An intake module an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle includes at least one air duct element via which air is to be supplied to the internal combustion engine, and a cylinder head cover connected to the air duct element by means of which a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine is to be at least partially covered. A lubricant separation device and a cooling device for cooling the air are integrated into the intake module.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an intake module for an internal combustion engine.
German patent document DE 37 30817 C2 discloses a cylinder head cover together with an intake manifold system for an internal combustion engine having a four-stroke reciprocating piston design, which form an integral unit. The cylinder head cover of this integral unit is mounted on a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine by means of a seal and by screws. The screws are screwed into heads of coaxially situated fastening screws, which hold the multi-part cylinder head in position.
German patent document DE 10 2009 020 100 A1 discloses a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine having a cylinder head cover connected to the cylinder head via a sealing surface. An intake module as well as an exhaust gas module are provided, each of which is connected to the cylinder head via a corresponding sealing flange surface. The sealing surface between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover is integrated into the respective sealing flange surface of the intake module and/or of the exhaust gas module.
It is also known from the series production of internal combustion engines that a considerable number of components of the internal combustion engine are necessary to allow efficient, low-emission operation of the internal combustion engine. This large number of components requires a complicated assembly, resulting in time-consuming and costly assembly of the overall internal combustion engine.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to an intake module for an internal combustion engine, in particular a motor vehicle, by means of which the assembly costs of the internal combustion engine may be kept particularly low.
Such an intake module for an internal combustion engine, in particular a motor vehicle, includes at least one air duct element via which the internal combustion engine is to be supplied with air. The intake module also includes a cylinder head cover, connected to the air duct element, by means of which a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine is to be at least partially covered.
According to the invention, a lubricant separation device and a cooling device for cooling the air are integrated into the intake module. This means that the air duct element, the cylinder head cover, the lubricant separation device, and the cooling device form a modular part in the form of the intake module, and as the intake module may be installed on the internal combustion engine, and thus in the rest of the motor vehicle, in a particularly time- and cost-effective manner.
The intake module may be at least partially preassembled as the modular component at the same time as the production of the rest of the internal combustion engine, and installed as a preassembled intake module in the internal combustion engine. The installation of the intake module is accompanied at the same time by the installation of the air duct element, the cylinder head cover, the lubricant separation device, and the cooling device. It is thus apparent that additional time-consuming and costly installation steps for separately installing the lubricant separation device, the cylinder head cover, and the cooling device are not provided and are not necessary.
Due to its modular construction, the intake module according to the invention also has advantageous testing capability with regard to a desired function of the intake module. In other words, the components of the intake module, i.e., at least the air duct element, the cylinder head cover, the lubricant separation device, and the cooling device, may be tested in combination for a desired functionality. Separate testing of the components is not provided and is not necessary. This minimizes the time and cost expenditure for carrying out the testing of the functionality or meeting the function of the intake module. Due to the very low number of individual parts of the intake module according to the invention, very simple logistics of handling are also achieved. The intake module according to the invention also has very small space requirements as well as a low weight due to the integration of the components into the intake module.
Another advantage is that the intake module has only very small tolerances due to a very low number of interfaces. In addition, the number of external lines, i.e., lines to be connected to the intake module from the outside, may be kept small. This likewise results in low weight, and solves and/or avoids package problems, particularly in a space-critical area such as in an engine compartment of the motor vehicle designed as a passenger vehicle, for example.
The lubricant separation device is used to separate lubricant, in particular oil, from a lubricant-air mixture or a lubricant-gas mixture. The lubricant separation device may be used, for example, within the scope of crankcase venting of the internal combustion engine in which so-called blow-by gas is exhausted from a crankcase of the internal combustion engine. The blow-by gas is formed at least essentially by the lubricant-air mixture or lubricant-gas mixture composed of lubricant and gas from the crankcase. Within the scope of crankcase venting, the gas or air component of the blow-by gas is returned to the air side of the internal combustion engine. The return also of the lubricant component of the blow-by gas to the air side is not desirable. To avoid this, the lubricant separation device, which at least predominantly separates the lubricant component from the gas component of the blow-by gas, is provided, so that at least essentially only the gas component may be led to the air side of the internal combustion engine and into at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. This keeps the emissions of the internal combustion engine particularly low.
The cooling device functions, for example, as a charge air cooler for cooling the air that is compressed by means of a compressor of an exhaust gas turbocharger. The supercharging rate of the engine may be increased by cooling the compressed and thus heated air. The internal combustion engine may thus be operated in a particularly efficient manner that thus optimizes fuel consumption.
It is thus apparent that the intake module according to the invention has a very high level of functional integration. The recirculation of the blow-by gas to the air side and thus into an intake tract of the internal combustion engine is particularly simple, since control and regulation elements for controlling and regulating the recirculation may be situated in a particularly close proximity to a withdrawal point at which the blow-by gas is withdrawn, and also to a return point at which the blow-by gas or its gas component is introduced. The withdrawal point is situated, for example, in a lubricant chamber or oil chamber of the cylinder head. The return point is preferably situated in the direction of flow of the air, downstream from the cooling device (charge air cooler) or in a clean air line to the exhaust gas turbocharger.
In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, a first connecting flange surface of the air duct element, via which the air duct element is to be connected to the cylinder head, and a second connecting flange surface of the cylinder head cover, via which the cylinder head cover is to be connected to the cylinder head, are situated at least essentially in a shared plane. In this way, the intake module according to the invention may be installed in a particularly simple manner, and produced in a time-saving and thus cost-effective manner. Correspondingly, a third connecting flange surface corresponding to the first connecting flange surface as well as a fourth connecting flange surface of the cylinder head corresponding to the second connecting flange surface are likewise at least essentially situated in a shared plane. The intake module may thus be installed on the cylinder head without complicated adapter elements. Particularly simple installation of the intake module according to the invention is provided in such a cylinder head in which the third connecting flange surface is integrated into the fourth connecting flange surface (or vice versa).
In another advantageous embodiment, the air duct element includes an air distributor by means of which the air may be distributed over a plurality of combustion chambers, in particular cylinders, of the internal combustion engine. The air distributor has a collection chamber, for example, in which, for example, the air which is compressed and to be supplied to the internal combustion engine is initially collected. A plurality of air channels corresponding to the combustion chambers and into which, for example, the compressed air from the collection chamber may flow, and from which the air may flow into the combustion chambers, branches off from the collection chamber. This provides a particularly high level of functional integration of the intake module.
It has also been shown to be advantageous when the cooling device is situated in a receiving chamber delimited partially by the air duct element and partially by the cylinder head cover. In other words, the cylinder head cover and the air duct element are connected to one another to form the receiving chamber, the cooling device being situated in the receiving chamber. The receiving chamber may thus be provided in a simple, cost-effective manner with only a small number of parts, which keeps the space requirements and the costs of the intake module low.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one air line via which air is suppliable to the internal combustion engine is delimited partially by the air duct element and partially by the cylinder head cover. This results in a particularly cost-effective and compact design of the intake module.
The cooling device is preferably inserted into the intake module, in particular into the receiving chamber. The cooling device may thus be installed in a time- and cost-saving manner, resulting in time- and cost-optimized assembly of the overall internal combustion engine. This may take place in the longitudinal direction as well as in the transverse direction, relative to the main direction of extension of the cooling device.
In one particularly preferred embodiment, parts of the housing, in particular the upper housing part and the lower housing part, are connected to one another by screwing and/or welding, and/or gluing and/or riveting, and/or these parts are at least partially formed together as one piece. A particularly permanently seal-tight and easy connection of the housing parts to one another may be achieved using these connection technologies. In particular for connecting housing parts made of plastics, metallic connecting elements may be at least partially dispensed with when these parts are welded. The overall weight of the system may thus be kept low.
The invention also encompasses an internal combustion engine having an intake module according to the invention. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder head to which the intake module according to the invention is mounted by means of screws, for example.
Further advantages, features, and particulars of the invention result from the following description of one preferred exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawings. The features and feature combinations mentioned above in the description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or only shown in the figures may be used not only in the particularly stated combination, but also in other combinations or alone without departing from the scope of the invention.

Intake module for an internal combustion engine


A method for creating an animation tool, and the resulting animation tool, providing transition sequences for a character in an animation from a source frame of a first sequence of frames to a destination frame of a second sequence of frames.

