Provided is a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition for a plasma display in which a moire phenomenon can be prevented without disposing an anti-glare film and the like in order to decrease a thickness of an optical filter in a plasma display, improve a productivity of the optical filter and reduce a cost thereof and an adhesive sheet prepared by forming the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition suitably used for an optical filter of a plasma display and an adhesive sheet prepared by forming the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display is a device in which molecules of sealed rare gas are excited by plasma discharge between electrodes to generate a UV ray and excite a fluorescent material by the UV ray generated and in which a light in a visible light region is emitted from the fluorescent material excited to thereby display images. Since light emission is carried out by making use of plasma discharge in the above plasma display, an unnecessary electromagnetic wave having a frequency band of 30 to 130 MHz leaks to the outside, and therefore the electromagnetic wave is requested to be inhibited to the utmost from leaking so that an adverse effect is not exerted on other instruments (for example, information processing devices and the like).
Disclosed in, for example, a patent document 1 is an electroconductive mesh film which is used for an optical filter of a plasma display and in which an electroconductive fiber mesh prepared by constituting electroconductive fibers into a mesh form or an electroconductive metal mesh produced by metal such as a copper foil and the like is formed.
Further, in an optical filter of a plasma display, a contrast enhancing film is used as well in order to enhance a contrast of a screen (refer to, for example, a patent document 2).
However, when a metal mesh is used as an electromagnetic wave shielding means for an electromagnetic wave shielding film in an optical filter of a plasma display, a moire phenomenon is brought about by mutual interference between a metal mesh and a contrast enhancing film, and therefore an anti-glare film has had to be further disposed in order to prevent the moire phenomenon. In this case, the number of the films to be stuck in order to form an optical filter is increased, and therefore the problems that the optical filter is increased in a cost and reduced in a productivity and that the optical filter is increased as well in a thickness have been involved therein.    Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 226732/2004    Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 272161/2007

Pressure-sensitive adhesive composition for plasma display and adhesive sheet prepared by forming the same

Abstract: The pressure-sensitive adhesive composition used for an optical filter of a plasma display comprises (A) a (meth)acrylic ester base copolymer having a cross-linkable functional group in a molecule, (B) a cross-linking agent and (C) an organic fine particle in which a difference in a refractive index from that of the above (meth)acrylic ester base copolymer is 0.03 or more and which has an average particle diameter of 1 to 15 μm and an adhesive sheet prepared by forming the same.


A control assembly for a nuclear reactor having a pump includes a duct having an inner volume and defining a coolant flow path, a plug fixed to the duct, a rod disposed within the inner volume and having a rod end that is configured to engage a neutron modifying material, a first piston disposed within the inner volume, slidably coupled to the duct, and coupled to the rod, and a biasing member coupled to the rod and the first piston. The biasing member is positioned to apply a biasing force that repositions the first piston, the rod, and the neutron modifying material in response to a loss of pump flow without scram condition.

Light water nuclear fission reactors employ neutron absorbing materials to control the reactivity within the reactor core. The temperature within the reactor core may increase due to a loss of coolant flow. The coolant flow may be provided by a pump, and the loss of coolant flow may occur due to a pump shutting down (e.g., due to a loss of power thereto, due to mechanical failure, etc.). A loss of pump flow may be difficult for the nuclear reactor to control without component damage. Reactor designs that rely on the temperature increase of the coolant (i.e., a thermal feedback, etc.) to insert negative reactivity may be subject to a significant time delay between the temperature increase and the corresponding negative reactivity response.

Automatic hydropneumatic actuation device


One aspect of the invention is an intelligence engine. The intelligence engine includes a distributor layer operable to communicate with at least one call agent in a telecommunications network. The call agent may receive state-driven information associated with a call between an originator and a termination point. The intelligence engine also includes a telephony management layer. The telephony management layer is operable to receive a plurality of stateless requests from the distributor layer, access a database entry associated with the requests, spawn at least one request to obtain information associated with the originator and the termination point if necessary to route the call, and send the information to the call agent to route the call. In a particular embodiment, the intelligence engine further includes a facility management command and control layer. The facility management command and control layer is operable to receive an indicator signal associated with the call from the network. The call is controlled by the call agent. The facility management command and control layer is also operable to access a database entry associated with the call agent in response to the indicator signal and to reassign control of the call from the call agent to a second call agent.

Inter-personal and inter-organizational communication has increased in complexity. For example, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) currently includes separate networks to accommodate different traffic types. Command and control functionality of the PSTN is built around a connection-oriented class structure. Call processing is completed by a complex array of switches, processors, and control networks, such as the Signaling System 7 (SS7). The PSTN is built on a class structure of specialized devices that perform single-purpose functions. For example, Class 5 switches provide local access and call waiting; Class 4 switches provide long distance, toll calls and billing. Connectivity is also connection-oriented, where two devices must establish a discrete, deterministic connection or voice channel before communication can begin. The voice channel also must remain in place for the duration of the call. The PSTN is also a hierarchical one-to-many network that may result in traffic congestion, or blocking, thus creating the need for centralized control to proactively re-route the traffic. New service and feature development on this complex network is time-consuming and difficult, requiring a great deal of development time and resources.
In contrast to the PSTN, an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, uses a packet-based architecture, which is generally more economical than circuit switched networks (such as SS7). In an IP network, every packet of information carries all the necessary control information needed to connect the originating device to its destination using only the resources needed. This allows for uncomplicated (less) throttle points, geographic expansion, and transport integration. An Internet Protocol (IP) network is typically used to handle the large amounts of time-sensitive data such as telephony data and/or video or video-on-demand data.
In addition, a variety of wireless networks has been developed, each with its own protocol. As these developments have occurred, users increasingly desire voice as well as IP data to be communicated over wireless networks, such as time division multiplex access (TDMA), call division multiplex access (CDMA), advanced mobile phone service (AMPS), and wideband and proposed third generation (3G) wireless systems W-CDMA, W-TDMA, and others, which provide for IP data as well as voice transfer.
An H.323 protocol environment or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) provides a way for transmitting voice communications within IP networks. In general, H.323 define a set of call control, channel set-up, and code C specifications for transmitting real-time voice and video over networks that do not offer guaranteed service or quality of service—such as packet networks, and in particular, the Internet, local area networks, wide area networks, and Intranets. SIP is a session-layered control (signaling) protocol for creating, modifying and terminating session with one or more participants.
Communications of telephone calls between the PSTN (which uses SS7 protocol), wireless and IP networks (which additionally use H.323 protocol to transfer voice over the IP) have traditionally used complicated signaling gateways to perform conversions between the PSTN signaling functions and the Net Protocol Network signaling functions. One function that is performed in facilitating communication between various types of networks is determining through which route a telephone call will take place in the network in which the call will terminate. For the PSTN, the route a telephone call takes place is comprised of a plurality of trunks. A trunk (not specifically shown) is a communication line between two switching systems, such as between a central office and a private branch exchange (PBX).
Routing time-sensitive data such as telephone calls whether between networks of the same type or between different networks, typically requires complex signaling algorithms to be utilized.
Furthermore, the number of resources required to maintain such a network and to route these calls is burdensome. For example, in order to complete a call, the system must "dip down" into both a calling party's and destination party's Automatic Number Identification (ANI) database. This process is performed to insure that subscriber information such as caller ID, call blocking, and others, are correctly obtained for each of the parties to properly insure completion of the call. Such processing is inefficient because, in part, many circuits are tied up during this process. This "dip down" process reaches below the physical layer to perform authenticating and routing functions. For example, a single call session may require numerous (on the order of hundreds) traversals to and accesses to one or more databases. Such processing also limits the scalability of systems. These numerous database accesses are required, for examine, when mechanically based circuits translate each digit as it is dialed in. In some cases, this process may involve local, regional, and/or national tandem switching elements in the transit network, each of which has an ANI table. Each of these ANI databases are typically maintained by separate management information systems (MIS). Processing wireless calls only increases the complexity of such systems. For example, routing, authentication and verification, and fraud detection require information such as, but not limited to, home location register (HLR) and/or visitor location register (VLR), in addition to ANI information to complete a call. Additional information is also required with mobile devices such as cellular phones or radios, which typically utilize a device identifier such as a mobile identification number (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), or an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI). These identifiers are required to identify both a device and subscriber to a network for purposes of authentication, tracking, and billing. Moreover, fraud detection typically requires information such as correlation tables to be used in conjunction with the IMSI to verify subscriber information and/or services that are provided to an origination or termination party. Thus, this process of obtaining information for each call may be extremely complex and consume a great deal of time and resources while the information is being obtained. Moreover, congestion, delay, or malfunction within an IP network is typically handled by simply re-sending data packets to a terminating party. Such retransmissions decrease network efficiency by tying up circuits that may be inoperative and provide no network self-awareness.


Unwanted artifacts can occur in the output of a linear CCD sensor, caused by switching the exposure gate control voltage from a high level to a low lever to begin exposure while the device is reading out. A novel gate driver circuit for driving a lateral overflow gate of the CCD sensor provides a constant current path between the gate electrode and a low potential source. When a connection to a high potential source is opened to begin exposure, energy stored in a capacitance associated with the gate flows through the constant current path. This causes the gate voltage to move slowly and smoothly to the low potential and thus eliminates the unwanted artifacts.

