A pressure force exerted by first and second cylinders upon at least a third cylinder in a printing machine is regulated by a pressure regulating device. The device can also be using for moving a first cylinder and at least one second cylinder into and out of contact with a third cylinder. Actuators, which exert a radial force on a cylinder cooperating with the actuators, are provided. An aperture angle between the radial forces exerted by two actuators on the same cylinder is the same in both cylinders. That aperture angle is independent of an aperture angle formed by the pressure force exerted by the first and second cylinders on the third cylinder.

Inking units or dampening units of printing presses are employed for conveying an ink or a required dampening agent from appropriate supply devices to printing zone. Rollers or cylinders are provided in the inking unit or in the dampening unit for forming the required ink film or dampening agent film. The term roller and cylinder have the same meaning for understanding the present invention and will be used interchangeably. The rollers come into contact with each other along so-called roller strips. The ink film or the dampening agent film can be transferred in the roller strips from one roller to another roller.
Rollers, which are adjustably supported in a machine frame, are provided in such inking units or dampening units. A contact pressure in the roller strips can be changed by displacing these adjustably seated rollers with respect to the other rollers. An inking unit, with a distribution roller seated fixed in the frame and with a forme cylinder also seated fixed in the frame, is known from EP 0 826 501 A1. Inkis transferred from the distribution roller to the forme cylinder by use of an application roller that is arranged between the distribution roller and the forme cylinder. The application roller is itself adjustably seated in the machine frame and can be pressed, with an adjustable force, into the gap between the distribution roller and the forme cylinder. The device for seating the application roller is embodied in this prior device in such a way that the force with which the application roller is pressed into the gap between the distribution roller and the forme cylinder always acts along a bisecting line of an angle. In other words, although the size of the force for pressing the application roller can be changed, the direction of the force is unchangeably preset by the structural embodiment of the setting device. Thus, only the size of the contact pressure force can be changed for setting the contact pressure in the roller strips between the forme cylinder and the distribution roller on the one hand, and the application roller on the other hand. The resulting contact pressures in the roller strips ensue on the basis of the preset geometry.
A device for clamping bearing bushes of printing and forme cylinder bearing of a printing press is known from the Letters Patent DD 64 064. The device provides a hydraulic force for pressing the bearing bushes against the bore wall of the machine frame. The bearing bushes consist of two bushing sleeves shrunk on each other. Two hydraulically chargeable pressure chambers have been worked into the inner wall of the outer bearing bush, which pressure chambers are placed on both sides at 120° in respect to the resultant of the mean forces acting on the bearing. The true running properties of the cylinders are improved with this device, because a movement of the cylinders which is, to a large extent, vibration-free is achieved by the removal of the play which the bearing bushes have in the bore of the machine frame which receives them.
Letters Patent DE 15 61 014 C1 shows a roller bearing which is adjustable in only one direction, and which is used, in particular, for distribution and application rollers of inking units of printing presses. Setting assemblies, for adjusting the roller transversely in respect to its axis, are provided. The setting assemblies are arranged between a bearing journal connected with the frame wall and a housing, which housing receives one roller end and which is preferably embodied in a cup shape. The bearing journal and the housing are connected with each other by spring elements, which act oppositely to the setting assemblies; Here, the spring elements are preferably embodied as radially extending rubber bumpers, and the setting assemblies acting on the bearing journal are either embodied as a radially arranged setting screw, or as two setting screws arranged at 45°. In accordance with a further embodiment, the engagement or the disengagement of the roller, and therefore the adjustment of the roller bearing, can also take place by the use of two pressure chambers, which are diametrically arranged inside the housing and which can be acted on by air or a fluid, wherein the pressure chambers acting against each other are selectively charged with pressure.
In the embodiments disclosed in DE 15 61 014 C1, the placement of the adjustably seated roller against adjoining rollers preferably takes place wherein a pressure chamber inserted into an elastic body, or a movably arrange piston, are put under pressure. Because of the tendency of the volume of the pressure chamber to expand under pressure, the pressure chamber or the piston, which is moved by pressure, causes the adjustably seated roller to move along an actuation path. The contact pressure in the roller strip between the adjustably seating roller and its adjoining rollers is accomplished by the setting of setting screws. The disengagement of the adjustably seated roller takes place by releasing the pressure in the pressure chamber and preferably by a restoration of the resiliently deformed elastic body. Accordingly, the engagement or disengagement of the rollers is provided by the selective supply and removal of a pressure medium, while the setting of the rollers, in relation to each other, is provided by the actuation of one or of several radial setting screws. Different mechanisms are required for the engagement and disengagement of the rollers and for the setting of the rollers in respect to each other.
A device for engaging and disengaging application rollers in an inking unit of rotary printing presses, by use of pistons charged with a pressure medium, is known from GB 1 213 935 A. Each application roller is seated on a pivot lever which is pivotable around an inking unit roller. The bearing of the application roller is connected with a piston, which is arranged in the pivot level, which is movable in the longitudinal direction of the latter and which can be charged with a pressure medium. During the charging of this piston with a pressure medium, the application roller is placed against, or is moved away from the ink unit roller. The pivot lever is pivotable by use of a further piston which is charged with a pressure medium arranged in a cylinder. In the course of being charged with a pressure medium, this further piston pivots the pivot lever around the inking unit roller, and, in the process, places the application roller against a forme cylinder, or moves it away from the forme cylinder. In connection with this device, it is disadvantageous that the pistons and pivot levers require a considerable amount of structural space for their arrangement and for performing the movement in the course of their actuation in the printing group. They are also exposed to considerable soiling, for example by sprayed ink fog, because of their immediate closeness to ink-carrying rollers, from which exposure a certain susceptibility to malfunctions arises. Time-intensive and cost-intensive cleaning and maintenance work are required in a hard to access place of the printing press.
A device for setting a contact pressure between rollers of a printing press is known from DE 100 01 582 A1. Hydraulic actuating elements, which are preferably embodied as double piston cylinders, are arranged between the adjoining rollers.

