A method for operating a directly heated, solar-thermal steam generator is provided. As per the method, a nominal value {dot over (M)}s for the supply water mass flow {dot over (M)} is conducted to an apparatus for adjusting the supply water mass flow {dot over (M)} wherein, at the adjustment of the nominal value {dot over (M)}s for the supply water mass flow {dot over (M)}, account is taken of a correction value KT, by which the thermal effects of storage or withdrawal of thermal energy in an evaporator are corrected.

The constantly increasing demand for energy and climate change must be met by the use of sustained energy sources. Solar energy is such a sustained energy source. It is climate-friendly, available in inexhaustible quantities, and does not represent a burden for subsequent generations.
Solar-thermal power plants represent an alternative to conventional power generation. At the present time, solar-thermal power plants are operated with parabolic trough collectors and indirect evaporation. Direct evaporation in parabolic trough collectors or Fresnel collectors represents a future option. A solar-thermal power plant with parabolic trough collectors or Fresnel collectors and direct evaporation consists of a solar field in which the supply water is preheated, evaporated, and superheated, and of a conventional power plant part, in which the thermal energy of the steam is converted into electrical energy.
In non-stationary operation (e.g. load change), with forced-flow parabolic trough collectors or Fresnel collectors with direct evaporation, the evaporator flow must be changed as synchronously as possible into the heat input into the evaporator heating surface. The nominal value control of the supply water flow regulation provides the necessary supply water nominal values as a function of the state of the installation, in start-up and low-load operation as well as in forced-flow operation. With non-stationary behavior of the solar field it has the task of guaranteeing a desired evaporator output enthalpy on the flow medium side, and therefore impeding associated, in particular substantial, temperature fluctuations of the steam at the evaporator output, with all the overlaid effects incurred (e.g. live steam temperature fluctuations).
Changes in the heat input into the evaporator heating surface of the solar field and/or interferences in the evaporator input enthalpy, at a given flow rate, have a direct effect on the evaporator output enthalpy. An adjustment of the evaporator flow rate can only be carried out, in the fastest case, after a control deviation, which under certain circumstances, specifically for rapid load transient events (e.g. cloud passage), can be too sluggish to guarantee a fluctuation-free output temperature. Under these conditions, the regulation basically limps after the change in the solar-side heat supply. Serious disturbances in the thermodynamic state values (in particular, high temperature fluctuations in the water-steam circuit of the solar field) result.
In modern parabolic trough power plants with direct evaporation, the evaporator is overfed. By means of an appropriate apparatus (water-steam separator), the surplus water at the evaporator output which has not yet been evaporated is separated from the steam. The steam flows into the downstream superheater collectors. The surplus water is either collected in the separator itself or in a downstream container (water collection vessel), then, in the further course of the process, is discharged through a purge hardware, and, in the best-case scenario, is mixed back into the main flow again at the evaporator input (recycled).
Under these preconditions, in order to control the necessary evaporator throughflow, use is usually made of what is referred to as a three-component control system, which, as a function of the generated steam mass flow, in the best-case scenario refills precisely the same quantity of supply water. A correction regulator which, for example, regulates the water level in the water collection vessel, corrects the supply water quantity determined in this way in the event of the actual water level deviating from the specified nominal value (e.g. in the event of dynamic processes and in order to take account of necessary discharge mass flows during the purging process).
The advantage of this method lies in the low-fluctuation medium temperature at the evaporator output, since this corresponds to the saturation temperature. In addition to this, in comparison with a continuous concept with which, as a rule, superheated flow medium is present at the evaporator output, it is highly probable that a more stable flow form can be achieved, even if no additional flow-stabilizing measures are taken with regard to the continuous concept. However, because the evaporation end point is spatially fixed at the evaporator output, the advantage is lost of the operational flexibility of a forced-flow steam generator with variable evaporation end point, such as, for example, guaranteeing the most constant possible live steam temperatures over a wide load range. Under these circumstances, the demands on the live steam temperature control system increase. In addition, a reasonable control of the water level in the water collection vessel, specifically for rapid load transient events, can only be achieved with difficulty, or even not at all, due to the low volume of the water collection vessel and the long time delay behavior of the controlled system.

Method for operating a directly heated, solar-thermal steam generator


A sheet transport device according to this invention is provided with: a sheet tray on which a sheet to be transported is placed; a device main body provided with a transport path led from the sheet tray to a discharge outlet; a transport mechanism for transporting the sheet from the sheet tray to the discharge outlet via the transport path; shafts projecting from positions in the vicinity of opposite ends of the discharge outlet of the device main body to horizontal directions opposite to each other; a discharge tray having a main tray which retains the discharged sheet and is provided with bearings for the shafts; and locking members provided in the vicinity of the shafts of the device main body. The locking members lock the shafts of the discharge tray in the bending posture. This locking prevents the discharge tray in the bending posture from coming off the device main body. The locking members allow the bearings of the discharge tray in the bending posture to move toward the front ends of the shafts. The bearings come off the shafts when a load larger than a predetermined one is applied on the main tray.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet transport device transporting a sheet via a predetermined transport path. This invention is applicable particularly to an image reading apparatus such as a facsimile and photocopier; however, its application is not limited to the above cases, and the invention is useful for other types of apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
The sheet transport device transports a sheet from a sheet tray to a discharge tray via a transport path. The discharge tray is attached to a main body of the sheet transport device with a hinge member for the purpose of downsizing the device. The discharge tray is bent toward the device main body when the sheet transport device is not in use and is so opened as to retain the sheet when using the sheet transport device.
A sheet tray wherein an auxiliary tray is coupled rotatably thereto with a hinge member which is formed of a projection member made from an elastic material and a bearing has been known. The auxiliary tray comes off the sheet tray because of elastic deformation of the projection member when an impact or a load larger than a bearable load is applied on the auxiliary tray. Therefore, the auxiliary tray is not damaged even when impact or load larger than the bearable load is applied on the auxiliary tray. Also, the projection member returns to its original shape without being damaged. The auxiliary tray is attached again to the sheet tray by the use of the projection member.
A sheet tray provided with an extension tray which is rotatable about a main tray has been known. When the extension tray is opened, it is possible to house a sheet having a size larger than the main tray. The sheet tray is compact in size when the extension tray is closed.
A sheet feeding device feeding a recording paper placed on a sheet tray to an image forming device through a sheet feed opening, which is provided with a cover member rotating in such a fashion as to open and close the sheet feed opening has been known. The cover member prevents entry of contaminants through the sheet feed opening.
The above technologies are disclosed in JP-A-10-167547 published on Jun. 23, 1998, JP-A-2003-201054 published on Jul. 15, 2003, and JP-A-2002-2975 published on Jan. 9, 2002.
A footprint of the sheet transport device is reduced when the discharge tray is capable of opening/closing and closed in such a fashion as not to project from the device when the device is not in use. The discharge tray is prevented from being damaged when the discharge tray is capable of coming off the device main body when an excessive force is applied on the discharge tray. The discharge tray may come off by an external force when the discharge tray is closed. However, when the discharge tray is closed, it is unlikely that the discharge tray will be damaged. It is undesirable that the discharge tray comes off when the discharge tray is closed.
An opening other than the sheet feed opening connecting to an internal portion of the device is formed on a housing of the sheet transport device for various purposes. Contaminants may enter the internal portion of the device through the opening. Particularly, if the contaminants are fallen on a control substrate, an electrical failure can be caused by the contaminants. Various electrical wirings are connected to the control substrate. In view of assembly of the wirings and the like, it is undesirable to cover the control substrate with a cover before finishing the wirings.


Disclosed is a rerailer apparatus that can be installed in a rail car for rerailing the rail car if it derails. The rerailer includes two vertical lifting members which are suspended from the rail car and are connected to a foot. These lifting members are used to lift the rail car vertically when the lifting members are extended and the foot contacts a support surface. A lateral movement member integrated with the vertical lifting members and the foot is used to move the lifted rail car laterally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rerailer apparatus and, more particularly, to a rerailer that can be contained within mining rail cars.
2. Background Art
The accidental derailing of rail cars, including locomotives, is not uncommon, especially in the underground mining industry. When a rail car derails, some type of lifting device is required to lift and move the car over the rails for rerailing. Two general types of lifting devices are known in the prior art. The first type is independent of the rail car and must be positioned near the car in order to lift and move the derailed car. This type of rerailer is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,980,035; 3,828,689; 4,090,453; 4,825,771; and 5,203,264. The second type of rerailer is mounted to the rail car as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,684,641; 4,606,273; 4,809,615; and 5,111,749.
Both types of known lifting devices present problems to the underground mining industry since the available space to maneuver around a derailed car is usually quite limited. Because of the space constraints in an underground mine, the mining industry has avoided both the known types of lifting devices due to their size, complexity or need for additional support in order to operate. Today, the underground mining industry continues the dangerous practice of lifting a derailed rail car with a hand jack, one end of the car at a time, pushing the car toward the rails until the jack flies out from under the car, and then repeating these steps as many times as needed until the car is once again positioned on the rails. This practice is dangerous to mine workers, is abusive to the equipment and can take up to four hours to rerail a car.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and simple lifting apparatus which can be contained within a rail car to aid in rerailing a rail car, particularly a rail car used in underground mining, in a quick and safe manner.


