A method is described for transferring data on a digital data bus system. The bus system includes a bus having a clock line for communicating a clock signal, address lines for communicating address signals, data lines for communicating data signals, and control lines for communicating control signals. A bus controller is connected to the bus. A plurality of devices are also connected to the bus. Each device has a predetermined address. The control lines include a bus grant line for communicating a bus grant signal that permits the devices addressed by the bus controller to send or receive data signals. According to the method, the bus controller generates a bus grant signal on the bus grant line and source address and destination address signals on the address lines. The devices receive the bus grant signal and the source address and destination address signals. The devices decode the source address and destination address signals in response to the bus grant signal. The device having the predetermined address corresponding to the decoded source address signal transfers the data signals along the data lines, in response to the bus grant signal and the decoded source address signal. Finally, the device having the predetermined address corresponding to the decoded destination address signal receives the data signals sent by the addressed source device, in response to the bus grant signal and the decoded destination address signal.

A common arrangement for low end microcomputer systems places system elements, such as the central processing unit (CPU), main memory (e.g., random access memory, or RAM), read only memory (ROM) and Input/Output (I/O) devices, on the same main bus. Communication on the main bus is through the CPU, an arrangement that can result in unacceptably slow transfer of data (e.g., from an I/O device to RAM). Moreover, devices on the main bus with lower priority, such as I/O devices, face long waits to make data transfers.
In response to these shortcomings, Direct Memory Access (DMA) controllers were developed. A DMA controller connects to the main bus, and is responsible for controlling data signal transfers on the main bus between RAM and I/O devices. To make data transfers, a DMA controller takes control of the main bus when the CPU is not using it (i.e., cycle stealing). Although DMA controllers generally perform adequately, DMA controllers suffer from certain limitations. With a DMA controller, the rate of data transfer is limited by how frequently the CPU allows the DMA controller to gain control of the main bus, and how long the DMA controller can keep control of the main bus. Moreover, DMA controllers are not designed to facilitate data signal transfers between I/O devices: Typically a DMA controller transfers data signals, one word at a time, to or from a particular (i.e., addressed) memory location in RAM.
Another response to the shortcomings of using only the main bus was the mezzanine bus. A mezzanine bus is a second or auxillary bus that is parallel to the main bus, and also is connected to the main bus through a bus to bus interface. The mezzanine bus connects most, if not all, of the I/O devices that would otherwise connect directly to the main bus. In this manner, the I/O devices on the mezzanine bus can transfer data signals between each other without the need to communicate over the main bus. The mezzanine bus includes a bus controller, and may even include a DMA controller.

Method of addressing devices and transferring data on a bus


A closure comprising a base body with a circumferential recess foreseen to receive a tamper band connected to a top cover. The circumferential recess comprises at least one circumferential protrusion extending in a radial direction into the recess which comprises at least one pillar extending in the radial direction into the recess, tamper band comprises at least one circumferential undercut foreseen to interact in a mounted position with the circumferential protrusion of the circumferential recess. The tamper band comprises at least one notch foreseen to receive at least one pillar arranged in the circumferential recess.

Generally, beverages or packages for liquids are closed by means such as screw caps which can be removed and allow a closure after usage such as pouring the liquid out of the liquid container. The crew cap seals the container if attached and further prevents a contamination of the liquid. The outlet usually is circular with respective larger diameter and permits a high flow rate. The outlet is primarily designed in order to pour the liquid and not to drink directly from the beverages.
In certain application, such as beverages for sport drinks, however, the drinking directly from the beverage respective the liquid container is desired. Therefore, other geometries of closures are preferred. Such closures may include a part which the user can place directly inside the month. Furthermore, a valve may ensure a lower flow rate for comfortable drinking. Often, the valve may further seal the liquid container. In the following examples are given for such closure designs.
WO10046567, published on the 29 Apr. 2010 by Bericap, relates to a stopper for affixing to the neck of a container of liquids, comprising: a main body provided internally with a means of connection to said neck and surmounted by a tubular projection having an outer wall defining a reference axis; a cap covering said tubular projection and provided internally with elastic pillars which engage with a groove in the tubular projection; a tamper-resistant ring continuing on in the distal direction from said cap, to which it is connected by evenly spaced frangible bridges separated from one another by incisions. According to the invention, said ring is provided with teeth shaped to engage with evenly spaced mating protuberances on a proximal end of the main body, the teeth and/or protuberances having a chamfered prismatic profile.
US2005011911, published on the 20 Jan. 2005 by Britvic Soft Drinks LTD, discloses a closure for a beverage container, which may have a base cap for securing to the container and a detachable over-cap for protecting a valve member providing an outlet through which a beverage can be dispensed. The over-cap has an array of holes providing airways through the over-cap to prevent choking if the over-cap is accidentally swallowed and lodges in the throat in any orientation. The holes are arranged to permit through flow of air in any orientation of the over-cap. The over-cap may also be provided with ribs or channels providing airways to allow flow of air around the outside of the cap if swallowed and lodging in the throat. WO0216220, published on the 28 Feb. 2002 by Rical SA, concerns a closure comprising a base part having an outer annular projection and peripheral notches and a part forming a cap designed to be mounted on the base part, comprising a tamperproof strip having an inner annular projection and peripheral notches. The co-operation between the projections and the notches lock the two parts. When it is mounted, the radial clearance between the peripheral zone of the base part and the peripheral zone of the tamperproof strip provides a slight rotation of the cap relative to the base part, until a notch of a strip is opposite an interval between two neighboring notches of the base part.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,374A, published on the 10 Oct. 1995 by Innovative Plastic Technology INC, discloses a tamper evident closure construction, which is provided for use with a container of the type having a neck with a discharge orifice therein. The tamper evident closure construction includes a dispenser cap and a unitary, one-piece, tamper evident closure cover. The dispenser cap includes a base connected to the neck and a dispensing portion connected to the base. The tamper evident closure cover consists of an overcap and a container closure cap separated by frangible webs which, when permanently disengaged, allow access to the dispensing portion and provide a visual indication of tampering. The container closure cap is fastened directly to the neck of the container and includes a breakaway tamperband, or alternatively, a snap-fit abutment arrangement, which provides an indication of attempts to remove the container closure cap from the neck. The skirt of the container closure cap is directly coupled to the neck of the container, and includes an annular bead on an inside surface and an annular flange which cooperate to secure and seal the base of the dispenser cap against the neck around the discharge orifice.
These examples disclose closures which avoid contamination of the mouth piece of the closure when the valve is closed with the help of an additional cover. The cover is attached to the closure in a removable manner. For initial opening a guarantee seal must be broken. Usually the cover can thereafter be reinstalled on the closure after consummation of liquid by the user. As the guarantee seal is broken and not foreseen to be established again, the cover is held on the closure by secondary holding means. It is crucial that the guarantee seal can be initially established quick and reliable when assembling the closure. Furthermore, for safety reasons it is crucial that the guarantee seal cannot be overcome without visibility from the outside.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the above mentioned disadvantages of the prior art closures and provide a closure that comprises an improved guarantee seal between a top cover and a base body which on the one hand can be easily and reliable produced by injection molding and assembled with a base body, but on the other hand is still highly secure and cannot be defeated under normal conditions. It is a further object of the invention to integrate a tamper band in way that if the top cover is removed, the tamper band offers only a minimal disturbance resp. discomfort for the user while drinking from the liquid container. Another further object of the invention to provide a closure with improved performance, such as venting, removal torque and so forth.


A method includes advancing, by a controller device comprising a processing resource, a media from a roll into a printer via rollers before a printing process begins, wherein a leading edge of the media comprises a curl due to the roll. The method also includes guiding, by the controller device, the media through the printer to engage a substrate in a predetermined zone spaced downstream a predetermined distance from a roller pinch point. The method also includes holding, by the controller device, the media against the substrate in the predetermined zone to force the leading edge of the media to bend in a direction opposite the curl of the leading edge to counteract the curl of the leading edge.

Printers utilize many components to control how media such as paper is guided though the printers during a printing process. Such printing components can include a feed system having rollers to initially guide the media toward a print zone where a print head applies ink on to the media, or where an image is transferred to the media. As the media is fed through the printer and after printing, an output also having rollers can direct the media outside of the printer.
One of the challenges faced when printing on media that has been stored on a roll is from curl that is set in the media as a result of the roll. This curl is due to the media being stored and wound around a small diameter core for an extended period of time such as during shipping and storage before it is delivered to the end user. When the media is unwound off the core for printing, the media can be curled and in some cases can cause image defects such as smearing.

