
Therefore, what are desired are systems, methods, and computer program products for efficiently filtering data packets and changing filtering operations in a manner that conserves processing and network resources.

Architecture and run-time environment for network filter drivers


An EEPROM semiconductor structure is produced with a resistor, a thin-film transistor, a capacitor, and a transistor. The individual implantation steps are utilized to create various structures and, as a result, the production process is substantially simplified.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to semiconductor technology. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method for producing an EEPROM semiconductor structure with a resistor, a thin-film transistor, a capacitor, and a transistor.
It is a typical problem, in such semiconductor structures, that when a CMOS circuit is used, negative voltages have to be added onto a chip with a p-substrate, in which case the substrate must be kept at a zero potential. The same problem conversely arises with positive voltages, which have to be added onto an n-substrate.
In some applications, this problem can be solved by introducing a substrate bias. If a p-substrate is used, the substrate potential is shifted in the negative direction, and as a result the drain diodes of the NMOS in a CMOS inverter are merely biased positively compared to the substrate and are therefore operated in the blocking direction. A disadvantage here is the higher burden on the gate oxide from the additive negative substrate bias. The electrical properties, such as the NMOS on-state voltage and hence the drain current and performance, are dependent on the substrate voltage. Furthermore, the negative voltage must be generated on the chip.
If a negative polarization of the substrate cannot be allowed, then the NMOS transistors that connect the negative voltage can be placed in an isolated p-well. The isolation is achieved by means of a deeper n-well, which completely surrounds the p-well and which is blocked to the substrate at the same negative well bias. If an n-substrate is used, the opposite conductivity type must be used. However, producing such an additional, isolating well makes the overall process more complicated and expensive, and high-energy implantation is necessary.
In many processes in which the above-described problem arises, an additional polyplane and an interpolydielectric are generally processed along with the transistor polyplane. Examples of this are analog and memory processes.

Method of producing an EEPROM semiconductor structure


A rotating control device (RCD) includes a housing configured to make a connection above a wellbore and an assembly that mates to the housing. The assembly also includes a sealing element to make a seal to a drill string and to rotate with the drill string. One or more sensors are configured to monitor conditions during operation of the RCD. The one or more sensors include one or more erosion sensors to detect erosion of the sealing element. The one or more erosion sensors are also configured to identify amounts of erosion of the sealing element.

During construction of an oil or gas well, a drill string having a drill bit bores through earth, rock, and other materials to form a wellbore. The drilling process includes, among other things, circulating drilling fluid through the wellbore. This circulation includes pumping the drilling fluid from the surface into the wellbore and receiving the drilling fluid from the wellbore at the surface.
A rotating control device (RCD) is used during drilling to form a pressure seal to the drill string and thereby prevent hydrocarbons and drilling fluid from uncontrolled release from the wellbore. The drilling fluid, for example, may be diverted by the RCD to a reservoir. From there, the drilling fluid may be pumped back downhole to enable continued drilling.

Smart rotating control device apparatus and system


A loading system for a vehicle includes a buggy for transporting cargo and a mounting assembly for loading the buggy onto the vehicle. A buggy frame has an elongated member. The mounting assembly is configured to be connected to the vehicle and has a sliding rail configured to slidingly receive the elongated member of the buggy frame to allow the buggy to slide along the sliding rail. The sliding rail has a first portion and a second portion extending at an angle relative to the first portion such that, when the mounting assembly is connected to the vehicle, the first portion extends generally horizontally and the second portion extends downwardly from the first portion. The second portion is configured to slide the buggy upwards onto the vehicle. The first portion being configured to slide the buggy generally horizontally into a loaded position on the vehicle.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and similar vehicles are often used for utility purposes. Notably, ATVs are used in different applications to carry and transport items. For example, an ATV can be used around a farm for transporting food or grain, and hunters sometimes use ATVs to get around and carry their equipment as well as hunted game.
However, the available space on an ATV that can accommodate cargo, namely at the front or rear portions of the ATV, is significantly elevated off the ground which can make loading heavy cargo onto the ATV a difficult task. Notably, loading heavy cargo on an ATV can be highly physically taxing and may in some cases require two or more people.
Thus, there is a desire for a loading system for an ATV or other such vehicles that addresses some of the aforementioned drawbacks.

