An exhaust gas treatment apparatus and method for its use includes an upstream catalyst and a downstream catalyst. The upstream catalyst contains a catalytic metal effective at least for the oxidation of hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas stream, and preferably contains a palladium catalytic component and contains substantially no oxygen storage components, i.e., oxides of cerium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, molybdenum, nickel, praseodymium, tungsten and vanadium, but the downstream catalyst includes an oxygen storage component. Preferably, the upstream catalyst is a close-coupled catalyst. The downstream catalyst may be an underfloor catalyst or a close-coupled catalyst, in which case there is, preferably, an additional, underfloor catalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for and a method of treating engine exhaust gases to reduce pollutants contained therein. More specifically, the present invention concerns apparatus containing catalysts of two different types, one of which may be a xe2x80x9cclose-coupled catalyst xe2x80x9d which is free of an oxygen storage component.
2. Related Art
Motor vehicle exhaust treatment devices such as catalytic converters have conventionally been located in an underfloor position in the vehicles. However, by the time engine exhaust gases travel through an exhaust pipe to an underfloor position, they cool significantly relative to the temperature at or near the engine outlet, so there is a significant period of low conversion activity before the exhaust gases heat the catalyst to its light-off temperature. Accordingly, during the cold-start period of engine operation there is a significant discharge of unconverted exhaust gas. Increasingly stringent governmental emissions standards require, however, that cold-start emissions be reduced. In particular, the California Resource Board (CARB) has announced new ultra-low emission vehicle standards that will prohibit vehicle emissions above 0.04 grams of non-methane hydrocarbons per mile, 1.7 grams carbon monoxide per mile and 0.2 grams NOx per mile. For most motor vehicles, a large portion (up to 80%) of the hydrocarbon emissions occurs during the first phase of the U.S. Federal Test Procedure (xe2x80x9cFTPxe2x80x9d), which encompasses the cold-start period of engine operation, and which requires simulation of cold-start, warm-up, acceleration, cruise, deceleration and similar engine operating modes over a specified time period. A variety of technologies are under development to reduce cold-start hydrocarbon emissions, including the use of close-coupled catalysts as disclosed, e.g., in Ball, D. J., xe2x80x9cDistribution of Warm-Up and Underfloor Catalyst Volumesxe2x80x9d, SAE 922338. It has been reported that close-coupled catalysts, especially Pd-containing catalysts, are effective for reducing HC emissions during cold-start of the FTP cycle.
The principal function of close-coupled catalysts, also referred to as xe2x80x9cprecatxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwarm-upxe2x80x9d catalysts, is to reduce hydrocarbon emissions during cold-start. Cold-start is the period immediately after starting the engine from ambient conditions. The length of the cold-start period depends on the ambient temperature, the type of engine, the engine control system and engine operation. Typically, the cold-start period is within the first two minutes after the start of an engine at ambient temperature. FTP Test 1975 characterizes cold-start as the first bag (i.e., exhaust gas sample) of the FTP driving cycle which lasts for the first 505 seconds after starting an engine at ambient temperature, which is generally considered to be 25xc2x0 C. In an exhaust apparatus comprising a close-coupled catalyst, at least part of the total exhaust system catalyst is positioned closer to the engine than a traditional xe2x80x9cunderfloor catalystxe2x80x9d. Specifically, the close-coupled catalyst is located in the engine compartment, i.e., beneath the hood and adjacent to the exhaust manifold. The close-coupled catalyst can constitute the entire catalyst mass of the exhaust treatment apparatus or it can be used in conjunction with an underfloor catalyst. The design option depends on the engine configuration, size and space available. Due to its proximity to the engine relative to the underfloor catalyst, the close-coupled catalyst receives exhaust gas at a higher temperature than the underfloor catalyst. Accordingly, the close-coupled catalyst attains its light-off temperature more quickly than an underfloor catalyst and therefore reduces emissions earlier relative to the cold-start period. On the other hand, a catalyst in a close-coupled position receives exhaust gas at operating temperatures, i.e., post-cold-start period temperatures, higher than those at which an underfloor catalyst receives the exhaust gas. As a consequence, the close-coupled catalyst must have high temperature stability, as discussed in Bhasin, M. et al, xe2x80x9cNovel Catalyst for Treating Exhaust Gases For Internal Combustion and Stationary Source Enginesxe2x80x9d, SAE 93054, 1993.
A typical underfloor motor vehicle catalyst is a three-way conversion catalyst (xe2x80x9cTWCxe2x80x9d) which catalyzes the oxidation of the unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide and the reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen. TWC catalysts, which exhibit good activity and long life, typically comprise one or more platinum group metals (e.g., platinum or palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium), optionally with one or more base metals, dispersed on a high-surface area, refractory oxide support, e.g., particles of high-surface area alumina, to form a catalytic material. The catalytic material is carried on a suitable carrier or substrate such as a monolithic carrier comprising a refractory ceramic or metal honeycomb structure, or refractory particles such as spheres or short, extruded segments of a suitable refractory material. High-surface area alumina support materials, also referred to as xe2x80x9cgamma-aluminaxe2x80x9d (although it usually contains other phases of alumina in addition to gamma) or xe2x80x9cactivated aluminaxe2x80x9d, typically exhibit a BET surface area in excess of 60 square meters per gram (xe2x80x9cm2/gxe2x80x9d), often up to about 200 m2/g or more. It is known to utilize refractory metal oxides other than activated alumina as a support for at least some of the catalytic components in a given catalyst. For example, bulk cerium oxide, zirconium oxide, alpha-alumina and other materials are known for such use. Many of these other materials suffer from the disadvantage of having a considerably lower BET surface area than activated alumina, but that disadvantage tends to be offset by a greater durability of the resulting catalyst.
In a moving vehicle, exhaust gas temperatures can reach 1000xc2x0 C., and such elevated temperatures cause the activated alumina (or other) support material to undergo thermal degradation caused by a phase transition with accompanying volume shrinkage, especially in the presence of steam, whereby the catalytic metal becomes occluded in the shrunken support medium with a loss of exposed catalyst surface area and a corresponding decrease in catalytic activity. It is a known expedient in the art to stabilize alumina supports against such thermal degradation by the use of materials such as zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, alkaline earth metal oxides such as barium oxide, calcium oxide or strontium oxide or rare earth metal oxides, such as cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide and mixtures of two or more rare earth metal oxides. For example, see C. D. Keith et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,288.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,598 discloses a process for producing a high temperature-resistant TWC catalyst. The process includes forming an aqueous slurry of particles of activated or gamma-alumina and impregnating the alumina with soluble salts of selected metals including cerium, zirconium, at least one of iron and nickel and at least one of platinum, palladium and rhodium and, optionally, at least one of neodymium, lanthanum, and praseodymium. The impregnated alumina is calcined at 600xc2x0 C. and then dispersed in water to prepare a slurry which is coated on a honeycomb carrier and dried to obtain a finished catalyst.
The present invention relates to an engine exhaust treatment apparatus for abating pollutants contained in the exhaust stream of the engine. The apparatus defines a flow path for the exhaust and comprises an upstream catalyst member comprising an upstream catalytic material effective for catalyzing the oxidation of hydrocarbons and comprising a platinum group metal component dispersed on a refractory metal oxide first support. The upstream catalytic material is substantially free of oxygen storage component. There is also a downstream catalyst member comprising a downstream catalytic material which is effective at least for the oxidation of hydrocarbons and which comprises one or more catalytic metal components dispersed on a refractory metal oxide support and an oxygen storage components.
According to one aspect of the invention, the upstream catalyst member may comprise a first close-coupled catalyst member and the platinum group metal component thereof may comprise a palladium component. Optionally, the upstream catalytic material may be substantially free of rhodium. However, the downstream catalytic material optionally comprises rhodium.
The downstream catalyst member may comprise an underfloor catalyst member or a second close-coupled catalyst member that may comprise a palladium component and an oxygen storage component. There may be both a second close-coupled catalyst member and an underfloor catalyst member. An underfloor catalyst member preferably comprises a three-way catalytic material.
According to one aspect of the invention, the first close-coupled catalyst member and the second close-coupled catalyst member may have different cross-sectional dimensions and may be disposed in separate canisters. Alternatively, the first close-coupled catalyst member and the second close-coupled catalyst member have like cross-sectional dimensions and may be disposed within the same canister.
According to another aspect of the invention, the first and the second catalyst members may each comprise a catalytic material comprising palladium and the underfloor catalytic material may comprise a catalytic material comprising rhodium.
Optionally, the upstream catalytic material may comprise at least one rare earth metal oxide selected from the group consisting of neodymium oxide and lanthanum oxide.
An engine exhaust treatment apparatus according to the present invention may comprise (a) a first close-coupled, catalyst member comprising a first catalytic material effective for catalyzing the oxidation of hydrocarbons and comprising a palladium catalytic component dispersed on a refractory metal oxide first support, the first catalytic material being substantially free of rhodium and oxygen storage components; (b) a second closed-coupled catalyst member comprising a second catalytic material effective at least for the oxidation of hydrocarbons; and (c) an underfloor catalyst member comprising a third catalytic material effective for three-way abatement of pollutants. At least one of the second close-coupled downstream catalyst member and the underfloor member may comprise an oxygen storage component. The first catalytic material may comprise at least one of an alkaline earth metal oxide, a rare earth metal oxide other than cerium oxide or praseodymium oxide, and zirconium oxide.
In various embodiments, the first close-coupled catalyst member may comprise from about 0.5 to about 3.5 g/in3 of activated alumina and at least about 50 g/ft3 of palladium component calculated as palladium metal and from about 0.05 to about 0.5 g/in3 of the at least one alkaline earth metal component, calculated as the oxide. Optionally, the first close-coupled catalyst member may comprise from about 0.05 g/in3 to about 0.4 g/in3 of strontium oxide; not more than about 0.5 g/in3 of zirconium oxide incorporated into the support material; and not more than about 0.5 g/in3 of at least one rare earth metal oxide selected from the group consisting of lanthanum oxide and neodymium oxide.
The first close-coupled catalyst member may comprise at least 60 g/ft3 of a platinum group metal component, e.g., from about 75 to 300 g/ft3, and the platinum group metal component may principally comprise a palladium component.
In various embodiments, the first close-coupled catalyst member may comprise from about 0.75 to about 2.0 g/in3 of activated alumina support material; and at least one component selected from the group consisting of from about 0.05 to about 0.4 g/in3 of strontium oxide; from about 0.05 to about 0.2 g/in3 of barium oxide; from about 0.025 to about 0.3 g/in3 of lanthanum oxide; from about 0.025 to about 0.3 g/in3 of neodymium oxide; and from about 0.05 to about 0.5 g/in3 of zirconium oxide.
In a particular embodiment an exhaust treatment apparatus of the present invention may comprise a first close-coupled catalyst member comprising about 300 g/ft3 palladium, 1.23 g/in3 alumina, 0.19 g/in3 lanthanum oxide, 0.1 g/in3 zirconium oxide, 0.1 g/in3 strontium oxide and 0.16 g/in3 neodymiun oxide. The apparatus may further comprise a second close-coupled catalyst member comprising about 110 g/ft3 palladium, 1.4 g/ft3, 1.4 g/in3 alumina, 0.8 g/in3 cerium oxide, 0.5 g/in3 cerium oxide-zirconium oxide composite, 0.24 g/in3 zirconium oxide, 0.2 g/in3 lanthanum oxide, 0.1 g/in3 neodymium oxide, 0.1 g/in3 strontium oxide, 0.07 g/in3 nickel oxide and 0.06 g/in3 barium oxide. There may also be an underfloor catalyst comprising about 91.9 g/ft3 palladium, 6.56 g/ft3 rhodium, 6.56 g/ft3 platinum, 1.5 g/in3 alumina, 1.7 g/in3 cerium oxide-zirconium oxide composite, 0.1 g/in3 neodymium oxide, 0.25 g/in3 strontium oxide, 0.125 g/in3 zirconium oxide, and 0.075 g/in3 lanthanum oxide.
The present invention also relates to a method for treating the exhaust gas from an engine having an exhaust gas outlet. The method comprises flowing the exhaust gas from the exhaust gas outlet of the engine through an exhaust gas treatment apparatus as defined above. The method may comprise converting at least 10% of the carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas at the at least one downstream catalyst. By way of example, the method may comprise converting at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 40%, of the carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas at the at least one downstream catalyst.
As used herein and in the claims, the term xe2x80x9coxygen storage componentxe2x80x9d refers to multivalent, reducible transition metal oxides of the type which is believed to be capable of taking up oxygen from an exhaust stream during relatively oxygen-rich periods and releasing oxygen into the gas stream during relatively oxygen-poor periods. Such oxygen storage components include oxides of cerium, cobalt, iron, molybdenum, nickel, praseodymium, tungsten and vanadium. As used herein and in the claims the term xe2x80x9coxygen storage componentxe2x80x9d does not pertain to any form, including oxides, of platinum group metals or to neodymium oxide or lanthanum oxide.
As used herein and in the claims, the term xe2x80x9cclose-coupledxe2x80x9d, as it pertains to a catalyst member or to a canister containing a catalyst member, refers to a position in the flow path defined by the exhaust apparatus in which, during steady state medium or high load engine operating conditions the exhaust is at a temperature of at least about 600xc2x0 C. upon initial contact with the catalyst. Typically, a close-coupled catalyst is located in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, and is disposed in the exhaust flow path close to the exhaust outlet of the engine, for example, within about twelve inches or less from the exhaust manifold outlet along the flow path of the exhaust gas, so that the exhaust gas does not cool significantly before it comes into contact with the catalyst. Optionally, a close-coupled catalyst may be positioned at or within the exhaust manifold. Consequently, the inlet exhaust to the close-coupled catalyst is usually at a temperature of from about 600xc2x0 to 1000xc2x0 C., more usually from about 6000 to 800xc2x0 C. Optionally, a close-coupled catalyst may be positioned in the exhaust manifold itself. The term xe2x80x9cunderfloorxe2x80x9d as it pertains to a catalyst means a catalyst which is positioned in the exhaust apparatus downstream of an upstream catalyst and which, under steady state engine operating conditions, receives exhaust gas at temperatures lower than about 600xc2x0 C., usually at from about 200xc2x0 to 600xc2x0 C., more usually from about 300xc2x0 to 550xc2x0 C. Typically, an underfloor catalyst is positioned beneath the floor board of a vehicle and outside the engine compartment, although it need not necessarily be so positioned.
Reference herein and in the claims to the quantity (xe2x80x9cloadingxe2x80x9d) of particular components of a catalyst member or catalytic material are expressed as either grams per cubic foot (xe2x80x9cg/ft3xe2x80x9d) or grams per cubic inch (xe2x80x9cg/in3xe2x80x9d). These weight per unit volume units are employed to accommodate the voids provided by the gas flow passages of a xe2x80x9ccarrier memberxe2x80x9d which, as used herein and in the claims, means a body having a plurality of gas flow passages extending therethrough and on which a coating of the catalytic material is disposed. Typical carrier members are described below. The type which has a plurality of parallel gas flow passages formed therein are sometimes below referred to as xe2x80x9choneycomb-typexe2x80x9d carriers.

