There are herein disclosed a method for heat recovery and heat utilization by the use of chemical energy which comprises the steps of doing the heat recovery by the following formula (I), and doing the heat utilization by the following formula (I'): EQU HCOOCH.sub.3 .fwdarw.CH.sub.3 OH+CO (I) EQU CH.sub.3 OH+CO.fwdarw.HCOOCH.sub.3 (I'). the reaction of the formula (I') being carried out in the presence of an alkali fluoride and zinc oxide. According to the present invention, steam or hot water can be generated at a high temperature of 100.degree. C. or more by the use of a factory waste heat or a river water at a low temperature of 100.degree. C. or less as a heat source from which heat has scarcely been utilized so far, and the thus generated steam or hot water can effectively be used as a heat source or be used in an air conditioner. The catalyst which comprises the alkali fluoride and zinc oxide is used for preparing methyl formate or CO gas according to the formula (I) or (I').

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for utilizing the heat of a low-temperature heat source such as a factory waste heat or a river water by the use of the chemical energy of a synthesis and decomposition reaction system of methyl formate, a method for preparing methyl formate and carbon monoxide, and a catalyst for a liquid phase reaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, for the recovery, transportation and utilization of heat energy, a technique of using water vapor or hot water has prevalently been employed. The application of this technique, however, has largely been restricted from the viewpoints of a heat loss and a facility cost, and hence, the recovery of the low-temperature waste heat has been limited.
That is to say, in various industrial facilities of a large energy consumption type such as power plants and iron works, saving energy has been advanced of late, and most of the waste energy has been recovered. However, the low-temperature waste heat of 200-300.degree. C. or less has been discarded owing to no means for properly utilizing such a waste heat in the self-facilities, so that a large cooling load has often been required.
In recent years, as a method for effectively recovering the low-temperature waste heat to utilize the waste heat for local air-conditioning, hot-water supply and the like, it has been investigated that the heat energy is converted into chemical energy to accomplish the heat recovery and heat utilization.
In this method, although the conversion between the heat energy and the chemical energy is necessary on a heat recovery side and a heat utilization side, transportation of heat energy for a long distance and storage of heat energy are possible, and the heat loss does not occur during the transportation and the storage. In addition, an efficiency of the heat transportation per unit volume in the above method is high. So the above method is also considered to be advantage from the viewpoint of the facility cost.
As an effective conversion system between the heat energy and the chemical energy, there has been suggested a method in which a methanol decomposition reaction of the formula (i) and a methanol synthesis reaction of the formula (i') are used: EQU CH.sub.3 OH = CO+2H.sub.2 (i) EQU CO+2H.sub.2 = CH.sub.3 OH (i')
In this method, since the methanol decomposition reaction of the formula (i) is an endothermic reaction, the waste heat can be recovered by the use of the reaction of the formula (i), and obtained CO and 2H.sub.2 can be transported. In a heat utilization area, the supply of the heat energy can be carried by the exothermic reaction of the formula (i'). Methanol produced by the formula (i') can be circulated to a heat recovery area and is reused therein.
In the conversion system using the formulae (i) and (i'), inexpensive and easily treatable methanol is used and the reaction can easily be carried out, and hence this conversion system is considered to be an effective energy conversion system. However, this kind of system has the following problems.
(1) The heat recovery is restricted by the lower limit temperature of the reaction of the formula (i), however, from the practical viewpoints of a reaction rate and the like, the lower limit temperature for the heat recovery is about 200.degree. C. So it is impossible to recover the heat in a low-temperature range of 200-100.degree. C. to nearly ordinary temperature which are considered to be the most suitable range for the waste heat recovery.
(2) In order to effectively do the heat recovery, it is necessary to decrease the reaction temperature of the formula (i) as low as possible, however, with the decrease in the reaction temperature, the equilibrium relation of the formula (i) becomes noticeably disadvantageous to a methanol decomposition side.
(3) In view of the heat utilization, it is advantageous to carry out the reaction of the formula (i') at a high temperature, however, with the rise in the reaction temperature, the equilibrium relation of the reaction of the formula (i') becomes noticeably disadvantageous to the synthetic reaction of methanol. Furthermore, in order to improve the equilibrium relation, the synthetic reaction of methanol is to be carried out under a high pressure, but the use of the high pressure deteriorates a heat utilization efficiency in view of a device cost, an operation cost and the like. Accordingly, the improvement of the reaction temperature and the pressure characteristics has been desired.
The present inventors have found that the recovery and the utilization of the waste heat can extremely advantageously be done by using, as the above conversion system of the heat energy into the chemical energy, a system of using methyl formate in place of methanol in the above process, i.e., a system including the decomposition of methyl formate into methanol and carbon monoxide and the synthesis of methyl formate from methanol and carbon monoxide represented by the following formulae, and the present inventors have already submitted a patent application (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 42779/1997): EQU HCOOCH.sub.3 .fwdarw.CH.sub.3 OH+CO (I) (Endothermic reaction) EQU CH.sub.3 OH+CO.fwdarw.HCOOCH.sub.3 (I') (Exothermic reaction)
The method for obtaining carbon monoxide by decomposing methyl formate in accordance with the above formula (I) is noticed as a technique of easily obtaining carbon monoxide at a low temperature without using expensive facilities, because methyl formate can be obtained at a low cost from methanol as a main material in a Cl chemical industry and can be transported in the state of a liquid.
As the methods for obtaining carbon monoxide by decomposing methyl formate, there are known (1) a method which comprises thermally decomposing a gaseous phase at a temperature of 200 to 500.degree. C. by the use of a solid catalyst on which an oxide of an alkaline earth metal is supported (U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,210), (2) a method which comprises thermally decomposing a gaseous phase at a temperature of 200 to 550.degree. C. by the use of active carbon as a catalyst (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 36609/1977), and (3) a method which comprises thermally decomposing a liquid phase of methyl formate coexisting with methanol at a temperature of 35 to 200.degree. C. under a pressure of 17.2 MPa or less by the use of sodium methylate as a catalyst (U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,619).
In the methods (1) and (2), the thermal decomposition is carried out at a temperature of 250.degree. C. or more in the gaseous phase, and latent heat for vaporization is required. Therefore, these methods are disadvantageous from the viewpoint of heat energy, and a large amount of impurities is secondarily produced, so that the selectivity of carbon monoxide is low. The above method (3) is excellent in that the reaction conditions of the liquid phase are mild, but it has drawbacks caused by a fact that sodium methylate is strongly basic. That is to say, impurities such as sodium hydroxide and sodium formate are secondarily produced owing to water during the reaction, which causes the catalyst loss, and some insoluble salts also precipitate in the reaction system, which brings about an operation trouble of an apparatus. In addition, during the use of the catalyst, if sodium methylate comes in contact with carbon dioxide or water, the catalyst is deactivated, and its regeneration is not easy. Moreover, since sodium methylate has a very strong irritation to a skin, much attention is required for its handling.
Methyl formate which is prepared by the formula (I') can effectively be utilized as a synthesis material of formic acid, formamide, various carboxylic esters and organic compounds, a solvent or the like, and hence, it is an industrially important organic chemical material.
As the preparation methods of methyl formate, there are known an esterification of formic acid with methanol, a dimerization of formaldehyde, an oxidation of methanol, a direct synthesis from hydrogen and carbon monoxide, a carbonylation of methanol with carbon monoxide, a dehydrogenation of methanol and the like. Among them, the methods which have been put to practical use on an industrial scale include the dehydrogenation method of methanol, and the carbonylation method of methanol which has been used for long years.
The dehydrogenation method of methanol is a novel method which has been put to practical use in recent years, and the development of catalysts having a high selectivity (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 151047/1991 and 163444/1983) permits its practical utilization ["Chemistry and Industry", Vol. 18, p. 1134-1136 (1988)].
The carbonylation method of methanol by the formula (I') has been used for long years in Europe and America, and it is known as the main preparation method of methyl formate even at present. As catalysts to be used, there are known strongly basic catalysts such as metal alkoxides and DBU (diazabicycloundecene) as well as transition metal carbonyl compounds.
As the metal alkoxide catalyst for the carbonylation method, an alkoxide of an alkali metal is used, and a reaction is carried out at a temperature of 50 to 70.degree. C. under a pressure of 1 to 4 MPa [Journal of Molecular Catalysis, Vol. 18, p. 215-222 (1983)]. In the case that the metal alkoxide catalyst is used, water and carbon dioxide in methanol and carbon monoxide which are the raw materials function as catalyst poisons to deactivate and consume the catalyst. Therefore, it is necessary to decrease the amounts of water and carbon dioxide to the utmost, and hence a raw material purification system becomes an important step. Hydrogen present in carbon monoxide gas has not any influence on the reaction.
In the method using the metal alkoxide, the selectivity of methyl formate is high, and this method has actually been employed on an industrial scale. In order to advance the reaction more advantageously, many suggestions regarding reaction methods, structures of reactors, processes and the like have been given.
In the method using a strongly basic catalyst such as DBU, for example, the reaction is carried out at a temperature of 45 to 200.degree. C. under a pressure of 17.2 to 40.5 MPa in the presence of DBU in a methyl cellosolve solvent [Japanese Chemical Journal (4), p. 457-465 (1977)].
With regard to the metal carbonylation catalyst, a ruthenium hydride carbonium catalyst is considered to be effective for a formate synthesis by the carbonylation of an alcohol ["J. Mol. Catal.", Vol. 45, p. 235-246 (1988)].
In all of the above-mentioned methods, the reaction is carried out in a homogeneous catalyst system, but as a heterogeneous catalyst, a basic ion exchange resin is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,360.
In the above-mentioned carbonylation method of methanol, the metal alkoxide catalyst and the DBU catalyst which are strongly basic are used, and therefore this carbonylation method has the following drawbacks.
Firstly, the catalyst is liable to be affected by impurities in methanol and carbon monoxide gas which are the raw materials, and particularly, water and carbon dioxide react with the catalyst to change into insoluble substances, so that they cannot be separated any more, or salts of formic acid are secondarily produced. Consequently, in addition to the loss of the catalyst, even the operation itself of an apparatus might be impossible. In order to prevent this affection, it is necessary to completely purify methanol and carbon monoxide which are the raw materials, but for such a purification, a complicated process and a large amount of energy are required, which leads to an industrially large load. In addition, if the metal alkoxide comes in contact with CO.sub.2 or water during its handling and it deactivates, its regeneration is difficult. Moreover, since the metal alkoxide has a very strong irritation to a skin, much attention is required for the handling.
Furthermore, the basic ion exchange resin has a high initial activity and is excellent as the heterogeneous system catalyst, but its activity deteriorates with time. In addition, owing to a low heat resistance of the basic ion exchange resin, the quality change of the resin is unavoidable.

