Disclosed is a system for forming a blade-section including a transporting frame, at least one transporting support removeably associated with the transporting frame, and a blade-section forming structure receptive of the transporting frame and the at least one transporting support.

Rotorblades, such as those found in large wind turbines, typically contain at least one pliable rootsection layer, consisting of fiberglass or glass composites including biaxial and unidirectional fibers. These rootsection layers are currently installed within the rotorblade via a process that includes cutting the glass into rootsections, rolling the individual sections onto a plurality of tubes, transporting the tubes to a rotorblade mold, unrolling each section on each tube, and individually layering and installing each rootsection into the rotorblade mold where it will eventually be treated to harden and form the rotorblade. Moreover, as each rootsection is layered into the rotorblade mold, that rootsection must be taped or clamped in place within the blade to facilitate a forming of each rootsection layer to the rotorblade's shape.
While this process is an effective means of forming and installing rootsections within the rotorblade, it can be time consuming, in that individually rolling, unrolling, layering, and taping of each rootsection layer requires multiple, individual rootsection layer handlings. Moreover, because of these multiple handlings, structural defect probability within the layers, and thus the rotorblade, can be high due to human error. This is because, with each handling of the glass (on the tube, off the tube, and into the blade), the probability of layer wrinkling and distortion increases, affecting blade structure. Furthermore, each piece of tape added to the layers can cause inconsistency and warping within the glass, further impacting structural integrity. For these reasons, there is a desire for a more efficient system and method for forming and installing glass rootsections within a rotorblade.

System and method for forming a blade-section


The present invention relates to the field of genetic engineering, particularly to a method for efficiently expressing pullulanase in Bacillus subtilis and recombinant Bacillus subtilis. said method includes steps of constructing modified Bacillus subtilis strain with deletion of alkaline protease gene and neutral protease gene, constructing expression vector including an optimized combination of promoter and signal peptide and pullulanase gene, and transforming said modified Bacillus subtilis strain with by said expression vector. A series of combinations of promoter and signal peptide are optimized to obtain the combination for efficiently expressing pullulanase, provide an industrial application basis.

Starch is composed of 15%-25% of amylose consisting of linear glucose by α-1,4 glycoside bonds and 75%-85% of amylopectin with the branches formed by several oligosaccharides binding to the main chain by means of α-1,6 glycoside bonds. Because of the special structure of starch, there is a need of synergetic interaction of several enzymes to hydrolyze starch with high molecular weight into oligosaccharides, disaccharides and monosaccharides. Pullulanase can specifically hydrolize α-1,6 glycoside bonds of amylopectin, which makes it possible to be widely applied to improve hydrolysis effect of amylase, increase the utilization rate of starch, improve quality of the product, decrease the grain consumption, and develop the new product in the processing industries with a good market prospect.
At present, the main problem limiting the industrial application of pullulanase is the low fermentation activity and high production cost of pullulanase producing strains. Expressing pullulanase in the heterogeneous host is an effective method to improve the enzyme activity of the fermentation produced pullulanase. Compared with the expression system of E. coli and Pichia pastoris, Bacillus subtilis is a food-grade expression system having strong ability to secrete protein, good fermentation basis and production technology. At present, many researchers try to express pullulanase in Bacillus subtilis, but the activity of the expressed enzyme is low. It has been found that the expression of pullulanase was affected by the following factors: (1) that Bacillus subtilis secretes a large number of proteases decomposing the pullulanase; (2) that no suitable promoter and signal peptide were found; and (3) that the expression plasmids may lose with the increase of passage times. Therefore, in order to improve the expression of pullulanase in Bacillus subtilis, the problems mentioned above must be solved.

Method for efficiently expressing pullulanase in bacillus subtilis and recombinant bacillus subtilis


An electronic apparatus includes processing unit configured to execute system processing, an object detection unit configured to detect an object present within a predetermined detection range, and an operation control unit configured to control the system processing according to a detection state detected by the object detection unit to make a transition to one of a first operating state and a second operating state in which at least part of the system processing is more limited than that in the first operating state. When a transition from the first operating state to the second operating state is made regardless of the detection state detected by the object detection unit, where the operation control unit prohibits the transition to the first operating state according to the detection state detected by the object detection unit.

There is an electronic apparatus such as a PC (Personal Computer) which starts up when the approach of a person is detected and makes a transition to a standby state when the leave of the person is detected. As such an electronic apparatus, for example, a terminal processing device which displays an operation screen in response to detecting an approaching person is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-255922.

Controlling operational state of an electronic apparatus based on user proximity and user input


A fixing device includes a first rotating member, a second rotating member and a blowing unit. The first rotating member is heated by a heat source. The second rotating member is pressed against the first rotating member to form a fixing nip with the first rotating member along a conveying path of a recording medium. The blowing unit blows a cooling airflow toward the first rotating member. An airflow route from the blowing unit to the first rotating member is arranged so as to cross the conveying path.

The present disclosure relates to a fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium, such as a sheet or a film, and an image forming apparatus provided with the fixing device.
An electrographic image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine or a printer, is provided with a fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium, such as a sheet or a film. For the fixing device, a heat fixing manner is generally applied to fuse a toner (a developer) by heating and to fix it onto the sheet. The fixing device with the heat fixing manner is provided with a first rotating member (e.g. a fixing roller) heated by a heat source and a second rotating member (e.g. a pressing roller) pressed against the first rotating member so that a fixing nip is formed between the first and second rotating members.
As a system for the aforementioned rotating members, a heat roller system having each roller as a rotating member is most often applied from a point of view of thermal efficiency and safety. On the other hand, in order to satisfy requests, such as reduction of a warm-up time and saving energy, a belt system having at least one rotating member as a belt has received attention in recent years. As the heat source for heating the aforementioned rotating member, a halogen lamp is generally utilized, but there are many products utilizing a ceramic heater or an induction heating (IH) coil to enable quick-heating and high-efficiency heating.
Incidentally, in the aforementioned fixing nip, the toner image is fixed onto the various recording mediums with different widths according to user's needs. When the toner image is fixed on a recording medium with a first size in the fixing nip, in one region on the first rotating member which the first size recording medium passes (hereinafter, called as "a first sheet passing region"), the first size recording medium and non-fixed toner are heated, thereby consuming heat. On the other hand, in another region outside the first sheet passing region which another recording medium with a second size having a broader width than the first size recording medium passes (hereinafter, called as "a first non-sheet passing region"), there is no consumed heat. Therefore, the temperature of the first non-sheet passing region on the first rotating member is higher than the temperature of the first sheet passing region, and then, a temperature distribution of the first rotating member becomes non-uniform.
Such non-uniformity of the temperature distribution is especially intensified when the toner image is continuously fixed on the first size recording medium (e.g. a standard sized sheet called B5). In a situation of such an non-uniformit of temperature distribution, when the toner image is fixed on the second size recording medium (e.g. a standard sized sheet called A4), a problem of causing a fixation irregularity and a wrinkle onto the second size recording medium occurs. In addition, there is another problem called as "hot offset" that the toner melts on a corresponding part to the first non-sheet passing region too much and adheres to the surface of the first rotating member, and consequently, dirties the surface of the following recording medium entering the fixing nip. Particularly, in a case of using the heat roller system, when the temperature of the first non-sheet passing region is heightened too much in comparison with the first sheet passing region, the first non-sheet passing region and first sheet passing region are different from each other in thermal expansion. Accordingly, a further problem is caused that the roller composing the first rotating member is distorted so that this roller deteriorates. Furthermore, when the ceramic heater is applied as the heat source, there is serious disadvantage of making the heater broken due to the non-uniformity of the temperature distribution.
Then, in order to prevent the non-uniformity of the temperature distribution, some fixing devices with IH system may apply a configuration for controlling magnetic flux distribution or properly using a plurality of different IH coils. However, when such a configuration is applied, it is feared that the controlling system for the fixing device is complicated to bring an increase in cost.
Thereupon, in order to prevent the non-uniformity of the temperature distribution without complicating the controlling system, the configurations of cooling the rotating member, such as the fixing roller, by an airflow blown from a fan are known as follows.
As an example, there is a configuration that a fan selectively blows an airflow toward a first rotating member of a first non-sheet passing region to prevent an increase in the temperature of the first non-sheet passing region. However, in this configuration, it is feared that a part of the airflow blown toward the first non-sheet passing region is fed to a first sheet passing region to decrease the temperature of the first sheet passing region.
As another example, there is another configuration that a plurality of airflow duct windows connected with a fan are provided in an axial direction of a first rotating member to adjust an opening angle of the airflow duct window by an airflow duct adjusting board. However, in this configuration, because the airflow duct adjusting board must be added, it is feared of complicating the structure of components and increasing cost. In addition, in a case of applying the so-called "external capsuled IH", in which an IH coil is placed outside the first rotating member, it is very difficult to secure a space for placing the airflow duct adjusting board around the first rotating member.
As a further example, there is a further configuration that a fan is inclined against a width direction of a first rotating member to minimize a cooling airflow going round to a first sheet passing region. However, in the further configuration, it is feared that the inclination of the fan causes no cooling airflow to a part of a first non-sheet passing region, and then, that reduction of cooling area causes reduction of cooling effect.
As a furthermore example, there is a furthermore configuration that a cooling airflow from a fan is blown toward a second rotating member to cool the second rotating member. However, when the cooling airflow is fed to the second rotating member and only heat transfer on the second rotating member cools a first rotating member, cooling efficiency of the first rotating member is lower than a case of cooling the first rotating member directly. Therefore, there is a problem that the fan must be enlarged in order to sufficiently cool the first rotating member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus


We disclose a precision positioner based on an inertial actuator, an optical instrument for accurate positional readout and control, and an electrostatically clamped assembly for holding any instrument or device. All aspects of the present invention present a significant improvement over the prior art: a positioner is robust and compact; an optical instrument for positional control is a profoundly simple and compact module; a clamping assembly is self-aligning and suitable for robotic hot-swapping of objects being positioned.

