A fuel pump module disposed within a vehicle fuel tank has a fuel pump therein to draw fuel from the fuel tank and deliver that fuel under pressure to the vehicle engine, and a jet pump driven by the fuel pump to lower the pressure within the module to draw fuel from the fuel tank through a filtered inlet of the module when the fuel pump is operating. When the fuel pump is not operating, such as when the vehicle is not in use, the jet pump ceases to operate and the pressure within the module returns to that of the fuel tank. When the level of fuel in the fuel tank is lower than that within the fuel pump module and the pump is turned off, a portion of the fuel within the module returns to the fuel tank, through the filtered inlet of the module thereby dislodging at least some of the contaminants trapped by the filter.

Some fuel delivery systems utilize an electric fuel pump disposed within a vehicle fuel tank to draw fuel from the fuel tank and deliver that fuel under pressure to the vehicles engine. Contaminants within the fuel tank, such as weld slag or other residual materials from the manufacturing of the fuel tank as well as contaminants added to the tank during its use, can damage the fuel pump if allowed to enter therein and severely effect the durability and reliability of the fuel pump. To prevent at least the most harmful contaminants from entering the fuel pump, fuel filters of various materials have been disposed adjacent to the fuel pump inlet to trap these contaminants. These fuel filters are generally relatively small in size and located directly adjacent and attached to the fuel pump inlet.
In use, fuel flows in one direction through the fuel filter and the contaminants trapped by the filter clog the pores of the filter material and thereby reduce the fuel flow through the filter. The reduced fuel flow through the filter and into the fuel pump can damage the fuel pump as its strains to draw sufficient fuel through its inlet to supply a sufficient amount of fuel to the vehicle engine. In extreme cases, the fuel filter can become so clogged that insufficient fuel is delivered to the engine severely affecting the performance of the engine.
In addition, increasingly strict governmental regulations are being imposed which limit the allowable escape to the atmosphere of hazardous hydrocarbon fuel vapors. In response to these regulations, many fuel delivery systems for internal combustion engines, such as for automobiles have incorporated fuel vapor management systems including fuel vapor collection canisters disposed some distance from the fuel tank and in communication with a vapor dome in the fuel tank through a vapor vent valve. In at least some of these fuel vapor management systems, a pressure drop created by the operating engine is used to purge fuel vapors from the carbon canister by drawing fuel vapor from the canister into an intake manifold of the engine for combustion within the engine. Thus, carbon canisters have been mounted away from the fuel tank and closer to the vehicle engine to facilitate purging of the fuel vapor from the carbon canister.


The information recording medium of the present invention is provided with a substrate and an information layer including a recording layer. Rerecording and reproducing of information are performed by irradiating the information layer with a laser beam. The recording layer contains, as its main component, a material composed of Te, O, and M, where M denotes at least one element selected from Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au. In the material, the content of Te atom is 1 to 19 atom %, the content of O atom is 20 to 70 atom % (preferably 40 to 70 atom %), the content of M atom is 11 to 79 atom % (preferably 11 to 59 atom %, and more preferably more than 35 atom %). The material is, for example, is indicated as the region enclosed by A, B, C, and D, preferably by C, D, E, and F, and more preferably by E, F, H, and G, in the composition diagram of a ternary material of Te—O—Pd shown in FIG. 1.

Information recording media are known as a medium on and from which information can be recorded and reproduced at high capacity and high speed. Recording is performed utilizing the fact that a recording material is changed to have a different, optically-distinguishable state by the heat generated when the recording material is irradiated locally with a laser beam. Such information recording media can be accessed by random access, if needed, and also have excellent portability. With these great advantages, the information recording media further have grown in importance recently. For example, the demand is increasing in various situations, such as recording or storing of personal data and image information via computers, medical and academic fields, and replacing of home videotape recorders.
Today, phase-change optical media are needed to attain higher capacity, higher density and higher speed in accordance with improved performances of applications and image information.
Types of media that conventionally have been proposed include rewritable media capable of being written multiple times, and write-once media capable of being written only one time. Generally, since the write-once media can be provided with fewer layers compared with the rewritable media in many cases, they easily can be produced at low cost. Furthermore, since the write-once media are not rewritable, they are convenient for users when writing data that they do not want to destroy. For this reason, write-once media having a long storage life and a high reliability are in a great demand to be used for an archival purpose.
Some oxide materials are proposed as the write-once recording material. One of them is, for example, a recording material that includes TeOx (0<x<2), which is a mixture of Te and TeO2, as its main component (see JP50 (1975)-46317A). In the case of using the TeOx recording material, there was a problem that it took some time to obtain a state where the signals can be detected after being recorded. It has been reported, however, that the addition of an additive material such as Pd can deal with the problem (see JP58 (1983)-54338A). A recording mechanism of a Te—O—Pd recording material is conceived to be as follows. A Te—O—Pd film after having been formed is a composite material, wherein Te—Pd, Te, and/or Pd is uniformly dispersed in TeO2 as fine particles. After laser beam irradiation, the composite material is melted and Te, Te—Pd, and Pd are deposited as larger crystal particles, changing the optical state of the composite material. The difference between the optical states before and after the change can be detected as a signal. The recording mechanism possibly changes as the composition varies.
On the other hand, in recent years, a further improvement has been needed in the information recording media to have a higher recording density in response to the increasing volume of information. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a medium applicable for high density recording utilizing an optical system of a shorter wavelength and a higher numerical aperture (a higher NA), particularly, a blue-violet laser beam. In order to use the above-mentioned Te—O—Pd recording material in a blue-violet wavelength region, it has been proposed to increase the reflectance difference between a recorded region and an unrecorded region in an information layer by providing a dielectric layer adjacent to a recording layer (see JP2002-133712A).
In order to improve recording density further, multilayer information recording media have been proposed in which information can be recorded on a plurality of information layers. In such media, when recording data on an information layer disposed farther from the beam incident side, the laser beam needs to transverse information layer(s) disposed closer to the beam incident side. Therefore, the information layer(s) closer to the beam incident side has to ensure satisfactory signal quality while maintaining a high transmittance with respect to the laser beam. Since the material containing Te—O—Pd as its main component contains almost transparent TeO2 as a base material, it easily can increase the transmittance of the film. The material thus can be used as the recording material of multilayer optical information media in which information can be recorded on multiple of information layers by a laser beam incident from one side.
In an attempt of realizing a multilayer information recording medium including two or more information layers, recording and reproducing of information on and from an information layer located farther from the laser beam incident side may be affected by the information layer(s) located closer to the laser beam incident side.
That is, when the transmittance of the closer information layer(s) differs depending on the presence of a record, the amount of the laser beam to reach the information layer located farther varies depending on whether the closer information layer(s) is recorded or unrecorded. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the laser beam having been transmitted through the closer information layer(s) to record or reproduce accurately signals on or from the information layer located farther. This problem becomes more serious when a larger number of information layers are stacked. As an approach to solve such a problem, it has been proposed to minimize the transmittance difference by adjusting the material and thickness of the dielectric layers included in the information layers. However, there has been a problem that in write-once information recording media using a Te—O—Pd recording material, the transmittance difference cannot be made small enough only by adjusting the material and thickness of the dielectric layers included in the information layers.
In the write-once information recording medium described in JP2002-133712A using a Te—O—Pd recording material, in which a change from an amorphous state to a crystalline state is used as a recording principle, it is necessary to provide a dielectric layer on both sides of a recording layer, and to form a reflective layer on a side opposite to the laser beam incident side with respect to a recording layer so that the variation in reflectance shifts from high level to low level. Furthermore, this information recording medium successfully has realized satisfactory signal quality by having a structure in which the dielectric layers and the reflective layer are included in an information layer. At the same time, there has been a problem that one information layer needs to include at least four layers, leading to an increased production cost. This problem also becomes more serious when a larger number of information layers are stacked.
From the foregoing, in order to realize a multilayer information recording medium capable of accurate recording and reproducing of signals, an information recording medium strongly has been desired whose information layer closer to the beam incident side has a smaller transmittance difference and whose production cost is low.

Information recording medium and method for production thereof


A recording material which comprises a support having provided thereon capsules containing a photosensitive diazonium salt, and a polymerizable coupler. The recording material can give a predetermined hue when light, pressure, heat and the like are applied alone or in combination. The main advantages of the recording material are that a specific hue can be selected safely, mixing of colors can be avoided, desensitization problem does not occur and a fixed image can be obtained.