This invention relates to computer animation.
Computer animation can generally be thought of as a sequence of frames, each including data describing the visual content of the frame. Running a frame sequence outputs individual frames, and the changing data in the sequentially output frames convey the temporal changes in the animation.
A character is an animated entity in the animation and is generally represented by a geometric model defined in a format used in an animation platform such as the PowerAnimator.TM.platform developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. When such a character appears in an animation frame sequence, the data for each of those frames includes data describing the position of the character's geometric model. When the character moves in that frame sequence, the data of the corresponding frames reflect the changing position of the character.
Typically, a character performs several basic motions repeatedly, some of which can be animated with motion "cycles". A motion cycle includes data for a character in a sequence of frames, moving it through a cyclic motion such that repeating the cycle frame sequence produces the effect of continuous motion. For example, a run cycle of a particular character, such as that shown in FIG. 1, may include data for a first frame, positioning the character in a first position, followed by a sequence of frames moving the character through a left step, and a right step, and ending with a frame positioning the character such that it can return to the position of the first frame of the cycle. Repeating the cycle produces the effect of the character's continuous running motion. FIG. 3 shows another illustration of a cycle, this one showing the character performing a jumping motion.
Once created and saved, data for frames of a character's motion cycle can be used each time the character performs that motion, avoiding the need to regenerate the data.
A "transition" includes data describing the position of the character in a sequence of frames as it moves from one cycle to another cycle. FIG. 2 shows a frame sequence illustrating a transition from the run cycle of FIG. 1 to the jump cycle of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows a frame sequence illustrating a transition from the jump cycle of FIG. 3 to the run cycle of FIG. 1.
An alternative approach for transitions uses a neutral position through which a character moves as it transitions from a first cycle to a second cycle. Thus, the transition from the first cycle to the second cycle can be broken down into two component transition: a first transition moves the character from the first cycle to the neutral position, and a second transition moves the character from the neutral position to the second cycle. In the examples illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, for example, the neutral position may be the standing position illustrated in FIGS. 2c and 4b. Thus, the Run.fwdarw.Jump transition could be broken down into a Run.fwdarw.Neutral transition, including the character positions illustrated in frames 2a and 2b, and a Neutral.fwdarw.Jump transition, including the character position illustrated in frame 2d. Similarly, the Jump.fwdarw.Run transition could be broken down into a Jump.fwdarw.Neutral transition including the character position illustrated in frame 4a, and a Neutral.fwdarw.Run transition including the character positions illustrated in frames 4c and 4d.
Using approaches such as these, a transition moves a character sequentially from its position in the last frame of a first cycle to its position in the first frame of a second cycle. Thus, when a character transitions from the first cycle to the second cycle, it must move through the first cycle to the position of its last frame before starting the transition, and must begin at the position of the first frame of the second cycle. Further, because a transition depends on knowing the last frame of the first cycle and the first frame of the second cycle, if either of these frames change, the transition frame sequence may need to be updated.

Automatic generation of transitions between motion cycles in an animation


Methods and apparatus for determining an estimated physical location of a fault in a pipeline or electrical transmission line using localization devices coupled thereto. In an embodiment, a first and second localization device each generate time values representing times when the respective localization device detected the fault. The estimated fault location is calculated, by one of the localization devices or a separate computing device, based upon the reported time values. In some embodiments, the calculation is further based upon characteristics of the pipeline or electrical transmission line, or based upon characteristics of matter transported through the pipeline. In some embodiments, the localization devices transmit time or sequence values to the other device, and the values received by the devices just before the detection of the fault may additionally be utilized to calculate the estimated physical location of the fault.

Whether they carry gas, liquids or electrical energy, utility lines that span geographic regions can fail for a number of reasons, including seismic events, windstorms, falling debris, and byproducts of human actions. Such failures are particularly important because they can be catastrophic to life, such as in the case of a complete failure of a pipeline carrying explosive or toxic matter. Additionally, these failures are expensive in terms of both the labor and time required to locate the failure and repair the line, in addition to the cost and negative publicity of the resulting loss of service occurring during this time. Accordingly, it is of the utmost of importance to be able to efficiently monitor and troubleshoot utility lines to ensure safety and availability of service.
Fault detection apparatus is already present in some types of existing utility lines. For example, breakers in electrical transmission lines may be coupled to telemetry systems that indicate breaker trippage to remote operation centers of utility companies. However, the fact that a breaker has tripped only isolates the fault to the segment downstream of the tripped breaker or between a pair of tripped breakers. Due to the length, remote geographic placement, and/or difficulty of access to many utility lines, substantial time and cost could be saved if a more precise location of a fault were readily available, preferably through automated means.

Automated fault localization in pipelines and electrical power transmission lines


A method and a unit for the thermal destruction of industrial fluid wastes in which first and second heating phases are performed by mixing the combustion gases with the fluid wastes into combustion chambers, maintaining the mixture under high turbulence conditions to bring it to a thermodestruction temperature at which the mixed fluid waste is destroyed by heat; the gaseous mixture is maintained in adiabatic conditions at the thermodestroying temperature for a predetermined period of time along a path extending along most of a primary combustion chamber of the destroyer unit. The thermodestroyer unit has a monolithic structure which develops vertically, comprising a primary combustion chamber and an annular stay chamber, which surrounds the primary combustion chamber in which the burning mixture is maintained in a substantially adiabatic condition; the apparatus may be provided with a heat exchanger arranged at the outlet of the stay chamber.

The present invention relates to a method and a unit for the incineration or the thermal destruction of fluid wastes, in particular pollutant industrial wastes, be they in a liquid or gaseous state, by means of which it is possible at the same time to regenerate heat for technological uses or for other applications.
As is known, many industrial processes give rise to the formation of liquid or gaseous effluent or waste which, if not appropriately treated or disposed, would involve serious hazards for the environment as well as for man. The elimination of toxic or harmful wastes is especially critical since their recycling, or their elimination in a controlled dump, is often found to be impossible or inadvisable.
For these and other reasons various physical, chemical or biological treatment systems have been developed for the elimination of wastes, which have led to various plant engineering and process solutions.
The choice of the type of disposal plant and process generally depends on the type of waste, in addition to considerations of an economic and environmental nature.
Systems for the thermal destruction of wastes have also been developed which enable wastes to be decontaminated by means of high level thermal energy, such as to cause the breakdown of complex molecular bonds thus enabling total oxidation and simpler molecules, or substances which are harmless to man and which do not damage the environment, to be obtained.
For these reasons various systems for the thermal destruction of fluid wastes have been proposed whereby the wastes in the gaseous or pulverized state are fed into an incineration plant where they are heated to a high temperature level and maintained at this temperature for a residence or stay time sufficient to cause its total destruction.
More particularly plants with a single combustion chamber have been developed, in which the waste in a gaseous or pulverized state is injected and treated with the flame of a burner which rapidly raises its temperature bringing it to a required value. In general the use of a single combustion chamber does not ensure adequate remixing of the combustion gases with the gaseous or liquid pulverized waste nor total destruction of the same, so that there is serious risk of emission of unburnt or incompletely destroyed parts which may be trapped by the combustion fumes and emitted with them, polluting the environment.
Moreover, incomplete combustion of wastes or combustion thereof at insufficiently high temperatures or an insufficient stay time at this temperature may in any case involve the risk of emission of toxic or harmful substances, such as dioxine and furanes, a risk which must in all cases be eliminated or reduced to totally insignificant levels, below a strictest threshold.
Thermal destruction plants have also been developed with several combustion chambers formed by several sections connected in series, comprising a primary combustion chamber where the waste is blaze with the flame of a burner to bring it to a first temperature level, followed by a postcombustion chamber in which, by means of a secondary burner, the fumes from the primary combustion chamber are further heated to a second temperature level, equal to or higher than the temperature of thermal destruction. The postcombustion section is in turn connected to a stay chamber where the gases remain for a predetermined time at the temperature of thermal destruction before being sent to the stack, directly or through a heat regeneration system.
A similar plant is therefore developed on the level, the various sections being connected one to the other in series, in this way forming a several operative unit system with considerable overall dimensions, difficult to control and with lengthy running times. Moreover, from the point of view of thermal efficiency and waste destruction efficiency, these plants are not always found to be adequate or useable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an unit for the thermal destruction of fluid wastes, designed to achieve high thermal and waste destroying efficiency, given that the combustion gases are maintained in a highly turbulence condition not only in the whole, but also in particular points of their path. In this way the emission of unburnt parts and/or hazardous substances due to incomplete destruction is avoided.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for the thermal destruction of pollant industrial waste effuents which requires small volumes of air and which enables high temperatures to be reached using a monolithically structured destroyer unit having small overall dimensions and relatively small volume.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for the thermal destruction of industrial waste effluents, as explained previously, which enable operations under pressurized conditions, and therefore easy to operate and to control.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for the thermal destruction of industrial waste effluents in which the reaction takes place in substantially adiabatic conditions, along a path which develops substantially in a vertical direction.
A further object of the present invention is to provide apparatus as defined above which has a monobloc structure integrated with a heat regeneration section for the combustion gases, before the latter are sent to a stack, so as to reduce drops in pressure as far as possible, also making the heat regenerator and the entire apparatus easily accessible for their maintenance.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for the thermal destruction of waste effluents, as defined, which allow the pollutants emitted with the combustion fumes to be controlled accurately, maintaining them substantially below established legal levels.

