A method and apparatus for a seal assembly for a unitized wellhead system for land or platform applications utilizes a friction grip technology to create maintainable metal-to-metal seals with finely-controlled contact stresses, lock-down casing and tubing hangers, support test loads to minimize the size of landing shoulders required, and to rotationally lock casing hangers to provide simplified running procedures. The system can be used in combination with a friction grip clamping assembly to greatly streamline the wellhead design.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to concentric casings and strings in wellheads wherein it is necessary to effect a seal between concentric members of the wellhead and is specifically directed to a seal system wherein the sealing members are activated via an external, non-invasive seal energizing system.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In oil and gas wells, it is conventional to pass a number of concentric tubes or casings down the well. An outermost casing is fixed in the ground, and the inner casings are each supported from the next outer casing by casing hangers which take the form of inter-engaging internal shoulders on the outer casing and external shoulders on the inner casing.
Typically, such casing hangers are fixed in position on each casing. There are however applications where a fixed position casing hanger is unsatisfactory, because the hang-off point of one casing on another may require to be adjusted. Such drilling wellheads have to accommodate a casing with an undetermined hang-off point, it has been known to use casing slip-type support mechanisms.
Wellheads are used in oil and gas drilling to suspend casing, seal the annulus between casing strings, and provide an interface with the BOP. The design of a wellhead is generally dependant upon the location of the wellhead and the characteristics of the well being drilled or produced. One specific type of wellhead is a unitized wellhead for platform or land applications.
Unitized wellheads are composed of several individual components, including a wellhead housing that is used to support a number of casing hangers and tubing hangers. The hangers support the weight of the casing and tubing, and pass loads back to the wellhead housing. Annulus seals seal the annular spaces between casing and tubing strings.
Conventional land or platform wellheads are either slip-type conventional wellheads or through-the-BOP multi-bowl wellheads.
Slip-type wellheads use casing slips to support casing strings. These slips are friction wedges that "grip" the top of a casing string and use slip teeth to bite into the casing. Wellheads of this type require higher-risk operations, as they require lifting the BOP to install casing slips and annulus seals. The seals that are used with slip-type casing hangers must be actively maintained throughout the field life of the well.
Multi-bowl type wellheads feature reduced-risk operations, as the BOP does not need to be lifted to set casing slips. Instead of using slips, a multi-bowl wellhead uses a fixed landing shoulder in the wellhead housing to support the first casing hanger. All other casing hangers are stacked on top of this initial casing hanger. The seals installed on multi-bowl wellheads can be more dependable than those installed in slip-type wellheads, but are still often unreliable, due to eccentricities in the casing hanger/wellhead alignment and unreliability in the seal setting mechanisms. As the initial load shoulder must support the weight of all casing strings and any loads due to test pressures, this load shoulder must intrude into the bore of the wellhead quite a bit. This can create an operational restriction that limits operations through this well.
Various sealing devices are known and employed in such wellheads. One example of a sealing assembly is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,469, wherein a wellhead slip and seal assembly includes a slip assembly with slips supported within a slip bowl and a seal assembly positioned above the slip assembly and interconnected thereto for supporting the slip assembly, the seal assembly includes two segments connected to form the seal ring and each of the segments includes arcuate elements embedded in a resilient material which forms an inner seal in an inner groove. The segments of the slip bowl include segments interconnected by toe nails and the seal ring includes pin and recess connection for connecting the two segments together.
It is also known from European Patent No. 0 251 595 to use an adjustable landing ring on a surface casing hanger to accommodate a space-out requirement when the casing is also landed in a surface wellhead.
More recently, and as shown and described in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,092,596 and 6,662,868, an external clamp for clamping two concentric tubes, typically two concentric tubes in an oil or gas well, has two axially movable tapered components which can be pulled over one another in an axial direction to provide a contraction of internal diameter which grips the smaller diameter tube.
Another example of a sealing system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,695, wherein a well casing hanger with a wide temperature range seal element is energized by axial compression with a pre-determined initial portion of the casing hang load, the remaining portion of that hang load then being transferred to the wellhead or other surrounding well element without imposition on the seal element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,084 shows and describes a casing hanger adapted for landing on a load shoulder in a wellhead to seal and support a string of casing. The casing hanger has a lower ring for landing on the load shoulder, the lower ring having an upward facing surface. A plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses are in the upward facing surface of the lower ring, each of the recesses having a base. A seal is located on the lower ring and has a plurality of holes that register with the recesses in the upward facing surface of the lower ring. A slip assembly bowl has a wedging surface that carries a plurality of slip members. The slip members grip the casing and cause the bowl to transmit downward forces from the casing to the seal to axially compress and energize the seal. Fasteners extend from the lower ring through apertures provided in the seal into threaded apertures provided in a downward facing surface of the bowl to secure the lower ring to the slip assembly but allow relative axial movement between the bowl and the lower ring. A plurality of substantially cylindrical stop members are located in the holes in the seal and in the recesses of the lower ring. The stop members are secured into threaded holes formed in the shoulder ring and contact the bases of the recesses to limit the compression of the seal to a predetermined amount.

Externally activated seal system for wellhead


Methods of and systems for illuminating objects using planar laser illumination beams having substantially-planar spatial distribution characteristics that extend through the field of view (FOV) of image formation and detection modules employed in such systems. Each planar laser illumination beam is produced from a planar laser illumination beam array (PLIA) comprising an plurality of planar laser illumination modules (PLIMs). Each PLIM comprises a visible laser diode (VLD, a focusing lens, and a cylindrical optical element arranged therewith. The individual planar laser illumination beam components produced from each PLIM are optically combined to produce a composite substantially planar laser illumination beam having substantially uniform power density characteristics over the entire spatial extend thereof and thus the working range of the system. Preferably, each planar laser illumination beam component is focused so that the minimum beam width thereof occurs at a point or plane which is the farthest or maximum object distance at which the system is designed to acquire images, thereby compensating for decreases in the power density of the incident planar laser illumination beam due to the fact that the width of the planar laser illumination beam increases in length for increasing object distances away from the imaging optics. By virtue of the present invention, it is now possible to use both VLDs and high-speed CCD-type image detectors in conveyor, hand-held and hold-under type scanning applications alike, enjoying the advantages and benefits that each such technology has to offer, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks hitherto associated therewith.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved method of and system for illuminating moving and well as stationary objects, such as parcels, during image formation and detection operations, and also to an improved method of and system for acquiring and analyzing information about the physical attributes of such objects using such improved methods of object illumination, and digital image analysis.
2. Brief Description of the State of Knowledge in the Art
The use of image-based bar code symbol readers and scanners is well known in the field of auto-identification. Examples of image-based bar code symbol reading/scanning systems include, for example, hand-hand scanners, point-of-sale (POS) scanners, and industrial-type conveyor scanning systems.
Presently, most commercial image-based bar code symbol readers are constructed using charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensing/detecting technology. Unlike laser-based scanning technology, CCD imaging technology has particular illumination requirements which differ from application to application.
Most prior art CCD-based image scanners, employed in conveyor-type package identification systems, require high-pressure sodium, metal halide or halogen lamps and large, heavy and expensive parabolic or elliptical reflectors to produce sufficient light intensities to illuminate the large depth of field scanning fields supported by such industrial scanning systems. Even when the light from such lamps is collimated or focused using such reflectors, light strikes the target object other than where the imaging optics of the CCD-based camera are viewing. Since only a small fraction of the lamps output power is used to illuminate the CCD camera's field of view, the total output power of the lamps must be very high to obtain the illumination levels required along the field of view of the CCD camera. The balance of the output illumination power is simply wasted in the form of heat.
Most prior art CCD-based hand-held image scanners use an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) to flood the field of view of the imaging optics in such scanning systems. A large percentage of the output illumination from these LED sources is dispersed to regions other than the field of view of the scanning system. Consequently, only a small percentage of the illumination is actually collected by the imaging optics of the system, Examples of prior an CCD hand-held image scanners employing LED illumination arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 36,528, 5,777,314, 5,756,981, 5,627,358, 5,484,994, 5,786,582, and 6,123,261 to Roustaei, each assigned to Symbol Technologies, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In such prior art CCD-based hand-held image scanners, an array of LEDs are mounted in a scanning head in front of a CCD-based image sensor that is provided with a cylindrical lens assembly. The LEDs are arranged at an angular orientation relative to a central axis passing through the scanning head so that a fan of light is emitted through the light transmission aperture thereof that expands with increasing distance away from the LEDs. The intended purpose of this LED illumination arrangement is to increase the "angular distance" and "depth of field" of CCD-based bar code symbol readers. However, even with such improvements in LED illumination techniques, the working distance of such hand-held CCD scanners can only be extended by using more LEDs within the scanning head of such scanners to produce greater illumination output therefrom, thereby increasing the cost, size and weight of such scanning devices.
Similarly, prior art "hold-under" and "hands-free presentation" type CCD-based image scanners suffer from shortcomings and drawbacks similar to those associated with prior art CCD-based hand-held image scanners.
Recently, there have been some technological advances made involving the use of laser illumination techniques in CCD-based image capture systems to avoid the shortcomings and drawbacks associated with using sodium-vapor illumination equipment, discussed above. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,506 (assigned to Galore Scantec Ltd.), incorporated herein by reference, discloses the use of a cylindrical lens to generate from a single visible laser diode (VLD) a narrow focused line of laser light which fans out an angle sufficient to fully illuminate a code pattern at a working distance. As disclosed, mirrors can be used to fold the laser illumination beam towards the code pattern to be illuminated in the working range of the system. Also, a horizontal linear lens array consisting of lenses is mounted before a linear CCD image array, to receive diffused reflected laser light from the code symbol surface. Each single lens in the linear lens array forms its own image of the code line illuminated by the laser illumination beam. Also, subaperture diaphragms are required in the CCD array plane to (i) differentiate image fields, (ii) prevent diffused reflected laser light from passing through a lens and striking the image fields of neighboring lenses, and (iii) generate partially-overlapping fields of view from each of the neighboring elements in the lens array. However, while avoiding the use of external sodium vapor illumination equipment, prior art laser-illuminated CCD-based image capture system suffers from several significant shortcomings and drawbacks. In particular, it requires very complex image forming optics which makes this system design difficult and expensive to manufacture, and imposes a number of undesirable constraints which are very difficult to satisfy when constructing an auto-focus/auto-zoom image acquisition and analysis system for use in demanding applications.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for an improved method of and system for illuminating the surface of objects during image formation and detection operations, and also an improved method of and system for producing digital images using such improved methods object illumination, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art illumination, imaging and scanning systems and methodologies.

