A computer-implemented method for reliably identifying objects in a sequence of input images received with the aid of an imaging sensor, positions of light sources in the respective input image being ascertained from the input images in each case with the aid of a first machine learning system, in particular, an artificial neural network, and objects from the sequence of input images being identified from the resulting sequence of positions of light sources, in particular, with the aid of a second machine learning system, in particular, with the aid of an artificial neural network.

A method is described in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2017 223 264.1 for detecting an object in a provided input signal, an object being detected as a function of the provided input signal and an activation of an actuator taking place as a function of the detection of the object.

Method and device for reliably identifying objects in video images


A socket assembly includes: a non-conductive body with an L-shaped recess that extends from a top end to one side of a middle portion of the body; first and second conducting pieces separately fixed on the body and respectively having a piercing terminal portion; and an L-shaped coupling member connected pivotally to the body and which conforms with the recess so as to make close engagement therewith. The coupling member receives two electrical cords therein while permitting the electrical cords to be exposed in registry with the conducting pieces. The coupling member is rotatable to press the electrical cords against the conductive pieces so that the piercing terminal portions may be inserted into the electrical cords to achieve electrical connection. The first conducting piece has a bottom end which is secured to the body by a rivet. The second conducting piece has a first end formed with a resilient U-shaped insert portion and a second end formed with an L-shaped bend. The U-shaped insert portion is fitted in one of two insert holes formed in a bottom of the recess at the top end of the body, and the second end of the second conducting piece is pressed downward so as to pivot about the U-shaped insert portion and permit insertion of the L-shaped bend in the other one of the insert holes to mount the second conducting piece on the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a socket assembly, more particularly to an improved socket assembly which has a conducting piece that can be assembled easily on a non-conductive body without the need for a specially designed tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,616 by the applicant discloses a socket assembly which includes: a non-conductive body that has an L-shaped recess provided in a middle portion; a pair of differently constructed conducting pieces fixed separately on the conductive body; an L-shaped coupling member which conforms with the L-shaped recess so as to make close engagement therewith; and a pair of piercing terminal members disposed symmetrically on a reverse surface of the coupling member in conjunction with the conducting pieces. The coupling member is rotatable so that the piercing terminal members may be inserted into a pair of electrical cords, thereby achieving quick and convenient electrical connection without the use of screws.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,329, also by the applicant, is an improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,616. U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,329 discloses a socket assembly which has a construction simpler than that of the previously described socket assembly and which includes: a screwshell for holding an electric lamp bulb; an insulating plate positioned on top of the screwshell; a positive terminal member which is disposed in the screwshell and which has one end that extends through the top of the screwshell; a non-conductive body provided with an L-shaped recess in a middle portion and connected fixedly to the screwshell at a lower end by a plurality of rivet pins; two conducting pieces which are disposed on the non-conductive body and which have a piercing terminal portion connected electrically to a respective one of the screwshell and the positive terminal member; an L-shaped coupling member which is connected pivotally to the non-conductive body and which conforms with the L-shaped recess so as to make close engagement therewith, the coupling member having a chamber formed in a horizontal portion thereof, an opening formed at a juncture between horizontal and vertical portions thereof, and an aperture formed in the horizontal portion in communication with the chamber and in registry with the piercing terminal portions of the conducting pieces, two electrical cords extending into the chamber via the opening and being exposed to the conducting pieces; and a retaining means for retaining the coupling member within the L-shaped recess of the non-conductive body. As with the previously described socket assembly, the coupling member is rotatable so that the piercing terminal portions of the conducting pieces may be inserted into the electrical cords, thereby achieving quick and convenient electrical connection without the use of screws.
The main drawback of the socket assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,329 is as follows:
Referring to FIG. 1, one of the conducting pieces (3') has a lower end which is secured on the non-conductive body (1') by means of a rivet (T'). A specially designed clamping tool (not shown) is required to drive the other one of the conducting pieces (4') into the non-conductive body (1') so as to secure the conducting piece (4') on the latter. This can cause some inconvenience when the socket assembly is manufactured.


A process for obtaining energy values contained in a sulphur-containing carbonaceous fuel, the process comprising (a) treating a feed carbonaceous fuel having a first bound-sulphur content with an effective amount of an oxygen and SO2-containing gas in a reactor at an effective temperature to (i) provide elemental sulphur from the SO2, (ii) release exothermic heat, and (iii) produce a hot effluent gaseous steam containing the elemental sulphur and treated fuel having a second bound-sulphur content, (b) separating the elemental sulphur from the treated fuel; (c) collecting the elemental sulphur; (d) collecting the treated fuel; and (e) collecting the exothermic heat.

Two main types of petroleum coke are produced as by products from oil bearing materials in the "so-called" upgrading process, namely, delayed coke and fluid/flexi coke. In view of only minor differences between fluid coke and flexi coke, they are often grouped together under the name of "fluid coke". Due to the difference in the production technology employed, particularly in process temperature, a typical fluid coke has a lower volatiles content, a higher bulk density, higher sulphur (ca 8%) and ash content than a typical delayed coke. Physically, fluid coke comprises particles having a particle size of about 200 μm in diameter with an onion-like layered structure, while delayed coke is produced in the form of large lumps.
Worldwide production of delayed coke exceeds fluid coke by several times. In Western Canada, daily production of oil sands fluid coke exceeds 6000 tonnes. Mainly due to its high sulphur content, almost all fluid coke produced is being landfilled and added to the existing stockpiles of about 45 million tonnes. It has been suggested that the fluid/flexi coking is "a front runner" among technologies for upgrading heavy crude to transportation fuel (Furimsky, 2000). Moreover, it was predicted that the production of petroleum coke would increase as a result of the increased amount of lower-quality high-sulphur crude oils treated (Swain, 1997). An increase in sulphur in coke is also anticipated, as more sulphur has to be rejected to meet the increasingly strict regulations on sulphur in transportation fuel. Clearly, there is a need to develop new, preferably, beneficial uses for high-sulphur petroleum coke, particularly fluid coke.
As is well known in the field, fluid coke produced at high temperature is refractory, in that it has a graphitic or glassy surface and is considered unreactive. For example, this type of unreactive coke is produced when sulphur containing coal or oil is pyrolysed to produce volatile gases as fuels and residual refractory coke. The sulphur containing refractory coke has limited use in that although the coke can be combusted as a fuel, upon combustion, the sulphur is converted to waste gas-containing sulphur dioxide, which gas must be treated to prevent release of the sulphur dioxide to the environment.
Sulphur content is at the centre of the challenges to using petroleum coke and invariably determines the end market for the coke. Low sulphur coke (<2 wt %) is often used for the production of anodes and other high value products, while a coke with 2 to 5 wt % S is considered to be fuel grade. Although fluid coke constitutes a significant energy source having very high heating values (32-35 MJ/kg), its utilization as a solid fuel in conventional pulverized coal (PC) burners is limited and, more often, prevented by the heavy burden added on traditional lime/limestone-based flue gas desulphurization (FGD).
According to Anthony (1995), it was concluded that "fluidized bed combustion (FBC) is the best, and only available technology for burning alternative fuels" with elevated sulphur levels, such as petroleum coke. In a FBC boiler, sulphur and nitrogen are captured during combustion and become part of the ash produced. However, FBC is not a de-NOx and de-SOx technology for treating flue gas. Limestone is often added at a typical Ca/S ratio of 2 to capture sulphur. Despite the reported high efficiency, sulphur capture in FBC remains one of the key issues in improving economics of the technology. Other limitations identified with FBC include fireside fouling that is closely linked to high sulphur in fuel (Anthony and Jia, 2000). Further, ash production and disposal problems are related to sulphur content. Desulphurization prior to utilization has also been studied. Unlike coal, sulphur in coke is largely organic in nature. Mechanisms of desulphurization, therefore, involve the cleavage of C—S bonds. In 1970's, Tollefson's group in Calgary pioneered the desulphurization of coke using hydrogen, and later improved the efficiency with ground coke particles and NaOH. It was found that fluid coke was more resistant to desulphurization than delayed coke. Molten caustic leaching, which was originally developed for removing organic sulphur in coal, was applied to both fluid and delayed coke at 200 to 400 C, resulting in less than 1% of sulphur (Ityokumbul, 1994). It was found, however, that no process developed so far had proven to be economically viable. Recently, Furimsky (1999) suggested that gasification could emerge as another alternative for utilizing petroleum residues, including coke. A group at Tohuku University investigated gasification with various metal hydroxide catalysts (Yamauchi et al., 1999). In two separate studies carried out in England and Spain, petroleum coke was added to a typical industrial coal blend used in the production of metallurgical coke (Barriocanal et al., 1995; Alvarez et al., 1998). At the University of Alabama, petroleum coke was tested for remediating Sucamoochee soil (15 wt % oil) via a two-step agglomeration process (Prasad et al., 1999). Under the optimal condition, the remaining oil content in the soil was found to be below 200 ppm.
It is known that SO2 can be converted into elemental sulphur with reducing agents and a number of processes have been proposed for this purpose. As a group, they are termed "SP-FGD" (sulphur-producing flue gas desulphurization). Some examples are the coal-based Foster Wheeler process (U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,762), the BaS/SO4-based cyclic process (M.Olper and M.Maccagni "Removal of SO2 from Flue Gas and Recovery of Elemental Sulfur" Euro. Pat. Appl. No. 728,698 28 Aug. 1996), the Claus reaction-based McMaster-INCO process (U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,592) and the Na2S(aq)-based low-temperature process (Siu and Jia, 1999; Siu, 1999). To reduce SO2 to sulphur, CH4, H2 and CO gases are also used, often with a catalyst. A recently example is the CO-based process developed at MIT, in which a cerium oxide-containing catalyst is used (U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,673).

