A CMOS opamp having large sinking and sourcing currents, and capable of driving high capacitive loads. The CMOS opamp improves a prior art OPAMP that includes a folded cascode gain stage and a class A/B output stage. By inserting a source follower stage between the folded cascode stage and the output stage, the opamp can drive very large capacitive loads that can also compensate the opamp. By further modifying the output stage, the ability to sink load current is vastly improved.

The present invention relates in general to CMOS opamp circuits, and in particular, to CMOS opamps with a class A/B output stage capable of driving high capacitive loads.
An example of a prior art CMOS opamp with a class A/B output stage can be found in the Journal of Solid State Circuits, Dec. 1987, page 1087, FIG. 7(a) of the article "A programmable Gain/Loss Circuit," by J. Babanezhad and R . Gregorian. The prior art opamp includes a folded cascode gain stage followed by a class A/B output stage. This opamp was designed for use in a programmable gain/loss circuit where high gain and large bandwidth were required for an opamp driving capacitive loads of relatively modest size.
While this prior art opamp performs well for the particular application, it suffers from several disadvantages. First, in many applications, opamps are required to drive very large capacitive loads where the load capacitor provides the dominant pole. Often, under such circumstances, the Miller capacitance and the zero-nulling resistor are removed to allow the load capacitance to provide the necessary frequency compensation. However, the pole created by the combination of the high impedance node at the output of the folded cascode input stage and the large gate capacitances (of output transistors) connected to that node, makes it very difficult to stabilized this opamp with a load capacitor.
Second, in applications requiring very large output devices this opamp would experience slew rate limiting. This is due to the output of the folded cascode stage directly connecting to the gate of a PMOS pull-up transistor that drives the output node. For a larger output transistor (i.e. higher gate capacitance), therefore, the folded cascode must provide larger amounts of current. However, increased currents reduce the impedance at the output of the folded cascode, which results in loss of overall gain.
Another disadvantage of this prior art opamp is its limited current sinking capability. The biasing of the output stage allows the gate of the common-source PMOS transistor driving the output node to have a large voltage swing, while the common-source NMOS transistor driving the output experiences a very limited voltage swing at its gate. As a result, the output stage can source much more current than it can sink.

CMOS opamp with large sinking and sourcing currents and high slew rate


The process is used to remove the solvent from an elastomeric polymer solution containing at least 8% by weight of elastomeric polymer. The elastomeric polymer solution undergoes a preprocessing step in order to remove a large part of the solvent. Thereafter, the elastomeric polymer solution is fed into a main extruder in order to remove the remaining solvent. The preprocessing step includes: (a) introducing a heating fluid and the elastomeric polymer solution into a static mixer in order to mix the heating fluid and the elastomeric polymer solution and heat rapidly the elastomeric polymer solution to a temperature of 60.degree.-250.degree. C.; (b) spraying the mixture of heating fluid and elastomeric polymer solution under a depressurization atmosphere in order to vaporize the heating fluid and solvent out of the mixture and form a vaporized heating fluid, a vaporized solvent and a powdered elastomeric polymer; (c) introducing the vaporized heating fluid, the vaporized solvent and the powdered elastomeric polymer into a fluid-solid separation chamber; and (d) extruding the powdered elastomeric polymer into the main extruder via a polymer outlet of the fluid-solid separation chamber while removing the vaporized heating fluid and solvent via a vapor outlet of the fluid-solid separation chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for removing the solvent from a polymer solution, more particularly to a process for removing the solvent from an elastomeric polymer solution which has a polymer content of at least 8% by weight.
2. Description of the Related Art
A high pressure steam stripping process and a direct solvent removing process have been employed in order to remove the solvent from an elastomeric polymer solution so as to form subsequently granules and crumbs of the elastomeric polymer.
In the high pressure steam stripping process, high pressure steam is used to remove the solvent from an elastomeric polymer solution. The high pressure steam is introduced into the elastomeric polymer solution in order to heat the elastomeric polymer solution and vaporize the solvent in the elastomeric polymer solution. Afterwards, a large part of the water, about 45% by weight, left in the elastomeric polymer solution is removed with the use of a water removing device, and the remaining water is subsequently removed with a degassing device, such as a single-screw extruder, a twin-screw extruder or a conventionally used expeller with an expander followed by a steam heated dryer, until a residual water content of less than 1% by weight is obtained. Since the polymer solution is heated indirectly by the steam, the problem of localized overheating can be eliminated, and the elastomeric polymer can be prevented from becoming a gel to avoid loss of the elastic characteristics of the former. For these reasons, the solvent in the elastomeric polymer solutions of polybutadiene rubber and polyisoprene rubber are generally removed by this method. However, the cost for removing a large amount of water with the use of this heating method is considerably high. Furthermore, a certain level of residual water, about 5-10%, will be left in the dewatered product of the elastomeric polymer. In order to remove the residual water in the dewatered product, a drying machine, which has a high electrical consumption, is required. In addition, all of the removed water must be treated before discharging. Thus, the high pressure steam stripping process is not an economical process.
A direct solvent removing process for removing the solvent from a solution of a polymer has been disclosed in Luxembourg Patent Application No. 86810. Referring to FIG. 1, the direct solvent removing process uses a solvent removing apparatus (B) which includes an extruder (92) that incorporates a twin endless screw (94). The elastomeric polymer solution, which has been preheated to 150.degree.-200.degree. C., is introduced into a feed hopper (90) of the extruder (92). The extruder (92) further comprises a rear ventilation vent (80) through which a large amount of the solvent, namely from 80 to 95% of the latter, will be removed. The polymer solution is driven forward by means of the endless screw (94) and is reheated simultaneously to a temperature of between 150.degree. C. and 200.degree. C. The heat input can be produced by heating the extruder barrel to a temperature of between 180.degree. C. and 250.degree. C., by providing the screw with components that introduce shearing forces or by a combination of both. Three ventilation vents (81, 82, 83) are arranged on the extruder (92). The remaining solvent is removed progressively through the various ventilation vents (81, 82, 83) in step with the forward movement of the polymer solution in the screw (94), while the vacuum increases in step with the progress of the polymer solution in the screw and changes from atmospheric pressure to approximately 5 mbars at the screw end. Between the ventilation vents (81, 82, 83), means (96) for introducing a fluid, generally water, has been provided to promote the removal of the solvent. The polymer solution, freed from its solvent in this manner, passes through a die (24') and is cut into granules. Therefore, a residual solvent content equal to or lower than 0.1% by weight is obtained.
In the above patent, the polymer is reheated by the screw barrel. The rate of heating is relatively low when the viscosity of the elastomeric polymer solution is high. In addition, the direct solvent removing process is not suitable for treating a heat-sensitive polymer. When the direct solvent removing process is used to treat polybutadiene rubber solution, which has a high viscosity, a long heating time is needed in order to heat the polybutadiene rubber solution to a temperature of between 150.degree. C. and 200.degree. C. in the twin-screw extruder (WP type ZSK-57). The prolonged heating results in crosslinking of parts of the polybutadiene rubber, thus causing a loss in the elastic characteristics of the latter. When such a partially crosslinked elastomeric polymer is used to modify an impact-resistant polystyrene, hard grains or fisheyes are formed on the surface of the resultant modified product. Aside from the formation of fisheyes, the polybutadiene rubber may further lose its modification effect when the polybutadiene rubber undergoes crosslinking. Therefore, the direct solvent removing process is not suitable for treating a heat-sensitive polymer with a high viscosity.
Another problem of the above patent stems from the design of the ventilation vents of the apparatus (B). A large amount of fine elastomer particles are entrained by the venting solvent, thereby clogging the ventilation vents. The removal of the clogging particles requires a shutdown operation, thereby lowering the efficiency of the apparatus (B). Due to the rapid vaporization of the solvent because of the reduced pressure at the ventilation vents, bubbles form rapidly in the elastomeric polymer, thereby resulting in the formation of fine elastomer particles. The bubbles in the elastomeric polymer produce fine elastomer particles upon breakage of the same. For example, the direct solvent removal process and the apparatus (B) are used to treat a styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer solution. When the styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer solution is moved forward in the screw (94) in order to remove the remaining solvent via the various ventilation vents (81, 82, 83), fine particles of the styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer are produced and block the ventilation vents (81, 82, 83). Thus, the operation of the apparatus (B) should be stopped frequently to maintain the ventilation vents (81, 82, 83).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,507 discloses a countercurrent combined liquid and vapor stripping process in a screw devolatilizer. This patent generally relates to a process and apparatus for removing volatile and soluble components from plastic material in a screw extruder. The screw extruder has a vent which is provided with a vapor removal means in order to prevent clogging of the vent. The screw extruder has a stripping zone which defines a high pressure downstream point, a low pressure upstream point and a stripping agent injection point that is located between the high pressure downstream point and the low pressure upstream point. The vent of the screw extruder is located in the stripping zone and upstream from the stripping agent injection point. The stripping agent is a liquid-gas mixture which flows in the screw extruder in a countercurrent direction with respect to the plastic material in order to remove the undesirable volatile components and the solvent from the latter via the vent. The vapor removal means in the port includes twin interlocking screws that are surrounded by a closely fitting housing with a clearance that is sufficient to permit only gases and liquids to pass therethrough. The twin interlocking screws are pitched and are rotated by a drive motor in a direction so as to force entrained solids back toward the plastic mass in the screw extruder. Therefore, the port is prevented from being clogged. It is noted that the screw extruder which incorporates the twin interlocking screws is similar to a pair of intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruders which are fed transversely in a second pair of twin screws in order to produce devolatilization and which have been taught in German Patent No. 915,689 by R. Erdmenger et al. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,507, the screw extruder has a housing that is surrounded by a heating jacket. Because the polymer material in the screw extruder is heated by means of the heating jacket, the heating time needed for heating the polymer material to a predetermined temperature is relatively long if the shear force heat is not effective. Therefore, the apparatus in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,507 is only suitable for treating plastics which have a low volatile component content, such as ABS polymers (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), and is not suitable for treating an elastomeric polymer solution and a material which has a high solvent content, even though the port has been designed to prevent clogging.
Accordingly, the main problems of the above described conventional solvent removing processes reside in that fine particles of the elastomeric polymer easily clog the ventilation vents, and crosslinking of the elastomeric polymer solution, which has a high elastomeric polymer content and a high viscosity, occurs easily due to overheatinq, thus causing the elastomeric polymer to lose easily its elasticity.

