A package for mounting a semiconductor device to a circuit board. An insulating substrate is provided, which has at least one layer, and provides rigidity to the package. A plurality of electrically conductive contacts are disposed on the top surface of the substrate, receive the semiconductor device, and make electrical contact between the semiconductor device and the substrate. A plurality of electrically conductive through-holes are formed in the substrate, and extend from the top surface of the substrate to the bottom surface of the substrate. The through-holes make electrical connection between all of the layers of the substrate. Electrical interconnections between the contacts and the through-holes are provided by a plurality of electrically conductive traces. A z-conductive layer is attached to the bottom surface of the substrate. Electrical continuity between the bottom surface of the z-conductive layer and the through-holes extending to the bottom surface of the substrate is substantially limited to the z axis of the z-conductive layer according to a predetermined pitch. A plurality of electrically conductive connectors are attached to the bottom surface of the z-conductive layer, and are disposed so as to be in electrical contact through the z-conductive layer with no more than one through-hole.

With their versatility and compact nature, semiconductor devices are now used in virtually all electronic equipment. Due to their complex structure and small size, semiconductor devices may be extremely fragile. The devices are, therefore, typically packaged to protect them from abrasion or shock which could easily destroy them. Along with protecting the device itself, semiconductor packaging should also be as compact as practical, while facilitating electrical contact to the device within the package. This enables electrical components containing semiconductors to be commensurately smaller.
Surface mount technology is often employed to keep the package for an integrated circuit as compact as possible. Surface mount technology reduces the size of a package by eliminating certain parts, such as sockets, which are unnecessary for the semiconductor's operation. One type of surface mount package is the ball grid array package. A ball grid array package not only provides a substrate on which the semiconductor device is mounted, but also the electrical contact between the bonding pads of the semiconductor device and a circuit board. The ball grid array package mounts onto a circuit board.
In a ball grid array package, the bottom surface of the semiconductor device is attached to the top surface of the package substrate. Electrical connections are made between the bonding pads on the top surface of the device and contacts on the substrate. After these electrical connections are made, the semiconductor device is encapsulated in some manner to protect it. Depending on the specific semiconductor device or the environment for its use, the device may be encapsulated using, for example, epoxy or a hermetic seal.
The ball grid array package is named for the solder balls on the bottom surface of the substrate, opposite the semiconductor device. Disposed in a grid array, the solder balls are used to make contact with the circuit board. Inside the package are conductive traces which electrically connect the solder balls to the contacts on the top surface of the package substrate where the semiconductor device is attached. After placing the package with its solder balls over the contact areas of a circuit board, the package is attached to the circuit board by heating and melting the solder balls.
Bonding thin gold or gold alloy wire from the semiconductor's bonding pads to a corresponding contact on the ball grid array package substrate provides electrical connections between the semiconductor device. This conventional wire bonding process has several shortcomings. First, the wire bonding can cause excessive inductance to the electrical signal. Second, wire bonding requires bonding pads at the periphery of the semiconductor device. This can limit the amount of bonding pads on the die, which corresponds to the number of input and output signals available. Third, with peripheral bonding pads, power cannot be directly supplied to the interior of the semiconductor device.
Another method of making electrical connection between a semiconductor device and a semiconductor package does not require any bonding wires. This method employs a specifically designed integrated circuit known as a flip-chip. Flip-chips do not require bonding wires to form electrical connections. A flip-chip has bonding pads spaced around the entire top surface of the semiconductor device, rather than predominantly at the chip's periphery, as is common with a more traditional device requiring wire bonding. On each bonding pad of the flip-chip is placed a small solder bump. Instead of mounting the back of the flip-chip to the substrate, the flip-chip is flipped over so that the solder bumps make direct contact with appropriately arranged contacts on the package substrate.
By eliminating bonding wires, a package designed for a flip-chip greatly reduces inductance between the semiconductor device and the substrate, and allows the electrical signal to be supplied directly between the bonding pads on the semiconductor device and the contacts and traces on the substrate. Additionally, since flip-chips have bonding pads spaced across the entire top surface of the semiconductor device, rather than predominantly at the periphery of the device, a flip-chip can have far more bonding pads than a wire bonded chip. Also, with the bonding pads located across the interior of the flip-chip, power can be supplied directly to any location on the device.
Package substrates are usually made of a multi-layered material, such as printed circuit board, or flex circuit. A substrate may contain a portion of the required traces on each of several layers of the substrate. Conductive through-holes form the electrical connections between the traces on the different layers of the substrate. Because many electrical connections need to be made on the substrate directly under the flip-chip, that area contains many through-holes with a very fine pitch between them. With current technology, a through-hole required between any two layers of the substrate must be formed in the same position in all of the layers. That is, the through-hole forms a conductive path from the top surface of the multi-layered substrate, where the flip-chip is attached, to the bottom surface of the substrate.
To form a ball grid array package, the solder balls are attached to the bottom surface of the package substrate and connect with the appropriate through-holes. Unfortunately, the through-holes required to make electrical connection to a flip-chip will typically have a diameter and a pitch that is far smaller than the diameter of the conductive pads on which the solder balls are formed. A single solder ball conductive pad could, therefore, contact multiple through-holes creating unintended, and undesired, shorts and loops in the resulting circuit.
To circumvent this problem, traditional technology places all of the solder balls in an area of the package substrate outside the area occupied by the flip-chip. Thus the solder balls reside in an area of the package substrate having only the necessary through-holes to contact the solder balls and not in the area under the flip-chip which is densely populated with through-holes. Unfortunately, this technique tends to increase the package size, moving all of the solder balls to the periphery of the package and not utilizing the center of the package where the flip-chip is attached.
A need exists, therefore, for a ball grid array package that can be efficiently used with a flip-chip. The ball grid array package should permit solder ball placement in the area of the substrate underlying the flip-chip. Adventageously, such an array may be smaller than conventional packages while having surface area sufficient for the number of solder balls required to make electrical contact between the semiconductor device and the package.

High contact density ball grid array package for flip-chips


A collapsible keyboard. The collapsible keyboard includes a keyboard chassis, a right track frame, a right key set and a main key set. The right track frame is disposed on the keyboard chassis and slides rightward and leftward. The right track frame has a first sloped sliding groove. The left portion of the first sloped sliding groove is higher than the right portion of the first sloped sliding groove. The right key set is connected to the right track frame. The right track frame is moved rightward to a right expansion position when the right key set moves rightward. The right track frame is moved leftward to a right contraction position when the right key set moves leftward. The main key set has a right protruding element. The right protruding element is formed on the right side of the main key set and slides in the first sloped sliding groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible keyboard, and in particular to a collapsible keyboard with reduced length.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a keyboard is an important input device for a computer. Many characters and symbols are input to the computer by the keyboard. Other input devices, such as a mouse and an optical pen, have slow input speed and cannot take the place of the keyboard.
A conventional keyboard usually includes a base and a plurality of keys disposed thereon. A user strikes the keys to output corresponding electronic signals to the computer.
Although the conventional keyboard is a convenient input device, its length and large footprint make it inconvenient to transport. Thus, a foldable keyboard (WO00/60438) is disclosed to overcome the above problems.
The invention provides a collapsible keyboard. The collapsible keyboard can be collapsed into an upper layer and a lower layer to reduce the length thereof.


A resettable circuit interrupter for ALCI and GFCI applications utilizes movable contacts mounted on contact spring arms adjacent a U-shaped bight of the spring arm. Closing of the contacts is achieved by compression of the bight by an actuating member that is latched in the closed contact position. Unlatching of the actuating member results when current imbalances are detected, so that the contacts are opened by the bias forces produced by the contact spring arms. A reset button is located in a recess between the prongs of the plug-in member so that the device can be reset only when it is unplugged from an electrical receptacle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device for interrupting a circuit in the event of unbalanced currents to and from a load, and more specifically, this invention relates to a resettable circuit interrupter that is encapsulated in a plug-in unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of situations exist in which an imbalance in current flow to a load and in the return line to the source creates hazards or undesired conditions. Circuit interrupters are employed to disconnect power from the load in the event of such hazardous or undesired conditions. Specific examples of the type of circuit interrupter utilized include the appliance leakage circuit interrupter (ALCI) and the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI).
Various types of ALCI's and GFCI's have been utilized in the past. Frequently, the ALCI or GFCI is included in the circuit of an electrical receptacle outlet box or in the appliance or other electrical device being plugged into the receptacle. However, when such built in devices are not utilized, it is desirable to have a protective circuit interrupter that can be plugged into the receptacle to protect any appliance or other device that is to be energized from that receptacle.
After such a circuit interrupter has been actuated, either as the result of an undesired situation, such as a ground fault current, or by a momentary line surge, it is desirable to be able to reset the device for future use. However, it is also necessary that the resetting not take place when power is being applied to the load, when a ground fault exists, as a dangerous condition could be perpetuated. Accordingly, provision has to be made for resetting such that power is not conveyed to the load during the resetting operation.
Various types of resettable circuit interrupters have been utilized in the past. A resettable device for use in undervoltage protection is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,456--Legatti, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Another example of a reset mechanism utilized in connection with a GFCI incorporated into an electrical receptacle wall box is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,762--Samborski et al. Although illustrative of resettable devices, these prior art arrangements do not utilize the approach of the present invention.
In addition to the basic operational requirements, such plug-in circuit interrupters should be relatively small, simple and as low cost as possible. The resettable circuit interrupter of this invention satisfies those requirements.