Power generation from sulphur-containing fuels


The disclosure provides a steering system for a vehicle. The steering system includes a wheel having an inner surface and an outer surface, and a tire mounted thereon. The steering system includes a wheel support including an upper arm and a lower arm that rotatably support the wheel. At least one of the upper arm and the lower arm includes a curved member positioned to contact the inner surface of the wheel when the wheel is at a maximum steering angle. The steering system includes a steering rack and a tie rod coupled between the steering rack and the wheel support. The steering system also includes a compressible stopper coupled between the tie rod and the steering rack. The stopper is configured to compress as the wheel is turned toward the maximum steering angle and when the tie rod is moved past the maximum steering angle.

A vehicle may include a steering system. For example, a rack and pinion steering system may use a pinion attached to a steering shaft to laterally translate the rack. The rack, in turn, may be coupled to the steerable wheels via a tie rod. In some cases, an impact to a steerable wheel when the rack is at a maximum steering angle may cause the tie rod to buckle, causing persistent damage to the steering system.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved steering systems for vehicles and techniques for manufacturing such steering systems. Further advantages will become apparent from the disclosure provided below.


An image forming apparatus in which a predetermined image density can be obtained by correcting a toner density control target value without consuming toner. The toner density of the developer is controlled so that an output value Vt of a magnetic permeability sensor approaches a target output value Vtref. In addition, the target output value Vtref is corrected in accordance with image coverage history information of output images transferred to a transfer paper and image coverage ratio history information of output images determined from the image coverage thereof and the size of the transfer paper. This history information comprises, for example, a cumulative average value of the image coverage or the image coverage ratio per transfer paper. It may also comprise a moving average value of the image coverage or the image coverage ratio per transfer material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer and a facsimile device, and more particularly relates to an image forming apparatus that performs image formation employing a two-component developer comprising a toner and a magnetic carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two-component development systems in which a two-component developer (hereinafter referred to simply as "developer") comprising a toner and a magnetic carrier is carried on a developer carrier and in which development is carried out as a result of a magnetic brush being formed from the developer by magnetic poles provided within the developer carrier and a latent image on a latent image carrier being rubbed by the magnetic brush are widely known in the prior art. Two-component development systems are being widely utilized because of the simplicity of coloring they afford. When the toner density as an expression of the ratio (for example, weight ratio) of the toner and magnetic carrier in a developer in a two-component developer system is too high, blemishes and a depot in the fine resolution of the formed image occur. On the other hand, when the toner density lowers, the density of the solid image portion drops and adhesion of the carrier to the latent image carrier occurs. Accordingly, it is essential that a toner density control involving the control of a toner supply operation based on the detection of the toner density in the developer of the development apparatus to be performed to always maintain the toner density in the developer within the appropriate range.
In addition, it is essential that the image forming performed by the image forming apparatus be performed in a way that in general always produces a constant image density. Image density is principally determined by the development capability of the development apparatus. Development capability, which refers to a capability that expresses the extent to which toner can be adhered to a latent image during development, changes in accordance with, in addition to toner density, development conditions such as development potential or the toner charge amount contributing to development. A gradient (development γ) of a relational expression that describes the toner adhered amount with respect to the development potential is widely used as an index for denoting development capability. Because the image density is determined by the development capability of the development apparatus in this way, performing the toner density control alone described above to produce a toner density that is always within the appropriate range cannot produce a constant image density. In addition, even though it is comparatively easy to ensure development conditions such as the development potential are made constant, ensuring the toner charge amount contributing to development is made constant is difficult. Accordingly, there is a drawback inherent thereto in that, even if the development conditions are made constant and, in addition, a toner density control is performed to ensure the toner density is made constant, unless the development capability can be made constant a constant image density cannot be produced.
More specifically, for example when an image of low image coverage ratio is output, because the amount of toner used to develop this image is comparatively small, a small amount of toner is supplied to maintain the prescribed toner density. Accordingly, a large amount of toner is present in the development apparatus for a comparatively long time. Because the toner present in the development apparatus for a comparatively long time is subjected to an agitating action for a long time, most of the toner contributing to development is sufficiently charged to the desired charge amount. Accordingly, this gives rise to a comparatively high development capability. In contrast, when an image of high image coverage ratio is output, a large amount of just supplied new toner that has not been sufficiently charged is present (in the development apparatus), and a large ratio of the toner contributing to development is occupied by toner that has not been sufficiently charged to the prescribed charge amount. As a result, a comparatively low development capability is created. More particularly, to meet the demand for the compacting of development apparatuses that has occurred in recent years, the trend is towards as far as possible minimizing the amount of developer that is held in the development apparatus. Accordingly, for image formation performed following the output of an image of high image coverage ratio, the ratio of toner contributing to development that has not been sufficiently charged to the desired charge amount is greater. Accordingly, a comparative increase in the development capability during the image formation that follows the output of an image of high image coverage ratio is liable to be created.
In addition, based on this configuration, it is possible for the development capability when an image of low image coverage ratio is output to be higher than that when an image of high image coverage ratio is output. For example, employing a toner to which an external additive has been adhered and employing a development apparatus in which this toner creates a high stress, as a result of the toner present for a comparatively long time in the development apparatus being subjected to an agitation action for a long period, the external additive becomes either embedded in the toner surface or separates from the toner surface. Where this happens to a lot of the toner, a worsening of the fluidity of the developer occurs, the charge capability of the toner itself drops, and the toner contributing to development cannot be sufficiently charged to the desired charge amount. Accordingly, when an image of low image coverage ratio is output, because of the increase in the ratio of toner contributing to development that is not sufficiently charged to the desired charge amount, a comparatively large development capability is created. In contrast, because of the large amount of supplied toner when an image of high image coverage ratio is output, the amount of toner present for a comparatively long time in the development apparatus is small. Accordingly, the developer has good fluidity and, in addition, most of the toner has a sufficiently high charge capability. Accordingly, because the toner contributing to development can be sufficiently charged to the desired charge amount, a comparatively low development capability is created.
As is described above, differences in development capability between when an image of low image coverage ratio is output and an image of high area ratio is output are produced because of the difference in the ratio of the toner present in the development apparatus caused by the subsequent toner supply. Accordingly, there is a drawback inherent thereto in that, even if the development conditions are made constant and, in addition, a toner density control is performed to ensure the toner density is made constant, unless the development capability can be made constant a constant image density cannot be produced.
Examples of image forming apparatuses able to suppress this drawback include the apparatuses described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. S57-136667 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. H2-34877. In these image forming apparatuses, which comprise toner density detection means for detecting and outputting the toner density of a two-component developer of a development apparatus, a control that involves a comparison of the output value of toner density detection means and a toner density control standard value and the control of toner supply device based on the comparative result thereof so that the toner density of the developer within the development apparatus is produced in the desired toner density is performed. In addition, the density of a standard toner pattern formed in a non-imaging part is detected and, as a result, the image density during the forming of the standard pattern is ascertained and, based on the detected result thereof, a toner density control target value is corrected. Based on this method, image formation at the desired image density can be performed for a short time period following this correction. Accordingly, forming a standard toner pattern and regularly correcting the toner density control target value in response to the detected result thereof can produce a constant image density.
However, in the image forming apparatuses described in these applications, standard toner patterns must be formed to the extent that the toner density control target value is corrected. Accordingly, and inherent problem thereof is the increased use of the amount of toner not employed in the image formation.