Method and unit for the thermal destruction of pollutant wastes


A semiconductor package includes a substrate having a first surface, a second surface that is opposite to the first surface, and an opening formed between the first surface of the substrate and the second surface of the substrate. One or more bonding wires electrically couple a first surface of a semiconductor die included in the semiconductor package to the first surface of the substrate through an opening of the substrate. A first electrically insulative structure is disposed to substantially fill an area between the first surface of the semiconductor die, the second surface of the substrate, and one or more interconnect bumps that electrically couple the semiconductor die to the substrate. The first electrically insulative structure substantially encapsulates the one or more bonding wires and substantially fills the opening of the substrate.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Currently, window BGA packages are formed by using an adhesive to directly attach a semiconductor die to the substrate without using, for example, interconnect bumps or analogous structures. However, such conventional packaging may not provide a sufficiently small semiconductor package to accommodate shrinking form factors for emerging electronic devices such as, for example, phones, computers, or other electronic assemblies that use the semiconductor dies.

Window ball grid array (BGA) semiconductor packages


The field relates to a compartment of an aircraft. The compartment is delimited by a section of the outer wall of the cabin, as well as by two identical foldable partition segments that delimit the compartment from adjacent compartments. So that a compartment passenger's compliance with the requirement to fasten the seat belt may nonetheless be verified during the flight, the partition segments are arranged such that between them access openings to the compartment are created.

Although passengers in business class or first class pay significantly more for their tickets than those in economy class, accommodations during a flight leave a great deal to be desired. For example, the sleeping position of the seats is often not horizontal but are merely inclined. For reasons of space, such seats positioned behind each other and are arranged so as to overlap. For example, the foot end of one seat projects underneath the head end of the respective other seat, as described in DE 195 44 754 and shown in FIG. 25.
Further serious shortcomings relate to the lack of privacy for passengers. On long-distance flights passengers need to sleep for an extended period of time, and often do not want to wear outdoor clothing during that time. However, frequently, there is no opportunity for discretely changing clothes, even in a first-class cabin, as an effective visual barrier to adjacent seats does not exist.
In order to ensure a horizontal sleeping position in a space that is closed off for privacy, the industry proposes rest compartments, for example, shown in the magazine "Aviation Week" of Mar. 6, 2000, on page 40; May 17, 1999, on page 60; or Mar. 12, 2001, on page 42. However, the proposals presented therein are intended for the flight crew rather than for passengers. Furthermore, accommodating passengers in the case of the above-mentioned examples is questionable, because during certain flight phases such as, takeoff, landing or wind gusts, the cabin crew must be able to monitor, without any impediment, passengers' compliance with the requirement to fasten their seat belts. Such monitoring is, however, only possible if members of the cabin crew may easily see the seat of the respective passenger, although providing a certain degree of privacy, as well as a horizontal sleeping position, these solutions do not take into account the aspect of the passenger being safely restrained by the seat belt as described in DE 26 30 210 and DE 22 34 308. Also, these described solutions, due to the extremely confined nature of the proposed berth arrangements, are unlikely to be suitable for accommodating passengers.
Another solution is provided in the proposal presented on page 14 of the January/February edition of the journal "Aircraft Interiors". In that article, in order to save space, compartments are arranged so as to be staggered in height. While in this way criteria such as, for example, a horizontal sleeping position and adequate privacy are met, there are however concerns relating to evacuation regulations. Furthermore, monitoring passengers' compliance with the regulation to have their seat belts fastened is difficult.
An article in "Der Spiegel", June 2000, page 124, discloses a solution from British Airways. This arrangement provides a horizontal surface for sleeping; however, the partition panels or privacy screens that are arranged at half height do not even come close to providing a satisfactory level of privacy for passengers. The solution is further described in the patent specification, DE 195 44 754. Instead of an axis-parallel arrangement of the seats, for various reasons, seats are arranged somewhat obliquely such that the seat points somewhat towards the row of windows towards the outside. A similar arrangement with offset seats that are arranged obliquely is, for example, described in GB 733 081, except seats cannot be reclined to a flat sleeping surface. While DE 195 44 754 proposes ways to improve privacy, the proposed half-height partition panels or screens are inadequate.


An agile and highly stable auto-reversing front wheel steering mechanism. Its main components include a chassis, a steering shaft, a pair of front wheels, a connecting rod, front axle end beams, steering pitch axles, king pins, and transversal pulling rods. It uses the steering shaft to turn the steering pitch axles, which then turn the two wheels through the transversal pulling rod so that the turning of an electra mobile can be agile and highly stable and an auto-reversing, by which the steering shaft will return to its original forward position after making a turn, can be achieved.

Electro mobile is a very convenient device in helping old people and the handicapped with their transportation need. But since these people are usually physically weak or partially disabled, it is therefore important that the steering mechanism of the electro mobile be light and easy to handle and it should be safe and stable. To be more specific, the steering mechanism for the electro mobile should include:
1. Agility: Since the handicapped and old people are usually having more difficulties than regular people in moving their limbs, the steering mechanism should therefore be light and easy to manipulate. PA1 2. Stability: The electro mobile should not be swaying during straight line movement so that the driver need not place their hands on steering shaft all the time. PA1 3. Auto-reverse: The steering shaft must be able to return to its original forward position after turning to save efforts required of driver.
Based upon the above requirements, the inventor has developed the present invention through unrelenting researches and experiments.

Front wheel steering mechanism for electro mobile


A control system for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a drive shaft driven by the engine, a generator for converting kinetic energy of the drive shaft to electrical energy to generate electric power, and an electrical storage device for storing electrical energy output from the generator, wherein idling of the engine is detected. An amount of electrical energy to be regenerated by the generator during the idling of the engine is calculated. An output from the generator is calculated based on the amount of electrical energy to be regenerated by the generator. An amount of intake air supplied to the engine is controlled in a manner such that the amount of intake air to be supplied to the engine is increased when the generator regenerates electrical energy during the idling of the engine. And an air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied to the engine is controlled to a leaner value than a stoichiometric value during the idling of the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control system for hybrid vehicles having an internal combustion engine and a traction motor as prime movers.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, a hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine (hereinafter simply referred to as "the engine") and a traction motor as prime movers is widely known, and a control system for controlling the prime movers of such a hybrid vehicle has already been proposed e.g. by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-229351.
The proposed control system determines the optimum torque at which the maximum engine efficiency is attained, in dependence on traveling conditions of the vehicle, and at the same time detects actual torque generated by the engine for actually driving the vehicle. Then, the control system determines or selects demanded torque from the optimum torque and the actual torque. When the optimum torque is selected as the demanded or required torque, and at the same time, the optimum torque is larger than the actual torque, regenerative current is caused to be generated for regeneration of energy (specifically, electrical energy).
In the above publication, it is not clearly disclosed whether or not the regeneration of electrical energy is carried out during idling of the engine. If the regeneration of electrical energy is carried out during idling of the engine with load on the engine increased, the combustion efficiency of the engine is enhanced due to the increased load on the engine. However, the increased load on the engine entails an increase in the amount of fuel supplied to the engine, which leads to degraded fuel economy.


A cooling tower sound attenuation apparatus having at least one sheet. The sheet has an upper and lower end and a first substantially straight region and a second region that is connected to the first substantially straight region. The apparatus additionally has a liquid collection basin along with a support structure that supports the sheet such that the lower end of the sheet is proximate to the liquid collection basin.

