A holdover circuit is configured with a holdover capacitor, preferably an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, to provide uninterruptible operation for an electrical load operable over a limited range of input voltage during brief power interruptions. The holdover circuit includes a switching regulator configured with two active switches that are controlled with complementary duty cycles to charge and discharge the holdover capacitor at a voltage higher than the voltage of the load. The controller for the switching regulator may be configured to regulate the voltage of the holdover capacitor at a voltage proportional to the load voltage or at a constant voltage. The controller for the switching regulator is configured to operate in different modes during normal powered operation and during holdover.

DC/DC converters and dc/ac inverters are used in electronic applications to provide regulated voltages or currents for specialized uninterruptible loads that may be required to be powered by a tightly regulated power source. Such converters and inverters generally operate from an electrical power source that in turn must provide a voltage that is required to lie between well-defined upper and lower voltage limits. For example, a power supply used in a telecommunications or similar application might be required to operate without interruption from a power source that supplies a voltage lying between 43 and 72 volts, and to operate at least for short periods of time for an input voltage as low as 36 volts. However, the power supply might also be required to provide normal output power even if the input voltage falls to zero for a period of time, for example, up to 5 ms. Such uninterruptible operation with no or very little input voltage is often referred to as "holdover," and usually requires the addition of capacitors of significant size to the circuit to provide the necessary holdover energy. Such holdover capacitors are usually coupled across the input to the power supply, and are partially discharged over the operating range of voltages for the power supply during periods of time when input power is not present.
The energy ES stored in a capacitor (whose capacitance does not change substantially with voltage) is proportional to its capacitance C and to the square of the capacitor voltage V:ES=0.5·C·V2
If such a capacitor is discharged from an initial voltage VB to a final voltage VA, the energy removed from the capacitor ER is given by the equation:ER=0.5·C·(VB2−VA2)
Thus, the energy available for holdover is dependent on the range of voltage over which it is discharged.
Capacitors generally are not a volumetrically efficient means for energy storage. Among the various capacitor types, aluminum electrolytic capacitors generally are among the best in terms of stored energy density that can be efficiently withdrawn over relatively short intervals of time. The consequence of their low energy density is that a significant number of capacitors is required for the holdover function if there is a substantial power level such as 200 watts and a substantial holdover time such as 5 ms. For an application, for example, such as one with a 43-volt lower nominal input voltage limit and a short-term cut-off voltage of 36 volts, the required capacitance deduced from the equation above would be about 5600 microfarads, considering the typical 20% capacitance tolerance for aluminum electrolytic capacitors, discharged from an initial voltage of 43 volts, and including a voltage loss of perhaps 1.3 volts in isolation diodes that might be required in a practical circuit arrangement. This capacitance could be implemented with 56 capacitors, each rated at 100 microfarads, which would consume a substantial amount of board space, incur significant expense in fabricating a 200 watt power converter, and introduce reliability issues due the large number of additional circuit components required in the product design.
Various circuit arrangements have been used to implement a holdover scheme using a holdover capacitor coupled across the input to a power supply. An example of a prior art circuit as illustrated in FIG. 1 showing a load powered from an input voltage source 101 of 48volts with return current coupled to ground at the terminal gnd. A holdover capacitor CH is coupled across the input to the load through the switch Q100. The load might be required to operate, for example, over a normal input voltage range of 43 to 72 volts and to operate for short periods, 5 ms., for example, down to an input voltage of 36 volts. The holdover circuit might be required to provide an input voltage to the load falling between the upper and lower voltage limits even if the input voltage "drops out" to zero volts for the 5 ms interval.
The holdover capacitor CH is pre-charged by a boost switching regulator to a voltage at the upper end of the normal operating voltage range for the load 120, and is coupled to the load during brief power interruptions by the switch Q100, a p-channel FET. When the load voltage falls below a threshold voltage detected by the comparator 104 using the resistor divider formed by the resistors R4 and R5 and the reference voltage supplied from the VREF terminal of the PWM controller, then the switch Q100 is enabled to conduct, and energy stored in the capacitor CH is supplied to the load. The resistor R6 is included to limit the current surge that results from unequal initial voltages across the capacitors CH and CL when the switch Q100 is closed, and also limits in-rush current to the capacitor CH when the circuit is first energized. Other in-rush control arrangements can be used such as the Texas Instruments TPS2393 controller. The holdover capacitor CH is thus able to power the load for a brief interval as it is discharged over the full normal operating voltage range for the load.
The capacitor CL is a by-pass capacitor for the load 120, and provides the initial holdover energy for the load. If the 48-volt source is momentarily disconnected, the voltage supplied to the load decreases as the capacitor CL is discharged.
Under normal operating conditions when the 48-volt source is powering the load, the capacitor CH is charged by the boost switching regulator comprised of the switch Q2, illustrated in the figure as an n-channel FET, the inductor L1, and the diode D1. The PWM (pulse-width modulated) controller 110 generates a controlled duty-cycle signal for the gate of switch Q2 at its GATE terminal through line 111 to regulate its voltage at the node 112 at the desired voltage level. If a semiconductor technology other than, for example, silicon FET technology is used to implement the switch Q2 then a paralleling diode may be added in parallel with the switch as necessary if such diode is not already inherent in the switching device. The resistor divider comprised of resistors R1 and R2 provide the feedback signal to the PWM controller at its FB terminal. The ground terminal for the PWM controller is shown in the figure as the terminal GND. Bias voltage is provided to the PWM controller 110 at the VDD terminal through resistor R3, which is by-passed to ground through the capacitor C1. The design of boost switching regulators and PWM controllers is well known in the art, and further details such as feedback-stabilizing components are not illustrated and will not be discussed herein in the interest of brevity.
The circuit illustrated in FIG. 1 can discharge the holdover capacitor substantially over the full operating voltage range of the load and can achieve a modest decrease in the size of the holdover capacitor for a required holdover period and load level compared to a scheme in which the holdover capacitor is coupled directly across the input voltage source for the load. Nonetheless, it still has limitations because the voltage of the capacitor CH, which is directly coupled to the load when it is discharged and which provides the principal portion of the holdover energy, cannot be charged to a voltage higher than the specified operating range for the load. Additionally, a significant fraction of the stored energy in the capacitor is not removed during its discharge. Further, the voltage to which the holdover capacitor is charged cannot be selected to take advantage of the voltage rating of commercially available capacitors. The circuit in FIG. 1 can transfer energy from the low voltage capacitor CL to the high voltage capacitor CH, but not in the reverse direction. Thus, there is limited opportunity using the circuit of FIG. 1 to provide an energy storing capacitor with significant energy storage capability without introducing a holdover energy circuit component with substantial volume, cost, and reliability issues.
Another circuit arrangement of the prior art is described in Fraidlin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,901, which is hereby referenced and incorporated herein in its entirety. Fraidlin describes a power supply with a diode-rectified ac input voltage source and a boost switching regulator that charges a dc bus to a voltage higher than the peak of the input voltage but within the normal voltage range of the load. Fraidlin uses a switching arrangement to charge the holdover capacitor to the bus voltage when the circuit is operating normally, and when holdover power is required, couples the holdover capacitor across the rectified input voltage to allow the boost switching regulator to discharge the holdover capacitor to a relatively low voltage, thereby removing a substantial portion of the stored energy. Nonetheless, the circuit arrangement described by Fraidlin charges the capacitor to a voltage within the normal voltage range of the load, and still requires a capacitor of substantial volume.
In these prior art circuit arrangements the upper range of the holdover capacitor voltage is limited to the upper voltage limit of the load power converter or any particular load voltage to be held up. It is recognized that the energy storage density of electrolytic capacitors, particularly aluminum electrolytics, is higher for capacitors with a higher voltage rating. However, the capacitance of an electrolytic capacitor of a particular volume generally falls as its voltage rating is increased due to the thicker dielectric isolation layer required between the plates of opposite polarity. Illustrated as an example in FIG. 2, is the capacitance of the TS series of aluminum electrolytic capacitors rated from 16 to 450 volts, produced by Panasonic, all of substantially the same physical volume of approximately 490 cm3. As can be seen in the figure, a substantial decrease in capacitance can be observed as the voltage rating is increased.
However, the energy density of higher-voltage rated capacitors generally increases as their voltage rating is increased. Illustrated in FIG. 3 is the energy storage capability of the same Panasonic TS series of capacitors, all of the same physical volume, again plotted as a function of their voltage rating. As can be seen on the figure, a significant increase in stored energy is obtained, and consequently energy density, for the higher voltage rated aluminum electrolytic capacitors. Modest alternations in the monotonicity of plots of energy density vs. voltage rating for a series of aluminum electrolytic capacitors can sometimes be observed, but the general energy density increase with increasing voltage rating is usually obtained.

Holdover circuit for a power converter using a bi-directional switching regulator


Parsing-validated alternatives information (PVAI) is acquired from inactive software development contexts and displayed in the current context to help developers understand how changes to an artifact will impact other contexts. A PVAI request occurs at user request or proactively, in a stand-alone tool or an integrated development environment. PVAI is obtained and acquired from active and inactive contexts, unified, and displayed with corresponding context IDs. PVAI provides parsing-validated information for identifier autocompletion, parameter selection, class or object member selection, routine references, and software construct declarations. Development contexts have dimensions such as target platform, lifecycle configuration, target operating system, graphics processing configuration, numeric processing configuration, IDE project, and licensing configuration. Development context candidates for PVAI acquisition are determined from user preferences and by exclusion of unrealized contexts. PVAI acquisition cost is reduced by reusing computational results in another context. PVAI code can be distributed and/or run in the background.