Image forming apparatus with toner density control


A hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission of an automotive vehicle with an exhaust braking unit is provided. This hydraulic control system serves to elevate hydraulic pressure utilized for actuating frictional elements of the automatic transmission during exhaust braking operation toward a preselected level when the pay load of the vehicle is greater than a preselected threshold value for securing tight engagement of the frictional elements without any slippage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission of an automotive vehicle. More particularly, the invention is directed to a hydraulic control system which serves to adjust a level of fluid pressure to actuate frictional elements of an automatic transmission during exhaust braking operation for securing tight engagement of the frictional elements.
2. Description of The Prior Art
It is current practice to increase engine braking effects by using a control valve which closes an engine exhaust passage to restrict exhaust gas flow, causing internal resistance of the engine against engine rotation to increase. Additionally, for automatically changing gear, an automatic transmission utilizes a power train including gears and frictional elements such as clutches and brakes. When changing gear, the preselected frictional elements are engaged or disengaged by hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic pressure for controlling the frictional elements is generally provided with fluid pressure produced by an oil pump which is in turn modified to line pressure through a primary regulator valve according to vehicle speed or a throttle valve opening angle.
During exhaust braking operation, a relatively great driving force is transmitted to the automatic transmission from road wheels which may rotate the engine in a reverse direction with the result that the hydraulic pressure for changing gear becomes insufficient for securing tight engagement of the frictional elements, causing the frictional elements to slip undesirably. This results in the durability of the frictional elements being degraded.
For avoiding the above drawback, Japanese Patent First Publication No. 62-61843 proposes a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission which elevates hydraulic pressure for actuating frictional elements by a certain degree during exhaust braking operation.
However, the above prior art hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission is adapted for increasing a hydraulic pressure level uniformly when changing a gear ratio regardless of the pay load of the vehicle. Therefore, while the durability of the frictional elements may be improved, the hydraulic pressure tends to be higher than necessary for actuating the frictional elements when the vehicle is traveling with a relatively light load, causing large scale shock to occur upon engagement of the frictional elements. This gives an unpleasant feeling to vehicle passengers.

Hydraulic control system for automatic transmission of automotive vehicle with exhaust braking system using vehicle payload sensing means


A manipulable icon is displayed with multiple faces having particular application to computer displays and systems. The icon, which represents information about an object available within the computer, can be manipulated by the user to display different faces or views which provide additional information about the object represented by the icon. The user has the ability to manipulate the icon to see additional views of the icon on the computer display device, either by a mouse stroke selection command, keyboard command or menu selection. This selection causes the icon to move from one view or face of the icon to another view or face of the icon. These additional views thus provide additional space in which the icon can supply additional information to the user. Iconic movement from one face or view to another is also typically accompanied by some sound which indicates execution of the movement.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of controlling and manipulating display icons which are representative of objects such as documents, files and computer programs. These iconic representations are generally used to indicate, on the video display of a computer monitor, the documents, files and programs available within the computer. These iconic representations are also used in associated materials such as user's manuals, reference books and as trademarks.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In the context of computer technology, an icon is an image depicted on the display of a computer as a symbolic representation of information about objects available within that computer. An example of an icon based display system is the Macintosh.RTM. computer system manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc., of Cupertino, Calif. Icons provide a preferable means of representing such information because icons can be quickly and easily identified by a user and because icons generally use less space than do standard textual representations of the same information. In addition, icons are generally considered to be more visually and logically appealing to users than text. For example, an icon which depicts a file folder instantly tells the user that this object may contain multiple documents. Conversely, if mere text was used to represent an object and the name used was ambiguous, such as "client listings", the user might not know whether that object contained multiple documents, or whether that object was only a single document possibly containing listings relating to a particular client.
While the method in which an icon imparts information about an object may be advantageous, an icon is generally limited to representing information about only one particular aspect of the object and cannot easily concatenate additional information about that object which would also be desirable to the user. This problem has been addressed in the past by changing the icon's size to display a larger image containing more information, or by providing the user with certain commands which would cause the computer to display supplemental textual information about the object.

Method to display and rotate a three-dimensional icon with multiple faces


An oriented thermoplastic film, comprising at least one layer comprising a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Films of the present invention exhibit improved memory properties compared with conventional PVC and shrink films. The films are preferably heat shrinkable, and can comprise two or more layers in a multilayer construction.

The present invention relates to thermoplastic films, more particularly to packaging films, especially films useful in packaging food products such as poultry.
In the packaging of products, especially food products such as poultry, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) has been a traditional packaging material.
PVC suffers from several deficiencies, including environmental concerns about possible migration of vinyl chloride monomer residuals, as well as plasticizer, into a food product packaged with PVC. PVC sometimes has lower abuse resistance and poorer memory than alternative packaging materials.
More recently, olefinic materials such as SSD film and SES film provided by the Cryovac Division of W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. have proven useful in packaging poultry. These olefinic materials have excellent physical properties, including good memory. By "memory" is meant the propensity of the packaging material, after being stretched over for example a trayed food product, to substantially return to its original dimensions after product settling. Also, it refers to the tightness of the trayed package during storage and distribution. Films with poor memory tend to show slackness or looseness in the packaging film overwrap of a trayed food package.
It is desirable, especially when packaging "high profile" foods, i.e. foods that project above the edge of the tray, such as whole poultry, or poultry parts, to have films with even better memory. This would then allow for product settling while still substantially maintaining the tight package appearance.
The present invention solves this need by a multilayer oriented film which includes a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) in the film structure.


An intake sound adjusting device includes an intake passage, a tubular branch passage branched from the intake passage, and an oscillating member disposed within the branch passage, in which the oscillating member has an oscillating portion disposed so as to close an interior of the branch passage and a controlling portion extending from the oscillating portion in a direction along an extending direction of the branch passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intake sound adjusting device particularly provided with a mechanism capable of generating an intake sound having a specific frequency band.
2. Description of Related Art
In an internal combustion engine, pulsating (pulsation) sound or noise of intake air introduced into an internal combustion engine due to reciprocating motion of a piston or an intake valve disposed within the internal combustion engine. Since this intake pulsating sound has a wide band range, this is generally considered as "noise". In order to reduce such intake pulsating sound as noise, a resonator or like is generally disposed in an intake passage to thereby reduce noise of the specific frequency range calculated on the basis of the Helmholtz's Resonance Theory.
However, for some cars such as called "sporty cars", it is required to generate a vigorous powerful intake sound in a vehicle interior in order to produce an acceleration feel, and in order to satisfy such requirement, in the known art, there is provided a sound quality controlling device capable of producing a powerful intake sound in the vehicle interior only by amplifying a desired frequency band region or area of the intake sound of the wide band range or area.
For the sound quality controlling device mentioned above, prior art provides some sound quality controlling devices in which various attempts have been made for the purpose of tuning a sound pressure characteristic of a desired frequency band.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2005-139982 (Patent Document 1) discloses a sound quality controlling device equipped with a resonator, which is provided with a resonator body (resonating member) oscillating in response to intake air pulsation in a intake unit, a volume chamber connected to the intake unit through the resonating body, and a volume chamber opening section communicating the interior space of the volume chamber with an external side. The interior space of the volume chamber and the interior of the intake unit is sectioned by the resonator body, and by the oscillation of the resonator body, the sound pressure of the specific frequency band area is released externally from the volume chamber opening section.
Furthermore, an intake device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-83787 (Patent Document 2) is provided with an intake passage for introducing sucked air into the internal combustion engine and a resonator passage branched from the intake passage, in which the resonator passage has one end opened to atmosphere and the other end connected to the intake passage. The resonator passage has a length set to be suitable for applying sound pressure of the specific frequency band area to the intake (sucked) air.
However, according to the structures or constructions of the sound quality controlling device disclosed in the Patent Document 1 and the intake device disclosed in the Patent Document 2, there may cause a case where a sound in an area other than the specific frequency band area, which constitute cause or factor of an offensive loud noise or a vehicle exterior noise. Moreover, in a case of changing the specific frequency band in the sound quality tuning operation, it is obliged to re-design volume or size of the volume chamber and the resonator, which makes it difficult to easily perform the sound quality tuning.