Many designs of scanning equipment make use of a linear CCD sensor which is basically a 1.times.n array of photocells coupled to an n cell shift register. For some applications such as film scanners, n may be several thousand photocells. For color reproduction, three independent 1.times.n arrays may be formed on a single die. Light from the illuminated subject is focused onto the line of photocells, which generate and accumulate charges in response thereto. The accumulated charges are then transferred into the respective cells of the shift register and read out one cell of pixel information at a time. If the object to be scanned is two dimensional, such as a photographic negative, there must be relative motion between the CCD sensor and the object, and the cycle of photo exposure, transferring and reading out repeats continually until the object is scanned. With a 4000 cell linear sensor providing 4000 pixel resolution across a 35 mm motion picture frame, comparable vertical resolution requires about 3000 lines, hence 3000 cycles. Rather than vary the scanning rate for exposure time control, it is more convenient to build into the CCD sensor a type of exposure gate, called a lateral overflow gate. When the gate is open, the charges generated by the photocells are continually drained off. When the gate electrode voltage is at a first level +V of about +3 to +8 volts, a "high voltage", all charges generated by the photocells are continually drained off. With the high voltage applied to the gate, the gate is defined as being fully open. As the gate electrode voltage is lowered, charges can accumulate to a maximum determined by the gate electrode voltage. Typically the voltage is lowered to a second level of -V, "a low voltage", of about 0 to -4 volts. At this second voltage level the gate is defined as being fully closed. The second level voltage -V determines the maximum allowed charge accumulation and may varied to control blooming in the image produced at the CCD sensor output.
In the interest of higher speed, it is usual to overlap the two time consuming parts of the cycle; while one line is being read out of the register, the next line is being generated by the photocells. As machines have gotten faster, a problem has arisen with respect to the lateral overflow gate. The gate electrode voltage normally rises to the fully open value during the period between lines when there is no output. When the gate electrode voltage is lowered to -V, the shift register is normally in the readout part of the cycle. Transients created by closing the gate tend to create an anomaly or "artifact" in the output. If the transient appears repeatedly at the same part of the cycle, streaks can appear on an output print.
There is a strong need, therefore, to eliminate the visible effects of closing the lateral overflow gate during register readout.

Lateral overflow gate driver circuit for linear CCD sensor


The invention provides a vehicle confronting apparatus and a vehicle confronting method for a vehicle, which enables to confront a vehicle surely for a short while. A vehicle confronting apparatus 1, comprises: a guide-type confronting device 2 guiding a wheel of a vehicle 7 entering to a confronting position, and regulating both sides of the wheel of the vehicle; a run-out-type confronting device 4 rotationally driving the wheel of the vehicle reaching the confronting position; and a control device 6 controlling motions of the guide-type confronting device 2 and the run-out-type confronting device 4. The control device 6 cancels the regulation of the wheel by the guide-type confronting device 2 within a period between a time of starting of the rotational driving of the wheel of the vehicle 7 and a time when the rotation speed of the wheel reaches a predetermined run-out speed.

Conventionally, as disclosed in JP, H06-331505, A, there is a well-known vehicle confronting apparatus that arranges a vehicle at a predetermined position and into a predetermined direction (posture). This device is used for various purposes, such as evaluation about whether or not the direction of (direction of an optical axis of) headlights of the vehicle or a backing guide monitor of the vehicle is proper, or about whether or not the alignment of wheels of the vehicle is proper.
The vehicle confronting apparatus described in JP, H06-331505, A, confronts the vehicle by moving a target vehicle onto the table, and by pushing side surfaces of the wheels of the vehicle so as to move the vehicle in the transversal direction.
However, since the vehicle confronting apparatus described in JP, H06-331505, A moves the vehicle by pushing the side surfaces of the wheels of the vehicle, elastic deformation remains in the wheels of the vehicle and hysteresis remains in an undercarriage (such as suspensions) of the vehicle after the vehicle reaches the confronting position.
Therefore, the confronting of the vehicle at the confronting position is not reflected on the actual traveling state of the vehicle, thereby reducing the reliability of the above-mentioned various evaluations based on the confronting.
Moreover, there is another well-known vehicle confronting apparatus which is named as a run-out-type confronting apparatus. As to this apparatus, the elastic deformation remaining in the wheels and hysteresis remaining in an undercarriage of the vehicle are removed while the wheels are supported and are driven rotationally.
However, as to the conventional run-out-type confronting apparatus, the vehicle entered in the apparatus may be deviated from the desired confronting position. In this case, it takes a long time to move the vehicle to the confronting position while removing the elastic deformation remaining the wheels and hysteresis remaining in the undercarriage of the vehicle, thereby reducing workability (productivity).
Moreover, as another problem, the run-out-type confronting apparatus, especially the wheel-supporting portion thereof for supporting the wheels, is enlarged, since the supporting members supporting wheels have to be large in the transversal direction enough to completely remove the lateral forces of the wheels (the forces of the wheels for pushing the ground sidewise) while the wheels of the vehicle are rotationally driven on the apparatus for a long time.
In addition, the enlargement of the wheel-supporting parts of the confronting apparatus increases the weight thereof. As a result, the lateral force may be insufficient to correspond to the weight of the supporting parts, so that it is difficult to remove the lateral force.

Apparatus and method for positioning a vehicle


Eyewear is provided with an exchangeable lens retaining member which is removably attached to a lens to form a lens unit. The lens unit is detachably secured to the main frame of the eyewear such that the lens unit extends downwardly from the main frame. At least a section of the lens retaining member provides a spacing between a bottom of the main frame and the lens, where vent passages are defined.

Conventional eyewear is generally catalogued into two groups. The first group includes swimming or diving goggles characterized by waterproof seals when the eyewear is in use. In this group, lenses are firmly secured to the eyewear structure, usually by flexible or semi-flexible sealing devices either integrated with the frame structures or additionally attached thereto, and flexible or semi-flexible seals are also provided to the frame structures to abut the user's face around the eyes in order to prevent water from contacting the user's eyes.
A second group of eyewear includes a variety of eyeglasses, protective work glasses and a particular type of sports glasses or goggles, which are all characterized as having no special sealing requirements in contrast to the swimming or diving goggles, and as permitting air ventilation. The lenses of eyewear are often in direct contact with or in a closely spaced relationship with certain areas of the face of the user such as the cheeks and the super-orbital arches. In such cases when the face perspires and the lenses are relatively cool or when the lenses are worn from a cold atmosphere into a warm moist atmosphere, moisture condenses on the surfaces of the lenses next to the face because circulation of air over the surface of the lens between the lens and the face of the user is limited, particularly when the eyewear frame is curved to fit the user's face. Conventionally, enhanced circulation of air over the surface of the lens between the lens and the face of the user is achieved by providing specially designed air passages through the frame structures or through the lenses of the eyewear.
In another aspect of the eyewear, although the lenses can be replaced, for example when broken, they are generally not designed for interchangeable use. In today's lifestyle however, an eyewear user often needs more than one eyewear to meet various vision needs, whether for functional or styling reasons. For example, a sunglass user may prefer a selected styling for general use, but prefer sunglasses with better ventilation when used during sports activities.
Therefore, improved eyewear is desirable in order to overcome the shortcomings of conventional eyewear and to provide more variety for user selection.

Eyewear having detachable lens retaining member


There is provided an image scanning apparatus which can restrict unevenness in rotation of a transmission, and can substantially make constant a sub-scanning interval so as to prevent lowering of an image quality. In the case where a movement rate of sub-scanning is set with use of a stepping motor 16, an integer rotation of a first gear 12 is controlled so as to be set as one step of sub-scanning movement. Further, in the case where a transmission means is composed of a plurality of gears (first gear 12, second gear 14), the plurality of gears have the number of teeth which is set so that when one (the second gear 14) of gears meshing with each other makes one rotation, the other (the first gear 12) thereof makes an integer rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image scanning apparatus which can effect a sub-scanning operation by relatively and intermittently moving a main scanning unit and a recording medium stepwise, and can record or read an image by driving the main scanning unit each time the sub-scanning is stopped.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of image recording apparatuses for recording an image in an image scanning apparatus have been developed nowadays, which are each mounted with a digital exposure system. Generally, in the digital exposure system, an image is recorded on a recording medium in such a manner that a light beam outputted from a semiconductor laser is modulated with image data and the light beam is deflected by high-speed rotation of a polygon mirror (main scanning), and further the light beam reflected by the polygon mirror is subjected to sub-scanning with use of a galvano-mirror or the like, or the above main scanning is effected repeatedly while moving the recording medium (or moving the recording medium stepwise). In this case, as the recording medium, a photosensitive drum electrified by a corona discharge, a photosensitive material or the like may be used. Also, in place of the semiconductor laser, other light emitter such as an LED may be used as a light source.
In case of repeating the above main scanning while shifting the recording medium in a stepwise manner, it is general that a stepping motor is used for activating its stepwise movement. The stepping motor is suitable for performing a highly precise positioning because a stop position of the recording medium can be controlled according to pulse control.
A transmission system is usually interposed between a rotary shaft of the stepping motor and a conveying roller for carrying the recording medium, and a rotational speed of the stepping motor is transmitted to the conveying roller so as to be decelerated.