Various systems have been developed as recording materials making use of energy sources such as light, heat, pressure and magnetic field alone or in combination.
In particular, a number of systems have been proposed in which separation of reactive components by means of encapsulation is used in, for example, impact paper, sensitive impact paper, fixing type sensitized paper and the like. Detailed descriptions about these systems and materials can be seen in, for example, JP-A-54-104910 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-B-64-7376 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"), JP-B-64-7377, JP-B-64-7378, JP-A-62-132675, JP-A-62-227784, JP-A-63-186230, JP-A-64-31147, JP-A-64-59345, JP-A-64-60606 and JP-A-64-91130.
The general concept of forming an image by curing capsules making use of the sensitivity of photopolymerization systems has been applied to various fields, but not in a completely satisfactory manner since some problems were left unsolved in the prior art. For example, the prior art had shortcomings such as a desensitization problem attributable to the presence of monomers in a system in which a color former is used, insufficient sensitivity or discrimination and the like in the case of capsules containing a diazonium salt. In addition, other problems regarding preservation, color developing rate, transparency, surface coloring and the like were experienced in the prior art.
This invention offers solutions which overcome these problems encountered in the prior art.


A circuit board for a display apparatus includes a substrate, a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged substantially in a line on the substrate, and a plurality of branch lines connecting the light-emitting elements to each other in series. A first group of the plurality of branch lines is formed on a first side of the line of the plurality of light-emitting elements, and a second group of the plurality of branch lines is formed on a second, opposing side of the line of the plurality of light-emitting elements.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a circuit board including light-emitting elements and a display apparatus including the circuit board.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) consume relatively low power while providing the same luminance as conventional light-emitting elements. LEDs further have long life cycles and high color reproduction. As a result, the use of LEDs as light sources has increased in many fields such as, for example, the field of displays.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) utilize a light source to emit light. Specifically, an LCD includes a backlight unit under an LCD panel. Light emitted from the backlight unit allows the LCD to display an image. LEDs may also be used as a light source for the backlight unit.
A backlight unit may include a plurality of LEDs mounted on a circuit board. Every predetermined number of LEDs may form a block, and the predetermined number of LEDs in each block may be connected to each other in series. An end of each block may be connected to a power line that drives the predetermined number of LEDs, and the other end of each block may function as a feedback line that is connected to a light-emitting control unit. In this case, the circuit board may be multi-layered to prevent the wiring connecting one block from intersecting with the wiring connecting another block. However, the unit cost of a multi-layer circuit board is higher than that of a single-layer circuit board.

Circuit board including light-emitting elements and display apparatus including the circuit board


A method, device and computer program product for (near) synchronous control of networked lighting devices is presented. In networked lighting systems, a control command sent to the networked lighting devices is limited in length and as such it is not always possible to include the identifiers of the networked lighting devices, as well as the color point and/or intensity level they should change to in a single control command. However, sending multiple control commands in sequence can result in the undesired effect that these lighting devices change light output out-of-sync. The invention proposes to determine an approximate color point and/or approximate intensity level in, respectively, a color space and/or intensity space of a lower resolution. This allows a control command to comprise the identifiers of the networked lighting devices, as well as the approximate color point and/or approximate intensity level for (near) synchronous control of the networked lighting devices.

Networked lighting devices offer remote control of light effects that are to be rendered. As the number of networked lighting devices in a home, an office, etc. grows, new user demands arise. As an example, it is undesirable when a user executing a scene change results in the lamps in the ceiling pendants changing color before the lamps in the wall mounted luminaires change color. Although timed lighting commands in combination with a global clock used by all networked lighting devices can resolve this issue, this requires any of: increased processing overhead for controlling the networked lighting devices, additional or more complex components in networked lighting devices, etc. In a networked lighting system comprising multiple networked lighting devices, there is therefore a need for controlling such networked lighting devices (nearly) in-sync in a simplified manner.

Synchronous control of networked lighting devices


The invention involves a process comprising regenerating a catalyst comprising (a) a support containing at least one oxide of a metal or metalloid and (b) at least one active metal, said process comprising in a first stage treating said catalyst in the absence of hydrogen with at least one sulfurizing agent comprising a polysulfide of the formula EQU R--S.sub.(n) --R'. wherein n is 2 to 20, R is an organic radical of 1-150 carbon atoms per molecule and R' is independently a radical as defined for R or a hydrogen atom, whereby said agent is incorporated at least in part in said catalyst, in a first portion of a second stage, treating the catalyst in the absence of hydrogen and in the presence of steam, moist air or moist inert gas, at a temperature up to 275.degree. C., and, in a second portion of the second stage, treating the catalyst in the presence of hydrogen at a temperature of at least 275.degree. C., wherein in the first stage a nitrogen compound is added.

