A spray nozzle, particularly well adapted for use in compressor spray cleaning systems, has a nozzle body with a right angle fluid delivery bore having a first passageway section extending longitudinally and at least one connected transverse nozzle bore section terminating in a reduced diameter spray bore at a sidewall of the nozzle body. A swirler is mounted in the nozzle bore section, and has a head section with a plurality of passageways formed between swirl vanes arranged about a periphery of the head section to pass fluid to the spray bore and an adjacent neck section of a reduced diameter. The neck forms an annulus between the neck and the nozzle body in fluid-passing contact with the first passageway section and head section to direct fluid from the first passageway through the head passageway for exit through the spray bore. The nozzle can be used in spray systems over a wide range of fluid delivery volumes and pressures.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,540 to the present inventor teaches the use of a series of nozzles arranged and positioned to generate a mist or fine droplet fog of a washing fluid around, for example, the periphery of the air intake of a gas turbine engine. The washing fluid is supplied to the nozzles under pressure, the nozzles converting the fluid flow into a fog, which is drawn through the turbine as it operates and contacts the vanes and blades of the turbine's compressor to attack and remove contaminants from the compressor surfaces. The nozzles are positioned to inject the fog into areas of relatively low-speed turbulent air, the fog being drawn into the turbine in a manner that creates a uniform dispersion of the fog and effective cleaning of the compressor surfaces. Different wash fluids may be injected, depending on the nature of the cleaning to be accomplished, and different fluids may be used during different phases of the cleaning process.
Depending on the specific application, a wide range of fluid pressures and droplet sizes that may be employed. In "on-line" washing, the turbine is fired and can be running at any load or speed conditions, so the compressor wash solutions must be injected with droplets sufficiently small that they do not cause any erosive or mechanical damage when they impinge at high velocity onto the stationary and rotating compressor airfoils. At the same time, however, the droplets must be sufficient size, mass and quantity to break through the airfoil surface boundary layer and provide comprehensive wetting to the surface deposits. In practice such droplets are typically in the size range of about 100-200μ, the recognized industry standard for chemical cleaning processes of this type.
"Off-line" or "off-crank" cleaning is performed by injecting cleaning solution into the compressor via a nozzle system while the turbine rotor is being turned at about 10 to 25 percent of its normal operating speed in order to disperse the cleaning fluid effectively throughout the compressor section. The rotor is physically turned by an electric motor or diesel powered starting device or, in the case of large gas turbine generators, by inducting the generator itself to turn the rotor. Since off-line cleaning has to date been designed as a short duration, high volume deluge wash procedure, their injection nozzle systems have tended to be cruder, with larger droplet sizes and higher flow rates. In some cases high pressure injection, up to about 2,000 PSIG have been employed, but in either case such nozzle systems are not suited to on-line washing because of the dangers of thermal shock, mechanical damage, and compressor blade erosion.
The common arrangement for compressor cleaning systems is therefore to have a separate arrangement of nozzles, and sometimes a separate wash skid, for on-line cleaning and off-line cleaning—thus increasing the cost of hardware and installation.
The present invention provides a spray nozzle that offers the opportunity, when operating in conjunction with a variable pressure fluid delivery system or wash skid, of being ideal for both on-line and off-line compressor washing.
For example, in on-line cleaning there is no advantage in injecting a specific volume of cleaning solution over a short period of just a few minutes, since a large percentage of the solution would be immediately wasted to the combustion system and, more importantly, the actual chemical contact time with the compressor deposits would be insufficient to ensure a good cleaning result. Instead the ideal is to inject the same or even a smaller volume of cleaning solution over a longer period—say 10 to 15 minutes or even more—by lowering system operating pressure to about 100 to 150 PSIG to reduce the nozzle flow rates. This simple procedure substantially reduces the wastage of cleaning fluid and substantially increases the all-important chemical contact time with the surface deposits on the compressor airfoils to produce a better cleaning result.
Likewise in the case of off-line cleaning the injection of the cleaning solution into the compressor does not actually require the cleaning fluid to be injected in a deluge process over a short period of time, as this procedure also results in the wastage of much of the costly cleaning chemical directly to the drains without it having done any useful work. Like on-line cleaning, good results from off-line cleaning also very much depend on allowing the chemical cleaning solution to remain in contact with the surface deposits for as long as possible during the actual injection of the cleaning solution (about 10 to 15 minutes or more) and during a soak period, typically 30 to 60 minutes, when the rotor is at rest.
Thus, a realistic fluid injection pressure of 100 to 150 PSIG is all that is required to deliver the cleaning solution to the compressor for off-line washing. However, a vital element of the off-line washing procedure is to ensure thorough post-wash rinse-out of the entire compressor, combustor and turbine section of the gas turbine with plain water is achieved; if loosened deposits containing corrosive elements, such as salt, etc. are left in the machine when it is fired up they can subsequently cause accelerated compressor and, more particularly, hot section corrosion.
To ensure effective post-wash rinsing it is therefore essential to ensure an adequate flow and velocity of rinsing water. The nozzle design of the present invention allows this to be easily achieved by simply increasing the nozzle injection pressure. The nozzle design enables the nozzle flow rate to be increased approximately four-fold between 100 and 900 PSIG for highly effective post-wash rinsing.
Conventional nozzle systems are typically ill equipped to operate satisfactorily across the range of pressures and flows needed to meet safety and practical requirements of both on- and off-line compressor cleaning. While nozzles are known that deliver a spray through a nozzle aperture located on the end wall of the nozzle as well as from a nozzle aperture located on the nozzle sidewall, neither configuration has heretofore been able to function over a range of operating pressures and droplet sizes with a consistent design, thus preventing real economies in manufacture and use to be realized.
Further, since the orientation of the spray nozzles is dependent upon the nature and configuration of the turbine and the compressor with which they are to be employed, as well as the intended primary target for the wash spray, it is of significant benefit to have a nozzle construction that may be easily adapted for a variety of turbine configurations. Nozzle constructions in which the outlet orifice is in a nozzle end wall are difficult to mount and orient properly and often require a large plurality of individual nozzles to provide the desired spray pattern, and current side spray nozzles of consistent design have also been unable to provide the needed variability in overall spray configurations.
Benefits of the nozzle construction of the present invention include the ability to accommodate a wide range of fluid pressure and droplet sizes, as well as the ability to incorporate a plurality of nozzle outlets in a unitary body. The present invention has a side-spray configuration, allowing great adaptability to a wide variety of use environments, and the individual nozzle outlets can each be of a different geometry to provide differing spay patterns, and can be differently oriented along and about the nozzle body to create the appropriate spay pattern for the turbine and compressor configuration with which the nozzle is to be employed.
In addition to use in spray cleaning operations, the nozzle of the present invention may have utility in other turbine-related applications, such as for the injection of fluid to increase mass flow, as well as in other non-turbine applications, wherever a fine droplet spray or fog is needed.


Techniques of debugging a computing system are described herein. The techniques may include an apparatus having an all-in-one port. The all-in-one port may include a configuration channel and a sideband channel. The sideband channel is configured to default to a debug mode when the configuration channel is not communicatively coupled to an external device.

Computing systems may include integrated circuits, systems on a chip (SOCs), and other circuit components configured to integrate multiple microcontrollers. Components of computing system may encounter errors. For example, each of the microcontrollers within a given may have their own firmware components as well as their own operating system driver components. Many of these microcontroller firmware and driver components may encounter errors that may need to be debugged.
In computing devices, debugging may include a process of finding and reducing bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware, as well as increase performance of a computing platform. In some cases, debug may be performed when a chassis of a computing device is opened, and debugging interfaces are exposed. Debugging may tend to increase in difficulty when a computing device has a closed chassis.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 1; numbers in the 200 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 2; and so on.