A semiconductor device includes a first film that includes first electrode layers separated from each other in a first direction and extending in second and third directions, first columnar portions in the first film, that include a charge storage layer and a first semiconductor layer, and extend in the first direction, a second film on the first film and including second electrode layers separated from each other in the first direction and extending in second and third directions, second columnar portions in the second film and on the first columnar portions, that include a second semiconductor layer and extend in the first direction, and first insulating films separated from the second columnar portions in the third direction in the second film and extending in first and second directions. The first columnar portions form a square or rectangular lattice pattern below the first insulating films and a triangular lattice pattern elsewhere.

In the manufacture of a three-dimensional memory, the size of a chip can be reduced by arranging memory holes with a smaller distance between them. However, if the memory holes are not appropriately arranged, problems can occur, such as large voids or the like formed in an electrode layer when the electrode layer is embedded around a columnar portion in the memory hole. Therefore, a method of more appropriately reducing the chip size is desired.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


This circuit comprises a saw-tooth signal generating circuit having a single active switch monodirectional in voltage and bidirectional in current, controlled by a cyclic ratio control circuit connected, on the one hand, to a static servo-control circuit so as to ensure optimum operation of the active-switch circuit and, on the other hand, to a dynamic servo-control circuit so as to ensure conformity of the law of variation of the current in the deflector with respect to an S-corrected frame saw-tooth law.. Such a circuit is used in transistorized videofrequency receivers.

The invention relates to a switched-mode frame-scan control circuit used in particular in television receivers.
The vertical movement of the spot on the screen of a cathode-ray tube is provided by coils, called vertical-deflection or frame-scan coils, through which flows a current generally in saw-tooth form. In the case of the French standard, this current has a period of 20 milliseconds and a frame scan return time less than 1 ms.
In the prior art, this current is generated by means of electronic devices comprising generally a disabled oscillator supplying a saw-tooth voltage synchronized with the frame frequency, a connecting stage with high input impedance and low output impedance, and an output stage supplying to the vertical deflection coils the current having the amplitude and shape required for vertical deflection of the spot of the cathode-ray tube. This output stage may be a class A biased power amplifier, or else a complementary-symmetry or class AB biased "push-pull" amplifier.
Chopper devices, provided with active switches such as thyristors, are also used for generating the frame-scan current.
In this case, one of the active switches ensures the vertical scan of the upper half of the screen, by charging a capacitor connected in parallel with the vertical deflection winding by means of voltage pulses of decreasing width in time and of a given polarity.
The second switch ensures the vertical scan of the lower half of the screen, by charging the condenser by means of voltage pulses of decreasing width in time and of a polarity opposite the preceding one.
The discharge of this condenser causes in fact a saw-tooth current to flow through the vertical deflection winding.
The two paths of these chopper devices are monodirectional in current flow, each in a different direction.
The French patent application filed under the No. 78/22266 on July 27, 1978, in the name of the applicant proposes a single-path chopper device, i.e. a single active switch.
In fact, for this the vertical deflector is connected in series with a measuring resistance and a connecting capacitor whose value is sufficiently high for the voltage at the terminals of the unit thus formed to keep the same polarity whatever the direction of the current flowing through the vertical deflector. This unit then behaves sometimes as generator, sometimes as a receiver, and is connected to a circuit for generating a saw-tooth signal from the line-scan return signal, monodirectional in voltage and bidirectional in current, controlled by a control circuit synchronized to the line frequency.
In accordance with the previously mentioned French patent application No. 78/22266, the active switch is enabled during the outward line scan, the time when it starts to conduct defining the current flowing through the deflector.

Switched-mode frame-scan control circuit for a videofrequency receiver


Example implementations relate to memory read requests. For example, an implementation may include tracking progress of an iterative write sequence to write data to a memory element of a memory module. A received read request is detected to be addressed to a memory bank that includes the memory element undergoing the iterative write sequence. Based on the tracked progress, a time is determined to interrupt the iterative write sequence with insertion of the read request. The time aligns between operations of the iterative write sequence and data is returned within a predetermined read latency.

Data may be read from and written to memory devices. Memory devices may have longer write latencies, as compared to read latencies. Some memory device protocols are designed to achieve consistent read and write times.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers may designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. Use herein of a reference numeral without a hyphenated index number, where such reference numeral is referred to elsewhere with a hyphenated index number, may be a general reference to the corresponding plural elements, collectively or individually.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


A built-in amplifier type combustion pressure sensor which can be assembled by simplified operation. A pressure detecting device is fixed to one end of a housing with leads extending inside the housing. The leads are bent in a predetermined form by inserting a spacer and a cover from an opening of the housing located on the opposite side of the pressure detecting device. An amplifier circuit board is inserted into the housing from the opening so that the leads are inserted into holes provided on the amplifier circuit board and protrude from the surface of the amplifier circuit board facing the opening side. The protruding end of each lead is connected to the amplifier circuit board.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a built-in amplifier type combustion pressure sensor, and more particularly to a built-in amplifier-type combustion pressure sensor in which an assembling operation thereof can be improved.
(2) Description of the Related Art
As a conventional built-in amplifier type combustion pressure sensor, for example, there is suggested a pressure sensor in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 63-73648. The sensor disclosed in the Patent Application is provided with a piezoelectric element, which is a pressure detecting portion, on one end of a cylindrical sensor body. The sensor is also provided with a circuit board, on which an amplifier circuit amplifying signals provided by the piezoelectric element is formed. The piezoelectric element is located within the sensor body oriented such that a surface of the circuit board is situated parallel to an axis of the sensor body. Lead wires extended from the piezoelectric element run through from one end of the sensor body to the circuit board along an axial direction of the sensor body and the lead wires are connected to one end of the circuit board. Output lead wires are connected to the other end of the circuit board, which is at the opposite end of the piezoelectric circuit.
The above mentioned conventional sensor is assembled with a separately prepared piezoelectric element, sensor body and a cover that covers the circuit board. After connecting the lead wires from the piezoelectric element to the circuit board and connecting the output lead wires to the circuit board, the cover is assembled in place inside the sensor body. An alternate method is integrally forming the sensor body and the cover; pulling out the lead wires extended from the piezoelectric element and connecting the lead wires and the output lead wires to the circuit board; inserting the circuit board into the cover by placing the lead wires from the piezoelectric element inside the cover.
In the first assembling method, it is a troublesome matter to insert and fix the circuit board, which board which has already been connected to the lead wires, to the sensor body. In the second assembling method, a great care must be taken when inserting the lead wires into the cover of the sensor body so as to prevent the lead wires from contacting and damaging component parts on the circuit board. Thus, the conventional built-in amplifier-type combustion pressure sensor has a problem in that the assembling operation is not effectively conducted.

Built-in amplifier-type combustion pressure sensor and manufacturing method thereof


Fluid valves for use in internal combustion engines incorporate both plastic and metal housings which are joined at the inlet end to a metallic adapter by means of staking portions of the adapter over the exterior of the valve inlet housing tube. Valves having this type of connection are prone to failure caused by abuse encountered during valve installation and engine maintenance. In the present invention a fluid valve (10) is provided having superior strength at the junction between a plastic inlet (34) and a threaded metallic engine block adapter (14). A portion of the adapter extends into the inlet end of the housing and has a circumferential rib (48) having an outer knurled surface (50) located intermediate and adjacent to a pair of grooves (52, 54). By heating the knurled rib (48), the plastic material of the hollow inlet portion of the valve housing flows into and conforms with the grooves and the knurled rib thereby providing a rigid connection between the valve housing and the adapter. A seal ring (58) is mounted in a groove formed in the adapter and functions to fluidly seal the adapter to the inlet end of the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control members which require direct mounting to a rigid base member of the controlled device and more particularly to fluid valves which are directly mountable to the engine block of an internal combustion engine
2. Prior Art
Water valves mountable directly to the engine block of internal combustion engines are known in the art and include those valves having a sheet metal housing with a machined adapter brazed to a tubular portion of the valve housing. The adapter typically has a male pipe thread and wrench flats on the end that mounts to the engine block. The wall thickness of the adapter is made rigid enough to withstand wrench torque loads experienced during valve installation.
Other known valves incorporate a valve housing formed of plastic in order to further reduce unit cost. An inlet conduit portion of the plastic valve housing is connected to a metallic adapter similar to that described above. A thin walled metal portion on the adapter is then crimped or staked over the lower end of the valve inlet conduit. Problems have arisen with this type of connection due to the inherently low strength of the joint. Side loading or inadvertent impact loading to the valve housing can deliver a moment load of sufficient intensity to cause a failure at the junction of the adapter and valve housing inlet.