Cooling towers are devices that cool process fluid for power plants, process fluid and cooling water for HVAC, for example. Hot process fluid, usually water, is cooled by passing cold ambient air over the hot fluid. The fluid is then cooled by evaporation and/or direct contact with the air. Pumps deliver the process fluid to the tower and in most cases, the process fluid flows by gravity from an elevation inside the cooling tower downwards to the "cold water" basin (usually at the tower base). As the fluid travels downward through the tower, it passes through various types of media that release the fluid into droplets as the fluid continues its path to the bottom of the tower.
During operation, cooling towers generally produce unwanted noise. There are many sources of this noise. These sources include: mechanical devices such as the fan and fan motor, the water from the spray system and general splashing of water over heat transfer media and into the basin, and the air gusting through the cooling tower. Of the sources described above, the falling water is typically a primary contributor to cooling tower noise, especially at ground level near the cooling tower.
As the noise is generated, it is emitted through the air intake and the air outlet of the cooling tower. This noise generated by the cooling tower can be a deterrent to the utilization of a cooling tower in a given application.
There are two primary types of cooling towers used today, counterflow and crossflow. Counterflow towers have become the industry accepted "standard" for large field-erected cooling towers because they generally cost less and consume less footprint area than a comparable crossflow tower. In a counterflow cooling tower, the water passes over the heat transfer media and is cooled by the air as it moves downward. At the bottom of the heat transfer media, the water simply falls unimpeded into the cold water basin below; splashing into the water contained therein, producing noise. In most counterflow towers, the heat transfer media is raised above the operating water level of the cold water basin in order to allow ambient air to enter the tower. As a result of the above-described orientation, this produces a noticeable increase in droplet momentum thereby increasing the amplitude of the noise as it impacts the water surface of the water basin, transferring the energy from the falling fluid droplet to a sound wave as its decent is abruptly halted.
The typical sound level of the noise associated with an operational cooling tower is around 70 dBA at a horizontal distance of 50 feet from the louvered face of the tower. Due to the aforementioned cooling tower operational noise levels, one in every eight field erected counterflow cooling towers, requires some sort of inlet sound attenuation.
Current methods for attenuating noise include slowing the fan or altering the design of the fan with the implementation of variable speed drives and blocking and/or muffling water noise after it has already been created. Slowing and/or modifying the fan gives the cooling tower different cooling properties, is very expensive, and is not applicable in many applications.
With respect to blocking and/or muffling water noise after it is created, there are two primary methods currently employed in the industry. These methods, however, are difficult to maintain, inhibit tower performance, are extremely costly, and/or require the use of large obtrusive walls that can not always be accommodated at the project site.
The first method involves placing a barrier around the cooling tower. One way to do this is to build a wall around the tower or at least around the source of the noise. However, the utilization of a sound barrier is very limited because it is based on the configuration of the project site and any barrier to sound is also a barrier to the air circulation, reducing the effectiveness of the tower. In addition, space is often a premium on a construction site and the ability to build walls around the cooling structures may not be feasible.
The second method involves insulating the side-walls of the cooling tower to prevent the emission of the noise from the tower on a particular side or sides. The use of insulated walls is not possible on the air-entering wall or walls. The object of the cooling tower is to allow air to circulate and cool the water and restricting the circulation of the air is undesirable because it tends to frustrate a central purpose of the cooling tower. To compensate for closing off one or more faces of the air inlet, the tower height and more specifically the air inlet height must increase. Thus, tower framing and the height of the insulated walls are increased which increase costs. Additionally the pumping head is increased which increases operating costs. Furthermore, the falling water height is increased which often results in more noise emitted on the open faces of the tower.
A variation of insulted walls is the use of baffled attenuators. Baffles are aligned across the face of the air inlet with gaps between the baffles to permit air to enter the tower. One or more rows of these baffles may be employed. When two or more rows of insulated baffles are employed, they may be arranged in a staggered pattern to prevent unimpeded sound wave portions from traveling straight out of the air inlet faces. Unlike solid insulated walls, air is permitted to traverse around the baffles and enter the tower. Although, attempts have been made at aerodynamic shaped baffles, this method suffers from air flow pressure loss around the baffles which requires more power to overcome or the loss of thermal performance. By increasing the air inlet height these disadvantages can be overcome at least in part, but the taller attenuation baffles suffer from the same disadvantages as increasing the height of the insulated walls.
Another method attempts to reduce the noise by affecting the falling water, and involves the utilization of droplet interceptors. Water droplets strike the interceptors before being released to the free water surface below. The current droplet interceptors available on the market are made of thick mesh or wood slats sloped at an angle. The thick mesh is problematic because over time it tends to clog, prohibiting water from passing through and enabling biological organisms to grow, creating water treatment issues. In addition, because the mesh is supported by a thin wire "net", the mesh will tend to sag over time and fall out of the wire "net", allowing at least some of the falling water to splash unattenuated.
Unlike the mesh, the wood slat material is relatively inexpensive. However the labor involved in installing the wood slats is more expensive than for the mesh. In addition the wood slats are not very effective as a sound attenuation media, in some instances, the slats may actually contribute to the noise of the tower.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a sound attenuation method and apparatus that offers a substantial reduction in noise, is relatively inexpensive, maintenance free and avoids restricting the circulation of air within the cooling tower. It is also desirable to provide a noise attenuation structure that is stable, low cost and resists and corrosion.