Device for regulating cylinders in a printing machine


Disclosed is a lens barrel structure comprises: a base; a lens barrel provided on the base; a lens moving mechanism provided in the lens barrel, the lens moving mechanism supporting a lens movably in an optical axis direction thereof and being supplied with a rotational drive force thereby to move the lens in the optical axis direction; a lens drive mechanism provided to the base, the lens drive mechanism supplying the lens moving mechanism with the rotational drive force, and including a motor including an output shaft, a drive gear provided to the output shaft, and a gear train that meshes with the drive gear to supply motive power of the motor to the lens moving mechanism; and a detecting mechanism that detects a rotation speed of the motor. The detecting mechanism includes a sensing plate that is provided to the output shaft and that rotates integrally with the output shaft, and a detector that detects rotation of the sensing plate; and of gears included in the gear train, a first gear to mesh with the drive gear is supported in a cantilever support manner on the side of the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lens barrel structure and an image capture apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In image capture apparatuses, such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras, a lens barrel structure is provided that includes an image capture optical system that contains lenses arranged in a lens barrel and an image device element that captures a subject image.
A lens barrel structure of the type described above has a lens moving mechanism and a lens drive mechanism. The lens moving mechanism holds lenses movably along an optical axis direction, and is supplied with a rotational drive force, thereby to move the lenses along the optical axis direction. The lens drive mechanism supplies the rotational drive force to the lens moving mechanism.
The lens drive mechanism includes, for example, a motor having an output shaft, and a gear train that meshes with a drive gear provided to the output shaft thereby to supply power of the motor to the lens moving mechanism.
In the event of controlling the lens moving mechanism, sensing is performed to sense, for example, the rotation amount and rotation direction of the motor. The sensing is performed by using a sensing plate provided to, for example, an output shaft of the motor or a rotation shaft constituting a gear train, and a detector that detects the rotation of the sensing plate. In this case, when attempting miniaturization, there arises the problem of interference between the sensing plate and the gear train.
As a related art structure including a sensing plate provided to an output shaft of a motor, there has been proposed a configuration that uses a motor of the type having output shafts individually extending from both ends of a housing of the motor. In this case, a drive gear is provided to the one output shaft, and a sensing plate is provided to the other output shaft, thereby to prevent the interference between the support axes of the sensing plate and the gear train (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-318338, for example).
In addition, as a related art structure, a configuration has been proposed wherein, in view of the fact that gears of a gear train are supported in an inboard (both-side) support manner in many cases, a rotation detection gear dedicated to mesh with a drive gear is newly provided, and a sensing plate rotatable integrally with the rotation detection gear is provided, thereby to prevent interference between the sensing plate and support axes of the gear train (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-194574, for example).
Nevertheless, however, in any one of the configurations described above, it is disadvantageous to accomplish the miniaturization because the occupation spacing for the sensing plate should be secured. In addition, in the latter configuration, the rotation detection gear to detect the motor rotation needs to be provided, thereby making it disadvantageous to implement, for example, reduction in the number of components and the miniaturization.

