A headset includes an earpiece coupled to a headband with a membrane coupling. The earpiece includes an outer housing and an audio driver positioned within and coupled to the outer housing. The membrane coupling includes a membrane insert composed of a resilient material. The membrane insert is coupled to the outer housing. A connection pin may extend through a central opening of the membrane insert and into an end of the headband in order to directly couple the end of the headband to the membrane insert in order to couple the outer housing to the end of the headband. The coupling of the end of the headband to the outer housing with the membrane insert in between defines the membrane coupling. The membrane coupling is designed to allow relative movement in six degrees of freedom comprising three orthogonal degrees of translation freedom and three orthogonal degrees of rotational freedom.

The present technology relates to headsets, and in particular to headsets including adjustability between the headband and the earpieces.
Over the head audio headsets include a headband coupled to earpieces. The headsets are worn by users to provide immersive listening experiences by providing isolation from ambient noises in the surrounding environment due to the headband providing a clamping force to hold the earpieces, containing audio drivers, against the user's head thus covering the user's ears. Over the head headsets are popular for listening to content, for example, music, movies, podcasts and conference calls, and offer the user privacy from others in the same space. Often a user may desire to listen to the content for extended periods of time, e.g. more than an hour. Due to the extended periods of use a user may become uncomfortable by the clamping force holding the earpieces to the user's head. Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the clamping force and/or reduce the perceived clamping force while maintaining the earpieces being held against the user's head.

Headset with membrane coupling connecting the headband to the earpieces


The hydrocarbon-assisted, selective catalytic reduction of NOx constituents in lean-bum engine exhaust is benefited by passage of the exhaust over a staged catalyst bed comprising a first stage of an alumina-supported silver catalyst for oxidation of NO to NO2 and partial oxidation of added hydrocarbon to an aldehyde. Downstream of the silver catalyst is a second catalyst selected for the reaction of hydrocarbon and aldehyde species with NO2 to reduce it to nitrogen. Gamma-alumina and BaY zeolite are examples of suitable second stage catalysts.

Lean-burn gasoline and diesel engines are operated at higher than stoichiometric air-to-fuel (A/F) mass ratios for improved fuel economy. They also provide good driving performance and reduced carbon dioxide emission compared with stoichiometric gasoline engines. Such lean-bum engines produce a hot exhaust with a relatively high content of oxygen and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The temperature of the exhaust from a warmed up diesel engine is typically in the range of 200° to 400° C. and has a representative composition, by volume, of about 10-17% oxygen, 3% carbon dioxide, 0.1% carbon monoxide, 180 ppm hydrocarbons, 235 ppm NOx, and the balance nitrogen and water. These NOx gases, typically comprising nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are difficult to reduce to nitrogen (N2) because of the high oxygen (O2) content and the water content in the hot exhaust stream.
Traditional three-way catalysts used with stoichiometric gasoline engines are not very effective for treating lean-burn exhaust. Researchers have attempted to find durable catalysts that can selectively reduce NOx using engine-out hydrocarbons (HC-SCR) despite the competing combustion reaction with the oxygen content of the exhaust. Such catalyst developments have not been successful because of poor activity, narrow operating temperature window and insufficient durability of candidate catalyst materials.
One of the technologies being considered for the lean-burn gasoline or diesel engine NOx emission control is to reduce NOx using selected fuel-component hydrocarbons added to the exhaust stream. The hydrocarbons are intended to provide chemical species for reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen. In such hydrocarbon-assisted SCR, ethyl alcohol is viewed as having reductant-utility like a hydrocarbon because it can be converted in the exhaust to chemical species useful in the reduction of NOx. Ethyl alcohol can be delivered as a fuel additive, and, if desired, easily distilled off from the fuel and stored in a separate tank on a vehicle.
In a refinement of this HC-SCR approach developed by the assignee of this invention, ambient air is passed through a non-thermal plasma generator to produce ozone which is also introduced into the exhaust stream for oxidation of NO to NO2 which has been easier to convert to N2. Ozone, together with oxygen in the exhaust promotes limited oxidation of the hydrocarbons to aldehydes and alcohols, preferably to compounds containing more than two carbon atoms. In plasma-assisted HC-SCR systems, partially oxidized HCs like aldehydes and alcohols (>C2) have been shown to be very effective in reducing NOx over a dual bed of BaY zeolite (upstream bed) and CuY zeolite (down stream) catalysts. However, a high NOx conversion efficiency can be obtained only with a large volume of such catalysts, which results in packaging problems and slow warm-up.
A catalyst consisting of finely divided particles of silver dispersed on high surface area gamma-alumina particles (Ag/Al2O3) has been shown to be moderately effective in reducing NOx with various, hydrocarbon species such as engine-out HCs, partially oxidized HCs and fuel-component HCs. The use of a non-noble metal catalyst is preferred for NOx conversion for a lower cost process. Further, Ag/Al2O3 can reduce NOx at higher space velocities than the base metal cation-exchanged zeolite catalysts. However, the use of the silver catalyst alone failed to convert all NO to N2 and produced unwanted by-products in the exhaust.
It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of practicing hydrocarbon-assisted selective catalytic reduction in such oxygen-rich and nitrogen oxide-containing exhaust mixtures. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an improved method of utilizing silver catalysts in the practice of HC-SCR.

Reduction of NOx emissions using a staged silver/alumina catalyst system


A split mechanical face seal having a rotating seal assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments and a pair of attachable body ring segments holding the rotating seal ring segments together when the body ring segments are attached, a stationary seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments and a pair of attachable housing segments holding the stationary seal ring segments together when the housing segments are attached, a single segment retainer ring having a split forming first and second opposing end faces, the retainer ring being made of a flexible material, the retainer ring being operatively engaged with the stationary seal ring segments and resilient members carried by the retainer ring and operatively engageable with axially facing abutments formed in the housing segments when the housing segments are attached such that the retainer ring exerts a biasing force against the stationary seal ring segments in a direction toward the rotating seal ring segments.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mechanical seals for pumps and other machinery having rotating shafts and, more particularly, to a split mechanical face seal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mechanical seals are used in a wide variety of machines, e.g., pumps, having rotating shafts that pass through housings in order to prevent leakage of pressurized fluids. In one type of mechanical seal, the rotary face seal, sealing is achieved by arranging at least two rigid, durable sealing rings having flat, radially extending sealing surfaces axially adjacent each other and concentrically about the shaft so that the faces are in sealing contact. One seal ring is held stationary in the seal housing or gland while the other rotates with the shaft.
Repair or replacement of parts of such seals is difficult whenever inaccessibility of the outboard end of the shaft or the location of this machine makes it impossible to take the seal off the end of the shaft. In such situations, the machines themselves must be disassembled.
One solution to this problem has been to split the sealing rings and other seal parts radially into two or more segments so that each ring may be removed from the seal and new rings reassembled within the seal and about the shaft as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,576,384 and 5,961,122, both of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Split mechanical face seals of the prior art typically have numerous parts. For example, it is common in split face seals to bias the stationary face seal against the rotating face seal by means of a plurality of springs carried in the gland or housing of the mechanical seal. In assembling split seals employing multiple springs for biasing purposes, it is not uncommon for the springs to fall out of the gland or other spring retainer during assembly, making the assembly job tedious and time-consuming. Furthermore, it is difficult to hold various parts of the split seal assembly in concentric relationship with the shaft on which they are mounted during assembly.
It is therefore an object ofthe present invention to provide a split mechanical face seal that is easy to assemble and disassemble.
Another objects of the present invention is to provide a split mechanical face seal wherein the biasing members are carried on a single piece spring retainer.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a split mechanical face seal having a removable alignment sleeve for ease of assembly.
The above and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the description given herein and the appended claims.
In one embodiment, the split mechanical face seal of the present invention includes a rotating seal ring assembly having a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming rotating seal ring faces and a pair of attachable body ring segments holding the rotating seal rings segments together when the body ring segments are attached. There is also a stationary seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming stationary seal ring faces and a pair of attachable housing segments holding the stationary seal ring segments together when the housing segments are attached. A single segment retainer ring has a split forming first and second opposing end faces. The retainer ring is made of a material that has sufficient flexibility such that the first and second end faces can be spread apart by a distance at least equal to the diameter of the circle formed when the first and second faces are in engagement. The retainer ring has first and second axially facing surfaces, the retainer ring being operatively engaged with the stationary seal ring segments to apply a biasing force thereto by means of resilient members carried by the retainer ring and that engage axially facing abutments formed by the housing segments when the housing segments are attached.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a split mechanical face seal with a positioning collar or sleeve that holds the stationary seal ring assembly in a generally concentric relationship with respect to a shaft upon which the face seal is mounted, the positioning collar being removable when assembly of the split mechanical face seal is completed.


A manual bundling tool has a first operating means that positionally shifts relative to a tool body opposite a handle. A tightening mechanism pulls an other end of a cable tie band in relative to a head part by positionally shifting the first operating means. A holding mechanism holds the other end side of the band part pulled by the tightening mechanism so as to prevent return movement. A second operating means positionally shifts relative to the tool body. A securing mechanism secures the other end side of the band part to the one end side of the band part in response to positionally shifting the second operating means. A release operation means positionally shifts relative to the tool body and a release mechanism releases the hold on the cable tie band part by the holding mechanism in response to a positionally shifting the release operation means.