It will be recalled briefly that often the sulfurizing agent used in the prior art is either pure hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen sulfide diluted with hydrogen or gaseous hydrocarbons, or also dimethyl disulfide diluted with hydrogen, or other sulfur compounds such as alkyl sulfides or alkyl mercaptans, diluted with hydrogen (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,027).
The catalyst metals used in refining, hydrorefining or in petrochemistry, whether they be new or regenerated, are most often in oxidized form, at times in metal form (for some metals of reforming catalysts in particular). The metals of these catalysts, often being active only in sulfurized or at least partially sulfurized form, necessitate therefore that the refiner or the petrochemist perform a sulfurizing of the catalyst prior to its use.
Regeneration of the catalysts is now increasingly performed by a specialist in the regeneration of catalysts, at times far from the industrial unit. It is preferable to restore to the refiner a product ready for use, which was made possible by the efficient processes of European patents EP.A. Nos. 130850 and 181254 in which a sulfur compound is incorporated in the catalytic compound, said compound, causes the sulfurizing or the presulfurizing of the catalyst when, subsequently, in the reaction zone (zone for treating the charge) or in the immediate proximity of the reaction zone, the catalyst will be put in contact with hydrogen.
More precisely, in European patent EP.B. No. 130850, the sulfurizing process of the catalyst is characterized by a preliminary stage called incorporation in the catalytic compound of a sulfur compound of a specific nature.
The preliminary stage of introduction of a sulfur compound, that arbitrarily is called "off site" or "ex situ," whether it be performed close to the site of the industrial unit or at a more or less geographically great distance from the industrial unit (where the catalyst has been regenerated or where it was manufactured, for example) in any case, is no longer done in the immediate vicinity of the reactor (arbitrarily written in situ), i.e. at the head of the reactors or in the zones more or less directly connected to these reactors, necessitating operation under operating conditions, (temperature, pressure or others), imposed at least in part by the operating conditions of the reactors themselves or the accessories of these reactors (preliminary hydrogenation zone of the catalyst, for example).
The process of EP.B. No. 181254 makes it possible, when the catalyst is subjected from its start preferably on site ("in situ") to the standard activation reaction in the presence of hydrogen, (generally above 100.degree. C.), to initiate, then thanks to the presence of hydrogen on site, sulfurizing--at the rate required, stoichiometric or not stoichiometric--one or more active metals entering the composition of the catalyst. The process involves incorporating, in a first stage in the absence of hydrogen, in the porosity of the new or regenerated catalyst at least one sulfurizing agent, the sulfurizing agent being a polysulfide of the general formula: EQU R--S.sub.(n) --R'.
Said sulfurizing agent is used in solution in a solvent.
In the second stage, performed "in situ," and preferably above 150.degree. C., an activation stage of the catalyst performed in the presence of hydrogen is initiated, the amount of sulfur required being fixed, thanks to the presence of hydrogen, on the metal or metals entering the composition of said catalyst.
In the polysulfide of the formula: EQU R--S.sub.(n) --R'
n is a whole number from 3 to 20, preferably from 4 to 8 and more particularly from 5 to 7; R and R', identical or different, represent organic radicals each containing 1 to 150 carbon atoms per molecule, preferably either 10 to 60 carbon atoms or 5 to 40 carbon atoms and more particularly 7 to 16, these radicals being chosen from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, i.e. saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched or of naphthenic type, aryl radicals, alkylaryl radicals and arylalkyl radicals, these various radicals being able to comprise at least one heteroatom. R' optionally also can be a hydrogen atom.
As a preferred example of polysulfide, the ditertiododecyl polysulfide (n=5) where R and R' are each a dodecyl radical can be cited.
This product is marketed for example by ELF AQUITAINE under the name TPS 32, particularly because it contains about 32% by weight of sulfur.
Ditertiononyl polysulfide (n=5) where R and R' are each a tertiononyl radical also can be cited.
This product is marketed by ELF AQUITAINE under the name TPS 37, particularly because it contains about 37% by weight of sulfur or by PENNWALT under the name TNPS.
For reasons of procedure, these sulfurizing agents of polysulfide type obviously can be used alone or in a mixture of them in proportions chosen judiciously.
The first stage mentioned above is performed in the absence of hydrogen and makes it possible to obtain with very great precision the degree of total or partial sulfurizing requested by the user. This incorporation of sulfur is performed between 0.degree. and 50.degree. C. and preferably between 10.degree. and 35.degree. C. and preferably also at room temperature.
The sulfurizing agent is used, diluted in a suitable solvent which depends particularly on the nature of the sulfurizing agent, i.e. on R and R', radicals which determine the content of sulfur incorporated in the catalyst generally by capillary action or by porosity. The sulfurizing processes actually vary according to the cuts to be processed subsequently in the presence of catalysts treated according to the invention.
At the end of this first stage, a second stage is initiated which is divided into two parts:
The first part of this second stage is performed in situ or ex situ. The first part of the second stage is performed in the absence of hydrogen. It is performed in the presence of air or an inert gas. According to a preferred method, it is performed in the presence of at least steam or at least moist air or a moist inert gas during at least about 5 minutes, "in situ" or "ex situ" at a temperature between about 65.degree. and 275.degree. C. under a pressure between about 0.5 and 70 bars (0.05 and 7 MPa), the catalyst then being dried.
Preferably, the operation can take place for at least 5 minutes and preferably at most 10 hours between 65.degree. and 265.degree. C., under a pressure between 0.5 and 70 bars (0.05 and 7 MPa), preferably between 85.degree. and 260.degree. C. and more particularly between 95.degree. and 150.degree. C.
When working in the presence of steam, the latter should be superheated to at least 110.degree. C.
When operating in the presence of moist inert gas or moist air, it is advisable to operate with a relative humidity on the order of 2 to 60% by volume at the drying stage, and at a temperature between 105.degree. and 200.degree. C., preferably between 110.degree. and 170.degree. C. A gas can also be used whose water content is between 50 and 100% (pure steam), preferably between 90 and 100%, and operated between 5 minutes and 10 hours under 0.05 to 7 MPa at a temperature lower than 200.degree. C., preferably lower than 170.degree..
Subsequently, on site or in the proximity of the site (on which the catalyst will be used for the processing of various charges), at the time of the standard activation reaction, performed in the presence of hydrogen (second stage of the process of European patent application EP.B. No. 181254), the sulfurizing agent introduced in the catalyst in predetermined amounts, will be able to produce hydrogen sulfide which, in the presence of hydrogen, will lead to the desired sulfide or sulfides of the metal or metals present in the catalyst.
During the second stage, the catalyst is brought to a temperature equal to at least 275.degree. C., for at least 1 minute.
The second part of the second stage generally is performed in situ and therefore can merge with the starting or the running itself of the refining and petrochemical reaction for which the catalyst prepared according to this invention is designed, in the case precisely where such a reaction is performed above 275.degree. C.
When the temperature chosen for the refining or petrochemical reaction is lower than 275.degree. C. (for example, this can be the case of hydrodesulfurizing gasolines or kerosenes), it is sufficient then to lower the temperature used for activation of the catalyst in the second part of the second stage after this stage to the temperature appropriate for the refining or petrochemical reaction.
It has been found that in the first part of the second stage, despite the absence of hydrogen, the catalyst sulfurizes, i.e., the oxides of active metals of the catalyst are converted into sulfides. This phenomenon is observed easily by analysis of the catalyst, which furthermore becomes black. On the other hand, chemisorption tests show that as long as the catalyst does not reach the temperature of 275.degree. C. and does not remain several minutes at, at least 275.degree. C., this catalyst remains without catalytic activity.

Process of presulfurizing and controlling the activity of catalyst for treating hydrocarbons

Europeenne de Retraitement de Catalyseurs


Implementations of the present disclosure are directed to a method, a system, and an article for incentivizing users of an online game. An example computer-implemented method can include: providing an online game on a client device of a user; providing on the client device a first request for content to be presented on the client device; determining that at least a portion of the content has been presented on the client device and, in response, providing the user with a first reward for the online game; providing on the client device a plurality of second requests, wherein each second request comprises a respective task for the user to perform; determining that one of the second requests has been selected and that at least a portion of the respective task has been performed and, in response, providing the user with a respective second reward for the online game.

The present disclosure relates generally to online computer games and, in some examples, to systems and methods for incentivizing users of an online game to perform tasks in exchange for earning rewards in the online game.
In general, online games can be played by hundreds of thousands or even millions of players who use client devices to interact with a virtual environment for the online game. The players are typically working to accomplish tasks, acquire assets, or achieve a certain score or level in the online game. Some games require or encourage players to form groups or teams that can play against other players or groups of players.
In a typical example, a player interacts with the virtual environment by providing input to a user input device. Common user input devices for games can include, for example, a touch screen, a keypad, a joystick, and/or a keyboard. With a touch screen, users can interact with the virtual environment by tapping or selecting items displayed on the screen.

System and method for managing dynamic opt-in experiences in a virtual environment


An augmented reality edugaming interaction method includes the steps of: creating at least one database in a processing device and at least one target value in the database and linking the target value with different data values; defining plural interactive object images and at least one controllable object image by the processing device; setting plural interaction statuses for the interactive object image and at least one interactive instruction for the controllable object image, and selecting one of the target values, so that its data value depends on the interactive object image; setting at least one color recognition value for the processing device; defining the image with the range of the color block as a characteristic area, if the image captured by the image capturing device has a color block corresponding to the color recognition value, and letting the controllable object image depend on and be controlled in the characteristic area.

Augmented Reality (AR) uses a physical position to calculate the position and angle of a camera image, and the technologies presented through images have an extremely wide scope of applicability, and such technologies may be applied extensively in various technical areas such as satellites, mobile devices, surgeries, industries, entertainments, etc.
Compared with traditional teaching, a combination of Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT) and related equipment such as a projector, a smartphone, and a personal computer is integrated in classrooms to present vivid augmented reality images and allow users to interact with each other, and such teaching method can promote students' learning motivation and performance.
For interactions with the augmented reality, an expensive device such as Microsoft® Kinect or recently launched Azure Kinect DK is generally used to identify a user's skeleton, or a computer with high computing power is generally used to identify a human image and trace its position and movement, so that the user can interact with the movable object defined by the augmented reality. Areas without sufficient information infrastructure, such as developing countries, have limited funds to build augmented reality related equipment and cannot afford expensive augmented reality equipment. As a result, the students' learning effect in these areas or countries cannot be improved, and it leads to related social problems including uneven allocation of teaching resources and large gap between urban and rural areas.
In view of the aforementioned drawbacks, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the field of augmented reality interactions to conduct extensive research and experiment, and finally provided a feasible solution as disclosed in this invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

Augmented reality edugaming interaction method


A backhoe apparatus with a boom structure which is movable overcenter in a fore-and-aft direction and a boom actuator arranged in fore-and-aft alignment with and protected by lateral sides of the boom structure. A swing tower is connected about a lower pivot axis to a lower end of the boom and allows for lateral swinging movement of the boom. The swing tower allows for overcenter movement of the boom to opposite sides of an upper pivot axis on the swing tower whereat one end of the boom actuator is secured. The boom structure has a curved configuration at its lower end to accommodate nesting of the boom actuator while maintaining torsional rigidity for the boom.