High-precision positioner is an enabling component of many scientific and industrial instruments. Such instruments are widely used in a variety of fields, for example, in optical microscopy and spectroscopy, electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, nanotechnology, wafer inspection, microassembly, optical fiber alignment methods in optoelectronics, and many others.
A design of one known type of such positioner is disclosed in the 1993 World Intellectual Property Organization Publication WO/1993/019494 by Shuheng Pan. Described therein is a piezoelectric step positioner. This positioner comprises six shear-piezo actuators that hold a movable element. Motion can be achieved in two different ways: by slip-stick actuation or by locomotion. Different arrangements effecting linear, x-y planar, and rotational motion are described. This device is reliable, rigid, and capable of performing in many environments. However, when used for the design of a multi-axis positioner, this invention lacks optimal implementation of several necessary functions, as follows. The embodiment of the invention that comprises a stack of two or three independent single-axis positioners lacks compactness which limits the rigidity, and thus the performance of the instrument. Another embodiment of Pan's invention provides simultaneous motion in two dimensions, but such motion is not independent along Cartesian axes and makes the readout of coordinates difficult.
Another type of positioner relevant to our invention is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,527 by Karrai. This positioner is arranged in such a way that a movable member is set in motion by a stick-slip mechanism, the driving motor of which is the extending and contracting piezo-stack. The preferred embodiment of this invention allows a compact multi-axis positioning assembly, but such assembly is not rigid enough for many applications, for example, its low mechanical resonant frequency limits its use in scanning probe microscopy. This invention does not teach a method of measuring coordinates of a movable member.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,427 Park et al. disclose an optical setup for measuring xyz coordinates of a movable cartridge carrying a scanning microscope probe. The cartridge is affixed to the top of a piezoelectric tube having multiple electrodes Application of appropriate voltages across the electrodes, produces displacement in the plane of the top surface (xy) and along the axis of the tube (z). In this prior art, displacements x and y of the cartridge are measured by the spot where a probing beam of light impinges on a 4-quadrant photodetector positioned in the xy plane. Axial displacement z is measured separately requiring two additional bi-cell photodetectors positioned along z axis, and two additional probing beams of light. The resulting setup is quite complex and difficult to manufacture, as it requires a complicated alignment. An alternative instrument that reads all three coordinates while requiring a single beam of light and a single detector affixed to the movable element would be a clear advantage over this prior art.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved three-dimensional positioning instrument integrated with a reliable instrument for accurate determination of coordinates: compact and rigid, applicable to a variety of uses, cost-efficient, and straightforward to machine and assemble. Sufficient rigidity is necessary for achieving mechanical resonant frequency on the order of 10 kHz or higher, which will make the instrument ideally suited for probe microscopy, micro-manipulation and nano-lithography. For example, such instrument will enable scanning probe microscopy with atomic resolution in a real-world environment, where mechanical vibrations are not entirely suppressed.

Inertial positioner and an optical instrument for precise positioning


A vehicle is provided having a cargo area, a passenger compartment, and a detachable dual-use platform which is connectable to the cargo area to form a ramp, and to the underside of the vehicle to form a running board. The platform is supported by brackets at either end when used as a running board, and includes an internal locking mechanism. A platform apparatus is also provided for accessing the vehicle, including a first locator portion that is adjacent to the cargo area, and a dual-use platform portion having a step surface on one side and a second locator portion on an opposite side. The locator portions are mutually engageable to secure the platform to the cargo area. A method is also provided for accessing the vehicle, including configuring a platform for alternate attachment adjacently to the passenger compartment as a running board and adjacently to the cargo area as a ramp.

Modern vehicles such as pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) provide greater utility for some purposes in relation to smaller passenger cars, due in large part to their substantial size and weight. These advantages expand the range of cargo that may be towed by or transported within the vehicle. For example, pickup trucks and SUVs are typically designed to carry relatively heavy machinery, construction materials, and/or recreational vehicles such as three-wheel or four-wheel all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), motorcycles, and snowmobiles. To accommodate the loading and unloading of such items, as well as to assist vehicle occupants in entering and exiting the elevated passenger compartment or cabin portion of the vehicle, pickup trucks and SUVs often utilize one or more entry-assist mechanisms.
To assist in entering and exiting of the passenger compartment or cabin, pickup trucks and SUVs may be outfitted with side platforms or "running boards" that extend lengthwise beneath and alongside the passenger compartment of the vehicle at a position adjacent to the passenger doors in order to provide a convenient step surface. Running boards are popular accessories that are often constructed from or incorporate various aesthetically pleasing materials, such as stainless steel, chrome, brushed metal, and/or injection-molded plastics, in order to enhance the overall look and cosmetic appeal of the vehicle. Alternately, tubular steps, extensions, or "nerf bars" may be used in place of running boards for the same functional access purpose, but offering a different aesthetic look and appeal.
Likewise, the loading and unloading of a truck bed or cargo area is greatly simplified by using a ramp to reach the elevated level of the truck bed or cargo area above the road surface. Such ramp devices may be transportable within an open or enclosed cargo area, and then securely clamped or bolted to the vehicle when needed. However, such devices may be less than optimal for certain purposes. For example, transportable ramp devices are not intended to accommodate access to the passenger compartment, requiring a separate device.

Detachable dual-use platform apparatus and method


A method and apparatus to insert control blocks into a stream of data user blocks. Data user blocks are transmitted onto a network during transmission slots. One of the data user blocks is buffered during one of the transmission slots. Instead of transmitting the buffered data user block during this transmission slot, a control block is transmitted onto the network in the data user block's place. Transmission of the data user block is delayed until the next transmission slot. The control block is inserted at a required position into the stream of data user blocks at a transmit engine, as opposed to a queue manager, leaving the queue manager unconcerned with the insertion details of the control block. Insertion of the control block by the transmit engine enables the queue manager to handle frames containing large numbers of user blocks as a single unit (e.g., such as is the case with AAL-5) and avoid complications related to inserting the control block in the midst of these frames.

Computer networks are becoming an increasingly important aspect of personal and professional life. Networks are used for a wide variety of services including audio, video, and data transfer. A host of specialized networks have been proposed and developed specifically to support each of these services. However, a single network solution has been developed to tackle all three services and replace existing telephone systems and specialized networks. This all-in-one solution is called Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network ("B-ISDN"). The underlying technology for B-ISDN is called asynchronous transfer mode ("ATM"). ATM networks are based on cell-switching technology, wherein each cell is 53 bytes long including a 5-byte header and a 48-byte payload.
As ATM networks are increasingly being relied upon to deliver voice, video, and data transmissions, maintaining the operational health of these networks is of increasing importance. As such, Operation and Management ("OAM") protocols have been developed to maintain the operational health of a network and manage its resources. However, implementing OAM functionality over ATM networks can be difficult.
Each time a connection is established between two users of an ATM network, a virtual path must first be established and then a virtual circuit within the virtual path selected. During this setup period, a traffic contract is negotiated between the requesting user and a network operator. The traffic contract may define such quality of service ("QoS") parameters as peak cell rate, sustained cell rate, minimum cell rate, cell variation delay tolerance, cell loss ratio, cell transfer delay, cell delay variation, and the like. Failure of the network to perform the negotiated terms of the traffic contract may lead to a breach of the traffic contract. As such, implementation of OAM functionality over an ATM network must not induce undue delay or consume needless amount of bandwidth so as to cause a breach of the traffic contract.

Method and apparatus to implement operation and maintenance (OAM) functions on a network processor


An improved telephone system over a single telephone line within a residence or other building is disclosed, supporting exchange features and enabling easy expansion for multiple external lines. The existing telephone wiring is used as the medium for a local data communication network carrying multiple voice channels. In each outlet, one or more voice channels are converted into a standard telephone-line interface. Life-line functionality is facilitated by using the lower band of the spectrum isolated from the data communication network, and a dedicated connector in the outlet provides access to this band. External telephone feeders are converted to digital form for interfacing to the in-home data communication network.

