The disclosure describes a portable garage with a ballast-containing base. The garage is assembled at a site without physical attachment thereto and disassembled for erection at another site. Each elongated base segment extending along the sidewall of the garage has a cavity therein for receiving ballast, which, after erection of the garage, is filled with water, sand or gravel. The weight thereof stabilizes the structure. The bases have extensions which interlock and overlie connector portions. Apertures through the connectors house support members and, upon the sidewall being assembled, these columns are vertically disposed. Between support members a prefabricated roof is attached. The ballast-container is a lightweight, molded plastic construct of high-impact, UV resistant material. The base is equipped with suitable inlet and outlet ports for the addition and removal of ballast.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a garage, and, more particularly, to a garage which is readily erected and disassembled and is secured in place by adding ballast, such as water, to cavities at the base of the walls. The structure is designed to be disposed atop a flat surface such as a blacktop driveway or a concrete slab without physical attachment thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, the automobile has been cared for in innumerable creative ways. The romance with the automobile, particularly in the United States, has led to devices and structures ranging from cloth covers tailored, like raincoats to fit the make and model of the automobile, to detached three- and four-car garages, some replete with living quarters for the chauffeur and his spouse. All of these have sought to protect the automobile from the elementsxe2x80x94both natural and corrosivexe2x80x94including, of course, sun, precipitation and acid rain, salt air, and industrial pollution.
Also, garage construction has usually been dominated by conventional construction methods involving footings or foundations with little attention being paid to the ability of being xe2x80x9cknocked downxe2x80x9d and re-erected at another site.
As will be seen in the prior art discussion which follows, xe2x80x9cJersey-typexe2x80x9d barriers have not been widely adapted to structures. In the solid form, the Jersey barrier has been used for a multilevel roadway structure. In 1987 the ballast-containing form of the Jersey barrier was introduced and the adaptive use thereof includes a highway sign support device.
In preparing for this application, several United States patents became known to the inventor hereof. The familiarity resulted from a review of several subclasses of Classes 52, 135, and 404, which review produced the following patents:
McKeownxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,020
The patent discloses a prefabricated reinforced concrete multi-level roadway structure. The structure is erected so as to cover an existing lane on a roadway and is assembled from modules that are cast, transported, and moved, as needed. The cover of the lower roadway forms the roadway of the upper lane with the bottom section thereof consisting of two xe2x80x9cJersey-typexe2x80x9d barriers.
Robinsonxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,228 and de Ridderxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,991
These patents disclose the use of water ballasted, inflatable tunnel systems for pressurized tunnel-type greenhouses. The tunnels are generally semicircular in cross section.
Spraguexe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,585
This patent discloses a portable xe2x80x9cJersey-typexe2x80x9d highway barrier constructed of light weight material has an interior cavity which can be filled with a fluid ballast. The barrier includes vertical slots which support highway sign.
Pincusxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,767
This patent discloses a prefabricated building construction including a prefabricated utility core which contains the entire power supply for a building.
Hitchinsxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,205
This patent discloses the associating of a conventional form for in-situ casting of concrete foundations with a pair of sacrificial adjuncts, including reinforcement pins, rods, and hook-bolts.
Henselxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,988
This 1923 patent discloses a portable shelter adapted to minimize the effectiveness of aerial bomb attacks. A netting or protective structure is stretched across and arranged to overlie the object to be protected, which netting is supported so as to yield at the moment of impact.
Lawsonxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,405
This patent discloses a lightweight, portable shelter which can be compactly folded up when not in use, and is erectable in various configurations to provide different types of canopies or shades.
Collierxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,335
This patent discloses a prefabricated shelter which consists of an arched framework having open opposite ends, an anchoring structure for securing the footing of the framework to the ground, and a roof assembly mounted to the top of the arched framework.
Montoyaxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,966
This patent discloses a vehicle enclosure for storing and protecting a vehicle. The enclosure has a base plate and a shell-like cover disposed thereover which, in turn, is hinged to the base plate. A retractable dolly is coupled to the cover with the dolly positionable in a retracted mode for placing the vehicle enclosure in a stowed configuration and in an extended mode for placing the vehicle enclosure in a transportable configuration.
The citing of the-above patents is not intended as an admission that any such patent constitutes prior art against the claims of the present application. Applicant does not waive any right to take any action that would be appropriate to antedate or otherwise remove any listed document as a competent reference against the claims of the present application.
Many technical problems relating to surface-mounted portable structures are overcome or resolved by the invention disclosed herein. The innovative approach becomes apparent in the description which follows.
The present invention is directed to a portable garage with a ballast-containing base. The garage is readily assembled at a chosen site without physical attachment thereto and disassembled for erection at another site. Base segments or portions, which are elongated and extend along the sidewalls of the garage, are configured with a cavity therein. The cavity for receiving ballast is, after the erection of the portable garage filled with water, sand or gravel. The weight of the ballast stabilizes the structure. The elongated base portions have extensions or tabs which interlock with a connector base portion. An aperture through the connector houses a support or column member and, upon the sidewall being assembled and set up, the columns are substantially, vertically disposed. The interposing of the two base portionsxe2x80x94one into the otherxe2x80x94is such that the weight of the ballast-containing base and column-receiving base portions. Between the support members a roof is attached. The roof is either prefabricated attaching directly to the support members or is assembled from discrete components mounted on roof beams or trusses which, in turn, are mounted to the support members.
The ballast-container or base has a cavity for receiving ballast and is a lightweight, molded plastic construct of high-impact, UV resistant material. A typical base unit weighs 6 to 7 lbs per linear foot and, typically, upon loading with ballast, 80 to 120 lbs. per linear foot. The base is equipped with suitable inlet ports and outlet ports for the addition and removal of ballast, namely, water, sand or gravel. The column base portions which interlock with the ballast-container base are further provided with a well for accommodating a flanged collar. The flange of the flanged collar rests on the floor or surface upon which the portable structure is erected and extends beyond the aperture housing the column. The column, in turn, is adjustably connected to the collar enabling the tops of the support columns to lie in a horizontal plane.
After erecting the portable garage, the ballast containers are filled through the inlet port with a ballast material of choice. Upon disassembly for relocating the structure, the ballast material is removed through the drain port. For ease of handling, the ballast containers nest for compact storage and transport.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a garage which is a readily erected and readily disassembled structure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sturdy, free-standing structure that is erectable by placement upon a concrete or blacktop surface.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a garage structure with ballast-containing walls.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a garage structure which is erected and disassembled using simple tools, and, upon disassembly, can be readily relocated.
It is a feature of the present invention that the weight of the ballast is sufficient to maintain the garage structure securely mounted to the floor.
It is another feature of the present invention to have inlet and outlet ports permitting the addition of and drainage of ballast material.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to have the ballast-containing wall portions interlockingly engage the column bases so as to provide support and stabilization therefor.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent upon review of the drawings and the detailed description which follow.

Portable garage with ballast-containing walls


A spiral scan MR imaging method is provided for acquiring an image of a specified section taken through an object, wherein the section has a generally elongated shape. Thus, first and second dimensions of the section, measured along first and second mutually orthogonal section reference axes, respectively, have a relationship such that the first dimension is substantially greater than the second dimension. The method includes the step of applying spatially selective RF excitation to an imaging volume containing the object, in order to select a slice which includes the specified section. The method further includes the step of generating a read-out gradient defining a selected anisotropic spiral trajectory in an associated k-space domain having first and second mutually orthogonal k-space reference axes, which respectively correspond to the first and second section reference axes. A set of data samples is acquired during an acquisition period, each of the data samples corresponding to a sampling point on the anisotropic spiral trajectory, the spacing between adjacent sampling points measured along the first k-space axis being substantially less than the spacing therebetween measured along the second k-space axis.

The invention disclosed and claimed herein generally pertains to an improved spiral scanning technique for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. More particularly, the invention pertains to such technique wherein image quality is improved by means of an anisotropic scan trajectory, and an anisotropic field of view (FOV).
As is well known, spiral scanning is an MR imaging method which has been used to achieve much shorter scan times than can be achieved with conventional MR techniques, for a wide range of applications. The basis for such method is a spiral imaging sequence, where data from k-space is acquired in a spiral rather than the more conventional recti-linear trajectory. In a spiral acquisition, the gradients in the logical X- and Y-axes start from zero and increase in amplitude in a quasi-periodic fashion. This has the effect of a trajectory that starts from the center of k-space and spirals out to some maximum value. Such technique is described, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,435, issued Feb. 18, 1997 to Thomas K. Foo and Kevin F. King, the inventor herein. Such technique is further described in other references cited in such patent.
In MR imaging generally, the product of scan time and read-out time is proportional to the product of spatial resolution and field of view. Accordingly, the substantially reduced scan time achieved by the spiral scanning technique requires a longer read-out time, if equivalent spatial resolution is to be maintained. Unfortunately, the spins of off-resonant frequencies tend to cause blurring in a spiral scan image, in proportional relationship to read-out time. In some circumstances, the degree of blurring in a spiral scan image resulting from the increased read-out time is quite intolerable.
For a conventional spiral scan, wherein the time required to reach maximum gradient amplitude is negligible, the read-out time T.sub.r is approximated by the expression T.sub.r .apprxeq..pi.D.sup.2 /4 MBr.sup.2. In such expression, D is the FOV diameter, M is the number of spiral interleaves, B is the band width of the associated MR system receiver, and r is resolution element size. From such expression, the effects of alternative measures to decrease read-out time T.sub.r, in order to reduce off-resonant blurring, will be readily apparent. If T.sub.r is decreased either by decreasing D or increasing r, field of view or spatial resolution, respectively, will be reduced. If T.sub.r is reduced by increasing M, i.e., by using more interleaves, the scan time will be increased. If T.sub.r is decreased by using higher receiver band width, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the MR system will be decreased. Each of these results is generally undesirable. Accordingly, the off-resonant blurring effects encountered in spiral scanning have, in the past, tended to place a limit on the maximum spatial resolution and minimum scan time which could be achieved with such technique.