Process for removing the solvent from an elastomeric polymer solution


A method is presented for maintaining a set of at least two components from a group including a wheel rim, a tire and a safety support element, the method including the following steps: providing a set of components, wherein at least one of the components is provided with an information carrier that can be automatically read and is configured to supply at least one data element for use in carrying out the desired maintenance on the set; said set is brought to a maintenance machine that is configured to carry out the desired maintenance on the set under the control of a programmable data management unit; the information carrier of at least one of the components of the set brought to the machine is automatically read and the data is automatically transmitted to the programmable unit; the machine is regulated on the basis of the data transmitted; and the desired maintenance for the set is initiated and carried out by means of the machine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for maintaining a set comprising at least two components in the group comprising a rim, a tire mountable on said rim and a safety support for at least partially supporting a tread of said tire under reduced or zero pressure conditions. The invention also concerns a device and machine for implementing the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Automatic tire mounting/removal machines are already known, making it possible to perform both operations of mounting a tire and possibly a safety support on a rim of an automobile wheel, and operations of removing the tire and possibly a safety support with respect to the wheel rim, with a view to the repair or replacement of the tire and possibly the safety support. Machines of this type are for example described in the documents EP 1 177 920 (counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,362 is incorporated herein by reference) and EP 1 253 026 (counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,950 is incorporated herein by reference).
In fact, the known machines of this type are not completely automatic. This is because, before each mounting or removal operation, the operator allocated to the machine must manually enter, for example by means of a keyboard, the information concerning the various components of the wheel or the wheel itself to be mounted or removed, in particular the information corresponding to the dimensions and type of the wheel, for example the inside diameter of the tire, the outside diameter, and the width B of the tire, the ratio H/B of the tire, the type of mounted assembly (conventional, PAX® or self supporting, often referred to as ZP, standing for "zero pressure"), or any other information vital to the adjustment of the machine and/or the maintenance that is to be carried out by the tire mounting/removal machine.
Such a manual entry of information by an operator takes a certain amount of time and, despite all the care given to the entering, this may be a source of error. In the event of error in entering, immobilisation of the mounting/removal machine and/or a longer immobilisation of the vehicle of the customer and/or physical damage to the wheel in the course of mounting or removal may result therefrom and/or, more seriously still, if a defect in mounting occurs and this is not detected before re-use of the wheel, serious accidents during the driving of the vehicle may occur.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for effecting a maintenance, in particular, but not exclusively, an operation of mounting or removal of a tire on or from a wheel rim, said method being amenable to being implemented automatically, without it being necessary to manually enter the information essential for carrying out the desired maintenance, and therefore avoiding errors in entering and the harmful consequences thereof.
Moreover, automobile wheels are already known whose components, namely the rim, tire and any safety support comprise respective identification elements that can be verified automatically in order to allow, after mounting or assembly of the components on a vehicle wheel, checking of the components in order to verify that they are indeed compatible with each other and, in the case of incompatibility, to generate an appropriate alarm signal (see in this regard U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,512, which is incorporated herein by reference and which is a counterpart to PCT international patent application publication WO 02/09957).
Automobile wheels are already known, the wheel or tire of which is provided with a pressure monitoring system, comprising a pressure sensor and/or a pressure variation detector, as well as a management module configured to receive and process information supplied by the pressure sensor and/or pressure variation detector, and an emitting module for transmitting to a receiver independent of the wheel the information analysed and processed by the management module. In particular, the following PCT international patent application publications are noted in this regard: WO 02/34551 (counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,285 is incorporated herein by reference); WO 02/34552 (counterpart U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0234041 is incorporated herein by reference); and WO 03/34553 (counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,394 is incorporated herein by reference). According to circumstances, the information transmitted to the receiver is used to warn the driver of an automobile of an abnormality, such as for example insufficient pressure inside the tire cavity, a puncture, a rapid loss of pressure, or a burst, or to serve as parameters for a vehicle driving aid device, such as for example a device of the ESP type, a device of the brake anti-lock type (ABS) or a device of the anti-skid type.
However, none of the aforementioned documents teaches how to resolve the technical problem that is at the basis of the present invention, namely avoiding errors in entering and the harmful consequences thereof, in a method and machine for carrying out maintenance on a set comprising at least two components from the group comprising a rim, a tire mountable on said rim and a safety support intended to at least partially support a tread of said tire under reduced or zero pressure conditions.

Method and device for treating a set of components for the wheel of a vehicle


An image capturing apparatus comprises an image capturing unit configured to capture an image; a determination unit configured to determine a plurality of object regions from the captured image; an acquisition unit configured to acquire a photometric value for each of the object regions; a decision unit configured to decide an exposure condition from the photometric value for each of the object regions; and a tone conversion unit configured to convert a tone of the captured image based on the exposure condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing technique of deciding an exposure condition by calculating a photometric value for each object region.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image capturing apparatus such as a digital camera captures an image in real time and causes a display device to perform through-the lens display, thereby allowing the user to decide a composition while checking objects on a screen. In this case, it is possible to adjust the brightness of a display image, as needed, in accordance with an object by calculating a photometric value from the image captured for display and deciding an exposure condition so as to set the level of the photometric value to a target level. When the user presses the shutter button, it is also possible to decide an exposure condition for an image for recording by using the photometric value of the image captured for display.
However, when shooting a scene including objects with large brightness differences, for example, shooting a backlit person against the bright sky as a background, the apparatus may not appropriately perform photometry. Assume that the apparatus has performed exposure to set the brightness of a person to an appropriate level. In this case, the signal level of the sky may exceed the dynamic range of the image capturing device, and the signal may be saturated. It is not possible to obtain an appropriate photometric value from a region in which the signal is saturated. In contrast to this, assume that the apparatus has performed exposure with priority given to the sky so as inhibit the signal level of the sky from being saturated. In this case, since the apparatus shoots the person at a level lower than the appropriate level, the displayed person becomes dark.
There is known a method of composing two images upon respectively deciding exposure conditions from a relatively bright region and a relatively dark region in a screen when shooting a scene including objects with large brightness differences (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4105933). However, even the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4105933 cannot decide an appropriate exposure condition when a signal from a bright region is saturated.
In addition, although there has been proposed a method of shooting a plurality of images with different brightnesses and adjusting brightness by composing the respective images, no consideration is given to a case of shooting one image or the brightness of an image for display.

Image capturing apparatus for determining an exposure condition by calculating aphotmetric value for each object region and method of controlling the same


A semiconductor device includes a plurality of semiconductor chips and a memory device. The semiconductor chips are provided in a package. Each of the semiconductor chips includes a memory cell array having memory cells which stores data, an output buffer which outputs data read from the memory cell array to an exterior of the semiconductor chip and a control circuit which controls driving power of the output buffer. The memory device stores the number of semiconductor chips provided in the package. The control circuit controls the driving power according to the number of semiconductor chips stored in the memory device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device and memory circuit system. For example, this invention relates to a semiconductor memory including MOS transistors having charge accumulation layers and control gates.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the demand for nonvolatile semiconductor memories with large capacity increases with the rapid popularization of digital cameras and mobile audio players. Further, NAND flash memories are widely used as the nonvolatile semiconductor memories.
With the above background, it is required to enhance the driving power of an output buffer of a semiconductor chip having nonvolatile semiconductor memories mounted thereon in order to transmit information of large capacity at high speed. The configuration of the output buffer is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appn. KOKOKU Publication No. H7-105151, for example.
When the driving power of the output buffer is low, the data transmission speed is lowered. However, if the driving power is made higher than necessary, there occurs a problem that the power consumption is increased and the operation becomes unstable due to overshoot and ringing of signal waveforms.