A mud pulse telemetry system comprises a surface located fluid supply line having a drilling fluid flowing therein. A non-venting pulser is disposed in the drilling fluid in the supply line, and the non-venting pulser is adapted to generate pressure fluctuations in the flowing drilling fluid. A downhole receiver in hydraulic communication with the non-venting pulser is adapted to detect the pressure fluctuations in the drilling fluid. A method for transmitting pressure signals from a surface location to a downhole location in a wellbore, comprises disposing a non-venting pulser in a surface located fluid supply line having a drilling fluid flowing therein. The non-venting pulser is actuated to generate pressure fluctuations in the flowing drilling fluid according to a predetermined encoding scheme. The pressure fluctuations are detected with a downhole receiver in hydraulic communication with the non-venting pulser.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to drilling fluid telemetry systems and, more particularly, to a telemetry system incorporating an oscillating shear valve for modulating the pressure of a drilling fluid circulating in a drill string within a well bore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drilling fluid telemetry systems, generally referred to as mud pulse systems, are particularly adapted for telemetry of information from the bottom of a borehole to the surface of the earth during oil well drilling operations. The information telemetered often includes, but is not limited to, parameters of pressure, temperature, direction and deviation of the well bore. Other parameter include logging data such as resistivity of the various layers, sonic density, porosity, induction, self potential and pressure gradients. This information is critical to efficiency in the drilling operation.
Mud pulse valves must operate under extremely high static downhole pressures, high temperatures, high flow rates and various erosive flow types. At these conditions, the valve must be able to create pressure pulses of around 100-300 psi.
Different types of valve systems are used to generate downhole pressure pulses. Valves that open and close a bypass from the inside of the drill string to the wellbore annulus create negative pressure pulses, for example see U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,595. Valves that use a controlled restriction placed in the circulating mud stream are commonly referred to as positive pulse systems, for example see U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,217.
The oil drilling industries need is to effectively increase mud pulse data transmission rates to accommodate the ever increasing amount of measured downhole data. The major disadvantage of available mud pulse valves is the low data transmission rate. Increasing the data rate with available valve types leads to unacceptably large power consumption, unacceptable pulse distortion, or may be physically impractical due to erosion, washing, and abrasive wear. Because of their low activation speed, nearly all existing mud pulse valves are only capable of generating discrete pulses. To effectively use carrier waves to send frequency shift (FSK) or phase shift (PSK) coded signals to the surface, the actuation speed must be increased and fully controlled.
Another example for a negative pulsing valve is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,037. This technology includes a downhole valve for venting a portion of the circulating fluid from the interior of the drill string to the annular space between the pipe string and the borehole wall. Drilling fluids are circulated down the inside of the drill string, out through the drill bit and up the annular space to surface. By momentarily venting a portion of the fluid flow out a lateral port, an instantaneous pressure drop is produced and is detectable at the surface to provide an indication of the downhole venting. A downhole instrument is arranged to generate a signal or mechanical action upon the occurrence of a downhole detected event to produce the above described venting. The downhole valve disclosed is defined in part by a valve seat having an inlet and outlet and a valve stem movable to and away from the inlet end of the valve seat in a linear path with the drill string.
All negative pulsing valves need a certain high differential pressure below the valve to create sufficient pressure drop when the valve is open. Because of this high differential pressure, negative pulse valves are more prone to washing. In general, it is not desirable to bypass flow above the bit into the annulus. Therefore it must be ensured, that the valve is able to completely close the bypass. With each actuation, the valve hits against the valve seat. Because of this impact, negative pulsing valves are more prone to mechanical and abrasive wear than positive pulsing valves.
Positive pulsing valves might, but do not need to, fully close the flow path for operation. Positive poppet type valves are less prone to wear out the valve seat. The main forces acting on positive poppet valves are hydraulic forces, because the valves open or close axially against the flow stream. To reduce the actuation power some poppet valves are hydraulically powered as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,217. Hereby the main valve is indirectly operated by a pilot valve. The low power consumption pilot valve closes a flow restriction, which activates the main valve to create the pressure drop. The power consumption of this kind of valve is very small. The disadvantage of this valve is the passive operated main valve. With high actuation rates the passive main valve is not able to follow the active operated pilot valve. The pulse signal generated is highly distorted and hardly detectable at the surface.
Rotating disc valves open and close flow channels perpendicular to the flow stream. Hydraulic forces acting against the valve are smaller than for poppet type valves. With increasing actuation speed, dynamic forces of inertia are the main power consuming forces. U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,968 describes a rotating valve for the purpose to transmit frequency shift key (FSK) or phase shift key (PSK) coded signals. The valve uses a rotating disc and a non-rotating stator with a number of corresponding slots. The rotor is continuously driven by an electrical motor. Depending on the motor speed, a certain frequency of pressure pulses are created in the flow as the rotor intermittently interrupts the fluid flow. Motor speed changes are required to change the pressure pulse frequency to allow FSK or PSK type signals. There are several pulses per rotor revolution, corresponding to the number of slots in the rotor and stator. To change the phase or frequency requires the rotor to increase or decrease in speed. This may take a rotor revolution to overcome the rotational inertia and to achieve the new phase or frequency, thereby requiring several pulse cycles to make the transition. Amplitude coding of the signal is inherently not possible with this kind of continuously rotating device. In order to change the frequency or phase, large moments of inertia, associated with the motor, must be overcome, requiring a substantial amount of power. When continuously rotated at a certain speed, a turbine might be used or a gear might be included to reduce power consumption of the system. On the other hand, both options dramatically increase the inertia and power consumption of the system when changing from one to another speed for signal coding. Another advantage of the oscillating shear valve is the option to use more sophisticated coding schemes than just binary coding. With the fast switching speed and large bandwidth of the oscillating shear valve, multivalent codes are possible (e.g. three different conditions to encode the signal). The large bandwidth also enables the operator to use chirps and sweeps to encode signals.
The aforesaid examples illustrate some of the critical considerations that exist in the application of a fast acting valve for generating a pressure pulse. Other considerations in the use of these systems for borehole operations involve the extreme impact forces, dynamic (vibrational) energies, existing in a moving drill string. The result is excessive wear, fatigue, and failure in operating parts of the system. The particular difficulties encountered in a drill string environment, including the requirement for a long lasting system to prevent premature malfunction and replacement of parts, require a robust and reliable valve system.
There are also requirements to communicate from the surface to the downhole systems. Such communication may be used to change downhole adjustable drilling parameters, change logging parameters, and to change or adjust the communication parameters between the surface and downhole systems to improve the transfer of data.
Prior art techniques for surface to downhole communication commonly include (i) changing the rotary speed of the drill string, and/or (iii) bypassing a portion of the high pressure output of the drill fluid pumps at the surface. Both techniques have disadvantages. For example, rotary speed changes of the drill string are commonly detected by rotational sensors, such as accelerometers, downhole. Long drill strings, however, are flexible and may exhibit axial, bending, and torsional responses to the forces imposed on the drill string. Changing the rotational speed to send a downlink signal may excite some, or all, of the aforementioned responses. These responses may cause damage to the drill string. In addition, the communication speed is very slow because the large rotational inertia of the entire drill string must be accelerated and decelerated to send a signal. The downhole drill string components are also exposed to rotational speed changes due to the load changes and the stick/slip action of the drilling process. The rotational speed changes caused by the drilling process can easily interfere with the surface generated rotational speed change leading to missed or misinterpreted signals.
Bypassing a portion of drilling fluid from the pump discharge line that supplies the drill string causes a flow decrease and pressure decrease downhole. A downhole flow and/or pressure sensor is commonly used to detect such changes. Typically, the bypass is accomplished with a bypass valve that diverts a portion of the high pressure (on the order of 210 bar/3000 psi) fluid from the supply line back to the suction pit that is typically at atmospheric pressure. This venting action generates very high fluid velocities through the valve, leading to extreme valve erosion. Even wear resistant coatings such as diamond and tungsten carbide show high wear rates causing frequent replacement at relatively high cost. Valve failure due to such erosion can be a safety hazard due to the high pressures involved. The trend to deeper wells leads to even higher supply line pressures (on the order of 490 bar/7000 psi) exacerbating the wear situation. In addition, such bypass systems act at low actuation speeds leading to single pulse signal lengths longer than several seconds. Transmitting data words leads to undesirably long rig delays.
The low actuation speeds of the exemplary prior art downlink systems and methods limit the operator to the use of discrete pulses to send signals. Detection of these pulses is more prone to fail than would be detection of essentially continuous wave form signals using more sophisticated encoding techniques.
The methods and apparatus of the present invention overcome the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art by providing a mud pulse telemetry system incorporating a novel downlink system without the need of a bypass valve.


A metal-made partition wall 16 has an external surface covered by an insulation layer 16a, and transverse walls 16A each extending in the row direction to define the partition between discharge cells C adjacent to each other in the column direction between a front glass substrate 1 and a back glass substrate 4 of a plasma display panel. A groove 16Aa formed in at least one of the front-facing face and the back face of the transverse wall 16A.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to partition-wall structure for plasma display panels and a plasma display panel having the partition-wall structure.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2002-301541, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating cell structure of a conventional plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP"), and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the V—V line in FIG. 1.
The conventional PDP includes a front glass substrate 1, serving as the display screen of panel, having on its back surface, in order, a plurality of row electrode pairs (X, Y), a dielectric layer 2 covering the row electrode pairs (X, Y), and an MgO-made protective layer 3 covering the back surface of the dielectric layer 2.
Each of the row electrodes X and Y is constituted of transparent electrodes Xa or Ya each formed of a transparent conductive film of a larger width made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like, and a bus electrode Xb or Yb formed of a metal film of a smaller width assisting the electrical conductivity of the corresponding transparent electrodes.
The row electrodes X and Y are arranged in alternate positions in the column direction such that their transparent electrodes Xa and Ya face each other with a discharge gap g in between. Each of the row electrode pairs (X, Y) forms a display line L in the matrix display.
The front glass substrate 1 is placed opposite a back glass substrate 4 with a discharge-gas-filled discharge space in between. The back glass substrate 4 is provided thereon with: a plurality of column electrodes D regularly arranged and each extending in a direction at right angles to the row electrode pairs (X, Y); a column-electrode protective layer 5 covering the column electrodes D; a partition wall 6 formed in a pattern, which will be described later, for partitioning the discharge space; and red-, green- and blue-colored phosphor layers 7 each formed on the side faces of the partition walls 6 and the column-electrode protective layer 5.
The partition wall 6 is constituted of transverse walls 6A and vertical walls 6B. Each of the transverse walls 6A extends in the row direction in a position opposite the bus electrodes Xb and Yb backing on each other in between the respective row electrode pairs (X, Y) positioned alongside each other. Each of the vertical walls 6B extends in the column direction in a position opposite to the midpoint between the adjacent transparent electrodes Xa and between the adjacent transparent electrodes Ya which are arranged at regular intervals along the corresponding bus electrodes Xb and Yb of the respective row electrodes X, Y. The partition wall 6 is thus shaped in a grid pattern of the transverse walls 6A and the vertical walls 6B so as to define discharge cells C in a one-to-one correspondence with pairs of the transparent electrodes Xa and Ya opposed to each other with the discharge gap g in between in each row electrode pair (X, Y).
The partition wall 6 for partitioning the discharge space into the discharge cells C is conventionally formed of electric insulation materials. For example, a partition-wall material such as a glass paste is coated in a thick film on the back glass substrate 4, then dried. After that, the resulting partition-wall materials is cut into a grid pattern by a sandblasting process using a mask of a predetermined pattern, and then is burned to form the partition wall 6.
The conventional method of forming the partition wall by use of sandblasting has the complicated manufacturing process and therefore gives rise to the problem of a low level of productivity and increased manufacturing costs.
For this reason, instead of the conventional partition wall obtained by forming the insulation material, using a metal-made partition wall covered by an insulation layer has been studied.
However, using the metallic partition wall in the PDP gives rise to the problem of an increase in the electrostatic capacity in the panel and an increase in reactive power associated therewith, leading to an increase in electrical power consumption. Hence, the use of metallic partition wall is not yet commercially practical at present.