MR imaging method using anisotropic spiral scanning trajectory


A display device dynamically determines pixel settle times to reduce a display latency. The display device includes a backlight unit (BLU) for providing light for displaying an image, a plurality of pixels for modulating the light provided by the BLU, and a controller circuit for controlling the BLU and the plurality of pixels. The controller circuit determines a settle time from display data for a current display frame and display data for a previous display frame, and turns on the BLU based on the determined settle time. The determined settle time corresponding to an expected amount of time for the plurality of pixel to transition from a first state corresponding to the display data for the previous display frame to a second state corresponding to the display data for the current display frame.

Digital systems suffer from latency issues, where an output is slightly delayed from an input that triggers the output. For example, the image displayed by a display devices (such as televisions, monitors, and head-mounted displays) is slightly delayed from an input signal provided to the display device. In some applications (e.g., gaming or virtual reality), it is desirable to minimize such display latency. For example, in a virtual reality application, a large display latency may increase an amount of motion sickness experienced by the user of a head-mounted display. Additionally, in a gaming application, a large display latency may reduce the immersion of the player and may reduce a player's ability to accurately control an object (such as a character) in the game.


A method of generating steam for a steam turbine includes extracting a first partial flow of saturated steam from a steam drum. The first partial flow of saturated steam is throttled and then superheated by heat exchange with a second partial flow of the saturated steam. A steam power plant includes a steam turbine having a water/steam cycle in which a steam drum is connected. A separate sealing-steam line leads from said steam drum to said steam turbine. A heat exchanger in said sealing-steam line has a primary side and a secondary side. The primary side is connected to said steam drum and a throttle member is connected between said secondary side and said steam drum. A method of starting a steam turbine of a steam power plant usees the sealing steam. The steam surbine is put at an especially low risk of corrosion even during restarting after shutdown.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of generating sealing steam for a steam turbine, a steam power plant having a steam turbine and a method of starting up a steam turbine with sealing steam.
During an evaporation of water through the supply of heat, the water evaporates completely or partly. Steam which arises in that case is in thermal equilibrium with remaining water and is normally described as saturated steam. Such saturated steam may possibly contain considerable portions of water so that machine parts exposed to the saturated steam may sustain damage, for example in the form of corrosion. For that reason and/or for thermodynamic reasons, superheating of saturated steam is necessary during the utilization of steam as process steam in the chemical industry or as a working medium in a steam power plant. In order to superheat the saturated steam, it is normally first of all separated from the water before further heat is supplied to it.
In a steam power plant working according to the natural circulation principle, an evaporator disposed in a steam generator is normally connected to a steam drum on both the water and steam side. The water/steam mixture produced in the evaporator is fed to the steam drum, which serves to separate water and steam. From the steam drum, the water is again fed to the evaporator so that there is complete circulation. The steam is in equilibrium with the water in the steam drum and is therefore present as saturated steam. A useful-steam outlet is disposed at the steam drum in order to divert saturated steam obtained by evaporation, as useful steam. During operation of the steam power plant, the useful steam is normally fed to a superheater heating surface and is superheated there. The steam which is thus superheated is then fed to the steam turbine where it expands so as to perform work.
During a starting operation of the steam power plant, for example after a night shutdown, it is necessary to feed sealing steam to the steam turbine. The introduction of the sealing steam into a sealing region between the turbine shaft and the turbine casing ensures that the interior of the turbine is sealed off from the surroundings of the steam turbine. In that case, feeding of unsuperheated steam or saturated steam as sealing steam puts structural parts of the steam turbine at increased risk through corrosion or stress loading. Therefore, the feeding of superheated steam as sealing steam is necessary in particular for a steam power plant which is to be started again after frequent night shutdowns. However, the temperature level in the steam generator is often not sufficiently high in order to ensure sufficient steam superheating through the use of the superheater heating surfaces provided in the steam generator, especially during a starting operation after a night shutdown. The same or similar requirements are also often imposed on the process steam mentioned at the outset.

Method of generating sealing steam for a steam turbine, steam power plant having a steam turbine and method of starting up a steam turbine


An information reproducer which includes reading device for a reading visual information and sound information printed on a printing sheet, a storage device for storing the visual information and the sound information read by the reading device, a display device for selectively displaying the stored visual information on a screen, a visual information designating device for designating a partial area of the visual information displayed on the display screen, a connecting device for connecting the partial area of the visual information designated by the designating device with a part of the sound information corresponding thereto, and a sound information reproducing device for reading, from the storage device, and reproducing the sound information connected with the designated visual information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information reproducer and an information creating unit, and more particularly to an information processing system wherein sound information converted into two-dimensional bar code is related to visual information (an information source such as document information, image information and graphic information) which has been utilized by various document processors such as a Japanese word processor, various image processors such as an optical file, and communication terminals, POS terminals, cash registers having various information transferring functions and the like, the related information thus obtained is printed on a printing sheet, and the visual information and the sound information are connected together based on the related information which is printed so as to transfer information.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, a record medium such as a printing sheet or a floppy disk has mainly been used as means for interchanging and distributing information. Every document and image information is recorded on the record medium. However, a printing sheet having bar code descriptions has been proposed in place of the record medium. The code descriptions encode and describe document information, image information and the like.
If such a printing sheet is used to interchange and distribute data, costs can be reduced as compared with the case where a floppy disk is used. In addition, the printing sheet serves for security because data cannot directly be decoded.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 5-12288 has disclosed an information processor in which document information and the encoded document information are printed and used. According to the information processor described above, the document information is converted into the encoded information having one-dimensional bar code such as JIS code, and the encoded information thus obtained is printed on a recording sheet. The recording sheet is read and inverted as required, so that the encoded information is returned to the document information for use. In the case where the recording sheet is copied or transmitted by a facsimile, the encoded information is not degraded and information absence or error can be prevented from occurring very often.
However, since information volume expressed in bar code which can be recorded on a printing sheet or the like is small, application is restricted. For example, the printing sheet is not suitable for encoded sound information.
Sound information is generally recorded on a record medium such as a magnetic tape or a CD. Instead, a printing sheet which records the sound information in two-dimensional bar code having a mesh pattern has been considered.
The two-dimensional bar code means a mark (two dimensional pattern) which can optically be read and given to virtual matrix (two-dimensional) lattice.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 3-11482 has disclosed a sound recording method and device and a sound reproducing method and device wherein sound information is printed on a printing sheet in two-dimensional bar code. According to the sound recording method and device and the sound reproducing method and device, a sound is digitized, and the digital data thus obtained is converted into an image having a mesh pattern so as to be printed on a printing sheet. Inversely, the printing sheet on which the image having a mesh pattern is printed is read by an image reader, digitized and analog-converted so that a sound can be reproduced.
Although sound information can be printed on the sheet, it is not related to other printing information on the periphery. The sound information recorded on a sheet is only reproduced as a group of sound information and cannot be further utilized.
Accordingly, if it is possible to relate the sound information to other visual information, and to reproduce the sound information as required, and call and edit the visual information corresponding to the sound information, additional values can be obtained.
There have been known an apparatus in which the document for plural pages can be reduced and printed on a sheet (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 61-177068) and an apparatus in which a plurality of document information are collectively outputted to a single-unit copying sheet, the abstract of the document information stored in a storage sheet is created and retrieval information is added to a copying sheet (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 3-291754).
However, even though plural kinds of information such as document information, image information and the like are reduced, printed and arranged on a sheet, and such information is read from the printing sheet by a scanner, the information are not reduced by encoding so that it is hard to restore and reuse them as type information.

Information reproducer and information creating unit


Methods for distributing gases throughout the interstices of porous materials and removing volatile substances from the interstices of porous materials. Continuous oscillation of pressures and flows results in increased penetration of the interstices by flowing gases and increased transport of gaseous components out of the interstices. The invention is particularly useful in soil vapor extraction.

