A performance enhancing additive is introduced into a vapor compression system used in cooling and the like. The additive is selected from a class of compounds, e.g. tetraglyme, and added in a predetermined concentration measured relative to the mass of the system's lubricant. The additive can be soluble or non-soluble in the lubricant used in the system's single-phase compressor. It can be added anywhere in the system to provide lower thermodynamic load on the system compressor.

The present invention relates to a performance enhancing additive, and more particularly, to an additive for a basic vapor compression (VC) system such as cooling, air conditioning, heat pump and refrigerant systems, which dramatically improve the system's coefficient and performance (COP) and cooling capacity by lowering the thermodynamic load on the system compressor via lower pressure ratio and/or pressure difference, and which avoids the need for the more complicated approaches used in the past in enhance cooling capacity and performance.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a known VC or vapor-compression system. Commercial heat pumps and the like typically utilize other components in addition to these basic components shown in FIG. 1 such as oil separators, suction-line (liquid) accumulators, liquid receivers, mufflers, recuperative heat exchangers, reversing valves, high pressure and low pressure safety switches, thermal overload protection, and filter-driers.
A vapor compression heat pump utilizes a refrigerant evaporating at low pressure and low temperature to provide the cooling. This refrigerant vapor is then superheated slightly in the evaporator (to avoid sending incompressible liquid to the compressor) and compressed by the compressor to a higher pressure, thereby raising the condensation temperature so that the heat can be rejected to the environment as the refrigerant condenses to a liquid state. This liquid is then throttled in an expansion device to a two-phase mixture which enters the evaporator to complete the process. In many cases, the compressor which provides the compression of the refrigerant must be lubricated to maximize compressor life and a lubricant compatible with the refrigerant and the materials of construction must be utilized. The proper lubricant to use for a particular type of refrigerant, compressor configuration, and temperature range is well known in the art. For example, in a VC system using HFC-134a refrigerant, it has been proposed to used tetraglyme by itself as the lubricant, but tests have demonstrated that it is not an acceptable lubricant.
It is also well known that the lubricant used in the VC compressor becomes entrained in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor outlet and travels throughout the system. The refrigerant traveling throughout the system typically has an oil concentration of up to 5% by weight, the exact oil concentration being circulated being dependent on the compressor design, plumbing considerations, and the presence or absence of an oil separator, which is located directly downstream of the compressor outlet and returns the oil to the compressor.
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to improve the performance characteristics of the VC system. Each such attempt, however, introduces some additional complication or disadvantage into the system.
For example, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a known heat pump system using a "vapor-compression cycle with solution circuit" (VCSC) to improve performance. A vapor-compression heat pump is a heat pump that uses the physical characteristic that the temperature at which evaporation (a cooling process) occurs and the temperature at which condensation (a heat rejection process) occurs are affected by pressure, so the working fluid (refrigerant) is compressed to alter the evaporation and condensation temperatures so as to pump heat. In this type of cycle, the traditional single-component refrigerant evaporator is replaced with a generator, where a liquid-phase two-component absorbent/refrigerant solution enters and the desorption of some or all or the generated refrigerant vapor from the two-component solution provides the cooling. In this system, the liquid and vapor are physically separated. This process absorbs the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant and the heat of dissolution. Various absorbent and refrigerant pairs have been proposed, with tetraglyme being one such absorbent in connection with various halocarbon refrigerants.
The VCSC generator is a combination of a heat exchanger and a liquid separator. The superheated vapor which is driven off and separated is compressed to higher pressure and the remaining strong liquid solution (a mixture of absorbent and refrigerant liquid) is pumped to a higher pressure. The separate liquid and vapor streams at the higher pressure are then combined in an absorber, and the absorption of the refrigerant vapor into the strong liquid solution rejects heat to the environment (heat of condensation+heat of solution).
The VSCS absorber is a heat exchanger for transferring heat to the environment and a device for exposing the liquid solution to the vapor. Typically the absorber is a falling film of liquid solution, which film passes through the vapor as it falls. The mixture accumulates at the bottom of this falling film where a heat-transfer coil (pipe) transfers the heat out of the solution and into a pumped coolant which flows through this cooling coil.
After leaving the VSCS absorber, the pressure of the resulting weak solution of absorbent and refrigerant is then dropped, via the throttling valve, and the mixture reenters the generator to complete the process. The vapor-compression cycle with solution circuit has improved COP because the latent heat has increased, thereby increasing the cooling capacity, for very little additional work. The work of a liquid pump is small, relative to the work of the compressor, because liquids are essentially incompressible.
The vapor-compression with solution circuit system is not practical, however, because it requires a balance between the liquid solution flow and compressed vapor flows which combine in the absorber. The flow rates of the vapor and the liquid solution change with cooling temperature and load, and the pump and compressor typically have different flow verses pressure characteristics. The end result is that under typical variable loads, the compressor and pump discharge pressures do not always match causing significantly reduced performance or even temporary failure of the system.
Complex pump, compressor, and/or by-pass control logic have not effectively resolved this very volatile control problem, and these control methods reduce performance and significantly increase complexity and cost. Another significant shortcoming of the VCSC cycle is that the absorber must expose the vapor to the liquid solution, via a falling film or some other mechanical way to allow for absorption of the vapor in the solution. This, in turn, requires a significant amount of space, thereby requiring large absorbers. Similarly, generators must provide sufficient free surface to allow for desorption of vapor out of the solution, and again this requires a significant amount of space. Generators, which are not quite as large as absorbers, are the second largest component in the system. Large size in such systems means heavier and more expensive systems.
Mainstream Engineering Corporation, the assignee of the present invention, has developed a substantially improved modification of the VC heat pump system with solution circuit shown in FIG. 2. This improved system which is shown in FIG. 3 is referred to as a chemical-mechanical heat pump (CMHP). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/347,095, filed Nov. 23, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,020, is incorporated herein by reference.
The CMHP has the basic benefits of the VSCS but the basic components of the simpler vapor-compressor systems. Instead of physically separating the refrigerant from the solution, however, the CMHP uses a special compressor to compress the two-phase (liquid-vapor) two-component solution together.
The low temperature generator heat exchanger in the CMHP does not also need to function as a separator, and the high pressure heat rejection absorber heat exchanger does not need to distribute the vapor to the solution because they always remain in contact. After leaving the high pressure/high temperature heat exchanger (and rejecting heat to the surroundings), the single-phase two-component liquid solution (absorbent plus refrigerant) enters the throttling valve (expansion valve). The pressure is dropped, and the solution enters the low pressure if heat exchanger where the heat transfer into the solution provides the cooling and drives some of the refrigerant out of solution and into the vapor phase. The superheated refrigerant and liquid solution mixture of the CMHP system is not separated, as it would be the VCSC, but instead is kept together and compressed in a two-phase (liquid-vapor) compressor to the higher pressure.
Typically compressors compress only a vapor and in fact the inlet vapor to a compressor is usually superheated to avoid any knocking caused by the attempt to compress a liquid. The CMHP compressor configuration is unique in that it must compress the liquid vapor mixture without knocking and no lubricant is used in the system.
The CMHP working fluid has greater latent heat capability when compared to a pure working fluid because a pure fluid (refrigerant) has only the latent heat of vaporization whereas this absorbent-refrigerant fluid also has the heat of vaporization and the heat of solution. The increase in latent heat increases the cooling capacity significantly, and the additional work to compress the liquid solution is less than the work required to compress the same amount of vapor. Efforts at Mainstream Engineering Corporation have demonstrated about a 7% to 10% boost in COP.sub.c for the optimum concentration of adsorbent mixed into the refrigerant charge.
FIG. 4 is a graph of CMHP performance data showing COP.sub.c verses average temperature lift for various solution concentrations from 0% absorbent (a typical vapor compression cycle) to 20% absorbent (percentage of absorbent plus refrigerant mass). The specific refrigerant was chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22), and the absorbent was N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). Of course, numerous other possible absorbents and refrigerants can be used in the CMHP. The performance data demonstrates the benefit of using the liquid solution and also that there is an optimum concentration of liquid solution. For example, for the tests in FIG. 4, increasing the solution concentration from 0% (no solution) to 14% absorbent increases the COP.sub.c. Further increasing solution concentrations above 14% resulted in reduced performance.
Attempts have also been made to improve cooling performance via either additives or improved lubrication to reduce the friction loss in the compressor. For example, with regard to the former of the two approaches, U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,280 describes a composition for improving the energy efficiency of heat pumps by improving the heat transfer in the evaporator and condenser. A polar molecule which is a liquid halogenated alpha-olefin or liquid halogenated paraffin is postulated to form a Van der Waals bond with the metal surface of the heat exchanger thereby assumedly reducing the thermal boundary layer. This approach attempts to boost performance through a significant improvement in the evaporative or condensation heat transfer, but has not proved to provide substantial improvement in performance.
During our investigations of usable absorbents for the CMHP, we discovered that some of the absorbents are soluble in polyol ester (POE) lubricants normally used in HFC-134a vapor-compression (VC) systems and do not degrade the lubrication performance of the lubricant any more than the refrigerant itself degrades lubrication performance. One of ordinary skill would have assumed that the addition of absorbent into the VC system using a conventional compressor would have no beneficial effect on cooling capacity or performance, particularly because lubricant lowers heat transfer in the evaporator and condenser. Every effort is usually made to keep the lubricant in the compressor region. Because the lubricant is conventionally added to the VC system for the compressor itself and is not intended to serve a purpose anywhere else in the system, an effort is made through various complicated structural systems to keep the lubricant in the region of the compressor itself as much as possible.
The lubricant concentration in the refrigerant traveling throughout the VC system is typically in the 1-5% range. Because of this low amount, the concentration of additive that is present in the refrigerant/additive/lubricant mixture that travels throughout the system is significantly less than the concentration of absorbent normally used in the CMHP. Because of this reduced additive/refrigerant concentration one would expect the COP boost attributable to the additive/absorbent also to be significantly less. We have discovered, however, that certain concentrations of absorbent-type additives dramatically increase the COP boost and cooling capacity. COP is here defined as the usefully heating or cooling of the system divided by the energy required to obtain the heating or cooling. COP.sub.c is the coefficient of performance in cooling; COP.sub.h is the coefficient of performance in heating.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improved performance for a vapor compression (VC) system with a very simple expedient.
It is yet another object of the present invention to achieve dramatic increases in cooling capacity and performance in a VC system without the need for a solution circuit or for any complex apparatus of the type needed for the known VCSC system or CMHP system.
We have achieved these objects with our discovery that the addition of certain weight concentrations of selected additives in the basic VC system provides substantial improvements in COP.sub.c and COP.sub.h.
An additive in accordance with the present invention has an atom which is an electron donor for hydrogen bonding with a refrigerant. Typical compound families with this feature include ethers, esters, ketones, aldehydes, anhydrides, amines, and amides. However, we have found that families with OH groups, such as alcohols, glycols, and carboxylic acids, tend to hydrogen bond with themselves rather than with the refrigerant and do not achieve the system performance benefits of the present invention.
Examples of additives for carrying the present invention include, but are not limited to the following:
tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (tetraglyme) PA1 triethylene glycol dimethyl ether PA1 diethylene glycol diethyl ether PA1 butyric anhydride PA1 tetramethylurea PA1 ethylene glycol diacetate PA1 N,N-dimethylformamide PA1 N,N-dimethylacetamide PA1 N,N-diethylformamide PA1 2-octanone
According to another aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant is a halogenated hydrocarbon having at least one hydrogen atom present in its chemical structure, such as HFC-134a or HCFC-22.
Another feature of the present invention is that the relative volatility between the additive and refrigerant should be significant, such that the additive can be considered non-volatile. We have found that this criteria can assessed via boiling point difference between the additive and the refrigerant.
Yet another feature of the present invention is that freezing point of the additive should be well below the lowest temperature in the cycle. Moreover, the additive should be of low toxicity and low flammability, and should also be environmentally acceptable.