Method of and apparatus for reducing speckle-pattern noise in a planar laser illumination and imaging (PLIIM) based system


A production line of large diameter longitudinal welded pipe comprises a material storage table (1), a charging trolley (2), an uncoiler (3), a leveler (4), a shearing and butt welding machine (5), a movable sleeve (6), an edge milling machine (7), a steel plate flaw detector (8), a lifting table (9), a steel pipe forming machine (10), a welding device (11), a pulling device (12), a heat treatment device (13), a cooling device (14), a rigid rolling machine (15), a cut-to-length cutting machine (16) and a discharging rack (17). The production line in the present invention has the advantages including high production efficiency, stable product quality, low manufacturing cost, as well as reliable and convenient operation.

At present, all industries have more requirements to conveying pipe products in machinery industry with the development of science and technology. For example, a large amount of big-diameter and high-performance conveying pipes, especially conveying pipes with a diameter of bigger than Φ630 mm are required in oil exploration. However, the steel pipe manufacturers both at home and aboard can only produce conveying pipes with a diameter of less than Φ630 mm, and a single method to produce the conveying pipes with a diameter of less than Φ630 mm has always been used. For example, some foreign manufacturers use FFX forming method, namely the flexible forming method, and some other steel pipe manufacturers both at home and aboard normally use a cage roll type forming machine set. Therefore, it has become a difficult problem for the steel pipe manufacturers both at home and aboard to produce the conveying pipes with a diameter of bigger than Φ630 mm using each of the aforementioned single production methods. In a case where the cage roll forming machine is used to produce the large diameter longitudinal welded pipe, forming rolls are to be distributed on a forming surface of a work piece. Even though the forming effect is good, one of outer rolls has to be heavier than 10 tons which makes it difficult to produce and install such big equipment and leads to high investment, low production efficiency and instable welding quality. In particular, the steel pipe manufacturers both at home and aboard cannot use each of the aforementioned single methods to produce a welded pipe with a diameter of bigger than Φ630 mm, therefore, it is still far from building a production line of welded pipe with a diameter of bigger than Φ630 mm. In order to solve the above problem, it is very necessary to develop a production line of large diameter longitudinal welded pipe by which a welded steel pipe with a diameter of bigger than Φ630 mm can be produced.

Production line of large diameter longitudinal welded pipe


A method for producing a coating on skin, the method comprising: A) a step of electrostatically spraying a composition X comprising the following component (a) and the following component (b) directly on the skin to thereby form a coating on a skin surface: (a) one or more volatile substances selected from the group consisting of water, an alcohol, and a ketone, and (b) a polymer having a coating forming ability; and B) a step of applying a composition Y, other than the composition X, containing the following component (c) and the following component (d) to the skin: (c) 5% by mass or more and 20% by mass or less of an adhesive polymer, and (d) 1% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less of a polyol, in this order or in reverse order.

Methods for forming a coating on skin by electrostatic spraying have been reported. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a method of treating skin by electrostatically spraying a composition on the skin. The composition to be used in this method contains a liquid insulating substance, an electroconductive substance, a granular powdery substance and a thickener. As with such a composition, typically a cosmetic or a skin care composition containing pigments is used. Specifically, a cosmetic foundation is used as the composition. That is, the invention described in Patent Literature 1 mainly contemplates making up skin by electrostatically spraying a cosmetic foundation for the purpose of beauty. Patent Literature 2 describes a disposable cartridge to be used in an electrostatic spray apparatus for cosmetics.
When coatings are formed on skin by electrostatic spraying according to the methods described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, however, it has been found that the adhesiveness between the skin and the coatings formed by electrostatic spraying is not sufficient and the coatings break or peel due to external forces such as friction. Now, the present applicant has found that when a liquid agent comprising water, a polyol or an oil liquid at 20° C. is applied before or after a coating is formed on skin by electrostatic spraying, the adhesiveness of the coating obtained by the electrostatic spraying is improved (Patent Literature 3).    [Patent Literature 1] JP-A-2006-104211    [Patent Literature 2] JP-A-2003-507165    [Patent Literature 3] JP-A-2017-78062


Polymer-encapsulated ion-exchange resins are disclosed. The resins are useful in adsorption, catalysis, and other applications. Catalysts comprising a polymer-encapsulated combination of an ion-exchange resin and a transition metal are also disclosed. The catalysts are useful in hydrogenation, oxidation, hydroformylation, polymerization, and other valuable processes. Certain of the polymer-encapsulated catalysts enhance the productivity in the process for producing hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen.

