A method, apparatus and network for successively making contribution data inputs by a multiplicity of individual contributors in sequence is provided. The apparatus includes a portable, self-powered, contributor data input dependant, non-contributor external data source independent, electronic donations management terminal sized and weighted for manual passing thereof between successive contributors. The terminal has contribution input entry keypads, a routine for accepting and recording a plurality of successive contribution inputs free of any information unrelated to the contributions or contributors, and microprocessor for making of the successive contribution inputs uninterrupted by requests for verification of contributor credit, validation or approval of a successive individual contribution input for batch off-loading of a plurality of contributions from an electronic donations management terminal whereby recordation of each of the contributions is uninterrupted by verification of validation and/or authorization. The method includes provision and passing of the apparatus for entry of the contributions thereon.

This invention relates to an offering plate for gathering a donation at a religious service; and, more particularly, it relates to an offering plate that gathers a credit card donation, a debit card donation, a cash donation, and an envelope donation, and accepts, stores, and displays information regarding the donation.
As is well known, a religious leader is typically assisted in the gathering of a donation and a member of a religious organization in the making of a donation at a religious service through the use of an offering plate.
Older versions of offering plates include woven baskets and plates made of ceramic, precious metal, such as silver, gold or platinum, wood, or other material appropriate to construct a container into which an donation can be deposited. Offering plates made of woven baskets are often referred to as collection baskets.
An offering plate is brought to a member during a religious service by an usher or circulated among members of a congregation. A member of the congregation then drops a donation onto the offering plate. A donation is most often in the form of cash or check. Frequently, donations contained within an offering plate are then deposited into a larger donation container. The larger container is then taken from the religious service for off-site processing. Off-site processing includes tallying individual donations, and crediting an individual donation to the account of a particular member of the congregation for tax purposes or for determining if the member is meeting a personal donation quota or a donation quota for the congregation. A donation quota is generally required if a member has a child attending a school affiliated with the religious organization, a financial pledge to the organization, or the like, and consists of a minimum donation amount during a specified period. This type of oblation is herein called "manual, post-processed cash oblation."
A major problem of manual, post-processed cash oblation exists if the member only has with him a bill that is smaller than the bill the member prefers to donate. The member may choose to donate the smaller bill, i.e. one dollar, even though the member's preference would have been to donate a larger bill, i.e. a five, ten or twenty dollar bill. Consequently, the religious organization loses the difference between the preferred donation and the donation actually made.
A second problem exists if the member has a bill larger than he prefers to donate, i.e. a one hundred dollar bill. The member may choose not to donate the larger bill since his preference would have been to donate a smaller bill, i.e. a five, ten, or twenty dollar bill. There is virtually no convenient way for a member to get change for a larger bill during a religious service.
A third problem is that a member, and at times his entire family, finds himself searching for a bill that is his donation preference prior to a religious service. Many times the member does not find the bill he wishes to donate. In one scenario, the member may choose to donate a bill that is larger than his donation preference. However, more often than not, the member may choose to donate a bill that is smaller than his bill of choice. The religious organization again looses the difference between the preferred donation and the donation actually made.
Regardless of whether the bill is larger or smaller than the bill the member prefers to donate, a secondary shortcoming of manual, post-processed cash oblation is that a member's account cannot be credited properly since there is no way to associate a particular cash donation with the member who made it. The member may choose not to donate either the larger or smaller bill since the donation does not carry a tax benefit or help satisfy his donation quota. Consequently, there exists a need for an offering plate that accommodates a member's donation preference, allows the member to obtain a tax benefit, and properly credits a member's account so that the member can meet a donation quota.
A newer version of manual, post-processed cash oblation has been developed that utilizes a donation envelope into which a cash or check donation is deposited. The donation envelope is generally a paper envelope that contains printed material including a member code, a space for marking the amount of the donation, and the date of the service attended. These features of the envelope allow for the member's account to be properly credited. This type of oblation is herein called "envelope assisted manual, post-processed cash oblation."
A shortcoming of envelope assisted, manual, post-processed cash oblation occurs if a member forgets to bring his donation envelope with him to a service. If the member forgets to bring his donation envelope and instead donates cash, his account, as previously discussed, cannot be properly credited. Moreover, even if envelope assisted manual, post-processed cash oblation is utilized, a shortcoming of this type of oblation is that crediting the donation to a member's account is labor intensive. The religious organization must manually process each envelope to properly credit the particular member's account. This processing generally includes a clerical staff member or group of volunteers who must open each envelope to determine the size of the cash donation within the envelope, and/or record the information located on the cover of the envelope, to properly credit the donation to an account of a member. If the congregation contains several thousand members, this form of oblation might involve several days of processing. Hence, there exists a need for an offering plate that automatically credits a member's account.
A serious problem with both manual, post-processed cash oblation and envelope assisted manual, post-processed cash oblation occurs if a member has with him no cash but has either a debit card or credit card. In this scenario, the member is foreclosed from contributing a donation since an offering plate cannot accept a debit card donation or credit card donation. Hence, there exists a need for an offering plate that allows a member to make a debit card donation or credit card donation and thereby increases the number of donations received by a religious organization by accepting debit card or credit card donations rather than simply cash or check donations.
As is well known, a further problem with manual, post-processed cash oblation and envelope assisted manual, post-processed cash oblation is that it requires manual off-site tallying of individual donations. As such there is a need for an offering plate that tallies an individual member's donations and a plurality of donations made by different members.
Moreover, another shortcoming of both types of oblation is that there is no offering plate system that can collect, analyze, and display statistical information associated with an individual donation or a tally of individual donations. Various types of statistical information can be associated with a donation. By way of example, one measure of the effectiveness of a particular sermon or the performance of a particular minister might be the amount of donations generated at a service. By way of further example, the particular donation habits of a member or group of members might be an indicator of the particular member, sub-group, or group of members a religious organization must target in order to maximize donations.
A current method of collecting, analyzing, and displaying this type of statistical information has a variety of shortcomings including a need to process information. This method is referred to herein as "manually obtaining statistical information." More particularly, manually obtaining statistical information requires recording information obtained from envelope assisted manual, post-processed cash oblation into a ledger or database, and then processing it. As such, few, if any, religious organizations undertake the added effort needed to compile this type of statistical data into useful form.
Rather than being based on statistical data, a judgment, i.e. whether to discontinue or add a service or sermon, is made based on qualitative factors. These qualitative factors include a rough approximation of the total amount of donations generated at a particular service, number of attenders, and the like. Consequently, there exists a need for an offering plate and offering plate system that collects, analyzes, and displays statistical information associated with an individual donation or a tally of individual donations and provides useful quantitative data on which a judgement can be based.
Issuance of credit and debit cards has exploded during the past decade. In 1982, there were an estimated 127.7 million credit cards issued in the United States, and an estimated 189.1 million credit cards issued worldwide. In 1991, there were an estimated 299 million credit cards issued in the United States, and an estimated 530.6 million cards issued worldwide. Source: Credit Industry 1993 Directory.
Concurrent with the increase in the number of cards issued has been an increase in global charge and transaction volume which has been even more dramatic: In 1982, there was a total of 131.9 billion dollars charged; in 1991, there was a total of 725.4 billion dollars charged. Annual Automatic Teller Machine ("ATM") volume has been increasing yearly up from a level of 2.4 billion transactions in 1983 to a level of 7.3 billion transactions in 1992. Furthermore, annual Point of Sale ("POS") volume has increased from 14.4 million transactions in 1985 to over 245.5 million transactions in 1992. Source: Credit Industry 1993 Directory. All of the trends indicate that consumers are preferring to use credit and debit cards.
It would be highly desirable to solve the variety of problems enumerated above facing members of the clergy, and members of religious organizations in gathering a cash donation, an envelope containing a cash donation, a credit card donation, and a debit card donation through the use of an offering plate and offering plate system which accommodates a variety of donation preferences, and collects, stores, analyzes, and displays information regarding a donation.
The present invention targets cardholders who currently possess upwards of 299 million credit cards issued in the United States, and cardholders who possess an estimated 530.6 million cards issued worldwide who are members of religious organizations. Moreover, the present invention contemplates a market that covers 120 million plus members of religious organizations in the United States, (Source: Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, 1992 Edition), hundreds of millions of members worldwide, and well over 380,000 religious organizations in the United States and Canada, and an even more substantial number of religious organizations worldwide.
The present invention serves this market by providing an offering plate and offering plate system that offers convenience of use and ease of operation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will accept a cash donation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will associate a cash donation with an account of a member of a religious organization and credit that member's account accordingly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will accept an envelope containing a cash donation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will automatically credit a donation within an envelope containing a cash donation to a member's account.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will accommodate a member's donation preference and thereby increase the number of donations received by a religious organization.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will accept a credit card donation and debit card donation and thereby increase the number of donations received by a religious organization.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an offering plate which will tally cash donations, cash donations contained within an envelope, credit card donations, and debit card donations.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an offering plate and offering plate system that can collect, analyze, and display statistical information associated with an individual donation or a plurality of individual donations and provide useful quantitative data. It is believed that the present invention will facilitate both free will offerings and tithes.