Additive for improving performance and cooling capacity of vapor compression systems


An oligosaccharide useful for a Meningitidis A vaccine contains a first mannose unit having a spacer in the alpha configuration at C-1, which spacer is capable of conjugating to a protein, and which is connected to a second mannose unit through a 1,6-linkage which connects C-6 of the first unit to C-1 of the second unit, wherein the 1,6-linkage comprises a phosphonate. Related methods of making such compounds, analogous compounds, or intermediates thereof are also disclosed.

Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Several kinds of bacteria can cause meningitis, and N. meningitidis is one of the most important. Others are Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b. There are several subgroups of N. meningitidis, which are differentiated by the structure of the capsular polysaccharide that surrounds the bacterium.
Meningitis is caused by both viruses and bacteria. The two major types of bacteria causing meningitis are Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis. In the case of H. influenzae only one serotype, type b, is important, whereas with N. meningitidis twelve serogroups have been identified, of which groups A, B, C, and W135 are known to cause epidemics. The various serotypes have different geographical prevalence, e.g., type B and C are dominant in Europe and North America and Type A in Africa and South America. The serotyping is based on the structure and antigenicity of the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) surrounding the bacteria, and the CPS can also be used as a vaccine against the bacteria. Especially efficient vaccines (glycoconjugate vaccines) can be made by attaching the saccharide to a carrier protein. See Plotkin, S. A., and Orenstein, W. A., Vaccines, 4th ed., Saunders, pages 959-987 (2004), which is incorporated herein by reference. These glycoconjugates induce a T-cell dependent immune response with memory and effect also in small children, while the non-conjugated CPS generally fails to provide either a memory effect in adults or any substantial immunogenic effect in infants. The development of type A vaccines has been considered especially difficult, due to the inherent instability of the anomeric phosphate diester linkages that are part of the CPS. The repeating unit of type A is a monosaccharide, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-D-mannopyranose linked 1→6 via a phosphodiester bridge (FIG. 1). In the native polysaccharide the 3-OH is acetylated to an extent of about 80%. The immunological importance of this acetylation has not been completely investigated, but there are indications that it is not of major significance.
Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A causes epidemic outbreaks of meningitis, mainly in parts of Africa south of the Sahara in the so-called meningitis belt. In the meningitis belt the estimated incidence for the period 1970-1992 was about 800,000 cases. See Plotkin, S. A., and Orenstein, W. A., Vaccines, 4th ed., Saunders, pages 959-987 (2004). The epidemic outbreaks of meningitis are devastating for the region, so an effective vaccine is urgently needed. The hope is of course, that the development of a good vaccine, in combination with efforts similar to the ones against smallpox performed by WHO in the 1960's and 70's could likewise eliminate meningitis caused by N. meningitides serotype A. Vaccinations are a much more cost effective way of controlling a disease than treatment with antibiotics and other therapies, and cost is especially important in the developing world.
Vaccines prepared from the polysaccharide coating on the bacterium, its capsular polysaccharide, are effective in adults. Exposure to this polysaccharide causes adults to develop an immunogenic response that protects against meningitis caused by N. meningitidis. A big limitation with such vaccines, though, is that the immune system of children under around two years of age does not respond to most polysaccharide antigens. Unfortunately, this is the age group at greatest risk for bacterial meningitis. Thus, the polysaccharide vaccines are of no use in young children. Furthermore, even in older children and adults, these vaccines induce only short-term immunity. Protection decreases rapidly and is generally gone by around two years after vaccination.
Polysaccharides like the N. meningitidis CPS are T-cell independent antigens, which means that they can give an immune response without the involvement of T-cells (thymus-derived cells). This response lacks several important properties that characterize the T-cell dependent immune response, such as immunological memory, class-switch from IgM to IgG, and affinity maturation. If the polysaccharide part is connected to a carrier protein, however, it triggers a cellular immune response that creates memory effect, and also gives protection in young children. Such polysaccharides linked to carrier proteins are often referred to as glycoconjugates, and are especially valuable as vaccines.
Glycoconjugate vaccines are so called because their production involves the conjugation of a polysaccharide antigen or other glycosidic antigen to a carrier protein. The saccharide moiety in glycoconjugate vaccines is usually a functionalized bacterial CPS, but it can also be synthetic. Synthetic carbohydrate structures have a number of potential advantages over those based on carbohydrates from natural sources. Naturally derived carbohydrates are heterogeneous mixtures and may include small amounts of natural impurities and contaminants. In contrast, synthetic carbohydrates can be produced as homogeneous single compounds in a controlled manner, with little or no batch-to-batch variability. Another advantage of synthetic structures is that they can be made to include functional groups for derivitization or modifications of the carbohydrate moiety that are difficult or impossible to perform on the native material. The carrier protein is an important factor in the modulation of the immunogenicity. Various carriers have been used for conjugation, and the best results have been achieved using detoxified versions of strongly immunogenic proteins like diphtheria and tetanus toxins, which have been approved for use in humans. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,170. It has also been shown that the immune system reacts more effectively when patients have already been immunized with the particular carrier protein.
A glycoconjugate vaccine is usually made by conjugating the native capsular polysaccharide structure of the bacterium to a suitable carrier protein. However there have been problems with that approach due to the properties of the polysaccharide that encapsulates N. meningitidis. Its phosphodiester linkage can degrade under the conditions necessary for attachment of the polysaccharide to proteins, and even after preparation, glycoconjugates of the native CPS tend to degrade during storage.
Phosphodiesters are normally quite stabile, but in the capsular polysaccharide of N. meningitidis, the phosphodiester is linked to the anomeric center of a carbohydrate residue. Thus one oxygen of the phosphodiester is also part of an acetal linkage, which makes it susceptible to hydrolytic cleavage catalyzed by electrophiles such as acid or metal ions. Cleavage of this bond breaks the polysaccharide down into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, during the manipulations required to form a glycoconjugate, or even in a vaccine formulation, the CPS of N. meningitidis A is subject to such degradation, rendering it difficult to make and store effective vaccines comprising this particular CPS.
One way of making the phosphodiester linkage more stable is to eliminate the oxygen between the phosphorus and the anomeric oxygen, so that portion of the linkage is no longer susceptible to cleavage by electrophilic hydrolysis. The exocyclic oxygen at the anomeric center can be replaced with an isosteric carbon atom, (CH2), transforming the phosphodiester into its C-phosphonate analogue. This should produce a stabilized version of the antigenic polysaccharide. One investigation directed toward this approach has recently been published. Torres-Sanchez, M. I., et al., Synlett (2005) 7:1147-1151. However, the authors did not assess the activity of their compounds or disclose an oligomer of more than two mannose units. Furthermore, their synthesis approach provided only the beta anomer at the position where the oligosaccharide is intended to link to a protein, while the native CPS of N. meningitidis only contains alpha-linkages. Thus there remains a need for alpha-linked glycoconjugates having stabilized linkages between the mannose units and for methods to synthesize them.
Another approach is to stabilize the phosphodiester linkages using inductive effects from nearby substituents to reduce the electron density at the anomeric oxygens; this, too, should slow the anticipated electrophilic degradation mechanisms. The electron-attracting property of the substituents can be maintained while an oligosaccharide is constructed, and perhaps also while it is conjugated to a protein, then removed once the molecule no longer needs to be exposed to destructive conditions.
The present invention includes each of these approaches as well as combinations thereof. One aspect of the invention thus provides an efficient synthesis of a C-phosphonate analogue of an oligomeric form of the repeating unit of the N. meningitidis type A capsular polysaccharide, needed for vaccine development. See Bundle, D. R., et al., J. Biol. Chem. (1974) 249:2275-2281. The invention particularly provides methods for introducing a spacer moiety through which the oligosaccharides of the invention can be conjugated to a protein to make a glycoconjugate vaccine, and it orients the spacer moiety in the alpha anomeric configuration. FIG. 2 illustrates a compound having the desired alpha configuration at this center and one having the beta configuration. Since the natural CPS of the target organism is a fully alpha-linked oligomer of mannose units, it is especially desirable to provide the same alpha-linked configuration in a synthetic immunogen. Even if all of the linkages between mannose units in a synthetic oligomer portion of a glycoconjugate are in the alpha configuration, the configuration at the center through which the oligosaccharide is linked to the protein can be particularly influential on the immunogenic effects when the oligosaccharide portion of the glycoconjugate contains fewer than about 10 mannose units.
The present invention thus provides such compounds and methods for the preparation of these compounds. The crucial coupling step is often performed using a C-phosphonate mono-ester and Mitsunobu conditions. While it may be impractical to prepare polysaccharides rivaling the natural CPS in size, that is not necessary: even oligosaccharides only a few mannose-units in length can elicit an immune response. And synthetic oligosaccharides offer the advantages of selective linkage mechanisms and increased stability in vivo, each of which should enhance their immunogenic effectiveness in vivo.
Another aspect of the invention provides methods to stabilize the mannose units so that a phosphodiester linkage, the linkage present in the native capsular polysaccharide, can be used. It includes compounds and methods that provide stabilization to facilitate preparation of the protein conjugates of the oligosaccharides. The stabilization is provided by an electron-attracting group, an azide, at C-2 of at least one of the mannose units in a polysaccharide, which increases the polysaccharide's stability so that it can be conjugated to a protein. After conjugation, the stabilization is less important, and at that point the azide is typically reduced to an amine and acylated, which provides the 2-acetylamino group that is part of the recurring mannose unit in the N. meningitidis A capsular polysaccharide.
Where appropriate, it is also possible to mix the two stabilization methods; thus an oligosaccharide of the invention may include azide-containing mannose units that are linked by a phosphodiester at the adjacent anomeric center in combination with phosphonate-linked mannose units. This combination may provide additional stabilization, depending on the orientation of the phosphonate; or it may provide synthetic advantages such as increased yields and it may avoid complications that the acetylamine substituent can cause.
In other aspects, the invention provides methods to synthesize key precursors for these compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing them, and methods to use them to manufacture a medicament. The compounds, compositions and medicaments may be administered to a subject to induce an immunogenic response in the subject, which is typically a human.


