A method for processing a radiographic image of a patient obtains radiographic image data and detects the position of inserted tubing or other foreign object in the obtained image and determines the tubing tip or object location. A region of interest in the neighborhood of the tubing tip or object location is defined and at least one anatomy structure within the region of interest is detected. The probability for mal-positioning of the tip or object is calculated by determining the position of the tip or object relative to the at least one anatomy structure.

Clinical evaluation of patients in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) often relies heavily on diagnostic images, such as portable chest radiographic images, for example. It has been noted that chest radiographs can be particularly helpful in the ICU for indicating significant or unexpected conditions requiring changes in patient management. To meet the need for readily accessible and rapid diagnostic imaging, equipment such as portable chest radiography equipment has been developed, allowing the ICU clinician to conveniently obtain a radiographic image as needed for the patient.
One concern for effective patient treatment relates to the ability to detect the proper positioning of the tip of a tube that has been inserted into the patient. Possible tube types include, for example, endo-tracheal (ET) tubes, feeding (FT) tubes, and nasogastric (NT) tubes. Proper tip positioning can help to insure delivery or disposal of liquids and gases to and from the patient during a treatment procedure. Improper tip positioning can cause patient discomfort, render a treatment ineffective, or even be life-threatening. Other types of medical devices that are inserted into the body also require proper positioning, such as pacemakers, balloon catheters and stents.
Techniques for computer-assisted tube tip detection have proved to be error-prone, making mal-positioning difficult to detect in some cases. Even though tubing, wires, and other apparatus used to support the patient appear in a radiographic image, little or no attention has been paid to using automated image analysis techniques to detect tube tip position. Image processing techniques have thus far been directed more to eliminating unwanted effects of tube and tip structure detected in the obtained image than to the task of determining the position of the tip itself. There is, then, a need for a diagnostic imaging method for detecting and identifying tube tip positioning.


A four wheel steering system for a vehicle which significantly reduces or eliminates scrubbing of the outside tires. A preferred embodiment is specially adapted for use on riding lawn mowers, and includes a longitudinally moveable cam plate having a pair of cam slots formed therein, each slot engaging an individual steering arm for separately steering each rear wheel. The cam plate is coupled to a sector gear which reciprocates in response to left and right hand movement of a steering wheel, with the sector gear interconnecting the front and rear wheel steering mechanisms. The slots in the cam plate are specially configured to vary the turning angles of the rear wheels so that the wheels turn through varying angles, thereby reducing scrubbing to an acceptable level. In a preferred embodiment, all four wheels may be calibrated to turn about a single point, thereby completely eliminating scrubbing.

1. Field
The present invention relates to four wheel steering apparatus for vehicles and, more particularly, to a steering system specially adapted for riding lawn mowers which varies the steering angles of the wheels to significantly reduce scrubbing during a turn.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is generally well known in the riding lawn mower industry that maintaining congruent turning angles for both the inner and outer wheels frequently causes the outer wheel to skid during a turn. Such skidding is typically referred to as "scrubbing", and is generally known to those skilled in virtually any area involving the steering of four wheeled vehicles. It is particularly troublesome when associated with riding lawn mowers, however, for scrubbing tends to damage or even destroy the underlying grass, which is an acutely unacceptable consequence.
Riding mower manufacturers have, for a number of years, alleviated the problem of scrubbing for front wheel steering systems by utilizing specially configured four-bar linkages or other generally conventional means to vary the turning angles between inner and outer wheels. On more sophisticated mowers utilizing four wheel steering systems, however, it has heretofore been difficult and expensive to provide a steering system which eliminates scrubbing of the rear wheels, or at least reduces scrubbing to an acceptable level. The physical constraints imposed by a typical rear wheel and axle assembly prevents the use of conventional scrub eliminating linkages as used for front wheel steering systems, thereby necessitating the complete re-design of the rear end and the use of costly custom components to achieve acceptable rear wheel steering. With the advantages and increasing popularity of riding mowers incorporating four wheel steering systems, particularly those with anti-scrubbing features, the high cost associated with rear wheel steering systems has recently become a significant concern.


A method is disclosed for the computer-assisted analysis of a software source code. According to at least one embodiment of the method, the software source code is analyzed in consideration of parameters comprising encoding rules and/or encoding metrics, wherein as the analysis result errors detected in the software source code are calculated. The errors detected are classified by way of associating them with at lest one error category from a plurality of error categories. To this end, a specification that can be output via a user interface is associated with each error category, which describes the errors of the respective error category. The error categories with which the detected errors are associated are then output via a user interface.

Improving the quality of software code involves a plurality of underlying difficulties. There are often no opportunities to verify that the software of non-trivial large systems is correct. In addition the large volume of source code which mostly increases greatly during the lifetime of a software system makes for difficulties in the analysis of the code.
Furthermore there is a plurality of problem points in large software systems, i.e. points potentially prone to errors. Often there are also not enough experts available for the analysis, assignment and resolution of manually or automatically determined problem areas in the software source code.
A further problem emerges in that software solutions now generally have to be created and updated in very short cycles. In addition there is a plurality of explicit and implicit informal requirements as well as formal and informal peripheral conditions to be considered with software systems. Further consideration has to be given to the fact that the development of software involves a plurality of changing approaches to the technical implementation, such as middleware, class libraries, different programming languages and runtime environments for example. The different implementations mostly concentrate in such cases only on specific technical aspects, without taking into consideration other aspects such as ensuring the quality of the software for example.
The coding error messages currently determined with static code analysis methods are as a rule largely unstructured and difficult to process because of the large volume of error messages. Therefore coding errors which are known per se are often not corrected over many development cycles. Similarly the case often occurs of coding errors being wrongly patched or patched with insufficient quality.
Current approaches to solutions for improving the quality of software source code are mostly not technical. In such cases there is primarily reliance on the experience of experts who attempt to completely read through the software source code in a structured manner. In these cases potential sources of errors are identified, pinpointed and documented by individual experts or in an expert team. The overall result is then mostly available, as well as a list of the errors and potential sources of errors identified, as a quality estimate in the form of a piece of prose. In many cases this quality estimate will be supplemented by a list of improvement instructions and recommendations.
Approaches are known from the prior art in which the error messages are grouped together by code analysis methods. This grouping is mostly very arbitrary. For example the error messages of the C++ analysis tool PC-Lint are only rudimentarily arranged in accordance with the problems that they produce. In addition approaches are known in which errors in the software source code are divided up into technical areas. The disadvantage of the known approaches to solutions is that, after the analysis of the software source code, a user is not given any simple structures which reveal which criteria are not fulfilled by the individual programming errors.

Method for the computer-assisted analysis of software source code


A display device is configured for two-field sequential operation using a multi-colored backlight and an array of selectable filters where the array includes a subpixel repeat group having more than three non-white colors. The display device includes: an array of filters for defining pixels of an image, wherein each subpixel repeat group in the array comprises at least four non-white filters and at least one white filter; a backlight module comprising an array of at least four non-white light emitting diodes; and a control unit configured to operate the array of filters and the backlight module in a two-field sequential operation scheme such that for each subpixel repeat group in the array, most of the filters are usable (for having valved light passed therethrough) in both fields, two of the filters are usable on a mutually exclusive, and at least one filter is usable only in one of the fields.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure of invention relates to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and more particularly, to LCDs employing multi primary color matrixes.
2. Related Technology
In recent years, investigation has begun into LCD displays that utilize different primary colored and/or white light sources for their subpixel repeating group (the group of three or more differently colored subpixels and optionally one or more additional white subpixels that tessellate and thereby populate the display area). The combination of different primary colored and/or white lights may be used to increase the color gamut producible by the device as well as to increase the efficiency of the LCD panel in terms of power consumption. Such multi primary color displays may use differently colored light emitting diodes (LED's, including white light emitting ones) as their backlighting light sources. Such multi primary color displays may additionally, be configured for field sequential operation, in which each image frame is subdivided into a sequential displaying of two or more fields, where each of the sequential fields energizes only a subset of the total number of subpixels used by the frame. The energizing of the subpixels with different patterns over a temporal span covered by plural fields allows for display resolution enhancing schemes such as those that rely on over-time light integration by the human visual system and/or those that rely on across-location (spatial) light integration by the human visual system.
Heretofore, it was common practice to employ at least three, if not more, fields per frame when using multi primary color displays. Some of such deployments may have included use of local backlight dimming in which the light sourcing blocks are selectively dimmed or brightened in conjunction with setting the grayscale levels of their respective light-passage controlling (light valving), liquid crystal cells. However, under current liquid crystal technologies, including those that use reduced switching rates (e.g., to reduce power consumption), a field sequential operation with at least three to four fields per frame may introduce flicker and other undesired artifacts such as color break artifacts.
Some of these drawbacks may be overcome by switching back to operating at relatively high field update rates (e.g., more than 500 fields per second), but such increase in switching rate would disadvantageously increase power consumption. Additionally, since the liquid crystal re-orientation time of liquid crystal cells is often relatively long compared to the field update time at such relatively high field update rates, undesirable color mixing may occur and this poses a major problem. It is possible to address this last point by energizing (flashing) the backlight LEDs only for short periods of time at the end of the respective field update periods, but this disadvantageously reduces the LEDs' efficiency and may require a very large number of LEDs for achieving an acceptable luminance which in turn disadvantageously increases the size and power consumption of the display. Therefore it seems that advancements for the multi primary color matrix approach may be at their end due to an irresolvable tradeoff problem that pits power consumption against production of undesirable image artifacts.
It is to be understood that this background of the technology section is intended to provide useful background for understanding the here disclosed technology and as such, the technology background section may include ideas, concepts or recognitions that were not part of what was known or appreciated by those skilled in the pertinent art prior to corresponding invention dates of subject matter disclosed herein.