Hydrogen peroxide is an important intermediate chemical useful in such applications as water treatment, pulp and paper bleaching, and organic synthesis. At present, the commercial process for producing hydrogen peroxide involves anthraquinone autooxidation (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,428,923 and 6,524,547). The process requires numerous reaction and purification sections, uses a large volume of solvent, and provides a less-than-ideal yield of hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be made by a direct reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst, but so far, low reaction rates, poor selectivities, and potentially explosive reactants have prevented direct H2O2 manufacture from becoming a commercial reality. Considerable interest remains, however, in identifying safe, economic routes.
Known methods of making hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen use supported transition metals (Group 3 to 12 elements), especially platinum group metals. A wide variety of inorganic and organic supports have been identified, including activated carbon (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,168,775 and 6,649,140), fluorinated carbons (U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,898), sulfonic acid-functionalized carbon (U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,213), silica, alumina (U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,948), polymer fiber (U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,920), and ion-exchange resin (U.S. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2003/0215383 and 2004/0151658).
Recently, a technique called "microencapsulation" was used to prepare catalysts with improved properties (see, e.g., Chem. Commun. (2003) 449 and references cited therein; Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 40 (2001) 3469; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120 (1998) 2985). EP 0 498 166 A1 discloses an alumina-supported Pd catalyst impregnated with 4-bromostyrene or styrene that is subsequently polymerized (see Example 7 and Comparative Example 8). Only the poly(4-bromostyrene)-coated catalyst is active in generating hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen. U.S. Appl. Pub. No. 2004/0184983 describes a catalyst consisting of: (a) one or more metals of the platinum group as active components; (b) one or more polyolefins; and (c) a carrier. The polyolefin is dissolved in a solvent, and the resulting solution is used to impregnate the carrier or the catalyst. The catalyst is useful in producing hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen in a reaction solvent containing a halogenated promoter and/or an acid promoter.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In the field of non-destructive evaluation of materials, conventional ultrasonic measurement techniques are limited to materials having a thickness which is relatively large compared to the wavelength of the ultrasonic signal used. The present technique enables the accurate ultrasonic non-destructive measurement of materials which are relatively small compared to the wavelength of the ultrasonic signal used. Ultrasonic signals received from a thin material are processed in the frequency-domain either directly or by use of a Fast Fourier Transform. Specifically, the frequency response of the ultrasonic transducers used in the measurement is removed from the frequency response of the signal received when measuring the material. This yields a frequency response which is indicative of the material alone. Then, the measured frequency response of the material is evaluated to determine unknown parameters of the material. For instance, the phase of the measured signal is determined over a predetermined frequency range (usually the bandwidth of the transducers), and the phase is used to determine the speed of ultrasonic waves travelling in the material for frequencies within the predetermined range. Likewise, the magnitude of the measured signal is determined over the predetermined frequency range, and the magnitude is used to determine the attenuation of ultrasonic waves travelling in the material for frequencies within the predetermined range.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the ultrasonic-nondestructive evaluation of materials, and more particularly to the ultrasonic-nondestructive evaluation of materials having a thickness of one millimeter or less.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability of sound to propagate through a solid material, without affecting the material in any way, makes it an ideal nondestructive testing tool. By way of example, for many, many years the integrity of earthen pots has been tested by banging the pots with a stone and observing the changes in the tone of the sound produced. Through the use of modern electronics, this primitive testing technique has been modified and refined. The stone has been replaced with a piezoelelectric transmitting transducer, and the ear has been replaced with a piezoelectric receiving transducer.
The wavelength of a signal imparted into a material is inversely proportional to the frequency of the signal, so at higher frequencies the wavelength is very small in comparison to the overall dimensions of the material being tested. When the wavelength is very small in comparison to the size of the material, the size of the material does not affect the sound waves as they travel through the material. Therefore, signals in the ultrasonic frequency range (greater than 20 kHZ) are used to test various parameters of a wide variety of materials.
In non-dispersive isotropic medium, such as air, the speed of sound can be accurately measured using the well known "time of flight" method. Using the time of flight method, sound waves are injected into the air at one point and received at a distant point. The time that it takes the sound to travel from the first point to the distant point is recorded and the speed of sound calculated. In a non-dispersive isotropic medium, the phase velocity and the group velocity are identical. However, if the material is dispersive, then the time of flight method does not deliver accurate results. In order for the wavespeed in this type of material specimen to be measured, a "tone burst" method is used. Using the tone burst method, a burst of monotonic sound, typically of about ten cycles in duration, is injected into the specimen. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical measurement arrangement where a material specimen 100 is placed within an elastic medium 102, such as water, and ultrasonic energy, in this case a tone burst, is injected into the specimen along ray 1. The front face of the specimen is placed at a pre-selected coordinate, x= a, and, therefore, the back face of the specimen is located at coordinate x=b. The thickness h of the specimen 100 is defined as h=b-a.
When the incident wave (ray 1) strikes the material specimen 100 of thickness h, it is partially reflected as shown by ray 2, and partially transmitted as shown by ray 3. The wave illustrated by ray 3 is partially reflected by the back surface of the specimen 100 as shown by ray 5, and partially transmitted as shown by ray 4. This process continues indefinitely as shown by the successive rays 6-20. The time interval t between the first two reflected waves (rays 2 and 6) or between the first two transmitted waves (rays 4 and 8) is measured, and the wavespeed calculated using the equation: EQU c=2h/t, (1)
where c is the wavespeed, h is the thickness of the material specimen and t is the measured time. Attenuation is measured by fitting an exponential curve through the amplitudes of wave 2, 6, 10, etc.
While this method works well when the material specimen is sufficiently thick so that the signals are separable in the time-domain, as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, it cannot be used for thin specimens where the signal are not separable in the time-domain, as shown in FIGS. 2c-2e. In FIG. 2a, the first pulse 30 is the measured signal corresponding to the first reflected wave (ray 2), the pulse 32 is the measured signal corresponding to the second reflected wave (ray 6), the pulse 34 is the measured signal corresponding to the third reflected wave (ray 10), the pulse 36 is the measured signal corresponding to the fourth reflected wave (ray 14), and the pulse 38 is the measured signal corresponding to the fifth reflected wave (ray 18). Clearly, a starting point for each of these pulses can be chosen so that the distance between selected pulses may be measured.
However, since the signals are of a finite duration, when the material specimen is thin, the second reflected wave (ray 6) arrives before the first reflected wave (ray 2) has died out, and, similarly, the third reflected wave (ray 10) arrives before the second reflected wave (ray 6) has died out, and so on. Hence, a continuous arrival of signals is obtained as shown in FIGS. 2c-e. The measured signals from the reflected waves or from the transmitted waves cannot be separated so the time between the pulses cannot be measured. The time of flight method and the tone burst method cannot be used to accurately evaluate thin material specimens, but can only be applied to material specimens which have a thickness sufficient to allow the reflections from the faces of the specimen to be clearly separated in the time-domain. Therefore, the thickness of the material specimen should be large compared to the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave .lambda. injected into the specimen. For homogeneous materials, the thickness should be greater than approximately 3.lambda., and for heterogeneous materials, the thickness of the material specimen should be greater than approximately 5.lambda.. Relatively thicker specimens may be needed for highly dispersive materials such as composites.
Since wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional, attempts to solve the problem of measuring wavespeed in thin specimens have concentrated on reducing the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave by increasing its frequency. This relationship is shown by the following equation: EQU c=.function..lambda. (2)
where c=wavespeed, .function.=frequency and .lambda.=wavelength. For example, using equations (1) and (2), to determine the wavespeed in a one millimeter thick aluminum plate, one would need to use a frequency of approximately 15 M Hz since the wavespeed in aluminum is 6.38 mm/.mu.s. Likewise, in order to determine the wavespeed in a specimen having a thickness of 0.1 millimeters, one would need to use a frequency of 150 MHz. Practically, this means that transducers capable of emitting acoustical energy at 15 MHz and at 150 MHz, respectively, must be used. This is a major disadvantage for the previous mentioned techniques, because 15 MHz transducers are extremely expensive, as compared to 1 MHz transducers for instance, and 150 MHz transducers are not readily available, commercially. Not only is the cost of the transducers prohibitive, but the cost of the associated electronics which are capable of accurately delivering and processing these extremely high frequencies increases exponentially with the frequency. Because of these problems, these ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation techniques are facing a wavelength barrier where the thickness of a material specimen to be evaluated must be several times greater than the wavelength.
In addition to the two techniques already mentioned, many other ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation techniques are known, however, they are all limited by of the thickness of the material specimen due to the use of the pulse separation as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. Refinements of the time-of-flight method include the pulse-superposition method and the pulse-echo method. Using these measurement techniques, the specimens have to be thick enough so that individual pulses can be distinguished in the time-domain. Moreover, if the specimen material is highly attenuating, then the pulse-superposition method cannot be used, and if the specimen material is dispersive, then the pulse-echo method gives unreliable results.
The "ultrasonic spectroscopy" method was developed for measuring wavespeed in thin composite laminates. The reflected pulse from the front face of the laminate and the reflected pulse from the rear face of the laminate are digitized and transformed into the frequency-domain by a Fast Fourier Transform. Interference between these two reflected pulses produces resonance dips in the amplitude of the transformed signals, and the spacing between these dips can be related to wavespeed. Using this technique, wavespeed can be measured in specimens of about 2 millimeters in thickness over a frequency range of 5 to 11 M Hz. The limitations of this method are: (a) it requires pulse separation; (b) it is not conducive to automation; (c) in materials having high attenuation, the resonance dips are not sharp, and, thus, the method is prone to errors; and (d) when the spacing between the resonance dips is large, the method yields very inaccurate results.
It should be remembered that wavespeed and attenuation of a material specimen can be used to determine many parameters of the material specimen. For instance, if the wavespeed in a particular type of material is known and if the time that it takes for the ultrasonic wave to pass through the material can be measured, then the thickness of the material can be determined, as shown by equation (1). If the thickness of the material specimen is known, then an elastic modulus of the material can be determined. For instance, if the wavespeed and the density of the material is known, then the stiffness of the material can be determined.
It is important to reiterate that ultrasonics were originally used to determine the integrity of a material or structure. The ultrasonics eliminate the effect of the size of the structure, and, therefore, any scattering of the ultrasonic wave is due to a flaw in the structure. Ultrasound has been used to detect cracks, holes, porosity and non-homogeneity in isotropic materials. Basically, an ultrasonic wave is launched into a specimen, and the sound is scattered from the defects and detected by a receiving transducer. The depth of a defect can be estimated by measuring the time of flight from the emitter to the receiver, and the extent of damage can be mapped by moving the transducer over the damage and observing the reflections. The reflections from other surfaces, such as the back surface of the specimen, can be gated out and reflections from the defect isolated.
It is well known that the wavespeed of sound in an elastic material is related to its stiffness, E=c.sup.2 p, where E=stiffness, c=the wavespeed, and p=density. The presence of defects, such as voids, cracks, particles, and delaminations, changes the effective stiffness of the material. When an acoustical wave has propagated through such a material, the change in stiffness is manifested as a change in the sound velocity as shown in the previous equation. Furthermore, the defects tend to scatter the sound waves, and, as a result, the defect population also produces attenuation of the wave as it passes through the material.
Various researchers have used ultrasonics for the non-destructive evaluation of the composites by relating the acoustic parameters of the composites to the damage or defects in the composite. The transmission of ultrasonic energy through a composite material in the direction of its thickness has been used for flaw detection in metals. If there are no cracks in the specimen, the waves pass through undisturbed. When the waves encounter cracks, however, the energy is scattered by the cracks, and, as a result, wave intensity is reduced.
Composites are finding an ever increasing use as structural material, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries. In the early stages of the development of composites, composites were used as secondary structural members such as control surface panels. As the reliability of composites increased and material with higher strength-to-weight ratios have been produced, composites are now being used as primary load bearing members. Therefore, information regarding the integrity of composites such as these is growing more useful and often vital.
The mechanical and thermal loading cycles that the structures have to undergo create damage in the composite structures. Wile a wide variety of nondestructive evaluation techniques which were originally developed for homogeneous materials have been used on composite materials with some success, the damage development in composites is quite different from the damage development in isotropic materials. In isotropic materials when the damage is initiated, it becomes the nucleating sight for further damage growth. Any further loading causes the stress concentration around the damage to produce greater damage. The growth mechanism and growth rates for isotropic homogeneous materials are fairly well understood, and hence, the main task for the nondestructive evaluation of such materials is to detect and record the damage as early as possible in its growth life. Once this information is available, reasonable prediction of the residual stiffness and of the remaining life of the component can be determined.
Conversely, in composite materials, and especially in continuous fiber composites, a very different phenomenon takes place. In composites, very strong fibers, such as graphite fibers, are embedded in a weaker matrix, such as epoxy. As a result, matrix cracking is usually the first mode of damage in composites because the matrix is not nearly as strong as the fibers. Fortunately, however, the fibers help contain the matrix cracks in two ways: (1) fibers inhibit the crack growth by acting as crack arresters; and (2) fibers, being much stronger than the matrix, are able to carry the extra load due to the load redistribution of stresses in the vicinity of the damage, and, thus, some amount of stress relieving takes place in the matrix. Therefore, once a composite has been damaged, further loading of the composite causes the next crack in the matrix to occur at a different location where the matrix stress has reached a critical value. As a result of this phenomenon, the entire composite structure develops micro-cracks without seriously endangering the overall integrity of the structure.
The immediate effect of this distributed damage is in the form of reduced stiffness and higher damping of the structure. Continued damage to the composite structure causes the response of the structure to change under load. For example, the reduced stiffness of the wing of an aircraft will cause extra deflection and possibly torsion, both of which may change the aerodynamic configuration of the wing. The evaluation of a composite structure after it has undergone a certain amount of loading and damage is useful in evaluating the performance of the structure. Therefore, the interest is not only the detection and location of a defect, but also the evaluation of the effects of continued microdamage on the mechanical response of a component. Almost all of the non-destructive evaluation techniques listed earlier can detect macrosize flaws, but cannot measure the changes in mechanical response of the materials caused by distributed damage.
Another area of interest is the testing of adhesive bond strength, particularly for in-situ applications. However, there does not exist any reliable method for the non-destructive evaluation of adhesive interfaces. This, again, is due to the fact that the wavelength of an ultrasonic wave is much larger than the bond-line thickness of an adhesive interface. Since the previously mentioned methods of ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation rely on the separation of successive pulses in the time-domain, these methods are not useful in the evaluation of thin adhesive bonds. Since adhesives are often used in critical structural applications, such as the adhesion of ceramic tiles to the United States space shuttles to protect them against the heat of re-entry, a method of non-destructive evaluation which will determine the integrity of the adhesive bonds is badly needed.

Ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of thin specimens


There is provided: an electrophotographic photoreceptor including a photosensitive layer and a surface layer laminated on a conductive substrate in this order, the photosensitive layer including an organic substance, the surface layer including a group 13 element and nitrogen, a thickness of the surface layer being from about 0.01 μm to less than about 1 μm, and a center line average roughness (Ra) of a surface of the surface layer being about 0.01 μm or less; a manufacturing method thereof; a process cartridge; and an image forming device.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor used for a copier for forming an image by an electrophotographic method, a manufacturing method thereof, a process cartridge, and an image forming device.
2. Related Art
Recently, electrophotography is widely used for a copier, a printer, and the like. An electrophotographic photoreceptor (hereunder, also called a "photoreceptor") used for an image forming device utilizing such electrophotography is subjected to various contact or stress in the device, causing deterioration. However, on the other hand, high reliability is desired together with digitalization and colorization of the image forming device.
For example, if an electrification process of a photoreceptor is addressed, there are problems as follows. Firstly, in a noncontact electrification method, discharge products are adhered to the photoreceptor, and image blur and the like occurs. Therefore, in order to remove the discharge products adhered to the photoreceptor, there is employed for example a system where particles having an abrasion function are mixed in a developer and the discharge products are rubbed off in a cleaning section. In this case, the surface of the photoreceptor is deteriorated due to abrasion. On the other hand, recently, a contact electrification method is widely used. In this method, abrasion of the photoreceptor may be also accelerated.
From such a background, a longer lifetime is desired for an electrophotographic photoreceptor. Since abrasion resistance is needed to be improved for a longer lifetime of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, the hardness of the photoreceptor surface is required to be increased.

Electrophotographic photoreceptor and manufacturing method thereof, process cartridge, and image forming device


Techniques for scalable performance monitoring using dynamic flow sampling are described. According to one approach, a method comprises intercepting, at an intermediary network device, one or more packets traveling between a source device and a destination device; identifying, at the intermediary network device, a traffic flow based on the one or more packets; determining, at the intermediary network device, whether to collect one or more metrics from the traffic flow based on one or more performance factors of the intermediary network device; in response to a determination to collect the one or more metrics from the traffic flow, the intermediary network collecting the one or more metrics from subsequently intercepted packets belonging to the traffic flow; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

In packet switching networks a "traffic flow" (also referred to as a "packet flow") is a sequence of packets between a source device and a destination device which share common characteristics and/or identifiers. For example, a traffic flow may consist of all packets sent during a particular connection, session, media stream, etc. As another example, RFC 2722 "Traffic Flow Measurement: Architecture" authored by Brownlee, et al. describes traffic flows as artificial logical equivalents to a call or connection and elaborates on techniques for identifying and measuring traffic flows.
Collecting metrics related to traffic flows is critical to both service providers and customers to manage the network and monitor application performance. For example, service providers may require metrics regarding the amount of data sent over a particular flow in order to charge the customer for utilizing the service provider's network. As another example, customers may require metrics regarding an application's performance in order to quickly detect potential problems before they have a significant business impact. However, although metrics are important to users of the network, the overhead involved in monitoring the traffic flows can place a significant burden on the network devices (e.g. routers, switches, etc.) forwarding the traffic.
In one approach, the network devices are configured to perform packet sampling. During packet sampling, the network devices monitor only a subset of the packets sent over a given flow. For example, the network devices may randomly select packets for inspection (e.g. based on a packet sampling rate) and perform interpolation to determine the estimated metrics for the entire traffic flow. As a result, packet sampling reduces the workload placed on the network devices since fewer packets are inspected. However, since the network devices collect an incomplete set of data from the flow, the estimated metrics possess a non-zero rate of error. Furthermore, skipping packets impacts on the ability to collect certain types of metrics, such metrics related to network delay and the performance of different phases of an application or protocol.

Scalable performance monitoring using dynamic flow sampling


Provided is a thermoplastic elastomer composition which does not undergo viscosity increase during melt molding, gelation and molding failure, while having excellent heat resistance and durability. A thermoplastic elastomer composition for tires, which contains (A) an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer or a modified ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, (B) a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer, which has a melting point of 200° C. or higher, and (C) an acid-modified elastomer in an amount of 20% by volume or more based on the amount of all polymer components. This thermoplastic elastomer composition for tires is characterized in that if this thermoplastic elastomer composition for tires is extruded at a piston speed of 5 min/min at a temperature that is higher than the melting point of the thermoplastic resin or thermoplastic elastomer (B) by 20° C. in a viscosity measurement by means of a capillary rheometer, the viscosity η2 in 800 seconds after the start of the extrusion is less than 120% of the viscosity η1 in 200 seconds after the start of the extrusion.

As a thermoplastic elastomer composition for inner liners of pneumatic tires, a thermoplastic elastomer composition comprising a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of not less than 200° C., such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, or nylon 6, and an acid-modified elastomer is known (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-46622).

Thermoplastic elastomer composition for tires, and tire


A driving device comprises: an electro-mechanical conversion element enabled to expand and contract in response to input of an electrical signal; a pair of clamping members that come closer to and move away from each other with expansion and contraction of the electro-mechanical conversion element; a moving member disposed between said pair of clamping members; and flagellar members which are provided between the moving member and each of said pair of clamping members to be inclined to a direction in which said pair of clamping members come closer to and move away from each other, and which are adapted to swing when said pair of clamping members come closer to and move away from each other, to cause the moving member to move in a constant direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving device using an electro-mechanical conversion element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, a driving device employing a piezoelectric element (electro-mechanical conversion element), which is used to drive a lens of a digital camera or a camera phone, has been known. Such a driving device is configured so that one of end portions in the expansion/contraction direction of the piezoelectric element is fixed by a platform, and that a shaft-like driving frictional member extending in the expansion/contraction direction of the piezoelectric element is fixed to the other end portion of the piezoelectric element. A frictional engagement member capable of moving along the driving frictional member is mounted on the circumferential surface of the driving frictional member by being inserted thereon. The lens serving as a driven member is attached thereto through the frictional engagement member.
The frictional engagement member has a slider that has a through-hole, through which the driving frictional member is inserted, and also has a frictional member pressed against the circumferential surface of the driving frictional member exposed from a concave portion of the slide, and a plate spring adapted to press the frictional member. The frictional engagement member is engaged with the driving frictional member by fixing the plate spring with screws to a desired frictional force.
In such a driving device, the piezoelectric element is expanded or contracted by applying a pulse-like voltage to the piezoelectric element. Thus, the driving frictional member moves. In a case where the piezoelectric element deforms at a low rate, the frictional engagement member moves together with the driving frictional member. In a case where the piezoelectric element deforms at a high rate, the frictional engagement member remains located at the same position due to inertia of the masses of the frictional engagement member and the driven member, whereas the driving frictional member moves. Therefore, the frictional engagement member frictionally engaged with the driving frictional member intermittently moves with fine pitches. Thus, the lens attached to the frictional engagement member can be moved (see, for example, JP-A-2002-142470).
However, according to related art described in JP-A-2002-142470, a frictional engagement member includes a plurality of components. Thus, it is difficult to generate a desired frictional force. Accordingly, there has been a demand for a driving device enabled to drive a driven member with a simple configuration.
Also, in a case where a piezoelectric element deforms at a high rate in a related driving device, a frictional engagement member is somewhat pulled back together with a driving member, so that sometimes, vibrations of the piezoelectric element are not reliably transmitted.


