A mechanism for achieving resiliency and load balancing for SIP application services and, in particular, in geographic distributed sites. A method performs a distribution of SIP requests among SIP servers, where at least two sites with a load balancer in each site is configured. The method includes receiving a SIP request by a first load balancer in a first site; determining whether the SIP request should be redirected to a second site; and redirecting the SIP request to an address of a second load balancer in the second site. The invention also includes a SIP proxy including a receiving unit receiving SIP requests; a load balancing unit distributing SIP requests between SIP entities; and a health monitoring unit verifying availability of the SIP entities. The SIP proxy may further be configured with a proximity measuring unit determining a proximity to a SIP entity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a session initiation protocol (SIP) application service, and more particularly to a method and system for providing redundant load balancers for the SIP application service; a mechanism for distributing SIP requests/dialogues to SIP proxies and servers based on optimization factors including load, availability, cost and proximity of one or both dialogue endpoints; and a mechanism for redirecting SIP requests/dialogues to a peer load balancer when it is determined that a server under the peer's control is most optimally suited to handle the dialogue. As SIP load balancers inherently act as SIP proxies, the mechanism for redundant load balancers can be applied to other types of SIP proxies (i.e. to provide globally redundant SIP proxies).
2. Description of Related Art
The rapid evolution of voice and data technology is significantly changing the business environment. The introduction of services such as instant messaging, integrated voice and email, and follow me services has contributed to a work environment where employees can communicate much more efficiently, thus increasing productivity. To meet the demands of the changing business environment businesses are deploying converged voice-and-data networks based on a SIP application service.
As businesses continue to increase their use and reliance on converged services, reliability and availability becomes increasingly important. High availability and optimized solutions for IP networks address the need for users to be able to place and receive calls under peak-load call rates or during device maintenance or failure. In addition to lost productivity, network downtime often results in lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and even a weakened market position. Various situations can take devices off line, ranging from planned downtime for maintenance to catastrophic failure.
Today, high availability and optimized solutions for a SIP application service is usually achieved by distributing the service across multiple servers and using a load balancer to distribute SIP requests amongst the servers. The load balancer insures that requests pertaining to the same session/dialogue are persistently distributed to the same server (if this is a requirement and it usually is). In order to insure true SIP load balancing, it is usually required that the load balancer act as a SIP proxy (usually stateless), which is typically a call-control device that provides many services such as routing of SIP messages between SIP user agents. This is particularly true when load balancing SIP over TCP/TLS, since TCP splitting and/or multiplexing are usually required. In addition, the load balancer monitors the health, load, and availability of each of the servers. When a server fails or its availability is least optimal (relative to other servers), the load balancer stops distributing requests to that server.
For redundancy a second load balancing device is usually deployed on the same network and serves as a backup to the active load balancer, often incorporating Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and a synchronizing mechanism. The load balancers themselves (active and backup) are always deployed on the same geographical site. The servers may be deployed on the same geographical site, or alternatively, on some deployments the load balancer (and its backup) and the servers may deployed on separate geographic sites. The servers themselves may also be deployed on several separate sites. Thus, if a site containing a group of servers fails, other servers deployed on the other sites remain available. However, the fact that both load balancers are deployed on the same geographic site leaves the system susceptible to complete site failure (e.g. natural disaster, geographic power shortage, etc.).
In addition to geographic distribution of the servers, the prior art proposes another solution involving deploying load balancers on two or more sites. Each load balancer is assigned a unique VIP (Virtual IP addresses) through which the SIP application service is invoked. Each SIP client is aware of each of the VIPs, with one configured as the active VIP to which it directs SIP requests. The other VIPs are configured as backups.
In addition, each SIP client monitors the active VIP (i.e. the active load balancer), and if it detects that the active load balancer fails, it directs its SIP requests to the backup. If SIP over TCP is used, for example, a load balancer can be detected as failed when one or more TCP connections to that VIP fail. When the formerly active load balancer returns (again detected by the client), SIP requests can again be directed to the active VIP.
However, this solution is most limited as it requires each SIP client to monitor the load balancers and to be configured with backup VIPs for each service. Furthermore, the client must be aware that when the active load balancer returns, requests pertaining to existing sessions must continue to be directed to the backup. Most often, the client is either unknown in advance or is non-configurable to this behavior making this solution highly unfeasible.
Another problem with the prior art is, even when some of the servers are deployed on separate geographical sites, the distribution algorithms of the load balancers do not take the site locations into consideration, ignoring the fact that proximity of the servers to one or both of the call endpoints can contribute to the effective availability of the SIP service, including latency and QOS. This is of particular importance for voice applications, which comprise a large part of all SIP based applications.
Geographic load balancing mechanisms used for HTTP and other web applications cannot be applied to SIP applications without major limitations. Although SIP is an HTTP like request-response protocol, there are certain fundamental differences that make the problem unique. This is due largely to the peer to peer and asynchronous nature of the SIP protocol, the fact that SIP requests traverse multiple application level nodes limiting redirection capabilities mid path, the higher QOS requirements of voice applications and SIP servers can use TCP, UDP and SCTP transports.
Thus in typically prior art solutions, if a site containing a group of servers fails, other servers deployed on the other sites remain available, however, this does not address failure of the site on which the load balancers (active and local backup) are deployed. Furthermore the prior art does not optimize the load balance distribution algorithm by taking into account SIP server proximity to one or both of the session/dialogue endpoints. It would be advantageous to geographical distribute SIP load balancers and account for SIP server proximity to one or both of the session/dialogue endpoints.
Whatever the precise merits, features, and advantages of the prior art is, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes or advantages of the present invention.

Geographic resiliency and load balancing for SIP application services


A temperature distribution measuring instrument comprises an outer cylinder having slits, an inner cylinder having a slit and a sensor array, arranged at the center of the cylinder, for detecting infrared rays passing through these slits. Each of the slits of the outer cylinder is changed in width according to its angle from a plane passing the center axis of the outer cylinder and the center of an object to be measured to equalize the measurement areas of the object and the rotation speed of the inner cylinder is changed to equalize the input times of infrared rays input from the object into the slits of the outer cylinder.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a temperature distribution measuring instrument for obtaining a thermal image of an object to be measured by detecting infrared rays from the object such as a human body. More specifically, it relates to a temperature distribution measuring instrument for use in the control of a car air conditioner or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Applicant proposes a temperature distribution measuring instrument for measuring a temperature distribution of a driver or passenger by detecting infrared rays from the driver or passenger, a seat and the like in a vehicle with incident light temperature sensors (to be referred to as "infrared sensors" hereinafter) in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei-8-101671. This instrument comprises a sensor array consisting of infrared sensors arranged linearly inside an inner cylinder, an outer cylinder having a plurality of slits in its side portion, and the inner cylinder rotating inside the outer cylinder and having a slit in its side portion. It detects infrared rays radiated from the driver and the like in the vehicle, calculates temperature data based on the outputs of the infrared sensors of the sensor array and measures a temperature distribution in the vehicle. The slit in the rotating inner cylinder has a chopper function to transmit and cut off input infrared rays and the sensor array detects infrared rays from each part of the object passing through the slits in the outer cylinder along with the rotation of the inner cylinder as one column of a matrix sequentially to obtain a 2-D thermal image of the object. This temperature distribution measuring instrument is installed on top of the dashboard or therearound, back view mirror, room lamp, pillar or the like to detect a required area in the vehicle so that a temperature distribution mainly in an upper part including the thigh and portions therearound of the body of a driver seated in a driver's seat can be measured. FIG. 6 shows an example of the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 which is installed on a portion near the top of a dashboard 5 almost in front of a driver 4 seated in a driver's seat 3 inside a vehicle 2.
As shown in FIG. 7(a), the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 of the prior art comprises an outer cylinder 7 having a plurality of slits 7s, an inner cylinder 8 internal to the outer cylinder 7, having a slit 8s and sharing a center axis with the outer cylinder 7, a lens 9 for converging infrared rays radiated from the driver 4, driver's seat 3 and the like in the vehicle and input into the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 through a slit 7s in the outer cylinder 7 and the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8, a sensor array 10 for detecting the above input infrared rays, and inner cylinder drive means 11 for rotating the inner cylinder 8. The sensor array 10 is disposed at the center of the inner cylinder 8 and consists of a plurality of infrared sensors 10a arranged in parallel to the center axis of these cylinders as shown in FIG. 7(b).
FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are perspective views of the outer cylinder 7 and the inner cylinder 8, respectively. Out of infrared rays input from 16 slits 7s (701 to 716) in the outer cylinder 7, only infrared rays which are aligned with the slit 8s in the rotating inner cylinder 8 are input into the infrared sensor array 10. That is, when the inner cylinder 8 rotates clockwise as shown in FIG. 8(b), infrared rays passing through slit 701, slit 702, . . . and slit 716 in the outer cylinder 7 sequentially are input into the infrared sensor array 10 through the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8 only for a time (input time) during which the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8 is overlapped with the slit 7s in the outer cylinder 7. While the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8 moves between slits 7s in the outer cylinder 7, infrared rays are cut off and not input into the infrared sensor array 10. Therefore, a thermal image measured by the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 is obtained as a matrix consisting of a number of rows corresponding to the number of infrared sensors 10a (A to H) of the infrared sensor array 10 and a number of columns corresponding to the number of slits 7s in the outer cylinder 7, as shown in FIG. 9. In the figure, black columns between adjacent columns of the matrix indicate areas where temperature data are not obtained because infrared rays from the object 6 are cut off.
However, since the width L of each of the slits 7s in the outer cylinder 7 and the interval K between the slits 7s are fixed in the above prior art, as shown in FIG. 10, when the width W1 (to be referred to as "measurement width" hereinafter) of the object 6 radiating infrared rays to be input into the slits 7s in the outer cylinder 7 from the object 6 located in front of the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 is L, the measurement width W2 of the object 6 through a slit which is located at an angle .alpha. from a plane passing the center axis of the cylinders and being perpendicular to the object 6 and which is in a portion away from the front side of the temperature distribution measuring instrument 1 is larger than L. Thus, W2 differs from W1. The product of the above measurement width and the length of each of the slits 7s in the outer cylinder 7 is called "measurement area" (to be exact, the area of the object radiating infrared rays to be input into the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8). That is, temperature data on columns (1 to 8 and 9 to 16) of a thermal image are based on infrared rays input from different measurement areas. By changing the width of each column of a thermal image to a width proportional to the above measurement area, a thermal image can be expressed such that measurement areas farther from the center of the thermal image become larger, as shown in FIG. 11. Since the temperature data are essentially obtained from the quantity of radiated infrared rays per unit area, the measurement area of each column of the thermal image is larger as the angle from the above plane increases in the temperature distribution measuring instrument, thereby degrading measurement accuracy. As described above, as non-detected portions corresponding to the times during which the slit 8s in the inner cylinder 8 is shut are produced in the thermal image of the prior art, a continuous thermal image cannot be obtained.