A lighting system that includes a light bulb having a threaded bulb base and a luminare socket. The bulb (200) includes a two conductor base (201, 205) while the luminare socket (300) utilizes a circular ring (305) with an open aperture (307) for supplying current to the bulb. The circular ring (305) and aperture (307) in the luminare socket are sized to provide contact with the center contact (205) of the light bulb when the preferred wattage is selected. This prevents over wattage light bulbs from being used avoiding excess heat, arcing and the potential for fire.

Today's common household incandescent light bulb bases and receiving sockets remain compatible with Thomas Edison's design. Such compatibility is useful, but it prolongs a safety issue that has increased substantially since Mr. Edison's day. As seen in prior art FIG. 1A, the typical Edison bulb 100 includes the bulb 101 and lower section having a threaded base 103 which fastens within an accompanying luminare socket. Prior art FIG. 2 illustrates the bottom view of the Edison or threaded base wherein a contact 105 located at the center of the concentric conductor 107 is used to supply electrical current to filaments (not shown) within the glass envelope. The contact 105 and concentric conductor 107 are insulated from the threaded base 103 using an insulative material 109. The threaded base 103 screws into an accompanying luminare socket (not shown) that is connected to a lamp or other electrical device. The luminare socket typically uses a flat spring bar which makes electrical contact with a corresponding contact 105 on the bottom of the threaded base 103. Luminare socket manufacturers typically apply warning labels or other indicia on the luminare socket with recommendations for the maximum wattage bulb that is to be used with the base. When these recommendations are followed, this limits both the heat generated by the bulb and electrical current used by the device.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that there is no way to assure that these recommendations to consumers will be followed. For example, a 200-watt incandescent bulb is the same size as a 40-watt bulb, but it generates much more heat when illuminated. Excessive heat can deteriorate the insulation both on the electrical wires connecting to the luminare socket and on the supply wires in the junction box above the luminare. This deterioration, typically in the form of brittleness and cracking, can lead to arcing, and a subsequent fire.
Previous inventors have made adjustments to Edison's light bulb base design. U.S. Pat. No. 656,284, which is incorporated by reference herein, teaches the use of bulb tips having various sizes to prevent other bulbs or fuses from being interchanged. U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,322, which is also incorporated by reference herein, discloses lamp wattage limiting devices that use a contact having a predefined geometric configuration to define the bulb wattage that may be used on the luminare socket. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,519,328; 2,701,868; 2,999,220; 3,131,986; 3,309,646; and 5,401,191, which are all incorporated by reference herein, show various contact and socket base configurations that allow use with multiple filament bulbs.
Consequently, the need exists for a bulb and luminare socket where the maximum wattage of the bulb is controlled by the socket of the luminare. Moreover, any newly designed light bulb bases must be compatible with existing Edison sockets, and existing light bulbs must work in at least some of the newly designed sockets.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Lighting system having modified light bulb base and luminare socket for preventing the selection of an over wattage light bulb and method of forming same


This invention relates to a solution or plasticized composition comprising one or more polyanilines, and one or more solvents capable of dissolving said polyanilines.