This invention is useful in infusing a porous material with a gas, which may be comprised of a volatile substance or suspended solids, and removing a gas from a porous substance. A significant application of the invention is in soil vapor extraction (SVE), which is also referred to as soil venting, air stripping, vacuum extraction, etc. The invention will be explained primarily in terms of this application, but it is to be understood that there are numerous other applications for use of the inventive method. For example, the invention may be used in drying gypsum wallboard material and bioremediation, where microbes are used to destroy contaminants in soil or other porous materials and oxygen must be added to maintain the microbe population.
SVE is often the preferred method to clean up soil which is contaminated with volatile materials. In numerous locations, chemicals such as gasoline and other hydrocarbons have leaked into the earth or have been dumped into the earth. These chemicals, often referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOC's), migrate down through the earth and contaminate groundwater, imperiling water used by much of the population. It is generally agreed that it is preferable to remove the contaminants before they reach the water table. In its basic form, SVE involves drilling one or more wells, installing solid well casing above the contaminated soil and porous well casing where a well passes through the contaminated soil, and using a vacuum source to reduce the pressure in the well or wells. The vacuum source is usually an industrial blower having its suction side connected to the well by piping. VOC's contaminating the soil are drawn out of the soil as a result of reduced pressure in the well and are passed into means for capturing or destroying them, such as activated carbon, on which they are absorbed. VOC's in the soil in liquid form are vaporized. Air from the atmosphere usually passes through the contaminated soil into the well and carries VOC's to the vacuum source. Air may be blown into an air supply well having a porous casing, using a blower or other pressure source, to increase the flow of air which sweeps VOC's from the soil. A steady flow or an intermittent flow of gas is used. The present invention provides methods in which oscillatory pressures and flows are used to enhance the extraction rate of volatile substances.
Since information on how to conduct SVE can be easily found, it is not necessary to discuss it in detail herein. U.S Pat. No. 4,593,760 (Visser et al.) teaches a basic method of SVE. U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,672 (Payne) teaches an SVE process in which a vacuum source is used to remove air and VOC's from a borehole, the VOC's are separated from the air, and the air is recycled back into the ground by means of a pressure source to pick up more VOC's; the present invention can be employed in the practice of this process by applying oscillation to both the flow of gas into the ground and the flow out of the soil or to just one of the flows. The use of both injection wells and extraction wells is also discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,042 (Schuring et al.). U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,852 (Plunkett) teaches a process for removing contaminants from excavated material; the present invention may be used with this process. The present invention may also be used with the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,448 (Koerner et al.), which involves placing an impermeable barrier over a contaminated area and reducing the pressure under the barrier to draw out VOC's. U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,085 (Chips) and 4,983,364 (Buck et al.) deal with separating VOC's from an air stream pulled from an extraction well.

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A field emission plane light source generally incorporates an anode and a cathode. The anode includes an anode substrate, an anode conductive layer formed on a surface of the anode substrate, and a fluorescent layer formed on the anode conductive layer. The cathode includes a cathode substrate facing and separated from the anode substrate, a cathode conductive layer formed on a surface of the cathode substrate, and an electron emission layer formed on the cathode conductive layer and facing the fluorescent layer of the anode. The cathode and anode substrates have a seal formed therebetween. The electron emission layer includes a glass matrix and a plurality of carbon nanotubes, metallic conductive particles and getter powders dispersed therein. A method for making such field emission plane light source is also provided.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to cold cathode luminescent field emission devices and, particularly, to a field emission plane light source employing a getter to exhaust unwanted gas from therein, thereby ensuring a high degree of vacuum. The invention also relates to a method for making a field emission plane light source.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Recently, with the development of the plane display technology, field emission display (FED) technology has been paid more attention. FED technology potentially offers, e.g., higher brightness, lower energy consumption, broader visual angle, higher contrast than possible with liquid crystal or plasma displays. FED technology could be utilized in many fields including, e.g., personal computers, mobile communications, flat screen displays/televisions, etc.
Generally, a field emission plane light source is employed in a field emission display as a light source. A nanotube-based field emission plane light source usually includes a cathode having carbon nanotubes and an anode having a fluorescent layer. In use, a strong electrical field is provided for between the cathode and anode, the strong electrical field excites the carbon nanotubes of the cathode to emit electrons, and the electrons bombard the fluorescent layer of the anode to thereby produce visible light. For a field emission plane light source, a high degree of vacuum within an interior portion thereof is a virtual necessity. In general, the better of the degree of vacuum that is able to be generated and maintained within the field emission plane light source during the sealing process, the better of the field emission performance thereof is. To maintain the degree of vacuum within a desired range, a conventional way is to provide a getter in the inner portion thereof. Such a getter is able to exhaust a gas produced by the fluorescent layer and/or any other residual gas remaining within the field emission plane light source upon sealing and evacuation thereof. The getter is suitably selected from a group consisting of non-evaporable getters and evaporable getters.
For the evaporable getter, a high-temperature evaporating process has to be provided during the fabrication of the field emission plane light source, and a plane/surface arranged in the inner portion of the field emission plane source has to be provided to receive the evaporated getter. Thus, the cost of the fabrication of the field emission plane light source can be expected to increase, and the cathode and anode electrodes are prone to shorting during the high temperature evaporating process, thereby increasing the chance of the failure of the field emission plane light source. For the non-evaporable getter, it is typically located at a position away from the cathode, and, thus, the degree of vacuum of portions near to the cathode tends to be poorer, in the short-term, than that of portions near to the getter, at least until internal equilibrium can be reached, thereby decreasing the field emission performance of the cathode or at least potentially resulting in a fluctuating performance thereof.
What is needed, therefore, is a field emission plane light source that overcomes the above-mentioned shortcomings to ensure a high degree of vacuum thereof, thus providing a better and more steady field emission performance during the use thereof.
What is also needed is a method for making such a field emission plane light source.

Field emission plane light source and method for making the same


A system and method removes material from the wall of a passage, such as a vein or artery, in a patient's body with a series of bristles that are rotated. The bristles are part of a sweep catheter having a proximal end and a distal end with a tip thereon. Bristles next to the tip extend out from the distal end a shorter distance than the bristles further from the tip. The bristles, which have smaller bristles or sub-bristles thereon, are inclined away from the tip as they extend out from the distal end of the sweep catheter. The bristles push removed materials away from the tip and towards a suction channel of a guide catheter whereby the materials are removed.

The present invention relates to removal of thrombus from arteries. More generally, it relates to a system and method for widening passages in the human body.
Within the human body are various passages which convey fluids. Material may build up on the walls of such passages such that partially blockages may occur. Indeed, such partially blockages may eventually become complete blockages. Whether the blockages are partial or complete, there usually are adverse health consequences.
In the cardiovascular system in particular, a vein or artery may be partially or completely blocked. The veins or venous blood vessels may be blocked (i.e., meaning partially or completely) by a soft blood clot called a thrombus. The arteries or arterial blood vessels may be blocked by a thrombus. In either the vein or artery, plaque or other such blockages should be treated using one or more medical procedures.
The following patents are noted:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent No. Issue Date ______________________________________ Auth 4,445,509 May 1, 1984 Auth 4,646,736 March 3, 1987 Summers 4,850,957 July 25, 1989 Stack et al 4,867,156 Sept. 19, 1989 Auth 4,990,134 February 5, 1991 Stack et al 5,059,211 October 22, 1991 Stack et al 5,306,286 April 26, 1994 Auth et al 5,314,407 May 24, 1994 Auth et al 5,364,393 November 15, 1994 Cragg 5,370,653 December 6, 1994 ______________________________________
The Stack patents disclose a catheters for removing plaque from the wall of an artery using blade elements and devices to work with such cutting catheters.
The Auth patents show various structures for breaking up thrombus. Diamond dust covered abrasive devices, a cutting tool with spirally shaped cutting flutes, and electrical ablation are among the techniques disclosed.
The Cragg patent and the Summers patent both show cutting catheter systems and methods. Cragg has rotatable soft flexible bristles, whereas Summers has a cutting arrangement with a continuous filament brush and an alternate cutting blade design.
Although the above and other designs may have been somewhat useful, they are often subject to one or more of several disadvantages.
Prior cutting devices often must be sized to fit the particular passage which is being treated. In other words, one must use a different size cutter for different size vessels. Disadvantageously, one must then keep more than one cutter and determine the correct size before putting the cutter into the patient such that the correct size cutter is used. Use of a cutter that is too small does not remove all of the plaque or other built up material. Use of a cutter that is too large increases the chances of damaging healthy tissues on the wall of the passage.
Some prior devices for cutting or removing material from the walls of passages in a patient are constructed such that they may damage healthy tissues on the wall of the passage even if they are the right size. Depending on the characteristics of the blocking material, adjacent healthy tissue, and the cutting device (for example, if the cutting device is too rigid), damage may occur when cutting.
A further problem with some prior arrangements is that materials removed from the wall of a blood vessel for example can create problems downstream from the original blockage. Removed materials can resettle downstream and create a partial or complete blockage at a new location. Depending on the size of material pieces, a heart attack, stroke, or other health problems can result from removing blood vessel obstructing material. Some techniques use chemical solutions to try to dissolve the pieces. Depending on the chemical used, this may require that the passage be blocked by a balloon for a considerable period of time. A catheter controlled balloon may be used downstream from where material is being removed. The balloon prevents removed material from passing by it until the material is dissolved. Suction devices have also been used for removing material.


