The present invention relates to an electrolytic solution for a lithium battery and a lithium battery using the same. The organic electrolytic solution includes a lithium salt, a mixed organic solvent comprising a high dielectric constant solvent and a low boiling-point solvent, and an additive. The additive used in the electrolytic solution is a heterocyclic compound of Formula (1):

A lithium battery may be used as a power source for portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and other general electronic devices. Rechargeable lithium secondary batteries have several advantages over other types of batteries. For example, rechargeable lithium secondary batteries have three times the energy density per unit weight as Pb storage batteries, Ni—Cd batteries, Ni—H batteries, and Ni—Zn batteries. In addition, rechargeable lithium secondary batteries may be charged in a short time.
Generally, lithium-ion batteries comprise a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte. Examples of positive active materials include oxides of transition metal compounds and lithium, such as LiNiO2, LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiFePO4, LiNixCo1-xO2 (x=1 or 2 ), Ni1-x-yCoxMnyO2 (0≦x≦0.5 and 0≦y≦0.5). Examples of negative active materials include lithium metal, lithium metal alloy, carbon materials, and graphite materials.
Electrolytes may be divided into liquid electrolytes and solid electrolytes. There are several disadvantages to using liquid electrolytes in batteries. In particular, the outflow of the liquid electrolyte from the battery may result in a fire and the evaporation of the liquid electrolyte from the battery may result in the actual destruction of the battery. In order to overcome these disadvantages, solid electrolytes may be used. In general, solid electrolytes offer several advantages over liquid electrolytes because they are unlikely to leak and are more easily processed. Solid polymer electrolytes may be categorized into full solid types and gel types. Specifically, a full solid-type electrolyte does not contain an organic electrolytic solution whereas a gel-type electrolyte contains an organic electrolytic solution.
In general, a conventional aqueous electrolytic solution is not suitable for a lithium battery because a negative lithium electrode reacts vigorously with an aqueous electrolytic solution at high working voltages. Therefore, in lithium batteries, it is desirable to use an organic electrolytic solution that includes a lithium salt and an organic solvent. In particular, it is preferable to use an organic solvent having the properties of a high ionic conductivity, a high dielectric constant and a low viscosity. It is, however, very difficult to obtain a single organic solvent having all of these properties. As a result, either a mixed solvent composed of an organic solvent having a high dielectric constant and an organic solvent having a high dielectric constant; or a mixed solvent composed of an organic solvent having a high dielectric constant and an organic solvent having low viscosity is used in lithium batteries.
In order to produce an organic solvent with high ionic conductivity, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,114,070 and 6,048,637 disclose mixed solvents comprising a linear carbonate and a cyclic carbonate, e.g., dimethyl carbonate or diethyl carbonate and ethylene carbonate or propylene carbonate. In general, mixed solvents may be used in batteries that operate at temperatures of 120° C. or less. If the battery reaches a temperature higher than 120° C., however, the battery may swell due to vapour pressure generated by gas. As a consequence, the swelled battery results in the failure of the battery operation.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,352,548, 5,712,059, and 5,714,281 disclose electrolytes having vinylene carbonate as a main organic solvent at a concentration of 20% or more. In these cases, however, the charge/discharge characteristics and the high-rate characteristics of the batteries are significantly reduced because vinylene carbonate has a lower dielectric constant than ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, or γ-butyrolactone. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,981 discloses the use of vinylene carbonate as an additive in an electrolyte in order to form a surface electrolyte interface (SEI) on the surface of positive electrodes during an initial charge/discharge cycle. A vinyl-based compound such as vinyl acetate is used as an additive in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-223154.
The use of an electrolyte comprising an electrochemical anionic polymerizable monomer to form a polymer film on the surface of a carbonaceous negative material during initial charging is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,107. In order to prevent the decomposition of the electrolytic solution, an electrochemical anionic polymerizable monomer may be used in the electrolytic solution, which facilitates the formation of a polymer film on the surface of a carbonaceous negative material. As a result, the thickness of the battery may be maintained within an acceptable range, regardless of the number of charge/discharge cycles of the battery. Consequently, reliability, charge/discharge efficiency and the lifetime of the battery may be improved. The polymer film, which is formed by anionic polymerization, however, causes an increase in the resistance of electrodes. Therefore, if a battery is charged at a high rate, its capacity and low temperature characteristics may deteriorate.
Therefore, in order to overcome the aforementioned problems, the present invention is directed to blending a specific additive in the electrolyte solution. Accordingly, the present invention provides for improved charge-discharge efficiency during a repeated charge-discharge process while providing a high voltage and a high energy density.

Organic electrolytic solution and lithium battery using the same

Abstract: where R1, R2 and R3 may each independently be a C1-C10 linear or branched alkyl group; R4 may be a C1-C10 linear or branched alkylene group; X may be a heterocyclic ring containing N and O whereby a tetraallkyl orthosilicate functional group may be linked to N. The lithium battery using the organic electrolytic solution of the present invention is highly reliable and maintains a constant thickness during a charge/discharge cycle.


A multi-layer fabric which may be utilized in a papermaking process. Such fabric has a first layer of machine direction (MD) yarns, a second layer of MD yarns and a first system of cross-direction (CD) yarns having first binder yarns weaving a first contour pattern and second binder yarns weaving a second contour pattern different from the first contour pattern. The first binder yarns and the second binder yarns are each intrinsic to the first layer and each bind with the second layer. Moreover, the binder yarns each weave in sequence in the first layer more than once in a pattern repeat of the fabric. The binder yarns also weave plural contour patterns in the first layer in the weave pattern repeat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the papermaking arts. More specifically, the present invention relates to fabrics, such as forming fabrics, for use with a paper making machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the papermaking process, a cellulosic fibrous web is formed by depositing a fibrous slurry, that is, an aqueous dispersion of cellulose fibers, onto a moving forming fabric in the forming section of a paper machine. A large amount of water is drained from the slurry through the forming fabric, leaving the cellulosic fibrous web on the surface of the forming fabric.
The newly formed cellulosic fibrous web proceeds from the forming section to a press section, which includes a series of press nips. The cellulosic fibrous web passes through the press nips supported by a press fabric, or, as is often the case, between two such press fabrics. In the press nips, the cellulosic fibrous web is subjected to compressive forces which squeeze water therefrom, and which adhere the cellulosic fibers in the web to one another to turn the cellulosic fibrous web into a paper sheet. The water is accepted by the press fabric or fabrics and, ideally, does not return to the paper sheet.
It should be appreciated that the forming, press and dryer fabrics all take the form of endless loops on the paper machine and function in the manner of conveyors. It should further be appreciated that paper manufacture is a continuous process which proceeds at considerable speeds. That is to say, the fibrous slurry is continuously deposited onto the forming fabric in the forming section, while a newly manufactured paper sheet is continuously wound onto rolls after it exits from the dryer section.
Press fabrics also participate in the finishing of the surface of the paper sheet. That is, press fabrics are designed to have smooth surfaces and uniformly resilient structures, so that, in the course of passing through the press nips, a smooth, mark-free surface is imparted to the paper.
Press fabrics accept the large quantities of water extracted from the wet paper in the press nip. In order to fill this function, there literally must be space, commonly referred to as void volume, within the press fabric for the water to go, and the fabric must have adequate permeability to water for its entire useful life. Finally, press fabrics must be able to prevent the water accepted from the wet paper from returning to and rewetting the paper upon exit from the press nip.
The paper sheet finally proceeds to a dryer section, which includes at least one series of rotatable dryer drums or cylinders, which are internally heated by steam. The newly formed paper sheet is directed in a serpentine path sequentially around each in the series of drums by a dryer fabric, which holds the paper sheet closely against the surfaces of the drums. The heated drums reduce the water content of the paper sheet to a desirable level through evaporation.
Woven fabrics take many different forms. For example, they may be woven endless, or flat woven and subsequently rendered into endless form with a seam.
The present invention may relate specifically to the forming fabrics used in the forming section. Forming fabrics play a critical role during the paper manufacturing process. One of its functions, as implied above, is to form and convey the paper product being manufactured to the press section.
However, forming fabrics also need to address water removal and sheet formation issues. That is, forming fabrics are designed to allow water to pass through (i.e. control the rate of drainage) while at the same time prevent fiber and other solids from passing through with the water. If drainage occurs too rapidly or too slowly, the sheet quality and machine efficiency suffers. To control drainage, the space within the forming fabric for the water to drain, commonly referred to as void volume, must be properly designed.
Contemporary forming fabrics are produced in a wide variety of styles designed to meet the requirements of the paper machines on which they are installed for the paper grades being manufactured. Generally, they comprise a base fabric woven from monofilament and may be single-layered or multi-layered. The yarns are typically extruded from any one of several synthetic polymeric resins, such as polyamide and polyester resins, used for this purpose by those of ordinary skill in the paper machine clothing arts.
The design of forming fabrics additionally involves a compromise between the desired fiber support and fabric stability. A fine mesh fabric may provide the desired paper surface and fiber support properties, but such design may lack the desired stability resulting in a short fabric life. By contrast, coarse mesh fabrics provide stability and long life at the expense of fiber support and the potential for marking. To minimize the design tradeoff and optimize both support and stability, multi-layer fabrics were developed. For example, in double and triple layer fabrics, the forming side is designed for sheet and fiber support while the wear side is designed for stability, void volume, and wear resistance.
In addition, triple layer designs allow the forming surface of the fabric to be woven independently of the wear surface. Because of this independence, triple layer designs can provide a high level of fiber support and an optimum internal void volume. Thus, triple layers may provide significant improvement in drainage over single and double layer designs.
Essentially, triple layer fabrics consist of two fabrics, the forming layer and the wear layer, held together by binding yarns. The binding is extremely important to the overall integrity of the fabric. One problem with triple layer fabrics has been relative slippage between the two layers which breaks down the fabric over time. In addition, the binding yarns can disrupt the structure of the forming layer resulting in marking of the paper.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fabrics are created by weaving, and have a weave pattern which repeats in both the warp or machine direction (MD) and the weft or cross-machine direction (CD).
Multi-layer fabrics, such as triple layer fabrics, may have unacceptable resistance to internal abrasion and/or the weave may loosen (i.e. the yarns may slide from their original positions within the pattern) during use. The present invention provides a fabric which overcomes such disadvantages.