Block mounted automotive heater control valve


A battery electrode comprises a plaque made of a sponge-like porous metal matrix having a multiplicity of cells connected with each other three-dimensionally, wherein the sectional area of the gratings making up the sponge-like metal porous plaque decreases continuously along the thickness of the plaque from the surface toward the central part and an active material is impregnated in the porous plaque.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery electrode having a plaque made of a sponge-like porous metal matrix having a multiplicity of cells therein connected with each other three-dimensionally.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional electrodes for the primary battery presently on the market are produced by a method in which a powder mixture mainly comprising an active material is impregnated directly in the battery case or molded with a support such as a grating, a screen, a punched metal or an expanded metal arranged at the central part of the mixture. This production method is simple and has the advantage that a number of active materials are capable of being impregnated, thus making it suitable for the primary battery which does not require a very high strength. Representative secondary batteries include a lead acid battery and a nickel-cadmium storage battery. The electrodes for the lead acid battery are made by a method in which a paste mainly comprising at least an active material is coated with a lead grating or an expanded metal as a support or a method in which a cylinder of metal having numerous minor pores is impregnated with an active material. These methods provide a simple production process since about the only main work involved is the coating of an active material or the impregnation thereof in the cylinder directly. The electrodes of the nickel-cadmium storage battery, on the other hand, are made by a method in which an active material is filled in a sintered plaque of nickel powder or a method in which an active material is directly filled in a metal bag having a multiplicity of small pores. The former method was developed after the World War II and requires a rather complicated process of immersing the electrodes in a salt of the active material to convert the salt into an active material. In spite of this, the electrode made by this method is superior to the electrodes made by the other methods in strength and electrical performances. The latter method is used for making a pocket-plate electrode and simple in view of the fact that the active material powder is filled directly, although the electrical performances of the electrode thus made are inferior to those of the electrode using a sintered plaque.
The conventional methods for producing a battery and electrodes thereof are roughly described above. At the present, earnest efforts are being made to develop a secondary battery, or especially an alkali storage battery (mainly a nickel-cadmium storage battery) having a non-sintered electrode of other than pocket-plate having electrical performances substantially identical to those of a sintered electrode superior in strength and which can be impregnated with an active material at high density by a simple production process. Such methods are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,474,502 and No. 2,694,743 for a sponge-like porous metal matrix and by U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,164 and No. 3,597,829 for an electrode using such a sponge-like porous metal matrix. This sponge-like porous metal matrix is made by the process as mentioned below.
In one method, a sponge of resin is plated with a metal and after removing the resin, the metal is annealed. According to a second method, a metal powder is filled in a resin sponge and the whole structure is sintered. According to still another method, a mixture of a material acting as a pore-promoting agent and a metal powder is sintered or molten, and any pore-promoting agent that may remain is removed by etching or the like. In a further method, a gas is blown into a molten metal and cooled with bubbles kept therein followed by application of a high pressure thereby to remove the films between the bubbles. The method in which the resin is plated already finds an industrial application. In any way, the sponge-like porous metal matrix has pores which are generally larger in average diameter than the pores of a sintered plaque of a metal powder (about 1 .mu.m). This average pore diameter is suitable for the grain size of the active material and makes it possible to directly fill it. The sintered substrate, by contrast, has a smaller average pore diameter, so that it is almost impossible to fill the powder directly. Instead, after the plaque is immersed in a salt solution of the active material, it is necessary to convert the salt impregnated in the plaque into an active material, or the plaque must be cathodically polarized in a salt solution to get the active material. This is indicative of the fact that in the case of a sponge-like porous metal matrix, the active material is capable of being filled in the substantially same simple production process as that for a non-sintered electrode. Another feature of the electrode using a plaque of sponge-like porous metal matrix resides in that in view of the fact that the active material is completely covered by a metal grating, a long service life cycle and a high electron conductivity of the electrode results, thus making it suitable for high-rate discharge. Further, the porosity is easily capable of being increased beyond that of the sintered plaque (about 80%), thus increasing the density of the filled active material. In the case of a sponge-like porous metal matrix made by plating, for instance, the porosity of up to a maximum of approximately 98% is possible. In continuous production in industrial applications, however, the porosity of about 96% or less is desirable to maintain the strength of a plaque 1 to 2 mm thick. The sponge-like porous metal matrix which has a porosity about 20% higher than that of the sintered plaque (about 80%) is capable of being filled with a proportionately greater amount of the active material.
The electrode having a plaque made of a sponge-like porous metal matrix mentioned above is superior in various electrical performances as a battery electrode and is capable of being impregnated with an active material of a large volume by a simple process. Therefore, it is suitable for the primary battery requiring a high-rate discharge performance as well as for the secondary battery. It may also be used as a spiral electrode.
As a result of an application of an electrode having a plaque of the sponge-like porous metal matrix having the features mentioned above to a nickel electrode, the advantages mentioned below have been found.
By plating a resin sponge with nickel, a sponge-like porous metal matrix of substantially uniform grating diameters (average porosity of 95% and number of cells 55 per inch) is obtained. This is used as a plaque which is filled with a paste of a mixture powder mainly comprising hydroxide nickel powder (86% by weight), resulting in the filling density of 300 to 320 mAh/cm.sup.3. When pressure of 400 kg/cm.sup.2 is applied, the density is improved to 430 to 450 mAh/cm.sup.3. Although this is higher than the density of 350 to 400 mAh/cm.sup.3 for an ordinary sintered plaque, it has been found that if the sectional area of the grating near the surface of the plaque is increased and that at the central part thereof is decreased by changing the plating conditions such as the current density or agitation for making the sponge-like porous metal matrix, a greaater amount of active material is capable of being impregnated regardless of the same porosity of the whole structure and this high density is maintained after pressure work. A sectional view of this sponge-like porous metal matrix is shown schematically in FIG. 2. Specifically, a foamed resin is coated with carbon black uniformly inside and plated on both sides with nickel with substantially no agitation at the current density of 3.0 A/cm.sup.2 in Watt solution for five minutes. The resulting structure is washed in water and the resin is removed by roasting, followed by an annealing process in a hydrogen environment at 800.degree. C. for 30 minutes, thus producing a sponge-like nickel porous metal matrix having the average porosity of 96%, the sectional area of the grating near the surface of about 2800 .mu.m.sup.2, that at the central part of about 700 .mu.m.sup.2, and the number of cells of 55 per inch. This porous sheet is pressurized between rollers, so that the surface thereof is flattened and the porosity thereof is controlled at 95%. This is used as a plaque which is filled with a paste of a powder mixture containing 86% by weight of hydroxide nickel of average grain size of 25 to 150 .mu.m. This structure is dried and subjected to pressure between flat plates at 400 kg/cm.sup.2. Thus, the density of 500 to 520 mAh/cm.sup.3 of the active material in the electrode is obtained.
In the case where a similar foamed resin is plated with nickel on both sides thereof at the current density of 1.0 A/cm.sup.2 while sufficiently agitating and the resulting sponge-like nickel porous metal matrix having a uniform sectional area of gratings is used as a plaque which is filled with a similar paste mainly comprising a hydroxide nickel powder and subjected to a pressure of 400 kg/cm.sup.2, on the other hand, the density of the filled active material of the electrode is 430 to 450 mAh/cm.sup.3.
Before pressure work, the density in the latter case is 300 to 320 mAh/cm.sup.3 which compares to the density of 350 to 380 mAh/cm.sup.3 in the former case. This shows that more active materials are used with the plaque in the former case than in the latter case. It has also been found that the sectional area of the gratings at the central part of the resin sponge relative to the sectional area of the gratings near the surface thereof tends to decrease with the increase in current density or with the decrease in agitation for palting or with the increase in the thickness of the resin sponge.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


We disclose an apparatus for maintaining a flow of grain moving toward a rotating sweep conveyor. A rake extends longitudinally along the sweep. The rake is disposed along the leading sidewall of the sweep such that the rake is in the path of movement of the sweep as the sweep rotates within the bin. The rake has a plurality of projections that protrude from a shaft. A reciprocating drive assembly is connected to the driven roller and to the shaft. The reciprocating drive assembly causes the shaft to move forward and backward along the longitudinal axis of the sweep. The reciprocating shaft movement causes the projections to engage grain piles in the path of the sweep, causing the pile to collapse into a flowable particulate to be received by the sweep.

Seed and grain are commonly stored in grain bins and related storage structures. Rotating sweep conveyors are commonly used to remove seed or grain from the floor of a grain storage bin. Sweep conveyors rotate about a central pivot point. These sweep conveyors sweeping residual seed or grain toward a central discharge chute for transferring the seed or grains to a wait truck, trailer, rail car, etc. Sweep conveyors of this nature are commonly screw auger type or chain driven paddle conveyors. Power can either be transferred from the unload conveyor—as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,031—or the sweep can be powered with a dedicated electric motor, or equivalent power source. The sweep conveyor transfers power from the power source, through the auger or chain to turn an idler roller. The idler roller is coupled to a distal drive wheel such that power is transferred from the conveyor to the drive wheel. The driven wheel is mounted perpendicular to the length of the sweep conveyor and drives the sweep about the pivot point, like the hand of a clock.

Rake device on friction-driven sweep conveyor


Methods and devices for occluding a vessel during a percutaneous ablation procedure. An elongated access device having a lumen and a tissue piercing, open distal end in communication with the lumen is used to percutaneously access a vessel that supplied blood to the tissue to be treated. An elongated balloon deployment device is used to deliver a balloon into the interior of the vessel. The balloon is inflated, resulting in the occlusion of the vessel. The tissue to be treated is ablated. Because there is little or no blood to transfer the thermal energy away from the heated tissue, the ablation procedure is performed more efficiently. The balloon may be subsequently deflated allowing normal flow through the vessel to return.

Solid tissue tumors, such as those found in the liver, traditionally have been treated with systematic chemotherapy, surgical resection, or local radiation therapy. Many tumors, however, remain poorly responsive to these therapeutic modalities and necessitate the use of alternative treatments, such as thermal ablation of the tumor. Thermal sources for these treatment modalities include high-intensity ultrasound, laser, microwave, and radiofrequency (RF) energy. Of these different types of ablation techniques, RF ablation has proven to be safe, predictable, and inexpensive, and has emerged as the thermal ablation modality that most easily creates large volumes of tissue necrosis.
Although RF ablation of the tumor can be implemented during open surgery, it is most often performed percutaneously. One RF ablation technique utilizes a single needle electrode or a multiple needle electrode array that is inserted percutaneously using a surgical probe and guided with real-time ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) into the tumor. One properly positioned, the needle electrode is activated, and alternating current is transferred from the needle electrode into the surrounding tissue, causing ionic agitation of the surrounding cells, ultimately leading to the production of frictional heat. As tissue temperatures increase between 60-100° C., there is an instantaneous induction of irreversible cellular damage referred to as coagulation necrosis. The treatment area is monitored ultrasonographically for increased echogenicity during the procedure, which corresponds to the formation of tissue and water vapor microbubbles from the heated tissue and is used to roughly estimate the boundaries of the treatment sphere.
Often, when performing a RF ablation procedure, the presence of blood vessels within or near the tumor causes the conduction of thermal energy away from the target tissue and into the relatively cooler blood. This may cause irregular shaped ablation regions, or sometimes even prevent ablation. When such procedures are performed using open surgical procedures, a surgeon may typically clamp the respective blood vessel, e.g., by using his or her fingers or by using a pair of forceps, thereby reducing or eliminating the blood flow adjacent or through the ablation site. For example, if the tumor is within the liver, the portal vein and/or hepatic artery at the porta hepatis may be clamped. This technique is called a "Pringle maneuver."
When a percutaneous ablation procedure is performed, however, a Pringle maneuver may not be possible, due to the lack of direct access to the vessel and/or the distance from the abdominal wall to the vessel. Angiographic portal arterial, or major vessel balloon occlusion has been used to prevent or minimize blood flow through the ablation site. This technique, however, is not flexible in that the human vasculature often prevents or makes difficult the introduction of the balloon into certain blood vessels, e.g., the portal vein in the liver.
Accordingly, apparatus and methods for occluding vessels in connection with an organ being treated by an RF ablation or other hyperthermic procedures would be useful.

Percutaneous pringle occlusion method and device


The present invention relates to the field of biological and chemical transformation as well as physical and chemical trapping. More specifically, the invention relates to a new reactor arrangement for performing, by means of at least one solid reaction member, biological or chemical transformation, or physical or chemical trapping from or release of agents to, a fluidic medium. The reactor arrangement is comprised of an auxiliary reactor having a transformation device and a main reactor. The invention also provides an auxiliary reactor adapted for being connected to a main reactor, a method of using such a reactor arrangement, as well as a process involving the reactor arrangement.

Heterogeneous processes in chemistry and biotechnology are unit operations that encompass a solid member (including, but not limited to, immobilized chemical reagents, catalysts, scavengers, reaction supports, trapping sorbents, or immobilized biological materials such as enzymes, or cells or fragments thereof) contacting a fluidic medium carrying reactants or other agents, sample solutes, and/or products of the interactive processing of fluid-conveyed agent(s) with the solid member(s). Most such heterogeneous processes are critically dependent on convective flow of the fluidic medium to establish the necessary mass transfer between the fluidic and solid phases. As a consequence, solid/fluid heterogeneous systems are therefore often operated in a continuous flow through mode, in which case a conventional packed column with a suitable design is often the preferred format for encapsulating the solid member that is to be transited or percolated by the reaction medium. Numerous processes are, however, unfit for continuous processing. This applies in particular to processes where the solid member is a soft and compressible gel which is prone to collapse in a packed column bed, in transformation schemes where sequential addition of agents and/or removal of by-products or desired products are necessary, or where the physical or chemical conditions must otherwise be altered during the course of processing with the solid member. In those cases, a batch-wise processing model is often preferred. Such batch-wise heterogeneous processing can either be done by suspending the solid member directly in the fluid medium as particulate material under agitation, a process that will normally call for a filtration or sedimentation step to separate the phases after the process has been brought to an end. Alternatively, the fluidic medium can be circulated from the batch reactor through a packed reservoir containing the solid member by means of a specially designed flow system comprising pumps and/or valves or the like, in order to accomplish the convective mass transfer needed for the transformation to take place. Such reactors are often quite complicated and must regularly be built on-site and adapted for a specific purpose.
The challenge of establishing efficient convective mass transfer between solid and fluid phases has been addressed in different ways. Some interesting alternatives are disclosed in WO 2011/098570, which relates to devices for performing biological or chemical transformation, or physical or chemical trapping from, or release of agents to, a fluidic medium by means of a solid reaction member. These devices are comprised of a flow distributor having a fluid medium inlet, a fluid medium outlet, at least one confinement where said transformation, trapping, or release of agents is performed, and a means for rotating, rocking, wagging, or oscillating the flow distributor, by which action fluidic medium in which it is submerged is pumped through a bed of solid member contained within the flow distributor.
As a result of this pumping action, use of the devices disclosed in WO 2011/098570 leads to increased convective mass transfer, and accordingly improved performance of most heterogeneous transformation schemes. One of the reasons for these enhanced convective mass transfer properties is the ability of the flow distributor to use a combination of centrifugal force and flow dynamics to draw fluid through the central inlet(s) and discharge it through the peripheral outlets, resulting in a pumping action that predominantly draws fluid from the larger central inlet located at the bottom of the device.
The disclosure of WO 2011/098570 is focused on laboratory scale processes and laboratory scale equipment. However, there are important issues to consider when scaling up a process which are not relevant when working in a laboratory scale. Examples of such issues could be overall cost efficiency and flexibility. Accordingly, there is a need for process equipment capable of providing increased convective mass transfer, and accordingly improved performance of most heterogeneous transformation schemes also in a pilot scale and a large scale.
The present inventors have realized that it would be particularly attractive to have a scheme where an auxiliary reactor can be connected to an existing main reactor, to provide the above-mentioned advantages without having to replace or substantially modify an already existing main reactor.

Auxiliary reactor for biological or chemical transformation


Predicting casing wear, riser wear, and friction factors in drilling operations may be achieved with data-driven models that use discrete inversion techniques to updated casing wear models, riser wear models, and/or friction factor models. For example, a method may applying a linear inversion technique or a nonlinear inversion technique to one or more parameters of at least one of a casing wear model, a riser wear model, or a friction factor model using historical data from a previously drilled well as input data to produce at least one of an updated casing wear model, an updated riser wear model, or an updated friction factor model, respectively; and implementing the at least one of the updated casing wear model, the updated riser wear model, or the updated friction factor model when designing and/or performing a drilling operation.

The present disclosure relates to predicting casing wear, riser wear, and friction factors in drilling operations.
In the oil and gas industry, after a wellbore has been drilled, the wellbore is often lined with a string of casing to seal the wellbore and otherwise prevent the collapse of the surrounding subterranean formations penetrated by the wellbore. The string of casing includes several tubular lengths coupled to each other at each end to provide an elongate conduit extendable into the wellbore. After the casing has been secured within the wellbore, the wellbore is often extended even further past the casing, thus requiring drill string and an associated drill bit to be extended into the wellbore through the casing. Contact between the drill string and the casing during drilling can lead to excessive casing wear, which may compromise the integrity of the casing at affected points. If the integrity of the casing is diminished too far, the casing could burst or collapse, or fluid leaks could result.
Casing wear is an inevitable problem in the oil and gas industry and engineers are constantly introducing newer methods or systems intended to prevent or reduce casing wear as far as possible. Computer programs and models often under-predict or over-predict the potential casing wear for a given well system. Due to the inherent uncertainties associated with casing wear estimation, oil and gas engineers typically overdesign the casing to avoid future problems, such as burst, collapse, and leakage, all of which might lead to well abandonment. Overdesign of the casing, however, requires a larger capital investment, which may not be necessary.
It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments given in the drawings and detailed description thereto do not limit the disclosure. On the contrary, they provide the foundation for one of ordinary skill to discern the alternative forms, equivalents, and modifications that may be encompassed together with one or more of the given embodiments in the scope of the appended claims.

Modeling casing/riser wear and friction factor using discrete inversion techniques


An optical connector for assembly with a fiber optic cable includes a spring biased holder for an optical fiber having a rear body to prevent leaking of adhesive from the holder. A collar is provided having a multi-faceted periphery to allow insertion into a cavity of a connector body. The collar has a complementary faceted geometry in a multiplicity of orientations with respect to a mating axis to provide for high resolution tuning of the holder.

The present invention relates to a connector for a fiber optic cable. More particularly, the invention relates to a new and improved fiber optic connector including a holder for holding a fiber optic cable and an optical fiber which provides for high resolution tuning of the holder and prevents adhesive from leaking into the shell of a fiber optic connector.
Fiber optic connectors are known which have means for preventing rotation of the fiber optic cable after positioning within a connector body during a termination procedure, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,276 to Gerace et al. Such patents are adapted to a push-pull type connector having a plug housing including a shell, a keying position which allows the connector to remain in a fixed position upon insertion with a receptacle, and at least one reciprocating holder in the shell for holding an optical fiber. The optical fiber is connected to the reciprocating holder and is compatible within its load bearing portion with the load bearing portion anchored to the shell. The fiber is reciprocable together with the reciprocating holder and is reciprocable with respect to the shell and the load bearing portion.
It is also known to tune ferrules to provide for precise optical alignment, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,508 to Palmquist. However, Palmquist does not teach tuning during a termination procedure. The Gerace et al. patent in particular, includes a collar having square or hexagonal profiles which prevent rotation of the holder when inserted into the shell of a connector. This invention, which has only limited positions in which the holder may be inserted into the connector, does not allow for precise concentric positioning of eccentrically manufactured ferrules and may not be precisely orientated, or tuned, to a degree sufficient to alleviate high insertion loss which occurs when a pair of abutting optical fibers are not concentric upon a common mating axis.
Increasingly, high performance connectors are required having insertion losses of less than 0.25 dB, such as angle polished ferrules and single mode applications. As a standard ferrule has a core diameter which is, for example, 128 microns and a common optical fiber diameter of 127 microns inserted therein, an optical fiber may be as much as 1/2 micron from the concentric axis. Further, the abutting optical fiber may also be as much as 1/2 micron off the concentric axis, equaling a total possible eccentricity of the optical fiber in the cores of each ferrule of 1 micron. In addition, the ferrule core may in and of itself have been manufactured off the concentric axis. Although spinning and cleaving a ferrule may make the core concentric, some ferrules such as ceramic ferrules cannot be spun and are manufactured eccentric to the mating axis. This eccentricity, if unadjusted, could possibly result in total signal loss. Thus, tuning of such fibers to optimize the position relative to the concentric axis could improve optical alignment by an order of magnitude.
Therefore, a useful device is needed in order to achieve precise tuning of the fiber during the termination procedure. Such a device is accomplished by the present invention. By this invention, a different system is provided for inserting the fiber optic cable holder into the connector in multiple orientations to allow tuning the holder for high resolution and low insertion loss.
Effective tuning may be achieved by having at least twelve different surfaces, twice as many as shown in Gerace et al., and preferably between twelve and thirty-two surfaces. The multi-faceted holder also prevents rotation of the holder within the connector body and allows for easy insertion. The present invention is well suited to single mode applications where low insertion loss and return loss are performance characteristics, which are both optimized via tuning the fiber to the concentric axis. The present invention is also well suited to ferrules which are angle polished and require complete ferrule alignment to limit insertion loss.
The Gerace et al. patent also discloses a holder having a sheath which is attached to the body of the holder through which the optical fiber and optical cable extends. Assembly of the connector involves positioning a fiber optic cable holder within a connector body. Adhesive is then deposited into the body. The adhesive may be injected by a syringe introduced into an end portion of the sheath which has been cut at an angle to provide an enlarged optical mouth. The rear of the sheath which protrudes from the end of the connector is later trimmed. The adhesive is deposited near the front end of the connector body adjacent the ferrule, distant from the rear end of the sheath. A stripped fiber optic cable is then passed through the interior cavity of a strain relief boot and through a holder including a sheath and body. The optical fiber is then securely inserted into a ferrule at the front of the cavity. The sheath prevents leaking of adhesive from the holder and prevents the adhesive from spreading into the spring and shell of the connector. Following the introduction of the adhesive into the holder, the optical fiber is pushed through the ferrule in so doing coating the optical fiber which resides within the ferrule with the adhesive, assuring the fiber is permanently bonded to the passageway through the ferrule. If strength members and external jacket accompany the optical fiber, the strength members can be secured by crimping them between the load bearing portion of the connector and a crimp sleeve. Excess fiber protruding beyond the ferrule tip is then cleaned and removed. After the adhesive has set, the ferrule tip with optical fiber is polished.
The Gerace et al. patent does not allow for manufacture of a one-piece body which prevents leaking of adhesive but is also easily installed and assembled. The present invention does not require trimming of the rear sheath, as it does not extend beyond the rear of the connector. By this invention, a different system is provided wherein the holder is a one-piece, integrally molded material including a rear body to prevent adhesive leakage, thereby avoiding adhesive on the spring which would prevent deflection of the ferrule upon mating.
By this invention, a fiber optic connector with a holder is provided which provides for high resolution tuning of the holder, is more easily inserted into a fiber optic connector, does not require assembly, does not require cutting at an angle, and has no chance of adhesive leaking into the body of the connector.
In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art compositions, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder which allows concentric positioning of the fiber with respect to the common mating axis.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder which allows for more accurate tuning of the fiber to maximize resolution.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder which is easily manufactured and assembled.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder which prevents the leaking of adhesive into the body of a fiber optic connector.
It is further object of the invention to avoid separation of the rear body from the holder body while tuning.
It is a another object of this invention to provide a new and improved holder which may be inserted in many positions and once inserted, prevents rotation of the holder.

Fiber optic connector with high resolution tunable fiber holder

by Patricia A. Palacek, legal represenative


A composite foamed material and a process for the production thereof are disclosed herein, the process comprising premixing expandable or expanded polystyrene beads, a binder and fragments of resilient, open-celled neoprene. The materials are combined in the proportions of about 4-15% polystyrene beads, about 6-25% binder and about 60-90% open-celled neoprene. The combined materials are preferably compressed to a density of about 5-30 lbs. per cubic foot, more preferably 5-17 lbs. per cubic foot, and steam is applied to the compressed materials to cure the binder, and in certain embodiments to expand the polystyrene beads, thereby producing the desired composite foamed material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to resilient cellular materials and more particularly to a composite foamed material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of cellular, and particularly foamed, materials are well known in the prior art. Procedures for the production of such materials have correspondingly been known in the art, as well as procedures for producing composite materials which include foamed or cellular materials. It is recognized that the advantage of a composite material is that it typically displays physical properties which differ from the individual components of the material. Further, the composite may be less expensive than an isolated material due to the inclusion of relatively inexpensive fillers. The present invention provides a composite foamed material, and a process for the production thereof, having particularly advantageous physical characteristics for certain applications.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,300,421, issued to Merriman et al. on Jan. 24, 1967, there is disclosed a process for the production of "bonded resilient fragment" materials. The Merriam et al. patent discloses a process in which substantially rigid, pre-expanded glass or synthetic resin particles are combined with resilient cellular material and a bonding agent. The cellular material is selected from natural rubber, synthetic rubber and polyurethane. The resultant mix is compressed while substantial bonding occurs. The material produced by the process of the Merriman et al. patent is particularly adapted for certain applications. A cushioning material comprising a mixture of shredded pneumacel batting and shredded particles of polyurethane or rubber bonded together by an elastomeric binder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,973, issued to Yunan on July 15, 1975.
Generally, both of these patents and the other references fail to appreciate the significant finding of the present invention that a composite of neoprene and polystyrene does not display substantial increase in flammability or smoking over simply the neoprene material. These and all other references also fail to recognize that the minimal increase in these characteristics is obtained while at the same time advantageous physical properties, particularly impact absorption, are achieved with a product which is less expensive than a pure neoprene material. Typical prior art for certain applications uses pure neoprene, while the present invention provides a composite material which is less expensive, displays greatly improved impact absorption properties, and does not exceed desired flame and smoke limitations.
In a particular aspect, the Merriman et al. procedure employs already expanded polystyrene granules, which granules are therefore uniform in shape. In contrast, the present invention includes in one embodiment the expansion of polystyrene beads while under compression and while in combination with resilient cellular neoprene, and this produces irregularly-shaped, expanded beads. It has been found that, as a result of this expansion of the polystyrene beads while commingled with the cellular material, a more intimate relationship between the two components is achieved. For example, it has been observed that closely spaced polystyrene beads, when expanded in the preferred embodiment in proximity with the existent cellular material, will trap portions of the cellular material therebetween, which would not result by the process of the Merriman et al. patent. In addition, the compression of the material in accordance with the Merriman et al. patent tends to crush the pre-expanded polystyrene beads, whereas the expansion of the beads after the step of compression and in the presence of the existant cellular material will tend not to produce "crushed" beads, but only to cause the beads to expand in irregular fashion.
A number of other composite foamed materials have been proposed in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,607,797, issued to Rubens et al. on September 21, 1979, there is disclosed a composite foam having copolymer particles dispersed throughout a urethane foam matrix. The composite foam of the Rubens et al. patent is prepared by combining expandable copolymer beads with a polyurethane foam precursor, and thereafter allowing the mixture to foam. Similar materials having thermoplastic beads which are expanded with the surrounding and primarily supporting foam material are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,878,133, issued to Rubens on Apr. 15, 1975, and 2,958,905, issued to Newberg et al. on Nov. 8, 1960. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,840, issued to Parrish on Mar. 31, 1970, there is disclosed a composite material having closed-cell reinforcing particles supported within a surrounding foam matrix, the closed-cell particles not being expanded with the foam matrix.
Einhorn et al. disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,722, issued on Dec. 17, 1963, a composite material comprising shredded cellular material bonded together by a prepolymer binder. Procedures for the production of foamed materials in which polystyrene beads are held together with a binder are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,585,157, issued to Beck on June 15, 1971, and 2,959,508, issued to Graham et al. on Nov. 8, 1960. Additional references in this art include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,855,049, issued to Klein on Dec. 17, 1974; 3,251,916, issued to Newnham et al. on May 17, 1966; 2,892,216, issued to Steel on June 30, 1959; and 2,878,153, issued to Hacklander on Mar. 17, 1959, as well as Great Britain Pat. Nos. 1,033,702 issued to Oak and 889,278 issued to Taylor.
In none of these references is there described the expansion of the polystyrene beads in situ with open celled material and binder maintained under pressure. More generally, the present invention achieves a product in another aspect which incorporates polystyrene material but which surprisingly does not have the disadvantageous smoking and flammability characteristic of polystyrene.


A control apparatus for a vehicular drive unit is provided. The vehicular drive unit includes a continuously variable transmission, and a clutch. The control apparatus includes an electronic control unit that is configured to acquire an oil temperature of hydraulic oil for controlling the continuously variable transmission and the clutch, and control the clutch such that a torque capacity of the clutch becomes smaller than a torque capacity that is set in a case where an oil temperature of the hydraulic oil is higher than a predetermined oil temperature, when the oil temperature is equal to or lower than the predetermined oil temperature, or control the continuously variable transmission such that a speed ratio of the continuously variable transmission becomes equal to or larger than a lower limit set in advance when the oil temperature of the hydraulic oil is equal to or lower than the predetermined oil temperature.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a control apparatus for a vehicular drive unit, and more particularly, to the control of a vehicular drive unit that is equipped with a belt-type continuously variable transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
There is known a vehicular drive unit that is equipped with a power source, a continuously variable transmission that is constituted of a pair of pulleys and a belt wound around the pair of the pulleys, and a clutch that is provided in a power transmission path between the continuously variable transmission and a driving wheel. A vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-51468 (JP 2012-51468 A) is such an example. In the vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-51468 (JP 2012-51468 A), with a view to restraining a belt from slipping as a result of the inputting of an excessive torque transmitted from a driving wheel side to a continuously variable transmission, the torque capacity of a clutch is reduced. When the excessive torque is input to the continuously variable transmission from the driving wheel side, the clutch is caused to slip, so the belt is restrained from slipping.

Control apparatus for vehicular drive unit


xe2x80x98SUNLAPURxe2x80x99 is a decumbent plant, with very large and vivid purplish red flowers, which is suitable for potting and flower bedding. The spreading area of the plant is very large. This plant has abundant branching. The length of internodes is 2.8 cm.

Petunia hybrida/Petunia Plant
cv. xe2x80x98Sunlapurxe2x80x99.
The Petunia is a very popular plant that is used for flower bedding and potting in the summer season. There are only a few Petunia varieties which do not have an upright growth habit and which have a high resistance to rain, heat, cold, and diseases. The Petunias of the Revolution series include xe2x80x98Revolution Purplepinkxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,915), xe2x80x98Revolution Brilliantpinkxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,914), xe2x80x98Revolution Brilliantpink-minixe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,899), and xe2x80x98Revolution Blueveinxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,322). These are decumbent type plants having long stems, a lower plant height, abundant branching, and a high resistance to heat, cold and rain. However, there are only a few Petunia varieties having a great profusion of flowers, large vivid reddish-purple colored flowers, and a high resistance to rain, heat, cold and diseases. Accordingly, this invention was aimed at obtaining a new Petunia variety having a vivid reddish-purple colored flowers, together with the above features.
The new variety of Petunia plant according to this invention originated in April 1995 from crossing as male parent a wild-type Petunia plant native to Brazil (non-patented in the United States) which had decumbent habit, and as a female parent the cultivar xe2x80x98Titan Redxe2x80x99 (non-patented in the United States). From that crossing, 384 seedlings were obtained and evaluated in July 1995. A trial involving potted plants was carried out and 15 seedlings were selected. These 15 seedlings were propagated by the use of cuttings and were grown in a trial in flower beds and in containers. The botanical characteristics of these plants were examined using the similar varieties xe2x80x98Revolution Brilliantpinkxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98Revolution Brilliantpink-minixe2x80x99 for comparison. Finally, a single Petunia plant was selected in December 1996. It was concluded that this new variety is distinguishable from other varieties especially with respect to flower size, and this variety of Petunia plant was named xe2x80x98Sunlapurxe2x80x99.
This new variety of Petunia plant named xe2x80x98Sunlapurxe2x80x99 was asexually reproduced by the use of cuttings at Oomori-cho, Yokaichi-shi, Shiga-ken, Japan, and the homogeneity and stability thereof were confirmed. It commonly takes approximately one week to initiate the rooting of cuttings of the new variety of the present invention.
In the following description, the color identification is in accordance with The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England.
Described herein is a decumbent type Petunia plant named xe2x80x98Sunlapurxe2x80x99 having very large vivid reddish-purple flowers. The plant has abundant branching, a great profusion of blooms, and the entire plant remains in bloom for a considerable period of time. The plant is highly resistant to rain, heat, cold and disease. This new variety of Petunia plant is suitable for growing in pots, hanging baskets, and flower beds.
The plants described and depicted herein were propagated by the use of cuttings. Following rooting the plants were transplanted into small pots in a greenhouse, and were subsequently transplanted into larger pots and were grown outside. Such plants were approximately 12 weeks of age from the time of the rooting of cuttings.

Abstract: The leaf shape is lanceolate with some pubescence on the surface, having small petiole. Leaf color is dark green.

Abstract: The flowers are single and very large. Facing direction of flowers is slightly upward to horizontal. Ground color of flower is vivid reddish purple with dark purple vein. The bottom color of inside of throat is strong purple and the outside color of corolla tube is reddish purple. Shape of petal tip is acute, lobation is deep, and waving is medium.

Abstract: The plant exhibits early flowering. It has a high resistance to rain, heat, disease and moderate resistance to pests.


An improved electrode having a surface mixture of nickel and porous nickel produced by applying a paste mixture of NiAl.sub.2 and Ni.sub.3 B together with a vehicle to a substrate. After burning off the vehicle and firing in air at a temperature of 450.degree. to 650.degree. C. and thereafter sintering at a temperature of 800.degree. to 900.degree. C. in nitrogen, the coating on the substrate contains Ni.sub.2 Al.sub.3, NiAl.sub.2 B and nickel together with a thin overlayer of B.sub.2 O.sub.3. After removing the intermetallic aluminum, boron and boron oxide by dissolution with sodium hydroxide, the surface of the substrate contains Raney nickel supported on a structure of nickel. The resulting electrodes can be used as cathodes in water or brine electrolysis cells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved electrode having a porous nickel surface. More particularly, it relates to a paste composition that can be used to coat a substrate and a process that results in a nickel supported porous nickel coated electrode useful as a cathode in water or brine electrolysis cells.
2. Prior Art
It is well-known that an active porous nickel surface can be produced by selectively dissolving a soluble component such as aluminum or zinc from an alloy of nickel and the soluble component. Such porous nickel and the alloy from which it is produced are frequently referred to respectively as Raney nickel and Raney alloy, named after their inventor. Several specific methods for producing Raney nickel and a variety of uses for this material have been suggested in the past. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,580, Oden et al., a method is suggested for making a supported Raney nickel catalyst by coating a nickel substrate with aluminum or aluminum nickel alloy. This process produces a thick layer of NiAl.sub.3 on a nickel substrate. Said layer is a precursor of a Raney nickel catalyst. The inventor suggests in column 1, lines 30-34 that the production of Ni.sub.2 Al.sub.3 as a surface coating is undesirable. In contrast I have found as set forth in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,804 that an improved electrode having a porous nickel surface can be formed by a process which includes the interdiffusion of aluminum and nickel at temperatures of at least 660.degree. C. to form a nickel aluminum alloy (Ni.sub.2 Al.sub.3) layer from which aluminum is subsequently selectively dissolved. This electrode, when used as a cathode in an electrolytic cell for producing hydrogen, chlorine and caustic from brine, exhibits exceptionally low hydrogen overvoltage.
Dickenson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,231, also discloses a method of making a negative electrode by forming a layer of nickel aluminide (Ni.sub.2 Al.sub.3) and then dissolving out the diffused aluminum with a caustic solution. Although many of the prior art electrodes formed from Raney nickel catalysts are good cathodes, I have continued to search for an electrode that can be inexpensively produced, has outstanding mechanical strength so as to have a long useful life and reduces power consumption in a chlor-alkali plant because of low hydrogen overvoltage.