An electromechanical machine having an improved arrangement for sealing lead wires. A housing structure of the electromechanical machine includes a tubular lead conduit, such as a short pipe section, through which the lead wires extend. A resinous sealing compound, such as an epoxy, is located within the tubular lead conduit. The lead wires are thus potted, and a predetermined degree of isolation is provided between the inside of the machine housing and the ambient environment. Preferably, the inner surface of the tubular lead conduit defines a labyrinthine structure, such as a series of parallel grooves, to further enhance the sealing function.

The present invention relates generally to the art of electromechanical machines, such as generators or electric motors. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved sealing arrangement for electromechanical machines of the type that utilize potted lead wires.
Particularly in industrial applications, the lead wires of an electromechanical machine often terminate in an external conduit box. The conduit box is mounted to the machine's housing, and includes a threaded hole to which a wire conduit can be attached. Wires extending through the conduit are connected to the lead wires inside of the conduit box.
It is often necessary to ensure that the inside of the machine is isolated from the ambient environment. For example, certain electric motors are required to exhibit a predetermined degree of structural integrity in the event of internal explosion. Other motors may be required to operate while submersed in a liquid, or in ambient environments that are very cold. In such cases, appropriate sealing must be provided at the location where the lead wires emanate from inside of the machine housing.
The hole defined in the machine housing through which the lead wires extend will frequently have a diameter much larger than that of the lead wires themselves. Where sealing is required, the hole is often filled with a predetermined sealing compound which also functions to "pot" the lead wires extending therethrough.
In the past, a water-based sealing compound known as Savogran has seen widespread usage. While this product is effective for its intended purpose, it is not without disadvantages. For example, the Savogran product requires a time of several hours, e.g., often at least eight hours, in which to fully harden. Such a relatively lengthy period of idle time can lead to inefficiency and increased cost, particularly in a mass-production situation.

Electromechanical machine having improved lead wire sealing arrangement


A communication link is established between the smart card and a computer using a valid smart card communication protocol. A smart card communication device determines the valid smart card communication protocol used by a smart card by polling a communication channel using a plurality of smart card communication protocols until a valid acknowledgment message is received. A radio frequency circuit is configured to communicate with the smart card using the valid smart card communication protocol. A digital signal processor having at least two demodulators demodulates an incoming data stream produced by the receiver in accordance with the valid smart card communication protocol in a dynamically reconfigurable manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to smart card systems and more specifically to a smart card system, device and method for communicating with a plurality of smart card communication protocols.
2. Background
The term "smart card" is typically used to refer to various types of devices having an embedded integrated circuit for storing information. The reference to "smart cards" within this disclosure includes both contact and non-contact cards (also referred to as proximity cards). Smart card communication devices are used to write information to the card and to read information from the card. Some smart card communication devices may only have the ability to read from or write to the smart card. Therefore, a smart card communication device may be a smart card reader, a smart card writer or both.
Typically, the smart card communication device is connected to a host computer that regulates transactions between the smart card and the smart card communication device. In some systems, however, the host computer may be part of the smart card communication device. Smart card systems may include any number of host computers and communication devices depending on the particular configuration and requirements of the system.
The smart card is a small, usually credit card shaped, device that contains at least a memory device for storing information and a transceiver to communicate with a smart card communication device. The smart card communication device communicates through the transceiver on the smart card to access the stored information. The smart card communication device may simply read the information, load the information into the memory device or modify existing data in the memory device. For example, if the owner of a smart card uses a smart card containing financial information to make a purchase, the smart card communication device can read the information including the owner's identity and the availability of funds. The smart card communication device can also deduct the purchase amount from the available funds if it has writing capabilities. Further, the communication device can store transaction data on the smart card including the time and location of the transaction in addition to the identity of the communication device.
Existing smart cards can be classified as either contact or non-contact smart cards. It is not necessary for non-contact smart cards (also referred to as proximity cards) to physically contact a smart card communication device to exchange data. Proximity cards typically employ modulated radio frequency (RF) field and impedance modulation techniques to transfer data between the proximity card and the proximity card communication device.
Smart cards have a variety of uses and can be utilized in any transaction that involves the exchange of data or information between individuals and an institution. For example, smart cards can be used to store information including medical records, financial information, vehicle maintenance information, pet information, and a variety of other information traditionally printed on paper or plastic or stored on cards having a magnetic stripe or an optical bar code. Smart card technology has been particularly useful in banking systems and other financial transaction systems. For example, smart card technology has been used effectively in mass-transit systems where the stored value on a smart card is decreased by an amount equal to the fare each time the passenger uses the card to gain access to or exits from the mass-transit system. As described above, other information may be stored or modified on the card such as the time and location of transaction.
The smart card technology is continually expanding in different directions while various manufacturers and industries influence the implementation of smart card systems. As a result, numerous smart card communication protocols have been suggested and several protocols are currently in use. Regulatory and standard committees have defined several standard smart card protocols. For example, the International Organization for Standardization has provided at least two standards for proximity (also referred to as non-contact and contactless) smart cards: ISO 14443 Type A and ISO 14443 Type B. Although many conventional smart card systems use the same carrier frequency for communication, different communication protocols utilize different modulation techniques to transmit and receive data. For example, although ISO 14443 Type A and Type B both require a 13.56 MHZ carrier, ISO 14443 Type A systems use 100% ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) modulation techniques and ISO 14443 Type B systems use 10% ASK modulation techniques to transmit data from the smart card communication device to the smart card. Further, the Type A smart card communication protocol requires ASK Manchester load modulation with a subcarrier at 847.5 kHz for transmission from the smart card to the smart card communication device. The Type B smart card communication protocol, however, dictates that the smart card transmit a signal modulated using Binary Phase Shift Keying—Non-Return to Zero (BPSK-NRZ) modulation with a subcarrier at 847.5 kHz.
A smart card communication system implemented by Cubic Transportation Systems commercially referred to as the GO CARD® smart card defines another smart card communication protocol (referred to as the third type of smart card communication protocol in the disclosure). The third type of smart card communication protocol uses a 8% NRZ ASK modulation scheme for transmission from the smart card communication device to the smart card and a ASK-NRZ load modulation scheme for transmission from the smart card to the smart card commendation device. The Type A and Type B smart card communication protocols are described in ISO/IEC 14443-2, "Identification cards—Contactless integrated circuit(s) cards—Proximity cards, Part 2: Radio Frequency power and signal interface, 1998-0621" available to the public. The third type of smart card communication protocol is in accordance with the description included in International Application Number PCT/US92/08892, titled "Non-contact Automatic Fare Collection System", filed Oct. 19,1992, and published May 13, 1993 as WO93/09516. The PCT publication is incorporated by reference herein.
Conventional systems do not provide for compatibility between the systems using different smart card communication protocols. With conventional systems, an ISO 14443 Type A smart card can only be used in a Type A system and an ISO 14443 Type B smart card can only be used in a Type B system.
The inconveniences and problems associated with several standards and protocols will increase as smart card systems become more popular and systems using different communication protocols are implemented within the same geographical location and for the same industry. For example, a smart card fare collection system for a mass transit bus system may use one type of smart card communication protocol and a smart card fare collection system for a subway train system may use another type of smart card protocol in the same city. Since many smart cards using different communication protocols do not differ in physical appearance, card holders may become confused regarding which systems will accept a particular smart card. In fare collection systems this may delay entrance and exit of commuters through the mass transit system.
One potential solution requires that the service providers utilizing smart card systems to provide multiple smart card communication devices at each location. Although this potential solution would allow customers having different types of smart cards to use their smart cards at the single location, it is limited in several ways. For example, the multiplicity of smart card readers and writers is not cost effective and will increase the size of smart card communication equipment. Further, if each type of smart card reader/writer has a separate reader or writer port, customers may still be confused since it may not be clear which smart cards can be used in each of the different smart card reader or writer ports.
Therefore, there is need for a smart card communication device, system and method for establishing communications using a plurality of smart card communication protocols.