Lens barrel structure and image capture apparatus


A cannula comprising a hollow tube made of a biocompatible, thermoplastic polymer, memory shape material, tipped with an injection needle at it distal end, assumes desired shapes as it distally emerges from a lumen or channel of an instrument such as an introducer or endoscope. The desires shape includes a curvature conforming to an inverse tangent function. The cannula may be supplied alone, with or without an injection needle, and in a sterile pouch, for use with a device of an user's choice that has a suitable lumen or channel to guide the cannula, of the cannula may be used without such an instrument.

Flexible cannulas are widely used in medical procedures to pass through cannula lumens in instruments such as endoscope and introducers and treat internal patient sites, for example to inject a substance in an internal organ, to deliver a substance to an internal site, to apply electrical current or other energy to an internal site, to view an internal organ, and to extract tissue samples or fluids from an internal site, to name a few. Such cannulas may also find use in fields other than medicine, for example to access internal regions in objects that are not otherwise easily reachable.
One condition treated with injections in the bladder Overactive Bladder (OAB). In about 2013, the FDA approved treatment of OAB by periodically injecting OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) at sites in a pattern along the inner wall of the patient's bladder. Previous methods of delivering OnabotulinumtoxinA to the bladder have involved inserting a cystoscope in the bladder through the urethra, passing a long metal needle through a lumen or working channel in the cystoscope, and manipulating the entire assembly both laterally and along the axis of the urethra as a unit to inject medication at numerous injection sites in the bladder. Such previous devices and methods have resulted in significant patient discomfort and hold the danger off damage to the urethra and surrounding tissue.
A desired placement and pattern of the multiple injections in the bladder are associated with significantly improved treatment outcomes. It is important that devices and methods of injecting OnabotulinumtoxinA into the bladder offer physicians performing the procedure precise control. However, it had been difficult to create precise injection patterns using such previous devices and methods when the scope moves with the needle when aiming for a new injection site. Moreover, said devices are usually not disposable, and must be disassembled and sterilized after each use, making them difficult to maintain and increasing the risk of contamination or infection. More recently, disposable cannulas with integrated video camera and injection needles have been discussed. See for example US Published Application 2016/0367119 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 10,278,563.
There are proposals to use cannulas made of shape memory metals that change shape after emerging from lumens in devices such as introducers. See Sachveda U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,435 illustrating in FIG. 4 a tubular section 42 with a leading edge shaped as a surgical needle that curls after exiting a straight delivery tube 50. According to the patent, the curling section is made of metal alloys such as Nitinol. See also McGucken Published Patent Application US 2003/0032929 A1 proposing a shape memory Nitinol infusion needle and mentioning that polymer material might be used in some applications for a shaft in which a shape memory stylet moves but not that the polymer material can be shape memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Healthcare costs are a significant worldwide, with many patients being denied medications because of their high prices. One approach to addressing this problem involves the biosynthesis of chiral drug intermediates, an environmentally friendly solution that can be used to generate pharmaceuticals at much lower costs than conventional techniques. In this context, embodiments of the invention comprise methods and materials designed to allow microorganisms to biosynthesize the nonnatural amino acid L-homoalanine. As is known in the art, L-homoalanine is a chiral precursor of a variety of pharmaceutically valuable compounds including the anticonvulsant medications levetiracetam (sold under the trade name Keppra®) and brivaracetam, as well as ethambutol, a bacteriostatic antimycobacterial drug used to treat tuberculosis. Consequently, embodiments of the invention can be used in low cost, environmentally friendly processes to generate these and other valuable compounds.