Multi primary color display device and method of driving the same


A surface acoustic wave device which occupies a small mounting area and has a low profile, yet having an improved reliability, and can be made available at low cost. The surface acoustic wave device comprises a piezoelectric substrate, a function region formed of comb-like electrodes for exciting surface acoustic wave provided on a main surface of the piezoelectric substrate, a space formation member covering the function region, a plurality of bump electrodes provided on a main surface of the piezoelectric substrate and a terminal electrode provided opposed to the main surface of piezoelectric substrate. The bump electrode and the terminal electrode are having a direct electrical connection, and a space between piezoelectric substrate and terminal electrode is filled with resin. When the above-configured acoustic wave device is applied for a frequency filter, a resonator, in a portable telephone unit, a keyless entry or the like communication apparatus, the overall size of such apparatus can be reduced and a higher reliability is implemented.

Portable telephone units and the like portable information terminal apparatus are making remarkable evolution towards the compactness in size, lightness in weight and slimness in overall contour. So, for the semiconductor devices and other electronic components such as filter, resonator, etc., it is an essential requirement to be consistent with the above trends if they are to be adopted in such recent apparatus.
An example of such components is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. H10-270975; a surface acoustic wave device, in which the surface acoustic wave element is covered with an empty cover in the function region formed of comb-like electrodes, and is connected to a terminal electrode provided on the surface of wiring board by means of bump, and a space between the surface acoustic wave element and the wiring board is filled with resin. Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2000-323603 proposes a semiconductor device in which a terminal electrode is connected direct, eliminating a wiring board, with a bump formed on electrode pad of semiconductor device, and it is sealed with resin excluding the bottom surface of terminal electrode.
In the following, some of the conventional surface acoustic wave devices and the manufacturing method are described referring to the drawings.
FIG. 16(a) is a cross sectional view showing a first example of conventional surface acoustic wave device. As shown in FIG. 16(a), a piezoelectric substrate 41 is provided on the surface with a function region 42 formed of comb-like electrodes for exciting surface acoustic wave, and an electrode pad 43 for conveying electric signal to the function region 42. Each of the electrode pads 43 is connected with corresponding terminal 44 of a package 46 via a thin metal wire 45. The thin metal wire 45 is normally made of gold, aluminum, etc. Package 46 in the present example is formed of laminated alumina ceramics 46a, 46b, 46c, and terminal 44 is electrically connected with terminal electrode 48 via an inner electrode 47. Although not illustrated in the drawing, piezoelectric substrate 41 is glued to the inside of package 46 with a resin adhesive. Package 46 is hermetically sealed with a lid 49 made of ceramic, metal, etc.
In the above-described first conventional example as shown in FIG. 16(a), however, a sufficiently large space needs to be secured in both the horizontal and vertical directions for the operation of bonding the thin metal wires 45, and respective electrode pads 43 as well as terminals 44 are requested to have a certain area that is large enough for the bonding operation. These have been material factors that hindered the device downsizing. Furthermore, a parasitic inductance intrinsic to thin metal wire 45 may deteriorate the high frequency characteristic of the element. While on the production floor, thin metal wire 45 has to be bonded one by one to connect corresponding electrode pads 43 and terminals 44. This has blocked the cost cutting efforts substantially.
Addressing the above problems, a second example is proposed for a conventional surface acoustic wave device that enables further downsizing, as shown in FIG. 16(b). In the proposed structure, a surface acoustic wave element 50 which is structured of a piezoelectric substrate 41, a function region 42 formed of comb-like electrodes, a bump electrode 53 provided on electrode pad 52, etc. is mounted with the face down. The function region 42 is covered with a space formation member 51 formed of a surrounding wall and a lid, so that a space for vibration is secured. A wiring board 54 is provided with a terminal 55 on the surface, the surface acoustic wave element 50 is connected with terminal 55 via bump electrode 53. Terminal 55 and terminal electrode 56 provided respectively on the upper surface and the bottom surface of wiring board 54 are connected via an inner electrodes 57 which is penetrating through the wiring board 54. A space between the surface acoustic wave element 50 and the wiring board 54 is filled with a resin 58 in order to enhance fixing between the two.
In the structure of FIG. 16(b), however, contact location of bump electrode 53 and location of inner electrode 57 have to be shifted sidewise to each other, since terminal 55 and terminal electrode 56 disposed respectively on the upper surface and the bottom surface of wiring board 54 are connected by inner electrode 57. Namely, because of difference in the curing/shrinking behavior between the base material of wiring board 54 and the electrode paste of inner electrode 57, the inner electrode 57 might protrude or sink in the thickness direction from the wiring board 54 during manufacturing.
In order to solve the above problem, a third example is proposed to a conventional structure, which enables to shrink the sidewise length too, as shown in FIG. 17(a).
Wiring board 54 is provided with a terminal electrode 56 which is stretching from the upper surface to the bottom surface covering the side face. Bump electrode 53 of surface acoustic wave element 50 is connected to the terminal electrode 56. Surface acoustic wave element 50 is provided with a space formation member 51 which secures a vibration space for function region 42, where surface acoustic wave excited on the main surface of piezoelectric substrate 41 propagates. Space between the surface acoustic wave element 50 and the wiring board 54 is sealed with a resin 58.
The above-configured surface acoustic wave device is manufactured through the following process steps. In the first place, a surface acoustic wave element 50 comprising a space formation member 51 covering function region 42 and a bump electrode 53, and a wiring board 54 comprising a terminal electrode 56 are prepared. These are coupled together with bump electrode 53 aligned on terminal electrode 56 and connected to. Space between surface acoustic wave element 50 and wiring board 54 is filled with a resin 58 for gluing the two together. Resin 58 enhances the gluing strength and the reliability.
In the third example of conventional surface acoustic wave device as shown in FIG. 17(a), the main surface of surface acoustic wave element 50 is sealed with resin 58, and size of the wiring board 54 can be reduced to approximately the same as that of surface acoustic wave element 50. However, reduction in the thickness is limited by the existence of a wiring board 54.
The downsizing and thickness-cutting race is proceeding rapidly also among the semiconductor devices. For this purpose, a structure as illustrated in FIG. 17(b) is proposed. A semiconductor chip 59 is provided with a bump electrode 61 formed on an electrode pad (not shown). A terminal electrode 62 is connected with the bump electrode 61. A first resin 63 is applied in a space between terminal electrode 62 and semiconductor substrate 60 with the bottom surface of terminal electrode 62 exposed. The back surface of semiconductor substrate 60 is covered with a second resin 64 for enhancing the strength and the reliability.
Process of manufacturing the above-configured semiconductor device is shown with cross sectional views in FIG. 18(a) through (e).
In the first place, a carrier 65 which is made of resin base film provided with a terminal electrode 62 formed thereon, and a semiconductor chip 59 provided with a bump electrode 61 formed on electrode pad (not shown) of semiconductor substrate 60 are prepared as shown in FIG. 18(a). Then, these two are coupled together, as illustrated in FIG. 18(b), with the bump electrode 61 aligned on the terminal electrode 62 and connected by an ultrasonic thermal compression process.
As shown in FIG. 18(c), a first resin 63 is applied surrounding the semiconductor chip 59 and the bump electrode 61, and cured to provide an under-fill. Then, as shown in FIG. 18(d), the carrier 65 is clamped from the up and down with an upper mold 66 and a lower mold 67, and a resin filling space 68 is filled with a second resin 64 to form a sealing body. And then, it is taken out of the molds, and the carrier 65 is removed. Thus, a semiconductor device protected in a chip-sized package is provided as shown in FIG. 18(e); where it is protected by a sealing body formed of first resin 63 and second resin 64, and terminal electrode 62 is exposed in the bottom surface of the sealing body.
The above-configured structure and method of manufacturing seems to be applicable also to manufacturing of a surface acoustic wave device. However, there are still a number of problems left to be solved before it is actually applied to the surface acoustic wave device.
For example, when a surface acoustic wave device is fabricated in the same configuration as the above-described semiconductor device, the overall thickness may be reduced by a thickness corresponding to the eliminated wiring substrate. But the outer edge of terminal electrode 62 is disposed recessed from the side surface of thick sealing body of resin. So, when mounting a surface acoustic wave device of the above configuration on a circuit board using a solder, a smooth solder flow is blocked by the very narrow gap between the bottom surface of sealing body and the wiring board. As a result, accuracy in the height above wiring board and the positioning accuracy of surface acoustic wave devices may be dispersed by a dispersion in shape and area among individual lands formed on a wiring board and in quantity of dispensed solder. Furthermore, due to the same reason as described above, bubbles in the molten solder are difficult to disappear during soldering on a wiring board. This may cause voids in the solder.
Application of the above method for manufacturing semiconductor devices as illustrated in FIG. 18(a) through FIG. 18(b) to the manufacture of surface acoustic wave devices further encounters following difficulty. Namely, since a resin base film is used for the carrier and each of the terminal electrodes is electrically independent, a surface acoustic wave element might suffer from pyroelectric damage caused by heat applied during the production process, from the connection of bump electrode to terminal electrode up to the step of sealing.

