A technique for wastewater treatment involves ensuring that all paths for wastewater must pass through at least one porous microbial support to go from the inlet to the outlet, and allowing a biofilm to grow on the porous microbial support under microaerobic conditions (concentration of oxygen between 0.05 and 0.35 mg/L). The biofilm formed comprises a population of anaerobic microbes for digesting organics in the wastewater including methanogenic microbes, and an aerobic methanotrophic and heterotrophic population that catabolizes methane from the methanogenic microbes, and oxygen from the injector, to produce heat. The support may be an electrode, and the technique is applied in a microbial electrolysis cell, with substantial COD removal rates.

Healthy environments require efficient removal of organic materials from domestic, municipal, and food processing wastewaters. As such wastewater discharge standards are defined for treatment. While the term wastewater may elsewhere broadly denote any water supply that is polluted, or contaminated by human activity, the term herein refers only to the processing of removal of a broad class of organic materials in sewage expected from domestic, municipal, and food processing environments, and the remediation of these to relevant standards. Special purpose reactors for remediating very particular metals, toxins, and compounds such as highly chlorinated compounds, that might be expected in mining tailings, industrial chemical processing, and other specific toxic remediation processes, are subject to distinct remediation standards and processes and are not intended to be included by the term "wastewater" herein.
Different wastewater treatment (WWT) systems are used, depending on volume and concentration of the wastewater supply; variability of the volume and concentration; and energy and spatial constraints. One special concern in some climates and seasons, is temperature: in polar regions, continuous heat supply may be required for processing
Speaking in generalities: Anaerobic WWT systems are used to treat higher concentration wastewaters (including sludge from aerobic WWT systems). Where the sludge is of sufficient strength (e.g. above 2 g/L COD or 1 g/L BOD), effort is typically expended in anaerobic WWT systems to harvest biogas. Anaerobic degradation requires long retention times (typically 20-30 days); is sensitive to abrupt changes in temperature and incoming sewage composition; and requires continuous management by trained personnel. Even relatively small fluctuations in the influent stream properties can lead to anaerobic digestion failure, requiring remediation. Furthermore, the effluent of anaerobic digesters often requires aerobic polishing to satisfy wastewater treatment standards.
A comprehensive WWT system, including sludge treatment, is a viable option for larger cities where many residents contribute, but is not possible in small communities, or on vessels such as ships equipped with latrines. There is a need for wastewater treatment systems that: require less maintenance and use lower power equipment; reduce sludge production; and produce reliable assurance of discharge standards with minimal involvement from skilled personnel with low retention times.
Furthermore, heat is known to play an important role in both anaerobic and aerobic processes. In some climates and seasons, heat is required to be continuously supplied throughout wastewater treatment. As a general rule of thumb, the Q10 principle is that a rate of most biological processes increases by a factor of 2-3 for an increase of 10° C. To maintain acceptable biodegradation rates, aerobic (activated sludge) WWT systems operate at or above 10° C. with a preferred temperature range of 20-25° C. The preferred temperature of typical anaerobic digesters is substantially higher than activated sludge WWT systems. The typical anaerobic digesters are most efficient at 35-37° C. While operation of anaerobic digesters at temperatures of 5-15° C. (psychrophilic conditions) has been demonstrated, the required retention times are well in excess of 20 days.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,974,669 to Del Porto teaches a thermally enhanced integrated WWT system that uses waste heat from burning biogas for electricity generation. It is logical to salvage waste heat when burning biogas to produce electricity, given the thermodynamic limits on how much of the heat can be converted into electricity or work. It also makes sense to use the heat to enhance the biological treatment of the sewage in cold climates and/or in cold seasons. Unfortunately a practical solution is complicated by a difficulty of harnessing the waste heat efficiently and safely, and the co-operation of a generator with WWT plants lead to particular complexities. The patent does not offer a schematic drawing to show how to integrate such plants. It is generally desirable to keep conductive bodies, such as water, away from high voltage equipment of combustion-based electricity generation plants. Distancing the combustor from the WWT substantially impairs the promise of heat transfer. Distancing the burner from the electrical generator impairs generation of electricity for much the same reasons.
Whether or not a balance can be achieved between these trade-offs that is acceptable to both plant production concerns, the cost of equipment and management effort required for such plants are higher than would be desirable. Furthermore, heat exchangers required by U.S. Pat. No. 8,974,669 may be expensive, prone to clogging or breaking and leaking, which may be totally unacceptable to both the WWT process and the electricity generation processes.
Applicant disclosed in Environ Sci Pollut Res (http://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8390-1, Tartakovsky et al.) a paper entitled: Bioelectrochemical Anaerobic Sewage Treatment Technology for Arctic Communities. This paper discloses a conventional septic tank modified with two porous microbial supports, separating the tank into a scum collector region, a sludge collector region, and a clarifier region. At least the support separating the sludge collector and clarifier regions is defined by an electrode pair separated by a geotextile (or another porous non-conductive material) coupled to a power source to simultaneously encourage anaerobic methanogenic and anaerobic microbial electrochemical (bioelectrochemical) degradation processes leading to biomethane production.
Bioelectrochemical technologies have been proposed for wastewater treatment. In microbial fuel cells (MFCs) electricity is directly produced from organic wastes. Organic matter is oxidized at the anode by anodophilic (electricigenic, exoelectrogenic) microorganisms, which use the anode as a terminal electron acceptor. In MFCs the cathode is exposed to air to facilitate oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), resulting in electricity production. In microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) biodegradation is accomplished by applying low voltage (below a practical threshold of 1.5-1.8 V for water electrolysis) to the electrodes. The anodic reaction in MECs is the same as in MFCs (electrogenic oxidation of organic materials), while at the anaerobic cathode, hydrogen is produced from electrons and protons. The presence of other microbial populations at the cathode such as hydrogenotrophic methanogens, results in hydrogen and carbon dioxide conversion to methane. Also, direct production of methane at MEC cathodes by the electrogenic (anodophilic) microorganisms has been demonstrated (Villano, M., F. Aulenta, C. Ciucci, T. Ferri, A. Giuliano, and M. Majone (2010), Bioelectrochemical reduction of CO2 to CH4 via direct and indirect extracellular electron transfer by a hydrogenophilic methanogenic culture, Bioresource Technol., 101, 3085-3090). In both systems, proton exchange membranes are used to restrict exchange of dissolved molecules and ions between the anode and cathode compartments, while enabling proton transport, although membraneless configurations are also known.
Existing MFC-based technologies feature extremely low volumetric power density and high capital costs. MEC-based wastewater treatment has so far only been demonstrated on high strength low variability wastewaters, which is hard to ensure in real wastewater treatment systems. Several companies are developing microbial electrochemical technologies (MEC and MFC). Patents for bioelectrochemical systems have been applied for, such as AU 2013/299508 Biological Treatment Systems Utilizing Selectively Permeable Barriers and EP 2,630,088 Bio-electrochemical Systems, by Cambrian Innovation Inc.
In a somewhat remote field of science, it has been observed that anaerobic and aerobic decomposition of certain liquors can be simultaneously observed, if dissolved oxygen content in a substantially anaerobic digester can be maintained above zero, but less than 0.5 mg/L, according to a "microaeration" regime (Johansen, J. E., Bakke, R., 2006. Enhancing hydrolysis with microaeration. Water Sci. Technol. 53(8), 43-50; Stephenson, R. J., Patoine, A., Guiot, S. R., 1999; Effects of oxygenation and upflow liquid velocity on a coupled anaerobic/aerobic reactor system. Wat. Res. 33, 2855-2863.)
Some polluted water treatment systems have used microaeration conditions to: treat specific pollutants, such as chlorinated compounds (Tartakovsky, B., M. F. Manuel, and S. R. Guiot (2006), Degradation of trichloroethylene in a coupled anaerobic-aerobic bioreactor: modeling and experiment, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 26(1), 72-81); or assist with organic material hydrolysis (Guiot, S. R., J. C. Frigon, B. Darrah, M. F. Landry, and H. Macarie (1993), Coupled aerobic and anaerobic treatment of toxic wastewater, paper presented at 7-th forum for Applied Biotechnology, University of Gent, Gent, Belgium). These treatment systems have naturally produced granular biofilms having a layered structure with methanogens on the support covered by a thin layer of methanotrophs and heterotrophes. The coexistence of these species in the microaerated medium allow for the very limited oxygen to be consumed by the thin layer of microbes with methane produced by the anaerobic methanogens. The shielding of the methanogens from the oxygen is essential to their survival. So while microaeration treatments of certain effluents are known, they have not been suggested for use in wastewater treatment or catabolic decomposition for in-film heating.
WO2014/0172791 to Streets et al. teaches a modified septic tank that contains a separate aerated film media support, and an air dispersal mechanism with a bed of air stones. The aerated media support is said to provide oxygen to promote growth of aerobic bacteria and to further remove organic contaminants from the wastewater. As such, more oxygen is introduced than necessary for the growth of bacteria, and "microaeration" is not derivable from this reference. Streets et al. does not explain how dissolved oxygen content is impeded from reaching all of the allegedly anaerobic regions of the reactor, given that flow rates are expected to be exceedingly low in such reactors, while providing high enough oxygenation to permit aerobic decomposition. Streets et al. appears to teach use of sensors for regulating air injection. Streets et al. teaches an aerobic biofilm and free floating anaerobic decomposition, but fails to teach or suggest biofilms of both aerobic and anaerobic colonies provided by microaeration.
EP 2,976,421 to Angelidaki et al., and many others, teach membrane-separated compartments for separating anode and cathode chambers in a wastewater pretreatment device for extracting specific anaerobic inhibitors from a wastewater. It specifically provides for the possibility of anaerobic microorganisms in the anode for converting energy released in metabolic reactions into electrical energy. However membrane-based reactors have a host of problems associated with them.
There remains a need for a WWT system that is substantially anaerobic, but has improved degradation performance where in-film heating is provided by catabolysis of methane made possible with microaerobic conditions.

