A facility and a process for steam cracking include controlled injection of solid particles into a transfer line exchanger (3). The particles are injected via injection lines, numbering between 1 and 8, just upstream of an impact-diffuser (6) comprising solid surfaces disposed on either side of the line for transfer of the cracked gases to the exchanger; this impact-diffuser is located in the inlet cone (2) of the exchanger, is permeable to the gases via a plurality of passages and at least 70% opaque viewed from the transfer line.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a facility for steam cracking of hydrocarbons and an implementation process, comprising a step of decoking by controlled injection of solid particles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is illustrated by FR-A-1.433.702.
The steam cracking process is the basic process in the petrochemicals industry and consists of high temperature cracking then rapid cooling of a feed of hydrocarbons and steam. The main operating problem arises from the deposition of carbon-containing substances on the internal walls of the facility. These deposits, constituted by coke or condensed heavy pyrolysis tars, which are coagulated to a greater or lesser extent, limit the heat transfer in the cracking zone (coils of pyrolysis tubes) and the indirect cooling zone (effluent transfer line exchanger) necessitating frequent stoppages to decoke the facility.
The applicants have proposed (EP-A-419 643, EP-A-425 633 and EP-A-447 527) a decoking process for use during the operation of steam cracking facilities, by injection of solid erosive particles to overcome coking problems and to obtain continuous or substantially continuous steam cracking (for example with cycle periods of the order of one year).
The solid erosive particles can be injected upstream of the cracking zone of each furnace so that they scour the coke deposited in the pyrolysis tubes, then downstream that of the effluent transfer line exchangers.
Injections are carried out in line, that is to say either, preferably, during the normal operation of the furnace or during periods when the hydrocarbon feeding is interrupted briefly, the furnace then being swept by a delivery of steam and remaining connected to the downstream sections of the facility (primary furnace, cracked gas compression and so forth). This steaming, in the absence of oxygen, can also be used for steam decoking of the furnace tubes when it is carried out over longer durations.
To implement flexible steam cracking, compatible with the use of heavy feeds (gas oil, vacuum distillates) in an existing steam cracking facility designed for cracking naphtha, it was found essential to properly scour the coke deposited in the effluent transfer line exchangers and that decoking during operation of the transfer line exchangers allowed, in an unexpected manner, an existing steam cracking facility to be made compatible with a wide variety of feeds. It was also found, in an unexpected manner, that the coke deposited in the transfer line exchangers was far easier to remove by erosion than the coke deposited in the pyrolysis tubes, and that the process previously proposed for complete decoking of the facility using fine erosive particles was very difficult to implement in a reliable manner with flexible operation under necessarily variable conditions: the configuration of the pyrolysis tubes cannot be adapted for all of the feeds to ensure a correspondence between the local erosive intensity and the local speed of coking (the nature of the coke and its hardness possibly also being greatly varied from one feed to another); on the other hand, with flexible operation, that is with a variable regime of operating conditions, feed type and degree of dilution, the loss of feed and skin temperature of the tubes are no longer reliable indicators of the state of coking of a bundle of pyrolysis tubes, which therefore cannot be determined and controlled in real time.
In order to remedy these disadvantages, a new process linking at least preponderantly chemical decoking of the pyrolysis tubes with at least preponderantly erosive decoking of the transfer line exchangers is proposed. The process thus comprises erosive decoking of the transfer line exchangers, which requires means suitable for introducing the erosive particles into said exchangers.
For most facilities, these transfer line exchangers (TLE's) are of the multi-tube type with an inlet tube plate which can comprise, for example, 50 to 100 cracked gas circulation tubes, each tube being cooled, most often, by circulation of pressurised water in an annular space around said tube.
Each exchange comprises an "inlet cone" with a tapering configuration, connected to the transfer line for the cracked gases, itself connected to the pyrolysis tubes of the corresponding upstream cracking zone.
The technical problem for which a solution, forming the subject-matter of the invention, has been found, relates to the distribution of the particles in the different tubes of the exchanger.
The process does not require a strictly equal division of the quantities of particles in each tube, but relatively low differences in distribution have been sought, and in particular it must be avoided that any one of the tubes receives for example 10% or conversely 10 times more particles than the average value. Indeed, a tube poorly supplied with erosive particles may become blocked because of insufficient decoking, while an over-supplied tube could risk being eroded by the excessive amount of particles.
The distribution of particles must also be carried out without causing substantial erosion of the tube plate of the exchanger.
This technical problem is made much more delicate by several elements and procedural constraints:
1) the very high temperature (typically 850.degree. C.) at the TL exchanger inlets, PA1 2) the intensive coking in this zone, with the risk of blockage of the particle supply lines, PA1 3) the very high circulation velocities, and turbulence in this zone (typically 100 m/s and more) PA1 4) the possibility of impaction of mass fragments of coke detached from the walls upstream, and PA1 5) the relative fragility of the inlet tube plate of the TLE's, having generally a thickness of only approximately 10 mm, with respect to erosion problems. PA1 robust, in order to be resistant to high temperatures, and to the risks of shocks and erosion, PA1 reliable, particularly with respect to the problems of blockage with coke, PA1 high-performance from the point of view of distribution, in local high turbulence conditions, and PA1 not presenting increased risks of erosion of the tube plate. PA1 deformation of the banks, which were too fragile, PA1 successive blockages of the injection at numerous points by coke, probably because of aerodynamic disturbances between the different injection points caused by turbulence and intense recirculation in the inlet cone of the exchanger; these turbulences being able to cause halting of the flow at certain injection points, and blockage thereof. PA1 a) a particle impacter-diffuser (6), comprising solid surfaces disposed opposite the transfer line (1), in the interior of said inlet cone (2), said impacter-diffuser being permeable to gases by means of a plurality of gas passages, but at least 70% opaque seen from said transfer line (1) situated upstream, PA1 b) said injection line (1) opening out into a point of introduction of the particles, situated at a distance L upstream of the impacter-diffuser, not exceeding 2.5 times the diameter D of the tube plate of the transfer line exchanger. PA1 the erosion of the impacter is minimised, PA1 the erosion of the tube plate by the minor fraction of particles which do not rebound on the impacter, but cross it directly, is also minimised. Moreover, the dispersion of the particles by the flows or secondary gaseous jets (there is in fact a double diffusion: directly, that of the gases and after rebounding, that of the particles) improves the spatial distribution of the particles in the different tubes of the exchanger.
The device for introducing and distributing the particles therefore has to be at the same time:
Techniques for injecting and distributing solids in powder form or atomised liquids into a multi-tube exchanger are already known.
These techniques consist of carrying out multi-point injection using injection banks to distribute the solids or the liquids directly in front of the exchanger tubes. These injections are advantageously carried out at a large number of points (for example 15 or 20) or even using a number equal to that of the exchanger tubes) to improve distribution.
The injection banks are generally straight or circular lines comprising nozzles or injection orifices.
This known solution was tried for the application under consideration and rapidly abandoned for several reasons:
The technical problem is in fact very difficult to solve as the constraints are apparently contradictory:
If it is desired that the particles be distributed in a substantially equal manner, it is logical to carry out injection with multi-point spatial distribution, with a large number of points, which presents risks of blockage.
If a small number of injection points are used, these are disposed in particular upstream (for example at 50 times the diameter of the line) so that the particles have time to be distributed properly in the gas. In this case, the velocities of the particles are increased as the particles have time to be greatly accelerated by the high-velocity gas circulation, and there are risks of erosion of the tube plate.
If a central impacter is added, facing the transfer line, in order to avoid direct impact of the particles on the tube plate, the particles go around the periphery thereof, and the distribution of the particles in the downstream tubes is less satisfactory.
One of the objects of the invention is to remedy the disadvantages of the prior art and to address the technical problem mentioned hereinbefore.

Steam cracking method and plant using controlled injection of solid particles into a quenching exchanger

Institut Francais Du Petrole Procedes Petroliers et Petrochimques Eric Lenglet


A roof liner having a flexible lining material which extends both longitudinally and transversely across the vehicle. To enable the roof liner to be a sliding, folding liner, a plurality of bows extend across the lining material at spaced intervals from the front to the rear, uniformly spaced distances. Guide elements engage alternate pairs of bows providing a tension panel between the two bows engaged by the guide element and an untensioned panel between two guide elements. A respective guide rail at the side of the roof receives each of the guide elements for sliding therealong. The respective guide element receiving rails are stacked one above the other and parallel, enabling each guide to move over the full longitudinal length of its path.

The present invention relates to a roof liner for motor vehicles having a lining material which extends in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle. The invention particularly concerns the sliding and folding support for the lining material.
Slidable flexible roof liners are known. But the mode of guiding them to fold up has certain drawbacks which the present invention addresses.