An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising unit for collecting echo signals by scanning a three-dimensional area of a subject with an ultrasonic beam, unit for making a three-dimensional bloodstream information based on the echo signals, unit for producing a plurality of projection images with different projecting directions based on the three-dimensional bloodstream information, and unit for displaying the plurality of projection images in specified sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus utilizing what is called a color flow mapping (CFM) method, by which the state of bloodstream in an organism is displayed by making use of Doppler effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus radiates ultrasonic pulses onto an organism, receives ultrasonic echoes reflected from the interface between tissues with different intrinsic acoustic impedance (the product of the density of a medium and the speed of sound), and then processes them to form an ultrasonic tomographic image.
Unlike X-ray diagnostic apparatuses, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus eliminates a need for the subject to be exposed to radiation, and allows the tomographic image of soft tissues to appear on the screen without a contrast medium.
Thanks to progress in various technologies including electronic scanning technology, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been undergoing continuous improvement in the real-time display performance, facilitating the measurement of a moving body. As the apparatus is becoming much easier to operate, its use is spreading widely at a rapid rate.
On top of that, a color flow mapping method, by which the state of bloodstream can be displayed in two dimensions, has recently been developed, which has led to a further expansion of the application field of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses.
The color flow mapping method, which makes use of Doppler effect, is a method of producing an image by distributing in a two-dimensional area pixels based on the deviation frequency obtained by comparing the transmitting frequency with the receiving frequency, the image thus produced hereinafter being referred to as the bloodstream image.
Blood vessels stretch intricately between internal organs through the organism. An attempt to two-dimensionally display the state of blood vessels spreading that way is practically impossible. Thus, three-dimensional display techniques, which will be explained below, have been developed and put to practical use.
They include surface display techniques and volume rendering techniques used in the fields of CT (computed tomography) and magnetic resonance imaging, three-dimensional visualization techniques based on stereography making use of human binocular parallax, and rotational display techniques for magnetic resonance angiocardiography.
Any technique described above only offers information on blood vessel tissues, and cannot provide information on bloodstream. Only ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are capable of providing bloodstream information. Conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, however, offer two-dimensional bloodstream information (a bloodstream image noted above) only. To provide three-dimensional bloodstream information, various methods have been tried: one method is to allocate different colors to individual bloodstream images depending on their depth to synthesize a single image. None of them, however, have come in practice yet because of difficulty in converting three-dimensional representation into two-dimensional one.
Thus, at present, the observer watches bloodstream images of various cross sections on the screen, while moving the probe, and combines them into a three-dimensional representation through his mental work of judging their continuity. This approach may sometimes bring about sufficient three-dimensional bloodstream information for diagnosis. In this method, however, the three-dimensional image is only in his mind, it is impossible to convey the image to others or to record it. In addition to this, there is a serious problem: the difference in ability needed for forming the image, such as an anatomical knowledge, among individuals often lead to the diagnostic result varying from one medical examiner to another.


A blade quick removal device includes an arcuate frame integrated with a front handle and a rear handle, a first hook bar under the front handle, an oscillatory second hook bar nearby the rear handle for adjustably retaining the saw blade thereon and a locking member pivoted to the lower end of the second hook bar for fastening the hook bar to a reduced bottom of the rear handle and having an axial rod and a pair of latches respectively held by a hook and a pair of retaining projections on the bottom of the rear handle.

The present invention relates to hand tools and more particularly to a blade quick removal device for a handsaw which is structurally simple and stable.
As we know that there are various blade quick removal or quick assembly handsaws available in the market. But it gives the users not much convenience due to their structural complication.

Blade quick removal device for a handsaw


Silicon oxide particles each comprising an inner portion having an iron content of 10-1,000 ppm and an outer portion having an iron content of up to 30 ppm are suitable as negative electrode active material in nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries. Using a negative electrode comprising the silicon oxide particles as active material, a lithium ion secondary battery or electrochemical capacitor having a high capacity and improved cycle performance can be constructed.

In conjunction with the recent rapid advances of portable electronic equipment and communications instruments, nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries having a high energy density are strongly demanded from the aspects of cost, size and weight reductions. Approaches known in the art to increase the capacity of such nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries include, for example, use as negative electrode material of oxides of B, Ti, V, Mn, Co, Fe, Ni, Cr, Nb, and Mo and composite oxides thereof (Patent Documents 1 and 2); application as negative electrode material of wherein x≧50 at % and M=Ni, Fe, Co or Mn which is obtained by quenching from the melt (Patent Document 3); use as negative electrode material of silicon oxide (Patent Document 4); and use as negative electrode material of Si2N2O, Ge2N2O or Sn2N2O (Patent Document 5).
Among others, silicon oxide is represented by SiOx wherein x is slightly greater than the theoretical value of 1 due to oxide coating, and is found on X-ray diffractometry analysis to have the structure that nano-size silicon ranging from several to several tens of nanometers is finely dispersed in silica. Silicon oxide offers a greater battery capacity than the currently available carbon by a factor of 5 or 6 on a weight basis and relatively good cycle performance due to a less volume expansion. For these reasons, batteries using silicon oxide as the negative electrode material are regarded fully effective for use in portable electronic equipment such as mobile phones, lap-top computers and tablets. When the automotive application is considered, however, these batteries are insufficient in cycle performance and expensive.

Silicon oxide particles, making method, lithium ion secondary battery, and electrochemical capacitor


A programmable technique is used to control the slew rate of a differential output buffer. A method controls the slew rate (SR) by changing an “on” resistance of the switches used to steer the current. This can be accomplished by (i) using different size switches or (ii) changing the slew rate of the predrivers which drive the final switches. The latter approach has the advantage that it only temporarily increases the “on” resistance, which does not cause any headroom problems after the transient. A specific application is for the differential outputs of a programmable logic integrated circuits.

The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuits and in particular, to a programmable slew rate control for a differential output of the integrated circuit.
Integrated circuits are important building blocks of the modern age. Technology continues to evolve and integrated circuits continue to provide improved functionality. As integrated circuits improve, so do the electronics systems that are built using integrated circuits. There are many types of integrated circuit such as memories, micro-processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and programmable logic. Programmable logic integrated circuits such as PALS, PLDS, FPGAS, LCAS, and others are becoming more complex and continually evolving to provide more user-programmable features on a single integrated circuit.
Data is input and output from integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are used in a wide range of applications, some requiring higher performance than other applications. When higher performance is needed, then integrated circuits should output data in order to meet the performance specification. However, when less performance is sufficient, it is desirable that the output of the integrated circuit can be slowed down.
One of the problems that is important to address when using integrated circuits is noise. Integrated circuits generate noise on a printed circuit board when their outputs switch. Noise is undesirable because if the noise is sufficiently great, it may cause incorrect logic to be input or improper clocking of the integrated circuit or other integrated circuits on the printed circuit board. The amount of noise depends on a number of factors including the edge rate of the output signals. Sharper or faster edge rates tend to generate more noise, while slower slew rate signals have less noise. To address noise, printed circuit boards can be designed to handle noise, but generally at greater expense.
Therefore, it is desirable that differential output drivers of an integrated circuit can be programmably controlled to have a slower slew rate, to reduce noise, especially in those situations where high-speed is not needed.

Programmable slew rate control for differential output


A dynamometer for a snowmobile includes a pair of driver wheels which replace the tension idler wheels so as to contact the inside of the snowmobile track. The regular snowmobile tension idler wheels are removed, and the driver wheels are positioned on the idler wheel axle. In the alternative, the dynamometer is attached to the existing tension idler wheels by a coupling plate. In the alternative embodiment, the tension idler wheels are configured for power take off by including pins forming a quick connect coupling mechanism. The quick connect coupling mechanism permits the dynamometer to be connected to the snowmobile without having to remove and replace the tension idler wheels with a different pair of driver wheels. A jack is provided to lift the snowmobile track clear of the ground by applying a lifting force between the ground and the tension idler wheel axle. The dynamometer and jack are integrated so as to share common components.