There is a growing need for expanded telephone communication capabilities within the home. This need is driven by two major factors; the increasing use of additional outside lines and the desirability of exchange functionality within the home, such as for intercom systems,
Telephone Wiring
An in-home telephone service usually employs two or four wires, and is accessed via telephone outlets into which the telephone sets are connected. FIG. 1 shows the wiring configuration of a prior-art telephone system 10 for a residence or other building, wired with a residential telephone line 5. The residential telephone line 5 consists of single wire pair which connects to a junction box 16, which in turn connects to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 18 via a cable 17a, terminating in a public switch 19, which establishes and enables telephony from one telephone to another. The term "analog telephony" as used herein denotes traditional analog low-frequency audio voice signals typically under 3 KHz, sometimes referred to as "POTS" ("Plain Old Telephone Service"), whereas the term "telephony" in general denotes any kind of telephone service, including digital service such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). The term "high-frequency" as used herein denotes any frequency substantially above such analog telephony audio frequencies, such as that used for data. ISDN typically uses frequencies not exceeding 100 KHz (typically the energy is concentrated around 40 KHz). The term "telephone line" as used herein denotes electrically-conducting lines which are intended primarily for the carrying and distribution of analog telephony, and includes, but is not limited to, such electrically-conducting lines which may be pre-existing within a building and which may currently provide analog telephony service. The term "telephone device" as used herein denotes, without limitation, any apparatus for telephony (including both analog telephony and ISDN), as well as any device using telephony signals, such as fax, voice-modem, and so forth.
Junction box 16 is used to separate the in-home circuitry from the PSTN and is used as a test facility for troubleshooting as well as for wiring new in the home. A plurality of telephones 13a and 13b connects to telephone line 5 via a plurality of telephone outlets 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d. Each outlet has a connector (often referred to as a "jack"), denoted in FIG. 1 as 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d, respectively. In North America, RJ-11 is commonly used. Each outlet may be connected to a telephone unit via a connector (often referred to as a "plug"), denoted in FIG. 1 (for the two telephone units 13a and 13b illustrated) as 14a and 14b, respectively. It is also important to note that lines 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e are electrically different segments of the same paired conductors.
While network 10 exhibits serial or daisy-chained topology wherein the wiring is serialized from all outlet to the next one only, other topologies such as star, tree or any arbitrary topology may also be used. The telephone wiring system within a residence, however, is always composed of wired media: two or four copper wires, and outlets which provide direct access for connecting to these wires.
Additional Subscriber Lines.
FIG. 2 illustrates a telephone network 20 in a home, where an additional subscriber line 17b is required to be added to existing line 17a. Additional line 17b comes from exchange 18 to home junction-box 16. In order to provide access to additional line 17b, a new outlet 11e must be installed. In addition, a new telephone line 6a must be installed, routed from junction box 16 to the outlet 11e. In such an installation, a telephone set 13c is connected using a cable 15c, via connectors 14c and 12e to the added subscriber line.
Alternatively, the new wiring 6a can be routed together and as part of existing wiring 5, using the same in-wall routing. In such a case, either several new telephone outlets need to be installed, or the existing outlets need to be replaced with ones employing two or more telephone connectors.
In both the cases described above, new wiring must be added. The routing and installation of such wiring is both labor-intensive and expensive. Adding the new wiring on the exterior of the wall is less expensive, but may be aesthetically undesirable.
In buildings where four wires (two pairs) have been installed, adding a second subscriber line is quick and easy. The second pair of the existing wiring is used for the second subscriber line, thus obviating the need for routing additional wires. However, the same problem of needing additional wires is encountered in this case when a third or fourth subscriber line is required. In general, additional wiring is required whenever adding a new subscriber line to a home exceeds the capacity of the existing wiring.
FIG. 2 illustrates the case where the added subscriber lines involve the use of dedicated wiring from the exchange to the home for each such added subscriber line. New technology, however, enables multiple voice channels to be carried over a single twisted-pair (local-loop). Specifically, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technologies are available. For example, ISDN-BRA (Integrated Services Digital Network—Basic Rate Access, commonly referred to as ISDN) can carry two voice channels over a single twisted pair, HDSL (High Bit rate Digital Subscriber Line) supports up to 16 voice channels, and HDSL2 supports up to 30 voice channel over a single twisted pair. These and other such technologies commonly employ two modems, connected to each end of the twisted pair, as shown in network 30 in FIG. 3. The pair 17 in the local loop interfaces in the exchange side with an exchange terminal unit 32, which communicates over the local loop pair to a remote terminal unit 31, located at the customer side of the cable. Remote terminal unit 31 in turn provides subscriber line interfaces 17a and 17b, connected to junction box 16. In an alternate configuration, the voice channels are multiplexed within a digital stream, such as PCM highway, ATM or other buses.
The recent move towards de-regulation has enabled the subscriber to receive telephone services from providers other than the traditional telephone companies. One example is the competitive carriers in the United-States. In addition, non-telephone businesses, such as cable television and satellite-based network providers, are starting to offer telephone services. Thus, the customer may select added subscriber lines to be supplied by different service providers. FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration for such a customer, employing a telephone network 40. A first telephone line is supplied by a traditional telephone company as shown in FIG. 1 and previously described. However, a second telephone line is provided by a non-original telephone provider, which connects to non-telephone network 41. For example, this can be a cable television network. The voice channel is provided via a remote terminal unit 42, which provides the additional telephone line 6a, and communicates with the non-telephone network 41. For example, the remote terminal unit 42 can be part of Set-Top Box or Cable Modem.
Exchange Features
As used herein, the phrase "PABX-type features", or the idiomatic equivalent thereof, is intended to encompass features including, but not limited to: hold/call pick up; call transfer between subsets; conference calls; calls coming from, or going to, a central office exchange; ringing on all subsets; repertory dialing; memory dialing. A rapid expansion in residential-oriented telephone systems and equipment has been developing to satisfy an ever growing number of needs related to telephone communication. One particular need in many residences is the ability to selectively communicate among a number of telephone sets all of which are connected via the single central office telephone line that accesses the residence. In addition, other identified needs of residential subscribers are similar to those of businesses laving a private automatic branch exchange (PABX). However, most such existing exchanges require 'star' topology, in which all outlets are directly connected to the exchange. While this topology is supported in some residences, most buildings do not employ such a topology, as the example in FIG. 1 illustrates. In such a case, a private automatic branch exchange cannot easily be employed, unless effort is made to modify the wiring into 'star' topology. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,319, 4,459,434, 5,090,052, 5,596,631, 5,781,622 and 6,038,300, as well as other patents classified under US Classes 379/177 and 379/363, disclose a few embodiments enabling limited exchange functionalities in a residence using single wire pair.
Data over Telephone Lines
There is a requirement for simultaneously using the existing telephone infrastructure for both telephone and data networking. In this way, the task of establishing a new local area network in a home or other building is simplified, because there would be no additional wires to install. U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,402 to Crane (hereinafter referred to as "Crane") teaches a way to form a LAN over two-wire telephone lines, but without the telephone service.
The concept of frequency domain/division multiplexing (FDM) is well-known in the art, and provides means of splitting the bandwidth carried by a wire into a low-frequency band capable of carrying an analog telephony signal and a high-frequency band capable of carrying data communication or other signals. Such a mechanism is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,448 to Reichert et al (hereinafter referred to as "Reichert"). Also widely used are xDSL systems, primarily Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) systems.
As another example, relevant prior-art in this field is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,443 to Dichter (hereinafter referred to as "Dichter"). Dichter suggests a method and apparatus for applying frequency domain/division multiplexing (FDM) technique for residential telephone wiring, enabling simultaneously carrying telephone and data communication signals. The bandwidth enabled by the wiring is split into a low-frequency band capable of carrying an analog telephony signal and a high-frequency band capable of carrying data communication signals. In such a mechanism, the telephone service is not affected, while data communication capability is provided over existing telephone wiring within a home.
The Dichter network is illustrated in FIG. 5, which shows a network 50 serving both telephones and providing a local area network of data units. Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) units 24a, 24b, and 24c are connected to the local area network via Data Communication Equipment (DCE) units 23a, 23b, and 23c, respectively. Examples of Data Communication Equipment include modems, line drivers, line receivers and transceivers (the term "transceiver" as used herein denotes a combined transmitter and receiver). DCE units 23a, 23b, and 23c are respectively connected to high pass filters (HPF) 22a, 22b, and 22c. The HPF's allow the DCE units access to the high-frequency band carried by telephone-line 5. In a first embodiment (not shown in FIG. 5). telephones 13a, 13b, and 13c are directly connected to telephone line 5 via connectors 14a, 14b, and 14c, respectively. However, in order to avoid interference to the data network caused by the telephones, in a second embodiment (shown in FIG. 5) low pass filters (LPF's) 21a, 21b, and 21c are added to telephones 13a, 13b, and 13c from telephone line 5. Furthermore, a low pass filter may also be connected to Junction Box 16, in order to filter noises induced from or to the PSTN wiring 17. It is important to note that lines 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e are electrically different segments of the same paired conductors.
Additional prior-art patents in this field can be found under US Class 379/093.08, which relates to carrying data over telephone wiring without any modifications made to the telephone wiring (e.g. wires and outlets). U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,360 and U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 09/123,486 and 09/357,379 to the present inventor are the first to suggest modifying the telephone wiring, by means of splitting the wiring into distinct segments, each of which connects two telephone outlets. In this way, the network is modified front 'bus' topology into multiple 'point-to-point' segments, enabling superior communication characteristics.
Part of such a network 60 is shown in FIG. 6, describing outlets 31a and 31b, substituting outlets 11 of FIG. 1. The telephone wiring 5 is split into distinct segments 5a, 5b, and 5c. Low-Pass Filters (LPF) and High-Pass Filters (HPF) are coupled to each wire segment end, in order to split between the telephony and the data signals. As shown in FIG. 6, LPF's 21b and 21c are respectively attached to opposite ends of the wiring segment 5b. The LPF's arc designed to allow passing of the telephony signals, and are connected together thus offering a continuous path for the telephony signals. Access to the telephony signals is made via connectors 12a and 12b in the outlets, into which telephone devices 13a and 13b are connected via connectors 14a and 14b respectively. Thus, the telephony service is fully retained. The data signals, carried in the high part of the spectrum, are accessed via HPF's 22b and 22c, also coupled respectively to opposite ends of the telephone wire segment 5b. HPF's 22a and 22d are connected to the ends of the wire segments 5a and 5c respectively. Each HPF is connected to a modem 23, which transmits and receives data signals over the telephone wiring. Modems 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d are connected to HPF's 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d respectively. Data units 24a and 24b are connected to the outlets 31a and 31b respectively, via a respective connector (not shown in the Figure) in each outlet. The data units are coupled via a respective DTE interface in the outlet. Outlets 31a and 31b comprise DTE interfaces 29a and 29b respectively. The three data streams in each outlet, two from each modem and one from the DTE, are handled by an adapter 28a and an adapter 28b, which serve outlets 31a and 31b, respectively. While FIG. 6 describes an embodiment wherein all the components for the relevant functions are housed within the outlet, other embodiments are also possible, wherein only some of the components for these functions are contained within the outlet.
Life-Line
The term "life-line" as used herein denotes the basic use of the telephone service for emergency purposes. As such, it is required that a malfunction of any other system or service (e.g. electricity) will not degrade the telephone system capability. In practical terms, this means that as long as an operational telephone set is connected to the exchange via continuous two wires, the telephone service will be maintained, even in the case of power outage.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a means for implementing a telephone system in-home, wherein the telephone units can be networked within the home as well as to multiple external subscriber lines, without requiring the installation of additional wires within the home. This goal is met by the present invention,

