A heat exchanger is mounted external to a section of flue pipe or is an integral part of a section of flue pipe. The heat exchanger preheats a domestic hot water supply and boosts the return water temperature prior to reentry to the furnace coil. The heat exchanger reduces fuel use, pollution and wear of the furnace and burner. A typical heat exchanger installation includes an oil or gas burner located on a furnace or boiler having a flue pipe leading to a gaseous outlet, such as a masonry chimney. A short vertical flue section leads to a draft-regulating damper. The flue heat exchanger may be a coil of tubing wrapped around flue section, such that the tubing picks up heat from the heated flue gasses. Preheated water exits from the heat exchanger.

Heat exchangers are known, which direct water in a pipe through a flue.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,801 of Burns describes a heat exchanger which first encircles water pipes in 2 circular rings around an exhaust flue, but then directs the water into coils within the exhaust flue. The external rings appear to be for positioning the water flow headers equally around the flue, not to preheat the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,187 of Farris discloses an energy conservation system for heaters that uses a heat exchanger in a furnace chamber or duct.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,731 of DeBoer discloses a heat transfer apparatus for supplementing a building heating and cooling system, using a heat exchanger in a furnace flue. DeBoer suggests an external heat exchanger, but provides no enabling details thereof.
Japanese patent no. JA0031286 of Satou discloses a heat transfer pipe for high temperature gases. It has a shell with multiple, non-axial connected heat exchangers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,047 of Buchhave describes a heat exchanger for a sludge containment structure made of two rigid half shells, wherein sludge flows in the annular space enclosed by the shell halves and an inner sleeve in a spiral path external the spiral tubing with heating fluid flowing therethrough.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,564 of Erickson disclose a water heater utilizing exhaust gases from furnaces or stoves, but the recovery is through a coil inside an exhaust flue.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,990,056 of Van Daam describes passing water through a spherical corrugated chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,028 of Nicolai discloses a preheater with an internal wall parallel to an external side wall with a water tight seal with pressure restraining capability. It does not disclose a coil of hollow heat conductive tubing enclosed within a substantially dry cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,992 of Borovina and No. 2,521,462 of Kinzelmann both disclose water heaters that pass water through a spiral coil within an exhaust flue.
Canadian patent no. CA1271380 of Hampden describes a heat exchanger for air, not fluids, which is heated in a replaceable flue section. Hampden uses a blower to draw air through fins in an annular space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,567 of Torres proposes an exhaust flue over the water heater having a spiral coil for heating water therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,267 of Wood describe a tube and plate heat exchanger with water heating coils inside a chamber, such as a gas heat duct or flue.
German patent no. DE 3340281A of Grabietz describes a flue within a jacket wherein coiled water tubes wrap around the inner flue pipe. However, the space between the tubes positioned over the inner flue and within the outer jacket are filled with solid, cast molten metal, instead of fibrous insulation.
Soviet Union patent no. SU0779719 of Ukrorgtekhstroi discloses a heat exchanger with inner fins, not coils, which has heat resistant end caps enclosing a flue pipe. The fins are spiraled, but they are not hollow and do not carry fluid therein. Ukrorgtekhstroi does not contain tubing wrapped around a flue pipe.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,261 of Brown also discloses directing water coils inside of flues.


Disclosed is a plasma display panel. The plasma display panel comprises a lower substrate and an upper substrate, which are spaced apart by a predetermined distance from each other to define a plurality of discharge cells therebetween; a plurality of barrier ribs disposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate; a plurality of address electrodes formed in parallel with one another on an upper surface of the lower substrate; a plurality of discharge electrodes formed in a direction crossing the address electrodes on a lower surface of the upper substrate; and a fluorescent layer formed on an inner wall of the discharge cells, wherein the upper substrate comprises a plurality of light guides, which are formed in parallel with the plurality of address electrodes to focus and output visible light generated from the discharge cells by a discharge, the light guides having a light incident surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plasma display panel with an improved structure that can enhance brightness and bright room contrast.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) is an apparatus that forms an image using an electrical discharge, and has superior display performances in brightness and viewing angle. In such a PDP, a DC or AC voltage applied to electrodes causes a gas discharge between the electrodes, and ultraviolet rays generated during the gas discharge excites phosphors, so that visible light is emitted from the excited fluorescent material.
The PDP can be classified into either a DC type PDP or an AC type PDP according to the type of gas discharge. The DC type PDP has a structure in which all electrodes are exposed to a discharge space and charges move directly between the electrodes. The AC type PDP has a structure in which at least one electrode is covered with a dielectric layer, and charges do not move directly between the corresponding electrodes but discharge is performed by wall charges.
Alternatively, the PDP may be classified into either a facing discharge type PDP or a surface discharge type PDP according to the arrangement structure of the electrodes. The facing discharge type PDP has a structure in which two sustaining electrodes forming a pair are formed respectively on a lower substrate and an upper substrate, and a discharge occurs in a direction perpendicular to the substrate. The surface discharge type PDP has a structure in which two sustaining electrodes forming a pair are respectively formed on the same substrate, and a discharge occurs in a direction parallel to the substrate.
The facing discharge type PDP has a high luminous efficiency, but it has also a disadvantage in that the fluorescent phosphor layer is easily degenerated. To this end, at present, the surface discharge type PDP is mainly used.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a construction of a general surface discharge type PDP. Particularly, FIG. 2 shows that only an upper substrate of the surface discharge type PDP is rotated by 90 degrees for easier understanding of an inner structure of the PDP.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional PDP includes a lower substrate 10 and an upper substrate 20 facing each other.
On an upper surface of the lower substrate 10, a plurality of address electrodes 11 are arranged in a stripe configuration. The address electrodes 11 are buried by a first dielectric layer 12. On the first dielectric layer 12, a plurality of barrier ribs 13 are formed spaced away by a predetermined distance from one another so as to prevent electrical and optical cross-talk between discharge cells 14. The inner surfaces of discharge cells 14 are partitioned by the barrier ribs 13 and are coated with a predetermined thickness of a red (R), green (G) and blue (B) fluorescent layer 15. Inside the discharge cells 14, a discharge gas is filled. The discharge gas is a mixture gas of neon (Ne) gas and a small amount of xenon (Xe) gas, which is generally used for a plasma discharge.
The upper substrate 20 is a transparent substrate through which visible light passes, and is formed mainly of glass. The upper substrate 20 is coupled with the lower substrate 10 having the barrier ribs 13. On a lower surface of the upper substrate 20, sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b forming pairs and perpendicularly crossing the address electrodes 11 are arranged in a stripe configuration. The sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b are formed of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) such that the visible light can pass through the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b. In order to reduce a line resistance of the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b, bus electrodes 22a and 22b formed of a metal are formed beneath the respective sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b at a width less than that of the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b. These sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b and the bus electrodes 22a and 22b are covered with a second dielectric layer 23. Beneath the second dielectric layer 23, a protective layer 24 is formed. The protective layer 24 prevents the second dielectric layer 23 from being damaged due to a sputtering of plasma particles and emits secondary electrons, thereby lowering the discharge voltage. The protective layer 24 is generally formed of magnesium oxide (MgO). Meanwhile, a plurality of black stripes 30 are formed spaced away by a predetermined distance from one another in parallel with the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b on an upper surface of the upper substrate 20 so as to prevent light from being introduced into the panel from the exterior.
The operation of the conventional PDP constructed as above is generally classified into an operation for an address discharge and an operation for the sustaining discharge. The address discharge occurs between the address electrodes 11 and any one of the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b, and during the address discharge, wall charges are formed. The sustaining discharge occurs due to a potential difference between the sustaining electrodes 21a and 21b positioned at the discharge cells 14 in which the wall charges are formed. During the sustaining discharge, the fluorescent layer 15 of the corresponding discharge cell is excited by ultraviolet rays generated from the discharge gas, so that visible light is emitted. When this visible light passes through the upper substrate 20, an image that is conceivable by a user is formed.
However, in the conventional PDP constructed as above, when the exterior is in a bright condition, namely, in a bright room condition, exterior light is introduced into the discharge cells 14, so that the introduced light overlaps the light generated from the discharge cells 14. As a result, the bright room contrast is lowered and thus the image display performance of the PDP is deteriorated.

Plasma display panel with light guides for improving contrast


There is provided a vehicle-body underside airflow controller capable of obtaining an optimum aerodynamic performance by detecting vehicle speed and by controlling a rise angle of an under-cover (10) corresponding to the vehicle speed by driving actuators (14) so that a road clearance of the under-cover (10) becomes H2 and the rise angle thereof becomes α2 when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined vehicle speed (when high speed) and by driving the actuators (14) so that the road clearance of the under-cover (10) becomes H1 and the rise angle thereof becomes α1 when the vehicle speed is lower than the predetermined vehicle speed (when low speed).