Loading system for a vehicle and vehicle having same


In a method for treating wood, a wood treatment device for a long-term treatment of wood is provided. An active agent for wood treatment is applied to a carrier material and the carrier material provided with the active agent for wood treatment is introduced into the receiving space of a hollow cylindrical body of the wood treatment device. The wood treatment device is driven into the wood. A thrust pin of the wood treatment device is displaced to release a first outlet opening at an open end face of the hollow cylindrical body and a second outlet opening in a wall surface of the hollow cylindrical body of the wood treatment device to bring into contact the receiving space with the wood and to release the active agent for wood treatment into the wood. The wood treatment device is left behind in the wood.

The invention concerns a wood treatment device for the treatment of wood and a method for the treatment of the wood.
It is known in the prior art that wood poles, tree trunks, and other wood objects are subjected to a check from time to time with which the condition of the existing wood, its impregnation and/or further properties that are decisive for the stability and bearing capacity are examined. In this context, the examination of decay in the interior is an important examination with regard to stability. Further examinations are performed by means of drilling resistance measurements.
DE 10 2014 015 051 B3 discloses a wood testing tool and a method that enables an examination of the impregnation depth of impregnated wood in that the wood testing tool is driven into the wood and thereby a wood sample is stamped out that can be subjected to a visual inspection
By means of such examinations, it is determined how much the wood is damaged and whether the remaining healthy wood is sufficient for the stability. When the wood is damaged too much, the pole must be replaced or the tree must be felled. A treatment of the wood has hardly been possible up to now.
Furthermore, it is known in the prior art that, for depth treatment of wood, impregnation liquid is introduced into the wood under high pressure by means of a device. Such a device is disclosed, for example, in DE 2 021 647 U. This impregnation is to be performed preventively and is very complex due to the requirement of high pressures.
Moreover, fungicides are known that themselves contain fungi and are used for treating wood affected by decay or for prevention. Such a fungicide is disclosed, for example, in WO 93/08694.
Based on this prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a device that enables in a simple way a treatment of wood in which decay has been detected.

Wood treatment device for the pressure-free treatment of wood and a pressure-free method for treating wood


An alternator, in particular for a motor vehicle, comprises half-shells to which stator windings are fixed and which rotatably receive a rotor shaft, and a rectifier circuit made up of power diodes each comprising body and a lead extending axially from said body. The bodies of some of the diodes are connected to ground while the bodies of the other diodes are connected to an output terminal of the alternator. The diode bodies are fixed on or in the back half-shell of the alternator on or in a dissipating support which is generally in the form of a plate that is insulated from the half-shell and that is outside it. According to the invention, the distance between the dissipating support and the back half-shell, and the positions of the said other diodes on the dissipating support are such that the leads of said other diodes project into openings formed in the back half-shell.

In general, an alternator is in the form of a structure made up of two metal bearing assemblies or half-shells, with each half-shell receiving one end of a rotor shaft, and with a stator being mounted stationary relative to the half-shells.
Such an alternator also includes a regulator circuit and a set of diodes for rectifying the alternating voltages delivered by the stator windings.
These diodes are generally mounted by means of appropriate fittings on the outside of one of the alternator half-shells, i.e. the "back" half-shell as compared with the front half-shell which is situated adjacent to the pulley wheel for driving the alternator.
A requirement when designing an alternator is to ensure that the arrangement, in particular of the rectifier diodes, does not excessively increase the axial length of the alternator.
To reduce this length, in the context of a polyphase alternator having one set of diodes at the negative side and another set of diodes at the positive side, whose bodies are connected respectively to ground and to the positive output terminal of the alternator, it is known that the negative side diodes can be engaged as force-fits directly in the back half-shell of the alternator.
However, the positive side diodes must be situated some distance axially from the negative side diodes, and appropriate means for connecting the diodes to the windings of the alternator stator must also be housed in the vicinity of the diodes.