A dynamometer is a diagnostic test instrument that measures power and torque as a function of speed, either in terms of revolutions per minute (rpm) at the engine or clutch, or in terms of ground speed. The power output accelerates an inertia flywheel, typically a steel drum with a known mass. Sensors from the engine and flywheel are coupled to a computer to compute the output power and torque. Data on engine speed, flywheel speed and environmental inputs are collected. The data, together with the known moment of inertia of the flywheel, is used in a known engineering formula for the calculation of power plant performance including horsepower and torque. The typical computed measurement output of a dynamometer is a pair of graphs showing output horsepower versus engine or clutch rpm (or ground speed) and output torque versus engine or clutch rpm (or ground speed).
There are two types of dynamometers: an engine dynamometer and a chassis dynamometer. An engine dynamometer measures the output of the engine alone, while a chassis dynamometer measures output at the driven wheels.
To use an engine dynamometer, the engine is removed from the vehicle, mounted on a test bench, and coupled to the dynamometer. Some vehicle designs permit an in-chassis dynamometer test by providing for partial disassembly in order to access the engine output. Engine dynamometers present several problems. For one, there is the difficulty of removing an engine from a vehicle, and then reinstalling the engine in the vehicle after the test. Even for an in-chassis test, there is the difficulty of partial disassembly and reassembly. Furthermore, engine characteristics alone do not represent a complete picture of vehicle performance. Problems with drive chains, transfer cases and the like, are not evident from an engine dynamometer run. Other components in the power train, such as the clutch, transmission, and wheels greatly affect the ultimate characteristics of the vehicle. In the case of a snowmobile, an engine dynamometer test would not uncover any problems with the drive lines, chains, clutch transfer case or track. In contrast to an engine dynamometer, a chassis dynamometer measures the output at the driven wheels of a motor vehicle. A chassis dynamometer takes into account the effect of the drive train and engine together. Chassis dynamometers for automobiles and motorcycles are known. In a chassis dynamometer, the drive wheel or wheels of the vehicle are placed on top of the dynamometer so that each driven tire contacts an inertia flywheel which is directly accelerated in a dynamometer run. The vehicle is secured by its non-drive wheel or wheels. Some dynamometers use a pair of wheels to cradle the driven wheel(s) of the test vehicle. A chassis dynamometer for snowmobiles would present special problems because the track of a snowmobile does not easily drive the smooth surface of the flywheel.


Disclosed are threading device and threading method, including a turning step for threading a rotating workpiece with a predetermined cutting depth, by relatively moving a tool in the axial direction of the workpiece and then rounding-up the workpiece obliquely by relatively moving the tool in the axial direction and radially outward. The workpiece is subjected to the threading process by repeatedly carrying out the turning step while sequentially shifting the axial position for starting the rounding-up of the workpiece relative to an axial position where the rounding-up of the workpiece has been started in a previous turning step.

As a threading device or threading method for forming a thread groove in a workpiece, a threading device or a threading method for forming a thread on a workpiece is known wherein a workpiece fixed to a main spindle of a lathe is rotated with the main spindle and an outer peripheral surface of the workpiece is subjected to a spiral turning by means of a tool that is moved in an axial direction relative to the workpiece, with a cutting depth that is shallower than the bottom of the thread, and the turning is repeatedly carried out over the entire range of the workpiece in the axial direction that requires threading, while gradually increasing the cutting depth (see, for example, Patent Literatures PTL 1 and PTL 2).


A system and method are presented for the large scale synthesis of metal cyanometallates (MCMs). First and second precursor solutions are added to a main reactor, where the first precursor includes M1 metal cations. The second precursor solution includes AX′M2(CN)Z′, where M1 and M2 are from a first group of metals and A is from a second group of metals including alkali or alkaline earth metals. In response to stirring the first and second precursors, MCM particles are formed with the formula AXM1NM2M(CN)Z.d[H2O]ZEO.e[H2O]BND, in solution. In response to aging in the secondary reactor, the size of the MCM particles is increases. The aged MCM particles in solution are then transferred to a separation tank, where the aged MCM particles are filtered from the solution and collected. The solution reclaimed from the separation tank back is added back into the main reactor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to electrochemical storage devices and, more particularly, to a system and method for the large scale fabrication of metal cyanometallates.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large-capacity, cost-effective energy storage is the transformational technology needed to enable the large scale integration of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. The rechargeable battery offers efficient electrical energy storage (EES). The Li-ion battery has been the leading option based on its performance, but the source materials are too expensive for large-scale EES. Therefore, superior low cost, high-performance electrode materials are required to compete against the high cost of lithium-ion batteries, or a new system of rechargeable metal-ion batteries must be developed to replace lithium-ion batteries.
Sodium/potassium-ion batteries have recently received a great deal of attention because the natural reserves of sodium/potassium in the crust of the earth are much higher than lithium. This abundance makes possible the development of low cost batteries for EES. However, it has proved impractical to mimic the structures of Li+-host compounds for Na+ or K+-host compounds. Sodium/potassium ions are much larger than lithium ions and they severely distort the structures of the Li+-host compounds. Thus, for the development of sodium/potassium-ion batteries it is important to develop new Na+/K+-host materials with large interstitial spaces in which sodium/potassium-ions can easily and reversibly move. Transition metal cyanometallate (TMCM) materials with large interstitial spaces have been investigated as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries [1, 2], sodium-ion batteries [3, 4], and potassium-ion batteries [5].
With an aqueous electrolyte containing alkali-ions or ammonium-ions, copper and nickel hexacyanoferrates [(Cu,Ni)—HCFs] have demonstrated a robust cycling life with 83% capacity retention after 40,000 cycles at a charge/discharge current of 17C [6-8]. In spite of this, the materials demonstrated low capacities and energy densities because (1) only one sodium-ion can be inserted/extracted reversibly into/from Cu—HCF or Ni—HCF per formula unit and (2) these TM-HCFs electrodes must be operated below 1.23 V due to the water electrochemical window. In order to compensate for such shortcomings, manganese hexacyanoferrate (Mn—HCF) and iron hexacyanoferrate (Fe—HCF) were used as cathode materials in non-aqueous electrolyte [9, 10]. When assembled with a sodium-metal anode, Mn—HCF and Fe—HCF electrodes cycled between 2.0 volts (V) and 4.2 V delivered capacities ˜110 milliamp hours per gram (mAh/g). More recently, FeFe(CN)6.4H2O and Na0.61Fe[Fe(CN)6]0.94 were reported to exhibit high energy density and power density and good stability during cycling [11, 12].
FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting the open framework of a metal cyanometallate (prior art). All the compounds mentioned above can be categorized as metal cyanometallates (MCMs) with the general formula AxM1mM2nCN)z that constructs an open framework as shown. The open framework structure of the transition metal MCMs facilitates both rapid and reversible intercalation processes for alkali and alkaline ions (Ax). The MCMs capacity is determined by the available A-sites in the compounds into which the alkali or alkaline ions can be inserted reversibly in the range of working voltages. From the electric neutrality point of view, the valences of M1 and M2 mainly contribute to the amount of the available A-sites. For example, 2 sodium-ions can be inserted/extracted into/from Na2MnFe(CN)6 between 2-4 V vs. Na° because the valences of Mn- and Fe-ions can change between +2 and +3, which provides a theoretical capacity of 171 mAh/g. Noteworthy is the fact that as many as possible metal-ions, "A", should exist in the MCMs to deliver a high capacity in a metal-ion battery with a non-metal counter electrode. In addition, in order to neutralize charges, the transition metals should be kept at low valances.
It would be advantageous if the synthesis of MCMs could be optimized, with improvements to increase MCM particle sizes, and able to operate at a large scale for mass production.    [1] V. D. Neff, Some performance characteristics of a Prussian Blue battery, Journal of Electrochemical Society, 132 (1985) 1382-1384.    [2] N. Imanishi, T. Morikawa, J. Kondo, Y. Takeda, O. Yamamoto, N. Kinugasa, T. Yamagishi, Lithium intercalation behavior into iron cyanide complex as positive electrode of lithium secondary battery, Journal of Power Sources, 79 (1999) 215-219.    [3] Y. Lu, L. Wang, J. Cheng, J. B. Goodenough, Prussian blue: a new framework for sodium batteries, Chemistry Communication, 48(2012)6544-6546.    [4] L. Wang, Y. Lu, J. Liu, M. Xu, J. Cheng, D. Zhang, J. B. Goodenough, A superior low-cost cathode for a Na-ion battery, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 52(2013)1964-1967.    [5] A. Eftekhari, Potassium secondary cell based on Prussian blue cathode, J. Power Sources, 126 (2004) 221-228.    [6] C. D. Wessells, R. A. Huggins, Y. Cui, Copper hexacyanoferrate battery electrodes with long cycle life and high power, Nature Communication, 2(2011) 550.    [7] C. D. Wessells, S. V. Peddada, R. A. Huggins, Y. Cui, Nickel hexacyanoferrate nanoparticle electrodes for aqueous sodium and potassium ion batteries, Nano Letter, 11(2011) 5421-5425.    [8] C. D. Wessells, S. V. Peddada, M. T. McDowell, R. A. Huggins, Y. Cui, The effect of insertion species on nanostructured open framework hexacyanoferrate battery electrode, J. Electrochem. Soc., 159(2012) A98-A103.    [9] T. Matsuda, M. Takachi, Y. Moritomo, A sodium manganese ferrocyanide thin film for Na-ion batteries, Chemical Communications, DOI: 10.1039/C3CC38839E.    [10] S.-H. Yu, M. Shokouhimehr, T. Hyeon, Y.-E. Sung, Iron hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles as cathode materials for lithium and sodium rechargeable batteries, ECS Electrochemistry Letters, 2(2013)A39-A41.    [11] X. Wu, W. Den, J. Qian, Y. Cao, X. Ai, H. Yang, Single-crystal FeFe(CN)6 nanoparticles: a high capacity and high rate cathode for Na-ion batteries, J. Mater. Chem. A., 1(2013)10130-10134.    [12] Y.-G. Guo, Y. You, X.-L. Wu, Y.-X. Yin, High-quality Prussian blue crystals as superior cathode materials for room-temperature sodium-ion batteries, Energy & Environmental Science, (2014) DOI: 10.1039/C3EE44004D

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for large scale synthesis of metal cyanometallates


A system and method for dynamically reducing the precision of datapath modules within an FFT unit without adversely affecting the demodulation of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. An FFT unit is typically implemented in an OFDM receiver to separate sub-carriers within a received OFDM signal. In general, an FFT unit implemented within an OFDM receiver must be designed to operate with a precision high enough such that quantization noise, introduced within the FFT unit, does not dominate the overall maximum SNR requirement of the system. However, the SNR requirement for many OFDM receivers is dynamic and, as a result, OFDM receivers often have an instantaneous SNR requirement far below the required maximum. In these situations, it would be advantageous to reduce the precision of datapath modules within the FFT to conserve power, which is often limited in wireless devices.