Engine exhaust treatment apparatus and method of use


A method includes: sending a transmission instruction to send status information indicating a state of an image formation apparatus; receiving a status information in response to the transmission instruction; determining, based on the status information, whether to permit a lock instruction to be sent causing the image formation apparatus to shift to a locked state in which only image formation instructed by a first external apparatus is executable; sending the lock instruction when the lock instruction is permitted to be sent; causing the image formation apparatus to shift to the locked state in accordance with the sent lock instruction; sending an unlock instruction to cancel the locked state; and causing the image formation apparatus to shift to an unlocked state in accordance with the sent unlock instruction. The lock instruction is permitted to be sent when the image formation apparatus is determined to not be in the locked state.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates to an image formation system and an image formation method.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there is a system in which multiple host PCs are connected to a printer. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an image formation system in which multiple host PCs and a printer are connected to a network.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-174981

Image formation system and image formation method


Lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines includes a base oil containing (A) 30-98% by weight of a mineral oil having a kinematic viscosity of 2-30 mm.sup.2 /sec at 100.degree. C. and a viscosity index of not less than 100 and (B) 2-70% by weight of poly-.alpha.-olefin, and zinc dithiophosphate in an amount corresponding, as reduced to the amount of P (phosphorus), to 0.02-0.15 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the base oil. The composition of the present invention is advantageously used as lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines, exerting excellent effects in terms of the consumption of the oil composition, fuel consumption rate, and sealing characteristics of rubber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines which is consumed in a reduced amount in internal combustion engines and realizes excellent fuel consumption characteristics (fuel cost) and rubber sealing characteristics. The invention also relates to a method for lubricating an internal combustion engine through use of such an oil composition.
2. Background Art
Lubricating oil, which is used at the interface of the pistons and cylinders of internal combustion engine, is consumed together with fuel during operation of the internal combustion engine. Generally speaking, the consumption of the lubricant oil increases as the engine speed or output power of the internal combustion engine increases. One preferable measure to reduce the consumption of lubricant oil may be to use an oil having as high a viscosity as possible.
In the meantime, when lubricant oil having high viscosity is used, the fuel consumption of internal combustion engines increases due to friction loss and power loss, resulting in an increase of fuel consumption rate. Also, sealing characteristics of rubber may sometimes be degraded.
Under the above circumstances, in order to reduce consumption of lubricant oils and to maintain or improve the sealing characteristics of rubber, a variety of lubricant oils, such as those containing certain types of lubricant base oils for the purpose of adjusting viscosity and those containing a variety of additives, have been developed for use with internal combustion engines and put into practical use.
However, since lubricant oils that have conventionally been developed and used for internal combustion engines do not satisfy all of the aforementioned requirements, there still remains the need for lubricant oil for internal combustion engines, or internal combustion engine oil, which simultaneously satisfies all the above requirements.
The present inventors have conducted careful studies to attain the above object and have found that the object is effectively attained by a composition comprising a base oil and a specified additive, the base oil containing (A) a mineral oil having a specified viscosity and (B) poly-.alpha.-olefin, which is one type of a synthetic oil.
Hitherto, there have been known lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines which is made up of one or more species of mineral oils in admixture (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 64-6094), and another type of lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines which contains poly-.alpha.-olefin (B) in combination with other polymers (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 59-89397). With the state of the art being as described above, the present inventors have found that use of a specified mineral oil (A) and a poly-.alpha.-olefin (B) in combination can effectively attain the aforementioned goals, i.e, reduction in the consumption of the engine oil, improvements of fuel consumption rate, etc. The present invention was accomplished based on this epoch-making finding.