A nitride semiconductor light-emitting element includes: n-side and p-side electrodes; n-type and p-type nitride semiconductor layers; and an active layer arranged between the n- and p-type nitride semiconductor layers. The p-type nitride semiconductor layer has a projection having a height of 30 nm to 50 nm. The projection is formed of a p-type nitride semiconductor including magnesium and silicon. The p-type nitride semiconductor has a silicon concentration of 1.0×1017 cm−3 to 6.0×1017 cm−3. The projection projects from the active layer toward the p-side electrode. On a plan view of the nitride semiconductor light-emitting element, the p-side electrode overlaps with the projection. The projection includes a dislocation. The projection is surrounded with a flat surface which is formed of the p-type nitride semiconductor. And the projection has a higher dislocation density than the flat surface.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a nitride semiconductor light-emitting element including a non-polar or semi-polar semiconductor layer and also relates to a light source including such a nitride semiconductor light-emitting element.
2. Description of the Related Art
A nitride semiconductor including nitrogen (N) as a Group V element is a prime candidate for a material to make a short-wave light-emitting element, because its bandgap is sufficiently wide. Among other things, nitride semiconductors have been researched particularly extensively. As a result, blue-ray-emitting light-emitting diodes (LEDs), green-ray-emitting LEDs and blue-ray-emitting semiconductor laser diodes, each of which uses a nitride semiconductor, have already been used in actual products.
A nitride semiconductor is represented by the general formula AlxGayInzN (where 0≦x, z<1, 0<y≦1 and x+y+z=1)).
By replacing Ga with Al, the bandgap of a nitride semiconductor can be made larger than that of GaN. By replacing Ga with In, the bandgap of a nitride semiconductor can be made smaller than that of GaN. As a result, not only short-wave light rays such as a blue or green light ray but also long-wave light rays such as an orange or red light ray can be emitted as well. Due to these features, such nitride semiconductor light-emitting elements are expected to be used to image display devices and illumination units, for example.
A nitride semiconductor has a wurtzite crystal structure. FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate the plane orientations of a wurtzite crystal structure which are indicated by four indices (i.e., hexagonal indices). According to the four index notation, a crystal plane or orientation is represented by four primitive vectors a1, a2, a3 and c as shown in FIG. 1. The primitive vector c runs in the direction, which is called a "c-axis". A plane that intersects with the c-axis at right angles is called either a "c-plane" or a "(0001) plane" as shown in FIG. 2A. FIGS. 2B through 2D show an m-plane (=(10-10) plane), an a-plane (=(11-20) plane), and an r-plane (=(10-12) plane), respectively. In this description, "−" attached on the left-hand side of a Miller-Bravais index in the parentheses means a "bar" (a negative direction index) for convenience sake.
FIG. 3 illustrates the crystal structure of a nitride semiconductor according to a ball-stick model. FIG. 4A is a ball-stick model illustrating the arrangement of atoms in the vicinity of the m-plane surface as viewed in the a-axis direction. The m-plane crosses at right angles the paper on which FIG. 4A is drawn. On the other hand, FIG. 4B is a ball-stick model illustrating the arrangement of atoms on the +c-plane surface as viewed in the m-axis direction. The c-plane crosses at right angles the paper on which FIG. 4B is drawn. As can be seen from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4A, N atoms and Ga atoms are present on a plane that is parallel to the m-plane. On the other hand, as can be seen from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4B, a layer in which only Ga atoms are arranged and a layer in which only N atoms are arranged are formed on the c-plane.
In the related art, in fabricating a semiconductor element using nitride based semiconductors, a c-plane substrate, i.e., a substrate of which the principal surface is a (0001) plane, is used as a substrate on which nitride semiconductor crystals will be grown. In that case, due to the arrangement of Ga atoms and the arrangement of N atoms, spontaneous electrical polarization is produced in a nitride semiconductor. That is why the "c-plane" is also called a "polar plane". As a result, a piezoelectric field is generated in the c-axis direction in the InGaN quantum well that forms the light-emitting layer of a nitride semiconductor light-emitting element. Then, the piezoelectric field generated causes some positional deviation in the distributions of electrons and holes in the light-emitting layer. Consequently, due to the quantum confinement Stark effect of carriers, the internal quantum efficiency of the light-emitting layer decreases. Thus, to minimize the decrease in the internal quantum efficiency of the light-emitting layer, the light-emitting layer to be formed on the (0001) plane is designed to have a thickness of 3 nm or less.
Furthermore, people have recently proposed fabricating a light-emitting element using a substrate, of which the principal surface is either an m-plane or an a-plane (i.e., a so-called "non-polar plane") or an r-plane or a (11-22) plane (i.e., a so-called "semi-polar plane"). As shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D, in the wurtzite crystal structure, the m-plane is parallel to the c-axis, and consists of six equivalent planes that intersect with the c-plane at right angles. For example, the (10-10) plane which intersects with the [10-10] direction at right angles in FIGS. 2A through 2D is an m-plane. The other m-planes equivalent to the (10-10) plane are a (−1010) plane, a (1-100) plane, a (−1100) plane, a (01-10) plane and a (0-110) plane.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, on the m-plane, Ga atoms and N atoms are on the same atomic plane, and therefore, no electrical polarization will be produced perpendicularly to the m-plane. That is why if a light-emitting element is fabricated using a semiconductor multilayer structure that has been formed on an m-plane, no piezoelectric field will be produced in the light-emitting layer, thus overcoming the problem that the internal quantum efficiency decreases due to the quantum confinement Stark effect of carriers. This can also be said about an a-plane, which is a non-polar plane other than the m-plane. And the same effects can also be achieved even on a −r-plane or a (11-22) plane (i.e., a so-called "semi-polar plane").

Nitride semiconductor light-emitting element and light source including the nitride semiconductor light-emitting element

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


Methods, systems, and devices for using a specialized sensor for detecting activation of a fluid dispenser and for using gathered data therefrom for a variety of purposes, including determining when to refill the dispenser, tracking and analyzing operation thereof, matching operation to expected or anticipated operation, and identifying specific users and specific incidents of use associated therewith. Also provided are use of remote data repositories and/or processing devices that for processing and use of such data.

Fluid dispensers are increasingly replacing bar soaps and liquid pumps to create a more sterile environment and eliminate the spreading of germs. Typically, a user's hand can be placed under a portion of a dispenser to activate a sensor integrated with the dispenser to dispense a fluid onto the user's hand. Dispensing may be generated manually (e.g., by the user manually activating a pump) or by sensing (e.g., a sensor of hand motion beneath the dispenser causes dispensing). An amount of fluid dispensed is generally predetermined and may vary among different manufacturers. Although the amount of fluid dispensed can be predetermined, there currently exists a need to know when to refill the dispenser without physical interaction with the dispenser. Further, there also exists a need to determine when individual users are actually using the dispenser to clean each user's hands.

Methods, systems, and devices for detecting and analyzing activation of a fluid dispenser


The invention relates to modulators of Embryonic Ectoderm Development (EED) and/or Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) useful in the treatment of disorders and diseases associated with EEC and PRC2, being macrocyclic azolopyridine derivatives and compositions thereof of Formula I:

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are a family of chromatin modifying enzymes that play a key role in gene expression and are dysregulated in many human diseases. The PcG family includes two classes of Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRCs), namely Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). PRC2 includes SUZ12 (suppressor of zeste 12), EED (embryonic ectoderm development) and the catalytic subunit, EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2), and represses genes by methylating histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) at and around the promoter regions of genes. This critical component of chromatin regulation is involved in modulation of gene transcription and plays crucial function in development, differentiation, and regeneration. Although EZH2 is the catalytic subunit, PRC2 minimally requires EED and SUZ12 for its methyltransferase activity. EED, SUZ12 and EZH2 have been found to be overexpressed in many cancers, which include but are not limited to hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc. Activating mutations in EZH2 have been found in FL (follicular lymphoma) and DLBCL (diffuse large B cell lymphoma) patients. EED normally mediates repression of gene activity by binding to di- and trimethylated lysine 27 of histone 3 where it allosterically activates EZH2 activity of PRC2. EED has also been reported to recruit PRC1 to H3K27me3 loci and to enhance PRC1 mediated H2A ubiquitin E3 ligase activity.
Taken together, EED is a critical regulator of PRC2 in the silencing of expression of genes and gene clusters involved in development including but not limited to fetal orthologues (i.e. gamma globin), Hox genes, X chromosome inactivation, etc. Thus, EED provides a pharmacologic target for the treatment of diseases or disorders to impact transcription of specific target genes in blood and other tissues. The need exists for small molecules that modulate EED and/or PRC2.

Macrocyclic azolopyridine derivatives as EED and PRC2 modulators

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, prodrug, solvate, hydrate, enantiomer, isomer, or tautomer thereof, wherein X1, X2, X3, A1, A2, Y, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are as described herein.


The present invention describes a method for authenticating a user of a mobile device by a verification authority, by making use of at least a personal identification number (PIN) and at least one cryptographic key, such that the PIN and the cryptographic key is known only to the user and the verification authority. The cryptographic key has at least one session key. Firstly, the user encodes the PIN by using at least one session key and then transfers the encoded PIN to a predefined address of the verification authority via the mobile device. Next, the verification authority decodes the PIN by using the cryptographic key authenticates the user if the decoded PIN matches a PIN stored corresponding to the user.