A navigation apparatus, method, and program store map/road data including information on parking lots, provide position information on a position of the vehicle, and output guidance information. The apparatus, method, and program process the position information and the map/road data to generate guidance information, and make a first determination whether the vehicle enters a first threshold area around a target destination. The apparatus, method, and program make, in response to the first determination, a second determination that the vehicle has not been parked before a parking notification output condition is fulfilled and output parking notification information on the output unit in response to the second determination.

1. Related Technical Fields
Related technical fields include navigation apparatuses and navigation methods that provide guidance to a vehicle user.
2. Related Art
Navigation apparatuses that provide guidance to a driver are known. In such apparatuses, the user inputs a final destination and the navigation apparatus outputs guidance information guiding the vehicle user to the final destination.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. JP A 11-257979 describes a navigation apparatus that retrieves parking lot information on parking lots near the final destination. The apparatus then chooses a parking lot according to conditions input by the user such as the cheapest parking lot.
Furthermore, Japanese Published Patent Application No. JP A 2006-58026 describes a navigation apparatus that, after the vehicle reached the final destination but continued to move around for some time, determines that the navigation guidance to the final destination is restarted.

Navigation apparatus, method, and program


Disclosed is a semiaromatic polyamide resin composition including a semiaromatic polyamide (A), a phosphorus-based flame retardant (B) and an inorganic aluminum compound (C), wherein the mass ratio (A/B) between (A) and (B) is 50/50 to 95/5; the amount of the inorganic aluminum compound (C) is 0.1 to 20 parts by mass in relation to 100 parts by mass of the total amount of (A) and (B); (A) is constituted with an aromatic dicarboxylic acid component, an aliphatic diamine component and a monocarboxylic acid component; and the content of the monocarboxylic acid component is 0.3 to 4.0 mol % in relation to the whole monomer components constituting (A).

Semiaromatic polyamides are excellent in low water absorption property as well as in heat resistance and mechanical properties, and are used in a lot of electric and electronic components and in peripheral components of engines in vehicles. The semiaromatic polyamides used in the electric and electronic components, among these components, are required to have further higher degree of flame retardancy.
As a method for imparting flame retardancy to resins, methods using flame retardants are usually adopted. Recently, from the growing environmental awareness, halogen-based flame retardants have been avoided, and in general, nonhalogen-based flame retardants have been used.
For example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 disclose the use of the mixtures, as nonhalogen-based flame retardants, each composed of the reaction product between melamine and phosphoric acid, a phosphinic acid salt and a metal compound, and any of these mixtures is disclosed to satisfy the flame retardancy standard, the UL94 V-0 standard, in a 1/16-inch molded product.
However, a resin composition including a polyamide and a phosphinic acid salt is significant in metal corrosion. Accordingly, such a composition intensively abrades, during melt processing, the metal components such as the screw and the die of an extruder, and the screw and the die of a molding machine, and hence is disadvantageously poor in mass productivity. Such a composition also disadvantageously generates a large amount of gas during molding processing the composition and causes attachment of contamination to the die.
With respect to these problems, the present inventors have disclosed, in Patent Literature 3, a technique to suppress the metal corrosion and the generation of gas by using boehmite as a stabilizer in the resin composition including a polyamide and a phosphinic acid salt.

Semiaromatic polyamide resin composition and molded body formed by molding same


A dynamic rotary traveling wave oscillator circuit includes plurality of multi-output spot-advancing blocks (MOSABs) forming a main-loop and a plurality of multi-input spot-advancing blocks (MISABs) forming a sub-loop. Depending on a desired division ratio, a connection connects blocks on the MOSABs and MISABs to create the desired division ratio.

A dynamic frequency scaling (DFS) scheme based on resonant rotary clocking may address certain needs:
1) The power savings and the stability of the resonant rotary clocking are directly proportional to its operating frequency; thus, lower frequency implementations of rotary clocking are often inefficient. For instance, when the resonant clocking implementation on AMD Piledriver chip is used at high frequencies, and the clock network is multiplexed off to be driven by a non-resonant clock source for lower frequency modes.
2) While a frequency division circuitry exists for resonant rotary clocking (e.g. not for coupled LC oscillator-based type that is used but for RTWO), the rotary clock frequency divider is a static divider and cannot perform dynamic frequency scaling as targeted in this work for DFS-based architectural design support.
The second challenge listed above refers to prior work on resonant clock frequency division described in US publication 2008/0258780. This describes a circuitry for frequency division designed specifically for the RTWO-based resonant clocking that uses the SABs driven by multi-phases of the rotary clock. As described herein, an RTWO frequency divider design methodology is based on the SAB for dynamic frequency scaling. Using this methodology, an RTWO frequency divider for integer division ratios of 3 to 9 may be realized based on one circuit topology.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Resonant frequency divider design methodology for dynamic frequency scaling


The Spin-stabilized Projectile for Smoothbore Barrels would provide for improved accuracy and a flatter trajectory in comparison tot current Foster design projectiles or statically stabilized finned projectiles. The method achieved for spin stabilization here can easily be up-scaled for larger caliber artillery projectiles for when a spin-stabilized projectile is desired from a smoothbore weapon.

The Spin Stabilized Projectile for Smoothbore Barrels would provide for improved accuracy and a flatter trajectory in comparison to current Foster design or finned projectiles. The method achieved for spin stabilization here can easily be up-scaled for larger caliber artillery projectiles for when a spin-stabilized projectile is desired from a smoothbore weapon.

Spin stabilized projectile for smoothbore barrels


A bicycle control device wherein a base member is provided for attachment to a structural member of the bicycle, and a control member is mounted for movement relative to the base member. A relay cable has a first end secured relative to the base member and a second end secured relative to the control member so that movement of the control member relative to the base member causes the first end of the cable to move relative to the second end of the cable. A linking member is disposed between the first end of the cable and the second end of the cable for movement with the cable. The linking member has an attachment location for attaching a control element of the bicycle to the linking member. The device may then operate according to the principle of a ruunning block.

The present invention is directed to a control device for controlling bicycle operating components and, more specifically, to a control device for operating brakes, bicycle transmissions such as hubs and derailleurs, and other devices.
With a conventional bicycle control device, the control displacement of a lever or knob controlled by hand is transmitted to a winder that is linked to one end of a control cable, and this winder reels the control cable in or out depending on the direction of this control displacement. Movement of the control cable results in the actuation of a working device such as a derailleur or brake linked to the other end of the control cable. Cable mechanisms work very well when the position between the manual lever or knob and the winder is in a twisted relation, or in cases in which there is a large gap between the manual lever or knob and the winder.
A bicycle shifting control device in which such a cable mechanism is used is known from Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 5-270475, for example. With this shifting control device, a manual knob and a winder are linked by a relay cable, and a shifting cable that is linked to the shifter is also linked to the winder. In order to lighten the operating effort required by the manual knob, the winding diameter of the relay cable is made greater than the winding diameter of the shifting cable. With such a device, however, reducing the operating effort by half requires that the winding diameter of the relay cable be twice the winding diameter of the shifting cable, so the winder becomes bulky. As a result the overall shifting control device is large. Consequently, there are problems with a shifting control device such as that described above in terms of mounting site options and the degree of design freedom.


A bulk box (200) comprising a base panel (202) and four side panels (204, 206) individually formed and assembled into a container. The bottom surface (232) of the base panel (202) comprises a matrix of pedestals (236) with the ground-contacting face (244) of each of the corner pedestals extending to the cornermost portions of the respective pedestal. The side panels (204, 206) include lateral flanges (254, 274) which overlap to form “double-thickness” corners. The side panels (204, 206) also have upwardly extending tabs (266, 286) and the base panel (202) has notches (242) so that, when a plurality of the bulk boxes are stacked one on top of the other, the tabs of a lower bulk box are received within the notches of an upper bulk box.