Multiple protocol smart card communication device


The present invention provides a sensor panel and an image detecting device that can suppress generation of artifacts and an increase in noise. A sensor panel has an image detecting region formed from plural image sensor portions, data lines reading signals out from the image sensor portions, bidirectional diodes disposed at a peripheral edge of the image detecting region and connected to the data lines, and, at an upper layer of the bidirectional diodes, a semiconductor film that generates charges due to irradiation of electromagnetic waves. At the sensor panel, shield electrodes, that are connected to a common line, are disposed between the bidirectional diodes and the semiconductor film.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sensor panel and an image detecting device, and in particular, to a sensor panel provided with an electrostatic protective circuit that protects a circuit due to current flowing through when overvoltage is generated, and to an image detecting device using this sensor panel.
2. Related Art
Radiation image detecting devices, such as FPDs (flat panel detectors) and the like in which an X-ray sensitive layer is disposed on a TFT (thin film transistor) active matrix substrate and which can convert X-ray information directly into digital data, have been put into practice in recent years. As compared with a conventional imaging plate, an FPD has the advantages that an image can be confirmed immediately and that video images as well can be confirmed, and the popularization of FPDs has advanced rapidly.
In this type of radiation image detecting device, it is important to detect an X-ray image at a size that projects a human body, and therefore, substrates of large sizes exceeding 30×30 cm are needed. However, it is difficult to manufacture a substrate of such a large size from a silicon substrate. Therefore, currently, TFT active matrix substrates that are formed on a thin plate glass are mainly being used.
TFT active matrix substrates are employed as driving substrates for LCDs (liquid crystal displays), and are stable technologically and in terms of cost as well. Therefore, TFT array substrates for image detecting devices as well are mainly manufactured on assembly lines for TFTs for LCDs from the standpoint of cost.
A circuit diagram of a conventional TFT active matrix substrate 10′ for an image detecting device is shown in FIG. 11.
As shown in FIG. 11, the TFT active matrix substrate 10′ is structured such that a large number of pixels are arrayed in a two-dimensional form. The pixel is structured to include a charge collecting electrode 11′ that collects charges generated at an image sensor portion (not illustrated), a charge storage capacitor 5′ storing detected charge signals, and a thin film transistor (hereinafter called "TFT switch") 4′ for reading-out the charges stored in the charge storage capacitor 5′. Further, plural scan lines 101′ for turning the TFT switches 4′ on and off, and plural data lines 3′ for taking-out the charges stored in the charge storage capacitors 5′, are provided at the TFT active matrix substrate 10′. One electrode of each of the charge storage capacitors 5′ is grounded via a line (not illustrated) and is made to be ground level. Note that, in FIG. 11, the one electrode of the charge storage capacitor 5′ is illustrated as being connected to ground.
The respective data lines 3′ and the respective scan lines 101′ of the TFT active matrix substrate 10′ are connected to a common line 110′ via bidirectional diodes 30′ for circuit protection respectively, in order to prevent electrostatic breakage at the time of manufacturing.
An example of the structure of one diode 31′ that structures this conventional bidirectional diode 30′ is shown in FIG. 12.
In a TFT active matrix substrate that uses an amorphous silicon TFT, the diode 31′ can be structured easily by connecting the gate electrode and the drain electrode of the TFT switch, as shown in FIG. 12.
FIG. 13 shows an equivalent circuit focusing on one TFT element of the TFT active matrix substrate 10′ shown in FIG. 12.
As shown in FIG. 13, at each TFT element of the TFT active matrix substrate 10′, between the gate electrode and the data electrode of the TFT switch 4′ is equivalent to being connected by the bidirectional diode 30′ that is structured by the anodes and cathodes of two of the diodes 31′ respectively being connected to one another in parallel. Therefore, if the electrode potential of one becomes high, charges flow to the other, and the potential can be prevented from becoming high.
In the bidirectional diode 30′, it is important that, at the time of manufacturing, sufficient current flow (the bidirectional diode 30′ be low resistance) in order to protect the TFT active matrix substrate 10′, whereas on the other hand, at the time of image detection, in order to suppress noise and artifacts, it is important to not to flow the leak current. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 11, it is usually the case that the bidirectional diodes 30′ are inserted between the common line 110′, and the respective data lines 3′ and the respective scan lines 101′. Because the resistance value of the bidirectional diode 30′ varies greatly due to the potential difference between the two terminals, the aforementioned characteristic can be obtained.
However, in a case in which the bidirectional diode 30′ of such a structure is applied to a radiation image detecting device, the charges generated by the irradiation of X-rays and the like are stored between the photoelectric conversion layer and the interlayer insulating film. It is clear that, due thereto, there are cases in which the TFT element structuring the bidirectional diode 30′ malfunctions.
This phenomenon will be described in further detail hereinafter.
An example of the layer structures of a pixel portion, that detects an image, and the bidirectional diode 30′ portion of the TFT active matrix substrate 10′ is shown in FIG. 14.
In a direct-conversion-type radiation image detecting device in which a semiconductor film 6′ of Se or the like is formed as a photoelectric conversion layer on the TFT active matrix substrate 10′, a bias electrode 7′ is provided at the top layer of the semiconductor film 6′. By applying high voltage to the semiconductor film 6′, the semiconductor film 6′ works as a photoelectric converting element. For example, in the case of the semiconductor film 6′ which is mainly Se, high voltage of around 1 to 10 kV is applied to the Se film whose film thickness is about 0.1 to 1 mm.
On the other hand, also above the bidirectional diode 30′ at which the charge collecting electrode 11′ does not exist, almost all of the voltage that is applied to the bias electrode 7′ is applied to the semiconductor film 6′. For example, in a case in which the Se is 1 mm (relative permittivity of 7), an interlayer insulating film 12′ is 2 mm (relative permittivity of 3.5) and the voltage applied to the bias electrode 7′ is 10 kV, greater than or equal to 990 V is applied to the Se layer.
In this state, when X-rays are irradiated, charges are generated also at the semiconductor film 6′ above the bidirectional diode 30′, in the same way as at the pixel portion. However, because there is no flow-out destination for charges above the bidirectional diode 30′, the generated charges are stored and are held at the defect level within the semiconductor film 6′, or at the interface between the semiconductor film 6′ and the interlayer insulating film 12′. Due thereto, the potential becomes high at the upper layer portion of the bidirectional diode 30′, and voltage is applied via the interlayer insulating film 12′ to the channel portion of the TFT element structuring the bidirectional diode 30′. In this way, at the TFT element, operation that is similar to a case of applying bias to the back gate is brought about due to the defect level of the interface, and the resistance value decreases.
Originally, high resistance must be maintained without current flowing at the bidirectional diode 30′, except for cases in which high voltage is applied to the signal line for protection at the time of image detection.
However, when the charge amount stored at the interlayer insulating film 12′ becomes large, the resistance value of the bidirectional diode 30′ becomes low regardless of the voltage of the line. Leak current is generated via the bidirectional diode 30′, and becomes a cause of the occurrence of artifacts and an increase in noise.
Note that, as related art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 11-68078 discloses a structure of covering a driving means by shield electrodes in order to prevent electrostatic breakage.
However, the technique of JP-A No. 11-68078 restricted to the covering of a driving means by shield electrodes, and cannot prevent the occurrence of malfunctioning of an electrostatic protective circuit. Therefore, there is the problem that generation of artifacts and an increase in noise cannot be suppressed.