Method for heat recovery and utilization by use of chemical energy of synthesis and decomposition of methyl formate


An electro-optic (EO) device having a high-resistivity semiconducting crystal and a method of operating such a device. The local shielding of the externally applied field lowers the EO effect, which can be partially or completely inhibited particularly in the low-frequency regime, i.e., less than about 105 Hz. By holding a high-resistivity semiconducting crystal at a suitable temperature, EO response and efficiency are improved, in particular for light signals that are non-modulated or modulated at low frequencies. Preferably, the temperature at which the semiconducting crystal is held during functioning is between 50 and 150° C. Enhancement of the EO effect has been demonstrated also for EO devices operating at relatively large optical powers, i.e., larger than about 0.1 mW.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optic device and to a method of operating an electro-optic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Crystals that lack a centre of symmetry can show a linear electro-optic (EO) effect where the induced birefringence is linearly proportional to the applied electric field. The polarisation components of an optical beam propagating in such crystals have different phase velocities and thus produce a phase shift that depends on the intensity and orientation of the applied field. An application of the EO effect is in optical modulators, in which a signal-controlled EO crystal is used to modulate an optical beam.
Semiconducting high-resistivity crystals are attractive EO materials. High resistivity enables the crystal to sustain electric biasing fields with negligible power consumption, which represent a preferred condition for EO modulation. In this context, with high-resistivity semiconductors it is meant semiconducting materials with resistivity comprised between 107 and 1012 Ωcm.
Among high-resistivity semiconducting materials, crystals with zinc-blende (cubic) crystalline structure have been widely studied. Because of their optical isotropy in the absence of an externally applied electric field, there is no need to apply a compensating biasing voltage or to add compensating birefringent waveplates on the optical path to achieve polarisation independence. Examples of zinc-blende EO crystals are GaAs, CdTe, ZnS-cubic, CdZnTe or ZnTe.
Another important class of high-resistivity semiconductors includes the crystals having hexagonal (wurtzite) structure, such as CdS, ZnS-wurtzite, CdSe or CdSSe.
CdTe and CdZnTe are well known as substrate materials for high-energy or infrared detectors.
CdTe-based radiation detectors may exhibit a poor stability due to a charge, or local, polarisation effect. Local polarisation, which is induced by applying a bias voltage to a detector or by irradiating with high photon fluence on a detector, causes a progressive decrease of counting rate and pulse height with time. Sato T. et al. in "Local polarization phenomena in In-doped CdTe x-ray detector array", IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 42, p. 1513 (1993), study the local polarisation phenomena in CdTe:In detector arrays. A temperature dependence of charge polarisation was observed and, as the detector temperature increased, the local polarisation phenomena tended to diminish. This result was said to indicate that the local polarisation phenomena resulted from ionisation of deep levels that induced the space charge. Since the raise of the detector temperature releases the trapped charges easily from the deep level, the polarisation phenomena tend to diminish with the rise of the detector temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,885 discloses a x-ray radiation detector formed with a compound semiconductor, such as CdTe or GaAs. During radiation detection, the detector can be heated at a suitable temperature or irradiated with infrared rays having an energy smaller than the bandgap of the semiconductor compound and larger than the energy of the trap level present in said compound in order to compensate for a reduction in the output of the detecting element occurring with a high-dose incidence.
Electro-optic modulators in lithium niobate (LiNbO3), an insulating ferroelectric oxide material, are widely used in digital communication systems. Some optical applications using LiNbO3 crystals are known to be hampered by the so-called optical damage, which leads to a localised light-induced change of the refractive index. For LiNbO3, optical damage is mainly caused by the photorefractive effect. The damage process due to light exposure can occur gradually over days or hours, or, in case of high optical powers and short wavelengths, in seconds.
Japanese patent application No. 11-174390 describes a LiNbO3-based optical modulator, which is heated at a temperature above room temperature to reduce the optical damage induced by a short-wavelength (e.g., 442 nm) light beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,966 discloses that a LiNbO3-based optical modulator exhibits a significant EO effect when maintained at a temperature of at least 50° C.
The study of CdTe and, more recently, of CdZnTe for infrared light modulators has received ample interest in the past years. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,880, cadmium telluride is said to be a suitable material for infrared radiation modulators because of its high resistivity and of the limited absorption rate for infrared radiation. A CdTe-based module for optically activated switching of optical beams is described in "Opto-optical switching in the infrared using CdTe", by Steier W. H. et al., Optics Letters, vol. 14, p.224 (1989).
The EO effect is generally expressed by the EO or Pockels coefficients rij of a third-rank tensor, where the first subscript refers to a tensor component of the index ellipsoid and the second to the electric field vector. The EO coefficients are characteristic parameters of each EO material and relate the applied electric field to the variation of birefringence induced by that electric field. For example, zinc-blende crystals belong to the {overscore (4 )}3 m symmetry group that has three equal Pockels coefficients, i.e., r41=r52=r63.
Very often, an EO material is characterised by means of the figure of merit. For a zinc-blende crystalline structure, the figure of merit is equal to the product of the electro-optic factor r41 and the third power of the refraction index n0 for the ordinary ray, namely r41n03. For an hexagonal crystalline structure of the 6 mm group symmetry, such as that of CdS, the figure of merit is given by r13−(n0/ne)3r33, where ne is the refractive index for the extraordinary ray.
A light beam transmitted across an EO crystal alters its state of polarisation when voltage is applied to the crystal by causing a phase retardation between orthogonal polarisation components of the beam. The relative phase retardation, Γ, is given by the following expression,
                              Γ          =                                                    2                                                                                π                            λ                                    Δ                                                                          nL                          ,                            (        1        )            where Δn is the electrically induced birefringence (the difference in refractive index for the two polarisations of light), which is proportional to the applied electric field, L is the crystal length and λ the wavelength of light that is being used.
Free-charge carriers, photoexcited by the unavoidable absorption of light from the incoming beam, result in a volume space-charge distribution that locally shields the externally applied field: This mechanism lowers the Pockels effect, which can be partially or completely inhibited at certain optical intensities. A possible explanation of this phenomenon is the formation of space-charge regions in the bulk of the material, due to carrier photogeneration from intra-gap levels.
Milani et al. in "Characterization of electro-optic shielding effect in bulk CdTe:In crystals", Journal of Crystal Growth, vol. 214/215, p. 913 (2000), describe measurements on CdTe:In. The EO actual figure of merit was observed to decrease with the decrease of the modulation frequency for frequencies below a certain threshold value, or cut-off frequency, that depended on the incident optical power. Measurements were carried out for samples at 300 K (room temperature) and at 80 K. The cut-off frequency was seen to lower by a decade in passing from 300 K to 80 K. The authors concluded that loss in EO yield could be minimised by a suitable reduction in operating temperature and sample dimensions, having defined the optical power of the signal to be processed.
In "High-pressure Bridgman grown CdZnTe for electro-optic applications" by Zappettini et al., Journal of Electronic Materials, vol. 30, p. 743 (2001), hereafter referred to as Zappettini's article, the decrease of the figure of merit with the increase of optical beam intensity is reported for a Cd0.9Zn0.1Te sample; A decrease of the figure of merit with the increase of beam power was observed for a modulation frequency of 1 Hz, reaching a 25% reduction at an incident optical power Pin=1 mW. Measurements on the Cd0.9Zn0.1Te crystal are compared to measurements on a CdTe:In sample. For optical beams at a wavelength of 1530 nm and frequencies of less than 100 Hz, the value of figure of merit for CdTe:In decreases, whereas the performance of Cd0.9Zn0.1Te does not substantially change at low frequencies. CdZnTe was used as basic material to implement a 2×2 EO switch operating on free-space propagating signals.
WO 01/90811 describes more in detail a CdZnTe-based EO switch. The EO switch, for infrared light modulation, includes CdxZn1-xTe, where the Cd molar fraction x is between 0.7 and 0.99.
Applicants have observed a strong reduction at low frequencies of the figure of merit of high-resistivity semiconductors when the wavelength of the optical beam that passes through the crystal is of 1300 nm or smaller, even if the incident optical power is low, for instance of 0.1 mW. Applicants have found that this may lead to degradation in optical modulation at low-frequency EO modulation or switching, e.g., in quasi-static switches for use in optical cross-connects.


