Disclosed is a method and device for collecting particulate contaminants removed using a CO2 decontamination medium from an early step of a decontamination process. The device removes particulate contaminants from a contaminated subject by a decontamination stream, and simultaneously forms another stream for collecting such contaminants into a collecting filter, thus preventing such contaminants from diffusing into the atmosphere. The device forms streams between the nozzles and the surface of the contaminated subject to readily move the nozzles along the surface of the subject without frictional resistance, to reduce the sense of fatigue of the operator. The method and device are advantageous in that when the device is readily used with a conventional CO2 blasting decontamination unit to collect particulate contaminants, removal of particulate contaminants from a contaminated subject and collection of particulate contaminants contained in the decontamination stream are simultaneously performed, also allowing compressed gas blasted through air curtain blasting nozzles to prevent contaminated gas from diffusing into the atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for collecting particulate contaminants removed using a CO2 decontamination medium from an early stage of a decontamination process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for collecting particulate contaminants during a CO2 blasting decontamination process, which is readily combined with a conventional CO2 blasting nozzle unit to collect particulate contaminants, allowing compressed gas blasted through an air curtain blasting nozzle of the device to prevent contaminated gas from diffusing into the atmosphere, and sucking particulate contaminants into a separate collecting filter, and a method of collecting particulate contaminants using the device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, recently, CO2 decontamination processes have attracted considerable attention even though these various decontamination processes are applied to industrial fields. In comparison with conventional chemical and physical decontamination processes, the CO2 decontamination process has advantages of cleanness, rapid decontamination speed, and not producing secondary wastes, thus it is frequently applied to various fields such as atomic piles, semiconductor fabrication, and optical and medical equipment.
If CO2 gas at a very low temperature passes through an orifice of a nozzle under conditions in which liquid phase and vapor phase coexist (pressure of 800 psi) to be dropped to 80 psi in pressure, a portion of high-pressure CO2 gas (about 45%) is converted into solid granules like snow. These granules consist of crystal particles of sub-micron units, and are blasted onto a subject which is to be decontaminated. This is a CO2 snow-blasting decontamination process.
Additionally, there is a conventional CO2 pellet-blasting decontamination process, in which solid previously-prepared granules are compressed to form predetermined lump-like shapes, and these lumps, or so-called pellets, are blasted onto a contaminated subject to decontaminate the subject.
According to these conventional decontamination processes, a CO2 decontamination medium (CO2 snow or CO2 pellets), when blasting through a nozzle to a surface of a contaminated subject, transfers its collision energy into particulate contaminants to remove them. However, these processes are disadvantageous in that a separate collecting process is additionally needed, thus inevitably increasing decontamination cost.
Other disadvantages of the above processes are that particulate contaminants removed by the CO2 decontamination medium are instantaneously diffused into the atmosphere by the blasting gas, and a freezing layer is formed on a surface of the contaminated subject because a temperature of the blasted CO2 gas is very low, thus reducing decontamination efficiency of the contaminated subject.

Method and device for collecting particulate contaminants during CO

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Ltd.


A metered-dose inhaler having a medication-containing cartridge and a tubular outlet is used with an aerosol holding chamber having an elongated body having a rear end wall formed with a hole shaped to fit snugly around the tubular outlet of the inhaler, a longitudinally extending side wall, and a front end wall. A mouthpiece formed on the front end wall has a large-diameter tubular rear portion extending forward from the front end wall, a small-diameter tubular front bite portion extending forward from the large-diameter rear portion, and a transverse wall between the rear and front portions and extending generally perpendicular thereto. The front bite portion is of a height equal to at most half a height of the large-diameter rear portion.

A standard metered-dose inhaler, such as sold under the trade name "Flovent" by GlaxoWellcome, "Proventil" or "Vanceril" by Key Pharmaceutical, or "Aerobid" by Forest Pharmaceuticals, comprises a small pressurized medication-filled cartridge and a holder formed with a short tubular mouthpiece. After shaking the device the mouthpiece is inserted into the mouth between the lips and teeth. Then as the patient takes a slow deep breath the cartridge is depressed to release a puff of the medication that is then drawn down into the lungs, normally to apply an anti-inflammatory agent to them.
Such a system is extremely effective only if used perfectly. That is the puff of medication must be blown into the oral cavity while the patient is inhaling so that it will travel to the lungs. The problem is that it is invariably being used by those suffering from breathing difficulties who are in fact often gasping for breath when the device is being used so that getting the procedure correct is a problem, in particular for children.
This has lead to the development of aids that are used with an inhaler. One such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,804 has a rigid cylindrical chamber provided at one end with a tubular extension serving as mouthpiece and of substantially the same size and shape as the mouthpiece of the inhaler. The other end of the chamber is provided with a hole into which the mouthpiece of the inhaler is fitted and a one-way valve at this other end allows air to be drawn into the chamber. Thus, after fitting the inhaler to the chamber, the user places the mouthpiece of the holding chamber in his mouth, actuates the inhaler to shoot a puff of the medication into the chamber, and then slowly inhales to draw in the charge from the chamber. Such an arrangement can even allow the user to draw in the medication in two breaths.
Another such system sold under the trade name "InspirEase" by Schering Pharmaceutical has a collapsible chamber and the inhaler cartridge is fitted to the mouthpiece between the chamber and the outer end that is inserted into the patient's mouth. With this system the chamber is expanded and the medication is blown into it, then the user breathes in the air from the chamber until same is completely collapsed. Once again this system allows the dose to be consumed in two breaths.
The disadvantage of these known systems is that they still require the patient to use them very, very carefully. The medication must be drawn straight into the oral cavity so that it then passes down into the lungs. If, for instance, the mouthpiece is only gripped between the lips, it is possible for the incoming stream of air to impinge on the front teeth so that much of the medication will simply be applied as a film to the teeth where it is does no good. These administration problems are particularly great with children who often cannot master the procedure for properly taking in the needed drug.

Aerosol holding chamber for a metered-dose inhaler


A video signal is duplicated in a reduced time by using n video tape recording devices having rotary heads reproducing the video signal from respective recording media at a normal rotary head rotational speed and transporters transporting the respective recording media at n times a normal transport speed. The reproduced video signals are offset from each other by one frame of the video signal, and are timebase compressed, selectively delayed and combined into an n times normal speed reproduced signal, that is, a video signal with its timebase compressed by 1/n. The n times normal speed reproduced signal is recorded by at least one video tape recorder on a recording medium at an n times normal recording speed, thereby duplicating the original video signal. An audio signal may also be duplicated in this manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to video signal duplicating systems in which a video signal is reproduced from a first record medium and a reproduced video signal is recorded on a second record medium. More particularly, this invention relates to a video signal duplicating system in which a video signal is duplicated at a speed higher than the normal playback speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a video information such as a movie or the like is reproduced from a video tape and then recorded on another video tape, a playback video tape recorder (VTR) and a recording VTR are both driven at a speed, for example, which is twice as high as the normal speed and a twice normal speed reproduced signal is input to the recording VTR in order to reduce the duplicating time. A twice normal speed reproduced signal has a rate which is twice the normal rate, that is, its timebase is compressed by 1/2.
As a method for obtaining the twice normal speed reproduced signal from the playback VTR, the following two methods (1) and (2) have been proposed. In the method (1), both a transport speed of a video tape (record medium) and a driving speed of a reproducing system such as a rotary head drum or the like are increased to twice normal speed, and according to the method (2), the number of playback heads mounted on the rotary head drum is increased to twice the normal number.
However, according to the method (1), a revolution rate of a rotary head is considerably increased. For example, in a video tape recorder of D2 type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,361, the revolution rate of the rotary head reaches 10800 r.p.m. so that, in actual practice, various technical problems must be solved. Furthermore, since a signal of twice the normal frequency band is delivered from the playback head, the signal processing system of the existing video tape recorder must be modified greatly.
The method (2) needs a special rotary head drum and a special playback head and also needs two signal processing systems, which requires the existing video tape recorder to be modified greatly.
Therefore, in accordance with the methods (1) and (2), the development period of the video tape recorder is extended and the development cost or the like also is increased. In addition, the methods (1) and (2) cannot satisfy the user's requests in the early stage.

Duplicating system for video and audio signals using timebase compression and high speed recorders


A technique provides a system and methodology for treating a plurality of zones, e.g. well zones. A plurality of flow control devices is located along a tubular structure, such as a well string in a wellbore. Each flow control device comprises a seat member with an annularly located recess having a unique profile relative to the annularly located recesses of the other flow control devices. Darts are designed with engagement features sized to correspond with selected annularly located recesses. Each dart may have an engagement feature of a specific length designed to engage the corresponding recess of a specific flow control device to enable actuation of that flow control device once the dart is dropped through the tubular structure.