A technology described in Technological Disclosure No. 2004-504490 of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation for example has been proposed as a vehicle-body underside airflow controller.
The technology described in Technological Disclosure No. 2004-504490 of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation proposes to obtain optimum aerodynamic characteristics by providing a rear diffuser (or may be a floor pan or an under-cover) at the rear of the vehicle over a rear wheel at the underside of the body and by controlling a road clearance (a height from a road surface) of the rear diffuser.
Specifically, it improves straight-driving stability and steering stability of the vehicle by controlling the road clearance of the whole rear diffuser and by controlling the road clearance of the rear diffuser in the lateral direction part of the vehicle according to vehicle speed, a yaw rate and acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle (so-called lateral G).
However, the technology described in Technological Disclosure No. 2004-504490 of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation only adjusts the height of the rear diffuser from the road surface and does not change a rise angle of the rear diffuser (an angle between an extension line of the rear diffuser and the road surface) that has been set at an angle in advance.
The rise angle of the rear diffuser affects the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle and is deeply connected with contradictory requirements such as interference with the road surface and looks, so that it has been desired to be able to obtain the optimum aerodynamic characteristics.

Vehicle body underside air flow controller


An apparatus for applying a wraparound cover to a pad includes a loading station, a creasing station having a pair of knife edges and an anvil for applying a pair of parallel creases in the cover, a gluing station for applying a bead of glue to an under side of the pad and a folding station for folding an overlap portion of the cover about the rear and underside of the pad so as to engage the glue bead. The folding station includes a holddown mechanism and an articulated hand that folds the cover overlap portion at each crease about the rear edges of the pad.

The present application is directed to an apparatus for applying a wrap around cover to a pad created sheets of paper and preferably to such a pad having a pre-existing backing and wherein the sheets of paper are adhered together near one end thereof. The application is also directed to the method of forming a cover pad with such an apparatus.
Tablets and pads that are formed by joining together multiple sheets of paper are quite common and extremely varied in type. Some such articles have paper that have been previously printed, such as forms, certain blank sheets, such as note pads, or the like. The paper in such goods is usually joined in stacks by gluing, stapling or some other means, typically at or near one end of a stack of the paper. Because of the wide variety of shapes and sizes of such tablets and pads, it is sometimes quite difficult to design machines that are sufficiently varied to be able to make or further process pads of many different sizes and shapes. Consequently, pads of this type often require intensive manual labor which is quite expensive and slow for both initial manufacture and customization.
The present invention is directed to a semi-automated apparatus which applies a wrap around cover to a pad of paper of the type described above. In particular, pads, such as note pads, are often provided with multiple sheets of paper with a stiff back constructed of cardboard or the like. It is often desirable in these types of pads, especially for certain markets, to provide a wraparound cover which is adhered to the back, but which wraps around and covers the front of the pad in a manner so as to allow a user to lift the cover and use the pad. Joining of such a wraparound cover with a pad has typically been performed by the manual labor described above. The purpose of the apparatus and method of the present invention is to provide for such covers to be applied in a rapid and at least semi-automated manner so as to improve quality, reduce cost and substantially increase speed, especially when the pads are manufactured and fed to the apparatus from an automated production line.

Apparatus for applying a wraparound cover to a pad of paper


In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a lie loaded packing assembly for a valve which comprises a valve body defining a passage having a valve stem moveably disposed therein and selectively moveable between open and closed positions. Extending about a portion of the valve stem is a packing. One end of a sleeve of the valve bears axially onto and compresses the packing, with a spigot of the valve being cooperatively engaged to the opposite end of the sleeve. A clamp of the valve is cooperatively engaged to the valve body, with a pair of bolts extending between and being secured to the clamp, the spigot, and a flange member which is itself cooperatively engaged to the spigot. The combination of the bolt, spigot and flange member provide an integral spring construction for the valve.

The present invention relates generally to valves, and more particularly to a live loaded packing assembly specifically suited for sealing the valve stem of a valve to the sleeve or passage in which the valve stem normally moves.
In typical valve construction, a valve stem may undergo a turning or sliding movement, or a combination of both movements, within its sleeve during the process of the valve moving between its open and closed configurations. In this regard, the sealing of the stem must be adequate to contend with such movement, while at the same time ensuring maintenance of fluid tightness against the pressure of the fluid in the valve. A widely used type of stem sealing is a compression packing in which a gland, which may be bolted or threaded, applies a compressive force to a soft compression packing in a stuffer box surrounding a portion of the length of the stem. The resulting radial pressure of the packing onto the stem provides the desired seal so long as the radial pressure exceeds the pressure of fluid in the valve.
In certain valve configurations, compression may be applied to the packing through the use of packing bolts which are each attached at one end to a clamp around the valve body, and at their other end to a spigot, a flange or other projection bearing on, integral with or attached to the gland or sleeve which bears onto the packing. In this particular arrangement, the tightening of the bolts increases the pressure on the packing, thus facilitating the application of radial pressure onto the stem.
In other valve configurations, it is known to attach a spring between the nut used to tighten the bolt and the surface of the spigot or flange. Although coil springs may be used, a conventional practice is to use Belleville springs which are essentially formed as a series of dished washers. Such springs have a higher compression rating than a simple coil spring, with the use of the Belleville springs providing a "live-loaded" packing which can automatically compensate for changes that may take place in the packing under operating conditions of the valve, such as high pressures and temperatures. Since the volume of the packing material may reduce under certain operating conditions, the spring pressure compensates for such reduction and maintains the required pressure, thus avoiding potential harmful effects to the sealing of the stem in an unsprung valve which could result from the reduction in the packing material volume. Alternatively, if the packing volume increases (which can happen with certain packing materials), the radial pressure of the stem in an unsprung valve could increase too much, thus possibly causing sticking of the stem. The spring value, however, can accommodate the pressure increase by means of further compression of the springs.
The "live-loaded" packing construction for a valve described above, while providing a useful amount of self-adjustment to maintain the correct pressure through the packing onto the valve stem, has previously been determined to suffer from certain deficiencies detracting from its overall utility. One such deficiency is the need for longer bolts than would otherwise be required in order to accommodate the springs. The provision of such longer bolts requires sufficient clearance beyond the spigot or gland flange to accommodate such bolts and the corresponding springs, which in turn causes difficulties in fitting a "live-loaded" packing construction to existing valves. This particular deficiency is addressed by the live load valve assembly described in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,987 entitled LIVE LOAD ASSEMBLY FOR VALVE issued Sep. 23, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,987, in one specific embodiment of the improved live-loaded packing construction, an integral spring construction is provided by one or more slots in the arms of the spigot, each such slot extending in a generally radial direction along a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve. Due to the inclusion of the slots therein, the arm is effectively divided into branches which can be forced toward each other as a result of the tightening of a bolt that passes through them. The arm branches, in conjunction with the bolt, act as an integral spring that is capable of accommodating changes in the volume of the packing in a similar manner to that described above in relation to the use of the Belleville springs. In this regard, when the nut is tightened on its corresponding bolt, the branches of the associated arms are forced to deflect toward each other, or one may deflect towards the other, thereby maintaining a stored energy load which is transmitted to the packing. As is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,987, where this integral spring construction is provided by the slots and the arms of the spigot, the depth of each slot (i.e., the distance between the branches that it separates) may be made oversize to facilitate greater ease in its manufacture. In this oversized condition, to ensure that the correct amount of deflection of a branch toward a corresponding branch occurs, one or more appropriately sized washers or spacers can be fitted around the bolt to reside between the branches and thus reduce the slot depth. The maximum amount of branch deflection can thereby be controlled by selectively varying the size and/or number of spacers between the arm branches.
Though providing improvements over conventional live loaded packing construction, the integral spring construction embodiment described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,987 itself suffers from one particular drawback. More particularly, there is a susceptibility in such integral spring construction for an over-torque condition to arise as a result of the branches of each arm being forced too close to each other by the over tightening of the nut on the bolt that passes through them. In this regard, the over tightening the nut as causes one or both of the arm branches to bow or deflect too much toward the other may result in the application of an excessive level of radial pressure onto the valve stem, thus resulting in the sticking of the stem. Though such over-torquing of the nut(s) may be prevented by the placement of the above-described spacers between the branches of each arm in the above-described manner, the fitting of such spacers into the valve is time consuming and cumbersome due to the need to select the appropriate size and number of spacers to prevent an over-flexed condition in the branches from occurring. If such spacers are not used, the tightening of the nuts typically must be facilitated through the use of a torque wrench which is itself time consuming and cumbersome. The present invention, while providing the advantages of the integral spring construction described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,987, also eliminates the aforementioned deficiency by providing a live-loaded packing assembly for a valve which is specifically configured prevent the over-torquing condition described above from occurring, yet eliminates the need to use spacers or torque wrenches to tighten the nuts. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in more detail below.