System debug using an all-in-one connector


A method of sharing telematics data for a vehicle with service providers can include receiving the telematics data for the vehicle, where the telematics data dynamically changes over time, and comparing the telematics data with a privacy policy associated with the vehicle. The privacy policy can specify rules for selectively releasing items of the telematics data to one or more service providers. Data items of the telematics data can be selectively provided to the service providers according to the comparing step.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of privacy protection and, more particularly to dynamic, data-driven privacy protection relating to telematics data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles, in effect, have become computing platforms to which mobile services and/or applications can be delivered. Automotive telematics refers to the information-intensive applications presently available and currently under development for use in vehicles. Telematics applications exploit information technology and telecommunications technology to bring useful and time saving services to the domain of vehicles.
Common examples of telematics services can include, but are not limited to, navigation information, emergency roadside assistance, location-based services, delivery of digital information such as electronic mail, entertainment, diagnostics and prognostics, and pay-for-use rental insurance. These applications are made possible through the collection and use of data relating to the location of a vehicle as a function of time, emergency situations including accidents and personal health emergencies, diagnostic data relating to the many systems within a vehicle, services and entertainment selected by the vehicle occupants, the demographics of the driver and passengers, and the behavior of the vehicle driver.
As telematics services become more pervasive, the protection of private user information has taken on an increased significance in light of the fact that existing privacy protection mechanisms are ill suited for dealing with privacy issues in the context of telematics. This is due, in large part, to the dynamic nature of the data needed to provide telematics applications. In essence, the particular services provided to a vehicle and the nature of those services can change as the information received from a vehicle changes. That is, telematics data from vehicles is routinely collected and updated as the information is dynamic and changes over time.
Within conventional computing environments, privacy policies have been developed to protect the confidentiality of private user information. Such policies attempt to protect private user information while still ensuring data sharing to enable useful applications or services. In conventional systems, data is only released if the privacy constraints of the user can be met. Thus, an end-user can be confident that any entity collecting their personal data will not use the data in a manner that is not proscribed by the end-user. Unfortunately, the efficacy of such privacy policy matching systems is completely dependent on the integrity of the people and organizations that provide the services, or otherwise have access to the data.
While some privacy systems have been developed to automatically enforce privacy policies, conventional systems have failed to address the dynamic nature of telematics data and the unique problem set that accompanies the management and protection of telematics data. In other words, the dynamic nature of telematics data—changing in space, time, and with events—means that conventional privacy policy systems based upon static information such as names, addresses, social security numbers, incomes, and the like have limited utility with regard to telematics systems.

Method, system, and apparatus for dynamic data-driven privacy policy protection and data sharing

International Business Machines Corporation


A vehicle acceleration suppression device includes an obstacle relative distance detector configured to detect a relative distance between a vehicle and an obstacle, a drive force manipulation amount detector configured to detect a drive force manipulation amount that is a manipulation amount of an accelerator pedal, a steering manipulation amount detector configured to detect a steering manipulation amount that is the manipulation amount of the steering manipulation element, and a drive force limit unit configured to limit the drive force of the vehicle to a predefined drive force limit value, depending on the steering manipulation amount detected by the steering manipulation amount detector, when the relative distance detected by the obstacle relative distance detector is equal to or shorter than a predefined limiting relative distance and the drive force manipulation amount detected by the drive force manipulation amount detector exceeds a predefined drive force manipulation amount threshold.

For example, the technology disclosed in JP 2008-90664 A is mentioned as a technology for suppressing a contact between a vehicle and an obstacle (another vehicle or the like).
In the technology disclosed in JP 2008-90664 A, a travel direction of the vehicle at the time of starting moving the vehicle is predicted based on information of the vehicle at the time of parking the vehicle. Then, at the time of starting moving the vehicle, an image of the predicted travel direction of the vehicle is shown on a monitor from the images in which surroundings of the vehicle are captured.
In the technology disclosed in JP 2008-90664 A, however, when a factor of a contact between a vehicle and an obstacle is caused by an inappropriate driving manipulation such as a driver's misunderstanding, an incorrect manipulation, or the like, a problem that it is difficult to suppress the contact between the vehicle and the obstacle may occur.

Vehicle acceleration suppression device and vehicle acceleration suppression method


A vibrational acoustic unit comprises a dynamic force motor, a power take-off spring having one end attached to the dynamic force motor and the other end attached to a fluid filled acoustic resonator. The motor oscillates the entire acoustic resonator so as to excite a resonant mode of the acoustic resonator.. A method of delivering power to an acoustic resonator comprises resiliently connecting a motor to the resonator, and driving the motor to oscillate the entire acoustic resonator so as to excite a resonant mode of the acoustic resonator.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to power delivery systems for the transduction of mechanical power into acoustic power through the oscillation of an entire resonator to excite a resonant mode, having applications to any acoustic resonator shape.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a number of different ways to deliver power to a standing acoustic wave which are known in the field of acoustics. The method of entire resonator driving, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,319,938 and 5,515,684, depends on vibrating the entire resonator back and forth in order to use the resonator's inner surface area as the power delivery surface. This approach requires a motor that provides a dynamic force to create the resonator oscillation.
As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,319,938; 5,231,337; and 5,515,684, incorporated herein by reference, motors used for entire resonator driving typically comprise two moving motor components. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art device where motor component 4 is rigidly connected to the fluid-filled acoustic resonator 2, and motor component 6 is resiliently mounted to motor component 4 by a spring 8. When a dynamic force is generated between these two motor components, they move dynamically in reactive opposition to each other, thus causing the entire resonator to oscillate so that power is delivered to the fluid. The heavier motor component 6 may be resiliently connected to ground.
FIG. 2 shows a lumped element diagram of the prior art device of FIG. 1. The fluid within the resonator is modeled as spring 14 and mass 12. Associated with each spring is a damper. Since motor mass 4a and resonator mass 2a are rigidly connected they comprise a single moving mass of the system.
Power is delivered to the standing wave according to 1/(2.omega.)FA sin .theta., where .omega.=2.pi.f with f being the drive frequency, F is the magnitude of the force exerted at the face 10 of motor mass 4a, A is the magnitude of the acceleration of motor mass 4a and the resonator mass 2a, and .theta. is the (temporal) phase angle between F and A. The motor must supply not only the force needed to deliver power to the acoustic load but also to directly oscillate motor mass 4a and resonator mass 2a back and forth. The force required to oscillate masses 2a and 4a is not delivered to the acoustic load. However, generating this mass-driving force results in energy losses due to the motor's transduction efficiency and thus reduces the overall efficiency of the power delivery system.
A further source of inefficiency in the prior art system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is its limited control of the power factor sin .theta.. If .theta.=90.degree. then the power factor sin .theta.=1. If .theta. assumes values progressively less or greater than 90.degree. then the required motor force increases thus minimizing the energy efficiency of the power delivery system. Adjusting the resonator mass 2a and the motor mass 4a can help tune the power factor toward unity, but structural stiffness and pressure rating requirements for the resonator as well as design requirements for the motor will limit the degree of freedom to make such adjustments.
It is well known in the art of vibrational motors that adjusting the stiffness of spring 8a of FIG.2 in order to tune the mechanical resonance close to the acoustic resonance will reduce the required motor force for a given power delivery. However, this can result in greatly amplified displacements between the moving components which generate excessive noise and higher spring stresses. A control is generally required to keep the drive frequency locked to the acoustic resonance since sound speed changes due to heating and other effects will cause the acoustic resonant frequency to drift during operation. If the mechanical resonance frequency is tuned close to the acoustic resonance, then severe control problems can occur due to resonance repulsion phenomena if the resonant frequency drift brings the two resonant peaks too close together.


A collectorless vacuum fan for floor maintenance machines has a backplate with an inlet plate attached thereto in spaced relationship, and an impeller between the backplate and inlet plate. Both the backplate and the inlet plate extend radially beyond the periphery of the impeller. A shaft mounts the impeller for rotation. The inlet plate has a central opening providing air to the hub of the impeller. Vanes on the impeller discharge air out through a diffuser channel defined by the space between the inlet plate and the backplate outside the periphery of the impeller. Attachment elements for mounting the inlet plate on the backplate leave the diffuser channel substantially unobstructed so that air is discharged about the entire periphery of the impeller. The fan has increased air flow compared to a conventional fan having an integral collector housing and decreased noise compared to a fan having a 360 degree discharge and no diffuser.

Commercial and industrial floor maintenance machines such as sweepers and scrubbers incorporate a vacuum system for dust control or for removing liquids such as cleaning solutions from a floor being cleaned. The vacuum system typically includes a radial flow fan having an impeller driven by a motor for creating the vacuum. In a conventional fan the impeller is enclosed within a housing. The housing includes a collector, often of volute shape, around the periphery of the impeller which gathers the exhaust air from the impeller and directs it out through one or more openings in the collector. A diffusion channel may also be provided in the housing, spaced radially between the periphery of the impeller and the collector. While this arrangement performs the desired function, the need for a specially-formed housing incorporating the collector increases the cost of the unit, and use of a collector reduces the airflow for a given power input. Low cost fans have been used that have neither a collector nor a diffuser. While this approach saves on housing costs, it has the disadvantages of lower air flow and higher noise.


A blender includes a housing with a lower portion and an intermediate portion, the lower portion being movable in relation to the intermediate portion to permit the housing to be extended during use. The housing encloses a motor and a shaft extending axially in the housing. The shaft has a first part and a second part, wherein the first part is coupled to and rotated by the motor, and the second part is slidably coupled to a blending blade structure. A coupler links the blending blade structure to the lower portion of the housing, to enable the blending blade structure to move axially in tandem with the lower portion of the housing.

Hand-held blenders known in the art are subject to certain limitations. One of these is the inability of the blenders to accommodate the wide variety of containers with which they will be used. When blending food items in short, wide mouthed bowls, a shorter blender is useful to provide control. On the other hand, in a long, thin container having a narrow mouth, it is preferable to have a longer blender to reach the bottom of the container.
Typically, the user of the blender must accommodate these differing conditions by changing hand position or by substituting different containers. In addition, certain existing blenders allow one blending attachment to be removed and another substituted in its place. Each of these accommodations requires effort by the user, however, and may not provide optimal results.
The present invention provides several novel structures to address those problems and provides an improved hand-held blender.