Hydrocarbon fluids are obtained from subterranean geologic formations, referred to as reservoirs, by drilling wells that penetrate the hydrocarbon-bearing formations. In some applications, a well is drilled through multiple well zones and each of those well zones may be treated to facilitate hydrocarbon fluid productivity. For example, a multizone vertical well or horizontal well may be completed and stimulated at multiple injection points along the well completion to enable commercial productivity. The treatment of multiple zones can be achieved by sequentially setting bridge plugs through multiple well interventions. In other applications, drop balls are used to open sliding sleeves at sequential well zones with size-graduated drop balls designed to engage seats of progressively increasing diameter.


A foldable ramp having a first, second and third rectangular sections contiguous with each other and defining a ramp path having longitudinal and transversal axes. A first hinge group is affixed to both the first and second sections and a second hinge group is affixed to both the second and third sections. The first hinge group has a first axis of rotation on the upper side of the ramp path and extending across the longitudinal axis, and a first rotational range of slightly more than 180.degree.. The second hinge group has a second axis of rotation on the under side of the ramp path and extending in a parallel alignment with the first axis of rotation, and a second rotational range of slightly less than 180.degree.. The first and second hinge groups each have a central hinge and outside hinges, and stoppers on the central hinges to limit the rotation of the central hinges a few degrees less that the rotational range of the outside hinges. This configuration causes the ramp to arc longitudinally and transversely upwardly when deployed for increasing the moments of inertia of the ramp.

Many types of foldable tailgate ramp systems have been used in the past. In most designs, the objective was to increase a deployed length and strength of the ramp without unduly increasing the size of its structural members. This objective remains a primary requirement to any acceptable foldable ramp concept.
For reference purposes, the foldable tailgate ramps of the prior art are believed to belong to three broad groups. The first group utilizes longitudinal beams for stiffening a ramp in use; the second group uses trusses or mid-span legs to strengthen the hinges between each section of the ramp, and the third group uses the abutting edges of adjoining panels for preventing the hinges from folding when the ramp is extended.
Examples of tailgate ramps of the first group wherein longitudinal beams are used to strengthen a ramp, are disclosed in the following patent documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,474 issued on Jul. 30, 1996 to Richard T. Holland,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,800 issued on May 19, 1998 to Darryl Brincks et al.
In the first example, there is disclosed a tailgate ramp made in two sections that are hinged to one another. The ramp sections are constructed with marginal structural channel members and the panels are held in a planar alignment with each other by flat bars extending inside the channel members of both sections. In the second example, four ramp sections are maintained in a planar alignment with each other along an inclined path, by three support beams extending under the ramp, along the full length of the ramp.
In the second group of tailgate ramps of the prior art, the hinges are reinforced by inverted collapsible trusses mounted thereunder, or by foldable leg members extending from a mid-span portion of the ramp to the ground. Some examples of these designs are found in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,209 issued on Aug. 24, 1976 to Edward E. Burton;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,144 issued on Feb. 18, 1986 to Donald C. Guidry et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,304 issued on Jan. 3, 1989 to James D. Dudley;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,546 issued on Jul. 31, 1990 to William K. Keller;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,148 issued on May 17, 1994 to Alfred W. Morgan;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,105 issued on Aug. 30, 1994 to Mark R. Miles;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,717 issued on Aug. 11, 1998 to Terry Gene Reich et al.
In a third group of tailgate ramp systems, the rotation of the hinges between the panels and an associated sagging of the ramp under load are restricted by the abutment of the edges of adjoining panels, or by stopper blocks acting upon the hinges. In this third group, the following examples are found.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,156 issued on Feb. 15, 1972 to Raymond A. Stenson;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,454 issued on Apr. 5, 1988 to John N. Bernard;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,584 issued on Jul. 28, 1992 to Dennis M. McCleary;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,432 issued on Oct. 20, 1992 to Dennis M. McCleary;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,335 issued on Dec. 28, 1993 to Philip Belnap et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,579 issued on Feb. 22, 1994 to Orestes Estevez, Jr.
While it is generally known in the field of Mechanical Design that the stiffness of a structure is directly proportional to its moment of inertia, none of the above tailgate ramp systems has means for advantageously blocking the hinges between the panels of a tailgate ramp, for causing the ramp to arcuate upwardly when deployed, thereby increasing its moments of inertia. Although the tailgate ramps of the prior art deserve undeniable merits, there is no known prior art that suggests that a strategic blocking of the hinges between the panels of a foldable tailgate ramp can substantially increase the strength of this ramp.

Foldable tailgate ramp for pickup trucks


Purely powder-metallurgical processes or sinter-impregnation processes are often used to manufacture CuCr contact materials. Here the aim is to obtain the lowest possible residual porosity, which should be <1%. According to the invention, a powder moulding of the components is densified in two stages; the first stage is a sintering process with a densification of the sintered body to a closed porosity, and the second stage is a hot-isostatic pressing operation (HIP), in which the unencased workpieces are taken to a final density amounting to a space occupation of at least 99%. Thus, an economical method of manufacturing high grade material is obtained. It is possible to produce multi-layer contacts or self-adhesive bonds between the sintered body and a solid substrate, e.g. a copper contact bolt.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a contact piece using copper and chromium for applications in vacuum-switch tubes, in which a powder blank is compacted from the starting components right down to a residual porosity of <1%, as well as to a contact piece produced in such a way.
Composite materials consisting of a conductive component and at least one high-melting component and, if necessary, also containing additives that lower welding force or reduce chopping current have proven their worth as contact materials for vacuum-switch tubes. The widely used CuCr materials are a typical example of this.
Since a high-melting component such as chromium only has a low solubility in the electrically conductive main component such as copper, powder-metallurgical processes are highly considered for manufacturing CuCr contact materials.
A process that is often applied to produce such contact materials is the sintering of a Cr skeleton and the subsequent infiltration of the sintered skeleton with Cu. This is described, for example, in the German patent applications DE-A-25 21 504 or the DE-B-25 36 153. The result in this case is that qualitatively high-grade materials with good switching properties can be obtained.
However, this process is susceptible to defects and requires considerable expenditure for quality assurance. Since a liquid phase is used, the blanks that are formed are clearly oversized and require machining to obtain the final form. Moreover, the requirement for a self-supporting skeleton means that the concentration range available to the high-melting component is restricted.
The last mentioned disadvantages can be avoided by using another widespread process, in which a powder mixture of the components is pressed or sintered and then still cold or hot afterpressed. This is described, for example, in the applications DE-A-29 14 186, the DE-A-34 06 535 and the EP-A-0 184 854. In this process, the concentration of the components can be selected within broad limits and the contour of the blanks can be set close to the final form, since extended cavity systems, such as those that can develop in poor impregnation materials, do not occur in the material. However, such materials have a residual porosity, usually between 4% and 8%, which has a disadvantageous effect on their application as a contact material for contact pieces of vacuum-switch tubes. The reason for this is that with increasing porosity, the danger of later breakdowns escalates and the breaking-capacity limit diminishes, whereby the welding tendency goes up.
From the EP-A-0 184 854, it is already known to compact the powder bodies not by means of solid-phase sintering, but rather by hot-pressing them. As a result, materials are produced which have a negligibly low residual porosity and which avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages. However, this manufacturing method must take place under a vacuum or in highly purified protective gas and is therefore cost intensive and thus relatively uneconomical.
DE-A-37 29 033 discloses another manufacturing method for CuCr contact materials, in which a solid-phase sintering step is combined with a hot-isostatic liquid-phase compressing step (HIP). One starts out from sintered bodies that have a relatively low compression ratio - whereby 80% of the theoretical density was already indicated as sufficient and these sintered bodies are isostatically hot-pressed at temperatures of about 200.degree. C. above the melting point of the conductive component, copper. For this, the sintered bodies must be encapsulated under a vacuum to prevent air or gas from being occluded in the material pores and to prevent the chromium from being oxidized by the residual oxygen component in the pressure gas. Moreover, the encapsulation can prevent the internal armature of the pressing device from being contaminated by an overflowing liquid phase.
As is true of single-axial hot-pressing, negligibly low residual porosities are also produced with isostatic hot-pressing (HIP). However, the indicated HIP process is not economical for the industrial production of high numbers of pieces. Encapsulating the sintered bodies under a vacuum entails a cost-intensive production step; hot-pressing in the liquid phase, as indicated by the DE-A-37 29 033 as particularly advantageous, requires costly machining work to manufacture the contact facings.
Furthermore, the DE-A-35 43 586 mentions a hot-isostatic pressing of encapsulated blanks to produce contact materials on the basis of copper and chromium. However, this publication stresses that this process should not be regarded as a recommendable production process, but rather merely as a process for manufacturing reference specimen with few residual pores, that is only in special cases which justify such an expenditure.
It is also known from the general art of machine construction to manufacture parts with complicated contours using powder metallurgical means in process steps as disclosed in JP-A-58-37 102 (Patent Abstracts of Japan Vol 7, No. 120, Mar. 25, 1983). In this process powder is initially introduced into a flexible form under the pressure influence of a liquid. The molded components are subsequently sintered in a reductive atmosphere to a density of .gtoreq.93.5% and the sintered body is subjected to a hot-hydrostatic pressing operation, through which it obtains a density of .gtoreq.99%. This process has not previously been used to produce contact materials with copper and chromium since it was believed that it would entail a decisive reduction in quality. This was believed because of the high reactivity of chromium with oxygen since chromium oxides decisively worsen switching properties in a vacuum switch.
The present invention seeks to solve the problems of prior art processing methods. The present invention provides a process for producing CuCr contact pieces for vacuum switches of CuCr material, which provides an excellent material quality with a residual-pore component of <1% and which, at the same time, is inexpensive and economical when applied to the manufacturing of contact pieces from the material. In particular, this process should enable one to apply a molded-component technique with contours close to the final form and to dispense with costly measures, such as vacuum encapsulation.
According to the present invention a powder blank is compacted in two steps, whereby the first step is a sintering process with a compaction until a closed porosity of the sintered body, and the second step is a hot-isostatic pressing operation (HIP), in which the workpieces are brought unenclosed to a final density of at least 99% space filling.
A closed porosity is achieved with the CuCr material produced according to the invention with sufficient reliability as of about 95% space filling. For an HIP operation, the closed porosity is necessary for workpieces which are not encapsulated, to achieve the nearly complete compaction indicated according to the invention.
With the process according to the invention, a mixture of Cu powder and Cr powder can advantageously be pressed into a blank whose form already approaches to the greatest possible degree the geometry of the desired contact piece or of the required contact facing. In accordance with the indicated two-step process, this blank is sintered under a vacuum and/or under a reductive atmosphere in a solid Cu-phase and finally isostatically hot-pressed in a solid Cu-phase.
Contrary to the previous concept, it is crucial for this process sequence that the hot-isostatic pressing make do without encapsulating the CuCr workpieces. Experiments demonstrated in particular that, even without encapsulating the CuCr blanks during the process sequence according to the invention, additional gases are not occluded nor does the chromium oxidize inside the material. It was discovered that, due to the O.sub.2 residual concentration in the pressure gas, the chromium only oxidizes on the surfaces of the workpieces. However, these outer surfaces are removed anyway when the contact pieces are finished. By sintering the blank under a vacuum or a reductive atmosphere, a reduction in the gas content is already achieved before the hot-pressing operation. However, this is not the case when encapsulated powder mixtures are hot-isostatically pressed or when blanks are cold-isostatically pressed and subsequently encapsulated.
Contact pieces produced with the process according to the invention have a high material quality due to the homogenous distribution of the components, their high compression and extremely low porosities. From this and from the compression and hardening of the material achieved by means of the hot-isostatic compression process, result the desired excellent contact properties, such as high breaking capacity, dielectric strength and resistance to erosion.
The cost-favorability of the process according to the present invention has to do, in particular, with the omission of the vacuum capsule and furthermore with the fact that by sintering and hot-pressing in a solid phase, the contour of the blank is able to be selected to be very close to the desired final form, so that only a minimal surface reworking is needed. It is thus equally ensured that the amount of utilized material is minimized.
The process according to the present invention can be advantageously realized by applying a combined sintering-HIP process, in which powder compacts of copper and chromium are initially sintered to low-porosity, in a vacuum or under H.sub.2, and are subsequently isostatically hot-pressed in the same operation.
Composite parts can also be advantageously manufactured with the process according to the present invention: for example, contact facings of CuCr can be produced at the same time with the contact carriers of Cu, as two-layer or dual-area parts in one process sequence. One can consequently dispense with the bonding production step--usually the hard-soldering in the vacuum. This is an important advantage, particularly for the application of bases made of solid Cu, since these bases cannot be adequately bonded with the powder-metal compact by a sintering process alone.