The dramatic increase in healthcare costs has become a significant burden to the world, with many patients being denied medications because of their high prices. The biosynthesis of chiral drugs and drug intermediates offers an environmentally friendly approach to addressing such problems, for example, by providing cost effective methodologies for the production of therapeutic agents as well as the intermediates and/or precursors used to make such agents.
L-homoalanine is a nonnatural amino acid that is a key chiral intermediate for the synthesis of several important drugs (FIG. 1A). For example, it can be converted to S-2-aminobutyramide, which is the immediate precursor of the antiepileptic drugs levetiracetam and brivaracetam. L-homoalanine can also be converted to S-2-aminobutanol, a chemical intermediate in methods for synthesizing the antituberculosis compound ethambutol. Methods for synthesizing therapeutic compounds such as levetiracetam and ethambutol must overcome a number of technical challenges. For example, the optical purity of these drugs is critical for therapeutic safety and efficacy. The R-enantiomer of levetiracetam has no antiepileptic activity (see, e.g. Shorvon et al., (2002) Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 72(4):426-429) and (R,R)-form of ethambutol can cause blindness (see, e.g. Breuer M, et al. (2004) Angewandte Chemie International Edition 43(7):788-824).
Even though ethambutol and levetiracetam are now generic drugs, in many countries the cost of just one month's supply exceeds the entire annual per capita health expenditure (see, e.g. Moore-Gillon J (2001) Ann NY Acad Sci 953:233-240). The prohibitive drug price has created global healthcare problems. For example, while epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide, most of the patients cannot afford the levetiracetam treatment, and must use cheaper but much less effective alternatives such as phenobarbital (see, e.g. Scott et al. (2001) B World Health Organ 79:344-351). One approach to reducing drug costs in order to make them more widely available involves cost-effective approaches to L-homoalanine synthesis (e.g. by reducing the manufacturing cost of compounds such as levetiracetam).
Most of the natural L-amino acids can now be produced from glucose by microbial fermentation (see, e.g. Ikeda M (2002) Adv Biochem Eng Biot 79:1-35). Notably, L-glutamate, L-lysine, and L-threonine are produced more than 2 million tons annually (see, e.g. Leuchtenberger et al. (2005) Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69(1):1-8). In contrast to methods for making natural L-amino acids, methods for the commercial-scale preparation of nonnatural amino acids are typically complex as well as environmentally unfriendly. In one prior art approach, chemically synthesized 2-ketoacids are asymmetrically converted to optically pure nonnatural amino acids by transaminases or dehydrognenases (see, e.g. Leuchtenberger et al. (2005) Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69(1):1-8; Taylor et al. (1998) Trends Biotechnol 16(10):412-418). Another approach uses enzymes such as acylases or amidases to resolve racemic mixtures of nonnatural amino acids (see, e.g. Leuchtenberger et al. (2005) Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69(1):1-8).
Due to, for example, their usefulness in a making a variety of valuable therapeutic compounds, there is a need in the art for methods and materials that facilitate the cost effective and environmentally friendly biosynthesis of nonnatural amino acids such as L-homoalanine. Unlike natural amino acids however, the total biosynthesis of nonnatural amino acids from simple sugars involves significant technical challenges. For example, in one environmentally friendly and cost effective approach, metabolic pathways in an organism are altered in order to expand the biosynthetic capabilities of that organism (see, e.g. Zhang et al. (2008) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105(52):20653-20658). In such approaches, the altered metabolic pathways then facilitate or direct the production of a target compound such as a nonnatural amino acid (see, e.g. Causey et al. (2003) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100(3):825-832). Unfortunately, however, the results of any manipulation designed to alter an organism's metabolic pathways can be unpredictable and such efforts typically require extensive protein evolution (see, e.g. Arnold F H (2001) Nature 409(6817):253-257).

Composition and methods for the production of L-homoalanine

The Regents of the University of California


Two methods and apparatuses are described for hydrazine synthesis through nitrogen fixation induced by photoexcitation of N2. Both methods of photoexcitation of N2 for hydrazine synthesis involve a two-photon absorption process. The first method of N2 fixation with H2 uses a high-energy short-pulsed Nd: YAG laser with wavelength of 1.06 μm. The two-photon absorption of N2 is followed by a vibrational-vibrational (V—V) energy transfer that leads to a near-complete population inversion of N2 vibrational states. The energy separation of these states is larger than the activation energy needed for N2H4 formation. The second method of N2 fixation with H2O uses a high-energy short-pulsed blue laser with wavelength of 0.4 μm. The two-photon absorption at 0.4 μm pumps N2 to a highly excited vibrational state, which has enough energy to both dissociate H2O into H2 and O2, and to react with H2 to form N2H4 as in the above direct method of N2 fixation with H2.