An improved process for catalytic reformers and their use for the catalytic reforming of petroleum naphthas. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved reformer unit which can be operated at higher throughput relative to compressor size. The invention utilizes pressure swing adsorption to improve the hydrogen content of hydrogen containing streams generated by and utilized in catalytic reforming processes. The invention also has the capability of enabling compressor-limited catalytic reforming units to be operated at increased capacities.

Catalytic naphtha reforming is an established petroleum refinery process. It is used for improving the octane quality of hydrocarbon feeds in the naphtha boiling range. Generally, reforming refers to the total effect of molecular changes on a hydrocarbon feed, produced by a number of reactions. Typical reforming reactions include dehydrogenation of cyclohexanes, dehydroisomerization of alkylcyclopentanes, dehydrocyclization of paraffins and olefins, isomerization of substituted aromatics, and hydrocracking of paraffins. Typical reforming catalysts are multifunctional catalysts having a hydrogenation-dehydrogenation component dispersed on a porous, inorganic oxide support. The support typically also contains an acid functionality, normally provided by the use of a halogen, to mediate the reforming reactions.
A reforming unit typically comprises a plurality of serially connected reactors with furnaces for supplying additional heat to the reaction stream as it passes from one reactor to the next in order to compensate for the heat utilized in the overall endothermic character of the process. Conventionally, reforming processes have been operated as semi-regenerative or cyclic processes using fixed bed reactors or as continuous processes such as UOP CCR Platforming™ (Continuous Catalytic Regeneration Platforming™) using moving bed reactors. Proposals have been made for combining fixed and moving bed reactors using regenerators appropriate to the individual reactor types. Units of this hybrid type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,638; U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,639; U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,110; U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,838; U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,463; U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,451; U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,720 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,843. Similar hybrid reforming units using combinations of fixed bed and moving bed reactors are described in NPRA Paper No. AM-96-50 "IFP Solutions for Revamping Catalytic Reforming Units" (1996 NPRA Annual Meeting, 17-19 Mar. 1996). U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,973 describes a moving bed reforming unit in which two moving bed reactor stacks share a common regenerator. UOP has recently announced its CycleX™ Process for increased hydrogen production from a fixed bed reforming unit by the addition of a circulating catalyst reactor as the final reactor in the reactor sequence. This reactor is provided with its own heater and regenerator as an expansion of existing assets rather than as a substitution of them: NPRA Paper AM-03-93.
Whatever the configuration of the unit, however, fixed bed semi-regenerative, fixed bed cyclic, continuous or hybrid, a hydrogen recycle loop is provided in order to maintain an adequate volume of hydrogen at a suitable pressure in all the reactors. Although the reformer is a net producer of hydrogen, it is necessary to maintain a hydrogen:oil ratio within defined limits in order to minimize catalyst aging. The hydrogen which is has been generated or recycled is not pure and, in fact, typically contains significant quantities of light hydrocarbons which have not been completely removed in the separators which follow the reactor section. The term "light hydrocarbons" used herein means a hydrocarbon mixture comprised of hydrocarbon compounds of about 1 to about 5 carbon atoms in weight (i.e., C1 to C5 weight hydrocarbon compounds). The composition of the recycle gas, together with other process variables is a significant process variable. Reformer units are typically designed for a maximum feed rate, recycle gas rate, and recycle gas composition. Once these maximum design conditions are exceeded, the pressure drop in the system can exceed the ability of the recycle gas compressor to achieve an acceptable recycle rate without increasing system pressure. Increasing the pressure may not, however, be desirable in many cases as it will tend to reduce reformate and hydrogen yields, or the unit may already be operating near the maximum design pressure of the equipment.
We have now devised an improved configuration for catalytic naphtha reforming units which enables recycle gas compressor limitations to be overcome and which enables existing units to be operated at a capacity exceeding those imposed by compressor limitations and new units utilizing such embodiments may be operated at a greater nominal capacity.

Catalytic reformer unit and unit operation

EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY


An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate moving in a scan direction to light directed via an original. The apparatus includes a projection optical system configured to image a pattern of the original on the substrate, a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to move, and a detector configured to detect a surface position of the substrate, held and moved in the scan direction at a scan speed by the substrate stage, in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the projection optical system over a detection region preset on the substrate. The apparatus further includes a controller configured to preset the detection region, to change a detection time over which the detector detects a surface position of the substrate based on a change in the scan speed of the substrate stage so that the detector detects a surface position of the substrate over the preset detection region, and to control at least one of a position and a tilt of the substrate stage with respect to the direction parallel to the optical axis based on a detection obtained by the detector.

As the density of VLSI circuits has increased, the circuit patterns themselves continue to be miniaturized. This miniaturization of circuit patterns has in turn engendered higher numerical apertures (NA) for the miniaturized projection lens systems used in semiconductor exposure apparatuses, such that the permissible depth of focus of the lens during the process of transferring the circuit pattern has become shallower. At the same time, the area to be exposed by the miniaturized projection lens system during the manufacture of a semiconductor chip has increased. Given these conflicting trends, there is a growing need for a scanner-type semiconductor exposure apparatus capable of enlarging the exposure area and NA while still using a stepper-type lens equivalent.
In a scanner-type exposure apparatus, a common method used to make a good exposure transfer of a circuit pattern across the entire exposure area involves scanning the wafer surface that is to receive the transfer of the circuit pattern on a reticle (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the focus plane of the wafer surface of the miniaturized projection lens system) so as to detect the position and tilt of the wafer surface and continuously adjusting the position and tilt of the focus plane via an auto-focus/auto-leveling correction drive operation so as to continuously present the best possible imaging surface to the projection lens.
There are several commonly known methods of detecting the height of the wafer and the position of the wafer surface (i.e., the position and tilt of the wafer surface described above) in such an arrangement. One commonly known method involves using a detection optical system to direct a beam of light onto the wafer surface at an angle thereto and to detect a positional deviation in the reflected light as a positional deviation on a sensor. Another commonly known method involves using a gap sensor, such as an air micro-sensor or an electrostatic capacitance sensor, to scan a plurality of points on the surface of the wafer and determine the exact position of the wafer surface from that scan.
Further, in the methods described above, in order to position the entire wafer exposure area (also called a "shot") securely within the permissible depth of focus of the miniaturizing projection lens system—a depth of which, as described above, has become shallower with advances in the NA—the whole process is closely controlled so as to avoid the local topography beneath the point of scanning detection (or of light reflection), which can give erroneous readings, by using a plurality of positions within the shots as detection points, comparing the readings at the detection points against an optimum focus setting surface, measuring the difference (if any), and offsetting it.
Use of this sort of measurement offset is accomplished by one of two methods. The first method involves measuring the measurement offset itself using a pilot wafer to manage the job. The second method involves using the first wafer after a change in the wafer production lot to obtain the measurement offset, which is then used to process that lot.
However, the conventional apparatuses and methods have several problems, which are detailed below.
The scanning speed of a slit-scan-type exposure apparatus is calculated from the apparatus intensity (that is, the illumination intensity within the exposure slit defined by the masking plate) and the wafer surface resist sensitivity so as to yield a best exposure amount.
The intensity of the apparatus can be controlled by the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency, and is set to make the best exposure amount constant in the face of process discrepancies. Here, the term "process discrepancies" means the phenomenon in which the best exposure amount fluctuates within the same wafer due to unevenness in the resist coating on the wafer surface or unevenness in the high-speed dispersion furnaces used in the after-process baking of the wafers (wafer surface oxidation).
The scanning speed and the intensity of the apparatus are interrelated, insofar as, for a given wafer surface resist sensitivity, the scanning speed increases when the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency increase. Conversely, the scanning speed decreases when the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency decrease.
In other words, in the conventional art, a fixed scanning speed can be made constant for the same job or in the same lot by adjusting the best exposure amount using the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency to account for process discrepancies, with the above-described measurement offset obtained for the pilot wafer or the lead wafer in the production used in the processing of that lot.
However, since the scanning speed calculated in such a case becomes the lowest of the speeds among which it is possible to select with respect to the process discrepancies, a problem arises in the throughput. The problem is magnified in the case of DRAMs, which tend to have large individual production lots.
Also, when using low-output laser light source such as Argon-Fluorine (ArF) lasers and F2 lasers, the intensity of the apparatus is insufficient relative to the scanning speed, which is reduced accordingly. As a result, when attempting to control for the best exposure amount using the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency for the process discrepancies, the lack of scanning speed makes improvements in throughput difficult to achieve.
Moreover, even if the scanning speed is increased in order to improve the throughput, the insufficiency of apparatus intensity relative to the scanning speed makes it difficult to control the best exposure amount using the laser output and the laser oscillation frequency in the face of process discrepancies.
One measure used to solve the above-described problem involves controlling the best exposure amount for the process discrepancies by changing the scanning speed with each shot and each wafer, thereby making maximum use of the apparatus intensity. However, the time allotted for the operation of detecting and measuring the position and tilt of the wafer surface while being synchronized with the scanning operation is fixed, so the scan area will vary from shot to shot and wafer to wafer if the scanning speed is changed with each shot and each wafer.
If, in such circumstances, the above-described conventional control method are used to carry out the measurement offset described above, the size of the scan area will be different for the measurement offset and the exposure, leading to an error in the measurement offset for the optimum focus setting surface.
Conversely, seeking the measurement offset for each scanning speed, although it does not lead to errors in the measurement offset for the optimum focus setting surface, does reduce throughput drastically due to the great frequency with which opportunities arise to seek the measurement offset.