An over-head cam type V-type engine comprises a crank shaft provided to penetrate through a crank chamber, a cam shaft provided in a head portion of each of two cylinders provided above the crank chamber, an intermediate shaft provided to penetrate through the crank chamber, a chain chamber for accommodating a chain to transmit a rotation of the crank shaft to the intermediate shaft, a first chain tunnel for accommodating a chain to transmit a rotation of the intermediate shaft to the cam shaft of one of the first and second cylinders, a second chain tunnel for accommodating a chain to transmit the rotation of the intermediate shaft to the cam shaft of the other cylinder, forcible oil supply means for supplying a lubricating oil from an oil sump to the head portion of each of the first and second cylinders, a first lubricating oil feedback path formed to reach the oil sump from the head portion of one of the first and second cylinders through the first chain tunnel and the crank chamber, and a second lubricating oil feedback path formed to reach the oil sump from the head portion of the other cylinder through the second chain tunnel and the chain chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an over-head cam type V-type engine, and more particularly to a V-twin engine comprising a lubricating oil feedback path from the head portion of a cylinder to an oil sump.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional over-head cam type engine for an all terrain vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 7, the engine has a crank case 101 and a crank chamber 101a is formed in the crank case 101. A cylinder 102 is provided to extend upward from the upper end of the crank case 101 such that an inner portion thereof communicates with the crank chamber 101a. Moreover, a crank shaft 103 is provided to penetrate through the crank chamber 101a in a horizontal direction and a piston 104 which reciprocates in the cylinder 102 is coupled through a connecting rod to a portion of the crank shaft 103 which is accommodated in the crank chamber 101a. On the other hand, a head portion 102a of the cylinder 102 is provided with a cam shaft 105 for driving an intake valve and an exhaust valve (not shown) through a cam (not shown). A cam chain 108 for transmitting the rotation of the crank shaft 103 to the cam shaft 105 and rotating the cam shaft 105 is co-wound on sprockets 107 and 106 provided on one end of the cam shaft 105 and a portion 103a of the crank shaft 103 which protrudes toward the outside of the crank chamber 101a, respectively. The cam chain 108 is accommodated in a cam chain tunnel 109 formed in the side portion of the cylinder 102 and a chain chamber 101b formed in the side portion of the crank case 101 to be connected to the cam chain tunnel 109 and separated from the crank chamber 101a through a wall. An oil chamber (not shown) is formed in the crank case 101 to communicate with the lower ends of the chain chamber 101b and the crank chamber 101a. An oil pump and an oil passage (not shown) are provided to supply a lubricating oil accumulated in the oil chamber to the cam shaft 105 provided in the head portion 102a of the cylinder 102 and the like. The reference numeral 110 denotes a belt converter provided on an end of the crank shaft 103 which penetrates through the chain chamber 101b and extends toward the outside thereof. The belt converter 110 serves to cause a driver to easily carry out a speed change operation of a vehicle.
In the over-head cam engine having such a structure, the cam shaft 105 or the like is lubricated by the lubricating oil supplied to the head portion 102a of the cylinder 102 and the lubricating oil which completes the lubrication is returned to the oil chamber through the chain tunnel 109 and the chain chamber 101b. Consequently, the cam shaft 105 or the like is forcibly lubricated.
If the cam shaft structure of the conventional over-head cam engine is to be applied to a engine having two cylinders inclined in opposite directions to each other, it is necessary to provide two sprockets for driving the cam shafts of the two cylinders on the crank shaft. Correspondingly, the length of the crank shaft is increased so that the width of the engine is made greater. There is a cam shaft driving structure in which the cam shafts of the two cylinders are driven through an intermediate shaft by a crank shaft. In such a cam shaft driving structure, the intermediate shaft is provided above the crank shaft to penetrate through the crank chamber and a sprocket for driving the cam shaft of each cylinder is provided in each of portions of the intermediate shaft which protrude toward outsides of the crank chamber, respectively, and only one sprocket for driving the intermediate shaft is provided on the crank shaft. As a result, one sprocket on the crank shaft is omitted, so that the width of the engine can be reduced.
In the cam shaft driving structure, however, if an oil passage extending from the chain chamber to the oil chamber is provided as in the conventional over-head cam type engine, the oil passage is to be formed in both side portions of the crank chamber. For this reason, the size of a crank case is increased, and furthermore, the size of an engine is increased. Moreover, a space in the crank case cannot be utilized effectively.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an over-head cam type V-type engine which can be small-sized and can efficiently utilize a space in a crank case.
In order to attain the object, the present invention provides an over-head cam type V-type engine comprising a crank case having a crank chamber, a crank shaft provided to penetrate through the crank chamber, a first cylinder and a second cylinder provided in an upper portion of the crank chamber to be positioned on virtual lines extending like a V-shape upward from a center of the crank shaft as seen in an axial direction of the crank shaft, respectively, a cam shaft provided in a head portion of each of the first and second cylinders, an intermediate shaft provided above the crank shaft to penetrate through the crank chamber, a first transmitting means for transmitting a rotation of the crank shaft to the intermediate shaft through a chain at one of end sides of the intermediate shaft, a chain chamber formed adjacently to a side portion of the crank chamber and serving to accommodate the first transmitting means, a second transmitting means for transmitting a rotation of the intermediate shaft to the cam shaft of one of the first and second cylinders through a chain at the other end side of the intermediate shaft, a first chain tunnel for accommodating the second transmitting means, a third transmitting means for transmitting the rotation of the intermediate shaft to the cam shaft of the other cylinder through a chain at one of the end sides of the intermediate shaft, a second chain tunnel for accommodating the third transmitting means, an oil sump formed in a lower portion of the crank case and serving to accumulate a lubricating oil therein, a forcible oil supply means for supplying the lubricating oil from the oil sump to the head portion of each of the first and second cylinders such that each cam shaft is lubricated, a first lubricating oil feedback path formed such that the lubricating oil supplied to the head portion of one of the first and second cylinders flows down into the oil sump through the first chain tunnel and the crank chamber, and a second lubricating oil feedback path formed such that the lubricating oil supplied to the head portion of the other cylinder flows down into the oil sump through the second chain tunnel and the chain chamber.
In this specification, xe2x80x9cabovexe2x80x9d also implies an obliquely upward direction as well as a just upward direction.
According to such a structure, the lubricating oil feedback path utilizes the inner space of the crank chamber, so that a space in the crank case can be saved. Consequently, the space of the crank case can be utilized efficiently. Moreover, the size of the engine can be reduced.
The cylinder may have a skirt portion, the skirt portion being provided to be inserted into the crank chamber, and an inlet hole for the lubricating oil flowing from the first chain tunnel into the crank chamber may be opened in a portion of an internal surface of the crank chamber which is opposed to a peripheral surface of the skirt portion of the cylinder.
According to such a structure, even if the lubricating oil vigorously flows into the crank chamber through the inlet hole, it hits against the skirt portion of the cylinder and is thereby prevented from advancing toward the inside of the crank chamber. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the lubricating oil from splashing on the crank shaft positioned in the crank chamber and its temperature from being raised.
A lubricating oil guide member may be provided on the internal surface of the crank chamber to guide the lubricating oil flowing into the crank chamber from the first chain tunnel through the inlet hole for the lubricating oil toward the oil sump avoiding a rotation region of the crank shaft accommodated in the crank chamber.
According to such a structure, the lubricating oil flowing from the inlet hole can be guided toward the oil sump so as not to splash on a crank web or a crank pin. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the temperature of the lubricating oil from being raised.
The lubricating oil member may extend between an inner side surface of the crank chamber and an outer surface of the skirt portion of the cylinder circumferentially outside of rotation region of crank shaft from lower end of the inlet hole.
The first chain tunnel may be formed to extend from the head portion of one of the first and second cylinders and terminated in a portion of the crank case which includes the other end of the intermediate shaft, a belt converter for transmitting a power of the V-type engine to a transmission may be provided adjacently to the crank chamber in a portion of the crank shaft which protrudes from the crank chamber toward the other end side of the intermediate shaft, and an ambient air intake passage for cooling the belt converter may be formed adjacently to a terminating portion of the first chain tunnel.
According to such a structure, the size of the ambient air intake passage for cooling the belt converter can be reduced by effectively utilizing a space in the crank case. Furthermore, the amount of the protrusion of the belt converter toward the side can be decreased. Consequently, the width of the engine can be reduced.
The ambient air intake passage may be provided under the first chain tunnel and around a support boss which has a bearing supporting the crank shaft therein and protrudes from a side wall of the crank chamber.
These objects as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.