The invention pertains in general to a communications receiver with a dynamic signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirement and, more particularly, to a system and method for optimizing the precision of datapath modules within a communications receiver with a dynamic SNR requirement.
In a multi-carrier communications system a plurality of sub-carriers are transmitted over a single transmission path at the same time. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is one commonly implemented multi-carrier scheme in which the plurality of sub-carriers are orthogonal in frequency. The sub-carriers in an OFDM carrier signal typically overlap in frequency but do not interfere with each other. Each sub-carrier may be modulated using any one of a number of modulation schemes, including quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) (e.g., 16 and 64-QAM) and quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK).
An OFDM transceiver typically applies a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to separate sub-carriers of a received OFDM carrier signal. In a similar manner, an OFDM transceiver typically applies an inverse FFT (IFFT) to generate an OFDM carrier signal for transmission by combining a plurality of sub-carriers. The FFT, in general, defines a set of processes for reducing the time required to compute a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and has several different implementations. However, each implementation of the FFT performs the DFT over a finite duration sequence of N sample points, x(n), that represent samples of a received OFDM carrier signal. The DFT may be defined as:
            X                    (        k        )              =                  ∑                  n          =          0                          N          -          1                                                                      x                                (            n            )                                            ⅇ                                    -                              j                                                  (                                                            2                                            π                                        N                                    )                                                                  nk                                          k      =      0        ,    1    ,                  …                                                  N            -      1
The DFT is inherently a block process that is computed over a block of N samples; N being typically defined as the number of sub-carriers transmitted over the received OFDM carrier signal. The N samples, x(n), are multiplied successively by complex exponentials over the range of frequencies of the sub-carriers, and each product is summed. The output of the above equation, x(k), represents the value of the spectrum for the kth frequency, i.e., the value of the sub-carrier at the kth frequency. In this way, sub-carriers of a received signal may be separated using a DFT computation.
An OFDM receiver generally implements a dedicated FFT unit that performs the above calculations using data represented in a fixed-point format. Samples of a received signal, x(n), are represented in a fixed-point format along with results of the FFT unit. The precision of a fixed-point number is determined by the number of bits used in its representation. As a result, in any finite length fixed-point data representation, some quantization noise may be introduced into the system. In an OFDM receiver, it is important that the quantization noise, introduced within the FFT unit, does not dominate the overall signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirement of the receiver. Typical OFDM receivers implement an FFT unit with enough precision to handle the worst case SNR requirement.
Although an FFT unit must be designed to handle the worst case SNR requirement of an OFDM receiver, in many cases the instantaneous SNR requirement is substantially less. For example, an OFDM receiver may be required to handle a worst case SNR requirement of 30 dB and, as a result, fixed-point data sizes within the FFT unit must be large enough so that quantization noise does not prevent the receiver from achieving this worst case SNR requirement. However, since the SNR requirement of the OFDM receiver may be dynamic, at any given point in operation, the OFDM receiver may have an instantaneous SNR requirement below 30 dB. As a result, the FFT unit operates with excess precision in many instances. The datapath modules within the FFT unit consume excess power performing computations and operations on fixed-point data bits that are unnecessary. Since power consumption is often critical in OFDM receivers that may be dependent on batteries, any excess power consumed decreases the utility of these devices.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for dynamically adjusting the precision of datapath modules within an FFT unit without adversely affecting the reception and demodulation of an OFDM carrier signal.
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.


The present invention aims to provide a luminescent curved glass which, despite being curved with a small radius of curvature, can provide a clear display on its entire surface when irradiated with light, and curved digital signage including the luminescent curved glass. Provided is a luminescent curved glass including a laminate including a transparent plate having a radius of curvature of 3,000 mm or lower and a luminescent sheet, the luminescent sheet containing a thermoplastic resin and a luminescent material that emits visible light having a wavelength of 380 to 750 nm under excitation light.

Public facilities such as stations and airports and commercial facilities such as department stores have deployed digital signage. Digital signage displays videos and still images on the display to present various kinds of information. Digital signage typically includes liquid crystal displays or plasma displays (for example, Patent Literature 1). Large digital signage including liquid crystal displays or the like, however, is very expensive.
Such a situation has led to the use of methods in which images are projected from an image projector onto specially processed glass or the like as a screen.
In recent years, complex-shaped digital signage exhibiting higher design quality has been demanded. Moreover, digital signage screens are sometimes arranged utilizing building pillars. Screens having a curved shape with a small radius of curvature, including such a complex shape or a pillar shape, have difficulty in providing a clear display on their entire surface when images are projected thereon.

Luminous curved glass and curved digital signage


An electrical outlet provided with a face for removably receiving electrical plugs such that the face is capable of swiveling left and right in response to a tug thereon by an attached electrical plug. The outlet is provided with a swivel portion capable of swiveling relative to an electrical box which secures the outlet to a building wall and relative to a faceplate which attaches to the electrical box. The face for removably receiving electrical plugs is located on a front side of the swivel portion and is accessibly via a central opening in the faceplate. A rear side of the swivel portion provides a flexible electrical connection to an electrical house wire in order to supply power to the outlet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new type of electrical receptacle for installation within a wall of a building. The receptacle is capable of swiveling along a vertical axis, allowing the receptacle face to move left or right in response to a pulling force exerted thereon by an attached electrical plug as the electrical plug is pulled on by its attached electrical cord.
2. Description of the Related Art
Employers of power equipment operators are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to have their electrical equipment properly grounded. This requires operative grounded electrical receptacles and grounded electrical plugs for engaging the grounded electrical receptacles. For example professional office janitorial services, which vacuum carpeted office floors on a nightly basis, must frequently replace the electrical plugs on their vacuum cleaners. The reason the electrical plugs require frequent replacement is that employees using the equipment simply jerk on the electrical cord to disengage the electrical plug from the electrical receptacles in the office being cleaned. Unless the pulling force on the electrical cord is perpendicular to the face of the electrical receptacle, the rigid ground prong provided on the plug can be damaged by being bent, or alternately, can be snapped off when the plug is pulled out of the rigidly fixed electrical receptacle. Once the ground prong on the plug is thus damaged, the plug can no longer be used and must be replaced with a new plug. Although the two blade prongs provided on the plugs are also normally bent as a result of this pulling force, since they are somewhat flexible, they generally do not break when so bent and normally can be bent back into shape by the user so that the plug can subsequently be reinserted into another electrical receptacle. Also, the electrical receptacle can also be damaged when the plug is jerked out of engagement with the receptacle.
Although employees are advised not to jerk on the electrical cords to disengage the plugs, the problem continues because it is more convenient for the employees to disengage the plugs using this procedure. The ground plug may also be bent or broken accidentally and the receptacle may be damaged when the equipment operator attempts to go beyond the reach of the power cord.
Most of the solutions which have been proposed in order to address this problem employ some modification of the plug, such as a swivel provided on the plug or an extra length of easily disengagable cord employed between the electrical receptacle and the equipment plug. Although these proposed devices may provide some improvement in the incidence of damage to plugs and receptacles, they do not provide totally satisfactory solutions. The reason is that none of the proposed devices address the fundamental problem of having a pulling force exerted on a plug such that the pulling force is not perpendicular to the face of the electrical receptacle. More simply stated, the fundamental problem is that the prongs of the plug are not being pulled straight outward from the openings in the electrical receptacle in which they are removably engaged.
The present invention seeks to address the fundamental problem by providing an electrical receptacle capable of swivelling along a vertical axis in response to a pulling force applied directly on an engaged electrical plug or applied indirectly on an electrical cord attached to an engaged electrical plug. The present invention allows the face of the electrical receptacle to swivel, and thus, to align itself perpendicularly with the pulling force exerted on the engaged plug.


A method and apparatus for measuring acceleration of a moving object. A body capable of transmitting pulses of energy is applied to the moving object, so as to be carried thereby and to move therewith. A pulse of the energy is transmitted in a forward direction from a first location on the body to a second location on the body at a known distance between the first and the second locations. The transmitted pulse is detected at the second location and the transit time of the pulse from the first location to the second location is measured. The measured transit time, together with the known distance between the first and the second locations, is utilized to determine the acceleration of the body and thereby of the moving object.