This invention relates to solutions of neutral substituted or unsubstituted polyanilines and to methods of forming such solutions. Another aspect of this invention relates to a method of using such solutions to form polymer articles, such as films, printings, coatings and parts.
2. Prior Art
There has recently been an increased interest in the electrochemistry and electrical phenomena of polymeric systems. Recently, work has intensified with polymers having extended conjugation in at least one backbone chain.
One conjugated polymer system currently under study is polyaniline. Kobayashi, et al., J. Electroanal, Chem., "Electrochemical Reactions Concerned With Electrochromism of Polyaniline Film-Coated Electrodes", 177, 281-291, (1984) describes various experiments in which spectro-electrochemical measurements of a polyaniline film coated electrode were made. French Patent No. 1,519,729; French Patent of Addition 94,536; U.K. Patent 1,216,549; "Direct Current Conductivity of Polyaniline Sulfate", M. Doriomedoff, F. Kautiere-Cristofini, R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, L-T. Yu, and R. Buvet, J. Chim. Phys. Physicohim. Brol. 68, 1055 (1971); "Continuous Current Conductivity of Macromolecular Materials", L-T. Yu, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Chim. Macromol., 1, 469 61970); "Polyaniline Based Filmogenic Organic Conductive Polymers", D. LaBarre and M. Jozefowicz, C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. C. 269, 64 (1969); "Recently Discovered Properties of Semiconducting Polymers", M. Jozefowicz, L-T. Yu, J. Perichon, and R. Buvet, J. Polym, Sci. Part C, 22 1187-1195 (1969); "Electrochemical Properties of Polyaniline Sulfates:, F. Cristofini, R. DeSurville, and M. Jozefowicz, C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. C. 268, 1346 (1979); "Electrochemical Cells Using Protolytic Organic Semiconductors", R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, L-T. Yu, J. Perichon, R. Buvet, Electrochem. Ditn., 13, 1451 (1986); "Oligomers and Polymers Produced by Oxidation of Aromatic Amines", R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Ann. Chem. (Paris), 2, 5 (1967); "Experimental Study of the Direct Current Conductivity of Macromolecular Compounds", L-T. Yu, M. Borredon, N. Jozefowicz, G. Belorgey, and R. Buvet, J. Polym. Sci, Part C., 16, 2931 (1967); "Conductivity and Chemical Properties of Oligomeric Polyaniline", M. Jozefowicz, L-T. Yu, G. Belorgey and R. Buvet, J. Polym. Sci., Part C., 16, 2943 (1967); "Products of the Catalytic Oxidation of Aromatic Amines", R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Ann. Chem. (Paris), 2, 149 (1967); "Conductivity and Chemical Composition of Macromolecular Semiconductors", Rev. Gen. Electr., 75, 1014 (1966); "Relation Between the Chemical and Electrochemical Properties of Macromolecular Semiconductors", M. Jozefowicz and L-T. Yu, Rev. Gen. Electr., 75, 1008 (1966); "Preparation, Chemical Properties, and Electrical Conductivity of Poly-N-Alkyl Anilines in the Solid State", D. Muller and M. Jozefowicz, Bull. Soc. Chem., Fr. 4087 (1972).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,498 and 4,025,463 describe oligomeric polyanilines and substituted polyanilines having not more than 8 aniline repeat units which are described as being soluble in certain organic solvents and which are described as being useful in the formation of semi-conductor compositions having bulk electrical conductivities up to about 7.times.10.sup.-3 S/cm and, surface resistivities of 4.times.10.sup.7 ohm/square. European Patent No. 0017717 is an apparent improvement in the compositions of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,498 and 4,025,463 and states that the polyaniline can be formed into a latex composite through use of acetone solutions of the oligomers of polyaniline and suitable binder polymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,361 describes a conductive polymer blend which comprises mixing a polyamide with a base-type polymer containing carbon nitrogen linkages, such as polyaniline, having a polyamide-like group covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the base-type polymer. The conductive polymer blend is formed by first reacting a base-type non-conductive polymer containing carbon-nitrogen linkages, such as polyaniline, with a carbonyl anhydride, such as 3,4, 3',4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride to form a conductive polymer containing polyimide-like groups covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the base-type polymer, mixing such conductive polymer with non-conductive polyamide in a suitable solvent, removing the solvent, and forming a conductive continuous phase blend of the polyamide and the conductive polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,685 describes the production of base-type conductive polymers, particularly from the family of conductive polyaniline, by reacting a base-group non-conductive polymer containing carbon-nitrogen linkages, e.g. polyaniline,with an R.sup.+ donor compound, where R is an organic group, e.g. methyl iodide, and forming an electrically conductive polymer in which the R groups are covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,271 describes the production of base-type conductive polymers, particularly from the family of conductive polyaniline, by reacting a base-type non-conductive polymer containing carbon-nitrogen linkages e.g., polyaniline, with a cation donor compound, such as R.sub.2 SO.sub.4, R'SO.sub.2 Cl or R".sub.3 SiCl, where R, R' and R" are alkyl or aryl, such as dimethyl sulfate or tosyl chloride, and forming an electrically conductive polymer in which the R groups of R.sub.2 SO.sub.4, the R'SO.sub.2 groups of R'SO.sub.2 Cl, or the R".sub.3 Si groups of R".sub.3 SiCl are covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,638 describes a process for fabricating an electronic device on a non-conductive polymer substrate, particularly from the family of polyaniline, which comprises applying a covalent doping agent, such as an R+ donor compound, where R is an organic group, e.g., methyl iodide, to a preselected portion of a base-type non-conductive polymer substrate containing carbon-nitrogen linkages, and converting such preselected portion of the polymer substrate to an electrically conductive polymer portion, by covalent linkage of the R groups of such donor compound, to the nitrogen atoms of the non-conductive polymer substrate. Electronic devices, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, printed circuits and the like, can be provided by the invention process, in the form of light-weight polymers containing no metal, and which are stable and wherein the conductive portions are non-diffusing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,487 describes the Production of base-type conductive polymers, particularly from the family of conductive polyaniline, by reacting a base-type non-conductive polymer containing carbon-nitrogen linkages, e.g., polyaniline, with an anhydride such as R--SO.sub.2 --O--SO.sub.2 --R',R--CO--O--CO--R' or R--CO--O--SO.sub.2 R or mixtures thereof where R and R' are alkyl or aryl, e.g., tosylic anhydride or benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and forming an electrically conductive polymer in which the SO.sub.2 R and COR groups are covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the conductive polymer and the anion of the conductive polymers is the RSO.sub.3.sup.- or R'CO.sub.2.sup.- group.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,685 describes the production of base-type conductive polymers, particularly from the family of conductive polyaniline, by reacting a base-type non-conductive polymer containing carbon-nitrogen linkages, e.g., polyaniline, with an R.sup.+ donor compound, where R is an organic group, e.g., methyl iodide, and forming an electrically conductive polymer in which the R groups are covalently linked to the nitrogen atoms of the polymer.
PCT W089/01694 describes various electrically conductive polyanilines doped with certain sulfonated dopants. These materials are disclosed as thermally stable and capable of being melt blended to form blends with other types of polymers.
Several solvents for neutral (undoped) polyaniline are known. For example, F. Wudl et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 109, 3677(198) disclosed dimethylformamide as a solvent for polyaniline base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,867 discloses N-methyl pyrrolidone as a solvent for polyaniline, and A. MacDiarmid, et al. Polym. Preprints, 30, 147 (1989) disclosed N-methylpyrrolidone as a solvent for the neutral reduced (leuco) form of polyaniline. Similarly, X. Tang et al. Makroml. Chem. Rapid Commun., 9, 829-834 disclose N-methylpyrrolidone and dimethylformamide as solvents for high molecular weight polyaniline and tetrahydrofuran as a solvent for low molecular weight polyaniline. A. G. Green and A. E. Woodhead, J. Chem. Soc., 2388(1940) discloses pyridine as a solvent for neutral polyaniline, but indicates that such solutions are unstable. M. Angelopoulos, et al. Mol. Cryst. Lig. Cryst. Bulletin. p 240 (1988) discloses dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformide, and N-methylpyrrolidone as solvents neutral polyaniline and M. Inoue et al. Synth. Met., 30, 199(1989) discloses dimethylsulfoxide, ethanol and chloroforam as solvents for specially prepared "soluble" polyaniline base described as unbranched and uncrosslinked.

Method of processing neutral polyanilines in solvent and solvent mixtures


A pressure-controlling dispersion delivery system for delivering a sheared dispersion comprising a plurality of ingredients to a coating device selected from a direct feed delivery system and a coating device flow-through delivery system, wherein a coating formed from a dispersion delivered through the pressure-controlling delivery system has a more consistent caliper than a coating formed from a similar sheared dispersion delivered to a coating device by means of a gear pump delivery system.

Fluid compositions are coated onto substrates for use in a wide variety of applications. Some of those applications require the compositions to be coated very thinly on the substrates; many of such compositions are formed into high viscosity fluids such as dispersions or emulsions. In order to process dispersions, emulsions and other high viscosity coatings, the processing system must provide high uniform energy to disperse the agglomerate structure in such materials. Pulsation, or the application of non-uniform energy, will result in some of the product experiencing insufficient processing, which cannot be cured by increasing the processing time. Such pulsations in fluid processing systems have been addressed by the development of high intensifier shear devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,134. However, after the processing/shearing of the fluid is completed, the fluid must then be delivered to a coating device, for example, a coating die.
Current dispersion delivery systems utilize a gear pump to meter the dispersion to the coating device. Balancing the metering of the flow can be very difficult, especially in low flow situations. Pressure fluctuations, or pulsations caused by the gear pump(s), can lead to undesirable coating caliper variations, especially in applications requiring precise and high pressure delivery of thin coatings. For thin coatings, the coating calipers are small. This means that very small amounts of the dispersion are delivered to the coating device at a time; i.e., the delivery systems have very low flow. This low flow lengthens the waiting time between the shearing step and the coating steps, which can cause degradation of sheared material. The low flow situation also makes control of the coating thickness and weight more difficult. One problem can occur when such small amounts are involved. Normal pressure variations in the delivery system pumps result in significant variations in the amount of the fluid provided to the coating die. These variations in the fluid delivery can result in significant variations in the caliper of the coatings, and thus unacceptable defects.
Various dispersion delivery systems have been proposed or attempted to control the coating thickness, to varying degrees of success, and sometimes creating other problems. One system to improve the flow, while still balancing the metering is disclosed in EP 0435351 A1. This delivery system uses gear pumps which provide metering into the system of excess flow which goes to the coating die, followed by metering out the excess flow at or just prior to contact with the coating web.
One specific application for thin precise coating(s) on a substrate is for use as magnetic recording layers or support layers for magnetic recording layers. Such formulations are typically magnetic or electroconductive or other particles dispersed in binder systems with various adjuvants, such as lubricants and head cleaning agents (HCA). Variations in coating caliper for magnetic recording media adversely affect the data quality delivered of the recording media. The formulations, and dispersions made therefrom, are proprietary to the magnetic recording manufacturers, and vary with the type and variation of magnetic media produced. However, the density of recording in magnetic recording media has become higher in recent years, requiring higher quality formulations and coatings.
It would be desirable to have a dispersion delivery system which, when used in conjunction with a high intensifier shear system, would provide consistent amounts of material to the coating device and thus reduce variations in the subsequent coatings. It would also be advantageous if such dispersion delivery system did not include a gear pump which could introduce such pressure, and thus caliper fluctuations.
It has now been discovered that a pressure-controlling dispersion delivery system used in combination with a shear device, preferably a high intensifier shear system, will result in consistent delivery of high pressure fluid to a coating device, even in a low flow system. Pressure-controlling dispersion delivery devices can be provided using proportional integral delivery (PID) control loop.

Pressure-controlling dispersion delivery system


Interconnections between signal lines help to reduce signal skew between signals carried on the signal lines. The interconnections may be resistive interconnections, and the signal lines may be clock lines. In a memory controller, for example, resistive traces may connect adjacent clock lines. The resistive traces reduce the clock signal skew between the adjacent clock lines, and throughout the memory controller as a whole.

Rapid advances in electronics and communication technologies, driven by immense customer demand, have resulted in the widespread adoption of a vast array of electronic devices. As just a few examples, the devices include smart phones, high performance computer systems, navigation devices, and music players. Regardless of the device, one common goal is to increase processing speeds to accommodate increasingly sophisticated functionality. Continued improvement in electronic devices will help meet this goal, and others.

Reducing signal skew in memory and other devices


The present invention provides compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; as further described herein. The present invention further provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds, and combinations comprising these compounds combined with or used with a therapeutic co-agent, as well as therapeutic uses of these compounds and compositions. These are useful in the treatment of diseases such as cancer that are associated with activation of ERK1 and/or ERK2, and especially for MAPK pathway dependent cancers showing resistance to Raf and/or MEK inhibitory cancer therapeutics.