Method for manufacturing surface acoustic wave device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An intake manifold is provided to an internal combustion engine including a first and second cylinder heads each having an intake port. The first and second cylinder heads are distant from each other, and defining a crank angle therebetween. The intake manifold includes a manifold body that defines intake passages each connecting with each intake port. Each intake passage has an interior divided into divisional passages. A butterfly valve communicates and blocks at least one of the divisional passages. Tanks are formed integrally with the manifold body for accumulating negative pressure in the manifold body. The tanks include a first tank, which is provided to the first cylinder head, and a second tank, which is provided to the second cylinder head. An actuator operates the butterfly valve by being applied with negative pressure from the plurality of tanks. The manifold body has a communication passage that communicates the first tank with the second tank.

An intake manifold has a negative pressure tank, which accumulates negative pressure generated in the intake manifold. The negative pressure in the negative pressure tank is applied to a butterfly valve apparatus for communicating and blocking a passage in the intake manifold.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,157 (JP-A-2005-2942), for example, a negative pressure tank is provided to a space around an intake manifold, thereby sufficiently securing a volume of the negative pressure tank. In this structure, the negative pressure tank can be located in the vicinity of the intake manifold, so that the intake manifold can be formed integrally with the negative pressure tank. Thus, the number of components of the intake manifold can be restricted.
However, in an intake manifold used for an engine such as V-type engine, it is difficult to secure a space sufficiently for accommodating a negative pressure tank having a large volume around the manifold. When a negative pressure tank is not formed integrally with an intake manifold, and the negative pressure tank is distant from the intake manifold, components for constructing the negative pressure tank and for communicating the negative pressure tank with the intake manifold need to be additionally provided. As a result, the number of components increases.

Intake manifold for internal combustion engine


The present invention relates to the production of aryl ketones. Specifically the invention relates to the production of aryl ketones by reaction of aromatic hydrocarbon compounds and aromatic or aliphatic acyl halides in the presence of anhydrous iron (III) chloride. In particular, the invention relates to reaction under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure. Preferred embodiments of the invention specifically relate to the synthesis of benzophenone, methylbenzophenone and dimethylbenzophenone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of aryl ketones by the reaction of aromatic hydrocarbon compounds and aromatic or aliphatic acyl halides in the presence of anhydrous iron (III) chloride. In particular, the invention relates to reaction under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure. The invention specifically relates to the synthesis of benzophenone, methylbenzophenone and dimethylbenzophenone.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Aryl ketones such as benzophenone are important organic reagents used as fixatives for heavy perfumes and soaps and are used in the manufacture of a variety of pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and insecticides.
The usual method of synthesis of aryl ketones involves the reaction of an aromatic hydrocarbon or halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon with an aromatic or aliphatic acyl halide in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of AlCl.sub.3. The product of this reaction is an aluminum chloride derivative of the aryl ketone that must be hydrolyzed to provide the final ketone product. This reaction scheme has a number of inherent economic and practical disadvantages, including the need for the final hydrolysis step; the consumption in the reaction of stoichiometric amounts of AlCl.sub.3 ; the production of a large amount of aluminum chloride residue from the reaction that must be recycled or discarded; and the production of large quantities of waste water contaminated with the aromatic hydrocarbon that must be treated and detoxified before disposal. The development of alternative methods of synthesis is desirable.
The use of iron (III) chloride as a catalyst for the synthesis of aryl ketones has been described in the prior art.
Prill, U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,296 teaches the use of ferric chloride as a catalyst for the production of halogenated aromatic ketones from mixtures of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as chlorobenzene and an acylating agent such as benzoyl chloride.
Prill and Kosmin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,297 teach the synthesis of diaryl ketones from aromatic carboxylic acid, aromatic compounds capable of acylation and aryltrichloromethane, the reaction catalyzed by Frieder-Crafts catalysts such as iron (III) chloride and AlCl.sub.3, as well as other catalysts such as metallic zinc.
Grard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,677 teaches the production of substituted and unsubstituted aromatic ketones from benzoyl halides and substituted or unsubstituted aromatic compounds such as benzene, catalyzed by metallic halides of the class consisting of ruthenium, osmium, rubidium and coordination complexes of such substances at temperatures from 50.degree.-300.degree. C.
Effenberger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,837 teach the preparation of aromatic ketones by reaction of aromatic compounds with acyl chlorides or acyl anhydrides in the presence of catalytic amounts of aromatic polynitrosulfonic acid. These inventors describe the synthesis of benzophenone from mixtures of benzene and benzoyl chloride at 160.degree. C. and superatmospheric pressure using trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid as a catalyst.
Schaffner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,917 relates to the production of anthraquinone-1-carboxylic acid via a reaction pathway that features dimethylbenzophenone as an intermediate.
Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,580 teaches the modification of styrene and polystyrene and derivatives by acylation using aromatic acid chlorides such as benzoyl chloride and catalysts such as iron (III) chloride.
Gors et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,508 relates to the production of aromatic ketones using a mixture of a Lewis acid such as iron (III) chloride and a Lewis base such as an organic amide in an aprotic solvent such as methylene chloride.
The use of elevated temperature and/or pressure for the synthesis of aryl ketones has been described in the prior art.
Schmerling and Ipatieff, U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,007 relates to the production of alkyl and aryl ketones from aromatic hydrocarbons and alkyl or aryl acid chlorides using ZnCl.sub.2 as a catalyst. The synthetic reaction proceeds at pressures of up to 200 atmospheres (atms) and temperatures of 100.degree.-350.degree. C.
Sachanen and Caesar, U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,789 teach the synthesis of benzophenone from benzene and benzoyl chloride using temperatures of 300.degree.-700.degree. C. and pressures of 1750-2500 lb/in.sup.2 (psi; 119-170 atms) in the absence of a catalyst.
Schmerling, U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,594 relates to the production of aromatic ketones and alkylated derivatives thereof by reaction between an aromatic hydrocarbon and an acyl halide in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst and a saturated hydrocarbon containing at least one tertiary carbon atom.
Desbois, U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,012 relates to the synthesis of phenylketones from halo- or trihalomethylbenzenes in the presence of hydrofluoric acid and boron trifluoride under a pressure exceeding 1 atm.
Desbois, U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,350 relates to the acylation of halo- or trihalomethylbenzene by reaction with a carboxylic acid in the presence of hydrofluoric acid and boron trifluoride under a pressure exceeding 1 atm.
Desbois, U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,726 relates to the synthesis of benzophenone from derivatives of benzene substituted with deactivating groups and phosgene in the presence of hydrofluoric acid and boron trifluoride.
Baker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,026 provides for the acylation of benzene, toluene or anisole using difunctional acyl halides or anhydrides of organic acids and catalytic amounts of iron (III) chloride at temperatures of 50.degree.-300.degree. C. and pressures of 10-1000 psi (0.7-70 atm). The preferred acylating agent is isophthaloyl chloride.
Engel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,675 teaches the synthesis of diphenylmethane from benzene and benzyl chloride in the presence of FeCl.sub.2 catalyst.
Pearson and Buehler, Synthesis (October 1972) 533-542 disclose Friedel-Crafts acylation using little or no catalyst in a reaction performed at elevated temperatures and atmospheric pressure.
The prior art thus contains numerous attempts to develop efficient and economically advantageous methods of aryl ketone synthesis. The present invention relates to the use of anhydrous iron (III) chloride in catalytic amounts for the production of aryl ketones from aromatic hydrocarbon compounds and aromatic or aliphatic acyl halides under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure. The teachings of the present invention describe a novel and unexpected combination of temperature, pressure and an amount of anhydrous iron (III) chloride that efficiently and economically produces high yields of aryl ketones. While the related art teaches the synthesis of benzophenone from benzene and benzoyl chloride, the use of anhydrous iron (III) chloride in the synthesis of benzophenone, and the use of conditions of elevated temperature and pressure for benzophenone synthesis, it neither teaches nor suggests the combination of the use of catalytic amounts of FeCl.sub.3 under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure for the synthesis of benzophenone as described in the present invention.