Process for producing CuCr contact pieces for vacuum switches as well as an appropriate contact piece


A connector connection structure includes: a case having a side surface and a top surface, respectively extending in directions crossing each other at a first angle, and an opening; a connector terminal portion inserted into the case from the opening; a shield plate closing the opening; a bolt fastening the case and the shield plate; and a terminal block arranged in the case and connected to the connector terminal portion. The shield plate has a first portion extending along the side surface and closing the opening, a second portion extending along the top surface, and a bent portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion and bent at a second angle being smaller than the first angle. The bolt fastens the case and the second portion of the shield plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector connection structure, a connector connection method and a vehicle, and particularly, to a connector connection structure and a connector connection method in which a connector terminal portion is inserted into an opening provided at a wall surface of a casing, and to a vehicle including such a structure.
2. Description of the Background Art
A connector connection structure in which a connector terminal portion is inserted into an opening provided at a wall surface of a casing is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-281654 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-324616 (Patent Document 2).
When an opening is provided at a wall surface of a casing, in some cases, it is necessary to close the opening to ensure shielding feature in order to suppress noise attributed to a vibration source arranged in the casing.
In Patent Documents 1 and 2, a closing member closing an opening provided at a wall surface of a casing is provided. The closing member is fixed to the casing by a bolt. The bolt is inserted from the direction that is identical to the insert direction f a connector terminal. Accordingly, when other devices are arranged at the position opposite to the wall surface of the casing and in proximity to the casing, in some cases it may be difficult to tighten the bolt. An attempt to reserve a great space at the position opposite to the wall surface where the opening is provided for performing the tightening work of the bolt reduces the device storage performance.

Connector connection structure, connector connection method and vehicle


An apparatus and method for an automated grammar file expansion tool are described. The method includes the receipt of a source grammar file. Once received, one or more grammar rules within the source grammar file are expanded to generate one or more expanded grammar rules. Once expanded, the one or more expanded grammar rules are provided to a grammar developer, for example, via a graphical user interface. Finally, a final grammar file is generated, including functionality of each grammar rule within the source grammar file, as well as one or more expanded grammar rules selected by the grammar developer from the expanded grammar rules.

Development of a speech-based interface for most computer applications requires a grammar developer to define the phrases that a user may utter during his/her interactions with the computer application. These phrases are expressed in a grammar file, which is fed to a speech recognition component of the speech recognition system when the application is active. The constituent elements of the grammar file are called grammar rules. Grammar files are commonly expressed in a form like Backus-Naur Form (BNF) or the Java Speech Grammar Format (JSGF). An example grammar file (using a simplified syntax close to JSGF) is shown below:    public <Meeting>=Schedule a meeting on <Day>with <Friend>    <Day>=Tuesday |Thursday    <Friend>=Fred |Jack
This grammar file describes the following phrases:    Schedule a meeting on Tuesday with Fred    Schedule a meeting on Tuesday with Jack    Schedule a meeting on Thursday with Fred    Schedule a meeting on Thursday with Jack
These grammar rules use three non-terminal symbols (<Meeting>, <Day> and <Friend>) and nine terminal symbols ("Schedule", "a", "meeting", "on", "with", "Tuesday", "Thursday", "Fred" and "Jack").
Now suppose that the user of an application employing this grammar file uttered the following: "schedule an appointment on Thursday with Jack". The collection of grammar rules shown above would not recognize the utterance since it fails to match any of the phrases listed above. Consequently, in order to provide a more natural interface to the user, the grammar developer is required to expand the grammar rules as shown below:    public <Meeting>=Schedule <Event> on <Day> with <Friend>    <Event>=an appointment¦a meeting    <Day>=Tuesday¦Thursday    <Friend>=Fred¦Jack
In the expansion described above, a terminal symbol group ("a meeting") is selected from the grammar rule "public <Meeting>= . . . ". Accordingly, "a meeting" is synonym expanded to generate a new grammar rule: "<Event>= . . . " In this case, "an appointment" and "a meeting" are synonymous and are included in the new grammar rule. The modified version of the original grammar rule ("public <Meeting> . . . ") is referred to as a synonym expanded grammar rule. In addition, the new grammar rule is referred to as a synonym rule, while the non-terminal in the synonym rule ("<Event>") is referred to as the synonym rule non-terminal. This synonym expansion now enables the grammar file to recognize the user's utterance.
However, suppose that the user uttered the following: "Schedule a meeting with Jack on Thursday". The grammar rules shown above would not recognize this utterance. Consequently, the grammar rules requires expansion as follows:    public <Meeting>=Schedule <Event> on <Day> with <Friend>    ¦Schedule <Event> with <Friend> on <Day>    <Event>=an appointment¦a meeting    <Day>=Tuesday¦Thursday    <Friend>=Fred¦Jack
In this example, groups of terminal and non-terminal components in the original rule can be reordered, while retaining the meaning of the original rule. To determine just which terminal or non-terminal components can be reordered, the grammar developer must analyze the language being used and study the way that users interact with the system in order to make changes accordingly. In this case, two prepositional phrases were reordered. The modified version of the original grammar rule ("public <Meeting> . . . ") is referred to as a statement expanded grammar rule. Accordingly, the expansion process in this example is referred to as statement expansion. However, many other forms of expansion are possible.
Synonym and statement expansion of the initial grammar rule have resulted in quite a complex expanded grammar file, in spite of the fact that expansions were performed for only two simple cases. Nevertheless, current tools for grammar development force the application/grammar developer to address these issues manually. Unfortunately, this is a time consuming process. In addition, manual expansion is error prone and renders maintenance and debug of the resulting grammar files difficult. Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations described above.