A bulk box commonly comprises a base panel and four side panels assembled together to form a container. The panels usually are made of plastic material and individually formed in a molding process. Mating members (e.g., slots and hooks) usually are provided on the panels so that they may be assembled together easily without the use of tools or other equipment.
Bulk boxes typically are filled with goods at a warehouse location and then transported to a distribution location. At the distribution location, the goods are unpacked from the bulk boxes and placed in hoppers, shelf boxes, or similar containers arranged in a flow racking system. The bulk boxes usually are then returned to the warehouse location either empty or perhaps filled with goods from the distribution location. If the bulk boxes are empty and space minimization is desirable, the bulk boxes will be disassembled for the return trip.
The transportation of the bulk boxes between the warehouse location and the distribution location often is accomplished with a truck, whereby space-optimization within the truck's trailer may be important. Also, or in any event, the bulk boxes should be capable of being loaded or unloaded with standard equipment (i.e., a forklift) and thus must be compatible therewith. Furthermore, at the warehouse location, within the transporting trucks, and/or at the distribution location, footprint concerns are often quite significant, whereby the ability to safely stack a plurality of bulk boxes can be essential.
Accordingly, a bulk box design preferably includes a construction that can be initially assembled without tools, is forklift-tine compatible, is sized to optimize truck trailer space, allows a plurality of boxes to be safely stacked, and/or can be assembled and disassembled selectively. Moreover, when bulk boxes are used to ship relatively heavy goods, the panels must have sufficient structural strengths to withstand the strain of the combined weight of the goods. This commonly is accomplished by causing the panels to incorporate structural members (e.g., metal bars or wooden rods) to increase stiffness. Additionally or alternatively, the construction of the bulk box and/or the panels must be such that stacking stability is not sacrificed even with heavy loads and/or at high stacking heights.


A ferrule holding member has a tube-shaped receiving portion including a receiving space therein, the receiving space receiving at least partially a ferrule mounted to a terminal of an optical fiber; and an engaging portion engaged to the ferrule received in the receiving portion, to thereby regulate movement of the ferrule relative to the receiving portion. The receiving portion includes a communicating hole to allow the receiving space to communicate externally. The engaging portion includes an engaging protrusion configured to be inserted in the communicating hole from an outer periphery side of the receiving portion, to engage the ferrule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ferrule holding member for holding a ferrule mounted to a terminal of an optical fiber, and an optical connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, an adapter that is used to connect a pair of optical fibers together in which signals are transmitted by light, and that holds two ferrules mounted to ends of the pair of optical fibers, respectively, with tips of the ferrules butted together has been known as disclosed by e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-39537 (JP-A-2000-39537).
The adapter disclosed by JP-A2000-39537 includes a first insertion mounting portion for holding one ferrule pressed in an axial direction by a spring, and a second insertion mounting portion for holding the other ferrule locked by a locking claw. The second insertion mounting portion is divided into upper and lower sides by two slits extending parallel to a center axis of the other ferrule. When the other ferrule is demounted from the second insertion mounting portion, the second insertion mounting portion is deformed by external force pushing the upper and lower sides of the second insertion mounting portion apart from each other. This allows releasing the lock of the locking claw, and demounting the other ferrule from the second insertion mounting portion.

Ferrule holding member and optical connector


A system and method of rendering a curve using data look-up tables for rasterizing the curve. The curve is subdivided so that it is approximated by a series of straight line segments of approximately equal length, with no line segment exceeds two pixels in length. The system subdivides any line segment that crosses horizontal axis of two adjacent horizontal scan rows. If the line segment does not cross the horizontal axis of a scan row, the pixel does not require detailed analysis. If the line segment does cross the horizontal axis of a particular horizontal scan row, the system uses look-up tables to determine the distance from the center point of the pixel in which the line segment crosses the horizontal axis to the point at which the line segment crosses the horizontal axis. The system uses three indices as pointers to the data look-up table containing the desired data. The three indices are themselves pointers to separate index tables in which the multiplication calculations required for the data look-up table have been precalculated and are incorporated into the values stored in the index tables. The index tables also incorporate a reduction in resolution from 1/64 to 1/8 pixel resolution. The index tables are also nonlinear to allow more data entries in areas where the round off error resulting from the resolution reduction are greatest. If the line segment crosses the horizontal axis to the left of the center of a pixel, the logic state for the pixel is changed. The system can be implemented on any computer and operates with any raster scan graphics display unit.

Computer systems frequently include graphics displays such as a display screen or graphic printer capable of displaying curves and alphanumeric characters. FIG. 1 illustrates a curve 2 and a series of alphanumeric characters 3 in the form of a graph that may be displayed on a typical computer display screen or graphic printer.
Graphic images are shown on the display screen or printer as a series of small dots. A pixel represents the smallest element or dot on the display screen or printer that can be addressed. The display screen or printed page is made up of many scan lines arranged in one dimension, typically the horizontal dimension, with each scan line being one pixel high. Each horizontal scan line is comprised of a series of pixels. As an example, a typical laser printer may have a resolution of 300 dots per inch. This means that the printed page is made up of 300 horizontal scan lines per inch, and each horizontal scan line is made up of 300 pixels per inch. A curve or alphanumeric character is displayed by the display screen or the printer using a group of pixels that approximates the curve and character.
A graphics display computer system generally includes a memory for storing a digital representation of the curve or character to be displayed. In prior art computer system, the digital values represent each pixel on the display screen or printed page. This approach to graphics display would require an extremely large memory to represent digital values for each pixel of a graphics display. Such a system is too slow when initially generating digital values which represent a curve, and is also too slow when manipulating the curve, such as when the curve is rotated or relocated on the display screen. Similarly, prior art computer systems represent graphic alphanumeric characters in memory as a bit-map where each bit in the bit-map corresponds to a pixel on the display screen. The curves of the individual alphanumeric characters are defined by the bit-map data for each alphanumeric character. This requires large amounts of memory to store the bit-map data and made it difficult to manipulate the alphanumeric characters, such as changing font type or font size. Because of these problems, many computer graphics systems utilize the Bezier spline method of modeling curves. This included a method of modeling alphanumeric characters as a series of lines and Bezier splines, as is common in TrueType.TM. character fonts.
A Bezier spline, often referred to as a Bezier curve, is a mathematical construct for curves and curved surfaces. A commonly used Bezier curve for two-dimensional graphics systems is a quadratic Bezier curve 4 illustrated in FIG. 2. The quadratic Bezier curve 4 requires three control points, 5, 6, and 7, to define the curve 4. Once the three control points are specified, the Bezier curve 4 is defined. However, as is well known to those skilled in the art, higher order Bezier curves may be used to create highly complex curves in two, three or higher dimensions. Thus, complex Bezier curves may be represented by just a few points.
While Bezier curves permit a curve to be defined by a small set of data points, when the Bezier curve itself is to be displayed on the display screen, the data values for each pixel used to trace out the curve must be specified. Since determining each and every data point on a curve is a slow, computationally inefficient process, it has been found highly beneficial to approximate the Bezier curve. An advantage of doing this is that the Bezier curve can be approximated very closely by a finite set of line segments. The number of line segments required to suitably approximate the Bezier curve depends on several factors including the rate of curvature of the Bezier curve and the resolution of the display screen or printer. Approximating a curve by a finite set of line segments is called "rendering the curve."
The above discussion is equally applicable to other graphics devices as well as display screens and printers although some parameters may vary. The pixel size on a typical laser printer, for example, is different from the pixel size on a typical display screen. However, the same problems encountered in rendering a Bezier curve on a display screen are present when rendering a curve on a laser printer or any other type of graphics display.
The typical method of rendering a Bezier curve requires a determination of which pixels should be turned on and which pixels should be turned off to visually represent a curved line. Note that the terms turning on and off simply refer to the fact that the pixels have two opposite binary logic states. It is obvious that a pixel that is turned on may create a lighted area on a display screen or a darkened area on the printed page, depending on the particular display mode (e.g., reverse video). For purposes of this application, turning a pixel on refers to the process of creating a visible dot on the display screen or printed page at the position of the pixel. Similarly, turning a pixel off refers to the process of leaving the particular pixel invisible on the display screen or printed page.
To render a Bezier curve in the prior art, the curve is first broken into a series of line segments each with a length dependent on such factors as the rate of curvature and the resolution of the graphic display. Systems of the prior art must then determine which pixels should be turned on to approximate the line segments that are used to approximate the Bezier curve. Line rendering procedures generally use the well-known Bresenham algorithm or some variant thereof. This technique generates line segments of variable length to approximate the Bezier curve. A portion of the Bezier curve with a slow rate of curvature can be approximated by longer line segments than a portion of the Bezier curve with a high rate of curvature. However, rendering line segments of variable length can be a slow tedious process that requires many computations.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method for rendering Bezier curves without the need for a long computational process.


A method is disclosed for the combined biological-chemical detoxification of municipal sewage sludge. A slurry of thickened primary sludge and secondary waste-activated sludge is fed to an enclosed insulated reactor vessel. The slurry is aerated with ambient air by a self-aspirating aerator to achieve autoheating of the slurry to thermophilic temperatures by the conservation of the metabolic heat of microbiological oxidation of the biodegradable organic material present in the slurry. The slurry is retained in the reactor for a period of time sufficient to destroy pathogenic bacteria and to increase the oxidation reduction potential of the biological reactor contents for the conversion of heavy metals to their desired oxidation state, following which the autoheated slurry is acidified to pH 1.0-3.0 for 6 to 12 hours to solubilize the heavy metals. Conventional dewatering techniques are used to separate the detoxified, acidic sludge and the acidic, heavy-metal-containing water. The sludge may be neutralized and reconditioned for safe land application and the metals can be recovered from the water using existing conventional techniques.