The invention relates to sample support plates with hydrophilic anchors in a strongly hydrophobic environment for mass spectroscopic analysis of biosubstances with ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI), procedures for manufacturing these sample supports, and connected procedures for loading these sample supports with biomolecular samples. The invention provides areas with affinity adsorbents adjacent to the hydrophilic anchors for purifying biosubstances and, if wanted, for performing an affinity selection of biosubstances, whereby the finally prepared matrix sample crystals with the biosubstances for the MALDI analysis are well localized on the hydrophilic anchors.

Mass spectrometry involving ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI) has established itself as a standard procedure for the analysis of biosubstances with large molecules. For this purpose, time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOF-MS) are usually employed, although Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance spectrometers (FT-ICR) or radio frequency quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometers (in short: ion traps) have also been utilized.
In the following, the molecules of biosubstances to be studied will be referred to simply as "analyte molecules" or "biomolecules". In all cases, analyte molecules are present either in very diluted form in aqueous solutions, pure or mixed with organic solvents. Sometimes these analytical solutions are very complex and dirty with respect to the requirements of the analytical procedures, e.g., in the case of body fluids.
The biosubstances include all biopolymers and sometimes other substances with large molecules such as corticosteroids. "Biopolymers" comprise oligonucleotides (i.e. fragments of genetic material in various forms such as DNA or RNA), polysaccharides and proteins (the essential building blocks of the living world) as well as their special analogues and conjugates such as glycoproteins or lipoproteins, and peptides arising from the action of digestive enzymes.
The selection of matrix substance for MALDI depends on the type of analyte molecule; more than a hundred different matrix substances are now known. One of the tasks of the matrix substances is to isolate the analyte molecules from each other wherever possible and bind them to the sample support, to transfer the molecules into the vapor phase by forming a vapor cloud during the laser bombardment, and ultimately to ionize the biomolecules by protonation or deprotonation. For this task it has proven useful to incorporate the analyte molecules individually in the crystals of the matrix substances during their crystallization, or at least finely distributed in the boundary areas between the crystals. Here it seems important to separate the analyte molecules from each other, i.e., no clusters of analyte molecules should be allowed in the prepared matrix crystal sample.
A variety of procedures are known for applying analytes and matrices. The simplest of these entails the pipetting of a solution containing analyte and matrix onto a cleaned, metallic sample support. The drop of solution wets a certain area of the metal surface (or its oxide layer) whose size on hydrophilic surfaces is many times larger than that of the diameter of a drop. The size depends on the hydrophilicity and the microstructuring of the metal surface as well as on the properties of the droplet, in particular that of the solvent. After drying of the solution, a sample spot consisting of small matrix crystals forms that is the same size as that of the originally wetted surface area. The matrix crystals are usually not uniformly distributed throughout the formerly wetted area. As a rule, crystals of the matrix start growing at the inner margin of the wetting surface on the metal plate. They then grow towards the interior of the wetting surface. They often form thin needle crystals, as is the case for example for the frequently used matrices 5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) or 3-hydroxypicolinic acid (HPA), which often stand out from the carrier plate at the interior of the spot. The center of the spot is frequently empty or covered with fine crystals, although often they cannot be used for MALDI ionization because of their high concentration of alkaline salts. The loading of the crystals with biomolecules is also very uneven. This type of loading therefore requires viewing of the sample support surface during MALDI ionization by a video microscope which can be found in any commercially available mass spectrometer used for this type of analysis. Ion yield and mass resolution vary in the sample spot from place to place. It is often an arduous process to find a suitable position on the sample spot with a satisfactory analyte ion yield and mass resolution, and only experience, trial and error allow for improvements.
Although there are control programs for mass spectrometers with algorithms for automatically seeking the best spots for MALDI-ionization, such procedures, involving many attempts and evaluations, are necessarily very slow.
With other loading procedures the matrix substance is already present on the carrier plate before application of the solvent droplets, which now only contain analyte molecules.
If the surface of the sample carrier plate is not hydrophilic, but hydrophobic, smaller crystal conglomerates are formed, but the droplets tend to wander in an uncontrollable manner during drying. Hence the localization of the crystal conglomerates cannot be predicted and must be sought during the MALDI process. Furthermore, there is a considerable risk that droplets will conglomerate and thus render a separate analysis of samples impossible.
Biosample analyses are now performed in their thousands, a situation which demands automatic high throughput procedures. A visual control or search, or even an automated search, would obstruct such a high throughput procedure.
A procedure has now been developed by the applicant which leads to local and size-defined crystallization fields on small hydrophilic anchor regions of 100 to 800 micrometer in diameter within an otherwise hydrophobic surface (DE 197 54 978 C2). The aqueous drops are fixed by the hydrophilic anchors and prevented from wandering even when they initially rest on surrounding lyophobic areas due to their weight. During drying the droplets withdraw onto the anchor, and relatively dense, homogeneously distributed, crystalline conglomerates arise on the exact position of these anchors (sometimes even structured as a single compact crystalline block depending on the type and concentration of matrix substance). It could be shown that the detection limit for analyte molecules improves with reduction of the surface area of the wetting surface. Thus, smaller quantities of analytes and more diluted solutions can be worked with during sample preparation; such an advantage is expressed in better running biochemical preparatory procedures and reductions in chemical material costs. With a suitable preparation the analytical sensitivity over the surface of the sample is highly uniform. Thus the ionization process can be freed from the need to perform visual or automated searches for favorable sites; instead a "blind" bombardment of the crystal conglomerates with desorbing laser light can be used. This preparation method for prelocated spots of equal sensitivity accelerates the analytical process.
The crystal conglomerates forming on the hydrophilic anchor surfaces reveal a microcrystalline structure suitable for the MALDI-process. As the speed of the drying process is increased, the crystalline structure becomes finer.
Here a "hydrophobic" surface is understood as a water repellant surface, i.e. one resistant to wetting by aqueous solutions. Correspondingly, a "hydrophilic" surface is understood as one that can be easily wetted by water. "Oleophobic" and "oleophilic" (also referred to sometimes as "lipophobic" and "lipophilic") refer to surfaces which repel or which can be wetted by oil, respectively. Organic solvents that are not miscible with water usually have an oily nature in this meaning of wettability, i.e. they can wet oleophilic faces. They are as a rule miscible with oil. Organic solvents that are miscible with water, e.g. methanol, acetone or acetonitrile, can wet both oleophilic and hydrophilic surfaces in a pure state. However, the wettability of oleophilic surfaces reduces as the water content increases.
An opinion persisted for a long time that hydrophobic surfaces are always also oleophilic, and that oleophobic surfaces are always hydrophilic. However, for some years it has been known that surfaces exist which are both hydrophobic and oleophobic; these include smooth surfaces of perfluorinated hydrocarbons such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Such surfaces are designated here as "lyophobic", a term which has been adopted from colloidal science.
Recently, it has also become known that the wetting or liquid repelling character of a surface strongly depends on its microstructure. An example of this is the so called "lotus effect" (named after the lotus-plant).
The hydrophobicity (oleophobicity, lyophobicity) can be measured essentially by measuring the contact angle which the liquid develops under standardized conditions at the edge of the wetting surface with the solid surface. In an absolute sense a surface of a material is referred to as hydrophobic, oleophobic or lyophobic if the contact angle of the respective liquid level in a capillary constructed from this material is more than 90°. Such a definition is hard to apply to the contact angle of a droplet sitting on a flat surface since the droplet size actually plays a bigger role in this case. In the following, the terms hydrophilc and hydrophobic are not used in an absolute, but rather a relative sense: a surface is more hydrophobic towards a liquid than another surface if the contact angle is larger. In general, a surface is already regarded as hydrophobic if the contact angle is smaller than 90°, but a drop does not run on the surface to form a large wetting surface.
A surface is particularly designated as "hydrophobic" when a drop retracts on a surface during drying or aspiration with a pipette, reducing the wetted surface reduces in size and leaving behind a dry surface (so called "dynamic hydrophobia").
As a rule, biomolecules are best dissolved in water, sometimes with the addition of organic, water-soluble solvents such as alcohols, acetone or acetonitrile. The analytical solutions of biomolecules sometimes also contain other substances such as glycols, glue-like buffering agents, salts, acids or bases depending on their preparation. The MALDI process is disrupted considerably by the presence of these impurities, sometimes through prevention of protonation, and sometimes through the formation of adducts. In particular, alkali ions often form adducts with analyte molecules of varying size and prevent any precise mass determination. The concentration of alkali ions in the sample preparation, as well as the concentration of other impurity substances must be kept extremely low by careful purification procedures.
For purification and simultaneous enrichment of biomolecules one can use so-called affinity adsorption media similar to those used in affinity chromatography. While in affinity chromatography one uses highly bioselective affinity adsorbents, for the purification of initially unknown mixtures of biopolymers without losses of special types of biomolecules one needs non-specific adsorbents that can bind all biomolecular constituents of the mixture to as near a similar degree as possible.
For purification of peptides, proteins or DNA mixtures, sponge-like microspheres of adsorbent material (such as POROS, a registered trademark of Perseptive Biosystems, Inc.), pipette tips filled with sponge-like adsorbent (such as ZIPTIPs, a registered trademark of Millipore Corporation) or C18 coated magnetized spheres (such as GenoPure, a product of Bruker Daltonics, Inc.) have proven particularly useful until now. These materials are all strongly oleophilic and bind peptides or oligonucleotides via hydrophobic bonds. As a rule, biomolecules can be eluted using aqueous methanol or acetonitrile solutions, and elution can often be assisted by altering the pH-value. However, purification with these materials is labor-intensive since it requires additional materials and additional procedural steps.
Affinity capture methods have become known also for biospecific selection of certain biomolecules in connection with mass spectrometric analysis, see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,208, U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,942, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,063 (T. W. Hutchens and T.-T. Yip). Such biospecific affinity adsorption processes can be likewise used for purification.
As an alternative or additional procedure one can also remove noxious cations by substitution with ion exchangers. A procedure has also been developed by us to accomplish this (DE 199 23 761 C2).

