A new compound, Denatonium Capsaicinate, and a method of producing the same are disclosed. Denatonium Capsaicinate provides an enhanced bitter and/or spicy, pungent flavor and may be used as an aversive agent, biocide, antifoulant and flavorant, for example. It is formed by reaction of a denatonium compound, Lidocaine or Lidocaine derivative with Capsaicin or a derivative thereof.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a compound, methods of producing the compound, and means of using the compound as an aversive agent. In particular, this invention relates to the novel compound Denatonium Capsaicinate.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of denatonium compounds, in particular Denatonium Benzoate and Denatonium Saccharide, as aversive agents is known. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,080,327, 3,268,577, 4,661,504 and 4,652,577. Denatonium is derived from Lidocaine (N,N-diethylamino-2,6-dimethylacetanilide) The structure in common between Lidocaine and denatonium compounds is shown in Formula 1: ##STR1## Denatonium compounds are frequently incorporated into compositions or coatings in order to deter either ingestion by humans or to repel animals, reptiles, fish and birds from an article coated therewith. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,038. Denatonium compounds are also used as denaturants for alcohol and tallow (U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,046), and as bitter flavoring agents in food. Generally, the taste threshold level for denatonium compounds is from about 1 part in 10 million to 1 part in 100 million, and the aftertaste can last from several seconds to several minutes. However, the taste of these compounds is not always perceived by certain animals, such as certain species of rodents, dogs, deer, etc. Therefore, these compounds are not always effective as an aversive agent for all animals.
A second aversive agent known in the art is Capsaicin and its derivatives. See E. K. Nelson and L. E. Dawson, "Constitution of Capsaicin. III," Vol. XLV J. Am. Chem., 2179-2181 (1923). The structures of both natural and synthetic Capsaicin are shown below in Formulas 2a and 2b, respectively. ##STR2##
Capsaicin provides a hot, spicy, pungent flavor as well as a numbing, burning or tingling effect when applied orally or topically. Capsaicin is known to be a powerful irritant that can cause selective degeneration of sensory neurons that mediate chemogenic or trigeminal pain. Capsaicin and its derivatives are principally used as an irritant; a flavorant from about 1 part in 100,000 parts; an animal repellent (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,322,862 and 5,456,916); an antifoulant (U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,385); a carminative; in neural biological research (U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,782); and in pharmaceuticals (U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,868). Both the natural and synthetic compounds of Capsaicin have been found to be very effective for these uses.
Although both denatonium compounds and capsaicin compounds provide an offensive flavor and are therefore useful as aversive agents, a new and useful compound exhibiting an enhanced bitter and/or sharp taste is most desirable. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new compound, Denatonium Capsaicinate, that is effective in very low concentrations to provoke a bitter and/or spicy, pungent flavor and/or to produce a chemogenic effect.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new compound, Denatonium Capsaicinate, that is effective as a biocide.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new compound, Denatonium Capsaicinate, that is effective as an antifoulant.

Denatonium capsaicinate and methods of producing the same

Burlington Bio-Medical & Scientific Corp.


An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a memory configured to store contents, a display configured to output the contents, and a processor operatively connected with the memory and the display. The memory is further configured to store instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to, in response to a first user input, select at least one contents satisfying a specified condition among a plurality of contents stored in the memory, output a first screen composed of the selected at least one contents in the display, and if a second user input to end the output of the first screen is received, output a second screen for verification of a user of the electronic device in the display.

An electronic device such as a smartphone or the like may provide an execution environment of an application supporting various functions. For example, the electronic device may control system resources, such as a storage space of a memory and the like, such that applications supporting functions, such as a function of managing contacts, a function of managing an album of photos and videos, and the like, are installed and executed.
Meanwhile, the electronic device may support various ways to secure contents stored in a memory. For example, the electronic device may encrypt contents to be secured or may independently store contents in a separate storage area such that an unauthorized user or an external electronic device fails to use the contents.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Contents securing method and electronic device supporting the same


A folding expandable table having a composite pedestal. In the preferred embodiments of this folding table, retractable table legs are integrated within each member of the composite pedestal assembly, which serves to both store such legs and support table top leafs; and, as the table is unfolded, supports the table top with up to four leafs. The folding table can be partially or completed unfolded, to form three distinct configurations with one, two or four leafs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an article of manufacture. More specifically, this invention relates to an expandable folding table having multiple configurations. In the preferred embodiments of this folding table, retractable legs of the table are integrated within a member of composite pedestal assembly which serves to both store such legs and support table top leafs; and, as the table is unfolded, such legs are deployed from each member of the composite pedestal to support the expandable table top as each leaf thereof is progressively unfolded.
2. Background of Invention
Folding tables are known in the art, and typically include two planar tops surfaces (herein also "leafs") hingedly attached to one another. Generally, the table legs are affixed to the corners of the unfolded table, and are similarly extended or retracted from the underside of the table top of the folding table, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,158,950 (to Swett, issued Jun. 6, 1938)
U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,845 (to Hickman, issued Apr. 21, 1969) is representative of a genre of folding table wherein the legs are hingedly attached to a pedestal In the Hickman design, his folding table is provided with a pedestal base (Ref. no. 24), that serves to both support an unfolded leaf pair from the middle of the table, and store such leaf pair when not in use (folded). The Hickman concept also incorporates a fixed leaf (Ref. no. 18) which is located on the top of the pedestal, and fills the gap between each leaf as the table is unfolded.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,670 (to Schultz, issued Feb. 25, 1960) is similar to Hickman, in that two pair of collapsible leafs of the Schultz folding table, are stored within a pedestal-like base. Insofar as the Schultz design contemplates a four leaf design, without any support thereof in the center of the table, Schultz requires the addition of "guide means" and "groove defining strips" (FIG. 5, ref. nos. 30 & 32) to support the pair of interior leafs in the center of his table. Each of the "guide means" and "groove defining strips" are intended to provide rigidity and structural support to the pair of interior leafs table at the center line/hinge between them.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,892 (to Favini, issued Nov. 13, 2001) is similar to Schultz, in that the Favini folding table comprises two leafs hingedly attached to one another along a common edge. One of these leafs is also hingedly attached to a pedestal at a location off-set from the center of the table. The Favini table can be deployed with either one or both of the leafs, In order to provide improved support for these leafs, at the time of unfolding thereof, Favini also provides a pedestal base which includes a pair of folding leg assemblies to support each leaf. Each pair of leg assemblies is also unfolded from the pedestal, and thereby supports both ends of the table, while the pedestal provides support at the center thereof.
In each of the folding tables described hereinabove, the table top assembly can be supported either from each end of the unfolded table, or alternatively, by means of legs which are integral with a pedestal base. Where the table top is not support by a pedestal, or by a comparable leg assembly, some other expedient is generally required to prevent the table top from sagging along the center-line/hinge between the two leafs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,657 (to Zollinger, issued March 1987) is representative of an alternative means for achieving such table top support along this center/hinge-line without the use of a pedestal or legs.
In each of the foregoing folding table designs disclosed in the prior art, the use of more than two leafs is generally circumscribed because of the physical limitations inherent is such designs. The Zollinger patent recognizes this limitation and attempts to accommodate the need for physical support along a center/hinge-line by a lock/bolt mechanism that telescopes from one leaf into the adjacent leaf. This telescoping bolt does not, however, provide sufficient support to the abutting leafs to accommodate heavy loads, and is otherwise complex to manufacture and subject to damage and jamming. Accordingly, there continues to exist a need to provide a folding table with more than two leafs with the physical integrity of Hickman and/or Favini design, and yet is readily collapsible for ease of storage and/or transport.

Folding table with composite pedestal base


The operating level of the liquid in a cyclone contactor is maintained without the need for an external sensor and a control valve. A pressure balancing connection communicates the contactor with a chamber from which the liquid for the contactor is supplied. The liquid level is maintained by equalizing the pressure at (or slightly below) the instability point of the contactor and the pressure head in the liquid supply chamber.

This invention relates to improvements in cyclone contactors of the type used in sample evaporators and emission monitoring systems and, in particular, to a means for maintaining the proper liquid level in the contactor receptacle without the need for an external sensor.
Cyclone contactors are employed as concentrators in emission monitoring systems as shown and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,117,714 and 5,011,517. They are also utilized as the key component in laboratory analysis systems that rapidly evaporate samples under analysis in order to concentrate the analyte, as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,580. In these and other applications the cyclone concentrator typically comprises a cylindrical receptacle having an elongated inlet slit therein arranged to introduce air or other gas under pressure into the cylindrical chamber in an tangential direction where it swirls in the receptacle in intimate contact with a liquid introduced through a separate inlet port. An external sensor has been employed to maintain the liquid at a level below an instability point relative to the length of the gas inlet slit in order to prevent the liquid from being expelled from the receptacle by the vacuum that draws the air or other gas into the chamber for the swirling action.
Several types of sensors have been utilized to monitor the liquid level inside the contactor and open a valve as necessary to admit fluid. These include sensors of the conductive, capacitive and optical type, each of which has drawbacks that limit its usefulness. For example, a conductive sensor has probes that are inserted through the wall of the contactor receptacle, thus eliminating any variability in the level sensing; a capacitive sensor can be mounted externally in such a way to allow level variability, but it cannot sense collection fluids that are non-conductive; and a through-beam optical sensor is subject to interference by degradation of and deposits on the inner surface of the receptacle.
In addition, the valves controlled by these sensors are digital, i.e., open or closed. The hysteresis necessary in the valve control allows fluid into the chamber in small bursts that take the liquid level higher than the sensing position before the valve is closed. Thus, the liquid level in the contactor must be held lower than the instability point to ensure that no liquid is withdrawn by the negative pressure.