Acceleration (rate of change of velocity) is generally measured indirectly, by measuring the force exerted by, or restraints that are placed on, a reference mass to hold its position fixed in an accelerating body. Acceleration is computed using the relationship between restraint force and acceleration given by Newton's Second Law of Motion: the force is equal to the product of the mass and acceleration. Therefore, the precision by which acceleration can be determined is directly related to the precision by which force and mass can be measured.

Method and apparatus for measuring acceleration


Erroneous input operations are more surely inhibited than usual erroneous input operations, by an electronic device 1 including a contact detection unit 40, a pressure detection unit 60 and a control unit 10, in a manner that the contact detection unit 40 detects a contact, the pressure detection unit 60 detects a pressure on the contact detection unit 40, the control unit 10 receives an input, and the control unit 10, based on data having already been input, sets a threshold of the pressure for receiving the input.

In recent years, electronic devices such as, for example, mobile phone terminals and personal computers for performing various functions based on a variety of inputs by users have been introduced. Some erroneous inputs to such electronic devices may be unfavorable in comparison to usual erroneous inputs.
For example, mobile terminals may make an emergency call such as to the number 110 (see Patent Document 1). Since such an emergency call may have a wide influence, an erroneous operation to make the emergency call needs to be fully inhibited more surely than erroneous operations to make normal calls.
Also, in deleting data such as an address book, an operator accustomed to operation is likely to fail to confirm whether the data are ones the operator wishes to delete. In such a case, the operator may inadvertently delete necessary data while continually pressing a key. Therefore, such an irreversible erroneous operation also needs to be fully inhibited in comparison to usual erroneous input operations.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-33313


Systems and methods are provided to perform credit valuation adjustment analyses.

Advances in fixed income securities and markets have led to the widespread availability of a number of different types of products. Many investors and institutions (generally referred to herein as "investors") hold a number of different positions in fixed income securities and fixed income derivatives. For example, a typical institutional investor may hold a number of different derivative positions, many of which may be with different counterparties. The availability of new derivative markets and issues has made it easy for investors to invest and diversify.
Unfortunately, however, the wide availability of different issues and markets can also make it difficult for investors to assess the overall value and potential risk due to counterparty specific credit risk associated with their derivative portfolio. Further, it is also difficult to assess the impact associated with adding a new position to an existing portfolio. A technique referred to as "credit valuation adjustment" has been used to assist investors in evaluating the value and risk associated with their portfolios. However, these credit valuation adjustments are generally performed using proprietary data and proprietary techniques. It would be desirable to provide a credit valuation adjustment tool which utilizes market data and which results in repeatable analyses, thereby allowing investors to reliably assess the overall value and risk of existing and proposed investments and derivative positions.

Systems and methods to perform credit valuation adjustment analyses


A flyback-type switching power supply circuit provided with a transformer including a primary coil and a secondary coil, and a switching element connected to the primary coil, comprising: a multiplying circuit for multiplying a first value obtained by multiplying the on-duty ratio of a secondary current flowing to the secondary coil by a predetermined first constant, and a second value obtained by multiplying the peak value of a primary current flowing to the primary coil by a predetermined second constant; and a switching control circuit for controlling switching of the switching element so that the result of multiplication by the multiplying circuit and a third value obtained by multiplying a reference voltage by a predetermined third constant match; and the flyback-type switching power supply circuit is configured so that at least one of the first constant, the second constant, and the third constant is variable by an external signal.

Conventionally, in the field of switching power supply circuits, there has been developed a technique for making constant a output current with respect to a load variation. As such a technique, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of detecting a time in which a secondary current flows through a transformer and making constant a ratio of the time to a switching cycle, namely, an on-duty ratio of the secondary current.
A switching power supply circuit disclosed in Patent Document 1 (FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1) is a flyback type switching power supply circuit that has a semiconductor device 100, a transformer 110, diodes 121 and 141, capacitors 122 and 142, and resistors 151 and 152, and in which a predetermined direct current output voltage V0 is generated from a direct current input voltage VIN and supplied to a load 130. The transformer 110 includes a primary coil 111, a secondary coil 112, and an auxiliary coil 113.
In the semiconductor device 100, a switching element 1, a drain current detection circuit 2, a drain current restriction circuit 3, an error amplifier 4, a PFM (pulse frequency modulation) control circuit 5, a secondary current on-period detection circuit 6, a secondary current detection delay time correction circuit 7, a secondary current on-duty control circuit 8, a clock signal selection circuit 9, a flip-flop circuit 10, a NAND circuit 11, a gate driver 12, an on-time blanking pulse generation circuit 13, an AND circuit 14, and a regulator 15 are integrated.
The secondary current on-period detection circuit 6 (FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1) includes one-pulse signal generation circuits 21 and 23, a comparator 22, and a flip-flop circuit 24. The secondary current detection delay time correction circuit 7 includes a constant current source 31, a capacitor 32, an inverter 33, and a switch 34. The secondary current on-duty control circuit 8 includes switches 41 and 42, a capacitor 43, a constant current source 44, N-channel type MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) field-effect transistors 45 and 46, a comparator 47, a reference voltage source 48, an AND circuit 49, and a one-pulse signal generation circuit 50.
FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1 illustrates a timing chart showing a voltage waveform and a current waveform at various portions of the switching power supply circuit. This timing chart depicts an auxiliary coil voltage VTR obtained by dividing a voltage appearing at one end of the auxiliary coil 113, a primary current Ids that flows through the switching element 1, and a secondary current I2p that flows through the secondary coil 112.
Herein, it is assumed that T1 denotes a first period during which the secondary current I2p flows, T2 denotes a second period during which the secondary current I2p does not flow, T3 denotes a third period that is a combination of the first period T1 and the second period T2, Ipk1 denotes a peak value of the primary current Ids, and Ipk2 denotes a peak value of the secondary current I2p.
An average output current Iout supplied from the switching power supply circuit to the load 130 is an average value of the secondary current I2p.An average value of the secondary current I2p in the first period T1 is one-half the peak value Ipk2 of the secondary current I2p. An average value of the secondary current I2p in the third period T3 is a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the secondary current I2p in the first period T1 by an on-duty ratio of the secondary current. Thus, where a number of winding turns of the primary coil 111 is denoted as N1 and a number of winding turns of the secondary coil 112 as N2, the average output current lout is expressed by an equation (1) below.Iout=(½)×(N1/N2)×(T1/T3)×Ipk1   (1)
In such a conventional switching power supply circuit, in the above equation (1), while the peak current Ipk1 of the primary current Ids is made constant by using the drain current restriction circuit 3, the on-duty ratio (T1/T3) of the secondary current is made constant by using the secondary current on-duty ratio control circuit 8 so that the average output current lout is controlled to be constant.

Switching power supply circuit and LED illumination device


A rotating structure for armrests includes a rotary plate disposed onto a support mounted to a holder extending upwardly on each of two sides of a chair. The support includes a receiving chamber formed on the top surface thereof and having a plurality of toothed recesses arranged around the external rim thereof. The rotary plate includes a pivotal member extending therefrom corresponding to the support and having a cutout fixed on one side thereof for receiving a slidable retaining tab which is biased by a spring. The retaining tab includes a number of toothed protrusions attached thereon and engaging with the toothed recesses. The bottom of a holding panel for placing a user's elbow may be assembled with the rotary plate, thereby obtaining a quick and secure positioning purpose and preventing making noise while in operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating structure and, more particularly, to a rotating structure for armrests that may obtain a quick and secure positioning purpose and may prevent making noise while in operation.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Conventional armrests may be adjusted to move upwardly and downwardly. However, rotary angular adjustment of armrests may not be achieved before.
To improve the above-mentioned defect, an improved angular adjusting structure has been developed. Specifically, a holding panel is pivotally connected with a support, and a biasing member (such as a biasing ball) is defined between the holding panel and the support so as to generate an engaging force by the biasing member. However, such an angular adjusting structure always makes considerable noise while in use.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A system for preparing a serum includes a containment device, a cage positioned inside the containment device, a cap attachable to the containment device and configured to cover the cage, an inlet port configured to introduce an autologous fluid into the containment device, and an outlet port configured to remove a serum from the containment device.

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for preparing a protein enhanced serum.
Healing injuries involve a complex series of events in which proteins in the blood including growth factors are released. The release of growth factors signals the healing process to begin. Many growth factors are derived from platelets. Increased growth factor levels improve the recruitment of cells to an injury site and optimize the environment for healing. Accordingly, autologous blood components that are derived from a subject, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), have been used in various surgical procedures to provide a concentrated level of growth factors at the point of care.

Systems and methods for preparing protein enhanced serums


The liquid-containing bag is produced integrally from two sheets (4; 5) which are welded to on another along the edge region (3), and the bag forms two chambers (6; 7) which are separated from one another by a separating strip (8). A drinking or dispensing spout (2) is welded with sealing action in the separating strip (8), in which case this connects the two chambers (6, 7) in the open state, the one bag chamber (6) being intended for receiving the liquid, while the other bag chamber (7), as a protective chamber, encompasses the outer spout end (9) and encloses the same with sealing action.