Internal combustion engine oil composition


A method to autonomously determine a destination in navigation system is disclosed. The system is preconfigured with all the routes that a vehicle takes. The system constantly checks if the vehicle takes known routes. After finding out that the vehicle has been taken a known route, a final destination is determined.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle navigation systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an enhanced GPS (Global Positioning System)-based vehicle navigation system that autonomously determines a destination location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are various GPS-based systems available for tracking vehicle locations, and for providing vehicle navigation routes from the current location to a chosen destination. In these cases, the destination is directly selected. Current systems such as GPS-based navigation systems or other satellite-based navigation systems can also determine the current location of a vehicle. Satellite navigation systems can also store the destination of the vehicle or person but this destination has to be manually entered at the beginning of the journey. Boundary notification is a technique often used in these systems to indicate when a vehicle is within a certain range of its destination. In the boundary notification, a user has to be within some fixed, normally short, distance from destination, to predict the destination.
It would be desirable to provide a method for autonomously determining a destination of a vehicle in a GPS-based system that obviates the need for a user to have to enter destination information each time the user embarks on a journey to the destination, but rather autonomously determine a user's destination.

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition, and more particularly to a method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition. When the method of the present invention is used, there are advantages in that energy consumption is low, and an aqueous solution can be concentrated until it can reach the maximum solute concentration or a solute concentration of 100%, without having to use an extraction solvent. In addition, there is an advantage in that the need to use a separate osmotic pressure draw solution is eliminated.

Table 1 below compares the advantages and disadvantages of reverse osmosis (RO) that is most frequently used in seawater desalination processes, forward osmosis (FO) in which water is recovered from seawater or sewage by a high-osmotic pressure solution in a draw chamber in order to separate an osmotic pressure draw substance and water and a draw solution is recycled, and a method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution to a high concentration by a hydraulic membrane process under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition.
RO has disadvantages in that it shows a solvent recovery rate of only 50%, and above all, it should be operated at a pressure of 343.070 bar in 3%-NaCl saturated solution (26.47%) in order to recover 100% of a solvent and a solute. FO has the advantage of operating at atmospheric pressure, but has disadvantages in that a draw solution should be regenerated and it is not easy to recover the solute if the solute flows from the feed to the draw solution (Jung et al. Process Biochemistry (2015) 50(4) 669-677). On the other hand, the method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution to a high concentration by a hydraulic membrane process under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition (Δπ=0 process) has a difficulty in overcoming the osmotic pressure difference that occurs as the process progresses between the feed chamber and the draw chamber.
TABLE 1Advantages and disadvantages of the method of concentratinga solute-containing aqueous solution to high concentrationItems forcomparisonROFOΔπ = 0 processOsmotic pressurefeed: highfeed: lowfeed: mediumdraw: zerodraw: highdraw: medium(πf − πd) = ΔπΔπ > 0Δπ < 0Δπ ≈ 0Driving forceΔPΔπΔPDraw soluteNoneDrawUse of thesolution(vent)same solutePurpose of useTo produceTo produceTo produce apure waterpure watersolute andpure waterRecovery rateAbout 50%>100%100% recoveryof a soluteand a solventAdvantagesOne-stepΔP = 0,Δπ ≈ 0process(atmospheric100% recoverypressure)of a soluteand a solventDisadvantagesHigh-pressureTwo-step process,Two-stepprocess, andregeneration of aprocess,low waterdraw solution,Δπ ≈ 0recoveryand penetrationin concentration,(50%)of a draw solutionand use of a low-into pure waterpressure ROprocess for waterrecoveryOthersUse of an ROUse of an FOUse of NF formembranemembraneconcentration,and use of anRO membranefor waterrecoveryMain useSeawaterSeawaterConcentrationdesalinationdesalinationof various(sewage)(sewage)aqueoussolutions,and seawaterdesalination
Currently, membrane processes are being studied to generate power by forward osmosis in addition to reverse osmosis. Thus, if these membrane processes are successfully developed, they have the potential to solve water and energy issues at the same time. If the reasons for limitation as shown in Table 2 below are technologically and economically solved, the membrane processes are expected to have a significant impact on the chemical and biological industries and environmental industries.
TABLE 2MaterialThermal methodUse of membraneReasons for limitationSaltPossibleUp to 7%Osmotic pressure of(up to 100%)feed solutionVFAPossibleUp to 14%Osmotic pressure of(up to 100%)(forwardfeed solutionosmosis)EthanolPossiblePossible onlyOsmotic pressure of(up to 95%)at a lowfeed solutionconcentrationof 20-30%
In the membrane process, the flux of a solvent (water) and the movement of a solute (salt, VFA or ethanol) are as follows:Jw=Lp(ΔP−σΔπ)  (1)Js=Cs(1−σ)Jw+ωΔπ  ((2)
wherein Jw is water flux; Lp is water permeability coefficient; ΔP is the hydraulic pressure difference between a feed chamber and a draw chamber; Δπ is the osmotic pressure difference between the feed chamber and the draw chamber; and Js is the flux of the solute, which is divided into one caused by Jw and one caused by the osmotic pressure difference.
If Jw in equation (2) above is absent, the solute can move from the draw chamber to the feed chamber due to the osmotic pressure difference. σ in the above equations is the reflection coefficient of the solute by the membrane. At σ=1, the solute is completely impermeable, and the osmotic pressure difference between the two chambers reaches the maximum.
Osmotic pressure is expressed by the following equation (3):π=CRT  (3)
wherein C is concentration; R is gas constant; and T is temperature.
In addition, the Lewis equation for a solution containing a high concentration of a solute is expressed as the following equation 4 (Literature Cited: Lewis, G. N., The osmotic pressure of concentrated solutions and the laws of perfect solution. Journal of the American Chemical Society 1908, 30, 668-683):π=RT/vsp ln(1−γX)  (4)
wherein Vsp is the volume of 1 mole of a solvent when the concentration of a solute is 0; γ is the activity coefficient of the solvent; and X is the molar fraction of the solute.
If 30 g/L of a solute dissolves in water, the osmotic pressure of the solute is 25.4 bar for salt, 0.01 bar for albumin, and 1.2×10−12 bar for particles.
The reverse osmosis and reverse osmosis processes have an advantage in that energy is saved due to the use of membranes, but have a disadvantage in that, as concentration progresses, the osmotic pressure in the feed chamber increases so that it is impossible to further concentrate the feed solution or to increase the utility of the feed solution (Loeb, S, Loeb-Sourirajan Membrane, How it Came About Synthetic Membranes, ACS Symposium Series, 153, 1, 1-9, 1981; Loeb, S., J. Membr. Sci, 1, 49, 1976).
Although the molar fraction is used in equation (4) above, wt % and osmotic pressure will be expressed herein, because mole (g/L) or wt % is frequently used in actual practice. Although Lewis's osmotic pressure is applied to all solutes, molar concentration is hardly used, because when a solute is mixed with a solvent, the mass is preserved, but the volume is not preserved. For this reason, wt %, the Lewis equation, activity coefficient estimation or measurement is more preferably used in actual practice. Table 3 below shows osmotic pressure at the representative % of 3% NaCl to be used as a model in the Δπ=0 process, total water amount, the amount of water per g of a solute, and the amount of power required to produce 1 m3 of water from each % aqueous solution.
TABLE 3Data required for Δπ = 0 process study of aqueous salt solution%(w/w)Osmotic PWatergw/gs(KWH/m3)1%7.610297099.000.2112%15.519147049.000.4303%23.74397032.330.6596%50.46747015.671.40012% 114.6062207.333.18118% 195.746136.674.565.43324% 296.37995.03.168.22726.47%   343.70783.342.7789.538
Materials that are needed by humans are present as solids, liquids and gases in the sea, land and air, and are also present as independent molecules or compounds. Desired materials can be obtained by catalytic reactions, chemical reactions, biological reactions, etc.
In order to obtain the above-described materials, the present inventor previously developed a method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution using a zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator comprising a feed chamber and a π-equalizer chamber, which are separated from each other by a forward osmosis membrane and/or a reverse osmosis membrane (International Patent No. PCT/KR2014/000952). However, in the above-described technology, a portion of a concentrate is used as a draw solution, and in this case, if a small amount of a π-equalizer solution is used, there is difficulty in overcoming the high osmotic pressure difference between the feed chamber and the π-equalizer chamber. To overcome this difficulty, in the method developed by the present inventor, a method of reducing the residence time of the π-equalizer solution in the π-equalizer chamber is used. However, it was found that there is a problem in the design of the π-equalizer. Thus, a new process is needed.
Accordingly, the present inventors have made extensive efforts to solve the above-described problems, and as a result, have found that when one half of a feed solution is introduced into a feed chamber and the other half is introduced into a π-equalizer chamber, Δπ in equation (1) and (2) above can be removed/minimized, and thus the feed solution can be concentrated by hydraulic pressure (ΔP) under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition (Δπ=0) or low osmotic pressure difference condition, and the diluted π-equalizer solution has low osmotic pressure, and thus pure water can be recovered by reverse osmosis, whereby energy consumption and operating costs can be minimized while maximizing the concentration of the feed solution. Based on this finding, the present invention has been completed.