A polymer electrolyte providing lithium secondary batteries in which growth of lithium dendrites is suppressed and batteries exhibiting excellent discharge characteristics in low to high temperature, comprising a polymer gel holding a nonaqueous solvent containing an electrolyte, wherein the polymer gel comprises (I) a unit derived from at least one monomer having one copolymerizable vinyl group and (II) a unit derived from at least one compound selected from the group consisting of (II-a) a compound having two acryloyl groups and a (poly)oxyethylene group, (II-b) a compound having one acryloyl group and a (poly)oxyethylene group, and (II-c) a glycidyl ether compound, particularly the polymer gel comprises monomer (I), compound (II-a), and a copolymerizable plasticizing compound.

In recent years, lithium ion batteries have been put to practical use and enjoyed wide use in various electronic equipment. In particular, lithium secondary batteries using metallic lithium or a lithium alloy with other metals as a negative electrode are expected as promising secondary batteries having high energy density. However, the state-of-the-art lithium secondary batteries involve several problems that have hindered them from being put on the market. The biggest problem of our concerns waiting for solutions is how to prevent generation and growth of lithium dendrites during charging processes. The problem of dendrite formation also occurs in a negative electrode comprising a lithium-intercalated carbon material under the condition of a high rate.
Allowed to keep growing, lithium dendrites will reach the positive electrode of a battery to cause an internal short-circuit. In case an internal short-circuit should take place, a large current instantaneously passes through the dendrites, resulting in generation of temperature increase and pressure increase, which may lead to take a fire. Therefore, various means have been tried for preventing such an internal short-circuit. To prevent an internal short-circuit would extend the battery performance life and maintain the high value of charge and discharge efficiency. In JP-A-60-167280, for example, a rechargable electrochemical device in which formation of lithium dendrites is suppressed by using an alloy of lithium and other metals has been disclosed.
Use of an ion-conducting inorganic solid electrolyte, polymer electrolyte or solid polymer electrolyte, etc. for suppressing growth of lithium dendrites has also been under study. For example, Oyama et al. have reported that a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) gel electrolyte, in a concentration of 5% by weight or more based on a nonaqueous solvent, protects lithium surfaces from forming dendrites (New Energy and Industrial Technology Growth Organization (NEDO) '96 Research Report (Mar., 1996))
It is expected for lithium batteries and capacitors which are to be developed to have not only an increased energy density but capability of rapidly working within limited charging and discharging times. In particular, growth of batteries which function sufficiently in low temperature (−20° C.) has been sought for.
In general, the performance of batteries and capacitors is, in nature of their working principle, limited by the ionic mobility and the distance of ions to be transferred. In the case of a battery, since it is impossible to appreciably increase the ionic mobility in the electrolyte and in the electrode active material, an approach to be taken is to shorten the distance of ions to be moved and to use a material having a large reactive area. In the case of a capacitor, too, increased mobility of carrier ions leads to considerable reduction of the charging and discharging times. Therefore, in order to improve capacitor performance, it is necessary to shorten the distance between electrodes and to widen the electrode area as with the case of batteries. To materialize the above approach, it is essential to prepare a very thin and yet mechanically strong electrolyte film.
Further, a secondary battery using metallic lithium as a negative electrode has also been demanded. As stated above, however, a battery having a negative electrode of metallic lithium and a liquid electrolyte suffers from growth of lithium dendrites on the interface between the negative electrode and the liquid electrolyte on repetition of charge and discharge cycles, which gives rise to deterioration of battery performance and the safety problem.
Polymers, when applied as battery materials, have advantages of lightness, flexibility, and capability of thin film formation and are therefore promising for providing a next generation of batteries. A polymer electrolyte comprising a polymer and an organic solvent containing an electrolyte is particularly sought for. However, a polymer gel is disadvantageous in that, for one thing, a reaction current is concentrated at part of the negative electrode surface because lithium ions are transported via the solution phase in the polymer matrix as is observed with a type of solution electrolyte and, as a result, lithium deposits locally to induce growth of lithium dendrites. For another thing, a polymer gel has weaker mechanical strength than a solid polymer.
Further, conventional solid or gel polymer electrolytes fail to function sufficiently in low temperature. In addition, a gel polymer has poor liquid retentive properties in high temperature.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An optical disk is equipped with a hub which is very easy to attach and detach. The hub has a bottom and a cylindrical wall which projects upwards from the bottom, and which is inserted in the center hole of the optical disk. The cylindrical wall of the hub is slotted so that the upper end of the cylindrical wall can be bent radially inwards to a smaller diameter allowing removal of the hub from the optical disk. The hub further has stoppers, formed at or near the bottom, for abutting the lower surface of the optical disk, and claws formed at or near the upper end of the cylindrical wall, for abutting on the upper surface of the optical disk.

The present invention relates to an optical disk information recording medium which makes it possible to use optical disks of a CD (compact disk) type in ISO standard optical disk equipment.
Disk-shaped information recording media of 5 inch size and 3.5 inch size, for example, are classified according to physical configurations and record/reproduce modes, into CD type optical disks as shown in FIG. 5, and ISO standard optical disks as shown in FIG. 6.
The CD type optical disks of various kinds are compatible among them so that each of them can run on a single common reproducing system. Similarly, the ISO standard optical disks are compatible so that a single reproducing system suffices to replay all the ISO standard disks.
In general, an ISO standard optical disk system is provided with an optical pickup which can read not only the ISO type disk but also the CD type disk, so that the CD type disk can be replayed in the ISO equipment if the CD disk can be loaded in the ISO equipment, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 3-185689. An optical disk recording medium shown in this Japanese document utilizes two detachable chucking elements attached to the center hole of an optical disk on both sides. It is, however, troublesome to attach and detach the two chucking elements.

Optical disk with snap-fit magnetized hub


A computer program is disclosed for reclaiming unreferenced computer memory space, also known as garbage collection. The program operates in a virtual memory environment wherein user memory space is divided into pages. For each active page, a table stores the age of the oldest object on the page (A-value) and the age of the youngest object pointed to from that page (F-value). A generational partition divides the pages into "safe" pages and "threatened" pages, based on their A-values. Rescuer pages, which may contain pointers to threatened pages, are determined by comparing the F-values to the generational partition. All potential pointers on the rescuing pages are traced and the objects pointed to are marked as reachable. All objects reachable from other reachable objects are also marked. Unmarked threatened objects are de-allocated.

This invention relates generally to computer memory management and more particularly to tracing-type garbage collection.
Garbage collection is the process of automatically reclaiming usable memory spaces in a computer memory by locating objects (blocks of memory) that are no longer needed, independently of the programs which request the allocation of such memory spaces. It is not always advisable to permit user programs to de-allocate the space allocated for the objects they create. This is because other programs may contain references to these objects, and premature deallocation would cause an error.
Garbage collectors must verify that there are no references (pointers) to an object, i.e., that the object is inaccessible, before deallocating the object's memory space. There are two general approaches to garbage collection: reference counting and tracing. Reference counting garbage collectors maintain a count of how many references there are to each object. If the reference count is zero, the block of memory can be de-allocated (reclaimed). Reference-counting garbage collectors are efficient to execute but they have several limitations. They fail to recognize inaccessible "cyclic structures", which directly or indirectly reference themselves. Further, the maintenance of reference counts uses up space and can noticeably slow the performance of the user program.
Tracing garbage collectors periodically trace pointers, starting with a root set of objects. All objects pointed to by the root set are identified as reachable. Reachable objects are either marked or copied to another location. All objects pointed to by reachable objects are also identified as reachable. The process continues until all memory objects reachable from the root set have been found. What remains as unmarked (or uncopied) is inaccessible, and thus garbage. These inaccessible storage areas are de-allocated, and returned to the pool of available storage.
Tracing garbage collectors can cause significant interruptions of program execution. One approach to limiting the length of interruption is to define a "threatened set" of objects subject to collection. This approach is referred to as "partially threatening." By limiting the threatened set, the amount of tracing can be reduced, improving performance. For example, in "generational" garbage collectors, only younger objects are threatened. However, it is still necessary to determine whether an object pointed to is in the threatened set, preferably without following each pointer. One solution is to store newer objects in a particular region of memory as they are created. The garbage collector then need only scan for pointers to address in this region. Such generational collectors copy the threatened but reachable objects into the "non-threatened" memory space reserved for older objects, leaving a free, threatened space for the next generation.
Although copying collectors have the advantage of compacting the use of memory space, the copying operation is time-consuming. Further, it is not possible to sub-divide the threatened set at the time of collection. Still further, copying collectors must have knowledge of which bits in an object are address pointers (as opposed to data or instructions), because they update the pointers when they move objects to the non-threatened region. Copying collectors are thus incompatible with "conservative" garbage collection. In conservative collectors, the collector does not have perfect knowledge about the location of pointers, but makes conservative assumptions about which patterns of bits might be pointers to allocated objects and treats the object "pointed to" as reachable.