Software development includes writing software from scratch, adding new functionality to existing software, analyzing software, and/or correcting errors in software. Some software development efforts include only a single developer who is working on few thousand lines (or less) of source code. But many software development efforts include multiple developers working in one or more teams, and many products have software that includes tens of thousands of lines of code, or even more. Modern automobiles, for example, contain dozens of microprocessors which are controlled by software that contains tens of millions of lines of code.
To help developers manage the complexity of software development, tools have been created to assist with development activities such as editing code, checking code for errors, profiling code performance, controlling code versions, organizing code libraries, and building test or release versions of software programs. Some frequently used programming tools are available in integrated development environments (IDEs). IDEs give developers easy access to a group of software development tools, such as a source code editor, one or more build tools (e.g., compilers, interpreters, linkers), and a debugger. IDEs can increase developer productivity by providing tightly-coupled tools which have similar user interfaces and share information with one another. Instead of making a developer travel outside the IDE to work on different pieces of program code, the IDE brings selected pieces of code into focus, allowing the developer to make edits and investigate errors in that currently active piece of the program.

Contextual focus-agnostic parsing-validated alternatives information


A new two-dimensional (2D) variation modeling and control technique for a machine producing a web of material, such as paper, uses functional transformation with basis functions which are wavelets, preferably wavelets derived from and closely resembling the responses generated by actuation of cross direction (CD) actuators of the machine. By using the disclosed functional transformation together with carefully selected basis functions, memory and real-time processing requirements are substantially reduced so that practical controls can be readily implemented. In addition, the functional transformation technique of the present application expands conventional CD correction to also correct for a portion of the residual variations which, until now, have remained uncorrected. The new 2D profile is treated as the superposition of two main components: a pure machine direction (MD) variation component and a two-dimensional sheet variation component. The pure MD variation is identical to the conventional MD variation; however, the two-dimensional sheet variation represents the evolution of a sheet property being measured in both a temporal direction (TD) and a spatial direction (SD), i.e. it includes both the traditional pure CD profile and a portion of the residual variation. The TD is aligned with the MD and the SD is perpendicular to the TD or is aligned with the CD. The new 2D variation is controlled by a new 2D control arrangement which includes an optimal predictive SD controller and a model based TD controller to quickly achieve 2D web uniformity.

The present invention relates in general to web forming processes and, more particularly, to improved two-dimensional web property variation by means of modeling web property variations using functional transformation and controlling web property variations with two-dimensional optimal predictive controllers. "Dimensional" as used herein refers to the number of independent variables such that if a dependent variable y is plotted versus an independent variable x, the plot will be referred to as one-dimensional; if a dependent variable z is plotted versus two independent variables x and y, the plot will be referred to as two-dimensional; and so forth.
Machines and processes which produce webs of sheet material, such as paper, plastic and aluminum, encounter common control problems in producing webs which satisfy required specifications for characteristics for a given product. Specifications commonly include required ranges for thickness, moisture content, weight per unit area, smoothness and the like. Quality control is complicated by the fact that characteristics vary in both the machine direction (MD) or direction of movement of the web through a machine as it is being produced and in the machine cross direction (CD) or lateral direction across the machine or web.
The MD variations in the web are affected by factors which impact the entire width of the web including, for example, the source of materials being used to form the web, other common supplies used to produce the web such as steam, the speed of the machine producing the web, and other similar factors. On the other hand, CD variations are controlled by arrays of actuator devices which are distributed across the width of the machine producing the web. On paper making machines, for which the present invention is particularly applicable and initially being applied, the CD actuator devices include slice lip actuators which are adjusted to control the slice of a headbox, dilution valves, steam showers, heaters, calenders, and other known devices.
Cross-direction (CD) profile control has been used to improve CD uniformity in many web forming processes including paper making machines, as well as plastic film extruders, sheet calenders, coaters and similar machines. Due to the speed and resolution limits of web scanning measurements, CD control actions are usually applied infrequently. Thus, long term or steady-state CD profile uniformity has been generally satisfactory in existing CD control arrangements.
However, there is a growing demand for better short-term profile uniformity in many sheet-making processes. One example of this demand in the paper making industry is the desire to produce uniform and sellable paper almost immediately after any process transition such as machine start-up, product grade change, sheet break recovery, and the like. The demand for more responsive web uniformity has also intensified due to the arrival of new stationary full-width sheet property measurement, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,809 which is incorporated herein by reference. Unfortunately, existing CD profile control arrangements can not satisfy this demand due to the massive amounts of memory and real-time processing required.
A new control technique is thus needed to satisfy these demands and to make sheet-forming processes achieve true two-dimensional uniformity responsively. Preferably, the new control technique would correct conventional CD variations and also some residual variations which previously have gone uncorrected.

Two-dimensional web property variation modeling and control


Provided are an image forming apparatus, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program, and a print control method. An image forming apparatus which can directly print printing data described in a page description language. The image forming apparatus includes a display section, a data receiving section, an analyzing section and a rasterizing section. The analyzing section is configured to analyze printing data to determine a file format of the printing data, and operate the display section to display a print setup screen thereon, where the print setup screen depends on the file format of the printing data. The analyzing section is further configured to define a layout of objects in each page to be printed and convert the printing data into descriptions of an intermediate language. The rasterizing section is configured to rasterize the descriptions of the intermediate language to create an image to be printed.

Components of an office software suite, each capable of performing various processing such as document preparation and spreadsheet calculation, have been generally used now in various scenes, for example, for work, school and home. As typical components of an office software suite, there can be cited Microsoft Word (Trademark), Microsoft Excel (Trademark) and Microsoft PowerPoint (Trademark) of Microsoft Corporation (Trademark). Further, a plurality of office software suites and their components having similar functions, such as Apache OpenOffice, have also been distributed. Standardization for Microsoft Excel and Apache OpenOffice serving as an open source has been completed by a standardization organization, and the specification of each of formats: OOXML (Office Open XML) and ODF (OpenDocument Format) has been opened to public. Further, a number of compatible applications which support the above formats have been distributed.
Further, in recent years, with the spreading of cloud computing, the number of online storage services which offer display and edit functions supporting files (referred to as office suite files) created by applications as components of office software suites, and the number of smartphones and tablet terminals which have display and edit functions supporting the office suite files have been also increased rapidly. Furthermore, also in the MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) and printer market, devices supporting direct printing of office suite files have been released.
With regard to layout processing in printing of such an office suite file, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2012-008991 discloses a technique to implement several actions with VBA. In accordance with the technique, at the time a user clicks a print button, page settings are defined such that text and other objects in a print range are accommodated in a single sheet of a selected print size. Further, in the case where multiple sheets are included in a single file of Microsoft Excel, at the time a user clicks a print button, printing of all the sheets can be also performed.
Furthermore, JP-A No. H05-298310 discloses a simplified printing method of a word processor, though it is not a technique relating to office suite files but relates to a layout processing in printing. The simplified printing method is to be used for pages of a document in the middle of proofreading by using a word processor. The word processor includes an input section to input data for document preparation; a display section to display the data input from the input section on a screen; a layout section to recognize the input data as a format in units of a page; a print section to print a document; a control section to control comprehensively the display section, the layout section, and the print section; and a function section to make the control section start a simplified printing process as one function of the input section.
Moreover, with regard to printing of a PDF (Portable Document Format) file, JP-A No. 2005-157413 discloses a printer which can receive electronic document data from a data processing apparatus or and performs a printing process. The printer includes a judging section to judge whether the electronic document data include font data; and a print control section. The print control section is configured as follows. In response to judging that the received data is data of electronic document in which data of fonts is embedded, based on the judgment result by the judging section, the print control section selects one of the embedded font data and font data of the printer based on the font use condition in the electronic document data, and performs printing.
In the case where a user instructs a MFP about printing by using an application as components of office software suites, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint, the user may adjust detailed print settings while confirming a preview of a print result (a result of printing) indicated on a display of a computer. On the other hand, in the case where a user directly instructs a MFP about printing (direct printing), since the size of a panel of a MFP is small, it is difficult for the user to adjust print settings while previewing a print result on the panel. Accordingly, the kinds of print settings which can be adjusted by the user are limited to those regarding restrictive and simple functions, which is a problem.
With regard to the problem in this direct printing, description is given based on comparison between a case of using files based on OOXML as printing data and a case of using files described in a conventional print languages.
In the case of direct printing using files described in the conventional print languages (PDF, XPS, MEG, TIFF, etc.), a user has previously defined print settings by use of an application for the direct printing on a computer, or has defined print settings on a panel of a MFP or a printer. Such print languages or electronic files are based on a concept of pages, which comes from the specification of each file format, and strictly specifies therein the sizes and coordinate positions of objects included in each page. Accordingly, the output result is fixed uniquely.
On the other hand, in a file based on OOXML, the coordinate position of each object is not specified, which comes from the specification of the file format, and the layout of objects to be printed depends on a layout engine of an application to create a print image. Further, the file includes objects depending on settings of a drawing engine, such as date, currency units, color, etc., and objects to be calculated at the time of creating a print image, such as functional calculus and filtering processes.
Accordingly, when reduction or shift has been instructed for a file described in a conventional print language, it is enough that the whole page, whose print image has been created by using a fixed layout, is just reduced or shifted uniformly, which allows a user to adjust print settings as intended without previewing a print result. However, as for a file based on OOXML, change of a printing condition affects a layout of objects. Accordingly, in conventional direct printing, a user has hardly adjusted print settings as intended without previewing a print result.
In other words, in the conventional direct printing of printing data of a specific file format as with OOXML, in which the arrangement of objects in each page is not specified, there has been a problem that a user has hardly adjusted print settings as intended by a user so that a desired print result may not be obtained. The present invention seeks to solve the problem.