Wastewater treatment with in-film microbial heating


A CBN grinding particle included in a CBN grinding wheel has a single crystal CBN grinding particle having a tetrahedron construction and a multi crystal CBN grinding particle. The single crystal CBN grinding particle is blended with a ratio of equal to or more than 50% to a total summed volume of the single and multi CBN grinding particles. A CBN grinding wheel having the CBN grinding particle is especially suitable for rough grinding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cubic boron nitride (hereinafter referred as CBN) grinding wheel formed by including the CBN grinding particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a prior CBN grinding wheel such as Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Tokkai 2010-131699 is disclosed a CBN grinding wheel having one kind of CBN grinding particles. In the other prior CBN grinding wheel such as Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Tokkaihei 9-267266 is disclosed a CBN grinding wheel having both of a single crystal CBN grinding particle and a multi crystal CBN grinding particle. The single crystal CBN grinding particle has good sharpness of cutting by generating cutting portion autogeneously and the multi crystal CBN grinding particle has good finishing by superior strength of the grinding particle itself as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Tokkaihei 9-267266.
In general, it is needed for a grinding wheel to reduce grinding force and wear in a rough grinding. Reducing the grinding force results to restrain a calorific value and to improve machining efficiency. Reducing wear improves the grinding wheel life.


The invention provides a two-output low-noise down converter circuit which is improved in the isolation between two outputs. In the two-output low-noise down converter circuit, an input signal is divided into two divisional signals of different polarization systems and then the divisional two signals are processed by two-system signal processing circuits which comprise low-noise amplifiers, band-pass filters, frequency converter circuits and a local oscillator, respectively. The two-output low-noise down converter circuit includes: a switching circuit for performing switching control on the outputs of the two signal processing circuits responsive to the voltages applied to two output terminals, and for selectively outputting two polarized signals to its output terminals; intermediate frequency amplifiers for amplifying the two outputs of the switching circuit and leading out the resulting outputs at the two output terminals; and a control circuit for controlling the turning-on and -off of the power of the intermediate frequency amplifiers responsive to loads of the two output terminals.

The present invention relates to a two-output low-noise down converter circuit for reception of satellite broadcasting and, in particular, to a two-output low-noise down converter circuit which improves in the isolation characteristic of two outputs divided by switching.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional two-output low-noise down converter circuit which is capable of outputting signals to two BS receivers by one circuit. Two signals received by an antenna 1, such as a left-handed polarization signal (hereinafter, referred to as "L signal") and a right-handed polarization signal (hereinafter, referred to as "R signal") or a horizontal polarization signal (hereinafter, referred to as "H signal") and a vertical polarization signal (hereinafter, referred to as "V signal"), are separated into two systems, and respectively fed to independent two transfer systems comprising low-noise amplifiers 2a, 2b, band-pass filters (hereinafter, referred to as "BPFs") 3a, 3b and mixer circuits 5a, 5b which convert input signal into an intermediate frequency signal using a local oscillating frequency derived from a local oscillator (LO) 4, respectively.
Then, the two signals, after converted into signals of intermediate frequency by the two independent transfer systems, respectively, are led to a switching circuit 6, where either the L signal or the R signal is selected. Although the case is the same also with the H signal and the V signal, the following description will be made with the L signal and the R signal. The two signals selected by the switching circuit 6 are amplified to intermediate frequencies by intermediate frequency amplifiers 7a, 7b, respectively, from which outputs in the following combinations are derived at independent output terminals 8a, 8b:
______________________________________ Output signal ______________________________________ Output terminal 8a L R L R Output terminal 8b R L L R ______________________________________
The signal selection of two input signals by the switching circuit 6 is judged by a comparator 9 on the basis that a voltage applied to the output terminals 8a, 8b is taken, for example, as High for 16 to 21 V DC, and Low for 10.5 to 14.5 V DC, and then the selection is effected by an output of the comparator 9. As a result, the relationship between the voltage applied to the output terminals 8a, 8b and the output signal is as follows:
______________________________________ Applied voltage Output signal ______________________________________ Output terininals 8a, 8b High .fwdarw. L signal Output terininals 8a, 8b Low .fwdarw. R signal ______________________________________
The numeral 10 in the figure denotes a power supply circuit for supplying voltage to the individual sections of the circuit.
According to the above prior art, with the aforementioned circuit construction, two signals of L and R signals, which are independent of each other, are outputted at the two output terminals. However, there are following problems caused by the circuit construction in terms of the isolation characteristic, which is one of the performances of low-noise down converters and shows, when the L signal, one of the two signals, is selected and outputted at an output terminal, the extent how the R signal, the other signal, leaks to the output terminal.
As shown in FIG. 5, the L signal or R signal which is selected and outputted after the switching circuit 6 onwards is terminated by a resistance of 75 .OMEGA. at the output terminal. The isolation characteristic of the switching circuit 6 is determined by this impedance matching, and the resulting isolation characteristic makes the isolation characteristic of the intermediate frequency circuit section of the low-noise down converter circuit, as it is.
For the two-output low-noise down converter circuit, it is not necessary to use two output terminals at the same time. When only one output terminal is used, there would occur deterioration in the isolation characteristic other than the isolation of the switching circuit unless the other output terminal is terminated by a resistance of 75 .OMEGA..
In more detail, in the conventional circuit construction, as shown in FIG. 6, with one output terminal 8b open, the signal selection by the switching circuit 6 would be such that if the DC voltage is normally Low, the R signal is normally selected at the output terminal 8b. For example, in the case where the L signal has been selected and outputted at the output terminal 8a, if the R signal is normally selected and outputted at the output terminal 8b as described above with the output terminal 8b open, then the R signal would be reflected by the output terminal 8b because of a mismatching of impedance due to the open state of the output terminal 8b, leaking to the other output terminal 8a, so that the isolation characteristic of the two-output low-noise down converter circuit would be deteriorated.
As measures for such problems, it has been practiced, for example, to attach a metal shielding plate so that the output signal reflected by one output terminal will not be connected with the other output terminal, or to attach a metal plate for grounding reinforcement, or to provide a resistor in series on the output signal line for damping of the signal, with a view to improving the isolation between the two output terminals. However, in many cases, it would be difficult to make changes in the wiring pattern required for such measures. Yet, attaching the shielding plate or the like would cause cost increases, as a further problem.

Two-output low-noise down converter circuit


A power semiconductor diode includes a semiconductor body having first and second main surfaces opposite to each other along a vertical direction. A drift region of a second conductivity type is arranged between an anode region of a first conductivity type and the second main surface. A field stop region of the second conductivity type is arranged between the drift region and the second main surface. A dopant concentration profile of the field stop region along the vertical direction includes a maximum peak. An injection region of the first conductivity type is arranged between the field stop region and the second main surface, with a pn-junction between the injection and field stop regions. A cathode contact region of the second conductivity type is arranged between the field stop region and the second main surface. A first vertical distance between the pn-junction and the maximum peak ranges from 200 nm to 1500 nm.

In semiconductor diodes mobile charge carriers may flood a semiconductor region and may form a dense charge carrier plasma that yields a low forward resistance of the semiconductor diode. The charge carrier plasma is removed in a turn-off period when the device turns into blocking mode. The turn-off process contributes to the dynamic switching losses of the semiconductor diode. Typically, a desaturation mechanism may attenuate the charge carrier plasma before switching the diode in order to reduce the dynamic switching losses. When turning-off the diode, inhomogeneous carrier injection may lead to current filaments that may locally heat up and damage the diode. It is desirable to provide semiconductor diodes with improved switching characteristics.

Power semiconductor diode including field stop region


An electrophotographic photoreceptor and image forming manhood using the same are disclosed. The photoreceptor comprises a sublayer between the support and the photosensitive layer containing fine resin particles. A clear and sharp image is formed without generating interference fringes.