System and method to mitigate media roll curl

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A suction adhesion-type holder used, for example, in a bonding machine including an air cooling device provided between a bonding stage and a vacuum pump that creates a vacuum suction in the bonding stage through the cooling device. Air suction holes formed in the bonding stage, that has a heating element, are connected to the air cooling device via a pipe and air heated by the bonding stage is cooled in the air cooling device when the heated air flows in a spiral pipe installed inside the cooling device and then sucked into the vacuum pump. The spiral pipe is cooled by a fan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction adhesion-type holder which holds workpieces on a stage, that has a heating means, by way of vacuum suction adhesion.
2. Prior Art
In bonding machines, for example, workpieces such as substrates and lead frames, etc. are placed on a bonding stage that is provided with a heating element. With keeping the workpieces in position on the bonding stage by vacuum suction adhesion, wire bonding, chip bonding, etc. are performed. A bonding machine of this type is described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (Kokoku) No. 57-49388.
In this prior art, since the air surrounding the bonding stage is heated by the bonding stage and is sucked into the vacuum pump, the pump tends to be damaged. Accordingly, the piping system used in the bonding machine must be heat-resistant, which is generally expensive.


Semantically equivalent variants of a computer program are generated by applying randomly selected transforms to the computer program. Unit tests are performed on the variants of the computer program to detect a defect in the computer program.

To avoid certain types of security vulnerabilities, developers of computer programs should verify that consumed input is well-formed, without making false assumptions about input consistency. Otherwise, defects, such as buffer overruns resulting from malformed input, and other types of errors, may be fatal to proper functioning and results of the computer program. To locate any such defects, software developers often implement computer program testing prior to releasing software.
There are various techniques for detecting software defects. Some of these defects are able to be discovered through syntactic validation. Other defects can be discovered through semantic validation. Still other defects may be discovered through dynamic analysis. Other defects are discovered through rigorous testing of executing computer programs using techniques such as "fuzz testing".
Fuzz testing is a software testing technique that typically provides random test variables (referred to as "fuzz") as inputs. A fuzz tester executes the computer program using random test variables. If the computer program fails the test by providing a faulty response, such as crashing or by failing built-in code assertions, such a failure is noted by a software developer who attempts to address the defects.
Conventional software fuzz testing techniques are typically very time consuming and labor intensive, often requiring iterative manual effort and/or use of inefficient automated techniques. Also, existing fuzz testing techniques generally only locate very specific and simple faults, often with poor code coverage. For example, if an input includes a checksum which is not properly updated to match other random changes, only the checksum validation code will be verified. Additionally, traditional fuzz testing may not uncover timing related defects or defects which happen to pass even though the computer program may be semantically invalid or otherwise defective.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to have an efficient and reliable technique for detecting defects in a computer program that are not detectable using existing testing techniques.

Device, system, and method for detecting a defect in a computer program by generating and testing semantically equivalent computer program variants

United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention provides a bacterium having a genome that is genetically engineered to be at least 2 to 14% smaller than the genome of its native parent strain. A bacterium with a smaller genome can produce a commercial product more efficiently. The present invention also provides methods for deleting genes and other DNA sequences from a bacterial genome. The methods provide precise deletions and seldom introduces mutations to the genomic DNA sequences around the deletion sites. Thus, the methods can be used to generate a series of deletions in a bacterium without increasing the possibility of undesired homologous recombination within the genome. In addition, some of the methods provided by the present invention can also be used for replacing a region of a bacterial genome with a desired DNA sequence.

Bacteria have been used to produce a wide range of commercial products. For example, many Streptomyces strains and Bacillus strains have been used to produce antibiotics; Pseudomonas denitrificans and many Propionibacterium strains have been used to produce vitamin B12; some other bacteria have been used to produce vitamin Riboflavin; Brevibacterium flavum and Corynebacterium glutamicum have been used to produce lysine and glutamic acid, respectively, as food additives; other bacteria have been used to produce other amino acids used as food additives; Alcaligenes eutrophas has been used to produce biodegradable microbial plastics; and many Acetobacter and Gluconobacter strains have been used to produce vinegar. More recently, it has become common for bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), to be genetically engineered and used as host cells for the production of biological reagents, such as proteins and nucleic acids, in laboratory as well as industrial settings. The pharmaceutical industry supports several examples of successful products which are human proteins which are manufactured in E. coli cultures cultivated in a fermenter.
It is not an uncommon occurrence for normal bacterial proteins to adversely affect the production or the purification of a desired protein product from an engineered bacteria. For example, when E. coli bacteria are used as host cells to generate in large quantity of a desired product encoded by a gene that is introduced into the host cells by a plasmid, certain normal E. coli gene products can interfere with the introduction and maintenance of plasmid DNA. More significantly, because of the economies of bacterial culture in making proteins in bacteria, often the cost of purification of a recombinant protein can be more than the cost of production, and some of the natural proteins produced by the bacterial host are sensitive purification problems. Many bacterial strains produce toxins that must be purified away from the target protein being produced and some strains can produce, by coincidence, native proteins that are close in size to the target protein, thereby making size separation not available for the purification process.
Also, however, the genome of a bacteria used in a fermenter to produce a recombinant protein includes many unnecessary genes. A bacteria living in a natural environment has many condition responsive genes to provide mechanisms for surviving difficult environmental conditions of temperature, stress or lack of food source. Bacteria living in a fermentation tank do not have these problems and hence do not require these condition responsive genes. The bacterial host spends metabolic energy each multiplication cycle replicating these genes. Thus the unnecessary genes and the unneeded proteins, produced by a bacterial host used for production of recombinant protein, simply represent lack of efficiencies in the system that could be improved upon.
It is not terribly difficult to make deletions in the genome of a microorganism. One can perform random deletion studies in organisms by simply deleting genomic regions to study what traits of the organism are lost by the deleted genes. It is more difficult, however, to make targeted deletions of specific regions of genomic DNA and more difficult still if one of the objectives of the method is to leave no inserted DNA, here termed a "scar," behind in the organism after the deletion. If regions of inserted DNA, i.e. scars, are left behind after a genomic deletion procedure, those regions can be the locations for unwanted recombination events that could excise from the genome regions that are desirable or engender genome rearrangements. Since in building a series of multiple deletions, scars left behind in previous steps could become artifactual targets for succeeding steps of deletion. This is especially so when the method is used repeatedly to generate a series of deletions from the genome. In other words, the organism becomes by the deletion process genetically unstable if inserted DNA is left behind.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery of this invention includes a positive electrode including a positive electrode mixture, a negative electrode including a negative electrode mixture, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The negative electrode mixture includes a material capable of absorbing and desorbing Li and a carbon material. The material capable of absorbing and desorbing Li includes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Si and Sn, and the amount of the carbon material is 3 to 60% by weight of the negative electrode mixture. At least one of the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the non-aqueous electrolyte contains a lithium perfluoroalkylsulfonyl imide represented by the following general formula (1):LiN(CmF2m+1SO2)(CnF2n+1SO2)  (1)where m and n each represent an integer of 1 to 5 and may be m=n. The ratio of the weight of the lithium perfluoroalkylsulfonyl imide to the weight of the carbon material is 10−3 to 10.

A negative electrode active material such as silicon is expected to provide a higher capacity than carbon materials such as graphite. However, such a negative electrode active material undergoes large volume changes due to charge/discharge. The large volume changes make the contact between the active material and the current collector insufficient or the like, so that the current-collecting capability decreases. This results in degradation of cycle characteristics.
To improve the current-collecting capability, there has been a proposal to mechanically cover the surface of silicon oxide particles with a carbon material (see Patent Document 1). Also, there has been another proposal to form carbon fibers on the surface of an active material core containing a metal or semimetal capable of forming a lithium alloy, for example, by CVD (see Patent Document 2).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-373653    Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-349056

Non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery


A solid/liquid process for the separation and recovery of chaotropic anions from an aqueous solution is disclosed. The solid support comprises separation particles having surface-bonded poly(ethylene glycol) groups, whereas the aqueous solution from which the chaotropic anions are separated contains a poly(ethylene glycol) liquid/liquid biphase-forming amount of a dissolved salt (lyotrope). A solid/liquid phase admixture of separation particles containing bound chaotropic anions in such an aqueous solution is also contemplated, as is a chromatography apparatus containing that solid/liquid phase admixture.