Structured biosample support plates for mass spectroscopic analyses and procedures for use


An optical scanner that may assemble the lens design for varying the focus and resolution, having a light source, a reflection compound mirror, a charge coupled device, a basic objective lens and a compound lens. The basic objective lens is designed by simulation software. According to the lens design theory, the compound lens is designed. By incorporating the basic objective lens and the compound lens, different resolutions such as 1200 dpi, 1600 dpi and 2400 dpi of the optical scanner are obtained without redesigning the lens device, the current specification of the optical scanner is also varied.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an optical scanner, and more particularly, to an optical scanner that may assemble different lens designs for changing focus and resolution.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional optical scanner (referring to FIG. 1) comprises a light source 100, a reflection compound mirror 400, an object lens 500 and an optical sensor, such as a charge coupled device (CCD) 600. While scanning, the light source 100 radiates on the document 200, an image light is obtained via reflection or transmission. The reflection compound mirror 400 is comprised of several reflection mirrors (401, 402, 403) located along the optical path. Therefore, the image of the document 200 is incident to the reflection compound mirror 400. Being reflected by the reflection compound mirror 400, the image is transmitted to the objective lens 500. The objective lens can receive the image of the document 200 transmitted from the reflection compound mirror 400, and display such image in the charge coupled device 600.
The conventional objective lens is designed by simulation software according to the requirements of resolution, total track (TT), magnification and modulation transfer function (MTF) provided by the client. The factors of lens, material, curvature, number of lenses, size, and length of the objective lens are thus determined. The sample is then fabricated, and the inspection of the sample and simulation are performed. For example, the objective lens 502 of 600 dpi as shown in FIG. 2a is normally formed of three lenses. The objective lens 504 of 1200 dpi as shown in FIG. 2b is normally formed of four lenses.
According to the above, the conventional design of the objective lens has to meet the specification requirements including the resolution, the total track, the magnification and the modulation transfer function. For different specification requirements, a new objective lens has to be designed. Alternatively, the specification of the current optical scanner has to be changed.


Disclosed is a shutter system and its panels in which at least one panel is formed of corrugations, and in which the subject panel is perforated. Ideally, the perforation is employed in a panel having an isosceles trapezoidal rib, with the perforations running the full length of the face of the rib. The adjacent panels are secured by a wide variety of means often implying a keyhole slot at the top and the bottom of each panel to engage a fastening means which is secured to the structure being covered. Different mountings including direct mountings, of course, are contemplated. The panels, whether perforated or not, are formed from essentially the same material and as a consequence thermal expansion and contraction between adjacent panels is accommodated by the mutual expansion and contraction of each, thereby requiring only accommodation of the shutter system with regard to the opening in the dwelling which it closes.

The present invention is directed to hurricane shutters generally of the type which are removably secured to openings in a building structure, more particularly the windows and doors of a house. The same can also be used in structures which are operated part-time to inhibit break-in as well as window breakage due to stray flying objects.


An oxygen-consuming electrode is described, more particularly for use in chloralkali electrolysis, comprising a novel catalyst coating, as is an electrolysis apparatus. Also described is a production process for the oxygen-consuming electrode and the use thereof in chloralkali electrolysis or fuel cell technology. The oxygen-consuming electrode comprises at least an electrically conductive support, an electrical contact site and a gas diffusion layer comprising a catalytically active component, characterized in that the coating at least one fluorinated polymer, silver in the form of silver particles and silver oxide in the form of silver oxide particles, which is produced in a selected precipitation step.

The invention relates to an oxygen-consuming electrode, more particularly for use in chloralkali electrolysis, comprising a novel catalyst coating based on silver and a finely divided silver oxide, and to an electrolysis apparatus. The invention further relates to a production process for the oxygen-consuming electrode and to the use thereof in chloralkali electrolysis or fuel cell technology.
The invention proceeds from oxygen-consuming electrodes known per se, which take the form of gas diffusion electrodes and typically comprise an electrically conductive support and a gas diffusion layer comprising a catalytically active component.
Various proposals for production and operation of the oxygen-consuming electrodes in electrolysis cells on the industrial scale are known in principle from the prior art. The basic idea is to replace the hydrogen-evolving cathode in the electrolysis (for example in chloralkali electrolysis) with the oxygen-consuming electrode (cathode). An overview of the possible cell designs and solutions can be found in the publication by Moussallem et al "Chlor-Alkali Electrolysis with Oxygen Depolarized Cathodes: History, Present Status and Future Prospects", J. Appl. Electrochem. 38 (2008) 1177-1194.
The oxygen-consuming electrode—also called OCE for short hereinafter—has to meet a series of requirements to be usable in industrial electrolysers. For instance, the catalyst and all other materials used have to be chemically stable towards approx. 32% by weight sodium hydroxide solution and towards pure oxygen at a temperature of typically 80 to 90° C. Similarly, a high degree of mechanical stability is required, since the electrodes can be installed and operated in electrolysers with a size typically more than 2 m2 in area (industrial scale). Further properties are: high electrical conductivity, low layer thickness, high internal surface area and high electrochemical activity of the electrocatalyst. Suitable hydrophobic and hydrophilic pores and a corresponding pore structure for conduction of gas and electrolyte are likewise necessary, as is such imperviosity that gas and liquid space remain separate from one another. Long-term stability and low production costs are further particular requirements on an industrially usable oxygen-consuming electrode.
An oxygen-consuming electrode consists typically of a support element, for example a plate of porous metal or metal wire mesh, and an electrochemically active coating. The electrochemically active coating is microporous and consists of hydrophilic and hydrophobic constituents. The hydrophobic constituents make it difficult for electrolytes to penetrate and thus keep the corresponding pores unblocked for the transport of the oxygen to the catalytically active sites. The hydrophilic constituents enable the electrolyte to penetrate to the catalytically active sites, and the hydroxide ions to be transported away. The hydrophobic component used is generally a fluorinated polymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which additionally serves as a polymeric binder of the catalyst. In the case of electrodes with a silver catalyst, the silver serves as a hydrophilic component. In the case of carbon-supported catalysts, the support used is a carbon with hydrophilic pores, through which liquid can be transported.
The oxygen is reduced in a three-phase region, in which gas phase, liquid phase and solid catalyst are in contact.
The gas is transported through the pores in the hydrophobic matrix. The hydrophilic pores fill up with liquid; the water is transported to the catalytic sites and the hydroxide ions away from them through these pores. Since oxygen dissolves in the aqueous phase only to a limited degree, sufficient water-free pores must be available for transport of the oxygen.
A multitude of compounds have been described as catalysts for the reduction of oxygen.
For instance, there are reports of the use of palladium, ruthenium, gold, nickel, oxides and sulphides of transition metals, metal porphyrins and phthalocyanines, and perovskites as catalysts for oxygen-consuming electrodes.
However, only platinum and silver have gained practical significance as catalysts for the reduction of oxygen in alkaline solutions.
Platinum has a very high catalytic activity for the reduction of oxygen. Due to the high costs of platinum, it is used exclusively in supported form. A known and proven support material is carbon. Carbon conducts electrical current to the platinum catalyst. The pores in the carbon particles can be hydrophilized by oxidation of the carbon surface, and become suitable for the transport of water as a result. However, the stability of carbon-supported platinum electrodes in long-term operation is inadequate, probably because platinum also catalyses the oxidation of the support material. The oxidation of the support material leads to loss of the mechanical stability of the electrode.
Silver likewise has a high catalytic activity for the reduction of oxygen.
According to the prior art, silver can also be used with carbon as a support, and also in the form of finely divided metallic silver.
OCEs comprising carbon-supported silver typically have silver concentrations of 20-50 g/m2. Even though the carbon-supported silver catalysts are fundamentally more durable than the corresponding platinum catalysts, the long-term stability thereof under the conditions of chloralkali electrolysis, however, is still limited.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen-consuming electrode (OCE), more particularly for use in chloralkali electrolysis, in which silver oxide is used, which enables a lower operating voltage when the OCEs are used in chloralkali electrolysis, and the production process for which overcomes the above-described disadvantages of the OCEs known from the prior art.