Apparatus and method for an automated grammar file expansion tool


In order to correct the rotation angle value without an increase in the circuit size, a rotation period measurement unit measures a rotation period of a rotary shaft in which a rotation angle is detected by using a resolver that outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the rotary shaft. A rotation speed calculation unit calculates the rotation speed of the rotary shaft based on the rotation period. An acceleration calculation unit calculates the rate of change of the rotation speed per interval when a given rotation angle of the rotary shaft is divided into 2n+1 intervals, in which n is an integer of 1 or more. An estimated angle calculation unit calculates the rotation angle estimation value, assuming that the rotary shaft performs a uniform acceleration motion, based on the rotation speed and the rate of change of the rotation speed. A correction value calculation unit calculates the correction value of the rotation angle value converted from the output signal of the resolver. A correction value application unit generates a corrected angle value by applying the correction value to the rotation angle value.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and an angle value correction circuit. Particularly, the present invention relates to, for example, a semiconductor device having a function for correcting the rotation angle value, for example, based on an output signal of a resolver, as well as an angle value correction circuit.
Further, the present invention relates to an angle value correction method. Particularly, the present invention relates to, for example, an angle value correction method that corrects the rotation angle value.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-029547) discloses a motor control device for vehicle running. This motor control device for vehicle running includes an error correction unit that corrects the error of the angle detected by a resolver which is a motor rotation angle detection means. The error correction unit performs a correction process for estimating the true angle (hereafter also referred to as the estimated angle) with no error from a past rotation period of the motor to approximate the actually detected angle (hereinafter also referred to as the actual angle) that is output from the resolver, to the estimated angle.
The estimated angle changes linearly with respect to time when the motor uniformly rotates at a constant rotation speed. On the other hand, the estimated angle changes in curves with respect to time when the motor accelerates or decelerates. In order to calculate the estimated angle in curve, the error correction unit calculates the change in time of the rotation period and then calculates the estimated angle by using the calculated the change in time. More specifically, the error correction unit first calculates the linear estimated angle by assuming that the motor rotates at a constant speed. Next, the error correction unit adds a correction value for an increase or decrease in speed according to the change in time of the rotation period, to calculate the estimated angle in curve. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-029547, a table is prepared in advance that stores correction values for an increase or decrease in speed per change in time of the rotation period. The estimated angle in curve is calculated by using the prepared table.

Semiconductor device, angle value correction circuit and method therefor


Embodiments of the invention provide for methods of producing a polycarbonate polyol. The method includes charging a vessel with butanediol, charging the vessel with a polymerization catalyst, and adding to the vessel dimethyl carbonate at a rate of at least 2.0 g of DMC per minute per kg of BDO to produce polycarbonate polyol at a polycarbonate polyol yield of at least 80% of a theoretical yield.

Polycarbonate polyols may be used as components in the formation of certain polyurethanes, such as polyurethanes used for elastomers or coatings. Polycarbonate polyols may be prepared by reacting at least a polyol component such as 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 2-methyl-1,8-octanediol, 1,9-nonanediol, or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol with an organic carbonate, such as for example dimethyl carbonate. Particularly polybutylene carbonate polyols are of interest. Polybutylene carbonate polyols are made by reacting 1,4-Butanediol and dimethyl carbonate. However, this reaction has a low yield, typically less than 75% of the theoretically obtainable yield. One of the major side products is tetrehydrofuran (THF) which needs to be removed from the final product. Therefore there is a need for a method of producing polybutylene carbonate polyols with less THF formation and thus with a higher yield.

Yield optimization of polycarbonate polyols


A driving apparatus of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel having a liquid crystal cell of a matrix shape to display a video signal; N (where N is a positive integer) number of data drive circuits that generate a polarity pattern of the video signal and supply it to the liquid crystal cell through a plurality of output channels; and a polarity controller that controls the polarity signal and supplies it to the N number of the data drive circuits on the basis of a first selection signal corresponding to the number of the output channels and a second selection signal corresponding to a repetition period of the polarity pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a driving apparatus and method of a liquid crystal display device that is adaptive for preventing a picture quality defect caused by non-uniformity of a sub-pixel signal polarity in accordance with the number of output channels of a data drive circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display device controls the light transmissivity of liquid crystal using an electric field, to display a picture. For this, the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel where liquid crystal cells are arranged in a matrix shape and a drive circuit to drive the liquid crystal display panel.
In fact, the liquid crystal display device, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a liquid crystal display panel 6 that displays a picture in accordance with the polarity pattern of a sub-pixel signal; a data TCP (Tape Carrier Package) 8 on which a data D-IC (Drive Integrated Circuit) 10 is mounted for driving data lines of the liquid crystal display panel 6; a gate TCP 4 on which a gate D-IC 12 is mounted for driving gate lines of the liquid crystal display panel 6; and a timing controller 30 to drive the data IC's 10 and the gate D-IC's 12.
The liquid crystal display panel 6 includes a liquid crystal layer formed between an upper substrate 5 and a lower substrate 3, and a spacer to maintain a distance between the upper substrate 5 and the lower substrate 3. A color filter, a common electrode, a black matrix and so on are formed in the upper substrate 5 of the liquid crystal display panel 6. The common electrode may be formed in the lower substrate 3 in accordance with a liquid crystal layer mode of the liquid crystal display panel 6. Further, the lower substrate 3 of the liquid crystal display panel 6 includes a thin film transistor formed at each crossing of the gate lines and the data lines, and a liquid crystal cell connected to the thin film transistor. A gate electrode of the thin film transistor is connected to any one of the gate lines (the horizontal lines), and a source electrode is connected to any one of the data lines (the vertical lines). The thin film transistor supplies a pixel signal from the data line to the liquid crystal cell in response to a scan signal from the gate line. The liquid crystal cell includes a pixel electrode connected to a drain electrode of the thin film transistor, and a common electrode facing the pixel electrode with a liquid crystal layer therebetween. The liquid crystal cell drives the liquid crystal layer in response to the pixel signal supplied to the pixel electrode, thereby controlling the light transmissivity.
In order to drive the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6, an inversion driving method is used such as a frame inversion system, a line inversion system and a dot inversion system. In the driving method of the frame inversion system, the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6 is inverted whenever a frame is changed. In the driving method of the line inversion system, the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to the liquid crystal cells is inverted in accordance with the line (column) on the liquid crystal display panel 6. The dot inversion system has a pixel voltage signal supplied of which a polarity is contrary to the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to the liquid crystal cells that are adjacent to the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6 in their vertical and horizontal directions, and the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to all the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6 is inverted every frame. The drive of such an inversion method is performed by having the data D-IC's 10 respond according to a polarity signal POL supplied to each of the data D-IC's 10 from the timing controller 30.
The liquid crystal display device of the related art is driven by a frame frequency of 60 Hz. But, in a low power-consumption system like a notebook, the frame frequency is lower, between 50 Hz to 30 Hz. As the frame frequency decreases, a greenish phenomenon is produced even in the dot inversion system which provides the best picture quality. Thus, a horizontal 2-dot inversion system and a square inversion system have been suggested.
In the horizontal 2-dot inversion system, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal is changed on a per-dot basis in a vertical direction, but is changed each two dots in a horizontal direction. In addition, the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to all the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6 is inverted every frame. In the square inversion system, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal is changed by the two dots in both a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. In addition, the polarity of the pixel signals supplied to all the liquid crystal cells on the liquid crystal display panel 6 is inverted every frame.
In this way, in the one dot inversion system, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal supplied to the liquid crystal cell repeats by two liquid crystal cells in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, in the two dot inversion system, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal supplied to the liquid crystal cell repeats by four liquid crystal cells in the horizontal direction, and in the square inversion system, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal supplied to the liquid crystal cell repeats by four liquid crystal cells in the vertical and horizontal directions.
The timing controller 30 generates gate control signals such as GSP, GSC, GOE and so on that control the drive of the gate D-IC's 4, and generates data control signals such as SSP, SSC, SOE, POL and so on that control the drive of the data IC's 10. Further, the timing controller 30 aligns the data signal supplied from the system to fit the data signal for the drive of the liquid crystal display panel 6, and supplies the aligned data signal to a plurality of data D-IC's 10.
The timing controller 30 is mounted on a data PCB (printed circuit board) 20. The data PCB 20 is connected to an external system through a user connector. On the data PCB 20, there are various signal lines that supply various control signals and data signals from the timing controller 30 to each of the data D-IC's 10 and the gate D-IC's 12.
Each of the gate D-IC's 12 is mounted on the gate TCP 4. The gate D-IC 12 mounted on the gate TCP 4 is electrically connected to the gate pads of the liquid crystal display panel 6 through the gate TCP 4. The gate D-IC's 12 sequentially drive the gate lines of the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the one horizontal period (1H). The gate TCP 4 is connected to a gate PCB 26. The gate PCB 26 supplies the gate control signals supplied from the timing controller 30 through the data PCB 20 to the gate D-IC's 12 through the gate TCP 4.
Each of the data D-IC's 10 is mounted on each of the data TCP 8. The data D-IC 10 mounted on the data TCP 8 is electrically connected to the data pads of the liquid crystal display panel 6 through the data TCP 8. The data D-IC's 10 convert a digital pixel data into an analog pixel signal to supply the converted pixel signal to the data lines of the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the one horizontal period (1H).
In this way, in the driving device of the related art liquid crystal display device, the repetition period of the sub-pixel signal polarity becomes uniform or non-uniform in accordance with the number of the output channels of the data D-IC 10 and the inversion method of the polarity pattern of the sub-pixel signal supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 6.
For example, the data D-IC 10 having even-numbered output channels might produce output such that the polarity of the sub-pixel signal has the polarity pattern of the one dot inversion system regardless of the number of output channels of the data D-IC. 10. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 2, if the pixel signal having the polarity pattern of the one dot inversion system is supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 6 using the data D-IC's 10 having 384 (a multiple of 4) output channels (Ch1 to Ch384), the polarity of the sub-pixel signal between the last output channel Ch384 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the first output channel Ch1 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is not equal but inverted. That is, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the last output channel Ch384 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 is "−", and the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first output channel Ch1 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is "+".
In addition, if the pixel signal having the polarity pattern of the one dot inversion system is supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 6 using the data D-IC's 10 having 414 (which is not a multiple of 4, but is a multiple of 2) output channels (Ch1 to Ch414), the polarity of the sub-pixel signal between the last output channel Ch414 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the first output channel Ch1 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is not equal but inverted. Accordingly, the driving method of the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the one dot inversion system using the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 2, is driven to have the polarity pattern of the exact one dot inversion system regardless of the number of output channels of the data D-IC 10.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 3, if the pixel signal having the polarity pattern of the horizontal two dot inversion system is supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 6 using the data D-IC's 10 having 384 (a multiple of 4) output channels (Ch1 to Ch384), the polarity of the sub-pixel signal between the last two output channels Ch 383, Ch384 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is not equal but inverted. In other words, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the last two output channels Ch383, Ch384. of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 is "−−", and the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is "++". Accordingly, the driving method of the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the two dot inversion system using the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 4, is driven to have the polarity pattern of the exact horizontal two dot inversion system regardless of the number of output channels of the data D-IC 10.
Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 4, if the pixel signal having the polarity pattern of the horizontal two dot inversion system is supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 6 using the data D-IC's 10 having 414 (not a multiple of 4, but a multiple of 2) output channels (Ch1 to Ch414), the polarity of the sub-pixel signal between the last two output channels Ch 413, Ch414 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is equal.
For example, if the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 2, starts with "++", the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of each of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the even-numbered data D-IC 10 starts with "++". Because of this, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the last two output channels Ch413, Ch414 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 is "++", and the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 is "++". Accordingly, in driving the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the two dot inversion system using the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 2, the same polarity of the sub-pixel signal is supplied to the four liquid crystal cells which are a bordering area between the adjacent data D-IC's 10.
Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 4, if the number of the output channels of the data D-IC 10 is not a multiple of 4, the repetition period of the sub-pixel signal polarity is non-uniform at a bordering area A between the adjacent data D-IC's 10 to generate a picture quality defect such as a vertical line in the driving apparatus of the liquid crystal display device using the related art horizontal two dot inversion system.
On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 5, if the pixel signal having the polarity pattern of the square inversion system using the data D-IC's 10 having 414 (not a multiple of 4, but a multiple of 2) output channels Ch1 to Ch414, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal between the last two output channels Ch 413, Ch414 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 of the jth (where j is a positive integer) and (j+1)th horizontal lines is equal. For example, if the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 2, starts with "++", the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of each of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 and the even-numbered data D-IC 10 of each of the jth and (j+1)th horizontal lines starts with "++". Because of this, the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the last two output channels Ch413, Ch414 of the odd-numbered data D-IC 10 of each of the jth and (j+1)th horizontal lines is "++", and the polarity of the sub-pixel signal outputted from the first and second output channels Ch1, Ch2 of the even-numbered data D-IC 10 of each of the jth and (j+1)th horizontal lines is "++". Accordingly, in driving the liquid crystal display panel 6 by the square inversion system using the data D-IC 10 having a number of output channels that is a multiple of 2, the same polarity of the sub-pixel signal is supplied to the eight liquid crystal cells which are a bordering area between the adjacent data D-IC's 10.
Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 5, if the number of the output channels of the data D-IC 10 is not a multiple of 4, the repetition period of the sub-pixel signal polarity is non-uniform at a bordering area A between the adjacent data D-IC's 10 to generate a picture quality defect such as a vertical line in the driving, apparatus of the liquid crystal display device using the related art square inversion system.