Multiple contour binders in triple layer fabrics


A breath-freshening pet food composition comprising at least 40 ppm by weight of one or more plant extract(s), preferably selected from essential oils.

This invention relates to a breath-freshening pet food for a domestic animal, particularly for a dog. In particular, the invention relates to a breath-freshening biscuit.
Halitosis (bad breath or oral malodour) is a common problem among domestic pets such as dogs and cats and constitutes a significant psycho-sociological problem in the animal-owner relationship. Most studies of halitosis, however, have dealt with the problem in humans. Current thinking suggests that the predominant source of bad breath in humans is the mouth. This is supported by experimental findings which show that oral hygiene procedures such as tooth brushing markedly decrease malodour, while conditions such as caries and periodontitis increase the incidence and intensity of oral malodour [G. F. Sulser, R. H. Brenning and L. S. Fosdick, J. Dental Research, 18: 355-359 (1939)].
Although few studies have been published specifically on oral malodour in companion animals, as with humans the root cause in most cases lies in the animal""s relatively poor oral hygiene. Very few owners brush their dog""s teeth or have them cleaned by a veterinary surgeon on a regular basis.
Oral malodour is produced as a result of microbial metabolism of exogenous and endogenous proteinaceous substrates. No single micro-organism has been indicated as the primary cause. The proteinaceous substrates can be derived from food debris, exfoliated oral epithelium, saliva, blood and gingival crevicular fluid. The proteins obtained from these sources undergo proteolysis to peptides and amino acids which are further metabolised to highly volatile compounds. It is these volatile compounds which are perceived as oral malodour. It has been shown that the predominant unpleasant-smelling components of bad breath are volatile sulphur compounds or VSCs [J. Tonzetich, J. Periodontology, 48: 13-20 (1977)], the most significant being hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and methyl mercaptan (CH3SH).
There is an abundance of remedies for bad breath and improving oral hygiene in humans. U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,684, for example, discloses an anti-bacterial oral composition for counting plaque and gingivitis comprising thymol and eugenol and, optionally, flavouring agents such as Australian Tea Tree Oil. However, many of these types of remedy, such as mouthwashes, sucking mints or chewing gum, or even chewing parsley leaves, are of little value for use with a domestic animal, since they require a significant residence time in the mouth. Clearly domestic pets such as dogs lack the discipline and understanding necessary to make use of these approaches and, as most dog owners will testify, will consume most food offered to them very rapidly.
The addition of breath-freshening active ingredients to pet foods to reduce oral malodour is known. CH-676200 discloses the use of zinc citrate, and other active ingredients such as chlorophyll, for incorporation into hard baked biscuits for dogs and cats. U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,836 discloses the topical application of water soluble zinc salts, such as zinc sulphate, zinc gluconate and zinc chloride, to the surface of a dog biscuit. It is disclosed that topical application of the active ingredient to the biscuit is more effective in relation to incorporation of the active ingredient into the biscuit, i.e. in relation to the addition of the active ingredient before baking. The activity of the zinc salts is attributed to a chemical reaction rather than to anti-bacterial action. The chemical reaction is between the zinc and the VSCs responsible for the oral malodour to form a non-volatile entity. Such biscuits are reported to produce significant reductions in bad breath in dogs.
There is a limit to the amount of the active ingredient that may be added to the pet food. If the active ingredient is added above a certain limit the food becomes unpalatable for the animal. In addition, the use of too great an amount of active ingredient may be harmful to the animal and increases the cost of manufacture. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved breath-freshening pet food which is highly palatable for the animal.
According to the present invention there is provided a breath-freshening pet food composition which contains at least about 40 ppm, preferably 60 ppm, more preferably 80 ppm, more preferably 100 ppm, more preferably 120 ppm, more preferably 160 ppm and more preferably 200 ppm by weight of the composition of one or more plant extracts. It is preferred that the pet food composition comprises no more than about 800 ppm, preferably 650 ppm, more preferably 500 ppm, more preferably 350 ppm, and more preferably 200 ppm by weight of the composition of the plant extract(s). In an embodiment of the invention, the pet food comprises about 200 ppm of one or more plant extracts by weight of the food composition. The food is highly palatable and has the effect of freshening the pet""s breath. The food is particularly suitable for consumption by domestic pets, particularly dogs and cats.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a process for preparing the breath-freshening pet food composition of the present invention. The pet food compositions of the present invention may be made according to conventional methods well-known to those skilled in the art. The compositions may comprise, in addition to the plant extract(s), ingredients and additives substantially similar to those used in conventional pet foods. The plant extract(s) may be added to the pet food composition at any stage of its manufacture. However, if the plant extract(s) are added before the composition undergoes a heating step, an excess amount of plant extract, relative to the amount of plant extract desired in the final composition, should be added in order to take into account the volatility of the plant extract(s).
It is preferred that the pet food of the present invention is a dry or semi-moist pet food, preferably a biscuit. The manufacture of such pet foods and particularly pet biscuits generally involves the step of shaping and baking a dough containing the desired ingredients. The breath-freshening biscuits of the present invention can be made from any suitable dough according to conventional techniques known in the art. The plant extract(s) are generally added to the dough before baking and, accordingly, if the plant extract is volatile the dough should contain a higher concentration of plant extract than is desired in the final biscuit. Typically, the dough should contain the plant extract(s) in an amount which is between 2 and 10 times greater than that required in the final biscuit. The precise amount of plant extract(s) added to the dough will depend, inter alia, on the temperature and duration of heating, on the size of the biscuit and on the volatility of the plant extract(s) used.
In an embodiment of the invention, the term xe2x80x9cdry pet foodxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean a pet food having a water activity Aw of less than 0.65. In this embodiment, the term xe2x80x9csemi-moist pet foodxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean a pet food having a water activity Aw of from about 0.65 to about 0.86. Water activity is a measure of the relative humidity above a sample of the pet food. The relative humidity is measured above a sample in a sealed chamber after being allowed to equilibrate. A device which is suitable for measuring these parameters is the Rotronic Hygroskop DT(trademark). The water activity is on a scale of 0 to 1.0 and is defined as:
water activity Aw={fraction (1/100)} (relative humidity)
The water activity reflects the amount of water which is available to micro-organisms for growth and multiplication. At a water activity of less than 0.65, it is not usually necessary to add preservatives to the pet food. At a water activity of from about 0.65 to about 0.86, it is desirable to add preservatives to the pet food to prevent the growth of mould although the growth of bacteria is minimal under such conditions.
The water content that corresponds to the water activities defined above can vary considerably depending upon a number of factors, such as the presence and levels. of humectants (such as salt, sugar or glycerol etc) in the pet food. Typically, however, a xe2x80x9cdry pet foodxe2x80x9d has a water content of less than about 15% by weight of the final biscuit and a xe2x80x9csemi-moist pet foodxe2x80x9d has a water content of from about 15% to about 25% by weight of the final biscuit. Thus, in an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cdry pet foodxe2x80x9d as used herein means a pet food which has a water content of less than about 15%, preferably less than about 14%, by weight of the final biscuit. In this alternative embodiment, the term xe2x80x9csemi-moist pet foodxe2x80x9d as used herein means a pet food which has a water content of from about 15% to 25%, preferably from about 14% to about 25%, by weight of the final biscuit.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided the use of one or more plant extract(s) in the manufacture of a pet food composition for reducing oral malodour in a domestic animal, wherein the plant extract(s) is/are present in an amount of at least 40 ppm by weight.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of reducing oral malodour in a domestic animal by the administration to, or consumption by, the animal in need thereof of a pet food composition which contains at least about 40 ppm by weight of the composition of one or more plant extracts.
The term xe2x80x9cplant extractxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean any substance which is derived, obtained or extracted from a plant or plant part by conventional separation techniques. In a preferred embodiment, the term xe2x80x9cplant extractxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to mean any substance which is derived, obtained or extracted from a plant or plant part by conventional separation techniques and which has anti-bacterial activity. In a further preferred embodiment the term xe2x80x9cplant extractxe2x80x9d is intended to mean a substance selected from essential oil(s), oleoresins, absolutes and fruit juices. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the plant extract(s) are selected from essential oil(s).
An essential oil is the volatile etherial fraction obtained from a plant or plant part by a physical separation method. The physical separation method usually involves either distillation (including water distillation, steam distillation, water and steam distillation and dry distillation) or expression (pressing). Enfleurage, a process in which a floral material is adsorbed onto fat and the essential oil obtained by alcoholic extraction from this fat, may also be used to obtain the essential oil. Generally, essential oils represent the odorous part of the plant material.