Conventionally, manual bundling tools used for metal cable ties have been known. This type of manual bundling tool is equipped with a tightening means, which pulls the band part after passing through the head part of the cable tie relative to the head part, a securing mechanism, which secures the tip end side of the band part to the base end using the head part, and a holding mechanism, which holds the band part so as to prevent return movement toward the head part side.
The above manual bundling tool is further equipped with a tool body which includes a handle and a lever which opposes the handle. The aforementioned manual bundling tool is configured such that when the handle and the lever are rotated, the tightening mechanism is operated until the tension produced by the tightening mechanism reaches a maximum value (set value), and when it reaches the set value, the securing mechanism is operated instead of the tightening mechanism.
Additionally, the aforementioned manual bundling tool is configured such that during cable tie mounting, the band part is held by the holding mechanism to prevent the band part from easily falling out of the tool body. Therefore, once the cable tie is mounted in the manual bundling tool, the cable tie cannot be removed from the manual bundling tool without damaging the cable tie because of the action of the holding mechanism.
Thus, when performing the bundling operation, if the cable tie is mounted on the manual bundling tool when, for example, there is an error in the tightening position of the cable tie relative to the bundled objects or the bundled objects are insufficient, the operations on the cable tie cannot be redone without labor such as cutting and removing the cable tie and preparing a new cable tie.


A device and method for making artificial eyes. The device uses either photographs of a patient's eye, or, the patient's eye is digitally scanned. This digital image can then be read, manipulated and changed on a computer screen using common software. Once the image is perfected, it can be printed with a color laser printer. The image (either a digital printout or photograph) can then be cut and attached to an iris button. To prevent smearing of the image during the curing, a formed bonnet is placed between the iris button and the cornea. This bonnet absorbs the compression of the cornea during curing, thereby preventing smearing of the image.

Artificial eyes have seen little change over the years. Originally made from glass, craftspersons began using synthetic materials during World War II. Since then, the basic method of making artificial eyes has remained the same. Since the 1950's, materials such as methyl methacrylate have been used to make the artificial eyes. An example of this type of eye can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,781. Typically, an artificial eye is made in steps: the body of the eye is formed; a colored iris is painted on, or other wise attached to a flat-surfaced "button"; the iris button is attached to the body of the eye; and then an artificial cornea is sealed over the assembly.
The most difficult part of making an artificial eye is the iris. Humans have multicolored irises that can vary significantly. To achieve realistic color matching, the iris is typically painted onto the iris button. This is painstaking work that involves considerable artistic skill. Several U.S. patents discuss using photographs in lieu of painting the iris. In this technique, a photograph can be taken of a person's remaining eye and the iris can be developed from that photograph, cut, and attached to an iris button. Examples of this technique are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,580,583, 2,603,791, 2,603,792, and 5,026,392. Although these patents teach using photographs to color the irises, two problems exist that have prevented extensive use of photographs for irises. First, although photographs can accurately depict the color of a human iris, when the photograph is placed under the artificial cornea, the colors are sometimes distorted. As a result, complex developing techniques must be used to develop the photographs to correct for this distortion before the cornea is installed. Obviously, this may require several tries before a close match is reached. Such experimentation is expensive and, therefore, is limited in usefulness.
The second problem is more difficult. To complete the formation of an artificial eye, the cornea is fastened to the eye body using adhesives that have strong solvents. Moreover, the adhesive must be cured while the cornea is under pressure. A small clamp vice is used for this part of the process. The solvents are strong enough to dissolve the photographic image of the iris that is attached to the iris button. In its softened state, the photographic image is susceptible to smearing as the cornea is being compressed by the clamp vice. Obviously, only a slight amount of smearing is enough to ruin the artificial eye, thereby requiring the maker to begin again.
For these two primary reasons, the use of photographs for irises in artificial eyes has remained more theory than practice.


Apparatus for and method of temperature compensating a focusing system in having at least one transmissive optical element with a thermal lens. A reflective optical element is introduced having a thermal lens complementary to the thermal lens of the transmissive optical element so that the combined optical characteristics of the two optical elements are substantially temperature independent. Provision can also be made for a change in the absorption of the transmissive optical element over time. The focusing system is especially applicable to systems for generating EUV light for use in semiconductor photolithography.

Extreme ultraviolet ("EUV") light, e.g., electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths of around 50 nm or less (also sometimes referred to as soft x-rays), and including light at a wavelength of about 13.5 nm, can be used in photolithography processes to produce extremely small features in substrates such as silicon wafers. Here and elsewhere, it will be understood that the term "light" is used to encompass electromagnetic radiation regardless of whether it is within the visible part of the spectrum.
Methods for generating EUV light include converting a source material from a liquid state into a plasma state. The source material preferably includes at least one element, e.g., xenon, lithium or tin, with one or more emission lines in the EUV part of the spectrum. In one such method, often termed laser produced plasma ("LPP"), the required plasma can be produced by using a laser beam to irradiate a source material having the required line-emitting element.
One LPP technique involves generating a stream of source material droplets and irradiating at least some of the droplets with laser light. In more theoretical terms, LPP light sources generate EUV radiation by depositing laser energy into a source material having at least one EUV emitting element, such as xenon (Xe), tin (Sn), or lithium (Li), creating a highly ionized plasma with electron temperatures of several 10's of eV.
The energetic radiation generated during de-excitation and recombination of these ions is emitted from the plasma in all directions. In one common arrangement, a near-normal-incidence mirror (often termed a "collector mirror" or simply a "collector") is positioned to collect, direct (and in some arrangements, focus) the light to an intermediate location. The collected light may then be relayed from the intermediate location to a set of scanner optics and ultimately to a wafer.
In some LPP systems each droplet is sequentially illuminated by multiple light pulses. In some cases, each droplet may be exposed to a so-called "pre-pulse" and then to a so-called "main pulse." It is to be appreciated, however, that the use of a pre-pulse is optional, that more than one pre-pulse may be used, that more than one main pulse may be used, and that the functions of the pre-pulse and main pulse may overlap to some extent.
Typically, a pre-pulse may cause some or all of the source material to heat, expand, gasify, vaporize, ionize, generate a weak plasma, or generate a strong plasma, or some combination of these, and a main pulse may convert most or all of the material affected by the pre-pulse into plasma and thereby produce an EUV light emission. Pre-pulsing may increase the efficiency of the source material/pulse interaction due to a larger cross-section of material that is exposed to the main pulse, a greater penetration of the main pulse into the material due to the material's decreased density, or both. Another potential benefit of pre-pulsing is that it may expand the target to the size of the focused main pulse, allowing all of the main pulse to participate in conversion of the source material into a plasma. This may be especially beneficial if relatively small droplets are used as targets and the irradiating light cannot be focused to the size of the small droplet. Thus, in some applications, it may be desirable to use pre-pulsing to increase conversion efficiency and/or allow use of relatively small, e.g., so-called, mass limited targets. The use of relatively small targets, in turn, may be used to lower debris generation and/or reduce source material consumption.
The main pulse and the pre-pulse, if it is used, must generally be directed and focused onto the droplets of source material by using a focusing system. Generally in a high power focusing system for an EUV LPP source the optical elements in the beam path absorb some of the energy from the main pulse and the pre-pulse causing heating in those optical elements. This heating creates a thermally-induced optical distortion (also known as a "thermal lens") by virtue of the temperature dependence of the refractive index and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material making up the optical element. The thermal lens alters the optical power of the optical elements causing deviations from optimal values.
It would thus be advantageous to be able to negate the effects of thermal lensing and so to avoid the performance limitations it imposes.

Apparatus for and method of temperature compensation in high power focusing system for EUV LPP source


A valve operating system for an engine includes a cam shaft and first and second cams, mounted on the cam shaft, which are selectively utilized to provide different valve opening characteristics in accordance with a vehicle operating condition. A first rocker arm follows the first cam and engages a valve stem of a valve to operate the valve, and a second rocker arm follows the second cam at a position not interfering with the valve stem. A connecting device connects the first and second rocker arms so that they move together, and a control device controls the connecting means to connect the first and second rockers in accordance with the vehicle operating condition so that the valve opening characteristic is defined by a cam profile of the second cam which is larger than that of the first cam. When the first and second rocker arms are engaged with each other, the valve opening period is increased to reduce pumping loss in the engine under relatively low engine load.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve operating system for an engine and, more specifically, to a valve operating system for controlling the opening of an intake and/or exhaust valve in accordance with a vehicle operation parameter.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Public Disclosure (JP A) No. 63-147909, a valve operating system for an engine has been proposed which switches a cam for operating the valve and controlling a valve opening parameter or characteristic, such as the timing of valve opening and closing, valve lift and the like.
The cam for valve operation is switched in accordance with the vehicle operating parameter to change the valve opening parameter to thereby achieve proper intake and exhaust in the engine. However, such conventional valve control does not necessarily provide the proper valve opening characteristic. Furthermore, the conventional control does not allow the limit of the rotational speed of the engine to be increased.