A method and apparatus are disclosed for recovering and separating anesthetic gas components from waste anesthetic gases to be purged from a healthcare facility. With minimal reliance on the utility infrastructure and supplies of a healthcare facility, the method and apparatus needs only electrical or mechanical power, a source of waste anesthetic gases, and an atmospheric vent in order to operate. A heat exchanger/condenser, which uses a dedicated heat transfer fluid as a refrigerant, is employed to condense anesthetic gas components from the waste anesthetic gases as either liquid condensates or solid frosts. The warmed heat transfer fluid is cooled in a separate refrigeration unit and recycled back to the heat exchanger/condenser. A preferred embodiment of the invention is a self-contained, packaged unit which can be easily accommodated in a physician's office, small animal clinic, dental office or other healthcare facility requiring effective waste anesthetic gas management.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns the treatment of waste anesthetic gases produced by one or more anesthesia delivery systems of a healthcare or other facility that use inhaled anesthetics for medical, dental, or veterinary purposes. In order to prevent atmospheric pollution, the invention pertains to the removal and reclamation of nitrous oxide, fluoro-ethers, and other halocarbons from a stream of waste anesthetic gases prior to its discharge to the atmosphere. In particular, this invention involves the removal and reclamation of anesthetic gases using a self-contained apparatus, which allows the removal and reclamation process by condensation to be conducted with minimal interaction with the utility systems of healthcare facilities.
2. Background Art
Anesthesia delivery systems in surgical facilities (medical, dental, and veterinary) produce significant quantities of waste anesthetic gases. Currently these gases are collected from the patients' exhalation by a dedicated or shared vacuum system. The healthcare facilities typically employ one or more centrally-located vacuum pumps to collect waste gases from individual anesthetizing locations. These vacuum pumps are usually oversized, because they are designed to collect exhaled anesthetics over a wide range of flow rates. Because these pumps operate continuously, the waste anesthetic gas suction system also entrains large amounts of surrounding room air from the anesthetizing locations, significantly diluting the waste anesthetic gases therein. At the central vacuum pump(s), the gas stream is often admixed with additional room air to futher dilute it prior to its ejection from the facility. This dilute waste anesthetic gas/air mixture is typically pumped to a location outside of the surgical facility, where it is vented to the open atmosphere.
The waste anesthetic gases are generally collected at about 20-30° C. with a relative humidity ranging between 10 to 60 percent. The average composition of the waste gases is estimated to be (in volume percent): 25-32 percent oxygen, 60-65 percent nitrogen, 5-10 percent nitrous oxide, and 0.1-0.5 percent volatile halocarbons, including fluoro-ethers, such as isoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane. The waste anesthetic gas may also contain trace amounts of lubricating oil vapor from the vacuum pumps.
An increasingly significant source of environmental concern, waste anesthetic gas halocarbons (similar in composition to Freon-12® and other refrigerants) have been linked to ozone depletion and to a lesser degree, global warming. The halocarbons used in anesthesia (primarily halogenated methyl ethyl ethers) now represent a significant emissions source, because other industrial and commercial halocarbon emissions have been greatly reduced by legislation and other initiatives in recent years. Although waste anesthetic gas emissions have so far escaped environmental regulation in the United States, legislative initiatives to strictly regulate waste anesthetic gas emissions will likely occur in the near future.
Several techniques have been proposed to treat waste anesthetic gases in an attempt to mitigate the growing problem of waste anesthetic gas emissions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,303 describes the treatment of laughing gas with a catalyst, U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,363 describes the adsorption of anesthetic gases by charcoal granules, U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,504 details the destruction of anesthetic gases by heating in the presence of a catalyst, U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,411 discloses absorption of anesthetic gases by a molecular sieve, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,914 describes the separation of xenon from exhaled anesthetic gas. A cryogenic method for scrubbing volatile halocarbons from waste anesthetic gas is disclosed by Berry in U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,329, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Another cryogenic waste anesthetic gas condensation system has recently been disclosed by Berry, et al. in co-pending application Ser. No. 11/432,189, entitled "Anesthetic Gas Reclamation System and Method." This system uses a batch-mode frost fractionation process whereby the temperatures of the individual anesthetic gases are lowered to a point such that they condense and collect as frost on the cooling surfaces of a cold trap/fractionator. This co-pending application, filed on May 11, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical waste anesthetic gas reclamation system 10 of prior art for a healthcare facility. The system 10 includes a number of individual anesthetizing stations 15A, 15E, 15C, each having an anesthetizing machine 12A, 12B, 12C which delivers anesthesia to a patient via a mask 14A, 14B, 14C or similar device. Excess anesthetic gases, patients' exhalation, and air are collected at the masks 14A, 14B, 14C by the anesthetizing machines 12A, 12B, 12C and discharged to a common collection manifold 16. The waste anesthetic gas collection manifold 16 is typically hard plumbed into the healthcare facility, and the anesthetizing machines 12A, 12B, 12C are removably connected to the collection manifold 16 at standard waste anesthetic gas connectors 18A, 18B, 18C, e.g. 19 mm or 30 mm anesthetic connectors. The waste anesthetic gas reclamation system 10 operates at a vacuum pressure which is generated by one or more central vacuum pumps 20. The collected waste gas stream is typically passed through a check valve 35 to a condenser unit 22 consisting of one or more heat exchangers. A source of liquid oxygen, or other suitable heat sink, extracts heat from the waste anesthetic stream, condensing the anesthetic gas components. The liquid waste anesthetic condensate is captured in collection vessels 24, and any liquid water condensate is captured in collection vessel 23. The remaining gas stream, stripped of waste anesthetic gas components, passes through a receiver 26 and the vacuum pump(s) 20, and it is then exhausted to the atmosphere outside of the healthcare facility through vent 46.
The current methods for scavenging waste anesthetic gases from anesthetizing locations 15A, 15B, 15C in healthcare facilities generally involve drawing high flows of room air into the dedicated or shared vacuum collection manifold 16 to entrain waste anesthetic gases. The collection manifold 16 may also continuously draw in air through a number of idle anesthetizing machines 12A, 12B, 12C. On average, the collection system manifold 16 extracts between 20-30 liters of waste anesthetic gas and/or room air per minute at each anesthetizing location 15A, 15B, 15C. For a large hospital having between 20-30 operating rooms, it is estimated that waste anesthetic reclamation system 10 flow rate ranges between 500-1000 /min. (14-35 scf/min.).
The advantages of a high-flow dilute waste gas system are that the system easily accommodates a wide range of anesthetic exhaust flows, the system is safer because little anesthetic can escape the system, and the system is more trouble-free because little maintenance is required. However, high-flow systems are energy-intensive, generally requiring large vacuum pumps 20 in order to maintain sufficient suction at a large number of anesthetizing stations 15A, 15B, 15C. For example, in order to maintain a vacuum of about 200 mm Hg at a flow rate of 1-2 cubic feet per minute (cfm) at each anesthetizing station 15A, 15B, 15C, vacuum pumps of 100-200 cfm capacity are not uncommon.
Additionally, a diluted waste anesthetic gas stream is thermally inefficient. Removal of a waste gas component by condensation requires lowering the temperature of the entire flow stream to a point where the partial pressure of the gaseous waste component is equal to or greater than its saturated vapor pressure (at that temperature). Therefore, to cool the large volume of diluted waste anesthetic gas to a temperature below the saturated vapor pressure of its components, a sizeable cooling utility (i.e. a greater quantity of liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, etc.) is required. A method and system for increasing the efficacy and efficiency of condensation-type waste anesthetic gas scavenging and reclamation systems are thus desirable.
A low-flow scavenging system provides a more efficient means of waste anesthetic gas recovery through condensation, because a smaller volume of gas has to be cooled to the condensation temperatures of the individual gases. A low flow scavenging method, facilitated by a dynamic waste anesthetic gas collection apparatus, has recently been disclosed by Berry et al. in co-pending application Ser. No. 11/266,966, entitled "Method of Low Flow Anesthetic Gas Scavenging and Dynamic Collection Apparatus Therefor." This co-pending application, filed on Nov. 4, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference.
Typically, anesthetic gases are highly volatile substances. For a given temperature, they have a higher vapor pressure than the vapor pressure of water and other lower volatile substances. Substances with higher vapor pressures generally require greater cooling to achieve the same or similar condensate recovery as substances with lower vapor pressures. Thus, anesthetic gases need to be cooled to extremely low temperatures, i.e. cryogenic temperatures, in order to recover appreciable amounts of anesthetic as condensate. However, these extremely low temperatures approach, and in many cases, fall below the freeze point of many anesthetics. In such situations, the waste anesthetic gas stream may still contain anesthetic concentrations that could be condensed except for the undesirable freezing of the system.
Pressure, in addition to temperature, can greatly influence condensation. A method and apparatus to enhance anesthetic condensation using a compression stage have recently been disclosed by Berry et al. in co-pending application Ser. No. 11/432,152, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Anesthetic Gas Reclamation with Compression Stage." This co-pending application, filed on May 11, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference. Elevating the pressure of the condensation system is advantageous, because it allows condensation to occur at significantly higher temperatures than would otherwise occur at lower operating pressures. This also avoids the risk and problems associated with freezing of the condensate. For these types of vapor/liquid phase equilibrium systems, the most beneficial thermodynamic characteristic is that the pressure has a much larger effect on the dew point of the vapor than the freezing point of the liquid. Thus, the dew point temperature of a typical anesthetic-laden vapor stream increases with increasing pressure while its freezing point temperature stays relatively constant for varying system pressures.
The increased temperature span between the dew point of the vapor and the freeze point of the condensate, due to increases in system pressure, provides greater operational flexibilities for condensation systems. For example, less cryogenic refrigerant is needed to effect the same amount of condensation, because condensation can occur at higher temperatures. Furthermore, if a more complete separation of the anesthetic from the waste gas stream is desired, the system temperature can be lowered while maintaining an elevated pressure. This permits additional anesthetic to be condensed from the vapor phase without the associated risk of condensate freezing. Thus, a strategy may be developed to achieve the optimum separation of anesthetic by simply adjusting the condensation system pressure relative to the condensation system temperature. Of course, the relative refrigeration versus compression costs should also be considered in any cost optimization strategy.
Using a low-flow anesthetic gas collection device and increasing the gas stream pressure prior to condensation improve both the efficacy and efficiency of waste anesthetic gas reclamation, however, these systems must still be integrated with the existing utility infrastructure of the healthcare facility. As previously mentioned, these prior art systems were typically designed for robust anesthetic waste gas removal. For example, the vacuum pumps, ductwork, valves, etc. of these existing waste anesthetic gas removal systems were sized to handle large volumes of entrained room air along with the waste anesthetic gases. Interfacing more efficient anesthetic scavenging components into an oversized waste air handling system does not necessarily yield the best possible results. Thus, a properly designed waste air handling system, sized to manage the expected capacity of waste gases, is also desirable.
Furthermore, the immense growth in the use of anesthesia outside of the traditional hospital setting has created additional challenges. Anesthetic gases used in small office setting must still be properly managed. However, existing waste anesthetic gas scavenging and reclamation used in hospitals are impractical for use in a small office setting because of their sheer size and expense of operation. Most waste anesthetic gases used in small office settings are simply vented to the atmosphere (or to the operating room) with no treatment and/or attempt to recover the valuable anesthetic components. Therefore, a self-contained waste anesthetic gas scavenging and reclamation system, which will provide the same benefits and/or features as the much larger systems used hospitals and other traditional healthcare facilities, is desirable for these small, discrete office settings.
3. Identification of Objects of the Invention
A primary object of the invention is to provide a system and method for removing fluoro-ethers, nitrous oxide, and other volatile halocarbons from waste anesthetic gases from a surgical or other healthcare facility before such gases are vented to the atmosphere.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for substantially preventing atmospheric venting of fluoro-ethers and other volatile halocarbons of waste anesthetic gas while eliminating the need of prior art catalysts, charcoal granules and heating techniques.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method which reclaim and allow re-distillation and/or reuse of a large percentage of the nitrous oxide and/or anesthetic halocarbons used in the facility.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for separating various removed nitrous oxide, fluoro-ethers, and other volatile halocarbon components based on their characteristic bubble and dew points.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible system and method for increasing the efficacy and efficiency of condensation-type waste anesthetic scavenging system by operating the system under varying pressures and temperatures.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for reclaiming anesthetic gases from a waste anesthetic gas stream which do not require integration with existing waste anesthetic gas reclamation systems of the healthcare facility.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for reclaiming anesthetic gases from a waste anesthetic gas stream which minimize reliance on the utility infrastructure and supplies of a healthcare facility.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following specification and drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for self-contained anesthetic gas reclamation


From palm oil, valuable compounds like the tocochromanols, carotenoids, phytosterols and other can be derived in the new process. Fractions derived from crude palm oil, already enriched to some extent in tocochromanols, carotenoids, phytosterols, and others, are treated by supercritical fluid technology in a unique combination of counter current separation with selective adsorption and desorption using supercritical fluids.