Temperature distribution measuring instrument

c/o Zexel Corporation Konan Plant, 39 Aza-Higashihara, Oaza-Sendai, Konan-machi, Osato-gun


A method includes enhancing a contrast to noise ratio (CNR) of image data, generating CNR enhanced image data, wherein the CNR enhanced image data has a substantially same image quality as the image data. A computing system (118) includes a computer readable storage medium (122) encoded with computer readable instructions for enhancing a contrast to noise ratio (CNR) of image data and one or more processors (120), which, when executing the computer readable instructions, causes the computing system to enhance the CNR of the image data. A method includes generating CNR enhanced image data, wherein CNR enhanced image data has a substantially same noise level, noise power spectrum, and spatial resolution of the image data.

A computed tomography (CT) scanner includes an x-ray tube that emits radiation that traverses an examination region and a portion of an object or subject therein. A detector detects radiation traversing the examination region and generates projection data indicative of the detected radiation. A reconstructor reconstructs the projection data and generates volumetric image data indicative of the portion of the object or subject in the examination region.
Contrast media (e.g., iodinated agents) has been administered prior to scanning (a contrast enhanced scan) to improve tissue visualization during routine diagnostic imaging studies by CT, angiography, fluoroscopy, MRI and many other imaging modalities, interventional clinical procedures, therapeutic procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), etc., and/or imaging procedures. The literature has indicated tens of millions of radiologic examinations using iodinate contrast media are performed each year.
Generally, a large volume of contrast media results in higher contrast to noise ratio (CNR) images, while a lower volume of the contrast media leads to lower CNR images. Unfortunately, as the contrast media volume increases, so does its associated risks. By way of example, after parenteral administration of a contrast media, many patients experience idiosyncratic effects, such as warmth, nausea, itching and other types of effects. Certain patients may experience severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to contrast media. Contrast media may also induce kidney damage (contrast Induced Nephropathy (CIN)) as some patients may develop an acute deterioration of their kidney function due to the fact that iodinated contrast media is cleared via the kidneys.
As the amount of contrast media delivered to a patient is a concern, a set of technological enablers have been developed to reduce contrast media usage. Examples of such enablers include electronically controlled injection devices, high rate chaser saline, faster rotation time, wider coverage area, bolus tracking software and the use of low kV protocols. Furthermore, non-ionic and low osmolar agents have been developed, which are better tolerated by patients with regard to idiosyncratic effects, but generally are more expensive. However, there is an unresolved need for novel and non-obvious approaches that facilitate reducing the amount of contrast media utilized for scanning patients while providing diagnostic quality images.


An improved adjustable weight training apparatus is provided. The weight training apparatus includes a central collar portion, that further includes one or more elongated handles. In addition, each handle includes a gripping portion and a connecting end that attaches to a corresponding end of the central collar. Additionally each handle includes gripping protrusions that attach to a corresponding end of the elongated handles. The weight training apparatus further includes an angled weight support attachment that is received into the central collar and secured by a retaining pin or other similar device. In one preferred embodiment the angled weight support attachment may be pivoted and secured in a substantially upward position or in a substantially downward position. Weights may be retained by a sliding collar or similar means on the angled weight support attachment.

In addition to more elaborate weightlifting equipment comprising or including a plurality of levers, pulleys, weight plates, weights tethered to an elongated handle and various types of mechanical linkages, the traditional weightlifting apparatus has been and still remains a single, straight elongated bar fitted with collars near the ends thereof to retain weighted plates on the bar. A typical free-weight exercising barbell may consist of a pair of substantially equal weights spaced apart near the opposite ends of the bar. The center of gravity of a typical barbell is generally located somewhere along the axis of the gripping bar, usually at the midpoint. The standard straight bar has been widely used for many years for a variety of weightlifting exercises, including, by way of example, military and bench presses, curls, upright and bent-over rows and forearm/wrist curls.
During a typical set for a given exercise, an individual performs a series of repetitions by lifting the barbell between lower and upper positions so that targeted muscles will be stressed. The movement of the gripping hands, depending on the exercise, will generally be along a path having a large vertical component. Some exercises, upright rows for example, require substantially straight up and down motion of the barbell. Other exercises, such as curls, require the hands to move along a somewhat arcuate path having both horizontal and vertical components.
One common exercise done with a free-weight barbell is the forearm curl during which an exerciser may sit with the forearms braced on the exercisers upper front thighs with the wrist suspended over the exerciser's knees, the exerciser may use either a supine or pronated grip when grasping the barbell. Upon executing the curl, the exerciser's gripping hands may move along an arcuate path around the wrist in order to stress the forearms. During one forearm curl repetition, the upper arms will preferably be kept generally aligned with the exerciser's upper thighs. In the lowered position, the wrists are substantially at a 45 degree angle. To raise the barbell from the lowered position, the exerciser flexes at his wrist upwards, while the upper arms generally remain braced on the exerciser's thigh.
Another common device used to target the forearms and wrist flexors consist of an elongated bar wherein the weight is attached to a rope. The exerciser rolls the weight up using a twisting motion in order to stress the forearm muscles and wrist flexors.
Although standard barbells are useful for exercising targeted muscle groups, the standard barbell exhibits a number of shortcomings. For example, because the weight lies on the same plane as the gripping hands tension is greatly reduced at or about three quarters into the upward motion of the forearm curl. In order to better stress the muscles of the forearms and wrist a weight that is placed on an angled plane that is opposed to the gripping hands will maintain continuous tension through the full range of motion and promote exercise efficiency. Another disadvantage of standard barbells is that they do not allow the exerciser to change the angle of the gripping hands in order to stress the muscles from different angles.
Although the weight tethered to an elongated handle is useful for exercising the targeted muscles it exhibits a number of short comings. For example the twisting motion used to roll up the tethered weight limits the range of motion and applies undue stress on the wrist when used with a supine grip.


According to one embodiment, a PMV estimating device calculates a PMV value from an average room radiation temperature, room temperature, room humidity, room air velocity, an amount of cloth worn by a person in the room, and an amount of activity of the person in the room. The PMV estimating device includes: indoor solar radiation calculator; solar radiated article temperature estimator; and average radiation temperature estimator. The indoor solar radiation calculator calculates an amount of solar radiation entered into the room. The solar radiated article temperature estimator estimates a temperature of a solar radiated article receiving the solar radiation entered into the room, by using the amount of solar radiation entered into the room calculated by the indoor solar radiation calculator. The average radiation temperature estimator estimates the average room radiation temperature by using the temperature of the solar radiated article estimated by the solar radiated article temperature estimator.

Currently, it has been desired to promote energy saving at consumer's end, such as in buildings or houses. Furthermore, due to an influence of the earthquake disaster and tight power demand and supply, a solution for saving more energy (power saving) has been desired. Thus, it has been increasingly important to promote the energy saving at the consumer's end.
Recently, there is a discussion to introduce a "demand-response," which suppresses a power consumption at the consumer's end, in a next generation power system (referred to as the Smart Grid). Here, the next generation power system is realized by establishing a communication environment between the power supplier's end and the power consumer's end. It is considered that, in the future, the energy saving at the consumer's end aiming for overall optimization of the power usage, such as adjustment or systematic stabilization of the power demand and supply, becomes more familiar.
In order to realize increasing the energy saving at the consumer's end, it is necessary to correctly understand environment of a room of the consumer. For example, an energy consumption of air conditioning related devices that maintain environment, such as a room temperature and room humidity, takes up approximately one fourth of the energy consumption of the entire office building. Thus, if excess heating or cooling is recognized and optimized, there is a possibility that large energy saving effect is obtained.
There is known an index referred to as a predicted mean vote (PMV), which is employed as a standard thermal comfort index (standard heat index) of the International Organization for Standard (ISO) 7730. The PMV is an index obtained by obtaining an unbalanced heat with respect to the environment, and by associating the unbalanced heat with thermal sensation. Accordingly, there has been proposed a technique to control air conditioning by using the PMV as a control index for the air conditioning, in order to improve comfort and to increase energy saving by removing the excess cooling and the heating.
However, in the conventional technology, there is no consideration on influence of a temperature change in a solar radiated article that directly receives solar radiation. Here, the solar radiated article is, for example a blind for blocking solar radiation from entering into a room via a window. Thus, the PMV estimated by the conventional technique might be different from that of the actual environment. If such PMV is used as the control index for the air conditioning or the like, there is a possibility that a predicted room environment of the air conditioning or an energy saving effect cannot be obtained.