Method of osmotic pressure free reverse osmosis for enriching solute-containing solution to high concentration


A backrest adjustment device has a hollow base seat, an oblong panel, a guide mount, a slide seat, a nut, a coiled spring, a compression spring, a positioning plate, a top panel, a screw rod, and a control rod. The positioning plate has a threaded aperture. The guide mount is disposed on the oblong panel. The guide mount has a bottom recess and an oblong hole. The positioning plate is inserted in the bottom recess of the oblong panel. The slide seat has a bottom groove, a slant slot, and a lateral lug. The screw rod has a disk head. The top panel has a plurality of click serrations. The top panel engages with the hollow base seat. The control rod has an oval plate, an extension bar, and a plurality of annular grooves. The screw rod passes through the compression spring, the lateral lug, the coiled spring, the nut, and the oval plate. The extension bar is disposed between the top panel and the hollow base seat.

The present invention relates to a backrest adjustment device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a backrest adjustment device which adjusts a backrest of a chair easily.
A conventional backrest adjustment device has a complex structure. It is difficult for a user to operate the conventional backrest adjustment device.
An object of the present invention is to provide a backrest adjustment device which adjusts an angle of a backrest of a chair easily.
Accordingly, a backrest adjustment device comprises a hollow base seat, an oblong panel, a guide mount, a slide seat, a nut, a coiled spring, a compression spring, a positioning plate, a top panel, a screw rod, and a control rod. The positioning plate has a threaded aperture. The oblong panel has a threaded hole. The guide mount is disposed on the oblong panel. The guide mount has a bottom recess and an oblong hole. The positioning plate is inserted in the bottom recess of the oblong panel. The slide seat has a bottom groove, a slant slot, and a lateral lug. The screw rod has a disk head. The top panel has a plurality of click serrations. The top panel engages with the hollow base seat. The control rod has an oval plate, an extension bar, and a plurality of annular grooves. The screw rod passes through the compression spring, the lateral lug, the coiled spring, the nut, and the oval plate. The extension bar is disposed between the top panel and the hollow base seat. A screw passes through the slot of the slide seat, the oblong hole of the guide mount, and the threaded aperture of the positioning plate.


The invention relates to a process for making a epoxy composite. In the process an epoxy prepolymer, a curing agent and a particulate filler are combined to form a curable mixture. The mixture is then agitated under a non-air atmosphere to render it substantially homogeneous, and pressure is applied to the mixture to reduce or eliminate gas pockets in the mixture and is maintained until the curable mixture is cured to form the epoxy composite.

The inventor required an exceptionally high, and uniform, strength syntactic foam for flotation and as a structural element for a deep sea application. Various commercial foams were tested and all failed to meet a suitable FofS (factor of safety). It is considered that the failure of these materials is in part due to non-uniformity of the materials, leading to variable strength characteristics in different parts of the material. The commercial foams tended to fail on one side first and/or develop serious cracks. As a rather large piece of foam was required in order to provide floatation and structural integrity for the application, the inventor considered the low FofS and the non-uniform strength of commercial foams to be a major disadvantage.
Epoxy composites may be made by combining an epoxy prepolymer, a curing agent and a filler and alloys the resulting mixture to cure. The filler may serve one or more of a number of purposes including increasing stiffness, increasing strength, improving crack resistance and reducing density in the cured composite. If a low level of filler is used, the improvement in properties may be less than required. Also the uncured mixture may have a relatively low viscosity. This can allow partial separation of the filler (due to the different densities of the filler and the epoxy prepolymer) resulting in a cured composite with inhomogeneous properties.
These problems may be addressed by increasing the level of filler in the mixture. This however results in new problems. Increasing the level of filler results in an increase in the viscosity of the uncured mixture. Stirring this mixture in order to achieve a homogeneous product can result in inclusion of large amounts of air, which can generate voids in the cured composite. These voids can adversely affect the physical properties (strength etc.) of the cured composite. Application of a vacuum when mixing can partially address this problem, however the high viscosity of an uncured composite with high filler loading can make it difficult to remove all air bubbles.
There is therefore a need for a process for making epoxy composites which reduces or eliminates voids while allowing for a relatively high filler loading.


An ophthalmic lens suited for extended-wear periods of at least one day on the eye without a clinically significant amount of corneal swelling and without substantial wearer discomfort. The lens has a balance of oxygen permeability and ion or water permeability, with the ion or water permeability being sufficient to provide good on-eye movement, such that a good tear exchange occurs between the lens and the eye. A preferred lens is a copolymerization product of a oxyperm macromer and an ionoperm monomer. The invention encompasses extended wear contact lenses, which include a core having oxygen transmission and ion transmission pathways extending from the inner surface to the outer surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to lenses and polymeric materials useful in optic and ophthalmic arts. More specifically, this invention relates to polymeric materials and treatment processes useful in the manufacture of contact lenses. Still more specifically, this invention relates to contact lenses useful as extended-wear contact lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of research has been conducted in the field of biocompatible polymers. The definition of the term "biocompatible" depends on the particular application for which the polymer is designed. In the field of ophthalmic lenses, and in particular in the field of contact lenses, a biocompatible lens may be generally defined as one which will not substantially damage the surrounding ocular tissue and ocular fluid during the time period of contact. The phrase "ophthalmically compatible" more appropriately describes the biocompatibility requirements of ophthalmic lenses.
One ophthalmic compatibility requirement for contact lenses is that the lens must allow oxygen to reach the cornea in an amount which is sufficient for long-term corneal health. The contact lens must allow oxygen from the surrounding air to reach the cornea because the cornea does not receive oxygen from the blood supply like other tissue. If sufficient oxygen does not reach the cornea, corneal swelling occurs. Extended periods of oxygen deprivation causes the undesirable growth of blood vessels in the cornea. "Soft" contact lenses conform closely to the shape of the eye, so oxygen cannot easily circumvent the lens. Thus, soft contact lenses must allow oxygen to diffuse through the lens to reach the cornea.
Another ophthalmic compatibility requirement for soft contact lenses is that the lens must not strongly adhere to the eye. Clearly, the consumer must be able to easily remove the lens from the eye for disinfecting, cleaning, or disposal. However, the lens must also be able to move on the eye in order to encourage tear flow between the lens and the eye. Tear flow between the lens and eye allows for debris, such as foreign particulates or dead epithelial cells, to be swept from beneath the lens and, ultimately, out of the tear fluid. Thus, a contact lens must not adhere to the eye so strongly that adequate movement of the lens on the eye is inhibited.
While there exist rigid gas permeable ("RGP") contact lenses which have high oxygen permeability and which move on the eye, RGP lenses are typically quite uncomfortable for the consumer. Thus, soft contact lenses are preferred by many consumers because of comfort. Moreover, a contact lens which may be continuously worn for a period of a day or more (including wear during periods of sleeping) requires comfort levels which exclude RGP lenses as popular extended-wear candidates.
In order to balance the ophthalmic compatibility and consumer comfort requirements in designing a daily wear soft contact lens, polymers and copolymers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were developed. These hydrophilic polymers move well on the eye and provide sufficient oxygen permeability for daily wear. Certain soft contact lenses have been approved by the FDA for extended wear periods of up to about 6 nights of overnight wear and seven days of daily wear. However, the consumer cannot safely and comfortably wear these poly(HEMA) lenses for extended periods of seven days or more, because the oxygen permeability is insufficient. True extended wear (i.e., seven days or more) of these lenses may result, at a minimum, in corneal swelling and development of surface blood vessels in the cornea.
In order to improve oxygen permeability, polymers containing silicone groups were developed. A variety of siloxane-containing polymers have been disclosed as having high oxygen permeability. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,228,741; 3,341,490; 3,996,187; and 3,996,189. However, polysiloxanes are typically highly lipophilic. The properties (e.g., lipophilicity, glass transition temperature, mechanical properties) of known polysiloxanes has resulted in contact lenses which adhere to the eye, inhibiting the necessary lens movement. In addition, polysiloxane lipophilicity promotes adhesion to the lens of lipids and proteins in the tear fluid, causing a haze which interferes with vision through the lens.
There have been attempts to blend the desirable hydrophilic properties of hydrophilic polymers, formed from monomers such as HEMA, with the desirable oxygen permeability of polymers formed from siloxane-containing monomers. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,808,178; 4,136,250; and 5,070,169. However, prior attempts at producing a true extended wear contact lens have been unsuccessful, either because of the effect of the extended-wear lens on corneal health or because the lens would not move on the eye. Thus, there remains a need for an ophthalmically compatible, transparent polymeric material which is suited to extended periods of continuous contact with ocular tissue and tear fluid.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation


A method for laying and mechanically joining rectangular building panels in parallel rows includes the steps of (a) placing a new one of the panels adjacent to a long edge of a previously laid first one of the panels in a first row and to a short edge of a previously laid second one of the panels in an adjacent second row, such that the new one of the panels is in the second row, while holding the new one of the panels at an angle relative to a principal plane of the first panel, such that the new one of the panels is spaced from its final longitudinal position relative to said second panel and such that the long edge of the new panel is provided with a locking groove which is placed upon and in contact with a locking strip at the adjacent long edge of the first panel; (b) subsequently angling down the new one of the panels so as to accommodate a locking element of the strip of the first panel in the locking groove of the new panel, whereby the new panel and the first panel are mechanically connected with each other in a second direction with respect to the thus connected long edges, wherein the long edges, in the angled down position of the new panel, are in engagement with each other and thereby mechanically locked together in a first direction also; and (c) displacing the new one of the panels in its longitudinal direction relative to the first panel towards a final longitudinal position until a locking element of one of the short edges of the new one of the panels and the second panel snaps up into a locking groove of the other one of the short edges, whereby the new one of the panels and the second panel are mechanically connected with each other in both in the first direction and in the second direction with respect to the thus connected short edges.

A joint of the aforementioned type is known. e.g. from SE 450,141. The first mechanical connection is achieved by means of joint edges having tongues and grooves. The locking device for the second mechanical connection comprises two oblique locking grooves, one in the rear side of each panel, and a plurality of spaced-apart spring clips which are distributed along the joint and the legs of which are pressed into the grooves, and which are biased so as to tightly clamp the floor panels together. Such a joining technique is especially useful for joining thick floor panels to form surfaces of a considerable expanse.
Thin floor panels of a thickness of about 7-10 mm, especially laminated floors, have in a short time taken a substantial share of the market. All thin floor panels employed are laid as "floating floors" without being attached to the supporting structure. As a rule, the dimension of the floor panels is 200.times.1200 mm, and their long and short sides are formed with tongues and grooves. Traditionally, the floor is assembled by applying glue in the groove and forcing the floor panels together. The tongue is then glued in the groove of the other panel. As a rule, a laminated floor consists of an upper decorative wear layer of laminate having a thickness of about 1 mm, an intermediate core of laminate board Cr other board, and a base layer to balance the construction. The core has essentially poorer properties than the laminate, e.g. in respect of hardness and water resistance, but it is nonetheless needed primarily for providing a groove and tongue for assemblage. This means that the overall thickness must be at least about 7 mm. These known laminated floors using glued tongue-and-groove joints however suffer from several inconveniences.
First, the requirement of an overall thickness of at least about 7 mm entails an undesirable restraint in connection with the laying of the floor, since it is easier to cope with low thresholds when using thin floor panels, and doors must often be adjusted in height to come clear of the floor laid. Moreover, manufacturing costs are directly linked with the consumption of material.
Second, the core must be made of moisture-absorbent material to permit using water-based glues when laying the floor. Therefore, it is not possible to make the floors thinner using so-called compact laminate, because of the absence of suitable gluing methods for such non-moisture-absorbent core materials.
Third, since the laminate layer of the laminated floors is highly wear-resistant, tool wear is a major problem when working the surface in connection with the formation of the tongue.
Fourth, the strength of the joint, based on a glued tongue-and-groove connection, is restricted by the properties of the core and of the glue as well as by the depth and height of the groove. The laying quality is entirely dependent on the gluing. In the event of poor gluing, the joint will open as a result of the tensile stresses which occur e.g. in connection with a change in air humidity.
Fifth, laying a floor with glued tongue-and-groove joints is time-consuming, in that clue must be applied to every panel on both the long and short sides thereof.
Sixth, it is not possible to disassemble a glued floor once laid, without having to break up the joints. Floor panels that have been taken up cannot therefore be used again. This is a drawback particularly in rental houses where the flat concerned must be put back into the initial state of occupancy. Nor can damaged or worn-out panels be replaced without extensive efforts, which would be particularly desirable on public premises and other areas where parts of the floor are subjected to great wear.
Seventh, known laminated floors are not suited for such use as involves a considerable risk of moisture penetrating down into the moisture-sensitive core.
Eighth, present-day hard, floating floors require, prior to laying the floor panels on hard subfloors, the laying of a separate underlay of floor board, felt, foam or the like, which is to damp impact sounds and to make the floor more pleasant to walk on. The placement of the underlay is complicated operation, since the underlay must be placed in edge-to-edge fashion. Different under-lays affect the properties of the floor.
There is thus a strongly-felt need to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is however not possible simply to use the known joining technique with glued tongues and grooves for very thin floors, e.g. with floor thicknesses of about 3 mm, since a joint based on a tongue-and-groove connection would not be sufficiently strong and practically impossible to produce for such thin floors. Nor are any other known joining techniques usable for such thin floors. Another reason why the making of thin floors from e.g. compact laminate involves problems is the thickness tolerances of the panels, being about 0.2-0.3 mm for a panel thickness or about 3 mm. A 3-mm compact laminate panel having such a thickness tolerance would have, if ground to uniform thickness on its rear side, an unsymmetrical design, entailing the risk of bulging. Moreover, if the panels have different thicknesses, this also means that the joint will be subjected to excessive load.
Nor is it possible to overcome the above-mentioned problems by using double-adhesive tape or the like on the undersides of the panels, since such a connection catches directly and does not allow for subsequent adjustment of the panels as is the case with ordinary gluing.
Using U-shaped clips of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned SE 450,141, or similar techniques, to overcome the drawbacks discussed above is no viable alternative either. Especially biased clips of this type cannot be used for joining panels of such a small thickness as 3 mm. Normally, it is not possible to disassemble the floor panels without having access to their undersides. This known technology relying on clips surffers from the additional drawbacks:
Subsequent adjustment of the panels in their longitudinal direction is a complicated operation in connection with laying, since the clips urge the panels tightly against each other. PA1 Floor laying using clips is time-consuming. PA1 This technique is usable only in those cases where the floor panels are resting on underlying joists with the clips placed therebetween. For thin floors to be laid on a continuous, flat supporting structure, such clips cannot be used. PA1 The floor panels can be joined together only at their long sides. No clip connection is provided on the short sides. PA1 makes it possible in a simple, cheap and rational way to provide a joint between floor panels without requiring the use of glue, especially a joint based primarily only on mechanical connections between the panels; PA1 can be used for joining floor panels which have a smaller thickness than present-day laminated floors and which have, because of the use of a different core material, superior properties than present-day floors even at a thickness of 3 mm; PA1 makes it possible between thin floor panels to provide a joint that eliminates any unevennesses in the joint because of thickness tolerances of the panels; PA1 allows joining all the edges of the panels; PA1 reduces tool wear when manufacturing floor panels with hard surface layers; PA1 allows repeated disassembly and reassembly of a floor previously laid, without causing damage to the panels, while ensuring high laying quality; PA1 makes it possible to provide moisture-proof floors; PA1 makes it possible to obviate the need of accurate, separate placement of an underlay before laying the floor panels; and PA1 considerably cuts the time for joining the panels. PA1 the adjacent joint edges together form a first mechanical connection locking the joint edges to each other in a first direction at right angles to the principal plane of the panels, and PA1 a locking device arranged on the rear side of the panels forms a second mechanical connection locking the panels to each other in a second direction parallel to the principal plane and at right angles to the joint edges, said locking device comprising a locking groove which extends parallel to and spaced from the joint edge of one of said panels, termed groove panel, and which is open at the rear side of the groove panel, said system being characterised in PA1 that the locking device further comprises a strip integrated with the other of said panels, termed strip panel, said strip extending throughout substantially the entire length of the joint edge of the strip panel and being provided with a locking element projecting from the strip, such that when the panels are joined together, the strip projects on the rear side of the groove panel with its locking element received the locking groove of the groove panel, PA1 that the panels, when joined together, can occupy a relative position in said second direction where a play exists between the locking groove and a locking surface on the locking element that is facing the joint edges and is operative in said second mechanical connection, PA1 that the first and the second mechanical connection both allow mutual displacement of the panels in the direction of the joint edges, and PA1 that the second mechanical connection is so conceived as to allow the locking element to leave the locking groove if the groove panel is turned about its joint edge angularly away from the strip.