From palm oil valuable compounds like the tocochromanols, carotenoids, phytosterols, and others can be derived. Enrichment to highly concentrated fractions is hindered by the enormous number of components involved, the very low volatility, the very low solubility of many of the compounds in organic solvents, and the high viscosity of the mixtures to be processed.
As an example for the production of pre-concentrated fractions, the Carotech-process may be taken (FIG. 1). Caromin™, is a carotenoid enriched derivate of crude palm oil, containing approximately 10% of carotenoids. The integrated process for extracting carotenoids and tocotrienols (vitamin E) is carried out according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,142 and is summarized in FIG. 1. It involves the transesterification of crude palm oil (CPO) to methyl esters (FAME), followed by vacuum distillation and other steps, resulting in a carotene-rich layer and a tocotrienol-rich layer. The carotene-rich layer, as well as the tocotrienol-rich layer are further concentrated to produce highly concentrated products of a maximum content of 30% for carotenoids, and a maximum content of about 50% for tocochromanols, mostly tocotrienols. Further enrichment with conventional methods proved to be not possible because of the high viscosity, very low volatility, and low solubility in conventional organics solvents. Although a number of investigations have been carried out on various mixtures, mostly tocopherols, with supercritical fluids, no process was able to produce fractions of high concentrations for both the tocochromanols and the carotenoids from crude palm oil or other natural sources.
FIG. 1. Process for production of concentrated fractions of mixed carotenoid and tocotrienols (U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,142).
Carotenes, which impart the distinctive orange-red colour to palm oil, together with tocopherols contribute to the stability and nutritional value of the oil. To a great extent these and other minor constituents determine the quality characteristics of palm oil Carotenoids are often recovered from natural fat or oil, particularly from palm oil. Carotenoids can be extracted from unsaponified distillation residue. They can be also extracted employing adsorbent in some stage of the process. During the extraction, large amounts of organic solvents are needed. Adsorptive processes so far have not led to higher concentrated carotene fractions from natural sources. Reasons are the initial low concentrations, the high viscosity of carotene fractions, and the instability of carotenes on most adsorbents. Numerous attempts to design a process for producing higher concentrated fractions of carotenes have been made.
Carotenoids are the most widespread and important pigments in living organisms. The most widely known carotenes are the α-, β- and γ-carotenes, and lycopene. Beside their colour, carotenoids, especially β-carotene, are well known to possess provitamin A activity as they can be transformed into vitamin A in vitro. They have also been found to inhibit anti-cancer properties due to their ability to deactivate oxy-radicals. As the carotenes are natural compounds with vitamin A property, they played a positive role in commercial applications for pharmaceutical and nutritional products synthesis. [1, 2].
Carotenoids are found in numerous vegetable oils, including groundnut oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower-seed oil and cottonseed oil. The concentration of carotenoids in these oils is generally low, less than 100 ppm. Among these, palm oil is the richest natural plant source of carotene in terms of retinol equivalent, with Malaysia contributing the highest percentage of world palm oil production. Palm oil contains the highest known concentration of carotenoids, ranging from 500 to 3000 ppm, depending on the species of the palm fruit from which the oil is obtained. [1, 2] The concentration of carotenes in crude palm oil from Malaysia varies between 500 to 700 ppm, with α- and β-carotene form up to 90% of the total carotenes. [3].
Nowadays, carotenes found on the market are chemically synthetic β-carotene or carotene extracted from algae Dunaliella. Since carotenoids are most probably to grow in importance and value, the recovery of carotenoids from palm oil and its byproducts becomes important. Various extracting methods for recovering carotenes from palm oil have been developed over the years including saponification, urea processing, selective solvent extraction, molecular distillation, separation by adsorption, crystallization, and transesterification followed by distillation of esters. [1,4,5].
Tocochromanols: Vitamins are important substances for the human health. They are regulating various processes in the body and have positive effects on many vital functions. In general terms vitamins act as coenzymes or pro-hormones while most of their other functions like anti-carcinogen or anti-oxidizing effects are yet to be researched. Most of the vitamins cannot be synthesized by the human body and therefore these nutrients have to be ingested with the food. Since vitamins vary in their structure and their functions, a first approach is to categorize them into water soluble and oil soluble groups. Water soluble vitamins are distributed within the whole body and there-fore they are taking effect in almost all organs, while oil soluble vitamins are mostly present in the membranes. The transport in the blood stream and the digestion of these vitamins can only be done if a sufficient amount of oil lipids and micelles are present.
Vitamin E is the generic term for eight substances from the group of the tocochromanols that possess a Vitamin E activity. The tocochromanols can be subdivided into two groups: the tocochromanols and the tocotrienols: with the tocotrienols possessing three unsaturated double bonds in their hydrocarbon chain and the tocopherols possessing a completely unsaturated hydrocarbon chain. Both tocopherol and -trienol subgroups consist of four homologous, designated as α-, β-, δ-, and γ-tocopherol (-trienol), depending on the substitutes of their chroman-ring. The tocochromanols are oil soluble anti-oxidants which are mostly found in the cell membrane of organs. γ-tocopherol has the highest anti-oxidant activity and therefore it is mostly used as anti-oxidant in the food and cosmetic industry. Nevertheless recent studys report further functions of the other tocochromanol homologous like anti-carcinogen or anti-tumor properties.
As a consequence the demand on natural tocochromanol mixtures consisting of all homologous is steadily increasing. The fruits of the malaysian oil palm possess the highest content of tocochromanols in the world. Crude palm oil (CPO) consist of 94 wt. % tryglycerides, 3-4 wt. % free fatty acids (FFA), and only 1 wt. % of the CPO consist of tocochromanols, carotinoids and phytonutrients. Palm oil is available in large quantities and at a comparatively low price. It is the largest source for tocotrienols. Tocotrienols can be recovered from the distillate fractions obtained during the refining and deodorisation of the crude palm oil. The carotenoids are destroyed during this process. It is therefore reasonable to try to recover both groups of valuble compounds in one process sequence. The most economic way would be to adsorb these compounds from the crude palm oil on an appropriate adsorbent and remove the compounds subsequently from the adsorbent. Numerous attempts have been made. So far no success was obtained. Therefore, the need for another approach led to the transesterification of the triglycerides of palm oil to fatty acid methyl esters and their removal by vacuum distillation. The further process of generating higher concentrated fractions is limited by the mentioned properties of the mixtures. The needs for a different process are obvious.
Here, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is an alternative to conventional extraction with organic solvents. SFE is able to yield in a solvent free extract and due to its low critical temperature can be used for the treatment of temperature sensitive substances like vitamins. Supercritical fluids can dissolve the low volatile components and carry them through any process via the gaseous phase. Furthermore, highly viscous liquid solutions dissolve a great amount of supercritical fluids, in particular carbon dioxide and propane, with the effect of a much reduced viscosity. Then, even the liquid solutions can be handled in a process.
Although these facts have each for itself been known for some time, the surprising effects for a further enrichment of the tocochromanols and the carotenoids by applying appropriate combinations of counter current SFE separation and SFE-adsorptions with subsequent selective SFE-desorption have not been recognized. The state of the art achieved so far is reviewed in the following.

Process for production of highly enriched fractions of natural compounds from palm oil with supercritical and near critical fluids


A disc brake for a commercial vehicle is provided. The disc brake includes a brake caliper which engages over a brake disc and is in the form of a sliding caliper, two brake pads which are arranged in the caliper, are movable in opposite directions and each have a pad carrier plate and a friction lining fastened thereon and of which an application-side brake pad is pressable against the brake disc by an application device via at least one brake plunger, and with at least one restoring device with which the brake caliper is returnable after a braking-induced displacement and release of the brake. The restoring device is provided with a friction element which is mounted in the brake pad so as to be displaceable to a limited extent under pressure loading in the axial direction of the brake disc and on which an elastic pressure element held in the brake caliper and/or brake plunger acts.