Predicted mean vote estimating device and computer program product


An optical measurement device for measuring strain related to deformation of a deformable surface of a component. The optical measurement device includes a fiber tension structure including opposing longitudinal end sections attached to the deformable surface. An optical fiber is tensioned by the fiber tension structure and includes a section defining a Bragg grating. The fiber tension structure includes a displaceable portion for forming a structural break between the longitudinal end sections where the fiber tension structure separates to form a gap between the first and second longitudinal end sections. The longitudinal end sections are movable independently of each other after formation of the structural break in the fiber tensioning structure.

Strain gauges provide an inexpensive, high-performance means for measuring mechanical vibration on the surface of a structure, such as in an application to monitor fatigue and/or predict failure of the structure. In a conventional strain gauge, a thin film with an embedded electric resistance wire path is bonded to the surface of the structure at a location where the surface strain is being measured. The strain gauge film is compliant to the surface strain produced in the structure, causing the electrical resistance of the wire path to change in proportion to the surface strain. While electrical strain gauges operate satisfactorily in many applications, electrical strain gauges may not provide accurate strain information in applications involving high electric potential, such as in a strain measurement application in an electrical generator. Also, resistive type strain gauges require electrical conducting wires that could cause arcing to ground if they are deployed on a structure that is at a high voltage.
An electrical generator used in the field of electrical power generation includes a stator winding having a large number of conductor bars that are pressed into slots in a base body, in particular, a laminated stator core or a rotor body. Such an electrical generator represents a very expensive and long-term investment. Its failure not only endangers the power equipment itself but may also result in very severe service reduction due to the down time associated with repair. To avoid such a condition, increasing use is being made of a diagnosis system, which may, for example, include an optical measurement device, for early identification of defects. The diagnosis system furthermore allows a higher utilization level, making the power equipment more financially viable.
The Bragg grating strain gauge is commonly used in an optical measurement device. The Bragg grating strain gauge generally comprises an optical fiber with a diffraction grating pattern located directly within the optical fiber. The diffraction grating reflects a specific wavelength of light depending on the grating line spacing. If tension in the grating causes the optical fiber to stretch, the Bragg grating spacing is increased and the wavelength of the reflected light is increased proportionately.
The Bragg grating optical sensor may comprise a plurality of Bragg gratings located serially along a single optical fiber. Up to one hundred Bragg grating strain gauges may be placed along the length of the optical fiber. Each of the strain gauges has a unique spacing to reflect light at a wavelength that is unique to the particular strain gauge. For example, the spacing of diffraction lines in the Bragg gratings of each successive strain gauge may be incremented by 5 nm in reflective wavelength, so as not to overlap with the wavelength of any other strain gauge as the measured strain at each site slightly shifts the reflective wavelength of each Bragg grating. Each Bragg grating is assigned a frequency (or wavelength) band as determined by its grating spacing. Strain causes the Bragg grating to reflect (i.e., not transmit) the laser light so that the laser light within this band is shifted slightly, but is still within the band. A laser providing light to the optical fiber may be swept 500 nm at a 2 KHz repeat or sampling rate to cause each of the Bragg gratings to reflect its light sequentially. Each time the laser frequency is swept, and thus passes through the band of the grating, the light is reflected at a slightly different frequency (or wavelength), dependent on the strain experienced at this point. The exact laser light wavelength at which each Bragg grating reflects light corresponds to the stress at each measured site. Each Bragg grating is thus sampled at 2 KHz, resulting in a resolution of vibration measurement to 1 KHz. In a typical application, a second Bragg grating is included in each strain sensor, at the site of the strain sensing Bragg grating, to correct for temperature. A temperature change results in an apparent steady state strain in the fiber due to thermal expansion of the Bragg grating. This does not affect the dynamic vibration measurement, but will affect the steady state strain measurement. The dynamic vibration strain is thus biased by the steady state stress, and can affect the ultimate failure of the structure.
An example of a Bragg grating measurement system, including an operating device for providing a laser light source and an analyzer to analyze reflected light from a plurality of Bragg gratings at different locations, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,041, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. It should be noted that, in an alternative measurement system, the light transmitted past the Bragg grating may be analyzed, where the Bragg grating causes a notch in the received light at the frequency (or wavelength) of the Bragg grating.
In applications in which strain must be measured in the presence of a strong electrical field, such as at sites along a generator stator bar, the Bragg grating strain gauge is preferred over electrical or resistive strain gauges, in that the Bragg grating strain gauge is unaffected by the electrical field. However, application of the Bragg grating strain gauge differs from the electrical strain gauge in that the small diameter optical fiber containing the Bragg grating cannot be placed into compression by the strain at the site. Accordingly, the optical fiber must be pre-stressed or tensioned, where the optical fiber is generally under tension at all times, such that any increase or decrease of strain at the site will increase or decrease the stress in the optical fiber. The tension or pre-stress applied to the optical fiber may also be used to fine tune the frequency band of the Bragg grating.
As may be seen with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the present Bragg strain gauge technology, depicted by the strain gauge 8, tensions an optical fiber 10 at each Bragg grating site by placing the optical fiber 10 through a small stainless steel fiber tension structure 12. The fiber tension structure includes a window 14 through which the optical fiber 10 passes and within which the Bragg grating portion 16 is located. Before the optical fiber 10 is fastened to the fiber tension structure 12, the fiber 10 is stretched to place it in tension, and it is then cemented to the fiber tension structure 12 to maintain the tension within the fiber 10. The fiber tension structure 12 is then attached, such as by spot welding or spot cementing 18, to the metal surface 20 of a generator stator bar 22.
In certain applications, the metal generator stator bars, may be provided with a compliant material covering, i.e., an insulating ground wall, where "compliant covering" refers to a cover structure whose movement is controlled by thermal expansion and vibrating movement of the underlying metal stator bar. For example, referring to FIG. 9, in which a compliant cover structure 24 is attached to the metal generator stator bar 22, the cover structure 24 will substantially move with the stator bar 22 during thermal expansion and vibration, as is illustrated by the displacement d. In such applications, when the fiber tension structure of an optical sensor is attached to the compliant covering, the fiber tension structure will locally dominate the movement of the compliant insulating ground wall, such that the resulting strain measurement is considerably smaller than that which would exist at the measurement site if the fiber tensioning structure were not present.
In addition, it may be noted that when forces normal to the stator bar surface, such as vibrational forces, are applied to the stator bar causing it to flex, the strain at the stator bar surface is geometrically amplified by the thickness of the insulating ground wall. The ground wall effectively acts as a cantilever to increase a displacement at the surface of the insulating ground wall relative to the displacement at the underlying stator bar surface. This effect is illustrated in FIG. 10 in which the displacement d1 at the surface 20 of the stator bar 22 is amplified to a greater value d2 at the surface 26 of the insulating ground wall 24. When a strain gauge, such as the strain gauge 8 incorporating the fiber tension structure 12 described with regard to FIGS. 7 and 8, is applied to the insulating ground wall 24, the fiber tension structure prevents the geometric amplification of the ground wall displacement, and thus prevents an accurate measurement of the stator bar displacement. Positioning the strain gauge in or under the insulating ground, i.e., directly on the metal stator bar, would not provide an acceptable solution in that placing any sensor in or under the ground wall would adversely affect the dielectric properties of the ground wall insulation, i.e., would electrically weaken the ground wall insulation.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sensing device that may be applied to a ground wall covering a stator bar to provide an accurate measurement of strain in the underlying stator bar surface.

Fiber optic Bragg grating strain gauge for application on structures with compliant surface covering


A current limited, voltage regulated, battery maintainer and charger apparatus includes a circuit for monitoring and maintaining a 12 volt storage battery, determining the presence of forward polarity and in response controlling the amount of charging current necessary to continuously maintain the battery in a ready state, without overcharging or causing other damage to said battery. The battery maintainer device selectively charges 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell or sealed lead acid batterys using current limitation and voltage regulation circuitry, to modulate an amount of current to maintain a voltage potential across the battery, whereby the current flow can drop to zero current flow, to maintain a constant and continuous storage battery voltage of 13.8 volts. The battery maintainer apparatus also includes a variety of safety features not ordinarily associated with a battery charger including but not limited to a circuit which shuts out charging current when reverse polarity is detected, a feature whereby current is not supplied to the output terminals until said terminals have come in contact with a storage battery of sufficient initial voltage, thus preventing the output terminals from sparking should they accidentally contact each other prior to hook-up with the storage battery. Furthermore, the battery maintainer device is designed for constant, continuous and non-supervised use on all 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell, and sealed lead acid batteries.

Lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries yield their optimum life-span when they maintain an appropriate and adequate charge and are not repeatedly, depleted and recharged. It is a well known phenomena that lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries lose their charge if not electrically engaged with a charging apparatus on a frequent and regular basis. Furthermore, when lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries sit idly, they will lose their charge due to natural discharging.
Batteries which are used less than once a month are prone to premature failure due to the natural discharging effect of the battery. Although lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries can be recharged, the cyclic charging and discharging will prematurely deteriorate these batteries. A 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell or sealed lead acid battery will yield a maximum life expectancy when the voltage is continuously kept at the manufacturer's recommended voltage of 13.8 volts.
When recharging current supplied to a rechargeable battery is continued past a point of full recharge, the battery may suffer the effects of overcharging, out-gassing, overheating, speeding up of the electrolyte reaction within the battery, evaporation of electrolyte and ultimately resulting in shortening the life of a 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell or sealed lead acid battery.
A large number of battery chargers have been developed for use in recharging batteries. Typically, battery charges have used the principal of current limiting to recharge batteries. However, using such chargers over an extended period of time, can overcharge the battery and result in premature failure. Some of these battery chargers also include sophisticated voltage monitors and charging controllers, however, these chargers similarly fail to protect against overcharging during unsupervised extended time use.
It is, therefore, a feature of the present invention to provide a current limited voltage regulated dual rate battery maintainer and charging apparatus which in normal use provides for charge preservation of 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries at the manufacturer's suggested voltage.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a current limited voltage regulated dual rate battery maintainer and charging apparatus which meets with 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid battery manufacturer's requirements for maintaining a 12 volt battery at it's optimum charge.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a means which prevents harmful cyclic charging and discharging of 12 volt lead acid, gel-cell and sealed lead acid batteries.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a means of continuous current limitation, to maintain the battery at a constant desirable voltage.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide safety features to protect from improper battery hookup, preventing the overcharging of an adequately charged or over-charged battery and preventing the charging of a battery with no potential for holding a charge.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,177 issued to Reeves et al. on Aug. 29, 1972 describes a battery charger which regulates the charging current by regulating the firing angle of a controllable rectifier; U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,618 which issued to Coleman, et al. on Nov. 11, 1975 describes a hysteresis battery charger and includes a charging network having a series of pass elements for delivering charging current to a battery; U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,308 which issued to Emile, Jr., et al. on May 31, 1983 teaches a hysteresis type battery charger including a circuit for monitoring battery voltage and controlling charging current to a battery; U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,102 which issued to Ayer on Apr. 2, 1985 describes a battery current switch having an opto-isolated switch; U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,580 which issued to Wortman on May 5, 1987 describes a sealed lead acid battery float charger and power supply which includes a predetermined non-linear temperature coefficient compensation network; U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,580 which issued to Yang on Oct. 6, 1987 describes an automatic charging or cut-off circuit device for intermittent pulsating DC charging power supply which automatically cuts-off when the battery becomes fully charged; U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,290 which issued to Sutphin et al. on May 3, 1988 teaches a recharging battery charger; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,992 which issued to Eavenson et al. on May 7, 1991 teaches a microprocessor controlled battery charger.
The aforementioned devices, although useful for a particular application, do not provide for the same purpose, needs or applications desired as those in the current device. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized by means of the combinations and steps particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Battery maintainer and charger apparatus


The present invention provides methods of forming cobalt layers on a structure comprising forming a preliminary cobalt layer on a semiconductor substrate by introducing an organic metal precursor onto the semiconductor substrate and treating a surface of the preliminary cobalt layer under an atmosphere of a hydrogen-containing gas to remove impurities contained in the preliminary cobalt layer. Compositions of cobalt layers are also provided. Further provided are semiconductor devices comprising cobalt layers provided herein.

As information processing apparatus are developed, semiconductor devices possessing high integration and rapid response speed may be desired. However, when the semiconductor devices are highly integrated, the semiconductor devices may have unsuitable characteristics. For example, contact resistances at source/drain regions may increase as the size of the source/drain regions and length of gate electrodes decrease. When a semiconductor device has an increased contact resistance, the semiconductor device may not operate at a high response speed and power consumption of the semiconductor device may increase. To address this concern, a method of forming a metal silicide layer on a gate electrode and source/drain regions of a semiconductor device has been suggested. The metal silicide layer comprises a compound of metal and silicon. For example, the metal silicide layer can include tungsten silicide, titanium silicide, cobalt silicide or the like.
In a conventional method of forming a metal silicide layer, after a titanium layer is formed on a substrate or a silicon containing layer by a sputtering process or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the titanium layer can be thermally treated to be reacted with silicon contained in the substrate or the silicon containing layer, thereby forming a titanium silicide layer on the substrate or the silicon containing layer. However, the titanium silicide layer may exhibit an increased resistance if the titanium silicide layer is damaged during the thermal treatment process. In contrast, a cobalt silicide layer may be widely employed for a semiconductor device because the cobalt silicide layer may exhibit greater chemical stability and greater stable resistance stability relative to titanium silicide. Additionally, the conventional cobalt silicide layer can be formed by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process.
In a conventional method of forming a cobalt silicide layer, a cobalt layer can be formed on a silicon substrate or a silicon-containing pattern by a PVD process. The silicon substrate or the silicon-containing pattern having the cobalt layer can be thermally treated to yield reacted cobalt with silicon so that the cobalt silicide layer can be formed on the silicon substrate or the silicon-containing pattern. However, the cobalt silicide layer formed by the PVD process may exhibit poor step coverage. In addition, the cobalt silicide layer formed by the PVD process may not have a uniform thickness when the cobalt silicide layer is formed on predefined patterns or in contact holes.
FIG. 1 presents a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional method of forming a cobalt layer on a substrate by a PVD process.
Referring to FIG. 1, gate patterns 12 are formed on a semiconductor substrate 10. The gate patterns 12 are separated from each other by a predefined spacing distance. Spacers 14 are formed on sidewalls of the gate patterns 12.
A cobalt layer 16 can be formed on an entire surface of the substrate 10 including the gate patterns 12 and the spacers 14. A portion of the cobalt layer 16 between the gate patterns 12 has a relatively thin thickness compared to that of other portions of the cobalt layer 16 on the substrate 10 and on the gate patterns 12.
When the cobalt layer 16 does not have a uniform thickness on the entire surface of the substrate 10, a cobalt silicide layer formed from the cobalt layer 16 may also have an irregular thickness on the substrate 10. As a result, a semiconductor device including the cobalt silicide layer may have poor electrical characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,477 issued to Kaloyeros presents a method of forming a cobalt layer on a silicon layer by a CVD process using [Co(CO)3NO] as a precursor. In this method, the silicon layer is oxidized by a reaction between silicon and by-products, including oxygen, that are generated from the precursor and generated in the CVD process. In particular, an interface oxide layer is formed between the silicon layer and the cobalt layer to inhibit a reaction between silicon and cobalt and prevent the formation of a cobalt silicide layer on the silicon layer, even after a subsequent thermal process is carried out with respect to the cobalt layer. Additionally, H. S. Rhee et al. presents a method of forming a cobalt layer on a silicon layer by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process in "Applied Physics Letters Vol. 74, No. 7, 1999." In this method, examples of cobalt precursors include Co2(CO)8, Co(C5H5)2, Co(C5H5)(CO)2 and CoCF3(CO)4. However, since the cobalt precursors include carbon and oxygen, impurities including carbon and oxygen may be included in a cobalt layer formed on the silicon layer. When the cobalt layer includes these impurities, the cobalt layer may be unsuitable for semiconductor devices because the cobalt layer may possess high specific resistance.

Methods of forming cobalt layers for semiconductor devices


Whey protein materials such as whey from cheese making processes, whey protein concentrates, and whey protein isolates, are deflavored by adjusting the pH of an aqueous composition of such whey protein materials to about 8 to about 12 to solubilize the whey proteins and to release the flavoring compounds and thereafter passing the pH-adjusted composition to an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight cutoff up to about 50,000 Daltons under conditions at which the flavoring compounds pass through the membrane, leaving the retained whey protein material with improved flavor.