A method for producing a plurality of optoelectronic components are disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes providing a substrate, epitaxially applying a sacrificial layer on the substrate, wherein the sacrificial layer has a layer thickness greater than 300 nm and comprises AlxGa(1-x)As with 0<x≤1, epitaxially applying a semiconductor layer sequence on the sacrificial layer, forming trenches extending in a vertical direction through the semiconductor layer sequence to the sacrificial layer such that a plurality of regions in the semiconductor layer sequence is formed and wet thermally oxidizing the sacrificial layer such that the substrate is non-destructively removable from the semiconductor layer sequence, wherein the sacrificial layer comprises at least three and optionally four sublayers in a direction facing away from the substrate, a first sublayer comprising InGaAlP, a second sublayer comprising GaAs, a third sublayer comprising AlxGa(1-x)As with 0<x≤1 and a fourth sublayer comprising GaAs.

The reuse of substrates, in particular gallium arsenide substrates, is a key element in significantly reducing production costs. The substrate, which is in particular a growth substrate, is bonded to an auxiliary carrier with the corresponding semiconductor layer sequence in the finishing process. After bonding, the substrate is completely removed from the auxiliary carrier by a grinding process and wet chemical etching. The substrate is destroyed and cannot be reused.

Method for producing a plurality of optoelectronic components, and optoelectronic component


A pixel signal correcting device of a type which corrects pixel signals generated by A/D-converting signals output from a plurality of photoelectric sensor elements arrays is provided. In a calibration mode when the arrays are exposed to uniform illuminating light, the pixel signal for each pixel of the arrays is stored, and a reference pixel signal is determined based on the stored pixel signals. A correction value for each pixel is determined based on a difference between the corresponding stored pixel signal and the reference pixel signal, such that all of the correction values have the same sign. The correction values are stored and used for correcting pixel signals generated during a normal operating mode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pixel signal correcting device which helps to eliminate non-uniformity in pixel signals emitted from photoelectric transfer element arrays and used for calculating defocus amount, etc.
2. Related Background Art
In the focus detecting device of a camera of the type which obtains defocus amount to effect automatic focusing, defocus amount calculation has conventionally been carried out after A/D-converting pixel signals emitted from a plurality of photoelectric transfer element arrays.
Theoretically, the output levels of pixel signals emitted from photoelectric transfer element arrays for focus detection should be uniform in the case of an object of a uniform luminance. In practice, however, it is common for the output levels not to be uniform as shown for example in FIG. 5, due to the unevenness in sensitivity of the photoelectric transfer element arrays, the influence of the vignetting factor of the focus-detection optical system for leading light to the photoelectric transfer element arrays, etc. To eliminate this non-uniformity in pixel signals, it has conventionally been the practice to previously store, in a semiconductor memory, correction values respectively corresponding to the pixels, and to perform pixel signal correction in accordance with the correction values thus stored, thereby obtaining uniform pixel signals as shown in FIG. 6.
This correcting calculation is carried out by using, for example, the following formula: EQU AD(n).times.(1+Q(n)/256) (1)
where AD(n) is the A/D-converted value of a pixel output, and Q(n) is a corresponding correction value stored in a semiconductor memory.
The correction value Q(n) consists of signed 8-bit data, which allows a maximum correction of .+-.50%. The correction value Q(n) is determined as follows: First, a surface of a uniform luminance is presented to the photoelectric transfer element arrays to obtain pixel signals therefrom. Then, a pixel is chosen as a reference value, and the differences between this reference value and the pixel signals are obtained as standardized values.
Thus, with such a conventional pixel signal correcting device, each correction value is obtained from variation with respect to a reference value of pixel signals obtained by presenting a uniform-luminance surface to photoelectric transfer element arrays. Accordingly, the variation can generally range from a negative to a positive value, and, consequently, the corresponding correction value which is to be stored in the semiconductor memory also ranges from negative to positive. As a result, the correcting calculation represented by the above formula (1), which is performed by using a microprocessor, necessitates a routine for sign judgment. Since each correction value exhibits a positive or a negative sign and sign judgment has to be made for each pixel, the requisite time for image processing is inevitably rather long.

Pixel signal non-uniformity correcting device


A method of cooling at least one electronic component that is configured to generate a predetermined waste heat includes providing a first fluid channeling sub-system that has a first fluid source and at least one controller. The method also includes channeling at least a portion of the first fluid towards the electronic component. The method further includes configuring the at least one controller to facilitate substantially maintaining at least a portion of the first fluid channeling sub-system at a predetermined pressure.

The present invention relates generally to cooling systems and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for cooling electronic components.
Some known electronic components generate waste heat energy when energized and this heat energy should be removed to mitigate a potential for component overheating and subsequent malfunction. Computer systems typically include a number of such components, or waste heat sources, that include, but are not limited to, printed circuit boards, mass storage devices, power supplies, and processors. For example, one personal computer system may generate 100 watts to 150 watts of waste heat and some larger computers with multiple processors may generate 250 watts of waste heat. Some known computer systems include a plurality of such larger, multiple-processor computers that are configured into rack-mounted components, and then are subsequently positioned within a racking system. Some known racking systems include 40 such rack-mounted components and such racking systems will therefore generate as much as 10 kilowatts of waste heat. Moreover, some known data centers include a plurality of such racking systems.
Some known data centers include methods and apparatus configured to facilitate waste heat removal from a plurality of racking systems. Moreover, some known data centers include a plurality of racking systems that have a plurality of configurations that are non-uniform with respect to component density and usage such that each racking system generates waste heat at a non-uniform rate as compared to the remainder of the racking systems. In such data centers, application of uniform heat removal methods and apparatus to such non-uniform waste heat generation sources may not be fully efficient and effective in waste heat removal.

Method and apparatus for cooling electronic components


A cell tube for ex vivo culturing animal cells and a multiple roller tube cell culture system are disclosed. Suitable for use in culturing cells, the tube has at its opposite end walls two openings through which culture media can come in and out. The openings are eccentrically located at corresponding positions in contact with the edge sides of the end walls. The system has a plurality of roller drums on which a multitude of cell tubes are assembled. As the roller drums are rotated, cells adhering to each tube experience a nutrient-rich state and aerobic starvation, repeatedly. In the nutrient-rich state, the cells are grown flourishingly. When subjected to starvation, cells select metabolism pathways for utilizing carbon sources effectively, produce lactate at a low rate and can maintain a constant pH, because they are in direct contact with air. The system makes cells adhere to the wall of cell tubes and provides air directly to cell surfaces. Adherent cells can be grown with normal morphology at high yield for a long time in the cell culture system. The cell culture can be easily scaled up simply by increasing the number of the roller drums. The system can exchange media and feed a gas mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide easily, thus providing optimal environments suitable for small to large scale cell culture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a tube suitable for use in ex vivo culturing of animal cells and a multiple roller tube cell culture system using the same and, more particularly, to a cell tube having at its opposite end walls two eccentric openings through which culture media can flow in and out. Also, the present invention is concerned with a multiple roller tube cell culture system using a multitude of cell tubes, which is able to culture adherent cells in a continuous or batch type manner with high efficiency.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, it is difficult to grow ex vivo cultures of animal cells at high yield and in a concentrated level compared to microorganisms because animal cells which have weak cell membranes and are apt to undergo shear stress. The necessity for animal cell cultures has been increased for various reasons. Various efforts have been made to culture animal cells, but in most such efforts, culture methods for bacteria were applied to the cultures of animal cells irrespective of characteristics of animal cells. Thus, the success of the efforts was not great in spite of much investment.
As a result of recent advances in cell characterization, culture methods have been studied for various cells, especially ES (embryonic stem) cells, hybridoma cells, and CHO (Chinese hamster ovary). Highly concentrated cultures of lymphocyte lineage cells, of which hybridoma cells are representative, can be grown on a membrane by virtue of the development of the hollow fiber system of ASM company. Also, it is possible to culture ES and cancerous cells can be cultured in tissue slices as the rotary cell culture system developed by NASA ensures cell""s undergoing low shear stress and provides environment control.
Cytokines or useful proteins are generally produced from transformed adherent cells, such as CHO, 3T3 or C127, by gene manipulation. The accomplishment of the human genome project allows the expectation that various useful proteins might be produced using adherent cells.
However, mass cultures of adherent cells to which fibroblasts and epithelial-like cells have not yet been developed completely. In fact, culture methods for ES cells or hybridoma cells are applied to the adherent cells, so that not only is the culture yield decreased significantly, but also the adherent cells cannot be cultured for a long time period.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems, encountered in prior arts, of being unable to culture adherent cells for a long period of time and at high yield, and to provide a cell culture system in which adherent cells can be cultured with ease and high productivity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for culturing animal cells on a large scale with high efficiency.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cell tube for use in culturing cells, having two openings through which culture media can flow in and out, the openings being eccentrically located on opposite end walls at corresponding positions in contact with the side edges of the end walls.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multiple roller tube cell culture system, comprising: one or more cell culture tube bundles, each consisting of a plurality of cell culture tubes axially arranged around the central rotating shaft within a cylindrical housing such that the eccentric opening formed on each end wall of each of the tubes is positioned outward in a radial direction of the housing; an air inlet and an air outlet formed on the housing for feeding oxygen to the interior of the housing; a level controller for maintaining a desired level of cell culture medium inside the housing; a medium inlet for feeding the cell culture medium to the interior of the housing; a plurality of sensors for sensing the pH and dissolved oxygen level inside the housing; and a harvest outlet for automatically discharging culture products from the housing after the cell culturing process is finished.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for culturing adherent animal cells on a large scale using the multiple roller tube cell culture system, comprising the steps of: feeding a predetermined amount of a culture medium into the cell culture system through the inlet by use of the medium transfer pump under the control of the level controller; rotating the roller drum on which cell tubes are assembled, at a speed of 1 rpm or less to repeatedly bring a portion of cell tubes into contact with the influent medium and air, the cell tube assembly being connected to the axis of the motor; controlling the pH and dissolved oxygen level of the cell culture with the aid of sensors; and increasing the rotation speed to 60 rpm or less to exchange the cell culture with a fresh medium and recover the cell culture.