A backhoe apparatus is a particularly versatile piece of equipment which can be used for a wide variety of operations. A conventional backhoe apparatus includes an elongated boom member and dipper arm assembly mounted to a rear of a material handling implement such as a tractor or the like thereby providing mobility for the backhoe apparatus in use while further facilitating transportation of the backhoe apparatus from one location to another.
Bending and torsional loads of great magnitude can be and often are exerted on the boom member and dipper stick assembly during operation of the backhoe apparatus. Thus, it is necessary that the boom member and dipper stick assembly be designed with heavy construction strong enough to withstand substantial loading placed thereon during normal operations of the backhoe apparatus.
The heavy construction of the boom member and dipper stick assembly result in a backhoe apparatus having substantial weight. In that the backhoe apparatus is typically attached to a rear end of the implement, at a position rearward of the rear wheels thereof, there is a natural tendency for the rear wheels of the implement to serve as a fulcrum point about which the weight of the backhoe apparatus tends to rock the implement backwards. Even when the backhoe apparatus is positioned for transport, the main center of gravity for the implement is far to the rear such that implement stability is effected and handling is unduly difficult.
On conventional backhoes, mechanical balance is attempted by placing counterweights on the front of the implement. As will be appreciated, counterweights have the disadvantage of increasing the total weight of the implement and are usually insufficient to overcome inertial movements caused by the shifting weight of the backhoe apparatus as the implement is driven from one location to another.
The elongated boom member of a typical backhoe apparatus has one end mounted to a rear end of the implement for vertical and sideways movements relative thereto. The elongated dipper stick arm is connected toward an opposite end of the boom member. A dipper, or other suitable tool, is typically mounted to the distal end of the dipper stick arm to effect digging or other work operations.
The benefits of moving the backhoe apparatus into a transport position whereat the boom member is raised to a generally vertical orientation and the dipper is folded in as close as possible to the boom were recognized early on by J. I. Case Company. Although this concept advantageously brought the center of gravity of the backhoe apparatus closer to the implement, the main center of gravity of the implement, relative to the rear wheels, continued to be a problem and implement handling remained somewhat unstable.
In responding to these problems, J. I. Case Company has for many years provided a backhoe apparatus having an advantageous overcenter design. Such a backhoe apparatus includes a generally U-shaped swing tower having a linear boom member pivotally connected about a lower pivot axis on the swing tower. The swing tower is connected to the implement for lateral swinging movement allowing the boom member, dipper arm, and dipper to move sideways relative to the implement. In early J. I. Case designs, a pair of outboard boom cylinders attach to and flank the boom member and connect to an upper pivot axis on the swing tower. The swing tower is configured such that when the backhoe apparatus is moved from a transport position to an operating position, the linear boom member is vertically moved from one side of the upper pivot axis to an opposite side of the pivot axis. In the transport position, the boom member is allowed to swing somewhat downwardly and toward the implement. The ability of the boom member to assume a more forwardly inclined relationship enhances the position of the main center of gravity for the implement thereby providing better balance and handling characteristics therefor.
Arranging the boom cylinders on opposite lateral sides of the boom member, however, has certain operational drawbacks. With the boom cylinders arranged in flanking relationship relative to the boom member, they are exposed for possible damage when the backhoe apparatus is laterally moved sideways relative to the implement. Moreover, with the boom cylinders arranged in flanking relationship relative to the boom member, they can limit the working depth obtainable by the backhoe apparatus by adversely interfering with the vertical reach or movement of the boom member beneath surface levels. As will be appreciated visibility is also adversely affected by disposing the cylinders in flanking relationship relative to the boom member in that the effective width of the boom is widened thereby hindering visibility directly rearward of the boom.
The advantages of being able to move the boom member of a backhoe apparatus overcenter were recognized in the industry and likewise embodied in later J. I. Case Company designs. In more recent J. I. Case Company backhoe apparatus designs, the boom member consists of two laterally spaced apart boom sections. The laterally spaced apart boom sections make it possible to use a single boom cylinder which is mounted between the boom sections. As in earlier designs, overcenter forward movement of the boom provides a stable transport configuration for the backhoe apparatus.
Providing two outboard boom sections in flanking relationship to the boom cylinder, however, substantially enlarges the width of the boom. The enlarged boom width requires a larger swing tower for pivotally securing the boom to the implement. The increase in boom width furthermore hinders visibility to work areas directly behind the boom through the opening provided between the boom sections. Moreover, due to the position of the cylinder and reduced size and shape of the two boom sections, the effective cross-sectional configuration of the boom is limited in torsional rigidity. Limiting torsional rigidity of the boom, of course, likewise limits effectiveness and capacity of the backhoe apparatus to handle the substantial loading placed on the backhoe apparatus during normal operations.
Thus, there is a need and a desire for an overcenter backhoe apparatus which protects the boom cylinder from damage without limiting working depth while providing torsional rigidity for the boom to enhance performance characteristics of the backhoe apparatus.


A compound is described that is useful for metal surface modification, particularly aluminum flake pigment surface modification. The compound is a nitro-substituted polymeric composition. The polymeric compound includes a pigment interactive nitro-containing substituent, a hydrophobic substituent and a terminal hydrophilic substituent. A method for surface modification of a metallic flake pigment with the compound and compositions containing the surface modified metallic flake pigment are also described.

The present invention relates to compounds that are useful for surface modification and corrosion inhibition of metallic particles, such as metallic flake pigments and in particular aluminum flake pigment. In particular, the invention concerns decorative coatings formed from aqueous compositions containing metallic flake pigments that are surface modified with such compounds.
The use of metallic flake pigments, such as aluminum flake pigments in decorative coatings to give the coating a metallic effect is widespread. The metallic effect is particularly popular with customers in the automotive market, and metallic colors form a large share of automotive paints.
Automotive coatings may utilize a single, uniformly pigmented layer. Alternatively, they may have two distinct layers, a lower, highly pigmented layer and an upper layer with little or no pigmentation. The two-layer coating is known in the industry as basecoat/clearcoat or color plus clear coat. Basecoat/clearcoat coatings impart a high level of gloss and depth of color that result in a particularly appealing look. Metallic flake pigments may be incorporated to give the coating a metallic effect.
Waterborne automotive paints are gaining widespread usage in the automotive industry due to concerns over organic solvent emissions during application of paints. The new waterborne paints have the disadvantage of using a medium which is corrosive to metallic flake pigments. For example the pH of the waterborne acrylic coating compositions typically ranges from 8.0-9.0, and the polyurethane coating compositions have a pH typically ranging from 7.5 to 8.0. In a basic pH environment, the aluminum pigment is oxidized. The oxidation is a form of corrosion which destroys the metallic pigmentation properties of the mirror-like particles. When a paint with oxidized metallic flake pigments is coated onto a substrate, the coating shows discoloration and diminished metallic effect.
Furthermore, oxidation of the metallic surfaces by water results in the evolution of hydrogen gas. The amount of hydrogen gas evolved is indicative of the amount of oxidation (i.e. corrosion) of the metallic pigment. The hydrogen gas may accumulate in the paint.
Deterioration of aluminum pigment may accelerate over time due to continuous contact with the basic pH environment of the coating composition. Coating compositions containing metal flake pigment are often stored for 6 months or more before application, which can result in significant corrosion of the pigment. If this corrosion remains unchecked the coating composition may be unusable.
Considerable work has been done in the industry to try to protect the metal surfaces from water in the waterborne coating compositions. The pigments may be made corrosion resistant by treatment with transition metal salts, rare earth metal salts or mixtures thereof, as disclosed in U.S. patent applications having Ser. No. 07/982,355 and 07/982,352.
In addition, the pigments may be treated with silane or phosphorus substituted polymeric compounds, as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,677 to Carpenter et al.
It has been discovered that metallic flake pigments that are surface modified with the compounds of the present invention are particularly resistant to oxidation in waterborne paints with minimal discoloration or diminution of the metallic effect in the coating. It has also been discovered that metallic flake pigments surface modified according to the present invention form superior dispersions in water in comparison to metallic flake pigments using previously known surface treatments. This superior dispersion in the waterborne paint composition results in a coating with an enhanced metallic effect.

Nitro-substituted polymeric corrosion inhibitors for aluminum flake pigment


A simplified electrostatic loudspeaker consisting of two outer diaphragms laminated to a one-piece dielectric spacer/grid electrode which serves to separate the diaphragms, hold the bias voltage as well as provide the essential skeletal structure whereby a geodesically-curved surface transducer is configured to provide broadened sound radiation dispersion in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the listening environment. Additionally, said diaphragms carry external conductive layers whereby a transformer coupled signal voltage is applied through a unique laminated conductive connection tab which results in a minimum stray resistance and capacitance signal interconnection system.

It has long been a goal of electrostatic loudspeaker designs to deliver widely dispersed sound, particularly at high frequencies, without the narrow and directional beaming that often occurs. Examples of electrostatic speaker designs in the prior art to which a broadened dispersion was sought can be found in: LINDENBERG, U.S. Pat. No. 2,615,994; ROD, U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,469; JANSZEN, U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,025; STANTON, U.S. Pat. No. 2,934,612; STEEDLE, U.S. Pat. No. 1,809,754 and KUEHN, U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,562.
A common mechanism which many of the above inventors used was a faceted, angled or curved placement of the speaker units to widen the horizontal angles of sound radiation. This proved to be a useful device but it did not allow for a widening of dispersion or directivity in the vertical dimension of the listening area.
The orthodox use of quadratic speaker profiles and their accompanying bulky, mechanically fastened frame structures in the prior art limited the disposition of the grouped units to cylindrical curvatures along the horizontal dimensions. This approach does not take into account the spherical nature of sound wavefronts and limits the speaker produced wavefronts to fragmental and often planar sections of the original three dimensional sound envelope. Further, the spherical nature of sound radiation suggests the need in reproduction processes of recreating the original source wavefronts as closely as possible for faithful fidelity.
The present invention described herein provides improvements to basic speaker elements, construction, assembly and performance characteristics as they relate to the above described design goals. Additionally, the present invention because of its advantageous design parameters which depart from the commonly used methods has the ability to be applied to many figurations including combined geometries which can yield thereby applications suited for differing spatial environments.


A regenerated signal process circuit of an optical disk device is developed to solve the problem that a jitter margin is lowered without an optimum regeneration condition because, when data is regenerated independent of a transfer rate, a data frequency fluctuates against a set value of an AGC, a waveform equalization circuit, a binarization circuit, or the like. In a signal process circuit, a set value of the AGC (104), the waveform equalization circuit (105), the binarization circuit (106), or the like is controlled by referring to the amount of oscillation control current of the VCO (1002) of a frequency synthesizer. The characteristics of the VCO of the data PLL (1001) is set equal to the characteristics of the VCO (1002) of the frequency synthesizer, and each set value is controlled by referring to the oscillation control current of each VCO. Then, the reference current is switched depending on the synchronization state of the data PLL (1001). In addition, the gain of the charge pump (114) is adjusted based on the division ratio of the N divider (111) such that the frequency synthesizer has loop characteristics of constant and stable oscillation.

With high-speed regeneration of recent optical disk media such as CD-ROM, DVD, etc., regenerating data in synchronization with data PLL independent of a transfer rate, that is, so-called jitter-free regeneration, is indispensable for improving access speed in the high-speed CAV regeneration (with constant motor revolution) and the CLV regeneration (with constant regeneration speed).
In the jitter-free regeneration, the features in the settings of a filter and an equalizer, the responsiveness of an AGC circuit, the responsiveness of a binary circuit, etc. are variable depending on a transfer rate, and are deteriorated in jitter margin, thereby requiring an operation of varying the setting or responsiveness depending on the transfer rate.
To solve the above described problem, a whole disk is divided into a plurality of zones depending on a data address to vary the settings and the responsiveness for each zone in the conventional CAV regenerating technology, or a transfer rate is computed from the width of a special pattern of binary data to vary the above described settings and the responsiveness depending on the result in the conventional CLV regenerating technology.
With the above described conventional configuration, it is necessary to divide a disk into a number of zones to obtain the optimum settings, thereby largely increasing the number of processes and the management scale. Furthermore, additional circuits such as a circuit for detecting a transfer rate are required. In addition, processes cannot be performed on writable media such as DVD-RAM, etc., especially on an unwritten area.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A coil spring is provided for use in biasing opposing piston portions of a brake cylinder away from each other. The spring includes a body portion formed of a length of alloy wire and including adjacent coils spaced from each other defining a cylindrical helix. A pair of end portions are formed integrally with the body portion and include a plurality of coils positioned in contact with each other and defining a conical helix shape for engaging the opposing piston portions of the brake cylinder.

The present invention relates to coil springs and, more particularly, to coil springs for use within a brake cylinder.
Automobile braking systems incorporating drum brakes typically include a master cylinder and a slave cylinder wherein the master cylinder is used to actuate the slave cylinder located within a brake drum assembly. The slave cylinder includes a pair of opposing pistons located adjacent to opposing ends of the cylinder and a seal is located behind each of the pistons to prevent fluid from leaking out of the cylinder through the clearance area between the pistons and the cylinder walls. The outer end of each of the pistons is adapted to engage an end of a brake shoe such that actuation of the pistons results in the brake shoes being biased outwardly into firm engagement with the brake drum.
In order to ensure that the seals behind the pistons remain separated from each other and remain positively engaged with the pistons and the inner wall of the cylinder, the slave cylinder is also provided with a spring located between the opposing pistons and engaged within a frustoconical-shaped recess on the seals. The spring is formed having the shape of a cylindrical helix and, in order to provide a proper bearing surface for engaging the recesses in the seals, a pair of frustoconical-shaped sheet metal rings or caps are attached to the ends of the spring by means of staking. This spring is relatively expensive to produce since it requires separate operations for forming the spring and the metal rings, as well as for attaching the rings to the ends of the spring. Further, this constructions is subject to failure if the rings separate from the spring at the staking points, which failure could result in the internal bore of the cylinder becoming scraped as the rings move around relative to the spring and thus requiring reworking or replacement of the slave cylinder.
Accordingly, there is a need for a spring for use within a brake cylinder which is economical to produce and which is not subject to failure as a result of the end portions separating from the spring.


The present disclosure relates to a calibration cartridge for an in vitro medical diagnostic device. The device also includes a removable assay cartridge containing a polymer body with channels for fluid movement.

Electrochemical diagnostic devices are analytical tools combining a chemical or biochemical recognition component (e.g., an enzyme or antibody) with a physical transducer such as a platinum electrode. The chemical or biochemical recognition component can be used to selectively interact with an analyte of interest and generate an electrical signal through the transducer. The selectivity of certain biochemical recognition components makes it possible to develop electrochemical sensors which can accurately detect certain biological analytes in blood.
In vitro diagnostic testing has traditionally been performed at large, well-equipped testing centers. These conventional testing centers offer efficient and accurate testing of a high volume of fluid samples, but are not able to offer immediate results. A medical practitioner must collect fluid samples, the samples must be transported to a laboratory, then processed by the laboratory, and finally the results are communicated to the patient. Conventional in vitro diagnostic testing does not offer immediate results.
Also, conventional in vitro diagnostic testing requires trained laboratory technicians to perform the testing in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the test. User errors by the person handling the sample can result in contamination of surfaces, spilled specimens, or damage to the diagnostic device resulting in extensive repair and maintenance costs. Conventional in vitro diagnostic testing requires a skilled technician to perform multiple stages of the testing process, and is still subject to user error.

Calibration fluid cartridge for an in vitro medical diagnostic device


An atomic scale electroconductivity device with electrostatic regulation is provided that includes a perturbing species having a localized electronic charge ol a dangling bond. A sensing species having an electronic conductivity is placed in proximity to the perturbing species at a distance sufficient to induce a change in the electronic conductivity associated with the localized electronic charge. Electronics are provided to measure the conductivity via the sensing species. The dangling bond functions as a single atom gate electrode.

Much progress has been made in the study of single molecule electrical transport (1, 2). Reports, particularly of two-terminal structures, are increasingly robust and reproducible (3, 4, 5, 6). Molecular properties are highly dependent on details of structure and composition. Recent theoretical and experimental work has shown that transport properties too can change enormously as a result of atom-level structural variations (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). It is clear that the full potential of molecular devices will be unveiled only when meticulous structural knowledge and control is in hand.
It is equally vital that strategies for gating (electrostatic control of current through a device) be improved. Gated devices—such as vacuum tube "valves" and transistors—are desirable because they allow dynamic reconfiguration of current flow in circuits. One problem inherent to studying gated molecular conduction is that there simply is insufficient space to have three electrodes converge on a volume the size of, for example, a benzene molecule (13). A compromise can be made—connect two closely spaced electrodes to the molecule while a third necessarily more distant electrode serves as a gate—but poor gate efficiency results (10, 14). A radically different approach appears to be required.
Current three-terminal single molecule device schemes have focused on phenomena such as Kondo resonance or single electron (Coulomb blockade) physics that require cryogenic conditions to operate (15, 16). An alternate scheme, capable of room temperature switching behavior, is a prerequisite (but not sufficient) quality for molecular electronics to advance.
While active molecular technologies face many additional challenges, the need for detailed structural control, for strategies to achieve gated molecular conduction, and for room temperature operation are the most substantial obstacles to be overcome.
One way to satisfy these requirements is to study molecules bound to order surfaces, such as silicon, with using scanning tunneling with quantum mechanical (17) and classical electrostatic simulations and analysis. In this way, atomic structure and electrostatic potential variations that affect the properties of an individual molecule are understood. In spite of efforts to understand and ultimately control electroconductivity on an atomic scale, systematic and controlled building of devices on this scale has proven difficult.
Thus, there exists a need for an electrostatically regulated atomic scale electroconductivity device, such as a molecular transistor. Additionally, there exists a need for a process to build such a device that is amenable to manufacturing and a variety of operating environments.