Alternator, in particular for a motor vehicle including an improved arrangement of rectifier diodes


A tape reel includes a reel body which has a lower flange and a bottomed tubular hub formed integrally with the lower flange and opening at its upper end. An upper flange is mounted on the upper end of the hub. A plurality of locking teeth engageable with a reel retainer and a plurality of driving teeth engageable with a driving shaft of a tape drive are, respectively, formed circumferentially on upper and lower surfaces of an outer peripheral edge portion of a bottom wall of the hub so as to project therefrom. On the lower surface of the bottom wall of the hub, a gate position for injection molding is provided at a position corresponding to that for forming the locking teeth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to tape reels for magnetic tape cartridges and more particularly, to a tape reel suitable for use in a single-reel type magnetic tape cartridge in which a single tape reel is received in a cartridge casing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A tape reel is constituted by a reel body in which a bottomed tubular hub opening at its upper end and a lower flange are formed integrally, and an upper flange mounted on the upper end of the hub. On upper and lower surfaces of an outer peripheral edge portion of a bottom wall of the hub, a plurality of locking teeth engageable with a reel retainer and a plurality of driving teeth engageable with a driving shaft of a tape drive are, respectively, formed circumferentially so as to project therefrom. A tape reel of this type is known from, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-238352 (1999) referred to as "a prior art document 1".
Such reel body is usually obtained by injection molding molten resin from a gate position provided at a center on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the hub. Regarding molding of the reel body, several proposals for devising the gate position, fluidity of the molten resin, etc. have been advanced. For example, a technique in which the gate position is provided at an inner peripheral edge portion on a lower surface of the lower flange for the purpose of shortening a molding cycle and facilitating mold release is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-161167 (1995) referred to as "a prior art document 2", while another technique in which fluidity of the resin in a cavity is improved so as to eliminate defective molding is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-367331 referred to as "a prior art document 3". Meanwhile, in the above prior art document 2, a reel body is formed by a lower flange and a bottomed tubular hub opening downwardly. On the other hand, in the above prior art document 3, a locking member for locking a reel body is subjected to molding.
Several kinds of single-reel type magnetic tape cartridges are used as data backup mediums for office computers. In response to the recent trend to larger capacity of hard disks subjected to backup, there is a demand for not only higher recording density of the magnetic tape cartridge of this kind but higher read rate and write rate of recording signals. In order to raise recording density of the recording signals, wavelength of the recording signals is further shortened and the track pitch is set to be narrower. In order to ensure and speed up signal recording in a tape system in which recording density of the recording signals is raised in this way, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-269711 referred to as "a prior art document 4" proposes a servo track system in which servo signals are preliminarily recorded on a magnetic tape such that positional control of a magnetic head array is performed precisely on the basis of the servo signals. In this known servo track system in which read and write are performed at higher density and at higher rate than other conventional tape systems, it is essential due to the narrow track pitch to accurately position the magnetic tape relative to the magnetic head. Thus, reliability of read and write of the signals is greatly affected by scatter of shape and dimensions of the tape reel and stable running of the magnetic tape naturally. For example, a rotational plane of the tape reel tilts periodically at the time of read and write of the signals due to defective shape of the tape reel. Alternatively, if there is nonuniformity in rotational balance, error of read and write may happen. In other words, in this known servo track system, molding accuracy of the tape reel, which has offered substantially no problem in other conventional tape systems may cause such defects as off-track or the like and thus, will constitute one of deciding factors in attaining far higher read rate and write rate in the future.
As described above, in a reel body, the bottomed tubular hub opening at its upper end and, the lower flange are formed integrally. When thicknesses of respective portions of the reel body are compared with each other, the bottom wall of the hub fundamentally has a thickness of 1.2 mm, while an overall thickness of the bottom wall of the hub at its portion formed with the locking teeth reaches 4.5 mm which is a little less than four times the thickness of the bottom wall of the hub. Meanwhile, it is theoretically considered that a speed (time) at which the molten resin sets is proportional to a square of the thickness. According to this consideration, the period required for setting of the portion of the bottom wall of the hub, which is formed with the locking teeth, is about 14 times the period required for setting of the bottom wall of the hub. This difference in setting time may form a cause leading to production of sink marks, i.e., shrinkage recesses due to setting, thereby resulting in scatter of flatness or roundness.
In order to avoid such molding defects as sink marks when an item having thick portions scattered to several locations as described above is molded, a molding technique is known in which even after injected molten resin has been filled into a cavity, a predetermined injection pressure is maintained continuously such that the molten resin is supplemented in response to shrinkage of the volume upon its setting. However, in the method in which the reel body is molded by providing the gate position at the center on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the hub, even if molding is performed while the resin is being supplemented, it is impossible to effectively eliminate sink marks occurring at the locations for forming the locking teeth and the driving teeth as well as other molding defects, so that it is difficult to obtain the tape reel having high molding accuracy.
The locking teeth and the driving teeth, which are formed more thickly than other portions of the tape reel as described above, are continuous with the gate position via the bottom wall of the hub, which is as thin as 1.2 mm. Hence, even if the predetermined injection pressure is maintained after filling of the molten resin, a portion of the bottom wall of the hub, which is disposed inside the locking teeth, sets prior to setting of the locking teeth and the driving teeth and thus, supplement of the resin upon shrinkage of the volume cannot be performed sufficiently at the thick portions. If the locking teeth or the driving teeth cannot be molded at high shape accuracy, it is impossible to avoid deterioration of cylindricalness of the hub and planar distortion degree of the lower flange and thus, it is difficult to obtain the tape reel suitable for the servo track system. Especially, in case molding accuracy of the driving teeth engageable with the driving shaft of the tape drive is low, the magnetic tape cannot be supplied stably, thereby resulting in an obstacle to higher read rate and write rate.