Method of contributions management, and device and networks therefor


The invention provides a multi-polymer hydrogel article having a first polymeric, water-swellable material and a second polymeric material, organized such that a first region substantially comprises the first polymeric, water-swellable material, a second region adjacent the first region comprises a mixture of the first polymeric, water-swellable material and the second polymeric material, and a third region adjacent the second region substantially comprises the second polymeric material. The article exhibits an increasing concentration gradient of the second polymeric material moving from the first region, through the second region, to the third region. The invention also provides methods for forming a multi-polymer hydrogel article by (a) forming a hydrogel structure using a first polymeric, water-swellable material, (b) creating an aerogel structure having a plurality of open pores by dehydrating the hydrogel structure, (c) contacting the aerogel structure with a second polymeric material to incorporate the second polymeric material into at least a portion of the plurality of open pores to form the multi-polymer hydrogel article, and (d) rehydrating the multi-polymer hydrogel article.

Hydrogels are water-swellable or water-swollen materials having a structure defined by a crosslinked network of hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers. The hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers may or may not be water-soluble in free form, but in a hydrogel are rendered insoluble (but swellable) in water due to covalent, ionic, or physical crosslinking. In the case of physical crosslinking, the linking may take the form of entanglements, crystallites, or hydrogen-bonded structures. The crosslinks in a hydrogel provide structure and physical integrity to the network.
Hydrogels have been made from a variety of hydrophilic polymers and copolymers. Poly(ethylene glycol), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), polyacrylamide, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), and copolymers of the foregoing, are examples of polymers that may be used to make hydrogels. Hydrogels have also been made from biopolymers such as chitosan, agarose, hyaluronic acid and gelatin, in addition from semi-interpenetrating network ("IPN") hydrogels and gelatin crosslinked with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate.
Poly(vinyl alcohol) ("PVA") has been studied extensively for potential biomedical applications. PVA hydrogels can be produced, for example, from an aqueous solution via repeated freezing and thawing cycles that increase the order of the crystals, changing the dissolution properties, mesh size, and diffusion properties of the polymer.
Hydrogels have shown promise in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, due, in part, to their high water content and rubbery or pliable nature, which may mimic natural tissue and may facilitate the release of bioactive substances at a desired physiological site. For example, hydrogels have been used or proposed for use in a variety of tissue treatment applications, including implants, tissue adhesives, bone grafts as well as in meniscus and articular cartilage replacement. Hydrogels may also act as a carrier for delivering bioactive substances including drugs, peptides, and proteins to a physiological site.
However, many biomedical applications require that the implanted article possess different characteristics, such as mechanical and chemical properties, at different locations or surfaces of the article. Thus, there is a need to provide hydrogel materials and articles that present different characteristics at different locations of the implanted article.


Power supply devices for generating at least one electric high-frequency power signal for a plasma having at least a first plasma state and a second plasma state are provided. The power supply devices are configured to determine a first variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the first plasma state, determine a second variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the second plasma state, generate a third variable based on the first variable and the second variable, and control at least one of a frequency or a power of the high-frequency power signal based on the third variable.

It is known to operate conventional plasma systems, such as, to be used, for example, for etching processes in semiconductor manufacture, in particular to supply them with high-frequency energy by at least one power supply device, so that at least two different plasma states are established. For example, some high-frequency (HF) plasma processes are switched back and forth between two or more states, for example by simultaneous application of the at least one high-frequency power signal and by pulsed direct current (DC) or a pulsed additional high-frequency power signal. In these conventional plasma systems, impedance matching does not work optimally, so that a part of the high-frequency power signal is reflected from the plasma process back to the power supply device.

Power supply devices for plasma systems and method of use


A rotor assembly for helicopter vehicles for providing an easy way of controlling pitch, roll and lift of the aircraft by respective servo actuators. The rotor assembly has a rotor shaft, at least two rotor blades, a rotor head, and a non-rotating swash plate. The rotor assembly also includes a pitch hinge for each rotor blade connecting each rotor blade to the rotor head. The rotor assembly also includes a guide member for each rotor blade. As the rotor assembly rotates, the guide members are in substantial contact with an upper surface of the non-rotating swash plate. Forces such as magnetic and/or an aerodynamic forces are applied on the rotor blades and are sufficiently strong to create a valve effect on the pitch hinge, which in turn maintains contact between the guide members and the non-rotating swash plate.

Typically, rotary wing aircrafts like helicopters are sustained by a rotor, rotating about a vertical rotor shaft, generating lift or upward thrust. In a conventional helicopter the thrust from the rotor can be controlled by changing the pitch angle (or in short; the blade pitch) of the rotor blades. The blade pitch is in the field of propeller aerodynamics defined as the lateral angle between the blades and a reference plane perpendicular to the rotor shaft axis, measured perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a rotor blade.
By collectively changing the blade pitch of all the rotor blades or by changing the rotational speed of the rotor, the helicopter can be controlled in the vertical direction. The horizontal direction of flight and the stability of the helicopter, however, are controlled by cyclically adjusting the pitch means that the blade pitch of each rotor blade is adjusted from a maximum in a particular position of rotation to a minimum at the opposite side. This causes the lift in one part of the rotation to be larger than in other parts, whereby the rotor is tilted with respect to the reference plane. When the rotor (and helicopter) tilts like this, the initially vertical thrust also tilts, and therefore gets a horizontal component pulling the helicopter in the desired direction.
Normally, a helicopter must be actively controlled by a well trained pilot or from gyroscopic sensors and computers. The necessary means to varying and controlling the pitch angle of each blade are normally complicated, expensive and add weight to the helicopter. The blade pitch is typically controlled via a swash plate connected to servos. Because the swash plate need to be positioned accurately with as little friction and playas possible it is complicated and expensive. On most helicopters the swash plate has a rotating part and a non-rotating part connected together with a large ball bearing. The rotating part of the swash plate is again connected to the rotor blades via a set of links and other mechanical components.
Alternative solutions employing actuators connected to rotor blade control surfaces or magnetic coil systems acting directly on a permanent magnet mounted on a rotor blade pitch arm have been tested. These systems are typically not precise enough and lack the necessary accuracy or they are heavy and require a lot of power to operate properly.
To maintain good and precise control over the rotor blade in a helicopter would require a completely new swash plate system.


A safety net system includes a mesh netting, first and second fixed support which are positioned either side of a loading dock or other dangerous zone. Clips secured to the mesh netting interact with connectors affixed to the fixed supports to place the netting in blocking position. An adjustable height stanchion is used as the fixed support in one embodiment.