A number of experimental and theoretical efforts for producing hydrazine based on direct synthesis of N2 and H2 as well as preparation by nitrogen fixation have been undertaken during the past several decades. Most consisted of attempts to stimulate inert H2 into bonding with N2. At best, however, the end product was ammonia. Traces of N2H4 were detected in some cases, but the yield was in the fractional percent range and did not warrant commercial exploitation. Stimulation of the N2—H2 reaction by glow discharge, β-radiation, and α-radiation has also been tried, but no practical results were obtained.
Some experimental efforts were made by Olin et al [J. Chem. Eng. Data, 6, 384 (1991)] under conditions of extreme pressure (667 MPa) and temperature (8000 K), such as those achieved for a few milliseconds in a ballastic piston apparatus containing N2 and H2. This method also failed to produce N2H4 from its elements. This is due to the fact that N2 is a very inert molecule, making it very difficult to form any chemical compound directly from N2. As will be explained later, the temperatures (˜8000 K) turn out to be not high enough to overcome the activation energy requirement. Also the confinement time is too short for the reaction to go to completion. Nevertheless, the energy differentials involved in reductive fixation of N2 have shown that a catalytic process is possible under mildly reducing conditions only. It requires the cooperation of powerful reactants with an absolute potential energy of not less than 1.4 eV. Other than a catalytic approach, however, one based on laser chemistry is also workable as described below.
In order to overcome the difficulties of N2H4 formation by means of direct nitrogen fixation, an energy of activation to promote elementary chemical reactions must be considered for practical applications; that is, in order that the reaction may take place, the stored energy of the system must be raised a certain amount above that of the initial state, or in other words, a potential barrier must be overcome in going from the initial to the final states. This barrier can be high for reactions between saturated molecules; however, it can also be high for reactions in which radicals or free atoms take part, as will be demonstrated for N2+2 H2=N2H4 that is considered below.
Activation energies were first treated theoretically as an application of quantum mechanics by London [Z. Elektrochem. 35, 552(1929)]. Based on knowledge of the potential curves of the participating diatomic molecules, it is possible to predict the approximate magnitude of the activation energy. A quantitative determination can then be made using the experimental data of enthalpy of formation. In this connection, one may mention that diazene, HN═NH, is a short-lived intermediate of N2H4 decomposition and possibly also an intermediary of hydrazine formation through N2 fixation. It is important to know its heat of formation in order to calculate the heat of reactions involving N2H2 as it forms hydrazine. A standard enthalpy of formation for the trans isomer has been measured in a mass spectrometer and calculated from appearance potentials,(ΔH)f298=(212±8) KJ/mol[see Foner et al, J. Chem. Phys. 68, 3162 (1978), ibid, P. 3169–3171; Frost et al, J. Chem. Phys. 64, 4719 (1976)]. Some of the earlier reported enthalpy data were those of Willis et al [Can. J. Chem. 54, 1 (1976); ibid, 47, 3007 (1969)], who prepared N2H2 by microwave discharge in a hydrazine vapor. Their data resulted in a heat of formation of diazene, of(ΔH)f298=(151±8) KJ/molThe ionization potential of N2H4 in their tests was found to be (9.7±0.1) eV, and the ionization potential of the N2H radical was 7.6 eV.
Another contribution to this question is the work by Wiberg, et al [Z. Naturf. 34B, 1385(1979)] who calculated the heat of formation of trans-diazene from ionization and appearance potentials of the molecule fragment to be 134 KJ/mol. The enthalpy of isomerization to iso-diazene is 54 KJ/mol. The N—N and N—H dissociation energies are 510 KJ/mol and 339 KJ/mol, respectively. The energetic relationships between N2H4 and its dehydrogenation products are shown schematically below

This is the energy scheme of dehydrogenation of hydrazine with hydrogen extracted as H2. Diazene is thus in analogy to N2H4, an endothermic compound, and it is expected to decompose spontaneously.
The above considerations then imply
which, in turn, implies that the activation energy for N2H4 formation from N2 and two hydrogen molecules is 0.99 eV. A comparable amount of energy can be stored in N2 as vibrational energy. In order to have a quantitative description we follow the customary formulation where the energy levels of a diatomic molecule may be written as
                                                                                E                                      v                    ,                    J                                                  =                                                      E                    vib                                    +                                      E                    rot                                                                                E                  vib                                =                                                                            ω                      e                                                                                (                                              v                        +                                                  1                          /                          2                                                                    )                                                        -                                                            ω                      e                                                                                x                          e                                                                                (                                                      v                            +                                                          1                              /                              2                                                                                )                                                                    2                                                        +                  …                                                                                E                  rot                                =                                                                            B                      v                                                                                J                                                                    (                                                  J                          +                          1                                                )                                                                              -                                                                                D                        v                                                                                [                                                  J                                                                                (                                                          J                              +                              1                                                        )                                                                          ]                                                              2                                    +                  …                                                                    }                            (        1        )            whereBv=Be−αe(v+½)+ . . .Dv=De+ . . .Here v and J are the vibrational and rotational quantum numbers, respectively. In this customary formulation, the constants ωe, Be, etc., as tabulated for diatomic molecules, are given in units of cm−1. For N2, we haveωe=2358.57 cm−1 ωexe=14.32 cm−1 Be=1.99824 cm−1 αe=0.017318 cm−1 De=5.76*10−6 cm−1To convert cm−1 to eV, one uses 1 eV=8068.3 cm−1. For a vibrational quantum number v=4, we haveEv=4,J=0−Ev=0,J=0=1.13 eV>0.99 eVwhich is larger than the required activation energy, and one should expect that