Method and system for reclaiming unreferenced computer memory space


A semiconductor device may include a semiconductor substrate, an insulator film provided directly or indirectly on the semiconductor substrate, a main electrode for power provided on the insulator film, a pad for signal provided on the insulator film. The insulator film may include a cell region where the main electrode is provided and a pad region where the pad is provided. The cell region and the pad region of the insulator film each may include a contact hole. A height position of the contact hole located within the pad region may be higher than a height position of the contact hole located within the cell region. A width of the contact hole located within the pad region may be greater than a width of the contact hole located within the cell region.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-111084 describes a semiconductor device. This semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, an insulator film provided on the semiconductor substrate, and a main electrode for power and a pad for signal that are provided on the insulator film. In each of a region where the main electrode is provided (hereinafter, referred to as a cell region) and a region where the pad is provided (hereinafter, referred to as a pad region), a contact hole is provided in the insulator film. Each contact hole is provided with a contact plug therein which is connected to corresponding one of the main electrode and the pad.


A method and device for correcting a color shift of an OLED display panel, and a display device are disclosed. The method includes: performing an ageing treatment on the monochromatic luminescent devices in the OLED display panel; performing a luminescent lifetime attenuation test on the monochromatic luminescent devices after the ageing treatment respectively, and obtaining corresponding luminescent lifetime attenuation rates of the monochromatic luminescent devices; and performing an ageing treatment on the monochromatic luminescent device with rapidest luminescent lifetime attenuation rate again when differences between the luminescent lifetime attenuation rates of the monochromatic luminescent devices are greater than a preset threshold, until differences between the luminescent lifetime attenuation rates of the monochromatic luminescent devices are less than the preset threshold. The method effectively corrects the color shift phenomenon of display images of an OLED display product after long-term use.

Along with the development of display technology, the requirements of consumers on audio-video products are higher and higher. As for display manufacturers, the production of displays with high resolution and high image quality is the developing direction. OLED has been widely applied in displays due to the characteristics of self-luminescence, high brightness, wide viewing angle, rapid response, the capability of forming red, green and blue (RGB) full-color components, etc. Currently, the application of OLED display panels has entered the practical stage. Automobile audios and mobile phones on the market have employed the OLED display panels. In the future, the OLED display panel will be widely applied in light and thin displays such as mobile products, notebook computers, monitors and wall hung TVs. Moreover, the full-color development will enhance the competitiveness of OLED products.
Along with the full-color technical development of OLEDs, the currently common full-color technology includes fine-metal-mask (FMM) vacuum vaporization method, white+color filter (W+CF) method, blue+color conversion (Blue+CCM) method, etc. Wherein, FMM is the mainstream technology of the current small and medium size OLED display products. But the OLED display product has a relatively serious problem: the lifetime of organic materials of an emission layer (EML) in an OLED device is different along with the degree of attenuation of time, and hence images displayed by the display will have the problem of color shift. OLED display products manufactured by the FMM method are particularly more obvious, and the lifetime attenuation of RGB organic materials of the OLED display product is different. The attenuation rate of blue (B) organic materials is the rapidest (LT(R)≧LT(G)>>LT(B)). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the lifetime attenuation of B organic materials is relatively rapid and the lifetime attenuation of red (R) organic materials is relatively slow. Therefore, in images displayed by the OLED display product after long-term use, the brightness of B is lower and the brightness of R is higher, and hence the color shift phenomenon tends to occur. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the color of the images displayed by the OLED display product will shift along the direction represented by an arrow. In addition, the brightness of the OLED device is quickly reduced in the early stage service. As illustrated in FIG. 1, along with the rise of the use time, the attenuation of the brightness of RGB luminescent devices will be more and more moderate, but the attenuation of the brightness of the RGB luminescent devices in the early stage service is relatively rapid and nonuniform. In this case, the images displayed by the OLED display product tend to encounter afterimage problems.

Method and device for correcting color shift of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, and display device

ORDOS YUANSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A paper sheet takeout apparatus has a memory which has several processing modes, and stores parameters of a supply speed of a supply unit, a pressing force of a delivering roller and a separating force of a separating roller for each processing mode, a setting unit which selects one of several processing modes, and a controller which reads the parameters from the memory in accordance with the processing mode selected by the setting unit and which controls at least one of supply speed of the supply unit, a pressing force of a delivering roller and a separating force of the separating roller, on the basis of the parameters read from the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper sheet takeout apparatus applied to a machine to classify paper sheets such as postal matter.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a paper sheet takeout apparatus is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-341860.
In this paper sheet takeout apparatus, parameters such as a medium supply speed, a pressing force of a delivering roller and a separating force of a separating roller are set to certain fixed values suitable for media having average thickness and weight to permit handling of various media, even if media of 0.15-6 mm thick and 2-50 g weight is mixed and supplied.
However, if a thick (heavy) medium 101 as shown in FIG. 12A is supplied to such an apparatus with certain parameters settings, it takes long time to send a succeeding medium 101b to a delivering roller 102 and decreases a processing efficiency. A thick medium 101a is heavy, and a delivering force of the delivering roller 102 is not sufficiently transmitted to the media, and a processing efficiency is decreased. Further, a separating force of a separating roller 104 (FIG. 13A) serves as resistance and decreases a processing efficiency.
Contrarily, when a thin (light) medium 103 as shown in FIG. 3A is supplied, the medium is fed more than needed and pressed to the delivering roller 102 by a force larger than a predetermined value. Further, a delivering force of the delivering roller 102 is added, and the medium is fed as a batch or in being overlapped. A separating force of the separating roller 104 acts overly as shown in FIG. 13B, and a paper jam occurs and the apparatus stops for long time.
As described above, in a conventional paper sheet takeout apparatus, control parameters are fixed to certain values and various media can be evenly handled. But, when only a special medium of the same kind (thick or thin medium) is supplied, stable takeout is impossible and a processing efficiency is decreased.


Embodiments relate to providing normalization techniques for reference data in an in-memory data grid. An aspect includes monitoring object creation and access in an in-memory data grid and identifying reference data in an object field of a plurality of object instances. A reference map for the object field is created and the reference map is replicated across all partitions of the in-memory data grid. The reference data of an embodiment is stored in the reference map and the object field is updated to identify the reference map. Accordingly, the reference data may be accessed using the created reference map.

The present invention relates generally to in-memory data grids, and more specifically, to identifying reference data, creating a reference map for the reference data, and replicating the reference map across multiple partitions of an in-memory data grid.
A contemporary in-memory data grid (IMDG) partitions and stores data in memory across an elastic pool of interconnected servers. Data partitioning provides parallelism and enables an IMDG to scale its capacity. For example, in response to an increase in data, the IMDG may simply add servers to handle the growing workload. The partitioned data is then typically load-balance by re-distributing the partitioned data across the newly added servers on which the IMDG is hosted. In a contemporary IMDG, the data may be stored redundantly on multiple servers to ensure high availability of the data in case a server or network link fails.