Electrostatically regulated atomic scale electroconductivity device

The Governers of the University of Alberta


A nasally administrable composition having a physiologically active substance dispersed homogeneously in and adsorbed homogeneously onto a unique carrier. The nasally administrable composition contains a physiologically effective amount of the physiologically active substance having a molecular weight of not more than 40,000, dispersed homogeneously in and adsorbed homogeneously onto physiologically acceptable powdery or crystalline polyvalence metal compound carrier.. The metal compound carrier is selected from aluminum compound, calcium compound, magnesium compound, silicon compound, iron compound and zinc compound.. The composition is nasally administrable in powdery form.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nasally administrable composition containing a physiologically active substance, which attains high stability in the form of a preparation and improved absorbability of said physiologically active substance into the body, when administered nasally.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Physiologically active peptides such as calcitonin and insulin are polymers which are extensively employed for medical usage in clinical practice, due to their specific physiological activity.
These physiologically active peptides, however, can little be absorbed intact from the mucous membrane of the intestine because they are likely to be decomposed with proteases existing in the digestive system or are high in molecular weight and polarity. Hence, they cannot be administered orally and they can be administered only through injection. The injectable administration cannot be said to be preferable because the injection causes pain at the site of injection to patients. In addition, particularly, when the injection should be repeated at constant intervals, such pain is repeated whenever they are injected and it may often become too severe for patients to endure. Therefore, strong demand has been made to develop a method for administering the physiologically active peptide via a non-injection route and, more preferably, a method which enable patients to administer it by themselves, which further should be safe, simple in administration and administrable with less frequency.
As one of such methods for administering the physiologically active peptides, an aerosol in the form of a suspension, which uses a fluorinated hydrocarbon as a spouting agent, has been developed for nasally administering, for example, calcitonin. As another means for nasal administration, a spraying agent has been proposed as a nasally administrable liquid preparation, which is a preparation in which calcitonin is formulated with a surface-active agent as an absorption promoter. Furthermore, recently, there have been proposed some nasally administrable powdery preparations having improved absorbability, which are prepared by adsorbing calcitonin onto a polysaccharide such as cellulose.
On the other hand, up to now, there have been developed a great many synthetic medicaments for various therapeutical purposes; however, there have not been developed into datails for nasally administrable preparations containing said medicaments.
The various techniques for nasal administration, which have most recently been actively developed, are said to be in principle superior as methods for administering such physiologically active peptides as unlikely to be administered orally or as well as for administering such synthetic medicaments. Since the plexus venosus develops at the nasal lamina propria mucosae of the nasal cavity, the physiologically active peptide or the synthetic medicament, when administered nasally, is absorbed through the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity into the circulatory system of the body; however, nasally administrable preparations so far proposed are not satisfactory because of poor absorbability of the active ingredient or local irritation so that they are not commercially available yet.


A semiconductor package includes a substrate, through-electrodes penetrating the substrate, first bumps spaced apart from each other in a first direction parallel to a top surface of the substrate and electrically connected to the through-electrodes, respectively, and at least one second bump disposed between the first bumps and electrically insulated from the through-electrodes. The first bumps and the at least one second bump constitute one row in the first direction. A level of a bottom surface of the at least one second bump from the top surface of the substrate is a substantially same as levels of bottom surfaces of the first bumps from the top surface of the substrate.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a semiconductor package.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light, small, high-speed, multi-functional, high-performance, and low-cost electronic products have been demanded with the development of an electronic industry. A multi-chip stacked package technique or a system in package technique may be used to satisfy these demands. A multi-chip stacked package or a system in package may perform functions of a plurality of unit semiconductor devices. The multi-chip stacked package or the system in package may be thicker than a general single-chip package but may have a similar size to the single-chip package in a plan view. Thus, the multi-chip stacked package or the system in package may be widely used in high-functional, small and portable electronic products such as a portable phone, a notebook computer, a memory card, and a portable camcorder.


Provided are a display device and method of driving the same. A display device includes: a display panel including: intersecting data lines and gate lines, and pixels in a matrix, a timing controller allowing the pixels to be driven at a lower refresh rate in low-speed driving mode than in normal driving mode, and controlling a horizontal blank time to be longer in the low-speed driving mode than the normal driving mode, the horizontal blank time being a period of time during which no data voltage exists, between an nth data voltage and an (n+1)th data voltage consecutively supplied through the data lines, “n” being a positive integer, and a display panel driving circuit writing one frame of image data to the pixels during one frame period in the normal driving mode, and in a distributed manner during a second to fourth frame period in the low-speed driving mode.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a display device for preventing a reduction in image quality during a low speed drive and a method of driving the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Various types of display devices are being developed, including a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), an electrophoretic display device (EPD), etc. A liquid crystal display displays an image by controlling an electric field applied to liquid crystal molecules based on a data voltage. In an active matrix liquid crystal display, each pixel has a thin film transistor (TFT).
An active matrix OLED display includes organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) capable of emitting light by themselves (i.e., they are self-emitting), and has advantages, such as a fast response time, a high emission efficiency, a high luminance, and a wide viewing angle. Each OLED includes an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and an organic compound layer between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. The organic compound layer includes a hole injection layer HIL, a hole transport layer HTL, an emission layer EML, an electron transport layer ETL, and an electron injection layer EIL. When a driving voltage is applied to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, holes passing through the hole transport layer HTL and electrons passing through the electron transport layer ETL move to the emission layer EML and form excitons. As a result, the emission layer EML generates visible light.
When there is little change in an input image on the display device, the pixels may be driven at a low speed to reduce power consumption of the display device. There are various conventional low speed driving methods, but the conventional methods may cause a reduction in image quality. For example, the user may perceive flicker when the pixels are driven at the low speed, allowing the pixel brightness to change with each data update cycle due to voltage discharge. Thus, there is a need for a solution to the reduction in the image quality caused when the display device is driven at the low speed.