Level maintenance in cyclone contractors


Activation of a far-red light device with a far-red light frequency that promotes the conversion of inactive Pfr to active Pr in short-day plants prior to a dark period.

When does a plant know when to flower? Some plants flower at any time. These are known as day-neutral plants. Some plants flower early in the season, these are long-day plants and some plants flower late in the growing season and these are short-day plants. Short-day plants flower as the length of daylight shortens and the length of night or darkness increases typically towards the end of the outdoor growing cycle for where the plant is located. Some horticulturally important short-day plants include African Marigolds, Cosmos, Zinnias, Hemp (Cannabis Sativa) and Celosia.
Short day plants have a chemical mechanism built in to respond to the changing photoperiod. This mechanism is the phytochrome system, in which an inactive form of phytochrome pigment (Pfr) is converted to an active form phytochrome pigment (Pr). In short-day plants, this conversion reaching a threshold level triggers the formation of flowers after exposure to increasing hours of darkness. Typically in Hemp plants, exposure to twelve hours of darkness allows for an adequate conversion of Pfr to Pr to trigger the formation of flowering.
In conventional greenhouse agriculture for Cannabis, the manipulation of the phytochrome system to induce flowering is triggered by light deprivation systems that remove the illumination from the cannabis plants by either shutting off the lighting or deploying a black-out screen over the entire grow operation. The cannabis plants respond to the 12 hours of darkness by producing flowers. What is needed is an approach to increase the inactive Pfr to active Pr and promote flowing in a short-day plant without using known light deprivation approaches while reducing the time needed to promote the flowering.

Red light converter for conversion of inactive phytochrome


A transmitting system, which is capable of transmitting a signal for positioning to an area where radio waves are hardly received, is provided. The transmitting system for transmitting the signal for positioning includes a GPS compatible mixer combining a GPS signal for positioning received by a GPS antenna and a BS broadcasting signal received by a BS antenna and outputting the combined signal, a BS-IF compatible amplifier amplifying the signal output from the GPS compatible mixer and outputting the amplified signal, a separator separating the signal output from the BS-IF compatible amplifier into a BS broadcasting signal and a GPS signal, a BS tuner receiving an input of the BS broadcasting signal output from the separator and obtaining a signal of a channel tuned by a user, a GPSBP filter passing a GPS signal included in a predetermined frequency band out of the signal output from the separator, and a GPS issuing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for transmitting a signal for positioning. More specifically, the present invention relates to a transmitting system capable of transmitting a broadcasting signal and a signal for positioning through a common line and to a method for producing the system.
2. Description of the Background Art
The technique for obtaining positional information based on a signal transmitted from a satellite capable for transmitting a signal for positioning is known. Wile this signal can easily be received outdoors, it cannot be received indoors or Underground. Accordingly, sometimes operations of a receiving unit for the signal may not easily be checked. It should be noted that a satellite navigation system as used herein includes not only the GPS (Global Positioning System) operated by the United States, but also Galileo of which operation is currently considered by the European Union, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) operated by the Russian Federation, and any other satellite navigation systems.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-220173 discloses a pseudo GPS signal generator, which allows checking of the operation of a GPS receiving unit indoors. The generator includes a frequency converter converting a local signal sent out from a test-target GPS receiving unit to a carrier wave of an intermediate frequency range, a digital signal generator sending out a C/A (Coarse and Access) code and a navigation message, a mixer mixing the C/A code and the navigation message into the carrier wave, a noise generator sending out a white noise of a higher level than an output signal sent out from the mixer, an adder adding the white noise to the output signal from the mixer to send out a pseudo GPS signal, and an amplifier amplifying the pseudo GPS signal to a prescribed level and supplying the amplified signal to a digital signal processor accommodated in the test-target GPS receiving unit.
According to the pseudo GPS signal generator disclosed by Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-220173, the digital signal processor accommodated in the test-target GPS receiving unit is supplied with the pseudo GPS signal amplified to a prescribed level by the amplifier. The pseudo GPS signal includes the carrier wave, the C/A code, the navigation message, and the white noise. The digital signal processor extracts the navigation message from the pseudo GPS signal and checks the correlation of the C/A code. Thus, the operation of a GPS receiving unit assembled indoors can be checked without installing an antenna.
While the pseudo GPS signal generator disclosed by Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-220173 generates a signal for a specific purpose, i.e., for checking the operation of a newly assembled GPS receiving unit, it does not receive an actual GPS signal and transmits it indoors. Accordingly, in order to use the GPS receiving unit indoors, the GPS signal received by an antenna must be transmitted indoors and then issued indoors.
In this case, if a new system from the GPS reception antenna to a GPS signal issuing unit is constructed, installation of cables for transmitting a signal and the like are necessary. Therefore, there has been a problem that the system cannot easily be constructed indoors when costs or installability of the cables is limited.
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problem, and an object thereof is to provide a system capable of issuing a signal for positioning to a receiving unit capable of receiving a signal for positioning in an area where radio waves cannot be received directly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of issuing a signal for positioning to a receiving unit capable of receiving a signal for positioning in an area where radio waves cannot be received directly, while suppressing an increase in costs.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a system capable of issuing a signal for positioning to a receiving unit capable of receiving a signal for positioning in an area where radio waves cannot be received directly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a system capable of issuing a signal for positioning to a receiving unit capable of receiving a signal for positioning in an area where radio waves cannot be received directly, while suppressing an increase in costs.

System for transmitting a signal for positioning and method for producing the system


A component for insertion into a hole in a multiple-layer substrate enables impedance matching of the substrate. The component comprises a conductive ground core arranged to extend through multiple-layers of the substrate when the component is inserted, a dielectric layer laterally encasing the conductive ground core, and a signal conductor layer coupled lateral to the dielectric layer.

The use of a thick printed circuit board (PCB) with high layer counts means that signals travel longer distances to make connections from one layer to another. Signals are susceptible to longer distances of impedance discontinuity. Discontinuity can deteriorate quality of high-speed signals because of signal reflection, attenuation, and other degradation phenomena.
Signal traces in different PCB layers are generally connected by formation of conductive vias extending through the board. Thick boards can be heavily-populated with components and devices with layers that contain intricate, highly-precise traces with fine detail. Vias connecting the traces can similar be highly intricate and tightly-specified. Drilling of small and intricate tightly-specified vias in the thick printed circuit boards is difficult due to various considerations including variation of two-dimensional registration of structures on the different layers, the increased likelihood of drill bit breakage in the increased thickness boards, and others. Usage of vias to transfer signals across different layers adds signal impedance discontinuity, potentially degrading the signal.
Impedance discontinuity problems can become highly significant for high-speed signals that are transferred from one layer to another in a thick printed circuit board. For example, particular difficulties may arise for bladed computers where a very large number of computers are interconnected, either directly or through a network fabric. A high speed interconnect is generally used to connect the multiple computers. The high speed interconnect extends from an individual computer to an interconnect switch through a backplane. The backplane is typically thick to enable multiple routing connections and supply sufficient mechanical strength. The interconnect signals can be moderately high-speed signals with little tolerance for impedance discontinuity and other signal degradation and attenuation occurring in signal transfer through the vias.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Routing messages in a virtualized environment. A communication that was issued from an application executing on an operating system is intercepted. The communication is intended to be sent to an intended recipient that is executing on, or is a kernel of, the operating system. A determination is made, based upon a policy, whether to forward the communication to the intended recipient or to route the communication to a virtual machine executing upon the same physical device as the application. The policy allows a user to specify what types of information and device resources are available to each application.

Complex software systems, such as the software running on mobile phones, have multiple software components. Such software systems often communicate via message-passing. Communicating in this manner allows one software component to trigger an action in another component. For example, when a user taps on a particular icon displayed on the screen of a mobile device, the tapping on the icon may be handled by a first application (which is typically termed a "launcher application"). This first application, in turn, may send a message to a second application that is represented by the icon. Upon receiving the message, the second application represented by the icon will launch. This type of message-passing is typically abbreviated as "inter-process communication" or IPC.
There are a variety of reasons for dividing complex software systems into components that communicate via inter-process communication. One such reason is security. Components may be configured to require different levels of access privileges. For example, an email component may be permitted to access a mobile phone network (and consequently render the user liable for monetary charges for accessing the mobile phone network) while another application, such as a calendar application, may not be permitted to access the network. Therefore, if malicious software were to infect the calendar program, the infected calendar program would not be able to cost the user money for using the network.
Certain prior art approaches employ an IPC firewall to secure the interactions between certain software components. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an IPC firewall according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, an IPC firewall according to the prior art blocks a message from arriving at its destination if the message is denied passage by the firewall. Prior art IPC firewalls reside within the operating system.