Solid support-based chromatographic methods have been extensively applied in separation science for many years. Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 2nd ed., W. H. Freeman and Co., New York (1987); Skoog, Principles of Instrumental Analysis, 3rd ed., Saunders College Publishing, New York (1985); Giddings, Unified Separation Science, John Wiley & Sons, New York, (1991)! Excellent chemical separations can be achieved due to the inherent variables of solid/liquid chromatography Skoog, Principles of Instrumental Analysis, 3rd, ed., Saunders College Publishing, New York (1985)! that include the ability to vary both the support material and mobile phase. Several advantages over solvent extraction include the immobilization of the extractant and the absence (or decreased need in the case of extraction chromatography) of organic solvent diluents. As for solvent extraction, scale-up of solid support-based chromatographic methods is feasible with the major concern of the pressure drop across a large column balanced by the simplicity of the chromatographic apparatus versus liquid/liquid contactor apparatus.
Due to the rich history of liquid/liquid aqueous biphasic separations for biological separations, Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Chemistry: Biotechnical and Biomedical Applications; Harris, ed., Plenum Press, New York (1992); Aqueous Two-Phase Systems, Walter and Johansson, eds., in Methods in Enzymology, Academic Press, San Diego, Vol. 228 (1994); Albertsson, Partition of Cell Particles and Macromolecules, 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York (1986); Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems. Theory, Methods, Uses and Applications to Biotechnology, Walter, Brooks and Fisher, eds., Academic Press, Orlando (1991)! work on solid-supported biphasic separations has focused on biological species. No work has been reported in the area of aqueous biphasic partitioning of metal ions using solid support separation particles.
The chelation properties of solid-supported short chain polyethers have been investigated, but the mobile phases were largely aqueous acids and the systems lacked genuine aqueous biphasic behavior. The chelation properties of the high molecular weight poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) is generally perceived to be quite low. Consequently, high molecular weight PEG resins have not been investigated for ion separations.
The major variables influencing liquid/liquid aqueous biphasic separations, type and concentration of polymer and salt and polymer molecular weight, are important variables to consider in the design of aqueous biphasic chromatographic materials. The current focus is on chaotropic metal ion separations from solutions of high ionic strength because most metal-containing waste streams have relatively high concentrations of matrix ions.
Two major drawbacks to aqueous biphasic separations operating in the liquid/liquid mode are loss of the phase-forming components, PEG or salt, due to their high solubilities in water and the difficulty in stripping partitioned solutes. Because high concentrations of the phase-forming components are required to sustain a two-phase system, any loss of PEG or salt is of concern. In addition, different concentrations of phase-forming components have been shown to affect metal ion distribution ratios in liquid/liquid systems. Rogers et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., (in press 1995); Rogers et al., Aqueous Biphasic Separations: Biomolecules to Metal Ions, (in press 1995)!
More importantly, once the solute of interest has been partitioned to the upper PEG-rich phase of an aqueous liquid/liquid biphase, its isolation from this matrix has proven to be difficult. The back extraction conditions vary from chemical destruction of the extractant and partitioned complex to chemical reduction of the partitioned species pertechnetate reduction by tin(II) chloride!. Rogers et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., (in press 1995); Rogers et al., Aqueous Biphasic Separations: Biomolecules to Metal Ions, (in press 1995)!
Examination of the salts that induce aqueous liquid/liquid biphase formation of PEG solutions by the present inventors has indicated that those salts are among the materials referred to in the art as lyotropes or lyotropic agents. Such salts tend to structure water, and the structure provided to the water by a lyotropic salt is thought to cause salting out of the PEG phase.
Polyethylene glycols have been bound to a variety of different materials, with the choice of support based primarily on the desired application. Solid-supported short chain PEGs have been grafted to styrene-based resins for use as phase transfer catalysts in organic synthesis, Regen et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 101:116 (1979); Yanagida et al., J. Org. Chem., 44:1099 (1979); Fukunishi et al., J. Org. Chem., 46:1218 (1981); Heffernan et al., J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2:514 (1981); Kimura et al., Synth. Commun., 13:443 (1983); Kimura et al., J. Org. Chem., 48:195 (1983)! and to urethane foams to act as potential metal ion chelators. Jones et al., Anal. Chim. Acta, 182:61 (1986); Fong et al., Talanta, 39:825 (1992)! Polyethers have also been bound to various surfaces to decrease protein adhesion in biomedical applications Nagaoka et al., Antithrhombogenic Biomedical Material, Toray Industries, Inc. (1983); Toyobo Co., Antithrhombogenic Membranes, Toyobo Co. (1983)! and medium weight PEGs have been fused to silica capillaries for a variety of separations. Nashabeh et al., J. Chromatogr., 559:367 (1991); Herren et al., J. Coll. Interf. Sci., 115:46 (1987)! High molecular weight PEGs have been bound to silica Matsumoto et al., J. Chromatoqr., 187:351 (1980)! and Sepharose Matsumoto et al., J. Chromatogr., 187:351 (1980); Matsumoto et al., J. Chromatoqr., 268:375 (1981); Matsumoto et al., J. Chromatoqr., 285:69 (1984)! primarily for polymer/polymer separations of biomolecules. Two recent reviews of PEG chemistry also point to the utility of solid-supported PEGs for bioanalytical separations. Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Chemistry: Biotechnical and Biomedical Applications, Harris ed., Plenum Press, New York (1992); Aaueous Two-Phase Systems, Walter et al., eds., in Methods in Enzymology Academic Press, San Diego, 228 (1994)! Each of the previously mentioned materials served as chelators or hydrophilic coatings to promote or inhibit different types of adsorption processes.
The importance of .sup.99m Tc in nuclear medicine and the problems associated with disposal of .sup.99 Tc in nuclear waste require new and better separations technologies for this element. In radiopharmacy, the short-lived .sup.99m Tc (t.sub.1/2 =6 hours) that decays to .sup.99 Tc (t.sub.1/2 =2.12.times.10.sup.5 years), is used in the vast majority of all medical procedures utilizing radioisotopes. Boyd, Radiochim. Acta, 30:123 (1982); Steigman, The Chemistry of Technetium in Medicine, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. (1992)!
One of the more common ways to access .sup.99m Tc is by eluting the pertechnetate ion (TcO.sub.4.sup.-1), a chaotropic anion, from an alumina column containing .sup.99 MoO.sub.4.sup.-2 ion (t.sub.1/2 =66.7 hours), itself obtained by neutron activation irradiation of .sup.98 Mo or as a .sup.235 U fission product. So-called "instant technetium" involves the solvent extraction of .sup.99m TcO.sub.4.sup.-1 from an alkaline solution of Na.sub.2.sup.99 MoO.sub.4 using methyl ethyl ketone. Both methods suffer disadvantages including the presence of organic impurities and low radiochemical yield. Boyd, Radiochim. Acta, 30:123 (1982); Steigman, The Chemistry of Technetium in Medicine, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. (1992); Lamson et al., J. Nucl. Med., 16:639 (1975); Nair et al., Radiochim. Acta, 57:29 (1992)!
Relatively high levels of .sup.99 TcO.sub.4.sup.-1 are present in the highly alkaline waste storage tanks at Westinghouse Hanford Fong et al., Talanta, 39:825 (1992)! and Savannah River Walker et al., Mat. Res. Soc. Syms. Proc., 44:805 (1985)!, among others. Technetium-99 is a fission product in nuclear fuel burn-up. Its long half life and its environmental mobility (as TcO.sub.4.sup.-1) present long term storage problems. Mobius, et al., "Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, Tc, Technetium: Metal Alloys, Compounds, Chemistry in Solution", 8th ed., Supplemental vol. 2, p. 243, Kugler & Kellar, eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1983); Jones, "Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry", Vol. 6, p. 881, Wilkinson et al., eds., Pergamon Press, Oxford (1987)!
Current extraction technologies for Tc run the gamut from solvent extraction to ion exchange in batch and chromatographic separations, and precipitation reactions. Mobius, et al., "Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, Tc, Technetium: Metal Alloys, Compounds, Chemistry in Solution", 8th ed., Supplemental vol. 2, p. 243, Kugler & Kellar, eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1983)! The synthetic organic reagents or resins used are often subject to radiation damage (in high level nuclear waste applications) and large cations (e.g., UO.sub.2.sup.+2, Zr.sup.+4) can be coextracted. Mobius, et al., "Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, Tc, Technetium: Metal Alloys, Compounds, Chemistry in Solution", 8th ed., Supplemental vol. 2, p. 243, Kugler & Kellar, eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1983); Jassim et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 2:405 (1984); Kolarik et al., Solvent Extr. Ion Exch., 7:625 (1989)! New separations techniques and tailored waste forms are needed for selective removal and immobilization of .sup.99 Tc.
The pertechnetate ion partitions to the polymer-rich phase in liquid/liquid PEG-based aqueous biphasic systems from a variety of salt solutions including OH.sup.-1, CO.sub.3.sup.-2, SO.sub.4.sup.-2 and PO.sub.4.sup.-3. Increasing the incompatibility between the two phases forces more of the TcO.sub.4.sup.-1 into the PEG-rich phase. This can be accomplished either by increasing the salt concentration or increasing the PEG-2000 concentration from about 20 weight percent to about 70 weight percent of the aqueous solution.
Tungsten (W) and rhenium (Re) are in the same groups in the periodic Table as are molybdenum and technetium, respectively, and share many chemical reactivities with their fellow group members. The perrhenate anion (ReO.sub.4.sup.-1), particularly as .sup.188 ReO.sub.4.sup.-1 (t.sub.1/2 =16.9 hours) and .sup.186 ReO.sub.4.sup.-1 (t.sub.1/2 =90 hrs) are finding increasing use of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals as a bone cancer pain palliative and when linked to monoclonal antibodies. As .sup.99 TcO.sub.4.sup.-1 is formed from .sup.99 MoO.sub.4.sup.-2, .sup.188 ReO.sub.4.sup.-1 is formed from .sup.188 WO.sub.4.sup.-2. Several systems for separating .sup.188 ReO.sub.4.sup.-1 anions from solutions containing .sup.188 Wo.sub.4.sup.-1 anions similar to those used for separating .sup.99 TcO.sub.4.sup.-1 anions from .sup.99 MoO.sub.4.sup.-2 anions have been reported. Lisie et al., J. Nuc. Med., 32:945(1991); Schaad et al., J. Nuc. Med., 32:1090(1991); Ehrhardt et al., J. Nuc. Med., 34:38P (1993)!
In addition to technetium and rhenium, several other chaotropic metal anions are of particular interest for separation and recovery. For example, effluents containing silver, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, selenium, chromium, lead and barium are regulated. The Y-12 site at Oak Ridge is reported to have mercury contamination problems. In addition, Hg-197 as .sup.197 HgCl.sub.2 is used in kidney scans. Choppin et al., Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry, 2nd ed., Chapter 9, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., Oxford (1995) pages 266-276! Precious metals such as gold and silver present in mine tailings also require enhanced recovery processes. Elimination of metal ions from waste streams via complexation of silver, gold, cadmium, mercury and lead with halide or pseudohalide anions is desirous.
Radioactive iodide anion, particularly as I-123, I-125 and I-131, are widely used in radiopharmacy. These anions are mostly used for thyroid studies, but are also useful for kidney studies. Ehmann and Vance, Radiochemistry and Nuclear Methods of Analysis, Chapter 10, Wiley, New York (1981) pages 331-342; Friedlander et al., Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Chapter 11, Wiley, New York (1981) pages 442-448!
In addition, I-129 is a fission product that is present in the waste tanks of the Westinghouse Hanford facility. Because of its long half-life (about 1.7.times.10.sup.7 years) and environmental mobilit, this nuclide needs to be removed from wastes. Chemical Pretreatment of Nuclear Waste for Disposal, Swanson et al. eds., Plenum, New York 1994) pages 155-209!
It would therefore be beneficial if the selective binding of chaotropic anions to PEG resins found in aqueous biphasic separations could be adapted to a solid support-based separation and recovery process, while at the same time, overcoming the problems inherent in recovering the chaotropes from an aqueous biphasic separation system using a solid phase that is not adversely affected by radiation present. The discussion that follows provides one solution to the chaotrope recovery problem for many of the above-named elements, as well as others.