Essential oils include angelica root, aniseed, basil, bay, bergamot, bergamot Furocoumarin Free (FCF), cajeput, camphor, cardamom, carrot, cassia, cedarwood (Atlas), cedarwood (Chinese), cedarwood (Texas), cedarwood (Virginia), celery, chamomile, clary sage, clove bud, clove leaf, cinnamon leaf, coriander, cumin, dill, eucalyptus, fennel, frankincense, geranium, ho-wood, lavender, lemongrass, lemon, litsea, marjoram, melissa, myrrh, myrtle, niaouli, neroli, nutmeg, orange (including sweet orange), palmarosa, patchouli, peppermint, petit grain, pimento berry, pine needle, ravensara aromatica, rosewood, rosemary, sage (Dalmatian), tea tree, thyme (including red thyme) and verbena. The preferred essential oils for use in the present invention are eucalyptus, lemongrass, bay, cinnamon, lavender, thyme, clove bud and teatree. Eucalyptus and lemongrass oils are most preferred.
The term xe2x80x9coleoresinxe2x80x9d, as used herein, is intended to mean the fraction obtained by solvent extraction from spices and herbs. The term xe2x80x9cabsolutexe2x80x9d, as used herein, is intended to mean the fraction obtained by extrusion using alcoholic solvent. Absolutes are generally manufactured by alcoholic extrusion from an oleoresin. The term xe2x80x9cfruit juicexe2x80x9d, as used herein, is intended to mean the fraction obtained by expression of the whole fruit or of the flesh of the fruit. (In contrast, an xe2x80x9cessential oilxe2x80x9d obtained by expression from a fruit is usually obtained by the expression only of that part of the fruit in which the oil is most concentrated, for example in the peel of an orange or lemon).
The plant extracts are either available commercially or may be obtained from the plant or plant part by conventional separation techniques, as described above.
The efficacy of the plant extracts in treating oral malodour is believed to arise from their anti-bacterial activity.
The use of eucalyptus oil in human oral hygiene products, such as mouthwashes, is well known. However, the successful use of these products depends on the presence of the product in the mouth for a certain minimum time period. The use of eucalyptus oil or other plant extract would not be expected to provide a benefit to domestic pets because of the very short time during which the food is present in the animal""s mouth prior to swallowing and because of the incorporation of the oil into the food (e.g. a biscuit) as opposed to a liquid format.
The determination of the levels of VSCs provides a quantitative measure of the extent of oral malodour. The breath-freshening effects of the pet foods of the present invention were determined objectively by measuring reductions of the levels of VSCs in the animal""s breath at various intervals after consumption. In addition, the anti-bacterial effect of various essential oils was also determined.
The invention will now be described in detail for dog biscuits, but the description applies generally to dry pet foods such as pelletized dog or cat foods, main meals (e.g. extruded pet foods having 6 to 8 percent moisture), etc.
The dog biscuits can be made from conventional dog biscuit doughs. The dough can comprise at least one flour, meal, fat and water. A conventional dough for dog biscuits may also contain discrete particles of meat and/or meat byproducts or farinaceous material. Such doughs typically contain fat solids. Examples of suitable doughs for the production of hard dog biscuits are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,454,163 and 4,743,459, and suitable doughs for the production of soft dog biscuits (containing humectant to control water activity) are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,164. The disclosures of such doughs and the manufacture of pet food disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,454,163, 4,454,164 and 4,743,459 are incorporated herein by reference. Particulate proteinaceous particles, such as particles of meat, texturized vegetable protein and/or meat byproducts, can be incorporated to add flavour to the biscuits and texturize the surface. (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,459, for example.) Particular farinaceous materials, such as bran particles, can also be employed to texturize the interior and/or surface or the biscuits and to provide other useful properties to the product. A dough found to produce biscuits highly palatable to dogs includes suitable proportions of wheat flour, wheat meal, soybean meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat and natural flavours in admixture with water. The meal used in the doughs suitable for production of biscuits of the invention can comprise meat and/or bone and/or vegetable matter including farinaceous materials, materials prepared from legumes such as beans and peas, tuberous materials such as potato meal, and the like. The meals can be finely or coarsely ground as desired for the texture. Flours made from any suitable farinaceous material can be used.
A suitable dough contains farinaceous material, an edible oil, an antioxidant, an antimycotic, salt, animal fat added vitamins and minerals, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,485, column 5, lines 7 to 57, which is incorporated herein by reference. The compositions of the invention may also contain at least one animal-derived proteinaceous meal such as meat meal, bone meal or fish meal. A good biscuit dough for producing the biscuits of the invention contains about 50 to 60 percent by weight of wheat flour, about 5 to 10 percent by weight of soybean meal, about 3 to 10 percent by Weight of meat and bone meal, about 1 to 5 percent of wheat meal, about 1 to 5 percent of animal fat preserved with BHA, about 20 to 30 percent by weight of water, about 2 to 5 percent by weight of natural flavours, vitamin and mineral preblend, and acidulant
The dough ingredients are generally admixed at a temperature of about 5xc2x0 to about 60xc2x0 C., preferably about 15xc2x0 C. to about 30xc2x0 C.
The dog biscuit doughs can contain a softening agent or humectant. The preferred humectant is propylene glycol. Examples of other humectants which can be used are corn syrup, sugar and polyalcohols, such as sorbitol and glycerin.
The dough can also contain edible surfactants or emulsifying agents, e.g. cationic agents and nonionic agents. Exemplary nonionic emulsifying agents can be broadly defined as compounds produced by the condensation of alkylene oxide groups (hydrophilic in nature) with an organic hydrophobic compound which can be aliphatic, alkyl aromatic, or a condensate of an alkylene oxide with an alkylene glycol (hydrophilic in nature). Examples of nonionic emulsifying agents which can be used include polyethylene oxide condensates of alkyl phenols, products derived from the condensation of ethylene oxide with the reaction product of propylene oxide and ethylene diamine, ethylene oxide condensates of aliphatic alcohols, long chain tertiary amine oxides, long chain tertiary phosphine oxides, long chain dialkyl sulfoxides and mixture of such materials. The emulsifier is generally used in minor amounts.
The dog biscuit dough can be mixed using conventional equipment. For example, the mixing can be at 20 to 100 rpm. For example, a dry blending step can be done at room temperature for a period of time of about 3 minutes to about 20 minutes. The dry-blended mixture can then be mixed with water to form a first stage dough. The water which can be admixed with the dryblended mixture is typically at a temperature of about 20xc2x0 C. to about 65xc2x0 C. The water can be added, with mixing, over a period of time of about 3 minutes to about 6 minutes to form the first stage dough. Then, the fat portion of the biscuit dough can be admixed with the first stage dough to form the final stage dough. The fat portion can be added at a temperature at which it is at least fluid, typically at about 35xc2x0 C. to about 65xc2x0 C. The fat portion can be mixed for a period of time which is sufficient to form a dough whose homogeneity is visually apparent. A typical final mixing time is about 3 to about 5 minutes.
Formation of the dough is achieved at about atmospheric pressure with the mixing of the components being conveniently achieved in an upright sigma blade mixer or other bakery-type mixers. The various ingredients can be added over a period of time or in a one-shot process according to the above order of addition. However, melted fat and water can be added simultaneously and mixed for about 6 to 10 minutes.
The dog biscuits are formed in any conventional or suitable manner, such as by extrusion, stamping, cutting or molding. Any suitable dog biscuit shape, such as a bone-shaped biscuit, can be used. For many products, such as the bone-shaped canine biscuits of the invention, a rotary molding system is preferred because it permits the rapid forming of dough pieces with good control over their shape, form and surface characteristics. Docker holes are optionally formed in the dough piece during molding to facilitate the escape of moisture during baking, cooking and/or drying.
The dough is formed into pieces by machining on a rotary molder with specific die shapes. The dough can also be formed into pieces by sheeting followed by either a vertical or rotary cutter or by a rotary molder. Suitable die and cutter shapes are those which result in biscuit products having bone, round, square, triangular, T-bone or chop shapes and the like. The forming is achieved at conventional temperatures of ambient to about 45xc2x0 C. and pressures of less than about 5xc2xd kg/cm2, used with a rotary molder, a vertical cutter or rotary cutter.
The dough pieces can be baked using any suitable or conventional equipment and conditions. For example, the dough pieces can be passed into a conventional oven where the biscuit is baked. The conveyer belts of the oven can be coated with an edible lubricant, such as a natural or synthetic cooking oil or shortening, to facilitate separation of the conveyer belts of the baked product. Temperatures in the range of about 100xc2x0 C. to about 300xc2x0 C. can be used. The baked biscuits can also be subjected to subsequent drying at temperatures of about 90xc2x0 C. to 200xc2x0 C. either within the baking oven or separately, to produce the desired moisture content in the final product. Baking and drying temperatures and times are those conventionally used in the production of a canine biscuit. Typically, baking temperatures and times for a hard, dry canine biscuit are about 100xc2x0 C. to about 250xc2x0 C. for about 25 minutes to about 8 minutes. Drying conditions for a hard, dry canine biscuit are typically about 90xc2x0 C. to about 160xc2x0 C. for about 25 minutes to about 12 minutes in a forced air dryer. On a weight basis, the moisture content of the final dry biscuit is preferably less than or equal to about 15 percent by weight and preferably about 10 to 12 percent by weight of the final biscuit at 70 percent relative humidity.
The baking and drying process provides a shelf stable product without the need of any moisture barrier protection.
The composition of the present invention is used to reduce oral malodour of pets, particularly dogs. For an average biscuit weight of 10 grams, a recommended biscuit intake is about 10 biscuits a day for a medium size dog, which should supply about xc2xc to ⅓ of a dog""s calorific requirement.