With the advancements in the field of Web and Mobile based commerce and communications, secure authentication has emerged as one of the most important requirements for any electronic commerce or mobile commerce based organization. Various situations require a user to be authenticated, in particular for financial transactions and it is anticipated that such authentications will only grow with time.
With the increase in penetration of mobile handheld devices, the number of applications designed for these platforms is also on the rise. In some mobile applications, it is essential for users to be able to authenticate themselves to other users on the phone network or to a service provider on the same network. One such application is mobile-phone based banking, wherein users maintain bank accounts with a central authority (both connected via a mobile phone network) and transfer money from their account into another user's account using a phone-based messaging protocol. Whenever the banking authority receives requests for such transactions from a user, it must first authenticate the user and only then let the transaction take place.
Mobile-phone based banking systems are becoming popular in many parts of the world, particularly in the developing countries of the world. Implementing authentication protocols on mobile phones in the developing world is a challenge since a large number of such phones have low computing and storage capabilities and thus cannot implement robust cryptographic algorithms that one may want to use for secure user authentication. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that mobile phone manufacturers are upping their investment in low-end phones due to their increasing demand in rural areas, but without much parallel effort to equip such phones with security features. In fact, several current implementations for implementing secure communication over mobile phone networks (e.g., those for GSM-based telephony) have been shown to be susceptible to easy attacks.
A paper-based solution for authentication in mobile-phone based banking is proposed in an article titled "Secure Branchless Banking" by Ashlesh Sharma and Lakshmi Subramanian and Dennis Shasha from New York University published in NSDR [Please provide full form] 2009. The solution proposed relies on transmitting fresh random nonces and a voice-based identifier per transaction. Hence, the proposed solution is not easy to use and requires additional software support.
Consequently, an authentication device and method which is strong, reliable, and resistant to security breaches, and at the same time is easy to use by a wide variety of users hailing from diverse backgrounds is required. Also is required an authentication device and method which may be implemented on low-end phones without the installation of any cryptographic software and without modifying the communication protocols used for messaging through mobile phones


A capillary microextractor of volatiles (CMV) allows the sampling of diagnostic volatiles that can be an explosive, explosive taggant, drug, poison, decomposition products thereof, a mixture of chemicals comprising an odor signature determined from detector dog trials, or volatile organic compounds indicative of a disease or other medical condition. The CMV has a thermally stable housing with orifices to allow the contact of a gas that contains one or more diagnostic volatiles with an absorbent that extracts and concentrates the diagnostic volatiles. After sampling, the CMV with the absorbed diagnostic volatiles can be placed in an ionized gas beam and introduced into a mass spectrometer or placed in a thermal desorption unit (TDU), where, upon heating, the diagnostic volatiles are released to an inlet port of an analytical instrument. Analytical instruments that can be used include gas chromatographs and ion mobility spectrometers for separation and mass spectrometers for unambiguous identification of the diagnostic volatiles.

Providing for the general safety of the population and enforcing the laws to this effect have become more challenging. Rapid and accurate sampling and detection of explosives, illicit drugs, and dangerous chemicals within the environment, particularly at points of entry, such as, ports and airports, and at populated facilities, such as, public transportation, sporting arenas, and recreational facilities, is increasingly required. This analysis requires a method that can identify specific chemicals, particularly organic molecules, and unknown chemical that is not only accurate and specific, but increasingly in a manner that is rapid and can be carried out with extremely small sample sizes. For example, nearly 90% of the world's cargo is moved by sea, yet nearly 98% of the containers are not inspected because the screening methodology is lacking to identify the potential threats in an effective manner. A screening technique for these chemical dangers must be very rapid, sensitive, and easily carried out with minimal modification of the infrastructure.
Methods that have been employed for analysis are generally those that separate and detect volatile compounds, such as those using gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) or ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), in a variety of modes in which they can be configured to carry out reasonably rapid analysis. Particularly desirable are portable devices that can be shared between multiple sites. Additionally, simple sampling devices that can rapidly sample a gas and collect a sufficient amount of analyte are necessary to achieve a reasonable level of assurance that threats have been assessed sufficiently and fairly.
For example, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has mandated that every airport in the United States screen all bags for explosives. IMS is an approved screening tool, because it can detect many organic compounds in an accurate, extremely fast, and straightforward manner that is extremely sensitive while being low in cost to perform. Analysis using commercial IMS devices can be carried out in one to seven seconds. There are more than 60,000 IMS units situated throughout the world, which means that virtually all populated areas probably have an IMS device sufficiently close to a suspected site to deliver a sample rapidly to the machine.
Sampling of the air is often carried out using a solid phase microextraction (SPME) device, which provides a large surface area to absorb a target chemical rapidly with a sufficient extraction capacity and efficiency. Variations on this technology continue to be explored with the goal of enabling sampling and analysis during a sufficiently small window of time to achieve a level of comfort that the threat is discovered before that threat becomes an event.
Such sampling devices and methodology can be used for threats that are of smaller scope, but where high rapidity and accuracy is desirable. For example, detection of drugs or indicators of drugs are needed for determination that recreational drugs are not impairing an automobile driver or a technician carrying out a potentially dangerous task in construction or manufacturing. Additionally, similar sampling devices and methodology could be used for the diagnosis of diseases or assessment of an individual's health. To this end, a rapid and effective volatiles sampling device that can be readily adapted to IMS, GC-MS, or other equipment and can be employed any site and, as needed, readily transported to an analysis facility is desired.

Capillary microextractor of volatiles (CMV)

THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES


A gripper system for controlling the loading and unloading of sheets on a cylindrical sheet guide. The gripper system comprises one or more grippers, which are positioned at an outer edge of the cylindrical sheet guide. Each gripper is coupled to a cam follower. The gripper system further comprises a cam, which is configured for affecting the elevation of the gripper(s) by moving the cam follower(s), and a servomotor, which is adapted for steering the cam. A cam-gripper controller is provided for controlling the servomotor according to a current printing profile.

The present invention relates to a gripper system and method for a cylindrical sheet guide and, more particularly but not exclusively, to a sheet-fed rotary printing press, as well as to a sheet-processing machine having a gripper system and a method for use thereof.
In most printing presses, sheet-fed rotary printing mechanisms are used. Each sheet-fed rotary printing mechanism integrates one or more cylindrical sheet guides in order to process the sheets and pass them among the different assemblies of a printing press. For example, most high-speed, sheet-fed rotary printing presses are provided with an impression drum, which is used for printing. Cylinders which permit the press to print on two sides of a sheet, and which can also be used for single-sided, multi-color printing are also commonly used.
In order to retain sheets on cylindrical sheet guides and in order to allow the transferring of sheets to and from the cylindrical sheet guides, grippers are usually used. The grippers are needed in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of sheets to and from the cylindrical sheet guides. Transmission elements and adjusting mechanisms are usually needed in addition to the grippers in order to coordinate among the printing press assemblies during the loading and unloading of the sheets and in order to allow different movement patterns of the sheets within the printing press. A turning impression drum, for example, is usually designed with spaces to receive grippers and transmission elements and has a cylindrical sheet support surface operative to guide the sheets, which extends over more than half the surface of the turning impression drum. Assembly and maintenance of these systems are, therefore, often fairly complex.
German Patent No. 4200406, published on Jul. 15, 1993, discloses a gripping device that integrates sensors. The device includes grippers for a sheet-like material which are fastened to a gripper-operating shaft. The grippers are simultaneously opened and closed via a cam control device. Individual grippers or groups of grippers on the edge of a cylindrical sheet guide may be activated independently of one another by a control device. The control device includes at least one sensor, an opening and closing mechanism for the grippers and a computer. The sensors are angle-of-rotation sensors or sheet-position sensors, which detect either the position of the cylinder or the position of the sheet-like material, in order to actuate the opening and closing mechanism.
The device has a mechanical cam mechanism. Such mechanisms are disadvantageous in that, usually, a fixed mechanical coupling is provided for the main machine drive and, due to its dimensioning, it is not possible to change the movement thereof. Therefore, movement of the machine drive cannot readily be adapted during operation to changing boundary conditions, e.g., a change in the thickness of printing-materials. Moreover, since the system is subjected to disruptive forces during the gripper actuation, this causes the machine to be subjected to a retroactive torque effect.
In order to avoid the aforementioned disadvantages and because the movement patterns are so complex, the grippers must be carefully designed and controlled. Since, today, mechanical processes are computerized and are hardware and software based, it is preferable that control of the grippers be done by integrating such hardware- and software-based processes into gripper control mechanisms.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,430, issued on Apr. 12, 2005, discloses a gripping device for a sheet processing machine that comprises grippers that may be adjusted during the printing process. The gripping device includes a gripper, a gripper pad associated with the gripper and a first drive for moving the gripper from an open position to a closed position. The gripper is engageable with the gripper pad for producing a clamping force for holding sheets being processed. A second drive is operable independent of the first drive, during a printing operation of the sheet-processing machine. The first and second drives position the gripper and the gripper pad so that clamping faces of one are moved so that they are perpendicular to clamping faces of the other.
In one embodiment, the second drive comprises a piezoelectric sensor that measures a compressive force in order to calculate the desired position values for the gripper pad. These values are fed to the power electronics in order to move the second drive into the appropriate position until the actual value of the clamping force, which is determined via the force sensor, corresponds to the desired value for the clamping force determined by the control device.
Since the gripper pads of the device are not vertically adjustable, the device does not have to be adapted for different sheet thicknesses so as to avoid deformations of the sheet in the region of the grippers. The device thus overcomes some of the disadvantages of other such devices. However, there is no means for allowing the printing press to optimally adjust the opening and closing of the grippers, depending on the sheet properties, during the printing process. There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a gripper system devoid of the above limitations.