The present invention is directed to the field of safety devices. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a safety net system and mounting bracket and stanchion therefor to prevent unwary workmen from stepping/riding off the loading dock of an open overhead door or entering other unsafe areas unaware.
A variety of gates, guards, and netting devices have been devised to limit unwary access to the precipice formed by the end of a loading bay dock when the door is opened. The present invention is directed to a safety net system and mounting bracket system which affords an effective, yet simple method, of preventing work-related injuries resulting from workmen and visitors to a warehouse from stepping off the end of a dock, into an open, uncovered pit, area under repair, or the like.
The safety net of the present invention is designed to block ingress/egress to a dangerous area to prevent someone from accidently driving/walking into such an area unaware and incurring an injury. The safety net system of the present invention may also be used to prevent injury by limiting access to any of a number of other dangerous areas including, but not limited to oil changing pits, poorly lit stairs, high-traffic areas in a warehouse, etc. A point of novelty of the present invention resides in the unique configuration of the brackets which include a first primary bracket for attachment to the door rail that has a first acute included angle and a pair of protruding ears that receive a secondary removable bracket which has a 90° included angle and a flange which is bent at a second acute angle which exceeds the first acute angle. The secondary bracket fits between the two protruding ears of the primary bracket. The two brackets engage to form a right angle to hold the safety net across the open doorway. A third smaller secondary bracket accommodates smaller sized nets.
A second point of novelty lies in the ease with which the safety net system may be deployed to prevent, and removed to permit, access to these various danger zones.
A second embodiment of mounting bracket, rather than being secured to the sometimes flimsy, flexible overhead door rail, is more robust and is anchored directly to the wall of the building. This reduces the undesired give in the bracket system and, hence, in the safety net system.
Yet another feature of the present invention includes a mounting stanchion which includes a stationary base and an upper post which is height adjustable thereon and, by virtue of its telescoping design, can have the upper length readily removed to permit wide cargos to pass over the base for presentation to the loading dock or reception therefrom.
The safety net system of the present invention for limiting pedestrian and vehicular traffic to a dangerous area, said safety net system comprises: a) a first fixed support positioned adjacent a first side of the dangerous area, the first fixed support having a first group of connectors attached thereto; b) a second fixed support positioned adjacent a second side of the dangerous area, the second fixed support having a second group of connectors attached thereto; c) a removable mesh net extendable between the first fixed support and the second fixed support, the removable mesh net having a first series of clips engagable with the first group of connectors and a second series of clips engagable with the second group of connectors to limit access to the dangerous area and prevent unwary pedestrians and vehicle drivers from possibly being injured.
The removable mesh net comprises orthogonal woven horizontal and vertical strap members and the first group of clips are each secured to one of a first series of strap extensions protruding laterally from a first edge of the removable mesh net and the second group of clips are each secured to one of a second series of strap extensions protruding laterally from a second opposite edge of the removable mesh net. Preferably, in one embodiment, a length of each of the first and second series of strap extensions is adjustable. Each of the first group of connectors comprises a first bracket having a first planar portion and a second planar portion forming an angle α with the first planar portion. In one embodiment, the first planar portion includes a plurality of attachment openings for securing the first bracket to the first fixed support. In an alternate embodiment, each of the first group of connectors further comprises a third planar portion positioned at an opposite end of the first planar portion from the second planar portion, the third planar portion extending orthogonally from the first planar portion. This second embodiment further comprising a stabilization bar welded at each end to said first planar portion and said third planar portion. A plurality of attachment openings are formed in the third planar portion for securing the first bracket to the fixed support.
In one embodiment, each clip of the first group of clips comprises a first planar member, a second orthogonal arm member, and a third angulated member wherein the third angulated member forms an angle α with the second orthogonal arm member, whereby when one of the first group of clips is engaged with one of the first group of connectors, the first planar member of the clip lies in an orthogonal orientation relative to the first planar portion of the connector. Each of the first group of connectors further comprises a pair of ears protruding outwardly from the second orthogonal member, the pair of ears serving to stabilize the clip when the clip is engaged with the connector. Each of the first and second fixed supports comprise an adjustable stanchion including a first base member with an upwardly extending stump portion and a removable upper post which telescopes over the stump portion.
Various other features, advantages, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following detailed description.

Safety net system including apparatus for securing


A method, apparatus and system for modeling a fault surface in a subsurface region. A direction may be determined in which a first portion of the subsurface region being on one side of the fault surface has moved relative to a second portion of the subsurface region being on the other side of the fault surface. A model of the fault surface may be generated having substantially no protrusions in the determined direction. A visualization of the model of the generated fault surface may be displayed.

In a subsurface terrain, there are many types of faults, for example, branching faults, crossing faults, parallel faults, etc. Faults often appear "fuzzy" or "blurred" on seismic cross sections or in seismic cubes. The exact location of faults may be uncertain and thus, it may be difficult to position faults at an exact location in a 3D geological model displayed to a user.
Faults are generally observed and sampled on seismic cross sections or automatically extracted from seismic data. Uncertainties in the seismic data often provide modeled faults that are unrealistic or inconsistent with other data. For example, when a fault fractures a geological structure, geological layers or terrains on either side of the fault slide relative to each other. However, conventional modeling tools may generate a protrusion (e.g., a bump) on the modeled fault surface. Such a protrusion would have prevented the fault from forming by obstructing relative sliding of terrains on either side of the fault. Therefore, the model of the fault is incorrect.
Accordingly, there is a great need in the art for a mechanism to accurately model the location and geometry of faults.

Systems and methods for modeling faults in the subsurface


The present disclosure provides an ink fluid set containing an aqueous pretreatment composition and an aqueous inkjet ink. This ink fluid set is particularly suitable for printing on offset coated media.

This disclosure pertains to an ink fluid set containing an aqueous pretreatment composition and an aqueous inkjet ink. This ink fluid set is particularly suitable for printing on offset coated media.
Inkjet printing is a non-impact printing process in which droplets of ink are deposited on a substrate, such as paper, to form the desired image. Inkjet printers are equipped with an ink set which, for full color printing, typically comprises a cyan, magenta and yellow ink (CMY). An ink set also typically comprises a black ink (CMYK) with the black ink being the most common ink. However, aqueous inkjet ink is traditionally not suited to print on offset coated media due to limited ink absorbency and surface hydrophobicity of the media. Offset coated media's hydrophobic coating is generally a mixture of polymer resin and additives such as Kaolinite, calcium carbonate, Bentonite, and talc. Coating formula impart certain qualities to the paper including weight, surface gloss, smoothness and low surface porosity. The resultant low porosity means less channels for the ink vehicle to access which results in a greater dependency on ink drying by evaporation. Furthermore, the hydrophobic nature of the coating layers causes reduced wetting out and spreading out of aqueous inks upon printing which can then lead to puddling of ink drops on the media surface. The combined effect of less dot spread and slower drying leads to many more image defects when printing aqueous inks directly on offset media. The most obvious defects include non-uniform deposition of colorants on these media. These non-uniform deposition of colorants defects are known variously as mottle or coalescence or framing or edge of the square effect. Another equally unacceptable outcome due to hydrophobicity and low porosity of offset media is increased drying time of an ink which translates to increased time for adjacent colors to co-mingle leading to inter-color bleed where one color diffuses into its neighboring color.
To overcome these problems, one of the common solutions is to treat the offset coated media with a primer or pre-treatment fluid before printing. Another solution is to incorporate the primer in the paper manufacturing process so the paper is more compatible with inkjet inks. Most of the primers were designed to precipitate or aggregate the ink drops instantly by electrostatic interaction to fix the ink drop in place to prevent coalesces of multiple ink drops. However, this instant fixation of the ink drops usually decreases dot gain in the meantime. As a result, when inks are printed at low resolution or when the inks drops are misplaced, printed images tend to show white space or white lines due to insufficient drop spread.
A need still exists for more stable and reliable pre-treatment compositions that will produce higher quality print images on the print media surfaces. The present disclosure satisfies this need by providing an ink fluid set with a pretreatment composition containing an ink-aggregating agent and an ink-nonaggregating polymer.