Systems, apparatuses and methods for encoding and decoding a video stream having a plurality of frames are disclosed. When encoding, for example, blocks are selected in spiral fashion until contiguous blocks of at least a central section of the frame are selected. The selected blocks are encoded in an order in which they were selected. A first level of error protection is applied to encoded blocks within the central section. A second, different level of error protection is applied to encoded blocks outside the central section. By using a spiral scan and selective error protection, blocks most likely to have information of interest to a viewer are identified and can be encoded and error-protected to provide better image quality in the area of interest when decoded.

Digital video streams represent video using a sequence of still images, called "frames." Modern video coding techniques can efficiently compress the video stream for many applications such as video conferencing and streaming through bandwidth-limited communication channels. However, packet loss and error may occur during video bitstream transmission, resulting in errors in decoding the bitstream.

Video encoding and decoding using un-equal error protection


Embodiments of a mobile device and method for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning of credentials for Wi-Fi hotspots are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the mobile device may be configured to establish a transport-layer security (TLS) session with a sign-up server through a Wi-Fi Hotspot to receive a certificate of the sign-up server. When the certificate is validated, the mobile device may be configured to exchange device management messages with the sign-up server to sign-up for a Wi-Fi subscription and provisioning of credentials, and retrieve a subscription management object (MO) that includes a reference to the provisioned credentials for storage in a device management tree. The credentials are transferred/provisioned securely to the mobile device. In some embodiments, an OMA-DM protocol may be used. The provisioned credentials may include certificates in the case of certificate-based credentials, machine-generated credentials such as username/password credentials, or SIM-type credentials.

One issue with subscription establishment with a service provider for Wi-Fi network access is that it is not a simple and user-friendly process. There is no standardized process for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning credentials for Wi-Fi enabled devices and networks. Users generally may have to confront web pages of different types, enter information and select their usernames/passwords at different locations.
Another issue with subscription establishment is security. Open networks may not provide the necessary security while secure networks (such as those that are 802.1x enabled) may prohibit access to non-registrants. Current online sign-up mechanisms expose users to great security risks such as getting their credit card and personal information stolen (e.g., thru well-known honey-pot, twin-evil security holes).
Another issue with subscription establishment is the different types of credentials that are to be provisioned. Some devices or networks may require certificate-based credentials while some other devices or networks may simply require username/password credentials. Other devices or networks may require subscriber-information module (SIM) type credentials (e.g., generally used for some cellular networks).
Thus, there are general needs for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning of credentials. There are also general needs for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning of credentials securely using on-line sign systems that use a device-management protocol as a transport. There are also general needs for a standardized process for secure on-line sign-up that is suitable for provisioning different types of credentials such as username/password credentials, SIM type credentials and certificate-based credentials. There are also general needs for a standardized process for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning of credentials that is suitable for use in any 802.11 based network including both open and secure networks.

Secure on-line sign-up and provisioning for Wi-Fi hotspots using a device management protocol


The present invention is a bicycle which permits the rider to operate the bicycle while in the prone position. A novel sling is provided to support the torso of the rider. The sling is a hammock-style sling which supports the rider comfortably and enables the rider to go much farther, without tiring, than other prone bicycles. Further, the sling is made of nylon, or other fabric, which allows the rider's chest cavity to expand in order to facilitate breathing. And, unlike other prone bicycle designs, there is no sliding up and down with this hammock-style sling. A telescoping frame and pivoting handgrips enables the rider to adjust the bicycle to his or her own body dimensions. The present invention provides less wind resistance due to the prone position of the rider. Also, the alignment of the arms and hands with the legs and feet allows the pushing force of the legs and feet to be opposite to, and in line with, the pushing force of the arms and hands. This alignment eliminates moments and the resultant forces from developing relative to the rider's body and therefore eliminates much wasted effort.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bicycles used for touring long distances in an efficient and comfortable manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art contains many bicycles each with their special characteristics.
The Arroyo Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,568) is a bicycle which uses the motion of the rider's arms to help propel the unit. It is particularly useful for training for triathelons where the contestants must swim, run and ride a bicycle over long distances. The Arroyo Patent allows the triathelete-in-training to simultaneously exercise his or her arms for swimming and legs for bicycle riding.
The Speicher Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,205) is a golf cart which looks very similar to a recumbent bicycle. This golf cart allows the golfer to sit comfortably in a chair-like device while propelling himself or herself around the golf course.
The Dmitrowsky Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,448) is a regular bicycle with an additional chainwheel, chain, crankarms and pedals. Said additions allow the rider to assume a prone position in addition to the "normal" seated position.
The Bothwell Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,249) is a handgrip for bicycles or motorcycles with a protective yoke.
The Kidney Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 846,033) is a prone bicycle adapted for racing purposes.
The prior art is also found in the lightweight racing bicycles available today. Titanium is very stiff and lightweight and has replaced many heavier, more ductile parts on the racing bicycles. Parts such as the frame are much improved when built with titanium. A new alloy, AerMet 100, could provide even lighter, stronger bicycle parts in the future. Weight is an important factor when determining the quality or efficiency of a bicycle. Racing bicycles under twenty pounds are not uncommon.
Another example of prior art is the ability to break the bike down into smaller parts for easy transportation. Quick-release hubs are useful when trying to put a bicycle in an automobile trunk. These quick-release hubs enable the bicycle owner to remove the wheels with little effort and requires no tools. These same quick-release devices are now being used to allow easer removal of the seat-seatpost assembly.


A composite superconducting material made of coated particles of ceramic superconducting material and a metal matrix material. The metal matrix material fills the regions between the coated particles. The coating material is a material that is chemically nonreactive with the ceramic. Preferably, it is silver. The coating serves to chemically insulate the ceramic from the metal matrix material. The metal matrix material is a metal that is susceptible to the superconducting proximity effect. Preferably, it is a NbTi alloy. The metal matrix material is induced to become superconducting by the superconducting proximity effect when the temperature of the material goes below the critical temperature of the ceramic. The material has the improved mechanical properties of the metal matrix material. Preferably, the material consists of approximately 10% NbTi, 90% coated ceramic particles (by volume). Certain aspects of the material and method will depend upon the particular ceramic superconductor employed. An alternative embodiment of the invention utilizes A15 compound superconducting particles in a metal matrix material which is preferably a NbTi alloy.

The discovery of high critical temperature (T.sub.c) ceramic superconductors has inspired an enormous interest in their application. Conventional niobium alloy superconductors such as NbTi must be cooled well below 10 K to achieve useful superconductivity. High T.sub.c superconductors, on the other hand, have T.sub.c s over 100 K. Due to the great expense of cryogenic refrigeration, the high T.sub.c materials could find much wider application in electronic and laboratory devices. Of particular interest are materials which have T.sub.c above 77 K, because this is the temperature of liquid nitrogen, a common and relatively inexpensive refrigerant.
Ceramic superconducting materials have not been used in many potential applications because they suffer from a number of shortcomings. The most severe problems with the ceramic superconductors are as follows:
1) They are brittle. They are not flexible and thus cannot be made into wires or other useful shapes. Cracks and boundaries between adjacent crystals severely limit supercurrent flow.
2) They are highly anisotropic. Supercurrents preferentially flow in certain directions with respect to the crystal lattice, reducing maximum supercurrent flow in randomly oriented multicrystalline pieces.
3) They are strong oxidizing agents. Many metals, such as copper, lead, tin, and niobium, are oxidized by contact with the ceramic superconductors, forming an insulating layer which impedes supercurrent flow. Only noble metals such as gold, silver, palladium and their alloys resist being oxidized by the ceramic superconductors.
A less severe undesirable feature of the high temperature ceramic superconductors is that they can lose their superconducting properties. The superconducting structure inside the ceramics has an abundance of oxygen atoms which are necessary for superconductivity. Heating, grinding, etching, or prolonged exposure to ambient atmosphere or vacuum liberates the oxygen and destroys superconductivity. Oxygen content can be restored by annealing the ceramic in an atmosphere with a partial pressure of oxygen.
The A15 superconductors such as Nb.sub.3 Sn are also brittle materials (although they are not anisotropic and relatively nonreactive). Their poor mechanical properties has precluded their use in many applications requiring ductility such as wires. This is unfortunate because they generally have superior superconducting properties such as high T.sub.c s and high critical magnetic fields.
To overcome the brittleness and anisotropy of the high T.sub.c ceramics, the superconducting proximity effect has been exploited in a number of prior art inventions.