This invention relates to a hermetically closed fluid bag with an integrally welded drinking spout or dispensing spout. Fluid bags with all types of closures are known in many variants. The bags may be manufactured from animal skins, intestines, from rubber or also from plastic film material. Fluid bags of plastic film material are particularly practical, since they are lightweight, may assume different shapes and thus may be carried and stored much more easily, and when empty, do not take up much space, and finally because they may be disposed of without any problem. Since such fluid bags of plastic films are mostly envisaged for disposable consumption, the associated closure must be able to be manufactured in a very inexpensive manner. In medicine, such bags are also applied for preparing infusions. These bags must also provide an integrity guarantee. The solutions known until now however, are very extensive. The closures consist of several parts and are therefore expensive. The solutions for the integrity guarantee are complicated and require much effort with regard to the manufacture.

Hermetically sealed liquid-containing bag with welded-in drinking or dispensing spout


There is provided an operator member displaceable, in response to operation by a human operator, relative to at least one displacement axis (more preferably, multi-dimensionally). Operating state of the operator member is detected and model operation information, indicative of an operating state to be taken by the operator member, is generated, so that reaction information is generated in accordance with a difference between the detected actual operating state and an operating state indicated by the model operation information. Reactive force is imparted to the operator member in accordance with the generated reaction information. In this way, a model operation amount can be informed to the human operator in the form of the reactive force. Further, by imparting separate reactive forces to a multi-axially operable operator member, appropriate information can be provided to the human operator during operation of the operator member, thereby achieving sensory feedback to the human operator.

The present invention relates to a control apparatus that includes an operator member movable or displaceable relative to one or more displacement axes, and more particularly to a technique for imparting reactive forces to the operator member in response to operation by a human operator. The present invention can be suitably used not only for performance input operation in electronic musical instruments but also for input operation in various games, CAD designing, etc.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. HEI-10-177387, there is disclosed an apparatus which includes an operator member operable by a human operator, an actuator for moving the operator member and a sensor for detecting a position etc. of the operator member. In the apparatus, driving of the actuator is controlled so as to impart the operator member with reactive forces responsive to input operation, by the human operator, of the operator member.
In the apparatus disclosed in the publication, the intensity, direction, etc. of the reactive forces to be imparted to the operator member are controlled by driving the actuator in accordance with information based on operation actually performed by the human operator on the operator member, such as position information, velocity information and acceleration information, and thus a reactive force, only corresponding to (proportional to) an actual amount of operation by the human operator, is always given to the human operator. Therefore, where pitch, color, volume, etc. of tones are to be controlled in accordance with detected position information output from a sensor, it would be very difficult for the human operator to properly perceive and recognize correlation between the reactive force imparted to the operator member in accordance with a current operating amount and control amounts of the tone pitch, color, volume, etc. to be controlled in response to the current operating amount. Namely, the human operator has no choice but to repeat trial and error, in order to effectively learn how to properly operate the operator member (i.e., correlation between the operating amount perceived through the reactive force and the control amounts corresponding to the current operating amount), which unavoidably results in poor efficiency in learning how to properly operate the operator member. Particularly, where the operator member is in the form of a multi-axially operable operator member, such as a joystick, it tends to be even more difficult for the human operator to accurately ascertain whether or not the operator member has been operated to an operating amount or operating position as desired by him or her, because, in this case, positional operation of the operator member becomes significantly complicated.

Control apparatus with operator member controllable by reactive force


The present invention relates to novel benzoquinones which are useful as antihyperlipidemic agents. The present invention also provides a process for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions, and a method for treating birds and mammals in need thereof which comprises administering to said host an effective amount of a benzoquinone of the present invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to benzoquinones, their use as antihyperlipidemic agents, a process for their preparation, and pharmaceutical compositions.
2. Description of the Art
It is generally recognized that high blood cholesterol levels are a significant risk factors in cardiovascular disease.
It has been established that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) is the first rate limiting enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for cholesterol, that inhibition of HMGR activity results in a decrease in serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, and that a decrease in serum LDL-cholesterol levels is reflected in a reduction of plasma level of apolipoprotein B. (Brown, et al, J. Lipid Res. 21: 505-517 (1980)).
Tocotrienols have been shown to suppress HMGR resulting in the inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis and a subsequent drop in LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, thromboxane B.sub.2, platelet factor 4 and glucose levels. (Wright, et al. A Symposium On Drugs Affecting Lipid Metabolism, Houston, Tex. (November 1989)).
Idebenone (Formula I) is marketed in Japan (Takeda-AVAN 1986) for age-related cerebrovascular disorders of the brain. ##STR1##
Pharmacokinetic studies with Idebenone in man have shown that the drug is absorbed rapidly and has somewhat poor (15-30%) bioavailability due to low intestinal absorption. Idebenone lacks the farnesylated side chain and would not be expected to exhibit hypocholesterolemic activity.
The ubiquinones, also known as Coenzymes Q, are a group of benzoquinones involved in electron transport mechanisms within mitochondria. The most common ubiquinone in mammalian systems is ubiquinone-10 (n=10, Formula II). The plastoquinones (Formula III) are found predominately in the chloroplasts of higher plants and play a similar role to the ubiquinones by acting as a redox carrier in the electron transport system. (Boehme, H., et al., Z. Naturforsch., 26, 341-352 (1971)).
Vitamin K.sub.2, also known as the menaquinones, are antihemorrahagic vitamins wherein n is ususally between 7-9 (Formula IV). ##STR2##
Vitamin K.sub.2 (n=4) was examined in vivo and appears to actually elevate cholesterol levels [Table II, intra].
Ubiquinol inhibits lipid peroxidation in submitochondrial particles. (Forsmark, P., et al. FEBS Letters, 285: 39-43 (1991)). Recently, Stocker et al. (Stocker, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 88: 1646-1650, (1991)) have shown that ubiquinol-10 (the hydroquinone form of ubiquinone-10) is an inhibitor of LDL oxidation and is much more efficient than tocopherol in this respect. Packer et al. (Packer, et al., Res. Comm. Chem. Path. & Pharm., 72: 231-241 (1991)) have shown that ubiquinone has a sparing effect on tocopherol in rat liver microsomes and mitochondrial membranes, Littarru et al. (Littarru, et al., Drugs Exptl. Clin. Res., 8: 529-532 (1985)) have found that the ubiquinones are potent scavengers of superoxide. They indicated that preliminary evidence suggested that the reduced forms did not exhibit this activity.


A display apparatus includes an object recognizing unit for receiving a plurality of video channels and recognizing at least one object moving in the video channels, a display unit for displaying the plurality of video channels so that at east one of the objects recognized by the object recognizing unit is selectable, and if receiving a selection of an object, to which a user pays attention, displaying the video channel including the attention object as an attention object, considering the selected object as the attention object, a frame in and/or out detecting unit for detecting frame-out of the attention object out of the tracking video, and a video searching unit for searching other video channels using the attention object as a searching key if the frame-out of the attention object is detected and allowing the display unit to display the detected video channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus and a computer program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a display apparatus for receiving video information including a plurality of images photographed from different positions with a plurality of cameras and selecting and displaying at least one of the plurality of images and a computer program for the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When relay-broadcasting images in an event such as the Olympic games or car racing where there are many objects, a broadcast provider photographs the objects from different angles with a plurality of cameras at the same time and broadcasts one of the images to viewers via broadcast networks, changing over the images. In the prior art, Japanese Patent No. 3227350 discloses a technique of changing over reproduced images by a selection of one of different objects as a trigger, when reproducing a plurality of recording images obtained by photographing the objects from individual angles.
When there is a plurality of objects, interesting objects are different for each viewer. In this regard, the conventional television has a problem that it cannot properly display the different interesting objects for each viewer, because the images are switched over by the judgment of a program provider. Meanwhile, although the images from a plurality of angles with regard to one relay can be transmitted at the same time as the video information about a broadcast becomes digitalized and its bandwidth becomes a broadband, it is difficult for a viewer to change over the images. Moreover, the technique of changing over reproduced images by an object selection as a trigger is not suitable for video information about a broadcast in which the object frequently moves among a plurality of images.


A utility knife and methods for using the same are disclosed. The utility knife includes a handle portion, a head unit attached to the handle portion, and a blade attached to the head unit. The handle portion is made of two parts jointed together by a hinged connection arrangement. A blade support component is also included which orients the blade in perpendicular relation to a central axis of the handle. The exemplary utility knife can safely be used in many applications with a design configured to help prevent user contact with the blade's cutting edge or edges.