In one embodiment, the steps for forming an electrical conductor between conductive layers of a printed circuit board include the following steps: (1) applying a first dielectric material on a first conductive layer; (2) forming a number of via holes at each of the predetermined locations in the first dielectric material at which an electrical conductor is to be formed; (3) selectively applying a second dielectric material to at least fill each of the via holes, to form a composite dielectric layer; (4) applying a second conductive layer on the composite dielectric layer; (5) etching the first conductive layer to form a first electrode; (6) etching the second conductive layer to form a second electrode; and (7) applying a programming voltage across the second dielectric material in each of the via holes to form an electrical conductor in each of the via holes, each electrical conductor connecting an electrode in the first conductive layer to an electrode in the second conductive layer.

One of the most expensive steps in fabrication of a multi-layered printed circuit board is formation of an electrical conductor (sometimes called via) between the layers by drilling a via hole through the layers and plating the via hole with a conductive layer.
One desirable characteristic of a via in a printed circuit board is smaller size that permits larger number of traces to be formed in a printed circuit board of a given area. Conventional drilling process is mechanical. As the size of the via hole to be drilled becomes smaller, the drill bit size decreases and the cost of making a small and precise drill bit goes up. Additionally, the low mechanical strength of a small drill bit causes faster wear as compared to a large drill bit.
Therefore the cost of mechanically drilling a small hole increases exponentially with decreasing hole size. Another disadvantage of mechanical drilling is that a drill bit wears out after being used a number of times.
The mechanical drilling process needs a target area (sometimes called "land") that is larger than the drill bit's size, to account for possible misalignment during drilling. The diameter of the land is typically 10 to 15 mils larger than the drill bit diameter. The space used to satisfy the land requirement also substantially limits the number of traces that can be formed in a given area. For typical state of the art processing, where a conductive line (also referred to as "trace" or "electrode") and space have widths 3 mils/3 mils respectively, the via holes diameter is 8 mils, with 13 to 15 mils diameter in land space.
Another problem with mechanical drilling is that a conductive layer must be plated inside the via hole. The smaller the via hole, the larger the aspect ratio between the layer's thickness and the drill's hole diameter, and the more difficult it is to plate the via hole.
A method to inexpensively reduce the via hole's size and create a reliable conductive path in the via hole is highly desirable.
A laser method, by focusing the energy from a laser beam, can create a very small hole having a diameter for example in 1 to 2 mil range. The laser method avoids the problem of drill bit wear. However the laser method is expensive, and the hole's size and the impact on the material are not reproducible. Also the initial setup cost of the laser method is very high.
Another approach is to etch vias with a dry etch process. A large number of vias can be etched simultaneously, which eliminates the drill bit wear problem. In the dry etch method, a thin polyimide layer with copper foils laminated on each side is used as the starting core layer. Photoresist is applied on both sides to define photo via holes. After chemical copper etching and resist stripping, polyimide inside the original photo via hole (where the copper is already removed) is exposed to plasma. After the polyimide is etched away inside the via hole, a metallization step is performed to coat an electrically conductive layer inside the via hole. Another photo masking and etch step is performed to create conductive trace patterns (e.g. of copper) on both sides of the core layer and with vias connecting traces from each side of the core layer.
The dry etch process also has several disadvantages. Alignment/registration tolerance is high as two images from each side must coincide. Without such alignment, the created via hole could have a zig-zagged shaped surface that is unreliable after metallization. The laminate must be very thin as a plasma etch takes very long time (as compared to other printed circuit board processes). The substrate material may be limited to polyimide, as the heat generated in the dry etch is high and thermal mismatch between substrate and copper could create buckling or delamination.
Another alternative to the mechanical drilling process is use of a photoresist process to create a small via hole, e.g. 2 mils in diameter. Then the surface is metallized followed by trace definition on the photoresist surface. The imaging material could be a photosensitive photoresist, or it could be a dry film pressed to the surface. This method allows a large number of vias to be produced simultaneously at a very low cost. Once the photo resist opening is created, the current practice is to do electroless copper deposition and create an electrically conductive layer inside the via hole. Since the electrically conductive layer in general doesn't adhere to the electrically nonconductive photo resist wall, chemical treatment is necessary to roughen the surface of the via hole before applying the electrically conductive layer. Such chemical treatment also roughens the top surface of the photoresist. For a thin photoresist layer, such roughness on the top surface is undesirable as it increases the chances of shorts between two electrode layers. Further, roughening the via hole increases the photo via hole's size. By the time a photo via hole has been prepared for the electrically conductive layer deposition, the hole size has increased substantially. Since the roughening process is less controllable, the quality of the plated via is not as reproducible. Also, the registration capability is poor at present for trace definition that overlaps the via hole. The technology is not mature enough yet to fully reduce the via pitch even if the via size is very small.
Yet another method uses conductive epoxy resin. After the via hole is created, a conductive epoxy is formed inside the via hole. This method offers via pitch reduction. However, conductive epoxy doesn't adhere well to an electrode if the electrode is made of copper. Moreover, copper can oxidize and create high resistance. To make the contact reliable, inert metals like gold are sometime used to form an interface between conductive epoxy resin and copper electrode, which increases the cost and can present process compatibility problems.

Programmable/reprogrammable structure using fuses and antifuses


An engine system is provided, including a controller which estimates an intake-valve-closing temperature inside a cylinder. When an engine operates at a given speed and a demanded engine load is a first load or a second load (>the first load), the controller controls so that a mixture gas inside the cylinder combusts by compression ignition, and controls so that, at the first load, the entire mixture gas combusts by compression ignition when the intake-valve-closing temperature is above a first temperature, and at least part of the mixture gas combusts by flame propagation when the intake-valve-closing temperature is below the first temperature, whereas at the second load, the entire mixture gas combusts by compression ignition when the intake-valve-closing temperature is above a second temperature (<the first temperature), and at least part of the mixture gas combusts by flame propagation when the intake-valve-closing temperature is below the second temperature.

Conventionally, it is known that compression self-ignition combustion (hereinafter, referred to as "CI combustion") improves the thermal efficiency of an engine.
For example, JP2012-215098A discloses an engine which performs the CI combustion, more accurately, HCCI (Homogeneous Charged Compression Ignition) combustion when an engine load is low, and performs SI (Spark Ignition) combustion using a spark plug when the engine load is high. This engine switches the combustion mode corresponding to the change in the engine load. Note that in the SI combustion, a mixture gas combusts by flame propagation after the ignition, and thus, the SI combustion is synonymous with flame propagation combustion in the following description.
Meanwhile, the present inventors conducted a diligent study on the CI combustion. As a result, it became apparent that main control factors of the CI combustion are the temperature of the mixture gas inside a cylinder, and a mass ratio (G/F) of intake air inside the cylinder containing burnt gas to fuel. Moreover, an ignition timing and a combustion period of the CI combustion can be controlled by an in-cylinder temperature at a close timing of an intake valve TIVC) and the G/F being adjusted to be a target TIVC and a target G/F. Furthermore, according to the study, the present inventors found that influence of the TIVC is particularly large, and there is a large gap between the TIVC at which the CI combustion of the entire mixture gas is possible, and the TIVC at which the SI combustion is possible.
"SI combustion is possible" corresponds to a state where the combustion stability of the SI combustion meets a standard, and abnormal combustion can be reduced. "CI combustion is possible" corresponds to a state where the combustion stability of the CI combustion meets a standard, and abnormal combustion can be reduced. In the SI combustion, abnormal combustion includes knocking and preignition caused at a high TIVC, and in the CI combustion, abnormal combustion includes overly rapid combustion and misfire caused at a low TIVC.
Even if the combustion mode is to be switched between the CI combustion and the SI combustion corresponding to the change in the engine load as disclosed in JP2012-215098A, it is difficult to instantly change the TIVC inside the cylinder corresponding to the target combustion mode.
Moreover, according to the study, the present inventors found that the TIVC at which the CI combustion is possible varies according to the engine load. Therefore, even if the engine load is the load at which the CI combustion is possible, the CI combustion is not appropriately performed unless the condition of the TIVC is satisfied. If the CI combustion is not appropriately performed, improving both of the fuel efficiency and combustion stability is impossible.