Image forming apparatus, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and print control method


A liquid crystal display device has a pair of substrates disposed at an observer side and at the opposite side to the observer side, a plurality of pixel electrodes and an opposing electrode which are formed on the internal surfaces of the pair of substrates, a reflective layer, and liquid crystal sealed between these substrates. Each pixel electrode has a reflective display region corresponding to the reflective layer for reflecting light that enters from the observer side to the observer side, and a transmissive display region for allowing light that enters from the opposite side to pass therethrough to the observer side. A liquid crystal layer thickness adjusting layer is formed on the internal surface of the substrate at the observer side, for setting the liquid crystal layer thickness in the reflective display region to be smaller than the liquid crystal layer thickness in the transmissive display region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a homeotropic alignment type liquid crystal display device which performs transmissive display and reflective display.
2. Description of the Related Art
A homeotropic alignment type active matrix liquid crystal display device has been known. This liquid crystal display device comprises a pair of substrates facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and a liquid crystal layer having negative dielectric anisotropy, which is sealed between the pair of substrates. Of the facing internal surfaces of the pair of substrates, the internal surface of one substrate has thereon, a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a row direction and in a column direction in a matrix, a plurality of thin film transistors (hereinafter referred to as TFT) provided correspondingly to the plurality of pixel electrodes respectively and connected to the corresponding pixel electrodes, and a plurality of gate lines and data lines formed between the rows of pixel electrodes and between the columns of pixel electrodes for supplying a gate signal and a data signal to the pixel electrodes in the corresponding rows and corresponding columns. An opposing electrode, which faces each of the plurality of pixel electrodes, is formed on the internal surface of the other substrate of the pair of substrates. Further, a homeotropic alignment film is formed on the internal surface of each of the pair of substrates so as to cover the above-described electrode(s).
This homeotropic alignment liquid crystal display device has its pixels defined by the regions where the plurality of pixel electrodes and the opposing electrode face each other, and displays an image by controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules by applying a voltage across the facing electrodes in each of the plurality of pixels. In this case, by the application of the voltage, the liquid crystal molecules of each pixel are aligned to lie down toward the substrate surface from the homeotropically aligned state.
In such a homeotropic alignment liquid crystal display device, the direction in which the liquid crystal molecules are aligned and lie down in response to the voltage applied, is not uniform throughout the pixels. Therefore, the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules varies from pixel to pixel, producing display unevenness.
Hence, such a liquid crystal display device is proposed, whose pixels each have a plurality of domains with different directions in which the liquid crystal molecules are aligned, in order to stabilize the alignment state of each pixel and to have a wide view angle characteristic.
For example, as described in the publication of the U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,639, such a homeotropic alignment liquid crystal display device has X-shaped openings formed in the opposing electrode, so that when a voltage is applied across the two facing electrodes, the liquid crystal molecules in each pixel may be aligned to lie down in four directions toward the center of the X-shaped opening.
However, this liquid crystal display device is a device for transmissive display and cannot perform reflective display. Further, the X-shaped opening needs to be formed to have a sufficiently large width, since it is necessary to make each pixel have domains whose alignment directions are different from each other due to the X-shaped opening formed in the pixel, and this requires the respective domains not to interfere with each other. Accordingly, in each pixel, the area of the opening, which cannot be controlled by an electric field, is increased to thereby reduce the area over which the electrodes face each other, raising a problem that the aperture ratio is reduced.

Homeotropic alignment type semi-transmissive reflective liquid crystal display device


A QKD system (10) having two QKD stations (Alice and Bob) optically coupled by an optical fiber link (FL), wherein Bob includes a variable timing delay arranged between Bob's controller (CB) and modulator (MB) or detector unit (40). A set-up and calibration procedure is performed wherein delay DL2 is adjusted until the timings for the modulator and detector unit (TSB and TS42, respectively) are established. Delay DL2 is then fixed so that the detector unit and modulator operate in a common timing mode that is not changed if the synchronization signal is changed. The timing TSS of the synchronization (sync) signals (SS) sent from Alice to Bob is adjusted to arrive at optimum system performance. Once the QKD system is in operation, because the sync signal can drift, the sync signal timing TSS is dithered maintain optimum QKD system performance. Since the modulator and detector unit timing is tied together, dithering the sync signal also dithers the modulator and detector unit together in a “common mode,” rather than varying the timing of each of these elements separately.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) involves establishing a key between a sender ("Alice") and a receiver ("Bob") by using weak (i.e., 1 photon or less, on average, and typically 0.1 photon on average) optical signals or "qubits" transmitted over a "quantum channel." Rather than relying on computational impracticality, the security of the key distribution is based on the quantum mechanical principle that any measurement of a quantum system in an unknown state will modify its state. Thus, an eavesdropper ("Eve") that attempts to intercept or otherwise measure the exchanged qubits will introduce errors that reveal her presence.
The general principles of quantum cryptography were first set forth by Bennett and Brassard in their article "Quantum Cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing," Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers, Systems and Signal Processing, Bangalore, India, 1984, pp. 175-179 (IEEE, New York, 1984). Specific QKD systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,410 to Bennett, and in the article by C. H. Bennett entitled "Quantum Cryptography Using Any Two Non-Orthogonal States", Phys. Rev. Lett. 68 3121 (1992). The general process for performing QKD is described in the book by Bouwmeester et al., "The Physics of Quantum Information," Springer-Verlag 2001, in Section 2.3, pages 27-33.
The above mentioned references by Bennett each describe a QKD system wherein Alice randomly encodes the polarization or phase of single photons at one end of the system, and Bob randomly measures the polarization or phase of the photons at the other end of the system. The one-way system described in the Bennett 1992 paper is based on two optical fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Respective parts of the interferometric system are accessible by Alice and Bob so that each can control the phase of the interferometer. The interferometers need to be actively stabilized to within a portion of quantum signal wavelength during transmission to compensate for thermal drifts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,234 to Gisin (the '234 patent) discloses a so-called "two-way" QKD system that employs an autocompensating interferometer of the type invented by Dr. Joachim Meier of Germany and published in 1995 (in German) as "Stabile Interferometrie des nichtlinearen Brechzahl-Koeffizienten von Quarzglasfasern der optischen Nachrichtentechnik," Joachim Meier. —Als Ms. gedr.—Düsseldorf: VDI-Verl., Nr. 443, 1995 (ISBN 3-18-344308-2). Because the Meier interferometer is autocompensated, the two-way QKD system based thereon is generally less susceptible to environmental effects than a one-way system.
In a typical QKD system, Alice generates a quantum signal and randomly modulates this signal based on a select number of possible basis modulations. This process is referred to herein as "selective random modulation." The once-modulated quantum signal is then sent to Bob, who receives this signal and selectively randomly modulates it to form a twice-modulated quantum signal. The twice-modulated quantum signal is then detected at Bob at one of two single-photon detectors (SPDs). Bob is arranged so that an overall modulation of one value (e.g., an overall phase modulation of 0) is detected at one of SPD, while an overall modulation of another value (e.g., an overall phase modulation of π/2) is detected at the other SPD. This quantum signal exchange process is repeated for a large number of photons (e.g., 104 photons), and known QKD protocols and procedures (e.g., sifting, error correction, privacy amplification, etc., as described in the above-cited reference by Bouwmeester et al.) are then followed to establish a secure "quantum key" between Alice and Bob.
The operation of the QKD system relies on the synchronized operation of its key active elements—namely, the light source, the modulators and the SPDs. The activation of the key elements is based on the expected arrival times of the quantum signals (photons). While it may be fairly straightforward to operate a QKD system in a laboratory environment with rudimentary synchronization of the aforementioned active elements, a commercially viable QKD system needs to have a simple and robust synchronization system that can be adjusted to maintain the stability of the QKD system over time, as well as provide for ongoing efficient (e.g., optimized) system performance. This is true even for the so-called autocompensated system, because the "autocompensation" applies to the quantum signals and not to the synchronization signals used to coordinate system operation.


An optical connector to be connected to an optical plug holding optical fibers includes: a light-emitting element; a light-receiving element; and sleeves that optically connect the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element to optical fibers of the optical plug, respectively, in which a transmission sleeve and a reception sleeve are connected to each other via a link section to form a sleeve unit. The sleeve unit is secured by press-fitting the link section into a connector body. A stress caused by the press fitting is not exerted to the transmission sleeve and the reception sleeve, so that the optical functions (optical properties) of the sleeves can be prevented from being compromised by the stress.