Apparatus and method for driving liquid crystal display device


Copolymers of BPA, BPT-1 and BPT-2, can be used as a modifier to enhance the thermal properties of a BPA polymer. A single copolymer modifier can be used in differing amounts to produce a product with desired thermal properties. Thus, polycarbonate can be made by combining a bisphenol A polycarbonate and a BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymer modifier, and mixing the combined materials to form a blend. By adjusting the relative amounts and the properties of the bisphenol A polycarbonate and BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymer, the glass transition temperature and the toughness of the blend can be selected. Suitable BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymers contain BPT-1 and BPT-2 in a ratio, BPT-1/BPT-2, in the range of 70/30 to 10/90, preferably less than or equal to 50/50, for example around 30/70.

This application relates to polycarbonate blends which have enhanced thermal properties as compared to BPA and to a method of making same.
Polycarbonates are a well known class of high impact resistant thermoplastic resins characterized by optical clarity, high ductility as well as other advantageous properties. They are frequently employed as lenses and windows as a result of their transparency.
Bisphenol A (BPA) polycarbonate is the predominant commercially available resin of this type. It is derived from 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane and ordinarily has a glass transition temperature of about 150xc2x0 C. It is of increasing interest to prepare polycarbonates which, while retaining the ductility of BPA, have higher glass transition temperatures and are therefore more resistant to softening when heated. Polycarbonates possessing increased glass transition temperatures are very desirable, for instance, in the automotive and aircraft industries. Particularly, they may be used in the preparation of automotive headlamp lenses which are becoming smaller in size and characterized by closer proximity of the lenses to the heat-generating light source.
Current approaches to high heat polycarbonate involve polymerizing BPA with a monomer with that increases the copolymer glass transition temperature (Tg). This improvement usually comes at the expense of other polymer properties. For example, Bayer has commercialized a family of copolymers based on Bisphenol I, which provide higher Tg at the expense of reduced ductility. Bayer APEC DP9-9340 resin gives a Tg of 177xc2x0 C. and a 23xc2x0 C. notched izod impact of 6 ft-lb/in, as compared to a Tg of 150xc2x0 C. and a 23xc2x0 C. notched izod impact of 14-16 ft-lbs/in for BPA homopolymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,959 disclosed substantially pure bisphenols; in particular, 4-[1-[3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methylcyclohexyl]-1 -methylethyl]phenol (hereinafter referred to as BPT-1) and 4,4xe2x80x2-[1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-1,3-cyclohexandiyl]bisphenol (hereinafter referred to as BPT-2). These materials can be used to make homopolycarbonates that possess increased glass transition temperatures on the order of about 198xc2x0 C. when employing BPT-1 and about 249xc2x0 C. when employing BPT-2. Unfortunately, these materials do not have the toughness of BPA polycarbonates.
A copolymer of BPT-1 and BPA (35:65 mol %) was reported to have a glass transition temperature of 171xc2x0 C. and a 23xc2x0 C. notched Izod impact strength of about 3.8 ft-lbs/in. The production of copolymers to attain specific characteristics is not optimum, however, because it requires a separate manufacturing run for each type of product. This increases the cost. Thus, a preferred approach to the manufacture of products with a spectrum of characteristic properties is to have a limited number of feedstock polymers which can be blended to arrive at mixtures with the desired properties. In the case of BPA polycarbonates, one seeming option would be mixing BPA polycarbonates with BPT-1 or BPT-2 polycarbonates to arrive at blends having high Tg values. This approach has not worked, however, because BPA polycarbonate is not miscible with BPT-1 or BPT-2 polycarbonates.
It would be desirable to have a method for modifying the thermal characteristics of polycarbonate to increase the glass transition temperature, that does not result in a significant degradation of the impact properties of the polymer, and which can be carried out using blends of a limited number of feedstock polymers.
It has now been determined that a copolymers of BPA, BPT-1 and BPT-2, can be used as a modifier to enhance the thermal properties of a BPA polymer. A single copolymer modifier can be used in differing amounts to produce a product with desired thermal properties. Thus, the present invention provides a method for making a polycarbonate comprising the steps of (a) combining a bisphenol A polycarbonate and a BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymer modifier, and(b) mixing the combined materials to form a blend. By adjusting the relative amounts and the properties of the bisphenol A polycarbonate and BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymer, the glass transition temperature and the toughness of the blend can be selected. Suitable BPA/BPT-1/BPT-2 copolymers contain BPT-1 and BPT-2 in a ratio, BPT-1/BPT-2, in the range of 70/30 to 10/90, preferably less than or equal to 50/50, for example around 30/70.