Sludge disposal for many cities in the United States has become a problem of increasing dimensions in the last two decades. With the highest per capita sludge generation in the world, the U.S. now generates about 4.5 billion dry kg per year in sewage solids which must be disposed of or utilized in a manner posing the least amount of threat to the environment. At present, most of this sludge is disposed of by means of landfill, ocean dumping and incineration; relatively small amounts are applied to agricultural lands. In light of emerging environmental, energy and economic constraints, land application now appears to be one of the most viable sludge utilization and disposal alternatives for the future. However, present sludge management technology often cannot guarantee public health protection or cost effective solutions.
Among the known methods of disinfecting sewage sludge, heat treatment is one of the most effective and environmentally safe. Raising the temperature to 60.degree. C. or higher for several days greatly reduces the numbers of viable viruses and vegetative forms of bacteria and will assure the destruction of one of the most environmentally resistant organisms, ascaris eggs. The principal drawback of heat treatment is the necessary addition of external energy especially amid prospects of higher future energy prices and possible fuel shortages. It has been found, however, that thermophilic aerobic digestion has the capability of maintaining disinfection temperatures solely from the heat released from the biological oxidation of organic matter to carbon dioxide, thus requiring no supplemental heat addition. This concept was demonstrated by L. C. Matsch and R. F. Drnevich using a pure oxygen injection system, and is discussed in their article "Autothermal Aerobic Digestion", Journal Water Pollution Control Federation 49 (2), 296 (1977). While thermophilic aerobic digestion does not require the use of external energy, high operating costs result from the necessary addition of pure oxygen.
Studies in Europe have demonstrated autoheating by the use of self-aspirating aerators which increases the oxidation efficiency so that autoheating may be achieved without the addition of pure oxygen. These studies have not, however, applied the autoheating theory to municipal sewage sludges nor have they made use of insulated vessels to conserve the heat of oxidation whereby the digester may be maintained at thermophilic temperatures for extended periods of time.
While known sewage treatment facilities can produce pasteurized sewage sludge, the removal of heavy metals from municipal sewage sludge has seldom been emphasized as a necessary treatment step. The presence of heavy metals, particularly cadmium, at significant levels in sludges of municipal treatment plants receiving industrial discharges has become a topic of increasing concern in the light of the potential impact of heavy metals on the environment and the food chain. Within the decade, evidence has been accumulated indicating that cadmium in sludge-amended soils can be magnified and accumulated in the food chain. Of further concern, cadmium has been reported to accumulate in the human kidneys to life-time levels not far below concentrations that would be expected to produce damage to this organ. Other toxic heavy metals known to be present in municipal sewage sludge include chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc. It is well established that heavy metals can be removed from dilute wastewaters passing through a municipal treatment plant with a high degree of efficiency. In typical municipal treatment plants accepting effluent discharges from industry, heavy metals in the treated sewage can be either absorbed to organic particles and settled out in primary treatment or entrapped in the biological floc of the activated sludge process. Heavy metals can thus be removed from the sewage stream in primary and secondary treatment with combined efficiencies ranging from 60 to 90 percent in most cases. This results in a sludge with heavy metal concentrations 10 to 1000 times greater than concentrations measured in the influent sewage. The metals in the resultant sludge are usually predominant in their insoluble form as precipitates of hydroxide, carbonate, phosphate or sulfide, especially when heavy metal concentrations exceed 10.sup.-4 M and when pH values at or above neutrality are maintained. Sludges subject to prolonged thickening, storage, or anaerobic digestion, however, would have oxidation reduction potentials (ORP) in the range considered anaerobic, below -300 mv. Inorganic chemistry theory would predict that at low ORP and at near neutral pH, heavy metals such as cadmium, cooper, nickel, iron, lead and zinc exist at equilibrium primarily as insoluble sulfide precipitates.
The conversion of sludge heavy metals to the soluble form prior to physical separation would allow the removal of heavy metals with conventional dewatering techniques in use today (i.e., centrifugation, belt press, dewatering beds, vacuum filter, etc.).
For years, the extraction of heavy metals from sewage sludges and sludge/soil mixtures with acid washings has been used as a standard laboratory test to determine the extent of metal uptake likely to occur with plants grown on sludge-amended soils. Laboratory tests have been conducted on untreated and anaerobically treated sludge using acid extraction techniques to remove heavy metals. These studies have shown that the direct acidification of primary, waste-activated, or anaerobically digested sludge cannot consistently achieve a rapid and quantitative solubilization of heavy metals. While the data reported in the prior art seem to indicate that a processing scheme consisting of acid treatment combined with dewatering may be capable of some degree of removal of heavy metals from municipal sewage sludge, previous systems do not disclose the efficient, low-cost method of heavy metals solubilization by a combination of biological pretreatment and controlled-environment acidification.

Combined biological-chemical detoxification of organics


Systems and methods for augmenting existing CU system to be used with content, such as a website. The content may be parsed to determine on or more actions that may be performed by a user who uses the content. These actions may then be compared to tasks of CU systems to identify potential matches. When a match is found, the CU system may be updated to include information.

Conversational understanding systems allow users to vocally interact with a computing device. For example, a user may vocally query a computer to execute one or more tasks. Typically, such conversational understanding systems use one or more language understanding models to gather, based on the user's speech or conversation, a variety of information to identify the user's intent, and thereafter execute a task based on the identified intent. Tasks may include, for example, the execution of a query, the execution of an application hosted on the user's computing device or in a distributed network, interacting with a third-party application, or the display of information.
Typically, third-party application designers are responsible for designing their own language understanding models and dialogs in order to enable a user to vocally interact with the designer's application or web service. It is with respect to these and other general considerations that aspects have been made. Also, although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the aspects should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background.

Automating natural language task/dialog authoring by leveraging existing content


A sheet processing apparatus includes a projection forming unit configured to form a projection on a sheet. The projection is formed in the vicinity of a binding portion of a sheet bundle. When a succeeding sheet bundle is discharged on the sheet bundle in which the projection has been formed on a top surface thereof, the succeeding sheet bundle is stacked by moving on the already stacked sheet bundle without being caught by the binding portion of the already stacked sheet bundle as an end of the succeeding sheet bundle is guided by the projection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus configured to make a sheet bundle by binding a plurality of sheets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lately, a configuration of a printing system such as an image forming apparatus, e.g. a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or the like, including a sheet processing apparatus that implements various processes such as binding, punching, sorting, or the like on a sheet on which an image has been formed is widely used. While metallic staples are often used in general in binding sheets in such a sheet processing apparatus, a part of the staple projects above a surface of a sheet bundle when such metallic staple is used.
However, when stapled sheet bundles are stacked one after another on a stacking tray, there is a case when a staple of a sheet bundle to be discharged next is caught by a staple of the sheet bundle already stacked on the stacking tray, thus disturbing alignment of the sheet bundles on the stacking tray. Therefore, there has been proposed such a sheet processing apparatus configured to change stapling position of sheet bundles per every predetermined number of bundles as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H9-58924.
However, even though the sheet processing apparatus is to produce products of one and same job, the sheet processing apparatus ends up producing different products because the stapling position of the sheet bundle is differentiated when the sheet processing apparatus changes the stapling position per predetermined number of bundles. Still further, it is necessary to shift a stapling unit largely at least more than a widthwise size of a staple as a shift length of the stapling position to prevent the staples from interfering with each other in view of variations of obliqueness in discharging sheet bundles and a widthwise shift of the sheet bundles in dropping to the stacking tray. If the stapling position of the sheet bundles is shifted largely, the sheets might be turned unevenly, thus damaging the sheets and making the sheet unimpressive.
Still further, although it is possible to solve such a problem that the staples are caught from each other by changing the stapling position, there is a case when a projecting portion of the staple of the already stacked sheet bundle catch an end of a sheet bundle to be discharged next when the stapled sheet bundles are stacked one after another on the stacking tray. In this case, ends of stacked sheet bundles are not justified and tilt on the stacking tray. Thus, the alignment of the sheet bundles is disturbed.

Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus


A multilevel inverter using a cascade configuration with a device for equally controlling a power factor for each unit cell includes: a master controller, a plurality of power cells connected in series for each of three AC (Alternating Current) phases, a phase shift transformer for supplying a power cell input voltage, a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication network to provide a communication path between the master controller and each power cell, and cell controllers to control output voltages and output frequencies of the respective power cells according to a voltage command and a frequency command from the master controller, each cell controller having a pulse width modulator to generate a pulse width modulation control signal of a variable voltage and a variable frequency to the connected corresponding power cell, wherein each cell controller is configured to calculate a phase difference value of the corresponding power cell according to a preset total number of connected power cells and the floor number (i.e., the serial connection sequence) of the corresponding power cell to thereafter phase-shift a chopping wave by the calculated phase difference value, thereby compensating for the phase differences between each power cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high voltage inverter, and particularly, to a multilevel inverter using a cascade configuration with a device for equally controlling the power factors of a plurality of power cells, and to a control method thereof.
2. Background of the Invention
In general, a multilevel inverter using a cascade configuration is a multilevel topology of a high voltage and large capacity inverter, in which several is single phase inverters (hereinafter, referred to as power cells or cells) are connected in series for each phase of a three-phase current and accordingly a high voltage can be obtained by using low voltage power semiconductor switches within the power cells.
Thus, a multilevel inverter using a cascade configuration can obtain a high voltage using a semiconductor switch by serially connecting multiple single-phase power cells to each AC (Alternating Current) phase.
Also, a multilevel inverter using a cascade configuration has a feature of a pulse width modulation/phase shift wherein a phase difference is sequentially generated between power cells which are serially connected to one another. Accordingly, the multilevel inverter can have a low rate of output voltage change (dv/dt). In addition, the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration can obtain reduced total harmonic distortion due to an output voltage with multi levels, namely, many steps.
Further, the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration rarely incurs a voltage reflection. Accordingly, in spite of a long distance between the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration and a motor, there is no need for a separate device to prevent the voltage reflection phenomenon.
However, in the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration, each cell includes an AC-to-DC converter for an AC (Alternating Current) input, composed of a rectifier circuit and a smoothing circuit, independent of each other. Therefore, the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration requires a separately insulated power source for each power cell, thereby increasing the required provision of secondary windings. Also, the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration generates a phase difference due to the use of a phase shift transformer having a phase delay for each output, and also changes the phase for each of, for example, 8 power cells with respect to each of the three U, V, W phases due to an inductance component of a load or the like, which causes the power factors, namely, cosine values for the respective phases to be different from one another.
If such power factor difference is ignored, the level of the voltage regenerated in each power cell changes upon controlling a motor to be decelerated. Specifically, for a small load, if the value of the power factor difference is not compensated for, the regeneration voltage is converged in a particular (power) cell, which may cause the corresponding cell to suffer trouble or be burnt out, resulting in that driving of the multilevel inverter using the cascade configuration becomes impossible.

Multilevel inverter using cascade configuration and control method thereof


A gate for a fence or the like preferably formed of hollow plastic elements interconnected by bolts or other fastener devices at or adjacent their ends. A tensioning device is located inside a hollow diagonal cross-brace to correct misalignment between the vertical and horizontal elements of the gate. A removable panel on the cross-brace provides access to a turnbuckle, the ends of which are oppositely threaded to elongated steel straps or the like which are anchored, respectively, at the ends of the cross-brace to the vertical members. One end of the cross-brace is fixedly secured to one of the vertical members, the other end is slidingly received over a bolt or the like fixedly secured to the other vertical member. Rotation of the turnbuckle shortens or lengthens the tensioning device to "square" the gate with respect to the adjacent supports through which the gate swings. Small gaps are provided at the connection points to preclude binding as the gate elements are adjusted.

Traditionally, wooden fences have incorporated a wooden gate to provide passage to a fenced area. Such fences and gates may be formed of pressure-treated wood and/or stained or painted to protect the wood from environmental forces and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Regardless of the manner in which wooden fences or gates are treated over time they become "weathered". This problem can be minimized by restraining or repainting the elements every few years, but this creates an undesirable burden and cost.
Moreover, even with proper maintenance, fences and gates formed of wood eventually deteriorate. This problem is particularly troublesome in gate constructions where the screws, nails, and/or bolts keeping the elements together, loosen causing a normally square or rectangular plate to become distorted. Misalignment resulting from environmental factors is exacerbated by the cantilever effect of the heavy weight of the wooden gate elements themselves, particularly in large gates over about 36 inches wide, and the tendency of people to stand or sit on the gate and/or swing with the gate. Such misalignment may cause the gate to stick in certain positions or, if the problem is severe, prevent the gate from closing or opening.
Previously, this problem has been remedied by reinforcing or tightening the connections between the gate members and/or rehanging the gate so as to provide a correct alignment between the gate and the adjacent sideposts of a fence.


The invention relates to a system for storing fluid under pressure comprising means for admitting fluid into and monitoring fluid in the system (15, Vr), several containers (2, 3, 4) having at least one inlet orifice (10) and transfer lines for said fluid (5, 6, 7), said lines connecting the inlet and monitoring means to at least one of the inlet orifices 10 of said containers. The inlet and monitoring means Vr are designed to allow simultaneously, during at least part of the filling, fluid to pass freely between said inlet and monitoring means and at least two containers. The containers are short, light, reinforced tubular structures. The device has an auxiliary container 43 that can store hydrocarbon coming from one of the containers.

The system according to the invention applies particularly to the field of transportation. In today's context, transport is the main focus of concerns relating to energy sources and pollution. As far as energy is concerned, economic imperatives favor the use of energies that replace classical fuels. In terms of pollution, standards are becoming increasingly strict and lead to one focus, which is to encourage the development of new fuels, often called replacement fuels.
Hence there is increasing utilization in particular of liquefied petroleum gas (abbreviated LPG) or natural gas which may be in the gaseous or liquid form. Hydrocarbons such as methane ethane, propane, butane, and natural gas are fuels that meet economic constraints and comply with environmental protection regulations.
Although the use of these hydrocarbons has been in place for a number of years and their combustion in conventional engines presents no major problem, their increasingly widespread use, particularly for utility vehicles such as trucks and buses, is restricted for reasons of storage of hydrocarbons under pressure. This requires hydrocarbon tanks and lines or pipes supplying engines to be at high pressures, which is why, in the majority of cases, steel tanks are used. The major drawback of these tanks is their weight, which is at least the equivalent of the weight of the compressed hydrocarbon when the tank is full.
To remedy this drawback and lighten these tanks, the prior art proposes various types of tanks. The document "Energies nouvelles pour l'automobile" [New Energies for Automobiles] by Jean Orselli, published by Paradigme, presents an overview of the technology employed today.
It was first proposed that the thickness of the metal wall constituting the tank be decreased and that it be reinforced with a strap based on reinforcing fibers and a thermoplastic resin. The pressure resistance properties of the lighter tanks thus obtained are satisfactory but their utilization is limited due to aging which may be accelerated by parameters such as temperature and chemical or photochemical degradation; these parameters can decrease the pressure resistance probably due to creep of the thermoplastic matrix and deterioration of the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing fibers.
Other light tanks proposed in the prior art are based entirely on composite materials and are generally obtained by winding fibers impregnated with thermosetting resin. These tanks sometimes have an intermediate sealing layer based on thermoplastic resin or rubber. This type of tank is efficient at a given moment in time but its dynamic fatigue behavior is less satisfactory after repeated pressurization and decompression cycles; in addition, these tanks are relatively heavy and their practical use is consequently limited by economic issues.
To overcome these disadvantages, patents FR-2,553,860, FR-2,661,447, FR-2,669,396 and FR-2,672,370 of the applicant describe light tanks for storing fluids under pressure, composed of a tubular cylindrical structure which is thin, corrugated, and made of plastic or metal, the hollows of the corrugations being fitted with fibrous reinforcing elements attached by a thermosetting resin, and reinforced lengthwise by an external reinforcing element placed on the outside structure of the tank. In particular, FR-2,661,447 mentions the use of such a structure as a tank for storing fluids under pressure, for example as a pressurized gas tank which can be carried on board a vehicle. However, such a structure takes a long time to fill, particularly for thermodynamic reasons linked to pressurization of the hydrocarbon on filling and to the geometric characteristics of this structure which do not favor evacuation of the heat stored during filling. In fact heating is observed, particularly in the bottom areas of the tank.
It has been discovered that by using a storage tank or tank composed of several containers, for example short, tubular structures connected with each other by a feed device, the heating of the tank while it is being filled is decreased because of the stirring brought about by the distribution of the incoming hydrocarbon flows over several short structures whose total length is equivalent to the length of the single structure normally used.

Tank for storing pressurized hydrocarbons


Disclosed is a method of hydrotreating a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock using a hydrotreating catalyst having specific properties that make it effective in converting nitrogen, sulfur and micro-carbon residue of a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock. The catalyst comprises a calcined support particle impregnated with a Group 6 metal component (e.g., molybdenum), a nickel component, and a phosphorus component present at concentrations in the catalyst such that the atomic ratio of the Group 6 metal-to nickel metal are within a specified range. The nickel metal acid extractability property of the catalyst is at least 50 percent.