Ceramic/metal and A15/metal superconducting composite materials exploiting the superconducting proximity effect and method of making the same

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


According to the semiconductor memory device of this invention, an XP type MRAM cell array and an STr type MRAM cell array are formed on a single chip. The XP type MRAM cell array is laid over the STr type MRAM cell array to form a layered structure. The STr type MRAM cell array serves as a work memory area, while the XP type MRAM cell array serves as a data storage area. A cell of the XP type MRAM cell array and a cell of the STr type MRAM cell array may be connected to a same bit-line. By passing predetermined current through the bit-line, and passing current through a first word-line connected to the cell of the XP type MRAM cell array, and through a second word-line connected to the cell of the STr type MRAM cell array, it is possible to simultaneously write data into the cells of the XP and STr type MRAM cell arrays.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a method of accessing it, particularly to a semiconductor memory device having a storage memory area and a working memory area.
2. Description of a Related Art
A conventional data processing system comprises at least a controller such as MPU, CPU, etc., for processing data and a memory device for storing data to be processed. Data has two types, one of which is necessary to maintain its information even after power is switched off, the other of which is used temporarily during data processing. The former data is stored in a non-volatile memory. The latter data is stored in a volatile memory to satisfy its high speed processing demand. The system engineer selectively use the two kinds of memories by storing the former in a storage memory and the latter in a working memory, based on the system to be designed. For example, a handy type information processing apparatus such as a mobile telephone, PDA, etc., use a flash memory as a storage memory and DRAM or SRAM as a working memory.
Regarding such a handy type information processing system, the miniaturization, weight saving, high-speed performance and diversity is demanded. To satisfy the demand, semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, etc. are developed.
However, there is some difficulty for system designer to use the two kinds of memory. For example, a flash memory requires as much as 1 μsec to store data, and thus, it takes a long time to write a control program into a mobile phone. This poses a problem, because, with the advent of high performance mobile phones in recent times, writing huge data such as a file of an animation film into a memory is required and actually tried even in those mobile phones, and this tendency is totally incompatible with said drawback of the flash memory, i.e., slowness in data writing. On the other hand, DRAM and SRAM have their own problem. DRAM does not have a bright prospect for high density integration because of its increasingly complicated procedures involved in the manufacture of its capacitor components. To ensure a required capacity, each capacitor component must have a certain height, and this hinders the progress of the device towards higher integration. To avoid this drawback, the capacitor component must be made of a material having a high dielectric constant, which will lead to an increased production cost. With respect to SRAM, each cell must include plural transistors, and thus to find a suitable method how to reduce a chip area becomes a problem. Thus, if one expects that DRAM or SRAM will serve as a memory through which he can handle a huge quantity of data at a high speed, he will meet a certain limitation sooner or later. Moreover, because the memory of a system consists of a non-volatile and volatile components, the production cost of the system is more increased than would be otherwise. Because access speeds to the two memory components are obviously different, management of the memory at large becomes difficult which complicates the designing of the system.

Magnetic memory device having XP cell and Str cell in one chip


A circuit design may have registers and combinational gates. Circuit design computing equipment may perform register retiming in the circuit design, whereby registers are moved across combinational gates. Information about the register moves may be recorded, and a modified circuit design is created. The circuit design computing equipment may implement the circuit design in an integrated circuit. A logic analyzer may be used to debug the circuit design implemented in the integrated circuit in real-time and at high-speed. To facilitate the debugging process, the circuit design computing equipment may augment the integrated circuit and/or compensate for register retiming based on the information recorded during register retiming.

This relates to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to debugging an integrated circuit after register retiming operations.
Every transition from one technology node to the next technology node has resulted in smaller transistor geometries and thus potentially more functionality implemented per unit of integrated circuit area. Synchronous integrated circuits have further benefited from this development as evidenced by reduced interconnect and cell delays, which have led to performance increases.
To further increase the performance, solutions such as register retiming have been proposed, where registers are moved among portions of combinational logic, thereby achieving a more balanced distribution of delays between registers and thus potentially a higher clock frequency at which the integrated circuit may be operated.
However, performing register retiming may be complicated and error prone, especially when different portions of the integrated circuit operate in different clock domains and when registers have different clocks, clock polarities, or particular reset, preset, and initialization constraints.

Methods and apparatus for probing signals from a circuit after register retiming


A cassette 5 with longitudinal and transverse dimensions similar to each other is housed in a cassette storing case which can prevent housing of a cassette into the housing case in an incorrect direction and identify a dedicated cassette storing case corresponding to a cassette, while assuring the function of preventing positional shift during stacking. The cassette storing case 1 includes an indicating portion 15 provided on the top surface 1a of the housing case. The indicating portion 15 has a protrusion-and-recess pattern, similar to a design on the cassette, which indicates a housing direction. The cassette storing case 1 further includes a stopper portion 17, provided on the bottom surface 1b of the housing case, for engaging with part 16 of the indicating portion 15 to regulate positional shift when housing cases are stacked with each other.

A magnetic tape cassette in which a single reel with magnetic tape wound thereon is rotatably housed in a flat cassette case having a generally square flat form, and a disk cassette in which a disk is rotatably housed in a flat cassette case having a generally square flat form, have recently been used to back up data stored on memory for computers.
These cassettes vary in form, depending on manufacturers. However, a wide variety of cassettes with similar outside dimensions are manufactured to provide for interchangeability between library units of different manufacturers. There are cases where cassettes of different types are archived or used together. For example, an LTO cassette and a DLT cassette are used in approximately the same applications. The LTO cassette and the DLT cassette are approximately the same in width, but the LTO cassette is smaller in inserting-direction length and height than the DLT cassette.
These cassettes are usually housed in their dedicated cassette storing cases when not being used, such as when being conveyed, when being archived, etc. In addition, the cassette is provided with a recording member, such as a bar code label, a memory chip, etc., for identifying the recorded contents. The cassette is housed in the cassette storing case in a fixed direction so that the recording member, such as a bar code, etc., can be read out even in the housed state.
Furthermore, the cassette and the cassette storing case are generally provided with a structure for regulating positional shift when stacked, in order to enable transfer, transportation, and conveyance when stacked. For instance, the cassette is provided on the bottom surface with protrusions and the cassette storing case is provided on the top surface with recesses. When they are stacked, the protrusions are fitted into the recesses to regulate positional shift between them.
Hence, most of the cassettes are similar in longitudinal and transverse dimensions, and it is troublesome to identify the longitudinal and transverse lengths of a cassette and house the cassette into a housing case in a fixed direction. Because of this, there is a problem that housing of a cassette in an incorrect direction will disable reading of the aforementioned recording member.
To prevent housing of a cassette in an incorrect direction, it is possible to provide protrusions, such as reverse-insertion preventing ribs, etc., in a cassette storing case so that when inserted in an incorrect direction, the cassette is projected by the protrusions and thus the lid of the housing case is not closed. However, there will be a fear of a cassette being damaged, if the user closes the lid forcibly without being aware of an error in the housing direction. Furthermore, if cassettes of different kinds, slightly different in outside dimensions but similar in form, are used together, it will become difficult to identify a dedicated cassette storing case corresponding to each cassette. Thus, there will also be a fear that (1) a cassette will be housed in an incorrect housing case, (2) a cassette or a housing case will be damaged, and (3) archiving will be confused.
The present invention has been made in view of the points mentioned above. Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a cassette storing case which is capable of preventing a cassette from being housed in an incorrect direction and easily identifying a dedicated cassette storing case corresponding to a cassette, while assuring the function of preventing positional shift that would be caused during stacking.
In cases where different cassette storing cases are manufactured for housing two kinds of magnetic tape cassettes (also called magnetic tape cartridges), identifying the correspondence between a cassette and a cassette storing case to house each cassette into a dedicated housing case is troublesome and reduces operability.
That is, in the case where the same user frequently uses two kinds of cassettes at the same place and archives them in the same library unit, the fear of damage to the cassette and the housing case and confusion in archiving will arise if the cassette is forcibly housed in an incorrect housing case.
Hence, it is preferable to house two kinds of cassettes in the same cassette storing case. In this case, the housing case is formed into a dimension that can house the larger cassette. For this reason, if the smaller cassette is housed in the housing case, there will arise a fear that (1) the smaller cassette will tend to move easily, (2) the cassette and the housing case will rub against each other because of vibration during conveyance, and (3) etching will occur. Thus, it is necessary to house the smaller cassette so that it is not moved within the housing case. In addition, it is desirable to prevent the cassette from being housed in the cassette storing case in an incorrect direction and desirable not to disable reading of the aforementioned recording member. Furthermore, it is necessary that the existing cassettes be housed without changing the form of the cassettes solely for the purpose of housing the cassettes in the aforementioned cassette storing case.
The present invention has been made in view of the points mentioned above. Accordingly, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a cassette storing case which is capable of housing two kinds of cassettes without moving them in the interior.