An oxidized phospholipid degrading enzyme is provided, which plays an important role in the oxygen stress preventive mechanism in organisms. The enzyme hydrolyzes a 1-acyl-2-.omega.-carboxyfatty acid acyl-3-phosphatidylcholine as a substrate at the 2-ester bond thereof to form 1-acyl-2-lyso-3-phosphatidylcholine. The activity of the enzyme is slightly enhanced by 4 mM calcium chloride. The molecular mass of the enzyme is 95.+-.5 kDa (by gel filtration). The enzyme is composed of three subunits whose molecular masses have been found to be 29 kDa, 30 kDa and 45 kDa, respectively, by SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis. A gene coding the enzyme is also provided. This gene is important for the synthesis of the enzyme by genetic engineering.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel phospholipase, and more specifically to an oxidized phospholipid degrading enzyme playing an important role in the oxidized phospholipid elimination mechanism in animal cytoplasm and also to a gene coding the same.
b) Description of the Related Art
It is known that under diverse oxygen stress, a phospholipid as a membrane-forming component is oxidized to cause various troubles on an organism. The organism is considered to be equipped with a protective mechanism against such oxygen stress so that an oxidized phospholipid formed under oxygen stress would be promptly hydrolyzed by an oxidized phospholipid degrading enzyme to avoid any trouble, which could otherwise occur by a chain oxidative reaction, and also to facilitate restoration of phospholipid molecules.
Regarding the oxidized phospholipid degrading enzyme playing the important role in the protective mechanism, there is the view that phospholipase A.sub.2 known to catalyze the splitting of normal phospholipids also plays the role (Sevanian, A., Stein, R. A. and Mead, J. F., Lipids 16, 781-789, 1981). For the low oxidized-phospholipid degrading activity of phospholipase A.sub.2, however, it has been considered that another enzyme plays this role in actual organisms.

Oxidized phospholipid degrading enzyme and gene thereof


A system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving, from a user system, one or more protocol analysis request messages via a network, transmitting, to one or more multipurpose interface devices, one or more control signals based on the one or more protocol analysis request messages, receiving, from the one or more multipurpose interface devices, protocol analysis data associated with data traffic transmitted on one or more test networks in response to the transmitted control signals, and outputting, to the user system, the protocol analysis data via the network.

A network may include numerous nodes that are physically separated by substantial amounts of land. In many instances, testing such a network (e.g., performing protocol analysis) may require multiple technicians to use various electronic devices to coordinate the capture of a specific network event, such as, data traffic flowing on the numerous nodes. Often times, however, these electronic devices utilize graphical user interfaces that are cryptic and are not user friendly. Such cryptic interfaces may increase the difficulty for the multiple technicians to capture the specific network event. In addition, coordinating the multiple technicians to capture at approximately the same time may be overly burdensome.
These and other embodiments and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the various exemplary embodiments.

Method and system for simplifying protocol analysis


A fluorescent water base ink for ink-jet recording contains a first fluorescent dye and a second fluorescent dye. The first fluorescent dye has a first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region in an absorption spectrum and a first fluorescence emission wavelength region in a fluorescence spectrum. The second fluorescent dye has a second ultraviolet absorption wavelength region which is different from the first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region in an absorption spectrum and a second fluorescence emission wavelength region in a fluorescence spectrum. The first fluorescent dye further has an absorption wavelength region which is different from the first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region and which overlaps at least a part of the second fluorescence emission wavelength region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluorescent water base ink for ink-jet recording having a high fluorescence intensity.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the ink-jet recording system, the ink is discharged, for example, from the nozzles, the slits, or the porous film to perform the recording, for example, on the paper, the cloth, or the film. The system for discharging the ink includes, for example, the electrostatic attraction system in which the ink is discharged by utilizing the electrostatic attracting force, the drop-on-demand system in which the mechanical vibration or the displacement is applied to the ink by using the piezoelectric element, and the thermal ink-jet system in which bubbles are generated by heating the ink to utilize the pressure generated thereby. Ink droplets are formed by a variety of ink discharge systems to adhere a part or all of the ink droplets onto the recording objective material, and thus the recording is performed.
The development is advanced for the ink which is applicable in various fields by utilizing the ink-jet recording system as described above. In particular, the fluorescent ink has such a property that the light (exciting light) having a specified wavelength is absorbed, and the light (fluorescence) having a wavelength longer than that of the exciting light is emitted. Therefore, for example, the fluorescent ink is tried to be applied to such a way of use that any information, which requires the security, is recorded on a recording medium, and the information can be read by emitting the fluorescence by radiating the ultraviolet light as the exciting light. The fluorescent ink includes not only transparent inks which have no absorption in the visible region but also color inks which have the absorption in the visible region. In the case of the color fluorescent ink which has the absorption in the visible region, the information can be recognized visually even with the naked eye. The reading means can be selected depending on the contents of the information. Therefore, it is expected to widen the versatility of the ink.
However, in general, it is known for the fluorescent ink that the concentration quenching phenomenon occurs such that the fluorescence intensity is all the more decreased if the concentration of the fluorescent dye contained in the ink exceeds a certain amount, for the following reason. That is, the fluorescent dye undergoes the transition from the excited state to the more stable state without radiating the absorbed energy as the light due to the interaction of the excited fluorescent dye molecules (nonradiating process). Therefore, there has been such a problem that any fluorescent ink, which has a fluorescence intensity of not less than a certain degree, is not obtained even when the concentration of the fluorescent dye is adjusted at the best.
On the other hand, various trials have been made in order to enhance the fluorescence within a concentration range in which the concentration quenching phenomenon is not caused. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-192962 discloses a fluorescent ink which uses, in combination, two types of fluorescent dyes which have a common absorption wavelength region in the ultraviolet region and which have a common fluorescence emission wavelength region in the visible region. When the two types of the fluorescent dyes are combined as described above, then the fluorescence intensity of the second fluorescent dye is added to the fluorescence intensity of the first fluorescent dye, and the ink having the high fluorescence intensity is obtained. However, actually, the fluorescence intensity of the fluorescent ink is smaller than the sum of the fluorescence intensities to be obtained when the two types of the fluorescent dyes are used singly respectively, probably for the following reason. That is, the first fluorescent dye and the second fluorescent dye have the common absorption wavelength region in the ultraviolet region. Therefore, it is considered that the excitation energy is shared by the first fluorescent dye and the second fluorescent dye, and each of the fluorescent dyes cannot emit the fluorescence sufficiently.

Fluorescent water-base ink for ink-jet recording


An integrated circuit having a resistance-based or resistively switching memory cell, and a method for operating a resistively switching memory cell is disclosed. One embodiment is adapted to be put in a low-resistance state by applying a first threshold voltage and in a high-resistance state by applying a second threshold voltage, wherein reading out of the data content from the memory cell is performed by applying a voltage to the memory cell in the range of the first or second threshold voltage or a higher voltage.