Protein Kinases are involved in very complex signaling cascades that regulate most cellular functions, including survival and proliferation. These signaling pathways have been heavily studied, particularly in the context of disorders caused by dysregulated cellular function, such as cancer. The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) are one class of signaling kinases that are involved in conveying extracellular signals into cells and subcellular organelles. ERK1 and ERK2 (ERK1/2) are kinases in the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and are also referred to as p42 and p44, respectively. ERK1 and ERK2 are present in relatively large quantities in cells (˜107 molecules per cell), and are involved in regulating a wide range of activities. Indeed, dysregulation of the ERK1/2 cascade is known to cause a variety of pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, developmental diseases, diabetes and cancer. Wortzel and Seger, Genes & Cancer, 2:195-209 (2011), published online 9 May 2011.
The role of ERK1/2 in cancer is of special interest because activating mutations upstream of ERK1/2 in its signaling cascade are said to be responsible for more than half of all cancers. Id. Moreover, excessive ERK1/2 activity was also found in cancers where the upstream components were not mutated, suggesting that ERK1/2 signaling plays a role in carcinogenesis even in cancers without mutational activations. The ERK pathway has also been shown to control tumor cell migration and invasion, and thus may be associated with metastasis. See A. von Thun, et al., ERK2 drives tumour cell migration in 3D microenvironments by suppressing expression of Rab 17 and Liprin-β2, J. Cell Sciences, online publication date 10 Feb. 2012. In addition, it has been reported that silencing either ERK1 or ERK2 using shRNA killed melanoma cells in culture, and also made melanoma cells more sensitive to inhibitors of BRAF. J. Qin, et al., J. Translational Med. 10:15 (2012). Indazole derivatives acting as ERK inhibitors have been reported as therapeutics for treating cancers. WO2012/118850; WO2012/030685; WO2007/070398; WO2008/153858. Certain bicyclic systems having pyrazole fused to a pyrrolidine ring are known in the art also—see e.g., WO2006/072831, WO2012/065935—and have been reported to inhibit other kinases. However, there remains a need for new therapeutic agents that inhibit ERK1 and/or ERK2 to treat disorders associated with undesired levels of ERK1/2 activity, particularly in cancers where mutations elsewhere in the MAPK pathway promote resistance to inhibitors of other pathway enzymes including Raf and MEK. The current invention provides novel fused pyrrolidine compounds that inhibit ERK1, ERK2, or preferably both (dual inhibitors), for use to treat diseases such as cancer that are associated with activation of ERK1 and/or ERK2, and especially for MAPK pathway dependent cancers showing resistance to Raf and/or MEK inhibitory cancer therapeutics.

Substituted pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors


The present invention relates to carbamoyl phenylalaninol compounds and methods of using the same to treat disorders. The invention further relates to the development of methods for treating excessive sleepiness in a subject, e.g., due to narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea, with the surprising outcome that “normal” levels of wakefulness are achieved based on standard objective and subjective sleepiness tests.

(R)-2-amino-3-phenylpropyl carbamate (APC) is a phenylalanine analog that has been demonstrated to be useful in the treatment of a variety of disorders, including excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, narcolepsy, fatigue, depression, bipolar disorder, fibromyalgia, and others. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,232,315; 8,440,715; 8,552,060; 8,623,913; 8,729,120; 8,741,950; 8,895,609; 8,927,602; 9,226,910; and 9,359,290; and U.S. Publication Nos., 2012/0004300 and 2015/0018414. The structure of the free base of APC is given below as formula I.
Methods for producing APC (which also has other names) and related compounds can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,955,499; 5,705,640; 6,140,532 and 5,756,817. All of the above patents and applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
While other compounds have been approved for the treatment of excessive sleepiness, few if any compounds have demonstrated the ability to improve the level of sleepiness in a subject to a level that is considered "normal" in sleepiness tests.
The present invention overcomes shortcomings in the art by providing methods and compositions for treating excessive sleepiness such that "normal" levels of wakefulness are achieved.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and compositions for treating excessive sleepiness


Systems and methods that optimize approximation functions are provided. In one example, a method that approximates a particular expression over a sample space of input values is provided. The method may include the steps of splitting the sample space of the input values into sub-regions; associating a polynomial function for each of the sub-regions; optimizing each polynomial function over the respective sub-region; and optimizing all polynomial functions over the sample space.

The approximation of expressions finds use in many fields of study and in diverse applications. For example, in Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) advanced audio coding (AAC) or layer 3 (MP3) audio decoders, a common process is inverse quantization. The AAC and the MP3 audio decoders perform an inverse non-uniform quantization for the spectral data after a Huffman decoding:xinq=sign(x)·|x|4/3 where xinq is the output of the inverse quantization and |x| is the input spectral data, ranging from 0 to 8191.
In one conventional system, a lookup table in the form of an 8k-word memory is employed such that, in this example, all 8192 possible values of |x| are matched with respective values of xinq. In many applications, an 8k-word memory takes up too much space in the chip.
On the other hand, in another conventional system, calculating xinq for each |x| in real (i.e., on the fly) by calculating the exponential function |x|4/3 requires an enormous amount of processing power.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

System and method for optimizing approximation functions


The present invention relates to a non-aqueous conductive nanoink composition including 20 to 85 parts by weight of metal nanoparticles which is chosen from silver, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, and gold; 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of a polymer having an anhydride group; 15 to 80 parts by weight of a non-aqueous organic solvent.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a nonaqueous conductive nanoink composition and more particularly, to a nonaqueous conductive nanoink composition which is suitable for forming conductive wirings and films with no cracks or delamination on a substrate by employing an anhydride compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Noncontact direct writing technology through inkjet which is distinguished from the conventional optical patterning offers advantages in reduction of manufacturing costs and time since it allows ejecting an exact amount of ink to only a desired portion. For applying the inkjet method to form a metal wiring of a substrate, a metal ink has been greatly developed with growth of interests in the metal ink.
A method of forming conductive wirings or films generally includes coating or printing a conductive nanoink on a substrate, drying and sintering. Final conductivity is exhibited after the sintering process. The conductivity can be decreased (i) when a content of nanomaterial is low, (ii) when a content of remained organic compounds is high after sintering, (iii) when short/open due to cracks and/or delamination is caused after drying, or (iv) when short/open due to cracks and/or delamination is caused after sintering. When silver or copper is used as a conductive nanomaterial and the sintering is performed sufficiently, reasons (i) and (ii) may be avoid but electric current may be blocked or resistance may be too high due to electrical short associated with reasons (iii) and (iv).
A drying method of nanoink of a substrate includes (i) evaporation, (ii) densification and contraction, (iii) crack initiation due to contraction and non-fluidity, and (iv) crack and delamination. That is, when nanoink is dried on a substrate, contraction may be caused with increase of the concentration of nanoparticles in the nanoink by the evaporation of a solvent. A contact portion with air may be more contracted with more evaporation than the opposite portion to the air-contacted portion and this may cause crack for the contraction at the air-contacted portion. This crack may grow with the evaporation of the solvent and reach to the interface of the opposite portion to the air-contacted portion. As a result, if adhesion at the interface of the opposite portion to the air-contacted portion is not strong enough compared to the contraction stress, it may cause delamination.
Preventing cracks and improving adhesion between wiring and substrate are critical factors in the manufacturing metal nanoink composition and the development of metal nanoink composition which satisfies those factors is highly demanded.

Nonaqueous conductive nanoink composition

Abstract: The non-aqueous conductive nanoink composition of the present invention prevents cracks during the drying process, increases the adhesion between wiring and substrate, and allows forming conductive wirings and films without cracks and delamination on the substrate such as polymer including polyimide and glass or silicon wafer.


A load driving device controls two motors by PWM signals. When a standard duty ratio of the PWM signals is 50% and a level of a drive instruction is the standard duty ratio, the standard duty ratio are output to the respective motors to provide a reverse phase relationship that the PWM signal of the standard duty ratio does not overlap. A continuous off-period and the standard PWM signal output when the level of the drive instruction is lower than the standard, and the continuous on-period and the standard PWM signal output when the level of the drive instruction is higher than the standard are changed over at the ratios corresponding to the level of the drive instruction.

In the case where PWM signals are supplied to electric loads such as two electric motors, a high frequency ripple becomes large when energization periods for the loads overlap with each other.
For solving this problem, for example, as disclosed in JP 6-189593A or IP 2002-43910A, two PMW signals are so output as to have a relationship of reverse phase so that the energization periods of those two loads do not overlap with each other. However, the ripple of a supply current can be suppressed only when the duty ratio of the PWM signal is 50%. For example, when a supply voltage is 12 V, only the voltage of 6V that is ½ of the full supply voltage (12 V) can be applied to the respective loads. Accordingly, the drive control range of the loads is limited.


This application discloses a data processing method, system, and apparatus, a storage medium, and a device, and belongs to the field of database technologies. The method includes receiving, a trigger request; triggering, according to the trigger request, the first cloud encryptor to store a root key seed, an operating policy, a data key seed, and a data key identifier, and triggering the database proxy to store an encryption data dictionary, the operating policy indicating an operation policy of the first cloud encryptor. The method further includes receiving a data processing request from the client; sending first data that the data processing request requests to process and the data key identifier in the encryption data dictionary to the first cloud encryptor. The method further includes implementing the operating policy, processing the first data, and responding to the data processing request by using the second data.