Memory circuit system having semiconductor devices and a memory


A color measuring device includes a housing; a sensor unit configured to capture an image of a region, the sensor unit being held to the housing; an illumination light source configured to illuminate the region, the illumination light source being held to the housing; a detecting unit configured to detect a distance between predetermined two points from image data of the region obtained by the sensor unit; a correcting unit configured to correct the image data including a subject whose color is to be measured according to a ratio of the detected distance to a reference distance; and a calculating unit configured to calculate a colorimetric value of the subject based on the corrected image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color measuring device, an image forming apparatus, a colorimetric system, and a color measuring method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as printers, processing called color management is performed in order to suppress fluctuation of an output by a characteristic specific to a device and increase reproducibility of an output to an input. For example, the color management is performed by the following technique. First of all, an image of a color chart (patch) of a reference color is actually output by an image forming apparatus, and a color measuring device measures the color of the patch. Hereinafter, the patch whose color is measured is referred to as a "colorimetric target patch". Then, a color conversion parameter is generated based on a difference between a colorimetric value of the color-measured colorimetric target patch and a colorimetric value of a corresponding reference color in a standard color space, and the color conversion parameter is set to the image forming apparatus. Thereafter, when outputting an image corresponding to input image data, the image forming apparatus performs color conversion on the input image data based on the set color conversion parameter, and outputs an image based on the image data which has been subjected to the color conversion. Consequently, the image forming apparatus can output an image with high reproducibility in which fluctuation of an output by a characteristic specific to a device is suppressed.
In this color management, a spectrophotometer is widely being used as color measuring device that performs colorimetry on the colorimetric target patch. The spectrophotometer can obtain spectral reflectivity for each wavelength and thus perform high-accuracy colorimetry. However, since the spectrophotometer is expensive, it is desirable to perform high-accuracy colorimetry using a cheaper device.
An example of a technique of implementing colorimetry at a low is a technique of capturing an image of a colorimetric target as a subject by an image capturing device with an image sensor and converting a RGB value of the subject obtained by the image capturing into a colorimetric value in the standard color space. For example, Japanese Patent No. 3129502 discloses a technique in which a reference color chart serving as a comparative target of a subject is placed near the subject serving as a colorimetric target, the subject and the reference color chart are simultaneously captured by a color video camera, RGB data of the subject is corrected using RGB data of the reference color chart obtained by the image capturing, and then the RGB data of the subject is converted into a colorimetric value in the standard color space.
However, in the technique discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3129502, it is difficult to maintain a positional relation among the subject, a light source, and the color video camera, and an imaging condition changes each time image capturing is performed. Thus, it is likely that it is difficult to obtain stable image data from the subject of the colorimetric target.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a color measuring device, an image forming apparatus, a colorimetric system, and a color measuring method, which are capable of acquiring stable image data from a subject of a colorimetric target and thus performing high-accuracy colorimetry.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Color measurement system to correct color data corresponding to a ratio of detected distance to a reference distance


The present invention is directed to a metering valve used in both conventional and bag-on-valve aerosol container applications that allows a high flow rate of especially viscous substances. The metering valve according to the present invention including a valve housing, a valve stem, and a spring or other biasing device that allows the valve stem to move relative to the valve housing. The valve stem serves as a metering chamber with a metering device in the form of a ball or disk without other mechanisms such as springs or mechanical parts within the valve stem. Radial bores and a seal near the bottom of the valve stem provide for dispensing of pre-determined quantities of product from an aerosol container pressurized with liquefied propellants or compressed gas. The bore shape and size can be selected to facilitate a high volume flow rate for highly viscous substances.

Standard aerosol valve and gasket assemblies for dispensing pressurized product from a container have an inherent structural problem which limits the flow rate of product out of the container and through the valve stem. As is well known, the gasket which seals the conventional radial opening of the spring biased valve in the valve housing of conventional aerosol valves also seals the valve stem with the mounting cup of the container limiting the diameter of the opening relative to the valve stem extending through the gasket. The valve stem is provided with both an axial and a radial opening for dispensing product from the container. When the valve stem is pushed down by a user against a spring bias, the radial opening which is initially blocked by the gasket comes into fluid communication with the product in the container which is then permitted to flow through the radial opening and out the valve stem to the environment. Once the user releases the valve stem, the valve stem is biased back into a closed position with the radial opening blocked by the mounting cup gasket.
The structural problem is two-fold, first the radial opening in the side of the valve stem must be smaller than the thickness of the gasket so that the opening is adequately covered in the closed valve position, otherwise there is a substantial risk of the product being able to escape even when the valve is closed by leakage through the radial opening. The general thickness of a conventional gasket is in the range of 1.02 mm-1.52 mm (0.04-0.06 in.), so the radial openings must be substantially within this range. This along with tolerances necessary to ensure complete closure of the valve limits the size of the radial opening. Secondly, the larger the radial opening is on the upper portion of the valve stem where it is located in such conventional valve stems, the more the structural integrity of the valve stem is affected. If the opening is too large the valve stem when subjected to axial and radial forces during depression by a user can fail and break, bend or otherwise permanently damage the valve stem. Such restrictions in the size of the radial opening in the stem make it difficult to obtain high flow rates of product and a highly viscous product such as toothpaste cannot be dispensed without a sufficiently large passage in the valve stem.
Similarly, in other applications such as bag-on-valve assemblies, such valve stem openings create the same or similar structural issues. Collapsible and highly flexible product bags or pouches have become common in different industries for containing a variety of food, beverage, personal care or household care or other similar products. Such product bags can be used alone to allow a user to manually squeeze and dispense a product from the bag or the product bags may be utilized in combination with a pressurized can and product, for example an aerosol. Such product bags and valves contained in and used with aerosol cans are generally referred to in the aerosol dispensing industry as bag-on-valve (BOV) technology. These product bags, valves and cans may be designed to receive and dispense a desired product in either a liquid or semi-liquid form which have a consistency so as to be able to be expelled from the valve or outlet when desired by the user.
Bag-on-valve technology is known to utilize a product dispenser, such as a can, which has the collapsible product bag inserted therein prior to filling of the bag with a product. The bag is initially flat and inserted axially into the can usually in a rolled up manner and having a filling/dispensing valve communicating with the inside of the product bag. The valve is affixed as in the conventional valve described above to a mounting cup portion of the valve and the mounting cup is crimped to the can. During a final manufacturing phase the product bag is filled with the desired product.
In the filling process, a desired product is inserted into the product bag via the two-way valve by appropriate filling means. When the bag is filled by the filling mechanism, the product bag expands inside the can. At some point in the manufacturing process, the can is provided with a pressurized gas in order to assist in squeezing the bag to expel the contents thereof as is well known in the art. Many factors influence the expulsion of the contents or product from the can out of the valve into the environment. The valve is a key component, which has lead to the design of multiple valve configurations for different applications.
Typically, bag-on-valve applications have used valves that have two components—a valve housing and a valve stem. In most applications, the valve housing engages with a mounting cup of a can, attaches to a bag that holds the product, and provides the framework for the valve stem. The valve stem usually interacts with the valve housing through the use of a spring. The spring allows the valve stem to move relative to the valve housing to open and close the valve. Typically, when the valve is opened, product flows from the product bag, to and through the valve housing, then through a passage in the valve stem, and finally into the environment. The passage is normally limited in size and shape based on the sealing of the passage by the upper gasket that is used to seal the valve housing to the mounting cup.
An issue associated with the bag-on-valve technology is control of the volume flow of the product contents of the bag from the system to the environment. This issue is especially compounded due to the different viscosities of the various products which manufacturers dispense from such bag-on-valve containers. The various product contents include liquids, creams, foams, gels, aerosols, colloids, and various other substances. Handling the flow of a highly viscous substance such as for instance, toothpaste is particularly difficult in both conventional and bag-on-valve applications where the aerosol dispensing radial passages are particularly small in the 1.02 mm-1.52 mm (0.04-0.06 in.) range and there is no structural feasibility to make these holes larger with conventional valve structures. The problem is to be able to accommodate larger dispensing openings in the valve beyond the 1.02 mm-1.52 mm (0.04-0.06 in.) range in order to accommodate higher flow rates and more viscous product.
The present invention addresses the required increased flow rate necessary in some bag-on-valve applications. In some aerosol applications, however, the bag-on-valve containers may not be feasible due to volume constraints of the container and cost considerations even though it may be undesirable to mix the propellant gas with the product material. In these instances immiscible gases, such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide may be preferred. The present invention provides for liquefied propellants or compressed gas such as air, nitrogen or carbon dioxide to be used and further may provide metered doses of product as required in some aerosol applications.