A system for providing a talk-over functionality from an attendant to a hearing aid user comprises a hearing aid (4), a link device (5) connected to the hearing aid (4), a computer (7) with a talk-over microphone (9), and a communications link (6) linking the computer (7) to the link device (5), the hearing aid user, the hearing aid (4), and the link device (5) being positioned in a sound-proof box (1). The computer (7) is adapted for receiving signals from the microphone (9), and for executing audio processing software for processing the microphone signals for converting them into compressed, digital audio signals and transmitting these signals via the communications link (6) to the link device (5). The link device (5) is adapted for decompressing the received signals and converting them into audio signals to be served to the hearing aid (4) in real-time. The system enables an attendant or a hearing aid fitter to talk to a hearing aid user via the communications link (6). This may, for instance, be useful when the hearing aid user is acoustically isolated from the fitter during fitting of the hearing aid (4). The invention provides a system and a method for providing a talk-over functionality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hearing aids and to methods of fitting hearing aids. This invention more specifically relates to the fitting of hearing aid systems to individual users, in particular to the fitting of systems utilizing some form of digital signal processing in the fitting chain.
2. The Prior Art
Talk-over or talk-back systems are used in a wide variety of applications, for instance in professional recording or broadcasting studios in the music industry, where they enable an auditive communications link from the control room to the studio itself. In these settings, the talk-back function enables the audio engineer or the producer to provide anyone in the studio with information, instructions or requests. The talk-back function is usually activated by a dedicated switch, conveniently placed on the mixing console or elsewhere in the control room, and relies on a talk-back microphone placed in the control room, a dedicated signal pathway and means for reproducing the signal from the talk-back microphone to the person(s) in the studio. To the best knowledge of the inventor it has, however, never been applied to the field of hearing aid fitting, perhaps due to the practical limitations involved.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,255,517 discloses a talk-back communication system permitting a plurality of remote transducer terminals to make replies to voice communication from a central transducer terminal. The talk-back signal path is initiated by activating a push button switch at any one of the remote transducer terminals, thereby temporarily breaking the normal signal path from the central transducer terminal to the remote transducer terminal in question, and restoring the normal signal path again by release of the switch when communication from the remote terminal ceases. This system, however, does not deal with transmission through a narrow-band communication channel, nor does it incorporate any digital signal path.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,093 B1 discloses a system for wireless voice broadcasting utilizing a computer network for delivering telephony between a number of wireless terminals via an internet or intranet server in a coded, digital audio format. Any of the wireless terminals may initiate transmission at any time, as the server software controls the signals from the individual transmitters.
WO 01/56331 provides an auditory prosthesis together with a programming device and means for transmitting signals from the hearing aid to the programming device.
EP 0453450 A1 discloses a device for wirelessly communicating programming data from a personal computer to a receiving hearing aid. During programming, the PC, running suitable hearing aid programming software, communicates instructions regarding gain in different frequency bands, compression, etc. to the hearing aid.
DE 19541648 describes a setup with a PC equipped with a transmitter/receiver module in wireless communication with a mobile transmitter module connected to a hearing aid.
Commercial systems for wireless programming of hearing aids via a link device are optimized for high throughput and simple hardware. This is achieved by using a variable bit rate and a relatively large digital packet size in the buffered communication protocol used. In a setup of this kind, the attainable bandwidth is about 250 kbps, which is sufficient for programming but unusable for uncompressed audio with full frequency range, claiming a bandwidth of around 2 Mbps.
Within the field of telecommunications it is known to reduce the bandwidth of an audio signal prior to digital conversion and transmission, for instance to a bandwidth of 64 kbps fixed rate transmission, as used in a standard ISDN telephone connection. However, driving a 64 kbps fixed rate transmission through a link device utilizing a variable bit-rate protocol requires a high rate of data packet transmissions, and thus, the number of data packets required for providing an effectively continuous transmission would be so large that the overhead in buffering and processing the individual data packets in the link device would consume too much time for the link device processor to achieve a continuous transmission without loss of some of the packets due to buffer overflow.
Recent development in digital hearing aids has provided fitters and audiologists with advanced tools for determining hearing loss, for selecting and fitting suitable hearing aids to compensate for the hearing loss, and for fine tuning hearing aids to match the user's hearing loss profile as closely as possible. The digital technology permits the use of dedicated software for performing these tasks by programming appropriate parameter values into the hearing aid processor. The most advanced, programmable hearing aids provide for several programmes to be stored in the memory of a hearing aid for instant recall and use at any one time by the hearing aid user.
Fitting of modem hearing aids to an individual user is typically performed by the audiologist by using the values from an individual audiogram determined at an earlier stage. The audiogram data are processed according to a fitting rule in order to determine suitable settings for optimum compensation of the user's hearing deficiency. The parameter settings are subsequently programmed into a hearing aid.
The fit may be tested and fine tuned in a procedure where the user is placed in a selected acoustic environment and allowed to listen and to test variations in the settings. For testing, simulated acoustic environments are generated in a test chamber, where the user is located. The audiologist will conduct the testing and will remotely adapt the hearing aid settings.
The fitting is an interactive procedure between the audiologist and the user. During the fitting, however, communication from the audiologist to the hearing aid user can be a real problem. A dedicated talk-over system could be used for this purpose, however, this represents an added capital cost and complication.

System and method for programming a hearing aid


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of managing a disk pool, the disk pool having a plurality of disks which are divided into a plurality of disk extents, the method comprising: determining the number of input/output (I/O) requests for disk extents in the disk pool within a predetermined period of time; determining respective hotness of the disk extents based on the number of I/O requests; determining hotness of the disks based on the hotness of the disk extents; and determining migration of data in the disk extents based on the hotness of the disk.

A Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) is a hard disk group formed by combining multiple independent disks in different manners. For a user, a disk array RAID is like a hard disk, but it may have a better storage capacity than a single hard disk, and may also provide data backup. When data in disk extents are damaged, data backup may be used to recover the damaged data, thereby protecting security of user data. Different combining manners of disk arrays are called RAID levels, such as RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 or the like.
It is often observed in a traditional disk array that user requests focus on partial data of certain disks in the disk array. If there are too many requests for processing the partial data, a hotspot issue will be caused. Due to limitations of hardware parameters of the single data disk per se, it cannot process excessive data processing requests separately. If the excessive data processing requests focus on a single disk or several disks, the limitation of the parameters of the disk per se will decelerate an access speed of the whole disk array.
With development of the disk array techniques, there are growing applications of mapped disk arrays at present. Different from traditional disk arrays having separately controllable disks, a plurality of mapped disk arrays is mapped to a disk pool, such that the plurality of disk arrays share a common disk pool. This greatly improves a utilization efficiency of the disk. However, since it does not improve the produced hot spot issue, there is also the problem of the reduced access speed of the disk pool caused by the hotspot issue in the mapped disk array.

Method and device for managing disk pool


A system for installing sub-surface fluid transport tubing and pressure testing coupling seals in a vertically oriented geothermal heating/cooling system installation, and particularly in a direct exchange system installation, includes providing an elevated containment area, that has a confined space opening, supported by extensions/poles, within which opening an upper portion of the fluid transport tubing segment, to be installed within the borehole, can be positioned and contained. The system further includes pressure testing above-ground segmental coupling seals, by using moderate gas pressure applied via temporary gas hose and plug connections to respective ends of the operatively connected fluid transport line set.

The present invention relates to an improved sub-surface direct exchange (also commonly referred to as "direct expansion")/geothermal tubing installation means, so as to enable only one man to install vertically oriented sub-surface heat exchange fluid transport tubing, utilized in direct expansion/water-source/geothermal heating/cooling system designs, together with an optional means to pressure test all brazed/welded/fused tubing joints as they are made, prior to final tubing/line installation completion, for use in association with any geothermal heating/cooling system, or partial geothermal heating/cooling system, utilizing sub-surface vertically oriented heat exchange elements as a primary or supplemental source of heat transfer.
Geothermal ground source/water source heat exchange systems typically utilize fluid-filled closed loops of tubing buried in the ground, or submerged in a body of water, so as to either absorb heat from, or to reject heat into, the naturally occurring geothermal mass and/or water surrounding the buried or submerged tubing. Water-source heating/cooling systems typically circulate, via a water pump, a fluid comprised of water, or water with anti-freeze, in plastic (typically polyethylene) underground geothermal tubing so as to transfer heat to or from the ground in a first heat exchange step. Via a second heat exchange step, a refrigerant is utilized to transfer heat to or from the water. Finally, via a third heat exchange step, an electric fan is utilized to transfer heat to or from the refrigerant to heat or cool interior air space.
Direct exchange/direct expansion ("DX") ground source heat exchange systems, where the refrigerant fluid transport lines are placed directly in the sub-surface ground and/or water, typically circulate a refrigerant fluid, such as R-22 or the like, in sub-surface refrigerant lines, typically comprised of copper tubing, to transfer heat to or from the sub-surface elements via a first heat exchange step. DX systems only require a second heat exchange step to transfer heat to or from the interior air space by means of an electric fan. Consequently, DX systems are generally more efficient than water-source systems because of less heat exchange steps and because no water pump energy expenditure is required. Further, since copper is a better heat conductor than most plastics, and since the refrigerant fluid circulating within the copper tubing of a DX system generally has a greater temperature differential with the surrounding ground than the water circulating within the plastic tubing of a water-source system, generally, less excavation and drilling is required, and installation costs are lower, with a DX system than with a water-source system.
While most in-ground/in-water heat exchange designs are feasible, various improvements have been developed intended to enhance overall system operational efficiencies. Several such design improvements, particularly in direct expansion/direct exchange geothermal heat pump systems, are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,986 to Wiggs; in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,314 to Wiggs, et al.; in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,928 to Wiggs; and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,601 B1 to Wiggs, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such disclosures encompass both horizontally and vertically oriented sub-surface heat geothermal heat exchange means.
The historical installation means and function of vertically oriented sub-surface fluid transport tubing in geothermal heating/cooling systems are well understood by those skilled in the art. However, such historical installation means virtually always requires at least two men to facilitate the installation. Typically, the men install the fluid transport tubing within a pre-drilled borehole/well to the desired depth, which depth may range from 50 feet to 500 feet, or more.
Generally, in water-source system applications, long lengths (typically 50 feet, or longer) of polyethylene tubing are butt-fused together and inserted into a borehole by at least two men, who insert the tubing manually and/or via machine.
Generally, in DX system applications, 50 foot lengths of soft copper are unrolled and then one of brazed and welded together and manually inserted into a borehole by at least two men. Even in the instances where common industry standard 20 foot lengths of hard, ACR grade, copper tubing have been utilized in vertical DX system testing applications, the installations have typically required at least two men. For example, one man would insert the tubing into the borehole while a second man would steady and guide the upper portion of the 20 foot tube and/or tubes while standing at an elevated location on a ladder, on scaffolding, or the like.
Further, historically in a DX system application, the copper refrigerant transport tubing within the borehole is typically only pressure checked for leaks, via a maximum system operational pressure test usually in the 300 psi to 600 psi range, once the complete refrigerant tubing assembly has been installed, prior to filling the empty space within the borehole with a heat conductive grout, as is well understood by those skilled in the art. Thus, if a leak is detected, the entire tubing assembly is subject to withdrawal, repair, and re-insertion, which can be quite time-consuming and costly.
Vertically oriented (herein meaning at least one of vertical and vertically angled, as opposed to horizontal) installation means of geothermal fluid transport tubing requiring two men is expensive and adds to the typically high costs of geothermal systems, thereby contributing to a marketing/sales impairment. Consequently, a means to provide an efficient manner in which to install vertically oriented geothermal DX, water-source, and the like, sub-surface heat exchange fluid transport tubing, as well as a means to pressure test each joint/coupling as it is made, would be preferable. The present invention provides a solution to these preferable objectives, as hereinafter more fully described.