A method of obtaining N2(v=4) from N2(v=0) begins when N2(v=0) is pumped to N2(v=8) by two-photon absorption with high energy, short pulse Nd: YAG lasers (λ=1.06 μm) providing the photons. As will be shown below, under intense laser irradiation, half of the N2 will end up in the v=8 state, while the other half will remain in the v=0 state when the two-state up and down transitions between v=0 and v=8 are saturated. If this excited gas of N2 is subsequently compressed at high pressures (˜100 Atm), then because of near-resonant V—V energy transfers an energy equilibrium will be reached when all N2 molecules are in the v=4 state, and no further energy exchanges between these molecules are possible. When N2(v=4) gas mixes with H2 gas with the molar ratio of 1:2 as in (B) under the conditions of high gas pressure and low temperatures (˜300 K), liquid hydrazine will be formed.
One may point out that the physical concept just described is in fact a very common practice in the scientific community. The most prominent example is excimer lasers, such as XeCl and KrF. As is well known, Xe and Kr are inert gases like He, Ne, and Ar; they don't react with other atoms in their ground states. However, when Xe or Kr is pumped to an excited state, it becomes chemically active, and will react with Cl and F to form bound diatomic molecules XeCl and KrF, respectively. Thus the failure to entice N2 to react with H2 can be understood to occur because certain energy conditions are required that are not properly met. My proposed methods to satisfy the required energy condition will thus have important practical consequences.
There remains an important scientific issue concerning how reaction (B) takes place. In addition to energy considerations and the relationship that (A) is a reverse process to (B), a number of intermediate chemical processes occur before the final product, which is N2H4, forms as in reaction (B). From the known molecular structure of N2H4, namely,

The intermediate step in reaction (B) must therefore involve an electron transfer process. The experimental evidence as well as the theoretical basis for hydrazine electron transfer (ET) chemistry have been extensively established by a number of investigators. The following review articles and papers contain the scientific information that underlies and supports the present invention:                (a) S. F. Nelson, "Molecular Structure and Energetics". In Liebman et al, Eds.; VCH Publishers, Inc., Deerfield Beach, Fla., 1986, Vol. 3, Chapter 1;        (b) S. F. Nelson, Acc. Chem. Res. 14, 131 (1981); and        (c) K. Kobuta et al, J. Phys. Chem. 86, 602 (1982).
Finally, I wish to point out that hydrazine is in many respects very much like water. The following table compares several important physical properties of those two substances. Also included are the boiling points of H2, N2 and O2. They are, of course, very different from those of N2H4 and H2O. It appears that hydrazine is suitable to replace gasoline for internal combustion engine if the price is right.
H2ON2H4H2N2O2Molecular Weight, g/mol183222832Boiling point, ° C.100113.5−258−196−183Melting point, ° C.01.8Liquid density, g/cm310.997Vapor pressure, Torr (mmHg)2510.4Dielectric constant78.351.7

Direct synthesis of hydrazine through nitrogen fixation by means of two-photon absorptions


To increase the radiation output from a discharge lamp having a diaphragm arrangement located between an anode (3) and a heatable cathode (4), the diaphragm arrangement constricts the radiation discharge path along an axis (5, 105) extending through the diaphragm opening and towards the anode (3, 103), and has a dimension along the length of said axis of at least 0.3 mm. The diaphragm arrangement can be formed by a plurality, preferably about 3 diaphragm elements (6, 7, 8), each having diaphragm openings of from between 0.1 to 2 mm, made of sheet metal of a thickness of at least 0.03 mm, and preferably of between 0.1 to 1 mm, and in which the spacing of the diaphragm openings (10, 11, 12) with respect to each other is in the range of about 0.1 to 5 mm, preferably about 0.3 mm; alternatively, the diaphragm arrangement may include one massive diaphragm having an axial thickness of between 1 and 50 mm, preferably between about 1 and 5 mm, and spaced from the anode by between about 0.5 and 2 mm, with a diaphragm diameter (113) between about 0.1 and 2 mm.