Currently, electrophotographic image-forming apparatuses are regarded as the constitution which is most suitable for meeting requirements for the high-speed production of quality images, and bearing of small dimensions for optimizing use of space saving in an office.
In recent years, in high demand have been output apparatuses for computers or output apparatuses capable of performing various image processing. Specifically, these are laser beam printers (hereinafter referred to as LBP) or digital copiers.
The photoreceptors which can be employed in such apparatuses are required to exhibit sufficient sensitivity for long wavelength radiation generated by light sources such as semiconductor lasers and the like. Therefore, recently, phthalocyanine compounds have received much attention as a charge generating material (abbreviated as "CGM") having a high sensitivity even in the long wavelength region. The phthalocyanine compounds are classified into two main categories, that is, metallic phthalocyanines and nonmetallic phthalocyanines and a variety of compounds have been proposed. Of those, titanylphthalocyanines (hereinafter referred to as "TiOPc") have received considerable attention as the CGM from which can be realized high sensitivity and quality images. The TiOPc exhibits sufficient sensitivity in the long wavelength region, specifically the range between 600 and 850 nm (hereinafter, the term "long wavelength region" will refer to this wavelength region). Therefore, the TiOPc is a markedly suitable material for preparing the photoreceptor for the image-forming apparatus comprising a light source having the maximum radiation energy in this wavelength region such as semiconductor laser, LED, EL (electroluminescence), LCD (liquid crystal shutter), etc.
However, as the resolution of images is improved, there have been problems with grained interference fringes (Moire image). As to the reason for these problems, when an exposure light source is coherent light of a long wavelength, the light is not totally absorbed by a photosensitive layer, and the transmitted light is subjected to regular reflection from the support surface. As a result, multipath reflection of the light of the laser beam is generated in the photosensitive layer, and it is assumed that interference is caused between the multipath reflected light and reflected light from the surface of the photosensitive layer.
In order to eliminate this phenomenon, a method is employed in which the electrically conductive surface of a support is intentionally roughened and the formation of interference is prevented by scattering the light transmitted through the photosensitive layer. However, when the surface is excessively roughened, traces from processing the support appear in the image. On the other hand, when the surface roughness is not enough, a Moire pattern is generated. It has been difficult to maintain uniform and appropriate roughness on the surface of the support in the production process.
The photoreceptor is basically composed of an electrically conductive support and a photosensitive layer. However, in order to improve the adhesion of the support to the photosensitive layer, to prevent image defects caused by the charge injection from the electrically conductive support, to improve charging properties of the photoreceptor, and the like, in many cases, a sublayer is provided between the electrically conductive support and the photosensitive layer.
Particularly, in the reversal development process employed in a laser printer, image defects such as micro black points known as black spots (in the case of normal development, white spots on the solid black image), transfer memory, etc. are frequently generated. In order to minimize such image defects, a sublayer (occasionally termed an interlayer) having better quality, has been desired. As the sublayer, for example, a resin layer comprising a polyamide resin, a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin is listed and is most generally employed.
When such a sublayer, composed of a resin layer, is employed in combination with an imidazoleperylene compound or TiOPc, images excellent in contrast and resolution are obtained even though the resulting combination is employed in a high speed machine. However, such excellent quality is obtained only when employed under environmental conditions such as normal temperature and humidity and is only obtained during an initial period. When employed under specific environmental conditions such as high temperature and humidity or low temperature and humidity, or for the continuous production of a number of copies, several problems are caused.
For example, at high temperature and humidity, the resistance of the resin layer increases and the barrier properties increase. As a result, problems are caused such that the sensitivity decreases and after repeated use, the residual electric potential increases. Particularly, when TiOPc is employed as a CGM, the charge generating capability of TiOPc may be degraded and the above-mentioned problems are markedly increased.
As shown above, when the imidazoleperylene compound or TiOPc is employed in combination with the resin layer as a sublayer, some advantages are achieved. On the contrary, however, major problems such as formation of white spots (or black spots), deterioration of electric potential characteristics, etc. are caused.
As a means to solve those problems, Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 58-93062 discloses the formation of a sublayer by mixing a resin with a metal alkoxide compound or an organic metal compound, and furthermore, a technique for the formation of a sublayer employing an organic metal compound or a silane coupling agent, without the use of a resin.
For example, in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 62-272277, metal alkoxide compounds and silane coupling agents are employed. Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 3-73962, 4-36758, etc., a zirconium chelating compound and a silane coupling agent are employed in combination.
In the electrophotographic photoreceptor in which writing is performed with a laser beam, a grained image defect (Moire pattern) is formed by the interference of a laser beam caused by unevenness in the thickness of the photoreceptor layer. The defect is markedly generated when an organic metal series sublayer is employed which exhibits a larger reflection ratio, which is thicker than that composed of a resin. As a method to prevent such problems, for example, it is has been shown that if the surface of a support is intentionally roughened, the generation of interference light is prevented by scattering the incident light. However, the prevention is not complete. Furthermore, when the surface is excessively roughened, an uneven surface is formed on the photosensitive layer and troubles such as poor cleaning result.

Electrophotographic photoreceptor, and an image-forming method and apparatus for using the same


An optical system for detecting ice and water on the surface of an aircraft includes an elongated transparent optical element having first and second end portions. A light source and light detector are disposed in one end of the optical element and a reflective surface is disposed in the opposite end portion. The reflective surface defines a critical angle and reflects light from the light source to the light detector when the critical angle is in contact with air and refracts the light toward the external environment when the reflective surface is in contact with ice or water. The system may also incorporate an optical element wherein the reflective surface includes a continuous array of convex elements extending outwardly from and across one end of the optical element and wherein each of the convex elements defines a critical angle.

The accumulation of ice on various surfaces of an aircraft can produce disastrous results. Accordingly, it is important for a pilot to know when ice starts to appear and to take measures to avoid serious consequences. For example, a pilot may turn on surface heaters, make changes in speed or elevation, changes in the angle of attack and/or seek the nearest airport before the problem becomes critical.
A U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,817 of Brossia et al. discloses a system for automatic and real time detection of water and icing on surfaces by monitoring variations in light energy transmitted through an optical fiber having a specially processed sensitive area probe. The sensitive area probe is positioned on, about or within the surface on which icing is to be detected. Because of differences in optical indices of refraction and energy absorption characteristic of air, water and ice, the presence of each of these at the process sensitive area will cause a proportional and characteristic attenuation of the light energy passing through the optical fiber. Changes in light energy transmission can be interpreted automatically to provide an indication of icing. A referenced optical circuit may be used to provide compensation for variations in input energy levels. Light energy of different wavelengths and energy levels may be used to compensate for or avoid interference with measurement by ambient lighting conditions or for the detection of other conditions and materials using the principle of characteristic absorption and resonance.
A more recent approach to an Ice Detector, Especially for Aircraft is disclosed by Michaoud et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,042. As disclosed therein, a source sends light towards a receiver through an optical channel, a part of which has an interface with the external environment. The light that reaches this interface is reflected toward the receiver when the external environment is in contact with air and is refracted toward the external environment in the presence of water or ice. In streaming down the interface, the rain creates a modulation, not created by ice in the signal of the receiver. The circuits down line of the receiver search for this modulation to determine whether the modifications of the signal of the receiver are due to rain or ice.
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there may be a large commercial market for an improved optical system and element for detecting ice and water on the surface of an aircraft in accordance with the present invention. A commercial market should develop because the improved systems and elements in accordance with the present invention warn a pilot of a hazardous icing condition, enables a pilot to distinguish between ice and water, as well as conditions when icing may be imminent. It is presently believed that such systems can be manufactured and sold at a competitive costs, can be readily installed on new aircraft as well as retrofitted on existing aircraft, are compact, durable, accurate and readily serviced. Further advantages will become evident from the following specification.

Optical system and element for detecting ice and water


A liquid crystal display device includes a substrate, a plurality of gate lines and source lines on the substrate and in a same layer, and a plurality of trench portions on sides of the gate lines. The trench portions electrically separate the source lines from the gate lines and each separated source line has a contact area placed at a distance from the trench portions. A first insulating layer is formed on the source and gate lines and a second insulating layer is formed on the first insulating film and in the trench portions. A conductive layer is formed on the second insulating layer and electrically connects the source lines to each other through the contact areas. The conductive layer includes source, drain electrode, and pixel electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and method, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display including a coplanar line structure and related method.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A group of switching devices in which active elements such as thin film transistors (hereinafter called "TFT") are integrated is used for driving and controlling each pixel in an active matrix liquid crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 1, in a conventional liquid crystal display with a TFT array, pixel electrodes 12 that are almost rectangular are closely arranged in rows and columns on a transparent substrate 11. A plurality of gate lines 13 are respectively formed closely along rows of the pixel electrodes 12 and a plurality of source lines 14 are respectively formed closely along the columns of the pixel electrodes 12. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the liquid crystal display elements of the liquid crystal display with a TFT array. FIG. 3 shows an intersection where gate and source lines cross each other perpendicularly in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2, first, an insulating film covering the gate lines 13 is formed on a transparent substrate 11 and a plurality of source lines 14 which perpendicularly cross the gate lines 13 are formed in parallel on the insulating film. Also, a semiconductor layer is formed around each intersection of the gate lines 13 and source lines 14 after the insulating film is formed on the gate lines 13 and the gate electrodes. Drain and source electrodes are formed facing each other on the semiconductor layer. Thus, non-linear active element TFTs are formed. In the TFT structure, the drain electrodes are formed in such a manner as to be electrically connected with transparent pixel electrodes on the insulating film. The semiconductor layer and the drain and source electrodes are covered with an insulating protective film. These TFTs basically include the gate electrodes, the insulating films, the semiconductor layers, and the drain and source electrodes, which are formed by repeating processes of making films and photoetching.
However, since the gate lines 13 and the source lines 14 are on different levels, as shown in FIG. 3 in which 25 is an anodized film and 26 is an insulating film, the process of forming the source lines 14 can only be done after the process of forming the gates lines 13. As a result, when the source lines 14 cross over the step-coverage of the gates lines 13, poor quality in tapers of the metal layers forming the gate lines and failures resulting from the stress of metal layers forming the source lines result in imperfect contacts of the source lines, disconnection in cross-over sections, and disconnection in the insulating film edges (hereinafter called "open-lines"). Moreover, parasitic capacitance in the step-coverage results in signal delays on the circuit of the gates lines.