Surface position detection apparatus and method, and exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the exposure apparatus


A semiconductor integrated circuit which has the function of self-checking defective bits, and which informs the exterior of its status when it has reached the status incapable of self-repair due to the limitation of the storage capacity of hardware for repairing the defective bits.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit in a memory LSI, a logic LSI, a microcomputer, or the like which has a memory cell array and circuits for selecting desired memory cells included in the memory cell array. More particularly, it relates to techniques for repairing the defects of memory cells in such a semiconductor integrated circuit. By way of example, the techniques are effective when applied, to a memory LSI of large storage capacity such as a DRAM (dynamic random access memory).
Semiconductor integrated circuits have had their densities of integration heightened and their circuit elements microfabricated, and some of them are furnished with redundant constituents in order to enhance the available percentages thereof. When defects are found at an inspection stage of work such as a wafer probe test, a program for selecting the redundant constituents capable of repairing the defects are set with, for example, fuses.
While the conventional defect repair based on the redundant constituents has been furthered one step, a semiconductor integrated circuit with the self-check and self-repair function of deciding the presence or absence of defects by itself and repairing any present defect for itself within the semiconductor integrated circuit has been proposed in IEEE, 1989, CUSTOM INTEGRATED CIRCUITS CONFERENCE, Built-In Self-Repair Circuit for High-Density ASMIC, p. 26. 1. 1-p. 26. 1. 4. Such a technique stated in the bulletin is one which is directed toward ASMICs (Application Specific Memory ICs), and in which a memory is internally checked and self-repaired by affording external clock pulses. It is intended to shorten a time period for testing a wafer etc. and a time period for programming repair addresses with the fuses or the likes in the conventional defect repair based on the redundancy.

Semiconductor integrated circuit having self-check and self-repair capabilities


To maintain the width of a vehicle body structure for a motorcycle wherein the rigidity of a vehicle body may be increased without increasing the width of the vehicle. Alternatively, to enable to restrain an increase in the weight of the vehicle body by realizing a vehicle body structure for a motorcycle in which the problem wherein the weight of the vehicle body increases when the rigidity of the vehicle body is increased. In a motorcycle including main pipes extending rearwardly from a head pipe, a pair of left and right down tubes are provided that extend from the head pipe obliquely downwardly. The down tubes are formed to be tapered from the head pipe toward an engine when viewed from the side of the vehicle body and to be constant in width from the head pipe toward the engine when viewed from the front of the vehicle body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure for a motorcycle which can improve the rigidity of a vehicle body without increasing the width or the weight of the vehicle body.
2. Description of Background Art
A vehicle body structure for a motorcycle is known wherein main pipes extend rearwardly from a head pipe with a pair of left and right down tubes extending from the head pipe obliquely downwardly toward the rear and with an engine disposed between the main pipes and down tubes.
In this vehicle body structure of a motorcycle, front hangers are attached to the extremities of the pair of left and right down tubes and a rear hanger is mounted adjacent to the main pipes for supporting the engine.
A vehicle body structure for a motorcycle as described above is disclosed in JP-A-9-95278 wherein the vehicle width of the motorcycle is reduced by providing the front hangers formed of a plate member at the extremities of the down tubes.
FIG. 8 is a drawing that corresponds to FIG. 2 in JP-A-9-95278, wherein the reference numerals have been changed as compared to the reference numerals as used in JP-A-9-95278.
A vehicle body structure for a motorcycle in JP-A-9-95278 includes main pipes 3 extending from a head pipe 2 rearwardly with a pair of left and right down tubes 6, 6 extending from the head pipe 2 obliquely downwardly towards the rear. Plate shaped front hangers 11, 11 are attached to the extremities of the down tubes 6, 6 with an engine (not shown) being supported by the front hangers 11, 11 and the main pipes 3. Four exhaust pipes 17 . . . extend from the engine ( . . . represents that there are a plurality of members, hereinafter) and pass insides the down tubes 6, 6.
However, the vehicle body structure for a motorcycle in JP-A-9-95278 has a problem in that when the diameters of the down tubes 6, 6 are increased for improving the rigidity of the vehicle body. The exhaust pipes 17 . . . extending from cylinders of the engine respectively tend to interfere with the down tubes 6, 6, whereby the width of the motorcycle is obliged to be increased in order to eliminate this interference.
In addition, the vehicle body structure for a motorcycle in JP-A-9-95278 has a problem in that, for example, the weight of the vehicle body increases when attaching reinforcing members are added to the down tubes 6, 6 for improving the rigidity of the vehicle body, whereby the weight of the vehicle body cannot be maintained.


A television receiver comprises a tuner for receiving a television video signal; data storage device including a data storage unit for storing the video signal received by the tuner, for its storage capacity, a writing pointer for time-sequentially writing the video signal into the data storage unit, and a reading pointer for reading the stored video signal; select circuit for selecting and outputting one of the reproduced video signal output from the data storage means device and the video signal received by the tuner; and control circuit for controlling the data storage device and the select circuit in response to an external input signal.

In recent years, television receivers having playback functions have been put to practical use. Generally, a playback function is implemented by an image memory in a television receiver, and a portion of a program currently being broadcasted is recorded in the memory as a moving picture according to instructions from a user (viewer) who is watching the program, so that the user can reproduce the past broadcast signals retroactively at any time.
Using a television receiver with such a playback function, the user can immediately record any commercial, quiz program, or cooking program, so this function is very effective to utilize the broadcasting information. Meanwhile, another television receiver has a function to display a plurality of programs on a screen at the same time.
Since random access memory (RAM) means capable of mass storage recording in required as a recording medium of a recording and reproduction device included in a television receiver with a playback function, an ordinary semiconductor memory is not suitable because of its high bit price that results in high cost. Hence, it is thought that a hard disk drive unit, which can be regarded as a kind of RAM means, is employed. However, a conventional hard disk drive unit for data processing is usually provided with a single head for both recording and reproduction (hereinafter, referred to as recording/reproduction head) for a single recording surface.
In a recording and reproduction device having a playback function implemented by a conventional hard disk drive unit, when the user watches a program during the actual time without using the playback function, the recording/reproduction head of the hard disk drive unit is used simply for recording the broadcasting signal, so that it performs an ordinary recording operation. The ordinary recording operation is, for a one-side recording hard disk drive unit, to successively record signals on tracks while moving the recording/reproduction head from the outer circumference of the hard disk toward the inner circumference of the hard disk.
On the other hand, when the user uses the playback function while watching a program during the actual time, the recording/reproduction head repeats, alternatingly, the broadcasting signal recording operation and the reproducing operation for playback in a short period of time.
As described above, the conventional recording and reproduction device realizes the playback function by alternatingly repeating the recording and the reproduction using a single recording/reproduction head.
However, when the recording and reproduction device with the playback function is implemented by a conventional hard disk drive unit as mentioned above, since the recording and the reproduction are alternatingly repeated using a single head for recording and reproduction, noise is easily generated, and the lifetime of a head driving system is reduced because of the frequent repetition.
Further, in the recording and reproduction device with the playback function, data is recorded successively on adjacent tracks, from a track on the outermost circumference toward a track on the innermost circumference. Hence, when the recording of data on the innermost track is completed, the head must jump over plural tracks to return to the outermost track for the next recording. This results in an undesired phenomenon that frames of data to be recorded are skipped (hereinafter referred to as frame skip). In addition, when the traveling distance of the head is long, for example, when it travels from the track on the innermost circumference to the track on the outermost circumference, since the head cannot record frames which are generated during the travel of the head, more frames are skipped.
Furthermore, in the recording operation of the conventional head, as mentioned above, the head records data on tracks successively while moving from the outer circumference toward the inner circumference. So, when the recording of data on the track on the innermost circumference is completed, the head must return to the track on the outermost circumference for the next recording operation. This movement of the head seems wasteful.
Furthermore, the conventional television receiver having the playback function can only reproduce the past broadcasting signals, retroactively, for a prescribe period of time from the present time. Therefore, the availability of the playback function by the user is limited to a short period, a single time, and a single channel. Further, when an image in which a part of a program is recorded is reproduced, if the image is displayed on the whole screen, it is not possible to watch a program being broadcasted during the reproduction.
For example, when a user who is watching a sports program A wants to watch a program B which will be broadcasted on another channel from the scheduled ending time of the sports program A, if the sports program A is extended, the user records the program B as a program on another channel. In this case, however, when the user turns the channel to the program B after the program A has been through, he/she watches the program B from the middle and, thereafter, watches the recorded program B from the beginning.
When the program B is a drama, since the user sees the ending of the drama before the beginning, he/she may lose interest in the drama. Alternatively, the user may record the extended part of the sports program A after the scheduled ending time and watches the extended part after the program B has ended. In this case, however, the user will feel uneasy about the progress of the sports program A. As a result, the user must give up watching either of the programs A and B throughout.