The present invention relates to an optical connector for two-way optical communications. In particular, it relates to an optical connector that comprises a light-emitting element, a light-receiving element, and sleeves that optically connect the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element to optical fibers of an optical plug.
As an example, FIGS. 1A and 1B show a conventional optical connector for two-way optical communications described in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2000-304980 (issued on Nov. 2, 2000, referred to as literature 1 hereinafter). FIG. 1A shows an optical connector (receptacle) on an apparatus, and FIG. 1B shows an optical plug to be fitted to the optical connector.
A housing 11 of an optical connector 10 has a pair of storage sections 12, each of which houses either of a light-emitting element module (a transmission module) 13 and a light-receiving element module (a reception module) 14. In front of each of the storage sections 12, a receiving tube 15 extending frontward is provided, and a sleeve 16 is fitted into each receiving tube 15. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 17 denotes a cap fitted on the rear of the optical connector 10, and reference numeral 18 denotes back sheets supporting the light-emitting element module 13 and the light-receiving element module 14.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, an optical plug 20 comprises a pair of optical fibers 22 each having a ferrule 21 attached to the front end thereof, a housing 24 having tubular walls 23 each housing and protecting one ferrule 21, a spring cap 25 fitted onto and fixed to the housing 24, and a boot 26 fitted to the rear of the spring cap 25. In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 27 denotes springs that bias the ferrules 21 frontward.
When the optical plug 20 structured as described above is fitted into the optical connector 10 structured as described above, the paired ferrules 21 each holding one optical fiber 22 are inserted into the corresponding receiving tubes 15, and the front surface of each ferrule 21, at which the end face of the optical fiber 22 is exposed, faces the front surface of the sleeve 16 fitted in the receiving tube 15 with a small gap therebetween. Thus, the optical fibers 22 are optically connected to the light-emitting element module 13 and the light-receiving element module 14 via the sleeves 16. Here, the sleeves 16 are composed of a light-propagating optical fiber 16a housed and fixed in a cylindrical holder 16b.
As described above, according to the prior art, the sleeves are each composed of the light-propagating waveguide (optical fiber) housed in the cylindrical holder and inserted into the receiving tube in the housing of the optical connector. For insertion, the sleeves are press-fitted into the receiving tubes for positioning and securing. Thus, a problem may arise that a stress is caused by the pressing and exerted on the waveguides, thereby compromising the optical property of the waveguides.
Besides, in the literature 1 described above, there are described a sleeve composed of a waveguide having an integral guide section at one end, and a sleeve unit composed of a transmission sleeve with such a guide section and a reception sleeve with such a guide section which are connected via a link section. In any case, the guide section surrounding the waveguide is press-fitted and secured in a receiving tube, and thus, there is a possibility that a stress caused by the press fitting affects the optical function of the waveguide, as in the case described above.


A magnetic inspection device for non-destructively testing elongated objects such as large diameter wire cables is constructed with a number of flux carrying components that are assembled and disassembled in sections with a magnetic flux detector for detecting the loss of metallic cross-section and local discontinuities in the cable. The inspection device is moved bodily along a cable during the inspection process and in another embodiment the flux detector itself is the only component movable along the cable. Jack screws are utilized to mechanically separate or bring together the flux carrying components which are normally attracted to one another by powerful magnetic forces. Draw screws are also employed to pull together flux carrying components which are naturally repulsed from one another by the magnetic forces. Alignment pins are utilized to guide the components together in predetermined positional relationships during assembly processes.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for non-destructively testing elongated objects such as wire rope or cable, rods, pipes and the like for loss of metallic cross-section and localized or distributed defects on the surface or within the object.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,991, I disclose a magnetic inspection device for testing elongated objects for loss of metallic cross-section, such as frayed cables, and local defects, such as individual broken wires forming the object. The device includes two pole pieces of opposite polarity for inducing magnetic flux in a section of the elongated object and a flux detector between the poles for detecting the changes of flux that arise due to the sought-for defects. The entire device is enclosed in a housing which is moved along the object to be tested or the object is pulled through the housing. Magnetic flux is induced into each portion of the elongated object, and the detector then senses flux changes to establish the presence or absence of the defect and the type of defect. The housing, the pole pieces and the detector are split into two at a hinge plane containing a hinge at one side of the housing for installing the inspection device on and removing the device from the object.
While the prior art device described above is satisfactory for measuring elongated objects up to a given size, there are still larger objects that cannot be handled by this prior art design with a single split housing. In particular, it has been learned that poor inspection results arise when there is insufficient magnetic saturation of the elongated object, and the larger the object, the more difficult it becomes to achieve saturation. For example, there are many suspension bridge cables and cables for mooring off shore drilling wells and exploration vessels that exceed 31/2 (9 centimeters in diameter). Complete or nearly complete saturation of such cables, nonetheless, is required for testing. Magnetic testing of ferromagnetic cables without magnetic saturation or near-saturation leads to large inherent noise levels which correspondingly reduce the signal-to-noise ratios in the inspection equipment. Tests have clearly established that inspections at high saturation levels are far superior to those at low saturation levels.
Complete magnetic saturation of large steel cables is, however, quite difficult because it requires large, heavy magnets. At the present time both electromagnets and permanent magnets can be employed. Compared to permanent magnets, however, electromagnets are not desirable since they require a steel core and copper windings which makes them very heavy and bulky. In addition a high power current source is needed to energize the electromagnets. The high current sources lead to substantial dissipated energy which in turn requires heat sinking and even further weight increases. Therefore the size and weight of electromagnets are much greater than equivalent permanent magnets.
Permanent magnets, although they are lighter than equivalent electromagnets, cannot be turned on and off. Consequently, when employed in large quantity and in sizes needed to fully saturate large cables, the magnets create strong magnetic attraction and repulsion forces between the magnets, the various magnetic components and the cable, and such forces lead to significant handling difficulties. Between the weight of the magnetic assemblies and the magnetic forces, the use of permanent magnets, though far superior to electromagnets, can be impractical for large cables.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide both a practical magnetic inspection device and method for magnetically inspecting elongated objects which can be used to non-destructively test large elongated objects for loss of metallic cross-section and local discontinuities.

Magnetic inspection device for elongated objects and inspection method


An ingestible tablet (10), e.g. of a medicament, is enrobed to produce a tamper-evident coating by vacuum forming a film (40, 46) of material, preferably hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, onto the surface of the tablet.

As a safety precaution, it is nowadays becoming increasingly desirable or necessary to provide tamper-evident tablets in addition to tamper-evidence packaging for tablets of medicaments etc. It is known to enrobe tablets in gelatin for this purpose by dipping tablets into gelatin solution and allowing the solution to dry to form a coating. The gelatin solution may be coloured, and it is known to produce dual colour gelatin coatings, e.g. by coating the entire tablet with, say, yellow gelatin and then, after drying, coating half of the tablet with, say, red gelatin. This produces an attractive, tamper-evident tablet. However, the process involves several steps and is time consuming, even with single coating processes, as long drying times are involved. Further, problems are associated with use of gelatin in ingestible products as gelatin is an animal-derived material, obtained from the bones and skins of animals such as cattle, and there are increasing concerns over use of such materials in ingestible products in view of fear of animal related diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Enceptialopathy (BSE).
The present invention provides an alternative approach to tablet enrobing not necessarily using gelatin coatings.

BioProgress Technology International, Inc.


One-component hot-curing structural adhesives based on liquid rubbers, which may optionally contain functional groups, solid rubbers, thermoplastic polymer powders and sulfur and also vulcanization accelerators are suitable for bonding metal parts. Tensile shear strengths of more than 15 MPa and high breaking elongations of more than 15% can be obtained. These adhesives are substantially free from low molecular weight epoxy resins and are particularly suitable for use in white-shell assembly in the car industry.