Gripper control system using a servo driven CAM and a method for use thereof

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In order to determine the optimal sampling point for a series of spread-coded data, received by a radio, a correlation data series is used that is produced by convoluting the channel impulse response of the transmission channel with the spread data series, known at the receiving end. The channel impulse response is determined using a channel estimator according to a training sequence. An early-late correlator correlates the correlation data series with the received data in order to generate a correction signal for the optimal sampling point.

In third-generation mobile radio systems, the basic receiver structures used are rake receivers and multiuser detectors. Both concepts allow consideration to be given to multipath propagation of the transmission channel such that as little transmitted signal power as possible remains unused.
The rake receiver involves the use of a finger structure, where each multipath path of the transmission channel is assigned a reception finger of the finger structure. In each finger, one of the multipath components is subjected to a time delay such that the shifted and weighted output signals from the various fingers can be added using the correct phase. This makes it possible to obtain a received signal which is as intensive as possible.
For the purpose of synchronization between the transmission and reception clocks, the received signal in each finger is correlated with the spreading sequence which is known at the receiver end. This is generally done using an "early/late correlator" which correlates the spreading code generated in the received, on the one hand, and the received signal in the finger on the other, for two different sampling phases. To set the optimum sampling time, the sampling time of the received signal is then altered until the correlation value ascertained at the early time and the correlation value ascertained at the late time match.
A prerequisite of this practice is a symmetrical correlation function. Since the signals in the individual fingers respectively describe just one multipath component, however, which means that the sampling time in a particular finger needs to be stipulated merely for one particular multipath component, sufficiently accurate synchronization is obtained by correlation with the spreading code generated at the receiver end.
In the case of the multiuser detector, on the other hand, the complete received signal, including the multipath components, is processed. For this received signal with multipath distortion, the sampling time needs to be stipulated as accurately as possible. Not until a later point in the signal path is channel estimation then performed so as then to equalize the multipath distorted received signal in line with the result of the channel estimation. In the case of the multiuser detector, the equalized received signal is then evaluated such that a plurality of users can be detected simultaneously. Whereas the interference in the signal components transmitted by various subscribers in the same frequency band is suppressed as an unwanted noise term in the case of the rake receiver, the multiuser detector involves evaluation of the received signals from all the subscribers together.
It has been found that, in the case of the multiuser detector, conventional early/late correlation of the received signal with a spreading sequence generated at the receiver end is not suitable for sufficiently accurate stipulation of the optimum sampling time.

Apparatus and method for fine synchronization when sampling spread-coded received signals


A security system which includes at least a first sensor, an alarm panel including a control system and programmable apparatus, a connection between the at least one sensor and set alarm panel, a keypad assembly including a camera, and a connection between the keypad assembly and the alarm panel. In various embodiments of the invention the camera includes a CMOS image sensor, the camera produces digital images, the camera tracks the user of the keypad assembly, the camera is remotely controllable from the alarm panel to focus on an object of interest, and/or the camera is remotely controllable from a central monitoring station to focus on an object of interest. In some cases the camera system is configured to take a picture in response to a specific user code entered by the user, take a picture in response to time of day when the input occurs, take a picture in response to invalid code entry and/or take a picture in response to an invalid card being presented. The invention also includes the method for providing enhanced security for protected premises which includes providing at least a first sensor, providing an alarm panel including a control system and programmable apparatus, providing a connection between the at least one sensor and the alarm panel, providing an input device including a camera, and initiating operation of the camera from the alarm panel.

The present invention relates to the field of security systems for homes and businesses and particularly to methods and apparatus for security systems, including but not limited to access control for monitoring the identity of individuals using and/or providing inputs to the security system. Increasing theft and violence demand improved security systems to prevent crime, vandalism and terrorism. Modern security systems can detect perimeter violations and entry intrusions. As used herein, the term security system includes both systems to detect perimeter violations and entry intrusions as well as access control systems. Each of these system are intended to improve the security of protected premises, thus the use of the term "security system" to include access control is appropriate.
Keypad input devices for security systems often include both a plurality of keys and a reader for reading a magnetic code on a card. As used herein the term "keypad/reader" includes both a keypad and a card reader of conventional construction. Similarly, the term "keypad/reader system" refers to apparatus that is an aspect of one embodiment of the present invention and includes a keypad/reader and additional apparatus. Keypad/readers are typically coupled to security systems by hardwiring or wireless structure. Originally, keypad systems were primarily mounted outside the door of protected premises. The keypad has often controlled an electric strike or magnetic lock. Keypad/card reader devices are also used as input devices for security systems. The electronics on some models are mounted inside, in a secure place. They are particularly well-suited for people who find it difficult to insert and turn a key in a regular lock. Often such systems will turn off and sound an alarm after a preset number of wrong inputs. In some cases, the systems will recycle on again after a few minutes. Most of these systems are weather-proof and very rugged, although the keypads may not be weather-proof. Some such systems include a temporary code for a baby-sitter or house-keeper that can be changed as soon as the requirement for the temporary code ends. Such keypad systems permit the end user to provide a unique code for each person using the system. Accordingly, the security system, at least in some systems can maintain a record of the unique codes corresponding to the particular individuals that have been assigned the unique codes. Security systems that control an electric lock or strike the relay can be set so the lock or strike is timed to open or close for a pre-determined period. This is referred to as a momentary closure of the relay. Most keypads can also be set for latching, which means that when the correct code is entered, the relay will fire (open or close) and will remain in the same mode until the appropriate code is entered. In some cases a master code may be used to erase existing codes and add new codes. The installer may install more than one keypad system in each may be set up to control a single lock. Thus, one keypad system may be on the outside of the building and one keypad may be on the inside of the building in a manner that is analogous to a conventional double cylinder lock. In a typical security system, the keypad is separate from the alarm panel and thus the overall system is more secure.
In typical systems monitored conditions include: (1) Alarm—Indicates an intrusion at the protected premises, (2) Access—Indicates that an authorized person has turned the security system off, (3) Tamper—Indicates an attempt to disable the security system. Usually, a valid keypad code will correct an accidental alarm.
Special security measures are often required in national defense areas. For example, an organization may restrict the personnel who enter a specific area and require that the specific area always be supervised. Access control systems can provide this functionality through area and personnel configurations. An employee with the proper clearances would present his/her badge to an access control reader. Existing access control systems may determine that the person seeking access requires prior approval from an individual having a "supervisor" badge. Only upon successful presentation of the appropriate badge would access be granted, ensuring classified areas are properly protected.
This functionality enables security personnel not only to restrict access to appropriate staff, but also to generate reports and, subsequently, an audit of who entered the room, when they entered and exited the room and who was present to supervise. Another example of critical area security arises when elements in certain areas need to be protected from elements in other areas. For instance, several laboratories in the U.S. have been investigating ways to enforce strict rules requiring technicians to decontaminate before passing from one active lab to another.
They have found the capability for this requirement exists within the access control system. When assigning access privileges to personnel, records can be configured to require when a person has used a badge to access one lab, he/she is denied access to any other lab within the area until a pre-determined amount of time has passed, i.e. long enough for the substances he/she may be working with to become inert.
This "area lockout" functionality provides a layer of protection for employees and for the public in general. It can be as visible as desired. For instance, an alarm might sound when a violation occurs or, alternatively, a simple notation might be made on the security monitoring station for discrete action.
Many government organizations are required by health and safety regulations to be aware of occupancy levels in their facilities, because of evacuation concerns. To create an effective evacuation plan, security personnel need to know how many people are in certain areas within a building. Imposing occupancy restrictions, as configured in the security system, provides this level of control.
For example, a room can be configured to allow only five people to occupy it at one time. If a sixth person tries to gain access, a message will be displayed on the access control reader, indicating the room has reached its maximum occupancy level. Only when one person has presented his/her badge to exit the room will another be granted access.
Occupancy restrictions satisfy other health and safety concerns, as well. For instance, if maintenance is being performed in certain areas of a government facility, a two-man or multi-person rule may need to be enforced, to ensure potentially hazardous operations can be monitored. The type of personnel—such as supervisors or specialists—accounted for in the multi-person rule can also be controlled and monitored. While evacuation and occupancy concerns represent the extreme end of security plans, there are other equally important duress situations that can also be addressed by today's security systems.
An access card reader is an important part of the security infrastructure—and often the only visible component, which makes it an ideal medium to handle situations of duress. In parking garages, stairwells and other potentially vulnerable areas, card readers can provide a link to assistance when a person is presented with a hostile situation. When a duress command (typically *9 or 999) is entered on the reader keypad, an alarm can sound, a security phone can be dialed or other configurable events can be set in motion. The card reader can be used to arm or disarm entire sections or zones of a facility in the event of an emergency. Authorized personnel simply enter a specific code on the keypad. Doors can lock or unlock, cell phones can be called, etc.
The card reader can even be used to monitor the progress of a pre-configured guard tour. Many secured facilities rely on guards to make the rounds at pre-determined times. For every point on the tour, the guard must present his/her badge or enter a keypad number. Readers can be used as tour stops and will notify the system operator if the guard is late or misses a stop.
The prior art includes security systems that have system keypads or access control system readers/keypads (herein sometimes referred to as system keypads). In some cases a complete closed-circuit television system or equivalent is used to monitor the area in which the system keypads or access control system readers are disposed. Such closed-circuit television systems often require personnel to monitor displays. Such apparatus in the manpower required to utilize such systems is suitable for some applications, however for other applications such apparatus is unnecessarily expensive and complex.