The present invention discloses radiation curable pressure-sensitive adhesives comprising the reaction product of a blend of at least two hydroxy polyesters having different Tgs, and at least one prepolymer functionalized with (Meth) acrylates, isocyanates and mixtures thereof. The present invention further discloses a blend of at least two hydroxy polyesters wherein at least one of the hydroxy polyesters has a Tg of less than -35.degree. C., and at least one of the other hydroxy polyesters has a Tg of greater than about -35.degree. C.

Adhesives prepared from radiation curing a composition comprising a single hydroxy polyester reacted with a prepolymer functionalized with a (meth)acrylate and/or isocyanate is known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,763 to Muller et al., May 26, 1987, pertains to a hydroxy polyester which is fluid at room temperature, with a low viscosity, relatively high molecular weight and very low setting points having alkyl side chains in substantially regular arrangement. Preferably, the polyester chains are unbranched or only slightly branched.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,829 to Muller et al., Apr. 18, 1989, pertains to radiation-setting (meth)acrylate-functional polyesters prepared from base polyesters which are fluid at room temperature and have molecular weights of 1,000 or more as well as aliphatic side chains bound to the main chain by ester bridges and, in some cases, ether bridges, and in which a maximum of 90% of the original hydroxy groups of the base polyester are functionalized. The radiation-setting (meth)acrylate-functional polyesters are usable for coatings and especially as adhesives free of solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,682 to Comforth et al., Jan. 25, 1994, relates to improved radiation curable compositions which comprise N-vinylformamide and an oligomer selected from the group consisting of epoxy-acrylate resins, polyester acrylate resins, polyurethane acrylate resins and mixtures thereof.
Although the ease of application has been improved as a result of developing such low viscosity polyesters, development efforts continue to strive to address improvements of other properties. Accordingly, industry would find advantage in radiation-curable compositions exhibiting a substantial improvement in flexibility, shear resistance at high temperatures, peel adhesion, and wet-out properties.

Radiation curable pressure sensitive adhesives


Methods and apparatus related to providing additional information related to a vague term in a message. For example, in some implementations, one or more messages sent by a sender and received by one or more recipients may be identified, a vague term in the message may be identified, a user-restricted database may be identified that is associated with the sender or a recipient, and additional information related to the vague term may be determined from the user-restricted database. A vague term is a term which may have multiple meanings and that can be clarified with additional information. In some implementations, user-restricted databases may include additional information that is associated with the user that may be utilized to replace the vague term with a clarified term. In some implementations, a user-restricted database may be utilized to identify additional information in another database that may be utilized to clarify the vague term.

A user may utilize one or more systems to create messages and send the messages to one or more contacts of the user. The user may send messages to multiple contacts and one or more of the contacts may reply to one or more of the contacts and the user.

Providing additional information related to a vague term in a message


A compound with anti-drug resistant bacteria activity having the following formula (I):

Multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) infections are now spread all over the world, and can cause sporadic, cross-spread, and even outbreaks in communities or hospitals. It is particularly threatening to infants and young children, immunocompromised persons and the elderly. Since most of the commonly used antibacterial drugs (most β-lactams, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, tetracyclines, etc.) used for MDR infections do not work well, clinical treatment has become a difficult problem. While making good use of existing antibacterial drugs, we should also develop new antibacterial drugs that are low in toxicity and effective in controlling MDR.
Pleuromulin is an antibiotic produced by submerged culture of the higher fungi basidiomycetes pleurots mutilus and plenrots passeckerianus, and belongs to diterpenoids. The main skeleton is composed of five-membered six-membered and eight-membered rings. Pleuromulin and its derivatives can inhibit the synthesis of bacterial protein at the ribosome level, and have a unique effect on many Gram-positive bacteria and Mycoplasma infections.
Lipoic acid belongs to a class of compounds in the B vitamins. It is an important coenzyme in the organism and one of the indispensable substances in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In addition to acting as a coenzyme, lipoic acid also has a powerful antioxidant function, which can eliminate free radicals that cause accelerated aging and disease. It has multiple functions such as anti-oxidation, anti-aging, improving immunity, preventing cardiovascular diseases, and relieving symptoms of diabetes.
In the present invention, pleuromulin is modified by lipoic acid to obtain a pleuromulin lipoic acid ester. The preliminary antibacterial activity experiment shows that the compound has excellent antibacterial activity and has high medical research and application value in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by multidrug resistant bacteria.

Pleuromulin lipoic acid ester with antibacterial activity and a method of preparing the same

Abstract: is disclosed. A method of preparing the compound of formula (I) is also disclosed.

SHAANXI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A cold-adapted protease derived from Pseudoalteromonas arctica PAMC 21717 or a recombinant cold-adapted protease obtained by expressing a gene encoding the cold-adapted protease in E. coli is described, and more particularly, a crystal of a protease exhibiting activity at low temperatures, a method for crystallizing the protease, a method for preparing the protease, a recombinant microorganism that expresses the protease, a method for preparing the recombinant microorganism, a method for preparing the recombinant protease and the use of the cold-adapted protease. The cold-adapted protease exhibits high activity at low temperatures, and securely maintains its enzymatic activity even in the presence of high pH, various metal ions and surfactants. Thus, it is useful in various industrial applications.

Proteases are used in various applications, including pharmaceutical compositions such as digestive enzyme agents for alleviating gastrointestinal disorders, thrombolytic agents, or anti-inflammatory agents, and compositions for clothes, contact lenses or cleaners, as well as cosmetics, leather processing agents, food softeners, meat enhancers, feed of food additives, oil and fat separating agents, wastewater treatment, etc. The utility of enzymes among microbial products is already widely known. Proteases account for the highest percentage (60% or higher) of the industrial enzyme market, and the marketability thereof is more and more increasing.
About 25% of industrial proteases are marketed as detergents, and proteases for detergents are required to have a wide spectrum of substrate specificity capable of degrading food, blood or body fluid components, and an alkaline environment, and should be stable so that they do not lose their surfactant activity and enzymatic activity at high temperatures or low temperatures. In the past, plant-derived proteases were mainly used, but in recent years, microorganisms have been most frequently used to produce proteases.
If proteases are to be used for industrial applications, they are required to be very stable. For example, the activity of most proteins decreases or completely disappears in the presence of surfactants, and for this reason, proteases that are used in detergents are extremely limited. Also, if detergents are used at high concentrations, the activity of proteases contained therein is difficult to expect. In addition, conditions such as exposure to extreme pH, exposure to heavy metals, or the degree of oxidation-reduction, all strongly influence the activity of enzymes, and thus if these conditions are out of suitable ranges, enzymes rapidly lose their activity. For this reason, in order for proteases to be regularly used for industrial applications, the proteases are required to maintain their activity even under extreme and unstable physical and chemical conditions.
Serine-based proteases such as subtilisin have been most widely used in the detergent industry. Such basic proteases securely maintain their activity even under high pH conditions in which a surfactant and an oxidizing agent are present (Gupta et al., Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 59:15-32, 2002; Haddar et al., Bioresour Technol, 100:3366-3373, 2009), and thus are useful in various industrial applications.
In recent years, a need for cold-active enzymes has increased. Particularly, low-active proteases have been added to detergents, and maintain their high activity at a laundry temperature of 15° C. or lower.
In documents regarding cold-adapted proteases, reported to date, there are reports of the cloning of serine-based cold-active protease genes derived from the psychrophilic microorganism Shewanella, the purification and characterization of enzymes (Kulakova et al., Appl Environ Microbiol, 65:611-617, 1999), the purification, characterization and sequencing (Huston et al., Appl Environ Microbiol, 70:3321-3328, 2004) of the psychrophilic marine microorganism Colwellia psychrerythraea, the purification and characterization of cold-adapted serine-based proteases derived from Colwellia sp., (Wang et al., Biotechnol Lett, 27:1195-1198, 2005) and the like.
Accordingly, the present inventors have made extensive efforts to develop proteases, which are used in various industrial applications, by using a cold-adapted and basic serine-based protease produced from Pseudoalteromonas arctica PAMC 21717 isolated from Antarctic Ocean sediments. As a result, the present inventors have isolated a cold-adapted protease that exhibits enzymatic activity under the conditions of 0 to 60° C. and pH 5.0 to 11.0 and then have identified the crystalline structure of the cold-adapted protease, and have found that the cold-adapted protease exhibits high activity at relatively low temperatures compared to proteases such as subtilisin, thereby completing the present invention.

KOREA INSTITUTE OF OCEAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


Disclosed are a method of preparing a negative active material for a rechargeable lithium battery that includes preparing a solution including spherically shaped natural graphite particles and a solvent, ultrasonic wave-treating the solution, and drying the ultrasonic wave-treated solution to prepare graphite modified particles, and a rechargeable lithium battery prepared therefrom.