A controlling base station sends, to a wireless communication device, control data related to communication between a communication base station and the wireless communication device. The control data is transmitted in accordance with a communication specification and is transmitted to allow reception by the wireless communication device of the control data within a data channel having a frequency and time allocated by the communication specification for the wireless communication device to receive data transmissions from the communication base station.

The invention relates in general to wireless communication systems and more specifically to managing control signals in a wireless communication system.
Base stations in cellular communication systems provide communications services to wireless communication devices within geographical cells where each base station exchanges signals with wireless communication devices within an associated cell. The size and shape of each cell and, therefore, the coverage area of the base station are determined by several factors and are at least partially based on design parameters of the base station. In addition to large macro cells that provide services to numerous devices within relatively large geographical areas, some cellular communication systems are increasingly employing smaller cells to increase efficiency, improve coverage, improve the quality of service, and provide additional services. The smaller cells may include a variety of sizes typically referred to as microcells, picocells and femtocells. Microcells and picocells are often implemented within office buildings, shopping centers and urban areas in order to provide additional security, higher user capacity for the area, additional service features, and/or improved quality of service. Femtocells have relatively smaller geographical areas and are typically implemented at residences or small office locations. Since typical cellular backhaul resources may not be available in these locations, femtocells are sometimes connected to the cellular infrastructure through DSL or cable modems. Femtocells are part of the cellular network and, therefore, communicate with the wireless devices using the same techniques as those used by macrocells. The proximity of the various base stations and wireless communication devices often results in interference. In addition interference of data communications, control channels may also suffer performance degradation due to interference.

Control data transmission over a data channel by a controlling base station


A vehicle control device includes an engine, a starter for starting the engine, a transmission for transmitting power of the engine to a driving wheel, an oil pump for supplying hydraulic pressure to the transmission according to the power of the engine, an accumulator for accumulating the hydraulic pressure ejected from the oil pump, and an electromagnetic on-off valve for controlling the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator. When the engine is restarted after the engine has stopped, an ECU of the vehicle control device opens the electromagnetic on-off valve at the time a line pressure has become equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure after the start of the starter, and supplies the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator to respective portions of the transmission.

Conventionally, there have been known vehicles that can carry out a control for automatically stopping an engine, i.e. a so-called idling stop control, while a vehicle stops or travels to improve fuel economy. In the vehicles, when the engine is stopped while the idling stop control is carried out, since hydraulic pressure for operating drive systems such as a clutch, etc. may become insufficient, an configuration, that includes an accumulator for compensating insufficient hydraulic pressure, has been known.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses such a configuration that when an engine is restarted after it has been automatically stopped, an electromagnetic on-off valve is opened when the engine is cranked by a starter so that the hydraulic pressure accumulated in an accumulator is supplied. Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses a configuration for starting an engine by operating a starter after an electromagnetic control valve of an accumulator has been opened.


Module builder including holding chamber, wheeled frame towable behind a harvester; compaction chamber, compaction device, forming chamber, door assembly. The compaction chamber having compaction surface oriented between and substantially perpendicular to compaction chamber sidewalls. Compaction surface is nominally vertical and translatable through the compaction chamber at vertical and near-vertical. The compaction chamber is situated to receive material from the holding chamber. Compaction device are coupled to the compaction surface, and operative to translate it in a substantially horizontal direction through the compaction chamber at vertical and near vertical. The forming chamber is aligned with the compaction chamber trailing edge. The forming chamber door assembly includes a substantially vertical door frame at least spanning the forming chamber trailing edge, and is movable toward and away from the forming chamber along the wheeled frame. The door assembly also includes two doors mounted on the frame and movable between open and closed states.

Over the last half century, harvesting techniques for cotton have lagged behind the typical progression of innovations in this particular farm commodity. While planting and cultivating practices have become efficient enough to successfully plant and cultivate in eight-row, ten-row, and twelve-row patterns, cotton harvesting patterns have largely remained a half-century behind in a four-row pattern. Although some six-row and eight-row cotton harvesting systems are emerging, they are not successful on a large scale. They too typically have the problems common to four-row harvesting systems, e.g., the inability to quickly and efficiently dispose of the loose harvested cotton from harvester enclosures. Cotton in loose form is difficult to store and handle efficiently. Attempts at creating commercially available methods of moving the loose cotton from the harvester enclosures directly to compacted cotton have met with limited success. This bottleneck creates a variety of problems that hinders the speed of harvest and has inadvertently stagnated further development in this particular area.
Harvesters and module builders used today have designs that are not conductive to normal progressive expansion or innovations. Typical present day harvesters remove cotton from the stalk and deposit it in loose form into an onboard enclosure commonly called a basket. This basket has a finite capacity; harvesting must be stopped periodically and the loose cotton conveyed to another machine for compaction. That other machine is commonly called a cotton module builder. The cotton module builder is transportable except during the cotton module-building phase. Normally the module builder is placed outside a cotton field in close proximity to the area being harvested. Conveyance of cotton from the basket is done either directly or by means of yet another mobile transfer receptacle. In present day use, the typical module-building machine is a rectangular box that is open-topped and floorless. Above the box is a compressing ram that traverses the length of the module incrementally compacting the loose cotton deposited from the harvester. Once a module is started it must be finished on that site; causing the harvesters contents to be delivered to one site for a finite period of time. Building modules in this fashion generally results in modules of uneven density. Such modules are more susceptible to breakage during handling and storage than modules of uniform sufficient density. In addition, top-built modules typically require a finishing compaction cycle. The finishing compaction cycle, along with the time typically required to move and then set up the module builder again, contributes to inefficiency in the harvesting and compaction process.
Other drawbacks shared by typical top-built module builders become evident in the filling cycles of these machines. In order to convey the harvester's contents to the module builder the harvester must be close enough to the module builder, or transfer receptacle, that the harvester does not lose stability in the dumping process. This close proximity to the module builder, or transfer receptacle, impedes the harvester from being equipped with a wide, eight-, ten-, or twelve-row harvest pattern. The harvester's finite enclosure also requires harvesting to be stopped until the enclosure can be emptied. This time delay, along with the time delay in transport of the cotton, and the time delays in the stationary building process presents potential loses to vulnerable cotton crops ready for harvest. The present invention addresses a majority of these problems by giving portability to the module building process offering a cotton producer several options heretofore unavailable.
Although other related art can be found, most has been met with limited success. In one instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,378 to Fachini et al. ('378) discloses an auger screw which limits its ability to produce even module density. The auger mode of compaction could create an over-compaction in the center of the module potentially causing seed damage while under-compacting the module corners. In addition, the '378 patent discloses no means for separating one module from the next. Tearing the module (a means inferable from the '378 disclosure) would likely compromise the structural integrity of the module.
Further examination of this reference calls into question it's ability to construct industry accepted standard size modules because of its on board limitations. Harvesters used today must be able to follow a cotton producers typical end row turning width limitations. For this on board system to build a standard size module, the harvester would have an excessive length that would not typically be able to turn and properly realign for the next pass without loss of harvestable cotton. A typical cotton stripper is approximately 18 feet to 20 feet long. A standard module is 30 feet to 32 feet long. The two combined would be approximately 40 feet to 45 feet long. The typical end row turning space is 25 feet to thirty feet. Proper alignment of the machine would result in approximately 10 feet to 20 feet of un-harvested or poorly harvested cotton—unacceptable to most producers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,131 Mobile Apparatus for the Infield Handling of Fibrous Material to Williams ('131) appears to have several limiting factors. For example, it appears to be limited to a non-continuous mode of operation. The labor in the control cabin required to operate these cycles is also undesirable. Another example is its inability to build a standard size module, i.e., 8 feet wide by 9 feet tall by 30 feet long. The dispersal of fibroid material through what appears to be a horizontally stationary duct system into the bale hopper makes no provisions for even dispersal into an elongated rectangular shape, which is the industry, standard. Very few gins have the capacity to handle cotton in any form except a standard size module. Most modern gins have invested in expensive automatic module feeders for their gin plants.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for forming modules from harvested crops


A distributed computing system can operate in the face of malicious failures on the part of some of its constituent devices, and provide a minimum of message delays between receiving a client request and providing a response, when each device within the system verifies the sender of any message it receives, and the propriety of the message.