The invention relates to a disc brake for a commercial vehicle having a brake caliper which straddles a brake disc and is configured as a sliding caliper, two brake pads which are arranged therein, can be moved in opposite directions and in each case have a pad carrier plate and a friction lining fastened thereon, of which an application-side friction lining can be pressed against the brake disc by way of a brake application device via at least one brake ram, and having at least one restoring device, by which the caliper can be returned after a braking-induced displacement and release of the brake.
In the functional case, that is to say in the case of a brake operation, an application of the brake pads by means of a brake application device takes place first of all by pressing of the application-side brake pad against the brake disc and subsequent pressing of the reaction-side brake pad which lies on the opposite side of the brake disc.
Whereas the application-side brake pad is pressed against the brake disc via brake rams of the brake application device, the brake caliper which is configured as a sliding caliper, is displaced counter to the pressing action of the brake application device on the application-side brake pad in order to press the reaction-side brake pad against the other side of the brake disc.
After the brake is released, the brake caliper remains in its last-mentioned position in the case of the known disc brake, in which position the brake pads, but at least the reaction-side brake pad, bear/bears, admittedly in a pressureless manner but in a grinding manner, against the brake disc. What are known as the residual wear torques which occur during driving operation as a result lead to an increased fuel consumption of the vehicle and also to a reduction of the service life both of the brake disc and of the brake pads.
A slight release of the brake pads takes place during driving operation by a wobbling of the brake disc and by way of vibrations and transverse accelerations when driving around bends. However, these effects are not sufficient to effectively prevent the grinding.
In order to avoid these disadvantages, DE 199 46 677 A1 has disclosed a disc brake having a restoring device which, after the release of the brake, returns the brake caliper into its starting position. In order, in particular, to guide the reaction-side brake pad in the non-functional position out of its contact with the brake disc, spring systems are known which are prestressed during application of the brake. After release, the brake pads are pressed back or pulled away by way of the spring energy which is stored as a result of the prestress. Here, said spring systems can be anchored in stationary components, for example, a brake carrier.
However, the restoring of the caliper is exclusively dependent on the spring travel of the restoring element, which, however, does not make possible an exact guidance back to an always identical air play dimension between the brake disc and the reaction-side brake pad. This has the result that the known disc brake represents a rather unsatisfactory solution to the problem.
This also applies when the reaction-side brake pad is attached in a positively locking manner to the brake caliper back, since, as a result of the holding forces which remain in the entire system of components which move relative to one another after release of the brake, said components have to be pressed away from the brake disc.
The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a disc brake of the generic type in such a way that a restoring of the brake caliper that remains constant in relation to the air play is ensured, and residual wear torques which occur are minimized.
This and other objects are achieved by way of a disc brake for a commercial vehicle having a brake caliper which straddles a brake disc and is configured as a sliding caliper, two brake pads which are arranged therein, can be moved in opposite directions and in each case have a pad carrier plate and a friction lining fastened thereon, of which an application-side friction lining can be pressed against the brake disc by way of a brake application device via at least one brake ram, and having at least one restoring device, by which the caliper can be returned after a braking-induced displacement and release of the brake. The restoring device is provided with a friction element which is mounted in the brake pad such that it can be displaced to a limited extent in a pressure-loaded manner in the axial direction of the brake disc. On the friction element, an elastic pressure element acts, which is held in the brake caliper and/or brake ram.
The invention is used especially in the reaction-side area of the disc brake, but can certainly also be used in the application-side area, to be precise in the reaction-side brake pad/brake ram functional unit there. In any case, a reduction in the residual wear torque is achieved by way of the invention.
According to the invention, a friction element is provided in the brake pad, to be precise in the friction lining of the brake pad, which friction element is held such that it can be displaced to a limited extent in a pressure-loaded manner in the axial direction of the brake disc. The friction element is composed of the same material as, or a more wear-resistant material than, the friction lining itself. For axial movability of the friction element in an impediment-free manner, it is mounted, for example, in a sliding sleeve which can be composed of metal or ceramic and is connected fixedly to the friction lining or the pad carrier plate.
A plunger, which is held in an axially displaceable manner in the pad carrier plate with the friction element, is provided as a further constituent part of the restoring device. The plunger is firstly connected fixedly to the friction element and is secondly in correspondence with an elastic pressure element which is held in the brake caliper and preferably consists of a compression spring in the form of disc springs, leaf springs or helical springs. However, it is also contemplated to use a pressurized cartridge as the elastic pressure element, the medium of which pressurized cartridge is compressed during brake application with the build-up of pressure and is relieved during the release of the brake application.
The pressure element can act directly on the plunger, but can also act via an intermediate element, preferably a ball which is positioned and held such that it secures the pressure element axially in the brake caliper spine and presses the plunger against the limiting means in the pad back plate. The limiting means is fixed, for example, to 0.3 mm and therefore corresponds to slightly less than half the desired air play. The friction element rubs with a slightly smaller projection beyond the friction lining; said projection is to be smaller than half of the stated theoretical air play, for example 0.3 mm.
A plurality of, in particular two, friction elements which are arranged at a spacing from one another are preferably provided, which are pressed onto the brake disc during the application of the brakes and are positioned in a planar manner with the friction lining surface, the pressure element being tensioned by way of the relative axial displacement of the friction elements and the brake caliper, including the brake pad.
During the release of the brake application, the respective friction element continues to be pressed against the brake disc via the plunger as a result of the spring force which is stored. The restoring force of the spring causes the displaceably mounted brake caliper and the displaceably mounted brake pad to be pushed away from the brake disc. The brake pad, that is to say the reaction-side brake pad here, is ideally connected to the brake caliper back in a positively locking manner.
Although a small residual wear torque with little required frictional energy is maintained, this is insignificantly small, since the friction elements bear with very small contact areas against the brake disc. An equilibrium which is free from residual wear or is approximately free therefrom is produced a short time after the braking operation. In any case, the pressing force which remains is small enough that the problems which are described with respect to the prior art no longer occur.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH


A drive assembly for a drug delivery device is disclosed. The drive assembly is connectable with a cartridge holder and comprises a housing, a piston rod, the piston rod being movable in a distal direction for drug delivery, and a guide nut, the guide nut being rotatable relative to the housing around an axis of the assembly and provided for guiding the piston rod. A locking means is provided which is enabled to take an engaged state in which the locking means is engaged with the guide nut in order to prevent rotation of the guide nut and to take a disengaged state in which the locking means is disengaged from the guide nut in order to allow rotation of the guide nut. Moreover, a coupling means is provided, the coupling means being rotatable relative to the housing around the axis of the assembly for interaction with the locking means in order to change between the engaged state and the disengaged state of the locking means.

Portable drug delivery devices are used for the administration of a medicament or drug, especially a medicinal fluid that is suitable for self-administration by a patient. A drug delivery device may comprise a syringe, an injection device, an injector or a pen-type injection device. In particular, a drug delivery device in the shape of a pen is useful, since it can be handled easily and kept available everywhere.
There exist different types of drug delivery devices. One type of a drug delivery device comprises a disposable device which may be disposed after having dispensed the medicament or after the medicament has been expired. Another type of a drug delivery device comprises a refillable drug delivery device which may be reusable many times. This kind of drug delivery device may comprise a drive assembly and a cartridge holder which is connectable to the drive assembly and which contains a cartridge, ampoule or vial containing a medicament or drug. Often, a needle assembly may be connected to a distal end of the cartridge holder for subcutaneous injection of the medicament. A dose of a drug or medicament is delivered by means of a drive mechanism of the drive assembly driving a piston rod or lead screw in a distal direction, the piston rod interacting with a piston within the cartridge for expelling the medicament out of the device. The drug delivery device may provide a dose-setting mechanism which allows setting the dose of the medicament that is to be dispensed.
In common devices, as disclosed in U.S. 2009/0275914 A1 for example, the piston rod is guided in the drive assembly by a guide nut, also called body nut or lead screw nut, which is coupled to the piston rod for moving the piston rod in distal direction during drug delivery. For this purpose, the guide nut is rotationally fixed with respect to the housing of the drive assembly in order to urge the piston rod into a predetermined, mostly helical movement.
In reusable drug delivery devices the situation may arise that the drug delivery device has to be reset. This means, the piston rod has to be moved in a proximal direction opposite to the distal direction back into the drive assembly such that a new cartridge contained within the cartridge holder may be assembled to the drive assembly in order to start a new cycle of drug delivery. During the reset operation of the piston rod, the guide nut may preferably be rotatable with respect to the housing in order to enable a quick and easy shifting of the piston rod back into the drive assembly. Thus, the guide nut has to fulfill double functionalities, wherein during drug delivery the guide nut has to be rotationally fixed and during a reset operation the guide nut has to be rotatable with respect to the housing. This is also disclosed in U.S. 2009/0275914 A1.
According to U.S. 2009/0275914 A1 the drug delivery device provide a locking means for releasable engagement with the guide nut in order to prevent rotational movement of the guide nut with respect to the housing during drug delivery and to allow rotation of the guide nut with respect to the housing during resetting of the device. The locking means may directly be operated by the cartridge holder when the cartridge holder is assembled to the drive assembly.

Drive assembly for a drug delivery device and corresponding drug delivery device


Polymer devices are disclosed with microstructured surfaces that modify their absorption pathway. Polymers which generally degrade in water by fracturing into high surface energy fragments, are modified to degrade in vivo without the formation of sharp fragments. Devices are disclosed that possess improved handling characteristics and degrade in an aqueous environment in a uniform and continuous way that favors the formation of soluble monomers rather than solid particulate. Absorbable medical implants with the disclosed surface modifications are more biocompatible, with reduced foreign body response, and dissolution into metabolizable molecular species.