1. Field
The present invention provides a method of preparing a negative active material for a rechargeable lithium battery, and a negative active material and a rechargeable lithium battery prepared therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, a crystalline graphite material is being used as a negative active material for a rechargeable lithium battery. The crystalline graphite is classified into artificial graphite and natural graphite. Since the artificial graphite is obtained by heat-carbonizing a common carbon precursor at a high temperature of greater than or equal to about 2800° C. under an inert atmosphere through impurity removal and graphitization, the natural graphite has been increasingly used in recent times.
However, a flake-shaped natural graphite particle as a negative active material has a problem of deteriorating uniformity due to anisotropic characteristics of its shape when slurry is coated to manufacture an electrode, and also sharply deteriorates battery characteristics since the particle is arranged along with a current collector by compression and pressure. Accordingly, spherically-shaped natural graphite obtained by assembling flake-shaped graphite into a spherical shape is commercially available. However, the spherically-shaped natural graphite requires improved high-rate charge and discharge and cycle-life characteristics.

Method of preparing negative active material for rechargeable lithium battery, and negative active material and rechargeable lithium battery prepared from the same


Each of the valve device and the shower device includes: a valve/shower device main body; a link lever pivotally held in the valve/shower device main body; a weight provided on the link lever; and a ball valve provided between the weight and a pivot axis of the link lever. When the valve/shower device main body is manually caused to move by shaking, swinging, turning, tilting, tapping, or like operation, a kinetic energy imposed on the weight causes the link lever to make a rotational movement relative to the valve/shower device main body, and then the rotational movement of the link lever displaces the ball valve to open or close a valve hole. The valve device and the shower device can significantly facilitate the valve-opening/closing operations, and do not require a special external member for hand- or finger-operation such as a button, a handle or a switch.

Shower devices include shower heads for use in bathrooms of hotels/general homes or in hot springs, bathhouses, etc., shower heads for use in barbers and hair salons, shower faucets for use in washrooms and kitchens, sprinklers for gardening and horticultural use, and the like. Among the known shower devices, a shower device with a built-in valve has a water passage provided in a device main body and having a valve hole in the water passage, in which the valve hole is opened and closed by means of a valve body such as a ball valve by operation of an external operation unit such as a button.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a shower head with a hand-operable water stop valve. In this hand switch-type shower head, the valve body is caused to move by finger operation of a push button on the main body of the shower head, thereby closing the valve hole and temporarily stopping the spray action of shower water. This shower head can save water.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a shower head which can change over its spray patterns. When a user externally operates a rocker-type change-over button, a ball valve as a change-over valve is caused to move and change over the fluid passage, thereby changing the spray action between straight flow and shower spray.

Valve device and shower device using the same


A liquid jet recording head for discharging liquid droplets onto a recording medium includes a support, heat-generating resistance layer provided on the support for generating heat energy to discharge the liquid droplets, a pair of electrodes electrically connected to the heat-generating resistance layer, and heat-generating sections each serving as a portion for generating the heat energy, each head generating section comprising the heat-generating resistance layer sandwiched by the pair of electrodes. Plural discharge openings serve to discharge liquid droplets, a liquid chamber houses liquid, and there are plural liquid paths, each liquid path having an associated heat generating section, and communicating with an associated discharge opening and with the liquid chamber to supply liquid to the associated discharge opening from the liquid chamber. An layer on the support protects the heat-generating resistance layer and pair of electrodes, and the upper layer has an organic resin layer of organic material, and this organic resin layer is formed only on a whole region upstream of the heat-generating sections on the support in a liquid supply direction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid jet recording head which performs recording by jetting a liquid to form flying liquid droplets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ink jet recording methods (liquid jet recording methods) are recently attracting attention because the noise they generate during recording is negligible, high speed recording is possible and also recording can be done on so-called plain paper without the need for special fixing treatments.
Among such methods, the liquid jet recording technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 51837/1979, Deutsche Offenlegungsschrift (DOLS) 24843064 has a specific feature different from other liquid jet recording methods in that the driving force for discharging liquid droplets is obtained by permitting heat energy to act on a liquid.
More specifically, according to the recording method disclosed in the above patent specifications, liquid which has received the action of heat energy undergoes a change in state accompanied with an abrupt increase of volume, and through the acting force based on the change in state is discharged as liquid through the orifice at the tip end of the recording head section to be formed into flying liquid droplets, which liquid droplets are attached onto a material to be recorded, thereby effecting recording.
In particular, the liquid jet recording method disclosed in DOLS 2843064 is not only applicable very effectively for the so-called drop-on demand recording method, but also can easily be embodied into a recording head in which the recording head portion is made into a high density multi-orifice of the full line type, thus being capable of giving images of high resolution and high quality at high speed.
The recording head section of the device to be applied to the above-mentioned method has a liquid discharging portion having an orifice provided for discharging liquid and a liquid pathway, which is connected to the orifice and has a heat acting portion at which thermal energy acts on liquid for discharging liquid droplets, and an electro-thermal transducer as a means for generating thermal energy.
The electro-thermal transducer has a pair of electrodes and a heat-generating resistance layer which is connected to these electrodes and has a region for heat generation (heat-generating section) between these electrodes.
A typical example exhibiting the structure of such a liquid jet recording head is shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C. FIG. 1A is the front view of a liquid jet recording head as seen from the orifice side, FIG. 1B is a partial sectional view of FIG. 1A when cut along the broken line X-Y and FIG. 1C is a plan view of the substrate.
The recording head 100 has a structure having orifices 104 and liquid discharging sections 105 formed by bonding a grooved plate 103 provided with a certain number of grooves of certain width and depth at a predetermined line density to a substrate 102 provided on its surface with an electro-thermal transducer 101 so as to cover the surface of the substrate 102. In the case of the recording head as shown in the drawing, it is shown as having a plural number of orifices 104. Of course, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, but also a recording head with a single orifice is included in the category of the present invention.
The liquid discharging section 105 has an orifice 104 for discharging liquid at its terminal end and a heat acting portion 106 where thermal energy generated from an electro-thermal transducer 101 acts on liquid to generate a bubble and cause abrupt change in state through expansion and shrinkage of its volume.
The heat acting portion 106 is above the heat-generating section 107 of the electro-thermal transducer 101 and has a heat acting face 108 in contact with the liquid at the heat-generating section 107 as its bottom face.
The heat-generating section 107 is constituted of a lower layer 109, a heat-generating resistance layer 110 provided on the lower layer 109 and a first protective layer 111 provided on the heat-generating resistance layer 110. The heat-generating resistance layer 110 is provided on its surface with electrodes 113 and 114 for current flow through the layer 110. The electrode 113 is common to the heat-generating portions of the respective liquid discharging sections, while the electrode 114 is a selective electrode by selecting the heat generating portion of each liquid discharging section for heat generation and is provided along the liquid pathway of the liquid discharging section.
The first protective layer 111 has the function of separating the heat-generating resistance layer 110 from the liquid filling the liquid pathway of the liquid discharging section for protection of the heat-generating resistance layer 110 chemically or physically against the liquid employed at the heat-generating section 107, and also has the protective function for the heat generating resistance layer to prevent short-circuit through the liquid between the electrodes 113 and 114. The first protective layer 111 also serves to prevent electrical leaks between adjacent electrodes. In particular, prevention of electrical leakage between the respective electrodes or prevention of electric corrosion, which will occur by flow of electric current between the electrode under each liquid pathway and the liquid, which may happen to come into contact with each other for some cause, is important and for this purpose the first protective layer 111 having such a protective function is provided at least on the electrode existing under the liquid pathway.
Whereas, the upper layer, typically the first protective layer, is required to have characteristics which are different depending on the place at which it is to be provided. For example, at the heat-generating section 107, it is required to be excellent in (1) heat resistance, (2) liquid resistance, (3) liquid penetration preventing characteristic, (4) thermal conductivity, (5) antioxidant property, (6) insulating property and (7) breaking resistance, while in regions other than the heat-generating section 107, it must have sufficient liquid penetration prevention characteristics, liquid resistance and breaking resistance, although thermal conditions may be somewhat alleviated.
However, there is nowadays no material for constituting the upper layer which can satisfy all of the above characteristics (1) to (7) as desired, and under the present situation, some of the characteristics (1) to (7) are placed under alleviated requirements. That is to say, the choice of material in the heat-generating section is made with preference for characteristics (1), (4) and (5), while in other sections than the heat-generating section 107, for example, the electrode section, the choice of material is made with preference for characteristics (2), (3) and (7), thus forming the upper layers with the use of corresponding materials on the respective regional faces.
On the other hand, as different from these, in the case of a multi-orifice type liquid jet recording head, formation of respective layers and partial removal of the layers formed are conducted repeatedly on a substrate in the manufacturing step for the purpose of forming a number of minute electro-thermal transducers at the same time on the substrate. At the stage when the upper layer is formed, the surface on which the upper layer is to be formed is formed in minute ridged shape with a step wedge portion (stepped portion), and therefore the step coverage characteristic of the upper layer at this stepped portion becomes important. In short, if the step coverage characteristic at this stepped portion is poor, penetration of liquid will occur at that portion, whereby electric corrosion or breaking of electric insulation may be induced. Also, when the upper layer is susceptible to occurrence of failures at a fairly high probability during manufacturing, liquid will penetrate through the failures to markedly lower the life of the electro-thermal transducer.
For the reasons mentioned above, the upper layer is required to be good in step coverage characteristic at the stepped portion, low in probability of occurrence of pinholes in the layer formed or the pinholes, if any, are so few as to be negligible.
Accordingly, it has been practiced in the prior art, so as satisfy these requirements, to form the upper layer of a laminate of a first protective layer consisting of an inorganic insulating material and a second protective layer consisting of an organic material, or further to constitute a first protective layer of a double-layer structure and a lower layer of an inorganic insulating material, or to constitute an upper layer of an inorganic material which is tenacious, relatively excellent in mechanical strength and can be closely contacted and adhered with the first protective layer and the second protective layer, for example, a metal. Alternatively, a third protective layer constituted of an inorganic material such as a metal was arranged further on the second protective layer.
Although the second protective layer constituted of an organic material is excellent in coating characteristic, it is inferior in heat resistance, and therefore it is formed in a pattern as shown in FIG. 1C. However, in the case of such a constitution, the partition wall of an organic material is formed on the orifice surface formed by cutting, and said partition wall receives force during cutting to lower the mechanical strength. At the portion where mechanical strength is lowered, a part of the flying liquid droplets transmitted from the orifice surface will be penetrated to lower adhesion of the second protective layer to cause peel-off of the layer. For this reason, electrical leakage into the liquid in the liquid pathway is increased, whereby there ensues the problem that stable formation of flying liquid droplets is inhibited.
Further, since the second protective layer is formed at the portion excluding the heat-acting surface due to the characteristics of the material as mentioned above, a high step difference will result near the heat-acting surface. Higher density liquid jet recording heads are susceptible to formation of step difference near the heat-acting surface. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the heat-acting surface, foaming and condensation are repeated at a frequency of some thousand times per second, and the pressure change thereby formed will frequently destroy the second protective layer formed near the heat-acting surface.