Inter-process communication router within a virtualized environment


A recording apparatus includes a recording unit that has a head unit provided with a recording head in a movable manner in a scanning direction of the recording head, and a scanner unit that is provided on the upper side of the recording unit and is capable of opening and closing the upper side of the recording unit; the recording unit includes a flexible ink tube that guides ink which is sent from a ink holding unit for holding the ink to the head unit, a gap formation member configured to form between the recording unit and the scanner unit a gap through which the ink tube passes and the size of which is sufficiently large so as not to block an ink flow path in the ink tube, and a medium reception tray having a relief portion that is formed on the upstream side in a medium discharge direction so as to avoid a feeding unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to recording apparatuses that include a recording unit and an opening/closing member which is disposed on an upper side of the recording unit and is capable of opening and closing the upper side of the recording unit.
In this application, recording apparatuses include various kinds of apparatuses such as ink jet printers, copy machines, fax machines, and so on.
2. Related Art
Ink jet printers are an example of recording apparatuses. Of the ink jet printers, there is provided such a printer that has a scanning function in addition to a printing function (JP-A-2012-109703). An ink jet printer having the stated scanning function is called a complex machine. This complex machine is capable of reading documents and recording on paper by itself, which enhances convenience of a user and save the installation space as a whole.
In this ink jet printer, a scanner unit is provided on a printer unit, which is a main apparatus body, in a freely rotatable manner with respect to the printer unit about a rotational shaft as a fulcrum disposed at a rear end portion of the scanner unit.
The scanner unit includes an upper frame serving as a housing, an image reading section accommodated in the upper frame, an upper lid that is supported in a freely rotatable manner on the upper frame, and a document placement plate that faces the upper lid when the upper lid is closed. In the scanner unit, a document is placed on the document placement plate and the placed document can be read by the image reading section that is moved along a guide shaft provided in the scanner unit.
Note that an ink jet printer including the above scanner unit has a structure in which the scanner unit is provided on the printer unit. This structure has caused an increase in height of a recording apparatus to make the recording apparatus larger in size.
Further, in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer including an ink cartridge, the amount of ink held in the ink cartridge which is detachably disposed in the main apparatus body is limited. Accordingly, in this ink jet printer, there is a risk that the number of operations to exchange the ink cartridge will be increased if recording is performed on a large amount of target recording media.
Therefore, among the recording apparatuses equipped with carriages, there is such a recording apparatus that includes an ink supply system in which an ink tube connected with the carriage side is also connected with a large-capacity ink tank disposed outside the main apparatus body so as to supply ink from the large-capacity ink tank to the carriage side, thereby making it possible to perform recording on a large amount of target recording media (JP-A-2008-238787).
In a recording apparatus including such ink supply system, it is necessary to extend an ink tube connected with a carriage from a printer housing to the outside of the stated housing and to connect the extended ink tube with a large-capacity ink tank. Accordingly, it has been necessary to form a space through which the ink tube passes in the housing so as to extend the ink tube from the housing to the outside of the housing. This increases the height of the housing due to the space being formed, and the recording apparatus is likely to become larger in size.


Inter-integrated circuit input circuitry includes a pull-up current circuit and an input circuit. The input circuit includes an output inverter, an input inverter, and a pull-up circuit. The pull-up circuit is coupled to an input of the input inverter, and includes a pull-up transistor and a cascode transistor. The pull-up transistor is coupled to the input of the input inverter. The cascode transistor is coupled to the pull-up current circuit and the pull-up transistor, and configured to isolate the pull-up transistor from capacitance of a conductor coupled to the pull-up current circuit and the input circuit.

Various serial communication buses have been developed to reduce the cost and complexity associated with communication using parallel buses. The inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus is one such serial bus. The I2C bus uses two conductors (assuming a common ground) to provide communication between electronic devices (e.g., communication between a microcontroller and one or more peripheral devices). A first conductor connects a clock output terminal of a master device to a clock input terminal of one or more slave devices. A second conductor connects data input/output terminals of the interconnected devices.

Input circuitry for inter-integrated circuit system


A method for breaking an emulsion comprising oil and water into oil and water phases comprising treating the emulsion with a chemical demulsifier and passing the mixture through a hollow chamber having a uniform cross-section and subjecting the mixture to acoustic energy in the frequency range of about 0.5 to 10.0 kHz, preferably 1.25 kHz, to enhance breaking the emulsion into a water phase and oil phase. The oil phase is then separated from the water phase by gravity separation and recovered. The sonic energy is generated by a transducer attached to the mid-section of the upper or lower outer surface of the hollow chamber. For emulsions containing light oil having an API gravity greater than 20 and water, the emulsion can be broken by the use of acoustic energy in the frequency range of about 0.5 to 10.0 kHz without the addition of chemical demulsifiers.

In oil field, water usually is co-produced with crude oil and becomes entrained with the oil. The crude oil must generally be free of water (0.5% or less) before it can be sold and transported in pipelines. Thus, is it necessary to separate the oil from the water to prepare the oil for further processing and sale. The complexity of separating mixtures of water and oil depends upon the physical form of the water. Where the mixture has only "free" water, the water will separate readily from the oil because of the differences in densities of the water and oil. This type of separation presents no problem other than providing a vessel in which water-oil phase separation can occur. However, in many instances, the water can be dispersed throughout the oil in very minute particles, usually with diameters less than 25 microns, forming an "emulsion". An emulsion is very difficult and extremely expensive to separate into water and oil phases.
In these emulsions, the small particles of water are dispersed in the oil in a stable condition for several reasons. First, the area of the interface between oil and water in a stable emulsion is very substantial. For example, the interfacial area of one gallon of water dispersed within oil would range from about 1,000 to 300,000 square feet. Each separate interface must be broken to completely break the emulsion.
Furthermore, in a state of emulsion, the interfacial area of the water in the oil is stabilized against coalescence by two factors. The first factor is the minute size of the dispersed water, which effectively increases the interfacial area.
The second factor is the presence of emulsifying agents or surfactants, such as sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium salts of organic acids, which are commonly found in producing reservoirs. These agents, which can be found dissolved in the water or the oil of the emulsion, completely coat the interfacial area to form a protective high-viscosity film that surrounds and further stabilizes the dispersed water within the continuous oil phase. This film effectively prevents the coalescence of the dispersed water in the emulsion into separate water and oil phases.
Many types of organic and inorganic materials help stabilize emulsions in this manner, in addition to the aforementioned salts of organic acids. Inorganic solids such as sand, clays, iron sulfide, iron oxide, rust, etc. stabilize water-in-oil emulsions. Organic solids such as asphaltenes and paraffin can also provide stability to emulsions. Gases are trapped in the emulsion, contributing to the stability of the emulsion.
The breaking of emulsions in which water is dispersed in the continuous crude oil phase requires performing certain functions. Initially, the water droplets must migrate towards one another, or flocculate, and the inte-facial protective film surrounding the dispersed water within the emulsion must be broken or destroyed. Then, the particles of water must coalesce into larger droplets of water which can undergo settling through the effects of gravity. Thereafter, the coalesced droplets of water are separated as a water phase from the oil phase.
Breaking of emulsions may be achieved by physical and chemical treatments, application of heat, and electrical methods. Generally, the methods for breaking water-in-oil emulsions employ a combination of these treatments. In many instances, chemical demulsifiers may be employed for assisting in the breaking of the protective film which surrounds the dispersed water. The demulsifiers are added to the emulsion to counter-act the effects of the previously mentioned emulsifying agents or surfactants, including the sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium salts of organic acids. The demulsifier works best when it is distributed throughout the emulsion so as to be present at all interfaces of the water and oil before the emulsion is processed in a treating facility.
There are a multitude of complex chemical compositions which serve as demulsifiers for breaking water-in-oil emulsions. Surface-active materials have been used successfully as demulsifiers. The demulsifiers usually have a variety of polar components with a preferred solubility ranging from predominantly oil-soluble to predominantly water-soluble. The selection of a demulsifier for breaking a particular emulsion may be based upon actual tests and trials performed on the emulsion. Thus, it is usually not possible to predict the costs associated with the use of chemical demulsifiers, until oil production at the field begins. Usually the type of the demulsifier, and its amount in use, are best established by experimentation directly at the facility used to separate the emulsion into water and oil phases.
Chemicals, for example cationic and anionic surfactants, are commonly added to produced fluids in order to break emulsions in the oil field. Heat and mechanical methods are also commonly used alone, or in conjunction with chemicals to destabilize and break emulsions into oil and water phases. (Millions of dollars are spent each year in chemical treating and heating for control of emulsions). These costs must be added to the already significant costs involved in the production of oil from oil fields. The cost of chemical demulsifiers are one of several costs associated with the production of oil from oil fields that must be seriously considered prior to beginning oil production.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,567 discloses the use of ultrasonic treatment in the frequency range of 200 kHz to 400 kHz to break oil-water emulsions in a continuous flow treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,312 discloses the use of ultrasonic treatment in the frequency range of 10 to 200 kHz to break oil-in-water emulsions.
Prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,200,567 and 3,594,314, as well as other prior art patents and publications, teach a method of separating an emulsion with ultrasonic energy of a frequency greater than 10 kHz, usually 10 to 200 kHz. The prior art references cause cavitation to break the emulsion.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,257,997 also shows the use of ultrasonics in breaking oil-water emulsions. Sonic waves have been used in a hollow chamber of uniform cross-section to separate components of a fluid mixture as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,823.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,247 describes the use of an acoustic transducer attached to a hollow chamber that generates acoustic energy which separates dissolved gases from liquids introduced into the hollow chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,814 teaches the use of polyamines and/or polyamine salts as demulsifiers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,265 teaches the use of oxyalkylated alkyl-phenol formaldehyde resins as demulsifiers.
In contrast to the prior art, in the present invention the use of frequencies in the acoustic range, from 500 Hz to 10.0 kHz, the shape of the acoustic chamber and laminar flow pattern of the emulsion through the acoustic chamber, more effectively breaks the emulsion without turbulence due to flow or acoustic cavitation that would possibly re-emulsify the water and oil.
This invention provides an effective and economical method to enhance breaking emulsions containing oil and water with the application of acoustic energy in the frequency range of 500 Hz to 10.0 kHz whether alone or in conjunction with chemical demulsifiers.