Identifying and accessing reference data in an in-memory data grid

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for selective hydrolysis of nucleoside derivatives using cyclodextrin in basic solution is disclosed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for production of nucleoside derivatives by selective hydrolysis.
Deoxynucleosides (III) through (VI), 2'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VII), 3'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VIII) and 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside derivatives shown by structural formula (IX) are obtained through selective hydrolysis: ##STR1## wherein B represents a nucleoside base; R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are hydrolyzable acyl groups having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and R.sup.3 represents a hydrolyzable acyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms or hydrogen; and X is a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms or an acyloxy group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms.
The present nucleoside derivatives are known compounds which have antiviral activity or are useful as synthetic intermediates thereof (cf., for example, H. Mitsuya and S. Broader, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83, 1911, 1986). Discussion of the Background
Extensive investigations have been made on synthetic reactions having high selectivity using cyclodextrin, which catalyzes bond cleavage reactions such as ester hydrolysis, amide hydrolysis, decarbonation, etc. Cyclodextrin forms a molecular complex with a reaction substrate and its chemical reaction proceeds as an interaction within the molecular complex. Therefore, cyclodextrin has been widely used as an enzyme model. The interaction between nucleotide and cyclodextrin has also been studied (Hoffmann et al., Biochemistry, 1970, 9, 3542). Komiyama et al. made further studies on the molecular complex between nucleoside and cyclodextrin and found a regioselective cleavage of 2',3'-cyclic monophosphate at the 2'-position by the catalyzing action of .alpha.-cyclodextrin (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 111, 3046, 1989). Recently, Uemura et al. found regioselective acylation of thymidine derivatives by enzyme. As described above, selective hydrolysis of nucleoside derivatives has become a target of important studies in recent years, not only in the field of synthetic chemistry but also in the fields of biochemistry and genetic engineering.
Deoxynucleosides (V) and (VI), 2'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VII) and 3'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VIII) and the 240 ,3'-dideoxynucleoside derivatives shown by formula (IX), described above, can be utilized as drugs for the treatment of AIDS, etc., so that keen attention has been paid to the compounds as having an antiviral activity (cf., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-280500 and J. Med. Chem., 30, 440 (1987)).
As a method for production of these nucleoside derivatives, for example, with respect to 3'-deoxynucleosides (V), there is known the method of Reese et al. (Synthesis, 304, 1983) which comprises subjecting 2'-acetyl-3'-bromoadenosine to radical reduction. With respect to 2'-deoxynucleosides (VI), the method of Todd et al. (J.C.S., 3035, 1958) is known. Further with respect to 2'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VII) and 3'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides (VIII), where is known a method for producing .alpha.-compounds which comprises fluorinating the hydroxy group of the nucleosides with inversion and subjecting the remaining hydroxy group to radical reduction; and regarding .beta.-compounds, there has been found a method which comprises glycosylation of fluorinated sugar and nucleoside base (these methods are described in Biochemical Pharmacology, 36, 2719, 1987), and a method for synthesis which comprises treating 5'-tritylcordycepin (3-deoxyadenosine) with DAST (J. Med. Chem., 30, 2131, 1987), etc.
As methods for synthesis of the 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside derivatives (IX), there are known methods involving radical reduction (J. Med. Chem., 30, 862, 1987) or photoreduction (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 108, 3115, 1986); a method by applying olefination of diol (Corey-Winter reaction, J. Org. Chem., 54, 2217, 1989; Eastwood reaction, J. Org. Chem., 53, 5179, 1988), a method which comprises synthesis of dideoxy sugar followed by glycosylation (from glutamic acid, Tetrahedron Lett., 29, 1239, 1988; from D-mannitol, Nucleosides, Nucleotides, 903, 1989). As another important route, there is known a method using nucleoside derivatives having an acyloxy group and a halogen atom at the 2'- and 3'-positions (or at the 3'- and 2'-positions) as intermediates. The compounds are synthesized by the method of Moffatt et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 95, 4025, 1973; U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,787 or J. Org. Chem., 39, 30, 1983); the method of Robins et al (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 98, 8213, 1976); the method of Engels (Tetrahedron Lett., 21, 4339, 1980); the method of Reese et al. (Synthesis, 304, 1983); the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-224390 which is a prior copending application filed by the same applicant. For synthesis of 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside derivatives from the nucleoside derivatives, there is known a method of direct reduction using a palladium catalyst or a method via olefins (Moffatt et al., J. Org. Chem., 39, 30, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,982; Robins et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 367, 1984).
As described above, various methods for synthesis of the 2',3'-deoxynucleoside derivatives (V) have been developed but involve the following problems:
(a) expensive reactants are used; PA1 (b) many products are formed; PA1 (c) many reaction steps are involved; PA1 (d) upon scaling up, problems are involved in operations of the reaction or treatment.
Therefore, it has been desired to develop an excellent method for synthesis of them.

Method for production of nucleoside derivatives by selective hydrolysis


A modulator includes a first input configured to input a first bit string; a first modulating device configured to modulate the inputted first bit string at a first bit rate; a second input configured to input a second bit string; a second modulating device configured to modulate the inputted second bit string at a second bit rate which is lower than the first bit rate; and an output configured to output a modulated signal including the modulated first bit string and the modulated second bit string.

1. Field of the Invention
One embodiment of the invention relates to a modulator that uses code-division multiplexing, a radio transmitter that uses the modulator, and a radio receiver that receives a signal transmitted from the radio transmitter.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is possible to separate, on a reception side, a signal modulated in the code-division multiplexing into plural user signals and also separate the signal into plural paths. Therefore, a method called Rake combination for performing equalization processing by combining times and phases of separated paths is often used. It is known that, in the Rake combination, since the number of separable paths is limited due to hardware limitation, a reception characteristic is deteriorated when paths exceeding the limited number arrive on the reception side.
On the other hand, there is known a method of transmitting a signal modulated in the code-division multiplexing with a guard interval (GI) added thereto, converting the signal into a signal of frequency domain according to Fast Fourier Transform on a reception side, and performing equalization using the frequency domain. In this method, it is known that, since it is possible to combine paths having delays shorter than the period of the guard interval at a time, the reception characteristic is better than that in the Rake combination when a large number of paths arrive on the reception side (see "Chip Interleaving for DS-CDMA with Frequency Domain Equalization in a frequency selective Rayleigh fading channel", Garg Deepshikha, Fumiyuki Adachi, IEICE Tech. Rep, RCS2003-304, March 2004, p. 7 to 12).
However, the method of performing equalization using the frequency domain has a disadvantage in that overheads are caused by the added guard interval and throughput decreases when no error occurs. Therefore, it is desirable to perform equalization in frequency domain by adding the guard interval to a signal when the number of paths is large and to perform the Rake combination (i.e., equalization in time domain) without adding the guard interval to the signal when the number of paths is small. However, if the guard interval is added to signals for some users and is not added to signals for other users, presence and absence of the GI are mixed among the users. When signals for plural users are multiplexed in a base station apparatus according to the code-division multiplexing, orthogonality of codes is broken, which deteriorates the reception characteristic. Thus, it is necessary to switch presence and absence of the guard interval collectively for all the users. On the other hand, if the guard interval is added to signals for all the users, overheads simply increase for users who receive signals using the Rake combination. As a result, throughput is deteriorated.

Method for modulating a bit string, modulator, radio transmitter, and radio receiver


The invention provides methods and compositions for improving a froth flotation type separation. The method involves adding a hydrocarbon reaction product to slurry to enhance the separation. The method is particularly effective with coal separation because it increases yield without increasing ash content of flotation concentrate.

The invention relates to novel methods, compositions, and apparatuses for improving the effectiveness of froth flotation beneficiation processes. In a beneficiation process, two or more materials which coexist in a mixture (the fines) are separated from each other using chemical and/or mechanical processes. Often one of the materials (the beneficiary) is more valuable or desired than the other material (the gangue).
As described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,756,823, 5,304,317, 5,379,902, 7,553,984, 6,827,220, 8,093,303, 8,123,042, and in Published US Patent Applications 2010/0181520 A1 and 2011/0198296, one form of beneficiation is froth flotation separation. In froth flotation separation the fines are mixed with water to form slurry. The slurry is then sparged to form bubbles which rise up out of the slurry. The more hydrophobic material (the concentrate) adheres to and rises up with the bubbles and gathers in a froth layer above the slurry. The froth layer is then is deposited on a launder where the concentrate gathers. The less hydrophobic material (the tailings) remains behind in the slurry.
Two common forms of flotation separation processes are direct flotation and reverse flotation. In direct flotation processes, the concentrate is the beneficiary and the tailings are the gangue. In reverse flotation processes, the gangue constituent is floated into the concentrate and the beneficiary remains behind in the slurry. The object of the flotation is to separate and recover as much of the valuable constituent(s) of the fine as possible in as high a concentration as possible which is then made available for further downstream processing steps.
Froth flotation separation can be used to separate solids from solids (such as the constituents of mine ore) or liquids from solids or from other liquids (such as the separation of bitumen from oil sands). When used on solids, froth separation also includes having the solids comminuted (ground up by such techniques as dry-grinding, wet-grinding, and the like). After the solids have been comminuted they are more readily dispersed in the slurry and the small solid hydrophobic particles can more readily adhere to the sparge bubbles.
There are a number of additives that can be added to increase the efficiency of a froth flotation separation. Collectors are additives which adhere to the surface of concentrate particles and enhance their overall hydrophobicity. Gas bubbles then preferentially adhere to the hydrophobicized concentrate and it is more readily removed from the slurry than are other constituents, which are less hydrophobic or are hydrophilic. As a result, the collector efficiently pulls particular constituents out of the slurry while the remaining tailings which are not modified by the collector, remain in the slurry. This process can also or instead utilize chemicals, which increase the hydrophilic properties of materials selected to remain within the slurry. Examples of collectors include kerosene, diesel fuel, oily products such as fuel oil, tar oil, animal oil, and hydrophobic polymers. Other additives include frothing agents, regulators, depressors (deactivators) and/or activators, which enhance the selectivity of the flotation step and facilitate the removal of the concentrate from the slurry.
Unfortunately a number of these collectors are either prohibitively expensive or require such massive volumes that they are impractical as "workhorse" type collectors. Thus it is clear that there is definite utility in improved methods, compositions, and apparatuses for use as collectors in froth separation slurry. The art described in this section is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is "prior art" with respect to this invention, unless specifically designated as such. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 CFR §1.56(a) exists.

Composition and method for improvement in froth flotation


Provided is an internal pressure adjustment member to be attached to an outer surface of a housing, the member having high air permeability even when a differential pressure that can be generated between the inside and the outside of a housing to which the internal pressure adjustment member is attached is small, and inhibiting damage to the member and a reduction in the air permeability of the member due to coming soil and mud. The internal pressure adjustment member includes: a filter portion including a net-like or mesh-like support layer and first and second porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes laminated on the support layer such that the support layer is interposed therebetween, the first porous PTFE membrane being exposed on one surface of the filter portion, the second porous PTFE membrane being exposed on another surface of the filter portion; and an adhesive portion, formed on the one surface of the filter portion, for attaching the filter portion to the outer surface of the housing. The first porous PTFE membrane and the second porous PTFE membrane each have an average pore diameter of 2.0 μm or more, the filter portion has a thickness of 140 μm or less, and the filter portion has a density of 0.60 g/cm3 or less.