In modern assembly techniques for joining metal components in machine construction, vehicle or equipment manufacture, more especially in car manufacture, conventional methods of fixing, such as riveting, screwing or welding, are being increasingly replaced by bonding. Spot welding above all, which is a source of future corrosion, is being displaced as far as possible or is being applied in combination with structural adhesives. For this reason, there is an increased demand for high-strength structural adhesives. For assembly reasons, these adhesives have to be used at the so-called white-shell stage of car manufacture, i.e. the adhesives are generally applied to the uncleaned metal surface. These surfaces are often coated with various corrosion-inhibiting oils and drawing oils, so that the adhesives used there should not be functionally affected by these oils. In addition, the adhesives should be capable of withstanding--preferably without pregelation--the various washing baths and installations and the high temperatures of up to around 240.degree. C. prevailing in the baking ovens for electrocoating and should also cure at temperatures of that order. Moreover, the adhesives are required to exhibit good ageing-resistant adhesion to various galvanized steels, for example electrolytically galvanized steel plates, hot-dip galvanized steel plates and the corresponding galvannealed steel plates or galvanized and subsequently phosphated steel plates. Structural adhesives for these applications must also have a minimum strength of about 15 MPa. In the interests of smooth assembly line operation, only one-component materials capable of being transported by pumps and applied by machine are suitable.
On account of the demanding strength requirements, one-component hot-curing epoxy adhesives have mainly been used for these applications in the past. Apart from the advantages of high tensile strength, however, epoxy adhesives have a number of major disadvantages. The paste-like, hot-curing one-component epoxy adhesives do not show adequate resistance to washing in the washing and phosphating baths, so that the corresponding bonds normally have to be pregelled by induction heating or in special ovens. Unfortunately, this involves an additional step. Attempts have been made to overcome this by developing one-component hot-curing epoxy adhesives resembling hotmelts in character. Unfortunately, these adhesives require special application systems because they have to be applied hot. Another general disadvantage of epoxy adhesives is their tendency to absorb moisture under the effect of high atmospheric humidity which can lead to corrosion phenomena and weakening of the bond in the bond line. Although epoxy adhesives are distinguished by high tensile strength, their breaking elongation is generally very poor; even epoxy adhesives flexibilized by addition of rubber have a breaking elongation of less than 5%. In addition, the use of epoxy adhesives based on low molecular weight epoxy compounds (molecular weight<700) is undesirable on industrial hygiene grounds because these low molecular weight epoxy compounds can initiate allergic or sensitizing reactions on contact with the skin.
For some time, compositions based on vulcanizable rubbers have been used as an alternative. EP-B-97 394 describes an adhesive mixture based on a liquid polybutadiene rubber, powder-form sulfur, organic accelerators and optionally solid rubber. According to B. D. Ludbrook, Int. J. Adhesion and Adhesives, Vol. 4, No. 4, pages 148-150, corresponding adhesives based on liquid polybutadienes are capable of attaining strength levels equivalent to those of flexibilized epoxy adhesives through an appropriate choice of the quantity of sulfur and accelerators. Whereas these formulations have good curing properties and show high resistance to ageing and even adhere acceptably to normal oiled steel plate, their usefulness for various galvanized steel plates is limited, in addition to which the breaking elongation of these high-strength rubber adhesives is very poor.
To improve adhesion, DE-C-38 34 818 proposes using OH-terminated polybutadienes for the liquid rubber. According to EP-B-441 244, homopolymers or copolymers containing thiol, amino, amido, carboxyl, epoxy, isocyanate, anhydride or acetoxy groups may be used in addition to hydroxyfunctional homopolymers or copolymers as the functional rubber polymer, although the cured adhesive mixture has a breaking elongation of no more than 15%.
According to EP-B-309 903 and DE-C-40 27 064, polyfunctional epoxy compounds may be added to the adhesive mixtures based on liquid rubbers to improved adhesion and tensile shear strength. Apart from the fact that it is undesirable for the reasons explained above to use adhesive compositions containing epoxy resin, the adhesive compositions disclosed in the last two documents are not suitable as structural adhesives because they only reach a very low strength level of at most 3 MPa.

Rubber-based structural white-shell adhesives


A flighted, horizontally inclined rotary retort, heated externally by flame, hot gases, steam or other sources of heat. The retort shall have sufficient flight area to transport the coal through the retort in the predetermined time. The coal being processed in this retort is prevented from becoming exothermic by provision for a countercurrent flow of blanket gas, heated to a predetermined temperature below exotherm, to prevent coal surface temperatures from rising above the ignition temperature. The retort accommodates oversize pieces of raw coal by having alternating long and short flights, thus allowing greater space between long flights and allowing the larger pieces to be carried over the center pipe by the wiping action of the long flights. The retort will also be provided with an internal pipe, mounted on the center line of the shell. This pipe will be provided with the means for installation of thermocouples at regular intervals thereon in order to measure the surface temperature of the fuel in process. The temperature signals received from the thermocouples are used to control the heating rate and/or feed rate of the coal, or the speed of rotation of the retort.

Applicant has obtained the above noted patents covering the process and product produced by the NU-FUEL process for the treatment of all ranks of coals to reduce surface and inherent moisture, limit moisture rehydration, reduce the tendency for spontaneous combustion and produce many other improved combustion characteristics. In my research into the production of this alternative fuel, I have determined that the available state-of-the-art flighted horizontal inclined rotary retort equipment is not sufficient to allow for the application of the process and for the production of the desired product.

Apparatus for thermal removal of surface and inherent moisture and limiting rehydration in high moisture coals


A holding pattern aid apparatus to enable a pilot in instrument conditions to instantly visualize a holding pattern and determine an appropriate entry procedure, is disclosed. The aid is configured to attach to a kneeboard while permitting the pilot to flip the display from right to left holding pattern with one hand or even the flick of a finger. The apparatus also indicates the appropriate teardrop outbound course and parallel intercept course, as well as providing instant reciprocal headings and a DME Arc aid. A lanyard attach point enables the pilot to quickly find the holding pattern aid when loose and prevents the aid from becoming lost in the cockpit should it become detached from the kneeboard.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to devices used by pilots to determine entry into a holding pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
Both commercial and general aviation flying depend on weather and flight rules defined by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If the weather is good and the flight is below 18,000 feet the FAA may permit aircraft to fly using simple visual flight rules (VFR). Under VFR a pilot may only operate at minimum prescribed distances from clouds and defined visibility. If the visibility is restricted or the airplane must fly in the clouds or if the flight is above 18,000 feet, more rigorous instrument flight rules (IFR) must be followed. Under IFR the pilot flies by reference to the aircraft instruments and follows special, IFR navigational charts. Most IFR flights must be coordinated by aircraft traffic control (ATC). Under most conditions, the pilot must be in two-way radio communication with ATC. As in the case of ground traffic, there can be heavy traffic in the air, particularly near airports.
While ground traffic can and often does come to full stop, aircraft, other than helicopters or balloons, cannot stop. Therefore, in lieu of coming to a complete stop in the air, ATC may instruct the pilot to fly a prescribed oval or race track shaped shape pattern called hold. The hold is generally defined in location and orientation by reference to a local navigational transmitter. The FAA also prescribes the entry method in which the pilot enters the hold. The entry method depends on a direction the airplane approaches the hold and the orientation of the hold. There are three standard entry methods. These are direct entry, parallel entry, and teardrop entry. Once established in the hold, the pilot will make all turns to the right, unless otherwise instructed by ATC or indicated by IFR navigational charts. When all the turns are made to the right, the holding pattern is called a right holding pattern or standard hold. When all turns are made to the left, the holding pattern is called a left holding pattern or nonstandard hold. In order to determine the correct entry method into the hold, the pilot must calculate an angle between the orientation of the hold and the heading of the airplane. The pilot must then take into account whether the holding pattern is a right or left holding pattern. Unfortunately, the entry method for entering the hold can be difficult to compute and visualize especially under stress associated with operating an aircraft in an IFR environment. Often the pilot makes a mistake and uses the wrong entry method, sometimes with serious consequences.
There are, several devices available to help with the calculation of the entry method. Unfortunately, these devices are designed for use in the classroom and in training and are lacking in simplicity, speed, and complete information. Moreover, such devices are additional equipment to find in an already tight cockpit and are not easily attached to a pilot's knee-board. Moreover, such devices typically require two hands to operate and do not automatically provide an indication with north at the top, thus inducing the typical pilot to make a sketch of the holding pattern and entry method. Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus that will enable a pilot under the stress of instrument conditions to quickly determine and visualize a holding pattern orientation and the entry method for entering the holding pattern, that can be attached to a knee-board and can easily operated with one hand, while in flight.

Apparatus for visualizing and determining holding pattern and entry


A portable gauge and method are used to determine an as installed property of a loose-fill insulation in a building cavity wherein the cavity has a given depth, an open front, a rear surface, and sidewalls defined by spaced apart framing members. The gauge includes a frame for extending between and overlapping front surfaces of the framing members to position the gauge for determining an as installed property of the insulation; a plunger assembly mounted on the frame for compressing a portion of the insulation in the cavity to a compressed density sufficiently dense to prevent plunger creep and to a compressed thickness less than the as installed thickness of the insulation; and a readout assembly calibrated to indicate an as installed property of the insulation based on the compressed thickness of the insulation.