Cell culture tube and multiple roller tube cell culture system using the same


A two-armed transfer robot includes first and second arm mechanisms each having a handling member for carrying a workpiece.. First to third shafts associated with the arm mechanisms are coaxially supported by a stationary base frame for rotation about a first axis. The first arm mechanism has a pantograph assembly including a first arm, an outer link, a pair of intermediate links and an inner link. The first arm carries the outer link for rotation about a second axis. The outer link carries each intermediate link for rotation about a third axis. The third axes are spaced outward from the second axis. The second axis is located between the third axes as viewed circumferentially about the first axis. The first arm mechanism also has rotation-transmitting members and connecting members. The second arm mechanism is substantially identical to the first arm mechanism. The first and the second handling members are vertically spaced from each other to avoid interference with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a two-armed transfer robot useful for semi-conductor manufacturing equipment, liquid crystal display processing equipment and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a two-armed transfer robot for transferring workpieces between processing chambers under a vacuum
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, transfer robots are used for semi-conductor manufacturing equipment, liquid crystal display processing equipment and the like. The robot has at least one arm mechanism provided with a handling member. An object to be processed or workpiece such as a silicon wafer is placed on the handling member. The arm mechanism is capable of moving horizontally in a straight line as well as rotating in a horizontal plane. A plurality of processing chambers for performing various kinds of processing are arranged around a rotation axis of the robot. With the use of the transfer robot, the workpiece is suitably brought to and taken away from a selected one of the processing chambers.
For improving efficiency in the transferring operation, use has been made of the so-called two-armed transfer robot having two arm mechanisms. Each arm mechanism has a free end at which a handling member is mounted.
A conventional two-armed transfer robot is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7(1995)-142552 for example.
Referring to FIGS. 14-17 of the accompanying drawings, the prior art robot includes a stationary base frame 80, an inner frame 81 and a first arm 82. The inner frame is rotatable about a vertical axis O.sub.1 relative to the base frame 80, while the first arm is rotatable about a first axis P.sub.1 extending in parallel to the axis O.sub.1. The rotation of the inner frame 81 is actuated by a driving device fixed to the base frame, while the rotation of the first arm 82 is actuated by a driving device fixed to the inner frame 81.
Reference numeral 83 indicates a second arm which is rotatable relative to the first arm 82 about a second axis Q.sub.1 extending in parallel to the first axis P.sub.1, while reference numeral 84A indicates a handling member which is rotatable relative to the arm 83 about a third axis R.sub.1 extending in parallel to the second axis Q.sub.1. Reference numeral 85 indicates a first rotation-transmittng member which is fixed to the inner frame 81 coaxially with the first axis P.sub.1, while reference numeral 86 indicates a second rolation-transmitting member which is fixed to the second arm 83 coaxially with the second axis Q.sub.1. Reference numeral 87 indicates a third rotation-transmitting member fixed to the first arm 82 coaxially with the second axis Q.sub.1, while reference numeral 88 indicates a fourth rotation-transmitting member fixed to the handling member 84 coaxially with the third axis R.sub.1.
A first connecting member 89 is provided between the first rotation-transmitting member 85 and the second rotation-transmitting member 86, while a second connecting member 90 is provided between the third rotation-transmitting member 87 and the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88. The distance S between the first and second axes is equal to the distance between the third and fourth axes. The radius ratio of the first rotation-transmitting member 85 to the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is 2 to 1. The radius ratio of the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 to the third rotation-transmitting member 87 is also 2 to 1.
Chain sprockets or pulleys may be used for the first to fourth rotation-transmitting members 85-88. Correspondingly, the first and second connecting members 89, 90 may be chains or timing belts.
The first arm mechanism 91 is made up of the above-mentioned elements 82-90. A second arm mechanism 92, which is symmetrical to the first arm mechanism with respect to the X--X line, is supported for rotation about the second axis P.sub.2 extending in parallel to the axis O.sub.1.
Thus, the distance between the axis O.sub.1 and the first axis P.sub.1 is equal to that between the axis O.sub.1 and the second axis P.sub.2. The two-armed transfer robot is made up of the above elements 80-92.
The operations of the first and the second arm mechanisms 91, 92 are symmetrical with respect to the X--X line and substantially the same. Therefore, description will be made to the operation of the first arm mechanism 91.
First, it is assumed that the inner frame 81 is kept stationary to the fixed base frame 80, and that the first, second and third axes P.sub.1, Q.sub.1, R.sub.1 are initially located on a common straight line, as shown in FIG. 16. Starting from this state, the first arm 82 is rotated counterclockwise through an angle .theta. about the first axis P.sub.1.
During the above operation, the first rotation-transmitting member 85 is stationary, while the second axis Q.sub.1 is rotated counterclockwise through the angle .theta. to be brought to the Q.sub.11 position. As a result, a Y.sub.1 -side portion of the first connecting member 89 is wound around the first rotation-transmitting member 85, whereas a Y.sub.2 -side portion is unwound from the first rotation-transmitting member 85.
Thus, the first connecting member 89 is shifted in a direction shown by arrows a.sub.1 and a.sub.2. As a result, the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.1.
As previously mentioned, the radius ratio of the first rotation-transmitting member 85 to the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is 2 to 1. Thus, when the first arm 82 is rotated counterclockwise about the first axis P.sub.1 through the angle .theta., the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.11 through an angle 2.theta..
At this time, since the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is fixed to the second arm 83, the second rotation-transmitting member 86 and the second arm 83 are rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.1 through an angle 2.theta..
If the second arm 83 is not moved relative to the first arm 82, the third axis is brought to the R.sub.11 position shown by broken lines when the first arm 82 is rotated counterclockwise about the first axis P.sub.1 through an angle .theta., starting from the initial state where the first, the second and the third axes P.sub.1, Q.sub.1, R.sub.1 are positioned on the same line. Actually, however, the second rotation-transmitting member 86 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.11 through an angle 2.theta.. Therefore, the third axis R.sub.11 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.11 through the angle 2.theta., and brought to the R.sub.12 position.
As a result, after the first arm 82 is rotated counterclockwise about the first axis P.sub.1 through an angle .theta., the third axis R.sub.12 is still on the straight line extending through the first and the third axis P.sub.1 and R.sub.1.
Further, when the second arm 83 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.11 through an angle 2.theta. so that the third axis is brought to the R.sub.12 position, a Y.sub.2 -side portion of the second connecting member 90 is wound around the third rotation-transmitting member 87, whereas a Y.sub.1 -side portion is unwound from the third rotation-transmitting member 87.
As a result, the second connecting member 90 is shifted in a direction b.sub.1 -b.sub.2 shown in FIG. 16. Thus, the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 is rotated counterclockwise about the third axis R.sub.12.
When the second arm 83 is rotated clockwise about the second axis Q.sub.11 through an angle 2.theta. as described above, the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 is rotated counterclockwise about the third axis R.sub.12 through an angle .theta. since the radius ratio of the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 to the third rotation-transmitting member 87 is 2 to 1. As a result, a point C.sub.0 of the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 is brought to a point C.sub.1 on the straight line passing through the first and the third axes P.sub.1, R.sub.12.
Upon rotation of the first arm 82 about the first axis P.sub.1 in the counterclockwise direction as described above, the first arm mechanism 91 is actuated in the X-direction. Accordingly, the handling member 84A is moved along the line passing through the first and the third axes P.sub.1, R.sub.1. During this movement, however, the handling member 84A does not changed its attitude or orientation since it is fixed to the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88.
Likewise, the second arm mechanism 92 is actuated in the X-direction, while the second handling member 84B keeping its initial attitude along the line passing through the first and the third axes P.sub.2, R.sub.2.
The first and the second handling members 84A, 84B are arranged between the axes P.sub.1, P.sub.2 as viewed in the Y.sub.1 -Y.sub.2 direction. Further, the extremities of the handling members 84A, 84B are vertically spaced from each other. Thus, upon actuation of the arm mechanisms 91, 92, the handling members 84A, 84B can move along the X--X line passing through the axis O.sub.1 without interfering with each other.
When the inner frame 81 is rotated about the axis O.sub.1, the first and the second arm mechanisms 91, 92 are simultaneously rotated about the axis O.sub.1.
As shown in FIG. 17, a suitable number (six in the figure) of processing chambers are arranged around the axis O.sub.1 of the two-armed transfer robot. Workpieces are transferred by the robot to these chambers to be processed.
The prior art transfer robot has been found to have the following disadvantages. First, the fourth rotation-transmitting member 88 and the second connecting member 90 are provided at the extremity of the second arm 83 for maintaining the initial orientation of the handling member 84 along the P.sub.1 -R.sub.1 line. Therefore, the height H.sub.1 (see FIG. 15) of the arm mechanism is made unfavorably large. This requires that each processing chamber have a large insertion window to allow the passage of the arm mechanism.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 14-16, the axis P.sub.1 of the first arm mechanism 91 and the axis P.sub.2 of the second arm mechanism 92 are spaced from each other, with the axis O.sub.1 of the inner frame 81 located therebetween. This arrangement renders the rotation radius of the inner frame 81 unfavorably large.
Accordingly, the bearings 93 provided around the inner frame 81 have an unfavorable large diameter, and the magnetic fluid seal 94 for hermetic sealing suffers the same problem. With the use of such bearings and magnetic fluid seal, the overall size of the robot is also increased. Therefore, the price of the robot is rendered unduly high.
Further, the driving devices for linearly moving the handling members 84A, 84B are mounted on the inner frame 81. Thus, the driving devices are rotated together with the inner frame 81. For supplying the driving devices with electricity, use is made of a cable extending from the base frame 80. Thus, the rotation angle or the number of rotation of the inner frame 81 is limited to prevent the cable from breaking.
For realizing the above-mentioned prevention, a suitable monitoring device and a controlling unit are needed to stop the rotation of the inner frame 81 before the rotation angle of the frame exceeds a predetermined threshold value (540.degree. for example). However, such additional devices make the robot expensive. More importantly, the additional devices do not eliminate the limitation to the rotation angle. Thus, the conventional robot is not only expensive but inconvenient to operate.