The catalytic hydrotreatment of hydrocarbon feedstock to remove impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, and metal compounds is a commonly used process to improve or upgrade such hydrocarbon feedstock. This treatment to remove sulfur and nitrogen from heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is necessary due to various environmental regulations implemented by the United States and other countries. For example, the maximum sulfur concentration in on-road diesel is 15 parts per million (ppm) in the United States. Other organizations are pushing for limits as low as 5 to 10 ppm sulfur in diesel.
In a typical hydrotreating process, the hydrocarbon feedstock is contacted with a hydrotreating catalyst in the presence of hydrogen under process conditions that provide for a treated hydrocarbon product. The hydrotreating catalysts used in these processes generally are composed of an active phase that can include a component from the Group 6 metals, e.g. molybdenum (Mo) or tungsten (W), and a component from either the Group 9 metals, e.g. cobalt (Co), or the Group 10 metals, e.g. nickel (Ni), or a combination thereof, supported on a porous, refractory inorganic oxide material. The references herein to the elements by grouping within the periodic table are as they are listed and defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Periodic Table of the Elements.
The hydrotreatment of heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is particularly difficult; because, such feeds tend to have high concentrations of contaminating sulfur and nitrogen compounds and may require the use of more severe process conditions than those needed to treat lighter hydrocarbon feedstock. As the quality of feedstock declines, the reaction conditions required to achieve a desired level of hydrotreatment tend to become more severe (e.g., increased temperatures or pressures). This increases production costs and causes more rapid depletion of catalyst activity.
There is a continuing need for improving catalyst performance to offset the decreasing quality of feedstock and the increased processing costs associated therewith. In particular, the ability of a catalyst to achieve acceptable sulfur and nitrogen removal at lower temperatures is quite valuable; because, lower temperatures require less energy input which directly reduces production costs.
One catalyst found to be useful in the hydroprocessing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,944 (Robinson et al.). The catalyst disclosed in this patent contains nickel, phosphorus and molybdenum supported on alumina, and it contains up to about 10, usually from 1 to 8 percent, and preferably from 2 to 6 percent by weight of nickel metal components, calculated as the monoxide. The catalyst also contains from about 16 to about 23 and preferably from 19 to 21.5 percent by weight molybdenum metal components, calculated as molybdenum trioxide (MoO3). The pore structure of the catalyst is such that it has a narrow pore size distribution with at least about 75 percent, preferably at least about 80 percent, and most preferably at least about 85 percent of the total pore volume in pores of diameter from about 50 to about 110 angstroms. Ordinarily, the catalyst has less than about 10 percent of its total pore volume in pores of diameter below about 50 angstroms.
Another hydroprocessing catalyst is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,824,541 (Bhan) that is particularly useful in the treatment of distillate feedstocks to manufacture low-sulfur distillate products. This catalyst is a co-mulled mixture of molybdenum trioxide, a Group VIII metal compound, and an inorganic oxide material. The co-mulled mixture is calcined. The molybdenum content of the catalyst is in the range of from 10.5 to 33 wt. %, calculated as an oxide. If the Group VIII metal component is nickel, it is present in the catalyst in the range of from 3.8 to 15.3 wt. %, calculated as an oxide. The catalyst also has a mean pore diameter that is in a specific and narrow range of from 50 to 100 angstroms. There is less than 4.5 percent of the total pore volume that is contained in its macropores having pore diameters greater than 350 angstroms and less than 1 percent of the total pore volume contained in its macropores having pore diameters greater than 1000 angstroms.
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,871,513 (Bhan) is a catalyst that is useful in the hydroprocessing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks. This catalyst is a calcined mixture made by calcination of a formed particle of a mixture comprising molybdenum trioxide, a nickel compound, and an inorganic oxide material. The molybdenum content of the catalyst is in the range upwardly to 18 wt. %, calculated as an oxide. The nickel content of the catalyst is in the range upwardly to 5.1 wt. %, calculated as an oxide. The molybdenum source used in the preparation of the catalyst is in the form of molybdenum trioxide that is in a finely divided state.
While the catalysts described above have been shown to have good hydroprocessing activity, there are continuing efforts to find new or improved catalyst compositions having increased catalytic activity or improved stability, or both. Any improvement in catalyst activity can result in the lowering of required reactor temperatures to obtain a product with reduced concentrations of nitrogen or sulfur as compared to a feedstock that is contaminated with these components. The lower reactor temperatures provide for energy savings and will extend the life of a catalyst. There also are ongoing efforts to find more economical methods of manufacturing the catalyst compositions.

Catalyst for the hydrotreatment of a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock


Brine-based well treatment compositions containing alkali nitrate exhibit greater thermal stability when used in deep wells than substantially similar brine-based well treatment compositions which do not contain an alkali nitrate. The brine is thickened with a water-soluble crosslinkable polymer and crosslinking agent. The enhanced thermal stability of the well treatment compositions allows use of the fluids at elevated temperatures, for instance as high as 400° F.

Aqueous based well treatment fluids are commonly used in drilling, stimulation, completion and workover operations of subterranean formations. Treatment designs typically mandate such fluids to exhibit a certain level of viscosity. Viscosifying polymers, such as polysaccharides, are often used in such fluids therefore to provide the requisite viscosity. For instance, the viscosifying polymer often provides the requisite level of viscosity needed to prevent the loss of well treatment fluids into the formation. In drilling fluids, such polymers serve to suspend solids and assist in floating debris out of the wellbore.
Unfortunately, the thermal stability of aqueous well treatment fluids containing a viscosifying polymer is often compromised as such fluids pass down the wellbore and are exposed to increasing temperatures. Temperatures in subterranean formations generally rise about 1° C. per hundred feet of depth. It is important, therefore, that such aqueous fluids are thermally stable at elevated temperatures.
Thermal instability typically causes degradation of the polymeric viscosifying agent which causes the viscosity of the well treatment fluid to decrease. A decrease in viscosity of a well treatment fluid often has detrimental effects on the wellbore treatment operation. For instance, a decrease in viscosity of drilling fluid often results in loss of suspension of drill cuttings which, in turns, results in the inability of such cuttings to float out of the wellbore. In addition, during drilling operations, degradation of the polymeric viscosifying agent may cause the drill string to bind in the wellbore and induce formation damage.
Ancillary to the need for maintaining viscosity, the well treatment fluid must have a sufficiently high density for the well treatment fluid to be operable at high temperatures and be able to withstand relatively high fluid pressures downhole.
High density brines have been found to have particular applicability in deep wells, such as those that descend 15,000 to 30,000 feet (4,500 to 10,000 meters) or more below the earth's surface, where it is most desirous to reduce pump pressure. Such brines have been found to be capable of maintaining the requisite lubricity and viscosity of the well treatment fluid under extreme shear, pressure and temperature variances encountered during operations of deep wells.
Exemplary of high density brines are sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium bromide, calcium bromide, zinc bromide, potassium formate, cesium formate and sodium formate brines. While nitrate brines have been suggested for use in well treatment fluids such as completion and packer fluids, efforts to use such brines for such applications were abandoned, however, in the late 1950s after it was discovered that they contributed to stress corrosion cracking of carbon steels. Intergranular corrosion was further found to be caused when mixing chloride and nitrates. See, for instance, Hudgins and Greathouse, "Corrosion Problems in the Use of Dense Salt Solutions", Corrosion, November, 1960, wherein it was reported the corrosion process could be inhibited by saturating the brine with lime or by keeping the pH above about 9. However, entrained carbon dioxide from the producing well reduced the pH of the brine. The use of such brines was, therefore, severely hindered.
One area of particular applicability for high density brines is in production stimulation treatments of deep wells wherein the brine fluid is used as a fracturing fluid. Pumping through work strings in such wells typically requires tremendous pressures. It is not uncommon that the amount of horsepower required for a job cannot be provided in light of the extremely high friction pressures generated during the pumping stage. In such instances, the hydrostatic pressure of a high density fluid counterbalances the pressure exerted by the fluid in the strata. In addition to having high density, the fracturing fluid must be highly viscous in order for it to suspend proppant. It is the proppant which is deposited into the created fractures and which prevents the formed fractures from closing after the completion of pumping. Conductive channels are thereby formed through which produced fluids may flow to the wellbore.
Unfortunately, under the severe wellbore conditions encountered in the treatment of deep wells, many viscosifying agents, particularly polysaccharides, degrade and depolymerize, thus losing their effectiveness.
As interest in treatment operations at deeper depths increases, there is a continual need for alternative well treatment fluids having enhanced thermal stability and which maintain their density at downhole conditions at least for two to three hours. It is further important that such alternative well treatment fluids be capable of reducing the requisite pump pressure generated during the well treatment operation.