Provided is a method for transmitting a reference signal in a time division duplex (TDD)-based wireless communication system. A base station transmits a synchronization signal in a subframe including N resource blocks in a frequency domain, and K (K>1) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain. The base station transmits a reference signal generated on the basis of a terminal identifier in the subframe. The subframe includes a downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS), a guard period (GP), and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS). The DwPTS includes six OFDM symbols. The UpPTS includes two OFDM symbols. The reference signal is transmitted in the first OFDM symbol or the sixth OFDM symbol in the subframe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication and, more particularly, to a method for transmitting reference signals in a wireless communication system based on Time Division Duplex (TDD) and an apparatus using the same.
2. Related Art
Long Term Evolution (LTE) based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) release 8 is a strong next-generation mobile communication standard. Recently, the standardization of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) based on 3GPP TS release 10 which supports multiple carriers is in progress.
As disclosed in 3GPP TS 36.211 V10.4.0 (2011-12) "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 10)", reference signals, such as a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and control channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), are defined in the physical layer of 3GPP LTE/LTE-A.
3GPP LTE supports both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). In FDD, uplink (UL) transmission and downlink (DL) reception are performed in different frequencies. In TDD, uplink (UL) transmission and downlink (DL) reception are performed in the same frequency. A terminal supporting full-duplex FDD is capable of simultaneous UL transmission and DL reception at a specific time. A terminal supporting half-duplex FDD and TDD is incapable of simultaneous UL transmission and DL reception.
Meanwhile, in LTE releases 8/9/10, reference signals and control channels are transmitted in all the DL subframes. In the next-generation system, however, in order to more efficiently use radio resources, it is expected that a new type of a carrier in which some or all of reference signals and control channels are not transmitted will be introduced. Such a carrier type is called a New Carrier Type (NCT).

Method and apparatus for transmitting reference signals


Olefin polysulfide compositions of high sulfur content and of very low chlorine content are obtained by a process comprising the steps of: (1) reacting sulfur mono- and/or dichloride with at least one aliphatic monoolefin of 2-12 carbon atoms, to form an addition product or "adduct", (2) reacting hydrogen sulfide with an alkali hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide dissolved in at least one substantially anhydrous C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 aliphatic monoalcohol, with optional addition of elemental sulfur, (3) contacting said "adduct" together with at least one monohalogenated hydrocarbon compound, with the alcoholic solution obtained at the end of step (2), (4) heating the resultant mixture from step (3), removing the monoalcohol, while adding water, and (5) after settling and removal of the aqueous phase, recovering the organic phase formed at least in major part of the desired olefin polysulfide composition. These compositions, of sulfur content up to 65% by weight and of chlorine content generally lower than about 0.1% by weight, are used in particular as additives for improving the extreme-pressure properties of lubricants.

Many processes for preparing polysulfides adapted to be used as extreme-pressure additives for lubricants are disclosed in the prior art.
In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,471,404 and 3,697,499 disclose a process comprising the following main steps of :
(1) reacting sulfur monochloride with an excess of a C.sub.2 to C.sub.5 olefin,, particularly isobutene, at a temperature from 20 to 80.degree. C., so as to form an adduct,
(2) reacting the adduct of the first step with an alkali metal sulfide (preferably sodium sulfide) and elemental sulfur, in a ratio from 1.8 to 2.2 moles of metal sulfide per gram-atom of sulfur, the proportion of alkali metal sulfide being from 0.8 to 1.2 mole per mole of adduct , and the reaction being performed in the presence of an alcohol or of a hydro-alcoholic solvent, at reflux, and
(3) reacting the resultant product, which contains 1-3% of chlorine, with an inorganic base in aqueous solution, at reflux until the residual chlorine content of the product is reduced to less than 0.5%.
These prior art patents indicate that the sulfur content of the obtained products may be from 40 to 60% by weight. In fact, it is usually close to 46% by weight. These products may be used as extreme-pressure additives for lubricating oils, transmission fluids or greases, the lubricating bases consisting of mineral oils and of certain synthetic oils.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,969 discloses a rather similar process for preparing olefin polysulfides for use as extreme-pressure additives for lubricating oils. This process comprises the main steps of:
(1) reacting, at about 30-100.degree. C., sulfur monochloride with a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 aliphatic monoolefin (generally isobutene) preferably in the presence of a promoter consisting of a lower alcohol, so as to form an adduct,
(2) reacting said adduct with sulfur and sodium sulfide (prepared for example from NaOH, NaHS and/or H.sub.2 S) in a ratio of 0.1-0.4 gram-atom of sulfur per mole of sodium sulfide, in a hydroalcoholic medium, at a temperature from 50.degree. C. to reflux temperature, and recovering the resultant product, without treatment by means of a base. The lower alcohol, of 1-4 carbon atoms, is generally present in an amount by weight of 0.1-0.5 parts per part of water.
In the sole example of said patent, it is mentioned that the product has a 49% by weight sulfur content and a viscosity at 100.degree. F. (37.8.degree. C.) of 8.6 mm.sup.2 /s (cSt), but the analysis indicates that said product has a residual chlorine content of about 0.25% by weight.
It is apparent that the isobutylene polysulfides prepared according to the prior art in reaction media containing substantial amounts of water, always contain residual chlorine amounts higher than 0.1% by weight, the complete removal of chlorine being difficult as a result of the insolubility of the adduct in the reaction medium, which results in an incomplete heterogeneous phase reaction.
In most of the described processes, water is generally introduced into the reaction medium in the presence of a minor amount of alcohol (particularly isopropanol), for dissolving the alkali sulfide, itself mostly containing a substantial amount of (at least 40% by weight for industrial Na.sub.2 S).
It is however possible to increase the dissolving power of the reaction medium with respect to the adduct by substituting the dissolution water of the hydrated alkali sulfide with a lower alcohol, but the required alcohol amount is then incompatible with satisfactory economical industrial production.
It is further known that, for toxicology and ecology purposes, a new legislation, in course of elaboration, concerning additives for lubricants, will probably prescribe, in the next few years, a maximum chlorine content substantially lower than 0.1% by weight for these products.

Olefin polysulfide compositions of high sulfur content and very low chlorine content, their manufacture and use as additives for lubricants


Disclosed herein are systems and method for performing secure computing while maintaining data confidentiality. In one exemplary aspect, a method receives, via an application, both data and a request to perform a secure operation on the data, wherein the secure operation is to be performed using a secure compute engine on a cloud platform such that the data is not viewable to a provider of the cloud platform. The method applies transformations to the data so that the data is not viewable to the provider. The method transmits the transformed data to the secure compute engine on the cloud platform to perform the secure operation on the transformed data, receives a result of the secure operation from the secure compute engine, and transmits the result to the application.

The proper storage, handling, and analysing of confidential data is highly important in the modern technological era in which data is shared in abundance and is processed remotely. For example, cloud-based servers offer affordable and on-demand resources for running analytics on datasets. With increasing privacy concerns and regulations, however, businesses cannot readily push confidential data into cloud servers because the cloud providers may see such data.
In another example, collaborative data analysis among multiple parties involves aggregating data from the multiple parties and analyzing the aggregated data. The data held by each such party may be confidential, which prevents the collaborative analysis because each party does not want to reveal its data to any other.
Conventional approaches that may enable cloud computing and collaborative analysis in view of the privacy concerns involve the encryption of data at rest and/or flight. Both are unsuitable for analysis, however, because encrypted data needs to be decrypted before analysis can be run. While certain cryptographic techniques such as secret sharing, homomorphic encryption, etc. are present in literature to tackle this issue, there is no unifying architecture or system to realize a complete end-to-end solution.

Systems and methods for performing secure computing while maintaining data confidentiality