Method and apparatus for breaking hydrocarbon emulsions


The present disclosure relates to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) clamp and, more particularly, to an ESD clamp with reduced off-state power consumption. The structure includes: one or more inverters connected to a timing circuit; a first transistor receiving an output signal from a last of the one or more inverters and an output signal from the timing circuit; a second transistor with its gate connected to the first transistor, in series; and a voltage node providing a separate voltage to a gate of the second transistor.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the transfer of electrostatic charge between bodies at different electrostatic potentials (voltages). As is known, an ESD event can destroy and seriously impair IC devices, e.g., circuits used in handheld devices such as cellular telephones.
ESD protection devices are often built into IC devices in order to protect the various electronic components with the IC device. Providing ESD protection devices in handheld devices, e.g., cellular telephones, powered by battery are particularly challenging since these devices have to meet stringent power requirements.
RC-triggered power clamps (RC-Clamp) are typically used for ESD protection devices, particularly in handheld devices, e.g., cellular telephones. However, such clamps are large in size and also have high DC leakage, e.g., resulting in a gradual loss of energy. In handheld devices, e.g., cellular telephones, leakage can be problematic as it can drain the battery, amongst other problems.

Electrostatic discharge clamp with reduced off-state power consumption


A line printing type inkjet image forming apparatus and a method of enhancing printed image quality. The inkjet image forming apparatus includes a printhead having one or more subheads having nozzles and a length corresponding to a width of a print medium, a driving unit to drive the nozzles, a first feeding path, a second feeding path through which the print medium is guided to be again fed along the first feeding path, a path conversion guide unit being disposed in a position where the first and second feeding paths intersect to guide the print medium to be discharged or fed along the second feeding path, a print medium feeding unit, and a controller to synchronize operations of the driving unit, the path conversion guide unit, and the print medium feeding unit, wherein the controller drives the nozzles and the nozzles divided in groups in the same direction time-divisionally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an inkjet image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a line printing type inkjet image forming apparatus which prevents deviations of ink dots from original locations during time-division driving.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, inkjet image forming apparatuses form ink images on a print medium by ejecting ink from a printhead that reciprocates in a widthwise direction that is perpendicular to a feeding direction of the print medium while being spaced apart from a top side of the print medium by a predetermined gap, thereby forming an image. Such an inkjet image forming apparatus for printing the image by ejecting ink onto the print medium while the printhead reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the print medium is referred to as a shuttle type inkjet image forming apparatus. A nozzle unit including a plurality of nozzles ejecting ink is disposed at the printhead of the shuttle type inkjet image forming apparatus.
Recently, to achieve a high-speed printing, a printhead having a fixed nozzle unit with a length corresponding to a width of the print medium has been developed to replace the printhead reciprocating in the widthwise direction of the print medium. An inkjet image forming apparatus having the printhead with the fixed nozzle unit is referred to as a line printing type inkjet image forming apparatus. The printhead of the line printing type inkjet image forming apparatus is fixed and only the print medium is moved. Thus, a unit for driving the line inkjet image forming apparatus is simple and the high-speed printing can be achieved, but when a required resolution is higher than an actual resolution of the printhead, it is difficult to print an image with the required higher resolution.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-232781 describes a conventional inkjet image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 illustrates ink dots ejected on a print medium using a conventional inkjet image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of ink dots ejected on another print medium using the conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 illustrates another example of ink dots ejected on another print medium using the conventional image forming apparatus. In addition, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of print regions of the printing medium of FIGS. 2 and 3.
A printhead 20 having a plurality of nozzles N1 to NN and extending along a width of the print medium P in a direction that is perpendicular to a print medium-feeding direction (X-direction) is illustrated in FIG. 1. When the plurality of nozzles N1 to NN are sequentially driven, a deviation degree W that corresponds to a distance from a dot DD1 to a dot DDN in the print medium-feeding direction is generated on the print medium P. Here, the deviation degree W is a difference in the print medium-feeding direction between positions of the dot DD1 ejected from a first nozzle N1 and the dot DDN ejected from an N-th nozzle NN. As the deviation degree W increases, ink dots are not deposited (or ejected) at correct positions and as ink dots deviate further from the correct positions, an image quality is lowered. To enhance resolution in the medium-feeding direction of the print medium P, the print medium P should be slowly fed and printed. The deviation degree W can be reduced using the following methods: as illustrated in FIG. 2, ink may be ejected by dividing a plurality of head chips 21 into groups so that the groups are placed in a reverse order, or as illustrated in FIG. 3, ink may be ejected by disposing the plurality of head chips 21 alternately so that the head chips 21 are placed in the reverse order. However, when a time-division driving is performed in the reverse order, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the deviation degree W can be reduced, but the ink dots are not uniformly ejected. For example, two ink dots are deposited in a predetermined region 10 while ink dots are not deposited in another region 30. That is, ink dots are not uniformly deposited on the entire region of the printing medium P. Thus, a difference in an optical density occurs between the predetermined region 10 where ink dots are overlappingly deposited while the region 30 where ink dots are not deposited thereby lowering the printed image quality. This is a big problem in the conventional inkjet image forming apparatus that attempts to print high quality images. Accordingly, an inkjet image forming apparatus having an improved structure becomes necessary.

Line printing type inkjet image forming apparatus and method of enhancing printed image quality


Various embodiments concern implanting a lead to directly stimulate the bundle of His. Various embodiments can include introducing a curve of an outer guide catheter into the right ventricle, extending a curve of an inner guide catheter from a lumen of the outer guide catheter, extending a fixation element on a distal tip of an anchor wire from a lumen the inner guide catheter, and anchoring the anchor wire to target tissue within the right ventricle, the target tissue along the septal wall and proximate the tricuspid valve and the bundle of His. A distal tip of an implantable lead with a lumen can then be advanced over the anchor wire to the target tissue as the anchor wire guides the distal tip of the lead to the target tissue.

Cardiac rhythm management systems are useful for electrically stimulating a patient's heart to treat various cardiac arrhythmias. A proposed method of electrically stimulating the heart includes stimulating the bundle of His. By directly stimulating the bundle of His, both the right and left ventricles can be physiologically activated, potentially avoiding pacing induced dyssynchrony present with right ventricular apex pacing. There is a continuing need for improved delivery systems for targeting the bundle of His.


Embodiments include package substrates and methods of forming the package substrates. A package substrate includes a first conductive layer in a first dielectric, a second dielectric over the first dielectric, and a second conductive layer in the second dielectric, where the second conductive layer includes first and second traces. The package substrate also includes a third conductive layer over the second dielectric, and a high dielectric constant (Dk) and low DK regions in the first and second dielectrics, where the high Dk region surrounds the first traces, and where the low Dk region surrounds the second traces. The high Dk region may be between the first and third conductive layers. The low Dk region may be between the first and third conductive layers. The package substrate may include a dielectric region in the first and second dielectrics, where the dielectric region separates the high Dk and low Dk regions.

For the past several decades, the scaling of features in integrated circuits (ICs) has been a driving force behind an ever-growing semiconductor industry. Scaling to smaller and smaller features enables increased densities of functional units on the limited real estate of semiconductor devices. The drive to scale these ICs, including package substrates, while optimizing the performance of each device, however, is not without issue.
Existing technologies typically implement package substrates with the same dielectric material and thickness across each of the dielectric layers. These package substrates also include conductive routings for both differential and single-ended input/output (I/O) interfaces. The routings of the package substrates further include different routing segments like a breakout routing and a main routing. These routing segments, however, typically have different—or even conflicting—routing demands for the substrate's dielectric material and stack-up configurations. Accordingly, due to conflicting packaging and routing demands, the existing package substrates compromise the signal performance of the different routing segments and interfaces.