This invention relates generally to the processing of whey protein-containing materials for use in various food products. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of deflavoring whey protein materials in order to make them acceptable in a wide range of foods.
In recent years, whey proteins have become widely used in food products, for the health benefits to be obtained from their use. For example, studies suggest that whey proteins may provide a variety of health benefits such as anti-hypertension activity, immune system enhancement, antimicrobial activity, intestinal health enhancement, and oral hygiene activity. In some applications, the taste of the whey protein materials is not objectionable. However, in some uses, such as dairy analog products, beverages and the like, and especially when the amount of whey protein is increased to the levels associated with such health benefits, the flavors found in whey protein materials may prevent their ready acceptance by the consumer. Thus, in order to extend the uses of whey protein materials, the present inventors wanted to find a method of reducing the flavor components of whey protein materials. However, it was not evident that methods which had been used previously to remove flavor components from other organic materials would be successful in the treating of whey protein materials. Organic materials, since they have complex compositions, must be tested to determine whether any given method of treating them will be satisfactory.
One example of previously employed methods to purify organic materials is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,480, in which the patentees show that starch can be treated with an alkali to remove objectionable flavor components. In a commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,186, ultrafiltration is used to purify starch. In both cases, flavor components are removed from the starch, in the '480 patent by solubilizing the flavor components so that they can be washed out of the relatively insoluble starch. In the '186 patent, ultrafiltration was used to remove the flavor components as permeate, while the insoluble starch remained in an aqueous slurry. By contrast, the present invention separates flavor components from soluble high molecular weight whey proteins.
There are many articles and patents which relate to processing soy materials in order to recover the protein content and which at the same time reduce the flavor compounds to make the proteins more acceptable in food products. However, these previous disclosures were not specifically directed to removal of flavoring compounds and recovering as much of the protein as possible. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,425 in which protein components of soy are solubilized at a pH of 7 to 11, preferably about 8 and, after ultrafiltration through a membrane having a molecular weight cut off above 70,000, are recovered by spray drying the retained soy proteins. In variants, only a portion of the protein is solubilized at lower pH values and subjected to ultrafiltration with a membrane having a cutoff preferably above 100,000 molecular weight, the product was found to have improved color and flavor. A higher cutoff valve would be expected to result in a loss of valuable proteins. In another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,714, a soy flour slurry is pH-adjusted to the range of 7 to 10 to solubilize proteins, which are then passed through an ultrafiltration membrane and phytate and aluminum are retained, presumably as solids. While the molecular weight cutoff of the membrane was not given, it is assumed that the pore size was large in order to be able to pass the soluble proteins. Both of these patents contain extensive discussions of the efforts of others in the processing of soy materials; neither teaches or suggests the control of pH during the ultrafiltration process.
In a group of related patents, Mead Johnson Company disclosed processes for solubilizing soy proteins by raising the pH of an aqueous solution of soy materials and recovering the proteins which are said to have a bland taste. The processes are principally directed to concentrating proteins rather than removing flavor compounds. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,071, the pH was increased to 10.1 to 14 (preferably 11 to 12) to solubilize soy proteins, after which the pH was lowered to about 6 to 10 and ultrafiltration with a membrane having a molecular weight cutoff of 10,000 to 50,000 Daltons was used to retain the proteins while discarding carbohydrates and minerals. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,670, emphasis was placed on removing phytates and phytic acid by solubilizing proteins at a pH of 10.6 to 14 and a temperature of 10 to 50° C. to make the phytates and phytic acid insoluble, then separating them and finally acidifying the solution to a pH of about 4 to 5 to precipitate the soy proteins. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,120 soy proteins were solubilized at a pH less than 10, preferably 7 to 9, and ultrafiltration was used to separate the proteins as retentate, while passing carbohydrates as permeate. These patents do not teach or suggest control of the pH during the ultrafiltration process.
The present inventors wanted to remove compounds in soy protein materials which contribute color and flavor and which interfere with the use of soy protein in certain food products such as beverages, dairy analogs, and the like. They found that soy protein-derived materials can be treated successfully, recovering substantially all of the proteins and rejecting the compounds which cause undesirable color and flavor. Moreover, by controlling the pH within the range of about 8.5 to about 12 during the ultrafiltration process, deflavored soy protein materials having improved functional properties can be obtained. Thus, the product is suitable for many food products. Now the present inventors have surprisingly discovered that a related process can be advantageously applied to whey protein materials to remove undesirable flavor components to obtain a deflavored whey protein material which can be incorporated into many different food products. The process can, however, be modified such that it can be operated in a basic or acid pH range. Thus, either basic or acidic deflavored soy protein can be prepared using the process of this invention.


In an array substrate, a first area of overlap between projections of a first source and a first gate of an active matrix switch of a first type on a base substrate is greater than a second area of overlap between projections of a second source and a second gate of an active matrix switch a second type on the base substrate.

Design of high-order panel product has been developed towards high-value, high-resolution products in recent years. In a market of Vertical Alignment (VA) series panel, pixel design of different domains is often used to improve the phenomenon of visual deviation at large viewing angles.
In an exemplary technique, generally, a pixel unit is divided into a main region and a secondary region. A pixel unit includes a plurality of sub-pixels. Then, an independent main region pixel electrode is provided in the main region, and an independent secondary region pixel electrode is provided in the secondary region. The main region pixel electrode and the secondary region pixel electrode are arranged alternately, so as to realize multi-domain display.
However, the inventor found that the display of different domains needs to be performed by charging the liquid crystal capacitance with different thin film transistor (TFT) elements. In consideration of a display quality at large viewing angle, when a fixed grayscale voltage is provided to charge a liquid crystal capacitance, different domains of the sub-pixel have grayscale difference due to a charging difference. In addition, parasitic capacitance differences due to different designs of a thin film transistor (TFT) device, such as the differences in gate-drain capacitance Cgd and gate-source capacitance Cgs, results in a difference in the optimum common voltage Vcom between the main region and the secondary region of the sub-pixel, thereby causing image sticking.

Array substrate, display panel, and display apparatus


Di-N-substituted piperazine or 1,4 di-substituted piperadine compounds in accordance with formula I (including all isomers, salts, esters, and solvates)