Partition-wall structure for plasma display panel and plasma display panel


A carrier for supporting graphic media materials includes a support member having a plurality of parallel transverse slots disposed on a facing surface thereof and a plurality of thin walled transverse strip members. Each of the transverse strip members are made from a flexible material and include an angled tab portion sized to be fitted into a corresponding slot of the support member and a cover portion that is defined by a width dimension that is larger than the spacing between adjacently spaced slots such that the cover portions are arranged on the support member in overlaying fashion and define transparent storage pockets therebetween for retaining graphic media materials.

There are various carriers that are commonly known in the field for retaining and storing a plurality of various graphic media materials, such as photographs, articles, and the like. Most common among these types of carriers are photograph or picture albums, each having a series of pages, with various sized pockets or other means for securing a photograph or several photographs for storage and display thereof.
Though these types of carriers are very useful, there are often events in which a plurality of photographs are taken, such as social gatherings, including bowling parties, golf tournaments, weddings, funerals, and the like in which it is often desirable to display a plurality of photographs and/or other graphic media materials simultaneously. To date, Applicant believes that a carrier suitable for this purpose has not yet been developed.


A semiconductor-supporting device comprising a substrate made of an insulating material, a conductive member buried in the substrate, and a terminal connected to the conductive member and made of an electrically conductive metallic matrix-ceramic composite body.

The present invention relates to semiconductor-supporting devices, processes for producing the same, joined bodies and processes for the production of the same.
In susceptors and the like made of ceramic materials such as aluminum nitrides, alumina, SiC or SN, materials for electrode terminals are selected from the standpoint of the heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and bondability, but there are very rare materials which completely meet the above requirements. For example, in a method of brazing a metallic terminal to a ceramic substrate, troubles such as cracking of the ceramic material due to residual stress at the time of joining or thermal stress of current-passing cycles in switching on and off the electric power are likely to occur.
For this reason, it is considered that the terminal is imparted with a plastically deforming power by using a metal having a low melting point or a high purity metal as a material of the terminal. However, since the terminal itself has a poor shape-maintaining property, a problem such as the deformation of the terminal rises, or the joining interface becomes brittle due to an excess reaction between the terminal and the brazing material, so that the joining strength sometimes drops.
On the other hand, it is known that a metal-based composite material is produced by a Lanxide process (for example, see Ceramics xe2x80x9cCMC and MMC Net Shave Producing Technique by using Rank Side Systemxe2x80x9d Vol. 32(1997) No. 2, pp 93-97). For example, it is known that wettability between molten aluminum and ceramics is improved by the rank side process in each of a silicon nitride/aluminum-based composite material and an aluminum/aluminum-based composite material. This process is generally called xe2x80x9cnon-pressure metal immersion processxe2x80x9d.
In this process, a preform having a shape near to a desired final shape is molded by using silicon carbide or alumina as a reinforcing material, and a growth-interrupting barrier film is formed at a surface of the preform other than that of the preform to which an aluminum alloy is contacted. When the resulting preform is contacted with the aluminum alloy usually at around 800xc2x0 C. in nitrogen, the aluminum enters voids in the preform while wetting the ceramic material, thereby forming a composite material. In this composite material, it is confirmed that a layer of aluminum nitride is present at an interface between the ceramic material and the aluminum.
However, a technique in which such a metallic matrix-ceramic composite body is joined to a ceramic material or a metal, particularly to an insulating ceramic has not been investigated.
The present invention is directed to a semiconductor-supporting device which comprises a substrate composed of an insulating material, an electrically conductive member buried in the substrate, and a terminal connected to the electrically conductive member, and is to improve the durability at a joint portion between the insulating material and the terminal against current-passing cycles.
Further, the present invention is to provide a process for joining a metallic matrix-ceramic composite body to a ceramic material, a metal or a ceramic material in which a metal is buried.
The present invention is further to provide a new process for joining plural members made of a ceramic material and a metal or a ceramic material in which a metal is buried.
The present invention relates to a semiconductor-supporting device comprising a substrate made of an insulating material, a conductive member buried in the substrate, and a terminal connected to the conductive member and made of an electrically conductive metallic matrix-ceramic composite body.
The present inventors thought that the terminal be formed of the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body having conductivity in the structure in which the terminal was joined to the substrate made of the insulating ceramic material. It was discovered that while the terminal was directly contacted with the substrate or while an intermediate material composed of an alloy containing 70 mol % or more of a main ingredient of the metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body is interposed between the terminal and the substrate, the terminal could be joined to the insulating material by thermally treating the insulating material and the terminal or by thermally treating the insulating material, the terminal and the intermediate member at a temperature enabling a metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body or the metallic matrix and the alloy to be melted, in an atmosphere under pressure of 0.0001 Torr or less. Since this terminal was firmly joined to the substrate, the joined portion was not broken even under repetition of current-passing cycles.
The present invention further relates to a semiconductor-supporting device comprising a substrate made of an insulating material, a conductive member buried in the substrate, a terminal connected to the conductive member and made of a metal or a conductive ceramic material, and a joining member interposed between the terminal and the substrate, joined to the terminal and the substrate and made of a metallic matrix-ceramic composite body.
In such a semiconductor-supporting device, since this terminal is firmly joined to the substrate, the semiconductor-supporting device is not broken even under repetition of current-passing cycles.
Further, the present inventors reached a technical idea that when the above invention was applied to join one member made of a metallic matrix-ceramic composite body other than the terminal to another member made of a ceramic material, a metallic material or a ceramic material in which a metallic member was buried. As a result, it was discovered that the composite body could be joined to said another member by thermally heating both the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body and another member at a temperature enabling the melting of the metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body in an atmosphere under pressure of 0.0001 Torr or less.
In this case, the thermal treatment can be effected, while the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body is in direct contact with another member. Alternatively, an intermediate material composed of an alloy containing 70 mol % or more of a main ingredient of the metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body may be interposed between them in the thermal treatment.
The present invention relates to the joined body obtained by each of the above producing processes, which comprises one member made of the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body and another member made of the ceramic member, the metallic member or the ceramic member in which the ceramic member is buried.
The present inventors further developed the above-mentioned joining processes, and discovered that while a joining member made of a metallic matrix-ceramic composite body is interposed between one member made of a ceramic member, a metallic member or a ceramic member in which a ceramic member is buried and another member made of a ceramic member, a metallic member or a ceramic member in which a ceramic member is buried, one and another members can be joined together by thermally treating them as well as the joining member at a temperature enabling the melting of the metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body in an atmosphere under pressure of 0.0001 Torr or less.
In this case, the thermal treatment can be effected, while the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body is in direct contact with one and another members. Alternatively, an intermediate material composed of an alloy containing 70 mol % or more of a main ingredient of the metallic matrix constituting the metallic matrix-ceramic composite body may be interposed between the one member and the joining member and/or between another member and the joining member in the thermal treatment.
The present invention further relates to the joined articles obtained by the above processes.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reading the following description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, with the understanding that some modifications, variations and changes could be easily made by the skilled person in the art to which the invention pertains.

Semiconductor-supporting devices, processes for the production of the same, joined bodies and processes for the production of the same


A compliant circuit element spacing system comprises a circuit board, a dummy spacer component, and a compliant circuit element. One or more active components are mounted to the circuit board. The dummy spacer component is also mounted to the circuit board, such that the dummy spacer component is electrically isolated from each active component mounted to the circuit board. The compliant circuit element is positionable proximate the circuit board, and spaced from the circuit board by the dummy spacer component. The spacing component isolates the compliant circuit element from each active component mounted to the circuit board.