Optimal signal routing performance through dielectric material configuration designs in package substrate


A faster and more efficient method for applying ultra thin films to substrate surfaces is disclosed. The method comprises heating a film forming composition comprising amphiphilic molecules to a liquid state, immersing the substrate surface in the heated liquid composition to heat the surface, and washing away the excess composition. For surfaces that ordinarily have insufficient or no chemical moieties reactive with the amphiphilic molecules, the immersion in the heated composition causes the substrate to become porous and expose previously unavailable chemically reactive moieties in the surface matrix. The amphiphilic molecules then self-assemble, chemically bond to the surface matrix and self-polymerize with each other and with other surface matrix-bound and/or surface-bound molecules to form the ultra thin surface film. The method is also faster and more efficient for coating non porous and metal surfaces.

This invention relates to the art of coating compositions and to a method for providing surfaces with coatings. This invention is particularly applicable to ultra thin films formed by amphiphilic molecules and will be described with specific reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated that certain features of the invention have broader aspects, and may be used with other types of film forming substances and coating compositions.
The forming of ultra thin, self-assembling molecular films from compositions containing amphiphilic molecules, and methods for modifying substrate surfaces with these films, are described in our commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,078,791; 5,106,561; 5,166,000; 5,300,561; 5,173,365; 5,204,126; and 5,219,654, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These ultra thin films are advantageous for coating non-porous surfaces of glass, plastics, ceramics, porcelain, fiberglass and metals, to provide scratch resistance, corrosion protection, anti-reflective optics, friction reduction, print priming, moisture barriers, and the like. For example, the films may be used for coating laboratory glassware and for providing a non-stick coating for pots, pans, dishes or utensils. The films are particularly advantageous for use on plastic eyewear lenses, such as those manufactured of aliphatic and polycarbonate resins that are pre-treated with a hard coat for scratch resistance.
As particularly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,791 and 5,219,654, substrate surfaces can be treated with a composition comprising amphiphilic molecules dispersed in a non-aqueous carrier, such as petrolatum, mineral jelly, hydrogenated animal or vegetable oil, or the like. The carrier has a gel state at a temperature of about 20.degree. C. that is sufficient to inhibit diffusion of moisture and/or oxygen into the composition and to maintain a uniform dispersion of the amphiphilic molecules throughout the carrier. The composition, in the gel state, is typically applied to the substrate surface at room temperature by wiping, brushing, rolling, spraying, or the use of a doctor blade. Upon application to the substrate surface, the amphiphilic molecules automatically separate from the composition by chemically attractive forces between the molecules and the substrate surface, and spontaneously self-assemble in-situ and chemically bond to the substrate surface to form a substantially continuous thin film of substantially uniform thickness not greater than about 0.5 microns. After a treatment time period, typically 15 minutes to one hour, the excess coating composition is washed away. The film forming substances may be self-polymerizing in-situ or may contain polymerizable moieties that are cross-linkable by heating, photochemical reaction and/or the use of a catalyst.
The above approach has been shown to be effective for applying an ultra thin film coating to substrates having non-porous, i.e. glass or glass-like, surfaces that are chemically reactive with the film forming substance. In the context of this invention, a chemically reactive surface is a surface that has a sufficient number of chemical moieties available to bond with the amphiphilic molecules, such that the amphiphilic molecules self-assemble on the surface, chemically bond to the chemical moieties, and are in close enough proximity to self-polymerize. to form a substantially continuous thin surface film. For example, plastic eyewear lenses made of CR-39 (PPG Industries) have chemically reactive surfaces that can be successfully coated with the ultra thin films. Lenses that are pre-treated with a chemical "hard coat" (e.g. polysiloxanes or acrylics) for scratch resistance also can be coated with the continuous thin film if the hard coat is chemically reactive with the film forming substance. However, the application of these ultra thin films is currently limited to chemically reactive surfaces.
Surfaces that have inadequate chemical reactivity (i.e. surfaces having an insufficient number of available chemically reactive groups for bonding with the amphiphilic molecules, such that the bound molecules are not in close enough proximity to self-polymerize and form a continuous film) are not coatable by the processes described above. In addition, surfaces that ordinarily would be chemically reactive but that are pre-treated with hard coats that are chemically unreactive or have inadequate chemical reactivity, are also not presently coatable. In the context of the invention, chemically unreactive surfaces are those with substantially no available chemical moieties capable of chemically bonding amphiphilic molecules.
Moreover, current methods employing a gel composition may not readily allow efficient surface coating of relatively inaccessible areas in odd-shaped articles. The current processes are also time-consuming due to the slow mobility of the amphiphilic molecules in the gel consistency of the carrier. The processes are also not sufficiently economical for use in large scale commercial treatment applications.

Method for modifying surfaces with ultra thin films


An orbital tool apparatus and method of using the apparatus for boring, drilling, reaming, and cutting having a tool housing, a tool collar located within the housing, the tool housing having the ability to couple to a conduit structure, fluid orbiting jets within the tool collar, and a tool funnel located below the tool collar and within a lower portion of the tool housing. The orbital tool creating a bore in a surface, when fluid flowing into the orbital tool via a conduit is directed out of the orbital tool towards the structure, a portion of the fluid flowing within the orbital tool being diverted through the fluid orbiting jets causing the diverted fluid to impinge against the tool funnel, causing the tool funnel to oscillate creating a sweeping flow towards the surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of drilling, reaming, and cutting tools and methods, in particular, to the drilling, reaming, and cutting of subterranean formations.
2. Background Summary
There are massive costs associated with drilling below the earth's surface on land and the sea floor. These costs can broadly be grouped into two categories: capital costs and expenses. Capital costs tend to be one time costs of equipment including, but not limited to, the drilling platform, drilling rig, pump, drill pipe, trucks, tractors, and buildings. Expenses tend to be hourly costs or consumable material including, but not limited to, wages, food and lodging, electricity, water, fuel, equipment rentals, drill bits, drilling mud, geological and geophysical services, cementing services, down-hole tool services, completion and production services, and transportation.
As drilling takes place these costs can be compounded by difficult formations. These difficult formations may include, but are not limited to, hard formations such as granite which wear out drill bits rapidly, sticky formations such as gumbo soil which can adhere to a drill bit and render it ineffective, and combinations of these and other formations. These difficult formations frequently dictate that the driller trips out of the well, corrects the problem by replacing a worn or ineffective bit and then trips back into the well. These round trips in and out of the well are time consuming and costly, often taking many hours, during which time no drilling can occur, while most capital costs and expenses will continue.
In addition to the massive costs of successful drilling operations, there are additional costs associated with problems which may, and often do, arise while drilling. These problems and their associated costs may include, but are not limited to, collapsed wells and broken drill strings resulting in abandonment of the well.
Difficult formations and trips in and out of the well significantly reduce the rate of penetration (ROP) and introduce a dilemma for the driller regarding weight on bit (WOB) caused by the bit contacting the formation. To improve ROP, the driller can increase the WOB to drill hard formations faster, but the drill bit will wear out faster and result in more trips in and out of the well.
None of the current tools and methods described above has provided adequate improvements to the dilemma of WOB, massive costs, and ROP, collectively. The invention described herein significantly improves the collective WOB, cost and ROP deficiencies of the prior art.

Tool and method for drilling, reaming, and cutting


A procedure and a device for determining yield of usable pieces from a raw material when or before the usable pieces are produced. Determination of the area of raw material is automated, and pieces of raw material are encoded with a marking indicating the area and other pertinent information. The use of proximity sensors in combination with cutting dies permits the automation of yield calculation. The results of the yield calculation can be viewed on a real time basis and provide feedback to the production process, preventing low-yield production and facilitating balanced production of pieces. Indicators permit an operator to be signaled to increase production of underproduced pieces.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of automation of process control. In particular, this invention relates to an apparatus for achieving real time yield control of the number and types of usable pieces of desired sizes and shapes obtained from raw material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Maximizing the yield of usable pieces from raw material has been of interest in industrial production for many years. Factors to be considered include the position and orientation of the pattern of pieces on the raw material, shapes and ratios of types of usable pieces to be produced, and the size, shape and nature of the raw material. The situation becomes particularly complex when natural products are being used, as they are likely to be of irregular shape and are more likely to contain flaws than a manufactured product. Each piece of a natural raw material calls for a separate yield calculation and a different arrangement and assortment of usable pieces is likely to be necessary to maximize yield.
Calculating the yield involves determining the area of the raw material, measuring the area of usable pieces produced and expressing the latter as a percentage of the former. If either the raw material or the usable pieces produced are irregular in shape, the calculations are complex and are best accomplished by a computer.
Current methods of yield calculation commonly require the use of a keypad or keyboard for numerical entry. This procedure introduces a number of difficulties. It is time-consuming and introduces the possibility of data entry error. In addition, a yield value alone does not guide a production worker to increase or decrease production of particular pieces.
Accordingly, a need remains for a process in which the yield of pieces can be determined without any additional processing time, without a delay in obtaining results, with a reduced need for separate data entry steps, and with the capability of providing feedback to the process operator. This invention determines yield in real time, provides instantaneous results to an operator or supervisor, and utilizes automated data entry capabilities.
In order to meet this need, the present invention is an apparatus and method for achieving real time yield control of the number and types of usable pieces of desired sizes and shapes obtained from raw material. The raw material is laid out and conveyed to a cutting station. Dies in the shapes of desired pieces are placed on the raw material. Areas of raw material encompassed by the dies are calculated and subtracted from the total usable area of raw material to determine the yield. The yield is compared to a designated preset threshold value determined for each job. The pieces are then cut from the raw material.