Telephone communication system over a single telephone line


An electromagnetic fluid conditioning (EFC) apparatus and method to control paraffin and/or asphaltene is disclosed. Further, the present invention incorporates the discovery that the electric field must have specific characteristics to achieve the efficiency described herein. The invention disclosed is an apparatus and method for inducing a magnetic field parallel to the flow of fluid in the conduit at surface or downhole conditions and an electrical field orthogonal to the direction of the flow of fluid in the conductor. The magnetic and electrical fields have high magnetic and electric intensity, respectively. A high vibration frequency of the fields is achieved using high frequency AC current or high pulsed DC current. The apparatus and method controls the deposition of paraffin, asphaltene and other susceptible substances.

Magnetic fields can affect the physical properties of water. Physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension, osmotic pressure, Ph-value are a few of the physical properties which have been reported affected by engaging water with magnetic fields. Similarly, there has always been a concern for the treatment of fluids having contaminants. Fluids having contaminants or components such as paraffin, asphaltene or the like are required to be treated so that the fluid provides a more useful purpose. Alternately, the reason for treating a fluid may be to increase the flow rate, optimize a physical parameter of the fluid or the like.
It is especially desirable to reduce the build-up of or components such as paraffin, asphaltene or the like, as well as contaminants, in association with the transfer of fluids. The build-up of paraffin, asphaltene or contaminants cause fluid flow to decrease which ultimately can result in a system being shut down for cleaning or repair.
In such situations the efficacy of the treatment of fluids using magnetic fields is determined by the strength of the applicable magnetic field, the frequency associated with the field, the strength of the magnetic fields, and possible pulsation characteristics.
The effect of a magnetic field on aggregates to control solidification of metals have been reviewed in technical Literature. Lad'yandy, V. I., Novokhatskly, I. A., Koshukhar', I. Ya., pogorelove, A. I., Ustyuk I. I. (Sverdlovsk): "Influence of Magnetic Field on the Viscosity and Structure of Liquid Metals" (1980) reported an experimental study of influence of magnetic fields on the viscosity and structure of liquid metals. Lad'yandy, et al., reported a substantial reduction in kinematic viscosity differences for metallic liquid using transverse and longitudinal magnetic fields. The mechanism of the observed effect is satisfactorily explained with allowance for structural micro irregularity in liquid metal. Lad'yandy, et al., stated that: "The oriented arrangement of clusters in magnetic field significantly influences numerous processes in liquid metals, in particular solidification processes. Within the frame work of the quasi polycrystalline model, the process of liquid solidification can be considered to comprise the following successive stages: liquid cluster.fwdarw.crystal embryo.fwdarw.solid. It is suppose that the crystal embryo forms by association of several clusters with similar lattice orientation until it reaches a certain size. The crystal forms by growth of the embryo, primarily by attachment to it of other clusters which are also in crystallographic alignment with the growing crest. In this case, embryos formed from clusters during the pre-solidification period are preferentially oriented along the magnetic liners of force of the liquid. The proposed mechanism of influence of magnetic field on processes of crystal nucleation and growth are in good agreement with available test results on the solidification of molten Al--Ni, Cd--Zn, Bi--Cd and Al--Cu in constant magnetic field."
Some crude oil contains adequate concentration of iron to have a magnetic susceptibility. The ferro-magnetic fluid hypothesis is based on crude oil having obtained iron from the earth. The iron content gives magnetic susceptibility to the crude oil. Ferrofluids are stable colloidal suspensions of sub-domain sized ferrite particles dispersed in a liquid medium by a suitable surfactant agent. Ferrofluids have been successfully prepared using water, hydrocarbons, esters, diastase, fluorocarbons, and even liquid mercury. Two applications showing considerable promise are ferrofluid rotary shaft seals and scrap metal separators. Rotary shaft seals have been commercially available for several years. Magnetic susceptibilities are required and as laboratory analysis to determine the content of iron. For instance, the paraffin with ferromagnetic particles are mainly paramagnetic. Fossil water, the formation water associated with crude oil in the reservoir, normally contains iron in the range of 10-30 ppm.
The technical literature reports using magnetic fluids to control suspension stability by using magnetic saturation between 20 and 200 gausses. For example, Wooding, A., et al.: Proteins and Carbohydrates as Alternatives Surfactants for the Preparation of Stable Magnetic Fluids, University of Durham, England, Magnetic Master application. Conference on September 1987 reports one-stage preparation of stable aqueous magnetic fluids, whereby colloidal F.sub.3 O.sub.4 particles are dispersed using naturally occurring polymers and their derivatives (e.g., gelatin, polygalacturonic acid, carboxymethyl-cellulose and succinylated gelatin) as surfactant materials. Low-toxicity materials have been used to permit possible medical use of the fluids. Using a variety of surfactant concentrations at the time of particle formation, control of particle size has been achieved, and particles as small as 3.0 nm in diameter obtained. Stable fluids with up to 6% F.sub.3 O.sub.4 content can be produced.
Further, Jones, T. B. and Krueger, D. A., An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Magnetization Properties and Basic Electromagnetic and Electromechanics of Ferrofluids reported basic research on magnetization properties and the build response of ferrofluids to magnetic fields. From the fluid mechanical point of view, ferrofluids are a typical because they can interact with a magnetic field to produce a controllable body force on the fluid, a body force significant with respect to terrestrial gravity. From the basic physical point of view, ferrofluids are interesting because of the mechanisms which are involved in the transformation of the forces on individual ferrite particles to the bulk of the liquid carrier. The Jones, et al., research program was divided into studies of the magnetization properties, and the electromechanics and applications.
Also, Belorai, Ya., et al.: Application of Nuclear Magnetic and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance to Control Structural Changes During Pressure and Heat Treatments of Crudes: Izvestiya Xysshikh, Gaz. No. 1, July 1993. p. 51-55, from the Scientific Research Institute of Nuclear Geophysics and Geochemistry of Russia conducted research with non-newtonian crude oil. They reported research conducted using crude from the Uzen deposit with non-newtonial properties. The experiments were performed both on samples of crude and model specimens (mechanical solutions of paraffin, resins, and asphaltene in diesel fuel.) Belorai, et al., determine that Uzen crude oil was paramagnetic with a high content of paraffin.
Rheological parameters of the investigated model specimens and oils were determined on the "Rheotest"-type viscosimeter. They studied baroprocess and thermoprocess. It has been shown that both types of processing yield a considerable decrease in the shear stress. Based on the nuclear magnetic and electron paramagnetic resonance, pressure and heat treatment have a similar effect on the structure and rheological characteristics of oils. The shear stress reduction implies a considerable reduction in the viscosity of crude oil. Also, the authors considered that the effect on structure was significant.
Kha la falla, Aanaa and Reimers, George: A Method for Clarifying Slimes, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., August (1980) reported a method for clarifying slimes. The method is based upon the discovery that the unique flocculate described was useful in slime clarification. This discovery is based upon the further discoveries that the surfactant in this flocculate bridges the slime particles electrostatically to the colloidal magnetic particles in this flocculate, and serves to stabilize the magnetic colloid. In the described method, a negatively charged slime was treated with an anima-stabilized magnetic colloid that has a net positive charge. The amine stabilizing agent is a n-C10 to n-C15 aliphatic amine. A preferred amine is dodecylamine. A magnetic colloid containing dodecylamine in an amount that is approximately 25% of the magnetic particles, on a weight basis, and containing about 20 w/v% of the magnetic particles, which have a size ranging from about 50 to 100 .ANG., has a saturation magnetization of about 200 gausses. This colloid becomes unstable and flocculates when diluted to a magnetization less than about 1 to 3 gausses.
Parsonage, P.: Particle Interactions in Colloidal Suspensions, Warren Spring Lab., Stevenage, England 1987 has presented a review of the mechanisms of particle introduction in colloidal suspensions. Effects due to born repulsion, van der Waals forces, electrical interactions, hydration, structural and steric effects, hydrophobic effects and magnetic interactions were considered. A usable set of equations was presented for describing each of these effects in systems of identical spherical particles. Use of these equations allows prediction and interpretation of suspension behavior relevant to coagulation, flotation, filtration and rheological control. Some examples of the variation of interaction energy with particle separation were given to illustrate the influence of changes in the surface magnetic and solution properties.
Of particular interest for the present invention is the formation of paraffin and asphaltene solutes in oil products. It is a common known problem that the build-up of paraffin and asphaltene solutes in production lines, flow lines and pipe lines is a major problem. Many fluids can be, and are, chemically treated to prevent build-up and unwanted formations. Also, it is not unusual for the use of heating or cooling to reduce unwanted formations. Lastly, mechanical means are adapted to remove such formations for example, scraping and grinding. Thus, there is a great need for reducing the unwanted build-up by means other than chemicals, thermal methods, mechanical methods and inefficient electromagnetic methods.
It is, therefore, a feature of the present invention to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method which inhibits the build-up of, and the formation of, crystals and solids associated with pipelines and other related production equipment.
A feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that increases the solubility of paraffin, asphaltene or other substances of interest in crude oil.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that decreases the cloud point, pour point, viscosity and deposition of paraffin, asphaltene, and other similarly related compounds or substances of interest.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that will increase the production and cut the cost of controlling paraffin and asphaltene on pumps, pump rods, tubing and production equipment, and pipelines.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that controls scaling.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method for removing existing depositions of paraffin and asphaltene.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method which eliminates or greatly reduces the need for using hot oil techniques, pigging, chemicals and scraping in association with oil production, flow line and pipe line maintenance.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that eliminates the need to continuously monitor, feed, adjust, service, handle or test to maintain proper well chemistry.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that is fully automated, can operate continuously, and requires no maintenance.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that reduces reservoir damage and extends well life.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that facilitates water and oil separation in dehydration units.
Yet still another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that is non-polluting and complies with all state, federal and international environmental laws.
Yet further, an additional feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method according to a specific mathematical design such that the designing parameters are fully appreciated.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method which has significantly increased electrical fields for increasing the effectiveness to control paraffin or asphaltene deposition.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that uses a vibrating magnetic field.
Yet still further, another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that combines a vibrating magnetic field and a vibrating electric field.
Yet still another feature of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method that significantly decreases viscosity of the fluid such that solutes in the fluid are maintained in solution.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized by means of the combinations and steps particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method