Security system access control and method


A note holder board which comprises a support means to be secured to the top or side of a monitor screen and an extending panel the bottom of which interconnects with the support means forming a pivot which is adjustable through hand pressure on a holding apparatus.

The present invention is directed to a board for holding notes, messages, and the like on a monitor or display screen or any other conspicuous place.
The relevant prior art appears to deal with message or note holders that are specifically concerned with methods of maintaining paper such as clips. Other prior art concerns copyholders that are specially designed to hold full sized sheets of paper next to a monitor screen and are not suitable for attachment of a multitude of smaller note sized sheets.
With the proliferation of computer technology, word processors and personal computers have become common in business offices. Because the displays of such devices are the focus of the users' attention, users attach note papers and memos to the display, thereby cluttering and obscuring the display itself. Hence, it is desirable to provide for a note holder board that allows notes or messages to be placed adjacent to a monitor screen, thereby reducing clutter and obstruction of the display.


A passive direct oxidation fuel cell system, which uses a high concentration fuel such as neat methanol as a direct feed to an anode aspect of the fuel cell, is provided. The fuel cell includes a passive water management capability, achieved by the combined functions of controlled fuel dosing, effective push back of liquid water from the cathode through the membrane electrolyte by a hydrophobic microporous layer well bonded to the cathode catalyst and the use of a thin ionomeric membrane. The rate of fuel delivery is controlled by a passive fuel transport barrier. Carbon dioxide management techniques are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to direct oxidation fuel cells, and more particularly, to fuel cells that operate with delivery of high concentration fuel and passive water management.
2. Background Information
Fuel cells are devices in which an electrochemical reaction involving a fuel molecule is used to generate electricity. A variety of compounds may be suited for use as a fuel depending upon the specific nature of the cell. Organic compounds, such as methanol or natural gas, are attractive fuel choices due to the their high specific energy.
Fuel cell systems may be divided into "reformer-based" systems (i.e., those in which the fuel is processed in some fashion to extract hydrogen from the fuel before it is introduced into the fuel cell system) or "direct oxidation" systems in which the fuel is fed directly into the cell without the need for separate internal or external processing. Many currently developed fuel cells are reformer-based systems. However, because fuel processing is complex and generally requires components which occupy significant volume, reformer based systems are presently limited to comparatively large, high power applications.
Direct oxidation fuel cell systems may be better suited for a number of applications in smaller mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, handheld and laptop computers), as well as in some larger scale applications. In direct oxidation fuel cells of interest here, a carbonaceous liquid fuel (typically methanol or an aqueous methanol solution) is introduced to the anode face of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).
One example of a direct oxidation fuel cell system is a direct methanol fuel cell system, or DMFC system. In a DMFC system, methanol or a mixture comprised of methanol and water is used as fuel (the "fuel mixture"), and oxygen, preferably from ambient air, is used as the oxidizing agent. The fundamental reactions are the anodic oxidation of the fuel mixture into CO2, protons, and electrons; and the cathodic combination of protons, electrons and oxygen into water.
Typical DMFC systems include a fuel source, fluid and effluent management sub-systems, and air management sub-systems, in addition to the direct methanol fuel cell itself ("fuel cell"). The fuel cell typically consists of a housing, hardware for current collection and fuel and air distribution, and a membrane electrode assembly ("MEA"), which are all typically disposed within the housing.
The electricity generating reactions and the current collection in a direct oxidation fuel cell system take place within and on the MEA. In the fuel oxidation process at the anode, the products are protons, electrons and carbon dioxide. Protons (originating from fuel and water molecules involved in the anodic reaction) migrate through the catalyzed membrane electrolyte, which is impermeable to the electrons. The electrons travel through an external circuit, which includes the load, and are united with the protons and oxygen molecules in the cathodic reaction, thus providing electrical power from the fuel cell and water product at the cathode of the fuel cell.
A typical MEA includes a centrally disposed protonically-conductive, electronically non-conductive membrane ("PCM", sometimes also referred to herein as "the catalyzed membrane"). One example of a commercially available PCM is Nafion® a registered trademark of E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company, a cation exchange membrane based on polyperflourosulfonic acid, in a variety of thicknesses and equivalent weights. The PCM is typically coated on each face with an electrocatalyst such as platinum, or platinum/ruthenium mixtures or alloy particles. On either face of the catalyst coated PCM, the electrode assembly typically includes a diffusion layer. The diffusion layer on the anode side is employed to evenly distribute the liquid fuel mixture across the catalyzed anode face of the PCM, while allowing the gaseous product of the reaction, typically carbon dioxide, to move away from the anode face of the PCM. In the case of the cathode side, a wet-proofed diffusion layer is used to allow a sufficient supply of oxygen by minimizing or eliminating the build-up of liquid, typically water, on the cathode aspect of the PCM. Each of the anode and cathode diffusion layers also assists in the collection and conduction of electric current from the catalyzed PCM.
Direct oxidation fuel cell systems for portable electronic devices should be as small as possible at the power output required. The power output is governed by the rate of the reactions that occur at the anode and the cathode of the fuel cell. More specifically, the anode process in direct methanol fuel cells based on acidic electrolytes, including polyperflourosulfonic acid and similar polymer electrolytes, involves a reaction of one molecule of methanol with one molecule of water. In this process, the oxygen atom in the water molecule is electrochemically activated to complete the oxidation of methanol to a final CO2 product in a six-electron process, according to the following chemical equationCH3OH+H2O=CO2+6H++6 e−  (1)
Since water is a reactant in this anodic process at a molecular ratio of 1:1 (water:methanol), the supply of water, together with methanol, to the anode at an appropriate weight (or volume) ratio is critical for sustaining this process in the cell. In fact, it has been known that the water:methanol molecular ratio in the anode of the DMFC has to significantly exceed the stoichiometric, 1:1 ratio shown by process (1). This excess is required to guarantee complete, 6 electron anodic oxidation to CO2, rather than partial oxidation to either formic acid, or formaldehyde, 4 e− and 2 e− processes, respectively, described by equations (2) and (3) below:CH3OH+H2O=HCOOH+4H++4 e−  (2)CH3OH=H2CO+2H++2 e−  (3)
Equations (2) and (3) describe partial processes that are not desirable and which might occur if anode water content is not sufficient during a steady state operation of the cell. Particularly, as is indicated in process (3), involving the partial oxidation of methanol, water is not required for this anode process and thus, this process may dominate when the water level in the anode drops below a certain point. The consequence of process (3) domination, is an effective drop in methanol energy content by 66% compared with consumption of methanol by process (1), which would result in a lower cell electric energy output. In addition, it might lead to the generation of a hazardous anode product (formaldehyde).
Typically, it has been difficult to provide in a tightly volume-limited DMFC technology platform, the high ratio water/methanol mixture at the anode catalyst that ensures effective and exclusive anode process (1). The conventional approaches to this problem can be divided into two categories:
(A) active DMFC systems, utilizing reservoirs of neat methanol and based on liquid pumping, and
(B) passive systems requiring no pumping, utilizing reservoirs containing methanol/water mixtures.
Class A, "active" systems that include pumping, can maintain, in principle, appropriate water content in the anode, by dosing neat methanol from a fuel delivery cartridge into an anode fluid recirculation loop. The loop typically receives water collected at the cathode and pumped back into the recirculating anode liquid. In this way, an optimized water/methanol anode mix can be maintained in a system with neat methanol in the cartridge. The concentration within the anode can be controlled using a methanol concentration sensor. The advantage of this approach is that neat methanol (100% methanol) or a very high methanol concentration solution can be carried in the cartridge. Carrying a high concentration fuel source maximizes the energy content of the overall system. The disadvantage of Class A systems is that while neat methanol can be carried in the cartridge, the system suffers from excessive complexity due to the pumping and recirculation components which result in significant parasitic power losses and increase in system volume. Such power losses can be particularly severe, relative to fuel cell power output, in the case of small scale power sources.
The class B systems, which are passive in nature, have the advantage of system simplicity achieved by potentially eliminating pumping and recirculation by using a design that carries a mixture of water and methanol in the fuel source reservoir. This type of system can be substantially completely passive as long as the rate of water loss through the cathode is adjusted by means of materials and structures. These materials and structures operate to match the reservoir composition so as to ensure zero net rate of water loss (or water accumulation) in the cell. The problem with this approach is that it requires that the system carries a significant amount of water together with the methanol in the cartridge. Carrying a methanol/water mix in the reservoir or cartridge, of a composition well under 100% methanol, results in a significant penalty in energy density of the power pack.
A fuel cell system that adapts the best features of both the Class A and Class B, (without the disadvantages of these two known systems,) would be quite advantageous. However, the possibility of supply of highly concentrated methanol, including 100% methanol, directly from a reservoir into the anode compartment, has not been considered practical without, at the same time, supplying water as well into the anode compartment by either collecting it from the cathode and externally pumping it back or, alternatively, directly feeding water from a reservoir of water-diluted methanol. In other words, the combination "Passive DMFC System" and "Neat Methanol Supply to the Anode" has not been considered feasible, as this has been fully expected to result in significant loss of methanol flowing across the membrane (significant methanol "cross-over") and/or in an anode process different than (1).
There remains a need therefore, for a passive DMFC system, i.e., a system not requiring pumping and recirculation loops, that allows the direct supply of neat (100%) methanol to the anode. There remains a further need for such a system that passively maintains a water profile within the fuel cell, i.e., that will establish such desirable profile without active collection and pumping of water from the cathode, while using methanol in the tank or cartridge that is more concentrated than a 1:1 methanol/water mixture. Such a system should also include the additional important feature of effective management of anodically-generated carbon dioxide.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a direct oxidation fuel cell system that is capable of carrying highly concentrated, including neat (100%) methanol as the fuel source, and delivering such fuel directly to the anode; it is a further object that the cell of the present invention uses passive water management and effective passive carbon dioxide removal techniques.