Vertically oriented direct exchange/geothermal heating/cooling system sub-surface tubing installation means


An electrical power system includes a photovoltaic panel, configured to generate electrical power from a solar source. An output source is electrically coupled to the photovoltaic panel with a first maximum power point tracking charge controller. An inverter is electrically coupled to the photovoltaic panel with a second maximum power point tracking charge controller. A bi-directional buck/boost converter is electrically coupled to the first maximum power point charge controller and the second maximum power point charge controller and programmed with instructions to determine a photovoltaic panel current coming in from the photovoltaic panel. Then, direct an output source current to the output source. After that, direct a inverter current to the inverter.

The embodiments herein relate generally to generating electrical power from solar panels.
Prior to embodiments of the disclosed invention maximum power point voltage of a solar panel is highly dependent on the number of solar cells in a panel, solar irradiance, and atmospheric temperature. This requires efficient coupling so that the battery voltage is matched with the maximum power point voltage of the solar panel. This invention described here uses a single inverter to interface solar panels and batteries to the grid. Thus, eliminating the need to match the voltage of a solar panel to the voltage of the battery. Embodiments of the disclosed invention solve this problem.


A software system with task-specific flexible bindings that enhance the ability to dynamically add and remove resources from availability to tasks and that eliminates the need for coordination of globally unique names. The software system includes a task-specific name space which corresponds to a task executing in the software system. The task-specific name space holds flexible bindings each of which associates a task-specific name used by the task to refer to a desired resource or a set of one or more resources of the computer system and to information that describes the desired resource. The software system includes a resource mediator that obtains a message from the task. The resource mediator keeps information for each resource that identifies a resource handler task for the desired resource by resolving the task-specific name using the flexible binding.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of software systems. More particularly, this invention relates to providing task-specific flexible bindings in a software system.
2. Art Background
Software programs executing on a computer system commonly make use of resources available with the computer system. Such resources commonly include resources such as files, data bases, and application programs. Such resources also commonly include resources such as storage devices, printers, communication devices, and display devices to name only a few example devices. Such resources may be local resources of the computer system or may be remote resources accessible via a network connection to one or more other computer systems. A software program executing on the computer system that accesses resources is hereinafter referred to as a task.
Typically, a task refers to a resource using a resource name. The resource name is usually associated or bound to the resource. Prior computer systems typically include an operating system that binds the resource name used by a task to an internal representation for the corresponding resource. The internal representation usually provides information that enables the operating system to identify the corresponding resource. For example, the Unix operating system provides bindings between file names used by tasks and inode numbers which are used to identify the physical locations of the corresponding files on a physical storage media.
Unfortunately, such inflexible name bindings provided in prior systems usually limit the ability of tasks to access resources in a distributed system that includes multiple computer systems. In addition, such prior systems usually require extensive coordination of global resource names across distributed computer systems. Moreover, such prior systems usually limit the ability of resources to be dynamically added and removed from availability to the tasks.

Task-specific flexible binding in a software system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


According to one embodiment, a control apparatus for controlling a sensor that operates on power supplied by a power generator via an electric circuit including a rectifying and smoothing circuit converting AC power output from the power generator into DC power and a converter transforming an output voltage of the rectifying and smoothing circuit includes a first and a second signal generator and a controller. The first signal generator generates a first signal based on the output voltage of the rectifying and smoothing circuit. The second signal generator generates a second signal based on an output voltage of the converter. The controller switches an operation mode of the sensor between a sleep mode and an active mode based on the first and second signals.

A vibration power generator generates power by using an ambient vibration such as a vibration of a car or a train and a vibration caused by rain hitting the ground. Such a vibration power generator is expected to replace power sources (e.g., a battery) that have been used for sensor apparatuses such as a condition monitoring apparatus.
In a system in which a vibration power generator and a condition monitoring apparatus are connected to each other, the average amount of power generated by the vibration power generator is required to be larger than that consumed by the condition monitoring apparatus in order to operate the condition monitoring apparatus in a stable manner. Thus, it is important to reduce the average amount of power consumed by the condition monitoring apparatus.


A balloon catheter assembly for delivering nano-carriers to bifurcation lesions in one or more of a main branch and a side branch of a blood vessel bifurcation within 30 to 90 seconds is provided. The balloon catheter assembly includes two or more balloons designed for use in the blood vessel bifurcation. The balloon catheter assembly may also include one or more stents. A surface of one or more of the two or more balloons is coated with the nano-carriers. Stents, when included, may also be coated with the nano-carriers. The nano-carriers include one or more drugs encapsulated with one or more biological agents.

The current methods for treatment of bifurcation lesions include V-stenting, simultaneous kissing stent technique, kissing balloon technique, stent deployment in a main branch followed by angioplasty of a side branch, Drug Eluting Stents (DESs) specially designed for the bifurcation lesions, T-stenting, crush technique, provisional stenting and the like. The current methods of treatment of bifurcation lesions involve use of medical devices specially designed for use in the bifurcation such as, Bare Metal Stents (BMSs), DESs, Drug Eluting Balloons (DEBs) and angioplasty balloons.
When the BMSs are used for treating the bifurcation lesions, generally, the BMSs are deployed only in the main branch. The side branch is subjected to angioplasty or is left unattended. Alternatively, the BMSs are deployed in both the main branch and the side branch. Deploying the BMSs in both the main branch and the side branch may lead to metal overload in the bifurcation. The metal overload may further result in inflammation and thrombus formation. Also, owing to the complicated structure of the bifurcation, the BMSs may not be appropriate for treating the bifurcation lesions. Therefore, use of DEBs and DESs has gained significance in treatment of the bifurcation lesions.
However, the currently used DEBs and DESs use polymer for loading the drugs on surfaces of the DEBs and the DESs. Owing to the use of polymers, the currently used DEBs and DESs are associated with phenomenon like an inflammation, restenosis, an acute thrombus formation, a sub-acute thrombus formation and a late thrombus formation. Furthermore, in case of the DESs, the amount of drug that is supplied to the lesions generally depends on a metal to artery ratio. The metal to artery ratio of the currently used DESs is 10% to 20%. Therefore, only 10% to 20% of a portion of the lesions is supplied with the drug. In addition, because of the complicated structure of the bifurcation, the metal to artery ratio in case of the bifurcation is generally less than the metal to artery ratio in a general non-bifurcated artery.
In some instances, where the DEBs are used for treating the bifurcation lesions, the time for which the DEBs are exposed to the target site ranges from 30 to 90 seconds. The DEBs have to deliver an effective amount of the drug within these 30 to 90 seconds. In order to deliver the effective amount of the drug within these 30 to 90 seconds, a high amount of the drug has to be loaded on the DEBs. Even after loading a high amount of the drug, the DEBs may not deliver the desired amount of the drug in a short time of 30 to 90 seconds. Further, currently used DEBs can be loaded only with certain highly lipophilic drugs such as, paclitaxel. Whereas, the DEBs that can be loaded with a wider range of drugs are not available in the art.
Additionally, in the currently used DEBs, a drug is coated on the surface of the balloon when the balloon is in a folded configuration. Therefore, a substantial portion of the DEB remains uncoated with the drug. When the DEB is inflated, the portion of the lesion that is exposed to the uncoated portion of the DEB is not supplied with the drug. Therefore, the currently used DEBs may not adequately cover the entire portion of the bifurcation lesions.
Further, the particle size of the drugs as well as the polymers that are coated on the DESs and the DEBs are larger than the size of tissue pores at a target site. Therefore, a substantial amount of drug remains unabsorbed. The unabsorbed drug may be washed away in blood stream and may produce side effects.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved drug-delivering insertable medical device for treating the bifurcation lesions that is associated with reduced instances of restenosis, acute thrombus formation, sub-acute thrombus formation, and late thrombus formation. Further, there is need in the art for an improved drug-delivering insertable medical device that can deliver a desired amount of drug to the bifurcation lesions within 30 to 90 seconds with an optimum loading of the drug.

Method and a balloon catheter assembly for treating bifurcation lesions

CONCEPT MEDICAL RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED