A method of making a stable, emulsified, liquid starch product which comprises from about 45% to about 85% edible liquid, and from about 15% to about 55% of a whole, non-starch isolated, starch bearing material emulsified with said edible liquid. The method comprises size reducing the starch material, slurrying the size reduced material with edible liquid, hydrothermally cooking the slurried mixture, and holding said hydrothermally cooked mixture at the temperature at which it exits from the hydrothermal cooker for from one to four minutes in order to significantly increase gelatinization and maltose values. It has also been found when this is done, lactic acid levels are increased which significantly improves the product. Finally, it has been found that the product can be used as an effective grain and silage sealer, which is also nutritional.

This invention relates to a liquid starch product suitable for use by livestock and other animals. The product is suitable for use by monogastric animals, such as hogs, chickens and other poultry, ruminants, such as cattle, sheep and goats, and pseudo-ruminants such as horses, rabbits and the like. In short, the product is a suitable feed, or feed supplement, for all domestic livestock.
While liquid starch products have been prepared in the past, such products have not met with a great deal of commercial success. This has primarily resulted from inherent deficiencies in the product. For example, many previous liquid products have not been suitable due to the lack of emulsion stability. Many of these other products also have much of the starch removed. Thus, the products when shipped and stored for a period of time separate into a solids lower layer and an unsightly but distinct top liquid layer. This makes the product unacceptable for use without chemical emulsifiers, or mixing before use. As a result of such poor performance characteristics, such products have been received with less than total enthusiasm by livestock feeders.
The product of this invention provides a liquid starch product, in an emulsion form, which has emulsion stability for periods of time up to as long as nine months, but more typically for several months, i.e., three to six months. As a result, the product has good storage properties and a long shelf life.
In addition to the advantage of emulsion stability, good storage capabilities and long shelf life, the product of this invention also have the unique capability of replacing up to as much as 5% to 10% of the dry grain in a dry feed ration. It also functions as a feed conditioner and eliminates the need for the pelletizing of some feeds, without any significant difference in animal weight gain or feed conversion being noted. As a result, feed costs can be significantly decreased, by utilizing a portion of a cheaper feed product without any corresponding decrease in feed efficiency, since the feed conversion to protein (meat) remains constant.
Accordingly, the principal objects of this invention are to provide a method of preparing a liquid starch based edible product which has a good shelf life, has long storage capability, which is a stable emulsion, and which can effectively be used as a substitute for either a portion of dry grain or mechanically pelletizing, or both, thereby decreasing feed costs. And importantly the substitution is made without any corresponding decrease in feed efficiency.
Another object is to develop a method for preparing an improved liquid starch product having an improved maltose value, a naturally high lactose level, and which needs less size reduction pretreatment than my prior processed starch product.
Yet another object is to prepare a product which can be used as an effective, and nutritious grain and/or silage sealer.
The means of accomplishing the above and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows.

Process and method of use for a stable emulsified edible liquid starch product


In the measurement of workpieces on a coordinate measuring machine having a work-contacting probe head of the switching type, the course over time of the contact signal is stored within a time interval which at least spans the procedural time of contact-signal development. After comparison or correlation with a prerecorded sample signal which has also been stored, the exact time of initial contact or the exact scanning coordinates are then subsequently computed.

The present invention relates to a method for coordinate measurement of workpieces, using a probe head of the switching type to produce a signal upon contact with a workpiece to be measured, and to a coordinate-measuring machine suitable for carrying out the method.
Switching-type probe heads in use today are of two varieties. In one of these varieties, probe contact with the workpiece produces a switch signal, upon dislodging the normally seated position of a movable probe pin, thereby breaking an electrical-circuit through seat elements. In another variety, one or more highly sensitive piezoelectric elements in or near the probe pin produce an electrical pulse signal at the instant of workpiece contact.
It is also known, in a switching-type probe head, to provide for two different signals to be produced in the course of a given work-contacting procedure, namely, a piezoelectric signal plus an ensuing switch signal upon probe-pin dislodgement from its normally seated position. The respective signals from these two actions are somewhat staggered in time, since the seating switch opens later than the instant of sensitive piezoelectric-crystal excitation. Such probe heads are illustratively described in German OS 3,831,974 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,568.
In order to determine the coordinates of the point of probe contact with the workpiece with such a two-signal switching-type probe head, it has to date been necessary to proceed as follows:
The scale-reading counter values of the respective coordinate-measuring systems (scale systems) of the coordinate-measuring machine are entered into intermediate storage when, for example, the piezoelectric signal intensity exceeds a predetermined trigger threshold. And if, within a predetermined ensuing period of 200 ms, the later seating-switch signal were to reach the control means of the machine, the piezo signal would be recognized as certifying a valid work-contact event, and the values that had been entered into intermediate storage would be entered into computer storage as the coordinate-measurement values. On the other hand, failure to produce a seating-switch signal within the predetermined period was cause for an automatic repeat of the measurement procedure, on the assumption (by the control means of the machine) that the piezoelectric signal was not an indication of a workpiece contact, but was for example a so-called "air contact" caused by noise or vibration, from the environment or from a bearing or a drive of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,755 also describes a method which is very similar to the one described above.
Although the known method is satisfactory in many situations, there are situations in which use of the method can lead to invalid measurements. If, for example, measurements are made on parts having a rough aluminum surface or, in general, workpieces are measured at slow speeds of workpiece contact, the signal of the piezoelectric element may not be produced, or it may be lost in the noise level. In such cases, even a repeat of the measurement does not produce a different result, and one must either increase the speed of workpiece contact, or the electromechanical switching signal produced by probe dislodgement from seated position must by itself assume the function of developing the work-contact signal. However, to rely on the seating switch alone is to lose precision measurement, since the seating-switch signal occurs later than the signal of the piezoelectric element and thus is no longer indicative of the time to establish exact contact coordinates of the point of workpiece contact.

Method for coordinate measurement of workpieces


A mounting hub for a brake disc which is concentrically mountable on the hub by a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bolts adjacent the periphery of the hub. Subsequently to mounting of the disc on the hub, the hub is mountable, usually by a pressing process, on one end of an axle. Bolt holes are formed on equi-angularly spaced peripheral arcuate flexible portions of the mounting hub to permit absorption of expansion and distortion of the brake disc mounted thereon.

As is known to those familiar with disc brakes, the relatively high temperatures, to which the disc braking surfaces are subjected during braking, cause considerable expansion and contraction, and consequently, distortion, of the disc which may result in eventual failure. Various methods for accommodating disc expansion and contraction are known, one being to radially elongate the mounting bolt holes, that is, the holes for the bolts by which the disc is secured to the mounting hub. It has been found with this arrangement, however, that the relative movement between the portions of the disc having the elongated holes and the stationary or fixed bolt heads (caused by expansion and contraction of the disc) results in wear between the bolt head and the disc surface, thus resulting in loosening of the bolts and eventual failure of the disc.


A method of forming a bristle field for an oral care implement. The method includes providing a bundle of bristles and aligning the bundle of bristles with an insertion opening in a guide member. Upon insertion into the guide member, the guide member divides the bundle of bristles into a plurality of bristle tufts. The guide member can be aligned with tuft holes on a head or head plate of an oral care implement so that the bundle of bristles can be inserted through the guide member and into the tuft holes. As a result, a single bundle of bristles can be used to mount a plurality of bristle tufts to the head or head plate.

Toothbrushes are generally manufactured by forming a handle and a head via an injection molding process and then attaching bristles to the head of the toothbrush. The number of toothbrushes that can be manufactured in a given amount of time is limited by the number of bristle tufts that can be coupled to the head in the given amount of time. Machines that currently attach bristles to toothbrushes are capable of operating at a maximum speed of approximately 1000 tufts per minute. Conventional toothbrushes typically have around 30-40 bristle tufts on the head, such that conventional machines are able to attach the bristle tufts to approximately 25-30 toothbrushes per minute. In order to produce a desirable number of toothbrushes per minute, each toothbrush is limited in the number of tufts that it can have on the head. Thus, a need exists for a method of forming a bristle field for an oral care implement that expedites the process and potentially allows for more tufts to be provided on the head without compromising the quantity of toothbrushes produced in a given amount of time.

Oral care implement and a method of forming a bristle field for an oral care implement


The close range Photogrammetric Laser System ("PLS") is an all digital system designed to measure three dimensional ("3-D") surfaces at relatively close ranges. The PLS comprises two modified stereo cameras with associated analog video and digital recording capability. Using synchronized laser illumination and X and Y cylindrical lens arrangements in each stereo camera, all laser illuminated points can be focused onto a linear detector array whose intensities are used to calculate X and Y position of a 3-D target in the image plane of each camera. Photogrammetric techniques are then used to calculate an X, Y and Z position from the X and Y positions measured in the two stereo cameras. An alternate embodiment eliminates the intermediate recording step in favor of a direct recording in the memory of a data processing system for subsequent manipulation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for determining the X, Y and Z positions in a three dimensional scene at close range.
2. Background Information
The need to measure positions on a three-dimensional ("3-D") surface has long existed. In fact, the entire industry of cartography and photogrammetry has developed as a result of this long felt need.
Recently, various devices have been developed to measure 3-D surfaces at close range. Such applications have been for engineering or product line inspection purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,316 to Fukuhara describes an "Apparatus Mounted On Vehicles For Detecting Road Surface Conditions." This device comprises a laser beam for illuminating a road surface for the purpose of determining the location of cracks in the road. This system, however, employs separate distance detecting means in order to determine the distance from the sensor to the illuminated area on the road and does not rely on photogrammetric technologies of data reduction. It is fundamentally a two dimensional imaging system and does not render a 3-D image of the road surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,411 to Wood describes a "Method Of Automatically Measuring The Shape of a Continuous Surface." This invention is drawn to the task inspection of manufactured parts. The system is not designed to be portable nor to create the continuous map of X, Y and Z positions which might be necessary in other applications. Further it comprises a full X-Y array of charge-coupled devices which adds to the system cost.
In addition the type of light used to illuminate the object being inspected is not constant over the object thereby possessing error which must be compensated for.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,445 to Leong et. al is designed to determine the distance between a reference axis and points on an object. This invention is designed to determine thicknesses of materials in a manufacturing environment. However, it does use laser illumination techniques to avoid light source problems. It is not designed to be a portable system nor to address the wide variety of photogrammetrically significant 3-D scenes that exist. The illumination technique used cause the laser beam to be split into many segments instead of relying upon a single beam illumination. Further this device only measures distances from a reference axis and does not create a full X, Y, and Z datapoint record of a scene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,650 to Clerget et. al describes a "Device for Determination of the Position of Points on the Surface of a Body." This patent does describe a laser beam successively illuminating pinpoint regions on the surface of a body. Two views of a 3-D scene are taken. The images are also recorded on discrete linear photosensitive elements. This invention, however, requires that the sensor be moved relative to the object being imaged or vice versa in order to obtain 3-D surface data, an obvious disadvantage for field operations.
In addition to these above factors, none of these inventions is designed to be combined with other data sources or superimposed on other image data from the same scene.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to develop a system which is both portable and very easy to use in a wide variety of photogrammetrically significant situations at close range situations requiring precise measurement of 3-D surfaces using photogrammetric methods. Further, it is an objective to create an inexpensive photogrammetric laser system that relies solely upon one-dimensional photosensitive arrays which are readily available together with a unique optical system that allows the determination of X, Y positions within an image plane using solely a single photosensitive array and the X and Y direction by moving a laser for illumination rather than relocating the system or the scene.
It is a further an objective of the present invention to create a photogrammetric laser system that can accurately detect and locate the X, Y and Z positions of an object using photogrammetric methods and use such information together with a visual image collected during the measurement.
It is another objective of the present invention to create a system whereby the X, Y and Z measurements derived can be correlated with a conventional video image of the scene.
It is a further objective of the invention to create a photogrammetric laser system that is easily calibrated through collection of data over a known surface.
Finally, it is a key objective of the Photogrammetric Laser System to accurately measure an entire scene in a very brief (less than a minute) period of time without any human intervention.


A V-belt type continuously variable transmission of an air-cooled type mounted on a vehicle. The V-belt type continuously variable transmission includes an intake port for taking air into the V-belt type continuously variable transmission, and an exhaust port for exhausting air from the V-belt type continuously variable transmission. The V-belt type continuously variable transmission further includes at least one of an electric intake fan connected to the intake port directly or via an intake duct, and an electric exhaust fan connected to the exhaust port directly or via an exhaust duct.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a V-belt type continuously variable transmission.
Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been known a V-belt type continuously variable transmission of an air-cooled type to be mounted on a vehicle, which includes a housing that shapes the outline and accommodates a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a V-belt provided around these pulleys. The driving pulley (or the driven pulley) is provided on its rear surface with fins to configure a centrifugal fan (see U.S. Pat. No. 8,911,312, for example).
In the V-belt type continuously variable transmission, the fins supply air taken from outside the housing into the housing along with rotation of the driving pulley. This arrangement enables the driving pulley, the driven pulley, and the V-belt accommodated in the housing to be cooled.


A basic frame which may be arranged on the carrying chassis of a truck is provided. The basic frame, which is not described in detail, has a hollow beam and struts with supports at their ends that slide in the hollow beam. When the struts are extended the supports may be lowered to the ground so that military equipment such as a rocket launcher or signaling devices mounted on the basic frame, may project to the side without the truck being likely to topple over.

The invention relates to a basic frame on the carrying chassis of a truck for receiving units changeable in their orientation and extendable in a plurality of directions, especially for military applications, which has struts extendable in the direction of width and has supports arranged at the end thereof that are vertically lowerable, whereby the extendable struts, which are guided in a transverse hollow beam that is part of the basic frame, are telescopically movable in the longitudinal direction into a desired extended position by a signal transmitted by a control device.
Basic frames equipped with a position detecting system using limit or proximity switches have been proposed, but they do not operate reliably in the presence of electromagnetic radiation. It is however an essential requirement that weapons and signaling devices mounted on a basic frame be fully operational in all circumstances. Even the arrangement of common electromechanical switches is problematic, if such switches are permanently associated with the hollow part of the telescopic structure; the point of switching or detection may be so shifted by the substantial inaccuracies in manufacture of the telescopic frame, which is made up of welded tubes, that the point of switching is no longer accurate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reliable detecting or switching means which is not subject to interference in order to ascertain the end position of the telescopically extendable struts with their terminally mounted supports.

Basic frame arranged on the carrying chassis of a truck


A data protecting method for a rewritable non-volatile memory module having physical blocks is provided, a plurality of logical block addresses is mapped to a part of the physical blocks. The method includes, configuring a plurality of virtual block addresses to map to the logical block addresses, grouping at least one virtual block address into a virtual block address area, and allocating the virtual block address area to an application. The method also includes, receiving an access command which is configured to instruct accessing a first virtual block address from the application. The method also includes: determining whether the first virtual block address belongs to the virtual block address area, if not, sending an error message to the application. Accordingly, the method can effectively prevent an application from accessing the data which can not be accessed by the application program.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a data protecting method and more particularly to the data protecting method for preventing an application from accessing a data which does not belong to the application, and a memory controller and a memory storage device using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the widespread of digital cameras, cell phones, and MP3 in recently years, the consumer' demand to storage media has increased drastically. A rewritable non-volatile memory module (e.g. flash memory) is one of the most adaptable storage media to portable electronic products (e.g. digital cameras mentioned above) due to its many characteristics such as data non-volatility, low power consumption, small volume, non-mechanical structure, and fast access speed.
In general, the rewritable non-volatile memory module includes a plurality of physical blocks which are mapped to a plurality of logical blocks. The logical blocks are provided for one or more applications to use. Nevertheless, the applications access the physical blocks through issuing commands to access the logical blocks. If an application issues a command for accessing the logical blocks belonging to other applications, the accessed data belonging to other applications may be modified, thus the security of the data is affected. Therefore, the issue of how to prevent an application from accessing data that does not belong to the application is the concern for those skilled in the art.
Nothing herein should be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art of any portion of the present disclosure. Furthermore, citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present disclosure, or that any reference forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Data protecting method, memory controller and memory storage device using the same


Disclosed are methods for the enzymatic synthesis of .alpha.-sialylated oligosaccharide glycosides. Specifically, in the disclosed methods, .alpha.2,3-sialyltransferase is used to transfer an analogue of sialic acid, employed as its CMP-nucleotide derivative, to the non-reducing sugar terminus of an oligosaccharide having a fucosyl group in the penultimate saccharide unit to the non-reducing sugar terminus. The analogue of sialic acid and the oligosacchairde employed in this method are selected to be compatible with the sialyltransferase employed.

1. Field of the Invention
This application is directed to methods for the enzymatic synthesis of .alpha.-sialylated oligosaccharides. Specifically, in the methods of this invention .alpha.2,3-sialyltransferase is employed to transfer sialic acid or an analogue thereof, employed as its CMP-nucleotide, to the non-reducing terminus of an oligosaccharide which oligosaccharide has a fucosyl group in the position penultimate to the non-reducing sugar terminus of the oligosaccharide.
2. References
The following references are cited in this application as superscript numbers at the relevant portion of the application and are incorporated herein in their entirety.
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3. State of the Art
Carbohydrates and/or oligosaccharides are present on a variety of natural and pathological glycoconjugates.sup.1. Of particular interest are carbohydrates and oligosaccharides containing sialic acid residues particularly at the nonreducing sugar terminus.sup.31 Such sialic acid terminated carbohydrates and oligosaccharides are present in a number of products which have been implicated in a wide range of biological phenomena based, in part, on the concept of recognition signals carried by the carbohydrate structures and by their binding to specific ligands.
Specifically, such sialic acid terminated carbohydrates and oligosaccharides are believed to be receptors for the binding of toxins.sup.4, pathogenic agents such as viruses.sup.5, and are believed to be recognition sites for a variety of lectins, particularly those involved in cellular adhesion.sup.6,7, etc.
Similarly, certain oligosaccharides including sialic acid terminated oligosaccharides have been identified as capable of suppressing a cell-mediated immune response to an antigen. The ability of such oligosaccharides to suppress a cell mediated immune response to an antigen is described by Venot et al..sup.3
Additionally, the presence of certain sialyl terminated oligosaccharides in tumor-related antigens is documented in the art.sup.1 and, in general, the structures of the oligosaccharides present on such antigens have been modified in some way from normal oligosaccharides so as to lead to the expression of tumor related antigens.sup.2. The prospect of passive immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies directed against some sialylated tumor-associated antigens, such as the gangliosides GD.sub.2, GD.sub.3 and GM.sub.2, in patients with melanoma has been investigated.sup.8,9.
The synthesis of such oligosaccharides often involves complex chemical reactions with corresponding low yields. Accordingly, there has been much interest in using glycosyltransferases in synthesizing at least a part of these molecules.
Glycosyltransferases are a highly polymorphic group of membrane-bound enzymes of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies that catalyze the transfer of a single monosaccharide unit from a nucleotide donor to the hydroxyl group of an acceptor saccharide in the biosynthesis of N-glycan (Asn-GlcNAc N-glycosidic linkage; GlcNAc, N-acetylglucosamine) and O-glycan (Ser/Thr-GalNAc, O-glycosidic linkage; GalNAc, N-acetylgalactosamine) moieties of glycoproteins and glycolipids.
The eukaryotic sialyltransferases comprise a family of glycosyltransferases that catalyze the transfer of N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc), a sialic acid (SA), from CMP-SA to the non-reducing terminus of oligosaccharide chains of glycoconjugates. The addition of the sialic acid normally terminates oligosaccharide chain elongation except for polysialic chains found on neural cell adhesion molecule and gangliosides.
Known eukaryotic sialyltransferases involved in the synthesis of N- and O-glycan derivatives of the glycoprotien and glycolipid are summarized in Table 1, adapted from Palcic.sup.63. In the table, the R represents the remainder of the acceptor glycoprotein, glycolipid or oligosaccharide chain.
TABLE 1 EC sialyltransferase (SL) Number Linkage Synthesized Gal(2-6)-ST (ST6N) 126.96.36.199 NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.6Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.4GlcNAc-R GalNAc.alpha.(2-6)-ST 188.8.131.52 NeuAC.alpha.2.fwdarw.6GalNAc.alpha.-R (ST6OI) Gal(2-3)-ST (ST30) 126.96.36.199 NeuAC.alpha.2.fwdarw.3Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.4GalNAc.alpha.-R Gal(2-3)-ST (ST3N) 220.127.116.11 NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.3Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.3/4GlcNAc-R GalNAc.alpha.(2-6)-ST 18.104.22.168 NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.6 (ST6OII) .vertline. NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.3Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.3GalNAc-R N-Ac-neuramide .alpha.(2-8)- 126.96.36.199 NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.8NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.Gal.beta.-R sialyltransferase Gal.beta.1-3GlcNAc-ST NeuAc.alpha.2.fwdarw.3Gal.beta.1.fwdarw.3GlcNAc-R
.alpha.2,3-sialyltransferases are useful eukaryotic enzymes for in vitro synthesis of N-linked and O-linked sialyl derivatives of glycoproteins, for determinations of acceptors, and other qualitative and quantitative research of glycoproteins. However, it was previously reported that 2,3-sialyltransferases would not synthesize N-linked and O-linked sialyl derivatives of glycoproteins or glycolipids where the acceptor glycoprotein or glycolipid possessed a fucosyl derivative in the penultimate position to the non-reducing sugar terminus of the oligosaccharide (U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,655.sup.67). This necessitated careful planning in the synthesis of certain fucosylated and sialylated oligosaccharides and in some cases required that certain steps be completed using chemical synthesis, rather than enzymatic synthesis.
In view of the above, it would be particularly advantageous to develop methods for the facile preparation of .alpha.-sialylated oligosaccharides from oligosaccharides having a fucosyl derivative in the penultimate position to the non-reducing sugar terminus of the oligosaccharide. The present invention accomplishes this by using an .alpha.2,3-sialyltransferase to effect efficient coupling of sialic acid activated as its CMP-nucleotide derivative (a donor saccharide) to a saccharide or an oligosaccharide having a fucosyl derivative in the penultimate position of the non-reducing end of the sugar moiety (acceptor oligosaccharide).

Method for the production of sialylated oligosaccharides


An inspection method of a suction nozzle. Air flow rates that flow in multiple reference pipes that have different sectional areas are measured. A proportionality factor between air flow rates and sectional areas of the reference pipes is calculated based on the measured air flow rates of the multiple reference pipes, and the sectional areas of the multiple reference pipes. An air flow rate in a suction nozzle that is an inspection target is measured. The sectional area of the suction nozzle is calculated based on the air flow rate of the suction nozzle and the calculated proportionality factor. The sectional area of the suction nozzle calculated in this manner is substantially fixed even when the pressure of air supplied from an air source fluctuates. The sectional area of the suction nozzle is proportional to the air flow rate that flows in an inner portion of the suction nozzle.

Since the suction nozzle picks up the target object using air suction, an appropriate suction force is necessary. Since an appropriate suction force may not be obtained in a suction nozzle in which a blockage or the like occurs, as an inspection of the suction nozzle, there is an inspection (hereinafter sometime referred to as "air flow rate inspection") of whether an appropriate amount of air is flowing in an inner portion of the suction nozzle. The patent literature below describes an embodiment of an air flow rate inspection.
PTL 1: JP-A-2004-103922


Improved methods and apparatus are disclosed for confining ohmic heating currents to a subsurface formation in the use of in situ ohmic heating for recovery of volatile and semi-volatile materials, such as hazardous waste, hydrocarbon-like materials, and valuable minerals having thermally responsive properties. Spacing between emplaced electrodes and the number of electrodes employed are controlled to cause coupling between electrodes for more uniform and higher temperature heating. Electrode designs are disclosed which suppress spurious earth currents which would heat other formations not of interest. Suppression of electrode end currents is accomplished by the use of distinct rings of insulation, control of the applied potential along the electrode, and injection or withdrawal of fluids at distinct locations along the electrode.

This invention relates to improved electrical methods and apparatus for heating the soil or subsurface formations to remove volatile or semi-volatile contaminants or petroleum substances. The electrical heating of sites containing such hydrocarbonaceous or thermally responsive materials generally requires the use of oppositely polarized, equally spaced electrodes of about the same length embedded vertically into the formation. Such electrodes are frequently powered by multi-phase power frequency sources comprising various combinations of Wye and Delta transformers. In this invention, arrangements and designs of electrodes are disclosed which suppress current pathways which would tend to bypass the formation to be heated. By such suppression, greater efficiency is achieved in heating, in contaminant or product recovery and in economic operation.
One application of this invention will be to more effectively and efficiently assist in the removal of hydrocarbon-like contaminants, particularly volatile contaminants such as gasoline and TCE. Another application of this invention would be to assist in the in situ extraction of various thermally responsive minerals such as heavy oil or sulfur.
One current method of decontaminating sites contaminated by hydrocarbons, especially for those containing semi-volatiles and high boilers, comprises excavating the entire site and burning all excavated site materials in a portable incinerator. Such a method becomes exorbitantly costly if the site is extensive and may be impracticable if the contaminated site is deep.
Another system has been developed which applies reduced pressure or a vacuum to the formation for in situ remediation of soils contaminated with volatile hydrocarbons such as gasoline or trichlorethylene. This is generally referred to as vacuum extraction technology, abbreviated as VET. This involves drilling a well into the vadose zone of the earth and applying a vacuum via the wells to volatilize and collect the contaminants. Multiple wells are used for large contaminated sites. Injection wells are sometimes used in combination with recovery wells. A common drawback is the inability to economically treat sites containing less volatile materials such as jet fuels. Another difficulty is the relatively long period of time required to extract the contaminants with a high degree of recovery. Yet another limiting factor is the high cost of treating the effluent materials which may contain hazardous components, because of the dilute nature of the contaminants in the effluent stream. Such systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,472 to Knopik, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,593,760 and 4,660,639 to Visser and Malot, U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,901 to Zison, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,672 to Payne, which all disclose variations on the vacuum extraction system. In all these cases, the formation is processed at ambient temperatures.
One way mitigate the difficulties with the VET method is to volumetrically heat the formation of interest. This can be done electromagnetically either with low frequency ohmic heating, or high frequency dielectric heating.
Electromagnetic or radio frequency (RF) heating of earth media or formations containing hydrocarbons or noxious volatile wastes has been the subject of investigation over the last 10 to 20 years. The objective has been to heat the formation to assist in the removal of valuable materials such as oil, or noxious materials such as solvents and liquid fuels. Current in situ electromagnetic heating technology falls into two major categories: A) bound-wave heating (either low or high frequency), and B) radiated wave heating (high frequency only).
Bound-wave heating structures are those in which the wave is largely contained within a specified volume and is not permitted to radiate significant amounts of energy. The original purpose of radiated wave structures (antenna), on the other hand, was to radiate waves into a lossless dielectric, such as air. Examples of the bound-wave approach appear in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 30,738, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,140,180, 4,144,935, 4,499,585, 4,498,535 and 4,670,634. The successful application of the bound-wave process using the high frequency version is discussed in "Development of the IIT Research Institute RF Heating Process for In Situ Shale/Tar Fuel Extraction-An Overview", presented at the Fourteenth Oil Shale Symposium, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., April 1981 by R. D. Carlson, et al. The successful use of a high frequency version of the bound-wave heating to decontaminate hazardous waste spills appears in "Radio Frequency Enhanced In Situ Decontamination of Soils Contaminated with Halogenated Hydrocarbons", presented in the proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Research Symposium, U.S. EPA, Apr. 21-22, 1986, U.S. EPA Publication No. EPA/600/9-86/022 by H. Dev.
Direct application of radiated wave technology to heating lossy media such as soil has not achieved the same degree of success as bound-wave methods. Examples of direct application of antenna technology, intended for radiation in lossless media such as air, to heating lossy media appear in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,301,865, 4,140,179, 4,457,365, 4,135,579, 4,196,329, 4,487,257, 4,508,168, 4,513,815, 4,408,754, 4,638,863, 2,757,738, 4,228,851, 3,170,519, and 4,705,108.
The lack of reported success in using the radiated wave approach in highly conducting earth media (as opposed to air) may be attributed to several possibilities. One possibility is that far field radiated wave technology, which was originally developed for radiation into lossless media such as air, has been incorrectly adapted for media which are highly conducting. Another possibility originates in the misconception that hydrocarbon material can be selectively heated to high temperatures, regardless of the soil matrix, even though such material is both finely divided and widely dispersed in the matrix. Such a misconception may have led to impractical equipment and negative results. An example of a radiating antenna structure designed to recover hydrocarbons (either contaminants or fuels) embedded in lossy earth is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,819.
In these high frequency methods, electrical energy is applied to the formation to heat the formation volumetrically, preferably as uniformly as possible. Such heating increases the vapor pressure of the contaminants. If enough heat is supplied, water will also be evaporated to create a steam sweep which further enhances contaminant removal. The volatilized contaminants are collected in a tent-like vapor barrier over the site, and then the contaminants are removed from the vapor stream. Such systems have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,634 to Bridges, et al., and are further described in the publication by H. Dev entitled "In Situ Radio Frequency Heating Process for Decontamination of Soil" presented in Solving Hazardous Waste Problems presented at the 191st meeting of the American Chemical Society in April 1986.
The foregoing references describe in situ heating systems which are designed to vaporize the water in order to extend the range or reach of the heating pattern. Another objective of vaporizing the water is that it creates a steam sweep system wherein the presence of steam dries out hydrocarbon contaminants which have a boiling point well in excess of the temperature of the formation. For example, where approximately 25 tons of the formation was heated to a temperature of 150.degree. C., it was possible, by the use of a steam sweep, to remove nearly 80% of the hydrocarbon contaminants with boiling points near 300.degree. C. or above. Such systems can effectively remove semi-volatiles such as diesel and jet fuel and high boilers such as PCBs and PCPs.
There are presently also large volumes of earth that are contaminated with gasoline, TCE or carbon tetrachloride. These are considered volatiles, with boiling points close to that of water. Other methods may be used in these circumstances. One method to extract volatiles comprises forcing air through the formation to cause the volatiles to evaporate. The difficulty with this particular process is that it takes a great deal of time to extract the volatiles at normal earth temperatures. Also, the hydrocarbon concentration of the volatiles in the effluent stream is quite small, thereby complicating the effluent treatment process.
Heating the formation to temperatures somewhat below the vaporization point of water enhances the rate of hydrocarbon extraction. This will have at least two major advantages. First, the rate of evolution of hydrocarbons is increased, and second, the concentration of hydrocarbons in the effluent stream is not diluted by water vapor, thereby decreasing the cost of effluent treatment.
One method to heat the formation would be to use high frequency energy as previously discussed. However, while this may be cost effective when higher temperatures are required, it can be costly inasmuch as the conversion of AC energy to RF energy exhibits some loss of efficiency and the RF generator and related high frequency equipment represent high capital costs.
Alternatively, 60 Hz ohmic heating may be used to heat such a formation. In such circumstances, electrodes are placed in the formation and excited by 60 Hz voltages. These cause 60 Hz currents to flow through the formation, thereby heating the formation. Depending on the nature of the electrodes, row spacing and heating time, it may be possible to heat the formation sufficiently, if not uniformly, throughout so as to make the in situ venting or air stripping system far more effective.
One high temperature method is described by Brauns, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,598, by Buelt, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,393, by Timmerman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,556, and Carter in U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,373. These inventions are designed to heat the soil well above 100.degree. C., the vaporization point of water. Two or more electrodes are installed vertically around the contaminated soil to be treated. By means of non-aqueous but highly conductive material placed on the surface of the soil or within the soil itself, conduction currents between electrodes excited by 60 Hz potential are maintained until the soil itself becomes sufficiently conductive at temperatures well above 300.degree. C. to maintain significant current flows. No considerations are given to optimizing the systems to efficiently heat the soil at temperatures below 100.degree. C. or to remove organic-like volatile or semi-volatile contaminates at temperatures below 100.degree. C.
Other examples of the use of 60 Hz ohmic heating of earth formations are found in Perkins U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,636, Pritchett in U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,319, Todd in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,637, and Kern in U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,799. All disclose methods to heat subterranean formations by means of emplaced electrodes excited by 60 Hz energy. All of the foregoing inventors describe the use of sparsely-spaced, vertically-emplaced electrodes, where the length of each electrode is considerably smaller than the spacing between the electrodes. However, many novel ways of exciting these electrodes are presented. For example, Pritchett describes a method of electrical multi-phase excitation of electrodes in triangular or hexagonal arrays.
Such sparsely-spaced electrodes result in overheating near the electrodes and underheating midway between the electrodes. Dense arrays of rows of vertical electrodes have been developed and tested which mitigate the excessive over-and-underheating effects associated with sparse arrays. A dense array is defined as an array in which the separation between rows is larger than the separation between electrodes within the rows. An additional feature of such dense arrays is that the extent of the rows of excited electrodes may be symmetrically less (both transversely and longitudinally) than the extent of the grounded rows of electrodes. Such a dense array excited by power frequency sources is described by Bridges, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,435 and this approach is a special case of the nearly uniform heating approaches described by Bridges, et al. in U.S. Pat. R.E. 30,738. Limiting the extent of the exciter row dramatically reduces the flow of currents and related heating into formations of no interest.
However, in some situations, the use of oppositely polarized electrodes of about the same length, spaced equidistant from one another may be advantageous. Yet, methods and equipment to heat earth formations by such electrode arrangements without excessive temperature disparities are lacking. A major difficulty exists with sparsely-spaced electrode arrays where the spacing between the electrodes is substantially greater than the length of the electrode. Under these conditions, the mutual impedance between the electrodes is small or virtually non-existent and, as a result, each electrode acts as an independent source of heat which only heats the soil immediately surrounding the electrode. Under such conditions the charge distribution on the electrode is not influenced by adjacent electrodes because of the large distance between the electrodes. As a consequence, the charge distribution is circumferentially uniform, field enhancement effects occur near the ends of the electrodes, and the excess charge distribution near the ends of the electrodes causes the current to flow in a vertical direction rather than in a direction between the electrodes themselves. As a consequence, only the volume immediately surrounding the electrode is heated to a significant degree.
What is needed is an improved ohmic heating array design, wherein the flow of currents and related heating into formations of no interest is suppressed, and furthermore, a more even heating of the formation is achieved.

Methods and apparatus to confine earth currents for recovery of subsurface volatiles and semi-volatiles


A coated article includes a low emissivity (low-E) coating having at least one infrared (IR) reflecting layer of a material such as silver, gold, or the like, and a plurality of high refractive index dielectric layers of or including a nitride of Zr and Al. In certain example embodiments, the high refractive index dielectric layers of or including a nitride of Zr and Al may be amorphous or substantially amorphous so as to allow the low-E coating to better withstand optional heat treatment (HT) such as thermal tempering. In certain example embodiments, the low-E coating may be used in applications such as monolithic or insulating glass (IG) window unit, vehicle windows, of the like.

Coated articles are known in the art for use in window applications such as insulating glass (IG) window units, vehicle windows, monolithic windows, and/or the like.
Conventional low-E coatings are disclosed, for example and without limitation, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,576,349, 9,212,417, 9,297,197, 7,390,572, 7,153,579, and 9,403,345, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Certain low-E coating utilize at least one transparent dielectric layer of titanium oxide (e.g., TiO2), which has a high refractive index (n), for antireflection and/or coloration purposes. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,212,417, 9,297,197, 7,390,572, 7,153,579, and 9,403,345. Although high refractive index dielectric material TiO2 is known and used in low-E coatings, TiO2 has a very low sputter-deposition rate and is not thermally stable upon heat treatment such as thermal tempering of about 650 C for 8 minutes, due to film crystallization (or change in crystallinity) in as-deposited or post-tempering state, which may in turn induce thermal or lattice stress on adjacent layers in the film stack. Such stress can further cause change in physical or material properties of the stack and hence impact on the Ag layer, which results in deteriorated low E stack performance. The low sputter deposition rate of TiO2 leads to significantly high costs associated with making low-E coatings including such layer(s).
Example embodiments of this invention solve these problems by providing a coated article including a low emissivity (low-E) coating having at least one infrared (IR) reflecting layer of a material such as silver, gold, or the like, and a plurality of high refractive index dielectric layers of or including a nitride of Zr and Al. In certain example embodiments, the high refractive index dielectric layers of or including a nitride of Zr and Al may be amorphous or substantially amorphous so as to allow the low-E coating to better withstand optional heat treatment (HT) such as thermal tempering. In certain example embodiments of this invention, the low-E coating includes a layer sequence of glass . . . ZrAlN/ZnO/Ag/contact/ZnO/ZrAlN . . . overcoat, where the ZnO inclusive layers may further contain Al or the like. It has been found that such a sequence advantageously provides for increased sputter deposition rates and thus lower cost, high transparency, good durability, good optical performance, and good thermal performance. In certain example embodiments, the low-E coating may be used in applications such as monolithic or insulating glass (IG) window unit, vehicle windows, of the like.
In an example embodiment of this invention, there is provided a coated article including a coating supported by a glass substrate, the coating comprising: a first high index dielectric layer comprising a nitride of Zr and Al on the glass substrate, wherein the first high index dielectric layer comprising the nitride of Zr and Al contains more Zr than Al; a first dielectric layer comprising zinc oxide on the glass substrate located over and directly contacting the first high index layer comprising the nitride of Zr and Al; a first infrared (IR) reflecting layer on the glass substrate, located over and directly contacting the first dielectric layer comprising zinc oxide; a first contact layer on the glass substrate located over and directly contacting the first IR reflecting layer; a second dielectric layer comprising zinc oxide on the glass substrate located over and directly contacting the first contact layer; a second high index dielectric layer comprising a nitride of Zr and Al on the glass substrate located over and directly contacting the second dielectric layer comprising zinc oxide, wherein the second high index dielectric layer comprising the nitride of Zr and Al contains more Zr than Al; and another dielectric layer on the glass substrate located over at least the first and second high index dielectric layers and the first IR reflecting layer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Coated article having low-E coating with IR reflecting layer(s) and high index nitrided dielectric layers


An apparatus which is intended to apply butter from a mass thereof in solid condition to a slice of bread. A housing contains a transfer member connected with the housing by connecting structure which supports the transfer member for sliding motion. A plurality of openings extends through the transfer member. The transfer member and the mass of butter are moved into contact to cause a portion of the butter to enter the openings. The transfer member and the mass of butter are separated to sever the butter within the openings from the mass of butter to leave the openings at least partially filled with butter. The slice of bread is supported with a surface thereof to be buttered spaced adjacent and facing toward the openings in the transfer member. Gas under pressure is directed through the openings to propel the butter within the openings outwardly therefrom into contact with the surface of the slice of bread.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing buttered toast.
In preparing a slice of buttered toast according to current commercial practice, it is common to utilize an electric toaster to toast the slice of bread with the butter thereafter being spread on the slice by hand. In high volume commercial catering operations such as, for example, those conducted in restaurants adjacent main highways or at travel terminals, significant amounts of waitresses' time are wasted in performing the manual buttering operation and this problem is particularly acute at busy periods.
In an attempt to obviate this problem, certain prior machines have been devised for conducting toasting and buttering operations on the slice of bread automatically without a manual butter spreading step. Such prior devices have, however, significantly failed to come into general use because their construction was, in almost all instances, attended by two major disadvantages.
The first of these disadvantages is that the prior devices have generally required the butter to be spread, to be maintained in a melted condition to permit it to be sprayed or brushed onto the bread. However, as is well known, butter rapidly tends to go rancid when maintained at the elevated temperature necessary to maintain it in melted condition. As a result, it might frequently be necessary to change the butter while significant amounts still remained unused in order to avoid problems of rancid butter. This could involve a considerable and costly wastage of butter as well as requiring frequent inoperative periods of the machine while the butter was changed.
The other major disadvantage associated with the prior buttering machines has been a hygiene problem. In equipment of this type, it is necessary at the conclusion of a day's operations for the parts of the machine coming into contact with foodstuff to be thoroughly cleaned to remove butter smears, toast crumbs, and the like, which might provide a breeding ground for germs if left untouched. However, the prior machines have generally been of such complex construction that access to the parts to be cleaned could not readily be obtained by the relatively mechanically unskilled personnel customarily employed in commercial catering establishments.


A silver halide photographic material is disclosed, having at least one hydrophilic colloid layer comprising a polyester support and having a polymer latex on at least one side of said polyester support, wherein both surfaces of said support are coated with a polymer layer comprising a copolymer containing from 50 to 99.5% by weight vinylidene chloride and wherein both polymer layers have a thickness of at least 0.3 .mu.m. A method for treating the silver halide photographic material is also disclosed.