The present disclosure relates generally to utility knives, more particularly to a utility knife having at least one cutting edge, and more particularly to a utility knife having at least one cutting edge accessible through at least one guide notch, wherein the utility knife is operable to cut sheets or pieces of material, remove packaging tape from packages, and/or other activities. A method of using and manufacturing the utility knife is also described.
Utility knives are generally used for many purposes, including but not limited to cutting sheets of material, opening packages, etc. However, many existing utility knife types have a cutting edge(s) of a blade exposed. Exposed cutting edges of existing utility knives have various disadvantages, including threat of injury to a user.
Non-limiting examples of existing utility knifes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,810,194; 6,195,896; and US Pub. Nos. 2004/0187314; 2007/0209209; 2010/0263219; 2013/0298409; 2014/0345146; and 2015/0298330, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In view of existing, known utility knives, there is a need for a utility knife which is adaptable for use in many applications, including but not limited to cutting sheets of material, in an easy to use manner while providing safety to a user from contact with one or more cutting edges of the blade, and which optionally includes an internal storage cavity for storage of one or more replacement blades.


A utility knife includes a handle, a blade holder assembly, a pair of resilient blade wiper members, and a spreader. The blade holder assembly is constructed and arranged to hold a blade at a position of use wherein the blade projects through an opening at a front end of the handle. The pair of resilient blade wiper members are biased towards one another and constructed and arranged to remove debris from side surfaces of the blade, which debris would otherwise be brought into an interior space of the handle when the blade is retracted into the front end of the handle through the opening. The spreader is constructed and arranged to spread the resilient blade wiper members apart to facilitate removal of the blade from the handle when the blade is in a blade change position.

The present application relates generally to cutting devices, and, more particularly to utility knives. Cutting devices, such as utility knives, have been developed for use in various applications, such as, for example, construction, packaging and shipping, carpet installation, as well as other purposes. Utility knives generally include a disposable blade that is movable between deployed and storage positions.


A method and system for optimizing Java bytecodes before bytecode interpretation within a computer system is disclosed. In accordance with the method and system of the present invention, a first bytecode and a second bytecode are first obtained from a file. Both the first bytecode and the second bytecode are results of a compilation of a high-level computer program. A set of instructions native to a processor within the computer system can be formed by compiling these first bytecode and second bytecode. An optimizable bytecode table is provided, and the optimizable bytecode table includes a multiple of bytecode-pair entries and a corresponding optimized bytecode. A determination is made as to whether or not the first bytecode and the second bytecode are optimizable by comparing the first bytecode and the second bytecode with all the bytecode-pair entries within the optimizable bytecode table. In response to a determination that the first bytecode and the second bytecode match one of the bytecode-pair entries within the optimizable bytecode table, the first bytecode and the second bytecode are replaced with a corresponding optimized bytecode from the optimizable bytecode table.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and system for data processing in general and, in particular, to a method and system for processing non-native bytecodes within a computer system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for optimizing non-native bytecodes before bytecode interpretation within a computer system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The World Wide Web, or as it is simply known, the "Web," has dramatically changed the online world and continues to grow in popularity. As a communication system, the Web allows information providers to distribute and collect information globally and instantly. For users, the Web is a dynamic view into the works and ideas of millions of people worldwide. Through a system of hypertext, users of the Web are able to select and view information from all over the Web.
While the hypertext system gives Web users a high degree of selectivity over the information they choose to view, their level of interactivity with that information is low. Even with improvements such as hypermedia, which opens up many new kinds of sensory input for the Web users, including access to text, graphics, or videos, the Web itself still lacks a true interactivity-the kind of real-time, dynamic, and visual interaction between the Web users and the application.
Java.sup.1 brings this missing interactivity to the Web. With Java, animations and interactive applications on the Web become feasible. Java's features enrich communication, information, and interaction on the Web by enabling the distribution of executable content-rather than just Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pages and hypermedia files-among Web users. This ability to distribute executable content is one of the powerful features of Java. FNT .sup.1 Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, and is also the name of the programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.
An application software written in Java is first compiled into a set of Java bytecodes. The Java bytecodes are subsequently distributed to a software user through the Web. In order to utilize the application software, to view and interact with an animation or interactive application, a Web user must have a computer having a Java-enabled Web browser installed. A Java-enabled Web browser has a built-in Java interpreter such that the Java bytecodes can be interpreted and executed within the Web user's computer. Although the speed of this Java interpretation procedure is typically quite fast, the performance could be enhanced if the Java bytecodes can be optimized before the interpretation. When the Java bytecodes are structured around a pure stack machine implementation, the process of interpreting a set of non-optimal Java bytecode can be quite slow. It should therefore be apparent that a need exists for a method and system for optimizing Java bytecode before the bytecode interpretation process occurs within a computer system.

Method and system for optimizing non-native bytecodes before bytecode interpretation

International Business Machines Corporation


A powder-actuated fastener-driving device includes a hollow body including a tubular portion and a handle, and an inner tube movable forwardly and rearwardly within the tubular portion and having a front end disposed outwardly of the tubular portion, and a slot. The front end of the inner tube has an outer surface formed with a position-limiting groove. A stop member is disposed within the tubular portion, and extends into the slot. A sound-absorbing sleeve is sleeved movably on a portion of the tubular portion disposed outwardly of the handle, and has an inner surface formed with a position-limiting block, which is movable forwardly and rearwardly within the position-limiting groove. When the front end of the inner tube is pressed forwardly against an object, the sound-absorbing sleeve comes into contact with the handle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a powder-actuated fastener-driving device, and more particularly to a powder-actuated fastener-driving device having sound-absorbing function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional powder-actuated fastener-driving device 1 is operable in a single shot mode, and includes a hollow body 11 having a tubular portion 111 at a front end thereof, an inner tube 12 movable forwardly and rearwardly, a cartridge-receiving sleeve 13 connected to the inner tube 12 and having a rear end formed with an accommodating chamber 131 for accommodating a powder cartridge (not shown), a piston 14 movable forwardly and rearwardly and driven by the powder cartridge when the powder cartridge is ignited, and a firing device 15 for igniting the powder cartridge. The inner tube 12 is formed with a slot 121 extending along a front-to-rear direction. The tubular portion 111 is provided with a stop member unit 16 that includes a stop member 161 extending into the slot 121 and biased by a spring to press against the inner tube 12. For safety concern, during use, to change the device 1 into a ready-to-fire state, the device 1 needs to be pressed against a workpiece to move the inner tube 12 rearwardly and compress a firing-device biasing spring, so that the charge cannot be detonated by inadvertent actuation of the trigger device. After a nail shooting operation, to return the piston 14 to its original position in preparation for performing a subsequent nail shooting operation, it is necessary to pull the inner tube 12 forwardly. During forward movement of the inner tube 12, the piston 14 comes into contact with the stop member 161 to thereby move rearwardly in the inner tube 12. Thereafter, the inner tube 12 is pushed rearwardly back to its original position, thereby returning the piston 14 to its original position.
The tubular portion 111 is formed with an aperture 112 in a wall thereof such that, when the inner tube 12 is pulled forwardly to a front limit position, the cartridge-receiving sleeve 13 is exposed within the aperture 112 to allow for replacement of the powder cartridge in the accommodating chamber 131 in the cartridge-receiving sleeve 13.
When the powder cartridge is ignited, combustion gas produced due to explosion of powder in the powder cartridge is sprayed into the atmosphere via the slot 121 in the inner tube 12. Rapid expansion of the gas results in a relatively large amount of noise. Furthermore, flow of the gas through the aperture 112 in the tubular portion 111 also results in generation of noise.
To reduce the noise, many different designs of fastener-driving devices have been proposed. For example, a push rod is provided to push and return the piston 14 to its original position. As such, the slot 121 can be omitted. Use of the push rod, however, affects adversely the operating efficiency of the fastener-driving device. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,139 employs nails having a specific structure, thereby increasing the manufacturing costs of the nails. As a result, the fastener-driving devices 2 including the slots 121 and the stop members 161 are still used widely, and it is desirable that the fastener-driving device 2 has a sound-absorbing function.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,048 discloses an improved powder-actuated fastener-driving device having a sound-absorbing function and including a sound-absorbing sleeve (i.e., sound muffler) disposed fixedly on a barrel or inner tube. However, the improved powder-actuated fastener-driving device suffers from the following disadvantages:
(1) As long as a force is applied to the sound-absorbing sleeve to move the sound-absorbing sleeve rearwardly relative to a handle of the improved powder-actuated fastener-driving device, the inner tube is moved synchronously with the sound-absorbing sleeve and thereby the device will be changed into a ready-to-fire state without pressing the inner tube against the workpiece. As a consequence, the improved powder-actuated fastener-driving device is dangerous during use.(2) A large amount of powder residue is inevitably built-up within the inner tube, and is deposited on a piston or driving ram and the inner surface of the inner tube, in view of the fact that the gas flows from the inner tube 12 via a front end portion of the inner tube 12, thereby affecting adversely movement of the piston or driving ram within a housing.(3) The hot gas produced due to powder explosion is sprayed from the improved powder-actuated fastener-driving device onto the user in a rearward direction, thereby resulting in a discomfort feeling to the user.(4) Since the sound-absorbing sleeve moves synchronously with the inner tube, a larger force is required to move the sound-absorbing sleeve between two positions.