Television receiver, recording and reproduction device, data recording method, and data reproducing method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A reconfigurable cache in a signal processor provides a cache optimized for texture mapping. In particular, the reconfigurable cache provides two-banks of memory during one mode of operation and a palettized map under a second mode of operation. In one implementation, the reconfigurable cache optimizes mip-mapping by assigning one texture map in one of the memory banks and a second texture map of a different resolution to the other memory bank. A special mapping pattern ("supertiling") between a graphical image to cache lines minimizes cache misses in texture mapping operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer-generated graphics. In particular, the present invention relates to the architecture of a reconfigurable texture cache and methods relating to the use of a texture cache.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Texture mapping is a technique for mapping an image ("texture map") onto a surface of a computer-generated objected, so as to allow the object to appear more realistic in a displayed scene. The surfaces of the object are typically represented by polygons and texture mapping allows a texture to be superimposed onto each polygon, using transformation techniques that compensate the appearance of the texture in each polygon for lighting conditions, angles of viewing and other conditions which may affect the appearance of the object. Many elements of the theory and techniques of texture mapping are known to those skilled in the art.
Typically, the texture map is provided as a two-dimensional image represented in a coordinate system, referred to as "texture space" T(u,v). Texture mapping maps the relevant portion or portions of the texture map onto the surfaces of the object provided in the object's three dimensional coordinate system, typically referred to as "object space" O(x', y', z'). The textured mapped image of the object can then be displayed the object on a graphical display by projecting the textured object onto a two-dimensional coordinate system "screen space" S(x, y). A pixel within the texture is often referred to as a "texel".
The transformations which typically accompany texture mapping includes translation, rotation, modulations of surface color (sometimes referred to as "diffuse reflective coefficients") and specularity (a measure of the roughness of the object surface as it relates to the object's "shininess") and anti-aliasing. Texture maps, like most graphical images, are typically stored in memory optimized for access in raster scan line order. However, as used for texture mapping, the orientation of the mapped texture on an object surface is typically random, and benefits very little (from the stand point of minimizing the number of memory accesses to retrieve the texels), if at all, to the raster order.
A popular technique for anti-aliasing in this context is "mip-mapping", which attempts to provide a relevant "level of detail" of the texture map based on an apparent distance d of the object to the viewer. In mip-mapping, rather than texture mapping from a single image of the texture map, a series of derived images of successively lower resolutions (e.g., factor of 2 degradation in resolution between two derived images)are obtained by filtering a "base" image of the texture map. Each derived image corresponds to a level of detail relevant to viewing the texture map from a specified apparent distance. Texture mapping can be performed using any one of a number of filtering modes known to those skilled in the art, including (a) point sampling, which selects for each texel in the resulting texture the nearest texel in the highest resolution texture map; (b) bilinear, which interpolates each texel of the resulting texture from the four closest texels in the highest resolution texture map; (c) MIP1, which selects for each texel of the resulting texture the nearest texel in the texture map of nearest level of detail; (d) MIP2, which linearly interpolates, for each texel of the resulting texture, between the nearest texels in the texture maps of the two nearest levels of detail; (e) MIP4, which interpolates bilinearly, for each texel of the resulting texture, four nearest texels in the texture map of the nearest level of detail; and (f) MIP8, which interpolates trilinearly, for each texel of the resulting texture, four texels in each of the texture maps of the two nearest levels of detail.
Image processing typically involves one or more fast central processing units (CPU) in conjunction with a large amount of memory for image data and intermediate results. As can be seen from the description above, texture mapping is both computationally and memory access intensive. For example, in a trilinear operation under mip-mapping, eight texels are fetched from two images. Since the texels fetched under texture mapping are spatially correlated (e.g., neighboring texels), a memory architecture taking advantage of this spatial locality of reference is desired.


A method for active noise reduction in an electric or hybrid vehicle includes (i) detecting noise in an area surrounding the vehicle by at least one sound recording apparatus which is attached to the vehicle, and (ii) generating anti-phase sound by at least one sound output apparatus, which is attached to the vehicle, depending on a signal recorded by the sound recording apparatus. The generated anti-phase sound is generated with respect to a portion of the noise in the area surrounding the vehicle and is output into the area surrounding the vehicle. Also described is a corresponding electric or hybrid vehicle which is designed to perform active noise reduction with respect to its ambient noise.

As the number of electric and hybrid vehicles increases, the charging infrastructure required for operating these vehicles is also continuously extended in association. The various charging stations which are used worldwide firstly employ a modular charging concept in which a zo charging station comprising spatially separated components/modules is constructed, for example comprising a cooling unit and a power electronics unit as separate modules and at least one charging post which is coupled to these two modules. In this case, the charging post has, from the customer's point of view, substantially only a charging cable and a user interface and is "supplied" with a charging power, which is required for the charging process, and cooling power from a distance as it were. A construction of this kind has the advantage that, owing to the relocation of the power and cooling equipment away from the site of the charging post, the customer is not disturbed by noise which is generated while providing the power (for example by a transformer) or while dissipating the resultant heat (for example by fans or a compressor). However, most charging stations, primarily those in densely populated areas such as town centers, are usually not constructed from spatially separated components owing to a lack of space amongst other things. In this case, the charging process takes place, from a customer's point of view, directly at a switchgear cabinet or housing in which both the power electronics and also the cooling unit are accommodated and to which the charging cable and the user interface are also attached. As a result, the development of noise by the cooling arrangement or the power electronics system during charging is audible to the customer.
However, in general, efforts are made, irrespective of the type of construction of the charging station, to not subject the customer to noise when they are in the vicinity of a charging post while charging their electric or hybrid vehicle. This applies, in particular, to customers in the upper and top price segment of electric vehicles. Short charging times, which can be achieved only by high charging powers, play an important role in said high-price vehicle segment in particular. Since the voltage is currently limited to approximately 1 kV during rapid charging of electric and hybrid vehicles for safety reasons, this limiting is compensated for by very high charging currents in the region of 500 A. High currents in turn cause intense heating of the electronic and electrical components such as connectors, battery and the lines thereof, the entire power electronics system and possibly the fuses and freewheeling diodes. This waste heat has to be dissipated, and therefore corresponding cooling has to be provided. This relates, in particular, to the battery in the charging vehicle. Strong fans, with which a development of noise is associated, are usually used for the purpose of dissipating heat from the traction battery. Particularly at warm ambient temperatures, the fans can generate a loud background noise of unpleasant pitch which can have a hugely disturbing effect on a user in the vicinity of the charging post or in the vehicle.

Method for active noise reduction in an electric or hybrid vehicle and a correspondingly equipped vehicle


A unique paint roller mounting assembly, adapted for receiving a shaft of a small diameter paint roller handle which comprises an outer cylinder, upon which the paint roller is mounted and an end piece which is inserted into the outer cylinder. The end piece has a first and second inner chamber wherein the first chamber is adapted for receiving the paint roller handle and the second chamber retains a split bushing which also receives the paint roller handle. The length of the outer cylinder does not vary the length of the end piece. The mounting assembly is very stable and is particularly adapted for use with smaller rollers.

Currently, small diameter paint rollers of varying length require the use of end pieces of varying length. Long cylinders, upon which the paint roller is mounted, require the use of long end pieces having a bushing located in between the end pieces. Therefore, different molds of varying length must be used to make the end pieces. Thus, for a longer paint roller cylinder, a greater amount of material must be used to make the end piece and a number of different sized molds must be used to manufacture the end pieces.
The U.S. patent to Lieberman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,959 discloses, in FIGS. 1 and 3–5, end supports for a paint roller assembly. Lieberman discloses a split tube/cylinder adapted to receive the metal wire of a paint roller handle and retained by end supports. However, Lieberman also discloses at least two end supports having peripheral flanges and reinforcing webs. In addition, Lieberman requires a washer or flange to be disposed on the wire metal of the paint handle to act as a stopper for the paint roller.
The U.S. patent to Isaac U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,039, in FIGS. 2–5, discloses a sectional paint roller having an end piece that surrounds a split sleeve which acts as a bushing. However, the bushing of Isaac is only retained by the end piece after either an extension is inserted into the end piece or after an end cap is inserted into the end piece.
The U.S. patent to Goldstein U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,899 discloses a paint roller bearing, seen in FIGS. 1, 5, 7, and 9, having a series of offset or staggered outer semi-cylindrical surfaces that engage paint roller. At least one bushing loosely fits within the confines of once of the cylindrical chambers of the bearing and clamps around the metal wire of the paint handle. However, Goldstein discloses a separate end cap to the bearing and the bushing can easily fall out of the cylindrical chambers.
The previous devices do not provide for stable paint roller mounting assembly for use with small diameter, between 0.25 and 1.0 inch, outer cylinder having a single length end piece retaining a single bushing. The prior art patents comprise elements that would be thin and unstable if made in for smaller diameter paint rollers and would require longer end pieces for longer outer cylinders upon which the paint roller is mounted.