The following statements relate to the technical field of integrated circuits having a resistance-based or resistively switching memory, and to a method for operating resistively switching memory.
As possible alternatives to common semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, or FLASH, resistance-based or resistive or resistively switching memory devices, in particular phase change memories (PCM), are known. In the case of phase change memories, a "active" or else "switching active" material or a phase change medium, respectively, is positioned between two electrodes (e.g., an anode and a cathode), e.g., a material with an appropriate chalcogenide compound (e.g., a Ge—Sb—Te or Ag—In—Sb—Te compound) that is capable of resistive switchability.
Such resistance-based memory technologies are used in the case of PCRAM (phase change random access memory) or CBRAM (conductive bridging random access memory). The exact functioning of such technologies will be explained in more detail in the following. In the case of other resistance-based memory technologies, the physical structure of the memory cell may be different vis-á-vis a CBRAM memory cell or a PCRAM memory cell, but the principle of writing, deleting, and reading of the cell content is similar in all cases.
In a phase change memory cell (PCRAM), the phase change material may be placed in an amorphous, relatively weakly conductive, or a crystalline, relatively strongly conductive, state by using appropriate switching processes. To cause, with a resistively switching phase memory cell, a change from an amorphous state with a relatively weak electric conductivity to a crystalline state with a relatively good electric conductivity of the switching-active material, an appropriate current pulse or voltage pulse, respectively, with a programming voltage may be applied to the electrodes, which results in that the switching-active material is heated beyond the crystallization temperature and crystallizes (programming process or writing process or SET process).
Vice versa, a change of state of the switching-active phase change material from a crystalline, i.e. relatively strong conductive state, to an amorphous, i.e. relatively weak conductive state, may be achieved by using an appropriate current pulse or voltage pulse, respectively, with a deleting voltage, the switching-active material is heated beyond the melting temperature and is subsequently quenched to an amorphous state by quick cooling (deleting process or RESET process).
The functioning of phase change memories is consequently based on the amorphous-crystalline phase transition of a phase change material, wherein the two states of a phase change memory cell, namely the amorphous, high-resistance state or the crystalline, low-resistance state, respectively, together represent one bit, i.e. a logic "1" or a logic "0". Thereby, the effect is utilized that the two phases of these compounds distinctly differ in their electric conductivity, and that the state of the phase change memory cell can thus be recognized again or be read out, respectively. The reading of the memory content may be performed by applying a voltage below the programming voltage and the deleting voltage, so that the data content of the memory cell is not changed.
The programming (programming process or writing process or SET process) of a memory cell being in the amorphous, high-resistance state to the low-resistance, crystalline phase is performed in that the material of the phase change memory is heated beyond the crystallization temperature and thus crystallized by using an electric heating pulse. The reverse process, i.e. the deleting process or RESET process, is realized in that the material is heated beyond the melting point of the phase change material by using a stronger heating pulse, i.e. with a higher energy introduction than with the write process or SET process, and that the amorphous, high-resistance state in the memory cell is recovered by the deleting voltage applied to the memory cell. Subsequently, the memory cell is quenched by a quick cooling in this amorphous, high-resistance state. The reading out of the data content of a PCRAM memory cell is usually performed by the applying of an electric voltage below the voltages that are necessary for achieving the crystallization or for melting the phase change material, so as not to change the data content.
In the case of CBRAM memory cells, an electrically conductive path can be generated by a positive voltage in an otherwise high-resistance material, wherein the memory cell assumes a low-resistance state. The programming process is reversible and can be reversed again in a deleting process with reverse polarity with negative voltage, so that it is possible to switch back and forth between a low-resistance and a high-resistance memory state of the memory cell. The physical processes related therewith will only occur from particular threshold voltages on, so that voltages below these threshold values may be used for reading the cell information. These processes for programming and deleting a CBRAM memory cell will be explained in more detail below by FIG. 1.
With such resistance-based memory technologies it is consequently possible to store information in a resistive memory cell by an electric resistance value. A particular, e.g., positive, threshold voltage is applied to the memory cell for writing the cell information, and a particular, e.g., negative, threshold voltage for deleting the cell information. For reading out the cell information, a lower read voltage is applied to the memory cell, wherein the current Iread through the cell resulting from the applied read voltage is substantially smaller than the programming current Iset and the deleting current Ireset. This may also be represented by the following relation equations:Iread<Iset andIread<Ireset
In the case of conventional CBRAM memory cells, it was consequently necessary for the read voltage to keep a sufficient distance to the two threshold voltages (programming or deleting voltage) for reading out the cell information so as not to change the cell information during the read process. Typically, a conventional CBRAM memory cell has switch-on voltages of approx. 240 mV and switch-off voltages of approx. −80 mV. From this, there usually results a maximum read voltage of:
240 mV (threshold voltage)
−100 mV (safety difference)
=140 mV (maximum read voltage)
Thus, only short bit lines are possible with conventional CBRAM memory cells, and the low read voltage has to be amplified, which results in a higher switching effort with slower signal development and requires an own read voltage. Furthermore, a reading out of the data content from the CBRAM memory cell is practically not possible with a negative read voltage, since the threshold voltage for deleting the memory cell may be, for instance, only approx. −80 mV and this adds to approximately Zero with the safety difference of 100 mV. With a read voltage in the range of 0 mV, however, it is not possible to reliably determine data contents from the memory cell.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Integrated circuit having a resistively switching memory and method


A data media storage library for storing and accessing storage media such as optical discs, CDs, tape cartridges, and PCMCIA cards, consisting of a housing containing a storage array with a number of storage locations therein; a number of media storage elements for holding the storage media; a number of data transfer elements for reading and writing information on the storage media; and a media transport element for moving the storage media between the media storage elements and the data transfer elements. Each storage location may engage one of the media storage elements and data transfer elements, thereby allowing the interchangeability of media storage elements with data transfer elements within the storage array. A second embodiment includes a flipper mechanism for dual-sided media which can be mounted at one or more of the storage locations and rotate to flip the storage media to its other side.

Storage media library systems (jukeboxes) are devices which contain multiple storage media drives and many pieces of storage media to accommodate installations requiring access to large numbers of storage media, such as optical discs, compact discs and tape cartridges. The storage media may be housed in magazines which contain a fixed number of storage media. Existing storage media library systems are configured to contain a fixed number of magazines and a fixed number of drives.
Typically, a customer will make a purchase decision based on drive or media capacity. If a jukebox will only handle a maximum number of drives or media, and still not meet the customer requirements, then a larger jukebox is required. Some customers will require a larger ratio of drives to media and some will require the opposite. This may demand the selection of a jukebox which is much larger than needed in order to fulfill the specific needs of the customer.
There is a need for a data media storage library with a fixed number of homogeneous `slots` which can be populated with either drives or storage media. This allows for customization of a library system which meets the specific requirements of the end user. The customer can opt to swap drives for media to tailor the jukebox to their needs, and minimize the necessity to purchase a larger system with capabilities they may not fully realize. This allows for easy future expansion if needed.

Flipper mechanism for double-sided media


A microplate for use within an interrogation system and a method of using the microplate are disclosed. The microplate contains within the bottom of each well, an optical waveguide grating based sensor. Approximate to each sensor is a mask having an aperture of predetermined size. The aperture regulates the light that enters and exits the sensor upon successive scans and ensures repeatable readings from the sensor. In an extended embodiment, a method of detection is disclosed that utilizes a launch and receive system while employing the aforementioned microplate.

The recent growth in many areas of biotechnology has increased the demand to perform a variety of studies, commonly referred to as assays, of biochemical systems. These assays include for example, biochemical reaction kinetics, DNA melting point determinations, DNA spectral shifts, DNA and protein concentration measurements, excitation/emission of fluorescent probes, enzyme activities, enzyme co-factor assays, homogeneous assays, drug metabolite assays, drug concentration assays, dispensing confirmation, volume confirmation, solvent concentration, and solvation concentration. Also, there are a number of assays which use intact living cells that require visual examination.
Assays of biochemical systems are carried out on a large scale in both industry and academia, so it is desirable to have an apparatus that allows these assays to be performed in a convenient and inexpensive fashion. Because they are relatively easy to handle, are low in cost, and generally disposable after a single use, multiwell plates are often used for such studies. Multiwell plates are typically formed from a polymeric material and consist of an ordered array of individual wells. Each well includes sidewalls and a bottom so that an aliquot of sample can be placed within each well. The wells may be arranged in a matrix of mutually perpendicular rows and columns. Common sizes for multiwell plates include matrices having dimensions of 8×12 (96 wells), 16×24 (384 wells), and 32×48 (1536 wells).
The materials used to construct a multiwell plate are selected based on the samples to be assayed and the analytical techniques to be used. For example, the materials of which the multiwell plate is made should be chemically inert to the components of the sample or any biological or chemical coating that has been applied to the multiwell plate. Further, the materials should be impervious to radiation or heating conditions to which the multiwell plate is exposed during the course of an experiment and should possess a sufficient rigidity for the application at hand.
In many applications, a transparent window in the bottom of each well is needed. Transparent bottoms are primarily used in assay techniques that rely on emission of light from a sample within the well and subsequent spectroscopic measurements. Examples of such techniques include liquid scintillation counting and techniques which measure light emitted by luminescent labels, such as bioluminescent or chemiluminescent labels, fluorescent labels, or absorbance labels. Optically transparent bottom wells also enable microscopic viewing of specimens and living cells within the well. Currently, optically transparent and ultraviolet transparent bottomed multiwell plates exist in the market and are used for the aforementioned purposes. These multiwell plates are typically made from a hybrid of different polymeric materials, one material making up the sidewalls of the wells and another material making up the bottom walls of the wells.
In other applications, detection of the binding of unlabeled molecular species is accomplished by determining changes in the overall refractive index of an optical system that employs a biosensor in the bottom of each well of the microplate. Typically, an optical waveguide grating (OWG) sensor comprises a substrate, a grating, a dielectric layer deposited on the grating and a biologically active region on the dielectric layer. When spectral light is launched into such a system, detecting changes in the wavelength of light that is reflected back (resonant wavelength) provides information on the interactions that are occurring in the biological layer. Likewise, should a single wavelength of light be directed into the system at a particular angle of incidence, changes in the angle that the light is reflected from the structure provides information on interactions occurring in the biological layer. The utility of assays performed in such systems relies on making successive analytical observations interplayed between steps in the assay. This way, a true "before and after" analysis may be accomplished revealing the occurrence (or absence) of biological or chemical molecular interactions. Therefore, the repeatable and consistent alignment and/or positioning of a microplate incorporated into or onto a stage for analytical interrogation has been a requirement for these systems.
Current measurement protocol requires five primary steps: (1) initial/background measurement, (2) removal of the plate (for additional assay steps), (3) reinsertion of the plate into the reader, (4) second measurement, and (5) comparison of first and second measurements. Following the placement of a microplate into an exact location, an initial measurement can be read by a photometric/optical instrument. Once the microplate is removed, and manipulation of its contents completed, examination of the microplate depends on the exact repositioning of the microplate into the reader. Therefore, the second/final measurement result can be adversely affected by the slightest change, rotational and/or translational, in microplate position between the initial and second/final measurement steps. Small, lateral displacements (e. g. ˜1 micron) of the microplate (such as occur when the plate is removed and replaced) result in a spurious shift in the resonance wavelength. This arises since the small launch beam does not strike the same region of the grating during the initial measurement as it does during the final measurement and the fact that the grating resonance varies slightly with position. Accordingly, there is a need for a microplate design and method of analysis that will provide high levels of sensitivity while still allowing for slight lateral displacements within a detection system upon successive insertions into a reader. This need and other needs are satisfied by the multiwell plate and the method of the present invention.