Process for recovering chaotropic anions from an aqueous solution also containing other ions

The Board of Regents for Northern Illinois University


A refrigerator having a mounting structure capable of easily and conveniently achieving the mounting process for elements to be installed in an inner case. The refrigerator includes a first body including an inner case, an outer case, and a urethane foam filled between the inner case and the outer case, a coupling hole formed through the inner case, a mounting member coupled to the coupling hole at a first outside of the inner case by a first end of the mounting member and provided with a fastening hole, the mounting member being fixed between the inner case and the outer case by the urethane foam when the urethane foam is filled, and a fastening member fastened to the fastening hole at a first inside of the inner case.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and, more particularly, to a refrigerator with an improved mounting structure for elements installed in an inner case.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, refrigerators are provided with a storage chamber which is cooled by cold air generated through an evaporator included in a refrigeration cycle, in order to store articles in a refrigerated or frozen state for a lengthy period of time.
The body of such a refrigerator includes an inner case defining a storage chamber as mentioned above in the interior of the inner case, an outer case forming an outer wall of the body, and an insulating layer formed between the inner case and the outer case to thermally insulate the storage chamber. The insulating layer is made of a urethane foam filled between the inner case and the outer case.
Typically, the storage chamber is partitioned into a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment. In the freezing compartment, the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle as mentioned above, an ice maker for making ice, etc. are installed. In the refrigerating compartment, a plurality of drawers and racks may be installed.
In order to mount such elements installed in the storage chamber, coupling holes are formed through the inner case. Also, mounting members are coupled to the coupling holes in such a manner that one end of each mounting member is inserted into an associated one of the coupling holes at the outside of the inner case. In this state, each mounting member is fixed between the inner case and the outer case by the urethane foam filled between the inner case and the outer case. Each mounting member is provided with a fastening hole formed through one end of the mounting hole.
When the urethane foam is filled between the inner case and the outer case in a state in which each mounting member has been coupled to the inner case, the mounting member is firmly fixed between the inner case and the outer case such that the inlet of the fastening hole of the mounting member is directed to the interior of the inner case. In this state, the above-mentioned elements can be mounted to the inner case by fastening members which are fastened to the fastening holes of the mounting members at the inside of the inner case.
In such a conventional refrigerator element mounting structure, however, there is a problem in that the urethane foam may leak into the interior of the inner case through the coupling holes in the process for filling the space between the inner case and the outer case with the urethane foam.
To this end, a new method has recently been proposed. In accordance with this method, a cover is provided at the outer surface of each mounting member to cover the coupling hole at the outside of the inner case. In the process for coupling the mounting member to the coupling hole, the cover is bonded to the outer surface of the inner case around the coupling hole by an adhesive such as a hot-melt. In this case, however, there is another problem in that the process for coupling the mounting member to the coupling hole becomes long and complex due to the addition of the hot-melt bonding process.


This application provides a communication method and a communications device. The method includes: A first device receives a first message sent by a second device. The first message is used to indicate a bearer configuration of a bearer of the first device and an initial status of the bearer configuration, and the bearer configuration includes a first bearer configuration and/or a second bearer configuration. The first device determines the bearer configuration and the initial status of the bearer configuration based on the first message. According to the technical solutions in embodiments of this application, a bearer configuration of a terminal device and an initial status of the bearer configuration of the terminal can be indicated.

A bearer with duplication (duplication) is a new feature introduced into fifth-generation mobile communications (the 5th Generation, 5G) new radio (New Radio, NR). Two data units are generated at a packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer and transmitted to two connected radio link control (Radio Link Control, RLC) layers. A base station needs to indicate whether duplication is configured for a terminal device, and when configuring the bearer with duplication for the terminal device, the base station needs to specify an initial status of the bearer configured with duplication. The initial status may be understood as a status about whether configured duplication works after the terminal device receives configuration information. Currently, how to indicate an initial status of a bearer configured with duplication has not been specified in the 5G new radio.
Therefore, how to indicate a bearer configuration of a terminal device and an initial status of the bearer configuration in the 5G new radio becomes a technical problem to be urgently resolved.

Communication method and communications device


The present invention relates to the technical field of lighting fittings, in particular to a panel lamp. The panel lamp comprises a frame (1), a lamp panel (2), a light guide plate (3), a reflective sheet (9), a lampshade (4) and a rib (6) supporting the lampshade (4) wherein there is a clearance between the light guide plate (3) and the lampshade (4), which is good in irradiation effect and comfortable for users to use.

As a lighting fitting, the panel lamp in the prior art has two light-emitting modes, that is, a direct-type light-emitting mode and a lateral-type light-emitting mode. In view of larger whole thickness of the panel lamp adopting the direct-type light-emitting mode, the panel lamp adopting the lateral-type light-emitting mode is required in some installation scenario.
The panel lamp adopting the lateral-type light-emitting mode comprises a frame, a lamp panel, a light guide plate, reflective sheet, a lampshade and a rib supporting the lampshade. In the prior art, there is a certain clearance between the light source on the lamp panel and the light guide plate so as to cause certain light leakage. In addition, the light guide plate clings to the lampshade, therefore, light leaked from the space between the light source on the lamp panel and the light guide plate directly emits out from the lateral sides of the lampshade, further causing a poor irradiation effect. To prevent the above problem, the rib in the prior art is widened, in this case, light leaked can be shielded, but a wider rib would bring poor use comfortableness to users.


A low NO.sub.x combustion process is carried out by reacting low concentrations of combustibles with low concentrations of oxygen. These low concentrations are obtained by injecting high velocity fuel and oxidant streams through port openings that are spatially separated.

A number of techniques have been developed to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x) generated from combustion processes. They include techniques that employ (a) post-combustion clean-up strategies such as selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR); (b) modification of operating conditions, for example adjustments in air/fuel ratios; (c) modifications of burner internals, with air staging and fuel staging illustrating this type of approach; and (d) modification of the combustion system, in particular, through the use of flue gas recirculation systems.
The majority of these techniques have been developed in relation to air-based combustion processes. As combustion systems that use oxygen or oxygen-enriched air are being adopted by a number of industries, NO.sub.x reduction techniques must address those aspects in the generation of NO.sub.x that are specific to oxygen-based combustion processes.
It is known that the amount of nitric oxides (NO.sub.x) produced in combustion increases with temperature and with the oxygen and nitrogen concentrations. When air is replaced with pure, nearly pure or with oxygen-enriched air, two competing effects are observed. On one hand, the amount of nitrogen available to form NO.sub.x is lowered; on the other, the flame temperature is increased. It must be noted, however, that even when the combustion is carried out using technically pure oxygen (oxygen concentration of 99.5% or higher), nitrogen levels in the furnace can be significant due to air infiltration through leaks in the furnace, or to using both oxygen-fired and air-fired burners.
One advance in lowering NO.sub.x levels generated during oxygen-based combustion processes involves mixing the oxidant stream with species present in the furnace prior to contact with the fuel stream. Although NO.sub.x reductions obtained by this technique are excellent, federal and state regulations are placing increasingly stringent targets for NO.sub.x emissions. Accordingly, there continues to be a need for combustion processes which generate lower and lower NO.sub.x levels and are still capable of effectively heating industrial furnaces such as might be used in glass or steel making.
It is an object of this invention to provide a process for manipulating the combustion system in order to reduce the generation of NO.sub.x.