A surfactant, an emusifier for emulsion polymerization, a dispersant for suspension polymerization and a modifier for modification of resin properties are disclosed, each of these agents being comprised of a novel compound having a dibasic carboxyl group. The compound is represented by Formula (1) EQU [X--O--(R.sup.1 O).sub.m --OC--R.sup.2 --COO].sub.y M (1). where M is a hydrogen atom, a metal atom or a quaternary nitrogen-containing group, y is equal to the valence of M, R.sup.1 is at least one hydrocarbon group, R.sup.2 is a moiety of a dibasic acid or a moiety of its anhydride, m is 0 or an integer of 1 to 1,000, and X is a hydrocarbon group having at least one polymerizable double bond of carbon--ncarbon which may contain an oxygen atom and a fluorine atom.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surfactants, emulsifiers for use in emulsion polymerization, dispersants for use in suspension polymerization and modifiers for use in modification of resin properties, with each of these four agents comprised of a compound having a dibasic carboxyl group in its configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
For their diversified properties such as emulsification, dispersion, cleaning, wetting, frothing and the like, surfactants have heretofore found applications in a wide variety of industrial sectors including textiles, paper, rubber, plastics, metals, paints, pigments, civil engineering, construction and the like. In recent years, moves toward more sophisticated end products using surfactants are becoming particularly active. Along with this, certain secondary defects of surfactants have been recognized.
For instance, such surfactants are absolutely necessary for paint, printing ink and adhesives when these agent products are manufactured, when they are stabilized, or when they are applied. No surfactants need be incorporated in these agents where they are applied by means of coating, printing, adhering or tacking. Conversely, if a surfactant is present in these agents, it is in most instances liable to impair the water resistant and oil resistant properties of the resulting coat, printed surface or adhesive film.
To cope with these problems, attempts have been made to reduce the amount of surfactant to be used and to render it highly polymeric, but only less than satisfactory results have been achieved with respect to the stability and workability properties of the finished product.
Also as emulsifiers for emulsion polymerization, there have been employed anionic surfactants such as alkylsulfuric acid salts, alkylbenzene sulfuric acid salts, polyoxyethylene alkylether sulfuric acid salts an d the like, and nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene alkylethers, polyoxyethylene aliphatic acid esters, Pluronic type surfactants and the like.
As is generally known in the art, an emulsifier for emulsion polymerization takes part not only in the initiation and propagation of polymerization, but also in the mechanical stability, chemical stability, freeze stability and storage stability of the resultant emulsion. Furthermore, the emulsifier has a great effect upon the physical properties of the emulsion such as particle size, viscosity and frothing and upon the physical properties of a film resulting from the emulsion polymer such as water resistance, weathering resistance, adhering bond and thermal stability.
Conventional emulsifiers, however, are responsible for formation of an emulsion that has excessive frothing brought on by the emulsifier and moreover for formation of a film from the emulsion polymer that is poor in adhesiveness and in resistance to water, weather and heat due to the emulsifier remaining in a free state in the film.
In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the emulsifiers in common use, it has recently been developed a reactive surfactant which has an emulsifiable group and a polymerizable group and acts not only as an emulsifier, but also as a surfactant which gradually chemically bonds to a polymer having been formed while in polymerization. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 7-10909 and 7-18009 are cited on this point. These prior publications disclose carboxylation using chloracetic acid or its salt. Such known reactions lead to reduced reactivity and to increased by-product. Hence, the problems noted hereinabove in connection with the conventional emulsifiers are left unsolved without any significant countermeasures being found.
Dispersants are used for suspension polymerization of vinyl monomers. This mode of polymerization has been widely carried out commercially by dispersing a vinyl monomer in an aqueous medium and subsequently by causing the resultant dispersion to suspension-polymerize in the presence of an oil-soluble catalyst.
The qualities of the polymer products thus obtained are dominated by various polymerizing factors such as polymerization rates, water to monomer ratios, polymerization temperatures, kinds and amounts of catalysts, types of reactors, stirring speeds, and kinds and amounts of dispersants. In particular, the kind of a dispersant to be used, among these factors, is known to have a strong effect upon the polymer qualities.
Dispersants commonly accepted for suspension-polymerizing vinyl monomers include cellulosic derivatives such as methyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, carboxyl methyl cellulose and the like, and water-soluble polymers such as gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol and the like.
However, the above listed dispersants tend to remain in free condition in the finished vinyl resins, hence reducing the physical resin properties with respect to water and weather resistance and durability.
On the other hand, a certain modifier for modifying the properties of vinyl resins is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-174511. Being less compatible with a monomeric vinyl, this prior art modifier fails to produce a homogeneous copolymer.
As taught by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-174512, it has also been proposed to improve the compatibility of a resin modifier with a vinyl monomer. However, the modifier described here is not sufficiently compatible with the monomer with less effective modification of the resulting polymer.

Surfactant, emulsifier for emulsion polymerization, dispersant for suspension polymerization and modifier for resin modification


An interactive keyboard and display apparatus is used to enter ideographic characters in a computer or other utilisation device. The characters are defined by manually selecting displayed symbols such as phonemes, strokes, radicals and inflective tones represented in displayed key cells which are arranged in a matrix for rapid selection. Simultaneous multiple key cell selection is possible for accelerated character entry. The keyboard and display are integrated in a format suitable for replacing conventional keyboards. To avoid spurious entries, a pre-determined amount of pressure must be applied to the display panel when entering a symbol or character.

It is known that alphanumeric keyboards are quite inappropriate for writing ideographic character-based written languages such as Chinese and Japanese. These ideographic languages typically use thousands of characters, each of which would typically require a separate key, thus making the resulting keyboard unduly large and extremely taxing on the user's vision and memory.
As a result, current phonetic entry systems such as Bopomofo and Pinyin have been developed whereby a desired ideographic character is displayed upon keyboard entry of phonetic elements corresponding to its pronunciation. Unfortunately in such systems, phonetic construction alone rarely produces a single ideographic character. In Chinese, for example, homonyms are very common. Such systems often require the user to select a desired character from a displayed group, following the complete entry of the corresponding phonetic symbols: a slow and laborious process.
Pen-based character entry systems allow the user to define a desired character by entering a series of `brush` strokes. Since a complex character may not be defined until the 7th or 8th stroke, this system is also quite slow and tedious.

Ideographic character selection method and apparatus


A method is provided in a wireless access point in a wireless communications network. The method includes obtaining information characterizing a first wireless stream and the second wireless stream transmitted or received by the wireless access point. The information includes at least a wireless channel quality for each of the first wireless stream and the second wireless stream. The method further includes allocating transmission resources to the first wireless stream and the second wireless stream based on the obtained information. In response to a change in quality of the first wireless stream, the method further includes revising the allocation of transmission resources for the first wireless stream based on at least one of a target bit-rate and a target level of smoothness.

Media streams, e.g., audio or video streams such as Netflix over HTTP-based adaptive streaming, WebEx conference calls, or streaming of augmented/virtual reality content are increasingly handled over wireless networks. Accordingly, wireless networks must manage the allocation of resources to the media streams while also balancing the resources allocated to other transmissions over the wireless network. In some situations, the capacity of the wireless channel over which the media stream is transmitted may change over time, e.g., due to movement in the environment (e.g., a person walking by blocking the main path of reception) and/or due to the movement of the streaming device (e.g., a user moving within a shopping mall using an alternative reality application to gather additional information regarding merchandise).

Adaptive resource allocation for media streams over wireless


A link for a chain, which is used in a linear actuator, comprises a base member and a plate pivotably mounted on the base member. An arm extends from the plate. A first connecting means is disposed on a distal end of the arm to connect the link with a first adjacent link. The plate has a protrusion for releasably engaging a second adjacent link. A second connecting means is disposed on the base member to connect the link with the second adjacent link.

The present invention relates to a single chain linear actuator and, in particular, to a link for a single chain linear actuator.
Linear actuators having a single extending and retracting chain are well known in the art. Examples of single chain linear actuators are disclosed in International Application No. PCT/DK2004/000682 to Andersen et al., and International Application No. PCT/EP2005/004449 to Soerensen. The actuator chain comprises a plurality of inter-connected links with each link being pivotably connected to an adjacent link. This allows the chain to be displaced along a curved chain track, or chain path, as the chain is moved between an extended position and a retracted position. The chain track or chain path is typically disposed within an actuator housing.
The links are further provided with means to prevent pivoting when the links are aligned along a common axis outside the actuator housing. This ensures an actuator with good axial and side load stiffness. However, it also increases the number of components required thereby increasing manufacturing costs.


An hydraulic shovel according to the present invention includes a lower running body 1, an upper turning body 3 turnably mounted on the lower running body 1, a boom 4 pivotably attached to the upper turning body 3, an arm 5 pivotably attached to the boom 4, a bucket 6 attached to the arm 5, an boom angle sensor S1 which detects a condition of the boom 4, an attachment condition determining part 300 which determines whether the boom 4 is within a predetermined upper working range based on a detection value of the boom angle sensor S1, and an operating condition switching part 301 which switches an operating condition of the hydraulic shovel. The operating condition switching part 301 slows down a movement of the bucket 6 if the attachment condition determining part 300 determines that an attachment is within the predetermined upper working range UWR.

A hydraulic shovel which facilitates a movement of a boom by supplying enough hydraulic oil required for lifting the boom and improves a workability in a case of simultaneously performing a bucket closing, an arm closing, and a boom lifting, is known (see e.g., PATENT DOCUMENT 1).
This hydraulic shovel increases an amount of a hydraulic oil flowing into a direction control valve for the boom while preventing an excessive hydraulic oil from flowing into a direction control valve for the arm in a case where pilot valves for the bucket, the arm, and the boom have been operated simultaneously.
Thus, this hydraulic shovel facilitates the movement of the boom in the case of simultaneously performing the bucket closing, the arm closing, and the boom lifting, without unduly slowing down a movement pace of the bucket.

Shovel and method for controlling shovel

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