The subject invention relates to a gauge and method for indicating one or more properties of a loose-fill insulation in an open-front building cavity and, in particular, to a portable gauge that provides an easy to use, reliable and accurate device and method for quickly indicating the as installed density and/or the as installed thermal, acoustical, and/or other density related property or properties of a loose-fill insulation in open-front wall, ceiling, roof, and floor cavities and/or other similar open-front building cavities.
An increasingly preferred method of installing insulation in open-front wall, ceiling, roof, and floor cavities and other similar open-front building cavities is to insulate such cavities with a loose-fill insulation such as a fiberglass based, cellulose fiber based, rock wool based, or other insulation based loose-fill insulation. Such loose-fill insulations are typically introduced into these open-front building cavities by blowing or spraying these loose-fill insulations into the cavities in the form of small discrete portions of a fibrous or other insulation material or in the form of an admixture of small discrete portions of a fibrous or other insulation material and an adhesive. To be assured that these loose-fill insulations are properly installed and meeting the specifications and performance criteria set for such applications without having to utilize excessive amounts of the loose-fill insulation to assure that such performance criteria are met, it is important to be able to determine the as installed properties of the loose-fill insulation such as but not limited to the as installed thermal rating (R-value), acoustical rating (STC), combustion rating, and/or other as installed density related property of the loose-fill insulation. Since the installer of such loose-fill insulations is typically an insulation contractor, the installer should be provided with an easy to use, reliable, and accurate device and method for quickly indicating the as installed density and/or the as installed thermal, acoustical, and/or other density related property or properties of a loose-fill insulation in an open-front building cavity.
Several types of instruments and test procedures have been developed over the years to aid installers with loose-fill insulation density measurements from which the thermal, acoustical, and other density related properties of a loose-fill insulation are determined. One existing instrument measures the pressure drop across a thickness dimension of the installed loose-fill insulation material when a controlled amount of air is allowed to flow through the insulation. The pressure drop reading is then correlated with the installed density of the insulation, which in turn is correlated to the thermal or acoustical performance of the insulation. Since three-dimensional airflow characteristics exist in this type of measurement, correlation between the pressure drop reading and the insulation density is prone to considerable error and usually requires a large amount of correlation data for various types of loose-fill insulation and proposed installed loose-fill insulation densities before the instrument can be used as a tool for verifying installed properties of a loose-fill insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,779, named inventor Keven W. Kinzler, and UK Patent Application GB 2 103 695 A, named inventor David W. Anderson et al, disclose methods of blowing loose-fill insulation into a building cavity wherein the pressure at which the insulation is delivered and a sensed back pressure, respectively, are utilized to control the amount of loose-fill insulation introduced into the building cavity.
Another method for making loose-fill insulation density measurements from which the thermal, acoustical, and other density related properties of a loose-fill insulation are determined is to physically cut out or core a measured portion of loose-fill insulation from a cavity and then, weigh the removed loose-fill insulation core sample. By knowing the sample weight and volume, the as installed density of the material can be calculated. The calculated density can then be used to determine the density related insulation properties of the installed insulation. Although this can be an accurate method of density measurement, this method requires the use of a fairly accurate electronic measurement scale (e.g. depending on the sample size, this method may require an electronic scale that measures in 0.1 to 0.001 pound increments) and is usually not accurate for spray-on loose-fill insulations with high moisture contents. In addition, since most electronic scales are relatively fragile, it is not practical to provide insulation installers with these scales for day-to-day use at job sites. U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,518, named inventor Clifton E. Lytle, discloses a method for determining the density of an installed loose-fill insulation that includes the steps of locating a container of known volume and weight in a cavity, filling the container with loose-fill insulation, and weighing the filled container.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,712,347 and 5,287,674, named inventor Henry V. Sperber, disclose a method for determining an appropriate amount of loose-fill insulation in a building cavity wherein a netting material overlies and encloses the front of the building cavity. With this method, when the netting bulges slightly an appropriate amount of insulation is deemed to have been received and positioned within the enclosed cavity.
Another apparatus and method for determining the density of a loose-fill insulation in an enclosed cavity is disclosed in Patent Application Publication US 2005/0081604, named inventors Robert J. O'Leary et al. This patent application publication discloses a density determining apparatus for use in determining the density of loose-fill insulation within a cavity of known depth having an inner or front side covered with a sheet or netting to contain the insulation within the cavity. The apparatus comprises a sensor that senses force or a change in force exerted on the sensor by the insulation within a cavity. When measuring the density of insulation within a cavity, the sensor is held in a substantially fixed position relative to the insulation within the cavity so that the force exerted on the sensor by the insulation filling the cavity can be measured by the sensor to determine the density of the insulation within the cavity. The apparatus must be able to repeatedly hold the sensor in the same or substantially the same fixed relative position to the insulation within each cavity tested so that when the testing procedure is repeated for a series of these cavities, the density determined by the apparatus will be reliable. To sense the force of the insulation, the sensor may be supported in a substantially fixed position within the cavity by being attached to the netting or the sheathing (FIGS. 3A and 3B) or the sensor may be supported in a substantially fixed position against (FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 9) or relative to (FIG. 8) the netting and insulation while being located outside of the cavity.

Gauge and method for indicating one or more properties of a loose-fill insulation


Methods for producing reassortant viruses are provided wherein the transcription and/or translation of the hemagglutinin and/or neuraminidase genes are suppressed.

The most efficient protection against influenza infection is vaccination against the circulating strain and it is important to produce influenza viruses for vaccine production as quickly as possible.
Wild-type influenza virus typically grows very slowly in eggs and cell culture. In order to obtain a faster-growing virus strain for vaccine production it is currently common practice to reassort the circulating influenza strain (referred to herein as the vaccine strain) with a faster-growing high-yield backbone strain. This can be achieved by co-infecting cells in cell culture or the amniotic fluid of embryonated hen eggs with the vaccine strain and the backbone strain. Antibodies specific for the backbone strain's hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins are then added to block influenza viruses which carry the backbone strain's HA and/or NA protein from replicating. Over several passages of this treatment one can select for fast-growing reassortant influenza viruses which contain the HA and NA segments from the vaccine strain and the other viral segments (i.e. those encoding PB1, PB2, PA, NP, M1, M2, NS1 and NS2) from the backbone strain.
The current approaches have several drawbacks. For example, it typically takes about 35 days from the arrival of a new influenza strain to obtain the final high-growth reassortant, which causes delays in the production of influenza vaccines. Furthermore, the need to passage the viruses several times increases the risk for mutations in the HA antigen to occur which can result in an unwanted change of antigenicity. The use of polyclonal antisera to inhibit the propagation of non-reassorted viruses also increases the risk of introducing adventitious viral agents and other contaminants.
It is an object of the invention to provide further and improved methods for producing reassortant influenza viruses.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A porous matrix, preparation thereof, and methods of using the same. The porous matrix of calcium alginate is prepared using a plurality of particles containing a multivalent cation, admixing the particles with ionic cross-linked polysaccharides and water to form a mixture, introducing a cross linker to solidify the mixture, dissolving the particles of the mixture in an acid to form a porous structure, and neutralizing and cross-linking the porous structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a porous matrix, the preparation thereof, and methods of using the same.
2. Brief Discussion of the Related Art
Mass cell production is important in tissue engineering, protein drug production, and cell therapy. The conventional mass cell production technology includes static flat culturing and dynamic bioreactor culturing. Static flat culturing is appropriate for small-scale trials such as 106-108 cells cultured in laboratory or factory. To compensate for the limited surface of the culture plate, large-scale culture requires numerous culture plates, however, manual operation such as seeding cells, changing media, passaging or harvesting cells increases labor burden and the risk of contamination. It is, therefore, not economical for mass production of animal cells.
Bioreactors provide sufficient metabolic exchanges and are popular in mass production of animal cells. Bioreactors for adherent cells can be two- or three-dimensional. The former provides solid micro-beads for cells to attach to in a two-dimensional manner and also evenly distributed nutrients. Cells proliferated in this system may, however, be dedifferentiated by shear stress and friction produced by the stirring in the bioreactor, harmful to the cells. The later has porous matrices for cells to attach to in a three-dimensional manner and provides a larger space for cell growth and less shear stress, however, harvesting cells can be impeded. The proliferated cells may form an aggregate within the matrix and cannot be simply harvested by regular digesting enzyme. The longer digestion time required, however, may greatly reduce the recovery rate.
Matrices for adherent cells include natural materials such as collagen, gelatin, chitosan, or artificial material such as polyglycolide acid (PGA), polylactide acid (PLA), poly(glycolide co-lactide) acid (PLGA). These materials provide a biocompatible, biodegradable, 3-dimensional scaffold for cell attachment and proliferation and are designed to be implanted into living subjects with the culturing cells for replacement or repair of injured tissues or organ. Recovery rate is not a major issue for this application.
Materials for the production of protein drugs are not designed to be implanted into living subjects and can be artificial polymers such as polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polymethyl acrylate resin. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,471 discloses a carrier for cell culture comprising polyester fibers. The carrier makes it possible for the cells to retain their differentiation and proliferation ability for a long time, however, cell recovery from the carrier can be a problem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,476 also discloses a matrix and cultivation system for anchorage-dependent cells. The matrix provides a substantially increased available effective surface area for cell attachment by the use of non-woven or open-pore foams with suitable pore size. This matrix is suitable for cell proliferation and growth, but not appropriate for the recovery of cells.
A new matrix material is alginates, a family of unbranched polysaccharides with properties that vary widely depending on their composition. In the presence of divalent cations such as calcium ion, alginates form a gel, however, gel formation can be reversed by adding ion chelating agents such as EDTA. Recently, alginates have been used to encapsulate a variety of biological materials, including cells. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,183 discloses a method for preparing liquid-core microcapsules for cell cultures, using a hardening solution containing CaCl2 and polyethylenimine to harden alginate gel-core beads before coating them with polylysine solution and dissolving calcium ion with sodium citrate. The liquid-core microcapsules solve the problem of mechanical disruption, but the cultured cells cannot be released easily. Further, the growing space of the liquid-core microcapsules is limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,314 discloses a method for the production of chodrocytes. The method comprises encapsulating the chondrocytes in alginate beads, cultivating the encapsulated chondrocytes under a low oxygen pressure, and isolating the encapsulated chondrocytes from the alginate beads by a chelating agent for cartilage implantation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,491 discloses a method for cells in a bioreactor having a growth chamber for receiving the cells. The method comprises combining cells with gelatin particles to form a cell-gelatin particle suspension, mixing alginate with the cell-gelatin particles to form an alginate-cell-gelatin suspension, polymerizing the alginate to form alginate beads having the cells and gelatin particles entrapped therein, and heating the alginate beads to dissolve the gelatin particles and thereby form cavities within the alginate beads. The cavities contain the cells to be grown. In these methods, alginates are limited to encapsulating cells and the cell recovery is low or even not mentioned.
Also related to alginates are U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,777 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,601. The patents disclose methods of producing polysaccharide foams containing alginate by freezing and drying technology. This technology is time- and energy-consuming and cannot be used in large scale. In addition, porosity, pore size, and even cross-linking cannot be controlled. The application of cell culture is not well addressed in the two patents.
High density culture of anchorage dependent cells in carrier systems, especially the alginate system, however, is still restricted in some ways, therefore, a cell matrix providing excellent growth environment and high recovery rate is still required.