To meet the user demand for database security, database systems need to encrypt the data written into the database and decrypt the data retrieved from the database.
In related technology, a database system encrypts/decrypts data using a transparent data encryption mode. During system implementation, the user defines a column to be encrypted, the database system creates a data key for a table including the column, and then encrypts the data key using a master key created for the database, and stores the master key in a "wallet" of the database, and stores the encrypted data key into a data dictionary in the database. When the user needs to write data to the column, the database reads the master key from the "wallet", decrypts the data key in the data dictionary using the master key, encrypts the data using the data key, and writes the encrypted data into the column. When the user needs to retrieve data the column, the database reads the master key from the "wallet", decrypts the data key in the data dictionary using the master key, and decrypts, by using the data key, the encrypted data read from the column.
The data key and the master key are both generated by the database, and are both stored in the database. That is, the key system is coupled into the database. Consequently, the database is not secure.

Data processing method, system, and apparatus, storage medium, and device

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


An implantable medical device includes a pressure input, an excitation source, a detector module, and a processor. The pressure input is configured to be joined to a pressure sensor located proximate to a cardiac chamber of the heart. The pressure input receives pressure measurements representative of a pressure in the cardiac chamber. The excitation source is configured to deliver stimulation pulses to the heart. The detector module communicates with the pressure sensor to receive and compare the pressure measurements to a pressure threshold. The processor instructs the excitation source to deliver the stimulation pulses at a pressure-based rate based on the comparison of the pressure measurements to the pressure threshold.

Atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia that results in an irregular heartbeat. With atrial fibrillation, the normal electric impulses generated by the myocardium are overwhelmed by other electrical impulses in the heart. Atrial fibrillation includes the conduction of irregular impulses to the ventricles of the myocardium, which in turn generate the cardiac cycles of the heart and may result in disruption of the normal sinus rhythm of the heart. When left untreated, atrial fibrillation may become a chronic condition and lead to an increase in the risk of death.
Implantable medical devices ("IMDs") may be implanted in a patient to monitor, among other things, electrical activity of a heart and to deliver appropriate electrical and/or drug therapy to treat atrial fibrillation, as required. IMDs include, for example, pacemakers, cardioverters, defibrillators, implantable cardioverter defibrillators ("ICD"), cardiac resynchronization therapy ("CRT") devices, and the like. The electrical therapy produced by an IMD may include, for example, pacing pulses, cardioverting pulses, and/or defibrillator pulses to reverse arrhythmias (e.g., atrial and/or ventricular fibrillation, tachycardias, and bradycardias) or to stimulate the contraction of cardiac tissue (e.g., cardiac pacing) to return the heart to its normal sinus rhythm.
Known IMDs do not address some potential causes of atrial fibrillation. For example, one potential cause is atrial volume overload. Atrial volume overload represents the build up of fluid pressure in the left and/or right atria. As the pressure in the left and/or right atria increases, at least a portion of the myocardium stretches. Stretching of the myocardium in or near the atria may result in morphological and electrophysiological changes, which in turn may lead to the generation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation.
The body has a normal physiological mechanism to prevent atrial volume overload. This mechanism is referred to as the Bainbridge reflex, whereby an abnormally large amount of blood in the atria is sensed by stretch receptors in the atria. The stretch receptors signal the medulla of the brain to induce a reflex increase in the heart rate. Increasing the heart rate may increase the flow of fluid out of the atria in the heart and consequently reduce atrial pressure in the atria. As the atrial pressure is reduced, the atrial volume overload in the heart may be reduced. If the atrial volume overload can be reduced or prevented, especially in the early stages of pressure build-up in the atria, then the stretch-induced atrial fibrillation may be reduced or prevented. Moreover, even in patients with a long term history of coronary disease resulting in chronic atrial fibrillation, reducing atrial volume overload may result in the stretched myocardium in or near the atria reducing in size and thereby remodel. Atrial remodeling may, in turn, reduce the atrial fibrillation burden on the patient.
The potential exists that the Bainbridge reflex may either completely or partially fail in some patients, thus leaving these patients more susceptible to atrial volume overload and, consequently, atrial fibrillation. A need exists for a system and method that reduces atrial volume overload and thereby reduces the amount of stretch in the myocardium and consequently reduces or prevents the onset of stretch-induced atrial fibrillation.

Systems and methods for adjusting a pacing rate based on cardiac pressure


A water tank includes a box, an air valve body, a valve core, a cap, and an elastic element. The box defines an accommodating space and a vent communicating with the accommodating space. The air valve body is extended out from the box and adjacent to the vent. The valve core is mounted to the valve body to airproof the vent, and comprises a first end inserted into the accommodating space through the vent and a second end opposite to the first end. The elastic element is arranged between the cap and the valve core. The valve core will open the vent to deform the elastic member and allow heated air in the accommodating space to leak out of the accommodating space through the vent, in response to an air pressure in the box is greater a reference air pressure.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to heat dissipation systems and, particularly, to a water-cooled heat dissipation system for dissipating heat of an electronic component using water.
2. Description of Related Art
An ordinary water-cooled heat dissipation system may include a water tank, a heat-dissipating fan, and a water-cooled heat sink. The water tank includes a water pump to transfer heated water to the heat-dissipating fan. The heat-dissipating fan cools the heated water, and then the cooled water is transferred into the water-cooled heat sink. The water-cooled heat sink is mounted on an electronic component to dissipate heat for the electronic component via the cooled water, and after heat exchange, the heated water is transferred to the water tank, and then the cycle repeats. Therefore, the water-cooled heat sink can continually dissipate heat for the electronic component.
However, when the heated water is transferred to the water tank, according to the theory of "expand with heat and contract with cold", the air in the water tank will expand, which may damage the case of the water tank or at least the seals thereof.

Water tank of water-cooled heat dissipation system

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


The disclosed apparatus can control the cross section of at least one vent opening of an airbag module, through which gases can escape into the environment. The apparatus can include: at least one covering part for at least partially covering the at least one vent opening and an operating mechanism comprising a gas source and an inflatable element in fluid communication with the gas source. The inflatable element can be configured to produce a variation in the outlet cross section of the vent opening in cooperation with the covering part.

The application relates to an apparatus for controlling the outlet cross-section of a vent opening for an airbag module.
An airbag module typically includes a gas bag and a gas generator for inflating the gas bag in case of a collision, so that the inflated gas bag forms a gas cushion for protecting an occupant of the vehicle. The gas cushion acts as a restraining device which dampens the impact on an occupant, and especially prevents a direct impact of the occupant against certain injurious parts of the vehicle.
The optimum internal pressure of the gas bag in the inflated state, so as to protect an occupant against injury, is dependent upon a number of parameters, for example the size and weight of the occupant to be protected, the position of the occupant at the moment of a collision, and the nature and gravity of the accident. It is therefore expedient to provide on the airbag module, such as on the gas bag or another component of the airbag module (for example, at a connection between the gas generator and the gas bag), including exhaust or vent openings through which gas can flow out from the airbag module, especially from the inflated or yet-to-be-inflated gas bag. Furthermore, the at least one vent opening, through which gas (produced by the gas generator of the airbag module and originating from the airbag module) can flow away into the environment, can also be arranged outside of the airbag module, especially on a vehicle part containing the airbag module, for example a back-rest of a vehicle chair in the case of a side-airbag module.
The amount of gas released from the gas generator for the inflation of the gas bag is so chosen that it permits the production of the maximum internal pressure in the gas bag, which at certain values of the above-stated parameters proves optimum for the protection of an occupant. In the presence of other values of the above-stated parameters, exhaust or vent openings provided on the airbag module can then serve for reducing the internal pressure in the gas bag, advantageously at certain points in time during and/or after the inflation of the gas bag. For this purpose, it is known to vary the exhaust cross section of a particular vent by varying the position of a covering part with which the vent can be covered, by means of an associated actuating mechanism, such that the vent opening will have a cross section adapted to the values of the above-stated parameters.
The present invention is addressed to the problem of improving an actuating mechanism by which the exhaust cross section of a vent opening will be adjustable, especially in regard to the possibility of a flexible integration of the actuating mechanism into an airbag.


A method of processing a wooden piece taken out from a raw wood into a predetermined three-dimensional shape, includes compressing the wooden piece by applying compressive force thereto in a water vapor atmosphere of higher temperature and higher pressure than atmospheric air; and fracturing at least a portion of the compressed wooden piece by exposing the portion to the atmospheric air so as to cause explosion inside the exposed portion of the wooden piece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing and a processing apparatus according to which wood is processed into a predetermined shape.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, wooden materials that are natural materials attract attention. With a wide variety of grain patterns, wood products made of wood exhibit individual features depending on positions of the raw wood from which the particular wood products are cut out. Such individual features of each wood product give it a unique quality. In addition, surface flaws and discolorations caused by a long-term use create unique textures which tend to evoke warm and familiar feeling in the user. Thus, the wooden material attracts attention as a material for products of uniqueness and taste which cannot be found in products made of synthetic resin or light metals. Techniques for processing wooden materials are also developing dramatically.
According to one conventionally known technique for processing wooden materials: a wooden board is softened with water absorption and compressed; the compressed wooden board is cut along a direction substantially parallel with a direction in which the compressive force is applied, whereby a primary fixed product with a sheet-like shape is obtained; and the primary fixed product is deformed into a desired three-dimensional shape under heat and moisture (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 3078452 Publication). Further, according to another conventional technique, a softened wooden sheet is compressed and temporarily secured in a prepared mold and left in the mold until the wooden sheet recovers. Thus a wooden product with a desired shape can be obtained (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-77619 Publication).
Conventionally, when it is required to form an opening or a cutout portion in a wooden piece, cutting, punching, die-cutting, or the like is performed on the wooden piece after the wooden piece is properly formed by compression.

Processing apparatus and method of processing


A casing 2 is arranged in a through hole 41 of a circuit board 40, and an outer contact portion 3b of a contact 3 projecting from the neighborhood of the upper end of the casing 2 is connected to a connection terminal 43 on the upper surface of the circuit board. By inserting an end portion of a flexible board 30 into an insertion opening 9 from an upper aperture 6 or a lower aperture 7 of the casing 2 and sliding a pressure piece 8 toward the outer contact portion 3b side, an inner contact portion 3a of the contact 3 and the end portion of the flexible board are fixed held between a thrust block 10 and the pressure piece 8.

The present invention relates to a flexible board connector for electrically connecting a flexible board to a circuit board and to a connection structure of a flexible board to a circuit board.
In recent years, electronic devices of portable telephones, video cameras and so on have been promoted reducing their size and weight while internally included many built-in electronic components. Many of the electronic components have leads and terminals electrically connected with solder to component mounting lands arranged on a circuit board. In portable telephones, of which the size reduction has been promoted, even comparatively large components such as LCD modules and keypads are arranged on a circuit board, and a plurality of such circuit boards are normally employed. In order to electrically connect the plurality of circuit boards with one another, many flexible boards are employed. Moreover, flexible boards are employed to electrically connect other parts of camera modules and so on to the circuit board. Such a flexible board is sometimes required to be connected from the lower surface side of the circuit board to the connector arranged together with the electronic components on the upper surface of the circuit board due to restrictions in design.
Conventionally, the following connection structures have been adopted in order to connect the flexible boards to the connectors of the circuit board from the lower surface side.
(1) As shown in FIG. 9, a circuit board 52, on the upper surface of which an electronic component 51 is arranged, is provided with a connector 53 on its upper surface and a through hole 52a. A flexible board 54 is guided from the lower surface side to the upper surface side of the circuit board 52 via the through hole 52a, and the connection portion of the flexible board 54 is connected to the connector 53.
(2) As shown in FIG. 10, a connector 63 is provided in the neighborhood of an edge portion of the circuit board 62 on the upper surface of which the electronic components 61 are arranged, and the connection portion of the flexible board 64 is connected to the connector 63 by bending the flexible board 64 so that the board covers the edge portion from the lower surface side of the circuit board 62.
(3) As shown in FIG. 11, a connector 73 is provided on the lower surface of a circuit board 72 on the upper surface of which the electronic components 71 are arranged, and a flexible board 74 on the lower surface side is connected to the connector 73 without being guided to the upper surface side.
Some of the conventional connectors 53, 63 and 73 hold and fix the connection portion of the flexible board between a base part fixed to the circuit board and a pivot part pivotally connected to the base part. Moreover, there is a connector, which is fixed to a circuit board, includes an engagement pawl and a contact terminal, engages the engagement pawl with an engagement hole of a flexible board and electrically connects the contact terminal to the connection terminal of the flexible board (refer to JP H09-22760).
However, the connection structure of the flexible board to the circuit board of the item (1) has a problem that, if the flexible board 54, which passed through the through hole 52a, receives vibrations or impact while being brought in contact with the edge of the through hole 52a, the wiring formed on the flexible board 54 is cut by the edge. As a method for solving the above problem, it can be considered to chamfer the edge of the through hole 52a, to arrange a cover to cover the edge, and to use a jig for shaping the flexible board 54 into a shape such that the board does not come in contact with the edge or the like. However, each of the methods has the problem of causing a cost increase. Moreover, the connection structure of the flexible board to the circuit board of the item (2) has a problem that restrictions on the circuit design increase since the connector 63 needs to be arranged at the edge portion of the circuit board 52 in addition to a problem similar to that of the item (1). There is a further problem that the total length of the flexible board 64 becomes long. The connection structure of the flexible board to the circuit board of the item (3) has a problem that the cost is increased further than when the electronic components and the connector are arranged on the upper surface since a wiring for the connector 73 also needs to be arranged on the lower surface despite that the electronic component 71 is arranged only on the upper surface of the circuit board 72.
What is particularly important to the electronic devices, of which the reductions in size and weight have been promoted, is a reduction in thickness. Therefore, in accordance with the reductions in size and thickness of electronic components and so on, the connectors for flexible boards are also demanded to be reduced in size and thickness.
However, the connectors 53, 63 and 73 of the items (1), (2) and (3), which are employed for the connection structure of the flexible board to the circuit board, have conventionally been arranged on the upper surface or the lower surface of the circuit boards 52, 62 and 72. Therefore, all of the connectors 53, 63 and 73 are to project from the surfaces of the circuit boards 52, 62 and 72. This therefore leads to a problem that the circuit boards 52, 62 and 72 and the flexible boards 54, 64 and 74 in the mutually connected state come to have a comparatively great thickness. It can be considered to reduce the thickness of the components of insulators, terminals and so on included in the connectors 53, 63 and 73 in order to reduce the thickness of the connectors 53, 63 and 73. However, this disadvantageously causes a reduction in structural strength, defective connection and so on.

Flexible board connector and connection structure of flexible board to circuit board


Methods and apparatus for treating a liquid bath of oxygen. A liquid bath of at least 70 mol % of oxygen is located at the base of a cryogenic distillation column. The bath is continuously boiled by an aluminum reboiler. A portion of the liquid bath is purged to prevent a build up of inflammable impurities in the bath. A portion of the purge is sent to a second reboiler, which is less inflammable than the first reboiler. Oxygen boiled by the second reboiler is sent back to the column, and a portion of the oxygen rich liquid bath treated by the second reboiler is also purged. The invention also relates to an apparatus of carrying out this method.

The invention relates to the field of cryogenic air separation and more particularly to cryogenic methods in which an oxygen-rich liquid bath has to be boiled.
The cryogenic distillation of air is carried out in distillation columns, and in the sump of some of these columns an oxygen-rich liquid is collected, in particular in the low-pressure column of a system of columns, such as a double air separation column. This oxygen-rich liquid is continuously boiled so as to provide reboil for the column, by means of a reboiler that is installed in the sump and fed with a heat-transfer fluid, such as the gaseous nitrogen collected at the top of the column.
This boiling of the oxygen progressively results in a progressive increase in the concentration in the liquid bath treated by the reboiler of impurities heavier than oxygen. These compounds include light hydrocarbons, CO2 and nitrogen oxides. This concentration is dangerous long term, since a threshold may then be reached above which, in certain zones of the reboiler where the liquid oxygen is completely boiled off, a deposit of hydrocarbons in the pure state may be produced on the reboiler, resulting in combustion of said hydrocarbons. This combustion may propagate to the aluminum which, for cost and energy efficiency reasons, is generally the base material from which the reboiler is made. Moreover, the build-up of inert compounds may also be dangerous when these compounds solidify in a quantity such that they block the channels of the reboiler. It is then necessary to shut down the installation in order to restore it to correct operation.
A partial solution to this problem could be to replace the aluminum reboiler with a copper reboiler, which runs no risk of catching fire in contact with hydrocarbons. However, this solution would be expensive, in particular because the exchanger would have to have substantially greater dimensions, for the same performance, than an aluminum exchanger.
Another solution, conventionally adopted, consists in purging a portion of the oxygen-rich liquid. Such a purge takes place naturally if the installation is used to produce liquid oxygen or gaseous oxygen at high pressure, by what is called the "internal compression" method, or low-pressure gaseous oxygen. However, if the oxygen is withdrawn from the column above the reboiler (something which is the case in installations producing krypton or xenon), or if the liquid oxygen withdrawn is only partially vaporized and if its unvaporized portion is sent back into the column, the problem rises in the same manner. Under these conditions, it is necessary either to purge a large stream of liquid oxygen, to send it through absorbers, in order to strip it of its impurities, and to send it back into the reboiler, or to withdraw only a small stream of liquid oxygen, but to discharge it to the outside of the system without utilizing it. Since this latter solution is costly in terms of wasted material and energy, it is beneficial to minimize as far as possible the fraction of liquid oxygen purged.
If the air treated by the cryogenic distillation installation is very clean, the purge stream may be as low as 0.01% of the total treated air stream. However, in common practice the purge stream is from 0.1 to 0.2% of the total treated air stream. The lower the purge stream, for the same initial air purity, the higher the risk of a dangerous build-up of hydrocarbons and other impurities in the oxygen-rich liquid. It is estimated in general that, with a purge stream of 10% of the total treated air stream or higher, there is no longer any danger in using an aluminum reboiler.
One solution proposed by the document WO-A-99/39143 consists in purging a fraction of oxygen-rich liquid that is sufficiently large to ensure safe operation of the reboiler and in sending the purged liquid into a second reboiler external to the installation, in which high impurity contents of the concentrated liquid found therein can be tolerated and in managing the corresponding risk. This external reboiler may be periodically warmed to a relatively high temperature so as to remove the impurities that are present therein.

Method and system for treating an oxygen-rich liquid bath collected at the foot of a cryogenic distillation column

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme A Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


Orthopedic fracture repair implants, systems and methods are disclosed. Implants include one or more of biocompatible sleeves and struts. The implants, systems and methods are applied to bone fractures, such as segmentation fractures.

Conventional devices and techniques used to treat bone fractures include external fixation structures, such as Illizarov and Taylor Spatial Frame, and internal fixation structures, such as plates, nails, pegs, screws, and other fixators. Each type of technique relies on providing proper stability to the bone so that it can heal naturally by normal growth and regeneration processes.
Fractures that involve load bearing bones, such as femurs and tibias, are particularly difficult to treat due to their substantial load bearing requirements. Devices used must provide sufficient axial, torsional and bending strength across the fracture site to support the loading. External fixation devices and methods typically encompass the fracture site and sit external to the patient's skin. They can be cumbersome, uncomfortable, carry a risk of infection, and limit ambulation and therefore often fail to fully satisfy a patient's desires for care and treatment.
Internal devices are installed on or in the fractured bone across the fracture site. An example is an intramedullary (IM) nail that is installed longitudinally into the intramedullary canal of a fractured bone. Some structures used in internal repair provide less than optimal biocompatibility and support for the patient's normal biological healing processes. Furthermore, after the fracture is healed, a second surgery may be required to remove the IM nail from the patient. This increases the risk of infection to the patient and cost to the healthcare system. Hence, considerable research and development has focused on techniques for replacing traditional fracture fixation devices with biodegradable (also referred to as resorbable, bioerodible, degradable, or bioabsorbable) implants. In the case of segmental defects or other serious fractures to a load bearing bone, such as a tibia or femur, managing the challenges recited above and others to find an appropriate balance of strength, biocompatibility, bioabsorbability and patient comfort can be particularly complicated.

Fracture fixation systems having intramedullary support


An aluminum can recycling center for receiving aluminum cans from individual consumers, preparing the cans to be recycled and compensating the consumer for the recycle value of the aluminum comprising coupon display and dispensing, an improved aluminum can sorter and a unique aluminum can crusher is disclosed.

Recycling of aluminum cans is a major source of aluminum for aluminum foundries, etc., and a major industry. One of the very important sources of aluminum is the recycling of soft drink and beer cans by consumers.
Many types of systems and devices are described in the patent and industrial literature for separating aluminum cans and other aluminum articles from ferrous metals, bottles, etc. Most of these devices are very large and are adapted for use only in recycling yards for processing tons of material per day.
Americans and people around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the need to recycle their waste products. Aluminum cans have significant economic value and many people sell their own used cans and collect cans from others for sale to recycling yards. Efforts have been made to provide recycling facilities in convenient locations, such as super markets and other places frequented by consumers.
Even though consumer recycling did not become popular until about two decades ago, the overall concepts of the technology have been thoroughly developed and many systems and devices have been designed to collect recycled products, separate the products, etc. Indeed, this is a crowded art.
Notwithstanding the many approaches to consumer recycling stations, there remains a great need for an attractive, simple, reliable and economically beneficial system for receiving recycled aluminum cans and for compensating consumers for their aluminum cans.
One of the major drawbacks to consumer recycling systems is that they are unsightly and, consequently, are relegated to back corners of parking lots and in other places which are hard to see and/or hard for the consumer to get to. Merchants, grocery store owners and managers and shopping mall managers, are not receptive to having recycling centers near the entrance to their business establishments because they occupy space that could be used for dispensing or selling goods or for other commercially profitable uses. It is a feature of this invention that a system is provided that enables the merchant to offer recycling services and to benefit from the presence of an aluminum can recycling center that is aesthetically attractive and, hence, can be conspicuously placed near the entrance to a store or mall.


A powered steering mechanism can operate in a steering mode or in a powered self-centering mode. The mechanism of the present invention includes a cylinder into and out of which can reciprocate a rod. The rod is provided with a fixed piston that defines a first pressure chamber and a second pressure chamber. First and second inlet/outlet steering ports are provided in the pressure chambers through which a pressurizing fluid can flow into or out. The cylinder is also adapted to provide powered self-centering of the fixed piston and thereby the steering mechanism itself by the floating pistons that are located within the pressure chambers. First and second inlet/outlet centering ports are also provided in pressure chambers, through which fluid can flow into the chambers, causing floating pistons to move towards a central position and enabling the fixed piston to be moved and retained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a powered steering mechanism for a vehicle and, in particular but not exclusively, to a powered steering mechanism for one or more secondary axles of a vehicle, which may comprise a motor vehicle or trailer.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Conventionally, a vehicle with two or more axles will have its front or primary axle steered. Its other secondary axle or axles need not have any steering mechanism even though one or more of them may be driven. However, it can be an advantage if one or more of the secondary axles are also steered, for example, to increase maneuverability of the vehicle, to improve wheel tracking, to improve the vehicle's fuel economy and to reduce tire wear. Also, it may be advantageous to have the means to disable the steering of any secondary axle and, at the same time, to center the wheels to a neutral, straight-ahead position, and to maintain them in this position. The steering of secondary axles is usually controlled by the primary steering mechanism so that any movement of the primary steering mechanism results in an equivalent, proportional movement of the secondary steering mechanism. Control can be achieved by a mechanical linkage but this is heavy and bulky, and a centering arrangement for such a control would be difficult to arrange. Hence, normal conventional practice is to provide a power unit for steering secondary axles and to provide an auxiliary centering unit for maintaining the secondary axles in a neutral, straight-ahead position when required.
Conventionally, such a power unit takes the form of a hydraulic cylinder that is arranged between a fixed point on a vehicle's frame and a steering linkage. Within the cylinder, a piston reciprocates to provide the power assisted steering. The piston is connected to a rod that is connected to the steering linkage. Fluid pressure, on one or another side of the piston, as controlled by the valve unit, moves the rod and thereby the steering linkage in the required direction. The amount of fluid pressure applied to the piston by the valve unit depends on the force applied to the vehicle steering wheel by the driver.
The centering unit typically comprises either a pneumatic bellows which is separate from the power unit or an additional hydraulic cylinder that may or may not be attached to the steering cylinder to power the steering towards a central position. However, this may not necessarily power the steering into the actual central position, and separate mechanical means are often provided in addition to hold the unit in the central position once reached.
The object of the present invention is to simplify the aforementioned conventional arrangement with consequent savings in efficiency and cost and to provide a powered steering mechanism that combines the steering and centering mechanisms within the same cylinder.


A method for determining the amount of residual disinfectant removing agent in a process stream to which the disinfectant removing agent has been added to completely remove a disinfectant residual, comprising the steps of: (a) drawing off a sample of the process stream; (b) mixing an acidic iodate solution and an iodide solution to produce an iodine analyzing agent; (c) adding to the sample the iodine analyzing agent in an amount sufficient to react with the residual disinfectant removing agent and leave an unreacted amount of residual iodine; (d) allowing sufficient time for the iodine to react with the residual disinfectant removing agent; (e) analyzing the sample to determine the amount of residual iodine remaining in the sample, and (f) determining the amount of residual disinfectant removing agent in the sample based on the amount of iodine analyzing agent added and the amount of residual iodine remaining in the sample after reaction.

Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect sewage treatment plant process streams and for biofouling control in cooling systems. Because chlorine is such a highly effective disinfecting/oxidizing agent, any chlorine unused in the process is just as effective in destroying aquatic life.
In order to eliminate or substantially remove the residual chlorine from a process stream, a dechlorination agent or device is often used. Typically, sulfur dioxide (SO.sub.2) is added to the process stream to react quantitatively with the chlorine residual. If SO.sub.2 is added in excess of the amount of chlorine residual in the process stream, the chlorine will be completely eliminated.
The amount of unreacted dissolved SO.sub.2 (i.e., dechlorination residual) remaining in the process stream is preferably maintained at low, but positive, concentration to insure chlorine residual removal and minimize oxygen consumed. This sort of treatment not only protects aquatic life, but results in more efficient use of the C1.sub.2 and SO.sub.2 reagents added to the process stream. However, there are no completely acceptable methods or systems available for directly monitoring and controlling the amount of dechlorination residual in a continuous process stream to which a chlorine disinfectant/oxidant has been previously added.
All of the prior systems are expensive to install and have substantial operational costs associated with maintenance, sample pumping, and reagent costs. These systems are often inherently unstable, producing measurement errors that typically exceed safe regulatory residual limits by several orders of magnitude. This is especially undesirable since dechlorination control continues to be the subject of more stringent government environmental regulations.
Clearly what is needed is a method and system for directly measuring and controlling a continuous process stream for dechlorination residual. The method and system should permit a chlorine residual to be completely eliminated within the process stream while the amount of dechlorination residual is minimized. Monitoring and control should be conducted under conditions where relatively small volumes of the reagent and process sample are used. Moreover, the reagents used should be relatively stable and should not be subject to chemical reaction interferences with other contaminants which may be present within the process stream. The present invention fills that need.

Method and system for continuously monitoring and controlling a process stream for dechlorination residual


A backlight module includes a light source unit, an optical fiber, a diverging lens and a light guide unit. The light source unit includes a first light source emitting red light, a second light source emitting green light and a third light source emitting blue light. The optical fiber includes a first, second, and third incident branches and a light output portion. The three incident branches converge into the light output portion and are aligned with the three light sources to guide and mix red, blue, and green light to form white light. The diverging lens is aligned with the light output portion to receive and diverge the white light. The light guide unit faces the diverging lens to receive the white light.

A backlight module emitting approximate white light is used to illuminate a liquid crystal display (LCD) device to display actual images. The backlight module converts linear light sources such as cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), or point light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), into area light sources having high uniformity and brightness. If LEDs are introduced as point light sources to the backlight module, the LEDs usually employ specific phosphor powder packed with light emitting diode chips for emitting the approximate white light.