A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is generally composed of a support having layer(s) containing a hydrophilic colloid such as gelatin, etc., as a binder on at least one surface thereof. Such a hydrophilic colloid layer, however, has a defect that the layer is liable to be stretched or shrunk with changes in humidity and/or temperature.
The dimensional change of a photographic light-sensitive material caused by stretching or shrinkage of the hydrophilic colloid layer causes serious defects in the case of a photographic light-sensitive material for printing, which is required to reproduce dot images for multicolor printing or precise line images.
For obtaining photographic light-sensitive materials undergoing less dimensional change, that is, having excellent dimensional stability, a technique of defining the ratio of the thickness of the hydrophilic colloid layer(s) and the thickness of the support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,201,250 and a technique of incorporating a polymer latex in the hydrophilic colloid layer(s) is described in Japanese Patent Publications. 4272/64, 17702/64, 13482/68, and 5331/70 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,763,625, 2,772,166, 2,852,386, 2,853,457, 3,397,988, 3,411,911 , and 3,411,912. The theoretical basis for the aforesaid techniques is given in J.Q. Umberger, Photoqraghic Science and Engineering, 69-73(1957).
However, the inclusion of such polymer latexes in hydrophilic colloid layers of photographic materials has a harmful influence on the film strength and abrasion resistance of the hydrophilic layers in processing solutions and the adhesionof these layers to supports in solutions.
A technique of overcoming the aforesaid problems involve with polymer latexes involves using a polymer having an active methylene group reactive with conventional gelatin hardening agents. It is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,459,790, 3,488,708, 3,554,987, 3,700,456, 3,939,130, British Patent 1,491,701, etc. By the aforesaid techniques, the dimensional stability of photographic materials can be improved to some extent without reducing the film strength and abrasion resistance thereof in processing solutions. However, in multicolor printing or the printing wherein reproduction of precise line images is required, a further improvement of the dimensional stability of photographic light-sensitive materials has been strongly desired.
Also, a technique of improving the dimensional stability of photographic materials by using a support composed of a polyester film, both surfaces of which are coated with polyolefin, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application (OPI) 3627/85 (the term "OPI" as used herein means an "unexamined published application"), but the improvement is insufficient for practical purposes.
Furthermore, methods using hydrazine derivatives for obtaining high contrast photographic characteristics are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,224,401, 4,168,977, 4,166,742, 4,311,781, 4,272,606, 4,211,857, 4,243,739,etc. According to these methods, photographic light-sensitive materials having very high contrast and high sensitivity can be obtained. However, since in these methods the action of increasing contrast by hydrazine derivatives is hindered by using a large amount of polymer latex for improving the dimensional stability of the photographic material, whereby high-contrast photographic characeristics are not obtained, the amount of polymer latex is restricted for obtaining high-contrast characteristics and hence sufficient dimensional stability cannot be obtained.
The aforesaid technique of defining the ratio of the thickness of the hydrophilic colloid layer(s) and the thickness of the support can reduce the degree of stretching or shrinking of unprocessed or processed photographic films by changes in humidity.
However, the dimensional change of photograpbic films before and after processing steps (development, fix, wash, and drying) which are usually applied to photographic films cannot be prevented. This is because the support for the photographic film stretches by absorbing water in processing but it takes a long period of time to restore the stretched support to its original state even after drying,and the stretch is retained. Accordingly, the dimensions of a photographic film after processing are generally larger than those of the film before processing. This phenomenon is called "the dimensional stability with processing is bad" and is a serious defect, in particular, with photographic light-sensitive materials for printing.
The technique of incorporating a polymer latex in a hydrophilic colloid layer of a photographic light-sensitive material may reduce the stretching or shrinking due to changes in humidity to some extent, but cannot overcome the aforesaid problem since the support of the photographic material is impregnated with processing sulution at processing.

Silver halide photographic element with polyester base


A moisture-permeable, waterproof fabric comprising a textile fabric and a resin coating containing a fluorine-containing polyurethane resin and polyurethane resin having a low degree of polymerization on at least one side of said textile fabric. This moisture-permeable, waterproof fabric is obtained by a process comprising coating a resin solution, containing a fluorine-containing polyurethane resin and a polyurethane resin having a low degree of polymerization, on at least one side of a textile fabric, followed by coagulating the resin, removing the solvent, drying the fabric and applying a water repellent.

Known processed fabrics having moisture permeability and water resistance in the prior art consist of a coating of a polyurethane resin on a fabric and have cells formed in the resin coating, by wet coagulation, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-144178.
However, because moisture permeability and water resistance are reciprocal functions, in the above-mentioned prior art where the coating is a polyurethane resin, it is difficult to improve both functions. For example, when the moisture permeability was set at 4,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours, it was not possible to obtain a processed fabric having a water resistance pressure of 2,000 mmH.sub.2 O.
In order to improve on this point, the use of a film of a mixture of polyurethane resin and polyamino acid-modified urethane resin which was wet coagulated after mixing is proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-173178. According to this proposal, a processed fabric is obtained having moisture permeability of at least 7,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours and a water resistance pressure of at least 1,500 mmH.sub.2 O.
In addition, the use of a film of a mixture of fluororesin copolymer, composed by using fluororubber for the base polymer, and polyurethane resin which was wet coagulated after mixing is proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-99671. According to this proposal, a processed fabric is obtained having moisture permeability of 9,000-13,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours and a water resistance pressure of at least 1,500 mmH.sub.2 O.
However, in the technology which uses a resin coating composed by mixing the above-mentioned polyamino acid denatured urethane resin and polyurethane resin, although moisture permeability is 4,000-10,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours, water resistance pressure is on the order of 3,000-4,000 mmH.sub.2 O. Moreover, in addition to the wear resistance of the resin film being inferior, the washing durability is remarkably inferior. Namely, a decrease in water resistance and separation strength is observed as a result of washing, thus preventing this resin film from withstanding practical use.
In addition, in the technology which uses a resin coating composed by mixing a fluororesin copolymer, composed by using fluororubber for the base polymer, and polyurethane resin, although the moisture permeability is 9,000-13,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours, the water resistance pressure was on the order of 2,000-3,000 mmH.sub.2 O. Moreover, when the proportion of fluororesin copolymer is increased, its compatibility with polyurethane resin becomes poor, resulting in inferior workability and productivity.

Moisture permeable, waterproof fabric and its production process


A separating device wherein two belts with different friction coefficients present respective straight portions facing each other and converging at a contact portion. The belts are fed with a number of mail items which are wedged in the V-shaped opening defined by the straight portions and are fed singly through the contact portion by the higher friction coefficient belt and to the input of a follow-up conveyor belt system. The device comprises a barrier of sensors located between the contact portion and the input of the conveyor belt system, and which provide for determining the form and spacing of the mail items. The signal generated by the barrier of sensors is used for adjusting operation of the higher friction coefficient belt.

The present invention relates to a separating device for mail items.
Separating devices are known which are fed at the input with packs of mail items (letters and postcards), and which provide for forming at the output a substantially orderly stream of linearly spaced items.
Known separating devices feature either permeable belts or perforated drums, which, with the aid of a vacuum pump, suck one item at a time off the pack and feed it to a follow-up conveyor line.
In addition to being highly complex, devices of the aforementioned type present a limited output capacity, and fail to provide for adjusting the characteristics of the output stream.
Other known mail separating devices, such as that described in European Patent EP-60.596 filed by Elettronica San Giorgio-ELSAG S.p.A., feature a pair of endless belts having straight portions converging at an acute angle and maintained elastically contacting each other at a contact portion corresponding to the apex of the acute angle. The two belts present widely differing friction coefficients, and travel in opposite directions.
The belts are fed with a stream of mail items, which are wedged inside the V-shaped opening defined by the straight portions of the belts, and are fed one at a time through the contact portion by the higher friction coefficient belt and on to a follow-up conveyor belt system on which the items are arranged in an orderly stream with a normally constant gap between the adjacent portions.
Devices of the aforementioned type fail to provide for adjusting the gap between the adjacent portions of the items in the output stream, or for producing an output stream wherein the leading edges of the items present a constant pitch.