A pin table for a bowling pin spotting/respotting device is fabricated from stamped sheet metal and has lips around the periphery of the sheet metal pin table, as well as around each of a plurality of pin openings through the pin table. The sheet metal pin table is generally planar in configuration and has a plurality of pin openings. The lips extend upwardly around the periphery of the pin table and around the periphery of each of the openings. The lips provide sufficient rigidity to the pin table to enable its manufacture from stamped sheet metal rather than a more expensive aluminum casting. A respot actuating assembly for use with the aforementioned table includes a respot cam link mechanism, a pair of crank arms and an adjustable stop mechanism for limiting rotation of the crank arms. Linkage connects the crank arms to the respot cam link mechanism and to multiple pairs of gripper rods for gripping and releasing a plurality of bowling pins.

The present invention relates to a pin table for a bowling pin spotter, more particularly, such a pin table stamped from sheet metal having rigidifying flanges around its periphery, as well as around the peripheries of openings in the pin table. The invention also relates to a respot actuator assembly for use with such tables or the like.
Automatic pin spotting/respotting devices are well known in the art and are typically located above the pin deck portion of a bowling alley. As is well known in the art, the pin spotter/respotter is associated with a bowling pin elevating system which removes the pins from a pit, located immediately behind the pin deck, into which the pins fall after having been knocked from the pin deck. The pin elevating mechanism elevates the pins from the pit and distributes them into the pin table in the bowling pin spotting/respotting device for subsequent spotting on the pin deck. The pin table is movable vertically relative to the pin deck so as to properly spot and re-spot the pins.
It is necessary for the pin table to be rigid so as to properly spot the bowling pins and to properly grip and pick up those pins which have not been knocked down so that they may be properly respotted. It is also important to have the pin table weigh as little as possible so as to minimize the overall weight of the spotting/respotting mechanism and to minimize the power necessary to raise and lower the pin table.
It is known to cast pin tables from aluminum. The known cast aluminum pin tables have integrally cast brackets for connection to the actuating mechanism and brackets for the pin gripping mechanisms. Needless to say, such intricate castings require complex and expensive dies (costing well over $250,000), thereby increasing the manufacturing costs.
Cost is an important factor in the highly competitive field of bowling pin spotting/respotting devices. Such devices are inherently complicated and complex, resulting in significant costs for the bowling alley proprietor. Therefore, a need exists for reducing the costs of the bowling pin spotting/respotting devices, while at the same time maintaining the rigidity and lightweight characteristics of the known pin tables.

Sheet metal pin table and respot actuator


Techniques are provided to allow for efficient data packing under certain coding schemes, e.g., when an enhanced 64/66 encoding scheme is employed. The traditional 64/66 encoding scheme uses idle bytes to pad packets to obtain a packet of fixed size, thereby adding idle overhead to transmitted packets. Accordingly, the techniques eliminate padding bytes and provide for receiving packets by way of a first data link at forwarding device. The packets are transmitted using a scheme that pads the packets to achieve a predetermined packet length. The padding is removed from the received packets to obtain unpadded packets. Data segments of the unpadded packets are concatenated for forwarding in a continuous data stream with a packet delimiter separating each of the unpadded packets. The continuous data stream is encoded using enhanced physical coding sub layer for forwarding over a second data link.

In data center environments, rack units may house many server devices, e.g., blade servers. Each server device may be configured to host one or more physical or virtual host devices. The servers in the rack units are connected to, e.g., Top of Rack (ToR) switch devices. The switches, in turn, are connected to other switches via a spine switch or spine fabric. Data in a communication session may be exchanged between host devices (physical and/or virtual) in the same or different rack units. For example, packets of data in the session may be sent from a host device in one rack unit to a host device in another rack unit using network or fabric links.
The packets may be routed between by a first switch coupled to a corresponding spine crossbar and a second switch in the rack unit or another rack unit, or otherwise forwarded out of the first switch, e.g., to a client device or a Storage Area Network (SAN). Data received into the switch may use a parallel data bus. By virtue of this parallel structure, when a packet, e.g., of variable size, does not fill a multiple byte size of the parallel bus used for transmission, then any unfilled data slots are filled with empty idle bytes, thereby potentially wasting data transmission bandwidth.

Fabric link physical coding sublayer packing scheme


An image diagnosis catheter includes a rotatable drive shaft, a sheath into which the drive shaft is inserted, a housing provided at a distal end of the drive shaft and accommodating an ultrasound transmitter and receiver and an optical transmitter and receiver, and a positioning member fixed to the housing and fixing a relative position of the optical transmitter and receiver with respect to the ultrasound transmitter and receiver.

In recent years, as a medical apparatus used to acquire a diagnostic image for diagnosing a diseased site in a living body, a dual-type image diagnosis catheter having functions of both an intra vascular ultra sound (IVUS) diagnosis method and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) diagnosis method has been developed. An example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-164660.
The dual-type image diagnosis catheter has a drive shaft provided with an ultrasound transmitter and receiver and an optical transmitter and receiver at a distal end, and a sheath provided with a lumen into which a drive shaft is rotatably inserted. When obtaining a tomographic image with the image diagnosis catheter, the sheath is inserted into a biological lumen, and moved rearward while rotating the drive shaft within the sheath. Therefore, an operation for moving the drive shaft from a distal end side to a proximal end side, so-called a pull-back operation, or a push-in operation for pushing the drive shaft toward the distal end side is performed. Simultaneously with this operation, the ultrasound transmitter and receiver transmits an ultrasound toward a wall of the biological lumen and receives a reflected wave reflected on the wall of the biological lumen. In addition, the optical transmitter and receiver simultaneously transmits light toward the wall of the biological lumen and receives a reflected light reflected on the wall of the biological lumen.


A new and distinct hybrid plant named `Himalaya` (Mentha arvensis) characterized by its higher yield of oil which is rich in menthol, improved regeneration potential, vigorous growth, deep green broad thick leaves, pinkish white flowers and tolerance to rust such as alternaria leaf blight, corynespora leaf spot and powdery mildew.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Mentha arvensis, a member of the mint (Mentha) genus, which is a hybrid between CIMAP/MAH-9 (cv. Gomti) and CIMAP/HY-77 (cv. Kalka). The commercial cultivation of Mentha arvensis is wide-spread in tropical and subtropical climates and its oil is produced and traded in larger quantities than any of the other mint oils. The crude Mentha arvensis oil is rarely employed in flavoring and is used as a source of natural menthol and dementholized oil. Menthol's refreshing aroma and cooling action along with its stimulant and antiseptic qualities have led to its wide-spread use for medicinal purposes in pharmaceutical industries and cosmetics. The oil and its derivatives also find extensive use in flavoring confectionery and cigarettes. In spite of the limitations of Mentha arvensis genotypes being sub-fertile in nature, there are no cross-incompatible barriers and, therefore, the practical feasibility exists for combining potentials of oil yield and its quality, and disease resistance by crossing prospective parental genotypes involving sexual hybridization in the breeding program. The genotype CIMAP/MAS-92-1 (Himalaya) evolved in this invention represents such an improvement combining higher oil yield and tolerance to the common diseases. This offers the growers an improved high yielding, disease tolerant variety which can be commercially cultivated to obtain higher yield of menthol rich oil.