A frying apparatus is disclosed which is specifically designed for deep-frying turkeys or other similarly shaped food items. The frying apparatus has a central rod attached to a perforated plate that is used to support a turkey as it is lowered and removed into a large container of hot oil. The frying apparatus also includes a grab hook that releasably couples to the central rod and allows a user to avoid burns from hot oil exposure when removing or inserting the turkey.

The present invention pertains to a novel frying apparatus specifically designed for deep-frying of turkeys, other poultry, or similar sized food items.
Deep-frying of large food items, such as whole turkeys, presents many problems related to the large amount of oil needed to submerge the item, as well as the danger associated with heating large amounts of oil to a high temperature and immersing a large object into the hot oil. Previous attempts to fry turkeys have included using commercial stockpots to heat the oil. Standard size commercial stockpots tend to have a relatively wide diameter in proportion to their height, especially when compared to an upright turkey. A large amount of oil must be heated in the stockpot in order to submerge a turkey (which is preferably fried in an upright position) for frying. The use of standard size stockpots is therefore expensive and wasteful. A stockpot with higher sides and a smaller diameter is available, for example, from Morrone. Although the need for a pot in which to fry turkeys and the like has been met by tall and narrow pots, the prior art has not provided a way to insert and remove a large object, such as a turkey, into the pot.
There have also been attempts to design an apparatus to insert and remove a turkey from a pot of hot oil. Conventional frying baskets generally have one or two handles located near the top edge of a mesh or perforated basket which is placed in the hot oil. These conventional baskets are not appropriate for use in frying turkeys, because they are often not strong enough to support a large turkey (up to 16 pounds), and the handles are close to the hot oil, which is dangerous when there is splattering as the turkey is inserted or removed in addition, frying a turkey requires immersion of the basket in hot oil for an extended amount of time (45-55 minutes for a 15 pound turkey), which will cause the handles to get hot, creating further danger when removing the turkey from the hot oil. Furthermore, frying baskets tend to be quite expensive to manufacture.
Other attempts to insert and remove a turkey have included dropping the turkey into the oil with human hands, which is very dangerous. Also, metal coat hangers have been used to insert and remove the turkey, which also expose the user to the danger of splashing hot oil. These prior attempts also present the danger of oil spilling from the stockpot onto the open flame of the gas cooker, which can cause a fire to break out.
The present invention overcomes these problems with a novel poultry frying apparatus that is described herein.


Apparatus and method for gauging and rounding, at room temperature, a section of fully formed seamless ductile iron pipe that has an out-of-round initial cross-section profile and/or a larger than desired initial gauge. The apparatus includes a set of hour-glass shaped gauging/rounding rolls arranged so that the combined profiles of adjacent rolls forms a substantially continuous circular of precise diameter. In operation, the ductile iron pipe is passed though the opening in the set of gauging/rounding rolls, thereby causing the pipe to be gauged and rounded. The pipe is conveyed through one or two sets of rolls to accommodate multiple pipe diameters by a transport mechanism consisting of a rail mounted push car which is moved by one or more fluid actuated cylinders anchored to a base in common with the rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for gauging and rounding a section of pipe, and more specifically to gauging and rounding a section of fully formed seamless ductile iron pipe at room temperature.
2. Description of Related Art
Ductile cast iron pipe of the bell-and-spigot type includes an enlarged or bell end and an opposite end designed to be inserted into the bell end of an adjoining pipe. In the production of ductile cast iron pipe, it has been known in that art that the casting, solidification, and rapid cooling steps during the manufacturing process result in undesirable carbides and pearlite forming in the iron pipe. As a result, the pipe is normally given an annealing heat treatment to form a ferritic microstructure with graphite nodules. This microstructure has much improved properties with respect to ductility, elongation, and toughness when compared to the as-cast properties. However, the result of the heat treating process and the conversion of the microstructure results in dimensional changes in the casting. The pipe grows in diameter and length as a result of the annealing process. This growth leads to much difficulty in controlling the pipe diameter within the desired dimensional tolerances and the degree of roundness of the pipe. This is especially a problem for bell-and-spigot type pipe, which necessarily involves mating successively joined pipes. For example, 24-inch diameter cast iron pipe sections can be as much as 2 inches out of round. Larger diameter pipe sections can be 5 to 10 inches out of round. Such a degree of out-of-roundness makes such pipe sections virtually unusable in pipelines using push-on bell-and-spigot joint connections.
It has commonly been agreed or accepted in the ductile iron pipe art that, because the iron is in cast form, the material will generally not respond favorably to cold working to change its shape or dimensions. Cold working of cast iron usually results in the formation of cracks that render the cast article useless. As a result, persons skilled in the art would not generally attempt to round or gauge pipe sections that required any substantial amount of deformation, and especially not cold deformation, and prior processes and apparatus were geared toward making only minor corrections in the roundness or gauge of the pipe.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for gauging and rounding a section of fully formed centrifugally cast ductile iron pipe at room temperature from an initial out-of-round cross-section profile and initial gauge to a final, substantially circular cross-section profile and final gauge, without sustaining cracking or other failure modes.
It is a further important object of the present invention to achieve a final gauge of the ductile cast iron pipe that is smaller than the initial gauge of the pipe.
It is another important object of the present invention to achieve a substantially smoothing of the cast peen pattern on the outer dimension surface of the pipe that is suitable for uniform application of surface coatings.
It is an additional important object of the present invention to provide the above-discussed advantages in a relatively economical design.
The above and other objects of the present invention are obtained by providing an apparatus and method for gauging and rounding a section of fully formed seamless ductile iron pipe that has an out-of-round initial cross-section profile and/or a larger than desired initial gauge. This is accomplished through the use of a set of gauging/rounding rolls, each roll having an hour-glass shape, whereby the set of rolls is arranged so that the combined profiles of adjacent rolls forms a substantially continuous circle of a precise diameter. The exact diameter of the circle formed by the hourglass-shaped rolls is determined by the dimensions required for the final outside diameter of the ductile iron pipe, taking into consideration the elastic unloading of the pipe when it is removed from the apparatus.
In the specification, and especially in the claims, the term xe2x80x9cplastically deformingxe2x80x9d will be employed to cover the gauging and/or rounding of a pipe section. This is because there may be instances in which gauging or rounding is not actually effected, and the process is not to be limited to a process in which both are always performed and achieved.
In operation, the ductile iron pipe is passed through the circle of gauging/rounding rolls, with the pipe being at substantially room temperature, or at some elevated temperature, at the start of the process. The rounding/gauging of the pipe is accomplished through compressive yielding of the ductile iron in the hoop or tangential direction, and in the radial direction, to accommodate and conform to the dimension and roundness of the hourglass rolls.
Advantageously, in the course of performing the rounding and/or gauging, the normally heavy peen pattern on the outer surface of the pipe, imparted by the mold surface in the centrifugal casting process, is substantially smoothed by the compressive forces exerted by the rolls and the attendant yield of the material. Such heavy peen patterns are difficult to coat due to the surface roughness. Passage of the pipe through the gauging/rounding rolls reduces the height of the peens, fins, and other asperities on the pipe outer surface.
A transport mechanism for conveying the pipe through the gauging/rounding roll arrangement consists of a rail mounted push car which is moved by one or more fluid actuated cylinders anchored to a base in common with the rail. Optionally, a pair of such cars, each engaged with the pipe, operate to move the pipe into, and out of, the gauging/rounding roll arrangement.