In a dielectric filter comprising a dielectric block provided with a plurality of through holes bored from the top all the way to the bottom thereof and arranged in parallel with each other, the peripheral walls of the through holes being coated with an inner conductor to produce so many dielectric coaxial resonators, a non-short-circuiting section is formed on the top of the dielectric block, by cutting out at least one of the edges of the top running in parallel with the direction of linking the resonators. With this arrangement, an interstage coupling section can be formed accurately and easily regardless in the dielectric filter if a number of dielectric filters being manufactured on a mass production basis show positional displacements and/or dimensional deviations from the specified values in the manufacturing process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric filter comprising a plurality of dielectric coaxial resonators arranged in parallel.
2. Prior Art
There are known dielectric filters of the type comprising a rectangularly parallelepipedic dielectric block provided with a plurality of through holes bored from the top all the way to the bottom thereof, the peripheral walls of the through holes being coated with an inner conductor to produce so many dielectric coaxial resonators, an outer conductor arranged on a substantial portion of the outer peripheral surface of the dielectric block and a short-circuiting conductor arranged on the surface of the top of the dielectric block and connecting the outer conductor on the outer peripheral surface and the inner conductors on the peripheral walls of the through holes to make it a short-circuiting side, the bottom of the dielectric block being left as an open-circut end. Such dielectric filters can suitably be used as high frequency band filters.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a conventional dielectric filter comprising a rectangularly parallelepipedic dielectric block A which has a short-circuiting end surface B and is provided with paired resonators C, wherein there is provided a region D free from the short-circuiting conductor on the top of the dielectric block A, or the short-circuiting end surface B, between the paired resonators C as interstage coupling means of the resonators (see Japanese Patent Kokai No. 3-293802).
Japanese Patent Kokai No. 8-8607 filed by the applicant of the present patent application discloses a further conventional dielectric filter for a high frequency band. In this conventional dielectric filter, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a dielectric block 1 is provided with a pair of through holes 2a and 2b arranged in parallel with each other, the peripheral walls of the through holes 2a and 2b are coated with respective inner conductors 3a and 3b to produce so many dielectric coaxial resonators. An outer conductor 4 is arranged on a predetermined area of the outer peripheral surface of the dielectric block 1, and a short-circuiting conductor 5 is arranged on the surface of the bottom of the dielectric block 1 for connecting the inner conductors 3a and 3b with the outer conductor 4 to make it a short-circuiting side. The top of the dielectric block 1 is left as an open-circuit end 6. Further, a slot 7 is formed by removing the outer conductor 4 in a straight and narrow zone on the outer peripheral surface located close to the short-circuiting conductor 5 and running in a direction perpendicular to the through holes 2a, 2b. An input/output terminals denoted by 8a and 8b are provided on the outer peripheral surface located close to the open-circuiting end surface 6 of the dielectric block 1.
With such an arrangement, the dielectric coaxial resonators can be coupled with each other and polarized easily and simultaneously.
Of known dielectric filters for high frequencies of the type under consideration, the one having a region, or slot, free from a short-circuit conductor on the short-circuiting side of the dielectric block for coupling each other as shown in FIG. 1 is required to make the slot show a large width and a surface area equal to about two thirds of the total surface area of the short-circuiting side in order to couple the resonators sufficiently at the cost of reducing the value of Q.
Additionally, the overall mechanical strength of the dielectric filter can be reduced if the coupling slot is formed by cutting the dielectric block at the short-circuiting side between the resonators.
On the other hand, the one an shown in FIG. 2 is typically covered with a shield casing after mounting the dielectric filter on the surface of a printed circuit board not shown and connecting the input/output terminals 8a and 8b formed on the lateral side of the dielectric block 1 opposite to the lateral side where the coupling slot 7 is formed directly to the printed circuit, said former lateral side being the under side of the dielectric block 1 with this mounting arrangement. Then, the inner wall surface of the shield casing has to be separated from the coupling slot 7 on the upper side of the dielectric block 1, or the lateral side where the coupling slot 7 is formed, by at least 3 mm because the degree of coupling can be altered if the inner wall surface of the shield casing comes closer to or into contact with the coupling slot 7 on the upper side of the dielectric block 1. In other words, this dielectric filter is not adapted to height reduction commonly required to dielectric filters of the type under consideration.
Additionally, when manufacturing dielectric filters for a high frequency band of the type under consideration, a number of devices (e.g., 20 to 30 devices) are pinched together by a set of jigs and silver paste is applied thereto to form a conductor layer on each of the devices for the purpose of mass production.
Then, a dielectric filter having a configuration as illustrated in FIG. 2 is accompanied by the problem that the stencil for producing a coupling slot thereon cannot be arranged accurately in position when the filter devices pinched by the jigs show positional displacements and/or dimensional deviations from the specified values, if slight.
In view of these and other problems, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dielectric filter having a short-circuiting surface on which a coupling element can be precisely positioned without requiring any accurate patterning operation and capable of providing a sufficient degree of coupling without reducing the Q value and meeting the requirement of height reduction.


The invention provides polymer conjugates of opioid antagonists comprising a polymer, such as poly(ethylene glycol), covalently attached to an opioid antagonist. The linkage between the polymer and the opioid antagonist is preferably hydrolytically stable. The invention also includes a method of treating one or more side effects associated with the use of opioid analgesics, such as constipation, nausea, or pruritus, by administering a polymer conjugate of the invention.

Natural and synthetic alkaloids of opium (i.e., opioids) are useful as analgesics for the treatment of severe pain. Opioids target three types of endogenous opioid receptors: μ-, δ-, and κ-receptors. Many opioids, such as morphine, are μ-receptor agonists that are highly efficacious analgesic compounds due to their activation of opioid receptors in the brain and central nervous system (CNS). Opioid receptors are, however, not only limited to the CNS, but may be found in other tissues throughout the body. These receptors located outside the CNS are referred to as peripheral receptors. A number of side effects associated with opioid use are caused by activation of these peripheral receptors. For example, administration of opioid agonists often results in intestinal dysfunction due to action of the opioid agonist upon the large number of receptors in the intestinal wall. Specifically, opioids are generally known to cause nausea and vomiting as well as inhibition of normal propulsive gastrointestinal function in animals, resulting in side effects such as constipation.
Opioid-induced side effects are a serious problem for patients being administered opioid analgesics for both short term and long term pain management. For instance, more than 250,000 terminal cancer patients each year take opioids, such as morphine, for pain relief, and about half of those patients experience severe constipation. In many situations the discomfort can be so great that the patients choose to forego the pain relief in order to avoid the constipation. In an effort to address this problem, certain opioid antagonist compounds that do not readily cross the blood-brain barrier have been tested for use in curbing opioid-induced side effects. For instance, the peripheral μ-opioid antagonist compound, methylnaltrexone, and related compounds have been suggested for use in assuaging opioid-induced side effects. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,972,954, 5,102,887, 4,861,781, and 4,719,215, which describe the use of methylnaltrexone and related compounds in controlling opioid-induced pruritus, nausea, and/or vomiting. Methylnaltrexone, however, is an experimental drug and is not commercially available. Unfortunately, most of the currently available opioid antagonists, such as the tertiary opioid antagonist, naloxone, are small molecules that not only possess antagonist activity at peripheral receptors associated with the intestine, but also possess antagonist activity at CNS receptors since they cross the blood-brain barrier. Consequently, many opioid antagonists interfere with the pain relief brought about by administration of opioid-based analgesics. Thus, at present, patients receiving opioid pain medications face the difficult choice of suffering burdensome adverse effects such as constipation or ineffective analgesia.
Thus, there is a need in the art for alternative compounds, or for approaches for modifying or improving upon existing compounds, that can reduce or eliminate opioid-induced side effects such as constipation, even when administered in high doses, without interfering with the pain-suppressing effects of the opioid.