Method of treating a well and a subterranean formation with alkali nitrate brine


Translating contact lenses which are truncated for correcting presbyopia and whose design is optimized to maximize translation ability while maintaining comfort when the lens is worn on eye. Truncation of the lenses results in a non-round geometry while still retaining under-lid residency in select portions of the lens itself. Maximum thickness and back surface radius of curvature along with ramp shape can be optimized individually or in combination to maximize translation of the lens relative to the eye, when the lens is positioned on eye.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ophthalmic lenses, and more particularly to the design of translating contact lenses which are truncated for correcting presbyopia and whose design is optimized to maximize translation ability while maintaining comfort when the lens is worn on eye.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Contact lenses are considered medical devices and may be worn to correct vision and/or for cosmetic or other therapeutic reasons. Contact lenses have been utilized commercially to improve vision since the 1950s. Early contact lenses were made or fabricated from hard materials, and were relatively expensive and fragile. Although these contact lenses are still utilized, they are not suitable for all patients due to their poor initial comfort. Later developments in the field gave rise to soft contact lenses, based upon hydrogels, which are extremely popular and widely utilized today. The introduction of soft contact lenses has significantly improved the comfort experienced by the wearer.
As a person ages, the crystalline lens gradually becomes more rigid, and thus their eyes are less able to accommodate. Said another way, our eye muscles ability to alter the shape of the natural human crystalline lens to focus on near objects is diminished as we age. This condition is known as presbyopia. In treating presbyopic patients, one innovation is the use of translating lens designs. Two of the more popular types of translating lens designs can be of the truncated variety or the pseudo-truncated variety with the primary difference between the two being the overall lens shape and how the inferior portion of the lens interacts with the eyelids to achieve translation of the lens relative to the pupil. The typical translating lens relies on the relative movement of the contact lens relative to the eye, specifically the pupil. Typically the translating lens will have multiple optical zones, but unlike a typical concentric bifocal, where the vision correction zones are annular regions concentrically located, in the translating bifocal, the vision correction zones are located in upper and lower positions. At a minimum, both a near and far vision correction zone would be present in the lens to account for the loss of the patients ability to accommodate, and depending on the angle of gaze, one can optimize vision by directing the gaze through one zone or the other. To accomplish this, the near and far zones are generally placed inferior and superior respectively. As an example, as one looks downward (typically for near vision needs such as reading) they are looking through the lower (near) portion of the lens. This is successful because the lens, through interaction with the lower eyelid, is typically driven upward, relative to the pupil, whose angle of gaze is being directed downward. As their gaze returns to a more horizontal position and the lens wearer looks to objects in the distance, the relative position of the lens is such that the pupil of the eye is now aligned with looking through the superior (far) portion of the lens. This results in optimizing the focus for both near and far vision needs. The incorporation of one or more intermediate zones between the near and far zones may also be present to facilitate intermediate vision needs such as computer viewing.
Thus to achieve optimal vision for the multiple vision needs, it is essential to achieve the necessary movement of the translating lens relative to the eye for a translating lens to function correctly. Not achieving this may result in the gaze being directed through the wrong zone or a portion of both zones and thus resulting in blurred vision. One of the early concepts in this space is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,749, in which the innovators incorporated an integrally formed bevel that provided for a type of buttress or protrusion from the anterior lens surface to interact with the eye-lid in order to aid in translating the lens relative to the eye itself. With the issue of comfort put aside for the time being, while the approach of lens interaction with the lower eyelid is indeed viable, the extent of the relative translation of the lens may be impacted by a number of items including but not limited to the quality and presence of the tear film, lens fit, lens design, and the asymmetry of the eye and how it interacts with the contact lens thus impacting, or in some cases not allowing, the desired result to be achieved.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,118, which also attempts to achieve vertical lens movement, the innovator suggests that the dual nature of the secondary prism is an improvement over the '749 patent accomplished by achieving a secondary power in addition to facilitating the vertical shifting of the lens. But this issue is a bit more complicated than that as there are other factors that neither the '749 or the '118 patent consider, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,978 illustrates that the upper and lower eyelids do not move strictly in a vertical direction during blinking. Rather, the upper lid moves substantially vertically, with a small nasal component during blinking, and the lower lid moves substantially horizontally, moving nasal-ward during blinking. Given the primarily horizontal movement of the lower lid, one may question its extent of contribution to vertical lens translation; at best it can only serve as a stop to prevent the lens from moving downward. Additionally, the upper and lower eyelids are not symmetrical with respect to a plane cutting though the vertical meridian. In other words, individuals do not blink symmetrically relative to a horizontal axis drawn between the open upper and lower lid. This, at a minimum, may have an impact to the required vertical translation of the lens that these innovators are all trying to achieve. Accordingly, blinking in of itself may not be the only leveragable item in the ideal translation of the contact lens thus presenting yet another opportunity to improve upon the design in order to maximize the extent of lens translation.
Another aspect related to blinking, which may come into play when one is dealing with maintaining comfort, is the presence of mechanical receptors in both the upper and lower eyelids. While it is not fully known whether there are differences in the sensitivity of the receptors in the upper or lower eyelids, what is known is that the distance travelled by the upper eye-lid is greater than that of the lower eyelid during a blink. Given that these mechanical receptors respond to changes in stress, smoother and less abrupt changes in geometry will likely perform better than those designs with abrupt changes in geometry. Since the distance travelled by the upper eyelid is greater, it is probable that its mechanical receptors are more likely to encounter increased opportunities to respond to changes. All things being equal, given the greater duration of the lens-lid interaction with the upper eyelid, it follows that one may want to consider the upper eyelid's interaction with the lens equally, if not more so, than that of the lower eyelids interaction. Additionally, the nature of a soft contact lens as compared to a hard contact lens, may also impede the ability of the soft contact lens to translate effectively given it is more likely to conform to the shape of the cornea. Consideration of the shape of the posterior surface of the lens and how this may impact lens translation can be extremely important and is something the previous innovators in this space have not addressed in combination with translating lens concepts.
In the truncated translating lens design the lower portion of the truncated contact lens is flattened by cutting off or shortening that part of the lens resulting in a non-circular lens. The conventional truncated translating lens design results in a substantially flat, thick edge at the bottom of the lens. The intent being that this flattened portion interacts with the lower eye-lid to achieve translation by the lid serving as a positive mechanical stop when it interacts with the bottom of the lens. Exemplary descriptions of such lenses are set forth in a number of patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,935, U.S. Pat. No. 7,430,930, U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,132, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,794. However, a relatively flat edge on contact lenses such as these may tend to influence comfort. An alternative approach which leverages the concept of a minimum energy position is that which is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,925, in which a lens design with two discrete stability positions is suggested to optimize lens position for near and distance vision needs. This concept of minimum potential energy position may be leveraged to achieve these two stability positions. However, given that some level of displacing force (potentially a significant level in the '925 patent case) is required to move from one position to the other, it's likely that some level of discomfort is also being introduced for the initial stability position to be overcome in order to move to the second stability position. Comfort can be as, if not more, important that achieving the desired displacement of the lens.
Innovators have also attempted to use a pseudo-truncated design for a translating lens design. In the pseudo-truncated translating lens approach, the lens remains circular, but through localized thickness changes a pseudo truncation zone is created that interacts with the eyelid to achieve the desired translation of the lens through interaction with the eyelids. One such example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,168. In the '168 patent a ramped ridge zone located in the inferior portion of the lens and is positioned below the optical zone. The ramped ridge zone of the lens is intended to remain underneath the lower lid. The lens also includes what they call a ridge-off zone which is located medially, laterally and superiorly in the peripheral region of the lens, essentially everywhere else the ramp ridge zone is not. It is the intent of the innovators that the lower eyelid of the eye is engaged with at least some portion of the ramped ridge at all times. It is this interaction between the lower eyelid and the lens that the innovators of the '168 patent claim how the desired translation of the lens is achieved. The '168 patent attempts to improve comfort by attempting to design the ramped rigid zone to better conform to the lower eyelid. While these innovators speak to the need to conform to the lower eyelid and gradually engage the lower eyelid which is achieved by the presence of the ramped ridge zone, no consideration is given to placement and extent of the ramped rigid zone itself which is fairly localized in the inferior region alone. While the innovators of the '168 patent discuss the posterior surface of the lens containing an optical zone, no attention or discussion is given to the posterior surface or shape of the lens as it relates to lens translation. Additionally, no mention of the impact of how the upper eyelid interacts with the ridge-off zone region and its impact to translation and comfort is provided.
In US Published Patent Application Numbers 2012/0075579 and 2012/0075581, whose assignee is also the assignee of applicants' present invention, a translating lens for correcting presbyopia having a pseudo-truncation is provided. In this case, the pseudo truncation is asymmetric with respect to the vertical meridian, specifically the pseudo-truncation is biased in the inferior and nasal directions which more closely corresponds and is aligned to how our gaze is directed during near work. When we focus on near items, our gaze is directed both downward and inward, as each eye tends to converge nasally to better view the near item. This is in contrast to distance gaze where each eye is directed more horizontally and parallel to each other in order to better view the distant object. While the asymmetric aspects of this innovation do consider both the horizontal and vertical movement of the lower eyelid and worthy to consider in a translating lens design particularly as it relates to its impact to translation of the lens, additional opportunity still exists in this space.
In US Published Patent Application Number 2013/0258274, whose assignee is also the assignee of applicants' present invention, a lower eyelid contact surface and under-lid support structure is disclosed that suggests varying ramp shape configurations including both convex and concave curved portions. Applicants believe this is an important consideration as well, but US Published Patent Application Number 2013/0258274 does not consider these ramp shapes in combination with parametrization of the back radius of curvature, nor do they consider them in combination with several of the design elements of applicant's invention simultaneously and or holistically.
Lastly, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,355, the innovators use spline based mathematical surfaces without restrictions of rotational symmetry in order to enable the design and fabrication of contact lenses that have posterior surfaces that provide a good fit to corneas of complicated shapes. Although the general approach of fitting splines to ensure a smooth and continuous surface may be utilized in the present application, the innovators do not describe or consider the unique geometry and features of the present application in the '355 patent. Rather their primary purpose was to enable an improved fit to irregularly shaped corneas, such as those found in keratoconus patients.
The prior art devices described above, while representing a considerable improvement over older devices, employ features and designs resulting in certain tradeoffs, for example, and most relevant to applicant's invention, comfort versus the extent of translation and how this translation is achieved. Of the art discussed, while each attempts to address the issue from a specific aspect, they do so from unique perspectives rather than from a more holistic approach as is accomplished with the present application. Furthermore, even when one combines these prior art references, they do not provide the physical structure or relationship of the present application. Accordingly, there exists a need for a truncated translating contact lenses with improved on eye performance that takes into account the anatomy of the eye and the functioning of the eye-lids from multiple design considerations such as value and shape of thickness variations in combination with posterior radii variations while also maintaining a high degree of comfort when such a lens interacts with both the upper and lower eyelids. Having a lens that accomplishes this in combination with optimizing both far and near vision needs would be advantageous.