Oxygen-consuming electrode and process for production thereof


A riser reactor system for conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock to ethylene and propylene is described. The riser reactor system prevents riser reactors with a plurality of inlet ports for feeding gases having different compositions and for controlling the residence time of a gas catalyst within the riser reactor.

Ethylene and propylene are light olefin hydrocarbons and are important chemicals for use in the production of other useful materials, such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Other materials that are important and produced from ethylene and propylene include vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, ethylbenzene, and alcohol. Essentially all of ethylene and propylene is produced by steam cracking of pyrolysis of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons used as feedstock for light olefin production include natural gas, petroleum liquids, and carbonaceous materials including coal, recycled plastic or any organic material.
The amounts of ethylene and propylene produced are often limited by the process and the percentage of the ethylene and propylene produced is often fairly low. Factors affecting the conversion include residence time, temperature of the operation and composition of the feedstock. As the economy grows and expands, the demand for light olefins will increase. Because of the limited availability in the production of light olefins from current methods, new methods are desired for increasing yields from existing sources of hydrocarbons. In addition, new inventions to reactor designs can enhance light olefin production.

Riser reactor system for hydrocarbon cracking


A patty forming apparatus (10) is connectable with an output portion (30) of a food processor (14). The apparatus (10) includes a housing (60) connectable with the output portion (30) of the food processor (14). A mold plate (100) is arranged for movement in the housing (60). The mold plate (100) includes at least a first mold portion (120). The mold plate (100) is movable to a first position in the housing (60) for receiving a food product (26) in the first mold portion (120) from the food processor (14). The mold plate (100) is movable to a second position in the housing (60) for removal of the food product (26) from the first mold portion (120).

Devices for molding food products into desired shapes are generally known. Among these devices are mold devices for processing a ground meat, such as ground beef, into a patty. In a home setting, the known mold devices are typically small units that include a single mold cavity. These residential mold devices are manually loaded with ground meat and operated manually to press or otherwise force the ground meat to conform with the mold cavity and produce a patty.
In a commercial or industrial setting, the known mold devices are large units that may include multiple mold cavities. These mold devices are loaded or fed a large volume of ground meat which is fed into the mold cavity or cavities automatically to produce the patties. These commercial and/or industrial mold devices may also be fit with meat grinding equipment so that the mold device may be fed with meat that has not been pre-ground. The patties are typically placed on a conveyor or other similar device to automatically discharge the patties from the mold device. These mold devices are capable of producing pressed patties in large volumes suited for commercial/industrial purposes. These mold devices may further be fit with equipment for packaging the patties as they are produced.


A shift control apparatus for a continuously-variable transmission includes an operating condition sensing section; a normal-time speed ratio determining section; a normal-time control section; a kickdown-acceleration request determining section; a kickdown-acceleration-time control section; and an accelerator-operation-quantity variation-rate limiting section. The kickdown-acceleration-time control section is configured to set a kickdown-acceleration-time target speed ratio in accordance with a vehicle speed and an accelerator operation quantity, to cause an output rotational speed of the transmission to increase substantially linearly with an increase of input rotational speed of the transmission, when the kickdown-acceleration request determining section determines that a kickdown acceleration request is present, and to control the speed ratio in accordance with the kickdown-acceleration-time target speed ratio. The accelerator-operation-quantity variation-rate limiting section is configured to calculate a corrected accelerator operation quantity by imposing a limitation on a variation rate of the accelerator operation quantity, when a predetermined variation of the sensed accelerator operation quantity occurs during the speed ratio control of the kickdown-acceleration-time control section, and to output the corrected accelerator operation quantity to the kickdown-acceleration-time control section in order to set the kickdown-acceleration-time target speed ratio.

The present invention relates to shift control apparatus and method for a continuously-variable transmission mounted in a vehicle.
When carrying out a shift control for a continuously-variable transmission mounted in a vehicle, in general, a target speed ratio (i.e., transmission ratio) is determined from a target rotational speed of an input shaft according to an operating condition of the vehicle by using a map. Such a map represents a shift pattern according to a vehicle speed and an accelerator operation quantity (i.e., accelerator manipulated variable), and has been stored as a map of the target input-shaft rotational speed. In such a case, the map represents a shift (pattern) line every range of the accelerator operation quantity, so as to produce a favorable acceleration of the vehicle at the time of vehicle start. Hence, a down-shift amount becomes excessive when reaccelerating the vehicle, e.g., at the time of a kickdown operation. Accordingly at this time, the engine speed excessively increases, and a time lag in the production of driver's expected (desired) acceleration is caused.
As a countermeasure against such a problem, it is conceivable that a variation of speed ratio is made to be suppressed at the time of a request of high acceleration. A Japanese Patent No. 2593432 exemplifies a previously proposed technique for controlling a continuously variable transmission. In this technique, the speed ratio is fixed at a constant value when a throttle opening degree becomes greater than or equal to a threshold value. In this technique, the fixed constant value of speed ratio is determined to take on a speed ratio value of the time when the throttle opening reaches the threshold value, shown on a shift map. Thus by fixing the speed ratio so as not to enlarge the speed ratio, the increase of engine speed produces an increase of a driving force of vehicle quickly (immediately). Thereby, the time lag between a time when the throttle opening increases and a time when the driver obtains an acceleration feeling is shortened. Accordingly, an uncomfortable feeling is reduced, and a feeling responsiveness of acceleration is enhanced.
However, in the technique disclosed in the above Japanese Patent, the speed ratio is kept at the constant value unless the throttle opening returns below than the threshold value and its hysteresis setting. Namely, the speed ratio does not vary, even after the initial acceleration request of the driver has been satisfied. This causes the driver to feel uncomfortable (i.e., feel odd). Therefore, in order to resolve this uncomfortable feeling, a Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-183854 exemplifies a previously proposed technique; which is constructed for providing the increase of vehicle speed according to the driver's acceleration request, even at the time of vehicle reacceleration such as the kickdown acceleration, in the similar manner as at the time of a vehicle acceleration from standstill.
This technique is configured to switch between a map shift mode and a map-less shift mode. In the map shift mode, the speed ratio is variably controlled by tracing a shift map prepared so as to relate the speed ratio to the vehicle speed and the accelerator operation quantity. In the map-less shift mode, the shift is carried out by means of a map-less shift control which does not trace the shift map, when a predetermined condition related to acceleration is satisfied (reacceleration such as the kickdown operation).

Shift control apparatus and method for continuously variable transmission


An internal combustion engine is provided with a first pedal position sensor and a second pedal position sensor measuring the position of an accelerator pedal. An emergency running mode of the internal combustion engine is actuated if a failure of either the first or the second pedal position sensor is detected. In the emergency running mode, a rise in the rotational speed or in the travel speed within a prescribed time interval is limited to a prescribed rise value.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine and a device for controlling an internal combustion engine. An internal combustion engine which has a drive train with a shaft is controlled by the following steps: measuring a rotational speed of a shaft of a drive train via a rotational speed sensor; measuring a first and a second pedal position of an accelerator pedal with first and second pedal position sensors where the first and second pedal position sensors provide continuous value range signals of the pedal position; determining whether or not the continuous value range signals of the first and second pedal position sensors are within acceptable tolerances; and implementing an emergency running mode of the internal combustion engine if one of the continuous value range signals is not within acceptable tolerances and deriving an actuation signal for an actuator of the internal combustion engine in the emergency running mode from the continuous value range signal which is within the acceptable tolerance for limiting a rise in the rotational speed within a prescribed time interval in the emergency running mode to a prescribed first rise value.
The invention also teaches a device for controlling an internal combustion engine having a drive train with a shaft, an actuator, and first and second pedal position sensors for measuring a position of an accelerator pedal and outputting measurement signals with a continuous value range.
A method and a device for controlling an internal combustion engine are described in German Patent Application DE 44 06 088 A1. The described internal combustion engine is assigned two pedal position sensors, and each sensor measures the position of an accelerator pedal. If a failure of one of the two pedal position sensors is detected, a control unit calculates an desired-value for the throttle valve position from the accelerator pedal position measured by the fault-free pedal position sensor. However, with the known method and with the known device there is the risk of a vehicle with an internal combustion engine accelerating in an uncontrolled fashion if the second pedal position sensor also fails.