A method of mitigating liquid-refrigerant migration includes comparing a requested compressor speed of a variable-speed compressor to a pre-defined threshold and, responsive to a determination that the requested compressor speed is greater than the pre-defined threshold, operating the variable-speed compressor at a first compressor speed that is less than the requested compressor speed.

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Vapor-compression systems are used to regulate environmental conditions within an enclosed space. Typically, such systems have a circulation fan that pulls air from the enclosed space through ducts and pushes the air back into the enclosed space through additional ducts after conditioning the air (e.g., heating or cooling). To direct operation of the circulation fan and other components, such systems include a controller. In addition to directing operation of the system, the controller may be used to monitor various components of the system to determine if the components are functioning properly.
In vapor-compression systems, a refrigerant undergoes phase changes. During operation of such systems, refrigerant can migrate into a system compressor when, for example, an operating mode of the system is changed from a defrost mode to a heating mode. This is undesirable. During a defrost cycle, liquid refrigerant can accumulate in an outdoor coil of the vapor-compression system. When the defrost cycle has completed and operation of the system in the heating mode is initiated, liquid refrigerant stored in the outdoor coil can migrate into an accumulator and eventually into a compressor chamber, which migration can cause damage to the compressor. Liquid migration can also wash out compressor lubricant, which can lead to overheating of the compressor and eventual compressor failure. Sometimes use of the accumulator is a satisfactory mitigation of the problem of liquid-refrigerant migration; however, even when the accumulator is utilized, liquid-refrigerant migration sometimes still occurs.

Method and system for the heat-pump control to reduce liquid refrigerant migration


Physical properties and soiling resistance of polymer-bound inorganic composites such as artificial stone are improved by incorporating a silane adhesion promoter and at least one of three organosilicon compounds.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for producing composites comprising inorganic material, organic polymer and silane adhesion promoter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organosilicon compounds having unsaturated organic functional groups such as vinyl, acryloyl or methacryloyl groups, are widely used as adhesion promoters between inorganic and organic materials, for example in sizers for glass fibers, as crosslinking agents in organic polymers or for the treatment of fillers.
An important use of such silanes is moreover the improvement, achievable by the adhesion-promoting effect, of the mechanical properties of artificial stones which can be produced from inorganic fillers and curable, organic resins.
The silanes carrying unsaturated groups can be added both according to EP 483280 B1 for the pretreatment of corresponding fillers and for the "in situ" treatment directly in the formulation of the end product, as described in JP 3209084 B.
In the production of artificial stone products based on organic resins and inorganic fillers, a distinction is made essentially between two products, namely so-called solid surface products, which generally consist of ATH (aluminum trihydrate)-filled polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and the so-called quartz surface products, which are generally based on SiO2-filled unsaturated polyester resins (UP resins). Of particular importance are processes in which the silane is used in situ and in which the mixture consisting of the inorganic, generally silicate fillers, the UP resin and optionally additional additives is compacted prior to curing in vacuo and with vibration, as is carried out in the so-called Breton process described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,010.
A disadvantage of the silane adhesion promoters typically used to date is the relatively high price which, in spite of the small amount used (in general about 0.05-1.0% by weight, based on the total raw material mixture), accounts for a not inconsiderable part of the total raw material costs. Moreover, a reduction in the tendency to soiling and an improvement in the hot water resistance and weathering resistance of the artificial stone products produced according to the present state of the art would be desirable.
JP 2004099351 describes the use of a silane adhesion promoter together with a further alkoxy silane or the (co)hydrolyzates thereof for the surface pretreatment of fillers for use in artificial marble.
JP 3072697 B describes the use of methyl or ethyl silicate and polymers thereof in the mixture with a silane adhesion promoter having unsaturated groups. Once again, the use of such a mixture for the pretreatment of inorganic fillers, in this case ATH, is described.
JP 3209084 B describes the use of mixtures consisting of a thermally curable organic resin and inorganic powders or fibers, which are treated with a mixture of alkoxysilanes having unsaturated groups and siloxanes, in order to increase the water resistance. The addition of these components can be effected both to the filler and to the mixture of the filler with the resin.

Production of a composite comprising inorganic material and organic polymer


The present invention provides one hysteresis circuit device. The hysteresis circuit device includes an input voltage level generator, a switch, and a comparator. The input voltage level generator is used to receive an input signal and output a high input voltage and a low threshold voltage. The switch is used to receive the high input voltage and the low threshold voltage, and output a switch output signal according to a digital signal. The comparator has one terminal used to receive the switch output signal, and another terminal used to receive a reference signal. Then, the comparator outputs the digital signal. The hysteresis circuit device can change their voltage levels by an external circuit; therefore, the noise resulting from the input signal can be avoided and the problem of false detection of the comparator can be solved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hysteresis circuit device, and more particularly to a hysteresis circuit device with modulated hysteresis voltage levels for reducing the manufacturing cost.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, it is a comparator with two inputs (an input voltage VIN and a reference voltage VR) and one output VO. When the input voltage VIN is higher than the reference voltage VR, the output voltage VR is at the voltage high level; otherwise, it is at the voltage low level.
Referring to FIG. 2, it illustrates the relationships of the input voltage VIN, the reference voltage VR, and the output voltage VO of the comparator as shown in FIG. 1. Herein, the reference voltage VR is coupled to a direct voltage source and the input voltage VIN is coupled to an input voltage source with noises. Before time t0, because the input voltage VIN is higher than the reference voltage VR, the output voltage VO is '0'. Between time t0 and t1, the input voltage VIN is lower than the reference voltage VR, so the output voltage VO is '1'. Between time t1 and t2, the input voltage VIN is higher than the reference voltage VR due to the effect of noise, so the output voltage VO is '0'. The change of the voltage values in the above situation results in the false detection of the output voltage VO because of the noises. After time t2, the input voltage VIN is lower than the reference voltage VR, so the output voltage VO is '1'.
The conventional way to resolve the false detection of the output due to the noise is to employ the interior circuit of a comparator and positive feedback mechanism to produce hysteresis to achieve anti-noise. Referring to FIG. 3, it illustrates the conventional hysteresis comparing circuit apparatus, including four PMOS transistors, two NMOS transistors, and a constant direct current source IA. All of the source regions of the PMOS transistors P1, P2, P3, and P4 are commonly coupled to the system voltage source VDD. The gate electrode of the transistor P1, the gate electrode and drain region of the transistor P3, the drain region of the transistor P2, and the drain region of the transistor N1 are commonly electrically coupled together. The gate electrode of the transistor P2, the gate electrode and the drain region of the transistor P4, the drain region of the transistor P1, and the drain region of the transistor N2 are electrically coupled together. The source regions of the transistors N1 and N2 are commonly coupled to the input terminal of the constant current source IA. The output terminal of the constant current source IA is coupled to the ground. The gate electrode of the transistor N2 is coupled to the positive input terminal VR of the comparator and the gate electrode of the transistor N1 is coupled to the negative input terminal VIN of the comparator. If the size of the transistor P1 is larger than that of the transistor P3 and the size of the transistor P2 is larger than that of the transistor P4, this hysteresis comparing circuit has the hysteresis effect. Because this phenomenon is well known to those who are familiar with this technical field, it will not be described in detail here. However, because the mobility, the input voltage and the thickness of the gate oxide layer of the MOS transistors are easily affected with the change of the fabrication process or the temperature, the hysteresis width (the difference between the high input voltage and the low threshold voltage) of the hysteresis comparing circuit apparatus is not easily to control and modulate according to the need of a user.
Based on the weaknesses of the above conventional technology, another conventional hysteresis circuit device employing the exterior circuit of a comparator to control a constant hysteresis width is provided. As referred to FIG. 4, it shows a conventional hysteresis circuit device 100, including a threshold voltage generator 110, a switch 120, and a comparator 130. The hysteresis circuit device 100 is used to detect an input signal VIN and a reference signal VR, and output a digital signal VO. Herein, the threshold voltage generator 110 is used to receive the reference voltage VR, and output a high threshold voltage VRH and a low threshold voltage VRL. The input of the switch 120 is coupled to the high threshold voltage VRH and a low threshold voltage VRL of threshold voltage generator 110, and the digital signal VO is received to choose the high threshold voltage VRH or the low threshold voltage VRL as the output VT of the switch 120. When the digital signal VO is at the low voltage level, the switch output signal VT is the low threshold voltage VRL. When the digital signal VO is at the high voltage level, the switch output signal VT then is the high threshold voltage VRH. The comparator 130 is coupled to the switch 120. The positive input terminal of the comparator 130 is used to receive the output signal VT of the switch 120 and the negative input terminal of the comparator 130 is used to receive the input signal VIN. According to the output signal VT of the switch 120 and the input signal VIN, the comparator 130 outputs the digital signal VO.
Referring to FIG. 5, when the digital signal VO is at the low voltage level, the output signal VT of the switch 120 is the low threshold voltage VRL. Then, the comparator 130 compares the output signal VT of the switch 120 and input signal VIN. When the input signal VIN is higher than the low threshold voltage VRL, the digital signal VO of the comparator 130 is still at the low voltage level. When the input signal VIN is lower than the low threshold voltage VRL, the digital signal VO is switched from the low voltage level to the high voltage level. In the meantime, if the input signal VIN inputs carries noises and the noises are lower than the hysteresis width (VRH–VRL), the output result is not affected. Thereafter, because the digital signal VO is switched from the low voltage level to the high voltage level, the switch output signal VT is switched to the high threshold voltage VRH. At this moment, the input signal VIN is far less than the high threshold voltage VRH. Therefore, the digital signal VO is still at the high voltage level. Because the switch 120 chooses either the high threshold voltage VRH or the low threshold voltage VRL opportunely, and changes the judging voltage level of the comparator 130 opportunely, the input signal VIN can avoid the interference of the noises.
Referring to FIG. 6, it schematically shows the circuit structure of the threshold voltage generator 110 in FIG. 4, including an input voltage, i.e. the reference voltage VR, two output voltages, and i.e. the high threshold voltage VRH and the low threshold voltage VRL. The threshold voltage generator 110 also includes two current source groups in parallel (the first current source group 112 and the second current source group 114), a buffer 116, and two resistors (R1 and R2). Herein, one terminal of the resistor R1 is coupled to the first current source group 112, and is one of the outputs of the input voltage level generator 110, i.e. the high threshold voltage VRH. The buffer 116 receives the reference voltage VR. The output of buffer 116 is coupled to another terminal of the resistor R1 and one terminal of the resistor R2. Another terminal of the resistor R2, coupled to one terminal of the second current source group 114, is another output of the input voltage level generator 110, i.e. the low threshold voltage VRL. Another terminal of the second current source group 114 is coupled to the ground.
The prior art of the circuit design of the threshold voltage generator 110 as mentioned above can make the hysteresis width a constant without being affected by the exterior environment, and avoid outputting the false detection because of the noises. However, it includes a buffer and many current sources in this design. They occupy larger chip area and dissipate more extra operation power. Hence, the production cost is also increased.