From an error information containing a content of a correctable error that has occurred in a controller of a failure prediction system and an ID of the controller and manufacturing information of a machine to which the controller is attached, a failure of a controller belonging to a group of controllers in which such an error as indicated in the error information has not occurred yet is predicted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a failure prediction system of a controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a manufacturing field typified by automobiles, productivity may be reduced due to a failure in a machine or a controller used in a manufacturing line of a product. Thus, in recent years, it is requested that necessary countermeasures be taken before a fatal error occurs in the controller.
As a technology for a preventive maintenance, there is known a method of notifying a recoverable error of the controller to a server so as to perform a countermeasure such as a component replacement or a parameter change with respect to the controller before a fatal error occurs.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-178014 discloses a system in which a server periodically acquires information of terminals to calculate a deterioration progressing degree and performs a countermeasure against a failure based on the deterioration progressing degree. JP 2003-006139 A discloses a technology in which a retry event occurring in an ATM is transmitted to a monitor server, and a rotation speed of a cash feeding motor is changed when preventive maintenance information exceeds a threshold, so that a failure is prevented in advance.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-163520 discloses a technology in which a maintenance information transmission command is transmitted to each terminal from a server in a predetermined interval, and when the terminal transmits inspection data and a message to the server in response to the transmitted maintenance information transmission command, the inspection data received by the server is compared with a threshold, so that a failure of each terminal is predicted. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-143377 A discloses a system in which recoverable failures are counted in each terminal, and when the counted value exceeds a threshold, the fact is notified to the server.
Further, as an item related to failure prediction, it has been known that, if a correctable error occurs, for example, in a DRAM in a certain month, there is a high possibility that an uncorrectable error occurs in that month. Thus, it has been confirmed that it is meaningful to estimate an uncorrectable fatal error based on occurrence status of correctable errors (see "DRAM error is not uncommon/Google's extensive research", Nikkei Electronics, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., Jan. 11, 2010, No. 1021, pp. 81 to 88).
However, in the related art, if a recoverable error occurs in a controller, it is possible to take a countermeasure for the controller. However, in a case where the error is caused from a quality defect of a memory mounted in the controller or in a case where the error depends on a type of a machine provided with the controller, there is a possibility that a similar fatal error may occur even in the controller in which components of the same lot are used. Therefore, it is difficult to take a countermeasure against these cases. In addition, in case where the error is derived from a design problem, similar errors may occur even in controllers having similar use conditions, an abrasion state and a hardware configuration close to each other.


A therapeutic composition derived from a pre-activated photoactive compound and a conveyor for destroying tumor or other pathogenic biological contaminants infecting animal body tissues. The conveyor can either be a matrix support or an antibody. The activation of the photoactive compound to produce the pre-activated photoactive compound is carried out by the use of an activating agent. The pre-activated photoactive compound retains its therapeutic activity subsequent to activation. A method for preparing such a therapeutic composition is disclosed. Methods for treating animal body tissue, either outside the body or inside the body, infected with tumors or other pathogenic biological contaminants are disclosed.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an ancient concept and has been described and utilized over 30 centuries ago. The therapy was used in ancient times for the treatment of vitiligo in India, China and Egypt. In the last century, ultraviolet (UV) radiation was successfully used in the treatment of lupus vulgaris, a type of skin tuberculosis endemic in the Scandinavian countries.
PDT usually involves the administration of one or more photoactive agents to the subject to be treated followed by exposing the specific target location or target organ of the subject to light. Thus, for example, upon illumination, Methylene Blue has been used to kill Trichoderma viride, a common fungus, outside the body. Similarly, acridine orange, as well as Methylene Blue, kills blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni, in vitro, upon exposure to light. P. S. Lacaz and J. C. E. Holanda, Bol. Acad. Nac. Med. (Brazil) 145: 43 (1974), Chem Abstr. 86: 134166. Likewise, larvae of Anopheles mosquitoes are killed by the simultaneous exposure to photoactive dyes and light. A. Barbieri, Accion fotodynamica de la luz. Riv. Malariol, 7: 456 (1928); H. Schildmacher, Biol. Zentr. 69: 468 (1950).
PDT has been used to neutralize externally the toxicity of many snake venoms without significantly altering their antigenicity so that they can still be used to manufacture antibodies for the snake venom. W. F. Kocholaty, J. C. Goetz, et al., Toxicon 5: 153 (1968). Similar results have been reported for some animal viruses. Thus, utilizing similar technique, vaccines, including influenza vaccines, have been prepared. J. D. Spikes and R. Livingston, Adv. Radiat. Biol. 3: 29 (1969); C. V. Hanson, in "Medical Virology," Proc. Int'l Symp. 2: 45, Elsevier (1983). Likewise, influenza or encephalomyelitis viruses externally added to contaminate human blood plasma are inactivated by light in the presence of toluidine blue dye without significant alteration to the properties of plasma proteins. F. Heinmets, J. R. Kingston and C. W. Hiatt, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Report 53-55: 1 (1955).
Extracorporeal PDT, utilizing light and psoralen dyes, has also been reported for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Psoralen dyes in the presence of light have also been used for the treatment of vitiligo. T. B. Fitzpatrick and M. A. Pathak, J. Invest. Dermatil. 32: 229 (1959); A. V. Benedetto, Cutis 20: 469 (1977). Skin tumors have been treated with the simultaneous exposure of the tumors to both eosin dyes and light. H. V. Tappeiner and A. Jesionek, Munch. Me. Wochenschr. 50: 2042 (1903).
In the early 40's, it was observed that hematoporphyrin derivative (hereinafter Hpd) preferentially accumulated in tumors and lymph nodes. H. Auler and G. Banzer, Z. Krebforsch. 53: 65 (1942). As a result, methods have been developed to capitalize on the unique property of Hpd as a tumor marker in the detection and localization of different forms of cancer cells. E. G. King, et al., Hematoporphyrin Derivative as a Tumor Marker in the Detection and Localization of Pulmonary Malignancy, in Recent Results in Cancer Research, Vol. 82, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1982, 90; R. D. Benson, et al., Mayo Clinic Proc. 57: 548 (1982).
Although the unique photodynamic properties of Hpd, as well as its unique preferential affinity toward tumor cells, had long been known, it was more than half a century later that the potential of using Hpd to selectively destroy tumor cells was explored. In 1966, Lipson and co-workers reported treating one case of recurrent breast cancer using a combination of Hpd and light. M. S. Lipson, M. J. Gray and E. J. Baldes, Proc. 9th Intl. Cancer Congr., p. 393 (1966). The use of light in the presence of Hpd to selectively destroy tumor cells in human has been reviewed by Dougherty et. al. T. J. Dougherty, et al., Photoradiation Therapy: Clinical and Drug Advances. In Porphyrin Photosensitization, D. Kessel and T. J. Dougherty, Eds. Plenum Press, N.Y., pp. 3-13, 1983.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,151 teaches the preparation and purification of porphyrin-type drugs. The patent also teaches the diagnosis and destruction of cancer cells with porphyrin-type drugs. In treating humans or other mammals with the drugs, light must be irradiated on the cancer cells in such a position as to uniformly illuminate the cancer cells. When cancer cells, having the porphyrin-type drugs associated therewith, are illuminated with light, the drugs are activated and thus causing the destruction of the cancer cells by a mechanism not completely understood yet. The patent also discloses several apparatus for transmitting light to different parts of the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,190 discloses that while a dye such as Hpd is being held within the tumor cells in the body, the activation of the dye is accomplished by pulsed electromagnetic radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,027 teaches the inactivation of pathogenic biological microorganisms by simultaneous treatment with furocoumarins and a long wavelength ultraviolet light under conditions which limit the availability of oxygen and other reactive species.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,521 teaches a chemical agent for the reduction of the population of a selected blood constituent having receptor sites. The invention uses a photoactive agent physically incorporate within or chemically bound to a carrier molecule. The carrier molecule has a strong affinity for the receptor sites on the blood constituent. When activated by Ultraviolet ("UV") radiation, the photoactive agent bound to the carrier molecule interferes with the metabolism of the selected blood constituent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,322 discloses a method and system for externally treating human blood to reduce the functioning lymphocyte population in the blood system. According to the method, blood is treated with a photoactive agent and simultaneously irradiated with UV radiation outside the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,715 teaches a removable UV light array assembly for use in a patient system wherein photoactivatable agents, in contact with patient blood cells, are irradiated extracorporeally and then returned to the patient.
Cyanine dyes are members of another class of dyes that are selectively retained by tumor cells and certain viruses. For example, Merocyanine 540, (commonly referred to as MC 540) has been used for light-induced tumor and viral chemotherapy. K. S. Gulliya, J. L. Matthews, J. W. Fay, and R. M. Dowben, Proc. SPIE-Intl. Soc. Opt. Engineering 84f7: 163-65 (1987); K. S. Gulliya, S. Pervaiz, D. G. Nealon, and D. v. VanderMeulen, Proc. SPIE-Intl. Soc. Opt. Engineering 907: 34-36 (1988); F. Sieber, Photochem. and Photobiol. 46: 1035-42 (1987).
The emphasis on using a photoactive compound or dye as the photoactivating or light-activating compound in photoradiation of tumors or viruses is based on two important properties of the photoactive compound or dye. Firstly, the photoactive compound or dye is preferentially accumulated and retained to a higher degree in or around the target tumor or virus than in the surrounding normal body tissues. Secondly, after being retained in or around the tumor or virus, the photoactive compound or dye is properly photoactivated causing the destruction of tumor cells or virus with which the dye has associated. The destruction of tumor cells or virus occurs when they are simultaneously exposed to the dye and light of a suitable wavelength. The generally accepted mechanism of cell kill by photoactivated dye is that when activated by appropriate light, the dye undergoes an energy transfer process with oxygen to form a reactive singlet oxygen, which subsequently oxidizes and kills the cell or virus to which the dye has attached or associated as a substrate. K. R. Weishaupt, C. J. Gomer, and T. J. Dougherty, Cancer Res. 36: 2326-29 (1976); F. Sieber, Photochem. and Photobiol. 46: 1035-42 (1987).
The life-time of the extremely reactive singlet oxygen is extremely short, less than a fraction of microsecond. Hence, the currently accepted method of practicing PDT is to first let the photoactive compound bind to the target tumor cells or viruses, and then activate the bound photoactive compound. Thus, when the reactive singlet oxygen is generated from photoactivation, the target tumor cells or viruses that are in the close proximity to the activated dye and oxygen are destroyed. The normal cells do not preferentially accumulate the photoactive compound, hence generally very little reactive singlet oxygen is generated in their close proximity. Accordingly, the normal cells are generally spared from destruction by the photoactivated photoactive compound. T. J. Dougherty, et al., Photoradiation Therapy: Clinical and Drug Advances. In Porphyrin Photosensitization, D Kessel and T. J. Dougherty, Eds. Plenum Press, N.Y., pp. 3-13, 1983.
It has been reported that dye such as MC 540 will undergo considerable photobleaching when being irradiated with a light source with the wavelength from about 320 to 600 nm. After about 70 minutes, the dye was decomposed as a result of direct oxidation and/or reaction with lipid peroxides. B. Kalyanaraman, J. B. Feix, F. Sieber, J. P. Thomas, and A. W. Girotti, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A. 84:2999-3003 (1987). Similarly, irradiation of an aqueous solution of MC 540 with white light fitted with a 360-nm cutoff filter results in a colorless solution in about 20 min. N. S. Dixit and R. A. Mackay, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 105:2928-29 (1983). Other cyanine dyes also undergo photobleaching in solution. O. Valdes-Aguilera, L. Cincotta, J. Foley, and I. E. Kochevar, Photochem. Photobiol. 45:337-44 (1987). Consequently, samples of dye solution are always prepared freshly and in the dark.
As can be seen from the discussion above, PDT has one major limitation in practical utility, that is, in order to eradicate from the animal body the tumor cells or viruses on which the photoactive compound or dye resides, such cells or virus must be exposed to an appropriate light source. Thus, to achieve the desired killing, one must find, if at all possible, the target tumor cells which have preferentially accumulated the photoactive compound, and then one must irradiate these target cells inside the animal body with a light source directly. If the tumor, such as solid tumor, is large enough and localized that it can been seen by naked eyes, then the dye can be injected into the tumor itself. There is still the problem of introducing light into the inner portions of the tumor. Moreover, during metastasis, the tumor cells or viruses have spread to other parts of the body and are no longer localized. The dilemma after the introduction of photoactive compound to the patient is: Where should the irradiation be given? Even assuming that the malignant tumor cells can be localized and found in one particular body tissue or organ, many body tissues and internal organs where tumor cells or viruses have proliferated are nonetheless inaccessible to any light.
Another major limitation to PDT is that the light energy itself, in particular the ultraviolet light, is toxic and can be mutagenic to normal cells as well normal tissues. Thus, many photoactive compounds that can be activated best by ultraviolet light cannot be used in the clinic because the ultraviolet light required for the activation of the compounds would be exceedingly harmful to the surrounding normal tissues and the normal cells.