Display device and method of driving the same


A modular trial neck segment is utilized for trialing a hip prosthesis for a total hip arthroplasty. The modular trial neck segment is preferably, but not necessarily, utilized for trialing a hip prosthesis for a total hip arthroplasty. The trial neck segment includes a mount attachable to a stem or broach, and a neck that is translatable on the mount for providing various neck offsets with respect to the mount and/or broach. Neck offset is changed via movement of the neck in a single plane of motion. This facilitates the use of the subject invention in minimally invasive arthroplasty wherein working dimensions are small. The present design replicates the biomechanics of the neck region of the implant. The mount and slidable neck provide a plurality of neck offsets and/or neck lengths for trialing a final prosthesis in a single device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prosthetic joints and, more particularly, to a trial neck for a prosthetic joint such as for hip joint replacement.
2. Background Information
Prosthetic joint implants are currently surging in use and technology. In performing most prosthetic joint implants, what is known as a trial or provisional is used before a final prosthesis is used. The trial or provisional is used to select the proper joint prosthesis and/or to orient or align one or more of the components of the final joint prosthesis. The trial or trial components are temporarily implanted to achieve proper sizing, placement and/or orientation of the final joint prosthesis, as well as achieve anatomical orientation of the prosthesis and/or components of the joint prosthesis.
Hip arthroplasty provisionals or trials have a neck that is used to attach a femoral head provisional or trial thereto. The orientation of the neck relative to the shaft of the broach or trial is described in terms of anteversion, neck length, neck angle, and/or neck offset. Because each patient's original femoral neck anatomy is different, the ability to replicate the original femoral neck anatomy of each patient during hip arthroplasty requires multiple neck trials having variations orientations. The use of multiple neck segments is not advantageous since it requires more time, increased instrument cost and increased space in the instrument sterilization case
Thus, trialing systems utilized by many hip implants or prostheses generally consist of a broach and a neck segment. In order to intraoperatively change the offset of the trial (i.e. neck segment and broach), the neck trial must be removed and another neck trial must be put in its place. Thus, multiple neck trials that are exchangeable with one another relative to the broach are necessary in order replicate the original hip anatomy.
Other hip systems utilize only one neck segment with the offset incorporated into the location of the trunion of the broach. This design, however, does not mimic the exact geometry of the actual implant. While it is desired to be able to try several neck offsets relative to the broach in order to achieve a proper head positioning for the final implant, the prior art is deficient.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,607 issued to Hickey, a hip trial or prosthesis having an adjustable neck portion is disclosed in which the problem of multiple neck trials is addressed. The adjustable neck of Hickey allows the trialing of various neck offsets in order to achieve a correspondence between the spatial orientation of a patient's original anatomy and a final implanted hip ball prosthesis.
However, Hickey requires a vertical height change of the neck segment in order to move between the various offsets. Where vertical height is restricted during surgery, especially in current, less invasive arthroplasty procedures, vertical height adjustment is undesireable.
It should be appreciated in view of the above, that it is desired to have a single trial neck for a trial prosthesis that provides a plurality of offsets.
It should be appreciated in view of the above, that it is further desired to have a single trial neck for a trial prosthesis that is usable in minimally invasive implant procedures.
It should also be appreciated in view of the above, that it is still further desired to have a single trial neck for a trial prosthesis that requires only one direction of movement to affect translation of the trial neck into a plurality of offsets.


This invention relates to a flexible kink resistant introducer system for introducing an elongated object into the venous system and especially for introducing a cardiac pacemaker lead. The introducer system features a sheath having a kink resistant section allowing the sheath to be bent in that region and still allow a lead to be introduced therethrough. The kink resistant section comprises a series of bellows or pleats. The bellows or pleats may further be arranged to form a screw about a portion of the sheath to thereby permit the sheath to be screwed into body tissue. The sheath preferably is constructed to readily tear in a longitudinal direction and thus permits the system to be removed from the venous system without having to withdraw the sheath over an end of the pacemaker lead.

Generally speaking, pacing systems include an implantable pulse generator, commonly known as a pacemaker, electrically connected to the heart by at least one transvenous endocardial lead. More specifically an endocardial lead provides an electrical pathway between the pacemaker, connected to the proximal end of the lead, and endocardial tissue, in contact with the distal end of the lead. Endocardial tissue refers to a specific layer of tissue in the interior of the heart's chambers. In such a manner electrical pulses emitted by the pacemaker travel through the endocardial lead and stimulate the heart.
Endocardial leads are often placed in contact with the endocardial tissue by passage through a venous access, such as the subclavian vein or one of its tributaries. In such a manner transvenous endocardial leads offer as an advantage that they may be placed into contact with the heart without requiring major thoracic surgery. Rather, transvenous endocardial leads may be introduced into a vein and maneuvered therefrom into contact with the heart.
A multi-step procedure is often used to introduce such leads within the venous system. Generally this procedure consists of inserting a hollow needle into a blood vessel, such as the subclavian vein. A wire guide is then passed through the needle into the interior portion of the vessel. The needle is then withdrawn and an introducer sheath and dilator assembly is then inserted over the wire guide into the vessel. The assembly is advanced into a suitable position within the vessel, i.e. so that the distal end is well within the vessel but the proximal end is outside the patient. Next the dilator and wire guide are removed. The introducer sheath is left in position and therefore offers direct access from outside the patient to the interior of the blood vessel. In such a fashion a lead can be passed into the vessel through the introducer sheath and ultimately be positioned within the heart. Finally the introducer sheath is removed from the body. With respect to pacemaker leads, however, which typically have a relatively bulky connector pin assembly at the proximal end, the introducer sheath is removed from the body by being split apart. In such a manner the introducer sheath does not have to be removed over the relatively bulky connector pin assembly at the proximal end of the lead.
An introducer sheath therefore, through its hollow lumen, provides access to the interior of a vessel. A lead introduced into the blood vessel may then moved along the blood vessel until properly positioned within the heart.
To provide such access an introducer sheath must be flexible. Specifically, flexibility permits the introducer sheath to bend and form to a curve compatible with the blood vessel. In such a manner the introducer sheath end is substantially parallel to the blood vessel and a lead which is introduced therethrough is properly oriented along the vessel interior. If the sheath did not conform to the vessel shape, a lead introduced would abut against the vessel wall, possibly injuring the patient and damaging the lead. One problem which may occur, however, due to the flexibility required of the introducer sheath is that the mid-portion of the sheath may form a kink.
Kinking within the introducer sheath may cause serious problems, especially with respect to pacemaker leads. Generally a kink within an introducer sheath is not detected until a lead is attempted to be introduced therethrough. At that time the lead, and in particular the sensitive electrode at the distal end of the lead, strikes the kinked section and is blocked. Continual pushing on the lead may cause damage to the electrode as well as damage to the helical coil and insulative sheath of the lead body. Because such damage may not be readily apparent, implantation of a damaged lead may result, in turn, creating the possibility of serious harm to the patient.
A further problem exists in pacemaker patients who have had multiple leads implanted over time. Scar tissue at the site of implantation has been found to create difficulties with past lead introduction systems. Specifically the relatively tough scar tissue hinders the introduction of a dilator and introducer sheath assembly. Many times, only through use of larger incisions than are otherwise desirable is such an assembly able to be inserted.

Introducer system having kink resistant splittable sheath


In a large exhaust duct from a lean burn combustion source, such as a boiler, diesel engine or gas turbine, multiple injectors can be used to inject a reagent, such as an aqueous solution of urea or ammonia, into the exhaust for use in the catalytic reduction of NOx in a process known in the art as selective catalytic reduction (SCR). When operating at low injection rates, such as during low combustor loads, the injectors are operated individually for short periods of time in a sequential manner.