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A method and system for controlling brake-application energy in a tractor-trailer vehicle combination, the tractor vehicle having an electronic braking system (EBS), wherein, during braking, a set deceleration value is determined and compared with an actual deceleration value, and a current brake-application energy reference value (kappa) is determined from the comparison. To effect automatic load-dependent brake-force control for the trailer vehicle and to realize rapid adaptation of the control system to driving and load conditions, set brake-application energy values for each of the tractor and trailer vehicles are determined from the set deceleration value, from a value depending on kappa, and from brake-application energy levels for each of the tractor and trailer vehicles, using sets of performance characteristics resident in the EBS to describe the dependencies of the brake-application energy levels for the tractor and trailer vehicles on kappa and/or on the axle-load ratio of the tractor vehicle.

The present invention is directed generally to a method and system for controlling brake-application energy in a vehicle combination including a tractor vehicle equipped with an electronic braking system (EBS) and a trailer vehicle.
It is known that vehicle combinations (comprising a tractor vehicle having front and rear axles as well as a trailer vehicle) can be provided, on the one hand, with a vehicle deceleration control function, otherwise known as "Z-control," and, on the other hand, with coupling force control between the tractor vehicle and the trailer vehicle.
EP 0 697 314 B1 describes, for load-dependent control of brake pressure in a vehicle combination, a method designed to brake the trailer and tractor vehicles as equally as possible by appropriate distribution of brake pressure to the axles of the tractor vehicle and trailer vehicle. For this purpose, an initial value of a reference factor is determined by means of a set of performance characteristics resident in the tractor vehicle electronics and of the measured instantaneous tractor vehicle condition. The initial value is located in a band within the normal range; the reference factor is defined as the ratio of total brake pressure of the tractor vehicle to set vehicle deceleration (this ratio being a function of tractor vehicle condition data containing at least one description of load condition); and the set of performance characteristics containing a band of reference factor values within the normal range. The total brake pressure of the tractor vehicle is adjusted to a value specified by the initial value of the reference factor, and the brake pressure of the trailer vehicle is adjusted to a value, within a predetermined resident braking band, that corresponds to the selected set vehicle deceleration of the trailer vehicle.
According to EP 0 697 314 B1, during braking, the actual vehicle deceleration is measured and, if a deviation from the set vehicle deceleration is detected, the total brake pressure of the tractor vehicle is first corrected by readjusting the value of the reference factor in the band within the normal range. If the value of the reference factor reaches a limit point for the band within the normal range during such readjustment, the brake pressure for the trailer vehicle is readjusted in the predetermined braking band. Readjustment of the brake pressure for the trailer vehicle continues until the reference factor for the tractor vehicle total brake pressure corresponding to the altered trailer vehicle brake pressure is once again located in the band within the normal range.
The coupling force control function described in EP 0 697 314 B1 is not provided with any limits differing from those of the vehicle deceleration control function. As long as the vehicle deceleration control function is located within its working range, the coupling force control function is also active. The total braking performance is adjusted only via the trailer vehicle, with the disadvantage that any temperature difference that may exist between the wheel brakes of the trailer vehicle and tractor vehicle becomes even greater due to this control.
Another disadvantage of the method described in EP 0 697 314 B1 is that vehicle deceleration control does not take place in a manner adapted to individual axles. Also, adjustment or adaptation to the braking behavior of the vehicle combination is slow, and the braking process is subject to numerous control interventions due to the simultaneous vehicle deceleration control (Z-control) and coupling force control, reducing braking comfort. Additionally, there are longer dead times and thus larger deviations between actual and set performance.
EP 0 885 793 A2 of WABCO GmbH describes, for braking a vehicle, a method in which the load condition of the vehicle is determined by a load signal, which is formed from a logic signal, which is used as a logic signal linking the vehicle driver's intent and the associated braking force.
EP 0 445 575 B1 describes, for distribution of brake pressure to the axles of a vehicle having anti-lock brake system (ABS) pressurized fluid brakes, a method in which adaptive adjustment of the brake pressure distribution to the axles of the vehicle, or in other words the ratio between front axle and rear axle brake pressure, takes place on the basis of a model in which this ratio, starting from a static pressure ratio, changes linearly with the set vehicle deceleration. The static pressure ratio depends on the load condition and is not influenced by the braking forces of a trailer vehicle. The current value of brake pressure distribution at a given time is used as the basis for the subsequent braking processes until the monitored inter-axle speed difference exceeds a predetermined limit value, after which a new brake pressure distribution function is determined as a function thereof.
EP 0 357 983 B1 describes, for load-dependent control of the brake pressure of a commercial vehicle, a method whereby, in a range below the active capability of ABS, the brake pressure ratio and a reference factor are readjusted from their starting values if the wheel speed differences, for example the deceleration control difference between the axles of the vehicle, exceed predetermined limit values. The brake pressure ratio is the ratio between front axle and rear axle brake pressures of the vehicle; the reference factor determines the total braking level and is defined as the ratio of total brake pressure to set vehicle deceleration. Readjustment of the brake pressure ratio and the reference factor takes place in a self-learning procedure.
It is desired to provide a method and system whereby automatic load-dependent braking force control (load sensing function) can be applied for the trailer vehicle, so that control improvements over conventional methods for controlling brake-application energy in vehicle combinations without a trailer vehicle load sensing function can be realized. Such advantages include, in particular, rapid adaptation of the control system to the respective driving and load conditions with short dead times and high braking comfort.

Method and system for controlling brake-application energy in a vehicle combination


A method is disclosed for controlling operation of an engine coupled to an exhaust treatment catalyst. Under predetermined conditions, the method operates an engine with a first group of cylinders combusting a lean air/fuel mixture and a second group of cylinders pumping air only (i.e., without fuel injection). In addition, the engine control method also provides the following features in combination with the above-described split air/lean mode: idle speed control, sensor diagnostics, air/fuel ratio control, adaptive learning, fuel vapor purging, catalyst temperature estimation, default operation, and exhaust gas and emission control device temperature control. In addition, the engine control method also changes to combusting in all cylinders under preselected operating conditions such as fuel vapor purging, manifold vacuum control, and purging of stored oxidants in an emission control device.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to temperature control of an emission control device in an engine exhaust system.
2. Background of the Invention
The inventors herein have developed an engine control methodology that allows efficient engine operation with some of the cylinders inducting air with no injected fuel. However, the inventors have also recognized that such operation may cool an emission control device coupled downstream of the engine. In other words, the high flow rate of gasses may carry away most of the heat, thereby reducing the device temperature below a required temperature for proper operation.

Method for controlling the temperature of an emission control device


In order to obtain the surface shape which is uniform in each of the circumferential direction and the axial direction without being deviated in one direction on the surface, a developer holding body is provided which is arranged so as to face an image holding body, holds a developer as a layer onto a roughened surface, and supplies the developer in order to develop an image which is formed on the image holding body, and wherein the roughening is executed on the basis of a ratio of cutting depths in a plurality of directions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a developer holding body for holding a developer and a developing apparatus having such a developer holding body.
2. Related Background Art
A developing apparatus having a developer holding body for holding a developer has been disclosed in JP-A-10-48940. According to such an apparatus disclosed therein, in order to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrostatic latent image holding body by using a developer, after the developer is temporarily held on the developer holding body, the developer holding body is come into contact with the electrostatic latent image holding body, so that the developer held on the developer holding body is supplied onto the electrostatic latent image holding body.
A rough surface is formed on the developer holding body in order to obtain excellent holding characteristics of the developer and its surface shape is shown by unidirectional indices such as: 10-point average roughness Rz showing an interval value between an average of points in a range from a vertex of the largest value to a vertex of the fifth largest value in a roughness curve and an average of points in a range from a bottom point of the minimum value to a bottom point of the fifth minimum value; arithmetic average roughness Ra showing an average of absolute values of height differences between an average line and the roughness curve; an average interval Sm of the rough portions indicative of an interval value between a change point where the roughness curve changes from a mountain to a valley and the next change point; and the like.

Developer holding body and developing apparatus


A variable valve actuation mechanism for an internal combustion engine includes a drive shaft that rotates in operative association with rotation of a crankshaft, thereby to drive an intake or exhaust valve to open or close by way of a rocker arm; and a control shaft that is rotated by driving of a control shaft actuator and that causes variation of the position of the rocker arm, thereby to cause a lift characteristic of the intake or exhaust valve to be continuously variable. The control shaft includes a flange portion protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the control shaft to thereby regulate movement in an axial direction of the control shaft. A cylinder head rotatably supporting the control shaft includes a flange bearing portion that contacts the flange portion. The flange portion includes a stopper protrusion that protrudes from the flange portion and that contacts the flange bearing portion, thereby to regulate a rotation range of the control shaft.