Therapeutic compositions derived from photoactive compounds


A method of encoding data includes representing the data as number(s) in a first base. The method further includes converting the number(s) into a number(s) in a second base. The resultant number in the second base can be viewed as data suitable for encoding using an ECC algorithm. After being ECC encoded, the data may be further modulation encoded. Modulation encoding may include transforming each symbol to a value that constrains run lengths of a binary value (e.g., zero). A decoding method and system checks a received data block for erroneous symbols, maps each received, encoded symbol to an associated ECC-encoded transform pair. The ECC encoded data may be decoded and corrected using the ECC and the locations of identified erroneous symbols. Finally, the corrected data sequence is converted from the second base back to the first base, from which the original data is retrieved.

In the fields of data storage and communication, data reliability is critical. Specifically, it is important that data transmitted or stored is substantially free from errors when that data is received or retrieved from storage, respectively. Traditional methods for ensuring data reliability have included appending check bits or parity symbols onto data prior to transmission or storage whereby upon receipt of the data, the parity symbols may be used to detect and correct errors in the data. A symbol is generally a unit of data, and typically includes a number of bit. Essentially, the parity symbols add redundancy to data, which is transmitted via and/or stored on a potentially noisy medium. One broad class of redundancy error correction techniques is error correction coding (ECC). One class of commonly used ECC algorithms is the Reed-Solomon (RS) class of algorithms.
Another coding technique called modulation coding is typically used after data is encoded with ECC. The term "modulation coding" refers generally to encoding a data stream to meet a modulation constraint, one or more properties which may be useful or necessary for transmission or storage of data through a communication or data storage channel. One particular example of modulation coding is run-length limited (RLL) coding. RLL coding also adds redundancy, and the redundancy is most often used to guarantee that timing information is present in the data stream when the data stream is received (in the case of data transmission) or retrieved (in the case of data storage). A data stream includes a series of pulses, often electrical voltage pulses, and the presence of a pulse at a particular bit time corresponds to the presence of a binary one in the RLL coded data stream. RLL coding provides timing recoverability by encoding the data stream such that the number of consecutive binary zeros in the data stream is limited to a desired maximum number, or k-constraint. The k-constraint ensures that the space between pulses is not too long, and thereby provides timing recoverability because the space between pulses does not carry any timing information. Many variations of RLL codes exist that provide a wide range of k-constraints. In current approaches, a data stream is ECC coded prior to RLL coding. Several problems have been identified with practicing ECC coding with traditional RLL coding.
RLL coding and ECC reduce code rate. Code rate refers to the relationship between a number of input data bits prior to encoding, and the number of data bits after encoding. The overall code rate is the product of the RLL code rate and the ECC code rate. The RLL and ECC code rates are less than one because RLL coding and ECC add extra bits to the input data in order to provide timing recovery and data reliability when data is received or retrieved. These extra bits are necessary because timing recovery and the ability to correct errors require additional redundancy. The code rate is a measure of the redundancy introduced into the data. In general, more timing recovery information and error correction information results in a penalty of decreased code rate. Conversely, as the code rate increases, the robustness of the timing information and the ECC decreases. In other words, as more parity symbols are added to input data during encoding, higher reliability can be achieved. However, as higher reliability is achieved by adding parity symbols, the code rate goes down. In general, a lower code rate adversely impacts design parameters, including storage density requirements (in the case of data storage) and bandwidth requirements (in the case of data transmission).
One problem that has been recognized with respect to RLL coding is error propagation. Error propagation refers to an effect in which errors introduced to data in a data block may be spread to other parts of the data block after RLL decoding. Error propagation due to RLL decoding can drastically reduce data reliability because data errors grow in size (propagate) through RLL decoding and thereby may corrupt multiple ECC code symbols, often rendering them useless in recovering data.
One approach that has been used to limit the effects of error propagation is referred to as reverse ECC. As discussed earlier, a common approach is introducing the ECC code prior to the RLL code. Reverse ECC involves RLL encoding of input data prior to ECC coding. In other words, input data is RLL encoded and subsequently ECC encoded. Since ECC coding adds extra bits, i.e., the parity symbols, reverse ECC requires another step, whereby ECC parity symbols are separately RLL encoded, because the parity symbols may otherwise violate the specified run-length constraint for binary zeros. Although the Reverse ECC approach may limit error propagation to a certain degree, problems with Reverse ECC have been identified. First, implementation of Reverse ECC has resulted in greater die size requirements in integrated circuits. Additionally, for a given degree of data reliability, code rate may be reduced because the second RLL encoding increases the block redundancy beyond the amount required for standard (i.e., not reverse) RLL and ECC implementation.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been developed.

Error correction coding utilizing numerical base conversion for modulation coding