The present invention relates to di-N-substituted piperazines and 1,4-di-substituted piperidines useful in the treatment of cognitive disorders, pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds, methods of treatment using the compounds, and to the use of said compounds in combination with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Alzheimer""s disease and other cognitive disorders have received much attention lately, yet treatments for these diseases have not been very successful. According to Melchiorre et al. (J. Med. Chem. (1993), 36, 3734-3737), compounds that selectively antagonize M2 muscarinic receptors, especially in relation to M1 muscarinic receptors, should possess activity against cognitive disorders. Baumgold et al. (Eur. J. of Pharmacol., 251, (1994) 315-317) disclose 3-xcex1-chloroimperialine as a highly selective m2 muscarinic antagonist.
The present invention is predicated on the discovery of a class of di-N-substituted piperazines and 1,4-di-substituted piperidines, some of which have m2 selectivity even higher than that of 3-xcex1-chloroimperialine. Logemann et al (Brit. J. Pharmacol. (1961), 17, 286-296) describe certain di-N-substituted piperazines, but these are different from the inventive compounds of the present invention. Furthermore, the compounds of Logemann et al. are not disclosed to have activity against cognitive disorders.
The present invention relates to compounds according to the structural formula 1,
including all isomers and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters, and solvates thereof,
wherein
one of Y and Z is N and the other is N, CH, or C-alkyl;
X is xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94SOxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94SO2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94NR6xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CSxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C(OR5)2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C(SR5)2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CONR20xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C(alkyl)2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C(H)(alkyl)xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94NR20xe2x80x94SO2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94NR20COxe2x80x94,
xe2x80x83(wherein X1 is xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, or xe2x80x94NR7xe2x80x94),
xe2x80x83hydrogen, acyl, alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkyl substituted with up to two alkyl groups, cycloalkenyl, bicycloalkyl, arylalkenyl, benzyl, benzyl substituted with up to three independently selected R3 groups, cycloalkylalkyl, polyhaloacyl, benzyloxyalkyl, hydroxyC2-C20alkyl, alkenylcarbonyl, alkylarylsulfonyl, alkoxycarbonylaminoacyl, alkylsulfonyl, or arylsulfonyl, additionally, when X is xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, R may also be xe2x80x94OH; in further addition, when X is not N, R may also be hydroxymethyl, in further addition, R and X may combine to form the group Prot-(NOAA)rxe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94 wherein r is an integer of 1 to 4, Prot is a nitrogen protecting group and when r is 1, NOAA is a naturally occuring amino acid or an enantiomer thereof, or when r is 2 to 4, each NOAA is a peptide of an independently selected naturally occuring amino acid or an enantiomer thereof;
R1 and R21 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, bicycloalkyl, alkynyl, cyano, aminoalkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, aminocarbonyl, hydroxyguanidino, alkoxycarbonylalkyl, phenyl alkyl, alkylcarbonlyoxyalkyl,
xe2x80x83H, xe2x80x94OH, (provided R1 and R21 are both not xe2x80x94OH and Y is not N), formyl, xe2x80x94CO alkyl, xe2x80x94COacyl, xe2x80x94COaryl, and hydroxyalkyl; additionally R1 and R21 together may form the group
xe2x80x83in further addition, R1 and R21 together with the carbon atom to which they are attached may form the group
xe2x80x83or R1 and R21 together with the carbon atom to which they are attached may form a saturated heterocyclic ring containing 3 to 7 carbon atoms and one group selected from S, O, and NH;
R2 is H, alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkyl substituted with 1 to 3 independently selected R3 groups, cycloalkenyl, hydroxyC2-C20alkyl, alkynyl, alkylamide, cycloalkylalkyl, hydroxyarylalkyl, bicycloalkyl, alkynyl, acylaminoalkyl, arylalkyl, hydroxyalkoxyalkyl, azabicyclo, alkylcarbonyl, alkoxyalkyl, aminocarbonylalkyl, alkoxycarbonylaminoalkyl, alkoxycarbonylamino(alkyl)alkyl; alkylcarbonyloxyalkyl, arylhydroxyalkyl, alkylcarbonylamino(alkyl)alkyl, dialkylamino,
xe2x80x83(wherein q is an integer of 0 to 2)
xe2x80x83wherein n is 1-3
xe2x80x83wherein m is an integer of 4 to 7,
xe2x80x83wherein t is an integer of 3 to 5,
xe2x80x83(wherein R29 is H, alkyl, acyl, alkoxycarbonyl, aminocarbonyl, alkylaminocarbonyl, dialkylaminocarbonyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl),
xe2x80x83(wherein Q is O, NOH, or NO-alkyl), or when Z is xe2x80x94CHxe2x80x94, R2 may also be alkoxycarbonyl, hydroxymethyl, xe2x80x94N(R8)2;
R3, R4, R22, R24, and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, halo, alkoxy, benzyloxy, benzyloxy substituted by nitro or aminoalkyl, haloalkyl, polyhaloalkyl, nitro, cyano, sulfonyl, hydroxy, amino, alkylamino, formyl, alkylthio, polyhaloalkoxy, acyloxy, trialkylsilyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, acyl, alkoxycarbonyl alkylsulfinyl; xe2x80x94OCONH2, xe2x80x94OCONH-alkyl, xe2x80x94OCON(alkyl)2, xe2x80x94NHCOO-alkyl, xe2x80x94NHCO-alkyl, phenyl, hydroxyalkyl, or morpholino;
each R5 and R6 is independently selected from the group consisting of H and alkyl, provided that when X is C(OR5)2 or C(SR5)2, both R5 groups cannot be H, and in addition, when X is C(OR5)2 or C(SR5)2, the two R5 groups in X may be joined to form xe2x80x94(CH2)pxe2x80x94 wherein p is an integer of 2 to 4:
R7 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, arylalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl and aryl substituted with R3 and R4 as defined herein;
each R8 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxyalkyl, or alkyl or two R8 groups may be joined to form an alkylene group;
R9 is H, alkyl, or acyl:
R20 is H, phenyl or alkyl; and
R27 and R28 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, alkyl, hydroxyalkyl, arylalkyl, aminoalkyl, haloalkyl, thioalkyl, alkylthioalkyl, carboxyalkyl, imidazolyalkyl, and indolyalkyl, additionally R27 and R28 may combine to form an alkylene group.
In a preferred group of compounds Y and Z are N
In another preferred group of compounds Y is CH and Z is N
In another preferred group of compounds R is
In another preferred group of compounds R3 and R4 are H and either R1 is cycloalkyl, alkyl, or CN and R21 is H or R1 and R21 together form xe2x95x90CH2 or xe2x95x90O.
In another preferred group of compounds R is
X is O, SO or SO2, R3 and R4 are H and either R1 is cycloalkyl, alkyl, or CN and R21 is H or R1 and R21 together form xe2x95x90CH2 or xe2x95x90O.
In another preferred group of compounds Y and Z are N, R1 is cycloalkyl, alkyl or CN, R21 is H and R2 is cycloalkyl or
In another preferred group of compounds Y is CH, Z is N, and R2 is cycloalkyl or
In another preferred group of compounds at least one of R27 and R28 is alkyl.
In another preferred group of compound one of R27 or R28 is methyl and the other is hydrogen.
In another preferred group of compounds R is
Another preferred group of compounds is the group represented by the formula
wherein R, X, R1, R27, and R21 are as defined in the following table
or having the structural formula
Another group of preferred compounds of formula I are:
(in the table that follows, when R2 is substituted cyclohexyl, the substituent positions are numbered as follows:
Another aspect of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition which comprises a compound having structural formula I as defined above in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
Another aspect of the invention is the use of a compound formula I for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition useful in the treatment of cognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer""s disease.
Yet another aspect of the invention comprises a method for making a pharmaceutical composition comprising mixing a compound of formula I with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
Another aspect of this invention is a method for treating a cognitive or neurodegenerative disease comprising administering to a patient suffering from said disease an effective amount of a compound of formula I.
Another aspect of this invention is a method for treating cognitive and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer""s disease with a compound of formula I in combination with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
Another aspect of this invention is a method for treating a cognitive or neurodegenerative disease comprising administering to a patient suffering from said disease an effective amount of a combination of a compound capable of enhancing acetylcholine release (preferably an m2 or m4 selective muscarinic antagonist) with an acetycholinesterase inhibitor.
Another aspect of this invention is a kit comprising in separate containers in a single package pharmaceutical compounds for use in combination to treat cognitive disorders in one container a compound of formula I or a compound capable of enhancing acetylcholine release (preferably an m2 or m4 selective muscarinic antagonist) in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and in a second container an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, the combined quantities being an effective amount.

Abstract: wherein R, R1, R2, R3, R4, R21, R27, R28, X, Y, and Z are as defined herein are muscarinic antagonists useful for treating cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer""s disease. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods of preparation are also disclosed. Also disclosed are synergistic combinations of compounds of the above formula or other compounds capable of enhancing acetylcholine release with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.


Content on a display user interface of an electronic device, such as a wearable electronic device, can be manipulated using capacitive touch sensors that may be seamlessly integrated into the housing or strap of the electronic device. The capacitive touch sensors can advantageously replace mechanical buttons and other mechanical user interface components, such as a crown, to provide industrial design opportunities not possible with the inclusion of mechanical buttons and mechanical interface components. Moreover, the capacitive touch sensors can enable ambidextrous user interface control of content displayed on a touchscreen without requiring the user to touch the touchscreen. In some examples, content displayed on the touchscreen can be accessed in response to a variety of touch gestures processed by the capacitive touch sensors. The touch gestures can include, for example, single tap, double tap, extended touch, x-y coordinate selection, scrolling, scaling, or the like for manipulating a touchscreen user interface.

Advanced personal electronic devices can have small form factors. These personal electronic devices can include, but are not limited to, tablets and smart phones. Use of such personal electronic devices involves manipulation of user interface objects on display screens that also have small form factors to complement the design of the personal electronic devices. Existing methods for manipulating user interface objects on reduced-size touch-sensitive displays can be inefficient. Further, existing methods generally provide less precision than is preferable.

Processing capacitive touch gestures implemented on an electronic device


A distributed amplifier (10) configured to amplify an input signal (20) is presented. Within the amplifier (10), a first input phase-shift element (40) shifts the input signal (20) into a first shifted input signal (56). A first active element (18'), coupled to the first input phase-shift element (40), amplifies the first shifted input signal (56) into a first amplified signal (58). A second phase-shift element (42), coupled to the first input phase-shift element (40), shifts the first shifted input signal (56) into a second shifted input signal (62). A second active element (18"), coupled to the second phase-shift element (42), amplifies the second shifted input signal (62) into a second amplified signal (64). A first output phase-shift element (44), coupled to the first active element (18'), shifts the first amplified signal (58) into a first shifted amplified signal (60). A second output phase-shift element (46), coupled to the first output phase-shift element (44) and the second active element (18"), shifts the first shifted amplified signal (60) and the second amplified signal (64) into an output signal (24).

Distributed amplification is the amplification of portions of a signal along the length of a first (input) transmission line by discrete active elements (amplifiers), the outputs of which are combined along a second (output) transmission line to produce the resultant amplified signal.
Each active element in a distributed amplifier contains spurious reactances, mostly capacitive, which impact upon the input and output impedances of those devices. A properly designed circuit containing these active elements compensates for these spurious reactances so that they will have minimum effect upon the transfer of power at the desired operating frequencies. Traditionally, this is accomplished by coupling both the inputs and the outputs of the active elements to compensatory networks. Such networks contain both inductances and capacitances along their lengths so as to appear as short lengths of transmission lines having specific characteristic impedances and operating over wide frequency bands. Each of the input and output networks may therefore be considered a virtual transmission line. In this approach, the input and output terminals of the active elements are connected at regular intervals along the input and output virtual transmission lines, respectively.
In the above and related implementations, the input and output virtual transmission lines are designed to have constant characteristic impedances over their lengths. This allows the theoretical gain of the distributed amplifier to approach the sum of the gains of the individual active elements. Simultaneously, the upper limits of the amplifier bandwidth are extended to the point where the spurious capacitance compensation no longer holds true. This results in a distributed amplifier that retains the wideband performance of the virtual transmission lines.
Although distributed amplifiers are highly attractive for those applications requiring a high gain-bandwidth product, they are not so well suited for applications requiring high output power. This is because the output power of a uniformly distributed amplifier is limited to the power-handling capability of the final active element in the amplifier. Each active device in a distributed amplifier contributes an equal output current to the output virtual transmission line. These currents progressively accumulate in the direction of the load. Since the characteristic impedance of the output virtual transmission line is constant throughout its length, the voltage across each successive active element must be greater so that the voltage-to-current ratio remains constant. Therefore, a conventional uniformly distributed amplifier is designed so that the final active element operates optimally within its rated voltage and current specifications. All preceding active elements accordingly operate suboptimally.
Additionally, conventional distributed amplifiers operate with matched-load power transfers. Since the virtual transmission lines appear as true transmission lines to the circuit, they have a characteristic impedance that needs be terminated to prevent interference from signal reflection. Since one of the purposes of the virtual transmission lines is to compensate for the spurious capacitive reactance of the active elements, they are themselves predominantly reactive. Termination becomes increasingly important with reactive characteristic impedances. In a terminated transmission line, approximately one-half the power is dissipated in the terminating impedance. Since there are typically both an input and an output virtual transmission line, only one-quarter of the output power is available for a given input signal.
Also of significance in traditional distributed amplifiers is odd-harmonic generation. Since each active element amplifies a portion of the input signal at a different phase angle, the output signal is comprised of the sum of partial-amplification products. Theoretically, the output virtual transmission line delays each partial product by just the proper amount so that all partial products are in phase when summed. In practice, this leads to a distortion of the output signal, hence an in-phase summing of odd harmonics. This produces significant third-harmonic distortion. Various techniques, some quite complex, are used to curtail this third-harmonic distortion.
The current state of the art in the manufacture of monolithic power field-effect transistors or other "active elements" lends itself to pairs of such transistors per substrate. As these transistor pairs are ideally suited for power output applications, the implementation of two-stage distributed amplifiers rises correspondingly in importance. Traditional distributed amplifier implementations gain efficiency and performance only with more than two stages. With more than two stages, more than one pair of monolithic transistors is required. Since the resultant active elements do not all share the same substrate, they thus do not share the same spurious capacitance values, gain, etc. These factors may cause a decrease in performance and/or an increase in design complexity.