Method and device for controlling an internal combustion engine


A method and system enables dynamic support of memory mapping devices in a multi-node computer system. One of central process unit (CPU) nodes determines a total amount of MMIO address spaces that are needed for all MMIO devices and generates an optimized granularity to support the total amount of MMIO address spaces. Based on the granularity, a CPU node controller configures MMIO range registers of the interconnect and other MMIO registers in IO nodes and CPU node controllers to support dynamic changes of MMIO address space requirements of the system.

A multi-node computer system typically contains a plurality of central processing units (CPU) node, a plurality of interconnects, and a plurality of input output (IO) nodes. Each IO node is coupled to multiple IO devices, which may be conventional peripheral devices, such as peripheral component interconnect (PCI), small computer system interface (SCSI) type devices. Such multi-node computer system may perform complex computing tasks such as interacting simultaneously with a large number of IO devices.
In a multi-node computer system, some or all of the IO devices may be memory-mapped IO (MMIO) devices. The memory-mapped IO devices are connected to address and data lines within the IO nodes, and the CPU nodes in a manner similar to the connection of memory devices. Whenever the IO nodes, or the CPU nodes read or write the addresses associated with the IO devices, the IO nodes or the CPU nodes can transfer data to or from the IO devices. One of the advantages of such memory-mapped IO devices is that processors in the CPU nodes or the interconnect can use any single instruction that accesses their memory spaces to operate upon data that are transmitted at IO device ports rather than first moving the data into processors, manipulating the data and then writing the data back to the IO device port. By doing so, memory-mapped IO devices typically reduce computation burdens on the processors.
To support these memory-mapped IO devices, components in the multi-node computer system, including the CPU nodes and the IO nodes, need to allocate large amount of physical address space in their memory units. In a conventional multi-node computer system, the interconnect has only a fixed number of MMIO range registers to specify the range of address spaces that are allocated for memory-mapped IO devices coupled to a given IO node. Such interconnect registers are typically "base" and "size" types of registers, which requires a base and size declaration for each CPU node and IO node coupled to the interconnect. If there are n nodes in the computer system, it will require n Base registers and n Size registers. The conventional "base" and "size" type registers thus consume substantial resources.
Moreover, the conventional "base" and "size" type registers fail to provide scalability for memory-mapping in a multi-node computer system. When the IO nodes connect to a large number of IO devices, the MMIO address space requirement for the multi-node computer system can be an arbitrarily large number. It would be very inefficient for a programmer to configure every MMIO range register to specify the base and the size in the interconnect for each IO device.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an efficient and scalable method and system to dynamically support MMIO devices in an interconnect-based multi-node computer system.

Dynamic determination of memory mapped input output range granularity for multi-node computer system


A dual vertical beam cellular array is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a cellular array includes discrete radiators coupled in pairs and arranged in-line. The radiators are connected to hybrid couplers configured to sum the output from the pairs of discrete radiators. A first power distribution network is configured to receive a first output from the hybrid couplers and produce a first beam, and a second power distribution network configured to receive a second output from the hybrid couplers and produce a second beam. According to some embodiments, the first beam is a main beam with high gain and the second beam is a coverage beam with a large coverage area.

As wireless devices have exploded in popularity, the ability to provide sufficient coverage to more and more users over large areas is more crucial than ever. Current cellular antenna array techniques have reach the limiting factor in meeting these demands. Typically, these antenna arrays produce a single, narrow beam in the vertical plane. As such, there is a growing need to provide wireless coverage with higher capacity without significant increase in cost and complexity.
In current implementations, cellular arrays typically produce a single, narrow beam in the vertical plane. Because the vertical beam is typically narrow, the angle of the beam must be adjusted using a sub-system to achieve optimum network coverage. The use of a sub-system such as a remote elevation tilt (RET) adds complexity and cost to the cellular array.
Furthermore, it is desirable to produce a vertical beam with broad half power beam width without sacrificing overall directivity of the antenna. Current antenna arrays with a relatively long antenna length will have higher gain but at the cost of a narrower beam pattern. Conversely, antenna arrays with a broader beam pattern have a reduced antenna length leading to lower overall directivity and gain. As such, current antenna arrays tend to produce a solution that offers compromise between overall network capacity and overall coverage.
There is a need then for a cellular array implementation that is simple and cost effective, while at the same time providing a large, reliable coverage area without sacrificing directivity and gain.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An off-chip driver (OCD) includes: a logic circuit, for providing a logic signal input; a pre-driver stage, coupled to the logic circuit, for providing a ramped up voltage in response to the logic signal input; a final driver stage, coupled to the pre-driver stage, for providing an output voltage in response to the ramped up voltage; and a bias circuit, coupled to the pre-driver stage, for providing a constant bias voltage to the pre-driver stage, wherein the constant bias voltage keeps the pre-driver stage within an operational range to compensate for variations in process, temperature and supply voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to off-chip drivers, and more particularly, to an off-chip driver that can compensate for variations in temperature, process, and supply voltage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An off-chip driver is a well-known circuit in the field of electrical technology. A typical off-chip driver (OCD) consists of at least a pre-driver and a final driver, both controlled by a supply voltage. The purpose of the pre-driver is to control when and how the final driver stage is turned on or off. The turned-on and turned-off rates of the final driver then determine the slew rate of the output signal. Slew rate (change in voltage over time (V/ns)) of the output signal is an important indicator of the quality of the OCD. It is desirable that slew rate stays within a certain range across all conditions. Variations in process, temperature, or voltage supply (PVT) can cause slew rates to fluctuate. There are therefore various methods utilized to control slew rate.
There are three main methods used to control the slew rate of an OCD: time domain, constant current mirror, and constant voltage methods. The time domain method uses delay stages. The final driver is divided into a plurality of branches, each controlled by a separate pre-driver. Delay stages are built into each pre-driver in order to control the turned-on and turned-off rate of each branch of the final drivers, which helps to reduce the variation of slew rate. A second method uses current mirrors to put constant currents in the pre-drivers, so that the slew rate of the pre-drivers and subsequently the slew rate of the output signal have less variation. Another conventional method utilizes voltage regulators to ensure that a constant voltage can be provided to the gates of the pre-driver of the OCD, regardless of changes to the supply voltage.
The problem with the constant current and constant voltage methods is that these methods do not compensate for changes due to variations in supply voltage, temperature or process. In the time delay method, due to large variations in the delay at different process, voltage and temperature, the slew rate alters considerably with these variations. Therefore, a slew rate control method that can compensate for all PVT variations is required.


A Lantana plant particularly distinguished by orange flowers, a continuous, abundant and mid-season flowering response, dark green foliage with ovate leaves, vigorous, compact growth, low mounding and good branching ability, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Lantana, botanically known as Lantana camara and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Bante Oransun'. The new cultivar originated from a pollination made in July 2003 in Gilroy, Calif. The new cultivar was created from the crossing of '22-1', a fuchsia female (unpatented) proprietary line with 'D1-3', a pink male (unpatented) proprietary line.
The new cultivar was created in July of 2003 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. and Andijk, The Netherlands over a two and one-half-year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif., Andijk, The Netherlands and Hillscheid, Germany. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Canada on Mar. 21, 2006 and in Germany on Nov. 27, 2006.


The present invention provides a method and system for controlling and limiting the discharge temperature of a compressor of a refrigeration system. The invention is suitable for converting an existing refrigeration system which operates with one refrigerant to use with another refrigerant which can cause high discharge temperatures. The invention includes a simple four-part system-a temperature sensor to sense the discharge temperature, an injection valve for injecting liquid refrigerant into the suction gas line of the compressor, a fluid line for providing liquid refrigerant to the valve from the condenser and a digital controller for actuating the valve.