A system and method for decomposing ammonia from fly ash contaminated with ammonia is provided which includes maintaining the temperature of a bed of ammonia-contaminated fly ash at a decomposition temperature greater than 500° F. and less than 842° F. to decompose the ammonia from the fly ash. In a preferred embodiment, the ammonia-laden fly ash is maintained at a temperatures less than a lowest carbon combustion temperature at which substantial combustion of carbon in fly ash begins to occur. A preferred embodiment includes a first chamber operating at a decomposition temperature greater than 500° F. and less than 842° F. followed by a second chamber operating at a higher carbon combustion temperature for carbon burn-out.

Utilities and operators of industrial boilers face challenges associated with implementing current and future regulations. In recent years, there has been increasing public and government concern over the environmental impact of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, which contribute to the environmental impact of acid rain. In order to meet the new NOx emission requirements, many utilities install pollution control equipment, using a combination of combustion management and post-combustion processes. Unintended consequences associated with the installation of pollution control equipment have surfaced.
Two approaches are typically used for the control of NOx emissions. These are combustion tuning and post combustion treatment of flue gas. Combustion tuning techniques include low NOx burners, over-fired air systems, reburning, and flue gas recirculation. Post combustion treatments include, but are not limited to, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR).
SCR and SNCR chemically reduce NOx to nitrogen and water. The difference between SCR and SNCR is that SCR utilizes a catalyst which allows the NOx reduction reaction to occur at a lower temperature. The two reagents most commonly used in SNCR systems are either ammonia or urea while SCR uses ammonia.
The generalized reaction when using ammonia is given by:4NH3+4NO+O2→4N2+6H2O
The reaction when using urea is given by:2NO+CO(NH2)2+½O2→2N2+CO2+2H2O
While ammonia has been used successfully to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, the ammonia is typically introduced in excess of the reaction requirement and is not totally consumed. These fugitive ammonia emissions are called ammonia slip. SCR systems typically operate with ammonia slip values in the 5 ppm range while SNCR systems operate considerably higher. Ammonia slip can be expected to vary widely depending on changes in operating conditions. Some of the slip reports to the gas stream and some to the combustion by-products. Therefore, residues from the combustion process such as fly ash and other combustion by-products will contain ammonia and/or ammonia compounds, such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium bisulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium hydroxide and ammonium carbonate.
Ammonia slip results in a significant portion of the ammonia compounds being deposited on fly ash. European SCR operation data indicates that combustion of coal in the 6-8% ash range with slip values of 2 ppmv in the flue gas results in concentrations of approximately 100 ppmw as ammonia on fly ash (i.e.—the concentration of the actual compound such as ammonium sulfate is higher, but only the ammonia fraction is of interest, so it is expressed as ppmw of ammonia). Low NOx operations using the SNCR technique commonly produce ammonia concentrations on fly ash in the 1000 ppm range. As more post combustion NOx control systems are placed in operation, increasing amounts of fly ash will contain ammonia.
Requirements for reduction of emissions from coal combustion have often resulted in the coupling of two or more pollution control devices. For example, SCR for reduction of NOx is combined with flue gas desulfurization (FGD or "scrubbers") for reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions. The coupling of these two devices has resulted in the unintended consequence of increasing the SO3 emissions of the host utility.
During coal combustion, the majority of sulfur in the coal is converted to SO2, with a small percentage of that being further oxidized to SO3. The use of SCR for the control of NOx emissions directs the hot SO2 laden flue gas in the 700° F. temperature range through the SCR system. The vanadium containing catalyst commonly associated with SCR systems also serves as a catalyst for the oxidation of SO2 to SO3. This results in a significant portion of the SO2 in the flue gas being oxidized to SO3. Compounding this problem is the fuel market's current tendency toward utilization of fuels with higher sulfur content which produce higher SO2 concentrations in the flue gas.
Before the SO3 containing flue gas is released into the atmosphere, the flue gas passes through a FGD system which in many cases is inefficient in the capture of SO3. This results in emissions of SO3, the precursor of "Blue Plume". Blue Plume is formed when SO3 is converted to sulphuric acid (H2SO4) mist. Sulfuric acid is formed as SO3 aerosols cool as they enter the atmosphere and combine with moisture from the ambient environment. Because H2SO4 within a plume, flowing from a stack, is heavier than air, the plume's direction, which was previously upward, changes to an undesirable lateral, or even downward, direction. The visible effect of this phenomena is referred to as "Blue Plume." Thus, while SCR reduces NOx emissions, it may increase SO3 emissions.
Ammonia can also be used to control Blue Plume. Utilities can inject ammonia into the flue gas stream, usually before the electrostatic precipitator used for control of particulate matter emissions to reduce Blue Plume and visible emissions associated with the SO3.
In this process the injected ammonia reacts chemically with the SO3 in the flue gas producing ammonium sulfate (and possibly small amounts of ammonium bisulfate). The ammonium sulfate combines with the fly ash and is captured by the electrostatic precipitator or other fly ash collection devices. Depending on the SO3 concentration in the flue gas, this process uses ammonia quantities well above any prior art levels and can produce fly ash ammonia concentrations in the 8,000 ppmw range.
The deposition of ammonia and ammonia compounds on combustion by-products such as fly ash can cause problems for its beneficial use. Fly ash has been used successfully for many years in concrete mix designs. The use of fly ash in concrete is the largest single application for fly ash in the United States. In 2002 over 14 million tons of fly ash were used as a replacement for Portland cement in concrete applications. However, excess ammonia concentrations can result in the fly ash becoming unusable due to the odor nuisance and possible worker safety issues. When ammonia containing fly ash is used as a partial replacement for Portland cement, the soluble ammonia compounds contact the wet, alkaline cement matrix which results in the generation of ammonia vapor. Ammonia vapor is produced by the following generalized reaction:NH3++OH−→NH3↑+H2O
Fly ash with high levels of ammonia can be unsuitable for recycling purposes and may cause additional concerns, such as adverse environmental consequences of placing the ammonia laden ash in a landfill. Accordingly, it is important to reduce or remove ammonia and ammonia compounds from combustion by-products such as fly ash prior to their utilization in other applications.
In addition, the concrete industry has placed limits on the amount of ammonia that can be used in fly ash. When fly ash is used at a twenty percent by weight replacement in a concrete mix design (i.e. −20% of the Portland cement is replaced by fly ash), fly ash ammonia levels below 100 ppm are acceptable. When a higher percentage of fly ash is desired in the mix design, the ammonia concentration of the fly ash must be decreased accordingly. In order to use the fly ash in concrete, the ammonia content of the fly ash should desirably be below 60-80 ppm.
Various methods have been used to reduce the levels of ammonia in fly ash. These methods typically involve either adding chemicals to the fly ash, which will then contaminate the fly ash with another chemical while removing the ammonia, or washing the fly ash with water to remove the ammonia (by dissolving the soluble ammonia compounds), producing ammonia-laden water. Another method is described in "Ammonia Removal From Fly Ash Using Carbon Burn-Out". This paper suggests that fly ash residence times of 45 minutes and temperatures in the 1300° F. range are characteristic of the carbon burn-out process, and that carbon burn-out conditions should be ideal for ammonia removal. The paper reports that tests results indicate that under normal carbon burn-out operating conditions essentially all ammonia was removed liberated from the fly ash material. However, use of the CBO process is only appropriate for certain types of fly ash needing the carbon reduction for which the process was designed.
Therefore, there is still a need for a method of removing the ammonia from a very wide range of ammonia-contaminated fly ash without introducing other chemicals to the fly ash or increasing air or water emissions.

System and method for recomposing ammonia from fly ash