Direct oxidation fuel cell operating with direct feed of concentrated fuel under passive water management


A photographic film curling correcting method and apparatus for correcting curling of a photographic film generated when the photographic film is stored for a long time in a cartridge in a state in which the photographic film is taken up around a spool shaft in a form of a roll, comprising the steps of: curvilinearly conveying the photographic film, which is withdrawn from the cartridge, so that the curling of the photographic film generated by taking up of the photographic film around the shaft becomes an opposite direction; and relaxing the curling by heating the photographic film while the photographic film is being curvilinearly conveyed, and taking up the photographic film, whose curling has been relaxed, into the cartridge again while cooling the photographic film. The curling of the photographic film can be corrected before developing processing when the photographic film is initially printed and before printing processing when the photographic film is printed a second time or times thereafter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic film curling correcting method and apparatus for correcting curling of photographic film generated when the photographic film is stored in a cartridge in which the photographic film is taken up around a shaft in the form of a roll and is accommodated.
2. Description of the Related Art
After being photographed, a photographic film is loaded and accommodated in a cartridge. In a so-called strip processing developing apparatus in which the photographic film is withdrawn from the cartridge and is subject to developing processing, it is detected that the photographic film is completely withdrawn from the cartridge, the final end of the photographic film is cut, and processing is effected continuously. A guiding member, called a short leader, is adhered to the leading end portion of the photographic film. As the short leader is guided and conveyed, developing processing and photosensitive processing are effected. In this type of strip processing, curling of the leading end portion of the photographic film is eliminated by the short leader. However, when the photographic film is taken up onto the spool, curling is most strong at the lowermost layer (i.e., the trailing end portion). Therefore, when the photographic film is curled in the form of a loop, the loop is crushed by a roller, and the photographic film is bent.
In recent years, a system has been proposed in which the photographed photographic film is taken up again into the cartridge and returned to the customer in that way. In such a case, it is possible to have the tongue remain out of the cartridge by reversely rotating the spool shaft on which the photographic film is accommodated. Therefore, when reprinting or the like is requested, the cartridge is loaded into the printing apparatus, and printing processing is effected.
The curling of the trailing end portion of the photographic film taken up in this type of cartridge is strong.
Further, as cameras are being made more compactly, the idea of accommodating photographic films in small cartridges has also been conceived. As in the above-described case, curling is strong in these small cartridges as well.
As a result, measures to correct curling in advance, such as attaching a short leader to the trailing end portion of the photographic film as well, have been proposed. However, when reprinting or the like is requested after initial printing (simultaneous printing) has been completed, i.e., for the second printing or times thereafter, the photographic film is directly loaded into a printing apparatus without being processed into strips. Therefore, the film must be dealt with in a state in which the curling thereof is strong.
It is best to continuously provide a conveying path, which can smoothly guide the curled photographic film, from the photographic film withdrawing position to the heating processing position. However, for example, when the loading portion into which the photographic film is loaded is a cassette-type loading portion which can be separated from the conveying path of the photographic film, it is necessary to transfer the photographic film between the loading portion and the conveying path of the photographic film.
However, because there is strong curling in the photographic film, the leading edge of the photographic film enters into the gap of the transferring portion at which the photographic film is transferred from the loading portion to the photographic film conveying path. Trouble in the conveying of the photographic film, such as jamming or the like, may therefore occur.
When a plurality of curled photographic films are processed, the photographic films are withdrawn one by one, and workability is poor. Therefore, a cassette-type loading portion in which a plurality of cartridges can be loaded is used. The plurality of loaded cartridges are successively positioned at a photographic film withdrawing position. The respective spool shafts of the cartridges loaded in the loading portion are respectively connected to gears provided in the loading portion. These gears mesh with a driving gear at the photographic film withdrawing position. In this way, a plurality of photographic films can be automatically processed.
The photographic film, which has undergone curling correcting processing, is taken up again into the cartridge. Therefore, when the loading portion is viewed from the exterior thereof, it cannot be determined if the cartridges loaded therein have been processed or have not yet been processed. Further, when the loading portion is not completely filled with cartridges, an empty section of the loading portion is positioned at the photographic film withdrawing position, and the apparatus may make an error in operation. Further, the processing time is made longer than necessary.
Moreover, when the cartridges are positioned successively, a shock is generated when the gears connected to the respective cartridges mesh with the driving gear at the predetermined position. There is therefore the fear that a loss of synchronism may be generated in the motor due to the step-movement of the loading portion.
Generally, a drum is optimal for curving the photographic film in a direction opposite to the curling thereof. A pair of flanges are formed on the drum in order to stably convey the photographic film. The photographic film is guided and conveyed by the pair of flanges.
Further, it is preferable that the outer circumference of the drum contacts a drive roller and that the drum is rotated by the driving of the drive roller because of the reduction in the torque of the shaft of the drum and because a heating means is accommodated within the drum.
However, when dirt adheres to the outer circumference of the drum and especially to the surface around which the photographic film is trained, the photographic film may be damaged or it may not be possible to effect stable heating processing or the like. Therefore, the outer circumference of the drive roller has adhesion, and the dirt adhering to the circumferential surface of the drum is removed in accordance with the rotation of the drive roller (i.e., the dirt adheres to the drive roller). When a predetermined amount of dirt has adhered to the heat roller, the heat roller may be changed.
However, because the flanges are formed on the drum, a portion of the drive roller is accommodated between the flanges. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the drum as well when the drive roller is changed when the predetermined amount of dirt is to be removed therefrom. Workability therefore deteriorates.

Photographic film curling correcting method and apparatus


A single-chip integrated LED particularly adapted for direct use with a high voltage DC or AC power sources comprises a plurality of electrically isolated LEDs on a generally transparent substrate and bonded to electrically conductive elements on a thermally conductive mount. A reflective coating may be applied to the area between LEDs.