Interface devices and systems that include interface devices are disclosed. In some implementations, a device includes a transceiver configured to transmit and receive data, a lane margining controller in communication with the transceiver and configured to control the transceiver to transmit, through a margin command, to an external device, a request for requesting a state of an elastic buffer of the external device, and control the transceiver to receive the state of the elastic buffer of from the external device, and a port setting controller adjust a clock frequency range of a spread spectrum clocking scheme based on the state of the elastic buffer.

Input/output interface provides a method for transferring information between two or more separate electronic components. Examples of the input/output interface include industry standard architecture (ISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), advanced graphics port (AGP), parallel advanced technology attachment (PATA), or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA). Recently, PCI express (PCIe) has been developed to replace the older bus standards. The PCIe has numerous improvements over the older standards, including higher bus bandwidth, less I/O pin number, smaller physical area and higher performance scalability.

Device and computing system including the device


The present invention provides a system including a stereoscopic endoscope having left and right image pickup units for picking up parallactic images of an object through objective lenses laterally arranged at a distance from each other and CCDs laterally arranged at a distance from each other. In the stereoscopic endoscope, the focal distance is variable by moving focusing lenses. A display control unit is constructed so as to mask image pickup areas in left and right images display in left and right display elements on the basis of information regarding the distance to an object, the image pickup areas being picked up-only by one of the left and right image pickup units. Thus, images corresponding to an area that is picked up in common by both the left and right image pickup units are displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic-endoscope display control apparatus and a stereoscopic endoscope system which permit stereoscopic viewing using a stereoscopic endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, endoscope systems for endoscopic surgery under observation using an endoscope are widespread.
According to stereoscopic endoscope systems using a stereoscopic endoscope having stereoscopic vision, stereoscopic observation can be performed, thus providing such an environment that surgery can be smoothly performed even when the surgery requires exacting tasks.
A stereoscopic endoscope picks up right and left images having a parallax using right and left optical systems. In this case, the distance between an object and objective lenses where right and left object images match with each other (except the difference therebetween due to a parallax) is in advance designed in the stereoscopic endoscope. If the distance therebetween is shifted from a design point, the display positions of the object displayed in a display element differ therebetween.
The difference between right and left points of view recognized in the brain allows a human being to perceive the depth and dimension of an object in view. Thus, stereoscopic viewing can be ensured. FIG. 18 shows the schematic structure of a conventional stereoscopic endoscope system 90.
The stereoscopic endoscope system 90 includes a stereoscopic endoscope 91, camera control units (hereinbelow, abbreviated to CCUs) 93L and 93R for processing image pickup signals obtained by the CCDs 92L and 92R arranged in the stereoscopic endoscope 91, and display elements 94L and 94R for displaying video signals generated by the CCUs 93L and 93R.
At the distal end of the stereoscopic endoscope 91, objective lenses 95L and 95R are laterally arranged at a distance from each other. Each objective lens receives light from an object located in the front of the lens and forms an image on the corresponding CCD 92L or 92R arranged in the rear of the lens via a group of relay lens (not shown).
The observation distance between an object and the stereoscopic endoscope 91 varies. The stereoscopic endoscope 91 is designed, referring to FIG. 18, when the object is located at a position B, images are respectively formed in the centers of the CCDs 92L and 92R such that the images present the same state (the images match with each other) except the difference therebetween due to a parallax. The images in the same state are displayed in the display elements 94L and 94R, respectively. In other words, actually, there is a parallax, so that the difference caused by the parallax permits stereoscopic viewing (stereopsis).
FIG. 19 shows areas where observation states vary depending on the setting states of the objective lenses 95L and 95R. As shown in FIG. 19, there are an areas that is observed by the objective lens 95R but is not observed by the objective lens 95L and another area which is observed by the objective lens 95L but is not observed by the objective lens 95R.
Accordingly, observed images displayed in the left and right display elements 94L and 94R are as shown in FIGS. 20A to 20C. FIG. 20A shows observed images obtained when the object is located in a position A. FIG. 20B shows observed images obtained when the object is located in the position B. FIG. 20C show observed images obtained when the object is located in a position C.
Referring to FIGS. 20A to 20C, when the object is located in the position A or C such that the distance from the objective lenses is different from the distance between the position B and the objective lenses, there is an area that is displayed in the right display element 94R but is not displayed in the left display element 94L and another area that is displayed in the left display element 94L but is not displayed in the right display element 94R.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-261860 discloses a system including parallax control means arranged in a stereoscopic endoscope in order to solve a feeling of strangeness in stereoscopic viewing.

Stereoscopic-endoscope display control apparatus and stereoscopic endoscope system


A method for continuously mixing a borehole fluid such as cement includes using a measurement of the solid fraction of a cement slurry as it is being mixed to determine the ratio of the solid and liquid components to be added to the slurry. A system for mixing the includes a liquid material (water) supply including a flow meter; a solid material (cement) supply; a mixer which receives the liquid and solid materials and includes an output for delivering materials from the mixer to a delivery system; a device for measuring the amount of material in the mixer; and a flow meter in the output; wherein measurements from the flow meters and the device for measuring the amount of material in the mixer are used to control the amount of solid and/or liquid material added to the mixer.

When a well such as an oil or gas well has been drilled, it is often desired to isolate the various producing zones form each other or from the well itself in order to stabilise the well or prevent fluid communication between the zones or shut off unwanted fluid production such as water. This isolation is typically achieved by installing a tubular casing in the well and filling the annulus between the outside of the casing and the wall of the well (the formation) with cement. The cement is usually placed in the annulus by pumping a slurry of the cement down the casing such that it exits at the bottom of the well and passes back up the outside of the casing to fill the annulus. While it is possible to mix the cement as a batch prior to pumping into the well, it has become desirable to effect continuous mixing of the cement slurry at the surface just prior to pumping into the well. This has been found to provide better control of cement properties and more efficient use of materials.
The cement slurries used in such operations comprise a mixture of dry and liquid materials. The liquid phase is typically water and so is readily available and cheap. The solid materials define the slurry and cement properties when added to the water and mixed, the amount of solid materials in the slurry being important. Since the liquid phase is constant, the amount of solid material added is usually monitored by measuring the density of the slurry and maintaining this at the desired level by controlling the amount of the solid material being added. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a prior art mixing system. In the system of FIG. 1, mix water is pumped from a feed supply 10 via a pump 12 to a mixer 14 which feeds into a mixing tub 16. The feed supply 10 comprises a pair of displacement tanks 11, 11′ each with separate outlets connected to a valve 13 which in turn feeds the pump 12. Two methods are commonly used to determine the amount of water supplied:    1. Proximity switches installed on the shaft of the pump 12 count a number of pulses per rotation. Each pulse corresponds to a displacement volume. This method is sensitive to pump efficiency.    2. Displacement volume is measured by counting the number of tanks pumped down-hole. This measurement method is sensitive to human error in level reading, switching from on tank to another and tank exact capacity. Even more an error in the number of tanks counted can have many consequences (over displacement can result in wet shoe, under displacement can result in no pressure bump or cement left in the casing).
Solid materials are delivered to the mixer 14 from a surge can 18 or directly from a cement silo via a flow control valve 20 and are carried into the mixing tub 16 with the mix water. The contents of the mixing tub 16 are recirculated through a recirculation pipe 22 and pump 24 to the mixer 14. The recirculation pipe 22 also includes a densitometer 26 which provides a measurement of the density of the slurry in the mixing tub 16. An output 28 is provided for slurry to be fed from the mixing tub 16 to further pumps (not shown) for pumping into the well. Control of the slurry mixture is achieved by controlling the density in the mixing tub 16 as provided by the densitometer 26 by addition of solid material so stay at a predetermined level for the slurry desired to be pumped. The densitometer 26 is typically a non-radioactive device such as a Coriolis meter.
While this system is effective for slurries using materials of much higher density than water, it is not effective for slurries using low density solid materials, especially when the density of the solids is close to that of water. In such cases, a density measurement is not sensitive enough to control the amounts of solid material added to the necessary accuracy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A paintball gun loading device includes a main body, a tightening ring and a retaining ring. The main body has a first clamping section and a second clamping section. The first clamping section comprises a first inclined surface and the second clamping section comprises a second inclined surface. The tightening ring comprises a third inclined surface and a fourth inclined surface. The third inclined surface is engaged with the first inclined surface of the first clamping section, while the fourth inclined surface corresponds to a fifth inclined surface of the retaining ring. The retaining ring further comprises a sixth inclined surface corresponding to the second inclined surface of the second clamping section. This tightness of the retaining ring does not apply to the main body direct. There is no deformation concern of the main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paintball gun loading device, in particular to one secured on a paintball gun to avoid deformation of a main body and looseness of a funnel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many paintball gun loading devices on the market. Most conventional paintball guns comprise an opening on the top to secure a loading device thereat. Conventional loading devices may be in three categories:
1. A main body A of a loading device, as shown in FIG. 5, comprises a number of longitudinal slots A1 and a retaining ring A2 to secure a funnel. The opening of the retaining ring A2 has a tightening section A3 provided with a bolt A4 to tighten the slots A1 so as to secure the funnel. This design requires the user to screw the bolt A4 to tighten the funnel, which requires more assembling work force.
2. A main body B of a loading device, as shown in FIG. 6, comprises a number of longitudinal slots B1 and a retaining ring B2 on the main body B. By rotating the retaining ring B2, the longitudinal slots B1 are tightened to secure a funnel thereon, however, this design requires turning the retaining ring B2 to adjust the tightness, which consumes manpower.
3. A main body C of a loading device, as shown in FIG. 7, comprises a number of slots C1 longitudinally disposed around the main body C, which is tightened by a retaining ring C2. The retaining ring C2 is provided with a quick-release rod C3 and a nut C4. By turning the nut C4 to thread the quick-released rod C3 to adjust the slots C1 so as to tighten a funnel C5. However, this design of using the retaining ring C2 to tighten the main body C may cause deformation of the main body C after a period of time, and the funnel C5 may be not easy to tighten again.