Methods of producing a porous matrix for culturing and recovering cells

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A rechargeable, reusable heated hand grip for use on a ski pole, shovel or other cold weather hand-held tool or object is provided. The hand grip includes a bushing for receiving the end of a tubular object and retaining the object within a bore in the central core of the hand grip, which compresses around the bushing for tight engagement. A wire-wound heating element is wrapped around the exterior surface of the central core and an outer housing surrounds the heating element and the central core. The bore houses a pair of lithium-ion batteries connected in series, a switch with the switch control protruding from the top of the grip, and a printed circuit board connected to the switch.

Heated hand grips for cold weather hand-held objects, such as ski poles, archery bows, fishing poles and trolling motors are well known. Examples of such heated hand grips are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,421 issued to Adamson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,192 issued to Garrett, U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,026 issued to Smith, Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,267 issued to Briner, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The disclosures of Briner and Smith, Jr. et al. both relate to heated hand grips for archery bows. Smith, Jr. et al. discloses a heated hand grip that is form-fitted to the outer surface of the bow. The heating element of Smith, Jr. et al. is flexible planar heat tape that is attached to the surface of the bow by a hook and pile connection and connected to a battery located apart from the hand grip. Briner discloses a heated hand grip that is molded in, or otherwise form-fitted (such as a flexible heat tape or custom molded piece) around or into the bow and also connected to a battery located apart from the hand grip. The molded in hand grip of Briner must be appropriately sized and shaped during construction to fit the particular bow on which the hand grip is to be used. A form-fitted embodiment of the hand grip of Briner can be attached to a bow by an adhesive. Neither Smith, Jr. et al. or Briner disclose a hand grip that includes the power source within the grip, or which is suitable for attaching to a ski pole, shovel or similar tubular object.
Garrett discloses a heated hand grip for a fishing rod and/or trolling motor that is connected to an external power source such as a boat battery. The fishing rod of Garret is frictionally engaged with the inner surface of a cylindrical ferrule. The cylindrical ferrule is frictionally engaged with the inner surface of a bushing which is held within a cavity in the hand grip of Garrett by a set screw. The ease of assembly and disassembly (either intentional or inadvertent) of the rod from the ferrule and the ferrule from the bushing is dependant upon the coefficient of friction of the materials used for the ferrule and the bushing, as well as on the tolerances between the outer surfaces of the rod and ferrule to the inner surfaces of the ferrule and bushing, respectively. If the coefficient of friction is too low, or the tolerance between outer and inner surfaces is too high, the rod may inadvertently come apart during use. If the coefficient of friction is too high, or the tolerance between outer and inner surfaces is too low, assembly or disassembly will be more difficult.
Adamson discloses a heated hand grip for attaching to a ski pole that includes the power source within the hand grip. Although Adamson states that the hand grip can be held in place on the ski pole by a variety of methods, such as an interference fit, a mechanical locking arrangement or an adhesive, Adamson does not disclose a method for easily attaching a single hand grip to ski poles of varying sizes. Furthermore, the heating element of Adamson is either affixed to the surface of hand grip or formed integrally with the surface of the hand grip. While such an arrangement is acceptable for the hand grip of Adamson, in which the heating element is located on the interior surface of a protective shield than surrounds the portion of the hand grip that is held within the skier's hand, it is less desirable for hand grips in which the source of heat is intended to emanate from the portion of the grip being held with the skier's hand. In such instances, the location of a heating element on the surface of the grip or formed integrally with the surface of the grip will greatly limit the materials that may be utilized to provide a comfortable, cushioned grip. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a heated hand grip that can be easily installed onto a ski pole or other similar object that provides a comfortable, cushioned grip.


The present invention relates to a polishing composition comprising 30 to 99 wt % of deionized water, 0.1 to 50 wt % of powder of metallic oxide and 0.01 to 20 wt % of cyclic amine. This polishing composition can be used in a chemical mechanical polishing of thin films in integrated circuit manufacturing and has an effect of minimizing the occurrence of microscratches on the thin film after polishing. Thereby it can be applied to the manufacturing process of highly integrated circuits such as Shallow Trench Isolation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polishing composition used for polishing of glasses, semiconductors, and integrated circuits. More specifically, the present invention relates to the polishing composition consisting of deionized water, metallic oxide, and cyclic amines for the chemical mechanical polishing of thin films used in integrated circuit manufacturing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nowadays, as the densities of Integrated Circuits increase, the global planarization of the intermediate insulating layer has become important. The CMP(Chemical Mecahnical Planarization) in particular has received special attention as a planarization method. Highly integrated semiconductor devices are manufactured by depositing conducting materials between insulating materials alternately to form patterns.
The surface must be flat in order to apply the pattern layer. Without a flat surface making the pattern is impossible.
As the semiconductor devices get more integrated, the minimization of the feature size and multilevel interconnections are needed. Global planarization is one of the most important prerequisites to achieve this.
As the structure of microprocessors and DRAMs become multileveled, problems may occur if the layers upon which the film is deposited are not flat.
In the photolithography process in particular, if we begin the process on an unflattened layer, incident light will reflect diffusely, which will cause a photo resist pattern not to be precise. So we need to planarize the surface by polishing the unnecessarily deposited part.
CMP is the most efficient method that has ever been known. The planarization methods which have been developed, such as SOG/Etch Back/ECR Depo and Etch are very complicated, and require 2-3 steps, but the CMP process can be finished simply by polishing and cleaning.
Conventional polishing compositions, or slurries, for the CMP process generally comprise deionized water, metallic oxide and additives. It can be classified into three kinds according to the materials to be polished.
Which are:
1) Polishing for single crystal silicone
2) Polishing for insulating layer
3) Polishing for metal line and plug
The metallic oxide used for this polishing composition can be Silica(SiO2), Alumina(A12O3), Ceria(CeO2), Zirconia(ZrO2) and Titania(TiO2), which are produced by fuming or the Sol-Gel method. The polishing composition also includes acid or base for controlling pH levels as well as an oxidizing agent for improving the removal rate.
Here are some examples for this kind of polishing composition according to the metallic oxides and additives. A slurry consisting of silica and amine used for polishing an insulating layer in the manufacturing of integrated circuits is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,337; a slurry consisting of silica and fourth grade ammonium salt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,571; a slurry consisting of alumina and H2O2 used for polishing a metal lines and plugs in integrated circuits manufacturing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,523; a slurry consisting of silica and K3Fe(CN)6 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,370; a slurry consisting of silicon nitride and dicarboxylic acid is disclosed in EP Patent NO 786,504; a slurry consisting of metallic oxide, oxidizing agent, and fluoric ion is disclosed in WO Patent 9,743,070.
These slurries are currently being used for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to the requirements for the CMP process and the materials being polished.
These slurries meet the requirements for removal rate, uniformity, and selectivity, which are needed in the process.
However, their one drawback is that they cause a lot of microscratches on the film surface, and thus need to be improved.
In the CMP process, particularly the Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) process, microscratches lead to a device failure, which is fatal. As, in the STI process, the trench structure is very shallow (200 nm) and minute. Microscratches can cause the disruption of this trench structure, which will affect the transistor or capacitor that will subsequently be made on top of it. Consequently, it is very important to minimize the occurrence of microscratches in the CMP process.
This invention relates to a polishing composition which is used for polishing in various kinds of industrial processes including semiconductors, photomasks, glassdisks, and synthetic polymers. More specifically it relates to the polishing composition for chemical mechanical polishing of thin films used in a semiconductor integrated circuits.
This polishing composition does not cause any microscratches on the wafer after polishing, so it can be applied to the process of high density integrated circuits manufacturing, such as the STI process.
Microscratches are generated during the CMP process by process factors such as the platen or carrier speed of the polisher, the downpressure, and the pad type, but more often, microscratches are caused by the presence of large particles in slurry whose size is several micrometers (1-10 nm).
Reasons for the occurrence of large particles are listed below:
1) Aggregation or agglomerization
2) Partial drying in a container
3) Temperature or pH change
4) Clogging or crusting in delivery and piping system
Large particles which are caused by aggregation or agglomerization as in (1) can be lessened by the dispersion method and the extent of dispersion. Furthermore, the remaining large particles can be removed by filtration.
However large particle occurrence by reasons (2)-(4) are not easy to control, because occurrence does not relate to the dispersion method or its extent, but rather to the transportation, storage, and environmental changes.
After our extensive research, based on the thought that if large particles produced by uncontrollable factors could be removed or reduced, the microscratches on the polished surface after polishing would be minimized, the inventors of the present invention learned that polishing with minimal or no microscratches could be done by adding cyclic amine to the polishing composition.
The present invention is characterized by a polishing composition consisting of deionized water, metallic oxide powder, and cyclic amine.
Until now the research for CMP slurry has related to improving the removal rate or selectivity. The present invention focuses on minimizing microscratches after polishing.
According to the present invention, a polishing composition consisting of 30-99 wt % of deionized water, 0.1-50 wt % metallic oxide powder, and 0.01-20 wt % of cyclic amine is provided.
The metallic oxides that can be used in the present invention are Silica(SiO2), Alumina(Al2O3), Ceria(CeO2), Zirconia(ZrO2), and Titania(TiO2) which are made by a fuming method or the Sol-Gel method.
The primary particle size of these metallic oxides is between 10-100 nm, with an optimum size of 20-60 nm. A primary particle smaller than 10 nm is not favorable in view of throughput because of the dramatic decrease in the removal rate. A primary particle larger than 100 nm is favorable because of the high removal rate, but it causes a lot of microscratches, which is a problem.
These metallic oxides in an aqueous dispersion solution form secondary particles, whose size is ideally 20-250 nm.
As well the maximum size of the secondary particles ideally should be smaller than 500 nm, as particles larger than 500 nm may cause settling problems. The larger the mean and maximum particles are, the greater the decrease in settling stability. If left at room temperature for over one week, settling will occurs, which is a problem.
The contents of the metallic oxides in the polishing composition are 0.1-50 wt %, and ideally 1-25 wt % to the total amount of slurry. Usually the contents of the metallic oxides in the silica slurry for polishing the oxide insulating layer in the CMP process are 9-15 wt %, and for polishing the metal lines or plugs are 3-6 wt %.
The cyclic amines which are used as essential additives in this inventive polishing composition are 2-pyrrolidinone, pyrrolidine, 3-pyrrolidinol, 3-pyrroline, methyl-2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetate, N-methyl pyrrolidinone, and N-methyl pyrrolidine.
The contents of this cyclic amine are 0.01-20 wt %, preferably 0.05-10 wt % to the total amount of polishing composition.
If the contents are too small, a reduction in microscratches by using this inventive polishing composition can not be expected.
If the contents are too large, the effect of the cyclic amine will remain the same, but the production costs will increase, so economically it is not favorably.
These additives can be used alone or mixed with different cyclic amines.
Although it is difficult to explain the specific reason for the decrease in microscratches by adding the cyclic amines, it is believed that it comes from the reasons given below.
From the basic knowledge that cyclc amines have humectant properties, it is possible to derive that:
1) they protect metallic oxides from aggergating and agglomerating
2) they protect metallic oxides from clogging or crusting in transportation and storage, and in the delivery/piping system.
Therefore the likelihoood of of large particle occurrence is suppressed.
These additives can be added before or after dispersing the metallic oxides in deionized water. Also, when added to commercially-sold slurries the same effects can be expected.
In addition, these additives increase the slurry settling stability. Usually settling problems occurs when slurry is stored for a long time, but when the cyclic amine is added to the slurry, this problem does not occur because this additive enhances slurry dispersion.
Also, during the manufacturing of slurry, cyclic amine additives prevent the slurry from reaching thixotropy, which is a sudden increase in viscosity, so these additives actually make the manufacturing of slurry much easier.
A second additive is added to the polishing composition of the present invention according to the kinds of materials to be polished. For example, this inventive polishing composition is used with a base such as KOH, or ammonium salts for polishing the oxide insulating layer, and an acid such as H2SO4, HNO3, or CH3COOH and an oxidizing agent for polishing the metal lines and the plugs.