Polymer conjugates of opioid antagonists


The present invention relates to a user interface conversion system and method capable of supporting various devices. The user interface conversion system includes a control device for controlling predetermined devices residing on a home network, and a gateway for generating an integrated user interface based on neutral user interfaces of the devices residing on the home network at the request of a user for controlling the devices and converting the generated user interface into a specific user interface so that the integrated user interface can be supported in a specific client of the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a user interface conversion system and method capable of supporting various devices, and more particularly, to a user interface conversion system and method capable of supporting various devices wherein an integrated user interface is generated based on neutral user interfaces residing on the home network and converted into a specific user interface such that the integrated user interface can be supported in a client. This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0005568, filed on Jan. 28, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a home network is configured using Internet Protocol (hereinafter referred to as "IP") based private networks. Thus, various kinds of equipment used in a home, including all types of personal computers (PCs), intelligent appliances and wireless devices, are connected to one another and controlled through a single network.
A proposed home network system is configured in such a manner that a common virtual computing environment called middleware is established at the equipment residing in the private network and applications are provided on the computing environment. The middleware allows various kinds of equipment to communicate with one another in the home network. The currently available middleware includes home AV interoperability (HAVi), universal plug and play (UPnP), Jini, home wide web (HWW), and the like.
Various kinds of equipment residing on the home network are connected to one another in a peer-to-peer fashion through a home network middleware. The respective equipment uses IP addresses that are assigned by a dynamic host configuration protocol (hereinafter, "DHCP") server or selected by an auto IP function.
That is, when the respective equipment is first connected to the home network, it searches for the DHCP server in order to obtain the address assigned in accordance with a response of the DHCP server or automatically selects the IP address within a certain range using the auto IP function in a case of a network in which the DHCP server does not operate.
The equipment by which the IP address assigned by the DHCP server or selected by the auto IP function is used can communicate with other equipment on the network using TCP/IP and perform searches and queries for the other equipment on the network via the respective IP addresses.
The home network middleware such as the UPnP uses the protocol such as sampling stochastic dynamic programming (hereinafter, "SSDP") in order to search desired equipment in the home network. Further, in order to control the operation of the searched equipment, a web-based method is used in which a simple object access protocol (hereinafter, "SOAP") is used to call a relevant control device or a control message is transmitted through a presentation web page.
FIG. 3 illustrates an operation control process of accessing the UPnP control device residing in the conventional home network.
As shown in FIG. 3, a UPnP control point 30 searches for control devices such as the control device 20 for controlling various kinds of equipment on the UPnP home network (hereinafter, "UPnP CD") using the SSDP and controls the UPnP CD 20 through a SOAP request using device information on the searched UPnP CD 20 obtained from the search of the UPnP CDs 20 using the SSDP. That is, the UPnP control point 30 controls the equipment by calling the UPnP CD 20.
Alternatively, the UPnP control point 30 accesses a relevant control web page of the UPnP CD 20 through a web browser 10 using current uniform resource locator (URL) information corresponding to the control web page of the searched UPnP CD 20 obtained from the search of the UPnP CDs 20 using the SSDP. Then, the control point transmits an HTTP request corresponding to a control message for controlling specific equipment through the control web page provided on the web browser 10 to the UPnP CD 20, and thus, confirms processing results for the HTTP request in the UPnP CD 20. That is, if a user has access to the control web page of the UPnP CD 20 through the web browser 10 and selects a desired control message, an HTTP request message corresponding to the selected control message is transmitted to the UPnP CD 20. Then, the process for the HTTP request is performed at the UPnP CD 20 and its resultant response is received by the user.
However, there is a problem in that devices such as mobile phones or PDAs, which recently gained wide public exposure but have limited computer performance and UI display capability, have difficulty in properly executing the web browser or displaying the HTML pages as they are.
Further, there is another problem in that the devices on the home network cannot be controlled in a case where the protocols supporting the middleware are not compatible with one another even though the middleware should be used for searching and controlling the device operating on the home network.

User interface conversion system and method capable of supporting various devices


An indoor localization method is implemented using an indoor localization system that includes beacons in an indoor space and each periodically transmitting a localization signal, a radio badge receiving the localization signals, and a host coupled to the beacons and the radio badge. The beacons transmit the localization signals asynchronously. The indoor localization method includes a training phase and a tracking phase. During the training phase, signal vectors are formed from the localization signals received by the radio badge, and a signal ID value is generated from the signal vectors. During the tracking phase, signal vectors are formed from the localization signals received by the radio badge at a current location. An estimated position of the radio badge is obtained using the signal vectors of the tracking phase and the signal ID values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an indoor localization system and method, more particularly to an indoor localization system and method, in which beacons of the indoor localization system are de-synchronized.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most outdoor localization systems and methods are based on global positioning system (GPS) technology. Depending on the quality of the GPS receiver hardware employed by a user, the manner in which processing is performed by the GPS receiver, and various other factors, errors in the estimated position may range from several meters to several tens of meters using GPS technology.
Since such large errors are unacceptable for indoor localization, one approach is to use wireless technology. In particular, indoor localization systems that employ a Radio Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)-signature-based approach have been developed. The RSSI-signature-based approach involves detecting the received strengths of wireless signals transmitted from a plurality of beacons that are deployed in various fixed locations. The strengths of the signals received by a radio badge or tag are then used to estimate the indoor location of a tracked target.
One area that is in need of improvement to enhance accuracy in indoor localization systems is that related to optimizing communication between the radio badge or tag and each of the beacons.


The present invention relates to a method for generating pulse trains by means of a microprocessor, consisting of generating an envelope signal by means of a timer which is programmable by a CPU, the width of a square wave of the envelope signal corresponding to the width of the pulse trains, generating a carrier signal having a predetermined frequency, and modulating the envelope signal with the carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the generation of pulse trains by means of a microprocessor. It more specifically relates to the generation of variable width trains of variable frequency digital pulses, the respective widths of the trains and the pulses being programable by means of a CPU of a microprocessor. Such generation of pulse trains is used, for example, in infrared remote controls for monitoring infrared-emitting diodes, the sequence in which the pulse trains are generated and/or their number of pulses constituting a control code likely to be decoded by a receiver of the transmitted infrared signals.
More generally, the present invention applies to the generation of a discontinuous pulse sequence for which it is desired to program both the pulse frequency and the width of the trains or successive pulse series.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows, partially and in the form of a block-diagram, an example of a conventional implementation of a programable pulse train generator.
Such a generator includes a CPU 1 for executing an instruction program previously stored in a memory (not shown). CPU 1 conventionally is associated with a timer 2 which can be used as a time base for exchanges between the microprocessor and an external peripheral, for example, an infrared-emitting diode (not shown).
CPU 1 is also associated with a prescaler 3, the function of which is to shape an external clock CLKE and deliver to CPU 1 and timer 2 an operating clock CLK0. Prescaler PS 3 is programmable via a first register (PS-REG) 4 to set the division rate of external clock CLKE and, thus, the operating frequency of CPU 1.
Timer 2 is programmable by CPU 1, via certain bits of register 4 and of a second register (T-REG) 5 which are programmed by CPU 1. The timing frequency is given by clock signal CLK0.
CPU 1 communicates with registers 4 and 5 via an address bus 6, a data bus 7 and a control bus (not shown). Although not shown for the sake of clarity, CPU 1 also communicates via the buses with timer 2 to ensure its control as well as with other conventional components (not shown) of the microprocessor.
Timer 2, for example, comprises a digital flip-flop counter (not shown) associated with a comparator (not shown) which compares the value issued by the flip-flop counter with a threshold stored in register 5. When the threshold is reached, timer 2 positions its output signal S to a high or low state according to the state of a control bit contained in register 4. Timer 2 is reset by a signal ResetC from CPU 1.
FIG. 2 shows, in the form of timing diagrams, an example of a signal S comprising a sequence of pulse trains obtained by means of a generator such as shown in FIG. 1. Sequence S here is comprised of three trains T1, T2, and T3 respectively including three, two and four pulses I. The rising and falling edges of each pulse I are generated by the circuit such as shown in FIG. 1, that is, for each state switching of signal S, CPU 1 must load into registers 4 and 5, respectively, a control bit indicating the high or low state which is to be adopted by signal S at the end of the previous state and a timing threshold determining the time position of the following edge. In the example shown, all pulses I have the same width. In the application to infrared remote controls, the pulse frequency generally is constant for a particular train sequence. However, the width and frequency of the pulses may be adjustable. Further, the pulse width generally corresponds to a shape factor (pulse width for one period) ranging between 30 and 50% of the pulse period for the entire sequence.
Signal CLK0 has not been shown in FIG. 2. It should be noted that the frequency of signal CLK0 is clearly higher than the frequency of the pulses I of a train. A higher frequency of CLK0 signal is needed because, in order to program registers 4 and 5, CPU 1 has to perform two programming cycles between each pulse edge of signal S while each programming cycle requires several clock cycles. Thus, the need for programming registers 4 and 5 prior to each desired edge of signal S, takes CPU 1 a considerable length of time. As a result, CPU 1 is not available to perform other tasks. This is a disadvantage of conventional generators such as the one shown in FIG. 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,487 discloses a pulse train generator in which an envelope signal is modulated by a fixed frequency carrier. That carrier is generated independently from the envelope signal which is obtained by an encoder controlled by a keyboard. A drawback of that generator is that the envelope and carrier signals are not synchronized with each other. Therefore some head and tail carrier pulses may be shortened during modulation, causing loss of information. Another drawback is that the pulse train generator is not versatile and cannot be tuned to different carrier frequencies.