Ink fluid set for printing on offset media


Disclosed is a modified cocoa powder prepared by extracting a cocoa powder containing water-soluble solids with water to remove a substantial portion of the water-soluble solids. Generally, the extraction level is from about 5 to about 60. The resulting, water-extracted cocoa powder is useful in preparing multi-layered, gel-based dessert products, such as puddings, having a first gel-based layer and an adjacent second gel-based layer, at least one of the layers containing the water-extracted cocoa powder.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the food-making arts. In particular, it relates to an improved cocoa powder for use in multi-layered, gel-based dessert products, such as puddings, a method for making the improved cocoa powder, and the gel-based dessert products containing the cocoa powder.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Consumers regularly eat pudding and other gel-based dessert products, some of which are non-dairy based. One of the most popular flavors for such products is chocolate and, consequently, one of the most important ingredients is cocoa powder. Cocoa powder contains a relatively high percentage, ca. 5%, flavonoids. It is believed that during the preparation of cocoa powder from cocoa beans some of the flavonoids undergo polymerization reactions resulting in the formation of tannins. The flavonoids and tannins are the pigment species that give cocoa powder its unique, rich, brown color.
Consumers"" desire for convenient foods led to the development of chocolate puddings and other gel-based dessert products that require little or no advance preparation by the consumer before eating. Beginning approximately 30 years ago, consumers were offered these types of products in ready-to-eat, single-serve, portable containers. Initially these products were sold as shelf-stable, canned products. These canned products, such as pudding, were subjected to retort processing and did not as closely approximate the later developed aseptically packaged puddings.
As consumers begin to have more choices with regard to wholesome, nutritious snacks, manufacturers have developed new markets and are innovative to remain competitive in this area. A new market for pudding and other dessert gels is the entry into the refrigerated section of the supermarket. One of the innovations has been the packaging changeover from metal cans to opaque plastic cups and then to clear plastic cups, allowing the consumer to see that which is being purchased. Industry""s move to clear plastic cups has engendered other innovations, such as the layering of different flavor puddings or other gelled desserts into the same cup or container. These improvements also are being used with shelf-stable puddings and gel-based desserts that are stored at room temperature for long periods of time.
The color of a pudding and other gel-based dessert product is one of the first attributes recognized by the senses of the purchaser and intended consumer of the product. Typically, when a manufacturer makes pudding, or other dessert product which has more than one flavor layer, the manufacturer colors the layers differently to make the product more attractive and commercially appealing. For example, manufacturers have tried to produce pudding products having a chocolate-flavored base that is dark brown in color next to a topping having a different flavor and a contrasting color, such as tan, caramel, yellow or white.
Color migration can be defined as the mobility of a pigment or other colorant in a pudding formulation into an adjacent layer of pudding, that it was not intended to be in, that results in the lightening or darkening or otherwise distorting the adjacent layer(s) during the shelf-life of the pudding product. In a single flavor/color pudding cup, the migration of color is not a problem. However, in a multi-layered pudding cup, the migration of the color changes the appearance of the product from what it was intended to be, which results in the product not appearing as it was originally designed to appear to the consumers, and thus having a decreased consumer acceptance. For example, when the bottom layer is a dark brown, cocoa-flavored layer and the top layer is a lighter caramel color, the dark-brown cocoa powder pigment can migrate from the bottom layer up into the upper lighter caramel layer causing the caramel layer to darken.
Thus, there has existed a definite need for a modified cocoa powder that does not migrate between differently colored layers of a multi-layered, gel-based dessert product. There has existed a further need for a simple and inexpensive method for preparing such modified cocoa powders and multi-layered dessert products containing such powders. This present invention satisfies these and other needs.
Now in accordance with the invention, there has been found an improved, modified cocoa powder and a method for modifying cocoa powder that initially contains water-soluble solids. The modified cocoa powder is prepared by a method that includes the steps of extracting one part by weight unmodified cocoa powder starting material with at least one part by weight water, typically from about 5 to about 30 parts by weight water, at a temperature and for a time sufficient to extract a substantial portion of the water-soluble solids. In some embodiments, the water has a pH in the range of from about 2 to about 8 and in some embodiments the pH is in the range of from about 2 to about 5. Generally, the extraction level is from about 5 to about 60% and, in some embodiments, from about 10 to about 30%.
The resulting water-soluble solids-containing supernatant is then separated from the water-extracted cocoa powder. Suitable methods for separation include centrifugal separation, membrane separation and a combination thereof. A preferred method of separation is centrifugal separation, with a centrifugal force of from about 20,000 to about 30,000 Z being most preferred. In some embodiments, the extraction and separation steps are then repeated and, in some embodiments, the water-extracted cocoa powder is dried to a moisture content of about 5 wt. % or less, after the final separation of the supernatant.
The resulting, water-extracted cocoa powder is particularly useful in preparing multi-layered, gel-based dessert products, such as puddings, yogurts, and non-milk gel-based desert products, having a first gel-based layer and an adjacent second gel-based layer, at least one of the layers containing, from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. % and in some embodiments from about 2 wt, % to about 5 wt. %, of the water-extracted cocoa powder. The water-extracted cocoa powder-containing layer typically has a total solids content of from about 5 wt. % to about 70 wt. %, more preferably from about 20 wt. % to about 50 wt. % and up to about 15 wt. % protein, more preferably from about 1 wt. % to about 5 wt. % protein.
The water-extracted cocoa powder-containing layer and, preferably, all the layers, typically also contain from about 30 to about 70 wt. % skim milk, non-fat milk or mixtures thereof; from about 5 to about 20 wt. % water; a sweetener, such as sucrose, dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrups, saccharin, aspartame, Sucralose(trademark). Acesulfame K(trademark), or mixtures thereof; a starch, such as modified or unmodified corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, rye flour, wheat flour; a hydrocolloid gum; and a fat. In some embodiments the water-extracted cocoa powder-containing layer and, preferably, all the layers contain up to about 30 wt. % sucrose, preferably from about 10 to about 20 wt. % sucrose; up to about 20 wt. % starch, preferably from about 2 to about 10 wt. % starch; up to about 4 wt. % hydrocolloid gum, preferably from about 0.05 to about 2 wt. % hydrocolloid gum; and up to about 20 wt. % fat, preferably from about 0.5 to about 10 wt. % fat.
The cocoa powder in accordance with the invention is made by modifying any commercially available cocoa powder. Suitable cocoa powder starting materials include alkalized or non-alkalized cocoa powders, such as the cocoa powders available from DeZaan, Inc., Stamford, Conn., E DandF Man Cocoa Products, Glassboro, N.J., and W.L.M. Bensdorp Co., Westborough, Mass. Preferably the starting material has a total solids content in excess of about 93%.
The cocoa color produced by cocoa powder is a function of a variety of pigments having a wide range of solubility in water. The insoluble pigments cannot effectively migrate throughout the pudding, while the soluble pigments are readily diffused. Accordingly, in a first step of the inventive method, water is added to the cocoa powder to extract a substantial portion of the water-soluble pigments. By water is meant tap water, distilled water, deionized water or any aqueous solution that will not adversely affect the extracted cocoa powder. For example, food acceptable acids or bases can be added to the water, to modify the pH as desired.
The amount of water and the temperature of the water used for extraction vary over a wide range of suitable conditions and can be selected by one-skilled in the art without undue experimentation. The conditions are chosen so that a substantial portion of the water-soluble pigments are extracted. Typically, the initial temperature of the water and the temperature at which the extraction then occurs is in the range of from about 0xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C. In some embodiments, the pH of the water is adjusted to from about 2 to about 8, preferably from about 5 to about 8.
Preferably, at least one part water, more preferably from about five to about thirty parts water, by weight, is added to about one part by weight cocoa powder. The mixture is then agitated for from about five minutes to about 20 minutes until a substantial portion of the water-soluble pigments are extracted.

Cocoa powder for use in multi-layered gel-based dessert products and method for making same


In fabricating a monochromic and highly coherent light source, no single crystalline bulk semiconductor is used, but two different kinds of transparent substances are alternately stacked over each other to constitute a periodic structure in ½ of the intended wavelength. At least one of the two kinds of transparent substances is controllable in electric conductivity, and the structure is such that inside a medium consisting of this kind of transparent substance light-emitting semiconductor particulates are embedded. Accordingly, a light-emitting device has this structure, which makes possible control of the center wavelength of light emission, the width of wavelength distribution and coherence by adjusting the geometrical parameters of the device without having to alter the kind of material use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting device and an optical integrated device, and more particularly to a light-emitting device and an optical integrated device having superior characteristics which enable an optical picking-up function for realizing a high level of space resolution to be achieved by a small, light-weight, less power-consuming and highly ambience-resistant device fabricated in a monolithic process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As an example of the prior art, an optical pickup device matching optical disk type recording media, which now constitutes the mainstream of such elements, will be described. FIG. 1 illustrates the basic configuration of a currently mainstream optical pickup. The configuration and operation of this type pickup, which is extensively used by those engaged in the art, are described in, for instance, Applied Physics, Vol. 67, No. 9 (1998), pp. 1035–1040 (in Japanese). A probe light emitted from a semiconductor laser 101, traveling via a diffraction grating 102, is folded 90 degrees by a half mirror 103, and is condensed by an objective lens 104 to irradiate the upper surface of an optical disk 105. The incident probe light is reflected and scattered by a pattern drawn on the surface of the optical disk 105. Lights reflected or scattered backward are condensed by the objective lens 104, the condensed light is transmitted straight by the half mirror 103, and its intensity is detected by a photodiode 106 arranged behind. The semiconductor laser 101, which serves as the light source, uses a wavelength of 780 nm (for a compact disk (CD) or a Mini Disk (MD)) or 635–650 nm (for a digital versatile disk (DVD)), depending on the type of the optical disk 105. Regions of two different reflection factors are written on the surface of the optical disk 105 with a precision of the μm level. Relative intensities of reflected lights resulting from the irradiation with the probe light are detected and translated into digital signals. A space resolution d with respect to the reading of write patterns can be expressed in the following equation, wherein λ is the wavelength of the probe light and NA, the numerical aperture of the objective lens:d=0.7λ/NA  (1)
The shorter the wavelength λ of the probe light and the greater the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens, the higher the space resolution, i.e. the denser the recording by the memory. The NA of optical pickup device commercially available today is about 0.45 for CDs and 0.6 for DVDs. The above-described optical pickup device is configured by assembling individual basic components including the semiconductor laser 101, diffraction grating 102, half mirror 103, objective lens 104 and photodiode 106.
However, there are limits to reductions in size, weight and power consumption of the above-described optical pickup device according to the prior art, because basically it is fabricated in a process of assembling discrete components. Further, in order to enhance the space resolution, an indispensable requirement for increasing the recording density, it is necessary to increase the aperture rate of the objective lens or to shorten the wavelength of the semiconductor laser, which is the light source. The former would inevitably result in a greater hardware size, while the latter, as it requires development back to the stage of growth of new type single semiconductor crystals excelling in material composition, would be enormously time-consuming and expensive. These are essential impediments to functional upgrading.