Method and apparatus for real time yield control


A method includes storing multiple bet configurations for a gaming machine. Each bet configuration specifies a respective pay table and a set of bet levels including a minimum bet level. A payout percentage may be selected for each bet level. The pay tables each include a number N of prize levels and each prize level corresponding to a respective numerical prize value for a win on the gaming machine while the corresponding bet configuration is in an active state at the gaming machine. The minimum bets for the different bet configurations are unequal and are related by a translation ratio. The different numerical prize values for the different bet configurations are also related by that same translating ratio. A bet configuration may be placed in the active state at a gaming machine and plays are then resolved according to the bet configuration in the active state.

Mechanical and video reel-type wagering games display results for a given play in the game using a matrix of game symbol locations through which various winning symbol location patterns commonly referred to as "paylines" are defined. In the course of a play in such a game (which may be referred to generally as a "slot game"), the various game symbols appearing at the different game symbol locations are randomized or selected according a random result. A prize of some nature is then awarded when a predefined set of game symbols is shown in the matrix of game symbol locations along any of the paylines which are active for that play. The predefined sets of game symbols are defined in a pay table which relates each such set of game symbols to a respective prize, or multiple prizes with each prize corresponding to the player's bet level for the play in the game.
A method previously used in the wagering industry to offer multiple options for a minimum bet in one of these types of wagering games is to simply vary the number of paylines which may be selected for a given play. That is, a game may be created with versions to play with 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 paylines, each of which has the same minimum bet as the number of paylines. This method has various drawbacks related to the fact that changing the number of paylines changes the game's math model. For example, dropping to fewer paylines drops the hit percentage of the game.
Another method used in the wagering industry to offer options for a minimum be in a given game is to offer the game in different denominations. However, game denomination may not be selectable by a player at a gaming machine, and in any event, many players prefer to play at lower denomination gaming machines (for example, penny denomination gaming machines as opposed to dollar denomination gaming machines) and might be hesitant to change the denomination of a gaming machine to a higher denomination even if that option was available.
There remains a need in the gaming industry for gaming machines and systems which facilitate flexible gaming machine configuration, particularly without changing the play characteristics of the underlying game.

Gaming machine, system, and method facilitating bet configuration by bet level within a given game denomination


A method and apparatus for determining whether a wireless station is operating within a prescribed geographic location. During an initialization process, the wireless telephone measures propagation delays of pilot signals from nearby base stations and stores the propagation delays in a non-volatile memory of the wireless station. Thereafter, during a check process, the wireless station measures propagation delays of pilot signals from nearby base stations and compares them with the stored propagation delays stored in memory. If the difference between the two sets of propagation delays are within a predetermined tolerance, then a determination is made that the wireless station is operating within the prescribed geographic location. Multiple sets of propagation delays may be stored in memory such that a determination can be made as to whether the mobile station is operating within any one of a number of prescribed geographic locations.

Wireless telephones are well known in the art. In general, such telephones are mobile stations such that a user may use the telephone for communication anywhere within a particular geographic serving area. Continuous communication is provided even as the telephone moves about within the serving area. Such continuous service is provided in wireless cellular networks by providing radio base stations (RBS) throughout the geographic serving area. Each base station provides service to a geographic area, called a cell. As a mobile station moves from one cell to another, continuous service is provided by "handing off" the mobile station from one cell to another. In order to provide service to a large number of users, sophisticated frequency sharing plans must be used. The architecture and operation of such cellular wireless systems are well known in the art and will not be described in detail herein.
More recently, the notion of fixed wireless access has become of interest in the area of wireless communications. In a fixed wireless access system, wireless stations (e.g. wireless telephones), are provided with service from a wireless network. However, the wireless stations are expected to be fixed in a prescribed geographic location (e.g., a subscriber's home). In a fixed wireless system, service can be provided to more subscribers with less system resources because no system resources need to be spent on mobility tracking and handoff procedures. Further, since the location of fixed wireless stations are known, the available frequency spectrum can be used more efficiently because interference between users can be better managed.
Thus, service may be provided to fixed wireless subscribers at a lower cost as compared to the equivalent mobile wireless subscriber. A problem arises in that a given wireless telephone may be able to obtain service from a service provider in both a mobile wireless capacity and a fixed wireless capacity. From the service provider point of view, this is a problem because the service provider wants to differentiate fixed wireless service from mobile wireless service. This differentiation may be made on the basis of cost or the types of services provided. Thus, a fixed wireless subscriber should be limited to using the wireless system at the subscriber's fixed location. Alternatively, the fixed wireless subscriber should have to pay a higher rate when using the wireless telephone as a mobile telephone outside of the subscriber's fixed location.
In order for a service provider to handle these situations, the location of the wireless station must be known. There are several existing techniques for determining the location of a mobile station. For example, in several known techniques, the location of a mobile station can be determined by first computing the mobile stations distance from at least three base stations, and then using triangulation to compute the geographic location of the mobile station. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,632 discloses a technique for use in a code division multiple access (CDMA) system in which a mobile station can identify its own location using time delays of pilot signals received from nearby base stations.

Method and apparatus for determining whether a wireless station is operating within a prescribed geographic region


A retaining cap for the shaft of a differential gear assembly retains the pinion gear without support from a case structure. The retaining cap is self-supported, and may be retained on a single shaft by a weld, a force fit arrangement, or by a rivet. The retaining cap is capable of retaining the pinion gear under high loads, and simplifies the differential assembly by allowing construction without the case structure.

The present invention relates to differential gear assemblies, and more particularly to retaining a differential pinion gear on a shaft.
An interaxle differential gear assembly allows an output drive axle to rotate at a different speed than an input drive axle. One type of differential assembly transmits torque from the input drive axle to the output drive axle by rotating a case surrounding a pinion gear assembly. This type is known as a "case driven" differential.
Case driven differentials are a distinct class of differentials that transfer torque by rotation of the case surrounding the differential assembly. Torque is transferred to the pinion gear shaft at a portion of the shaft radially outwardly of the pinion gear. The entire torque load is generally carried by the case. With the case driven differential, the pinion gear is generally retained on its shaft by the case, or by a structure in combination with the case.
In the heavy duty environment, a four pinion gear assembly is generally required in order to transmit substantial amounts of torque through a case driven differential. The four pinion gear assembly distributes the torque over the four pinion gears to reduce tooth stress load on the gears. The pinion gears are generally positioned on a cross-shaped shaft and in a meshing arrangement between a pair of side gears.
A "center driven" differential transmits torque directly to the center of a differential assembly, and generally directly rotates the pinion gear shaft, as opposed to rotating a case. With the center driven differential, the entire torque load is generally carried by the pinion gear shaft.
The prior art methods to retain the pinion gears on its shaft for center driven differentials have utilized a case to provide additional support to retain the pinion gears. Additionally, it is known in the art to use a threaded cap which is received upon a threaded shaft, or to use a snap ring to retain a pinion gear to a shaft. Under high loads, however, both methods are inadequate to retain the pinion gear. A case or other structure is therefore required to assist in retaining the pinion gear on the shaft when the pinion gearing is subjected to high loads. This case is undesirable and adds additional material to the differential, increasing both weight and expense. Further, access to the pinion gears for lubrication is limited. Also, the case reduces the space available for the gears, thus limiting the size of the gears.


Provided is an adhesion assisting agent fitted metal foil, comprising an adhesion assisting agent layer having a thickness of 0.1 to 10 μm on a metal whose surface has a ten-point average roughness Rz of 2.0 μm or less, wherein the adhesion assisting agent layer is formed from an adhesion assisting agent composition comprising: (A) an epoxy resin selected from the group consisting of a novolak epoxy resin and an aralkyl epoxy resin; and (C) an epoxy resin curing agent.