There is disclosed in the present invention a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including an isolation region defined by trenches having different or equal widths respectively on a single semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of:. forming insulating films on the semiconductor substrate and then forming an aperture on a passive region (isolation region); PA1 forming spacers of etch rate different from that of the insulating films on sidewalls of the aperture to define ring-shaped trench regions surrounding outline of active regions; PA1 forming another insulating film of etch rate different from that of the spacers on the substrate where the spacers are defined and removing the spacers by etching to expose the substrate within the etched spacers; and PA1 forming trenches on the exposed area of the substrate, forming an insulating film of equal character to that of the insulating films used at the time of the formation of the aperture to refill the trenches and forming the spacers on the sidewalls of the insulating film in the passive region, thereby forming ring-shaped trenches surrounding the outlines of the active regions to be an isolation region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the isolation of electrical elements of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of the isolation of electrical elements of semiconductor devices by means of trenches, and a semiconductor device having isolation regions according to the method of the present invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A trench technique for isolating several electrical elements included on a single chip in semiconductive integrated circuit devices has been used in recent semiconductor manufacture. This technique adapts a method for isolating electrical elements from each other by forming trenches on a semiconductor substrate through dry-etching and refilling the trenches with insulating materials. This reduces parasitic capacitance caused by packing the elements closer to each other to increase the density of the elements on the substrate.
FIG. 1 illustrates a semiconductor device having active regions 1 on which electrical elements are formed and which are isolated from neighboring active regions 1 by trenches 2, i.e. an isolation region.
The process for making the trenches 2 to isolate the electrical elements from each other is depicted in FIGS. 2A to 2E, which are sectional views taken along lines A--A' of FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the trenches 2 may be narrow trenches 3 or relatively wide too.
The process for making the conventional trenches of FIG. 2 will now be described.
This process begins with the formation of a silicon pad oxide film 6 of a predetermined thickness on a silicon substrate 5 by a thermal oxidation treatment or a chemical vapor deposition. A silicon nitride layer (SiN) 7 is deposited on the pad oxide film 6 by a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and a high temperature oxide film (HTO) 8 is formed thereon. These films serves as a masking layer when the silicon substrate 5 is selectively etched.
Subsequently, in order to distribute the surface of the substrate into each area, a photoresist film 9 is spin-coated on the high temperature oxide film 8, and exposed to light by photomask and developed to carry out a patterning process. The widths of apertures on which the photoresist film is removed, as shown in FIG. 2A, are different from each other, and these regions 3 and 4 define trench regions that are to be formed.
The high temperature oxide film 8 is selectively etched through dry-etching, (FIG. 2B) according to the patterns defined by the photoresist films 9. Parts of the nitride layer 7 and oxide film 6 underneath the apertures are then successively etched to be removed, using the high temperature oxide film 8 as an etching mask, and trenches are formed to a predetermined depth with an anisotropic etch step, as can be seen from FIG. 2C. A thin oxide film 10 is then formed on the inside of the trenches by a thermal oxidation process, (FIG. 2C) and the trenches are refilled with, e.g. a high temperature oxide film 11 (FIG. 2D). Due to the width difference between the narrow trench 3 and the broad trench 4, the narrower trench 3 is refilled enough to be higher than the high temperature oxide film 8'. On the other hand, the inside of the wider trench 4 is not refilled sufficiently, and the refilled layer inside the narrower trench 3 has a dimple D in the center thereof, ad shown in FIG. 2D.
Under the circumstances, the high temperature oxide film 11 refilled in the trenches and the high temperature oxide film 6 8' on the silicon nitride layer 7 are etched away through anisotropic etching, and the nitride layer 7 and the pad oxide film are etched away by a wet-etching method to expose the active regions of the substrate 5. The isolation region is then formed by the trenches, as shown in FIG. 2E, and electrical elements are formed on the active regions between the trenches.
As shown in the sectional structure of FIG. 2E, however, a step-like difference of the trench-refill material obviously appears according to the trench width, and this may cause a deterioration in step coverage of films deposited on the trench-refill material. For example, when a metal oxide semiconductive element is formed on the active regions and its gate electrode is expansively formed across the trench, delayed signals may be caused due to this step-like difference.
If the trenches of widely varying widths are filled, the narrow trench must be well overfilled in order for the wider one to be filled completely. Thus, the thickness of the top-surface-deposited film may vary, making planarization very difficult.
This is one reason why deep trenches refilled with CVD polysilicon of SiO2 cannot replace a process known as localized oxidation of silicon for isolation of elements (LOCOS) as an isolation technique for field regions of varying widths.

Semiconductor device and method for making the same


A battery housing for an electrical device, such as a portable telephone, has a locking mechanism that locks the battery housing in place onto the housing of the portable device. The locking mechanism has a locking finger that is inserted into an opening in the device housing. The locking finger is spring mounted on the housing bottom of the battery housing and collaborates with at least one sliding surface which preferably has the shape of an inclined plane over which the locking finger can be forced out of the locked position by means of a movable key.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to battery housings, and, in particular, to battery housings for electrical devices, such as portable telephones.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical devices, such as portable telephones, may be powered by one or more batteries. In some devices, the batteries are held in battery housings that can be separated from the device for charging. Such battery packs may be inserted into the back of the device along guide rails, at which time the electrical contact is also provided. The battery housings are locked into place to avoid the unintended detachment of the battery pack from the device.
One variant of such a battery pack for a portable telephone is disclosed in European Patent 367 608. In this case, the battery housing is provided with guide rails, which are inserted into corresponding guides on the telephone so that the battery housing can be slid onto the telephone housing. A snap-lock mechanism is provided on the battery housing to lock the battery pack into place. The snap-lock mechanism contains a locking pawl attached to a torsion rod which projects into an opening on the telephone housing.
One purpose of the present invention is to devise a locking mechanism of relatively simpler design that is easily produced and assures reliable locking and unlocking of the battery housing onto an electrical device, such as a portable telephone.
Further aspects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.

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A disclosed adjustment apparatus includes: a calculation unit that calculates a ratio between a first frequency characteristic in a first frequency bandwidth of voice signals and a second frequency characteristic in a second frequency bandwidth of the voice signals, which is higher than the first frequency bandwidth, and calculates an adjustment amount for adjusting at least a portion of a frequency characteristic of the voice signals so that the calculated ratio approaches a predetermined reference, when the calculated ratio does not satisfy the predetermined reference; and a modification unit that modifies at least the portion of the frequency characteristic of the voice signals according to the adjustment amount.

In order to reduce noises and clarify a voice, a gain of a specific frequency is adjusted. A certain conventional document discloses a technique for presuming a noise for each frequency and removing the background noise in order to make it easy to hear received voice. The noise is modeled by a straight line regarding the frequencies and using an inclination and intercept as parameters. The modeling is performed for each of a bandwidth from sound intermediate frequencies to low frequencies and a bandwidth of high frequencies.
Moreover, another conventional document discloses a technique for emphasizing a formant in order to make it easy to hear received voices. In this document, formant frequencies of input voices are analyzed and emphasized to enhance clearness of the received voices. The formant is a property concerning sounds in case of speaking a language.
It is possible to enhance easiness to hear by suppressing the background noises that are mixed into the received voices and emphasizing the formants of the received voices.
However, in addition to the background noises and the property of speaking, there is a factor that makes it difficult to hear reproduced voices of the voice signals.
In other words, the conventional techniques cannot sufficiently solve the difficulty to hear the reproduced voices.


The present invention provides processes for removing CO2 from an effluent stream derived from an oxygenate to olefins reaction system. In one embodiment, the invention comprises contacting the effluent stream with a first CO2 removal medium in a first CO2 removal zone under conditions effective to remove a first portion of the CO2 from the effluent stream and form a first CO2 depleted stream. The first CO2 depleted stream is contacted with a second CO2 removal medium in a second CO2 removal zone under conditions effective to remove a second portion of the CO2 from the first CO2 depleted stream and form a second CO2 depleted stream comprising less than about 0.5 vppm CO2.

Light olefins, defined herein as ethylene and propylene, are important commodity petrochemicals useful in a variety of processes for making plastics and other chemical compounds. Ethylene is used to make various polyethylene plastics, and in making other chemicals vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, ethyl benzene and alcohol. Propylene is used to make various polypropylene plastics, and in making other chemicals such as acrylonitrile and propylene oxide.
In addition to cracking petroleum products, the petrochemical industry has known for some time that oxygenates, especially alcohols, are convertible into light olefins. The preferred conversion process is generally referred to as an oxygenate to olefin (OTO) reaction process. Specifically, in an OTO reaction process, an oxygenate contacts a molecular sieve catalyst composition under conditions effective to convert at least a portion of the oxygenate to light olefins. When methanol is the oxygenate, the process is generally referred to as a methanol to olefin (MTO) reaction process. Methanol is a particularly preferred oxygenate for the synthesis of ethylene and/or propylene.
In a typical OTO reaction system, undesirable byproducts, such as carbon dioxide, may be formed through side reactions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,504 discloses a method of making olefin product from an oxygenate feed using molecular sieve catalysts. Water and other unwanted byproducts are removed from the olefin product by contacting with a quench medium. After contacting with the quench medium, a light product fraction is obtained which comprises the desired olefins, but also includes dimethyl ether, methane, CO, CO2, ethane, propane, and other minor components such as water and unreacted oxygenate feedstock.
In order to further process olefins, it is often necessary to reduce or remove undesirable byproducts that are present in the olefin composition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,433 discloses a method of making an olefin composition, and a system for removing non-olefin byproducts such as CO2. A dewatered olefin composition is washed with caustic to remove CO2, and the washed olefin composition is dried to reduce water added as a result of the caustic wash.
Published U.S. Patent Application US 2003/0199722 A1 to Lattner et al., the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of removing acetaldehyde, CO2 and/or water from an ethylene and/or propylene containing stream. Specifically, acetaldehyde and C4+ olefins are substantially removed from the ethylene and/or propylene containing stream. The stream is then acid gas treated.
Additional processes for removing undesirable components from olefin streams are sought. In particular, processes are sought for removing oxygenated hydrocarbons, particularly CO2, down to the ppm level in olefin product streams without removing significant amounts of olefin.

Removing carbon dioxide from an oxygenate to olefins reaction effluent


Locking bracket for a slider in a dovetail slot (3), where a further dovetail slot (4) is arranged perpendicularly to the first dovetail slot (3), in which a locking bracket (5) can be displaced from a position whereby the glider is locked by the locking bracket (5) to a position where the glider is free to be moved passed the locking bracket (5) and that a screw (6) captures the locking bracket (5) through a countersunk hole in the locking bracket (5), whereby the locking bracket is maintained or released by loosening the screw (6).

The present invention is related to a locking means for an insert, especially for clamping jaws for clamping drill pipes and casings during drilling operations.
Inserts which are guided into a tool dovetail slot, as inserts are used in clamping jaws in the petroleum industry, traditionally are locked with loose screws at both ends. The dovetail slots extend axially in the clamping jaws. To replace such inserts the screws have to be removed, which is connected with the risk of loosing screws down into the drilling hole. Furthermore the operation is time consuming.