Liquid crystal display including a coplanar line structure


A connection assembly for use in a multiple aperture ultrasonic transducer including an array of elements for transmitting and receiving wherein each element includes a plurality of segments and the connection assembly interconnects the segments of the elements and the segments to transmit/receive circuits to form the apertures of the array. The connection assembly includes an isolating layer superimposed on the segments with at least one via opening located within the area of each segment and a conductive layer superimposed on the isolating layer with conductive paths interconnecting the segments and the segments to the transmit/receive circuits to form the apertures of the array. The conductive layer forms a continuous layer covering the isolating layer, the interior surfaces of the via openings and the areas of the segments exposed through the via openings and is scribed to divide the conductive layer into the conductive paths. The conductive paths associated with each element are separated from the conductive paths associated with neighboring elements by the dicing cuts that divide the elements and segments from one another. A flex circuit is assembled coplanar with the segments and the isolating and conductive layers are superimposed on the elements and flex circuit so that the connections between the segments and flex leads are accomplished by the same processes.

Ultrasonic transducers are used in many medical applications and, in particular, for the non-invasive acquisition of images of organs and conditions within a patient, typical examples being the ultrasound imaging of fetuses and the heart. The ultrasonic transducers used in such applications are generally hand held, and must meet stringent dimensional constraints in order to acquire the desired images. For example, it is frequently necessary that the transducer be able to obtain high resolution images of significant portions of a patient's chest cavity through the gap between two ribs when used for cardiac diagnostic purposes, thereby severely limiting the physical dimensions of the transducer.
As a consequence, and because of the relatively small aperture between human ribs and similar constraints upon transducer positioning when attempting to gain images of other parts of the human body, there has been significant development of linear or phased array transducers comprising multiple transmitting and receiving elements, with the associated electronics and switching circuits, to provide relatively narrowly focused and "steerable" transmitting and receiving "beams". The most common of such transducers comprises a one element wide by multiple element long linear array of transmitting and receiving elements arranged in line along a flat plane or, preferably, along a concave or convex arc, thereby providing a greater scanning arc.
The transmitting and receiving beams of such transducers are formed and steered by selecting individual transducers elements or groups of transducer elements to transmit or receive ultrasonic energy, wherein each such individual transducer element or group of transducers elements forms an "aperture" of the transducer array. Such an array is thereby formed of a single row of apertures extending along the face of the array and such transducers are consequently referred to as "single aperture" transducers.
While such azimuth scanning single aperture arrays are advantageous for many applications, single aperture transducers have the disadvantage that they can scan only along the single plane of the transducer elements. As a consequence, there have been many attempts to construct transducers that are also capable of steering or focusing in elevation as well as azimuth, that is, along the axis at right angles to the azimuth plane along which the elements are arrayed as well as along the azimuth plane.
As is well understood, the formation and steering and/or focusing of the transmitting and receiving beams of a transducer are controlled by selection and use of the various separate physical divisions or areas of transducer material comprising the transducer array, which, as described above, are referred to as "apertures". In contrast to "single aperture" transducers, however, in which each aperture is formed by an element or group of elements extending across the face of the array as a single unitary area or division or the array, each corresponding element in a transducer capable of scanning in elevation is divided into multiple sub-elements, or segments. For this reason, and because each element position along such an array can form multiple apertures, that is, using different combinations of the sub-elements or segments of each of the transducer elements, such transducers are consequently referred to as "multiple aperture" transducers.
The shape, focus and direction of the transmitting and receiving beams of a multiple aperture transducer are again controlled by selection of the apertures of the array. In a multiple aperture array, however, each aperture is formed by one or more of the sub-elements, or segments, of the transducer elements, so that the apertures of a multiple aperture array can be used to steer and focus the transducer scan beam along the elevation axis as well as along the azimuth axis and can define multiple azimuthal scan planes, each being at a different angle of elevation.
It should be noted that in both single aperture transducers and in multiple aperture transducers the apertures may be either driven actively, or simply deactivated to reduce the size of the acoustic aperture, thereby controlling the shape, direction and focus of the transmitting and receiving beams formed by the transducer array.
The transducer elements of both single aperture and multiple aperture transducers are generally made of a piezoelectric material and the array of elements or sub-elements is generally mounted onto a body made of a backing material. Connections between the individual transducer elements and the associated electronics and switching elements are usually provided through various arrangements and combinations of thick and thin film circuits, flexible printed circuits and wires, which are generally located on the back of the array, between the array and the body, with leads running along the body to the transducer electronics. One or more layers of impedance matching material, generally considered to be a part of the elements themselves, is often superimposed upon the transducer elements to match the acoustic impedance of the transducer to the body or material being scanned, and a lens comprised of a suitable material may be additionally superimposed upon the impedance matching material to shape or focus the beams generated by the transducer elements. In some implementations, the impedance matching layers may have suitable acoustic characteristics and may be shaped to operate as an acoustic lens.
Single aperture transducers are generally constructed from a single piece of transducer material having a width equal to the length of one element and a length equal to the widths of the total number of elements plus spaces between the elements. One or more thin or thick film circuits or flexible printed circuits having connections and paths for the individual elements, or the like implemented in any of several other ways, are bonded to one side of the piece of transducer material and a layer or layers of matching material may be bonded to the radiating and receiving side of the transducer material to form a "stack" of the transducer material, circuits and matching layers. A temporary or permanent layer of backing material of some form, such as a flexible material, may also be bonded to the back of the stack to aid in handling the stack during manufacture.
Successive cuts are then made across the width of the transducer stack on the radiating/receiving side of the stack and at intervals corresponding to the widths of the elements and the spacing between the elements to divide the single piece of material into the individual elements. This operation is generally referred to as "dicing" and is usually done with a device referred to as a dicing saw, but may be done with other techniques, such as lasers. These cuts may extend only through the transducer and matching material layers, or partly or completely through the circuit layer, or through the circuit layer and at least a part of any backing layers, depending upon the detailed design and implementation of the circuit layers.
The assembly of individual transducer elements with the circuit and matching layers are then bonded to the backing body, which may have a flat, concave or convex face, as described above, with any temporary backing layers being removed as necessary. It should be noted that in certain instances the dicing may be done after the assembly of transducer elements, matching materials, and circuits is bonded to the backing material and that the dicing cuts may extend into the layers of backing material or even into the backing body.
Connections between the thin or thick film circuits connecting to the transducer elements and wires or printed circuits, such as flexible circuits, which in turn connect to the electronics and switching elements may made before or after the transducer assembly is bonded to the backing body, again depending on the detailed design and implementation of these connections.
While methods for the construction of multiple aperture transducer are well known, and similar to those used in construction of single aperture arrays, multiple aperture arrays present greater difficulties than do single aperture arrays. For example, a particular application may require that each element be comprised of three segments, or apertures, that is, two outer segments and a middle segment. This may be achieved, for example, by constructing the transducer elements from three elongated pieces of transducer material, that is, two outer pieces and a middle piece, and then dicing the pieces across the face of the array as was described with regard to single aperture arrays, or by additional cuts along the transducer stack in the longitudinal direction to divide the two outer segments from the middle segment.
A primary problem in constructing transducers, however, is in achieving the electrical connections to the elements and sub-elements, or segments, as the number of elements or sub-element segments increases. That is, the physical dimensions of an array, especially for medical use, is generally constrained, for example, by the need to scan the cardiac structures through the space between patient's ribs to avoid interference by the ribs. At the same time, there is a need and trend to increase the number of elements or sub-elements to achieve every finer scan resolution to achieve increasingly detailed images of the cardiac structures.
While this problem exists even with single aperture transducers, the problem is particularly severe with multiple aperture transducers because the number of electrical connections to each element, each of which may be comprised of three or more segments, or sub-elements, is greatly increased while the space in which to make the connections does not increase. For example, in a single aperture array each element is made of a single segment while in a three aperture array each element is divided into three segments. As a result, while each element of a single aperture array requires a single connection to the single segment that comprises the element, a three aperture array requires, for each element, two separate connections to the two outer segments and a third connection to the middle segment, thereby tripling the number of connections per element, and possibly requiring additional connections to each possible pair of segments. In addition, each middle segment is bounded on both ends by the outer segments of the element and on either side by the two adjacent elements, so that the middle segments are not readily accessible for connections. It is therefore apparent that the space available to make connections to the segments of a multiple aperture array and to run the leads from the segments to the points of connection to the transducer electronics is extremely constrained and that the problem compounds very rapidly as the number of elements in the transducer or the number of segments in each element increases.
Considering a specific example, the Hewlett-Packard Model 21215 transducer provides two sizes of elevation apertures and is constructed generally as described above, that is, of a linear array of separate or separated elements wherein each element is comprised of three separate segments, two outer segments and a middle segment. In this design, the elements are arranged in a straight plane, rather than a concave or convex arc, and the middle segment of each element is connected to a transmit/receive circuit while the two outer segments of the element are connected together and then to a second transmit/receive circuit or through a switch to the same transmit/receive circuit as the middle segment.
Connections to the segments are made through flex circuits, that is, circuits etched onto thin, flexible circuit boards, wherein an individual flex circuit is used for each set of elevation segment connections and wherein each flex circuit contains all of the connections for the corresponding segments of each of the elements along the array. The transducer therefore requires three flex circuits, one for each out row of segments and one for the middle row of segments. The two flex circuits connecting to the outer segments of each element of the outer segments and are then connected by a flex circuit having jumper connections, or by a circuit board. The third flex circuit connects to the middle segments of the elements, and thus must make connection at the middle of the back side of the piezoelectric array.
It is therefore apparent that a three aperture array like the Hewlett-Packard Model 21215 requires three times as many connections to the piezoelectric segments themselves and twice as many flex circuits as in a single aperture array, and two additional flex circuit to flex circuit connections through flex jumper connections or through a printed circuit board for each element. These connections result in higher cost and lower manufacturing yield. In addition, assembly is more complex in that the flex circuit to the middle segments must be carefully aligned with the flex circuits to the outer segments. This factor alone makes it difficult, if not impossible, to manufacture a curved array and the presence of the middle segment flex circuit requires the use of either a poured backing body material or complex molding or machining to manufacture the backing body.
To further compound the problem of achieving a large number of connections and leads to the transducer elements and segments in a small area, the connections to the segments must be made in such a manner as not to interfere with the acoustic characteristics of the transducer. That is, it has been described above that the connections to the transducer elements and segments are generally made through thin or thick film circuits or flex circuits bonded to the back side of the transducer elements. The number of leads and connections, however, generally results in a connection and lead layer or layers having significant thickness and effect, in terms of the acoustic characteristics of the array, thereby distorting or interfering with the acoustic characteristics of the array. In addition, the lead and connection layer or layers and other layers interposed between, such as insulating layers, do not provide smooth surfaces, or planes, because of the raised or depressed areas of the layers forming the leads and connections. As such, it is difficult to reliably bond the layers together without significant additional layers of bonding materials and the unevenness of the surfaces tend to trap bonding material and air between the layers, thereby providing an acoustically non-homogenous "body" bonded to the "back" face of the transducer elements that further interferes with the acoustic characteristics of the transducer array.
The methods used in the prior art to construct multiple aperture arrays include the use of multiple flex circuits, as described just above, connections embedded in the backing body, the use very thin film or deposited circuits to form the connections and leads to the transducer elements and segments, and even the use of electrostrictive rather than piezoelectric materials for the transducer elements.
Each of these methods, however, provides its own difficulties and problems. For example, the disadvantages of multiple flex circuits have been discussed above, and the disadvantages of connections embedded in the backing body are comparable.
An alternative is the use of a multi-layer thick film ceramic hybrid circuit which also serves as the backing body. The laminated layers with embedded connection circuits results in leads which run vertically, that is, perpendicularly, between the segments and an interface circuit to which the connections are made, but also results in leads with very small cross sections that are attached at both ends by butt joints, which lack reliability. The use of a multi-layer thick film circuit, in turn, can provide much stronger and more reliable connections, but the acoustic characteristics of the ceramic material may degrade the acoustic performance of the transducer. Both approaches, moreover, may have the disadvantage of requiring multiple steps to make the connections to the piezoelectric elements and may result in added cost from not using standard printed or hybrid circuit manufacturing techniques.
Yet other approaches use thin film or very thin film circuits for the connections and leads, thereby providing connection and lead layers that are acoustically thin and thereby cause less interference with the acoustic characteristics of the transducer. Thin film circuits, however, are difficult to work with in manufacture, often being relatively fragile, and generally require "wet" manufacturing processes that result in potentially undesirable materials to be disposed of.
In addition, thin film circuits, like thick film circuits and flexible circuits, require connections between layers, for example, between the layer forming contacts to the elements and segments and the layer providing the interconnecting leads, and these interlayer connections, commonly called "vias" are difficult to form in the thicknesses typical of thin film circuits. Certain of the prior art approaches to thin film circuits, for example, while recognizing the advantages of thin film circuits for the actual contacts to the transducer elements and segments and for the interconnecting leads, have required the use of additional, vertically oriented circuit boards or very thin, free standing wires to accomplish the necessary connections.
The present invention provides a solution to these and other problems of the prior art.