A concrete reinforcing bar connector is described in which first and second elongated resilient clip members are formed in a substantially semi-circular "C" shaped cross-sectional configuration. The first and second clip members include opposed open ends spaced apart along their respective center axes. Each of the first and second elongated resilient clip members includes a pair of longitudinal edges that are substantially parallel to their associated center axis and are spaced apart from one another to form a reinforcing bar receiving side opening. The longitudinal edges terminate in substantially radially inward projecting flanges. Inwardly projecting yieldable tabs are formed at each end of the first and second clip members. The tabs are angularly inclined toward the respective center axes of the clip members. The tabs are substantially diametrically opposed to the associated reinforcing bar receiving side openings. A pivot connection joins the first and second clip members for relative pivotal movement about an axis normal to the center axes. The pivot connection is located in substantially diametric opposition to the reinforcing bar receiving side openings.

Reinforcing bars are used to lend added strength to concrete structures. The bars are typically arranged in desired spatial relation before forms are set, then concrete is poured into the forms over the previously arranged reinforcing bars. It is a common practice to have the concrete reinforcing bars cross one another in a grid pattern to provide additional reinforcement within the concrete structure in multiple directions. The reinforcing bars must somehow be suspended within the concrete forms in such a manner that the rods will stay in selected positions while concrete is being poured.
The problem of securing patterns of intersecting reinforcing bars has been addressed in the past. The solution offered is the current typical practice to use wire ties, wrapped manually about the bars at their intersections in order to hold the bars in place prior to pouring concrete. While wire ties function adequately, the manual tying process is labor intensive and expensive. Thus a problem remains; how to adequately connect concrete reinforcing bars in a fast and efficient manner.
The above problem has been answered to a degree by the development of plastic clips designed to be snapped over intersecting concrete rods. A U.S. Pat. No. (5,371,991) to Bechtel discloses a "Rebar Clamp Assembly" in which plastic clips are provided to secure ersecting reinforcing rods together.
The Bechtel connectors make use of "C" shaped clips, provided in joined pairs. The clips are either formed integrally or are pivotably connected together with swivels. In either instance, the open "mouths" of the clips in each pair are angularly spaced from one another by an angle of 90.degree.. The internal surfaces of the plastic clip members are smooth and axially uninterrupted.
The angular relation of the "mouths" of the Bechtel clips creates a problem with the structural integrity of the clips themselves. The swivel pins that pivotably join the clips are situated such that one side of each clip is reinforced by the pin, and the remaining side is free to flex. Thus the free sides of the clips are primarily depended upon to flex open to receive reinforcing bars, and can be deformed or break in the process.
The smooth internal bores of the Bechtel clips allow the clips to slide axially along the rods, or to allow the rods to slide along the clips. This can be a serious disadvantage, especially when the clips are to be depended upon to hold a rod in place. By way of example, many reinforced wall constructions require both horizontal and vertical reinforcing rods. The Bechtel clip, attached between a horizontal rod and a vertical rod, may not afford sufficient gripping force to preven the vertical rod from sliding downwardly. Additional support become necessary to hold the vertical rod in place especially as concrete is poured. If sufficient gripping force is provided by spring tension within the clips to hold a rod vertically, then the clips themselves become very difficult to install on the bars.
The present clip arrangement provides a solution to the above problems by enabling uniform gripping of reinforcing rods, with opposed legs of the present clip members flexing substantially equally, and by engaging the rods in such a manner that axial movement of the engaged rods is inhibited. The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become further evident from the following detailed description. to support the rods.


A policy and charging rules function (PCRF) stores a policy rule management table in which a policy rule corresponding to a combination of contract information and a device type is registered and a hierarchical management table in which user information including contract information of a user and information on the device are managed in association with each other, acquires the device type serving as an application target of the policy rule, and a device ID assigned to the device, determines the policy rule according to the acquired device type and the contract information of the user, and instructs a deep packet inspection (DPI) to apply the determined policy rule to the device corresponding to the acquired device ID. The DPI acquires the device ID, and applies the policy rule to communication from the device corresponding to a device ID assigned to the device, and performs control.

In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to a network, such as network cameras or televisions, have been becoming more diverse. In the 5G/IoT era, it is assumed that IoT devices connected to a network will become more diverse (cameras, sensors, and the like) and policy rules required for each device will also become more diverse. For example, a policy rule or the like for controlling a video of a surveillance camera preferentially over other devices can be considered.

Communication system and policy control device

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A device and method for sending medic alert information electronically. The device may have a memory component and a processing component. The memory component may store medic alert information. The processing component may generate an electronic message containing the medic alert information and send the electronic message via a communications network. The device may also have an input component for receiving a user request to initiate a connection with an emergency contact, such as a 911 dispatcher. The electronic message may be automatically generated and sent in response to the user request.

Universal emergency telephone number systems are commonly employed by private and/or public entities to enable individuals to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency system may utilize a three-digit number, for example, such that the number is both easy to remember and to dial in case of an emergency. In order to efficiently allocate resources, the emergency system may also assign different numbers for each of the different services that are available. For example, the number "911" may be assigned to emergency medical services, which may be responsible for responding to life-threatening situations (e.g., a heart attack, an automobile accident, a violent crime, etc.), while the number "311" may be assigned to other types of services, which may be responsible for responding to non-life-threatening situations (e.g., a loud neighbor, a stray dog, a street pothole, etc.).
Thus, in the case of a life-threatening emergency, an injured individual seeking immediate medical help may dial 9-1-1 in order to reach an emergency dispatcher. Once connected, the injured individual may convey information regarding the emergency to the dispatcher. For example, the individual may provide his or her identity and present location. The individual may also describe the circumstances that led to the emergency and/or the type of injuries that were sustained. The emergency dispatcher may then contact an emergency medical technician (EMT) to respond to the individual's request for help and relay this information so that the EMT may provide proper medical assistance in a timely manner.
In addition, the emergency dispatcher may also request information from the injured individual associated with his or her medical history. This type of information may be critical in enabling the EMT to provide proper medical assistance. For example, the injured individual may have allergies to one or more medications, such as penicillin, or may currently being taking a medication that causes an adverse reaction when combined with other types of medications. Thus, by being aware of such conditions ahead of time, the EMT may be better prepared, thereby avoiding the potential for further medical complications. However, in many types of emergencies, the emergency dispatcher does not obtain such information because the injured individual is incapable of providing it due to physical or emotional injuries related to the emergency and/or a prior condition. In such situations, the injured individual may only be capable of dialing 9-1-1. Therefore, a need exists for a device, system and method for sending medic alert information electronically to an emergency contact.


An imaging apparatus includes a sheet separation surface positioned along the sheet feed path downstream from a media tray. A plurality of pivoting arms is mounted in the imaging apparatus. The pivoting arms are moveable between a first position and a second position. The pivoting arms are positioned and individually spaced along a width of the sheet feed path. Each of the pivoting arms has a media stack engaging surface. When the pivoting arms are in the first position, the media stack engaging surface is non-parallel to the sheet separation surface. When the plurality of pivoting arms is in the second position, the media stack engaging surface is parallel to the sheet separation surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and, more particularly, to an imaging apparatus having an automatic sheet feeder.
2. Description of the Related Art
An imaging apparatus typically includes an automatic sheet feeder (ASF) including a media tray and a sheet picking mechanism. The automatic sheet feeder automatically supplies a sheet of print media from a stack of print media positioned in the media tray to the print engine. During the loading of the media tray of the automatic sheet feeder, however, some of the print media may be pushed down into the automatic sheet feeder too far, resulting in simultaneous multiple sheet feeds, and may ultimately result in a media jam.
In addition, imaging apparatus failure may occur due to a foreign object being dropped into the automatic sheet feeder. This may occur, for example, in a typical imaging apparatus due to the open nature of the media tray, or due to the open nature of an imaging apparatus having an L-shaped media path.
What is needed in the art is an imaging apparatus that reduces the occurrence of multiple media picks due to faulty loading of the automatic sheet feeder, and which also may provide a cover to prevent foreign objects from being dropped into the automatic sheet feeder.

Imaging apparatus having an automatic sheet feeder


A noise suppressor, and associated method, suppresses periodic noise components of a communication signal. The period of the periodic noise components of the communication signal is determined by correlating the communication signal with the communication signal, delayed by various delay amounts. Once the period of the noise component portion is determined, a periodic signal exhibiting a corresponding periodicity is generated and subtracted from the communication signal. The resultant, difference signal forms a noise-suppressed communication signal. When embodied in a radiotelephonic device, background noise formed of an engine sound caused by the running engine of a motor vehicle at which the radiotelephonic device is operated can be suppressed during operation of the noise suppressor.