The art for the reduction of NOx from lean burn combustion sources has found the injection of ammonia or urea into exhaust ducts and flues upstream of a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst to be a solution to the issue of NOx emissions from diesel engines, gas turbines, boilers and the like. Urea, while a preferred reagent for SCR due to its safety and handling characteristics compared to ammonia, generally requires complicated and costly urea decomposition schemes directed at converting the aqueous urea reagent into ammonia gas prior to injection of ammonia gas into the exhaust through a series of ammonia distribution pipes or an ammonia injection grid (AIG). The AIG is located upstream of the SCR catalyst and positioned horizontally or vertically across the inside of an exhaust gas duct.
The direct injection of aqueous urea through a grid has generally not been practicable due to the formation of deposits in the grid from the incomplete decomposition of urea in the grid. This has led to efforts to inject urea at the wall of the duct, which while successful on small SCR applications, such as passenger car diesel exhausts and even larger stationary engines, has not generally been applied to the larger duct sizes and gas flows found on industrial boilers, furnaces and combustion turbines. That is generally due to: the inability to achieve sufficient penetration and distribution of urea reagent injected from the wall into the full exhaust gas flow; the inability to complete the process of urea decomposition to ammonia in the exhaust gas before the SCR catalyst; and, the inability to establish uniform distribution of ammonia at the SCR catalyst face, especially with short residence times or in large cross sectional ducts, or in ducts with complex physical arrangements, such as turns and bends or when operating at very low injection rates such as at low combustor loads.
The prior art discloses the wall injection of aqueous urea and ammonia reagents on large boilers using the selective non-catalytic reduction process (SNCR). In the case of SNCR, the reagent is generally mixed with dilution water and injected as a very dilute solution with high volumes of liquid in the high temperature zone of the furnace at temperatures of 1700° F. to 2100° F. The dilution water ensures penetration of the reagent across the furnace. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,554, Lyon discloses the injection of an aqueous solution of ammonia into a furnace at a true temperature of 1300° F. to 2000° F. for the selective non-catalytic reduction of NOx. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,834, Burton describes a process for injecting reagents, including urea, into large furnaces at a temperature of 1700° F. to 2500° F. using an atomization conduit positioned on the furnace wall. Peter-Hoblyn et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,592, describes the use of retractable and water-cooled injectors for the injection of reagent across large furnace dimensions with high flue gas temperatures.
However, these prior art systems are generally not practicable in connection with employing relatively low volumes of concentrated reagent for small boilers or gas fired combustion systems using SCR. The low volume of reagent makes control of injection rate and the distribution of the reagent in the gas stream difficult, especially at low combustor loads.
In the SCR process, the distribution of the reagent across the duct and the mixing of the injected reagent with the exhaust gases containing the NOx is critical to having a uniform distribution of reagent and exhaust gases at the face of the catalyst in order to maximize NOx reduction and to avoid un-reacted reagent from slipping by the catalyst.
CFD modeling can be used to simulate the dimensions of a duct and the gas flow through a duct, and CFD techniques can be used to identify preferred injector locations to minimize the mal-distribution of reagent across the catalyst face as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2014/0099247 A1 to Jangiti et al., also assigned to assignee of the present application. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2014/0099247 A1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0099247, Jangiti et al. describes a method for using computer modeling to identify the optimum location for installing wall mounted injectors on the exhaust duct of a lean NOx combustor to improve the distribution of reagent at the downstream catalyst. While helping to optimize injection location, such that the RMS at the catalyst is generally less than 15%, Jangiti et al. does not specifically explore the mechanical limitations on operating certain types of injectors at low injection flow rates such as required at low boiler loads, nor how to maintain good reagent distribution at a downstream catalyst where the traditional method would be to take certain injectors out of service at low flow conditions.
Pulse width solenoid actuated injectors with known spray characteristics, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,475 to Peter-Hoblyn et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,749 to Tarabulski et al., represent one method to accurately introduce reagent into the duct. Such injectors can be mounted directly on the exhaust duct wall or can be mounted to an air lance as is disclosed in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0177553 A1 to Lindemann et al., also assigned to assignee of the present application (hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety). In many cases, especially on larger ducts, it is preferred to use multiple injectors around the periphery of the exhaust duct in locations determined in part by CFD modeling. This provides better distribution of the reagent across the duct versus a single point of injection.
An advantage of the pulse width solenoid actuated injector is that the injection rate can be varied instantaneously at a frequency of 5 or 10 Hz (5 or 10 injection events per second) by holding the valve in an open position electronically for some programmable period ("injector on-time"). This can be done by a computer that has the ability to adjust the injector on-time automatically based on a process signal such as boiler load, exhaust gas flow rate, exhaust gas temperature or a NOx signal. Typical injector on-times range from 10% to 85%. Outside of this range the injector can lose accuracy between pulses.
Multiple injectors can also allow for better turndown in the reagent injection rate to respond to lower boiler loads requiring lesser amounts of reagent. One method of turndown is to take certain injectors out of service at lower loads and use only a few remaining injectors. However this causes an imbalance in the location of the reagent injected relative to the bulk exhaust gas flow in the duct and can lead to lower NOx reductions by depriving some of the exhaust gases of reagent for reaction across the catalyst.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,109,077, Reba et al. describes a method for injecting a fluid, such as aqueous urea, into the exhaust of a diesel engine and describes a dual injector system generally directed at injecting two different reagents. In other cases where the reagent is the same, one injector can be on while the other is off depending on engine operating conditions. While the concept of having one injector on and one injector off is described by Reba et al., there is no mention of sequencing of the injectors in an on/off pattern to achieve good distribution in a duct across a downstream catalyst. In the application of multiple injectors to a diesel engine exhaust as described by Reba et al., the duct diameter is generally small and the velocity is high thereby making the mixing and distribution of reagent across a downstream catalyst less of a concern than in large dimension exhausts ducts with low velocity and generally poor mixing.
Reba et al. speaks to one of the issues addressed by the present invention by describing the variation in flow from a solenoid actuated return flow injector of the preferred type as +/−20% when operated at low flow rates and Reba et al. describes the desire to operate above 10% on time as much as possible. The current invention recognizes the issue with solenoid actuated injectors at low flow and teaches the novel concept of shutting injectors off and on in a sequential pattern at low flow such that the need to operate multiple injectors concurrently at low on times is reduced by sequentially operating only one injector at a time, or in the case of pairs of injectors, only one pair, at a time.
Reba et al. discloses the use of a lead injector and a lag injector and operating injectors at different frequencies and on times to cover a broad range of injection ranges. However there is no disclosure of alternately sequencing the injectors for short bursts of injection at low loads to accommodate very low injection rates while maintaining good distribution of reagent across a downstream catalyst, as does the current invention.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0109047 A1, Valentine teaches a plurality of separately controlled injectors incorporating a metering valve and air lance for the introduction of pollution control chemicals into the effluent of a combustor over widely variable combustor loads. The approach of Valentine is directed at SNCR applications where large volumes of reagent are injected into the furnace at high temperatures for a gas phase reaction with NOx local to the point of injection. While Valentine teaches the ability to adjust injection rate, Valentine does not recognize the inherent issue with solenoid actuated injectors related to their loss of accuracy at low injection rates and so does not suggest the concept of sequencing the operation of individual injectors between off and on when operating at low loads.
In fact, in the application of Valentine for SNCR, the use of sequential injection would not be beneficial as the reagent would be injected in high concentrations at the point of injection and would not have the opportunity to mix out across the furnace in the preferred temperature zone for the SNCR NOx reduction reaction. In contrast, the current invention is directed at sequential injection in an SCR process where given sufficient mixing and residence time the concentration of reagent from sequential on/off operation of injectors can still be distributed and mixed with the exhaust gases before reaching the face of the downstream catalyst.
Thus, the problem remains in accordance with known prior art designs, that at low boiler loads the total reagent injection rate can be so low that multiple injectors cannot simultaneously be operated to inject at such a low quantity (and low % on-time). Moreover, in accordance with known prior art designs, taking some injectors out of service to maintain a minimum reagent flow through the remaining injectors creates mal-distribution of reagent and localized high spots of reagent concentration in the duct and at the catalyst face.

System and method for sequential injection of reagent to reduce NOx from combustion sources


A time-to-digital converter includes: an input for receiving a time-domain input signal; an output for providing a digital output signal; a time register coupled to the input and to a first node; a time quantizer coupled to the time register for providing the digital output signal at the output; and a digital-to-time converter coupled to the output for providing a feed-back signal at the first node.

In general, a time to digital converter (TDC) is a device for recognizing events and providing a digital representation of the time they occurred. Time-to-digital converters or also called time digitizers are commonly used to measure a time interval and convert it into a digital output. TDCs are used in many different applications, where the time interval between two signal pulses shall be determined. Measurement is started and stopped, when either the rising or the falling edge of a signal pulse crosses a predefined threshold.
A lot of different types of TDCs currently exist. A Vernier TDC uses two delay lines, with respective inverter delay of t1 and t2. The effective time resolution is given by the delay difference t1−t2 (assuming t1>t2). Since time resolution is determined by a very small delay difference, a very large number of inverter stages is required to cover a large detection range which leads to delay mismatch and meanwhile increases power consumption. A pulse-shrinking TDC that utilizes the difference between the rise time and the fall time of e.g., an inverter, is severely affected by process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variations. A time-amplifying TDC amplifies the time residue from a coarse TDC, which is then resolved in a fine TDC, in the same fashion as a two-step A/D converter, with the same attending linearity issue (critically dependent on PVT variations). A passive phase-interpolating TDC uses passive devices to achieve a sub-gate-delay, but its precision is limited by parasitic capacitances on the output nodes between interpolating resistors. A gated-ring oscillator TDC (GRO TDC) has the noise-shaping characteristic. The quantization noise is shaped in frequency as in a first-order ΔΣ modulator, i.e., it is largely pushed towards higher frequencies. Since the GRO TDC operates in high frequency, i.e, several Giga Hz the power consumption is very high and the 1st order noise-shaping limits its bandwidth.
There is a need to improve the accuracy of time to digital converters. In particular it is required to improve the time-to-digital converter (TDC) resolution to about 1 ps, which is an order-of-magnitude better than that provided by the delay of an inverter delay in a given process technology. This kind of TDC resolution is extremely challenging, but nowadays needed, in low-power mobile applications, such as all-digital PLL (ADPLL)-based cellular phones.

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