Increased gain and improved stability are realized in using resistive emitter ballasting by including integrated capacitive elements in parallel with the resistive elements in the emitter circuit. A feature of the invention is an integrated capacitor structure having a small surface area to minimize parasitic capacitance, whereby resistor and capacitor surface areas of 100 square micrometers or less are obtained. Another feature of the invention is the use of a high dielectric material in realizing a resistor-capacitor impedance zero at a frequency much lower than the operating frequency of the transistor. For an operating frequency of 2 GHz and resistor values of 50-250 ohms, capacitance required is 3 pF or greater. Another feature of the invention is a method of fabricating the integrated resistive-capacitive element in either a low temperature process or a high temperature process which minimizes capacitor leakage when using a thin high dielectric insulative material between capacitor plates.

This invention relates generally to high frequency RF/microwave bipolar power transistors and, more particularly, the invention relates to such a transistor having improved stability and gain and methods of fabricating the transistor.
Resistive emitter ballasting is typically used on large RF power bipolar transistors to avoid thermal runaway and to reduce the impact of processing nonuniformities on device characteristics. Unfortunately, the serial resistor in the emitter circuit results in reduced gain. Further, emitter ballast nonuniformities can result in RF performance variations.

RF power transistor having improved stability and gain


In a frame consisting of longitudinal and transverse frame members which are used as bearing units, a frame bearing mount for the frame and an aggregate bearing mount are vertically arranged one upon the other and the frame areas between the frame bearing mounts and the aggregate bearing mounts are made of a vibration absorbing material in the form of blocks so as to provide a lightweight frame in a simple and economical manner and ensure an efficient attenuation of vibrations.

It is known to support aggregates such as internal combustion engines on a frame consisting of longitudinal and transverse frame members in order to reduce the introduction of vibrations, particularly sound waves, into a foundation.
Such a frame is disclosed for example in DE 43 15 694 A1. The frame disclosed in this patent consists of longitudinal and transverse frame members and is supported on rubber pads which are arranged at the four corner points of the frame. On the frame, a sound generating machine, particularly a centrifuge, is supported. For the vibrational uncoupling of the machine from the frame, between the mounting means of the aggregate bearing and the base frame separating gaps are provided which are filled with a sound attenuating pressure resistant material, that is, a concrete or mineral casting which is intended to essentially prevent the transmission of sound waves to the profiled frame members. In a further development, the profiled frame members are filled with the sound attenuating material at least in the mounting areas of the aggregate bearings so that parts of the mounting means is disposed within the sound attenuating material. It is particularly proposed to fill the hollow profiled frame members over their full length with the sound attenuating material. Consequently, for an effective sound attenuation, with this design and support arrangement, a substantial amount of sound attenuating material appears to be needed for an effective sound attenuation. Further, it does not appear to be possible to adapt the support frame system to changing conditions without extensive changes of the basic design. In addition, the manufacture is expensive since chambers must be provided in the frame for the filling with the sound attenuating material. The manufacture of this frame however is also complicated and expensive because, for the manufacture of the separating gaps, the heavy and bulky frame members must be repositioned in an expensive procedure.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a frame which effectively attenuates or absorbs the transmission of vibrations particularly sound vibrations but which, at the same time, can be manufactured in a simple and relatively inexpensive way and which, in the manufacture thereof, can be easily and variably adapted to different loads without departing from the basic design principle.

Support frame including longitudinal and transverse beams and method for producing the frame


A direct metering architecture is provided having a metering pump and a servo pump wherein the metering and servo pumps are driven by an engine shaft by way of a gearbox transmission. The system reduces wasted horsepower previously occurring with oversized fixed displacement pumps, reduces instances of engine flameout and reduces the amount of heat added to fuel which ultimately improves engine oil cooling.

A typical gas turbine engine generally possesses a forward end and an aft end with its several core or propulsion components positioned axially therebetween. An air inlet or intake is at a forward end of the gas turbine engine. Moving toward the aft end, in order, the air intake is followed by a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. It will be readily apparent from those skilled in the art that additional components may also be included in the gas turbine engine, such as, for example, low pressure and high pressure compressors, and high pressure and low pressure turbines. This, however, is not an exhaustive list. A gas turbine engine also typically has an internal shaft axially disposed along a center longitudinal axis of the gas turbine engine. The internal shaft is connected to both the turbine and the air compressor, such that the turbine provides a rotational input to the air compressor to drive the compressor blades.
In operation, air is pressurized in the compressor and mixed with fuel in a combustor for generating hot combustion gases which flow downstream through turbine stages. These turbine stages extract gas energy from the combustion gases and converts such to mechanical energy. A high pressure turbine first receives the hot combustion gases from the combustor and includes a stator nozzle assembly directing the combustion gases downstream through a row of high pressure turbine rotor blades extending radially outwardly from a supporting rotor disk. In a two stage turbine, a second stage stator nozzle assembly is positioned downstream of the first stage blades followed in turn by a row of second stage rotor blades extending radially outwardly from a second supporting rotor disk.
In order to deliver fuel to the gas turbine engine, a single pump is generally utilized which pumps fuel for fuel burn, a fuel burn flow, and pumps fuel for valve actuation, a servo flow, and pumps fuel for mechanical actuation of external devices such as valves and stator positions, an actuation flow. These pumps are normally a fixed displacement type pump. However, the downside of a single pump, is that it generally wastes horsepower since such pump is sized to provide a higher flow than generally necessary. Additionally, the fuel may pass through a by-pass circuit which increases heat of the fuel and reduces the ability of the fuel to absorb other heat sources within the gas turbine engine.
With regard to the servo flow, it is not uncommon that valves and actuators become stuck in one position. When the valve changes to an unstuck position, this creates a high demand of fuel. In the instance where a single fixed displacement pump is utilized for both fuel burn flow and servo flow, the high demand may pull large amounts of fuel burn flow from the combustor, causing a flame-out of the engine.
As may be seen by the foregoing, it would be desirable to reduce the waste horsepower of the engine and it would be further desirable to reduce the heat increase of the fuel. Additionally, it would be highly desirable to reduce or eliminate the instances of flameout of the engine.

Direct metering using a variable displacement vane pump


The present invention relates to novel 2,4-pyrimidine derivatives and a use thereof, and more particularly, to pyrimidine derivatives which are effective for systemic lupus erythematosus, a composition for preventing and treating systemic lupus erythematosus comprising the same as an active ingredient and a method for screening the same. The present inventors found novel materials inhibiting surface translocation of gp96 by mimicking a function of AIMP1 which is a molecular anchor for an intracellular residence of gp96, and identified in vitro and in vivo activity of the materials for preventing and treating SLE by alleviating SLE plasma in autoimmune diseases. Therefore, the present invention provides a novel method for screening a therapeutic agent for SLE, and preventing or treating SLE using the mechanism.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a kind of rheumatic disease, which is a cryptogenic autoimmune disease, shows a chronic progress through repetition of worsening and remission, accompanied by various symptoms in various organs such as skin and joints. In general, it occurs mainly in people between their twenties and forties, and more often in women than men. With respect to a population of 100,000, about 4˜250 people are known to suffer from this disease.
Its exact cause is not proved, but is thought to be inherited, hormonal, caused by environment, certain viruses, extreme overwork, stress, certain drugs, or the like. Further, ultraviolet rays of sunlight are assumed to be one of the important causes. In a case of a genetic cause, even if both parents are patients suffering from the disease, not all of their children or siblings suffer from the disease, and the disease is not infectious to others.
There are highly various symptoms, which show different patterns and progress in patients. The patients show various symptoms such as macules on the skin, joint pain, chest pain, fever, or twinge of the whole body. In general, the first felt.symptoms may include general malaise and fatigue, body weight reduction or fever. In a case of rheumatoid arthritis, a symptom may occur in such a manner that a twinge in small joints of hands or feet gradually progresses into arthredema. Meanwhile, on a face, butterfly-shaped red spots may be found. They may also be found on other body parts, arms, or the back of the hand. Also, the disease may cause hair loss, or may cause the corresponding region to turn white or blue through sunlight exposure, accompanied by pain. It may cause pleurisy or pericarditis, resulting in chest ache during breathing. Also, it may cause inflammation in the kidneys, resulting in hematuria or proteinuria.
The disease is a chronic disease, and often requires continuous treatment. Thus, it may be accompanied by depressive disorder. In a case where the disease invades a central nervous system, a light symptom such as headache may be progressed into a serious symptom such as paralysis of arms and legs or a stroke causing corruption of consciousness. Further, an emotional disturbance or an attention disorder may occur. In many cases, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leucopenia or the like may occur. Especially, thrombocytopenia may cause cerebral hemorrhaging, and thus is required to be taken care of.
SLE causes various symptoms. Accordingly, according to symptoms of respective patients, suitable treatments have to be carried out in such a manner that symptoms can be minimized, inflammatory reactions can be reduced, and normal bodily functions can be maintained. In general, since long-time exposure to UV rays may worsen the disease, it is required to refrain from exposure to sunlight. In an unavoidable case, a UV blocking cream has to be applied. Further, since fatigue or overworking may worsen the disease, appropriate rest or relaxation is very important. The symptoms of SLE and other problems, such as mental stress, occurring during a treatment process may be relieved by talking about the symptoms and problems with friends and family.
At present, for treatment of SLE, a steroid-based therapeutic agent such as corticosteroids (cortisone) or prednisone, NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Naprosyn), sulindac (Clinoril), diclofenac (Voltaren), piroxicam (Feldene), ketoprofen (Orudis), diflunisal (Dolobid), nabumetone (Relafen), etodolac (Lodine), oxaprozin (Daypro) or indomethacin (Indocin), an antimalarial agent such as hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) or chloroquine (Aralen), and an immunosupressive agent such as Azathiprine (Imuran) or cyclophosphamide (cytoxan) are administered alone or in combination. However, the steroid-based agent may not only cause weight gain, hypersensitivity reaction, excitement, euphoria, depressive disorder or insomnia but also cause predisone in diabetes mellitus, glaucoma or hypertension. Moreover, when used for a long term, it may cause side effects such as cataracts, muscle weakening, bone angionecrosis or osteoporosis. Also, NSAIDS may cause side effects such as gastrointestinal disorder, dyspepsia, enterohemorrhage, headaches, sleepiness, hypertension or renal failure, the antimalarial agent may cause side effects such as rash, pigmentation, alopecia, xeroderma, gastrointestinal injury, anorexia, abdominal distension, vomiting, convulsion, nausea or diarrhea, and the immunosuppressive drug may cause side effects such as anemia, leucopenia or infection possibility increase. Hence, it is urgently required to develop a novel therapeutic agent.