German 39 08 553 C1, Thomas et al., describes a gas discharge lamp which includes a fill of deuterium or hydrogen within a cylindrical bulb made of quartz glass. A support structure supports an anode and a cathode. A diaphragm is located in the housing to constrict a discharge or arc between the electrodes. The cathode is located outside of, or laterally of an axis defined by the radiation path through the opening of the diaphragm. The structure supporting the anode and cathode is formed with a window, similar to a diaphragm opening, removed or cut from the material of the structure to provide for shielding of cathode emitter material. Only a single diaphragm is possible because of the arrangement of the structure; consequently, only a single plasma region can be obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,049, Smolka et al., relates to an electrodeless discharge lamp with an apertured diaphragm body therein.

Discharge lamp which has a fill of at least one of deuterium, hydrogen, mercury, a metal halide, or a noble gas


A wideband leaky-wave microstrip antenna having two elongated rectangular nductive patches separated by a gap on a first dielectric material and an elongated rectangular conductive coupling patch on a second dielectric material placed over the gap. The selective placement of the conductive patches and the gap formed thereby permits impedance matching resulting in a leaky-wave propagation mode. Non-radiating modes of propagation are not excited, thereby enhancing the leaky-wave mode of propagation causing radiation. This results in a relatively wide bandwidth of operation that has a main beam that is scannable as a function of frequency. The bandwidth increases substantially as the dielectric constant approaches one. The planar construction contributes to design flexibility and ease of manufacture and has many applications military and commercial communication systems.

Microstrip antennas are used in many applications and have advantageous features such as being lightweight, having a low profile, being planar, and generally of relatively low cost to manufacture. Additionally, the planar structure of a microstrip antenna permits the microstrip antenna to be conformed to a variety of surfaces having different shapes. This results in the microstrip antenna being applicable to many military and commercial devices, such as use on aircraft or space antennas. However, the application of many microstrip antennas are limited due to their inherent narrow, less than 10%, frequency bandwidth. While there have been attempts to increase this bandwidth, they have had limited success. Additionally, previous wideband antennas have been bulky and relatively complex such as horn, helix, or log periodic antennas. Therefore, there is a need for a wide bandwidth antenna that combines the benefits of a microstrip antenna with the wideband features of relatively more costly and complex antennas.

Wideband planar leaky-wave microstrip antenna

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


System and method for benchmarking a container orchestration platform in a computing environment uses data contained in a configuration file, which specifies at least one benchmark operation having benchmark actions for container orchestration resource types to be performed in the container orchestration platform, to create a resource manager for each container orchestration resource type specified in the configuration file. Using the created resource managers, a routine for each benchmark action is spawned and executed on container orchestration objects in the container orchestration platform. As the routines are executed, performance metrics are collected and at least some of the collected performance metrics are displayed.

Kubernetes®, which is a registered trademark of Cloud Native Computing Foundation®, is an open-source container orchestration software that automates the operation of containerized cloud applications. Kubernetes® software can support data center outsourcing to public cloud service providers or can be used for web hosting at scale. Server and mobile applications with complex custom code can be deployed using Kubernetes® software on commodity hardware to lower the costs on application provisioning with public cloud hosts and to optimize software development processes. Thus, Kubernetes® software is rapidly emerging as a mainstream platform for container orchestration in both on-premise and cloud environments.
As increasing amount of workloads are being deployed with Kubernetes® software, it is critical to understand the performance and scalability implication brought by this new paradigm on top of the already complicated physical and virtual system stack. This need, however, is impeded by the lack of a standard, accurate, and easy-to-use benchmarking tool.


A bearing apparatus for reducing vibrations in a compressor shaft (17) carrying a rotating compressor (10) is provided. The bearing apparatus comprises a first bearing (14) for supporting the shaft (17) and a second bearing (13) spaced outboard from the first bearing (14) for producing a moment on the shaft and additional damping counter to the direction of vibrations.

In order to increase the performance of a compressor or other rotating machine, it is often desirable to increase the length of the shaft supporting the rotating elements of the machine. As the length is increased, the critical rotation frequencies at which vibrations take place are reduced. The vibrations are related to the natural sag between the ends of the shaft supported by bearings at each end. While placing additional bearings near the center of the shaft has been considered, it is a considerable drawback. Access to the bearing is very difficult, if not impossible, without disassembling the entire machine. One proposal is to use magnetic bearings near the midpoint between the ends of the shaft as explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,604. It is an object of the present invention to damp the vibrations of a rotating shaft and to increase the critical frequency without requiring addition of inaccessible bearings.