Method and programmable device for generating variable width pulse trains


An in-line grinder has been developed which can be configured to perform in a variety of applications through the use of an adjustable rotor/stator assembly, removable shear bar, and a variety of interchangeable stator-rotor configurations. A unique drive system utilizing a mechanical seal cartridge provides maximum sealing with a minimum of shaft deflection and run-out thereby improving performance. These improvements collectively allow the grinder to be configured for optimum sizing of solids to a predetermined particle size for a broad range of materials. It has been demonstrated that a class of in-line grinders such as that described herein is applicable for sizing drill cuttings for injection into a subsurface formation by way of an annular space formed in a wellbore. The cuttings are removed from the drilling fluid, conveyed to a shearing and grinding system that converts the cuttings into a viscous slurry with the addition of water and viscosity enhancing polymers. The system in its simplest form comprises a slurry tank, a pump, and the instant in-line grinder. The pump circulates the mixture of cuttings and water (sea water) between the slurry tank and the in-line grinder. The ground mixture leaving the in-line grinder is then routed to an injection pump for high pressure injection into the formation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to in-line grinding or milling apparatus in general which size and disperse solids contained in a liquid slurry as they are pumped through it and more particularly to machines with adjustable rotors having a number of stator-rotor combinations interchangeably mountable in the machine to accomplish a wide variety of size reduction needs. The present invention also pertains to the use of such in-line grinding apparatus in drill cuttings disposal systems wherein the cuttings are treated and refined to form a slurry to be pumped into an earth formation through a well bore.
2. General Background
It is well known within the art that a stator-rotor assembly composed of intermeshing teeth or shear blocks may be use in the sizing of both flexible and friable solids. However, heretofore, fine grinding of such solids produced by such methods have been done by different machines, i.e. ball, or roller mills and fine shredders and the like.
An apparatus for grinding solids as they are pumped through the machine has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,495,986 and 5,586,729. The apparatus disclosed the concept of utilizing an adjustable rotor in combination with intermeshing teeth or shear blocks to accomplish the size reduction of solids in a liquid slurry. An arrangement of the intermeshing teeth further discloses a tooth arrangement which allows the gap between the stator and rotor to be set for any desired particle size. However, the apparatus does not teach a structure for performing such adjustment nor does it teach a method for interchangeably adapting non-intermeshing rotor and stator elements.
It has now become evident that a need exists for fine grinding solids entrained in a slurry to micron size. Ideally such fine grinding should be accomplished with the same machine configured to receive interchangeable stator-rotor assemblies capable of shearing and or fine grinding particles to micron size. For example, the disposal of drill cuttings from drilling various types of wells has become an increasingly difficult problem due to restrictions imposed by various governmental authorities and the desire to minimize environmental damage. These problems are aggravated, or at least amplified, in certain well drilling operations, particularly in offshore drilling operations, wherein the disposal of drill cuttings normally requires transport of the cuttings to a suitable landfill or shore-based processing system.
One solution to drill cuttings disposal has been to separate the drill cuttings from the drilling fluid and reclaim coarse cuttings for use as construction grade gravel. Finer particles of material are slurried and injected into an earth formation through a disposal well. In many instances, however, disposal of all of the drill cuttings is not as conveniently handled. This is especially evident in offshore well drilling operations where the separated cuttings are not suitable for reuse, reclamation or other disposal processes. The cost of managing drill cuttings has increased dramatically as the offshore platforms migrated into deeper waters which further increases the distance to land-based disposal operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,469 illustrates a method and system for processing drill cuttings whereby drill cuttings are reduced in particle size by using a centrifugal pump as the grinding means of size reduction. After size reduction, the drill cuttings slurry is injected back into the formation through the well bore. It has been found in practice that the centrifugal pump grinding means contained in the above referenced patent has no ability to produce a consistent particle size. As a result, the system operates best when used in conjunction with a shaker screen to separate oversized solids leaving the centrifugal pump grinding means. Sized solids falling through the screen are suitable for injection, whereas rejects from the screen are recirculated repeatedly through the pump grinding means until they are sufficiently small to pass through the shale shaker screen. It is therefore evident that a more efficient method and apparatus is needed to provide a consistent particle size reduction


A method for determining a favorable time window of an infill well of an unconventional oil and gas reservoir, which comprises the following steps: S1, establishing a three-dimensional geological model with physical properties and geomechanical parameters; S2, establishing a natural fracture network model in combination with indoor core-logging-seismic monitoring; S3, calculating complex fractures in hydraulic fracturing of parent wells; S4, establishing an unconventional oil and gas reservoir model and calculating a current pore pressure field; S5, establishing a dynamic geomechanical model and calculating a dynamic geostress field; S6, calculating complex fractures in horizontal fractures of the infill well in different production times of the parent wells based on pre-stage complex fractures and the current geostress field; S7, analyzing a microseismic event barrier region and its dynamic changes in infill well fracturing; and S8, analyzing the productivity in different infill times, and determining an infill time window.

A favorable time window of an infill well is proposed based on the infill time. The infill time generally refers to the time from when parent wells are put into production, until a certain time to implement infill well drilling, reservoir reconstruction and putting into production (in case of a long time scale of the entire oil and gas reservoir production, the infill well drilling, reservoir reconstruction and production testing can be considered as a time node), and this time is the infill time. On this basis, the favorable time window of infill wells generally refers to: a time calculated from the time when the parent wells is officially put into production, where if the infill well drilling and reservoir fracturing reconstruction are implemented before a certain time point, the reservoir reconstruction effect and the reconstructed production capacity of the infill well will not be affected by the production of the parent wells; and if the infill well fracturing is implemented after this time point, the geomechanical characteristics of the reservoir near the infill well will change to some extent due to the production of the parent wells, which will significantly reduce the reservoir reconstruction effect and productivity of the infill well. The core indicator used to evaluate whether the reservoir reconstruction effect is affected by the production of the parent wells is the "barrier effect" of microseismic events in the reservoir fracturing reconstruction of infill wells. The "barrier effect" of the microseismic events is defined in such a manner: the distribution of microseismic events near the well circumference of an infill well is similar to that of parent wells, however, near the parent wells, the magnitude and number of microseismic events will decrease significantly, and even be undetectable, and this phenomenon is called the "barrier effect" of microseismic events. Corresponding to the "barrier effect" of microseismic events, the area near the parent wells is called the "microseismic event barrier region".
With the continuous exploitation of shale gas resources, many unconventional oil and gas reservoirs in China are gradually entering the middle stage of development. In the middle-stage development adjustment plan, it is necessary to drill an infill horizontal well in the current exploitation area and implement large-displacement volume fracturing to supplement block production capacity, fully develop unused areas, and improve the recovery rate. The unconventional oil and gas reservoirs that have entered the middle stage of development have gradually started to implement volume fracturing of an infill test well. Through microseismic monitoring of the infill test well fracturing construction process, it is found that: the occurrence of microseismic events near the well circumference of the infill well is similar to that in fracturing of the parent wells, that is, a large number of microseismic events of different magnitudes occur, which indicates that complex fractures have occurred in this area; however, in case of the further away from the infill well and the closer to the parent wells, the magnitude and number of microseismic events will decrease significantly, and even be undetectable, which indicates that no complex fractures are formed in an area far from the infill well and close to the parent wells. This is also a very different phenomenon detected during fracturing of the parent wells. It seems that there is a barrier blocking the microseismic events outside the area near the parent wells. Therefore, this phenomenon is called the "barrier effect" of microseismic events, and the area close to the parent wells is called the "microseismic event barrier region". Due to the formation of the barrier effect of the microseismic events, the fracturing reconstruction effect of the infill well (mainly based on the number of fractures and the complexity of the fracture network) is inferior to that is the original production well. Because the extent to which shale gas seeps underground to reach the commercial exploitation level depends mainly on the complex fractures formed by volume fracturing, the "barrier effect" of microseismic events has greatly limited the single-well productivity of the infill well. In order to determine the favorable time for infill well fracturing and provide a reliable basis for the design of volume fracturing construction parameters, it is necessary to evaluate the microseismic event barrier region and its dynamic changes, and determine the favorable time window for the infill well in this area through productivity calculation.
By comparing the monitoring results of microseismic events during parent wells fracturing with the monitoring results of microseismic events during infill well fracturing, it can be found that: the shale reservoir structure is gentle and less heterogeneous, and the parent wells and the infill well are located in the same area. The difference between fracturing formation conditions in the infill well and the parent wells should mainly depend on the changes in reservoir geomechanical characteristics (especially pore pressure and geostress) caused by long-term exploitation of the parent wells. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the dynamic changes of the geomechanical characteristics before infilling, and analyze and calculate the morphology of fractures in infill well fracturing in different production times (infill time) of the parent wells, reveal the causes of the barrier effect of microseismic events, and evaluate the dynamic changes in the microseismic event barrier region. In addition, based on the simulation of infill well fracturing, it is also necessary to perform productivity evaluation of the infill well and its area by using numerical reservoir simulation, calculate the productivity after infill well fracturing performed in different production times (infill times) of the parent wells, determine a favorable time window of the infill well by comparison, and finally form a complete set of favorable time window determination methods for the infill well.