A communication system is comprised, at a minimum, of a transmitter and a receiver interconnected by a communication channel. Communication signals formed at, or applied to, the transmitter are converted at the transmitter into a form to permit their transmission upon the communication channel. The receiver is tuned to the communication channel to receive the communication signals transmitted thereupon. Once received, the receiver converts, or otherwise recreates, the communication signal transmitted by the transmitter.
A radio communication system is a type of communication system in which the communication channel comprises a radio frequency channel formed of a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum. A radio communication system is advantageous in that the transmitter and receiver need not be interconnected by way of wireline connections. As, instead, the communication channel is formed of a radio frequency channel, communication signals can be transmitted between the transmitter and the receiver even when wireline connections therebetween would be inconvenient or impractical.
The quality of communications in a communication system is dependant, in part, upon levels of noise superimposed upon the information signal transmitted by the transmitter to the receiver. Noise can be introduced upon the informational signal while being transmitted upon the communication channel, and once received at the receiver, at the transmitter. Noise can also be applied to the transmitter together with application to the transmitter of the information signal.
When the noise level of the signal provided to a listener positioned at the receiver is high relative to the informational signal, the audio quality of the signal provided to the listener is low. If the noise levels are too significant, the listener is unable to adequately understand the informational signal provided at the receiver. Noise can be either periodic or aperiodic in nature. Random noise and white noise are exemplary of aperiodic noise. While a human listener is generally able to fairly successfully "block out" aperiodic noise from an informational signal, periodic noise is sometimes more distracting to the listener.
Various manners by which to remove noise components superimposed upon an informational signal, or at least to improve the ratio of the level of the informational signal to the level of the noise, are sometimes utilized. For instance, filter circuits are sometimes used which filter or otherwise remove the noise components from a communication signal, both prior to transmission by a transmitter and also subsequent to reception at a receiver.
Conventional filter circuits include circuitry for filtering noise components superimposed upon an informational signal. A spectral subtraction process is performed during operation of some of such conventional filter circuits. The spectral subtraction process is performed, e.g., by execution of an appropriate algorithm by processor circuitry. While a spectral subtraction process is sometimes effective to reduce noise levels, a spectral subtraction process also introduces distortion upon the informational signal. In some instances, the distortion introduced upon the informational signal is so significant that the utility of such a process is significantly limited. A spectral subtraction process is inherently a frequency-domain process and therefore necessitates a potentially significant signal delay when converting a time domain signal received by circuitry utilizing such a process into the frequency domain. Also, because such a process typically utilizes fast Fourier transform techniques, the resolution permitted of practical circuitry which performs such a process is typically relatively low.
When the ratio of the level of the information signal is high relative to the level of the noise, such noise suppression process, in spite of these problems is typically fairly successful. However, when the ratio is high, there is also less of a need to perform noise suppression. Such a spectral subtraction process is therefore sometimes of a limited utility to significantly improve the quality of communications.
A radiotelephonic communication system is exemplary of a wireless communication system in which noise superimposed upon an informational signal affects the quality of communications transmitted during operation of the communication system. Noise can be superimposed upon the informational signal at any stage during the transmission and reception process including noise superimposed upon an informational signal prior to its application to the transmitter. Such noise can deleteriously affect the quality of communications.
A radiotelephonic device used in such a system is popularly utilized by a user when the user is also operating, or positioned in, a motor vehicle. Because no wireline connection is required between the radiotelephonic device and the infrastructure of a radiotelephonic communication system, communications can be effectuated between the radiotelephonic device and the infrastructure of a radiotelephonic communication system, communications can be effectuated between the radiotelephonic device and the infrastructure as the motor vehicle travels throughout any location encompassed by the infrastructure.
Conventional filter circuits, including those which perform a spectral subtraction process, can also be used to filter noise superimposed upon an informational signal applied to a radiotelephonic device. However, such conventional filter circuits sometimes introduce unacceptable levels of distortion upon the signal when it is filtered. Also, such conventional filter circuits are relatively slow and are of relatively low resolution as the spectral subtraction process is a frequency-domain process, typically utilizing fast Fourier transform techniques.
Noise having periodic characteristics is particularly problematical in radiotelephonic communication systems due to the popular utilization by users of radiotelephonic devices while operating motor vehicles. Engine sounds generated during operation of a motor vehicle can be superimposed upon an informational signal, i.e., a voice signal, formed when the user speaks into the microphone of the transmitter portion of the radiotelephonic device. Other noise generated by other noise sources, such as rotations of vehicular tires as the motor vehicle travels can also be superimposed upon the informational signal.
The engine sounds are periodic, having harmonic frequencies related to the frequencies at which the engine operates. The tire-rotation sounds are also periodic. Because the noise sometimes cannot be suppressed without introducing distortion upon the informational signal, decisions are sometimes made not to utilize a spectral subtraction process. By disabling or otherwise not utilizing circuitry which performs a spectral subtraction process, the periodic noise is not properly suppressed. Therefore, communication signals transmitted by the radiotelephonic device oftentimes are formed of, in addition to the informational signal, significant component portions caused by the superposition of the periodic noise signals upon the informational signals. Noise suppression circuitry forming a portion of receiver circuitry of the radiotelephonic system infrastructure also does not typically adequately remove or suppress such noise.
A manner by which to suppress periodic noise superimposed upon an informational signal would therefore be advantageous.
It is in light of this background information related to noise suppression circuitry and methods that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Noise suppressor circuit and associated method for suppressing periodic interference component portions of a communication signal


The present invention provides an anode material for a lithium secondary battery, which material realizes prolongation of the cycle life of a lithium secondary battery. The present invention relates to an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, the active material containing a powder produced by a step of forming an etched foil through etching of both surfaces of a foil of Al having a purity of 90 mass % or higher, and a step of shredding the etched foil, the steps being carried out in this order.

Lithium secondary batteries (e.g., a lithium ion battery and a lithium polymer battery), which have a high energy density, have been used as a main power supply for, for example, mobile communication devices or portable electronic devices. In addition, such a lithium secondary battery has become of interest as a large-scale power supply for electricity storage or a vehicle power supply.
Hitherto, the anode of such a lithium secondary battery has generally been formed of any carbon material, such as graphite or low-crystallinity carbon. However, the anode formed of such a carbon material exhibits low available current density and insufficient theoretical capacity. For example, graphite, which is a type of carbon material, has a theoretical capacity as low as 372 mAh/g. Thus, demand has arisen for development of an anode having a higher capacity.
Meanwhile, as has been known, when an anode formed of metallic Li is employed in a lithium secondary battery, high theoretical capacity is achieved. However, such a battery poses a critical problem in that dendritic metallic Li is deposited on the anode during charging, and the dendrite is grown through repeated charging/discharging and reaches the positive electrode (i.e., a cathode), resulting in internal short-circuit. In addition, since the thus-deposited dendritic metallic Li has large specific surface area and thus high reaction activity, an interfacial film is formed on the surface of the dendrite from a decomposition product of a solvent having no electron conductivity, whereby the internal resistance of the battery increases, resulting in reduction of charging/discharging efficiency. Thus, a lithium secondary battery including an anode formed of metallic Li exhibits low reliability and has short cycle life. Therefore, such a lithium secondary battery has not been widely put into practice.
Under these circumstances, demand has arisen for an anode active material formed of a material, other than metallic Li, which has a discharge capacity greater than that of a generally used carbon material. As has been known, for example, an element such as Sn, Si, or Ag, or a nitride or oxide of such an element can occlude Li ions and can form an alloy with Li ions, and the amount of Li ions occluded therein is considerably greater than that of Li ions occluded in any carbon material.
However, in the case where an anode formed of, for example, an element such as Sn, Si, or Ag, or a nitride or oxide of such an element is employed in a lithium secondary battery, when the battery is subjected to repeated charging/discharging cycles, considerable expansion and contraction of the anode may occur in association with occlusion and release of Li ions, and the expansion and contraction may cause cracking or disintegration of the anode. Therefore, a lithium secondary battery including an anode formed of the aforementioned substance (e.g., an element such as Sn, Si, or Ag, or a nitride or oxide of such an element) exhibits reduced cycle life, and thus cannot be used as a practical battery.
In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed an anode active material formed of an alloy having two or more phases, the alloy containing a metal which is likely to occlude and release Li ions, and a metal which neither occludes nor releases Li ions, wherein the latter metal is incorporated for the purpose of preventing expansion and contraction of the anode during occlusion and release of Li ions, as well as cracking or disintegration of the anode caused by expansion and contraction of the anode.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes an anode active material containing an Li-ion-occluding phase α, and a phase β formed of an intermetallic compound or solid solution of an element forming the Li-ion-occluding phase α and another element, the anode active material having a structure produced by rapid solidification of a molten raw material having a selected composition through, for example, the atomization method or the chill roll method. Meanwhile, Patent Document 2 describes an anode active material formed of composite powder produced by mixing the following raw materials: component A, which is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ag, Al, Au, Ca, Cu, Fe, In, Mg, Pd, Pt, Y, Zn, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, and rare earth elements, and component B, which is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ga, Ge, Sb, Si, and Sn, and by subjecting the resultant mixture to mechanical alloying treatment.
Although an anode formed from the anode active material described in Patent Document 1 or 2 exhibits high initial discharge capacity, there cannot be effectively prevented expansion and contraction of the anode through repeated charging/discharging, as well as cracking or disintegration of the anode caused by expansion and contraction of the anode. Thus, the anode active material has not yet realized prolongation of the cycle life of a lithium secondary battery.