Pipe gauging and rounding apparatus and method


A hydraulic control unit for a hydraulic vehicle control system, such as anti-lock brakes, includes a hydraulic accumulator including a housing that defines a cavity and a passageway that extends from the cavity and that is adapted for inner-connection with a host hydraulic circuit, preferably adjacent the high pressure outlet of the host system hydraulic pump. A closure member cooperates with the housing to substantially seal the cavity. A pre-loaded elastomeric member is disposed within the cavity and is compressible with increasing hydraulic fluid pressure to attenuate short duration pressure pulses therein. The elastomeric member is preferably enclosed within a rigid relatively porous member that, in combination with the elastomeric member, substantially fills the entire volume of the cavity and permits pressurized fluid to act on substantially the entire outer surface of the elastomeric member to minimize internal friction and hysterisis losses and provides the structure, along with the closure member, to pre-load the elastomeric member.

Accumulators are traditionally used in hydraulic circuits to provide or absorb momentary flow of hydraulic fluid, to attenuate pressure fluctuations in the hydraulic circuit and minimize the resulting degrading of host system components. The extra capacity provided by an accumulator also enables the overall system to be designed with smaller pumps without loss of performance. An accumulator serves to provide an extra volume of hydraulic fluid at a specific point in the circuit which has been maintained at system pressure, most typically by the force of a compressed gas. In that form, the accumulator serves as an auxillary power source, pulsation damper, fluid dispenser (discharging a known volume), suction stabilizer, leakage make-up source, or thermo expansion volume compensator.
Most accumulators pressurize the hydraulic fluid therein by the use of compressed gas separated from hydraulic fluid by a permeation resistant resilient bladder. Springs and weighted structures have also been employed to pressurize fluid within an accumulator.
Fluid-filled accumulators have been employed in vehicular braking systems due largely to their relatively simple and compact structure. They can be particularly advantageously applied in anti-lock brake systems (ABS) when located near the outlet of an associated hydraulic pump which is used to generate supplemental brake fluid pressure required to actuate the brakes at the wheel cylinders through an ABS hydraulic control unit independently of the brake pedal being actuated by the operator. The accumulator assists in significantly reducing the amplitude of the brake fluid high energy pressure pulses at the outlet of the pump, thereby helping to eliminate or substantially reduce the mechanical noise hydraulically generated in the braking system and traveling through the master cylinder or its connection to the vehicle into the passenger compartment.
A conventional accumulator, as assembled, in effect has no moving parts. It basically comprises a closed chamber filled with brake fluid having an inlet from the high pressure output side of the pump and an outlet through an orifice of substantially reduced diameter. Because of the restriction of flow through the orifice, the pressure fluctuations are attenuated as a result of the compressibility of the brake fluid itself, i.e. absorbing the high energy fluid pulses and slowly releasing it through the orifice.
A conventional accumulator used for this purpose typically has significant axial length as it is required to (i.) facilitate several O-ring seals confirming the brake fluid to the accumulator and assuring its prescribed flow through the accumulator, and (ii.) assure the isolation of the incoming fluid to the accumulator reservoir and through the outlet orifice, thereby avoiding any short circuiting of the function of the accumulator. This conventional design also requires a bleed port and fitting for allowing a means of eliminating entrapped air from the brake fluid line. It also requires a compression spring for maintaining the attenuator cylinder firmly against a retaining clip, holding the cylinder in fixed position relative to the hydraulic control unit.
The use of solid elastomeric members in accumulators has been proposed to absorb shock in high pressure hydraulic systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,486 to Linkner, describes a hydraulic control unit for a vehicle anti-lock brake system including an attenuator made-up of a compresssibly deformable solid core member disposed within a sealed chamber. The attenuator's deformable member is configured to substantially fill a chamber but to provide a clearance relationship between the deformable member and the chamber walls to thereby expose most sides of the deformable member to brake fluid pressure.
Although apparently overcoming some of the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional accumulator structures, the accumulator described in the '486 patent has certain limitations. Specifically, by spacing the deformable member from the walls of the cavity, under pressure, the deformable member will contort in an unpredictable manner fictionally engaging and moving locally with respect to adjacent cavity surfaces, leading to unequal distribution of pressure on a deformable member which causes hysteresis due to mechanical friction between the member and the cavity walls. Furthermore, although the abstract of the '486 patent states that all sides of the deformable member are exposed to brake fluid pressure, that simply is not the case. This attenuator has, in fact, many of the same infirmities as earlier solid elastomeric accumulators inasmuch as a substantial part of the elastomeric member (that which is abutting head member 44) remains in intimate contact with the cavity wall, thereby creating pressure asymmetries imposed by the hydraulic fluid on the deformable member.

Pre-loaded elastomeric accumulator for hydraulic system


A modular data storage system uses CPU blades to communicate with remote clients to function as a file server to those clients. The files are store on solid-state data storage blades using, e.g., flash memory. A crossbar switch connects the CPU blades and the data storage blades. The system can provide access time, power consumption, reliability, maintainability, and other advantages over prior art file servers using disk shelves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to data storage systems, and more particularly to a solid state blade-based storage system and methods of use and operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Current generation data server architectures are optimized for data stored on rotating media such as hard disk drives. Hard disk drives have very high latency in the order of milliseconds, relatively slow read speeds, and a random IOPS (Input Outputs per second) on the order of few hundred IOPS. To achieve higher performance with such systems, a single file must be distributed over multiple hard disk drives using a complex controller, commonly known as a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) controller. When a file or set of data needs to be assembled, the RAID controller determines the "striping" and/or "mirroring" pattern used to distribute the file, and issues multiple respective requests to multiple drives for the portions of the data held on those drives. The RAID controller then assembles the data supplied from the individual drives. Seek time latency is unchanged by RAID—thus such a system may have random IOPS performance, for small unfragmented files, not much better than a single drive. The use of multiple high-speed disks also decreases the mean time between disk failures for a single distributed file; additional disks must be included to provide fault tolerance. The RAID system is also quite energy inefficient—significant computational demands are placed on the controller and the hard drives must rotate at high speed to boost performance.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram for a traditional large storage system. Storage shelves 102, 104, 106, 108 are rack-mounted units. Each storage shelve may consist of a JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks), or may house multiple disk drives and possibly a RAID controller, appearing as a different disk configuration than its actual physical configuration. A storage head 110, also a rack-mounted unit, interfaces between a network and the storage shelves, and may include a RAID controller or simple single mapping of data to disks. On the network side, network ports connect storage head 110 to networked clients (not shown) over a network (e.g., Ethernet, Fiber Channel). Storage head 110 and the clients cooperate using a standard protocol, such as a NAS (Network-Attached Storage) protocol for file-based access or a SAN (Storage-Area Network) protocol for block-based access. A complicated interconnection 120, involving cables and/or optic fibers, and a dedicated ring or hub network, connects the shelves, which are distributed in one or more racks. The cables and attendant transponders between the shelves provide additional common points of failure, incorrect provisioning, or inadvertent disconnection.