The present invention relates to a light emitting device, and more particularly, to a heterogeneously integrated light emitting device which may be directly powered by a high DC voltage or by an AC voltage for general lighting, indication or display purposes.
The advances in III-Nitride semiconductors (including GaN, InN, AlN and their alloys) based light emitting diodes ("LEDs") is dramatically changing the lighting technology with a new lighting paradigm. LEDs, which have been until recently mainly used as simple indicator lamps in electronics and toys, now have the great potential to replace incandescent light bulbs in many applications, particularly those requiring durability, compactness, and/or directionality (e.g., traffic, automotive, display, and architectural lighting). Compared with the conventional lighting, semiconductor LED based solid state lighting ("SSL") has the benefits of being more energy efficient with less power consumption, having a longer operational life with reduced maintenance costs, being vibration-resistant, having a vivid saturation color, and the added benefit of a flexible lighting design. It has been estimated that by the year 2025 the electricity saved in the United States by using solid state lighting would be approximately 525 trillion watt hours per year, or $35 billion a year. Additionally, the human visual experience would be enhanced by independently tuning the light intensity and colors of the LEDs.
The conventional LED, depending on the semiconductor materials, operates at a very low DC voltage (roughly between 1V and 5V) and a limited current (˜20 mA) with very low luminance, only suitable for indication purposes. To achieve a high luminance for general lighting applications, two methods have been adopted. In the first method the LED still operates at a low DC voltage, but with a very high DC current (<100 mA) to achieve a high luminance. The so-called power LED requires a bulky voltage transformer, an electronics controller and driver to power the LED. In a second method many LEDs are integrated on the same chip with a serial interconnection to achieve one light emitting device, which can directly run under a high DC input voltage. Depending on the integrated LED numbers, the operational voltage may be 12V, 24V, 110V, by, 240V, or even higher. Additionally, with two current paths the high voltage light emitting device may also operate directly at 110/120V or 220/240V AC. This highly integrated high voltage LED device has a size of between hundreds of microns to tens of millimeters, which is completely different from the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,999, in which many discrete packaged LED lamps are serially soldered on a printed circuit board. Other conventional devices have used serially connected packaged LEDs soldered together on a PCB board to form a bulk LED cluster for high voltage applications.
The concept of an integrated single chip LED device which operates under a high DC and/or AC voltage (high voltage DC/AC LED) unfolds a new paradigm for LED applications in lighting, indication and displays. As one example, the high voltage LED may be directly powered by the 110V power grid without any voltage transformer. If the high voltage LED is packaged with a standard Edison or European screw base, it may be directly screwed into a standard light bulb fixture for indoor or outdoor lighting. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the principle to build such a device by directly integrating many LEDs together on a single chip. As illustrated, an InGaAlN LED is grown on a sapphire substrate or other insulating substrate, for example. A prior art conventional low voltage DC LED is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. LED 10 includes a substrate 12, an n-type semiconductor layer 14, a light emission region 16, and a p-type semiconductor layer 18, a p-contact 20, an n-contact 22, and a current spreading layer 24. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a prior art integrated high voltage LED device is generally indicated by reference numeral 26. A number of LEDs serially connect by connecting the p-layer 18 of one LED 10 with the n-layer 14 of the adjacent LED with an interconnection metal layer 28. The integrated LED 26 has two terminals 30 and 32 for connection to an input voltage. Light 34 is extracted from the semiconductor epilayer 18 through the semi-transparent current spreading layer 24.
Several problems with prior art integrated LEDs include inefficient light extraction, thermal dissipation, and low product yield and reliability. Each individual LED 10 has to be isolated from the others by etching through the n-type semiconductor layer 14 to the insulating substrate 12 or to an insulating growth layer (buffer, epilayer, etc.). For InGaAlN-based LEDs, this etching depth is approximately from 2 μm to 6 μm. The deep trenches 36 provide technical challenges for depositing the metal layers 28 to interconnect each LED 10. An inconsistent or thin metal layer 28 may cause leakage or disconnection at the trench side walls 38, which may result in product performance, yield and reliability degradation.
For an InGaAlN based LED device sapphire is the most common substrate and is also the best option for a high voltage LED device because of its high insulation property. If SiC or Si is used as the substrate an insulation buffer layer will be required. Unfortunately, sapphire has a very low thermal conductivity and the limited thermal dissipation degrade the high voltage (and high power) LED device performance and lifetime. Another drawback for the prior art is that the light is extracted from the epilayer device side and a significant portion of the light is blocked and absorbed by the metal layers, including the p-contact 20, n-contact 22, metal layer 28 and the current spreading layer 24 limiting the light emitting efficiency.

Heterogeneous integrated high voltage DC/AC light emitter


A recording apparatus includes a toner image bearing member and a transfer backing member that define a transfer nip. Pressure is applied in the transfer nip to a receiver member that is in engagement with the toner image bearing member for transfer of a toner image on the toner image bearing member to the receiver member. A sensor senses a parameter related to thickness of the receiver member prior to movement of the receiver member into the nip. An adjustment device is responsive to sensing of the parameter and adjusts nip spacing between the toner image bearing member and the transfer backing member.

In a typical electrostatographic machine using, for example, an electrophotographic process, an image is generated by first charging a photoconductive element and generating an electrostatic latent image by image-wise exposing the electrostatic latent image using either an optical or an electro-optical exposure system, such as a laser scanner or LED array. The electrostatic latent image is then developed into a visible image by bringing the latent image bearing photoconductive element into contact with an appropriate developer. Most commonly, so-called "two-component developers", comprising electrostatically charged marking or toner particles and oppositely charged nonmarking or carrier particles, are used, although monocomponent developers are also used. The image is transferred to a receiver sheet such as paper or transparency stock using suitable means such as by applying an electrostatic field so as to urge the toner particles from the photoconductive member to the receiver sheet. The image is then permanently fixed to the receiver sheet by a known suitable process such as fusing, while the photoconductive element is cleaned and made ready for reuse. Color images are generally made by producing latent images corresponding to separations of the primary colors (e.g. cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) and transferring them sequentially, in register, to the receiver sheet. Alternatively, it is known to form two-color images in an image frame of a photoconductive element and transfer the images simultaneously to a receiver sheet; see for example, Gundlach U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,929.
It is often advantageous to transfer toner images initially formed on the photoconductive element or other primary toner image forming member to an intermediate member first and subsequently transfer the toner images to the receiver sheet. In this instance, color images (including so-called "spot-color" images) are prepared generally by transferring all separation toner images sequentially, in register, to the intermediate member and, subsequently, transferring the image from the intermediate member to the receiver sheet. However, under some circumstances, it may be desirable to transfer separations to the intermediate or separate intermediates, and register the separations during the transfer to the receiver sheet.
Of particular interest is the use of electrophotographic apparatus comprising a compliant transfer intermediate, as described in the patents by Zaretsky, U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,256, and Rimai et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,735. These intermediates typically comprise an electrically conducting cylindrical core, such as aluminum, overcoated with a semi-insulating elastomeric blanket. Further, these intermediates have a thin relatively hard overcoat of thickness no more than about 30 .mu.m comprised of a material which serves to control particle adhesion. Such a structure has been found to be beneficial in reducing transfer generated image artifacts such as hollow character (the failure to transfer the centers of fine lines) and halo (the failure to transfer toned regions adjacent to high density areas). In addition the use of compliant transfer intermediates has been shown to be of value when transferring images comprised of small size toner particles (i.e. mean volume weighted diameters between about 2 .mu.m and about 9 .mu.m). Mean volume weighted diameter of toner particles may be measured by conventional diameter measuring devices such as a Coulter Multisizer, sold by Coulter, Inc. Mean volume weighted diameter is the sum of the mass of each particle times the diameter of a spherical particle of equal mass and density, divided by total particle mass.
In the preferred embodiments described herein, transfer of toner images is made from a toner bearing compliant image member (TBCIM) to a receiver sheet or member such as paper or plastic transparency. For the purpose of this specification, a TBCIM is defined as an image bearing member comprising a polymeric layer not less than 1 mm in thickness, said layer having a Young's modulus between 0.5 MPa and 50 MPa. (MPa are mega Pascals or 10.sup.6 Newtons/meter.sup.2). Polymers having such properties are frequently referred to as elastomers and, for the purpose of this specification, elastomers are defined as such. A TBCIM can comprise a primary image forming member such as a photoconductor such as that disclosed by Tombs and May in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/655,787. Alternatively, it can comprise a compliant intermediate transfer member such as those disclosed by Rimai and Zaretsky referred to above. Preferred TBCIMs are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/846,056, filed in the name of Vreeland et al. Transfer, in general, occurs in the nip region formed between the TBCIM and a backup roller or other pressure application device located behind the receiver sheet.
A well known property of elastomers such as those used in a TBCIM is often described by the principle of time-temperature superposition. According to this principle, a polymer, which behaves as an elastomer under normal conditions, appears quite rigid or glassy under conditions where it is subjected to a sudden force or impact by another object. Specifically, under impact conditions, a typical elastomer would behave like a material having a Young's modulus of approximately 3 GPa. Such an impact is often caused by a receiver sheet entering a transfer nip region. A material with that effective magnitude of Young's modulus would not be able to rapidly conform to the receiver. Because of the mass of the intermediate, this impact can jar or momentarily stall the machine, thereby adversely affecting image quality. In particular it can cause the separations to be misregistered during the transfer process. Moreover, in some applications, such impacts can adversely affect the timing of the engine, thereby creating user-observable artifacts in the final image, as well as causing general wear and tear to the engine.
Although the previous discussion relates principally to a drum intermediate, it can also apply to a web intermediate, especially if additional pressure is applied to the web intermediate member during transfer by use of a back-up roller. Similarly, it can also apply to a web or drum compliant primary image member.
There are many receivers used in electrophotographic engines. These receivers may have vastly different physical properties. One such property is the thickness of the receiver member or receiver sheet which generally varies from less than 75 .mu.m to well over 250 .mu.m. The use of an intermediate transfer member with a single imaging member eliminates the need to wrap the receiver around a drum to produce color images and, thereby, facilitates the use of even much thicker stock (over 0.5 cm thick). Receiver sheet thickness can vary between jobs or even within a job, as would be the case where booklets with covers are being prepared. A thick receiver sheet can create a substantial impact upon entering the transfer nip, as previously discussed.
Not only can undesirable impulse shocks adversely affect output image quality, but they can also adversely affect the reliability and life of a transfer station, including the TBCIM.
There is a need to minimize mechanical disturbances caused by receiver members in a transfer station, e.g., in a production machine in which papers of different thicknesses are needed for different job streams, or when receiver member thickness changes abruptly within a particular job stream.