Segment connections for multiple elevation transducers


The disclosed computer-implemented method for detecting inter-personal attack applications may include (i) receiving application marketplace information describing application feature information, (ii) creating, by performing natural language processing on the feature information, a feature vector identifying a potentially malicious functionality of the application, (iii) creating a profiling vector that is a categorical feature representation of installation information from an application installation file, and (iv) performing a security action including (A) mapping, using a machine learning model, the feature vector and the profiling vector to a multi-dimensional output vector having element corresponding to a malware category and (B) determining a malicious extent of the application by combining the categories identified by the multi-dimensional output vector with bi-partite graph information identifying (I) relations between a plurality of applications and (II) relations between a plurality of computing devices hosting the plurality of applications. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Inter-personal attack applications provide a way for malicious actors to conduct surveillance and impersonation attacks on unaware targets. In some examples, commonly known as stalkerware, spyware, and creepware, malicious actors may use inter-personal attack applications to engage in harassment, impersonation, surveillance, location tracking, fraud, information theft, concealment, sending text messages, spoofing phone numbers, and creating fake suggestive messages. In many cases, inter-personal attack applications are deployed by non-expert users such as spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and relatives. The attacker may have permitted access to a target computing device used by the target. In some examples, the inter-personal attack applications may be applications intended for child online safety and family member locating and thus have a legitimate use, but are also dual-use technology that may be intentionally misused for intimate partner surveillance. Thus, inter-personal attack applications have very substantial capabilities and may be difficult to detect. The present disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for systems and methods for detecting inter-personal attack applications.

Systems and methods for detecting inter-personal attack applications


A process for pickling a strip which is produced in a thin slab installation and subsequently hot-rolled, especially a low-carbon steel strip, in a continuous process immediately following the rolling process. The process includes the following sequence of steps: gently cooling the strip exiting the rolling mill at .gtoreq.880.degree. C. in a first cooling zone to 850.degree. to 680.degree. C., balancing surface temperature and core temperature of the strip in a first recovery zone to a uniform cross section temperature of approximately 680.degree. C., gently cooling the strip in an immediately adjoining second cooling zone from 680.degree. to 480.degree. C., and balancing surface temperature and core temperature in a second recovery zone to a uniform cross section temperature of approximately 480.degree. C. The process continues by drastically cooling the strip from 480.degree. C. to approximately 95.degree. C. in a third cooling zone, balancing surface temperature and core temperature in a third recovery zone to a uniform cross section temperature of approximately 100.degree. C., guiding the strip through a number of connectable and disconnectable chemical pickling vessels at appropriately adapted pickling temperatures, the number of vessels being adapted to the thickness and/or running speed of the strip, and rinsing, drying and coiling the pickled strip.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process and an installation for pickling a strip which is produced in a thin slab installation and subsequently hot-rolled, especially a low-carbon steel strip, in a continuous process immediately following the rolling process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For certain single-purpose products produced in large batch numbers, a coupling between a thin-slab casting installation, a hot strip rolling mill, and a pickling installation is meaningful. At the present time no such couplings are known. Underlying the idea of providing such an installation and the associated process is the fact that thin hot strip can be produced less expensively than cold strip. However, when hot strip is to be substituted for cold strip only pickled hot strip can be used, so that surface protection and coating can be applied to the finished strip without difficulty. In order to provide a meaningful connection of the casting installation, hot strip rolling mill and pickling installation, the entire installation must work inline so that all speeds must be adapted to one another while taking into account the casting process and rolling process. Duplication of installation components is to be avoided as far as possible so that the installation can be constructed at low cost and operate productively.
The chief problem in creating an installation suited to the task at hand and in implementing the work process operated therein is adapting the pickling time to the speeds determined by hot strip production. This is because the pickling arrangement must be capable of processing different strip thicknesses and speeds in an optimum manner. Pickling installations work favorably with cold strip at approximately 90.degree. C.
A work process for pickling a strip produced in a thin slab installation and subsequently hot-rolled is meaningful when large batch numbers can be processed, low-carbon steels being especially suited for carrying out the process.