A projection optical system for performing enlargement projection from a primary image surface on the reduction side to a secondary image surface on the enlargement side has, from the primary image surface side, a lens optical system including two or more lens elements sharing a common rotation-symmetry axis and each having an optical power, a first reflective optical element having an optical power, and a second reflective optical element having a negative optical power. The projection optical system is non-telecentric toward the reduction side, and a prescribed condition is.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection optical system, and more particularly to a projection optical system that incorporates reflective and refractive optical elements in an optical construction suitable for rear projection.
2. Description of Related Art
In a projection optical system for performing wide-angle enlargement projection from a primary image surface on the reduction side to a secondary image surface on the enlargement side, disposing in the optical path a negative mirror closer to the secondary image surface is effective in reducing chromatic aberration and distortion. Projection optical systems including a negative mirror for reducing chromatic and other aberrations are proposed, for example, in Patent Publications 1 to 3 listed below. Patent Publication 1 proposes a projection optical system in which there are arranged, from the primary image surface side, a refractive lens group, a flat mirror, a negative mirror, and a flat mirror. This construction helps realize a wide-angle, high-performance projection optical system and a slim projection apparatus. Moreover, here, for enhanced optical performance, reflective surfaces are formed as non-rotation-symmetric free-form, anamorphic aspherical, rotation-symmetric aspherical, or other surfaces.
According to Patent Publication 2, there are arranged, from the primary image surface side, a refractive lens group (whose optical axis is perpendicular to the normal vector to the secondary image surface), a flat mirror, a negative mirror, and a flat mirror. This construction helps realize a wide-angle, high-performance projection optical system and a slim projection apparatus. Moreover, the refractive lens group is so designed that, in the part thereof located on the enlargement side of the aperture stop provided therein, the radius of the circle that encircles all the image light rays as observed at each surface provided in that part of the refractive lens group first increases and the decreases. This helps lessen the large positive Petzval sum produced by the negative mirror and thereby achieve still higher performance. Moreover, for enhanced optical performance, the reflective surface of the negative mirror is formed as a non-rotation-symmetric free-form surface.
According to Patent Publication 3, there are arranged, from the primary image surface side, a refractive lens group (whose optical axis is perpendicular to the normal vector to the secondary image surface), a fourth mirror having a flat reflective surface, a third mirror having a negative or positive optical power, a second mirror having a negative or positive optical power or a flat reflective surface, and a first mirror having a flat reflective surface. This helps realize a slim projection apparatus. Using two curved-surface mirrors helps reduce the Petzval sum, permitting the eccentric aberration produced by each mirror to be compensated for by the other. Moreover, the eccentric aberration produced by the third mirror is corrected for by an eccentricity correction lens element provided in the refractive lens group, and, for enhanced optical performance, the reflective surfaces of the negative and positive mirrors are formed as aspherical or free-form surfaces.                Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-264627        Patent Publication 2: U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,517        Patent Publication 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-341452
The projection optical systems proposed in Patent Publications 1 and 2 achieve a wide angle by the use of reflective and refractive optical elements. Here, if the absolute value of the optical power of the negative mirror can be increased, it is possible to achieve a wider angle. However, increasing the absolute value of the optical power of the negative mirror causes the Petzval sum to become lopsided in the positive direction. Thus, to secure satisfactory image surface flatness, the Petzval sum needs to be shifted back in the negative direction, and this requires that, somewhere within the entire optical system, the absolute value of the optical power of a refractive lens element having a negative optical power be increased. This, however, cannot be done without lengthening the focal length of the refractive lens group, and thus brings an effect contrary to a wider angle. Moreover, in a telecentric system, it is essential to dispose in the optical path a lens element having a strong positive optical power (causing the Petzval sum to be shifted in the positive direction) on the primary image surface side of the refractive lens group, and this makes it difficult to achieve a wider angle.
Another way to achieve a wider angle is to use larger reflective optical elements and adopt a construction that permits distortion to be reduced more easily. In this construction, however, the light beam needs to be made to diverge by the refractive lens group located on the primary image surface side of the reflective optical elements. This requires that the interval between the refractive lens group and the reflective optical elements be increased, or that the effective diameter of the refractive lens group be increased, or that the number of lens elements provided in the refractive lens group be increased. Doing any of these eventually makes the projection apparatus larger and increases costs.
Moreover, when use as a rear projection apparatus is considered, to make the apparatus as a whole slim, the optical path needs to be bent with a flat mirror or the like disposed between the refractive lens group and the reflective optical elements (see paragraph 0019 of Patent Publication 1). However, as described above, the use of larger reflective optical elements and of a wider-angle refractive lens group makes it extremely difficult to lay out the optical path inside the rear projection apparatus, and thus makes it impossible to achieve a wider angle. Moreover, to dispose a flat mirror without interference with other optical elements or the optical path, it is necessary to secure a large space between the refractive lens group and the negative mirror. This increases the optical path length through the projection optical system, and is thus unsuitable for aiming at a wider angle or making the projection apparatus slim.
The projection optical systems proposed in Patent Publications 1 and 2 reduce aberrations by giving the optical surface of the negative mirror a non-rotation-symmetric shape. Such a shape, however, cannot be produced by turning, and its production and evaluation require sophisticated technologies as compared with a rotation-symmetric shape. This may lead to higher costs.
With the projection optical system proposed in Patent Publication 3, a wider angle and further slimness are possible thanks to the second and third mirrors having optical powers and the eccentricity correction lens element. The Petzval sum, if shifted in the positive direction by a negative mirror, can be shifted back in the negative direction with a positive mirror, but those are not achieved because of the other part of the construction and the inevitable restrictions. The first reason relates to, as in the projection optical systems disclosed in Patent Publications 1 and 2, the presence of a flat mirror as the fourth mirror. An attempt to bend the optical path with the fourth mirror without interference ends in securing a large space between the refractive optical system and the third mirror. This makes the optical path length greater and requires larger optical elements, and is thus unsuitable for aiming at a wider angle and further compactness. The second reason relates to the inclination of the first mirror with respect to the screen. This relates to the small launch angle θ (see FIG. 2 of Patent Publication 3). That is, the difference in optical path length between, of the principal rays traveling from the third mirror to the screen, those reaching the top end of the screen and those reaching the bottom end thereof (the ±Y-direction ends in FIG. 2 of Patent Publication 3) is small. Thus, this construction hardly differs from a coaxial optical system whose optical path is bent a plurality of times simply with flat reflective surfaces, and is thus unsuitable for aiming at a wider angle and further slimness. Moreover, the inclination of the first mirror with respect to the screen shortens the optical path length at the top end of the screen, making the construction unsuitable for aiming at a wider angle by increasing the degree of eccentricity or of shifting.
Moreover, the projection optical system proposed in Patent Publication 3 adopts an optical construction in which the display device and the second and third mirrors are three-dimensionally, rotationally eccentric. Thus, all the rays reaching the screen have no plane of symmetry at all. This makes it difficult to correct for aberrations, and is thus unsuitable for aiming at higher performance. Moreover, as increasingly wider angles are aimed at, the magnification of the projection optical system increases, and the second and third mirrors become larger as measured on the YZ plane (see FIG. 2 of the Patent Publication 3), making them difficult to produce and increasing costs. Thus, this construction is unsuitable for aiming at a wider angle, further slimness, and lower cost.