High performance flexible storage system architecture


A locking nail for treating fractures of tubular bones has at least one cross-bore is provided at one end for the reception of a bone screw. The nail has a female thread at the end with the cross-bore for connection to a nail retention screw. The nail has an anti-rotation feature to anti-rotationally secure the rotational position of a joining sleeve which joins a targeting apparatus relative to the locking nail.

The present invention relates to a locking nail to treat fractures of tubular bones. The invention also relates to an aiming or targeting apparatus for a locking nail.
Locking nails for treating fractures of, for example, a femur, humerus and tibia, are known. It is common for locking nails to have cross-bores at the distal end and at least one cross-bore at the proximal end. Typically, bone screws are passed through the cross-bores which screws have been screwed into the corticalis at the opposite side of the bone. The bone screws secure the locking nail axially and rotationally. If supracondylar nails are used condylus screws may also be passed through the cross-bores.
A problem in employing locking nails, when inserted, is how to identify the position of the cross-bores to drill a hole into the corticalis in the proper place from outside. A number of aiming or targeting apparatus have become known, which work with X-rays to identify the position of the cross-bore relative to the targeting apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to drill a hole into the bone in the proper place by use of the targeting apparatus and a so-called drilling sleeve or aiming sleeve. In most cases, known targeting apparatus are firmly connected to the end of the nail used to drive in the nail. Thus, the position of the cross-bores may already be preset in an approximately precise way. However, it should be considered that the presumed position of the cross-bores will not coincide with the real one because of the curvature of the bone and the possible torsion the nail undergoes while it is driven in.
The disadvantage of using the targeting apparatus working with X-rays is that both the operator and patient are exposed to a radiation dose. Therefore, targeting apparatus are known that do not use radiography, but allow for the identification of the location of the cross-bore mechanically. Such are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,176,681, 5,334,192 and 6,039,739. Since it is necessary for the targeting apparatus to be connected to the locking nail it has hitherto been impossible to identify the location of cross-bores and to introduce bone screws for those positioned close to the nail end. This is why cross-bores always need to be at a minimum distance from the end of the locking nail.


The invention relates to a rolling-element bearing unit for rotatably bearing two components, nested into each other, which rotate about separate rotational axes that are at an angle to each other, especially the roll core and roll sleeve of a width stretching roll for a paper machine. The rolling-element bearing unit according to the invention comprises an outer rolling-element bearing for rotationally bearing the outer component, a pivoting bearing carrying the outer rolling-element bearing and allowing adjustment of the angle of the outer rolling-element bearing, an angularly adjustable inner rolling-element bearing for rotationally bearing the inner component, and an eccentric which consist of an inner and an outer eccentric ring via which eccentric rings the centers of the two rolling-element bearings can be adjusted in relation to each other.

It is sometimes necessary for two rotatable components, which are arranged one in the other, to be rotationally mounted separately. One example of this is a novel width-stretching roll for paper machines. In such a width-stretching roll, two rolls, an inner roll core and an outer roll casing, are arranged one in the other and are flexed elastically with respect to one another. The outer roll, that is to say the roll casing, is the actual working roll which rolls on the paper web, and the inner roll, the roll core, is the supporting roll.
Each roll is mounted independently in rolling-element bearings. The center points of the rolling-element bearings are eccentrically adjusted differently between 0 and a maximum spacing. The rolls are thereby flexed elastically to a greater or lesser extent. Such a wide stretching roll has previously been mounted, using two separate standard rolling-element bearings having corresponding conversion parts, in order to allow both the separate mounting of the two rolls and their relative adjustment with respect to one another. The conversion parts have to be specially made for this purpose, the outlay in terms of parts is inevitably high, the supply of lubricant is complicated, and this design requires a relatively large set-up and consequently takes up a large amount of space.


An image pickup apparatus or a radiation image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes: a plurality of pixels which are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate, each of the plurality of pixels including a set of a semiconductor conversion element that converts an incident electromagnetic wave into an electrical signal and a switching element connected with the semiconductor conversion element; a drive wiring which is commonly connected with the plurality of switching elements arranged in a direction; and a signal wiring which is commonly connected with the plurality of switching elements arranged in a direction different from the direction, the switching element including a first semiconductor layer, the semiconductor conversion element being formed after the switching elements are formed and including the second semiconductor layer formed after the first semiconductor layer is formed, in which the semiconductor conversion element has an electrode formed outside a region in which two of the drive wiring, an electrode of the switching element, and the signal wiring overlap each other, exclusive of at least part of a region above the drive wiring and at least part of a region above the electrode of the switching element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and a radiation image pickup apparatus which are used for a medical X-ray camera, an analyzing apparatus, a nondestructive testing apparatus, and the like.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, in the medical X-ray camera, an image pickup system using a film is rapidly shifting to a digital image pickup system. The digital image pickup system enables image processing, so that diagnostic accuracy can be improved. In addition, because it is unnecessary to develop a film, an image taking interval can be shortened, with the result that image taking can be efficiently conducted on a group medical examination or the like.
An image pickup apparatus of the digital image pickup system includes an indirect system in which a radiation such as an X-ray is frequency-converted into light (for example, visible light) and the light is converted into an electrical signal such as a charge and a direct system in which a radiation is directly converted into an electrical signal such as a charge. In the indirect system, a wavelength converting layer (for example, a phosphor layer) that converts the radiation into the visible light, a photoelectric conversion element, and a thin film transistor (TFT) constitute a set and a plurality of such sets compose the image pickup apparatus. In addition, the direct system, a radiation image pickup apparatus and a TFT becomes a set and a plurality of such sets compose the image pickup apparatus.
For example, a structure in which a TFT including a first semiconductor layer is formed on a substrate and a semiconductor conversion element including a second semiconductor layer is formed thereon is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,498,880 B and 5,619,033 B.
Up to now, in order to obtain a size and a resolution which are equal to those of a film, a radiation image pickup apparatus in which several millions of pixels each measuring several hundreds of microns in square in size are arranged on a substrate and which has a high definition and a large size of several tens of centimeter square is used for such a medical X-ray camera of the digital image pickup system.
In steps of manufacturing the image pickup apparatus, a defect such as a wiring short circuit or a disconnection, resulting from the presence of a particle or a process trouble is caused with some probability. Therefore, in addition to a production step control and a process development which are conducted for reducing a defect to be caused, the image pickup apparatus is manufactured using a repair technique for repairing a defect portion.
For example, a repair technique in which a defect pixel is irradiated with laser light to melt a metal and a semiconductor layer, thereby electrically cutting the defect pixel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,016 B. Various cut portions such as a TFT region, a TFT drive wiring, a source or drain electrode, a signal wiring, or a bias wiring are considered according to a type of each defect. Note that, coordinate data of the electrically cut pixel is stored in a system of the digital X-ray camera and image processing for data interpolation is generally conducted using surrounding pixel data.
In general, according to the repair technique using the laser light, if a plurality of metallic films are located in a laser irradiation region, those metallic films are short-circuited in melting in some conditions. Therefore, there is the case where the defect portion is difficult to repair. In particular, according to the structure described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,880 B or U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,033 B, a lower electrode of a light detection element is located above the TFT region to be repaired. Therefore, if the repair is conducted, the electrodes or the wirings that compose the TFT and the lower electrode of the light detection element are short-circuited, so that it is difficult to electrically separate the defect portion from a pixel portion.
Also, if the metallic film or the semiconductor layer of a thick film having a high resistance is located above the wiring to be cut, there is a fear that a problem is caused in that cut processing precision is reduced or cutting cannot be performed in some cases.
As described above, in the case where the semiconductor layer of a switching element is different from the semiconductor layer of the semiconductor conversion element, it is required to make more extensive studies on a structure used for suitable repair.

Image pickup apparatus, radiation image pickup apparatus and radiation image pickup system


A system, apparatus and method of processing and/or removing radioactive materials from a body of water that utilizes the buoyancy of the water itself to minimize the load experienced by a crane and/or other lifting equipment. In one aspect, the invention is a method comprising: a) submerging a container having a top, a bottom, and a cavity in a body of water having a surface level, the cavity filling with water; b) positioning radioactive material within the cavity of the submerged container; c) raising the submerged container until the top of the containment apparatus is above the surface level of the body of water while a major portion of the container remains below the surface level of the body of water; and d) removing bulk water from the cavity while the top of the container remains above the surface level of the body of water and a portion of the container remains submerged. The bulk water can be added back into the cavity to add neutron shielding after the container is placed in a staging area and prior to personnel performing the desired operations to the container. As a result, gamma radiation and neutron shielding of the container can be maximized for any crane capacity.