Process and device for inline pickling of hot strips downstream of thin-slab production installations


A high-quality magneto-optic signal is obtained by setting an optimum phase condition at the time of reproducing the land or groove record in a magneto-optic recording medium. By adjusting the angle of inclination of a wavelength plate, an optimum amount of phase compensation is provided to the land or the groove. Furthermore, the inclination of the wavelength plate is made variable, and the DC component of the magneto-optic signal is used as an adjusting signal in order to effect a phase compensation. In reproducing the signals recorded in the land and/or groove, an optimum amount of phase compensation is provided in each case, whereby a best producing condition is obtained, and high-density records can be realized.

1. Technical Field To Which The Invention Belongs
The present invention relates to a magneto-optic recording medium and an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus for high density optical recording and reproducing to which the land- and/or groove-recording in a magneto-optic recording medium is applied.
2. Prior Art
At present, optical recording media are popularly used as recording media from which audio and video signals can be reproduced. In particular, magneto-optic recording media and phase change recording media are studied and developed in various places as rewritable, high-density recording media.
In order to enhance the recording intensity of an optical recording density of an optical recording medium in which information is recorded spirally or concentrically, there are considered to be two methods, i.e., the shortening of the track pitch and the enhancement of the linear recording density. In either case, the recording density of the optical recording medium can be realized by shortening the wavelength of the semiconductor laser used for recording and reproduction, but it seems to take some more time before semiconductor lasers with short wavelengths of green or blue color which can continuously oscillate at room temperature over a long time and, further, come to be sold at low prices at the market. Under such circumstances, methods are grouped according to which the recording density can be substantially improved by the use of lasers operating with presently used wavelengths, as in the case of MSR (magnetic super-resolution), in magneto-optic recording media.
In case of a RAM medium, such as a magneto-optic recording medium, light of the same wavelength is used both for the writing of information and for the reading thereof, whereas in case of a ROM medium in which information is recorded in advance, phase pits are formed by the use of a short-wavelength gas laser, i.e., Ar. In view of the ROM medium, it is true that, in case the ROM medium, the reproducing condition is the same, but recording is made therein, as it were, using, as it were, a light source which will become usable in the future; in respect of recording information at a high density, the RAM medium is disadvantageous. Due to this, in the standards for DVD which attract attention as next-generation video recording media for domestic use, no proposal has been made at present on a structure in which the recording capacity of DVD-ROM medium can be supported by a RAM medium of the same medium size.
The land and groove record can be simply doubled in its record density if the linear recording density is the same and the track pitch is the same, and therefore, the land and groove recording is a very important method in view of the development of a high-density recording medium. In this connection, it is reported that, in a magneto-optic recording medium, the MSR mentioned above can not only reduce the linear recording density, but also enhance the inter-track crosstalk, and thus the applicability thereof to the land and groove recording is examined at various places. However, the conditions for allowing a magnetic super-resolution to manifest itself-such as, e.g., the case where the reproducing laser power depends on the linear velocity, the case where a reproducing magnetic field is necessary, the case where at least three magnetic layers are necessary, etc.--are very complicated, there is an uncertainty in respect of stability, and the manufacturing costs tend to become high.

Magneto-optic recording medium, having the lands and grooves magnetized in one direction


Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer-readable media are provided for the preemptive logical configuration of vehicle control systems. A vehicle control computer may determine a location of a vehicle. The vehicle control computer may query a historical data source server for historical incident data corresponding to a first vicinity around the first location of the vehicle. Based on the historical incident data, the vehicle control computer may identify one or more driving danger areas in the first vicinity around the first location of the vehicle, wherein each of the one or more driving danger areas are associated with one or more driving hazards. The vehicle control computer may generate a configuration for vehicle operation in the first vicinity around the first location of the vehicle based on the one or more driving danger areas and may update driving logic of the vehicle with the configuration.

Each year vehicle accidents account for thousands of deaths and millions of serious injuries. While autonomous and semi-autonomous car systems are poised to significantly reduce the number of vehicle accidents and, by extension, the number of accident related fatalities and injuries, such systems are often insufficient with respect to the early detection of driving hazards in an immediate time frame and providing responses (e.g., driver alerts and vehicle actions) following the detection of such driving hazards. Thus, arrangements for the early detection of driving hazards and providing responses to the detection of such hazards may be advantageous in preventing accidents and furthering motor vehicle safety.

Preemptive logical configuration of vehicle control systems


A container configured to hold a plurality of substrates lined up vertically with space therebetween, which includes a container main unit formed in a tube shape having a quadrangular cross section as a whole that includes a first opening provided on one end side and a second opening provided on the other end side of the container spaced apart in the horizontal direction from the first opening, the first opening serving as an entrance for loading and unloading the substrates, a fan filter unit that is provided in an area of the second opening and that causes movement of air from the second opening toward the first opening, and a lid configured to be attached in an area of the entrance of the container main unit, the lid having an open state and a closed state, and forming a ventilation opening that allows air to pass in the closed state.

The present invention relates to a container for storing substrates that vertically holds a plurality of substrates aligned at certain intervals.
Such a container for storing substrates is used for storing substrates such as glass substrates used for liquid display devices or plasma display devices.
In such a container for storing substrates, conventionally, an opening on one end side of a container main unit formed in a tube shape that extends horizontally is configured as an entrance for loading and unloading substrates one at a time, and a fan filter unit, which performs ventilation from an opening on the other end side toward the entrance of the container main unit, is provided at an opening portion on the other end side of the container main unit (for example, see JP 2001-308169A).
In the above-described container for storing substrates, by performing ventilation with clean air (or filtered air) from an opening on the other end side toward the entrance of the container with the fan filter unit, the clean air being discharged from the entrance, dust present inside the container is prevented from attaching to the substrate and also, outside air is prevented from entering inside the container even when airflow around the container is disturbed due to operation of the container transfer device or the like, thereby maintaining purity of substrates in the container.
However, although the speed of air in the container for maintaining purity of substrates may be comparatively low as long as dust present inside the container is prevented from attaching to substrates, it is necessary to set the speed of air discharged from the container comparatively high in order to prevent back flow of the outside air from the entrance. Therefore in terms of the ventilation flow rate of the fan filter unit, the speed of air discharged from the container needs to be comparatively high, which increases the running cost of the fan filter unit.

Container for storing substrate having ventilated lid and fan


This invention discloses a process for making polymerizable and/or reactable vinyl monomer oligomers with narrow molecular weight distributions using catalytic distillation and a catalyst situated in an immobile catalyst bed in a reaction zone of the distillation column reactor. The polymerizable oligomer products comprise at least 50% by weight of a single molecular weight oligomer fraction.