Light-emitting device and optical integrated device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A Raman amplifier applicable to a wavelength division multiplexing optical transmission system is proposed. The Raman amplifier, which can make good use of a wavelength range, comprises an optical fiber for Raman amplification and a pump light introducing means. The zero-dispersion wavelength of the optical fiber and the wavelength of the pump light are nearly equal. The wavelength of pump light is preferably in the range where the absolute magnitude of the chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber is less than 0.3 ps.nmxe2x88x921.kmxe2x88x921. A range near a zero-dispersion wavelength cannot be utilized as a signal range because waveform deterioration of signal light occurs due to four wave mixing. This range can be utilized effectively as a wavelength range of exciting light for Raman amplification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Raman amplifier that is used in an optical communication system and that amplifies signal light in an optical fiber.
2. Related Background Arts
When light is incident on an optical fiber, the light is scattered by the vibration of glass structure of the optical fiber, thereby yielding scattering components on the longer wavelength side and the shorter wavelength side relative to the wavelength of the incident light. The scattering component on the longer wavelength side is called a Stokes line, and the scattering component on the shorter wavelength side is called an anti-Stokes line. The power of the Stokes line is stronger than that of the anti-Stokes line. If signal light having the same wavelength as the Stokes line is incident on an optical fiber at the same time as Stokes line occurs, stimulated Raman scattering is generated. The signal light is thereby Raman-amplified while propagating through the optical fiber. That is, the light performs as pump light for Raman amplification. This phenomenon is used for obtaining a Raman amplifier of discrete type or distributed constant type.
A rare-earth-doped optical fiber amplifier is suitable for amplifying light having a wavelength that corresponds to the energy level, whereas a Raman amplifier is characterized in that it can Amplify signal light having any wavelength by selecting a suitable wavelength of pump light for Raman amplification.
In the case of an optical fiber made of silica glass as a main component, the transmission loss becomes the smallest around the 1.55 xcexcm wavelength. Also, the strongest stimulated emission occurs at the wavelength that is 14 THz (about 100 nm) away on the longer wavelength side relative to the pump light.
On the other hand, to avoid the waveform degradation of signal light pulses due to four-wave mixing which is one kind of nonlinear optical phenomenon, the wavelength of signal light and the zero dispersion wavelength of an optical fiber must not overlap each other. Moreover, to allow signal light to be received at an acceptable S/N ratio at the receiving end, and also to avoid the waveform degradation of signal light due to four-wave mixing or cross-phase modulation which is one kind of nonlinear optical phenomenon, the wavelength of signal light and the wavelength of pump light for Raman amplification must not overlap each other.
Under such restrictions an optical communication system proposed at present that uses a Raman amplifier employs the 1.55 xcexcm band as the spectrum band for signal light, using an optical fiber having a finite chromatic dispersion of a few ps.nm xe2x88x921.kmxe2x88x921 at the 1.55 xcexcm wavelength (i.e. non zero dispersion shifted optical fiber). It also employs pump light for Raman amplification near the 1.45 xcexcm wavelength. The zero dispersion wavelength of the non zero dispersion shifted optical fiber is near the 1.50 xcexcm wavelength.
An object of the present invention is to provide a Raman amplifier where the spectrum band can be used efficiently and that is applicable to a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) optical communication system.
In order to achieve this and other objects, a Raman amplifier according to the present invention comprises an optical fiber allowing signal light to be amplified during propagation therethrough and a pump light supplying means for supplying pump light to the optical fiber. The zero dispersion wavelength of the optical fiber is nearly the same as the wavelength of the pump light. Preferably, the wavelength of the pump light is in the wavelength range where the absolute magnitude of the chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber is equal to or less than 0.3 ps.nmxe2x88x921.kmxe2x88x921.
The pump light may include a plurality of wavelength components. The optical fiber may have a plurality of zero dispersion wavelengths and may be supplied with pump light having wavelengths that correspond to their respective zero dispersion wavelengths. Also optical fiber may have the absolute magnitude of dispersion slope of 0.01 ps.nmxe2x88x922.kmxe2x88x921 or more but not exceeding 0.1 ps.nmxe2x88x922.kmxe2x88x921 at the wavelength of the pump light.
The Raman amplifier may be wound in a coil form and may be stored within a station. In this case, preferably the optical fiber has an effective area equal to or less than 20 xcexcm2, transmission loss equal to or less than 1 dB/km at the wavelength of the signal light, polarization mode dispersion equal to or less than 0.2 ps/kmxc2xd at the wavelength of the signal light, and a length equal to or less than 5 km.
The Raman amplifier may be installed as an optical transmission line between stations. In this case, preferably the optical fiber has an effective area equal to or more than 45 xcexcm2, transmission loss of 0.3 dB/km or less at the wavelength of the signal light, polarization mode dispersion equal to or less than 0.2 ps.kmxe2x88x92xc2xd at the wavelength of the signal light, and a length equal to or more than 10 km.
The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will be more fully clarified from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.