Generally, variable valve actuation mechanisms open and close an intake or exhaust valve in mechanically operative association with the rotation of a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine and vary the lift characteristic of the intake or exhaust valve in conjunction with the rotation of a control shaft. The variable valve actuation mechanism positions the control shaft with respect to the direction of the cylinder array of the internal combustion engine. Therefore, the mechanism includes an axial direction positioning mechanism configured to maintain the position the control shaft with respect to the cylinder array of the internal combustion engine.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A No. 2005-226543) discloses a variable valve actuation mechanism. The mechanism includes a stopper mechanism configured to mechanically regulate a rotational range of the control shaft. However, a control target value for electronically controlling the control shaft is set to a range smaller than the mechanical-rotational range provided by the stopper mechanism. The stopper mechanism of JP-A-2005-226543 includes two stoppers and stopper pins configured to abut thereagainst. The two stoppers, respectively, extend along the axial direction of the control shaft, i.e., extending to the side of control shaft, from an actuator plate fixed to the cylinder head, and the stopper pins extend along the radial direction of the control shaft. The two stoppers are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance therebetween.
Accordingly the configuration disclosed in JP-A-2005-226543 requires the stopper mechanism and axial direction positioning mechanism to be provided independently from one another. For this reason, a large layout space is necessary, which leads to an increase in the size of the variable valve actuation mechanism.

Variable valve actuation mechanism for an internal combustion engine


An adhesive injection apparatus comprising: an adhesive reservoir tube having a flange portion; a connection cap having a pressing portion, a large-diameter portion, and a plurality of axially extending protrusions formed side by side circumferentially on an inner wall of the large-diameter portion, the large-diameter portion having an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the flange portion of the adhesive reservoir tube; and a nozzle having a flange portion; wherein when the adhesive reservoir tube and the nozzle portion are connected to each other, the flange portion of the adhesive reservoir tube is interposed between the pressing portion of the connection cap and the flange portion of the nozzle so that the flange portion of the adhesive reservoir tube is pressed by the pressing portion of the connection cap and the flange portion of the nozzle in a condition that the plurality of axially extending protrusions of the connection cap are in contact with an outer edge of the flange portion of the adhesive reservoir tube.

The present invention generally relates to an adhesive injection apparatus, and particularly relates to an adhesive injection apparatus to be used in an adhesive injection method which is suitable for mending cracks generated in a concrete or mortar structure.
As the method of mending cracks generated in a concrete structure, a mortar structure, or the like, such a method that an adhesive of synthetic resin such as epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, or the like is injected into cracks is well known.
As the mending method using adhesive injection, formally, there was such a method (Japanese Patent No. 251791) comprising the steps of attaching pipes on cracks at suitable intervals, sealing portions except the injection nozzle attachment position, connecting the injection nozzle to an injection pump after solidification of a sealing material, and injecting an adhesive. In this method, however, there were some difficulties in work.
Recently, therefore, there are known a mending method proposed in Japanese Patent No. 1558990 in which when an adhesive is injected into cracks or the like generated in a structure, the adhesive is stored in adhesive reservoir tubes provided in desirable positions in a range from an injection nozzle to a send-out side (an injection hose) of an adhesive injector (pump) so that adhesive injection pressure acting on the cracks or the like in the structure is relieved and the stored adhesive is injected on the basis of a lasting change of the pressure of the tubes; another mending method proposed in Japanese Patent No. 1566024 in which an adhesive is filled in advance into a tube acting so as to press the adhesive filled therein, an adhesive inlet/outlet port is closed with a check valve, and then the tube is connected to an injection nozzle attached to adhesive injecting portions such as cracks or the like so that the adhesive inlet/outlet is opened and the adhesive is injected into the cracks or the like owing to a lasting change of the pressure of the tube; and so on.
As the apparatus to be used in the foregoing methods, Japanese Patent No. 1537261 proposes an adhesive injection apparatus in which one end of an adhesive reservoir tube is connected and fixed to one end of a nozzle having an injection port corresponding to cracks or the like and having, at its other end, an attachment washer, the other end of the adhesive reservoir tube is connected and fixed to another nozzle to be connected to a send-out side (hose side) of an adhesive injector (pump), and a check valve is provided on the other nozzle side. Further, Japanese Patent No. 1566024 and No. 1635377 propose an adhesive injection apparatus in which an attachment port having, at its one end, an attachment washer is connected to one end of an adhesive reservoir tube through a connection port for connection of the attachment port, and a valve system for releasing its closed state when the connection port and the attachment port are connected to each other. Moreover, Japanese Patent No. 1716183 proposes another adhesive injection apparatus.
Although these new proposals can provide an extremely remarkable effect in mending cracks in the structures, there are generated problems in the structure of the apparatuses.
In a conventional apparatus for injecting an adhesive generally, as shown in FIG. 11, an adhesive reservoir tube (hereinafter, simply referred to as a tube) 1 formed from an elastic material such as rubber or the like and a nozzle 2 are provided integrally with each other in such a manner that a flange portion 1a formed on an end of the tube 1 is interposed between a pressing portion 3a of a connection cap 3 and a flange portion 2a formed on a nozzle 2. The connection cap 3 is constituted by large and small-diameter portions 3b and 3d and the pressing portion 3a which connects the portions 3b and 3d to each other. Annular protrusions 2c and 3c are formed on the flange portion 2a of the nozzle 2 and the pressing portion 3a of the connection cap 3 respectively. The annular protrusions 2c and 3c dig into the flange portion 1a of the tube 1 so as to prevent the flange portion 1a of the tube 1 from coming-off from between the connection cap 3 and the nozzle 2. Generally, the nozzle 2 and the cap 3 are formed from synthetic resin molding.
Here, the inner diameter of the connection cap 3 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the flange portion 1a of the tube 1. This is because that the difference in diameter produces an air space 4 for absorbing the squeeze-out of a transformed portion of the flange portion 1a of the tube 1 due to compression when the flange portion 1a of the tube 1 is interposed between the flange portion 2a of the nozzle 2 and the pressing portion 3a of the connection cap 3 and pressed by the annular protrusions 2c and 3c.
Because of existence of such an air space 4, however, when the tube 1 is fitted into the connection cap 3, the centering of the tube 1 is not always achieved well, and there may be a case where the tube 1 is one-sidedly positioned near one-side inner wall surface of the connection cap 3 as shown in FIG. 11 (left side in the illustrated case). If the flange portion 1a of the tube 1 is compressed between the pressing portion 3a of the connection cap 3 and the flange portion 2a of the nozzle 2, the flange portion 2a is unevenly compressed so that the tube 1 is unevenly extended so as to curve as shown in FIG. 12. If the tube 1 in the curved state is directly or indirectly connected to an adhesive injector (not shown) and an adhesive is injected from the adhesive injector into the tube 1, the nozzles 2, the cap 3, and the tube 1 can not be in a linear state to cause a phenomenon that the assembly of the nozzle 2, the caps 3 and the tube 1 becomes curved, as shown in FIG. 13.
As a result, a force in the direction of coming off from the cap 3 is exerted unevenly on the tube 1 with a fear that the tube 1 actually comes off from the cap 3.


Embodiments of the invention include a polymer polyol dispersions. The polymer dispersions include a reaction product of a reaction system, where the reaction system includes: at least one polyol, at least one phosphorus based flame retardant having at least one active hydrogen attached to a nitrogen or oxygen atom, at least one of a co-reactant having an equivalent weight of up to 400 and at least one active hydrogen attached to a nitrogen or oxygen atom, at least one catalyst, and at least one polyisocyanate.

Polyurethane foams are produced by the reaction of polyisocyanates and polyols in the presence of a blowing agent. In order to improve load-bearing and other foam properties, so-called polymer polyol products have been developed. A common type of polymer polyol is a dispersion of vinyl polymer particles in a polyol. Examples of vinyl polymer particle polyols include so-called "SAN" polyols, which are dispersions of styrene-acrylonitrile. Other common types of polymer polyols are so-called "PHD" polyols (dispersions of polyurea particles) and so-called "PIPA" (polyisocyanate polyaddition) polyols (dispersions of polyurethane and/or polyurethane-urea particles). PIPA and PHD particles may be produced by introducing the appropriate co-reactant or co-reactants into a polyol or polyol blend and reacting the co-reactant(s) with a polyisocyanate in order to polymerize the co-reactant(s). However, there is a desire to increase flame retardant properties in polyurethane foams.
Therefore, there is a need for polymer polyols which enhance flame retardant properties in polyurethane foams.

Phosphorous based polyaddition / polyurethane-urea polyols