This invention relates generally to electronic systems, and specifically to spacing techniques for electronic circuit components. In particular, the invention concerns an intrinsically safe compliant circuit element spacing system, which is applicable to general-purpose electronics devices including field devices and transmitters for industrial process control and monitoring applications.
Field devices include a broad range of process management devices designed to measure and control fluid parameters such as pressure, temperature and flow rate. Field devices have broad utility in manufacturing, food and beverage processing, environmental control, hydrocarbon processing and other areas, spanning a wide range of process materials including air, water, edibles and potables, bulk materials, liquid and gaseous fuels, glues, resins, thin films, and thermoplastics such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and polyethylene.
In general, field devices include transmitters, which are configured to measure or sense a process parameter with a sensor module, and controllers, which are configured to modify or control such a parameter with a control module (for example, by positioning a valve or regulating a pressure). Field devices also include multi-sensor transmitters such as pressure/temperature transmitters, and integrated controllers comprising both sensor modules and control modules (for example, integrated flow controllers or hydrostatic tank gauge systems).
The "intrinsically safe" designation is applied to field devices certified under one or more standards for operation in hazardous locations, including locations prone to explosive atmospheres. These standards include, but are not limited to, FM (Factory Mutual), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), SAA/SA (Standards Association of Australia/Standards of Australia), TIIS (Japanese Technology Institution of Industrial Safety), CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization), and ATEX (Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmosphères EXplosibles) standards.
Intrinsically safe field devices are designed to prevent the release of sufficient electrical or thermal energy to cause ignition of a hazardous atmosphere in its most ignitable concentration. Simple devices such as switches, thermocouples, RTDs and resistors typically attain an intrinsically safe rating by imposing direct limits on voltage, current and stored energy. Non-simple devices (including transmitters, controllers and other field devices) also restrict the inductance and capacitance of individual electronic components, reduce thermal output, and utilize intrinsically safe field wiring barriers to lower internal voltages and currents.
In addition, intrinsically safe field devices also address component spacing, particularly with respect to compliant circuit elements. Intrinsically safe spacing isolates circuit elements from other active electronic components, in order to prevent sparking, resistive heating, and other potentially hazardous effects.
Typical intrinsically safe spacing methods utilize insulating or filler materials such as epoxies, epoxy-elastomer potting compounds, resistive films, resistive tapes, and solid plastic spacers. Unfortunately, these materials require additional manufacturing and assembly steps, adding cost and complexity to the end product. Moreover, different spacing materials are often required for different operating environments, and their inclusion can significantly increase the difficulty of diagnosing, accessing and repairing electronic faults. There remains a need, therefore, for low-cost component spacing techniques that are applicable to a wide range of electronic designs, and able to provide intrinsically safe spacing in a variety of different hazardous location applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Intrinsically safe compliant circuit element spacing


A data processing system includes a processor core, a system memory including a first data structure including a plurality of entries mapping requester identifiers (IDs) to partitionable endpoint (PE) numbers, and an input/output (I/O) subsystem including a plurality of PEs each having an associated PE number, where each of the plurality of PEs including one or more requesters each having a respective requester ID. An I/O host bridge, responsive to receiving an I/O message including a requester ID and an address, determines a PE number by reference to a first entry from the first data structure, and responsive to determining the PE number, accesses a second entry of the second data structure utilizing the PE number as an index and validates the address by reference to the accessed entry in the second data structure. The I/O host bridge, responsive to successful validation, provides a service indicated by the I/O message.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to data processing, and in particular, to input/output (I/O) in a data processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A data processing system may include multiple processing elements and multiple input/output adapters (IOAs) to support connections to communication networks, storage devices and/or storage networks, and peripheral devices. In such data processing systems, the hardware resources of the data processing system may be logically partitioned into multiple, non-intersecting sets of resources, each controlled by a respective one of multiple possibly heterogeneous operating system instances. The operating systems concurrently execute on this common hardware platform in their respective logical partitions (LPARs) under the control of system firmware, which is referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM) or hypervisor. Thus, the hypervisor allocates each LPAR a non-intersecting subset of the resources of the data processing system, and each operating system instance in turn directly controls its distinct set of allocable resources, such as regions of system memory and IOAs.
In any environment including multiple IOAs, it is desirable to isolate IOAs so that each IOA can only obtain access to the resources allocated to it. Isolating IOAs promotes reliability, availability and serviceability of the data processing system, and is especially important in environments supporting hardware virtualization (or logical partitioning), so that IOAs can be individually allocated to different logical partitions (LPARs) and so that any IOA errors be isolated to the particular partition to which the IOA is allocated. For example, for Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) buses, if an IOA in one LPAR activates the System Error (SERR) signal, the system must make the SERR signal visible to all other LPARs absent some additional control. Making I/O errors visible across LPAR boundaries requirement is, of course, contrary to the definition and intent of logical partitioning.
One solution that addresses the partitioning problem with PCI errors is to require assignment of all IOAs connected to one PCI Host Bridge (PHB) to the same LPAR partition. However, this restriction mandates a high resource granularity for IOAs that is not very useful or flexible. Ideally, IOAs should be allocable to different LPARs regardless of the PHB to which the IOA is connected. Alternative solutions include the use of specially designed bridge chips external to the PHBs as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,727 or incorporating additional logic and data structures to enforce partitioning between IOAs in differing LPARs within PHBs as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,427.
As also appreciated by the present disclosure, it would be desirable to reduce the size of data structures within PHBs utilized in handling routine messages, such as DMA messages and I/O error message.

Determination of one or more partitionable endpoints affected by an I/O message

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for manufacturing a dental restoration, including: determining an external form and dimensions available for a completed restoration; obtaining an image of a natural tooth to be replaced with the restoration or a tooth corresponding therewith, wherein the image comprises at least the external surface visible in use of the to be replaced or corresponding tooth, with variations in the appearance therein; defining locally on and at least to visible depth below the surface of appearance-determining properties of at least one material to be applied for the restoration in accordance with the obtained image and the variations in the appearance therein; constructing the restoration, including the steps of: providing at least one material to be applied in non-cohesive form; and providing cohesion to the material in accordance with the available form and dimensions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a dental restoration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Different methods are known in the art for manufacturing a dental restoration, wherein these methods are mainly determined by the type of materials used.
Ceramic materials have been successfully applied for many years in dental restorations. The two most important functions of restorative ceramics are aesthetics and strength. However, most dental ceramics do not fulfil both functions. Different porcelains and glass ceramics are used for aesthetic applications. These have a natural tooth colour and translucence but have a relatively low three-point bending strength (50-200 MPa).
Higher-strength materials have been developed as basic core material. These materials have a three-point bending strength of 150 to 500 MPa, but are generally too opaque and must be combined with translucent porcelain veneered thereon. The fracture toughness however remains low compared to metal alloys, whereby these ceramics are susceptible to production errors and stress concentrations, such as occur when there is a less than optimal fit between prepared tooth and the restorative ceramic.
Medically pure yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconium oxide (Y-TZP) is characterized by both aesthetics and a high three-point bending strength, higher than 1000 MPa, with a great toughness and an excellent resistance to slow crack development. Zirconium oxide has heretofore been applied very successfully in orthopaedics as hip-joint ball. It has also been very successfully introduced in dentistry for root pins. It has further been found to have a very low susceptibility to dental plaque. However, zirconium oxide has a white colour not suitable for dental restorations and must be coloured with a colour corresponding with the tooth colours.
In DE 4207179 A1 (1992) Yoshida describes a method of colouring orthodontic zirconium oxide components by adding a mixture of erbium-, praseodymium-, iron- and zinc oxides. Some additives, such as zinc, result in serious degradation of the physical properties of the sintered zirconium oxide. In DE 19938143 A1 erbium-, iron- and manganese oxide are mainly applied as colouring oxides.
Effect of suitable colour additives to sintered Y-TZP zirconium oxide
Colour additiveFormEffective colourNoteIronFe2O3BrownConcentration lowerthan 1% by weightErbiumEr2O3Light violetForms solid solutionwith ZrO2PraseodymiumPr2O3Deep yellowForms solid solutionwith ZrO2
These are first dissolved in hydrochloric acid and added to zirconium oxide and admixtures dissolved in hydrochloric acid. By hydrolysis with ammonia, annealing of the deposition and fine-grinding, an homogeneously coloured zirconium oxide powder is obtained which can be further processed. This takes place by mixing the powder with binders (for instance 2% by weight polyvinyl alcohol and 0.15% by weight oleic acid), and making this into a geometrical shape by pressing. The binder is burnt out for 0.5 to 2 hours at a temperature of 850-1000° C. A dental restoration, enlarged by the sintering shrinkage factor, is then cut out by means of a CAD/CAM system and the product is sintered to increase density at 1300-1500° C. for 2-4 hours. The result is a monochrome coloured restoration.
It is however desired in dentistry to colour the restoration locally. The base structure of a crown, in the form of a cap, is thus coloured slightly browner at the bottom, the so-called shoulder portion, and lighter yellow in the sections in the cutting edge area.
At the moment the restorations are further produced in automatic manner with fairly traditional cutting technique, with proportionately high material loss. With the use of zirconium oxide the price of the material is considerable and a net-shape production method would be desirable. Accurate colouring with locally occurring variations is complex here, if not impossible.
Up to the present there has been no possibility of making restorations using rapid prototyping or even in automated manner which have locally different properties or colours. In addition to the absence of an experimental configuration, there has also been no possibility of locally colouring product files.
In order to obviate or at least reduce the above stated and other problems and drawbacks of the known art, a new method for manufacturing a dental restoration is provided according to the present invention.