A turbine rotor blade with a trailing edge cooling circuit in which cooling air from an impingement cavity located adjacent to the trailing edge region is connected to a plurality of metering channels that open onto the pressure side wall of the trailing edge region of the airfoil to discharge the cooling air. A row of submerged slots that open onto the suction side wall of the airfoil are connected to the metering channels by a row of small holes that bleed off the cooling air in the metering channel in a progressive manner and discharge the air into the slot. The trailing edge cooling circuit allows for a thinner trailing edge airfoil, reduces the metal temperature and reduces the shear mixing between the cooling air and the mainstream hot gas flow.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an air cooled turbine blade, and more specifically to trailing edge cooling of a turbine blade.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In a gas turbine engine, turbine blades used in the turbine section require internal cooling to allow for higher turbine inlet temperatures that increase the efficiency of the engine. The turbine blades include a trailing edge with cooling holes that provide cooling for this region of the airfoil. in the prior art, channel flow cooling is improved with the use of pin fins or multiple impingement holes in series with a trailing edge camber line discharge to provide improved cooling capability.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art turbine blade with a trailing edge cooling circuit for a first stage turbine blade, which is exposed to the highest gas flow temperature of the blades in the turbine. The blade in FIG. 1 includes pin fins in the trailing edge cooling channel that connects a metering hole to the exit holes spaced along the trailing edge of the airfoil. Using this type of trailing edge cooling design requires a thicker trailing edge to accommodate the trailing edge cooling channel with the pin fins extending between the pressure side wall and the suction side wall. Since the side walls in the trailing edge region require a minimum thickness to provide a rigid structure of the airfoil at the trailing edge. In some turbine stage blades, this large trailing edge thickness may induce high blockage and thus reduce the stage performance.
Because of the size and space limitations, the trailing edge region of a gas turbine airfoil becomes one of the most difficult areas in the engine to cool. For a high temperature turbine airfoil cooling application, extensive trailing edge cooling is required. FIG. 2 shows another prior art first stage turbine blade with trailing edge cooling passages that makes use of a pressure side bleed for the airfoil trailing edge cooling. This type of cooling design to minimize the airfoil trailing edge thickness has been used in the airfoil trailing edge cooling for the last thirty years. Shortfalls associated with this design are the shear mixing between the cooling air and the mainstream flow as the cooling air exits from the pressure side. The shear mixing of cooling air with the mainstream flow reduces the cooling effectiveness for the trailing edge overhang and, thus, reduces the over-temperature at the airfoil trailing edge suction side location. Frequently, this over-temperature location becomes the life limiting location for the entire turbine airfoil.

Turbine blade with trailing edge cooling


An oilseed press of the present invention is adapted to extract oil from oilseeds. The oilseed press includes a base plate having a raised surface with straight and tapered edges. A cylindrical sleeve also has a tapered edge at one end and is adapted to slide over the raised portion of the base plate forming a tight fit between the tapered portions and forming a gap between the straight edge and the sleeve. A plunger is adapted to slide within the sleeve. By applying pressure to the plunger the oilseeds are crushed between the plunger and the raised surface of the base plate. Oil collects within the gap and exits the gap through a notch formed in the tapered surface where it collects in a well. The pressure is applied by a linear actuator having a rubber bumper assembly. When the clutch of the linear actuator begins to slip, the bumper assembly maintains a high pressure on the plunger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the oilseed industry. More particularly, though not exclusively, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for extracting oil from oilseeds.
2. Problems in the Art
In the oilseed industry, it is desirable to analyze oil extracted from seeds such as sunflower seeds or canola seeds. In order to continually improve the quality of oilseed crops as well as evaluating harvested oilseeds, it is helpful to know certain properties of the oilseed such as oleic levels, oil content of the seeds, etc. These measurements are typically performed by obtaining a sample of the oilseed oil and using a device such as a refractometer to show the oleic level, for example.
In order to separate oil from an oilseed, the seed must be crushed or the oil separated chemically. A typical prior art device for extracting oil from oilseeds is comprised of a pair of iron plates and a hydraulic jack for pressing the iron plates together. The resulting oil extracted from this prior art method is spread over a very large area of the iron plates and is also mixed among the crushed seeds. To get a suitable oil sample, the iron plates must be scraped with a squeegee and the crushed seeds separated from the oil. As a result, it is very difficult, time consuming and messy to obtain a suitable oil sample using the prior art method. Another prior art method of extracting seeds from an oilseed is to place a seed in the jaws of a vice grip and crush the seed. This also has obvious undesirable results. Another problem with the prior art methods of extracting oil from oilseeds is that each resulting sample of oil is small and comes from just a few seeds. It would be desirable to have an oil sample coming from a large number of seeds to get a more accurate indication of the properties of the seeds which may have variations from one seed to another.
Oilseed extractors also exist in the art for use on a commercial scale. This type of equipment is very expensive and not practical for obtaining just a sample of oil.
Other prior art devices to extract seeds from oilseeds are comprised of a perforated tube with a screw type bit fitting in the interior of the tube. The screw bit presses seeds through the perforated tube with the oil coming out the sides. These types of devices are very difficult and time consuming to clean between samples and are also very expensive.
Therefore, a need can be seen for an improved system and method for extracting oil from oilseeds.

Process of extracting oil from a seed sample