The disclosure relates to a battery charger for one or more hearing devices, comprising: a test sound generator configured to produce testing sound; an input configured to obtain first information regarding a first microphone output of a first hearing device in response to the testing sound and obtain second information regarding a second microphone output in response to the testing sound. A processing unit is configured to detect a clogging of a filter such as a wax filter based at least in part on the first information regarding the first microphone output of the first hearing device, and based at least in part on the second information regarding the second microphone output. An output is configured to provide a signal indicating the clogging of the filter.

Hearing devices, such as hearing aids, headsets, earbuds, etc., may have one or more filters such as one or more wax filters. For example, a hearing aid may have a microphone filter for protecting a microphone, and/or a receiver filter for protecting a receiver in the hearing aid.
Due to normal use of the hearing device, a hearing device filter may clog up over time. When the hearing device filter clogs up, the hearing device will not be able to output sound desirably or will not be able to output sound at all. For example, if the microphone filter is clogged up, the microphone will not be able to detect environmental sound surrounding the user. As a result, the hearing device will not be able to provide sound representative of the environmental sound to the user. Also, if the receiver filter is clogged up, the receiver of the hearing device will not be able to output sound for reception by the user of the hearing device.
Clogged hearing device filter is a significant problem for the user because if the user cannot hear sound desirably, the user may be discouraged from using the hearing device. In the case of the hearing device being a hearing aid, the user may be discouraged from using the hearing aid, and/or may incorrectly think that the user's hearing loss has gotten worse. In some cases, the user may send the hearing aid back to the manufacturer or hearing professional, thinking that the hearing aid is malfunctioned.
Sometimes, a hearing professional (e.g., a hearing aid fitter, a hearing aid retailer, etc.) may not discover the filter clogging problem when the user informs the hearing professional about performance issue with the hearing aid. The hearing professional may then send the hearing aid back to the manufacturer. The manufacturer may discover that there is nothing wrong with the hearing aid, except that the filter needs to be replaced. In the meantime, the hearing professional may provide a temporary hearing aid for the user to use until the user's hearing aid has been fixed by the manufacturer. Thus, filter replacements for hearing devices are inconvenient for hearing device users, and are costly and inefficient operations for the hearing professionals and hearing device manufacturers.

Detection of filter clogging for hearing devices


A piston cooling apparatus includes: a main body including a communication passage communicating with an oil path formed in an internal combustion engine; a nozzle pipe portion including an oil injection port configured to inject oil having passed through the communication passage toward a piston; and a filter disposed upstream of the nozzle pipe portion on the flow passage of the oil and including a hole having a smaller diameter than the minimum diameter of the oil injection port, the oil being injected toward the piston from the oil injection port, wherein: the filter is removably mounted on the outer surface of the outer wall portion of the main body existing upstream on the oil flow passage; and the main body is mounted on the internal combustion engine in a state where at least a portion of the filter is inserted into the oil path.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine and, specifically, to an apparatus for cooling a piston by injecting oil from the back surface of the piston.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as an apparatus for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine, there is known an apparatus structured such that a nozzle pipe for forming a cooling oil flow passage in communication with an oil path formed within the internal combustion engine is extended toward the back surface of the piston and oil is injected from this nozzle pipe.
This conventional technology, for example, JP-UM-A-S54-164328 provides an integrated structure that a filter is provided within an oil chamber in the main body of a cooling apparatus removably mounted on an internal combustion engine and a nozzle pipe is disposed downstream of the filter. Thus, the filter within the main body is used to prevent the nozzle pipe from being clogged. Since, in the integrated type cooling apparatus with the built-in filter, simultaneously when the cooling apparatus is assembled, the filter is assembled, the assembling efficiency is high.
However, in the structure disclosed in JP-UM-A-S54-164328, since the filter is built within the main body of the cooling apparatus, when maintaining the apparatus, for example, when cleaning and replacing the filter, the main body must be divided and disassembled. Therefore, the maintenance work is complicated. Also, not only the main body must have a structure capable of incorporating and supporting the filter but also, in order that the filter can be mounted onto and removed from the main body, the main body itself must be structured such that it can be divided and reassembled. Thus, the structure of the main body tends to be complicated, thereby raising a possibility that the cost and size of the cooling apparatus can be increased.
On the other hand, in the case that the filter is irremovably mounted on the main body of the cooling apparatus, the structure can be simplified. In this case, however, when maintaining the cooling apparatus, the whole of the cooling apparatus must be replaced, thereby causing the cost to increase.


A new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant named ‘BONSCA 1160’, characterized by its compact, mounded and trailing plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; early and freely flowering habit; long flowering period; white-colored flowers; and good container and garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant, botanically known as Scaevola aemula and hereinafter referred to by the name 'BONSCA 1160'.
The new Scaevola plant a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact, mounding, trailing and freely-flowering Scaevola plants with attractive flower color.
The new Scaevola plant originated from an open-pollination in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia in October, 2009 of an unnamed proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Scaevola plant was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia on Mar. 15, 2011.
Asexual reproduction of the new Scaevola plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia since Mar. 15, 2011 has shown that the unique features of this new Scaevola plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A method of memory deallocation across a trust boundary between a first software component and a second software component is described. Some memory is shared between the first and second software components. An in-memory message passing facility is implemented using the shared memory. The first software component is used to deallocate memory from the shared memory which has been allocated by the second software component. The deallocation is done by: taking at least one allocation to be freed from the message passing facility; and freeing the at least one allocation using a local deallocation mechanism while validating that memory access to memory owned by data structures related to memory allocation within the shared memory are within the shared memory.

A trust boundary is found between two software components where there is a difference between how much the individual software components are trusted by each other. In an example, the two software components are both trusted by a third party but the two software components do not trust one another. In another example, a first software component is trusted by a third party and a second software component is not trusted by the same third party.
Typically, where there is a trust boundary between two software components a cross-domain communication mechanism is used to communicate between the two software components and the cross-domain communication mechanism is expensive in terms of compute cycles and/or introduces latency. In an example, in the case where the trust boundary involves a transition from a trusted execution environment state to an insecure state while deploying side channel mitigations, the cross-domain communication mechanism introduce around 40,000 compute cycles. In another example where the trust boundary is across two virtual machines the cross-domain communication mechanism involves use of a scheduler which introduces latency of around 10 milliseconds.
The embodiments described below are not limited to implementations which solve any or all of the disadvantages of known methods for memory deallocation across a trust boundary.