A system and method for determining if an RH sensor that measures the relative humidity of cathode inlet air provided to a fuel cell stack or an HFR circuit that measures stack water content is operating properly. The method provides the cathode inlet air through a WVT unit that increases the water content of the cathode inlet air. The method uses a water buffer model for determining the water content of the fuel cell stack based on inputs from a plurality of system components and revises a water transfer model using the HFR humidification signal or the RH signal to correct for WVT unit degradation. The method determines whether the RH sensor or the HFR circuit is operating properly, such as by determining if the HFR humidification signal is increasing at a rate that is faster than what the stack water content is able to increase.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for determining if a relative humidity (RH) sensor that measures the relative humidity of cathode inlet air provided to a fuel cell stack or a high frequency resistance (HFR) measuring circuit that measures stack water content is operating properly and, more particularly, to a system and method for determining whether an RH sensor or an HFR circuit is operating properly by determining whether the output signal from the RH sensor or the HFR circuit is valid.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated at the anode catalyst to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons at the cathode catalyst to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer electrolyte proton conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically, but not always, include finely divided catalytic particles, usually a highly active catalyst such as platinum (Pt) that is typically supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). MEAs are relatively expensive to manufacture and require certain conditions for effective operation.
Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. For example, a typical fuel cell stack for a vehicle may have two hundred or more stacked fuel cells. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode input gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen input gas that flows into the anode side of the stack.
A fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack, where the bipolar plates and the MEAs are positioned between two end plates. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow fields are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. Cathode gas flow fields are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. One end plate includes anode gas flow channels, and the other end plate includes cathode gas flow channels. The bipolar plates and end plates are made of a conductive material, such as stainless steel or a conductive composite. The end plates conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells out of the stack. The bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
The membrane within a fuel cell needs to have sufficient water content so that the ionic resistance across the membrane is low enough to effectively conduct protons. Membrane humidification may come from the stack water by-product or external humidification. The flow of reactants through the flow channels of the stack has a drying effect on the cell membranes, most noticeably at an inlet of the reactant flow. However, the accumulation of water droplets within the flow channels could prevent reactants from flowing therethrough, and may cause the cell to fail because of low reactant gas flow, thus affecting stack stability. The accumulation of water in the reactant gas flow channels, as well as within the gas diffusion layer (GDL), is particularly troublesome at low stack output loads.
As mentioned above, water is generated as a by-product of the stack operation. Therefore, the cathode exhaust gas from the stack will typically include significant water vapor and liquid water. It is known in the art to employ a water vapor transfer (WVT) unit to capture some of the water content in the cathode exhaust gas, and use that water content to humidify the cathode input airflow. Water in the cathode exhaust gas at one side of the water transfer elements within the WVT unit is absorbed by the water transfer elements and transferred to the cathode air stream at the other side of the water transfer elements. A typical WVT unit includes membranes made of a special material where the wet flow on one side of the membrane is transferred through the membrane to humidify the dry flow on the other side of the membrane.
As discussed above, it is generally necessary to control stack water content so that the membranes in the stack have the proper proton conductivity, but where the flow channels do not become blocked by ice if the water freezes during system shut-down. It is known in the art to provide an RH sensor in the cathode air inlet of a fuel cell system to measure the humidification of the cathode inlet gas stream as it enters the stack. Using the measured inlet relative humidity and the water species balance, or mass balance of water, the RH profile of the fuel cell system, including cathode air outlet flow, can be estimated. The ability of the RH sensor to provide an accurate reading of the RH is determined by the cost and complexity of the sensor. It is typical desirable to limit the cost of the sensor, which reduces its accuracy.
Another technique for determining stack water content is known in the art as high frequency resistance (HFR) humidification measuring, where high frequency in this context is typically 300 Hz-10 kHz. HFR humidification measurements are generated by providing a high frequency component or signal on the electrical load of the stack so that a high frequency ripple is produced on the current output of the stack. The resistance of the high frequency component is then measured by a detector, which is a function of the level of humidification of the membranes in the stack. High frequency resistance is a well-known property of fuel cells, and is closely related to the ohmic resistance, or membrane protonic resistance, of the fuel cell membrane. Ohmic resistance is itself a function of the degree of fuel cell membrane humidification. Therefore, by measuring the HFR of the fuel cell membranes of a fuel cell stack within a specific band of excitation current frequencies, the degree of humidification of the fuel cell membrane may be determined. This HFR measurement allows for an independent measurement of the fuel cell membrane humidification, which may eliminate the need for RH sensors.
Models are sometimes employed in fuel cell systems for determining the water content in the fuel cell stack. For example, it is known to employ a water buffer model that estimates the amount of water that is in the stack at any given time. Also, a water transfer model is known that estimates the water transfer in the WVT unit using the water buffer model. The water transfer model can estimate the cathode air inlet relative humidity and using that value and various operating parameters of the fuel cell stack, such as temperature, cathode stoichiometry, pressure, stack current density, etc., estimate the relative humidity of the cathode outlet gas by accounting for the water buffers within the fuel cell stack. The MEA and diffusion media within the stack have some water carrying capacity so changes in the above conditions do not immediately translate into the steady state value of outlet humidity. Using the estimation of the relative humidity of the cathode outlet gas and the water transfer capability of the WVT unit, the model then revises the estimation of the relative humidity of the cathode inlet air.
If the stack operating conditions require a different relative humidity for the cathode outlet gas, then the system control can change the temperature of the cooling fluid flowing through the stack to change the temperature of the stack, which changes how much water the cathode air can absorb. Particularly, if the stack temperature increases, the ability of the cathode air flowing through the stack to saturate with water increases where the absolute humidity of the cathode air may stay the same, but the relative humidity of the cathode air decreases.
The WVT unit degrades over time where its effectiveness to transfer water from the cathode outlet gas to the cathode inlet air decreases. This phenomenon may be the result of various things, such as membrane contamination, membrane degradation, etc. For those systems that employ an RH sensor between the WVT unit and the fuel cell stack and/or an HFR measuring circuit, the output of the sensor or circuit can be used to correct the water transfer model so that the estimate of the relative humidity of the cathode inlet air is adjusted as the WVT unit degrades. However, the RH sensor or HFR circuit themselves sometimes fail and/or drift where the sensor or circuit may not be giving an accurate reading of the water content of the cathode inlet air. In this circumstance, the model may be adjusted based on the inaccurate relative humidity measurement, causing stack operation performance problems. For example, if the RH sensor or HFR circuit is giving a measurement of the relative humidity of the cathode inlet air that is lower than the actual value, the water transfer model may adjust the temperature of the fuel cell stack lower, compensating for a perceived stack dry-out. This would cause the actual cathode inlet and outlet relative humidities to go up to a higher level than desired, which could cause stack instability as a result of flow channel flooding.
Additionally, other sensors or devices in the system may malfunction, such as coolant temperature sensors, cathode air flow meter, pressure sensors, etc. Therefore, the RH sensor or HFR circuit output may indicate WVT unit degradation, where the sensor measurement is accurate, but the system control may not interpret the change properly.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/197,535, titled, Utilization of HFR-Based Cathode Inlet RH Model in Comparison to Sensor Feedback to Determine Failed Water Vapor Transfer Unit and Utilize for a Diagnostic Code and Message, filed Aug. 3, 2011, assigned to the assignee of this application and herein incorporated by reference, discloses a system and method to detect a crossover leak in a WVT unit using HFR and RH sensor measurements.

Method to diagnose fuel cell humidification problems


To allow an information processing apparatus to further accurately calculate power consumption of an image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a control apparatus configured to transfer power supply state information indicating a power supply state to the information processing apparatus configured to calculate a power consumption amount based on the power supply state information, and a control unit configured to control the communication unit so as to transmit information for calculating a power consumption amount of the image processing apparatus during a period from detection about the shift to the state prohibiting a transfer to the information processing apparatus to detection about the shift to the state allowing the transfer to the information processing apparatus, to the control apparatus together with the power supply state information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, image forming apparatuses have transmitted a power supply state notification packet to an information processing apparatus in a local area network (hereinafter referred to as a LAN). This technique realizes such a system that the information processing apparatus in the LAN receives this power supply state notification packet, and acquires the state of the image forming apparatus based on information in this packet. For example, an image forming apparatus transmits a power supply state notification packet to an information processing apparatus when the image forming apparatus is powered on. Upon receiving this power supply state notification packet indicating that the image forming apparatus is powered on, the information processing apparatus acquires option information of the hardware of the image forming apparatus and the state (whether an error or the like occurs) of the image forming apparatus. Further, upon a shift to a sleep state, the image forming apparatus transmits a power supply state notification packet indicating the shift to the sleep state to the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus can detect that the image forming apparatus has shifted to the sleep state by receiving this power supply state notification packet, and stops acquiring information regarding the image forming apparatus if necessary. As a result, the information processing apparatus refrains from transmitting an unnecessary inquiry packet to the image forming apparatus, whereby the image forming apparatus can be maintained in the sleep state. On the other hand, upon returning from the sleep state, the image forming apparatus transmits to the LAN a power supply state notification packet indicating the return. Therefore, upon receiving this packet, the information processing apparatus restarts acquiring information of the image forming apparatus. Further, in recent years, there has been an application that detects the power supply state of an image forming apparatus, calculates the power consumption of the image forming apparatus, and displays this value in the form of a list (hereinafter referred to as a power calculation application). This power calculation application is located in the information processing apparatus in the LAN, and detects the power supply state of the image forming apparatus based on a power supply state notification packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus to calculate the power consumption amount. Therefore, when a predetermined time has elapsed or the power supply state changes, the image forming apparatus has to immediately transmit a power supply state notification packet indicating that. However, the image forming apparatus is not necessarily constantly in a powered-on state, whereby the image forming apparatus may be in a powered-off state at the time that the image forming apparatus is supposed to transmit a power supply state notification packet. As a method that can solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-30061 discusses such a method that, in a case where a power supply state notification time has come when an image forming apparatus is in a powered-off state, the image forming apparatus transmits a power supply state notification packet next time the image forming apparatus is powered on, even if a next notification time has not come yet. According to this method, the power calculation application can further accurately calculate the power consumption of the image forming apparatus.
However, there is generally known such a system that, when shutting down an image forming apparatus which a printing control apparatus is connected to, a user manually performs a shutdown operation on each of the printing control apparatus and the image forming apparatus to cause each apparatus to individually perform shutdown processing. Therefore, when the user starts up only the image forming apparatus to use a copy function of the image forming apparatus or select a screen setting or the like of the image forming apparatus, the printing control apparatus may be in a powered-off state. The system in which the printing control apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus is such a system that the printing control apparatus temporarily acquires a power supply state notification packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus, and transfers it to an information processing apparatus existing in the LAN. Therefore, when the above-described printing control apparatus is in a powered-off state and only the image forming apparatus is in a powered-on state, the power supply state notification packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus can never be delivered to the information processing apparatus existing in the LAN.