In the operation of nuclear reactors, the nuclear energy source is in the form of hollow zircaloy tubes filled with enriched uranium, typically referred to as fuel assemblies. When the energy in the fuel assembly has been depleted to a certain level, the assembly is removed from the nuclear reactor. At this time, fuel assemblies, also known as spent nuclear fuel, emit both considerable heat and extremely dangerous neutron and gamma photons (i.e., neutron and gamma radiation). Thus, great caution must be taken when the fuel assemblies are handled, transported, packaged and stored.
After the depleted fuel assemblies are removed from the reactor, they are placed in a canister. Because water is an excellent radiation absorber, the canisters are typically submerged under water in a pool. The pool water also serves to cool the spent fuel assemblies. When fully loaded with spent nuclear fuel, a canister weighs approximately 45 tons. The canisters must then be removed from the pool because it is ideal to store spent nuclear fuel in a dry state. The canister alone, however, is not sufficient to provide adequate gamma or neutron radiation shielding. Therefore, apparatus that provide additional radiation shielding are required during transport, preparation and subsequent dry storage.
The additional shielding is achieved by placing the canisters within large cylindrical containers called casks. Casks are typically designed to shield the environment from the dangerous radiation in two ways. First, shielding of gamma radiation requires large amounts of mass. Gamma rays are best absorbed by materials with a high atomic number and a high density, such as concrete, lead, and steel. The greater the density and thickness of the blocking material, the better the absorption/shielding of the gamma radiation. Second, shielding of neutron radiation requires a large mass of hydrogen-rich material. One such material is water, which can be further combined with boron for a more efficient absorption of neutron radiation.
There are generally two types of casks, transfer casks and storage casks. Transfer casks are used to transport spent nuclear fuel within the nuclear facility. Storage casks are used for the long term dry state storage. Guided by the shielding principles discussed above, storage casks are designed to be large, heavy structures made of steel, lead, concrete and an environmentally suitable hydrogenous material. However, because storage casks are not typically moved, the primary focus in designing a storage cask is to provide adequate radiation shielding for the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel. Size and weight are at best secondary considerations. As a result, the weight and size of storage casks often cause problems associated with lifting and handling. Typically, storage casks weigh approximately 150 tons and have a height greater than 15 ft. A common problem is that storage casks cannot be lifted by the cranes in typical nuclear power plants because their weight exceeds the rated capacity of the crane. Another common problem is that storage casks are too large to be placed in storage pools. Thus, in order to store spent nuclear fuel in a storage cask, a loaded canister must be removed from the storage pool, prepared in a decontamination station, and transported to the storage cask. Additional radiation shielding is required throughout all stages of the transport and preparation procedures.
Removal from the storage pool and transport of the loaded canister to the storage cask is facilitated by a transfer cask. Generally, an empty canister is first placed within an open transfer cask. The transfer cask and empty canister are then submerged in the storage pool. After the fuel assemblies are removed from the nuclear reactor they are placed into the pool, within the submerged canister. While underwater, the loaded canister is fitted with a lid, thereby enclosing water and the fuel assemblies within the canister. The transfer cask, which contains the loaded canister, is then removed from the pool by a crane, or other similar piece of equipment. After being removed from the pool, the transfer cask is placed on a decontamination station to prepare the spent nuclear fuel for long-term storage in the dry state. In the decontamination station the bulk water is pumped out of the canister, thereby reducing the combined weight of the canister and transfer cask. This is called dewatering. Once dewatered, the spent nuclear fuel is further dried to an acceptable level through an appropriate drying method. Once adequately dry, the canister is back-filled with an inert gas, such as helium. The canister is then sealed and a radiation absorbing lid is secured to the transfer cask body. The transfer cask and canister are then transported to the storage cask where the canister will be transferred to the storage cask. In some instances, the transfer cask itself may be used as the storage cask.
Transfer casks are designed to be lighter and smaller than storage casks because a transfer cask must be lifted and handled by the plant's crane. A transfer cask must be small enough to fit in a storage pool and light enough so that when it is loaded with a canister of spent nuclear fuel, its weight does not exceed the crane's rated weight limit. Importantly, however, a transfer cask must also perform the vital function of providing adequate radiation shielding for both neutron and gamma radiation emitted by the enclosed spent nuclear fuel. The transfer cask must also be designed to provide adequate heat transfer. Thus, in designing transfer casks and their handling procedures, the desirability of maximizing radiation shielding (which is generally achieved by increasing the mass of the cask's structure) must be balanced against the competing interest of keeping the combined weight of the transfer cask and its payload within the crane's rated weight limit.
In order to achieve the necessary gamma and neutron radiation shielding properties, transfer casks are typically constructed of a combination of a gamma absorbing material (e.g., lead, steel, concrete, etc.) and a neutron absorbing material (e.g., water or another material that is rich in hydrogen). The body and lid of the cask, which are generally formed of lead, steel, concrete or a combination thereof, form the cavity in which the spent fuel is to be positioned and function as a containment boundary for all radioactive particulate matter. While the pool water sealed within the canister provides some neutron shielding, this water is eventually drained at the decontamination staging area. Therefore, many transfer casks have either a separate layer of neutron absorbing material or have an annular space filled with water that circumferentially surrounds the cavity of the transfer cask and/or the containment boundary formed by the body. Such annular spaces are typically referred to as water jackets.
As stated previously, greater radiation shielding is provided by increased thickness and density of the gamma and neutron absorbing materials. However, increasing the thickness and density of the materials used to make the transfer cask results in a heavier transfer cask. Thus, the extent of radiation shielding is directly proportional to the weight of the transfer cask. The weight of a transfer cask, however, must remain below the rated lifting capacity of the crane. The load handled by the crane includes the weight of the transfer cask and the combined weight of the canister and the fuel assemblies and water (i.e. the transfer cask's payload). A transfer cask must be designed so that the total load does not exceed the rated limit of the crane. Thus, the permissible weight of the transfer cask is the rated lifting capacity of the crane minus the weight of its payload. It is important to note that when the combined weight of the transfer cask and its payload is equal to the rated lifting capacity of the crane, the radiation shielding provided by the transfer cask is at a maximum for that particular payload. This is so because the thickness of the gamma and neutron absorbing materials are at a maximum for that crane and that payload.
The weight of the transfer cask's payload varies during the different stages of the transport procedure. The permissible weight of the transfer casks is calculated when the payload is at its maximum. This occurs when the transfer cask is being lifted out of the pool because it contains a loaded canister which is full of about 70 tons of water and the nuclear fuel assemblies. Upon dewatering in the decontamination station, the weight of the transfer cask drops below the rated capacity of the crane and typically remains so throughout the remaining procedures. As such, the radiation shielding provided by the transfer cask is sub-standard throughout the procedure following removal from the storage pool. However, a heavier transfer cask cannot be used throughout the entirety of the transport procedure because the combined weight of the heavier transfer cask and its payload would exceed the rated lifting capacity of the crane during the initial step of lifting the transfer cask from the storage pool. Thus, the maximum amount of radiation shielding is not provided throughout every step of the transfer and dry-storage preparation procedure.
While it is possible to transfer the canister of spent nuclear fuel to a heavier transfer cask once the payload is lightened from dewatering, this would take additional time, money, effort, space and equipment. An additional transfer would also increase the amount of radiation exposure to personnel and the risk of a handling accident. A need exists for an apparatus that can provide the maximum amount of shielding throughout all stages of transferring spent nuclear fuel. A need also exists for a method of transferring a canister of spent nuclear fuel from a storage pool that provides the maximum amount of radiation shielding during all stages of the transfer procedure, even when the weight of the transfer cask's load varies.

Method of removing radioactive materials from a submerged state and/or preparing spent nuclear fuel for dry storage


A tree winch mounting system includes a tree mount that straps to the stem of a tree and a removably attached winch. The winch is a self-tailing winch. The tree mount includes several incoming fair leads to appropriately guide approaching rope to the base of the winch drum, as well as an outgoing or return fair lead which guides rope as it returns to the winch for lowering. The outgoing fair lead is appropriately located to allow significant movement of the winch operator while attending to other tasks. The mounting system also includes a trailer hitch winch mount so that the winch can be used on a vehicle. In addition, other devices such as rope brakes, pad eyes, etc. can be removably attached to the tree mount and/or the trailer hitch mount.

Tree removal and limb maintenance often require sophisticated rigging and equipment (e.g., ropes, pulleys, climbing accessories, rope brakes, winches, etc . . . ) to control, lift and lower heavy limbs. In the past, tree-mounted winches have been used to provide tension on ropes for lifting, lowering and otherwise controlling tree limbs during removal. Many arborists appreciate the mechanical advantage provided by winches, however, the use of tree-mounted winches has proven to be cumbersome to date. In addition, winches are relatively expensive.
One of the primary problems with tree-mounted winches is that the combined weight of the tree-mount and winch tends to be excessive for convenient use by arborists. Prior art tree mounts include a mounting bracket and a strap winch attached thereto with rigging devices, such as a rope brake or winch attached to the tree mount. Some manufacturers have fabricated the tree mount from aluminum in order to lighten the weight of the system. However, in practice the heavy loads encountered in the field are often excessive for aluminum tree mounts. The use of tree-mounted winches has therefore been limited.
The present invention has been developed in an effort to provide an improved tree winch mounting system that is convenient and practical to use, yet sufficiently rugged to withstand normal use in the field.