While this section is largely devoted to established observations and theories, some of the material contained in this section is new with respect to interpretation or perceived application, nevertheless the underlying theory is known. Thus, the applicants do not intend that ideas disclosed in this section necessarily constitute prior art, and that some of the connections made between variant states of prior art may constitute invention, especially with regards to the mechanism of promoting surface hydration of microstructured devices.
Fluid pinning is an important way to localize water on specific regions of a solid substrate. Wetting is the relationship between a liquid phase and a solid phase, and wetting is essential to fluid pinning. Wetting is characterized by a contact angle at the interface between a liquid and a solid surface. The contact angle is representative of the intermolecular interactions between the liquid and solid wherein the energy of interaction is minimized. The contact angle can also be associated with a force balance between adhesive and cohesive forces. Wetting is important in the bonding or adherence of two materials.
There are two types of wetting: non-reactive (static) wetting and active (dynamic) wetting. Adhesive force between a liquid and solid cause a liquid drop to spread across the surface of the solid (Wenzel wetting). Cohesive force within the liquid causes the drop to ball up and avoid contact with the surface (Cassie-Baxter wetting). The juxtaposition of the adhesive and cohesive forces results in fluid pinning, which is essentially a balance between the tendency for a fluid to spread adherently on a surface and the tendency for a fluid to resist attachment and spreading on a surface.
The contact angle is a complicated function of surface texture and chemical composition of the relevant phases. When the contact angle is small for a liquid on a surface texture, the liquid-solid interface is said to be in a Wenzel state. When the contact angle is large for a liquid on a surface texture the liquid-solid interface is said to be in a Cassie-Baxter state. When part of a liquid is in a Wenzel state and another part of the liquid is in a Cassie-Baxter state, the combined state is said to be in a Wenzel-Cassie state.
When two solid surfaces form a liquid interface, such as between an implant and a body, surface texture plays a large role in the hydration of the implant surface. A scale of interaction between a microstructured surface and a living surface is defined by the surface texture of the microstructured device. The microstructure is typically hierarchical, and characterized by at least two spatial scales, one on the order of 1-10 micrometers (microns) and another on the order of 10-1000 microns.
It should be appreciated, that in this disclosure, hierarchical means microstructures of different spatial scale. A hierarchical microstructure is defined on a two-dimensional surface characterized by dimensions x and y, and out-of-plane dimension z. Each microstructure scale can be defined by characteristic dimensions x′, y′ and z′ residing on a two-dimensional surface described by function f(x, y). Function f(x, y) is not necessarily planar. A hierarchical microstructure is a set of scaled microstructures, each characterized by (x′, y′, z′), (x″, y″, z″), and so on; wherein, a first microstructure resides in a region defined by (x, y, z1) and a second microstructure resides in a region defined by (x, y, z2), and so on. The range z1 spans a range of z values defined by zmin<z1<zmax, and so on. A hierarchical microstructure is a three-dimensional microstructure where most of the first microstructure resides in region z1, and most of the second microstructure resides in region z2, and so on, such that z1>z2> . . . with respect to an arbitrary set of Euclidean coordinates (x, y, z). For example, a hierarchical microstructure may comprise a set of cylinders of height 10 and diameter 2 arranged on the top surfaces of cylinders arranged in a plane of height 100 and diameter 20.
A hierarchical microstructure is self-similar if the ratio of feature dimensions scale by a constant factor. The self-similarity may occur in all of the scale dimensions, or any subset of the scale dimensions. In the example of cylinders, the pitch between cylinders at various spatial scales p1, p2, p3, . . . is self-similar, if the pitches satisfy the constant ratios p1/p2=p2/p3= . . . =c, where c is a constant. Pitch is defined as the distance between the centers of two like-structures. In most cases the pitch is constant for a given type of structure. Aspect ratio is a related measure, which is defined as the ratio of the height of a structure to its width.
Now referring to the composition of implantable materials, bioresorbable polymers, such as aliphatic polyester polymers derived from lactic acid and glycolic acid are used clinically as sutures, bone fracture fixation devices and sustained drug delivery systems. The mechanism of their degradation in aqueous media is a matter of discussion in the literature.
PLA/GA polymers are a class of stereo copolymers and copolymers that degrade heterogeneously in situ. The degradation in the bulk of the polymer is faster than at the surface where a layer of less degraded material forms. This has been observed in vitro and in vivo.
In the particular case of intrinsically amorphous PLA/GA materials the phenomenon is particularly significant since polymer degradation leads to hollow structures when the inner oligomeric residues become soluble and leach out. These hollow structures subsequently fracture, leaving a multiplicity of sharp, high surface energy fragments that then initiate a chronic inflammatory response. This late-time initiation of inflammation, at a time when the initial insult of the implantation is residing, is responsible for delayed healing and chronic inflammation leading to necrosis.
Generally speaking, polymeric skin formation after immersion in an aqueous medium is initiated with water uptake. The penetrating water rapidly creates a negative gradient of water concentration from the surface to the bulk center line. Degradation then begins from the inside.
Hydrolysis is the most common form of polymer degradation. Soluble oligomers are formed and readily escape from the bulk polymer. Soluble oligomers close to the surface leach out before total degradation, whereas those located well inside the bulk remain entrapped and contribute significantly to an autocatalytic effect. The resulting difference in concentration of acidic groups results in the formation of a skin composed of degradation resistant polymer.
The thickness of the skin depends on many factors such as the diffusion rates of various evolved species and the rate of bond cleavage. Diffusion coefficients of the soluble oligomers depend primarily on molar mass, degree of polymer swelling in the bulk, and macromolecular conformation and rigidity. Degradation rates can depend on the sequential distribution of chiral and achiral units along the polymer chains. The release of soluble oligomers depends on surface energy, including pH-mediated boundary layers, ionic strength and buffering. If the degrading polymer is or becomes crystalline, bulk degradation can proceed faster that amorphous forms of similar composition.
Paradoxically, the applicants expect implants with thickness less than twice the critical skin thickness to degrade more slowly and more uniformly. The unexpected effect is due to the leachable oligomeric compounds escaping before significant auto-catalysis of bulk hydrolysis or enzymatic degradation can take place.
There is anecdotal evidence to support the hypothesis that the greater the thickness of an implant the faster the degradation. Grizzi et al found that large scale devices made of PLA50 degraded faster than smaller devices, in good agreement with a diffusion-catalysis model.
The terms "degradable", "bioresorbable" and "absorbable" in the present context are used interchangeably, and apply to polymers that disintegrate by a number of processes, including physical disintegration, biodegradation by biological mechanisms, and chemical reaction to monomer units. Materials that undergo only physical disintegration have limited utility as implants, since they typically elicit prolonged foreign body response. Ideally, the monomers resulting from polymer degradation are metabolized by the biological systems into which they are implanted.
One approach to preventing polymer skin formation is to modify the surface properties of the polymer. Surface property modification can be achieved by irradiation, e.g. with laser light, ion and electron beams, UV light, X- and g-rays or treatment in plasma discharge. Irradiation leads to degradation of polymeric chains, chemical bond cleavage, creation of free radicals and release of gaseous degradation products. One disadvantage of surface modification by irradiation is the release of transient, highly reactive species. Other undesirable effects are formation of excessive double bonds, production of low mass stable degradation products, large crosslinked structures and oxidized structures.
Another approach to surface modification involves exposure to plasma discharge. The degree of modification and character of induced changes depend on the composition of ambient atmosphere, energy of plasma ions, temperature during the treatment and discharge power. Surface properties of a polymer can be changed continuously, such as wettability, adhesion, chemical resistance, lubrication or biocompatibility.
Plasma treatment is disadvantageous in several respects. The surface modification is typically only tens of micrometers thick. The modified surface properties are quickly reversed in an aqueous environment, making plasma treatment ineffective in implant situations. Plasma treatment is an extremely complex process requiring precise control of plasma composition, flow and pressure of the gas, substrate temperature, reactor geometry, discharge power and frequency.
These observations suggest intentional surface texture design may mitigate against polymer skin formation. Surface texture engineering is a known way to permanently modify the surface energy of a polymer. Precise design of the texture on a polymer surface can inhibit fragmented degradation morphologies. In particular, in the manufacture of biocompatible implants, the applicants found matching the surface texture to the polymer skin thickness is an important enabling consideration.
The relationship between polymer surface microstructure and biosorption kinetics plays a significant role in biocompatibility metrics. Surface microstructure can act as degradation nucleation sites that determines implant fractionation and dissolution. Implant degradation that involves sharp, high surface energy particulate formation can trigger a variety of cellular responses which can adversely affect the biocompatibility of the implant. In particular, chronic inflammatory response has been associated with implant degradation morphology associated with sharp, solid phase degradation products.
Polymer systems with homogeneous microstructure display simultaneous polymer degradation and monomer release. The surface texture of a polymer can affect biosorption rates and the shape of the released degradation products. For heterogeneous copolymers, the risk of high surface energy particulate formation is the greatest. Surface texturing can confuse the degradation process, and mediate against degradation along boundaries between heterogeneous regions.
The applicants have discovered that the cellular response mechanism to an implant can be directed by polymer surface microstructure, enhancing the biocompatibility of the implant.
The degree to which an implant acts as a tissue scaffold and not a foreign body source of irritation plays a pivotal role in an implant's biocompatibility. Whenever cell seeding, proliferation, and new tissue formation can be promoted, the degree of reaction oxygen species release is diminished. The most biocompatible implants are those that degrade at a rate comparable to the rate of new tissue formation. Surface texture modification can be used to match degradation rates to cellular infiltration rates.
New tissue formation is inhibited by the presence of reactive oxygen species and cellular infiltrates associated with inflammation. A few surface modification techniques such as salt leaching, fibrous fabric processing, gas foaming, emulsion freeze-drying, three-dimensional printing, and phase separation have been used to enhance cellular infiltration on implants. However, typically these approaches ignore the degradation kinetics of the polymeric material comprising the implant. Furthermore, the highly porous nature of many polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering promote particulate formation, that ultimately interferes with healthy tissue recruitment. These scaffolds have shown great promise in the research of engineering a variety of tissues. However, to engineer clinically useful tissues and organs is still a challenge. The understanding of the principles of polymer surface texture and degradation morphology is far from satisfactory.
Surface feature size, connectivity between feature domains, and surface area are widely recognized as important parameters for a scaffold for tissue engineering. Other architectural features such as feature shape, hierarchical morphology, and spatial periodicity between features of the scaffolding materials are also believed to be important for cell seeding, migration, growth, mass transport, gene expression, and new tissue formation in three dimensions.

Device with microstructure mediated absorption profile