Image processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium


A driving circuit for a liquid crystal display device includes a reference voltage source, a first switch connected to the reference voltage source, a second switch connected to the first switch, a PUMP signal generator connected to the first and second switches, the PUMP signal generator oppositely adjusting the first and second switches, a capacitive element connected to the first and second switches, a third switch connected to the second switch, and a reset voltage source connected to the third switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a driving circuit for a liquid crystal display device and a method of driving a liquid crystal display device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices include two substrates disposed such that respective electrodes of the two substrates face each other and a liquid crystal layer is interposed between the respective electrodes. Accordingly, when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, an electric field is induced to the liquid crystal layer to modulate a light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer. Thus, by reorienting liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer, images are displayed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel 2, a gate driver 6, a data driver 4, and a gamma voltage generator 8. The liquid crystal panel 2 includes a plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm and a plurality of data lines DL1-DLn. A pixel region P is defined by the plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm and the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn, and is disposed in matrix configuration on the liquid crystal panel 2. In addition, a thin film transistor (TFT) of a switching element is connected to the plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm and the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn. The gate driver 6 and the data driver 4 are connected to the plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm and the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn, respectively. The gate driver 6 sequentially supplies the plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm with scan signals and drives the TFT connected to the plurality of gate lines GL1-GLm. The gamma voltage generator 8 is connected to the data driver 4 and supplies the data driver 4 with gamma voltage, as shown in FIG. 2, using a source voltage VDD.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of gamma voltages of a gamma voltage generator for a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 2, a gamma voltage generator 8 (in FIG. 1) generates a gamma voltage Vγ having several DC (direct current) levels V0, . . . , Vn−1, Vn, and VDD according to a brightness of video signals. The gamma voltage Vγ is supplied to the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn.
FIG. 3 is a schematic equivalent circuit diagram of a pixel region of a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 3, a pixel region includes a gate line GL, a data line DL, a common line CL, a thin film transistor (TFT) connected to the gate line GL and the data line DL, and a liquid crystal capacitor Clc is connected to the TFT and the common line CL. In addition, a parasitic capacitor Cgs is created between the gate line GL and a source electrode of the TFT, and a parasitic resistor Rftf is created between the drain electrode and the source electrode of the TFT. The parasitic resistor Rtft, which is an equivalent resistor generated between the drain electrode and the source electrode of the TFT while the TFT is turned OFF, does not have a fixed value. The gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) and a common voltage Vcom are applied to the liquid crystal capacitor Clc through the data line DL and the common line CL, respectively, when the TFT is turned ON. The parasitic capacitor Cgs is charged by the difference between a gate voltage and the gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) while the TFT is turned ON, i.e., a scan signal has a high value. Conversely, the parasitic capacitor Cgs is discharged while the TFT is turned OFF, i.e., the scan signal has a low value. Charges from the parasitic capacitor Cgs may be input to the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and may influence the voltage of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc. If the gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2), the scan signal, and the common voltage Vcom vary with the same values for every pixel region, a sum of charges input to the parasitic resistor Rftf and the liquid crystal capacitor Clc from the parasitic capacitor Cgs may be kept constant independent of a position of the pixel region.
When the LCD device is a polycrystalline silicon TFT, the data driver 4 (in FIG. 1) may be formed in the liquid crystal panel 2 (in FIG. 1). In addition, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) may be formed in the data driver (in FIG. 1) as a digital circuit.
FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of a RAMP-type digital-to-analog converter for a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 4, a RAMP signal generator 10 is implemented outside of a liquid crystal panel 2 (in FIG. 1), and a pulse width modulator (PWM) 12 and a switch 15 are implemented in the liquid crystal panel 2 (in FIG. 1). The PWM 12 generates PWM pulses having different pulse widths corresponding to gray levels of video signals, and the switch 15, such as a field effect transistor, is controlled by the PWM pulses. A DC level of a gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) is determined by the pulse width of the PWM pulse generated by the PWM 12. In addition, the gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) is supplied to a data capacitor C through one of the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn. The data capacitor C is equivalent to a total capacitance connected to each of the plurality of data lines DL1-DLn.
FIG. 5 is a schematic timing chart of a RAMP-type digital-to-analog converter for a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 5, a RAMP signal of a RAMP signal generator 10 (in FIG. 4) has an inclined portion that corresponds to all gray levels, and is periodically supplied to a switch 15 (in FIG. 4) for one horizontal sync time period. A pulse width modulator (PWM) 12 (in FIG. 4) generates a PWM pulse to adjust a turn-ON time of the switch 15 (in FIG. 4), and a DC level of a gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) is determined by the pulse width of the PWM pulse. The gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2) is supplied to a data capacitor C through a plurality of data lines DL1-DLn, and images are produced having a gray level corresponding to the gamma voltage Vγ (in FIG. 2).
Since the DAC shown in FIG. 4 is implemented with digital circuits, the DAC is not susceptible to non-uniform operational characteristics of the TFTs in the liquid crystal panel 2 (in FIG. 1). Accordingly, it is simple to obtain optimum gamma correction through waveform adjustment of the RAMP signal. However, since an external RAMP signal generator 10 (in FIG. 4) is used, the DAC has a large output load. Moreover, the output load greatly varies according to the gray level. Accordingly, power consumption increases in the external RAMP signal generator 10 (in FIG. 4).

Driving circuit for liquid crystal display device and method of driving the same


An assembly used to protect the driver or occupant of a motor vehicle, particularly police officers or the like from assailants surreptitiously approaching the automobile, when parked without the knowledge of the vehicle's occupants. The detection assembly comprises a plurality of motion detectors mounted on the exterior of the vehicle and cooperatively disposed relative thereto so as to monitor a surrounding area or perimeter of substantially 360 degrees. The occupants of the vehicle are warned by an alarm assembly which provides both audible and visible communication indicating that motion has been detected within the monitored external area surrounding the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment the plurality of motion detectors each comprise a microwave and passive infrared detector structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a perimeter detection assembly structured to detect and warn occupant's of a vehicle, such as a police vehicle, when someone is approaching the vehicle within a monitored area of substantially 360 degrees and within a certain distance from the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a well recognized social problem that there is a general increase in violence generally and violent crimes in particular throughout our society. Police officers in particular while conducting their duty are increasingly the subject of violent attacks resulting in severe injury and death. For example Deputy Sheriff Behan was shot and killed while doing paperwork inside his police vehicle which was parked in the driveway of a convenience . store in Broward County, Fla. The assailant's approached the car without the knowledge of Officer Behan, walked up to the vehicle and attacked the officer without his knowledge. Because of situations like this and the overall increase in attacks not only to the civilian population but police officers as well as other public figures there is an increased need for protection of vehicles when they are parked in a manner which will adequately and accurately warn the occupant, such as a police officer, when his vehicle is being approached while it is parked.
It is recognized that certain technology in the form of passive motion detectors are commercially available such as from the C and K Systems Inc. which utilize Dual Tec IV, DT 435 and DT 450 Detectors having four relays, one push on push off switch, for 12 volt lights and one buzzer or piezo device. However, in and of itself the commercial availability of such a motion detector does not solve the problem of adequately protecting the occupant's vehicle when a potential assailant or aggressor surreptitiously approaches the vehicle intentionally without the knowledge of the occupants of the vehicle.
It is also recognized that certain other vehicle alarm systems are well known and available as evidenced by certain United States Patents. The Patent to Howell, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,973 discloses a vehicle alarm system which is portable in nature and has a motion sensing switch and a transmitter for transmitting an alarm to remote receiver. The receiver is capable of several functions including a silent alarm to police or security guards as well as visual and audible alarms in remote locations such as light poles and rooftops for buildings. However, this alarm system is not specifically designed to warn or protect an occupant or occupants of a vehicle against immediate attack from someone surreptitiously approaching the vehicle without his knowledge.
The U.S. Patent to Nykerk, U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,402 is directed to an alarm system for sensing and vocally warning ah unauthorized approach to an object or zone such as but not limited to a vehicle. The alarm system referred to in this patent includes a proximity detector to detect the intrusion into an adjustable electromagnetic field set up around an object such as an automobile and means for generating vocal or voice synthesized signals for synthetic speech generation. The vocal signals instruct the intruder to back away rom the protected object before the alarm is triggered thereby preventing the intruder from inflicting any damage to the object or presumably to harm the occupant thereof. This structure is primarily directed to prevent breaking in or stealing the vehicle or having an intruder doing damage to the vehicle rather than warning an existing occupant that one approaches the vehicle. Also the detecting portion of this invention is termed generically as a proximity sensor and is structured to generate the aforementioned adjustable electromagnetic field. Intrusion into this field sets off the alarm portion of the assembly such as the vocal instructions to the intruder to "back away" beyond a certain distance.
The Patent to Samurai, U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,294 discloses a detection system for automobiles including an oscillator installed within the passenger compartment to generate an electromagnetic wave having a predetermined frequency dependent upon the size and or shape of the compartment. A detecting circuit is connected to the antennae structure to detect a change in the induced voltage level caused by the entry of a human body into the interior or compartment area of the vehicle and or the opening of the doors or windows thereby serving to generate a detection signal therefrom. This structure is primarily designed to prevent unauthorized entry, damage or stealing of the vehicle rather than to protect or warn an occupant as to an intruder approaching the vehicle for purposes of doing bodily harm.
Knapp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,045 and Hernandez, U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,979 both disclose alarm type systems including some type of detection system which provides an activation of the alarm or warning portion of the assembly when a person or object enters a monitored proximity within a certain range of the sensor. Based on the above and the knowledge by the inventor herein of what is commercially available there is still a recognized need in this industry for the adequate efficient and reliable protection of occupant's of a vehicle within a parked car whether those occupants are police officers, public figures or a member of the general population. Such device should preferably include not only adequate detection or monitoring facilities but should include a control assembly in association with an alarm device which serves to not only visually and or audibly warn the occupants but informs such occupants through such communication from the alarm assembly as to the general location of the intruder relative to the vehicle.