This invention relates generally to refrigeration systems and in particular, to a method for preventing overheating of the compressor of a refrigeration system. The invention is particularly well-suited for converting an existing refrigeration system using one refrigerant having particular physical and thermodynamic properties to use with another refrigerant having significantly different properties.
The design specifications of a refrigeration system are generally predicated on the choice of specific refrigerant to be utilized, i.e., on its physical and thermodynamic properties. For years, chlorofluorocarbons, e.g., CFC-12 or R-12; CFC-502 or R-502, had been used in compression refrigeration systems. These chlorofluorocarbons have excellent stability and were well suited for low temperature applications.
During the past two decades, it has been found that such chlorofluorocarbons released into the earth's atmosphere were depleting the ozone layer. Reduction in the ozone layer has been linked to many effects such as an increased risk for skin cancer. In response to concerns over ozone layer depletion, the U.S. government has imposed increasingly stricter limitations on the use of these refrigerants. These limitations require the phase out of the commonly used refrigerants with other refrigerants considered not so effect the ozone layer.
Currently, many commercial refrigeration systems utilize R-502 and the design features of such systems are dictated by the properties of R-502, e.g., type, size and operating parameters of the compressor. The phase out of R-502 in favor of other refrigerants, such as R-22 or AZ-50, is not a simple matter of removing the refrigerant from the existing system and replacing it with the environmentally preferred refrigerant. The physical and thermodynamic properties of, e.g., R-22, refrigerant are significantly different from those of R-502 such that the refrigeration system operates with different performance parameters than those required by R-502.
In the normal compression refrigeration cycle, vapor refrigerant is drawn into a compressor where it is compressed to a higher pressure. The compressed vapor refrigerant is cooled and condensed in a condenser into a high pressure liquid which is then expanded, typically through an expansion valve, to a lower pressure and caused to evaporate in an evaporator to thereby draw heat and thus, provide the desired cooling effect. The expanded, relatively low pressure vapor refrigerant exiting the evaporator is once again drawn into the compressor and the cycle starts anew.
The action of compressing the vapor refrigerant imparts work onto the vapor and results in a significant increase in the vapor temperature. While a substantial portion of this heat is subsequently transferred to the atmosphere during the condensation process, a portion of the heat is transferred to the compressor components. Depending upon the specific refrigerant vapor compressed and on the pressure conditions operation, this heat transfer can cause the temperature of the compressor components to overheat, resulting in degradation of compressor performance, of the compressor lubricant or oil, and potentially damage to the compressor itself. For example, it has been found that the direct substitution of R-22 for R-502 in an existing refrigeration system results in high discharge temperatures, particularly under high load situations and high compression ratios.
One solution for converting existing systems using R-502 to R-22 or other substitutes calls for the replacement of expensive equipment, e.g., the compressor or supplementation of the existing condenser, resulting in significant capital costs as well as higher operating costs due to increase capacity needed for the compressor and condenser. Some prior art systems have attempted to respond to this problem. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,883 issued to Bradford which discloses a refrigeration retrofit system utilizing a liquid refrigerant injection system, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,076,067 issued to Prenger et al. and 4,974,427 issued to Diab which also disclose a liquid refrigerant injection system for limiting or controlling excessive discharge gas temperature. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,788 issued to Cailliat et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,854 issued to Fogt et al. These prior art systems, however, require the installation of multiple components to an existing system, require significant structural modification to an existing system or do not permit at all modification to an existing system.
Despite recognition and study of various aspects of the replacement refrigerant problem, the prior art has still not produced a simple, economical way to convert existing compression type commercial and industrial systems designed, e.g., for R-502, to the use of newer, environmentally preferred refrigerants.

Digital control valve for refrigeration system


A driving circuit for a vacuum fluorescent display for pulse-driving a filament of the vacuum fluorescent display with a pulse voltage. The driving circuit comprises a detecting unit for detecting that the level of the pulse voltage is fixed, and outputs a detection signal indicative of the result of the detection. Preferably, the driving circuit comprises a control unit for controlling at least one output of the outputs of the filament driving unit, the grid driving unit and the segment driving unit in order to terminate the driving of at least one of the filament, the grid electrode and the segment electrode, based on the detection signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit for a vacuum fluorescent display.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vacuum fluorescent display (hereinafter, referred to as "VFD") is a display device of a self-illuminating type for displaying a desired pattern by causing a direct-heating type cathode called a filament to emit thermoelectrons by causing it to generate heat by applying a voltage thereto in a vacuum chamber and by causing the thermoelectrons to collide against fluorescent material on an anode (segment) electrode and causing them to illuminate, by accelerating the thermoelectrons using a grid electrode. VFDs have excellent features in terms of visibility, multi-coloring, low operating voltage, reliability (environmental resistance) etc. and are used in various applications and fields such as cars, home appliances and consumer products.
Here, for a VFD, in the case where a short circuit or wire-breaking has occurred to the filament or its wiring, where a short circuit has occurred between the wiring of the filament and the wiring of another electrode(such as the anode electrode or the grid electrode) or where an element for driving the filament has had a failure, there arises risk of causing damage to the filament or ignition of the filament when the abnormal state of the filament is left as it is. Therefore, a mechanism for detecting immediately such an abnormal state of the filament is sought for the VFD.
FIG. 9 illustrates a conventional mechanism for detecting an abnormal state of a filament voltage applied to a filament 11 as one of the mechanisms as described above. The figure shows an example in which, as a scheme for applying a voltage to the filament 11, "pulse-driving scheme" in which a pulse voltage (hereinafter, referred to as "filament pulse voltages") produced by chopping a considerably higher DC voltage compared to the ordinary nominal voltage of the filament is applied is employed. That is, in the pulse-driving scheme, the progress of the damage to or the ignition of the filament 11 is faster compared to that in other schemes (such as DC-driving scheme and AC-driving scheme) in case an abnormal state such as that the filament pulse voltage is fixed to the higher potential side has occurred. Therefore, it is important to detect immediately the abnormal state of the filament pulse voltage.
In FIG. 9, an external controller 40 such as a microcomputer outputs a pulse-driving signal with a duty ratio set at a desired ratio to a filament driving circuit 110. Then, the filament driving circuit 110 generates a filament pulse voltage from a power source for the filament 11 by a switching operation based on the pulse-driving signal received from the external controller 40, and applies the filament pulse voltage to the filament 11.
Here, the external controller 40 comprises a detecting unit for detecting, for example, the pulse width or the voltage level of the filament pulse voltage for the filament pulse voltage applied to the filament 11.
The external controller 40 executes feed back control in which the settings of the duty ratio of the pulse-driving signal that the external controller 40 outputs to the filament driving circuit 110 are adjusted in response to the pulse width or the voltage level of the filament pulse voltage detected by the detecting unit.
The mechanism described above is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-108263.
In the conventional mechanism for detecting an abnormal state of the filament pulse voltage, the external controller 40 detects the pulse width or the voltage level of the filament pulse voltage and desired feedback control is executed to the filament pulse voltage in response to the detected values. However, this is also a factor for increasing the load of processing on the external controller 40. Furthermore, the external controller 40 has a problem that it needs considerable time from the moment at which it detects an abnormal state of the filament pulse voltage to the moment at which it executes a predetermined response (for example, turning off the power of the filament driving circuit 110), due to the increase of the load of processing in itself and, therefore, leads to the damage or the ignition of the filament 11.

Driving circuit for vacuum fluorescent display


Low-profile service stations for use with printers are described herein. One example service station includes a shuttle to support a cap sled. The shuttle has a shuttle drive and a pump drive positioned such that at least one of the shuttle drive and the pump drive does not extend between a first side and a second side of the shuttle. The shuttle drive is coupled to a printer drive to move the shuttle between a first position and a second position.

Printing systems such as ink jet printers employ a printhead having print nozzles to expel fluid droplets onto print media, which dry to form images. The print nozzles may become clogged with ink or particulates and are prone to clogging or other performance-deteriorating problems, resulting in inefficient operation of the printhead and reduced print quality. To maintain or clean the print heads, a printer often employs a service station to provide one or more servicing procedures, including spitting, wiping, capping, priming and/or purging. However, conventional service stations often employ a relatively complex drive system, which can significantly increase the cost of the printer. Further, conventional service stations often have a relatively large platform or dimensional envelope that causes of a printer to have a relatively large profile.
Where ever possible the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Disclosed are methods of fabricating organic thin film transistors composed of a substrate, a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, metal oxide source/drain electrodes, and an organic semiconductor layer. The methods include applying a sufficient quantity of a self-assembled monolayer compound containing a live ion to the surfaces of the metal oxide electrodes to form a self-assembled monolayer. The presence of the live ion at the interface between the metal oxide electrodes and the organic semiconductor layer modifies the relative work function of these materials. Further, the presence of the self-assembled monolayer on the gate insulating film tends to reduce hysteresis. Accordingly, organic thin film transistors fabricated in accord with the example embodiments tend to exhibit improved charge mobility, improved gate insulating film properties and decreased hysteresis associated with the organic insulator.