Method and apparatus for sensing and accomodating different thickness paper stocks in an electrostatographic machine


A water feeding control method for use in a boiling clothes washing machine having a heater for processing clothes with hot water and control for the proper use of warm and cooling water. The water feeding control method includes a step of determining whether either one of wool and boiling wash modes is selected, at least one routine of checking the possibility of the water feeding, sensing the temperature of wash water fed through warm and cooling water feeding valves and storing the sensed temperature in a memory of the control system, and a routine of selecting a water feeding valve suitable for a wash mode based on the resulting data obtainable from the routines.

The present invention relates to a control method of a boiling clothes washing machine for cleaning clothes with boiling water, and more particularly, to a control method for feeding cold or hot water through a cold water feeding valve and a heating water feeding valve. Herein, a water feeding control method means that the water feeding is performed at a proper temperature through a cold water feeding valve and a hot water feeding valve dependant upon whether the current wash mode complies with the selected wash mode of a cool water wash mode and a warm water wash mode.
Generally, a fully automatic washing machine includes a heater mounted between a tub and a water basin and additional tubes for feeding warm water or cool water through each of cool and warm water feeding valves in order to process clothes under the selected wash mode. The washing machine automatically performs the connection of the cooling water tube to the corresponding valve in order to clean clothes with cool water under the wool wash mode, in which clothes are made of materials such as wool and nylon, etc., having a low thermal resistance temperature.
However, in a case where the warm water feeding valve is erroneously connected to the cool water tube by a user's mistake, and vice versa, damage could happen to clothes such as wool under the wool wash mode. Also, when cool water is mistakenly fed for use in a boiling wash mode, the heater is operated for along time period to heat the cool water under the warm water wash mode, thereby causing unnecessary power consumption. Furthermore, when both valves break down, over-heating of the heater become critical to clothes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a water feeding control method of a boiling clothes washing machine for feeding wash water having a proper temperature suitable for a wash mode selected independent of the connection state of tubes to warm and cool water feeding valves, so that clothes may be protected. It is another object of the present invention to provide a water feeding control method of a boiling clothes washing machine for feeding wash water having a relatively higher temperature suitable for boiling wash mode selected by connecting of a warm water tube to a warm water feeding valve, so that the power consumption may be minimized.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a water feeding control method of a boiling clothes washing machine for feeding wash water by selecting a water feeding valve that is usable, so that the water feeding errors may be prevented.

Water feeding control method of a boiling clothes washing machine


Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a mobile communication device that includes a plurality of antennas for receiving signals and is configured to reduce the deterioration of the antennas characteristics. In specific embodiments the mobile device is a folding type mobile communication terminal having the structure that permits easy opening or closing and enabling stabilization of the antenna characteristic. In one embodiment, a mobile communication device comprises a plurality of antennas configured to receive signals; a signal processing circuit configured to combine and process the signals received from the plurality of antennas; and a phase alignment circuit provided for each of the plurality of antennas and configured to subject a phase of a signal received by each of the plurality of antennas to an in-phase adjustment.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a plurality of antennas, such as a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).
2. Related Art
Proposals have been made of a technology for stabilizing the antenna characteristic such as antenna gain or radiation efficiency irrespective of whether a terminal is held in a hand, put into a pocket, or the like (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-274966). The above publication describes the use of an embedded antenna in addition to a rod-like antenna in order to stabilize the antenna characteristic. Consequently, even when a user holds a mobile communication terminal in his/her left or right hand while transmitting speech by radio, the rod-like antenna and embedded antenna can be automatically switched based on a state of reception at a radio frequency.
When a plurality of antennas are included, the antennas may interact with each other. Consideration must therefore be taken into the arrangement of the antennas. In particular, when it comes to a folding type mobile communication terminal, the positional relationship between antennas varies depending on whether the terminal is closed (folded) or opened (unfolded). It therefore affects the antenna characteristic how a plurality of antennas are arranged. However, the related art does not reveal anything about a constituent feature suitable for a mobile communication terminal shaped to be able to be folded.
The prior mobile phones are configured such that a linear antenna comprising a whip antenna and an antenna top portion which incorporates a helical antenna as connected through an insulating spacer to the tip end of the whip antenna, is mounted in the casing. The pull-up of the top portion causes the whip antenna to be pulled out of the casing so as to receive phone radio waves through the whip antenna while the pull-in of the top portion causes the whip antenna to be stored in the casing, thereby enabling the helical antenna to be available for use in receiving the radio waves.
In order to keep the antenna characteristics as required for receiving phone radio waves through such linear antenna as mentioned above, the outline of the linear antenna, i.e. the size of the antenna top portion and the thickness and the length of the whip antenna, tends to be enlarged, suffering from difficulties in producing a more compact casing.
JP-A No. 36317/2001 discloses that the linear antenna and the surface mounting antenna are adjacently disposed, which linear antenna is excited by the power supplied to the power supply electrode of the surface mounting antenna. The mobile phone by concurrent use of two antennas as disclosed therein is simple in structure and provides enhanced antenna characteristics. Thus, the mobile phone can render its linear antenna smaller in size than the other prior mobile phones. However, because the linear antenna and the surface mounting antenna are adjacently disposed, upon storing the linear antenna as contracted into the casing, its top portion and casing portion to cover the surface mounting antenna might be wrapped by a user's hand, suffering from the deterioration of the antennas characteristics as required.


The disclosure relates to a touch screen terminal and a method for locating an electronic document thereof. The touch screen terminal comprises a setting module, a directory listing module, a detection module, a mode switching module, a real-time directory module, a preview module and a chapter/section switching module. The method comprises: generating a directory listing for an electronic document and storing it; detecting a screen aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa in a reading mode of current chapter/section of the electronic document; when it is detected that a user enables a chapter/section switching function, enabling a chapter/section switching mode to wait for the user to input a number of the chapter/section to switch to; when it is detected that the user inputs the number of the chapter/section to switch to, matching a directory entry in real time from the stored directory listing and displaying it; generating a preview for a corresponding chapter/section according to the number of the chapter/section to switch to input by the user and displaying it to the user; and when a confirmation of the switching operation is detected, switching to the previewed chapter/section. The disclosure is simple to operate and easy to implement, and improves the reading experience.

With the continuous development of the communication technology, more and more wireless terminal devices have stepped into our life and greatly changed our reading ways due to their portability and mobility, so, electronic reading is more and more popular.
When being displayed and read on the existing mobile touch screen terminal, an electronic document is located usually by touching the screen. With the application on a mobile phone as an example, a full text is scanned in advance to generate a chapter/section numbered list thereof, and then, a user slides on the screen to select the required chapter/section and click Ok, which seems reasonable but actually causes poor user experience. For example, when reading a novel or a technical document of many pages, the user always needs to continuously slide on the screen for page turning to find out the required chapter/section if needing to switch between different chapters/sections repeatedly since the chapter/section list is very large and the chapter/section to be browsed has a large span, which is not convenient and is low in the switching efficiency.
Another method for locating the document is to insert a bookmark, and different bookmarks are selected to implement the switching of the user. Such way also has certain problem because a text fragment is usually recorded to be displayed to the user and stored as the bookmark, if too many bookmarks are stored or which chapter/section to switch to cannot be effectively confirmed by the text fragment of the bookmark, a document cannot be located and switched fast either.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Touch screen terminal and method for locating electronic document thereof


A method of treating glaucoma in a human eye by inserting a distal exit port of a cannula at least partially into Schlemm's canal of the eye; delivering a dye through the cannula into Schlemm's canal; identifying obstructions within Schlemm's canal; and delivering an ocular implant through the cannula into Schlemm's canal.

According to a draft report by The National Eye Institute (NEI) at The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), glaucoma is now the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of blindness, behind cataract, in the world. Thus, the NEI draft report concludes, "it is critical that significant emphasis and resources continue to be devoted to determining the pathophysiology and management of this disease." Glaucoma researchers have found a strong correlation between high intraocular pressure and glaucoma.
In addition to drug treatments, a variety of surgical treatments for glaucoma have been described. For example, shunts were implanted to direct aqueous humor from the anterior chamber to the extraocular vein (Lee and Scheppens, "Aqueous-venous shunt and intraocular pressure," Investigative Ophthalmology (February 1966)). Other early glaucoma treatment implants led from the anterior chamber to a sub-conjunctival bleb (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,296 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,362). Still others were shunts leading from the anterior chamber to a point just inside Schlemm's canal (Spiegel et al., "Schlemm's canal implant: a new method to lower intraocular pressure in patients with POAG?" Ophthalmic Surgery and Lasers (June 1999); U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,984; U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,984).
More recently, glaucoma treatment devices that are disposed partially or completely within Schlemm's canal have been described. Examples of such devices may be found, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,740,604; U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2009/0082860; U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2009/0227934; U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2009/0132040; U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2010/0121342; U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2006/0195187; and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/833,863.