As personal computing devices become more powerful, containing increased storage space and processing capabilities, the average user consumes an increasingly smaller percentage of those resources in performing everyday tasks. Thus, many of today's personal computing devices are often not used to their full potential because their computing abilities greatly exceed the demands most users place upon them. An increasingly popular method of deriving use and value from the unused resources of powerful modern personal computing devices is a distributed computing system, in which the computing devices act in coordination with one another to perform tasks and maintain data.
A distributed computing system can utilize a number of interconnected computing devices to achieve the performance and storage capabilities of a larger, more-expensive computing device. Thus, while each personal computing device may only have a few gigabytes of usable storage space, a distributed computing system comprising a number of such devices, can aggregate the available storage space on each individual device and present to a user a terabyte or more of useable storage space. Similarly, a distributed computing system can present to a user a large amount of useable processing power by dividing the user's tasks into smaller segments and transmitting the segments to the individual devices for processing in parallel.
To effectively derive value from the unused capabilities of modern personal computing devices, a distributed computing system should not interfere with the individual use of each personal computing device. By allowing individual users to retain control of the devices, however, the reliability of each device is greatly decreased. To compensate for the increased risk that the individual computing device may become disconnected from the network, turned off, suffer a system malfunction, or otherwise become unusable to the distributing computing system, redundancy can be used to allow the distributed computing system to remain operational. Thus, the information stored on any one personal computing device can be redundantly stored on at least one additional similar personal computing device, allowing the information to remain accessible, even if one of the personal computing devices fails.
Alternatively, a distributed computing system can practice complete redundancy, in which every device within the system performs identical tasks and stores identical information. Such a system can allow users to continue to perform useful operations even if all but one of the devices should fail. Alternatively, such a system can be used to allow multiple copies of the same information to be distributed throughout a geographic region. For example, a multi-national corporation can establish a world-wide distributed computing system. Such a corporation might use a number of high performance server computing devices, rather than less powerful personal computing devices, because each individual computing device would be required to service many users within that geographic region. The individual high performance devices can each perform identical tasks and store identical data, allowing users who merely seek to access the data to obtain such access from a high performance device located in a convenient location for that user.
However, distributed computing systems can be difficult to maintain due to the complexity of properly synchronizing the individual devices that comprise the system. Because time-keeping across individual processes can be difficult at best, a state machine approach is often used to coordinate activity among the individual devices. A state machine can be described by a set of states, a set of commands, a set of responses, and functions that link each response/state pair to each command/state pair. A state machine can execute a command by changing its state and producing a response. Thus, a state machine can be completely described by its current state and the action it is about to perform, removing the need to use precise time-keeping.
The current state of a state machine is, therefore, dependent upon its previous state, the commands performed since then, and the order in which those commands were performed. To maintain synchronization between two or more state machines, a common initial state can be established, and each state machine can, beginning with the initial state, execute the identical commands in the identical order. Therefore, to synchronize one state machine to another, a determination of the commands performed by the other state machine needs to be made. The problem of synchronization, therefore, becomes a problem of determining the order of the commands performed, or, more specifically, determining the particular command performed for a given step.
One mechanism for determining which command is to be performed for a given step is known as the Paxos algorithm. In the Paxos algorithm, any of the individual devices can act as a leader and seek to propose that a given function be executed by every device in the system as the command to be performed for a given step. Every such proposal can be sent with a proposal number to more easily track the proposals. Such proposal numbers need not bear any relation to the particular step for which the devices are attempting to agree upon a command to perform. Initially, the leader can suggest a proposal number for a proposal the leader intends to submit. Each of the remaining devices can then respond to the leader's suggestion of a proposal number with an indication of the last proposal they voted for, or an indication that they have not voted for any proposals. If, through the various responses, the leader does not learn of any other proposals that were voted for by the devices, the leader can propose that a given function be executed by the devices, using the proposal number suggested in the earlier message. Each device can, at that stage, determine whether to vote for the action or reject it. A device should only reject an action if it has responded to another leader's suggestion of a different proposal number. If a sufficient number of devices, known as a quorum, vote for the proposal, the proposed action is said to have been agreed upon, and each device performs the action and transmits the results. In such a manner, an agreed upon command can be determined to be performed for a given step, maintaining the same state among all of the devices.
Generally, the Paxos algorithm can be though of in two phases, with an initial phase that allows a leader to learn of prior proposals that were voted on by the devices, as described above, and a second phase in which the leader can propose functions for execution. Once the leader has learned of prior proposals, it need not continually repeat the first phase. Instead, the leader can continually repeat the second phase, proposing a series of functions, that can be executed by the distributed computing system in multiple steps. In such a manner, while each function performed by the distributed computing system for each step can be thought of as one instance of the Paxos algorithm, the leader need not wait for the devices to vote on a proposed function for a given step before proposing another function for the next step.
The Paxos algorithm, described above, assumes that a faulty device will simply cease communication and will not act upon any data. However, a device experiencing a "Byzantine" fault exhibits malicious behavior that is unpredictable and may appear to be functioning properly. The Paxos algorithm can be changed to operate properly even in the face of such malicious devices. Each message sent by a device can contain a proof of the message's authenticity, such as through the use of message authenticators, and can contain a proof that the information contained in the message is proper in light of the requirements of the Paxos algorithm. The requisite proof of propriety can be provided by adding two additional steps to the algorithm described generally above.
Byzantine faults can occur in two general varieties. Either a malicious device can spoof a message, such as by intercepting and changing a message between two properly functioning devices, or the malicious device can transmit false messages. Thus, to avoid messages from malicious devices, a properly functioning device receiving a message can seek to verify both that the message is unchanged and that the message is proper. Tampering or editing a message in transit can be detected through the use of message authenticators. Because messages between two devices may need to be forwarded onto other devices, the sending device can include authenticators of the message directed to both the initial destination device and the forwarded destination device. The authenticator of the message that is directed to the initial destination device can authenticate both the message itself and the authenticator of the message that is directed to the forwarded destination device.
The propriety of a message can be proven by illustrating that a sufficient number of devices within the system have agreed to the message. If a number of devices within a distributed computing system are malicious, those devices can work together and agree upon the transmission of false messages in an effort to deceive properly functioning devices. However, if a device receives the same information from more devices than there are malicious devices, then the information must be true because, even if all of the malicious devices participated, at least one of the messages must have come from a properly functioning device, and can therefore be trusted. More broadly, defining the variable "M" to represent the number of malicious devices within a distributed computing system, any device can trust information which it has received from at least M+1 different devices.
A transmitting device can prove the propriety of a message by sending, with the message, a sufficiently large collection of messages originally sent to that transmitting device that indicate the information contained in the message is true. However, a message sent by a malicious device could be properly authenticated for the transmitting device, yet may not be properly authenticated for the receiving device. Thus, the transmitting device, upon receiving M+1 messages containing the same information, may properly believe that the information is true, but if it seeks to forward those messages onto a receiving device, it is possible that only one of them will be properly authenticated for the receiving device. However, the receiving device, like any other device, requires that M+1 equivalent properly authenticated messages assert the information before it can believe that the information contained in the messages is true. Therefore, to ensure that the receiving device receives at least those M+1 messages, the transmitting device can forward a collection of messages having at least M+1+M or 2M+1 messages. Such a collection is sufficiently large that, even if a message from every malicious device was included, M+1 equivalent properly authenticated messages would still be received by the receiving device. Therefore, the receipt of M+1 equivalent properly authenticated messages by any device enables that device to trust the information contained in the message. Furthermore, if 2M+1 equivalent properly authenticated messages are received, the receiving device can forward those messages along to prove to the device receiving the forwarded messages that the information contained in the messages is true.
A transmitting device can, therefore, prove the propriety of a message by sending, with the message, a sufficiently large collection of messages originally sent to that transmitting device that indicate the information contained in the message is true. Like the Paxos algorithm, the modified Paxos algorithm which operates properly with malicious devices can be conceptually divided into a first phase in which the leader learns of prior, "safe" proposals, and a second phase in which the leader proposes functions for execution by the distributed computing system. An additional step can be added to the first phase of the Paxos algorithm that allows each of the recipient devices to transmit, to the other devices in response to a message suggesting a proposal number from the leader, the most recent proposal for which that recipient device has voted together with a proof that the device was allowed to vote for that proposal, as will be described below. Once each device receives the messages from the other recipient devices, each can independently determine safe proposals, or proposals not submitted by malicious devices which other, also non-malicious, devices had already voted for. Such safe proposals can be determined by finding proposals for which messages were received from a sufficient number of devices indicating that those devices had voted for that proposal. The determined safe proposals can then be transmitted to the leader, together with the messages from the other devices as proof that the determined safe proposals are, in fact, safe.
Proposals can be submitted by the leader for voting, using the messages transmitting the determined safe proposals as a proof of the safety of the proposal. An additional step can then be added to the second phase of the Paxos algorithm that allows each of the devices to send a message to each other indicating that the current proposal is the only proposal with that proposal number for which the device will vote. A device will accept a proposal submitted for voting, so long as that device received such messages from a quorum of devices and so long as that device has not responded to another message, such as from another leader, suggesting a different proposal number. If a device accepts the proposal, it can send a message to the leader, as before, signaling its acceptance. Additionally, the devices can save the messages from the quorum of devices indicating that the proposal is the only proposal with that proposal number for which those devices will vote in order to provide proof of the appropriateness of casting the vote when the device sends an indication of the last proposal it voted for, as stated above.
Upon receipt of messages from a quorum of devices accepting the proposal, the leader can transmit a message to all of the devices requesting that they execute the function contained in the proposal, together with proof that the leader is performing properly in making such a request, which comprises the quorum of messages received from the devices. The leader can also attach to the success message another proposal for which voting is solicited, increasing the efficiency of the algorithm. Additionally, as described above, once the leader has learned of all of the safe proposals for current and future steps of the system, it can continue to propose functions for future steps prior to receiving a vote from the devices on the proposed function for the current step.
However, as can be seen, the modified Paxos algorithm that can accommodate Byzantine failures can add message delays such that at least three message delays exist between the transmission of a request by a client of the distributed computing system and the receipt, by the client, of a response to the client's request. For example, once a client's request is received by a leader device, one message delay can be required to transmit the request, as a proposal, to the devices for a vote. A second message delay can be introduced when each of the devices send, to one another, a message indicating that the received proposal is the only proposal with that proposal number for which those devices will vote. Finally, a third message delay can be required to transmit the devices' votes to the leader device. After receiving the votes and determining the result, the leader can inform the client of the result. Depending on the type of network used, and the proximity of the devices, such message delays can cause a noticeable slowness in the overall system. As a result, it is desirable to reduce the number of message delays required between the receipt of a client's request, and the response to the client.