Negative electrode active substance for lithium secondary battery and method for producing same


The present invention provides a mobile portable device comprising a network communication module, a power-on circuit, a switching power supply, a system power supply and external battery and a calculation unit, wherein the system power supply and external battery constantly supply power to the network communication module by using an external AC power supply or the power of the battery, when the mobile portable device is in a power-off/sleep state, and when the power-on circuit detects that the network communication module has received information from a network, it activates the switching power supply to supply power to the mobile portable device and thus put the mobile portable device into an operating state. By supplying power to the network communication module in the power-off/sleep state of the notebook computer, the computer can be in the network communication state at any time and thus will not miss any information transmitted over the network.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of communications and in particular to a mobile portable device.
2. Description of Prior Art
Nowadays, the emergence of GPRS, CDMA and 3G technologies further facilitates the connection between mobile portable devices such a notebook computer and the Internet. To enable mobile access to network, SMS transmission and reception, phone calling and the like with a notebook computer, what is required is only inserting a communication card (i.e., WWAN module, such as GPRS, CDMA or 3G wireless network card) into an interface (e.g., USB or Cardbus) of the notebook computer.
After access to the network and surfing the Internet by means of a WWAN module, a user usually leaves his or her SIM card in the WWAN module while the notebook computer enters a power-off state or a sleep state. In this case, if there is information (e.g., phone call or short message) sent from a wireless network, such as GPRS or CDMA network, the user can not receive such information.
For the conventional notebook computer, the WWAN module is not provided with power if the computer is in a power-off state or sleep state, and thus all operations associated with the WWAN module are un-activated. Even when the WWAN module has been supplied with power, such events as powering on or waking up the computer cannot be effected.

Power supply control in a mobile portable device


The accuracy of combining positions of elongated images is improved at low cost, in a radiation imaging apparatus for generating elongated images having dimensions greater than a detectable range of a radiation image detecting means. A laser source is utilized. Displacement measuring means for measuring distances to targets by receiving a laser beam reflected by the subjects is provided. Positions that correspond to the ends of images in the movement direction of the radiation image detecting means are scanned in the direction perpendicular to the movement direction with the laser beam at each imaging operation. The displacement measuring means measures the positions of the ends of subjects in the laser scanning direction by receiving the laser beam reflected during scanning. An image processing means matches the combining positions of radiation images such that the ends of the subjects measured during each imaging operation are matched, and generates the elongated image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a radiation imaging apparatus which is capable of obtaining elongated images having dimensions greater than a detectable range of a radiation image detecting means thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various radiation detectors, for obtaining radiation images to be utilized for medical diagnoses and the like, have been proposed and are in practical use.
For example, there are radiation detectors that utilize semiconductors such as amorphous selenium that generate electrical charges when irradiated by radiation, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,614. Radiation detectors of this type that employ the so called optical readout method and the TFT readout method have been proposed. If these radiation detectors are employed, image information obtained by imaging operations can be obtained as digital data. This improves compatibility with diagnostic assisting devices and the like that employ computers.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-270277 proposes a method for generating an elongated image having dimensions greater than the detectable range of a radiation detector. In this method, the radiation detector is moved in a direction along and parallel to a radiation detecting surface of the radiation detector, and a plurality of imaging operations are performed at different positions. A plurality of images which are obtained by each imaging operation are combined, to generate the elongated image.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-023015 discloses a radiation imaging apparatus equipped with a laser emitting means. The laser emitting means is utilized to display a cruciform mark on the surface of the body of a subject, to accurately determine the portion of the subject to be imaged during radiation imaging.
In the case that an elongated image is obtained by imaging a plurality of portions of a subject by moving a radiation detector and then combining the obtained images, the time of imaging differs for each image. Therefore, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to combine the images appropriately if the subject moves between imaging operations.
In order to solve this problem, it is desirable to obtain the position of the subject's body at each imaging operation, and to adjust the combining positions of the images when they are combined, based on the obtained positions. However, if a separate means for obtaining the position of subjects is provided, the construction of a radiation imaging apparatus becomes complex, and the cost thereof will increase.
Accordingly, there is demand for a radiation imaging apparatus that can solve the above problem at low cost.
The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a radiation imaging apparatus for performing elongated imaging at dimensions greater than a detectable range of a radiation image detecting means, in which the accuracy of combining positions of elongated images is improved at low cost.
A radiation imaging apparatus of the present invention is a radiation imaging apparatus that moves a radiation image detecting means that obtains images of subjects by receiving irradiation of radiation which has passed through the subject with respect to the subjects to obtain a plurality of images at different positions, and combines the plurality of obtained radiation images to obtain elongated images having greater dimensions than the detectable range of the radiation image detecting means, comprising:
a radiation source for irradiating radiation;
a laser source for emitting a laser beam;
displacement measuring means, for measuring distances to a measurement target by receiving the laser beam which is reflected by the measurement target;
the radiation image detecting means;
moving means, for moving the radiation image detecting means in a direction along and parallel to a radiation detecting surface of the radiation image detecting means;
image processing means, for generating the elongated images by combining the plurality of radiation images; and
control means, for controlling the laser source, the displacement measuring means, and the image processing means such that the laser source scans positions that correspond to the end portions of images in the movement direction of the radiation image detecting means in the direction perpendicular to the movement direction with the laser beam at each of a plurality of imaging operations, the displacement measuring means measures the positions of the end portions of the subjects in the scanning direction of the laser beam by receiving the laser beam which is reflected during the scanning, and the image processing means matches the combining positions of the radiation images such that the end portions of the subjects which are measured during each imaging operation are matched, to generate the elongated images.
Here, the "radiation image detecting means" may be a solid state detector that converts radiation to electric charges either directly or after converting the radiation to light, then outputs the electric charges to the exterior, to obtain image signals that represent radiation images of subjects.
The solid state detector may be of any of a variety of formats. Regarding a charge generating process for converting radiation to electrical charges, there are solid state detectors of a light conversion type, and solid state detectors of a direct conversion type, for example. A solid state detector of the light conversion type temporarily stores signal charges, obtained at a photoconductive layer by detecting fluorescence emitted by phosphors due to irradiation with radiation, in a charge accumulating section, then converts the accumulated charges to image signals (electrical signals) and outputs the image signals. The direct conversion type of solid state detector temporarily stores signal charges, generated within a photoconductive layer due to irradiation with radiation and collected by a charge collecting electrode, in a charge accumulating section, then converts the accumulated charges to electric signals and outputs the electric signals. Regarding a charge readout process for reading out the accumulated charges, there are an optical readout method and an electrical readout method. In the optical readout method, accumulated charges are read out by irradiating a solid state detector with readout light (electromagnetic waves for readout). In the electrical readout method, accumulated charges are read out by scanning TFT's (thin film transistors), a CCD (charge coupled device), or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor, which are connected to a charge accumulating section. Further, the solid state detector may employ the improved direct conversion method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,614.
In the radiation imaging apparatus of the present invention, a configuration may be adopted, wherein:
the control means controls the radiation source, the laser source, the displacement measuring means, and the image processing means such that the laser source emits the laser beam toward the subjects at each of the plurality of imaging operations, the displacement measuring means measures the thickness of the subject by receiving the laser beam reflected by the subjects, and the radiation source adjusts the intensity of irradiated radiation during the imaging operations based on the thicknesses of the subjects, and/or the image processing means changes the contents of the image processes administered onto the radiation images.
Note that the measurement of the thicknesses of the subjects may be performed in the following manner. Because the distance from the laser source to an imaging stage of the apparatus is known (or measured when measuring the thickness of a subject), a subject may be caused to stand in front of the imaging stage, and the distance from the laser source to the subject may be measured. This measured distance may be subtracted from the aforementioned known distance, to measure the thickness of the subject.
According to the radiation imaging apparatus of the present invention, a laser source for displaying the cruciform mark, which the apparatus is already equipped with, is utilized to scan positions that correspond to the end portions of images in the movement direction of the radiation image detecting means in the direction perpendicular to the movement direction with the laser beam at each of a plurality of imaging operations, the positions of the end portions of the subjects in the scanning direction of the laser beam are measured by receiving the laser beam which is reflected during the scanning, and the image processing means matches the combining positions of the radiation images such that the end portions of the subjects which are measured during each imaging operation are matched, to generate the elongated images. Therefore, a low cost improvement of providing the displacement measuring means that measures distances to measurement targets by receiving laser beams reflected by the measurement targets enables improvement of the accuracy of combining positions for generating elongated images.
Note that the end portions of subjects can be detected by administering image analysis on the obtained radiation images. However, this configuration requires that the end portions of the subjects be pictured in the radiation images. In contrast, the present invention can improve the accuracy of the combining positions even in cases that the end portions of subjects are not pictured in the radiation images. Further, the necessity of image analysis is obviated, which enables processing times during combination of radiation images to be shortened.
A configuration may be adopted, wherein: the laser source emits the laser beam toward the subjects at each of the plurality of imaging operations, the displacement measuring means measures the thickness of the subject by receiving the laser beam reflected by the subjects, and the radiation source adjusts the intensity of irradiated radiation during the imaging operations based on the thicknesses of the subjects, and/or the image processing means changes the contents of the image processes (a contrast adjusting process and an outline emphasizing process, for example) administered onto the radiation images. In this case, it becomes possible to obtain elongated images having higher image quality.