Method for manufacturing a dental restoration


A high-density micro-chamber array has a translucent flat substrate, a hydrophobic layer in which a plurality of micro-chambers are provided, and a lipid bilayer membrane formed in each of the openings of the micro-chambers, wherein an electrode is provided in each of the micro-chambers, and when the side of the substrate on which the hydrophobic layer is provided is directed upward, the micro-chamber array is configured such that with at least one of the following A) and B) being met, light entering the substrate from below is transmitted through the substrate and penetrates into the micro-chambers' interiors, and light entering the substrate from the micro-chambers' interiors is transmitted through the substrate and escapes toward below the substrate. A) The electrode is provided on an inner side surface of each of the micro-chambers. B) The electrode is transparent and provided on a bottom surface of each of the micro-chambers.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a high-density micro-chamber array which has a flat substrate, a plurality of micro-chambers being formed in a hydrophobic substance on the surface of the substrate in such a way as to be arrayed regularly at a high density and each having a capacity of 4,000×10−18 m3 or smaller, and a lipid bilayer membrane being formed in such a way as to liquid-seal an aqueous test solution in each opening of the plurality of micro-chambers in the state of being filled with the aqueous test solution.

High-density micro-chamber array and measurement method using same


A solid mixture or aqueous solution of amoxicillin antibacterial agent with a material that aids in its dissolution in water to render it ingestive and palatable.