2, 4-pyrimidine derivatives and use thereof

KOREA RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY


A parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit, including a reference signal generating portion and a comparison amplification portion, the comparison amplification portion including a plurality of amplifiers, input resetting switches, first sampling capacitors, second sampling capacitors, first sampling switches, and second sampling switches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and a sampling circuit and a comparison amplification circuit each of which is used in the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there has been known a sampling circuit for canceling an offset voltage of an amplifier, amplifying an input signal and outputting the input signal thus amplified. FIG. 19A is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of this sampling circuit, and FIG. 19B is a timing chart explaining an internal operation of the sampling circuit.
A configuration of a sampling circuit 100 shown in FIG. 19A is described as follows. That is to say, an input signal Vin is inputted to an input side of an amplifier A100 through a switch SW100, and the input side of the amplifier A100 is adapted to be connected to the grounding potential (the ground in this case) through a switch SW101. Also, one terminal of a capacitor C100 is connected to an output terminal of the amplifier A100, and a switch SW102 is provided between the other terminal of the capacitor C100, and the grounding potential (ground).
The sampling circuit 100 operates in two phases of a reset phase and a signal output phase, and cancels an offset voltage of the amplifier A100 and amplifies the input signal Vin to the amplifier A100. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 19B, in the reset phase (for a time period from t1 to t2 and from t3 to t4), each of the switches SW101 and SW102 is held in an ON state to provide a state in which no input voltage Vin is inputted to the amplifier A100. In this case, the capacitor C100 is charged with the electric charges based on the offset voltage of the amplifier A100, and thus the offset voltage of the amplifier A100 is sampled by the capacitor C100. After that, in the signal output phase (for a time period from t2 to t3 and from t4 to t5), each of the switches SW101 and SW102 is held in an OFF state, and the switch SW100 is held in the ON state. In this case, the input signal Vin is inputted to the amplifier A100, an output signal Vo1 obtained by amplifying the input signal Vin in the amplifier A100 is outputted from the amplifier A100. Also, an output signal Vo2 obtained by subtracting the offset voltage of the amplifier A100 from the output signal Vo1 is outputted through the capacitor C100.
Here, a comparison amplification circuit with a track & hold (T/H) function is known as one of the circuits each of which is configured by using the principles of the sampling circuit 100. FIG. 20A is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a comparison amplification circuit in the related art.
A configuration of the comparison amplification circuit 110 is described as follows. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 20A, an input signal Vin and a reference signal Vr are inputted to an amplifier A110 through switches SW110 and SW111, and a capacitor C110, and an input side of the amplifier A110 is adapted to be connected to the grounding potential (the ground in this case) through a switch SW112. On the other hand, one terminal of a capacitor C111 is connected to an output terminal of the amplifier A110, and a switch SW113 is provided between the other terminal of the capacitor C111 and the grounding potential (ground).
Also, as shown in FIG. 20B, the comparison amplification circuit 110 operates in two phases of a reset phase and a signal output phase.
In the reset phase, each of the switches SW110, SW112 and SW113 is held in an ON state, and the switch SW111 is held in an OFF state. At this time, the capacitor C110 as a capacitor for comparison is charged with the electric charges based on the input signal Vin, and thus the voltage of the input signal Vin is sampled by the capacitor C110. Moreover, a state is provided in which no input signal Vin is inputted to the amplifier A110. As a result, the capacitor C111 is charged with the electric charges based on the offset voltage of the amplifier A110, and thus the offset voltage is sampled by the capacitor C111.
In the signal output phase, each of the switches SW110, SW112 and SW113 is held in an OFF state, and the switch SW111 is held in an ON state. For this reason, an output signal Vo1 obtained by amplifying a voltage difference between the input signal Vin and the reference signal Vr in the amplifier A110 is outputted from the amplifier A110. Also, an output signal Vo2 obtained by subtracting the offset voltage of the amplifier A110 from the output signal Vo1 is outputted through the capacitor C111.
Such a comparison amplification circuit 110, for example, is used in a parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit 120 or the like. FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of the parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit 120 in the related art.
Now, as shown in FIG. 21, the parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit 120 is generally configured by using comparison amplification circuits only for the resolution (for example, in the case of an n-bit analog-to-digital conversion circuit, (2n−1) comparison amplification circuits). However, recently, a parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit using a resistive interpolation technique or a capacitive interpolation technique (hereinafter referred to as "an interpolation parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit) has attracted attention. This interpolation parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit, for example, is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-100774.
Here, FIG. 22 shows a configuration of the interpolation parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit using the capacitive interpolation technique. A comparison amplification portion 132 using the capacitive interpolation technique is configured in the interpolation parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit shown in FIG. 22. It is noted that only a part of the comparison amplification portion 132 is illustrated herein for the sake of facilitating the understanding thereof.
The comparison amplification portion 132 generates voltage differences Vs1 and Vs2 between reference signals Vra and Vrb generated in a reference signal generating portion 131, and an input signal Vin in voltage difference generating portions 133a and 133b, respectively.
In a first amplifier group 134, the voltage differences Vs1 and Vs2 are amplified in a plurality of amplifiers A130a and A130b, respectively, and an intermediate voltage between the voltage differences Vs1 and Vs2 is amplified in an amplifier A130c.
A second amplifier group 135 includes a plurality of amplifiers A131a to A131c for amplifying voltages from the amplifiers A130a to A130c in the first amplifier group 134. In addition thereto, the second amplifier group 135 includes a plurality of amplifiers A131d and A131e for amplifying an intermediate voltage between output voltages from the amplifiers A130a and A130c, and an intermediate voltage between output voltages from the amplifiers A130b and A130c, respectively.
Each of output signals from the amplifiers A131a to A131e is outputted through one capacitors Ca and two capacitors Cb. Each of the output signals from the amplifiers A131a to A131e is outputted after each of the offset voltages of the amplifiers A131a to A131e is canceled through the capacitor Ca. In addition, the adjacent amplifiers (for example, the amplifiers A131a and A131d, and the amplifiers A131d and A131b) are each connected to each other through the two capacitors Cb. Thus, the output signals from the adjacent amplifiers are outputted after the offset voltages thereof are canceled and composed with each other. At this time, the capacitance value of the capacitor Cb is made half that of the capacitor Ca, which results in that the intermediate voltage between the output voltages from the amplifiers A131a and A131c, the intermediate voltage between the output voltages from the amplifiers A131b and A131e, and the intermediate voltage between the output voltages from the amplifiers A131e and A131c are each outputted through the capacitors Cb, respectively.
The output voltages through the capacitors Ca and Cb are successively latched in latch circuits in a latch portion in a subsequent stage. Also, encoding based on latch states in the latch circuits is carried out in an encoder, thereby obtaining a digital signal.
The number of amplifiers in the comparison amplification portion can be reduced in the interpolation parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit because of adoption of such a circuit configuration.

Parallel type analog-to-digital conversion circuit, sampling circuit and comparison amplification circuit