Method for determining favorable time window of infill well in unconventional oil and gas reservoir


A seat device includes left and right slide units for supporting a seat body slidably in a front-rear direction; left and right front support legs respectively fixed to front ends of the left and right slide units; left and right rear support legs respectively fixed to rear ends of the left and right slide units; and a reinforcing member extending between the front and rear support legs fixed to one of the left and right slide units. The reinforcing member includes a first wall attached to one side of the front support leg and the one side of the rear support leg; second wall attached to the other side of the front support leg and the other side of the rear support leg, the second wall facing the first wall; and a first connecting portion connecting lower ends of the first and second walls with each other.

a conventional seat device, for example, for a vehicle which includes support legs (front leg 71 and rear leg 72) respectively provided at front and rear ends of a slide rail for sliding a seat body (refer to Patent Document 1, for example) is known. Reinforcing members (side plates 73 and 74) made from plates are provided between the front and rear support legs to connect the front and rear support legs with each other. A bead (riser reinforcing portion 73a) extending in a front-rear direction is provided on the reinforcing member to enhance the reinforcing member itself.


The present invention relates to injection mold hot runner control devices and more particularly to an injection molding control device which eliminates the conventional control cables to improve the quality of feedback signals received by the controller and the safety of the environment in which such systems are used. The present invention utilizes a signal processor to convert analog signals received from the mold temperature sensors into a digital feedback signal in the vicinity of the mold and to transmit such feedback signal to a receiver connected to a controller at a location remote from the mold. The mold controller processes the feedback signal and generates a corresponding control signal. The control signal is transmitted from the remotely located controller to the controlled device, typically the mold heaters. A single controller and a single mold signal processor may be used to be able to control numerous molds by utilizing signals on different lines or frequencies or in other means of signal differentiation known to those skilled in the art. The system of the present invention enables the injection mold user to eliminate the numerous problems, difficulties and repair costs of the prior art as well as enabling the user to gain an improved feedback loop that was not feasible under control systems of the prior art.

The present invention relates to injection molding apparatus and procedures and more particularly to a structure and method for enabling and facilitating the transmission of information from injection mold sensors to a control device without the use of cumbersome and expensive analog hard-wired connections. The present invention also provides increased reliability in the feedback control loop as it enables the user to eliminate numerous junctions which can introduce errors into the control system.
Injection molding is typically done in molds which operate at high temperatures and high pressures within the molds. Typical molds include means to heat the molds at numerous points within the mold in order to ensure that the material injected into the mold remains in a molten state until the mold cavity is completely filled and that no voids exist within the cavity (i.e. hot runner system) as is known to those skilled in the art. In addition, as is known to those skilled in the art, it can be desirable to heat a mold, prior to injecting material therein, in order to control the rate at which the material cools and hardens in order to effect the material properties of the molded product (e.g. material strength, etc.)
In order to effect such control, it is necessary to provide a closed-loop feedback system between the controlled device (e.g., a mold heater) and the mold sensor (e.g., a mold temperature sensor), through a controller of some sort which can utilize the information from the mold sensor and control the controlled device in accordance with a predetermined set of instructions. Currently, information from injection mold sensors is transmitted to a controller in analog form via a hard-wired connection which utilizes sensor specific wires which are physically connected to the sensors and the control device through a series of connectors. These wires, used with readily available connectors, create sensor feedback cables. Each cable typically requires two or more wires per sensor located in the mold to transfer an analog signal.
The number of cables required to transfer the information as applied to, for example, temperature in thermal analog form, from the mold to the control device, is dependent on the number of sensor devices located in the mold, but often times exceeds 48 wires for a typical commercial mold configuration. For example, if a mold requires 30 sensor devices, 60 analog sensor wires would typically be required. In addition, each of the sensor wires is typically arranged such that there are 7 thermal junction points between the sensor device and the control device for each sensor wire. Accordingly, in an injection mold such as the one described above, there would be 420 connections created between the sensor devices in the identified mold and the control device for that mold.
Closed-loop feedback systems such as those described above with numerous wires and connectors can create various problems known to those skilled in the art, including: 1) problems associated with bad connections and cold solder joints which may feedback faulty or intermittent data; 2) inaccurate feedback due to temperature variations along the path of the analog feedback cable; 3) the effects of electrical noise on low level analog signals over the span of the feedback cable; 4) numerous problems caused by the sheer volume of cables and wires required, including problems as simple as storage of the wires and cables, and people tripping over cables located on the floor of the injection mold area; and 5) other problems known to those skilled in the art. As the number of sensors in a given mold increases, so too does the number of wires and connections in a conventional system. Thus, as the mold becomes more intricate or sophisticated and control of the operation of the mold becomes more critical, the chance for induced error in a conventional control system similarly increases. Indeed, one practical limitation on the number of temperature sensors which can be effectively employed in injection molding systems results from the limitation on the number of sensor and control wires which a system and system operator can manage.


A computer-implemented method selects a desired copy of a particular interface in a computer system that includes a client computer and a server computer. The method includes, at the server computer, annotating the desired copy of the interface with an identifier, and, at the client computer, selecting the desired copy of the interface based on the associated identifier. The annotating and selecting steps may be implemented using the RPC protocol.

The invention is directed to client/server computing systems.
A client/server computing system may include a client computer that communicates with a server computer over a network. In such a system, a client process (i.e., a process running on the client computer) causes a server process (i.e., a process running on the server computer) to perform an operation by sending a request to the server process over the network. The server process responds by performing the operation and returning any resulting data to the client process over the network.
Exchanges of requests and responses between the client and the server may be made using the Remote Procedure Call ("RPC") protocol. The RPC protocol is discussed, for example, in "Microsoft RPC Programming Guide", John Shirley and Ward Rosenberry, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, Calif., 1995, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The RPC protocol permits the client process to communicate with the server process by making a procedure call to the server process. RPC software running on the client computer automatically transmits the procedure call to the server computer. RPC software running on the server computer receives the procedure call and initiates a response by the server process. The RPC software then returns the results to the client computer.
Concepts defined by the RPC protocol include interfaces, endpoints, and binding handles. An interface is a description of the applications programming interfaces ("APIs") supported by a server application. A given application may have many interfaces that are accessed independently.
Each instantiation, or copy, of an interface is called an endpoint. The endpoint describes a communications port that a client process may use to communicate with the server. Viewed simply, an endpoint is an address at which a client may access the particular copy of an interface. An endpoint designates the name or address of the interface, the server on which the interface is located, and the communications protocol, or transport, by which the interface is to be addressed. For example, the endpoint designated by "ncacn.sub.-- np:.backslash..backslash..backslash..backslash.DINO.backslash.pipe.backsl ash.lsasrv!" describes a process that uses the named pipe protocol (as indicated by "ncacn.sub.-- np"), is located on the server "DINO", and is named ".backslash.pipe.backslash.lsasrv". Similarly, the endpoint designated by "ncacn.sub.-- ip.sub.-- tcp:18.104.22.1681029!" describes a process that uses the TCP/IP transport (as indicated by "ncacn.sub.-- ip.sub.-- tcp") and is located at port "1029" of a server having the address "22.214.171.124".
A client process connects to a specific endpoint using a binding handle. As noted above, an endpoint may be viewed as providing an address at which a desired server process is located. A binding handle may be viewed as pointing to that address. More specifically, a binding handle designates a communication protocol sequence (i.e., the transport by which the endpoint is to be addressed), a server name or address for the corresponding endpoint, and a server process name or address for the corresponding endpoint.
In general, binding handles and endpoints may be fully or partially bound. A fully-bound handle (or a fully-bound endpoint) is one that completely describes the path to the server application. A server application that produces fully-bound endpoints defines a separate endpoint for each transport supported by the server application. A large number of transports (i.e., 20 or more) may be available on a given machine. Accordingly, the burden of defining an endpoint for every possible transport soon can become onerous. In addition, consideration must be given to guaranteeing that a chosen endpoint does not conflict with an existing endpoint for a different application or for a different instance of the same application.
To ease this burden, the RPC protocol permits a server process to define partially-bound endpoints. A client process may then communicate with the server process using a partially-bound handle and the partially-bound endpoint of the server process. A partially-bound endpoint may include the server name or address and the name or address of the server process, without including information about a particular transport to be employed. A partially-bound handle may include the same information, or may include only the server process name or address. A partially-bound handle that includes only the name of the server process might be used when the same server process is running on multiple, equally acceptable, servers.
The RPC software includes an endpoint mapper that enables the use of partially-bound handles and partially-bound endpoints. Each server process using the RPC protocol registers partially-bound endpoints with the endpoint mapper. When a client process wishes to communicate with a given server process, the client process provides the endpoint mapper with an appropriate partially-bound handle. The endpoint mapper responds by producing a fully-bound endpoint for a server process that has registered a partially-bound endpoint corresponding to the partially-bound handle. The endpoint mapper then provides the fully-bound endpoint to the client process. The client process produces a fully-bound handle using this fully-bound endpoint and connects to the server process using the fully-bound handle.

Method and system for accessing a particular instantiation of a server process