1. Field of Endeavor
Example embodiments generally relate to methods of fabricating organic thin film transistors, and more particularly, to methods of fabricating organic thin film transistors comprising a substrate, a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, metal oxide source/drain electrodes, and an organic semiconductor layer, in which the surfaces of the metal oxide source/drain electrodes are treated with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) compound containing a live ion.
2. Description of Related Art
After the development of polyacetylene, a conjugated organic polymer having semiconductor properties, organic semiconductors have received attention as electronic materials as a result of certain of the advantages associated with organic semiconductor material over conventional inorganic materials. These advantages include, for example, a variety of synthesis methods, easy formability into fibers or films, flexibility, conductivity, and relatively low preparation costs. Organic semiconductor materials have, therefore, been of interest and a subject of study in the field of functional electronic devices and optical devices.
With respect to electronic devices incorporating one or more conductive polymers, research into organic thin film transistors including an active layer formed of organic material began in about 1980, with research still ongoing throughout the world. Organic thin film transistor have a structure generally corresponding to conventional inorganic semiconductors, for example silicon (Si) thin film transistors but in which at least one of the conventional semiconductor regions have been replaced with a suitable organic material.
Compared to conventional silicon thin film transistors, organic thin film transistors can simplify the fabrication process by permitting a semiconductor layer to be formed using a printing process at atmospheric pressure, thereby avoiding the need for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes using plasma. Indeed, the process of fabricating an organic semiconductor pattern may be carried out using a roll-to-roll process on a plastic substrate, if desired, which may, in turn, decrease the overall cost and/or time required for fabricating the transistor. Accordingly, organic thin film transistors are expected to be utilized in a variety of applications including, for example, driving devices for use with active displays, smart cards, plastic chips for inventory tags, for example, radio frequency identification chips (RFID).
As known to those skilled in the art, however, organic thin film transistors are also associated with certain drawbacks including, for example, lower charge mobilities, higher operating voltages and/or higher threshold voltages, when compared with conventional silicon thin film transistors. It has been reported that the charge mobility within the organic semiconductor may be increased to a level of 0.6 cm2·V−1·sec−1 using pentacene, thus considerably increasing the probability of actually realizing an organic thin film transistor. However, even the improvements reflected in these reports, the charge mobility is still generally considered unsatisfactory. Indeed, in some instances operating voltages in excess of 100 V or more and threshold voltages on the order of at least 50 times the typical threshold voltage for a corresponding silicon thin film transistor are required for device operation.
In those instances in which the organic thin film transistor is configured as a bottom contact type or top gate type organic thin film transistor, the organic semiconductor material(s), for example, pentacene, tends to grow relatively less on the source/drain electrodes when compared with corresponding growth on the gate insulating film and, as a result, tends to exhibit a work function higher than that of the metal(s) forming the source/drain electrodes. Accordingly, an undesirable Schottky barrier tends to be formed between the source/drain electrodes and the organic semiconductor layer, thereby tending to decrease the charge mobility of the organic thin film transistor.
In this regard, a method of fabricating an organic thin film transistor has been disclosed in which the exposed surfaces of source/drain electrodes are treated with an SAM compound containing a thiol functional group before depositing an organic semiconductor layer, thereby attempting to increase the electric performance of the organic thin film transistor, in particular, its charge mobility. However, because the compound mentioned above binds only to the surface of metal, for example, gold (Au), but does not bind to metal oxide, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), the organic thin film transistor including the source/drain electrodes made of metal oxide and the organic semiconductor layer cannot generally not reach a desired degree or magnitude of charge mobility.
In addition, another method of fabricating an organic thin film transistor comprises treating the surface of metal oxide source/drain electrodes with an SAM compound containing a sulfonic acid group, thereby changing the hydrophobic properties of the source/drain electrodes and increasing the charge mobility. In this case, the SAM compound acts to reduce or eliminate the formation of Schottky barriers between the source/drain electrodes and the organic semiconductor layers. The SAM compound also tends to decrease contact resistance as a result of physical adsorption or chemical bonding to metal oxide, thereby tending to increase charge mobility. However, in the organic insulator formed through a surface crosslinking process, metal ions, for example, a hydrogen ion (H+), are mainly generated as by-products of the crosslinking polymerization resulting from the properties of organic insulator material itself, thereby undesirably causing increased hysteresis, a condition that negatively affects the reliability with regard to the actual operation of the device.

Methods of fabricating organic thin film transistors and organic thin film transistors fabricated using the same


A dual-port SRAM timing control circuit, with three NMOS transistors connected in series respectively between ground and nodes of the two bit lines to which the cell structure corresponds. The gates of the NMOS transistors are connected to a corresponding wordline, a pulse signal and a timing control signal, respectively. The each pulse signals are formed by a corresponding clock signal inputted into a first pulse generator, respectively. An address signal, after passing through an address latch, is inputted into an address comparator for comparison, with the address comparison result outputted to a timing control signal generator; and the pulse signal, after undergoing an AND operation, is inputted into the timing control signal generator, with a timing control signal outputted. When the two address signals are the same, the address comparison result is 1; when the two address signals are not the same, the address comparison result is 0; when the AND result of the two pulse signals is 0, the timing control signal is 1; when the AND result of the two pulse signals is 1, the timing control signal is an inverting signal of the address comparison result. The present invention can reduce the operational power consumption of SRAM without affecting the read reliability.

A dual-port SRAM can read and write the SRAM cell through two ports, respectively, each of the ports having a corresponding set of address bus, data bus and control signals. The two ports can read the SRAM cells of the same address simultaneously, and can also read different SRAM cells, respectively. In the two cases the read currents are different, which will be the minimal when the two ports read the SRAM cells of the same address simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 1, it is a read-write schematic diagram of an existing dual-port SRAM. A bit line BLA and a wordline WLA correspond to a first port, and a bit line BLB and a wordline WLB correspond to a second port. Vread represents the read voltage.
When the two ports read the same address simultaneously, the MOS transistors of the same address, M102a and M102b, are both opened, their read currents being half of the current of the MOS transistor M101, respectively, with the read current formula being the following formula (1). When one address is only read by one port, only one of the MOS transistors of the same address, M102a and M102b, is opened, its read current being equal to the current of the MOS transistor M101, with the read current formula being the following formula (2).
                              I                      read            ,            dual                          =                                                            K                pg                                                          (                                                      V                    DD                                    -                                      V                                          read                      ,                      dual                                                        -                                      V                    tpg                                                  )                                      2                    =                                    1              2                                                                                K                  pd                                                                  (                                                            V                      DD                                        -                                          V                      tpd                                        -                                                                  1                        2                                                                                V                                                  read                          ,                          dual                                                                                )                                            ·                              V                                  read                  ,                  dual                                                                                (        1        )                                          I                      read            ,            single                          =                                                            K                pg                                                          (                                                      V                    DD                                    -                                      V                                          read                      ,                      single                                                        -                                      V                    tpg                                                  )                                      2                    =                                                    K                pd                                                          (                                                      V                    DD                                    -                                      V                    tpd                                    -                                                            1                      2                                                                                V                                              read                        ,                        single                                                                                )                                      ·                          V                              read                ,                single                                                                        (        2        )
In the above formulas (1) and (2), the MOS transistor M101 works in a resistive region, the MOS transistors M102a or M102b work in a saturation region, Iread,dual and Vread,dual respectively represent the read current and the read voltage when the two ports read the same address simultaneously, Iread,single and Vread,single respectively represent the read current and the read voltage when only one port reads the same address, Kpg represents the coefficient of the current formula of the MOS transistor M102a or M102b, VDD represents the power supply voltage, Vtpg represents the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor M102a or M102b, Kpd represents the coefficient of the current formula of the MOS transistor M101, and Vtpd represents the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor M101.
The SRAM cell structure (cell) has three operating states, which are "Select", "Half Select" and "Static", respectively. The power consumption models of the three states are respectively as follows:
Select: The Bit cell discharges a bit line capacitor CBL, with the power consumption expressed by the following formula (3):PSelect=Iread·Twl·Vdd·f  (3)
In the formula (3), Pselect represents the power consumption of the SRAM cell structure in the select state, Iread represents the read current of the SRAM cell structure, Twl represents the duration during which the wordline is at a high level during the read operation, and f represents frequency.
Half Select: For a discharge path within a certain time, the power consumption can be expressed by the following formula (4):Phalf=Ipre·Twl·Vdd·f  (4)
In the formula (4), Phalf represents the power consumption of the SRAM cell structure in the selecting state, and Ipre represents the precharged current of the SRAM cell structure.
Static: The power consumption is determined by the leakage (Leakage).
Twl is determined by the required voltage difference ΔVBL of the desired bit line, and can be expressed by the following formula (5):
                              T          WL                =                                                            C                BL                            ·                                                                        Δ                                                                                V              BL                                            I            read                                              (        5        )
In formula (5), ΔVBL represents the voltage difference of the bit line, that is the difference between the voltages of the same bit line before and after being read.
It can be known from the formulas (3)-(5) that, the operational power consumption of the SRAM cell can be reduced by reducing Twl, which can be realized by increasing the discharge speed of the bit line. Therefore, it has become a research subject of the present invention that how to dynamically adjust Twl through change of the operational address of the dual ports, and finally reduce the operational power consumption of the SRAM cell.

Dual-port SRAM timing control circuit which can reduce the operational power consumption of SRAM without affecting the read reliability

Shanghai Huahong Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation