A system for the gradual oxidation of fuel is disclosed. The system includes an oxidizer that has a reaction chamber with an inlet and an outlet. The reaction chamber is configured to receive a fluid comprising an oxidizable fuel through the inlet. The oxidizer is configured to maintain a flameless oxidation process. The system also includes a heating chamber with an inlet and an outlet. The inlet of the heating chamber is in fluid communication with the outlet of the reaction chamber. The heating chamber is configured to receive the fluid from the reaction chamber and selectably heat the fluid.

1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods of operating a gas turbine and, particularly, operating a gas turbine from a low-energy content fuel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional gas turbine system, a high-energy-content fuel, for example propane, is combusted as it is injected into pressurized air, thereby heating and increasing the thermal energy of the gas. The energy is then extracted from the heated gas with a turbine which converts thermal energy into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy may be used to drive another device, for example an electric power generator. The combustion process is often initiated by an ignition source, for example a spark plug. Due to the high energy content of the fuel, the combustion is very rapid and nearly instantaneous.


An embodiment of a screw conveyor includes a rotating shaft and a conveying blade helically formed around and loosely coupled with the rotating shaft. One or both of two edges of the conveying blade is/are only fixed to the rotating shaft, and a gap is provided between the rotating shaft and the conveying blade. Thereby, the conveying blade can be vibrated in a center axis direction of the rotating shaft by rotation of the rotating shaft and conveyed waste developer.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a screw conveyor for conveying powder, and more particularly to a screw conveyor for use in a mechanism of conveying/recovering developer which is employed in an image forming apparatus.
2. Conventional Art
A conventional screw conveyor for use in a developer conveying/recovering mechanism has a structure such that an entire conveying blade 102 is completely fixed to a rotating shaft 101 as shown in FIG. 6(a).
When such a screw conveyor is used to convey developer, the conveying performance thereof varies depending on the fluidity of the developer. Developer itself usually has a high level of fluidity. However, if exposed to environmental changes, particularly a high humidity condition, each developer absorbs moisture in the air to expand, resulting in a decrease in the fluidity thereof. This is clearly seen from developer in a storage container with a history of exposure to high temperature and high humidity. Such developer is supplied as lumps of powder but not as individual powder particles. The fluidity of such lumps of developer is low.
Image information which is developed on an electrostatic latent image carrier (using developer) is transferred onto a paper sheet. In this case, there is residual developer (waste developer) which is not transferred onto the electrostatic latent image carrier. A cleaning unit is provided so as to remove the residual developer from the electrostatic latent image carrier. However, the cleaning unit removes from the electrostatic latent image carrier not only the residual developer but also dust adhering to a surface of a paper sheet conveyed to the transfer step, short fiber constituting paper (mainly, cellulose fiber), filler (SiO2, etc.) contained in paper, and the like. If these impurities are thus mixed into the waste developer, the dust and the short fiber entangle, resulting in a reduction in the fluidity of the waste developer.
When conveying the waste developer whose fluidity is thus reduced, the conveying blade 102 supported by the rotating shaft 101 is affected by greater rotational load as the weight of the conveyed waste developer is increased. During the rotation, heat is generated between the conveying blade 102 and a side wall surface or the like of a developer holding unit 105. The heat phenomenon softens the waste developer which in turn adheres to the conveying blade 102, the side wall surface of the developer holding unit 105 or the like, leading to a deterioration in conveying performance. If such a condition is continued, the waste developer is accumulated on and around the screw conveyor, resulting in a "blocking phenomenon" or clogging of the screw conveyor.
A description will be given of how such a blocking phenomenon occurs with reference to FIGS. 6(b) to 6(e) which show schematic cross-sectional views of a conventional screw conveyor.
FIG. 6(b) shows an initial state of the screw conveyor in a conventional cleaning unit (immediately after the apparatus is installed or maintenance is ended).
Waste developer (shaded in the figure) 103a is conveyed toward a waste developer container not shown (in a direction indicated by arrow X3 in the figure) by rotation of the rotating shaft 101 of the screw conveyor and inclination of the conveying blade 102 while the waste developer 103a is accumulated on a bottom 105a of the developer holding unit 105. If such a condition is continued (as the number of sheets printed by the apparatus is increased), the amount of the waste developer 103a is gradually increased in the developer holding unit 105 as shown in FIG. 6(c). Finally, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the developer holding unit 105 is filled with the waste developer 103a.
Thus, as the amount of the waste developer 103a is increased in the developer holding unit 105, impurities (dust, short fiber, filler, etc.) other than the developer reduce the fluidity of the waste developer 103a. The waste developer 103a having a low fluidity becomes rotational load to the screw conveyor, and adheres to the rotating shaft 101 and the conveying blade 102 to further increase the rotational load.
As the rotational load is thus increased, the poor fluidity prevents the waste developer 103a from being conveyed in the direction of arrow X3, so that the waste developer 103a is rotated at a fixed position. As a result, the waste developer 103a is rubbed against the side wall or the like of the developer holding unit 105, leading to an increase in temperature. The increased temperature causes aggregation of the waste developer 103a, resulting in the blocking phenomenon. FIG. 6(e) shows the blocking phenomenon which thus occurs in the developer holding unit 105. When the rotational torque of the rotating screw conveyor is large, the waste developer 103a is not present on the conveying blade 102 and lumps of the waste developer 103a are accumulated in the vicinity of the conveying blade 102 as shown in FIG. 6(e). On the other hand, when the rotational torque of the screw conveyor is small, the screw conveyor is not rotated, so that combined gears coupled with a drive source are damaged.
The phenomenon occurs significantly at high temperature and high humidity. Specifically, the waste developer swells due to moisture in the air, thereby making the problem worse. An actual experiment performed by the present inventors observed a blocking phenomenon (condition of FIG. 6(e)) caused by waste developer, in which a screw conveyor could not be seen from the top at the time when 15,000 sheets had been printed after maintenance.
In order to prevent such a blocking phenomenon and a clogging phenomenon of a screw conveyor, a technique has been proposed in which the center axis of a conveying blade is shifted from the center axis of the rotating shaft of a screw conveyor so that the conveying blade is eccentrically rotated during screw rotation for conveying developer (see, for example, JP 2002-108160A).
A mechanism of a screw conveyor which conveys powder, such as developer or the like, is that powder built up on a wall or the like of a developer holding unit is lifted up and moved forward by rotation of an inclined conveying blade of the screw.
However, the technique of JP 2002-108160A has a new problem with the eccentricity of the screw conveyor. Specifically, the screw is departed from the center due to rotation. Therefore, the force of lifting the powder (developer) buildup on the wall or the like of the developer holding unit is reduced (this is because the eccentric situation causes the outer edge of the blade to approach or leave the wall surface), leading to a reduction in conveying performance.

Screw conveyor and developer conveying mechanism


A hemodynamic parameter (Hdp) monitoring system for diagnosing a health condition of a patient and for establishing Hdp marker values or Hdp surrogate marker values for purposes of comparison with Hdp values of a patient is provided. An Hdp monitor senses, measures, and records Hdp values exhibited by the patient during a basal or non-exposure period and furthermore Hdp values exhibited by the patient during or after an exposure period during which the patient is exposed to low-energy electromagnetic output signals. An electrically-powered generator is adapted to be actuated to generate said low-energy electromagnetic carrier output signals for exposing or applying to the patient such output signals during said exposure period.

Various Hdp monitors are available in the art. Such monitors are generally employed to sense and monitor various Hdp values, usually for purposes of diagnosing cardiovascular conditions of a patient. Hdp measurements performed, generally in conjunction with an electrocardiogram (ECG), might include measurements of stroke volume (SV), stroke index (SI) and cardiac output (CO). Such measurements are indicated for the diagnosis and therapy of patients suffering from cardiac conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, coronary artery disease, pericardial disease, obstructive lung and pleural disease and also renal insufficiency. So-called impedance cardiography (ICG), involving application of a fixed current (of about 400 microAmps at 40 kHz) to spaced apart electrodes is described in the literature for purposes of measuring actual patient current. This state of the art is essentially concerned with securing CO measurements and comparisons of the spaced electrode ICG procedure with well-known and regularly employed thermodilution (TD) procedures for measuring CO or calculating such by multiplying stroke volume (SV) with heart-rate (HR).
The state of the art as discussed above has been mentioned in view of this involving passage of current to a patient in the ICG procedure, which procedure, however, is concerned only with attempting to secure, as well as is possible, reliable measurements of CO values of patients. Also of some interest from a state of the art perspective, is mention of direct digital synthesis (DDS) for ensuring stable current sources, which technology may also, but not necessarily, be employed in a component of the hemodynamic monitoring system of the present invention. Further of possible interest from a state of the art perspective, is disclosure of statistical analyses by means of Band-Altman plots of differences between CO measurements provided by different measurement procedures. A Bland-Altman plot (Difference plot) is a method of data plotting used in analyzing the agreement between two different assays, popularized in medical statistics by J. Martin Bland and Douglas G. Altman.
The state of the art as summarized above is to be found in J. Fortin et al./Computers in Biology and Medicine 36 (2006) 1185-1203. This possible interest arises from the present invention involving statistical analyses and computations related to measurements of a variety of specified Hdp values.
Insofar as the present invention is essentially concerned with diagnosing a health condition of a patient, mention of the state of the art as represented by disclosure comprised in EP Application No. 08 734 777.9-1652 related to an electronic system for influencing cellular functions in a warm-blooded mammalian subject, where mention is made of diagnosis in the following terms: "The electronic system of the invention is therefore a valuable diagnostic tool for diagnosing the presence or absence and identities of types of tumor cell growths or cancers". This disclosure, however, does not contemplate or suggest employing measured Hdp values as a means for diagnosis of either a type of cancer or indeed any other form of a health condition of a patient.
In terms of background of the present invention, extensive clinical trials performed with the aid of the electronic system described in above-mentioned EP Application No. 08 734 777.9-1652 led to further investigations related to effects of treatments performed. These further investigations included performing multiple measurements of various Hdp values in patients and determinations, in terms of the present invention, that such values differ dependently of the type of cancer. Such determinations provided basis for proposing a diagnostic procedure based on measured Hdp values for diagnosing a particular form of cancer harbored by a patient. These determinations furthermore suggested that practically any form of a poor health condition suffered by a patient, including such conditions as viral, parasitical or other pathogenic invasions, organ dysfunctions leading to undesirable components such as toxins being comprised in the blood of a patient, drug abuse, poisons, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, venom from a snake-bite and the like, may be diagnosed on the basis of certain identified measured Hdp values patient's diagnosis. Furthermore, since it has previously been determined that Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders described in EP 0 592 851 A2, may be successfully treated by application to a patient of amplitude modulation (AM) carrier signals modulated at predetermined AM frequencies, it is likely that such conditions may be similarly diagnosed on the basis of certain measured Hdp values. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,692 disclosing a lengthy listing of conditions which may be treated with the aid of precise bioactive frequencies. A frequency synthesizer is controlled to generate a specific precise frequency or a series thereof. A keyboard actuated by a user is employed to select such frequencies, which in turn leads to a circuit which gates the generated signal ON or OFF within determined well defined time intervals. Once again, however, influences on Hdp values or determinations thereof are not considered.
Diagnosis in terms of the present invention may be performed with the aid of certain measured and recorded Hdp parameter values measured, in a number of patients pre-diagnosed to be suffering from an identified poor health condition or being in a healthy condition, at determined times and for determined periods, as described in greater detail below.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hemodynamic parameter (HDP) monitoring system for diagnosis of a health condition of a patient


The present disclosure relates to cement compositions comprising: (a) cement, (b) an electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), and (c) a non-chloride cement accelerator; wherein the electric arc furnace dust is present in an amount from greater than 0 wt % to 8 wt % based on the total weight of the cement (a). Also disclosed are methods for making the disclosed compositions and products using the disclosed compositions. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) is a by-product of the electric steelmaking industry and is produced in large quantities around the world. Recently, the worldwide production rate of EAFD has increased annually as the steel industry grows internationally. The estimated quantity of EAFD produced annually, worldwide, is about 3.7 million tons, of which European sources account for some 500,000-900,000 tons. In the United States, the approximate quantity of the EAFD produced every year is about 700,000-800,000 tons, and this rate of EAFD production is estimated to increase by 4-6% each year. The safe disposal of these by-products is expensive and continues to be a serious concern in many countries throughout the world. For example, the disposal cost in the United States alone has been estimated at upwards of approximately $200 million per year.
Moreover, there continues to be a lack of suitable disposal sites due to the potential negative environmental impact from EAFD. According to most authorities, including the European Waste Catalogue, EAFD is classified as a hazardous material (code 10 02 07), and thus, disposal at landfill sites before treatment is prohibited due to the potential leachability of heavy metals, such as Zn and Pb. Thus, there remains a strong need in the art for methods of safely disposing of EAFD.

Use of non-chloride cement accelerator and electric arc furnace dust in cement


A signal adjusting circuit is provided. The signal adjusting circuit includes a first operational unit, a second operational unit, an auto-gain controller (AGC), a first clamp circuit, and a second clamp circuit is provided. The first operational unit performs an operation to a digital signal and a first gain value, to obtain a first adjusting signal. The second operational unit performs an operation to the digital signal and a second gain value, to obtain a second adjusting signal. The AGC generates a third gain value according to the first adjusting signal. The first clamp circuit receives and restricts the third gain value between a first upper limit and a first lower limit for generating the first gain value. The second clamp circuit receives and restricts the third gain value between a second upper limit and a second lower limit for generating the second gain value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a signal adjusting circuit, and more particularly, to a signal adjusting circuit capable of adjusting different signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, digital television has been more and more popularly used. Briefly, digital television is a new broadcasting technology, for broadcasting analog signals transmitted from television stations in a digital manner. Comparing with conventional television, digital television has the advantages such as multichannel, interaction, mobile receiving, and a synchronization.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional video apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 110 converts an analog video signal received thereby into a digital video signal. Then, the digital video signal is filtered by a low pass filter (LPF) 120, for removing high frequency component of the digital video signal. Then, the filtered digital video signal is transmitted via a multiplier 130 to a video decoder 140 and an auto-gain controller (AGC) 150, respectively. After being gained by the multiplier 130, the digital video signal is subsequently processed by the video decoder 140 for video signal processing. Further, when the AGC 150 received the filtered and gained digital video signal, it generates a corresponding gain value according to a status of the digital video signal. Then, when a clamp circuit 160 receives the gain value, the clamp circuit 160 restricts the gain value between an upper limit and a lower limit set by the clamp circuit 160, so as to generate an adjustment value and provide the adjustment value to the multiplier 130, for adjusting the digital video signal.
Typically, the digital video signal includes a synchronous signal S and an active video signal A. However, in the conventional video apparatus 100, the AGC 150 generates the corresponding gain value according to a comparison between an instant synchronous signal and a standard synchronous signal. Specifically, when the instant synchronous signal is smaller than the standard synchronous signal, the AGC 150 outputs a larger gain value, for allowing the instant synchronous signal outputted to the video decoder 140 to be equivalent with the standard synchronous signal, thus the video apparatus 100 can output a relatively correct image. Correspondingly, when gaining an instant synchronous signal S with a certain multiple, the active video signal A is gained with the same certain multiple by the way. However, the synchronous signal S and the active video signal A have different features, and the posterior stage circuit (including the video decoder 140) may demand for different upper limits and lower limits regarding these two components S and A. For example, when gaining the digital video signal for a y multiple (supposing that a y multiple gained synchronous signal S is positioned within its upper limit and lower limit), the y multiple gained active video signal A may unfortunately exceed an upper limit that can be processed by the posterior stage circuit. As such, the brightness of the image outputted by the video apparatus 100 will be increased, and the viewer may feel uncomfortable when viewing such an image. Or otherwise, a portion of the y multiple gained active video signal A exceeding the upper limit that can be processed by the posterior stage circuit is clamped as the upper limit. This may cause a distortion of the image.


A method and system for inferring user attributes in a social networking system. The method includes maintaining a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges between the nodes. An unknown, incomplete, or inaccurate user attribute for a user is identified, and a plurality of probability lists are generated using a corresponding plurality of probability algorithms that utilize known user attributes and the social graph. The probability lists include a set of probability entries, each including a prediction value for the unknown, incomplete, or inaccurate user attribute and a confidence score. Using the probability lists and a plurality of weights corresponding to the probability algorithms, an inferred user attribute value is generated and stored. The weights may be adjusted based upon learning the correct value of the unknown, incomplete, or inaccurate user attribute, and search results may be modified to include the user for search queries seeking information about the inferred user attribute.

The usefulness and longevity of a social networking system depends upon both the quantity and quality of user information available on the system. If either the quantity or quality of such content suffers, the system will similarly suffer as users will become frustrated or disengaged.
One such content problem results when user profiles have missing, incomplete, or inaccurate user attribute information, such as a user's city of residence or school affiliation. Without such information, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to locate friends or contacts on the social network using search functionalities, and the social networking system is less able to make contact suggestions or provide user-customized information to its user base.

Methods and systems for inferring user attributes in a social networking system


A pre-ionized medium created by a capillary discharge results in more efficient use of laser energy in high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from ions. It extends the cutoff photon energy, and reduces the distortion of the laser pulse as it propagates down the waveguide. The observed enhancements result from a combination of reduced ionization energy loss and reduced ionization-induced defocusing of the driving laser as well as waveguiding of the driving laser pulse. The discharge plasma also provides a means to spectrally tune the harmonics by tailoring the initial level of ionization of the medium.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from ions in a capillary discharge plasma. In particular, the present invention relates to HHG in a capillary discharge wherein an electric discharge is used to pre-ionize the medium for the driving laser.
2. Description of Related Art
High-order harmonic generation (HHG) has proven to be a useful source of coherent extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft x-ray radiation. Several applications of HHG light have been demonstrated to date, such as the investigation of surface dynamics [1, 2], probing static molecular structure and internal molecular dynamics [3, 4], the study of nonlinear optic effects at EUV wavelengths [5], as well as holographic [6] and photo-acoustic [7] imaging. When a medium is illuminated by an intense laser field, odd-order harmonics of the fundamental laser are generated. The highest photon energy that can be produced through this process is predicted by the cutoff rule to be hνmax=Ip+3.17 Up, where Ip is the ionization potential of the target atom and Up is the ponderomotive energy of the liberated electron in the laser field [8]. (Up=E2/4ω2 in atomic units where E is the peak of the laser electric field with frequency ω). In principle with long wavelength or high field lasers, hνmax may be as high as 10 keV or greater before relativistic effects suppress re-scattering and HHG [9].
To date however, for many experiments the highest harmonic photon energies observed have not been limited by the available laser intensity, but rather by the ionization of the nonlinear medium by the driving laser. The depletion of neutrals does not terminate the harmonic emission since high harmonics may also be generated from ions. Rather, the electron density from photo-ionization refractively defocuses the driving laser, reducing the peak laser intensity and consequently the highest harmonic photon energy observed. Moreover, the resulting plasma imparts different phase velocities to the driving laser and the HHG light, which results in poor phase-matching and conversion efficiency. Finally, the loss of the laser energy due to photo-ionization limits the length in the medium over which a high peak intensity can be maintained.
In past experiments, extremely short laser pulses, [10] and target atoms with high ionization potential [11] were employed to obtain the highest possible photon energies, since both of these characteristics allows neutral atoms to survive to higher laser intensities. Seres et al. recently demonstrated that harmonics with photon energies up to >1 keV can be obtained by using intense 12 fs laser pulses focused into a He gas cell [12]. Although nonadiabatic effects may help to ameliorate the very short coherence length in these experiments, [13] the high harmonic flux produced is nevertheless very low. Another method to extend harmonics to higher photon energies is to generate harmonics from ions rather than neutral atoms [14, 15]. Ions have higher ionization potentials than neutrals and therefore ionize at much higher laser intensities. Gibson et al. demonstrated that significantly higher harmonics, up to 250 eV, can be generated from Ar ions by confining the driving laser beam in a gas-filled hollow waveguide. The use of a hollow waveguide greatly reduces ionization-induced defocusing, allowing a significant extension of the cutoff photon energy.
Harmonic generation in a preformed plasma with a tailored density profile can further enhance harmonic generation from ions. The use of preformed plasma waveguides for HHG has been previously proposed [16, 17], but was not demonstrated experimentally until recently. Capillary discharges provide a convenient way to generate plasma waveguides with a tailored degree of ionization in numerous gases and vapors [17-20], in which the generation of high harmonics from ions can extend efficient coherent light generation to shorter wavelengths. In recent work, we demonstrated that a significant extension of the HHG cutoff in Xe can be obtained using a capillary discharge to produce a preformed, fully-ionized plasma [21]. In that work, the range of photon energies generated in Xe was extended to ˜150 eV, well above the highest previously-observed value of ˜70 eV [22].
Subsequent experiments expanded on these findings by extending high harmonic generation from Xe, Kr, and Ar using a capillary discharge, to photon energies well beyond what have been previously observed. Harmonic emission from Kr and Ar in a discharge medium was demonstrated. Our results show that in all three gases, the cutoff energy for HHG is enhanced in a capillary discharge beyond what is possible in a capillary without the discharge.
By combining experimental measurements of the harmonic spectrum and of the transmitted laser pulse with a hydrodynamic model of the discharge plasma, we showed HHG emission from ions is extended and enhanced because of improved laser transmission through the waveguide. When high harmonics are to be generated from interaction of the intense laser with ions, rather than with neutral atoms, pre-ionizing the medium results in reduced ionization-induced defocusing, decreased ionization losses, and reduced self-phase modulations and other pulse distortions that can limit the efficiency of high harmonic generation. Moreover, the ionized medium created by the discharge also provides a method to spectrally tune the harmonics by tailoring the initial level of ionization of the medium.
A need remains in the art for apparatus and methods for efficient high-order harmonic generation from ions in a capillary discharge wherein an electric discharge is used to pre-ionize the medium for the driving laser, generating coherent light at shorter wavelengths.

High-order harmonic generation in a capillary discharge

Colorado State University Research Foundation

Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate


A data template that is used to generate arbitrary data of a user interface element that is part of the hierarchy of user interface elements used to render a user interface. The data template is used to generate the arbitrary data of the user interface element, even though that component is not also a user interface element. This contrast with the use of a user interface template which is used to generate the user interface element itself. This permits for greater control in defining the layout, content, and/or the look and feel of portions of the user interface element.

Computing technology has contributed enormously to the advancement of humankind. Computing systems come in a wide variety of physical forms including desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, telephones, and even devices that have not been conventionally thought of as computing systems such as, for example, refrigerators and automobiles. Thus, a computing system may be any device or system that has a processor and a memory of any type. Computing systems may even have constituent computing systems that collaborate together as in network systems. Accordingly, some computing systems may fit easily into the palm of the hand, while others may be distributed globally.
Computing systems operate at the direction of software. Some software involves interfacing with a user using one or more input devices and a display. The physical form of such input devices and displays may vary considerably given the characteristics of the computing system itself. A user interface is often implemented by rendering elements and controls on the display, and allowing the user to interface with the controls to direct particular actions. Often the interface is implemented in the form of a logical, hierarchical structure of user interface elements. Each of the user interface elements has logic associated with it that permits that user interface to perform certain behaviors.
A wide variety of conventional frameworks, particularly user interface frameworks, use hierarchical user interface element structures to render user interfaces. Such frameworks include, for example, ASP.Net in which such user interface elements are referred to as "user interface controls" or "UI controls". Examples of user interface elements in the ASP.NET framework include pages, labels, list boxes, buttons, panels, text boxes, maps, datalists, and so forth. However, the types of user interface elements may differ framework by framework.
Many of such conventional frameworks use templates at the level of the user interface element to customize the associated display of the user interface element. Such templates will be referred to as user interface templates, while the user interface elements that contain a user interface template will sometimes be referred to as "templated" user interface elements. The user interface element will be generated using the user interface template such that the template defines the layout, some content characteristics, and/or the look and feel of the user interface element. While the user interface templates are used to apply rules to the generation of the user interface element itself, they are not used to apply rules (e.g., layout, content, look and feel) for arbitrary data contained within user interface elements. Accordingly, it is much more difficult to customize this arbitrary data of a user interface element, as opposed to customizing the user interface element itself.

Data templates in user interface elements


A dry suction fitting assembly is provided for drawing water from a spa, whirlpool bathtub or other suitable water tub to a pump, featuring a suction body for arranging in relation to a wall of the spa, whirlpool bathtub or other suitable water tub. The suction body is arranged in relation to a wall of the spa, whirlpool bathtub or other suitable water tub, has a suction inlet for coupling to the pump, and has an internal surface with an equilibrium tube arranged therein with three openings, a first opening that acts as a water flow inlet, a second opening that is open to the atmosphere via a connection hose or other suitable connection device and that is filled with water during normal operation, and a third opening that is a safety orifice coupled to the suction inlet. During normal operation water flows from the first opening, through the equilibrium tube, and out the third opening. During a blockage when water stops flowing through the suction body to the suction inlet and water pressure decreases, water in the equilibrium tube evacuates out the third opening, and air is drawn from the atmosphere through the second opening and out the third opening, causing the pump to cavitate so the blockage may be removed.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to spas and whirlpools generally and suction fittings or assemblies specifically located on the bottom or sides of the spa or whirlpool bathtub through which water flows either by gravity while draining or by a pump that sucks water through the suction fittings and returns to the spa or whirlpool bath via plumbing and other fittings.
2. Description of Related Art
Spas and whirlpool tubs are designed to offer a therapeutic effect on users by circulating and forcing water or a water/air mixture into the enclosure. A pump pulls water through the suction fitting and forces the water through jets where air may be mixed, attached to the bottom or sides of the spa or whirlpool bathtub. There is a problem in the known spas and whirlpools related to the dangers associated with hair entanglement or body entrapment in the aforementioned system, in particular in some known spas or whirlpools which include overlapping coaxial tubes that form an air flow path. The space between tubes permits easy clogging. In operation, the pump pulls water from the spa or bathtub through the suction fitting creating a force that attracts free-flowing objects such as hair and other objects that are nearby such as part of a person's body. When an object blocks the flow, the vacuum pressure approaches 29.9 inches Hg (14.7 psi) and may remain high if there is no means to free the object or disable the pump. This could result in panic, discomfort, pain or death of the user.
There is also a problem with known spas and whirlpools related to water retention. For example, in the Whirlpool Bathtub Industry there is a desire to reduce the amount of water that a plumbing system and all its components will retain after the bathtub is drained. This desire is linked to the fact that water left stagnant for a period of time is a ripe breeding ground for growing bacteria of varying types. Some are harmful to humans and some just noxious. Therefore, the effort to reduce retention of water after drawing in a whirlpool bathtub environment is very important to the manufacturers of whirlpool bathtubs and also to the end user.


A tubular jetting device includes at least one inlet port that includes a first inlet opening in an inner surface of the tubular jetting device where the inner surface defines a center bore. The at least one inlet port also includes a second inlet opening in an end surface of the tubular jetting device and an inlet channel extending between the first inlet opening and the second inlet opening. The tubular jetting device further includes at least one exhaust port that includes a first exhaust opening in the end surface, a second exhaust opening in an outer surface of the tubular jetting device, and an exhaust channel extending between the first exhaust opening and the second exhaust opening.

During drilling operations, minerals and other deposits may build up in a wellbore casing and a downhole assembly operating in a wellbore. Examples of minerals and other depositions can include sand, barite settlement, and heavy fluids or gels. The minerals and other deposits may slow production and result in malfunctioning of machinery downhole. The wellbore can be cleaned to remove the minerals and other depositions, but tools and devices to do so circulate a fluid to clean the wellbore, and the circulating fluid typically lacks the control to clean targeted areas within the wellbore.


It is to enhance mass-productivity through quick adhesion of an optical element 11 to an optical module holder 14 using an ultraviolet curable adhesive 7.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical module holder, an optical module, and an optical connector. In particular, the present invention relates to an n optical module holder, an optical module, and an optical connector that are suitable for attaching an optical element onto the optical module holder.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical module for optically coupling a photoelectric conversion element and an optical fiber has been used for optical communication performed via the optical fiber. The photoelectric conversion element includes at least one of a light-emitting element or a light-receiving element. An optical component called an optical module holder is used during manufacture of an optical module such as this.
As shown in FIG. 29, an optical module holder 1 includes a lens 3, a cylindrical photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5, and a cylindrical optical fiber attaching section 6. The lens 3 is used to optically couple a photoelectric conversion element and an end section of an optical fiber. The photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5 extends towards one side (upper area in FIG. 29) in an optical axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 29) of the lens 3, in relation to the lens 3. The optical fiber attaching section 6 extends towards another side (lower area in FIG. 29) in the optical axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 29) of the lens 3, in relation to the lens 3.
In the optical module holder 1 such as this, the photoelectric conversion element is attached to an inner circumferential surface of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5 through adhesion using an adhesive, thereby configuring the optical module.
During the manufacture of an optical module such as this, before the photoelectric conversion element is attached to the optical module holder 1, a centering operation has conventionally been performed for adjusting an attachment position of the photoelectric conversion element to optimize a positional relationship between the lens 3 and the photoelectric conversion element.
An ultraviolet (UV) curable adhesive that hardens as a result of irradiation by ultraviolet rays has conventionally been used as the adhesive used in the attachment of the photoelectric conversion element accompanying the centering operation such as that described above. When the UV curable adhesive is used, the centering operation can be smoothly performed even when the UV curable adhesive remains applied onto the inner circumferential surface of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5, as long as the UV curable adhesive is not irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.
In the manufacture of the optical module involving the centering operation such as that described above, first, as shown in FIG. 30, a UV curable adhesive 7 is applied onto a predetermined application surface 5a on the inner circumferential surface of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5. The photoelectric conversion element 1 is then inserted into the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5. Depending on photoelectric conversion element and photoelectric conversion element attaching section types, the UV curable adhesive can be applied after the photoelectric conversion element is inserted into the photoelectric conversion element holder.
The photoelectric conversion element 11 shown in FIG. 30 uses a so-called controlled area network (CAN) package system in which an element body (a light-emitting section 8 in FIG. 30) is enclosed within a package 10 that has a window 9. In a state in which the photoelectric conversion element 11 is inserted within the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5, an outer circumferential surface of the package 10 is surrounded by the inner circumferential surface of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5.
Therefore, in the state in which the photoelectric conversion element 11 is inserted within the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5, the UV curable adhesive 7 is present between the outer circumferential surface of the package 10 and the application surface 5a on the inner circumferential surface of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5.
At this time, the UV curable adhesive 7 is not yet irradiated with the ultraviolet rays. The UV curable adhesive 7 still retains fluidity. Therefore, the centering operation can be performed by, for example, the photoelectric conversion element 11 being rotated around an optical axis of the lens 3.
After the attachment position of the photoelectric conversion element 11 is decided by the centering operation, as shown in FIG. 31, the UV curable adhesive 7 is irradiated with the ultraviolet rays from outside of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5. As a result, the UV curable adhesive 7 is hardened.
As a result, the UV curable adhesive 7 achieves adhesive force. The photoelectric conversion element 11 is temporarily fixed at a post-centering-operation position by the adhesive force of the UV curable adhesive 7.
After being temporarily fixed, the photoelectric conversion element 11 temporarily fixed at the post-centering-operation position is firmly adhered at the position by an adhesive, such as an epoxy resin, having stronger adhesive force than the UV curable adhesive 7.
As a result of the photoelectric conversion element 11 being attached to the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5 in this way, the optical module can be achieved.
Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, for example, disclose conventional technologies for configuring an optical module using a UV curable adhesive.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei 8-220386
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-43675
However, conventionally, when a material having low ultraviolet ray transmittance is used as a material for forming the, photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5, a large amount of ultraviolet rays cannot be simultaneously irradiated onto the UV curable adhesive 7 applied onto the application surface 5a of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5 by the ultraviolet rays being transmitted through the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5 from outside of the photoelectric conversion element attaching section 5.
As a result, conventionally, time required from when the irradiation of the UV curable adhesive 7 by the ultraviolet rays starts until when the UV curable adhesive 7 hardens (referred to, hereinafter, as hardening time) increases. Mass productivity of the optical module and the optical connector including the optical module cannot be improved.

Optical module holder, optical module, and optical connector

Abstract: When an optical element 11 is adhered to an optical element attaching section 5 by an ultraviolet curable adhesive 7 through ultraviolet rays being irradiated onto the ultraviolet curable adhesive 7 applied onto a predetermined application surface 5a on an inner circumferential surface of the optical element attaching section 5 from an outer side of the optical element attaching section 5, a thin-walled section 20 for maintaining a transmittance of the ultraviolet rays transmitted through the optical element attaching section 5 at a predetermined value or higher is formed on the optical element attaching section 5.


A data accessing system provides access data to video display stored in one or more frame buffers via a virtual frame buffer implemented as a phantom port. The virtual frame buffer facilitates remapping between pixel coordinate space and memory address space for both tiled and linear addressing schemes. Generation of virtual linear and virtual tiled addresses is obtained through one or more of shifting, replacing, and concatenating operations. These operations can be implemented to perform very fast in comparison to the multiplication, addition, division, and modulo operations used in conventional display processors, video controllers, and central processing units. In some embodiments of the virtual addresses are converted to addresses in a frame buffer for accessing the frame buffer. Alternate embodiments use a frame buffer adapted to respond directly to generated virtual addresses. The present invention can thus generate addresses for accessing data in a frame buffer and efficiently use data storage capacity in the frame buffer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for accessing data in a memory system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for rapidly accessing data in a frame buffer for generating video images on a display panel of a computer system.
Description of the Related Art
A current trend in hardware and software design is the development of computer systems and software applications for processing and displaying video images. Software for processing and displaying video images finds widespread application in user interfaces, plotting software, electronic publishing applications, computer-aided drafting and design programs, computer simulation, animation software, and the like. Many computer systems provide software support for generating, processing and displaying video images in the form of a graphics software package that provides video generation and processing routines available to both hardware, such as a central processing unit (CPU), and also other software applications, such as user interfaces. Such a graphics software package typically implements a recognized graphics specification, such as Direct3D from Microsoft, or OpenGL from Silicon Graphics, for improved portability of software applications into and out of the computer system.
For generating and processing video images, the hardware of a conventional computer system typically includes a central processing unit (CPU) for running software, a system memory for storing software and data for the CPU, one or more input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse, a display panel having a display surface containing an array of picture elements (pixels) with the intensity and color of each pixel being separately controllable for generating video images, a frame buffer for storing data that identifies the proper intensity and color to be provided by each pixel of the display surface (herein video data), a video controller for reading video data in the frame buffer and sending the video data to the display panel in an appropriate format for controlling the pixels, and a bus for carrying digital data such as the video data among various components of the computer system. Many conventional computer systems additionally include a display processor that supplements the CPU at generating and processing video images.
Many conventional computer systems use a cathode ray tube monitor (CRT monitor) similar to the picture tube of a conventional television set, as a display panel, and the video controller typically converts the video data from the digital format used by the CPU, system memory, frame buffer, bus, and input devices into an appropriate analog format for the CRT monitor, and then sends the analog data to the CRT monitor on a dedicated analog line.
The system memory of conventional computer systems typically comprises a plurality of memory cells. Each memory cell holds a word of data and has a distinct address. The address of a memory cell distinguishes the memory cell from other memory cells in the system memory, and is used for accessing the memory cell to read or write data in the memory cell. The addresses are typically numerical and form a sequence from a low address to a high address in the system memory. To read a word of data from the system memory, the system memory is provided a read request and the address for the memory cell storing the word. Similarly, to write a word of data in the system memory, the system memory is provided a write request, the address of the memory cell that will store the word, and the word of data.
The frame buffer is typically a data storage device similar to the system memory, and in some conventional computer systems, the frame buffer is merely a portion of the system memory. The frame buffer typically holds the video data as a pixel map (pixmap) that associates each pixel of the display panel with a distinct memory cell of the frame buffer that holds a word of video data identifying the intensity and color that the associated pixel should provide. The address of the memory cell storing the video data for a pixel can be determined by the location of the pixel on the display surface. The location of a pixel typically is identified by a horizontal X coordinate and a vertical Y coordinate of the pixel (herein (X, Y) coordinates) on the display surface. The data stored in the frame buffer is appropriately updated to change the image displayed on the display surface.
Because pixmaps can require a large volume of memory storage to implement, conventional computer systems typically store the words of a pixmap at consecutive addresses of the frame buffer to avoid wasting storage capacity in the frame buffer. These consecutive addresses are typically generated using addition and multiplication hardware in the CPU or a display processor when reading or writing video data in the frame buffer and also in the video controller when reading the frame buffer to obtain data to be sent to the display panel. The multiplication and addition operations are applied to the horizontal X coordinate and the vertical Y coordinate of the pixel to determine the address of the pixel. For example, to generate a linear addressing of the frame buffer, a conventional computer system typically multiplies the Y coordinate by the number of pixels in each horizontal line of pixels on the display surface and then adds to the product the X coordinate and a memory offset that determines the first address in the frame buffer. The time needed to perform multiplication and addition operations for generating addresses for video data can delay the generation of video images and the hinder the CPU in performing other operations by tying up the system memory.
Processing video images often requires access by the CPU or display processor to video data associated with localized regions of the display panel as opposed to access to data associated with an isolated pixel or pixels. For example, to generate a wide line for display, a CPU or display processor may need to write video data associated with numerous adjoining pixels of a display panel into the frame buffer. Similarly, filtering of video images may require a CPU or display processor to both read and write data associated with adjoining pixels of the display surface. For providing rapid access to such localized data, some conventional computer systems store pixmaps in a tiled pattern within a frame buffer, with the display surface identified as an array of rectangular tiles with each tile holding a rectangular array of pixels, and with the pixels of each tile stored in a continuous sequence of addresses of the frame buffer.
Unfortunately, conventional computer systems are typically limited in the extent to which they can advantageously implement tiling schemes. Generating tiled addresses often requires a CPU or display processor to perform arithmetic operations that can be more complicated than the multiplication and addition operations used in the linear addressing of the frame buffer described above. Further, a linearly addressed frame buffer is often preferable for conventional video controllers because conventional display panels such as CRT monitors are typically illuminated by scanning pixels on a display surface of the display panel on a horizontal scan line by horizontal scan line manner. However, implementing a tiling pattern with relatively square tiles having the same or approximately the same number of pixels on horizontal sides as vertical sides is often desirable for generating graphics primitives such as circles and lines of various widths. Balancing the desirability of relatively square tiles with these limitations of conventional CPUs, display processors and video controllers generally results in tiles that are 8 to 32 times as wide as they are high. Further, some software applications generate their own linear addresses for video data in the frame buffer without the support of a graphics package or display processor. Such linear addresses typically are invalid in conventional tiled frame buffers, and a CPU or display processor typically must intercept and correct the invalid linear addresses to properly match the particular tiling employed in the frame buffer. Often, this is implemented using a display processor to convert the linear address back into the corresponding (X,Y) coordinates of the pixel and then to generate the appropriate tiled address from the generated (X,Y) coordinates. Considerable time is needed to perform each of these sequential steps, thus reducing the speed and temporal smoothness of presentation of the associated video image.
Intercepting (X,Y) coordinates and converting them into tiled addresses poses additional technical problems. First, since the (X,Y) coordinates may be stored in scatter gather memory, there may be multiple address ranges, potentially requiring a large number of clocks or multi-clock delay to check memory addresses. Second, converting back to (X,Y) coordinates requires an integer divide by the span size with remainder, which can be time-consuming. Finally, applications may wish to access data directly, which may cause problems if the interception is not transparent to the application.
In general, conversion or remapping from linear addresses to tiled addresses and vice versa can impose significant computational load and diminish performance of the system. Remapping from tiled addresses to linear addresses involves a relatively expensive multiply operation, and remapping from linear to tiled involves an even more expensive divide operation.
There is thus a need for an improved data accessing system that can provide rapid access and updating of pixmaps and other video data stored in one or more frame buffers. Such a data accessing system should preferably provide access to a frame buffer in response to receiving linear addresses, tiled addresses, or (X,Y) pixel coordinates, and should avoid time-consuming arithmetic operations, such as multiply or divide for generating or converting addresses. Such a data accessing system should preferably be able to generate tiled addressing of the frame buffer or buffers from received addresses or (X,Y) pixel coordinates. Such a data accessing system should also store a pixmap without wasting storage capacity in the frame buffer. Preferably such a system should also support a standard graphics specification such as Direct3D or OpenGL for generating detailed and dynamic graphic images, and for allowing the use of graphics applications designed in conformance with the standard graphics specification.

Virtual address access to tiled surfaces


A fuel property detector for an internal combustion engine determines a cetane number with high accuracy even when a high-cetane fuel is used.

In recent years, it has been increasingly demanded from the viewpoint, for instance, of petroleum depletion and other global environmental issues, that an alternative fuel be used with internal combustion engines. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop an internal combustion engine that operates on a wide variety of fuels. To permit an internal combustion engine to operate on a wide variety of fuels, it is preferred that the cetane number of a fuel be accurately detected in a vehicle. The reason is that combustion can be properly controlled in accordance with the type of an employed fuel when engine control is exercised in accordance with the fuel's cetane number.
A prior art device disclosed, for instance, in JP-A-2007-64157 detects actual ignition timing from a cylinder pressure detected by a cylinder pressure sensor, calculates an ignition delay correction amount so that the actual ignition timing agrees with target ignition timing, and estimates a cetane number from the ignition delay correction amount.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2007-64157    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2007-46592    Patent Document 3: JP-A-2006-16994    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2005-344557

Fuel property detector for internal combustion engine

Abstract: The fuel property detector includes a cylinder pressure detection device; ignition delay time calculating device for calculating ignition delay time in accordance with the cylinder pressure; a high-cetane fuel judgment device for judging based on the ignition delay time whether the cetane number of an employed fuel is high; an ignition delay time extension device that increases the ignition delay time by correcting a control parameter for the internal combustion engine; an ignition delay time recalculation device for recalculating the ignition delay time based on cylinder pressure after the ignition delay time is increased by the ignition delay time extension device; and a cetane number calculation device for calculating the cetane number of the employed fuel based on the recalculated ignition delay time.


A scheme to reduce clock jitter is disclosed in applications where video content is transmitted through multiple stages, each having a switch allowing that stage's video stream to be selected. The video data is re-clocked using a new clock at each stage. Before re-clocked, the video data from the preceding stage is scaled into a constant resolution using a digital scaler. Since the downstream stages could re-clock the video as if it were sent at the same frequency, there is no need to anticipate the changeable video frequency and to create the necessary low-jitter clock in programmable logic.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to data communications. More specifically, the invention relates to digital scaling to limit clock jitter in video transmission through multiple stages.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some display applications require transmission of video content through multiple stages in a daisy chain, each with a switch allowing that stage's video stream to be selected between the video stream from the preceding stage and the video stream from another source at each stage. As the video stream proceeds from one stage to the next across multiple links, the jitter content in the clocking accumulates. This jitter creates an inherent limitation to the number of links that can be timed without correction. When the jitter exceeds the specification for the link technology, the video data is corrupted.
This process is complicated by the fact that the video stream may be transmitted at any of a variety of frequencies. Although the downstream stages could re-clock the video if it were always sent at the same frequency, it is problematic for these downstream stages to anticipate the changeable video frequency and to create the necessary low-jitter clock in programmable logic.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional method of daisy-chaining digital video signals through multiple stages, each having its own host system. On each host system such as a system 10, a signal containing digital video from the preceding system enters through a receiver chip ('RX') 11. The host selects either its own video stream (from the 'VGA' chip) 12 or passes through the stream from the preceding stage, using a multiplexer ('MUX') 13. The multiplexer switches the data signals, the control signals, and the clock into the transmitter ('TX') 14, which outputs through a connection to the next host system of RX 15, VGA 16, MUX 17 and TX 18.
Since jitter accumulates on a clock signal whenever it passes through additional circuitry, the jitter arriving through the 'RX' device is aggravated by the multiplexer and transmitter circuitry as it passes to the next host stage.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional method of reducing the jitter accumulation by creating a new clock at each stage of the video switching. In a host system such as a system 20, either the digital video from the preceding host system entering through a receiver chip ('RX') 21 or the digital video from own video stream (from the 'VGA' chip) 22 is selected using a multiplexer 23. The selected video is gated with a new clock ('OSC') 24 before being transmitted using a transmitter ('TX') 25, which outputs through a connection to the next host system of RX 26, VGA 27, MUX 28, OSC 29 and TX 30.
If the jitter characteristic of the new clock is better than the received clock, then the accumulation will be slower. If the new clock has extremely small jitter (such as from a crystal source), then the jitter accumulation will be so small as to allow a number of stages to be connected in series.
However, there are still problems in such schemes. The phase of the new clock must be matched to the phase of the data and control signals arriving through the receiver, to guarantee proper setup and hold margins at each transmitter input. Adjusting the phase is difficult for a design handling multiple video frequencies. A system with multiple possible video frequencies will also require a re-programmable clock that always maintains very small jitter. Each stage of the chain must know the required frequency for data received by it from earlier stages. This is a problem for general-purpose systems where multiple video frequencies are used.
Therefore, there is a need for a new scheme to reduce clock jitter during video transmission across multiple stages without the necessity of adding a re-programmable clock source at each stage.

Clock jitter limiting scheme in video transmission through multiple stages


A lighting device includes an LED light source that emits light having a first peak wavelength in a range from 200 to 470 nm and a second peak wavelength in a range from 460 to 700 nm. An emission intensity at the second peak wavelength is greater than an emission intensity at the first peak wavelength, and an emission intensity at a wavelength band of 720 nm or greater is one tenth or less than an emission intensity at the second peak wavelength.

The disclosure relates to a lighting device.
It is generally understood that insects, especially those that fly, are attracted to light having a peak wavelength in the ultraviolet band. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-224148 describes an example of a lighting device provided with an LED light source that includes a blue LED element to generate light with less ultraviolet rays. The lighting device attracts less insects as compared with a fluorescent lamp or the like. In addition to the LED light source, which is formed by a blue LED element and a yellow fluorescent body, the lighting device of the above publication includes a red LED element that emits red light, which has a longer wavelength than 500 nm.
However, the above publication does not take into consideration the effect that the lighting device has on plants. When activated at nighttime, the lighting device of the above publication may generate light that harms plants.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A vessel access and closure assist system is used for accessing a vessel to perform a vascular intervention. The system facilitates the delivery of a vessel closure device onto a blood vessel for closing an opening in the wall of the blood vessel. The vessel access and closure assist system includes a procedural introducer sheath that directly couples to a vessel closure device delivery sheath such that the procedural introducer sheath does not have to be exchanged with the vessel closure device delivery sheath.

Certain vascular interventions involves the insertion of a procedural sheath through a puncture in an artery. An internal lumen of the procedural sheath provides a passageway for the insertion of an interventional device into the artery and to an area of treatment. In a typical procedure, the procedural sheath is inserted into the artery and an intervention is performed using the interventional device, which is inserted into the artery via the procedural sheath. At the end of the procedure, the procedural sheath is removed from the artery and exchanged with a vessel closure device delivery sheath, which provides a passageway for delivery of a vessel closure device to the opening in the artery.
It is important to achieve hemostasis during the exchange of the procedural sheath with the vessel closure device delivery sheath in order to avoid a loss of blood. Unfortunately, the exchange procedure provides an opportunity for loss of blood and also for damage to the blood vessel as the sheaths are exchanged.
In certain clinical procedures, for example procedures requiring access to the carotid arteries, the consequences of failure to achieve complete hemostasis or causing vessel injury during such an exchange procedure can be extreme. For such transcarotid procedures, if full hemostasis is not achieved, the resultant hematoma may lead to loss of airway passage and/or critical loss of blood to the brain, both of which lead to severe patient compromise and possibly death. Alternately, a vessel injury or dissection may require adjunct repair and lead to prolonged procedure time and risk of complication.

Vessel access and closure assist system and method


The object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device comprising an n-type channel field effect transistor and a p-type channel field effect transistor, which has a high degree of reliability and excellent drain current characteristics. The gist of the invention for attaining the object resides in disposing a silicon nitride film to the side wall of a trench for an active region in which the n-type channel field effect transistor is formed and disposing the silicon nitride film only in the direction perpendicular to the channel direction to the sidewall of the trench for the active region of the p-type channel field effect transistor. According to the present invention, a semiconductor device comprising an n-type channel field effect transistor and a p-type channel field effect transistor of excellent current characteristics can be provided.

In recent years, the processing performance required for semiconductor devices such as LSI has become severer along with the progress of information communication equipment and it has been attempted to increase the operation speed of transistors. In particular, complementary field effect transistors comprising an n-type channel field effect transistor and a p-type channel field effect transistor have been used generally since they consume less electric power. Its operation speed has been increased mainly by the refinement of the structure being supported by the progress of lithography for fabricating semiconductor devices. However, the required minimum fabrication size (minimum fabrication size for gate) is reduced to less than the level of the wavelength of light used for the lithography to bring about a difficulty in further refinement of fabrication.
In view of the above, as a means for increasing the operation speed of the n-type channel field effect transistor, a method of inducing strains to silicon in the channel portion of the field effect transistor has been proposed. It has been known so far that the electron mobility (effective mass) changes when silicon crystals are strained. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 11-340337 discloses a method of using silicon-germanium of lager lattice constant than that of silicon for the underlying film forming the field effect transistor, and epitaxially growing a silicon layer thereover thereby providing silicon to be a channel portion with strains to enhance the mobility and increase the operation speed of the transistor.
However, when materials of different lattice constants of crystals are epitaxially grown under lattice matching as described above, the strain energy caused in the crystals increases to bring about a problem of including dislocation in the crystals at a film thickness greater than a certain critical thickness. Further, adoption of an additional production apparatus caused by the introduction of unusual material of silicon-germanium increases the cost in the production process of semiconductor devices such as LSI. Thus, the method described above has not yet been put to practical use.
Further, while the complementary field effect transistor comprises an n-type channel field effect transistor using electrons as carriers and an n-type channel field effect transistor using holes as carries, it is preferred to increase the operation speed for each of the n-type channel and p-type channel transistors in order to increase the operation speed of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


A method is provided for allocating digital processing activities of an embedded microcontroller within a disk drive between repetitive periodic digital servo loop service routines synchronized to rotation of a data storage disk of the drive and irregularly occurring host service routines supporting a high level, digital interface to a host computing environment. The new method comprises the steps of:. prioritizing the host service routines into priority routines and non-priority routines, PA0 detecting calls to one of the priority routines, and PA0 bypassing execution of a predetermined number of the servo loop service routines to enable execution of the called priority routine without interruption.

The use of a single programmed digital microcontroller in a disk drive to supervise a high level digital interface to a host and also to supervise a digital head positioner servo loop is known. One example is found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,089, entitled "High Performance, High Capacity MicroWinchester Disk Drive", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In the disk drive described in the referenced '089 patent, a polyphase optical encoder included a scale attached to a voice coil rotary actuator and provided two relative position phases P1 and P2 which were digitized and used by the microcontroller to determine head position. The position was further refined by a calibration routine which measured and stored reference head position data from the data storage surfaces. Also present in the '089 patent disk drive was a high level, digital interface, such as a SCSI interface (or an AT bus level interface). The microcontroller in the '089 patent disk drive divided its time between the head position servo and the interface, so that the head was correctly positioned as needed during seeking and track following, and so that host commands were received, decoded and acted upon, and command cleanup was performed. Since the servo tasks during track seeking required more frequent attention of the microcontroller, the time division between servo functions and data transfer (interface) functions was dynamically altered. The disk drive described in the referenced '089 patent was subsequently improved as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,930, and entitled "Head Position Recalibration for Disk Drive", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The disk drive described in this later application provided for increased concentric data track densities, in part, by sampling storage disk runout and deriving and following an average track centerline based upon multiple circumferential samples.
The need to store higher quantities of data continues. Higher data densities may be obtained by increasing the number of data tracks per unit measure, such as per inch, abbreviated "TPI". Higher data densities may also be obtained by increasing the data transfer rates, and by adjusting data transfer rates to radial position of the data transducer head, as relative head-disk velocity varies with disk radius.
In order to increase the number of data tracks, the head gap may be made narrower, and disk runout characteristics may be followed. As shown in e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,020, it is known to provide a reference track adjacent to the outer diameter containing centerline information which is collected, digitized and stored as a digital record. The record is then accessed in synchronism with disk rotation to provide an error correction signal for correcting repeating spindle runout errors. In order to provide the regular periodic correction, the disk drive microcontroller must carry out servo service routines at regular intervals synchronized to disk rotation.
Similarly, in disk drives employing embedded servo sectors for head positioning, the disk drive microcontroller is interrupted at each servo sector and thereupon devotes its processing capability to determining present head position and developing any positional correction signal that may be required. An example of such a disk drive is found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,004, entitled "High Capacity Disk File with Embedded Sector Servo", the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
In the disk drive examples provided hereinabove, the need for regular periodic attention of the embedded microcontroller to service the head position servo loop has resulted in delays in performing other important tasks, such as host command overhead, host command cleanup, and cache memory management, for example. These delays have slowed data transfer operations. This drive performance drawback is overcome by the present invention.

Servo pause for disk drive embedded multi-tasked controller


An assembly of an array of solar cells and a substrate blanket to which they are mounted. The blanket is woven from glass fibers and coated with a silicone. The blanket, because of its composition, is resistant to attack by atomic oxygen, flexible, a good electrical insulator, and a good thermal conductor.

Blankets for supporting solar cells have generally utilized substrates made of Kapton, which is a polyimide composition. It has been learned that Kapton is subject to attack by atomic oxygen which exists in low-earth orbits. Because Kapton does have many desirable characteristics, and has been so widely used for support blankets, efforts were made to protect the Kapton from atomic oxygen by coating it with substances which are resistant to it. Silicon dioxide has generally been used for this purpose. However, in use and over time, this coating tends to crack, and the Kapton is attacked by atomic oxygen which passes through the cracks.
It is an object of this invention to provide a support blanket which is inherently resistant to attack by atomic oxygen, and is not subject to degradation by it.
Support blankets for solar cell arrays which are to be used in space should be lightweight and flexible. Further, internal stresses which can be generated during thermal cycles should be minimized. Also, the blanket should be a good electrical insulator, and preferably also be a good thermal conductor.
Because the woven strands of the blanket and the solar cells are the stiffest parts of the assembly, they are the driving or determinant elements which tend to generate internal stresses. A close match of their coefficients of thermal expansion will result in less stress than would be generated by a combination of elements which have a greater difference in their coefficients. For example, Kapton's coefficient of thermal expansion is very much larger than that of a silicon solar cell, while the coefficients of the glass fibers used in this invention and a solar cell are closer by at least one magnitude. With this invention, these coefficients can be much more closely matched.
Furthermore, with this Invention a very compatible adhesive can be used between the blanket and the cells, which is advantageous both chemically and structurally.
Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a blanket/solar cell system in which internal stresses are significantly reduced, compared to conventional systems.


A system and process for the recovery of oil from the pyrolysis of material containing hydrocarbons such as shredded vehicle tires. The system utilizes a pair of sequentially positioned packed towers to recover at least 95% of the oil contained in the pyrolysis gases. The first packed tower operates above the dew point of the water vapor in the pyrolysis gases to insure that no water is condensed and obtain a primary oil fraction having oil with a high flash point of about 60° C. or greater and a primary vapor fraction containing additional oils, fuel gases and water vapor. The primary vapor fraction is fed to the second packed tower which operates below the dew point of the water vapor to condense the water and oil having a low flash point of 34° C. or below, and provide a secondary vapor fraction containing valuable fuel gases.

The present invention relates generally to the recovery of usable products from the pyrolysis of material containing hydrocarbons. More specifically, the present invention relates to the recovery of oil from the gas formed when scrap tires are pyrolysed.
As the supply of available landfill space decreases, environmentally sensitive disposal of consumed vehicle tires presents an ever increasing problem. In the United States alone, over 280,000,000 vehicle tires are scrapped and shipped to landfills each year. Although some of the used vehicle tires are recycled to be used in pavement and others are burned as boiler fuel, more than 80% of used vehicle tires end up being deposited in landfills. Discarding vehicle tires in landfills has been recognized as a significant waste of a recyclable resource. For many years, it has been known that used vehicle tires can be recycled by pyrolysis to obtain valuable by-products that can be sold and reused. Pyrolysis, generally speaking, is a thermal distillation or decomposition of a substance, especially one containing hydrocarbons. In the case of used vehicle tires, this process is carried out in the absence of oxygen and at temperatures generally between 500° C. and 800° C.
The process of decomposing used tires by pyrolysis allows the recovery of substantial amounts of oil, gas, carbon black and steel. Many different processes have been designed to recover these valuable products produced by pyrolysis, and the various techniques known for recovering these products each have their own unique and difficult problems. For example, the recovery of oil formed when scrap tires are pyrolysed has always been a challenge. Oil is typically produced by condensation of pyrolysis gas produced in the pyrolysis reactor, but these gases typically also include particulate matter, primarily carbon dust and glass fibers, which also are driven off from the scrap tires when pyrolysed. This particulate matter accumulates in fittings, vents and flame arresters, which eventually obstruct passages. In the past, particulate matter in the pyrolysis exhaust gas has been removed in a cyclone. However, if oil cools prematurely and begins to condense in the cyclone, the condensed oil will provide a surface for the particulate matter to adhere to. This not only may result in obstructions in the cyclone, but may also result in poor separation performance for the cyclone as it causes undesirable changes to inherent design parameters of the cyclone. In addition, if a packed bed condenser is employed in the system, particulate matter can foul the packing thus blocking off the open area and causing an intolerable rise in the pressure drop across the bed.
Another of the difficulties presented when recovering oil is caused by the fact that in addition to the oil vapors generated in the pyrolysis reactor, water vapor is also carried with the oil vapor. It is often the case with pyrolysis oil that it has a specific gravity close to that of water. As a result, if water and such oil are condensed together, they can form an emulsion that is difficult to separate.

Condensation and recovery of oil from pyrolysis gas


A submersible machine guide assembly suitable for guiding a submersible machine from an upper position towards an operative position. The guide assembly includes a top mount configured to be arranged at the upper region of the tank, a supporting member configured to be arranged in the tank, and two guide wires running along each other in the vertical direction of the tank. Each of the guide wires is connected to the top mount at a first end and is connected to a seat of the supporting member at a second end. A runner is displaceable along the guide wires. The runner includes two guide members that engage the guide wires and that are connected to each other at the lower ends thereof. The lower end of each guide member is configured to engage the corresponding seat of the supporting member when the runner is in the operative position.

The far most common way to land/position a submersible machine in the correct operative position in the tank is to use a guide rail assembly, see for instance applicants own WO2015/170222. A guide rail assembly comprises long guide rails, i.e. metal pipes having for instance squared or circular cross section. Said guide rails are connected to the wall of the tank at several locations by means of guide rail holders/brackets. In deep tanks, e.g. about 8-12 meters, each guide rail must be constituted by a number of guide rail segments connected in series, wherein each guide rail segment is constituted by (or cut from) a standard pipe having a length of for instance 3 or 6 meters. Each guide rail segment and guide rail holder is expensive to manufacture, handle and to ship to the location of the tank/receptacle. Usually the guide rails are bought locally in order to minimize transportation costs, however this also leads to that the quality of the guide rail and cooperation with the guide rail holders/brackets can not be predicted/foreseen before installation.
In applications intended for submersible pumps, the pump is usually guided/lowered towards and engages a discharge connection located at the bottom of the tank. It is crucial to obtain a correct landing of the pump in relation to the discharge connection in order to avoid leakage during operation of the pump, and when the pump is in the operative position the guide rails are usually not in contact with the sliding bracket of the pump. Thereto, if the submersible machine is not correctly landed/positioned it might lead to generation of vibrations during operation of the submersible machine.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,116 disclose a guide assembly for a submersible mixer, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. According to said document the mixer unit is connected to a frame that is lowered into a guide slide, wherein the guide slide is detachably connected to the frame. Thereafter, the mixer, frame and guide slide are jointly lowered into the receptacle all the way to the landing/operative position.


The present invention is directed to a method of producing recombinant viral vectors at high titers incorporating a variety of important advancements over the art. The method of the present invention incorporates multiple features which provide enhanced production of viruses, particularly those viruses encoding exogenous transgenes. The specifically illustrated method describes a method for the high titer serum-free media production of recombinant replication defective adenoviruses containing an exogenous transgene. The invention provides methods of preparing microcarriers, methods for seeding bioreactors at high cell density, increasing the infectivity of the producer cells to the virus, methods to increase product yield through synchronization of the cell cycle of the producer cells, and methods to minimize the deleterious effects of exogenous transgenes. The invention further provides producer cells prepared by the process of the invention. The invention further provides viruses produced by the process.

A variety of in vivo gene therapy products currently under development are based on the delivery of a therapeutic transgene by recombinant viral vectors. A common vehicle for the delivery of transgenes are recombinant adenoviruses, usually those deficient for replication in any cell other than a specific packaging cell line. These packaging cell lines express certain adenoviral genes necessary for virus replication that have been deleted in the deficient virus. For the production of adenoviruses containing deletions in the E1 region, the most commonly used cell line is the 293 cell line. The production of replication deficient adenovirus in 293 cells is difficult because the cell line is difficult to grow. For example, 293 cells require attachment to a substrate and appear to differentiate at high confluency. Another limitation is that replication deficient adenoviruses do not replicate as well as wild type viruses. While the specific virus production for wild type adenoviruses in 293 cells is approximately 80,000-100,000 particles per cell, E1 replication deficient adenoviruses typically produce only 100-2000 particles per cell. Based on current assessments of dosage regimens and therapeutic market size, estimates have indicated that annual production of approximately 10.sup.18 particles will be necessary to satisfy demand for some gene therapy products. Improvements in the production of recombinant adenoviruses to levels which will satisfy the anticipated market for adenoviral gene therapy products is therefore required to make this technology commercially feasible.
The present invention describes a microcarrier based process for the production of viral vectors in anchorage dependent packaging cell lines, which allows for cost-effective production of adenoviral gene therapy products sufficient to meet the projected market demand. The invention describes a scaleable production process which produces greater than 2.times.10.sup.15 viral particles in a 5 liter bioreactor. This process is fully scaleable to achieve the projected 10.sup.18 particles per year with a bioreactor as small as 100 liters and 5 liter purification columns.


A method of forming a molded seal portion onto a corner part of a weather strip without generating any molding defect due to variations in the injection amount, injection pressure or the like of the molding material. A seal portion projecting from one side wall of a trim portion is partly cut off, the remaining trim portion is bent to a corner configuration and placed in a mold, and a molding material for the seal portion is injected into a cavity of the mold from the position corresponding to a longitudinally extending base end edge of the molded seal portion such that the molding material flows from the side of the longitudinally extending base end edge of the molded seal portion towards a distal end edge thereof to fill the cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a weather strip to be attached around a door opening in a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a method of forming a corner part of such a weather strip.
2. Description of Related Art
A weather strip to be attached around a door opening of a motor vehicle has a trim portion to be secured to a body panel around the door opening, and a seal portion projecting from an outside wall of the trim portion which is pressed by a peripheral edge of a vehicle door. The weather strip thus arranged is generally formed by integrally extruding the trim portion and seal portion.
To attach the weather strip around the door opening, it is necessary to bend it to conform to the corners of the opening. However, bending the weather strip deforms the cross-sectional shape of the seal portion which degrades the sealing properties thereof. To overcome this problem, the following method has been adopted.
A seal portion of an extruded weather strip is cut off in the part to be attached to a corner of the door opening, and a remaining trim portion of this part is bent to a corner configuration and placed in a mold. Then, a molding material is injected into the mold to form a molded seal portion having a cross-section substantially identical to that of the extruded weather strip onto the remaining trim portion.
FIG. 1 illustrates a trim portion placed in a mold 10. The mold 10 has a cavity 12 having a letter C-shaped cross-section and a corner configuration, which is adapted to form a molded seal portion. A gate 18 and supply passageway 20 provide a flow passageway to the cavity 12 for injecting a molding material thereinto.
A trim portion 14 remaining uncut in a weather strip W is bent and placed in the mold 10. A molding material is injected into the cavity 12 by way of the supply passageway 20 and flows through the gate 18 from the end of the cavity 12 towards a cut edge 22 of a seal portion 24 while diverging rightwards and leftwards, as shown by arrows in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Thus, a molded seal portion 26 which is joined to the extruded weather strip W is formed. Thereafter, the mold 10 is opened and a core member 16 is removed.
The above-described conventional method, however, exhibits the problem that unmolded spaces 28 may be generated at angular corners of the molded seal portion 26 due to shortage of the molding material, as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, wrinkles 30 may be formed around such angular corners due to excess molding material being supplied. These problems result from inevitable variations in the injection amount, injection pressure, viscosity or the like of the molding material. When the weather strip W is attached to a vehicle body, these molding defects 28 and 30 are visible and degrade the appearance quality and sealing properties of the weather strip.

Method of forming a corner part of a weather strip


A drive control device that includes: a driving circuit to drive a driving source; a condition detector to detect the condition of at least one of the driving source and the driving circuit to output a condition signal thereof; a controller to control the driving circuit based on the condition signal; an alarm detector to detect an occurrence of an alarm based on the condition signal; an alarm code generator to analyze the alarm detected by the alarm detector to generate an alarm code; and an alarm display to display the alarm code generated by the alarm code generator, in which the alarm display includes one or more lighting section to display the alarm code by a lighting pattern of the lighting section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive control device. More specifically, it relates to a drive control device to control current applied to a motor based on signals from an encoder for detecting the rotation speed of the motor.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a drive control device to control the driving state of a motor has been well known. (For example, a document: JP-A-2004-5218)
Such a drive control device includes, for example, a motor to be controlled, an encoder to detect the rotation speed of the motor and output a condition signal, and a drive controller to control current applied to the motor to achieve a desired rotation speed of the motor based on the condition signal from the encoder.
Such a drive control device may be provided with a function to detect and inform malfunction of each component of the device in a form of alarm. For example, a function to detect and inform that the rotation speed of the motor detected by the encoder exceeds the permissible rotation speed of the motor in a form of alarm can be provided. Defects of the motor can be prevented by such a drive control device.
Since a variety of malfunctions of each component of the drive control device can be assumed, an alarm code for indicating the cause of an alarm (i.e. the detail of a malfunction) is generated and sent together with the alarm when the alarm is sent. This feature allows specifying the cause of the alarm and dealing with the alarm with ease.
However, such a conventional drive control device required a costly display unit such as a seven-segment display in order to distinguishably display different alarm codes corresponding to various causes of alarms. The drive control device may be provided with external equipments that read internal information of the drive control device and display alarm codes upon occurrence of malfunctions instead of being provided with the display unit, however, it is disadvantageous in its workability since it requires external equipments to be connected.