In recent years, electronic appliances have been required to be compact, lightweight and high speed, and high densification of printed wiring boards has advanced. Production of a printed wiring board by a semi-additive method using electroplating has been drawing attention. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 10-4254 discloses a semi-additive method of making interstitial via holes (hereinafter referred to as IVHs) in a resin on which a circuit is to be formed, roughening the surface of the resin by chemical, giving a Pd catalyst thereto, conducting electroless plating to form a patterned, electroplating resist, and then forming the circuit by pattern-electroplating. This method makes it possible to form finer wiring as compared with the subtractive method that an amount of side-etching is large. Furthermore, there is a method of forming a circuit onto a resin-fitted metal foil by a semi-additive method. In order to make the thickness of a metal foil thinner, JP-A No. 2003-158364 discloses a substrate material wherein copper foils of 5 μm thickness or less are put to both faces of an insulating resin. According to this manner, failures based on short circuits in a conductor circuit are less, so that printed-wiring boards having good circuit-formability can be produced. JP-A No. 7-221444 discloses a method of forming a copper layer of about 1 μm thickness on a single face of a polyimide film by using an electron beam vapor-deposition device, and laminating the resultant onto an inner layer circuit through an adhesive or prepreg, so as to be rendered a power supply layer.
In the methods of JP-A Nos. 10-4254 and 2003-158364 out of the above-mentioned methods, the shape of the roughened surface disturbs the formation of fine wiring. Additionally, according to these methods, there is generated an inconvenience that electric properties of the resultant are lowered by the shape of the roughened surface. Since no roughened surface shape is formed in the method of JP-A No. 7-221444, the method is advantageous for forming fine wiring or the electric properties. However, the substrate itself becomes expensive. Thus, the method lacks versatility.
JP-A No. 2004-025835 discloses a method of conducting circuit-formation by using a smooth very thin copper foil as a power supply layer to form fine wiring inexpensively. In this method, IVHs are made from the upper face of the smooth very thin copper foil, which is present on an insulating layer, for interlaminar connection. Electroless copper plating is then performed, and an image of a resist is formed. Thereafter, a circuit is formed. The method for making IVHs is classified into three kinds of methods: the direct laser perforating method, the conformal perforating method, and the large window method. In the direct perforating method, a laser ray is directly irradiated onto a copper foil so as to form IVHs. In the conformal perforating method, windows having a diameter equal to that of IVHs are made by photolithography, and then a laser ray larger than each of the windows is irradiated to make the IVHs. In the large window method, windows larger than the diameter of IVHs are made in a copper foil, and then a laser ray as large as the IVH diameter is irradiated to make the IVHs. In the method described in JP-A No. 2004-025835, it is difficult to use any method other than the direct laser perforating method. This is based on the following reason: when windows are formed by photolithography, it is difficult to form a resist at the end of a substrate; therefore, the resin at the substrate end is naked. On the resin, which is smooth, electroless copper plating peel is not obtained; therefore, there are generated inconveniences such that electroless copper is peeled in the process for mass production. Alternatively, when windows larger than the diameter of IVHs are made in a copper foil by the large window method, the resin outside the IVHs is naked. In this case also, there is caused a problem that plating around the IVHs is peeled.
It has been desired to provide wiring boards which overcome the above-mentioned problems and are advantageous in the formation of fine wiring, electric properties and production costs. Additionally, it has been desired to provide wiring boards which are high in reliability and good in high frequency properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Adhesion assisting agent fitted metal foil, and printed wiring board using thereof


A system for optimizing energy storage component usage in a vehicle comprising one of a hybrid vehicle and an electric vehicle, the vehicle comprising a computer programmed to identify if a vehicle position is associated with link data in a database of historical power usage data, the link data comprising measured historical power usage data for a link of vehicle travel. If the vehicle position is associated with the link data, the computer is programmed to obtain the link data of the link from the database, the link data absent terrain information from the database. The computer is also programmed to determine an expected vehicle power usage of the vehicle based on the obtained link data and optimize the energy storage component usage based on the expected vehicle power usage and based on efficiency and life cycle costs of an energy storage component of the vehicle if the vehicle position is associated with the link data.

The invention relates generally to hybrid and electric vehicles, and more specifically to optimization of energy storage component usage aboard hybrid and electric vehicles.
Hybrid electric vehicles combine an internal combustion engine and an electric motor that is typically powered by one or more electrical energy storage components. Such a combination may increase overall fuel efficiency by enabling the combustion engine and the electric motor to each operate in respective ranges of increased efficiency. Electric motors, for example, may be efficient at accelerating from a standing start, while combustion engines may be efficient during sustained periods of constant engine operation, such as in highway driving. Having an electric motor to boost initial acceleration allows combustion engines in hybrid vehicles to be smaller and more fuel efficient.
In many conventional hybrid vehicles, electric motors also enable the capture of braking energy by acting as generators and providing such captured braking energy to energy storage components (ESCs). ESCs such as batteries, ultracapacitors, or flywheels are used to capture energies present during braking or generation operations for reuse at a later time. These components also provide load-leveling functionality to reduce transient loading to the primary power-producing device in the system. Such installations generally operate with limited or no information about the environment and lack predictive capability to foresee upcoming events. This often results in sub-optimal usage of the ESCs that can shorten life because of unnecessary applied stresses. Often, ESCs are over-sized for the application to ensure that stress limits are not exceeded, which adds cost to the system. Because such vehicles are not aware of their surroundings or historical performance, in order to react to charging and discharging events, the state of charge of the ESC is maintained near the midpoint of the useable storage range of the ESC.
If the vehicle is traveling in a valley or along a high point in the local terrain, hybrid energy recovery may not be maximized. For example, if the vehicle were at a high point in the local terrain with the ESC state of charge at the midpoint, the impending downhill regenerative capture opportunity ceases when the battery reaches full state of charge, which may occur midway down the hill. Accordingly, the full downhill regenerative capture opportunity is stopped short. In addition, the battery will likely charge at 100% power, operate at the limits of stress, and create excessive heat and temperature rise. The converse is true for starting at a low point in the terrain where the hybrid assist is halted when the battery is exhausted of charge prior to reaching the summit.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method capable of optimizing usage of energy storage components in a hybrid power system.

System and method for optimizing energy storage component usage


This disclosure describes systems, methods and articles of a passive EMI filter integrated with an active boost converter for low-side line transients and/or an active clipper for high-side line transients. During steady-state operation, the active circuitry is disabled so the circuit functions as a passive EMI filter. Inductive and capacitive components used in the passive EMI filter during steady-state operation may serve a dual role and become part of a boost converter when input voltage is below a low-line steady-state and, in some variations, the inductive and capacitive components may become part of a transient clipper when the input voltage is above a high-line steady-state level. The transient clipper may be implemented as a linear pass element or as a switch-mode converter (e.g., buck converter).

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to filtering and conditioning components for power systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Direct current-to-direct current (DC/DC) converters that operate from vehicle power (e.g., spacecraft, aircraft, missiles, ground vehicles, marine applications) are designed to operate over a steady state voltage range around a nominal operating point, e.g., 28 V dc, and to accommodate transients at their input. The transients can be characterized as surges and sags in input voltage and voltage spikes of one sort or another. Generally, surges and sags are voltage increases/decreases that are of relatively long duration from sources with relatively low source impedance. Spikes are of much shorter duration, have higher amplitude, may be of either polarity, and are usually limited in energy.
Switch-mode power converters (SMPCs) are a source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) in electronic equipment. In order to comply with strict electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements, an EMI filter is often needed at the input of a SMPC. The design of EMI filters aims at achieving required insertion loss (IL), i.e. attenuation of the power of the unwanted electromagnetic emissions (EME) from a switch-mode DC/DC converter.
SMPCs are the most widely used DC power supplies because SMPCs are significantly smaller, lighter and more efficient than linear power supplies. The main drawback of SMPCs is the current related electromagnetic interference (EMI) at their inputs and voltage related interference at their outputs. The requirements of the load dictate the design of the output filter, which is an important part of the design of the converter and its controller. The input EMI filter, on the other hand, is normally not necessary for the operation of the converter itself. The design of the EMI filter aims at achieving required insertion loss (IL), i.e. attenuation of the power of the unwanted electromagnetic emissions (EME) from a switch-mode DC/DC converter. The task of the input filter is to ensure EMC within the system or with neighboring systems, and to comply with relevant EMC standards.
FIG. 1 shows an example of an EMI filter 10 positioned between a switching power converter 12 and an input voltage source 14. Assuming the components of the EMI filter 10 do not vary with time, the EMI filter may be considered a passive linear electrical circuit.
The EMI filter 10 includes a single common mode filter stage 16 that includes a common mode EMI choke or inductor LCM and two bypass capacitors CY1 and CY2. The EMI filter 10 also includes a single differential mode filter stage 18 that includes a differential mode EMI inductor LDM1 and a bypass capacitor CX1. The EMI filter 10 is coupled between input terminals 20, 22 of the switching power converter 12 (or other noise source) and output terminals 24, 26 of the input power source 14. The power converter 112 generates common mode noise and differential mode noise.
When a differential current such as the normal operation current of the switching power converter 12 passes through the common mode EMI inductor LCM, the differential current cancels out in two windings of the common mode EMI inductor LCM. As a result, there is no net magnetization of the core of the common mode EMI inductor LCM. Consequently, the common mode EMI inductor LCM has no impact on the differential current. In contrast, when a common mode noise current passes through the common mode EMI inductor LCM, the common mode noise current magnetizes the core of the common mode EMI inductor LCM. As a result, the common mode EMI inductor LCM show high impedance for the common mode noise current so as to prevent the common mode noise current from polluting the input power source.
Two common mode bypass capacitors CY1 and CY2 are connected in series and coupled between the two input terminals of the power converter 112. A joint node 28 of the two common mode bypass capacitors CY1 and CY2 is coupled to ground. The common mode bypass capacitors CY1 and CY2 conduct common mode noise generated by the power converter 12 to ground.
The differential mode EMI choke or inductor LDM1 is coupled between the common mode EMI inductor LCM and the positive input 20 of the power converter 12. The differential mode EMI inductor LDM1 suppresses differential mode noise generated by the power converter 12.
The differential mode bypass capacitor CX1 is coupled between the input terminals 20 and 22 of the power converter 12 and the differential mode EMI inductor LDM1i and is connected in parallel with the common mode bypass capacitors CY1 and CY2.
Generally, EMI filtering is required between a switching power converter and an input voltage source to achieve compliance to regulatory limits on conducted emissions. For example, the MIL-STD-461 defines the EMI requirements for subsystems and equipment used in military applications. European Community Directive on EMC, Euro-Norm EN 55022 or 55081 is another common industry standard on conducted radio frequency emissions.
The power converters typically used in commercial aerospace and military applications may be designed for applications where the input voltage source is 28 V DC input (nominal). The input voltage source is normally defined by a specification or standard. For military airborne applications, this standard may be MIL-STD-704. For military ground applications, the standard may be MIL-STD-1275, and for shipboard applications the standard may be MIL-STD-1399. Commercial aerospace applications may use the MIL-STD-704 standard and more often the DO-160 standard. Some commercial aerospace applications may utilize standards where the 28 V DC source was defined by the GJB181-1986 and GJB181A-20 standards.
Each of these source requirement documents defines a steady-state range of input voltage and a range of transient voltages that the load equipment (e.g., power converter) is required to accept. Each of these documents has a number of revisions that over time typically evolve toward tighter limits on the transient extremes and sometimes on the steady-state range as well as generation equipment, and the controls for them, have improved. However, when a product is being developed, it is desired that the product be capable of operating over the widest range possible so that the product can be used on the largest number of platforms, including those developed when early versions of the source specification was in place. This is also typical for custom products since many platforms remain in service for many years, and particularly when the application is targeted for sale to multiple platforms.
For example, the steady-state range for 28 V input sources across these documents is typically from a narrowest range of 22 V DC to 29 V DC and a widest range of 18 V DC to 36 V DC. The widest transient voltage range is from MIL-STD-1275, which specifies a high transient level of 100 V and a low transient level of 6 V (when operation during cranking is required).
Many standard DC/DC converters are designed to operate from 28 V input sources accept 15-40 V steady-state and 50 V transient. Some DC/DC converters may be designed for 15-50 V steady-state and 80 V transient, for example.
In order to use such power converters with input sources that have wider steady-state and transient requirements, three additional functions may need to be added to the converters, namely, an EMI filter, a boost converter (e.g., for low transients between 8V and 15V), and a transient limiter (e.g., for high transients between 50 V and 80 V). These functions may be added to the power converters as separate functional components.
The wide input range required for power converters is generally accomplished either by designing the power converter to operate over the full input range or by adding separate boost and or transient clipping/limiting functional blocks, depending on the required input range and the designed input range of the power conversion stage. Requiring a power converter to operate over the full input range when the input power source has a very wide input range (e.g., as much as 10:1) results in compromises to the power converter design, including lower efficiency. Such designs also prevent use of existing available converters that are not designed for the required wide input range. Moreover, use of separate functional blocks for EMI compliance, power conversion, and low-side (boost) or high side (clipping/limiting) functions can achieve good electrical performance but generally requires greater volume and higher cost.