A non-planar sputter target having differing crystallographic orientations in portions of the sputter target surface that promote more desirable deposition and density patterns of material sputtered from the target surface onto a substrate. A closed dome end of the sputter target is comprised of a first crystallographic orientation and sidewalls of the sputter target are comprised of a crystallographic orientation different from that of the dome. The sputter target is formed, preferably by hydroforming or other metal working techniques, in the absence of annealing. The hydroforming manipulations result in the different crystallographic orientations while minimizing, or ideally omitting, the application of heat. Quick and cost effective non-planar sputter targets that are easily repeatably producable are achievable as a result.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to non-planar sputter targets having crystallographic orientations promoting uniform deposition of sputtered material onto a substrate and methods of making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Cathodic sputtering is widely used for depositing thin layers or films of materials from sputter targets onto substrates. Basically, a cathode assembly including the sputter target is placed together with an anode in a chamber filled with an inert gas, preferably argon. A substrate is positioned in the chamber near the anode with a receiving surface oriented normal to a path between the cathode assembly and the anode. A high voltage electric field is applied across the cathode assembly and the anode causing electrons to eject from the cathode assembly and ionize the inert gas. The positively charged ions of the inert gas are then propelled against a sputtering surface of the sputter target due to the electric field. The ion bombardment against the sputtering surface of the target causes portions of the material of the sputtering surface to dislodge from the sputter target surface and deposit as a thin film or layer on the receiving surface of the substrate at an opposite end of the chamber.
Recently, non-planar sputter targets have been developed to provide improved sputtering and deposition uniformity. For example, open-ended cup-shaped hollow cathode magnetron (HCM) sputter targets have been developed, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,806 of common assignment herewith, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. These cup or pot shaped targets are generally comprised of a high purity metallic material as the target surface and are typically formed from well-known metal-working operations such as hydroforming. The closed end of the cup-shaped target comprises a dome. Sidewalls extend from the dome to an open end of the target. The application of heat and other manipulations that may be used to form the cup-shaped targets often cause changes in the microstructure or crystallographic orientation of the materials comprising the sputter target surface. Such changes may adversely affect the deposition of sputtered materials onto the substrate.
A need in the art exists for methods of making sputter targets of desired crystallographic orientation and for targets made by such methods wherein the targets, upon sputtering, result in improved coating uniformity.

Non-planar sputter targets having crystallographic orientations promoting uniform deposition


A separation from at least one and an image of at least three reflective regions on the orientation indicator are recorded by a separation measurement sensor and an image sensor in a measuring device, for the purpose of determining the orientation of an orientation indicator. The separation measurement and image recording are achieved by means of a directed emission of a collimated first beam and a divergent second beam with differing wavelengths and/or polarization in the direction of the orientation indicator and a simultaneous recording of the reflected and/or scattered first and second beams. The reflective regions on the orientation indicator are embodied and arranged such as to be positioned at a target point with a detectable geometric relationship to each other and to be simultaneously resolved by the image recorder. By means of the orientation determination, amongst other things, separations from target points, even not directly visible, can be precisely determined.

Knowing the orientation of an arrangement is important in many applications, for instance in surveying when measuring the distance to a target point via a reflector pole possibly not standing vertically above the target point, in aeronautics and astronautics when docking aircraft for refueling, for instance, or in the automatic control of machines monitoring the course of a newly built road. In these areas, the position of a target point in space often is determined by optical measuring instruments such as theodolites, cameras, or laser range finders. For the measurements, often a tactile tool having light-emitting and/or light-reflecting points is positioned at the target point.
Thus, in WO 91/16598 a system for determining the condition of a surface is disclosed where the system is composed of at least two opto-electronic sensors and a tool, said tool being equipped with at least two light sources and three contact points or a contact area. The tool is fixed to a surface by means of the contact points, and the orientation of the surface is determined from the measured space coordinates of the light sources and their known positions relative to the contact points. However, for such a tool for determining the orientation, a power supply is needed at the target position, which often cannot be furnished when the targets are of difficult access.
In EP 0 880 674 a method is disclosed that can be used to determine the space coordinates of target points via a combination of laser distance measurement and photogrammetry. In this method a tactile tool having several reflecting points is positioned at a target point. A laser area finder will measure the distance to one or several reflecting points, while a camera takes a picture of the reflecting points. On top of the camera a flash lamp is fixed as a target illumination for illuminating the reflecting points. From the image of the reflecting points in the camera sensor, the position and orientation of the tactile tool are calculated. The system is optimized primarily for measurements over short distances, particularly so for the automobile and aircraft industry, since a flash lamp having a short illuminating range is used for illumination, so that the measuring range is short as well. In addition, in measurements over large distances the distance of separation becomes hard or impossible to measure, since several reflecting points will enter the field of vision of the EDM. The method also is subject to errors when using reflectors as the measuring points of the camera, rather than measuring points actively emitting radiation, since there is no coupling of the target illumination into the camera's optical axis. Here the error committed in determining the position of the measuring points is of the same order of magnitude as the distance of the target illumination source from the camera's optical axis. The method lacking actively light emitting measuring points thus will not be suitable for geodesically relevant measuring accuracies.

Method for determining the orientation of an orientation indicator


A flow control unit having a housing with a valve chamber. The valve chamber has an inlet and an outlet. The inlet of the valve chamber is placed in communication with the process circuit. A valve member is carried within the valve chamber. The valve member has an open position for allowing flow from the inlet of the valve chamber to the outlet of the valve chamber, and a closed position for preventing flow through the valve chamber. A pressure cell is disposed adjacent the outlet of the valve chamber. A closed pressure circuit is defined from the valve inlet, the valve chamber, and the valve outlet. A pressure sensor is disposed in the pressure cell and traverses the circuit at the outlet for measuring the pressure of the process circuit communicated through the closed pressure circuit when the valve member is in the open position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure transducer assembly for measuring the pressure in a process circuit of a process plant.
2. Description of Related Art
In process plants, such as chemical and refining plants, pressure transducers installed on the site are used as field instruments to measure fluid pressure. Pressure transducers are used for example to measure the fluid pressure and to detect the extent that the process circuit is full of fluid. Measuring diaphragms with differential pressure transducers are frequently used to ascertain the fluid flow in the circuit.
A known pressure transducer assembly of this type for use on a process circuit of a process plant is disclosed in German patent DE 199 21 172 C1. The pressure transducer assembly comprises a pressure transducer carried on a valve block. A fluid line is disposed between a process circuit and the valve block. A flow control unit in the form of a stop valve is installed between the process circuit and the valve block. A first flange connection is provided between the connection on the process circuit and fluid line. A second flange connection is provided between the valve block of the pressure transducer and the fluid line. The fluid line runs through the stop valve upstream of the valve block. The stop valve is connected to the process circuit at an input side downstream of the process circuit flange connection which operates as a first portion of the fluid line. The stop valve has a chamber in which a movable valve member is received. It can be moved from a flow-through position, in which a flow-through connection is established from the input side of the stop valve before to the valve block of the pressure transducer following the valve member of the stop valve, and into a closing position in which the flow-through connection is closed. Along the fluid line in the pressure transducer, a pressure cell with a pressure sensor is installed, whereby the pressure sensor is connected to an electronic measuring system for indicating the pressure of the process circuit when fluid is directed through the stop valve and into the valve block.
In order to reduce the cost of the installation, this typical pressure transducer assembly is connected directly into the process circuit whereby the short and stable interconnected components of the pressure transducer assembly take on a support function. The stop valve, which may be, for example, in the form of a ball valve or tap cock, is connected to numerous valve blocks on the downstream side to which transducer bodies, and with them the measuring cells contained therein and the housing of the electronic measuring systems are in turn connected. In a differential pressure transducer assembly of this type, and also known from DE 199 21 172 C1, two parallel fluid pressure measuring circuits, each with an associated stop valve and each with a downstream valve block to a differential pressure transducer are installed.
This known and expensive connection of one stop valve for each valve block, linked one after the other in a sequential manner in a circuit is necessary to make it possible to carry out manipulations on a given pressure transducer, such as for maintenance or transducer replacement, as well as to manage the pressure conditions downstream of a locked stop valve, as well as media-caused problems such as in the presence of toxic media. In addition, selected stop valves can be opened in dead spaces in order to achieve targeted pressure reduction in a known manner after the closing of an upstream stop valve when process pressure still prevails. However, these dead spaces downstream of the closed stop valve may also cause problems, for example, with respect to a temperature expansion or sterility of media residues remaining therein, so that such dead spaces may possibly prove costly to rinse out and must be sterilized e.g. for food production.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to further develop a pressure transducer assembly of this type in such manner that the installation becomes more economical and compact and so that the above-mentioned disadvantages may not occur or at least be reduced to a great extent.

Pressure transmitter installation in a process line of a process facility