Truncated translating contact lens with optimized performance and method of design


In a wave form signal generating apparatus designed to memorize a desired wave form in the form of a floating point representation for generating a wave form signal based on the memorized wave form, a mantissa and an exponent of a sampling data of the desired wave form are memorized in a predetermined number of digits as a compressed information, and a digit number of the memorized exponent allotted in the predetermined number of digits are further momorized. The memorized exponent is extracted on a basis of the memorized digit number so that the wave form signal is reproduced on a basis of the extracted exponent and the mantissa allotted in the remaining portion of the predetermined number of digits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wave form signal generating apparatus designed to memorize a wave form data in the form of a floating point representation for reproducing a desired musical tone based on the memorized wave form data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Early Publication No. 60-63593 is a wave form signal generating apparatus of this kind in which a plurality of sampling data of a desired wave form are memorized in the form of a floating point representation consisting of a mantissa and an exponent. In such a prior art wave form signal generating apparatus, the memory capacity can be reduced since the mantissa and exponent of the sampling data are memorized as a compressed information. The digit numbers of the mantissa and exponent each are, however, fixed. For this reason, the high digit of the exponent would become useless for a small sampling data if the digit number of the exponent were increased to expand a dynamic range of the sampling data. In case the digit number of the mantissa were increased to minimize an error in reproduction of the desired musical tone, the dynamic range of the sampling data would be reduced.


The cover/guard (10) includes a main body section (12) and two end sections (14,16) which are sewn thereto along its end edges (32,34). A middle section (18) is secured across the main body section (12) at the longitudinal midpoint thereof. The cover/guard sections each comprise a foam rubber inner portion (20), such as Neoprene, with the inner surface thereof being treated to produce a skin surface, while to the outside surface of the inner portion (20) is secured a fabric portion (26), such as nylon, which is water resistant. The inner portion (20), being stretchable and cushioning, provides effective protection for a scope. The cover/guard (10) can be stretched to accommodate many different sizes of scopes. Two bands (40,42) conveniently hold the cover/guard (10) on the scope.

Telescoping sights are a common accessory for use with rifles and pistols to aid in the accurate sighting of a target. Historically, such "scopes" have been equipped with small caps which fit over the lenses located at the opposing ends of the scopes to provide protection for the lenses from the weather and other conditions, including keeping water and snow from those areas of the scope. In addition to protecting the lenses of the scope, the use of lens caps results in the scope being easier to sight immediately after removal of the lens caps in adverse weather conditions.
In addition to the caps for the opposing ends of the scope, some cover devices are known which cover the entire scope, although such covers are not common.
However, a significant problem with both the lens caps and the few covers which are known is the large number of sizes required to adequately fit all of the sizes of scopes on the market. This creates a difficult problem for the manufacturer as well as the retailer in maintaining an appropriate inventory.
In addition, with the increasing sophistication of telescoping sights, having new structural features, including electronic circuitry, it is often desirable to provide physical protection for the entire scope to prevent possible damage to the scope and even to prevent/lessen environmental shock when the scope is, for instance, removed from a relatively warm environment, such as a vehicle, into adverse weather conditions. Protective devices for scopes are quite limited, and are susceptible to the disadvantages of size and configuration ranges discussed above.
Bullet holders, which typically fit over the wrist or lower forearm of the user, are also a common accessory for use with rifles and pistols. External loops or other elements are typically used to hold the bullets. It would be desirable for a bullet holder to be capable of holding a number of different-sized bullets, with the bullets being easy to insert and remove, yet held quite firmly by the bullet holder.

Flexible cover/guard for rifle and piston scopes having a resilient protective inner portion and a fabric outer portion secured thereto


The invention relates to a fiber comprising a polymer blend of (a) from about 90 to about 99 wt % of a propylene polymer and (b) from about 1 to about 10 wt % of a polymer blend modifier, comprising a first propylene-based polymer wherein the first propylene-based polymer is a homopolymer of propylene or a copolymer of propylene and ethylene or a C4 to C10 alpha-olefin and a second propylene-based polymer wherein the second propylene-based polymer is a homopolymer of propylene or a copolymer of propylene and ethylene or a C4 to C10 alpha-olefin, wherein the second propylene-based polymer is different than the first propylene-based polymer and wherein the polymer blend modifier has a MFR of greater than about 1,000 g/10 min to less than about 10,000 g/10 min; and wherein the propylene polymer has a MFR of less than about 15 g/10 min.

The use of various thermoplastic resins to make fibers and fabrics is well known. In particular, propylene-based polymers and copolymers are well known in the art for their usefulness in a variety of applications, including the manufacture of staple fibers, which in turn are used to make yarn.
Propylene-based staple fibers are generally made using non-visbroken propylene polymers having a melt flow rate (MFR) of about 8-12 g/10 minute. However, use of such polymers can be costly due to additional processing equipment to transition from lower MFR grades. An alternative in the industry has been to visbreak low MFR propylene, such as propylene with a melt flow rate of about 4 g/10 minute during the staple fiber making process. However, visbreaking such polymers requires efforts to control the reactive extrusion process, costs associated with visbreaking agents, and reduced melt strength of the resultant fiber due to the visbreaking process.
Accordingly, there is a need for a propylene-based fiber composition having a target melt flow rate suitable for use as a staple fiber, without the need for visbreaking. Desirably, the composition has comparable spinability and tensile properties as compared to conventional staple fibers.

Polymer compositions for staple and multifilament fibers


An apparatus for engaging and feeding containers to a printing press, including a support frame having a plurality of shafts mounted thereon; a plurality of worm members mounted on the shafts and each having spiral grooves for engaging a bead of a container, the worm members being movable between a first position for engaging the bead of a container and a second position disengaged from the bead of the container. In addition, the container feeding apparatus includes a feeder tube mounted on the support frame for setting and controlling the location of the first position of the worm members and for supplying the containers to the worm members. There are also a plurality of worm block assemblies mounted within the support frame each including drive means for rotating one of the plurality of worm members while in the first position to simultaneously engage the bead of the container to move the container forward relative to the feeder tube to the end of the spiral grooves. The container feeding apparatus further includes a pneumatic air assembly for injecting air at the container for transferring the container from the end of the spiral grooves to a mandrel for receiving the container for printing; and a cylinder pivot assembly for moving the worm block assemblies between the first and second positions.

Present air-blown, screw-type container or cup feeding systems for dry off-set printing presses operate using four cup-engaging worm members having a plurality of guide rails, along with an air-jet system for blowing each cup or container onto a holding mandrel for printing of indicia on the outside surface of the container.
In present feeding systems, the operator inserts the container to be printed between the four worm members and manually adjusts the four worm screws until they are spaced apart at the same diameter of the container to be fed, so they engage the lip of the container. The operator then adjusts the four blow-off air arms to the correct location for seating the container on the mandrel, ready for offset printing. All of these manual adjustments vary with the particular operator, thus causing inconsistent container feeding, which causes container feeding jams. There are additional drawbacks. The previous feeding systems of this type were only hand-adjustable, such that the air-jets had to be constantly adjusted to blow-off each container out of the feeding system, and this caused constant jamming of the apparatus. In order to clear a jam, the operator had to manually crank a handle to back away the cup-engaging worm members and then reset the misaligned air-jets and guide arms of the feeding system to their previous position by operator "feel". This causes additional problems as each operator adjusts the system differently, with the end result being more inconsistent feeding of the containers. This in turn causes more jams, which translates to more misalignment of the air-jets and guide arms, as they become bent or broken, which causes large amounts of scrap containers being produced by present feeding systems. Thus, present systems are not cost effective or efficient.
There remains a need for an improved container feeding system that is automatic and adjustable, capable of feeding a single container at a time to the printing mandrel every time, with no variation. This would eliminate operator error or variations in setting up for different container sizes. Such a feeding system would also be utilized for all types of printing presses.

Adjustable container feeding system for printing presses