Memory deallocation across a trust boundary


The present invention provides a compound, a salt thereof, or a prodrug thereof as a compound effective for preventing and/or treating fibrosis, the compound being represented by formula (1)

Organ or tissue fibrosis is caused by the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix in an organ, which is a repair or defense mechanism driven by invasion or injury in the organ that occurs for some reason. The extracellular matrix refers to substances surrounding the cells of tissue, and main substances include, for example, fibrous proteins such as collagen and elastin, glycoconjugates such as proteoglycans, and glycoproteins such as fibronectin and laminins. For example, if the damage to an organ caused by invasion or injury is minor, no repair scar remains, and the organ returns to normal. However, if the damage to the organ caused by invasion or injury is severe or persistent, the fibrosis of repair scaring impairs the fundamental function of the organ. This further causes new fibrosis to form, forming a vicious circle. Ultimately, failure of the organ occurs, leading to death in the worst case.
The transient receptor potential (TRP) gene was identified in 1989 as a gene responsible for the photoreceptor response mutant strain of Drosophila. Subsequent studies have found in mammals many proteins that share homology with the protein encoded by the TRP gene, and that such proteins basically function as cation channels in cell membranes. TRP channels form a superfamily with enormous functional diversity and are classified into groups such as TRPA, TRPV, TRPM, and TRPC. The TRPC (TRP classic or TRP canonical) group is further classified into TRP C1 to C7 sub-groups.
It is known that TRPC3-deficient mice show resistance to cardiac fibrosis induced by pressure overload, and that administration of Pyr3, which is a TRPC3 channel inhibitor, potently suppresses cardiac fibrosis induced by pressure overload in mice (NPL 1 and 2). TRPC6-deficient mice also show resistance to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and renal interstitial fibrosis caused by unilateral ureteral obstruction (NPL 3 and 4), and administration of Pyr2 (BTP2), which is an inhibitor of TRPC3 and TRPC6 channels, suppresses renal interstitial fibrosis caused by unilateral ureteral obstruction in mice.
Thus, regulating the activity of the TRPC3 channel or TRPC6 channel ("TRPC3 regulation or TRPC6 regulation") or inhibiting the activity of the TRPC3 channel or TRPC6 channel ("TRPC3 inhibition or TRPC6 inhibition") is useful as a fibrosis inhibitor for organs (e.g., lungs, heart, kidneys, and liver) and tissues (NPL 1 to 5), and is also considered to be effective in neurodegenerative diseases, muscular degenerative diseases, and inflammatory diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and Williams syndrome (NPL 6 to 12).
Studies report, for example, Pyr2 (BTP2), Pyr3, Pyr4, GSK2332255B, GSK2833503A, and SAR7334 as compounds that exhibit TRPC3 and/or TRPC6 inhibitory activity (NPL 13 to 18).

Abstract: (wherein A is an optionally substituted benzene ring; B is optionally substituted aryl or optionally substituted heteroaryl; X is an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom; Y is a nitrogen atom or a carbon atom;  of Y is a single or double bond when Y is a carbon atom, or  of Y is a single bond when Y is a nitrogen atom; each R1 independently represents lower alkyl, or two R1s may be bound to each other to form a spiro ring or a crosslinked structure, or two R1s may be bound to each other to form a saturated fused heterocycle together with nitrogen and carbon atoms constituting a ring containing Y; p is 0, 1, or 2; or (R1)p is oxo).

Inter-University Research Institute Corporation National Institutes of Natural Sciences


Moisture-driven degradation of a crack stop in a semiconductor die is mitigated by forming a groove in an upper surface of the die between an edge of the die and the crack stop; entirely filling the groove with a moisture barrier material; preventing moisture penetration of the semiconductor die by presence of the moisture barrier material; and dissipating mechanical stress in the moisture barrier material without presenting a stress riser in the bulk portion of the die. The moisture barrier material is at least one of moisture-absorbing, moisture adsorbing, and hydrophobic.

The present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and more specifically, to manufacturing semiconductor wafers and packages.
During singulation of dies from a wafer, the cutting action introduces residual stresses at the die edges. The residual stresses gradually propagate cracks toward the center of a die. Various measures have been taken to mitigate crack propagation in semiconductor dies, including the provision of a crack stop running parallel to the die edge. Typically, the crack stop is a structure built into the wafer prior to singulation, in order to prevent propagation of cracks from die edges across the die. Additionally, a laser groove can be provided between the crack stop and the die edge in order to arrest cracks caused by the mechanical strain of blade singulation. The laser groove, however, can introduce thermal strains that also can initiate cracks.
Crack stops are provided to stop the cracks from propagating. There also may be a moisture barrier provided inboard of the crack stop to prevent moisture ingress. These measures address protections for failures immediately associated with wafer dicing. However, there is a need to mitigate the weakening of crack stop BEOL (back end of the line) structures by moisture penetration/diffusion during long-term field use conditions or accelerated lab testing This structural weakening by moisture over extended duration of field use, allows the micro cracks to completely by-pass the crack stop bulk as well as the inboard moisture barrier and propagate underneath the crack stop through the moisture degraded BEOL and reach the active circuitry inside.

Mitigating moisture-driven degradation of features designed to prevent structural failure of semiconductor wafers

International Business Machines Corporation


The infrared imaging apparatus comprises a CCD sensor 13 having sensitivities in the infrared region and visible region; three color filters FR, FG, FB each transmitting visible light in a specific wavelength region and infrared light in a specific wavelength region; and an infrared transmission filter 12 for allowing infrared light to pass through while removing visible light, wherein the CCD sensor 13 is configured to generate an imaging signal based on the infrared light passing through each of the color filters, the infrared imaging apparatus enabling the provision of the infrared imaging apparatus picking up the infrared light as the imaging light using the CCD sensor and the color filters as they are in the general imaging apparatus. As a result, a color imaging signal depending on the spectral distribution in the infrared region can be obtained without an expensive infrared CCD.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an infrared imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there has been known an infrared imaging apparatus comprising an image sensor such as an infrared CCD sensor in which light-sensitive elements configured to have a higher sensitivity in the infrared region are arranged in a matrix-like fashion (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open No. 2000-278701, Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open No. 2002-171519).
However, the infrared CCD sensor or other sensors with a higher sensitivity in the infrared region as described above is generally expensive, so that the infrared imaging apparatus used in a night vision camera for security and other purposes is more expensive than the general imaging apparatus which picks up visible light as the imaging light.
Further, there has been a problem that as imaging signals obtained from the general infrared imaging apparatus are white/black signals (brightness signals), information on the spectral distribution in the infrared region of an object cannot be obtained and thereby the imaging signals (such as color imaging signals) depending on the spectral distribution cannot be obtained.

Infrared imaging apparatus for processing emissions in infrared and visible spectrum


This invention is a bag that opens down the center of its length and when filled, easily rolls up into a small package. The topside of the bag comprises two flaps that extend along the whole length of the bag and when these flaps are open, the entire inside of the bag is exposed. Once the items are packed, the flaps are pulled back over the items, and closure is obtained by zipper. At the bottom of the bag is a cylindrical accessory case. This cylindrical bag also provides an excellent cylindrical object to roll the bag around. On both sides of the bag are flaps that are designed such that when the bag is rolled, these flaps will cover the outside ends of the bag and protect the bag.

One of the big hassles with most luggage is that it is too deep. Thus, an individual has to place one set of items he is packing on top of another. Sometimes the items must be packed three or four items deep. Therefore, to get an item, one would have to dig out two or three other items before one got the item he wanted. Then, if one wishes for a well-organized suitcase, one must put the other items back in place. However, this usually does not happen and the suitcase becomes disordered quickly. This is especially true for bags that are much deeper than they are wide. These are bags such as saddlebags for motorcycles or bicycles, or a backpack for campers and hikers. In this case, an individual may have to take out several items before he finds the one he wants then those items have to be replaced in order that is nearly impossible. Thus, saddlebags or packs become disorganized quickly. Therefore, one of the objectives of this invention is to create a piece of luggage that is much wider and longer than it is deep. Another objective of this invention is to create a piece of luggage that will be easy to keep organized throughout an entire trip.
Another objective of the invention is to create a piece of luggage that can be easily organized at the start. One wants a piece of luggage that items placed within that luggage, such as your socks, shirts, and underwear need only be stacked one or two items deep. This allows an individual to easily pack the suitcase since he can see almost every group of items placed within by just opening up the suitcase. Further, as pointed out above, this eliminates the problems when you are on a trip of having to dig through the suitcase to find an item.
Another objective of the invention is to create a piece of luggage that is easy to pack and easy to close. Further, the piece of luggage needs to be inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
The feature that makes this invention achieve the above objectives is that the luggage is a long bag that can be opened in its center along the entire length and then when closed can be rolled up into a small package.
The inventor has designed this invention to be used by motorcyclists, bicyclists, outdoorsman, and pedestrians. The bag due to its compactness would be ideal for soldiers. Thus, one of his objectives was to pack a large amount of material in a small, compact area. Further, the luggage has been designed so that it will easily fit upon a bicycle or motorcycle.