Motion detection assembly for use in combination with a motor vehicle


A quantum communication apparatus is used in operations to generate entanglement between the two physical system ensembles and operations to extend the distance between entangled ensembles by connecting pairs of entangled ensembles. The apparatus uses only passive elements without any actuating parts, active devices having no mechanically actuating parts, such as an electro-optical device capable of ultrahigh-speed operation, and a laser source capable of generating high-speed pulse trains or a continuous wave laser source. The apparatus can rapidly execute light irradiation necessary for entanglement generation and connection, and detection of a generated photon at the needed sites within a decoherence time of the physical system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of quickly generating entanglement between distant sites before occurrence of decoherence to enable quantum communication such as quantum teleportation or quantum cryptography between distant sites.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventionally proposed quantum communication such as quantum teleportation or quantum cryptography, two light beams in an entanglement state (quantum mechanically entangled state) generated in one place are transmitted to both the sender and the receiver so as to perform communication by using a quantum correlation existing between the two light beams (A. Furusawa et al., Science, 282, 06, (1998); A. K. Ekert, Phys. Rev. Lett., 67(6), 661(1991)). However, since a quantum state cannot be duplicated, it cannot be amplified or relayed during transmission. Therefore, the communication distance is limited below the attenuation distance of light. In quantum cryptography using no entanglement (C. H. Bennett et al., Scientific American, October, (1992)) as well, the communication distance cannot be increased by general amplification and relaying. This incapability of increasing the communication distance raises a common problem in putting the quantum communication into practice.
Recently, L.-M. Duan et al. has proposed a method of entangling distant atomic gas ensembles by connecting them by light (L.-M. Duan et al., Nature, 414, 413(2001)).
In this method, two atomic ensembles (A and B) at distant sites are irradiated with laser light, and photons generated from the respective ensembles are detected by a special method, thereby entangling the ensembles A and B. Pairs of atomic ensembles entangled with each other are generated in this manner. Here, a pair of atomic ensembles is represented by A(u) and B(u) (where u=1, 2, 3, . . . ). Thereafter, light is applied to one atomic ensemble of each pair (e.g., B(1) and A(2) of pairs of A(1) and B(1) and A(2) and B(2)), and photons generated from each atomic ensemble are detected by a special method, thereby newly entangling the other atomic ensemble of each pair (i.e., A(1) and B(2)).
If entanglement connections generated between two such atomic ensembles are further connected to each other, there is a possibility that entanglement generation can be done over a distance longer than the attenuation distance of light. In addition, since the quantum state of an atomic ensemble is used instead of that of a single photon or atom, the communication is robust against noise.
In increasing the communication distance by connecting such entangled ensembles, the maximum distance of quantum communication is finally determined by how quickly connections in many stages can be made within a time during which the overall coherency is kept. Forming such a quantum communication means by using a solid material will provide an advantage in realizing an easy-to-handle, compact element. In this case, since a decoherence time of a solid material is generally short, it is indispensable to shorten a time for attaining entanglement connection.
Conventionally, however, there have been no known apparatus or method that can efficiently generate entanglement between distant sites by quickly irradiating necessary sites with light necessary for entanglement connection without using any time-consuming mechanical driver.

Quantum communication apparatus and quantum communication method


A vehicle includes a frame having a pair of longitudinal rails and a box. The box includes a bed supported by the rails and a pair of opposing sidewalls connected to the bed outboard of the rails. A pair of braces provide additional support between the bed and the frame rails. Each may be attached between respective rails and a bottom portion of the bed outboard the rails.

Vehicles, such as pickup trucks, may include a box having a bed, opposing sidewalls, a headboard and a tailgate. The box is attached to and supported by the chassis. The box may be equipped with toolboxes, ladder racks, tie-downs and other equipment that exert equipment loads on the box. These loads are transferred from the box to the chassis through the bed.
Traditionally, the majority of body structures on pickup trucks are steel alloys. Through years of experience, pickup truck designers have learned how to engineer steel truck body parts that withstand the variety of demanding pickup truck applications. The current regulatory and economic environment have increased the importance of making pickup trucks more fuel efficient as well as functional and durable.
This increased emphasis on fuel efficiency has led to a desire for lightweight vehicle components, such as aluminum alloy vehicle components. Aluminum alloys typically have a higher strength to weight ratio than steel alloys. Consequently, replacing steel with aluminum offers potential for weight reduction. Steel alloys and aluminum alloys may have different material properties. The difference material properties may require different design solutions in addition to material substitution.


The disclosure describes hydrocarbon flowline corrosion inhibitor overpressure protection. Such a protection system includes a fluid flow pathway fluidically coupled to a corrosion inhibitor injection pump that injections corrosion inhibitor into a hydrocarbon carrying flowline. When the injection pump pressure exceeds a threshold flow pressure, the corrosion inhibitor is flowed through a first branch of the fluid flow pathway to relieve the excess pressure. The first branch is fluidically isolated from a second branch. When a rupture disc in the first branch fails, then the corrosion inhibitor is diverted to flow through the second branch and the first branch is isolated from the corrosion inhibitor flow.

Hydrocarbons (for example, petroleum, crude oil, natural gas or combinations of them) that are entrapped in subterranean zones can be extracted from those zones and lifted to the surface, for example, through production wells. The extracted hydrocarbons can be flowed from the extraction site to processing plants (for example, gas-oil separation plants) through flowlines. Processed hydrocarbons can further be flowed from the processing plants to other geographic locations (for example, delivery sites) using pipelines. Corrosive nature of certain hydrocarbons can induce corrosion in the flowlines that carry those hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbon flowline corrosion inhibitor overpressure protection


Apparatuses and methodologies are described that enhance performance in a wireless communication system using beamforming transmissions. According to one aspect, a set of transmit beams are defined that simultaneously provides for space division multiplexing, multiple-input multiple output (MIMO transmission and opportunistic beamforming. The addition of a wide beam guarantees a minimum acceptable performance for all user devices.

I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and, amongst other things, to flexible communication schemes for wireless communication systems.
II. Background
Wireless networking systems have become a prevalent means by which a majority of people worldwide has come to communicate. Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Consumers have found many uses for wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like, demanding reliable service and expanded areas of coverage.
Performance for a wireless communication system may be enhanced by using beamformed transmissions to communicate from the base station to the mobile devices. Multiple transmit antennas located at a base station can be used to form beamformed transmissions. Beamformed transmissions utilize "beams" that typically cover a narrower area than transmissions using a single transmit antenna. However, the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) is enhanced within the area covered by the beams. The portions of a sector not covered by a beam are referred to as a null region. Mobile devices located within the null region will have will have an extremely low SINR, resulting in reduced performance and possible loss of data. The communication system may use beam steering, in which beams are dynamically directed at particular user devices. During beam steering, beams are redirected as user devices change location.
A typical wireless communication network (e.g., employing frequency, time, and code division techniques) includes one or more base stations that provide a coverage area and one or more mobile (e.g., wireless) user devices that can transmit and receive data within the coverage area. A typical base station can simultaneously transmit multiple data streams for broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast services, wherein a data stream is a stream of data that can be of independent reception interest to a user device. A user device within the coverage area of that base station can be interested in receiving one, more than one or all the data streams carried by the composite stream. Likewise, a user device can transmit data to the base station or another user device. Such communication between base station and user device or between user devices can be degraded due to channel variations and/or interference power variations. For example, the aforementioned variations can affect base station scheduling, power control and/or rate prediction for one or more user devices.
Conventional network fixed beamformed transmissions result in null regions, reducing network reliability, robustness and coverage area. Thus, there exists a need in the art for a system and/or methodology for improved beamformed transmission coverage.

Adaptive sectorization in cellular systems