An antenna device includes an antenna resonance circuit connected to a power supply circuit and a variable-frequency resonance element including a resonance circuit which is coupled with the antenna resonance circuit via an electromagnetic field. The resonant frequency of the resonance circuit is variable within a predetermined frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device, a card-type communication device, and a communication terminal apparatus for use in, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.
2. Description of the Related Art
These days, an RFID system is being developed as a product management system. In such an RFID system, non-contact communication is performed between a reader/writer for generating an electromagnetic induction field and an IC chip (also referred to as an "RFID tag", "wireless IC chip", or "wireless communication device") attached to a product or a container and storing predetermined information therein, so that information can be transferred between the reader/writer and the IC chip. In this RFID system, an HF band (high frequency signal at 13 MHz) is generally used.
In an RFID system using an HF band, a coil antenna is used as an antenna element for each of a reader/writer and an RFID tag. However, when the coil antenna of the RFID tag is brought close to the coil antenna of the reader/writer, a state (null state) in which communication is not established at a certain point (null point) may occur even if the RFID tag and the reader/writer are located within an area where communication can be established. The reason why this state occurs is that the two coil antennas repel each other so as to shift the resonant frequency or the phase, or that, when a conductor or a dielectric is brought close to the RFID tag, the resonant frequency of the coil antenna of the RFID tag is shifted. The resonant frequency is increased if a conductor is brought close to the RFID tag, while the resonant frequency is decreased if a dielectric is brought close to the RFID tag.
With this background, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-238398 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-154255, for example, disclose a technique for preventing the occurrence of a null state in the following manner. A switching device or an oscillator is connected to a coil antenna, and by sequentially changing the state of the switching device or by sequentially changing the oscillation frequency of the oscillator, the resonant frequency of the coil antenna itself is shifted. In this case, however, since the resonant frequency of the coil antenna itself is shifted, the Q factor of the coil antenna is reduced, or noise of the switching device or the oscillator is superposed on the coil antenna.

Antenna device, card-type communication device, and communication terminal apparatus