Efforts to improve upon the various performance properties, including impact resistance, tear resistance and heat sealability among others, as well as the processability of vinyl polymers, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), are the subject of important research and development. This research has grown especially active with the advent of tactiospecific polypropylenes and other vinyl polymers, using tactioselective catalyst such as metallocene catalysts. Although many of these new, sophisticated plastics have good thermal stability and strength, they tend to be brittle and have inferior impact resistance to other plastic products. Efforts to improve the impact resistance of PAOs have recently centered around polymer blends or post polymerization treatments.
Efforts have also been directed at improving the performance properties and processability of crystalline vinyl polymers such as tactiospecific polyalphaolefins polymers by introducing 1-alkene co-monomers with longer alkyl chains into the molecule as side chains to disrupt the crystal packing efficiency of the crystalline vinyl polymers. Efforts have also been directed at decreasing the tactiospecificity of the resulting vinyl polymer or PAO to find a compromise between strength, heat resistance and impact strength.
Due largely to studies on the polymerization of propene, 1-decene and other vinyl monomers, the mechanism of the polymerization of 1-alkene and the effect of that mechanism on polymer structure is reasonably well understood, providing a strong resource for targeting potentially useful oligomerization methods and oligomer structures.
The present invention takes advantage of the ability to combine a chemical transformation and/or reaction and a product separation using a distillation column reactor (DCR). This technique has been called catalytic distillation. Continuous removal of a desired product from the DCR provide one of the unique features that gives catalytic distillation its technical and economic advantages such as lower energy requirements, higher yields, improved product purity, and lower capital investment.
A DCR is generally a conventional fractionation tower equipped with an overhead condenser, reflux pump, reboiler, and control instrumentation, but additionally equipped or fitted with a reaction zone, containing a catalyst, where reaction and distillation occur simultaneously. Depending upon boiling points, feed components are introduced above or below the catalyst zone or bed. Products, unreacted monomers, and other components are continuously removed from the reaction zone by the distillation process.
Catalytic distillation is suitable only for chemical reactions where the distillation of reaction components occurs in the same temperature and pressure range as the reaction. Thus, operation above the critical point can be a limitation, and the presence of azeotropes or close boiling components may cause difficulties.
The catalyst must be stable and insoluble in the feeds or products. The catalyst should be relatively immune to poisoning because frequent catalyst replacement can be costly. The particular catalyst, which generally is a solid material, can include catalyst coated monoliths, catalyst coated packings, or various types of pocketed catalyst packings.
In operation, the reaction liquid and vapor should be able to freely flow through the catalyst zone without unacceptable pressure hindrance and should be able to come to sufficient contact with catalytically active surface, sites, or regions to ensure that the desired chemical transformation occurs in the reaction zone. Also, the method of catalyst packing should be designed to prevent by-passing. The total bed height, or reaction zone, and its position in the DCR are determined by the feed type and composition, and the products and purity desired.
Generally, the chemical transformation and/or reaction occurs in the liquid phase in the presence of a solid catalyst. However, certain gas phase chemical transformation and/or reaction can also occur at the catalyst surface, especially when the reaction zone temperature is tuned to an intermediate molecular weight product. The desired product, having higher molecular weight and generally a higher boiling point than undesirable, lower molecular weight monomers or products, is then fractionally separated into the bottom portion of the DCR upon leaving the reaction zone.
Catalytic distillation has been used commercially to produce a variety of important chemicals including: methyl tert-butyl ether as described in W. Stadig, Catalytic Distillation, Chemical Processing (February, 1987), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,232,177 and 4,307,254; cumene by alkylating propylene with benzene as described in J. Shoemaker et al., "Cumene by Catalytic Distillation," Hydrocarbon Processing, p. 57 (June, 1987); synthetic polyalphaolefin (PAO) lubricants using a DCR to keep a volatile catalyst in the DCR to accomplish the oligomerization as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,798; alkylation of aromatic compounds using cationic exchange resin including those containing sulfonic acid groups, naturally occurring zeolites and synthetic zeolites as described in European Pat. Application No. 189,683; and heterogeneous isoparaffin/olefin alkylation and oligomerization of alpha olefins using a composite catalyst comprising a Lewis acid promoted non-zeolite solid inorganic oxide, large pore crystalline molecular sieve and/or ion exchange resins in the presence of water as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,577. Similar, non-DCR processes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,161, 3,855,342 and 3,862,258.
The catalytic distillation technique has also been used for various chemical separations and transformations including: separating isobutene from a mixture comprising n-butene and isobutene as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,242,530 and 4,215,011 using sulfonic acid modified ion exchange resins; and transetherification as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,336, relates to carried out in a catalytic distillation reactor.
The preceding references are incorporated by reference.
Thus, it would be a substantial advancement in the art to be able to prepare oligomeric products of vinyl monomers with narrow molecular weight distributions for use as polymerizable monomers to improve the performance properties, including impact resistance, and processability of polymers made from the same or different vinyl monomers. Additionally, such oligomers would represent new raw materials for various chemicals heretofor made from alpha olefins, including those with from 6 to 30 carbon atoms.

Catalytic distillation oligomerization of vinyl monomers to make polymerizable vinyl monomer oligomers uses thereof and methods for same


An image forming apparatus of this invention is constructed such that a main base frame constituting the apparatus is formed with a pair of first positioning pins. An attachment member is formed with a pair of second positioning pins and positioning holes for fittingly receiving the first positioning pins therein to position the attachment member relative to the main base frame. A brake force supplier formed with mounting holes is attached to the attachment member while positioned relative thereto by fitting insertion of the second positioning pins in the mounting holes. When the attachment member is not used, another brake force supplier can be directly mounted on the main base frame and positioned relative thereto by fitting insertion of the first positioning pins in mounting holes of the brake force supplier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a positioning structure for a brake force supplier for use in an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and a compound machine having combined functions of these machines, which comprises a main base frame, an upper frame openably mounted on the main base frame, and the brake force supplier for applying a brake force to the upper frame during a closing operation thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
There has been known an image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 10 having a frame structure 200 constructed in the following manner. The frame structure 200 has a main base frame 210 internally provided with various parts such as an imaging unit including a photoreceptor, and an upper frame 220 on which an operating unit including ten key switches and a start button is arranged. In such conventional image forming apparatus having the above frame structure 200, a shaft 221 provided at the rear end of the upper frame 220 is fittingly inserted in bearing portions 211 (only one bearing portion is shown in FIG. 10) provided at the upper rear end of the main base frame 210 to render the upper frame 220 openable (rotatable) with respect to the main base frame 210.
The upper frame 220 is further provided with a pivotal movement transmitter (gear) 222 which is pivotally movable about an axis of the shaft 221 on the inside of the main base frame 210 in association with a rotation (opening/closing) of the upper frame 220. On the outer surface of a side wall of the main base frame 210, there is mounted a brake force supplier 230 in the form such as a gear damper and a torque limiter via positioning pins 212 and 213 that are projected on the side wall of the main base frame 210.
The brake force supplier 230 includes a driven gear 231. The driven gear 231 is driven in accordance with a rotation of the gear 222 via idle gears 241 and 242 that are integrally mounted on a common shaft 240.
With the above image forming apparatus, an operator sets the apparatus in an opened state by pivotally moving the upper frame 220 upward to perform a certain operation such as removal of a jammed sheet. When the operator is on the way of setting the apparatus in a closed state after the certain operation, the brake force supplier 230 applies a certain brake force to the upper frame 220 to reduce the closing speed of the upper frame 220. With this arrangement, there has been eliminated a possibility that a great impact force generates when the upper frame 220 comes into contact with the main base frame 210 at a final stage of closing.
The above image forming apparatus provided with the brake force supplier has recently suffered from the following problem. Specifically, the apparatus of recent model is loaded with an automatic document-feeder unit of a relatively heavy weight on the upper frame 220 to stack a number of original documents and to automatically feed the documents one by one. Accordingly, the total weight of the upper frame side becomes fairly heavy, causing that the conventional brake force supplier 230 cannot apply a brake force great enough to reduce the closing speed of the upper frame 220 to a desirable level.
To desirably reduce the closing speed of the upper frame 220 to cope with the heavy weight of the upper frame side, there has been proposed an idea of mounting a brake force supplier having a greater brake force. However, to meet a change in the brake force, the dimensions of the brake force supplier need changes (e.g., diameter of the main body or a number of gear teeth of the drive gear), and these changes in some cases require a change in a pitch of mounting holes formed in the opposite ends of the brake force supplier to receive the positioning pins 212 and 213. Accordingly, in mounting a brake force supplier having a greater brake force in place of the brake force supplier 230, the position of the pins 212 and 213 need to be adjusted in accordance with the pitch of the mounting holes of the newly mounted brake force supplier.

Positioning structure for brake force supplier for use in image forming apparatus


A marine water separating fuel filter includes a connecting tube head, an upper lid, a filter element, and a container. The filter element is accommodated in the container and sealed by the upper lid, with an axial inlet opening and a limiting ring provided on a hollow taper post to hold against the filter element. An axial pipe of the connecting tube head is screwed to the axial inlet opening. The connecting tube head has a pressing ring to hold against a washer, providing a sealing function. The unfiltered fuel from an inlet end is filtered with the filter element and then filtered fuel expelled through an outlet end. An indication ring is provided on the hollow taper post to indicate the height of liquid. This is an easy and quick way to assemble and disassemble the filter element, providing environmental and economical purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a marine water separating fuel filter, and more particularly to one having a filter element accommodated in a container and sealed by an upper lid, with an axial inlet opening and a limiting ring provided on a hollow taper post to hold against the filter element. An axial pipe of a connecting tube head is screwed to the axial inlet opening of the upper lid. The connecting tube head has a pressing ring to hold against a washer, providing a sealing function. Unfiltered fuel from an inlet end is filtered with the filter element and filtered fuel is expelled through an outlet end. It is easy and quick to assemble and disassemble the filter element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are two types of filter 6 on the market, one is unable to drain oily water and the other is able to drain oily water. The former includes a metallic container 61 to accommodate a filter element 62. The filter element 62 has an axial threaded trough 621 and an upper surface 622, as shown in FIG. 5. A rubber washer 611 is placed on the metallic container 61 to provide a sealing function for an inner air room when the connecting tube head is screwed to the filter element 62, as shown in FIG. 4-A. The latter is substantially similar to the former with the exceptions described hereinafter. The metallic container 61 is provided with a base 63 to store liquid. A drain valve 631 is screwed to the bottom of the base 63. The conventional filters have the following shortcomings:    (1) The former doesn't provide a device to drain oily water. It is necessary to replace a new one after a period of time.    (2) The metallic container is integrally formed with the filter element. It is required to replace the filter element along with the metallic container. This design is not cost-effective.


It is disclosed that succinic acid and its derivatives that contain a branched aliphatic group on the 2 or alpha position of succinic acid form surfactants that exhibit a high order of or bioresistance to bacteriological degradation. Further, it has been discovered that these novel surfactants can be employed to prepare novel oil-in-water emulsions with lube oils such as mineral oil that are effective as cutting fluids for machining operations but provide an improved resistance to biodegradation to the cutting oil so formulated, without resorting to the inclusion of conventional biocides in the formulation. It has also been discovered that the bioresistance of the cutting fluid emulsion formulation can be further enhanced by using a branched aliphatic hydrocarbon oligomer or polymer as the lubricative component in the formulation. Cutting fluid emulsions so formulated are effective fluids in prolonging tool life and facilitating machining operations.