An oil absorption retarder containing alginic ester and fried foods produced by using the oil absorption retarder. The oil absorption retarder of this invention can efficiently retard oil absorption during frying, which results in providing fried foods with lowered oil contents.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oil absorption retarder capable of retarding oil absorption during frying and fried foods with lowered oil contents.
2. Related Art
Fried foods, referred as to foods produced by frying, are widely favored as foods supporting the modern people""s diet. Fried foods are widely sold at, for example, fast food shop, confectionery, bakery, cake shop, lunch shop, convenience store and supermarket, with a large variety such as doughnut, fried potato, fried chicken, tempura (Japanese deep-fat fried food), and piroshki.
Although these miscellaneous foods, discriminated by their specific texture, have been accepted by many consumers, still further needs reside in improving the texture to soar the sales. It is exceptionally important for fried foods to control their oil contents in a proper range since too much oil contents will seriously ruin the texture. It is also expected to provide foods meeting needs of consumers since they tend to reduce oil intake in the recent health-oriented boom.
It is, from another aspect, needed to use oils efficiently since the oils used for producing fried foods are expensive relative to other food materials and liable to degrade. It is most strictly needed for confectionery producing factory or fast food shop, producing a huge quantity of fried foods, to yield a maximum count of fried foods with a minimum amount of the oils.
Dough, a material for fried foods, however tends to absorb an unnecessarily large amount of oil when fried, which fails to meet the above needs. It is thus strongly needed to provide means for retarding oil absorption by dough.
The present inventors aimed to meet the above needs encountered in the prior art. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an oil absorption retarder capable of retarding oil absorption during frying. It is another object of the present invention to provide fried foods with lowered oil contents and improved texture.
From thorough investigations to solve the above problems, the present inventors found that alginic ester has oil absorption retarding property to complete the present invention.
That is, this invention is to provide an oil absorption retarder containing alginic ester, Alginic ester used in this invention preferably has a degree of esterification of 20% or above and a viscosity of 2 cp or above in the state of 1% aqueous solution at 20xc2x0 C. The oil absorption retarder of this invention may include flour, in which alginic ester is preferably contained at a ratio of 0.01 wt % or above for 100 weight parts of flour, and more preferably at 0.01 to 3 wt %.
This invention also provides fried foods produced using the above oil absorption retarder.
Alginic ester used for the oil absorption retarder of this invention is selected from compounds having a structure in which at least a part of carboxylic groups composing the alginic acid is converted into esters. There is no particular limitation on molecular weight, structure or degree of esterification, There is also no particular limitation on ratio or sequence of xcex2-D-mannuronic acid and xcex1-L-guluronic acid, both of which can be components of alginic ester. Thus an acceptable alginic ester includes such that having all of blocks consisting of xcex2-D-mannuronic acid only, blocks consisting of xcex1-L-guluronic acid only and blocks consisting of the both, or such that having either one or two blocks.
Preferable compound relates to alginic ester with a degree of esterification of 20% or above. It is, in particular, preferable to use alginic ester with a degree of esterification of 40% or higher, more particularly, 50 to 90%. Viscosity in the state of 1% aqueous solution at 20xc2x0 C. is preferably 2 cp or above, and more preferably falls within a range between 20 and 600 cp.
Alginic ester used in this invention may be originated from natural products or from synthetic products. When obtaining it from natural products, it is preferable to extract alginic acid from seaweed or so, which is followed by esterification. In more details, brown algae rich in high-molecular-weight alginic acid is washed with, for example, dilute sulfuric acid, extracted with sodium carbonate solution, precipitated with sulfuric acid to obtain high-molecular-weight alginic acid, and then esterified according to the conventional method to obtain alginic ester. Alternatively, brown algae is washed with, for example, dilute mineral acid such as dilute sulfuric acid or dilute hydrochloric acid, extracted with alkali solution such as sodium carbonate solution, and precipitated with calcium salt such as calcium chloride to obtain calcium alginate. The calcium alginate is subsequently subject to removal of calcium by dilute mineral acid such as dilute sulfuric acid or dilute hydrochloric acid to obtain high-molecular-weight alginic acid, and the resultant alginic acid is then esterified according to the conventional method to obtain alginic ester. Low-molecular-weight alginic ester can be obtained either by esterifying high-molecular-weight alginic acid after decomposed into low-molecular-weight one, or by decomposing high-molecular-weight alginic acid after esterified. Possible methods for decomposing alginic acid into low-molecular-weight one include a method based on enzyme processing of high-molecular-weight alginic acid, a method based on reaction with sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, a method based on thermal decomposition, and a method based on pressurized decomposition.
Alginic ester used in this invention may contain functional groups or crosslinked structure as far as desired effects will not exceedingly be interfered. The alginic ester may have a form mixed with alginic acid, alginic acid salt or other alginic acid derivatives. The oil absorption retarder may further contain other components as far as desired effects will not exceedingly be interfered.
An oil absorption retarder comprising alginic ester mixed with flour is exemplified as the one applicable to fried food containing flour as its component. In this case, alginic ester content is preferably set at 0.01 wt % or above for 100 weight parts of flour, more preferably at 0.01 to 3 wt % and still more preferably at 0.05 to 1 wt %.
The oil absorption retarder of this invention also allows organic acid salts, besides flour, to be added. Organic acid salts allowable to be added include sodium citrate, potassium citrate, calcium citrate, sodium acetate, sodium ascorbate, sodium lactate, calcium lactate, sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate and calcium glycerophosphate.
The oil absorption retarder of this invention also allows polysaccharide to be added. Polysaccharide allowable to be added include alginic acid, sodium alginate, pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose, carrageenan, guar gum, curdlan, starch, gum arabic, welan gum, cassia gum, xanthan gum, chitosan, psyllium seed gum, gellan gum, tamarind seed gum, dextran, furcellaran, pullulan and hyaluronic acid.
The oil absorption retarder of this invention also allows proteins to be added. Proteins allowable to be added include egg albumen, wheat gluten, and soybean protein.
These additional components may be added independently or in combination of a plurality of them. The additional components can properly be selected depending on the object matter to which the components are to be applied.
For fried foods using shaped dough such as instant noodle or doughnut, exemplified is a powder type oil absorption retarder comprising alginic ester mixed with flour, or a liquid-type oil absorption retarder dissolving these components into water. For fried foods such as fries, i.e. so-called xe2x80x9cFrench friesxe2x80x9d or fried potato strips, tempura, fried chicken, nugget, and American dog (sausage covered with fried dough) produced by dipping raw materials into batter or those applied with bread crumb or the like, an oil absorption retarder comprising batter added with alginic ester can be used. For fried foods such as fried potato or potato chips, produced by directly frying raw materials, alginic ester dissolved into water may be used as an oil absorption retarder through coating or the like.
There is no specific limitation on the form of the oil absorption retarder of this invention, where a variety of forms including solid, jelly, paste and liquid is allowable. It is preferable to properly select the form according to the object matter to which the oil absorption retarder is to be applied and mode of its utilization.
To offer high oil absorption retarding effects, it is preferable to use a solution in which an alginic ester is dissolved. Similarly, such high oil absorption retarding effects can be brought when a powder type alginic ester is used. The particle size of the powders in such a situation is preferably equal to or less than 125 xcexcm, more preferably, equal to or less than 110 xcexcm, and further preferably equal to or less than 100 xcexcm.
Use of the powder type alginic ester can render the retarder mixed uniformly with powder materials such as flours in a short time before use. If powder materials can be easily, uniformly prepared in advance, products can be easily manufactured with stable quality. Because the dissolving step becomes unnecessary to manufacture the oil absorption retarder where the powder type alginic ester is used, investments for facilities to do dissolution become unnecessary, so that products can be manufactured with less energy and reduced costs. Therefore, the powder type oil absorption retarder can be easily used for manufacturing in small size factories and shops, which have no dissolution facility, and also, can be used advantageously for products for home use.
A method for applying the oil absorption retarder of this invention may properly be selected according to purposes of retarding oil absorption or so. For example, the oil absorption retarder may thoroughly be mixed into the object matter so that the entire part of the object matter will have an uniform retardation effect for oil absorption, or the oil absorption retarder may concentrically be applied to the specific areas so that the final oil contents will differ by areas. It is also allowable to apply the oil absorption retarder at different concentrations to produce areas with various oil contents. In particular in the production of fried foods, areas where toppings to be applied can be designed to have controlled oil contents depending on sources of the toppings, so as to provide good taste of fried foods as a whole while retaining texture of the toppings.
The oil absorption retarder of this invention will find its most effective use in fried foods, but it may also be effective in industrial and agricultural applications besides food-related ones and may have no limitation on object matters to which the retarder is to be applied.
The oil absorption retarder of this invention exerts its effect in retarding oil absorption during frying of the object matter to which the oil absorption retarder is applied. Its effect of retarding oil absorption reaches as high as 30% or more as compared with the case without using the oil absorption retarder of this invention. This effect is ascribable to alginic ester contained in the oil absorption retarder of this invention. Accordingly, if the oil absorption retarder of the invention is used, low calorie foods can be provided with lower costs.
Use of the oil absorption retarder of this invention may further result in effects other than retarding oil absorption. It has confirmed that the oil absorption retarder of this invention used in production of noodles shows effect of preventing noodles from swelling in hot water. It is further expected that the oil absorption retarder of this invention will improve texture when applied to a wide variety of foods.