An internal pressure adjustment member for ensuring air permeability between the inside and the outside of a housing of an electrical component or the like and thereby adjusting the internal pressure of the housing may be attached to the housing. As the internal pressure adjustment member, there is a type having a porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane. With this type of member, entry of foreign matter such as water and dust into the housing from the outside can be more reliably prevented on the basis of the excellent waterproof and dustproof properties of the porous PTFE membrane. The housing is, for example, a housing of an electrical component used for transport equipment such as an automobile.
Patent Literature 1 discloses an internal pressure adjustment member composed of one porous PTFE membrane, and Patent Literature 2 discloses an internal pressure adjustment member having a laminated structure with two layers including a porous PTFE membrane and an air-permeable support layer. Patent Literature 3 discloses an internal pressure adjustment member having a laminated structure with three layers including a substrate and a pair of porous PTFE membranes interposing the substrate therebetween.

Infernal pressure adjustment member and electrical component for transport equipment


The disclosure provides a system and method for installing subsea equipment, such as a pipeline and equipment associated therewith in a target area, generally having restricted overhead access. An anchor can be installed in the seabed and can include one or more sheaves. A pipeline can be provided, which can include related equipment and/or one or more coupling devices situated remotely from the anchor relative to the target area. A winch wire can be provided and is adapted to be directly or indirectly coupled across at least a portion of the target area to the pipeline. A transfer sling having a pull wire and an initiation wire can be coupled between the winch wire and pipeline to assist the winch wire pulling the pipeline into the target area and transferring a pipeline force from the sheave to the anchor independent of the sheave.

1. Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to installing subsea pipelines; and more specifically relate to installing subsea pipelines where the location of an installation vessel is restricted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Deep sea well operations often include the establishment of a subsea station on the seabed, or sea floor, which may serve as a collecting or assembly point for a plurality of subsea devices, such as pipelines. Prior systems exist for installing subsea stations and for coupling components thereto. Some of the prior systems are limited to depths at which divers may be used. Others are directed to diverless applications and propose various systems for accomplishing the positioning and connecting of subsea components. A known procedure is to use a first surface support to lower a subsea system to the seabed. The subsea system has a pulley around which a hauling cable is wound and connected to a winch on the surface support. After placement of the subsea system, a loose end of the cable is hauled by a surface vessel to second surface support holding the pipeline, where the loose end is attached to the pipeline. The winch is activated and pulls the pipeline to the subsea system with the pulley. With this procedure, at least two aspects occur. First, surface access is needed between the different surface supports and the surface vessel to manage the connections between the subsea system, the pipeline, and the hauling cable. Second, catenary forces from the pipeline weight remain on the pulley during the operation as the pipeline is lowered into position. The pulley must be sized to withstand such forces. The construction and sizing is generally considered expensive and necessarily complicated. Likewise, the hauling cable is sized to withstand such forces and further adds to the costs of the operation. In some prior art systems, the hauling cable can be about 65 mm in diameter of more expensive synthetic material and are commonly 3000 meters long or more depending on the depth to the seabed and the distance to travel downward through the pulley and upward to the pipeline.
Another procedure is to lower a sled to the seabed, where the sled is connected to flowlines and contains a detachable frame with a winch. An overhead surface vessel lowers a riser string to the sled and connects to the frame, then lifts out the frame with the winch. The overhead surface vessel then moves into a position overhead of a nearby wellhead and lands the frame on the wellhead. The frame is connected to the sled with cables. The winch on the frame is operated remotely from the surface vessel with umbilical hydraulic lines to pull the sled and hence flowlines to the wellhead. An upper portion of the frame is disconnected, leaving the cables and equipment of a lower portion of the frame down on the wellhead. A series of valves are landed on the lower portion to connect the flowlines to the well. The operation involves overhead access to perform the various connections, requires expense from the various equipment and umbilical cords, and adds the additional complication to operate the winch remotely from the surface.
Often times, subsea stations exist on the seabed below some surface facility, such as a vessel, drilling rig, production facility or the like. When the desire exists to install a pipeline or to otherwise access a subsea station, the surface facility above may restrict access, such as by limiting the positioning of a pipelay or installation vessel. In such a scenario, desired access to the subsea station or other target area from the sea's surface directly above may be restricted or unavailable and the above procedures may be unsatisfactory for such operations, besides having the other previously mentioned disadvantages of known procedures.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide a more efficient system and method for installing subsea equipment.

System and method for installing a subsea pipeline


A location messaging system creates and delivers messages in a global virtual space, at the best time and location, in the optimal context. The recipient can be either generally or specifically targeted. The location message criteria can be formatted so that only a specific group of people see the message. Location messaging leaves “triggers” in a virtual location that can be either action or time related. Using action triggers, the location message will not be delivered until the recipient performs the predetermined action. That action includes things like visiting a web page/site, opening or editing a document, scanning a badge through a badge reader, buying a product from a store, or combining physical aspects to these virtual actions. Using time triggers, the location message has the ability to increase or decrease delivery or importance levels automatically. The location message will not be displayed or delivered to the recipient until that individual activates the message; messages are activated by performing some action predetermined by the message sender or a sender specified time duration has elapsed. Location messages have physical attributes associated with them. This allows a sender to leave a message for a recipient that is displayed only when he accesses a specific document from a specific place.

Currently, the two most prevalent electronic communication formats are instant messaging and e-mail. Instant messaging systems provide real-time communication between users who are connected to the systems through an on-line or electronic networking environment. Instant messaging systems are quite popular among Internet, Intranet, and Extranet users because they are user friendly and provide a simple, inexpensive way to send instantaneous messages. However, the popularity of instant messaging has created an interrupt-driven workforce. Employees turn off instant messaging to get work accomplished; this reduces the effectiveness of a virtual knowledge organization because experts, co-workers, or friends may not be readily available.
Many times instant messaging is misused because no better message format appears to be available for the sender. Instant messaging has a high level of urgency implied in its delivery format, similar to a telephone call, and encourages an immediate response.
Conversely, e-mail has a relatively lower level of urgency, similar to postal mail. The recipient can read an e-mail whenever they have time and may delay responding to an e-mail for significant periods of time, for example from several minutes to several days. Messages that do not require immediate action are often sent via instant messaging rather than e-mail because the senders wish to engage in a very interactive conversation or they do not wish a reply to be delayed beyond a certain time frame. If a follow-on message is dependent upon the reply to a previous message, the delay in having that conversation over email could be days, depending on the number of interchanges.
There exists a class of messages that falls between instant messaging and e-mail in urgency. These communication messages do not require immediate delivery, interrupting the employee or other individual. However, these messages do need a response when they are received; delivery at the right time in the right context or place can maximize their effectiveness. The combination of location, activity and timing in the delivery of messages creates a messaging class that is contextual. The vast majority of instant messages or e-mail are not contextual in nature.
One instant messaging and web conferencing solution has a feature called "place based awareness" that allows a user to know when another user is currently in the same "virtual location." This feature allows the users in that same location the opportunity to collaborate on a common topic; the topic is typically contextual to the virtual location. However, this technology requires that the group of users be in the same virtual location at the same time. The "place based awareness" message is therefore always synchronous. In addition, the senders will not know in advance to whom they will be able to send the message.
Using place based awareness, if a user wishes to visit a web site and interact with others at that web site, the user must go to that web site and stay connected there until someone else accesses that web site. If five people access that web site, the user must decide whether to send five independent messages, one to each person, asking for some contextual input.
What is therefore needed is a system and associated method for leaving messages for others on the virtual global computing space that can be delivered to the recipient at the appropriate time and to the appropriate place that ultimately provides a much richer contextual messaging environment. The need for such a system has heretofore remained unsatisfied.

Location messaging system and method for delivering messages in a global virtual space

International Bsuiness Machines Corporation


A user interface function for a virtual machine system based on a server or a PC is provided only by applying software without using SVP or the like. A control virtual machine is provided for controlling a virtual machine control screen which is displayed for defining virtual machines and instructing operations to the virtual machines. A virtual machine control program exclusively displays either a screen for each virtual machine or the virtual machine control screen in response to a screen switching instruction from an input device.

The present invention relates to a virtual machine system, and more particularly, to a user interface for a virtual machine system based on a server or a personal computer (PC).
A large scaled computer has a service processor (SVP) dedicated to maintenance operations for a system. The SVP is provided with a console display device for use by the user to input and output data. A conventional virtual machine system based on a large scaled computer is controlled by the user who defines virtual machines on a console display device associated with an SVP and specifies the proportion of the performance among the respective virtual machines, resources such as processing units for use by the virtual machines, and so on. An SVP-based user interface for a virtual machine system is described, for example, in JP-A-6-250858.