Penicillin constitutes one of the most important and widely-used groups of antiobiotics. Although numerous other antimicrobial groups of antiobiotics have been produced since the first penicillin became available, penicillins and new derivatives of the basic penicillin nucleus are still being widely researched and, when proved to be successful, produced in large quantities. Many of the new derivative compounds have unique advantages making them the preferred drug of choice for the treatment of infectious diseases. One such compound is amoxicillin which is a member of the class of aminopenicillins. One unique advantage of amoxicillins is their efficacy toward a much broader spectrum of infections when compared to penicillins.
More specifically, amoxicillion is a widely employed antibiotic having the following formula:
It is effective against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. It is used in the treatment of infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts and of skin and soft tissues due to sensitive pathogens. In treating humans, it is typically administered orally, e.g., in a tablet form or an oral suspension.
The treatment of animals with an amoxicillin is fraught with many difficulties. For example, injecting amoxicillin is time consuming and costly, especially with large numbers of animals are involved. It is also potentially hazardous to the animal because a needle can break off in the animal and/or create an infective injection site. Feeding even a farmyard animal, let alone a wildlife species, with an amoxicillin tablet is minimally a taxing chore.
Amoxicillin slowly dissolves in the acidic environment of the normal stomach, e.g., pH of less than 3.0. It is available in the form of suspensions and tablets.
Amoxicillin hydrochoride and amoxicillin monohydrate are readily dissolved in forms which are 50% neutrally charged. The neutrally charged form has limited solubility compared to the ionized drug forms.
Amoxicillins are somewhat less active than penicillin G against gram-positive cocci sensitive to the latter agent. The meningococci and L. monocytogenes are sensitive to the drug. Many pneumococcal isolates have varying levels of resistance to ampicillin. Penicillin-resistant strains should be considered ampicillin/amoxicillin resistant. H. influenzae and the virdians group of streptococci usually are inhibited by very low concentrations of ampicillin. However, strains of type b H. influenzae that are highly resistant to ampicillin have been recovered from children with meningitis. It is estimated that 25% to 30% of cases of H. influenzae meningitis are now caused by ampicillin-resistant strains. Enterococci are about twice as sensitive to ampicillin, on a weight basis, as they are to penicillin G (MIC for ampicillin averages 1.5 mg/ml). Although most strains of N. gonorrhoeae, E. coli, P. mirabilis , Salmonella, and Shigella highly susceptible when ampicillin was first used in the early 1960s, an increasing percentage of these species is now resistant. From 30% to 50% of E. coli, a significant number of P. mirabilis, and practically all speices of Enterobacter are presently insensitive. Resistant strains of Salmonella (plasmid mediated) have been recovered with increasing frequency in various parts of the world. Most strains of Shigella are now resistant. Most strains of Pseudomonas, Klebsila, Serratia, Acinetobacter, and indole-positive Proteus also are resistant to this group of penicillins; these antibiotics are less active agains B. fragilis than is pencillin G. However, concurrent admistration of a β-lactamase inhibitor such as clavulante of sulbacam markedly expands the spectrum of activity of these drugs.
Amoxicillin, a penicillinase-susceptible semi-synthetic pencillin, is a close chemical and pharmacological relative of ampicillin. The drug is stable in acid and is designed or oral use. It is more rapidly and completely absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract than is ampicillin, which is the major difference between the two. The antimicrobial spectrum of amoxicillin is essentially identical to that of ampicillin, with the important exception that amoxicillin appears to be less effective than ampicillin for shigellosis (Neu, 1979).
Peak concentrations of amoxicillin (AMOXIL, others) in plasma are two to two and one-half times greater for amoxicillin than for ampicillin after oral administration of the same doses; they are reached at 2 hours and average about 4 μg/ml when 250 mg is adminstered. Food does not interfere with absorption. Perhaps because of more complete absorption of this congener, the incidence of diarrhea with amoxicillin is less than that following administration of ampicillin. The incidence of other adverse effects appears to be similiar. While the half-life of amoxicillin is similar to that for ampicillin, effective concentrations of orally administered amoxicilin are detectabale in the plasma for twice as long as with ampicillin, again because of the more complete absorption. About 20% of amoxicillin is proteinbound in plasma, a value similar to that for ampicillin. Most of a dose of the antibiotic is excreted in an active form in the urine. Probenecid delays excretion of the drug. (See Gordon et al., 1972)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,879 (Daoudal) describes a veterinary tablet for promoting ingestion of medicinal substances by domestic animals, especially by cats. U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,879 fails to disclose that the composition can be orally administered either directly or through drinking water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,902 (Cracknell) describes a formulation comprising amoxycillin or a veterinary acceptable derivative thereof, clavulanic acid or a veterinary acceptable derivative thereof, and a veterinarily acceptable carrier is used in the treatment of farrowing fever and/or bacterial pneumonia in pigs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,902 fails to disclose or teach a water-soluble form of the amoxicillin compound useful in treating animals, as well as humans, without loss of antibiotic benefits. Moreover, the preferred veterinarily acceptable carriers include acceptable oils such as mineral oils or fractionated cocunut oil. And finally, the formulation is administered to the animal by intramuscular injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,429 (Clarke) describes a fluid pharmaceutical formulation for oral administration to animals comprising a medicament, an edible oil, and an oleophilic clay (thickening agent). For the same reasons given above, U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,429 fails to disclose or teach a water-soluble form of the amoxicillin compound useful in treating animals, as well as humans, without loss of antibiotic benefits. Again, an oil-based formulation teaches away from applicants' present invention
U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,483 (Dursch) describes dry solid antibiotic compositions of a solid acidic, basic or amphoteric antibiotic, inclusive of amoxicillin, such as cephalexin, and a suitable solid basic or acidic additive, for reconstitution as injectables upon addition of water. According to this patent, antibiotics of limited water solubility are formulated for parenteral application either as aqueous suspensions, or by preparing water soluble derivatives (e.g., salts, esters of complexes) of the parent compound, which upon parenteral administration are either in equilibrium with the parent compound, or which are transformed back into the parent compound in the patient's system. The patentee states that a solids in suspension "severely limits the mode of parenteral administration." The patentee also states that the pharmaceutically acceptable solid derivatives are frequently prepared with significant yield losses. The derivatives are alleged to resist isolation in suitable form altogether. The patentee overcomes the prior art deficiencies by premixing antibiotics of limited water solubility which are either acidic, basic, or amphoteric in nature, with a suitable solid additive to form a dry mixture. On addition of water to the dry mixture, physiologically acceptable solutions of water soluble salts of the antibiotic are formed in situ and can be administered without delay. The patentee illustrates antibiotics such as penicillins, e.g., ampicillin, amoxicillins, and the like, as amphoteric antibiotics that can be dry blended. According to this patent, "suitable additives for amphoteric antibiotics may be either acidic or basic character." Illustrative of suitable acidic additives are alkali metal hydrogen sulfates, and organic acids like citric acid, tartaric acid or maleic acid. There is no explicit indication of the amount of acid compound that is to be used in the dry mixture. In this regard, the patentee states: "The selected solid additive is usually employed in an amount just sufficient to assure complete dissolution of the antibiotic upon addition of a small volume of water. This amount may well be less than the stoichiometric quantity required for complete conversion to a salt. Herein lies another advantage of the present invention over the use of pre-formed salts; frequently, less extreme conditions of acidity or basicity are required for complete dissolution and superior stability of such solutions can be expected. For example, 95 mole-% of sodium carbonate is sufficient to dissolve ampicillin at pH 8.3, whereas an aqueous solution of pre-formed sodium ampicillin shows about pH 9.5." The examples of the patent show dry mixtures that on dissolution in water result in pH's as low as 2 and as high as 9.7. The patent is unconcerned with ingestion of the antibiotic or for forming a palatable dry mixture that can be ingested by the animal.
La Via et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,900, combine arginine and cephradine to form a solid mixture that is soluble in water. This forms an injectable solution.
French patent publication 2 308 368 describes a lysine salt of cephradine that can be administered orally as well as by intramuscular or intravenous injection. Such a lysine salt dissolved in water has been found to be unpatentable.
There is a need for stable liquid forms of amoxicillin, that can be orally administered (i.e., ingested) via an animal's drinking water without rejection by the animal because of the bad taste imparted by the liquid amoxicillin. Such a palatable form of amoxicillin allows large scale dosage-controlled treatment of animals with the antibiotic.
The Invention
This invention relates to the formation of solid mixtures and aqueous solutions of amoxicillin antibacterial agents with a material that aids in its dissolution in water to render it ingestive and palatable. The amoxicillins used in the practice of this invention are those that are antibacterials to the bacteria in the animal that is being treated. The term "anhydrous," when used to characterize the solid mixture of the amoxicillin, does not exclude bound water in the form of hydrated water bound to the amoxicillin. For the purposes of this invention, even when a amoxicillin hydrate such as cephalexin monohydrate is provided in the mixture, the mixture is still regarded to be anhydrous. The reason for this characterization is based on the fact that the hydrate form of the amoxicillin remains solid and dry and can be formed into the mixture without forming a solution.
The solid essentially anhydrous mixture contains an amoxicillin and a hydroxypolycarboxylic acid of the formula:
where x and y are 0 or 3 and z is 0 to 3, in appropriate amounts so that upon addition to water, there is an apparent reaction to form a palatable soluble "hydroxyacylated amoxicillin," that is, a water soluble salt of the amoxicillin and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid. Suitable hydroxylatedpolycarboxylic acids include 2-hydroxy n-propyl 1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid (also known as citric acid), 2,3-diyroxyl n-butyl 1,4-dicarboxylic acid (also known as tartaric acid), 2-hydroxyl n-propyl 1,3-dicarboxyl acid (also known as 2-hydroxy malonic acid), 2-hydroxyl n-butyl 1,2,4=tricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy n-butyl 1,3,4=tricarboxylic acid, glucaric acid, and the like.
An important facet of the invention is the weight ratio of hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to the amoxicillin in the mixture. It has been determined that the weight ratio of anhydrous solid hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to solid amoxicillin (typically in the hydrate form) should be at least about 5 to 1, preferably at least 5.5 to 1, most desirably about 6 to 1, in the mixture in order to readily form, in combination with tap, deionized or distilled water, a palatable solution that can be fed to animals without rejection. The highest weight ratio of hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to amoxicillin may be about 9 to 1, though it is preferred to keep the weight ratio below about 6 to 1 of hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to amoxicillin. If the ratio of hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to amoxicillin is too high (greater than 9 to 1), the stability of the resulting preparation is compromised and the amoxicillin breaks down to less than 25% activity by 24 hours. At a lower weight ratio, the resultant amoxicillin and hydroxypolycarboxylic acid mixture does not form a solution. In all cases tested, when attempting to form a solution from a hydroxypolycarboxylic acid/amoxicillin mixture having a weight ratio less than 4 to the extent a solution is formed, the solution is clearly unpalatable.
In addition, in order to form a palatable aqueous solution of the hydroxyacylated amoxicillin, the hydroxyacylated amoxicillin solution has a pH of about 3.0 to as high as about 4.0, preferably from about 3.3 to about 3.8.
To enhance the palatability of the solution, one may add flavorings and/or artificial sweeteners such as cyclohexyl-sulfamic acid, saccharin (o-benzosulfimide), and Aspartame (i.e., L-Aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) sold as Nutrasweet® artificial sweetener, and the like, in small amounts that are sufficient to enhance the palatability of the hydroxyacylated amoxicillin solution. If the animals would not be adversely affected by inclusion of sugar in the formulation, then sugar can be used to sweeten the solution. In actual practice, the sweetener and the flavoring are added in amounts that overcome the natural bad taste of the amoxicillins that is not fully mitigated by the presence of the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid. It has been determined that pigs favor strawberry and licorice flavorings.
The invention can be employed to treat all forms of domestic animals, such as livestock, e.g., pigs (including swine), beef and dairy cattle, horses, poultry (especially chickens and turkeys), sheep, and dogs, cats, and the like, as well as non-domestic animals such as deer, buffalo, and the like, that are kept in herds and fed from a controlled water supply.
The dosage of the anhydrous mixture used in forming an aqueous solution of amoxicillin and hydroxylatedpolycarboxylic acid for feeding to the animals is quite broad, and should be sufficient to provide the required amount of amoxicillins prescribed by the veterinarian. As a rule, the amount of the anhydrous preparation of amoxicillin and hydroxylatedpolycarboxylic acid that is dissolved into water for feeding the animals should provide about 2 to about 15, preferably from about 5 to about 10, milligrams of the amoxicillin for each pound of weight of the animals being treated.
The invention allows for the preparation of dry anhydrous mixtures of the amoxicillins and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid in the weight ratio of 5.0 to 9.0 of the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid to 1 of the amoxicillin. The mixture may contain from about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent of a flavoring and from about 0.1 to about 10 weight percent of an artificial sweetener. In special situations, greater and smaller amounts of the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid, flavoring and artificial sweetener can be used to advantage to achieve the objectives of this invention. The anhydrous mixture is stable and can be kept for an infinite period of time without deterioration. Contrary to the normal attributes of prior art acidic solutions of amoxicillins, the solutions of the invention, made by dissolving the amoxicillin and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid in water, have remarkable storage stability as compared to non-acidified amoxicillins and the like. These solutions can be kept for as long as 7 days, at refrigeration conditions of about 7° C., without deterioration or separation (e.g., precipitation of amoxicillin).
The invention substantially enhances the uptake of amoxicillins in pigs compared to the non-solubilized form as disclosed in an article entitled "Bioavailability of Amoxycillin in Pigs" in the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Volume 21, No. 1, 1998, pp. 41-46. The present invention allows oral use without the addition of an injectable treatment.
The test was carried out at 5 mg/# Administered Dosage with a 98% uptake from the gut allowing one to achieve greater Serum levels and use reduced dosages with the same effect.
The mixing of the solid particulate amoxicillin and the solid particulate hydroxypolycarboxylic acid, with or without flavoring and sweetener, is not difficult to achieve. Any method and equipment that is effective in making a powdered mixture can be used in the practice of this invention to produce the anhydrous powder mixture of the amoxicillin and the hydroxylatedpolycarboxylic acid. For example, small packets of the mixture can be put into a plastic bag, typically one made of polyethylene, or polyvinyl chloride-vinylidene chloride copolymer of Mylar® (a film form of polyethyleneterephthalate), and the like. The mixtures can be made in such bags by separately feeding solid particulate amoxicillin and solid particulate hydroxylatedpolycarboxylic acid. Then the ingredients in the bag can be worked by hand to mix the particulates into an essentially homogeneously distributed mixture. The particulates can be mixed in large and small scale mixing equipment. They can be mixed in a household cake mixer, a large scale Banbury Mixer, large and small paddle mixers, and the like.
The dry (anhydrous) solid mixture of is preferably in the form of an intimate mixture of the amoxicillin and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid particles. Preferably, the amoxicillin and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid are each in the form of ready dissolvable powders. Such powders may be termed as fine grain powders comparable to granular or powdery sugar. The degree of blending of these powders is not critical so long as the right proportions of each component is dissolved in the body of water that is used in forming the solution comprising the amoxicillin and the hydroxypolycarboxylic acid. The key to blending and aliquoting the blend is to assure that the proper concentration of each component is present in the aliquot when the aliquot is dissolved in a common body of water.
The dry solid mixture may be dissolved in a small concentration of water, for example, an amount of water sufficient to dissolve all of the components of the dry mixture. This solution can be a concentrate of the amoxicillin and is used as a vehicle for supplying the ingredients of the dry solid mixture of the invention in the water feed of the animals.

Soluble forms of amoxicillin and treatment of animals