Distributed amplifier and method therefor


There is provided a fluid compressor having a horizontal rotation axis. An oil reservoir for a lubrication oil is provided within a sealed casing. A cylinder having both end opening portions rotatably supported by bearings is housed within the casing. A rotor piston is eccentrically supported within the cylinder. A helical blade is wound around the outer periphery of the piston such that it can project from and retreat in the outer periphery of the piston. The cylinder and the piston are coupled by an Oldham mechanism. A gas is taken in a compression chamber defined by the cylinder, piston and blade, and it is compressed. The compressor is provided with a pump member, e.g. a trochoid pump, actuated by the rotation of the piston. The lubrication oil is sucked from the oil reservoir and supplied to slide portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid compressor having a horizontal rotation axis, used in, e.g. a refrigeration apparatus, for sucking and compressing a low-pressure refrigerant gas and discharging a high-pressure refrigerant gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a horizontal fluid compressor used in, e.g. a refrigeration apparatus.
In this type of compressor, a rotor having a horizontal axis is housed within a horizontally elongated sealed casing.
An oil reservoir for a lubrication oil is formed at an inner bottom portion of the sealed casing. There is provided an oil supply device for sucking the lubrication oil from the oil reservoir in accordance with the rotation of the rotor, and supplying the oil to a compression mechanism provided at the rotor.
In a normal vertical compressor, a rotor extends vertically and its lower end portion is immersed in a lubrication oil in an oil reservoir formed at an inner bottom portion of a sealed casing. Thus, an oil supply device of this compressor can easily and surely suck the lubrication oil by utilizing a centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the rotor, and can supply the oil to a compression mechanism.
However, in the horizontal fluid compressor. The axis of the motor is horizontal and parallel to the level of the lubrication oil in the oil reservoir, and a considerable distance may be provided between the rotor and the level of the lubrication oil, depending on the compression capacity of the compressor.
Thus, n particular, the horizontal fluid compressor needs to be provided with a highly reliable oil supply device for surely sucking up the lubrication oil.
An example of the horizontal fluid compressor is a so-called helical blade fluid compressor which has a relatively simple structure and a high sealing property, and realizes high efficiency compression and easy manufacture and assembly of parts.
FIG. 14 shows an example of an oil supply device of this horizontal fluid compressor.
A lower end opening portion of an oil suck-up pipe 102 is immersed in a lubrication oil in an oil reservoir 101 formed at an inner bottom portion of a sealed casing 100.
By the influence of high-pressure gas discharged into the sealed casing 100, the level of the lubrication oil in the oil reservoir 101 is pushed and the oil is sucked up through the oil suck-up pipe 102.
The sucked-up oil is led to an oil supply port 105 formed axially in a rotor piston 104 via a space defined between a bearing 103 and an end face of a shaft portion of the rotor piston 104. The oil supply port 105 communicates with the bottom of a helical groove (not shown) along which a blade is wound. The lubrication oil is supplied to a chamber defined between the blade and the bottom of the groove.
The oil is further supplied to various parts of the compression mechanism, e.g. a slide portion between the blade and the helical groove, a slide portion between the blade and a cylinder 106, and slide portions between the bearing 103, on the one hand, and the cylinder 106 and rotor piston 104, on the other hand. Thus, smooth operation of the compression mechanism is ensured.
This oil supply device, however, has the following problems.
The lubrication oil in the oil reservoir 101 is sucked up through the oil suck-up pipe 102 by the pressure difference between the gas pressure within the sealed casing 100, into which the high-pressure refrigerant gas is discharged, and the pressure in the chamber defined by the bottom of the helical groove (i.e. the outlet of the oil supply port 105) and the blade. The position of the outlet of the oil supply port 105 is determined such that the pressure in the chamber is an intermediate pressure between the discharge pressure of the refrigerant gas and the sucking pressure.
However, the lubrication oil supplied to the chamber is led to a compression chamber defined by the blade, and in this compression chamber the oil is compressed along with the refrigerant gas. Thus, because of oil compression action, a great load is likely to occur and compression efficiency decreases.
In addition, when the compressor is stopped, the lubrication oil returns to the sucking portion owing to the pressure difference between the pressure in the chamber (i.e. The outlet of the oil supply port 105) and the pressure in the oil sucking portion.
Consequently, at the re-start time, much time is needed to supply the lubrication oil to the respective slide portions, and oil supply to, e.g. an Oldham mechanism, becomes inadequate.
When the lubrication oil reaches the compression chamber from the outlet of the oil supply port 105, the oil compression action occurs once again and a great load acts. This being the case, the reliability of this oil supply device is low.

Fluid compressor having a horizontal rotation axis


A drill bit includes a bit head and a rotating bit cone. A sealing system for the drill bit includes a seal gland and a seal retained within the seal gland. The seal gland is defined by a radial cone surface, a head sealing surface and an opposed cone sealing surface. At least one of the head sealing surface and opposed cone sealing surface is not cylindrical (i.e., the surface is conical and not parallel to an axis of rotation for the cone). Additionally, the radial cone surface may be conical (i.e., the surface does not extend perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cone). The seal is radially compressed between the head sealing surface and the opposed cone sealing surface. The use of one or more conical surfaces in the gland is provided to bias the compressed seal into a preferred dynamic sealing zone.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to earth boring bits, and more particularly to those having rotatable cutters, also known as cones.
2. Description of Related Art
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,471 to Maurstad the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,928 to Galle the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Reference is still further made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,624 to Neilson the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,495 to Murdoch the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Earth boring bits with rolling element cutters have bearings employing either rollers as the load carrying element or with a journal as the load carrying element. The use of a sealing means in rock bit bearings has dramatically increased bearing life in the past fifty years.
Early seals for rock bits were designed with a metallic Belleville spring clad with an elastomer, usually nitrile rubber (NBR). The metallic spring provided the energizing force for the sealing surface, and the rubber coating sealed against the metal surface of the head and cone and provided a seal on relatively rough surfaces because the compliant behavior of the rubber coating filled in the microscopic asperities on the sealing surface. Belleville seals of this type were employed mainly in rock bits with roller bearings. The seal would fail due to wear of the elastomer after a relatively short number of hours in operation, resulting in loss of the lubricant contained within the bearing cavity. The bit would continue to function for some period of time utilizing the roller bearings without benefit of the lubricant.
A significant advancement in rock bit seals came when o-ring type seals were introduced. These seals, as disclosed by Galle, were composed of nitrile rubber and were circular in cross section. The seal was fitted into a radial gland formed by cylindrical surfaces between the head and cone bearings, and the annulus formed was smaller than the original dimension as measured as the cross section of the seal. The squeeze of the seal was defined as the percentage reduction of the cross section from its original state to the deflected state. Murdoch disclosed a variation of this seal by elongating the radial dimension which, when compared to the seal disclosed by Galle's, required less percentage squeeze to form an effective seal. Several other minor variations of this concept have been used, each relying on an elastomer seal squeezed radially in a gland formed by cylindrical surfaces between the two bearing elements. Nielson describes what is called a V-ramp seal gland. In this arrangement, the seal is compressed between two concentric surfaces with at least one of the surfaces having a V-shaped cross section. The seal is centrally located in the V-ramp aligned with an axis of symmetry for the surfaces forming the V-shaped cross section.
To minimize sliding friction and the resultant heat generation and abrasive wear, rotating O-rings are typically provided with a minimal amount of radial compression. However, reciprocating seals must have a much larger radial compression to exclude contamination from the sealing zone during axial sliding (typically about twice the compression). The rock bit seal must both exclude contamination during relative head/cone axial motion and minimize abrasive wear during rotation.
A need exists in the art for an improved sealing system for use in rock bits.

Rock bit having a seal gland with a conical sealing surface


The present invention provides novel intermediates of ivacaftor and process for its preparation. The present invention also provides process for the preparation of ivacaftor and pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof using novel intermediates.