Virtual machine system and virtual machine control method


An improved rapidly disintegrating flavored film that quickly and completely disintegrates upon contact with mucosal tissue in the oral cavity of a human includes a hydroxypropyl cellulose, a modified starch and a flavor ingredient. The flavored films of this invention completely disintegrate upon contact with the mucosal tissue in less than a minute, and often in less than 30 seconds, whereas previously known flavored films typically do not complete dissolve, or do not dissolve as rapidly, upon contact with mucosal tissue in the oral cavity of a human. The flavored films of this invention may be advantageously employed as breath freshening films, and in food items to impart flavor and, optionally, to impart functional qualities to the food item.

Water-soluble films for oral administration of therapeutic agents are well known in the art. It is also known in the art to use such films for administering a breath freshening agent, e.g., menthol. The known films for administering breath freshening agents and/or active pharmaceutical agents are generally comprised of at least one water-soluble polymer suitable for human consumption and at least one compound that enhances the wettability of the water-soluble polymer, typically selected from polyalcohols, surfactants and plasticizers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,430 describes a monolayer film which can be adhered to the oral cavity to release a pharmaceutically or cosmetically active ingredient, wherein the film comprises at least one water-soluble polymer; at least one member selected from the group consisting of a polyalcohol, a surfactant and a plasticizer; at least one cosmetic or pharmaceutically active ingredient; and a flavoring agent.
While the disclosed monolayer films dissolve completely without leaving any residue in the presence of sufficient moisture, higher dissolution rates which can be achieved with exposure to lower amounts of moisture are desirable for certain applications. For example, it is highly desirable that a breath freshening film dissolve rapidly in the oral cavity regardless of the moisture level of the mucosal tissue contacting the film. More rapid disintegration of flavored films than is available with known muco-adhesive films may also be desired for use in food items such as poultry, pastries, candies and other confections, etc. In such applications, it may be desirable to impart a localized burst of flavor to the food item using a flavored film that dissolves very rapidly even in the presence of low amounts of moisture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,478 describes a laminated device for controlled release of a substance within a mucosa-lined body cavity including a water-soluble adhesive layer comprised of a water-soluble polymer and a water-soluble plasticizer, and a water-soluble polymer layer. Rather than teaching a rapidly dissolving flavored film, this patent teaches a multiple layer laminate that dissolves relatively slowly for controlled or sustained release of a substance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,552 describes a trilaminate film suitable for prolonged and sustained delivery of an active ingredient in a buccal cavity. The trilaminate includes a hydratable muco-adhesive base layer; a non-adhesive reservoir layer; and a water-impermeable barrier sandwiched between and bonded to the base layer and the reservoir layer. Rather than teaching a rapidly disintegrating film, this patent discloses slowly disintegrating films for prolonged or sustained release of a substance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,244 discloses a therapeutic dosage form comprising an anhydrous but hydratable monolithic polymer matrix that contains amorphous fumed silica as well as a therapeutic agent, and a water-insoluble barrier layer secured to the polymer matrix and defining a non-adhesive face. This patent does not disclose rapidly disintegrating films, but instead contemplates compositions that are capable of providing improved availability of therapeutic agents from a controlled release muco-adhesive carrier system.


Apparatus and methods for the controlled introduction of submicron-sized bubbles into a fluid stream. The gas-micronizer apparatus of the present invention operates in a manner that maximizes the turbulence of the liquid flow stream at the interface of the porous surface while flowing essentially parallel to the porous surface through which gas enters to form bubbles, thereby ensuring that the gas streams through the pores are dispersed quickly into the bulk liquid flow and/or are of sufficiently small size as to behave as rigid spheres that do not easily coalesce. In a preferred embodiment, the membrane is of generally tubular shape with a nominal surface porosity of 25-30%, and an average pore size below 1 micron (and ideally about 0.2 micron). Fluid is provided to the inlet of the membrane element (by means of a pump) through an inwardly tapered approach conduit. An outwardly tapered exit conduit extends from the outlet end of the element, thereby forming a venturi arrangement. Surrounding the membrane is a sealed chamber into which the gas is supplied under pressure.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to purification of contaminated liquids and effluent, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for the production and utilization of submicron gas bubbles to facilitate wastewater treatment, biopurification processes and desalination pretreatment.
B. Description of the Related Art
Population growth and the worldwide expansion of heavy industry have dramatically increased the amount of wastewater and other deleterious fluid effluent introduced into the environment. The need to cope with ever-growing volumes of contaminated liquids has engendered significant and varied research into ways of separating hazardous or polluting materials from a bulk liquid source. A growing number of fluid-treatment methodologies rely on controlled introduction of gas into the contaminated fluid.
In one approach, frequently termed "bioremediation," microorganisms digest waste products dissolved or entrained in a contaminated liquid and, in so doing, convert them into inert or less harmful substances. These microorganisms typically require large available quantities of oxygen to function effectively. In a typical bioremediation system, waste-degrading microorganisms are contained in a bioreactor equipped with a recycle loop, where the circulating liquid is aerated to nourish the microorganisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,187 teaches use of a membrane filtration system in tandem with an in-line membrane micronizer along the recycle loop. The micronizer includes a tubular porous membrane surrounded by a hollow chamber. Fluid passes axially through the bore of the membrane while air, introduced into the housing under pressure, penetrates the pores radially to form small bubbles along the inner wall of the membrane; these bubbles enter the flowing liquid, and feed the microorganisms.
"Flotation" systems utilize gas bubbles mechanically to draw particulate matter to the surface of the bulk liquid, where it is readily skimmed off and disposed of. Naturally, the effectiveness of such systems depends both on the capacity of the bubbles to transport particles within the liquid and a sufficient number of bubbles to ensure rapid interaction with and capture of particles.
Other gasification systems, such as chlorination or ozonation of drinking water, rely on the bactericidal or other direct effects of the gas on suspended or dissolved contaminants.
In all of these systems it is the interfacial contact area, rather than the absolute volume of introduced gas that determines its utilization--by microorganisms, or in terms of ability to sequester or otherwise interact with contaminant--and researchers have therefore recognized the benefits of introducing gas in the form of finely sized bubbles to obtain the maximum possible gas surface area. In one well-known approach, gas is dissolved in a liquid at pressures above atmospheric in accordance with Henry's Law, and environmental conditions (typically temperature and/or pressure) subsequently altered to reduce gas solubility. The change in conditions forces dissolved gas out of solution, at nucleation sites, in the form of small bubbles. Proper control of the amount of dissolved gas, the number of available nucleation sites, and the final conditions determines mean bubble size, with typical diameters in the range of 50-100 microns.
A primary disadvantage of this approach stems from practical operating constraints that limit the amount of dissolved gas (and therefore the overall generation rate and size of bubbles) in a liquid. For example, gas solubility is negatively affected by increasing temperature, necessitating relatively low operating temperatures during the initial dissolution phase. This may not be practical in large operating environments. Moreover, after dissolution, significant input of energy and time may be required to obtain the higher temperatures needed to selectively reduce gas solubility and form the small bubbles.
A second approach is to mechanically shear larger bubbles to reduce their mean diameter. Typical methods include feeding air to the suction of a centrifugal pump, entrapment by an aspirator, and entrainment by surface injection through the gas/liquid interface. These systems frequently require large quantities of energy for proper operation, and may be prone to various design complications (such as impeller cavitation). Furthermore, mechanical reduction of bubble size typically yields bubbles of mean diameter 200-5000 microns. Physical laws controlling impingement largely foreclose the possibility of creating bubbles smaller than 100 microns, and energy considerations render bubble sizes smaller than 200-300 microns impractical.
A third approach, as described in the '187 patent and U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,312, involves use of porous media (of tubular or plate configuration) to inject gases from a flat or convex surface. Such devices are subject to "fouling" or clogging of the pores by the wastewater (or particulate matter entrained therein) as it passes over the pores.
In addition to specific design disadvantages associated with the various methods of obtaining small bubbles, certain physical limitations tend to restrict the mean useful bubble diameter regardless of how the bubbles are generated. First, bubbles tend to coalesce into larger gas pockets if brought or allowed to remain too close to one another. For example, porous-media systems tend to exhibit significant coalescence at high bubble-generation rates, as bubbles crowd one another exiting the surface into the surrounding liquid. High surface porosity, generally used to reduce the energy requirements and material cost of the porous elements, aggravates this condition. Coalescence is further increased by the quiescent boundary layer (which is thick relative to bubble diameter) at the surface of the porous element, which retains the bubbles in close proximity to one another as they are formed. Conventional attempts to reduce the thickness of the boundary layer by increasing flow velocity ultimately fail to reduce coalescence, since they increase contact among bubbles.
A second limitation occurs as a result of pressure drop. Because of the inverse relationship between gas volume and pressure at constant temperature, bubble diameter increases with diminishing pressure. Thus, in the case of porous-media systems, high rates of bubble generation typically require long stretches of porous media, with pressure dropping lengthwise from inlet to outlet. The result is a net increase in bubble size at the outlet relative to the size at formation, as well as a wide range of bubble sizes due to the varying pressure drops experienced by bubbles formed at different points along the medium's length.

Gas micronizer and purification system and related methods