Modern metal working and forming processes normally require the use of cutting fluids whose function is to facilitate the machining operations by cooling and lubricating the workpiece. In machining operations where only lubrication is necessary, lube oils are used. When lubrication and cooling are required, lube oil-in-water emulsions are used. The cooling function is accomplished by the ability of the fluid to carry off the heat generated by the frictional contact between the tool and the workpiece. Cooling aids tool life, preserves tool hardness and helps to maintain the dimensions of the machined parts. The cutting fluid also serves to carry away debris from the work area. Both straight lube oil cutting fluids and lube oil-in-water emulsions conventionally contain additives such as defoamants, corrosion inhibitors, extreme pressure active material, metal cleaners, and the like.
In addition to the primary functions of cooling and lubricating, cutting fluids should be non-corrosive, chemically stable, non-toxic and dermatologically safe. Moreover, the cutting fluid composition itself should have some stability against microorganisms. Bacteria and fungi frequently spoil soluble cutting fluids, especially oil in water emulsions, during machining operations. The cutting environment, which contains warm water and an available carbon source, provides a good medium for microorganism growth. Spoilage often manifests itself first as a foul smell. Furthermore, spoilage can cause color change, emulsion break, acidity increase, and sludge formation. Any of these signal a need to change the cutting fluid. Under severe conditions of use, changes due to biological fouling can be required every few days.
To remedy this situation it is conventional in the art to add various biocides to cutting fluid compositions in order to control microbial growth and thus extend fluid life. However, biocides present their own problems. Some cause contact dermatitis, and others cause allergic dermatitis. Still others, through in situ modification, become suspect carcinogens. Government regulations and worker concern about biocide exposure further inhibit their use. Even in situations where the added biocides have no known adverse reaction to humans, biological fouling of the cutting fluid can still occur within a short time and lead to the serious problems of offensive odor, filter plugging, eventual loss of lubricative properties and corrosion of parts and machinery caused by acidic by-products generated by the microorganisms. Furthermore, if the cutting fluid is employed in the form of a stable emulsion with water, biological fouling can lead to the breaking of the emulsion.
Biocides also seriously complicate the problem of the disposal of waste cutting fluid emulsions. For disposal, the emulsion is broken, usually by acidification. The aqueous phase is separated and preferably discharged into a local river. However, biocides in the emulsion can be carried into the aqueous phase when the emulsion is broken, rendering that phase toxic to marine life and requiring costly pretreatment before discharge to the environment.
In view of the foregoing problems associated with the use of biocides in cutting fluids, an ideal cutting fluid would thus contain no biocide while exhibiting bioresistance for prolonged periods of use.
Soluble cutting oils, such as those exemplified by the current industrial standards, are known to degrade biologically, suggesting that oleic acid or other fatty acids, acting as a surfactant in these fluids, contributes most to spoilage by supplying food for microbial growth. As surfactants, sulfonates can replace carboxylates. However, sulfate-reducing bacteria convert sulfonates to hydrogen sulfide, a well known malodorant. In addition, the typical cutting fluid basestock--namely, mineral oil, contains normal paraffins which can also provide food to microorganisms. It is well known that normal paraffinic moieties are biologically degraded at a rate faster than paraffinic moieties containing branching or tertiary carbon atoms.
The observation of the difference in biodegradability of straight chain versus branched aliphatic hydrocarbons has been applied in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/441,795, filed Nov. 27, 1989 now and incorporated herein by reference. The discovery of bioresistant surfactants based on isohexadecanoic acid and isoeicosanoic acid which have a branched carbon skeleton is reported therein. Cutting oil emulsion formulations prepared using these acids as surfactant show a high resistance to biodegradation, without incorporating biocides in the formulation. However, the branched carboxylic acids disclosed in the cited application as bioresistant surfactants are relatively expensive and their use compromises the utility of cutting oil formulations prepared therefrom.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide novel bioresistant surfactants derived from relatively inexpensive aliphatic carboxylic acids having a branched carbon chain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide cutting oil formulations using these novel bioresistant surfactants.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide cutting oil formulations incorporating the above novel surfactants together with bioresistant, branch chain lubricants.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing novel cutting oil formulations containing non-biocidal additives to enhance their utility and compatibility with environmental biosystems.

Bioresistant surfactants and cutting oil formulations


Wraparound sleeves formed by weaving, knitting or braiding for the protection of elongated articles, such as cables and hoses, are disclosed. The tubes are provided with closure means comprising multifilament, bulky yarn interlaced in the sleeving material and relatively unconfined along one of its marginal edges and of Velcro brand hook tape or similar hook type elements disposed along the other marginal edge.

The use of flexible sleeves for the protection of cables, hoses and other elongated articles for the purposes above noted is well known. In addition, it is well known to secure the marginal edges of the sleeving material together by means of zipper type fastener elements. A product for this purpose is a sleeve formed of braided monofilament secured together by a zipper type fastener element. Such sleeving is sold by The Bentley-Harris Manufacturing Company under the trademark EXPANDO ZIP and is widely used in automotive as well as other applications, for example, for bundling cables and hoses and the like in an automobile or truck engine compartment. Other types of sleeving available from The Bentley-Harris Manufacturing Company are woven, knitted or braided from materials such as monofilaments of engineered plastic materials, glass fiber, wire and bulky yarns and combinations thereof, depending upon the requirements of the particular application. In addition, other means of fastening sleeves of the type disclosed are known in the art. In addition to the use of zipper type fasteners, these include tongue and groove type elongated flexible plastic fasteners, VELCRO hook and loop brand type tapes exposed along the marginal edges of the sleeving material, tape wraps and wire or tape ties. Despite the availability of the foregoing, the need exists for a simple and reliable, relatively low cost system, for closure of a sleeve which will accommodate variations in the diameter of a bundle of elongated articles, such as cables having connectors intermediate their length, while allowing for cable breakouts at points where a cable is required to be connected to a particular instrument or item of equipment.


A portable exercise support stand includes a base from which extend first and second vertical support members, each having upward ends and a resilient, elastic member having ends attached to the upward ends of the first and second support members.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to physical therapy exercise equipment, and particularly to portable physical therapy exercise equipment.
2. Description of the Problem and Related Art
Rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries often entails exercising the affected appendage by moving a joint against a resistive load. If performed in the home, often such exercises comprise using an elastic band having one end secured a stable object, e.g., a piece of furniture, or a door knob. But, while this is convenient and inexpensive, such rudimentary arrangements may not provide sufficient resistive load which otherwise may be provided by more complicated machinery.
Further, physical therapists sometimes conduct rehabilitative training sessions in a patient's home. However, other than the aforementioned elastic bands, porting equipment may be cumbersome, difficult or impractical.
Disclosed herein is a portable support stand for at-home physical therapy to provide a support for elastic bands.

Portable physical therapy exercise support stand


A pixel structure includes a substrate, a plurality of gate lines and data lines, and at least one first pixel. The gate lines and the data lines are disposed on the substrate. The first pixel is disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to corresponding gate line and data line. The first pixel includes a first electrode, a first dielectric layer and a second electrode. The first electrode is disposed on the substrate. The first dielectric layer is disposed on the first electrode, and the first dielectric layer has at least one first island structure. The second electrode is disposed on a top surface of the first island structure, and the second electrode partially exposes the top surface of the first island structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pixel structure and a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly, to a pixel structure and a liquid crystal panel with high liquid crystal (LC) efficiency and low capacitive load.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advance of liquid crystal techniques, liquid crystal display (LCD) panel has been widely used in flat TV, notebook computer, mobile phone and various types of consuming electronic products. In order to solve the narrow viewing angle problem of LCD panel, a fringe field switching (FFS) LCD panel has been proposed. In an FFS LCD panel, the common electrode and the pixel electrode with different voltages are both disposed at different levels of the array substrate (also referred to as TFT substrate), and a wide viewing angle display effect can be achieved.
The pixel structure of a conventional FFS LCD panel includes a dielectric layer between the pixel electrode and the common electrode, and also between the data line and the common electrode. The thickness of the dielectric layer would affect LC efficiency. Specifically, with a constant voltage difference, when the thickness of the dielectric layer is thinner, the LC electrical field and the LC efficiency are higher; when the thickness of the dielectric layer is thicker, the LC electrical field and the LC efficiency are lower. Thus, when the LC efficiency is considered, the thickness of the dielectric layer is as thin as possible. However, when the common electrode is disposed over the pixel electrode, the thickness of the dielectric layer also affects the capacitive load between the common electrode and the data line. That is to say, when the thickness of the dielectric layer is thinner, the capacitive load between the common electrode and the data line is higher, which would increase power consumption.
Therefore, in the pixel structure of the conventional FFS LCD panel, there is a trade-off between the LC efficiency and the capacitive load of the common electrode and the data line.

Pixel structure and liquid crystal panel