Integrated tri-state electromagnetic interference filter and line conditioning module


A method for creating ullage in a fuel tank includes the steps of porting NEA into a mixing chamber during descent, exposing the mixing chamber to ambient air and communicating a mixture of NEA and ambient air into the fuel tank. A complementary apparatus to the method includes a mixing chamber for receiving NEA during descent, a port for communicating ambient air with the mixing chamber during descent and a port for communicating a mixture of the NEA and the ambient to the fuel tank.

Modern aircraft typically have an inert gas generation-based fire and explosion prevention and/or suppression system. A system may also be known as an onboard inert gas generation system or "OBIGGS." In an OBIGGS system, nitrogen enriched air ("NEA") is mixing with air in a fuel tank. The mixture is commonly referred to as "ullage". Oxygen concentrations are diluted so that in an event, like combat or upon the occurrence of a spark, in which fuel might tend to ignite combustion is unlikely. NEA introduced in a fuel tank must be adequately mixing with existing ullage so that the oxygen concentration throughout the tank is low enough to minimize a probability of combustion.
Fuel tanks for larger aircraft, such as a Boeing 747® aircraft, typically have a fuel tank boundary in which wing tanks and a center tank are disposed. Surge tanks are placed in the wings outboard of the wing tanks to capture any sloshing the fuel tank might encounter when carrying out maneuvers. The surge tanks are located outboard of the wing tanks and return the sloshed fuel to the wing tanks by gravity. The fuel tanks are exposed to ambient pressure and allow air into the tanks through the surge tanks.

NEA distribution system for OBIGGS applications


The flow conditioner for a fluid transport pipe, comprises a support-forming substantially tubular main body, at least one flow rectifier disposed inside the main body essentially perpendicularly to the axis XX′ thereof, and a porous plate disposed inside the main body upstream from the flow rectifier and parallel thereto. The elements of the conditioner are disposed in such a manner that a substantial fraction of the fluid flow passes through the flow rectifier and the porous plate in the absence of the porous plate becoming clogged. A bypass circuit is provided to ensure fluid flow continuity in the event of the porous plate becoming clogged.

The present invention relates to the general field of flow conditions for fluid transport pipes. It relates more particularly to a flow conditioner for a gas transport pipe, the conditioner including at least one flow rectifier associated with a porous plate located upstream from the flow rectifier.
The spinner gas volume meters that are installed in delivery stations are sensitive to conditions of use. In particular, when such meters are installed downstream from expanders or from obstacles such as valves, bends, double bends, constrictions, T-junctions, or other non-rectilinear elements, their accuracy can be affected by the disturbances generated by such obstacles.
In order to eliminate those disturbances, it is known to provide spinner meters with flow conditioners. Such equipment serves to attenuate the flow disturbances such as rotation of the gas stream, known as "swirl", jet effects, or acoustic pulses, over distances that are short compared with the very long straight lines that are normally needed for natural attenuation.
Numerous types of flow conditioner exist that are capable of reducing the swirl of the gas stream. Such conditioners essentially comprise a perforated plate having a set of holes distributed in a plurality of concentric rings centered on the center of the perforated plate.
Nevertheless, very few conditioners reduce in satisfactory manner the swirl of the gas stream, its asymmetry, and the pulses in the flow. They are designed to be used with straight line lengths upstream and downstream that correspond to several times the nominal diameter of the pipe, which makes them of limited usefulness when it is desired to make compact expander and metering stations.
Furthermore, in order to make disturbances while reducing the size of such stations, the Applicant has proposed a flow conditioner as described in French patent application FR 2 776 033. In one of the embodiments, the conditioner comprises a perforated plate and a porous plate that is placed upstream from the perforated plate and that is put into contact therewith so that all of the gas flow passes through both elements. The presence of a porous plate in the conditioner is particularly advantageous since it makes it possible significantly to improve the homogenizing ability of the perforated plate on the flow.
Nevertheless, there exists a risk of the porous plate in such a flow conditioner becoming clogged, which would lead to a large increase in head loss, and above all to an interruption in gas feed continuity. Such clogging could arise in exceptional manner, in particular when the impurities present in the gas close up the pores in the porous plate.

Flow conditioner for a fluid transport pipe


A first aspect of the present invention is a topcoat composition, comprising: a copolymer represented by the formula (2):

Immersion photolithography at 193 nanometers (nm) is considered to be the most viable next generation technology for semiconductor device fabrication. Immersion photolithography provides high resolution and depth of focus of photolithographic images. Water is placed in a space between a lens and a photoresist layer. In this configuration, however, the water could degrade the photoresist performance by diffusing into the photoresist layer and extracting photoresist components such as an acid generator, a base quencher and other key components.
Topcoat materials are applied to photoresist layers via casting solvents and removed during development by a developing solvent. As with the use of water above, certain casting solvents degrade the photoresist performance by extracting or removing key photoresist components. Therefore, a need exists for a topcoat material and a method of use thereof that overcomes at least one of the aforementioned deficiencies.

Topcoat compositions and methods of use thereof

Abstract: wherein n and m represent respective molar fractions such that n+m=1.

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a tris(dialkylamide)aluminum compound, and a method for producing an aluminum-containing thin film using the aluminum compound, the tris(dialkylamide)aluminum compound being represented by the formula (1):

Conventionally, various aluminum compounds such as alkyl aluminums, aluminum hydride, aluminum amide, aluminum alkoxide and aluminum diketonato, for example, have been studied as aluminum compounds to be used for the formation of aluminum-containing thin films (See, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 3). Among them, trimethyl aluminum, aluminum hydride, and analogs thereof are mostly employed.

Tris(dialkylamide)aluminum compound, and method for producing aluminum-containing thin film using same

Abstract: wherein                R represents a linear alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms; and        R1, R2 and R3 may be the same as, or different from each other, and each independently represents hydrogen atom, or a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or R1, R2 and R3 may be joined together to form a ring,with the proviso that the compounds in which two or more of R1, R2 and R3 are hydrogen atoms are excluded, and        three dialkylamide ligands may be the same as, or different from each other.