Improved spray drying apparati, and methods of use thereof, have been developed. The spray drying equipment includes a primary drying chamber and a secondary drying apparatus which includes tubing having a length sufficient to increase the contact time between the drying gas and the droplets/particles to dry the particles to the extent desired, at a drying rate and temperature which would be too low to provide adequate drying without the secondary drying apparatus. The secondary drying apparatus increases the drying efficiency of the spray dryer system without increasing the drying rate, while minimizing loss in yield. Te secondary drying apparatus can include multiple secondary apparati, which are independently controlled for temperature and/or have different dimensions (cross-sectional areas and/or lengths), to allow for optimization of drying conditions. For example, in one embodiment, the temperatures of the secondary appararati are set to gradually increase, or decrease, enabling the particles to be dried at multiple temperatures and drying conditions. In another embodiment, the apparati have different dimensions to alter the velocity at which the particles are dried, to accommodate changes in particle aggregation or other properties affecting product yield. A preferred application for the spray drying process and equipment is in the production of microparticles, between about 1 and 200 xcexcm in diameter, which can be used to deliver therapeutic and diagnostic agents.

This invention generally relates to spray dryers and more particularly to methods and equipment for drying particles produced by spray drying.
Spray drying is commonly used in the production of particles for many applications, including food, cosmetics, fertilizers, dyes, and abrasives. Spray drying can be tailored to create a wide spectrum of particle sizes, including microparticles. Spray dried particles are useful in a variety of biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, such as the delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,698 to Straub et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,913 to Hanes et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,657 to Takada et al.
In a typical process for making particles using a spray drying process, a solid forming material, such as a polymer, which is intended to form the bulk of the particle, is dissolved in an appropriate solvent to form a solution. Alternatively, the material can be suspended or emulsified in a non-solvent to form a suspension or emulsion. Other components, such as drugs, diagnostic agents, or pore forming agents, optionally are added at this stage. The solution then is atomized to form a fine mist of droplets. The droplets immediately enter a drying chamber where they contact a drying gas. The solvent is evaporated from the droplets into the drying gas to solidify the droplets, thereby forming particles. The particles then are separated from the drying gas and collected.
In scaling up such a spray drying process, for example from the laboratory or pilot plant scale to the commercial plant scale, certain disadvantages may be encountered. For example, if the drying efficiency is not adequately scaled, the solvent content of the product particles may increase undesirably. While increasing the drying capacity or drying rate should compensate for this insufficient drying, the increased drying rate may induce other problems. For example, it has been observed that increasing the drying rate results in unsuitable particle morphology and/or size distribution for some product particles, such as those having critically defined performance specifications. The change in drying rate may, for instance, alter the way in which the solid-forming material precipitates as the solvent is evaporated, thereby changing the structure (e.g., porosity) of the particle to be out of specification, rendering the particle unable to properly contain and deliver a diagnostic or therapeutic agent. Furthermore, changing the drying rate by reducing the flowrate (and consequently the velocity) of the drying gas may substantially reduce the product yield.
Even in cases where particle morphology and size distribution are less critical, scaling up the drying efficiency may require undesirably large increases in the size of process equipment, such as the drying chamber, drying gas source, and drying gas heater. The drying capacity generally is a function of the drying gas temperature, flowrate, pressure, and solvent composition. Moreover, larger capacity equipment generally requires more plant space. It is desirable to minimize the capital investment and space required to scale up a production process.
Inadequate product drying can also be a problem with known spray drying processes, particularly for some pharmaceutical products which must be dried at low temperatures in order to maintain the stability and/or activity of these materials. Further drying of these materials sensitive to high temperatures can be done using a fluidized bed; however, this process often results in undesirably variable process yields.
Known spray dryers typically are unsuitable for aseptic processing, as they may operate at negative pressure, for example, and may not be designed or constructed to comply with regulatory requirements. In particular, they do not provide a way to completely dry the material aseptically in a sanitizable, closed, and positive-pressure system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for effectively drying particles made by spray drying.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for spray drying that incorporates a drying process providing improved drying of the particles without detrimentally affecting product yield.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for drying spray dried particles that is relatively compact and inexpensive.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for spray-drying particles at low temperatures so as to preserve the stability or activity of labile materials.
Improved spray drying methods and equipment are provided. In a preferred embodiment of the method, particles are formed by spraying a solution (or emulsion or solid-in-liquid suspension) of a material into a primary drying chamber and evaporating at least a portion of the solvent (or nonsolvent liquid) sufficient to solidify the particles. The solvent (or nonsolvent) is evaporated into the drying gas in which the particles are entrained. Then, the partially dried particles flow from the primary chamber into a secondary drying apparatus for additional drying. The secondary drying apparatus increases the drying efficiency of the spray dryer system without increasing the drying rate, while minimizing loss in yield The secondary drying apparatus may comprise one or more individual secondary drying apparati which are arranged in series or parallel or a combination thereof. This further improves the product yield, enables the spray drying of particles to take place at multiple temperatures and provides options to maintain biological activity.
The secondary drying apparatus includes tubing having a total length sufficient to increase the contact time between the drying gas and the particles (i.e. increase the residence time) to dry the particles to the extent desired, at a drying capacity or drying rate and temperature which would be too low to provide adequate drying using only the primary drying chamber. For a secondary drying chamber which comprises multiple secondary drying apparati, each secondary drying apparatus corresponds to a different section of tubing. The ratio of the total length of tubing to the length of the primary drying chamber is at least 2:1, and more preferably at least 3:1. Each section of tubing has a cross-sectional area which is substantially smaller than the cross-sectional area of the primary drying chamber, such that the particles move at higher velocity through the sections of tubing to minimize product losses. The ratio of the cross-sectional area of the primary drying chamber to the cross-sectional area of each section of tubing preferably is between about 2:1 and 500:1, more preferably is between about 4:1 and 100:1, and most preferably is about 16:1. In a preferred embodiment, the tubing is stainless steel, and electropolished to 20 RA or smoother, to provide a smooth surface for enhanced particle yield. The tubing preferably is in a compact coil design, for easier transporting and which has minimum space requirements. In another preferred embodiment, the tubing has a jacket to control the temperature of the secondary drying process. The outlet temperature of the primary chamber may be higher, lower or the same as the temperature at which each of the invdividual secondary drying apparati are maintained The primary drying chamber and secondary apparatus or secondary apparati can be integrated into a single unit.
The secondary drying apparati can be independently controlled for temperature and/or have different dimensions (cross-sectional areas and/or lengths), to allow for optimization of drying conditions. For example, in one embodiment, the secondary apparati are set to gradually increase, or decrease, the temperature at which the particles are dried. In another embodiment, the secondary apparati have different dimensions to alter the velocity of the gas which drys particles to accommodate changes in particle aggregation during drying or other properties affecting product yield.
A preferred application for the spray drying process and equipment is in the production of particles between about 1 and 200 xcexcm in diameter, which can be used in the delivery of a diagnostic or therapeutic agent.

Spray drying apparatus and methods of use


Aphidicolin is produced with a high productivity by culturing microorganisms belonging to the genus Verticillium, for example, Verticillium sp FERM BP-3430, in a culture medium, thereby forming and accumulating aphidicolin therein and recovering the aphidicolin therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing aphidicolin, and more particularly to a process for producing aphidicolin by culturing microorganisms.
2. Prior Art
Aphidicolin is a sparingly water-soluble substance having a tetracyclic diterpenetetraol represented by the following formula: ##STR1## which is obtained from Verticillium lecanii, a kind of mold, and has been found to have an antiviral effect. Aphidicolin also has a high specific inhibiting action on DNA polymerase .alpha. originating from eucaryotic cells, and thus has been used to identify the type of DNA polymerase originating from eucaryotic cells. Furthermore, aphidicolin has no such effect on DNA polymerase originating from procaryotic cells excluding specific viruses and is used mainly in the analysis of DNA replication and repair mechanisms. Furthermore, aphidicolin is known to have an antitumor effect, an anti-virus effect and a plant seed growth-inhibiting effect and thus its utilization in these fields has been contemplated.
However, aphidicolin has a low production efficiency and thus is commercially available as a very expensive biochemical reagent (for example, the current merket price is 5,500 yen per mg). It is also reported to produce aphidicolin by using other fungi than the Cephalosporium aphidicola, for example, Phoma betae [Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-open) No. 58-220690], Harziella entomophila [Agri. Biol. Chem., 42, No. 8, page 1611 (1978)], Onychophora coprophila [Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc., 83, No. 1, page 149 (1984)], Nigrospora sphaerica [Can. J. Microbiol., 20, page 416 (1974)], etc., but their productivity of aphidicolin is low and not satisfactory. For example, only 120 mg of aphidicolin is isolated from 1.5 l of a culture medium of Nigrospora sphaerica.

Process for producing aphidicolin using the microrganism verticillium sp