Selecting values in a distributed computing system


A paper switching device with a simplified structure and assembly that facilitates the conveyance of thick paper such as envelopes and post cards, preventing jamming during paper. conveyance. The device includes, a recess which is formed at one side on a knock-up plate to mate with a guide, and hinge pins protruding from the sides of the knock-up plate, which are inserted into protrusions on the guide so that the guide moves up and down.

In general, most printers include an automatic paper feeding device for automatically feeding paper, where the automatic paper feeding device includes a separator, which is in contact with the front of the paper, to separate and feed the paper one by one.
In the automatic paper feeding device, when a control signal is received to convey the paper to print, the paper feeding roller operates to convey the paper. When the paper is conveyed, the front end of the paper is separated by the separator, so that the paper is supplied one sheet at a time. Such a separator easily separates ordinary printer paper, supplying it one sheet at a time. However, thick paper such as envelopes and post cards, cannot be conveyed through the separator because the front end of the thick paper jams and cannot be conveyed any more.
There needs to be different conveyance paths for standard and thick paper, which require a mechanism to separate the feed of standard paper from the feed of thick paper. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when thick paper is conveyed through a printer 100's "L"-shaped lever 101, which is installed at the side of the paper feeding device, the "L"-shaped lever is turned so that the thick paper can be conveyed with one face being in contact with the "L"-shaped lever. Accordingly, it is conveyed in a way that bypasses the separator.
Unfortunately, this paper switching device has an ugly appearance and is difficult to use. What is needed is a paper guide that allows thick documents such as envelopes and postcards to bypass the paper separator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,507 for a Sheet Feeding Apparatus to Ishikawa et al. discloses a sheet feeding apparatus that contains a fixed guide and an adjustable guide. In addition, a roller is shown for separating sheets of paper fed into the printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,245 for a Sheet Feeder Suitable For Feeding Thick Sheets to Shimogawara discloses a thick sheet feeding attachment having a pair of slits separated by a distance smaller than the distance between pawls used for separating thin sheets, thereby disabling the separating function of the pawls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,283 for a Sheet Feeding Apparatus Having Sheet Separating Means With Adjustable Feeding Force to Yanagi et al. discloses a sheet feed apparatus can accommodate both thin sheets as well as thick sheets like postcards and envelopes.
I have not seen a sheet feeding apparatus made up of a guide positioned on a knock-up plate and orientated to guide paper in a direction perpendicular to the paper's movement so as to bypass the sheet separator.


The invention refers to a method for forming particles or droplets of at least one substance comprising the steps of providing a foamed medium, which foamed medium comprises said substance, and forming particles or droplets of said substance at least partly by electrostatic processing. The use of foamed medium in electrostatic processing enables higher production speeds and increases the evenness of a coating layer formed by electrospinning or electrospraying the particles or droplets on a substrate.

Electrostatic techniques, such as electrospinning and electrospraying, are used for the production of sub-micron particles in many fields. In electrospray, a high voltage electric field is applied to a surface of a liquid causing the emission fine charged droplets. The electrospinning technique is similar to the electrospraying technique. However, in electrospinning, fibres are formed from the liquid instead of droplets due to viscoelastic forces.
An apparatus for electrospraying or electrospinning typically comprises nozzles, which feed a liquid medium that comprises the substance that is to be formed into sub-micron particles, and a collector plate. The electrospray- or electrospin-medium is typically a polymer containing liquid, such as a polymer solution or a melt. An electrical potential difference is applied between the nozzles and the plate. The electrostatic field created between the nozzles and the collector plate causes the medium to overcome cohesive forces that hold the medium together, whereby jetting occurs towards the collector plate. The electrostatic field stretches the jet and, depending on the properties of the liquid medium, such as viscosity, surface energy, polymer concentration, and the strength of the electric field, fibres (electrospin) or droplets (electrospray) are formed which are deposited on the collector plate. The formed fibres or droplets can be collected as such or being deposited as a coating on a substrate covering the collector. The principle of electrostatic coating is, e.g., summarized in the literature by Ramakrishna et al. [An Introduction to Electrospinning and nanofibers, World Scientific Publishing co. Pte. Ltd., 2005]. Applications of the technique in the paper and board industry has, however, been limited and not extensively reported.
US2007/0148365 discloses a method of forming paper or paper board wherein a coating of nanofibers is applied to the papersurface using an electrospinning device. The electrospinning device used in US2007/0148365 comprises a plurality of meniscus initiators forming areas of concentrated charge in the fiber-forming composition. However, the system disclosed in US2007/0148365 is limited to applications wherein the fibre formation is directed upwards. Furthermore, the performance of such an electrospinning device is dependent on the number, geometry, position and performance of said meniscus initiators.
US2006/0266485 discloses a method for applying nanofibres to a paperweb by electrospinning. According to the method disclosed in US2006/0266485, the fibres are applied to the paper web in certain zones where the dryness of the paper web is favourable for the application of nanofibres.
In the art, problems with un-uniform deposition of the particles or droplets formed by electrospray/electrospinning techniques have been observed. This may be due to the feeding nozzles producing lines of spun fibres or droplets. Furthermore, the eject of the jet from one feeding nozzle is oftentimes unstable, as it may start and stop randomly and the production rate may vary. Another factor that limits the use of electrospray/electrospinning techniques is the low production rate related to these techniques. Attempts of increasing the production rate by the use of higher electric fields are usually unsuccessful, since too high charges might cause electrostatic discharge. Moreover, spray nozzles with small orifice diameters, typically used in the systems described in the prior art, are susceptible to clogging and drying of chemicals in the electrospray/electrospin medium may occur. This may deteriorate the production rate even further.

Method for producing particles electrostatically


A voltage compensation unit reduces the effects of induced voltages upon a device having a single wire line. The single wire line has balanced characteristic impedance. The voltage compensation unit includes a tunable compensation circuit connected to the wire line. The tunable compensation circuit applies supplemental impedance to the wire line. The supplemental impedance causes the characteristic impedance of the wire line to become unbalanced, thereby reducing the effects of induced voltages caused by changing magnetic fields.

Magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI") has been developed as an imaging technique adapted to obtain both images of anatomical features of human patients as well as some aspects of the functional activities and characteristics of biological tissue. These images have medical diagnostic value in determining the state of the health of the tissue examined. Unlike the situation with fluoroscopic imaging, a patient undergoing magnetic resonance imaging procedure may remain in the active imaging system for a significant amount of time, e.g. a half-hour or more, without suffering any adverse effects.
In an MRI process, a patient is typically aligned to place the portion of the patient's anatomy to be examined in the imaging volume of the MRI apparatus. Such an MRI apparatus typically comprises a primary electromagnet for supplying a constant magnetic field (Bo) which, by convention, is along the z-axis and is substantially homogeneous over the imaging volume and secondary electromagnets that can provide linear magnetic field gradients along each of three principal Cartesian axes in space (generally x, y, and z, or x1, x2 and x3, respectively). The MRI apparatus also comprises one or more RF (radio frequency) coils that provide excitation and detection of the MRI induced signals in the patient's body.
The gradient fields are switched ON and OFF at different rates depending on the MRI scan sequence used. In some cases, this may result in a changing magnetic field on the order of dB/dt=50 T/s. The frequency that a gradient field may be turned ON can be between 200 Hz to about 300 kHz.
For a single loop with a fixed area, Lenz's law can be stated as:EMF=−A·dB/dt where A is the area vector, B is the magnetic field vector, and "·" is the vector scalar product. This equation indicates that an electro-motive-force (EMF) is developed in any loop that encircles a changing magnetic field.
In an MRI system, there is applied to the biological sample (patient) a switched gradient field in all 3 coordinate directions (x-, y-, z-directions). If the patient has an implanted heart pacemaker (or other implanted devices having conductive components) the switched gradient magnetic fields (an alternating magnetic field) may cause:                1. Erroneous signals to be induced/generated in a sensing lead or device or circuit;        2. Damage to electronics; and/or        3. Harmful stimulation of tissue, e.g. heart muscle, nerves, etc.
As noted above, the use of the MRI process with patients who have implanted medical assist devices; such as cardiac assist devices or implanted insulin pumps; often presents problems. As is known to those skilled in the art, implantable devices (such as implantable pulse generators (IPGs) and cardioverter/defibrillator/pacemakers (CDPs)) are sensitive to a variety of forms of electromagnetic interference (EMI) because these enumerated devices include sensing and logic systems that respond to low-level electrical signals emanating from the monitored tissue region of the patient. Since the sensing systems and conductive elements of these implantable devices are responsive to changes in local electromagnetic fields, the implanted devices are vulnerable to external sources of severe electromagnetic noise, and in particular, to electromagnetic fields emitted during the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure. Thus, patients with implantable devices are generally advised not to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures.
To more appreciate the problem, the use of implantable cardiac assist devices during a MRI process will be briefly discussed.
The human heart may suffer from two classes of rhythmic disorders or arrhythmias: bradycardia and tachyarrhythmia. Bradycardia occurs when the heart beats too slowly, and may be treated by a common implantable pacemaker delivering low voltage (about 3 V) pacing pulses.
The common implantable pacemaker is usually contained within a hermetically sealed enclosure, in order to protect the operational components of the device from the harsh environment of the body, as well as to protect the body from the device.
The common implantable pacemaker operates in conjunction with one or more electrically conductive leads, adapted to conduct electrical stimulating pulses to sites within the patient's heart, and to communicate sensed signals from those sites back to the implanted device.
Furthermore, the common implantable pacemaker typically has a metal case and a connector block mounted to the metal case that includes receptacles for leads which may be used for electrical stimulation or which may be used for sensing of physiological signals. The battery and the circuitry associated with the common implantable pacemaker are hermetically sealed within the case. Electrical interfaces are employed to connect the leads outside the metal case with the medical device circuitry and the battery inside the metal case.
Electrical interfaces serve the purpose of providing an electrical circuit path extending from the interior of a hermetically sealed metal case to an external point outside the case while maintaining the hermetic seal of the case. A conductive path is provided through the interface by a conductive pin that is electrically insulated from the case itself.
Such interfaces typically include a ferrule that permits attachment of the interface to the case, the conductive pin, and a hermetic glass or ceramic seal that supports the pin within the ferrule and isolates the pin from the metal case.
A common implantable pacemaker can, under some circumstances, be susceptible to electrical interference such that the desired functionality of the pacemaker is impaired. For example, common implantable pacemaker requires protection against electrical interference from electromagnetic interference (EMI), defibrillation pulses, electrostatic discharge, or other generally large voltages or currents generated by other devices external to the medical device. As noted above, more recently, it has become crucial that cardiac assist systems be protected from magnetic-resonance imaging sources.
Such electrical interference can damage the circuitry of the cardiac assist systems or cause interference in the proper operation or functionality of the cardiac assist systems. For example, damage may occur due to high voltages or excessive currents introduced into the cardiac assist system.
Moreover, problems are realized when the placement of the implant is next to particular organs. For example, when a pacemaker is placed in the upper chest and the lead tip is placed into the heart, a loop (an electrical loop) is created. A changing magnetic field (the switched gradient field) over the area of the loop (through the area of the loop) will cause an induced voltage (and current) across the heart. This induced voltage (current) can stimulate the heart inappropriately and can cause heart damage or death.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a medical device or system that reduces or eliminates the undesirable effects of changing magnetic fields from an MRI system on the medical devices and/or patients undergoing medical procedures or that have temporary or permanent implanted materials and/or devices with conducting components.

Magnetic resonance imaging interference immune device


A spray drying system for drying wastewater to be dried includes: an exhaust as introduction line for introducing the exhaust gas discharged from an exhaust gas generation source, the exhaust gas introduction line being connected to a plurality of exhaust gas ducts for allowing the exhaust gas to flow through; and at least one spray drying device connected to the exhaust gas introduction line and configured to bring the exhaust gas introduced from the exhaust gas introduction line into contact with the wastewater. The number of spray drying device is smaller than the number of the plurality of exhaust gas ducts.

Exhaust gas discharged from a boiler (exhaust gas generation source) installed in a thermal power plant or the like is purified via processing by an exhaust gas treatment system, and then discharged to the atmosphere (outside). This type of exhaust gas treatment system includes a plurality of types of facilities, such as a denitration device that removes nitrogen oxide from exhaust gas, an air heater that recovers heat of exhaust gas having passed through the denitration device, a dust collector that removes soot dust from exhaust gas after heat recovery, and a desulfurization system that removes sulfur oxide from exhaust gas after dust removal. These various facilities are disposed in a flue gas duct connected to a boiler in series. Meanwhile, some known exhaust gas treatment systems have only a single system of the flue gas duct where the various facilities are disposed in series as described in Patent Document 1, or some known exhaust gas treatment systems include two systems of the flue gas ducts arranged in parallel to each other, each including a denitration device, an air heater, a gas-gas heater, an electric precipitator, and an induced draft fan disposed in series, as described in Patent Document 2.
Furthermore, as the above described desulfurization system, normally used is a wet-type desulfurization system that removes sulfur oxide from exhaust gas through gas-liquid contact between an absorption liquid and exhaust gas. Wastewater discharged from the desulfurization system (hereinafter, "desulfurization wastewater") may contain ions such as chlorine ion and ammonium ion, mercury, boron, selenium, etc. In recent years, environmental standards for plant wastewater including desulfurization wastewater are becoming stricter to reduce the effects on environment. For example, US Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) and the like have strengthened the wastewater regulation standards. Thus, to meet such environmental standards, some substances which may have impact on environment are removed from desulfurization wastewater by using a wastewater processing facility, before discharging the desulfurization wastewater outside the system. However, in a case where wastewater is processed through a wastewater processing facility, not only the cost of the facility itself, but the costs related to operation of the facility (electricity, chemicals, etc.) may increase relatively. Under this situation, exhaust gas processing facilities that do not discharge desulfurization wastewater outside the system and discharge no wastewater are becoming more important.
For instance, in Patent Document 1, a spray drying device that sprays and gasifies desulfurization wastewater is used to prevent desulfurization wastewater from being discharged as wastewater. Specifically, desulfurization wastewater from the desulfurization system and a part of exhaust gas flowing through the flue gas duct are both supplied to the spray drying device, and the spray drying device dries the desulfurization wastewater with high-temperature exhaust gas inside the device (evaporate the liquid component), so as not to discharge the desulfurization wastewater outside the system, thus discharging no wastewater. By drying desulfurization wastewater, calcium chloride contained in the desulfurization wastewater, for instance, is precipitated inside the device. Further, exhaust gas used in the process by the spray drying device is returned again to the flue gas duct, and thereby purified by the exhaust gas treatment system.


A stationary patient lift can be used by individuals in their own homes to lift disabled and elderly individuals living with them. The lift has an electric hoist/winch for lifting the patients from a bed to a chair or wheelchair and back again to the bed. The lift is fixed to the rafters of a house. A cable hangs down through the ceiling of the house and the electric hoist hangs from the cable just below the ceiling. A chain or strap hangs down from the hoist mechanism to a sling for supporting the patient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for helping to move patients from one position to another, and more particularly, to a stationary patient lifting device especially adapted to lift a patient out of bed and into a chair and later back into bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Patient lifting devices are known in the art of hospital equipment (for some examples, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,649,581; and 5,068,931). The prior art patient lifting devices are typically portable apparatuses intended for use in hospitals where they can be moved around from one patient's room to another.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be known to use portable devices for lifting patients in hospitals, the provision of a simple and cost effective device for use in a patient's home is not contemplated. Nor does the prior art described above teach or suggest a permanently positioned device which may be used by individuals in their own homes to take care of their relatives. The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique stationary patient lift of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


In an electronic component, upper surface electrodes are located on one main surface of an insulating substrate of an interposer on which a multilayer ceramic capacitor is mounted. The insulating substrate has substantially the same shape as that of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, viewed from a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the main surface, and has the multilayer ceramic capacitor mounted thereon so that the length direction of the multilayer ceramic capacitor substantially coincides with the length direction of the insulating substrate. The insulating substrate includes cutouts that include connection electrodes, respectively, and that are located at the four corners viewed from the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the main surface. The upper surface electrodes on the one main surface are connected via the connection electrodes to lower surface electrodes, respectively, that are located on the other main surface and are connected to a circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component that is used to mount a chip component, such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor, on a circuit board and that includes an interposer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many chip components, particularly, many compact multilayer ceramic capacitors are currently used in mobile terminals including cellular phones. The multilayer ceramic capacitors are each composed of a rectangular component body that functions as a capacitor and outer electrodes formed at both opposing ends of the component body.
In general, as indicated in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-55752, the multilayer ceramic capacitor has heretofore been electrically and physically connected to a circuit board of a mobile terminal by directly placing and holding the outer electrodes on a mounting land on the circuit board and joining the mounting land to the outer electrodes with bond, such as solder.
Mechanical strain may occur in the multilayer ceramic capacitor due to a variation in voltage occurring in an electronic circuit including the multilayer ceramic capacitor. If the strain occurs, the strain is transmitted to the circuit board to cause the circuit board to vibrate. The vibration of the circuit board may cause a vibration sound which a person hears with his/her ears.
In order to resolve the above problems, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-111380 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-134430 describe technologies not to directly mount the multilayer ceramic capacitor on the mounting land. An interposer formed of an insulating substrate is used in each of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-111380 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-134430. When the interposer is used, the multilayer ceramic capacitor is joined to an upper surface electrode of the interposer and a lower surface electrode of the interposer is joined to a mounting electrode of the circuit board. The upper surface electrode is connected to the lower surface electrode via holes that pass through the interposer.
However, in the structure in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-111380, after a component substrate is superposed on a supporting substrate and the component substrate is joined to the supporting substrate with bond, a solder mask is formed on only side surfaces of the component substrate to prevent the solder in the mounting on the circuit board from rising to the component substrate. In other words, since the solder in the mounting does not adhere to the outer electrodes on the component substrate although the solder rises to the side surfaces of the supporting substrate, the component substrate is not strongly restrained. As a result, even if the component substrate vibrates, the vibration is inhibited from being transmitted to the circuit board or the like through the supporting substrate. However, it is necessary to form the solder mask only on the side surfaces of the component substrate after the component substrate is joined to the supporting substrate with the bond, so that the manufacturing cost may possibly be increased in this structure.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-134430 uses a special structure in which the direction in which the lower surface electrode is arranged intersects with the direction in which the upper surface electrode is arranged in the interposer, that is, the direction in which the outer electrodes of the multilayer ceramic capacitor are arranged intersects with the direction in which an electrode for mounting the interposer on the circuit board is arranged. Consequently, the interposer is increased in size and the shapes of the electrodes of the interposer are made complicated, which causes further increases in cost.


A method for improving the operation of an electrophotographic printer. The method includes providing an electrophotographic printer containing a laser scanning unit. A torsion oscillator for the laser scanning unit is enclosed in closed compartment. The closed compartment includes side walls having first and second side wall edges, a bottom wall attached on the first side wall edges, and a cover attached adjacent to the second side wall edges. The closed compartment is sufficient to reduce stray air currents from adjacent the torsion oscillator thereby improving the operation of the electrophotographic printer.

Laser scanners containing torsion oscillators are known, although not widely used in scanning systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,762,994 to Byerly et al., 5,543,956 to Nakagawa et al. and 5,767,666 to Asada et al. are illustrative examples of such laser scanners. An illustration of a galvanometric torsion oscillator is shown in the '994 patent. (The term galvanometric is believed to be a reference to coils on the turning member operated in the manner of a common galvanometer.)
The torsion oscillator functions as a laser scanner when a laser beam is directed at an oscillating mirror surface of the device. Such a device replaces the much bulkier rotating polygonal mirror widely used in laser printers and copiers. Torsion oscillators also have other applications, such as to drive a clocking device, in which a mirror would not be used.
Because the oscillations of the plate are relatively rapid during a scanning process, variations or distortion of the motion of oscillating plate can occur due to the influence of external air currents. Such disturbances from external air currents result in jitter of the laser beam image scanned across the photoconductor in a laser printer. Dust accumulation on an oscillating plate or rotating mirror scanning device may also cause variations or distortions in the motion of the mirror and deterioration of intensity of the laser beam image scanned across the photoconductor in a laser printer.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved oscillating plate systems that are not adversely affected by stray air currents.

Laser scanner having reduced air currents


An external storage device of a component cost estimation system stores various cost information representing a component material and its cost in association with each other, and a component manufacturing step and a cost involved in the step in association with each other. An information processing apparatus specifies a material of a component to be manufactured, and a plurality of manufacturing steps. Then, the information processing apparatus retrieves a cost of the specified material, and costs corresponding to the specified manufacturing steps from the cost information, and estimates a cost of the component based on the retrieved costs. The cost of the component is computed by adding up the cost of the material and the costs involved in all the manufacturing steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for estimating costs of components and molds, and a system for providing cost standard data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In industrial product manufacturing, engineers having expertise of component manufacturing have conventionally been in charge of estimation of production costs required for manufacturing components and molds for manufacturing components.
A system utilizing a computer has recently been introduced for cost estimation, and those who are not so familiar with component manufacturing have become able to fulfil cost estimation on their own.
For example, the cost estimation method disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H7-282142, is a method in which processes from extraction of to-be manufactured components to computation of estimated costs are automated. According to this method, the shape of a cost-estimation-target sheet metal product is recognized using pre-set cross-sectional shape data, based on drawings of the metal sheet product. Based on the recognized cross-sectional shape of the sheet metal product, the manufacturing steps of the sheet metal product are specified, and costs involved in the manufacturing steps and costs required for estimation are computed.
However, the logical computation manner of the cost estimation method disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H7-282142 is not suitable for estimating a cost of a mold, resulting in too rough estimation of the cost of the mold.
In case of using an existing mold which has been remodeled by design change, cost estimation for such a mold requires overall change of settings.
Further, estimation data acquired by workers belonging to other sections cannot be utilized for estimation.
And component manufacturers do not have means to know whether their goods are manufactured at a satisfactory cost level or not when compared to the industry's standard, or to know to what extent they should reduce the manufacturing costs while keeping the quality.

Component cost estimation system, component cost estimation method, cost standard data providing system, cost standard data providing method, recording medium, and computer data signal


Lactams of 1-amino-3-carboxylic acid cyclic compounds are produced in enantiomeric form, together with an enantiomer of the corresponding ring-opened amino-acid or ester, by reaction of the racemic lactam with a novel lactamase. The products are useful in the synthesis of chiral carbocyclic nucleotides.

Various 9-substituted purines are known as anti-viral and anti-neoplastic agents. One such compound, known as AZT, has been used for the treatment of AIDS. More recent examples are disclosed in EP-A-4268672, US-A-4,742,064, and also in GB-A-2217320 which, by way of specific illustration, describes a compound known as Carbovir (carbocyclic 2', 3'-didehydro-2', 3'-dideoxyguanosine). Not surprisingly, the enantiomers of such chiral compounds have different activities.
Carbovir and known analogues are prepared from the known .gamma.-Iactam, 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-3-one, i.e. the compound of formula ##STR1## in which X is --CH.sub.2 --, --Y--Z-- is --CH=CH--, and R.sub.n is absent. The prior art indicates that the final product, or any intermediate or starting material, may be resolved by known methods, and that a racemic mixture of the product may be enzymatically converted to chirally pure compounds. The .gamma.-Iactam can be prepared by reacting cyclopentadiene with tosyl cyanide
R.D. Allan et al. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 122 (1986) 339-348, disclose a series of GABA analogues, resolved and unresolved, including compounds of formula II ##STR2## in which --X--is --CH.sub.2 --, --Y--Z-- is --CH=CH--, and R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are H. In particular, (+)--IR,4R-4-aminocyclopent-2-ene-1-carboxylic acid is disclosed, although its activity is much lower than that of the structurally-isomeric 1-ene.

Process for preparing a single enantiomer of a lactam using lactamase


A vehicle suspension system comprising a hydropneumatic strut comprising a fluid interface, where supply of hydraulic fluid to the strut via the fluid interface causes the overall length of the strut to increase, and withdrawal of hydraulic fluid via the fluid interface causes the overall length of the strut to decrease, a first displacement system in fluid communication with the fluid interface, capable of supplying and withdrawing fluid to and from the strut as well as measuring the volume of fluid supplied or withdrawn from the strut, a second displacement system in fluid communication with the fluid interface, and a hydraulic fluid source for selectively supplying or withdrawing hydraulic fluid from the hydropneumatic strut via either of the first or second displacement systems.

A vehicle suspension system typically comprises a spring and a hydraulic damper or strut. While in many examples the spring is in the form of a linearly wound coil spring, a leaf spring or a torsion bar, another example makes use of a pneumatic spring (which uses a gas volume as an elastic medium) in combination with a hydraulic damper or strut, commonly referred to as a hydropneumatic strut.
It is desirable for a vehicle suspension system to be capable of static ride height levelling. This functionality means the vehicle can be lowered or raised to allow aerodynamic advantages, increased ground clearance, passenger/cargo loading, lowering total vehicle height for ensuring overhead clearance, or ride levelling responsive to variable loading.
It is also desirable for a vehicle suspension system to be capable of compensating for a vehicle's natural roll, pitch and heave motion, as well as being able to be used in a "Skyhook" system by lifting or lowering individual wheels over road obstacles in order to reduce passenger discomfort.
It is against this background that the present disclosure has been developed.

The Dynamic Engineering Solution Pty Ltd


An apparatus and processes for making and using the same, for holding tape media for use in compact computer tape drives. Tape media cartridges for use in compact computer tape drives have a single reel for holding the tape media, and include a leader block coupled to the tape media. When inserted into the tape drive, a leader block handling mechanism within the tape drive grips the leader block and threads the tape media on a take up reel in the tape drive. The apparatus permits the leader block handling mechanism to more easily grip the leader block, and promotes more compact designs for tape media cartridges and tape drives.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to apparatuses for holding and protecting mass data storage media for use in connection with computer tape drives or other mass data storage read/write devices, and to processes of making and using the same. Preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to cartridges for holding a single reel of tape media for use in compact computer tape drives, and to cartridges in which the cartridge aperture cover is attached to the cartridge housing structure and detached from the tape media leader block.
2. Related Art
Current mass data storage read/write devices, such as computer tape drives, require compatibility with portable and exchangeable mass data storage units. Often the portable mass data storage units are in the form of a relatively rigid cartridge which contains magnetic tape media. Such cartridges, generally, are of a dual tape reel or a single tape reel configuration, with the single reel construction preferred in many applications, because of the ability to construct a more compact cartridge housing fitting only a single reel.
In general, single reel cartridge housings are provided with an aperture to permit the tape media to be transferred in and out of the cartridge. Mechanisms within the tape drive device draw the tape media out of the cartridge housing, pass the tape media adjacent one or more read and/or write heads and wind the tape media about a tape reel located within the tape drive device. A mechanism is also provided to rewind the tape media back onto the single cartridge reel, such as by rotating the cartridge reel in a rewind direction. A movable aperture cover is typically provided to help prevent contamination of the cartridge interior or accidental removal of tape media when the tape media is fully wound within the cartridge housing and the cartridge is external to a computer tape drive or other mass data storage read/write device.
In typical single reel configurations, a leader block is coupled to one end of the tape media, to permit feeding of the tape media into the tape drive. When one of such single reel cartridges is inserted into a computer tape drive, a leader block handling mechanism within the tape drive grips the leader block, draws the leader block and attached tape media from the cartridge housing, and feeds the tape media onto a take up reel inside the tape drive.
Popular, conventional, single reel cartridges integrate the cartridge aperture cover with the leader block. In such cartridges, the leader block is of a size and shape to obstruct and close-off the cartridge aperture, upon the cartridge tape media being fully wound into the cartridge housing. This function results in relatively large leader blocks which can create a difficulty where limited space is available for a compact tape drive product.

Tape media cartridge system and components thereof and methods of making and using the same


A mechanism for mapping the contents of a cassette which is used for delivering substrates to a system for processing semiconductor and similar materials which is independent of load port or loading robot movement. The mapping mechanism includes a U-shaped probe having a photo emitter/receptor mounted on opposing surfaces of its legs. The U-shaped probe is mounted on a carriage for rotation about its longitudinal axis. The carriage is, in turn, mounted on a track for movement over the height of the cassette. The mapping mechanism is mounted on the loading port frame of the processing system adjacent to the load port and is moved into and out of it sensing position by interaction with a cam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to substrate cassettes which provide a supply of substrates to a processing system and more particularly to a mechanism for sensing the presence or absence of substrates in the slots of the cassettes
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
In semiconductor and similar materials processing it is well known to mount multiple substrates in slots constructed in an enclosure, such as a cassette. The cassette is mounted in relation to the loading door of a processing system for access by a loading robot. The loading robot extracts a substrate from the cassettes and delivers the substrate to a processing chamber. In order to expedite the loading process it is advantageous to identify the slots of the cassette that contain substrates. This mapping process is needed to avoid unnecessary movement of the loading robot.
Cassette mapping has been accomplished in the past by several different methods, such as reflective and through beam sensing. These sensors may be fixed or moveable. They are sometimes mounted on the loading port door or on the loading robot. Fixed reflective sensors must rely on obtaining an accurate reflection and require an array of emitter/receptor pairs. Such systems have been found to be expensive and result in false readings which hinder their reliability. In another solution of the prior art, sensors have been mounted on the load port door and rely on controlled door movement to insure proper scanning of the cassette bay. In this instance door movement has to be controlled to allow access by the sensors to the cassette bay without interfering with the loading process. This has been found to be a relatively slow.
It is a purpose of this invention to construct a mapping system which provides an efficient mapping of a cassette independent of load port door movement or loading robot movement. It is a further purpose of this invention to use through beam sensors mounted on the load port frame.


A method and apparatus are disclosed in which alkanes such as butane are used to degrade pollutants such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CT) at contaminated sites. In a preferred embodiment, pollutant concentrations are reduced by injecting a butane substrate into a contaminated area to stimulate the growth of anaerobic butane-utilizing bacteria which degrade the pollutants. In addition to the anaerobic treatment, the area may optionally be treated aerobically by switching from anaerobic to aerobic conditions.

The present invention relates to degradation of pollutants using anaerobic methods. Alkanes, e.g., methane, ethane, propane and butane, are used to effectively degrade pollutants such as tetrachloroethylene. The alkanes may accelerate anaerobic respiration.
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CT) are two metal degreasing and dry cleaning solvents which are recalcitrant pollutants detected in the soil and groundwater at many contaminated sites. Under aerobic conditions, PCE and CT have traditionally been considered nonbiodegradable. Under anaerobic conditions, PCE and CT may be reductively dechlorinated by mixed microbial populations to less-chlorinated ethenes.
PCE is currently remediated using chemicals that enhance anaerobic degradation within the subsurface. Carbon sources such as acetate and methanol are injected into the subsurface where oxygen is limited or absent and alternate electron acceptors such as nitrate or sulfate are available. Chemicals that slowly release hydrogen in groundwater are also used to accelerate anaerobic degradation processes.
PCE may not be very susceptible to aerobic metabolic pathways. Research conducted under aerobic conditions using pure cultures and limited consortia of butane-utilizing bacteria has indicated that butane oxidation may not degrade or cometabolize PCE even though butane enrichment results in the expression of a wide variety of oxygenases during butane oxidation (Hamamura N., R. Storfa, L. Semprini, and D. J. Arp. xe2x80x9cDiversity in Butane Monooxygenases among Butane-Grown Bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65(10):4586-4593, 1999).
The bioremediation of various pollutants using butane-utilizing bacteria is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,888,396, 6,051,130, 6,110,372 and 6,156,203, and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/275,320, which are incorporated herein by reference. The disclosed methods primarily focus on the cometabolism of pollutants using butane-utilizing bacteria under aerobic conditions.
In accordance with the present invention, alkanes are used to degrade pollutants such as recalcitrant chlorinated compounds under anaerobic conditions, e.g., through reductive processes such as dechlorination. In a preferred embodiment, butane is used as a low molecular weight organic compound which serves as an electron donor under anaerobic conditions.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of degrading a pollutant. The method includes treating the pollutant by supplying an alkane in the substantial absence of oxygen to stimulate the growth of anaerobic bacteria which degrade the pollutant.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an anaerobic bioremediation system. The system includes means for supplying an alkane to a contaminated site in the substantial absence of oxygen to stimulate the growth of anaerobic bacteria which degrade a pollutant at the contaminated site.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide an in-situ anaerobic bioremediation system which includes a source of an alkane, and at least one injector in flow communication with the source of the alkane.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

Method and apparatus for anaerobically degrading pollutants with alkanes


Storage and dispensing unit comprising, in combination, wall structure defining an enclosure having outer walls, holding structure for supporting one or more containers in generally exposed condition on the outer facing walls, the holding structure including a first generally horizontal surface connected to the outer wall and offset laterally therefrom to define a shelf, a second generally horizontal surface in opposed relation to and spaced vertically from the first surface, structure defining an aperture in the second surface, and guide structure connecting the second surface to the outer wall for movement relative to the first surface, the guide structure providing a confined path of movement so that the second surface is movable toward and away from the first surface, whereby a container placed on the first surface extends upward into the aperture when the second surface is in its lowermost position and the container is free of the aperture when the second surface is in its uppermost position.

This invention relates to units of the type used at automobile service stations to store and dispense automotive products.
It has become accepted practice to provide convenience units at service stations. Such units contain commonly used supplies and utensils, and are readily accessible, for example, in the vicinity of the fuel pumping stations. Added versatility and capacity is continually strived for in these types of units. But such goals should be achieved with due regard for securely storing the items to be dispensed.