Ivacaftor, also known as N-(2,4-di-tert-butyl-5-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxamide, having the following Formula I:

Ivacaftor was approved by FDA and marketed by Vertex pharma for the treatment of cystic fibrosis under the brand name KALYDECO® in the form of 150 mg oral tablets.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,495,103 ("the '103 patent") discloses modulators of ATP-binding cassette transporters such as ivacaftor. The '103 patent further discloses a process for the preparation of modulators of ATP-binding cassette transporters such as quinoline compounds; however, ivacaftor process was not specifically disclosed. The '103 patent process includes condensation of 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid with aniline in presence of 2-(1H-7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluoro phosphate methanaminium (HATU) and then purifying the obtained compound by HPLC. The process disclosed in the '103 patent is schematically represented as follows:

The '103 patent also discloses a process for the preparation of intermediates of ivacaftor such as 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid and 5-amino-2,4-di-(tert-butyl) phenol.
The process to prepare 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid involves the reaction of aniline with diethylethoxymethylene malonate followed by cyclization with large excess of polyphosphoric acid and phoshoryl chloride and then hydrolysis, which is schematically represented as follows:

The process to prepare 5-amino-2,4-di-(tert-butyl)phenol involves hydroxyl protection followed by nitration, deprotection of the hydroxyl group and reduction of nitro group, which is schematically represented as follows:

The synthesis of ivacaftor and its intermediates as discussed in the '103 patent has certain drawbacks as it involves:
a) use of tedious high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques for isolation of intermediates as well as final ivacaftor, makes the process quite expensive and not viable for large scale operations, and
b) use of high temperature reactions and large excess of phosphoryl chloride and strong acids like poly phosphoric acid leads to load on environment, which makes the process more complex, costly and highly unattractive particularly on commercial scale operations.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/230519 ("the '519 publication") discloses a process for preparation of 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid by reaction of aniline with diethylethoxymethylene malonate at 100-110° C. followed by cyclization in presence of phenyl ether at temperature 228-232° C. and hydrolysis, which is schematically represented as follows:

Disadvantages associated with the '519 publication is, usage of high temperature reactions such as cyclization at 228-232° C., which is difficult to achieve on large scale operations and further leads to the formation of unwanted by products and low product yields.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0267768 ("the '768 publication") discloses a process for preparation of ivacaftor, which involves the coupling of 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid with hydroxyl protected phenol intermediate in the presence of propyl phosphonic anhydride (T3P®) followed by deprotection of hydroxyl protection group and optional crystallization with isopropyl acetate. The process disclosed in the '768 publication is schematically represented as follows:

The '768 publication discloses the use of highly expensive coupling reagent, propyl phosphonic anhydride; which in turn result to an increase in the manufacturing cost.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/064811 ("the '811 publication") discloses a process for preparation of ivacaftor, which involves condensation of 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid with 5-amino-2,4-di-(tert-butyl)phenol in the presence of HBTU followed by the formation of ethanol crystalate, which is then treated with diethyl ether to yield ivacaftor as a solid. The process disclosed in the '811 publication is schematically represented as follows:

CN 103044263 discloses a process for the preparation of ivacaftor and the disclosed process schematically represented as follows:

Ivacaftor can exist in different polymorphic forms, which differs from each other in terms of stability, physical properties, spectral data and methods of preparation.
The '811 publication discloses polymorphs of ivacaftor such as crystalline ethanol solvate, Form A, Form B and amorphous Form.
The '519 publication discloses crystalline polymorph of ivacaftor such as Form C and preparation thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,163,772 ("the '772 patent") discloses solid forms of ivacaftor such as 2-methyl butyric acid (Form I), propylene glycol (Form II), PEG400.KOAc (Form III), lactic acid (Form IV), isobutyric acid (Form V), propionic acid (Form VI), ethanol (Form VII), 2-propanol (Form VIII), water (Form IX), besylate Form A (Form X), besylate Form B (Form XI), besylate Form D (Form XII), besylate Form E (Form XIII), besylate Form F (Form XIV), besylate Form A (Form X), hemibesylate (Form XV), and besylate monohydrate (Form XVI).
US Patent Publication No. 2013/281487 discloses crystalline solvates of ivacaftor, which are designated as Form D, Form E, Form F, Form G, Form H, Form I, Form J, Form K, Form L, Form M, Form N, Form O, Form P, Form Q, Form R, Form S, Form T, Form W and hydrate B. The said publication also disclosed process for their preparation.
It would be desirable to provide a process for the preparation of ivacaftor and intermediates thereof, which is simple and cost effective; in a convenient, cost efficient manner and a commercial scale.
The present invention provides a process for the preparation of ivacaftor using novel protected quinoline carboxylic acid compounds as intermediates, that process away from the aforementioned difficulties such as high temperature reactions and use of large excess of polyphosphoric acid and corrosive phosphoryl chloride are avoided. The process of the present invention can be practiced on an industrial scale, and also can be carried out without sacrifice of overall yield.

Process for the preparation of Ivacaftor and its intermediates


The invention relates to a method and hydrolysis tank for enzymatic hydrolysis of raw materials containing collagen and proteins to produce the three layers: a top layer containing fat, a mid-layer comprising water soluble constituents and denatured collagen, and a non-soluble bottom layer comprising bones and non-soluble proteins. These layers are separated and the second layer is further separated by cooling for a time period sufficient to form two layers: a bottom layer containing partially or wholly set collagen, and a liquid top layer containing the remaining water soluble proteins which are removed. The other is heated until it becomes liquid. The hydrolysis tank comprises a turnable stirring mechanism, a device for heat exchange and a reversible screw that is arranged in the bottom of the tank. A clearing sump for separation of collagen, includes an inlet for supply of hydrolysate.

The present invention relates to a method for an enzymatic hydrolysis process of collagen and raw materials containing proteins, comprising the following steps:    (1) the raw materials undergo enzymatic hydrolysis to produce the three following layers:
(a) a top layer containing fat,
(b) a mid layer comprising water soluble constituents, among others water soluble proteins, including collagen, and
(c) a non-soluble bottom layer comprising bones and non-soluble proteins; and    (2) (a), (b) and (c) are separated; and    (3) (b) is further separated.
The invention also relates to an hydrolysis tank comprising an inlet for supply of raw materials and an outlet for products, a turnable stirring mechanism, and a device for heat exchange; and a clearing sump for separation of collagen, including an inlet for supply of hydrolyzat, and an outlet for collagen and the remaining components, and applications thereof in an hydrolysis process of collagen and raw materials containing proteins.
The production of food, for example within the fishing industry and slaugtherhouse industry, produces large amounts of by-products, very rich in valuable components, including proteins, oils and calcium. In order to recover to these resources, several processes for releasing these valuable components have been developed. These processes are often based on ensilage or enzymatic hydrolysis. This, however, produces proteins and oils of a quality that does not meet the requirements of the food industry. They can therefore only be used for the production of fodder.
For the making of products that meet the requirements of the food industry, enzymes that are able to split the raw material into its separate constituents have been developed. These enzymes provide for an enzymatic hydrolysis of for example slaugtherhouse waste. The proteins in the raw material are then resolved in water, so that the protein, oil and bone parts can be separated. These enzymes are commercially available.
Within the fishing industry, large amounts of by-products are produced, with high contents of valuable proteins and oils. There is currently some activity in the industry to recover these, based on ensilage. Enzymatic hydrolysis has also been tried.

Hydrolysis process for raw materials from the fishing and slaughterhouse industries and tanks for use therein


The pot cover assembly includes a pot cover body and a spill-proof detection device. The spill-proof detection device is a capacitive detection device and it is provided on the pot cover body. At least a lower surface of the spill-proof detection device forms a detection plane and a capacitance value of the spill-proof detection device is changed as a function of a contact medium of the detection plane.

In order to realize a spill-proof function, cooking utensils such as an electric rice cooker are usually provided with a spill-proof detection device. The spill-proof detection device used in cooking utensils in the related art realizes the detection of an overflow signal by detecting an electrical resistance characteristic of water and requires at least two probes, which has high cost and poor sensitivity.

FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA ELECTRICAL HEATING APPLIANCES MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A binary translation module is to translate a first sequence of instructions associated with a source architecture into a second sequence of instructions associated with a target architecture. The first sequence includes one or more floating point control instructions and the second sequence does not include a floating point control instruction. Results produced by executing the second sequence on a processor that complies with the target architecture are substantially the same as results produced by executing the first sequence on a processor that complies with the source architecture.

ANSI/IEEE standard 754-1985 for binary floating-point arithmetic defines four rounding modes to affect all arithmetic operations except comparison and remainder: round to nearest, round toward negative infinity, round toward positive infinity, and round to zero.
In some processor architectures, prior to execution of an instruction to convert a floating point number to an integer using a specific rounding mode, the processing unit needs to be set to that rounding mode. This is achieved by reading and storing the current rounding mode, setting the processor architecture to the desired rounding mode, performing the conversion and setting processor architecture to the stored rounding mode. The instructions of setting the desired rounding mode and setting the stored rounding mode are examples of floating point control instructions.
Execution of a floating point control instruction may be time consuming and may degrade the processor architecture performance.
If a binary code associated with a first processor architecture having a first instruction set is to be executed by a second processor architecture having a second instruction set, a binary translation module may translate the source binary code into a target binary code associated with the second processor architecture. The results produced by executing the target binary code on a processor that complies with the target architecture are substantially the same as those produced by executing the source binary code on a processor that complies with the source architecture.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.

Apparatus and methods to avoid floating point control instructions in floating point to integer conversion