An engine wash recovery system is temporarily installed on an aircraft turbine engine to recover wash liquids and contaminants washed from the engine during engine cleaning operations. The apparatus basically comprises a collector, an engine exhaust duct, and a container. The collector is formed of a flexible, liquid proof material which is removably secured beneath the engine housing (fuselage, nacelle, cowling, etc.) of the aircraft, to capture wash liquids which spill from the housing. The duct is removably connected to the engine exhaust, to capture spray which has passed through the engine as the engine is turned over at a relatively low rpm to flush the fluid through the engine. Both the collector and the duct are connected to a container for recovering all liquids emanating from the engine and its housing during the wash process. The collector may include a forward extension to capture liquids which back up out of the engine intake or inlet, and a rearward extension which extends back to the exhaust. The container may include baffling therein to reduce turbulence and mixing of recovered liquids with air from the engine exhaust, and a filter to preclude dispersion of liquids and contaminants into the atmosphere as air is exhausted from the container. The container is relatively small and light weight, and is easily moved manually by a single individual, without need for powered equipment. The collector and duct are also both relatively light in weight, and may be folded or collapsed for compact storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to article cleaning means, particularly using water or other liquids or solvents, and more specifically to a system for recovering wash water or solvent used in cleaning an aircraft turbine engine on the aircraft. The system comprises a flexible, liquid proof container which is secured about the underside of the cowling or structure containing the engine, and a second container resting on the surface, for containing waste liquids transferred from the flexible container. The device eliminates, or greatly reduces, spillage of liquids during the engine cleaning operation, and provides for the containment of any hazardous waste released during the operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
All internal combustion engines will build up a certain amount of solid carbon and other deposits internally, at least to a certain extent, over some operational period of time. Depending upon the type of engine, it can become increasingly important to clean such deposits from the engine after some period of operation, generally from a few to several hundred hours of operation.
This internal engine cleaning procedure is conducted routinely by the military with their turbine engine powered aircraft. Generally, the procedure involves the introduction of a liquid solvent or detergent solution into the intake or compressor portion of the engine, whereupon the engine is turned over at a relatively low speed (compared to normal operational rpm; the speed may be on the order of 20% of normal operational rpm) to cause the compressor to force the fluid through the engine and to wash carbon buildup and deposits from the engine, particularly downstream of the hot section of the engine and through the exhaust turbine section.
This procedure is quite efficient at removing carbon and other buildups from the internal components of the engine. However, it will be seen that the detergents or solvents used, will be expelled from the exhaust of the engine, directly onto the underlying surface (ramp pavement, hangar floor, etc.) unless some arrangement is made to recapture the liquid. Also, fluid will spill from the inlet of the cowling or fuselage when the fluid is introduced into the intake portion of the cowling or engine, and will generally spill between the engine and cowling, to leak from various openings and seams in the bottom of the cowling. Obviously, the conventional procedure is exceedingly messy, and results in a great deal of liquid, with contaminants from the engine, being spilled and sprayed over a relatively wide area. This is all the more critical, considering the various hazardous wastes (hydrocarbons, cadmium from plated components, etc.) which must be cleaned up after each engine cleaning operation.
In accordance with the above, a need will be seen for an engine wash recovery system which captures liquids expelled from the engine, engine cowling, and/or fuselage of a turbine engine aircraft undergoing an engine cleaning operation. The system must provide for the capture of any liquids spilling externally from the cowling or fuselage containing the engine, and must also capture liquids which have passed through the engine as they exit the engine from the engine exhaust. The system must be relatively light weight and easy to install, remove, and store as needed, while also providing positive capture of hazardous wastes during the engine cleaning operation, for proper disposal afterwards.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,903 issued on Sep. 3, 1957 to George A. Davies, titled "Protective Cover For A Jet Engine," describes a flexible, bag-like enclosure which completely encloses a turbine engine for sealing during storage. The device cannot be hung from beneath a nacelle or fuselage structure by straps for ease of installation and removal, as provided by the present invention. Even if the device were modified for installation by removing the upper portion and adding straps, there is still no suggestion of any means of recapturing substantial amounts of liquids which pass through the engine, and passing them to another catch container, as provided by the present invention. The Davies enclosure would overflow in short order, resulting in spillage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,980 issued on Mar. 7, 1972 to Fred D. Peterson, titled "Jet Engine Cowl Cover," describes a removable intake cover for turbojet engine aircraft. The device is quite limited relative to the present invention, in that it only covers and seals the intake of the engine. No container for removable installation beneath the fuselage or nacelle is disclosed by Peterson, and no means of ducting or transferring liquid spilled after passing through the engine and/or nacelle or fuselage, is disclosed by Peterson, which features are provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,257 issued on May 10, 1977 to Daniel J. O'Connell, titled "Funnel-Drainer Device," describes a rigid catch container in the form of an inverted conical section, with a flexible container bag extending from one side of its lower end. The result is generally opposite that of the present invention, which generally comprises a flexible catch container which straps suspendably beneath an engine nacelle or cowling, and which is connected to a rigid receptacle. The rigid catch container or the O'Connell device thus cannot be flexibly draped beneath an engine, as provided by the present invention, and moreover, O'Connell does not provide any means of capturing any fluids which exit the exhaust of the engine, as provided by the present invention. The O'Connell device is primarily directed to use in capturing oil drained from the drain pan of an automobile engine, and cannot be converted or modified in any way to perform the function of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,969 issued on Dec. 27, 1977 to Charles A. Black, titled "Oil Drain Bag," describes an oil collection container for collecting oil drained from an automobile engine. No means is provided by Black for suspending the device from beneath the engine housing (nacelle, cowling, fuselage, etc.) of an aircraft, nor is any means provided by Black for collecting spray passing internally through the engine and exiting the exhaust, both of which means are provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,463 issued on Apr. 23, 1985 to Randall W. Ward, titled "Free-Standing Flexible Container For Fluids," describes a container for capturing fluids drained from an automobile or other vehicle engine or mechanical component. The device comprises a rigid lower portion, with a flexible upper portion adapted for forming a closure about the top of the device when it has been filled with a fluid. The device is not structured to fit closely about the lower portion of an aircraft engine nacelle or the like, nor is it structured to pass spray carried by engine exhaust through a duct to a container therefor, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,883 issued on Jul. 8, 1986 to William L. Suter, titled "Apparatus For Protecting A Portion Of The Exterior Of An Aircraft," describes a plurality of foam sheets which are removably secured to the upper portions of an aircraft to protect it from the elements. No means of capturing fluids passing through and around the engine and/or cowling is disclosed, as the apparatus does not enclose any of the lower portion of the aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,248 issued on Nov. 10, 1987 to Jonothon M. W. McIntyre, titled "Fluid Collection And Drain Apparatus," describes a disposable collection container for collecting oil or other fluids drained from an automobile. No means is disclosed for suspending the device from beneath the engine, or for collecting and passing exhaust gas and spray passing through the engine to a container for capturing the liquid portions thereof, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,098 issued on May 19, 1992 to Teddy G. Campbell, titled "Aircraft Engine Protective Cover," describes a flexible shield for removably securing to the exhaust nozzle of a turbojet aircraft engine. The device is completely closed, in order to preclude entry of fuel vapors into the hot section of the engine during aircraft refueling operations, and thus cannot transfer exhaust spray to another container, as provided by the present invention. Campbell does not provide any means of capturing fluid runoff from beneath the engine nacelle, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,321 issued on Sep. 1, 1992 to Thomas H. Jackson, titled "Folding Protective Cover For Turbo-Engines," describes a turbojet inlet cover for precluding the entry of dirt and foreign objects into the engine inlet while the engine is shut down and the aircraft parked. The device does not extend beneath the nacelle and cannot capture fluids passing through or around the engine and exiting the engine exhaust and nacelle, as provided by the present invention.
Swedish Patent Publication No. 110,533 published on May 2, 1944 illustrates a flexible cover for an automobile engine and transmission assembly, for enclosing the assembly for storage when it has been removed from an automobile. No means is apparent for capturing fluids expelled by the engine when it is running or being turned over, as provided by the present invention.
British Patent Publication No. 574,986 accepted on Jan. 29, 1946, titled "Improved Cover for Use In Protecting Marine And Other Internal Combustion Engines Against Water, Dampness Or Oil," describes a cover of flexible, waterproof material which is used to enclose an installed internal combustion engine in a boat or the like, to preclude its inadvertent submersion. While sealable passages are provided for engine inlet and exhaust so the engine may be operated with the cover in place, no means is provided to capture fluids passing through the engine, and/or fluids collecting within a housing beneath the engine, for disposal, as provided by the present invention.
British Patent Publication No. 1,208,806 published on Oct. 14, 1970, titled "Engine Cowling Ventral Door, For V/STOL Aircraft," describes an automatic mechanism or linkage for opening or lowering a ventral cover when the turbojet nozzle is adjusted downwardly to provide vertical thrust in a V/STOL turbojet aircraft. The device is permanently installed on the aircraft, and does not serve to capture fluids during a cleaning operation, nor is the device operable for routing fluids or engine exhaust during an engine cleaning operation, as provided by the present invention.
Finally, the present inventor is aware of a system previously developed for use in collecting wash liquids used in the cleaning of engines on C-130 military aircraft. The device utilizes a rigid collector of aluminum sheet (as opposed to the present flexible collector) beneath the forward portion of the engine nacelle, and routes air from the engine exhaust into a defueling tank to collect liquids passing through the engine and from the collector. The device is relatively complex in comparison to the present invention, with two 55 gallon drums welded together for attaching the engine exhaust duct to the defueling tank. The lid of the defueling tank is left open to vent the apparatus, with no filter being disclosed, as provided in the present invention. As such defueling tanks do not have horizontal baffles therein, they cannot separate the liquid from the engine exhaust air as efficiently as the present baffled container. Also, excess wash liquid typically overflows the engine intake during cleaning operations. The prior art device would allow this liquid to spill, whereas the present invention captures all liquids used in the cleaning operation and/or emanating from the engine and/or engine housing, by means of an intake extension on the collector. The prior art apparatus requires a powered tractor or the like to tow the defueling trailer to a location for storage, and the defueling tank and trailer are sufficiently large and heavy that they cannot be moved manually by a single individual, as can the present wash recovery system.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A concrete screed includes a screed bar, a bar mover adapted to move the screed bar over concrete, and a mount coupling the bar mover to the screed bar.

The present disclosure relates to a concrete screed for screeding freshly-placed concrete.
A variety of tools are used to finish freshly placed concrete. One such tool is a concrete screed. A concrete screed is used to screed or otherwise level freshly-placed concrete before the concrete completely hardens. To do so, the screed is pulled or otherwise moved over the concrete to provide the concrete with a generally level top surface.

Concrete screed with reinforced screed bar