Powder-actuated fastener-driving device having sound-absorbing function


A braking chopper for dissipating braking power away from the direct-current rails of an AC drive system, said braking chopper being an inverter unit (INU) physically similar to those also used as motor supply devices, consisting of upper- and lower-branch controllable semiconductor switches (V1–V6), wherein the inverter is connected by its output connectors to the direct-current rails (DC) via a resistor unit, which resistor unit contains two resistors (R1, R2), of which the first is connected to the positive direct-current rail (DC+) and the second to the negative direct-current rail (DC−), wherein both lower-branch and upper-branch semiconductor switches are turned on during braking, and wherein one brake resistor is controlled by the lower-branch switch of only one phase and the second brake resistor by the upper-branch switch of another phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a braking chopper for dissipating braking power away from the direct-current rails of an AC drive system, said braking chopper being an inverter unit physically similar to those used in normal motor supply applications.
2. Description of Background Art
Braking choppers are normally used in large AC drive systems where rectifier units (REC) connected to a supply network are connected via direct-current rails to inverter units (INU) controlling motors (FIG. 1). When the summed power of the INUs is negative, i.e. when the motors or at least some of them are braking, the braking power has to be dissipated away from the direct-current rails to avoid overvoltage. The commonest solution is to feed the braking power via a chopper into a braking resistor R (FIG. 2).
Prior-art braking chopper solutions are presented in FIG. 2:
1. A chopper unit BRC specifically designed for the purpose, with a power semiconductor switch V1 that starts to conduct when the voltage in the DC rails exceeds a set limit, and
2. A conventional INU with a special program loaded in it to accomplish a braking chopper function. In the example solution in FIG. 2, the INU is an inverter bridge in which the lower-branch power semiconductor switches V4 . . . V6 are connected in parallel to perform the same function as the switch in the BRC. Thus, no upper-branch switches are used in this solution at all. The use of a conventional INU as a braking chopper is a good solution e.g. in respect of maintenance and spare parts because it is a standard unit physically identical to those used as motor controllers.
The inverter units are designed and rated to serve as motor supply devices. In this application a considerable proportion, e.g. 40%, of the losses occurring in the power semiconductor switches consists of switching losses arising in switching situations. The amount of switching losses is influenced by the switching frequency and the inductivity of the load current, among other things. The load current of the motor is normally inductive, which adds to the switching losses.
In a braking chopper application, the load current is almost purely resistive and also the required switching frequency is considerably lower than in a motor drive. Therefore, the load of the power semiconductor switches in the prior-art solution is very low and thus the limit to the power to be fed into the braking resistor is set by the wiring and connections, which are designed in accordance with the needs of a motor application.


A cleaning solution of a semiconductor device is composed of aqueous ammonia (NH.sub.4 OH), methanol (CH.sub.3 OH), hydrofluoric acid (HF) and deionized water (DI--H.sub.2 O), the volume ratio of NH.sub.4 OH to CH.sub.3 OH to DI--H.sub.2 O being 1:1-50:0.1-50, and the volume of HF being 1-10,000 ppm with respect to the mixture solution of NH.sub.4 OH, CH.sub.3 OH and DI--H.sub.2 O. The cleaning solution can be manufactured by simply mixing the respective compositions. The cleaning solution can strip polymers and particles within a short time, without etching or damaging the cleaned metal layers. Since the cleaning process of a semiconductor device is simplified, the processing cost is reduced and the yield and reliability are improved.

The present invention relates to a cleaning solution for cleaning a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a cleaning solution for cleaning metal layers of a semiconductor device and a cleaning method using the same.
In manufacturing a semiconductor device, as the semiconductor device becomes highly integrated, it is very important to remove defects in the device's circuit wiring. Therefore, a cleaning process is repeatedly performed on the device, several tens of times throughout its manufacture. The cleaning process is performed for the purpose of removing undesirable foreign materials in a semiconductor device circuit. The cleaning process removes dust, particles, organic material, inorganic material and various heavy metal ions. As used herein, an etching process is broadly included within the definitional boundaries of a cleaning process.
In cleaning a semiconductor substrate having metal layers formed thereon, e.g., aluminum layers, a cleaning solution comprised of an amine (such as aminoethyl piperidine, isopropyl amine, hydroxyethyl morpholine, amino alcohol, diethylenetriamine) and a solvent (such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMAC), dimethyformamide (DMF), sulfotane, .gamma.-butyrolactone (BLO), or a mixture thereof), is used for stripping polymers generated in forming contact holes in photoresists formed on the metal layers and intermetal dielectric films formed between the metal layers.
However, in such stripping operations, substantial metal layers are chemically corroded, which reduces their ability to maintain the resistance and conductivity as designed. In order to minimize the corrosion of the metal layers and to easily strip the polymers generated during a dry-etching process, another type cleaning solution (e.g., NP-935) containing DMAC and diethanolamine, is used in the cleaning process. However, the capability of removing particles with the NP-935 process is poor. Thus, after the above cleaning process, it is necessary to perform a further cleaning process adopting a cleaning solution dedicated to the removal of the particles (e.g, SC-1) composed of ammonia (NH.sub.4 OH), hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) and deionized water (DI--H.sub.2 O).

Cleaning solution for cleaning semiconductor device and cleaning method using the same


A compound represented by the following General Formula (1):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel compound and an asymmetric synthesis reaction useful for synthesis of a group of compounds including the novel compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is said that carriers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are about two million in Japan and about two hundred million in the world. About 50% of these patients develop chronic hepatitis, and about 20% of them suffer from liver cirrhosis or liver cancer after more than 30 years have passed since infection. Therefore, there has been a demand for establishment of an effective method for treating hepatitis C.
Interferon therapy has been known as an effective method for eliminating HCV. However, patients to which interferon is effective are about ⅓ of all the patients.
In view of this, further developments have been made and at present, a main anti-virus therapy is a PEG-interferon/ribavirin combination therapy using pegylated interferon and ribavirin (1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxyamide) in combination.
However, patients to which even such a PEG-interferon/ribavirin combination therapy is significantly effective are about half of all the patients. Also, the HCV tends to mutate since it is a single-stranded RNA virus, which raises concerns that resistant viruses may arise by use of pharmaceutical drugs targeting viral proteins.
Under such circumstances, demand has arisen for development of an anti-HCV agent targeting host's factors (human cells). The HCV uses the lipid raft portion for anchorage of growth, and hence serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) inhibitor has been attracting attention, which shows an effect of inhibiting formation of the lipid raft in cells. NA255 expressed by the following structural formula, which is the SPT inhibitor, has been proposed as an anti-HCV agent (see, for example, Sakamoto, H., Okamoto, K. et al., Nat. Chem. Biol., 1,333-337 (2005)).

The SPT inhibitor involves few side effects and has been expected as an anti-HCV drug.
However, the NA255 is generally produced from Fusarium sp. F1476 strain, and cannot be said to be suitable for production on a large scale. Therefore, there has been a demand that such a compound expected as an anti-HCV drug be synthesized by a technique of synthetic organic chemistry.
In one proposal, the NA255 and similar substances are synthesized by a technique of synthetic organic chemistry (see, for example, International Publication No. WO2004/071503). This proposal technique, as shown in the following reaction scheme, synthesizes an optically active substance (compound g) which is an intermediate in syntheses of compounds such as the NA255, and has a problem that it is necessary to use a stoichiometric amount of an asymmetric catalyst (L-(+)-diethyl tartrate/Ti(OiPr)4).

In compound f and compound g, "TBDPS" denotes a tert-butyldiphenylsilyl group, and "OiPr" denotes an isopropoxy group.
Therefore, at present, there is a demand to provide a novel compound which enables compounds useful for production of pharmaceutical drugs such as anti-hepatitis C virus drugs to be synthesized at low cost by a technique of synthetic organic chemistry; and an asymmetric synthesis reaction useful for synthesis of a group of compounds including the novel compound.

Compound and asymmetric synthesis reaction

Abstract: where R1 represents a protective group for a hydroxyl group or a hydrogen atom, and R2 represents a methyl group or an ethyl group.


Abundant low cost low rank coal may now be gasified by partial oxidation or burned in a furnace or boiler. About 30 to 45 parts by wt. of comminuted low rank coal is mixed and reacted in the reaction zone of a partial oxidation gas generator with a free-oxygen containing gas and (a) about 1 to 3 parts by wt. of a residual fuel oil, and (b) about 70 to 55 parts by wt. of water. The hot effluent stream of synthesis gas, reducing gas or fuel gas from the partial oxidation gasifier may be purified to provide a gas stream which will not pollute the environment.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the partial oxidation of low rank coal. More particularly, the present invention relates to the partial oxidation of a novel fuel composition comprising low rank coal, heavy residual oil and water for the production of synthesis gas, fuel gas or reducing gas.
Alternate fuels are now required to replace the world's diminishing petroleum reserves. While there are large deposits of low rank coal in the world, the use of this low cost fuel has been very limited in the past. This is mainly because of excessive coal and oxygen requirements per unit of syngas (hydrogen plus carbon monoxide) produced. Further, environmental pollution may result when low rank coal is burned. By the subject invention, it is now economically attractive to gasify low rank coal. Further, environmental pollution may be eliminated or substantially reduced by the subject process and thermal efficiencies are increased.
Slurries of solid fuel and water are described in coassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,544,291 and 3,607,156.