A perch for a domestic bird has a tree suspended from the ceiling or other overhanging structure. The tree portion may be made using a natural hardwood or artificial tree, such as a manzanita tree, suspending its trunk and major branches in a substantially horizontal orientation. The perch is prevented from rotating about vertical and horizontal axes through the perch by being suspended at three points forming a triangle circumscribing a substantial part of the perch, including its center of gravity. In a preferred version, a bird using the perch is prevented from crawling upward on a suspension member by a disk which is mounted on the suspension member in such a way that it can be easily tipped. The perch also includes a feeding dish connected thereto by a quick release mechanism, including a pin assembly extending from the dish into a coupling which accepts the pin assembly at one angular orientation while it holds the pin assembly in place at another angular orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a suspended perch for a domestic bird, and more particularly, to a suspended perch with a feeding cup attached thereto by means of a quick release mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Owners of pet birds, such as parrots, should provide various types of perches, external to a cage, for indoor use and exercise by the bird. The perches should ideally imitate a natural setting for the bird, to the extent possible, and may be fabricated from nontoxic natural and nontoxic artificial materials, with hardwood trees being quite popular. The manzanita tree, which grows at high elevations in Arizona and California, provides materials which are especially suitable for this application. Small branches of the manzanita tree are commercially supplied for use within cages, and entire trees, except for leaves and roots, are supplied mounted to bases for upright use standing on the floor. In these applications, a particularly hard surface, like that of the manzanita tree, is preferred, because many birds tend to destroy the surfaces of relatively soft woods by pecking. The use of a hard wood surface provides a significant advantage over other materials, such as smooth plastics, since the bird can more easily hold onto the perch, and is thus less likely to tire.
A particular disadvantage of using a manzanita tree as it is supplied in the upright configuration is that the trunk and major branches are more vertical than horizontal. Perching birds, on the other hand, better utilize surfaces which are more horizontal on which to stand, walk and climb. A tree, placed in the conventional position with the trunk being vertical, and having horizontal attached branches sufficiently long to satisfy the needs of the perching bird would be much too large to fit inside a person's home. Advertisements from different companies in Bird Talk magazine, March 1992, page 138, and April, 1992, page 79, show manzanita trees, attached to stands to become upright floor standing bird perches offered for sale. The pictures of these advertisements clearly show that most of the surfaces of the trees are substantially more vertical than horizontal, which indicates the need to add horizontal branches to achieve a more mobile area.
Another disadvantage of standing trees used as perches is that many domestic birds whose wings are clipped will climb down the trunk to the floor. A bird that has climbed down form the perch may be in serious danger of being stepped upon, of chewing on an electric cord, of being attacked by another household pet, or of doing damage to furniture or other possessions of the owner. Thus, all domestic birds on conventional open perches must be supervised at all times.
Another common problem faced by the owners of domestic birds is the conventional cups used to feed the birds. Typical feeding and watering cups, generally made of stainless steel or other metals with a lead free power coat finish, or of a hard plastic coating, are provided with internally threaded bosses descending centrally from their lower surfaces to engage externally threaded bolts. Such bolts may be, in turn, used to fasten the cups, for example, to perches inside cages or on an external perch. A food or water cup should be removed every day for refilling and additionally for cleaning in order to prevent serious illnesses of the bird due to bacteria. The feeding and watering cups are removed and re-attached by unscrewing or screwing the boss into or from the threaded bolt. One problem with the attachment of cups by the conventional method is the time required for removal and re-attachment by screwing the cup off and on. This problem is particularly serious because some birds can be especially territorial concerning their food cup; many birds, even when tame, repeatedly peck any hand being used to remove this device. Another problem is that some bird have the capability of unscrewing a conventional cup unless it is tightly secured, thereby causing unnecessary spillage. A tightly secured cup, in turn, increases the time and difficulty to remove the cup, thereby permitting the bird additional time to peck at the owner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,244, issued to Salick on May 31, 1977, describes a feeder for outdoor birds, which is fastened, for example, under the limb of a tree by a cord. The feed is placed in a plastic bag which is pierced by a pair of pointed sticks extending therethrough to provide perching surfaces. A feeding hole is also pierced above each such perch. A disk shaped baffle is placed on the cord above the feeder to prevent animals, such as squirrels, from climbing down the rope, or from jumping from an adjacent tree limb, to reach the feeder. While this type of baffle could also be used in the application of the present invention, i.e. to prevent a domestic bird, such as a parrot, from climbing upward from a suspended perch, its use in this way would present a disadvantage of requiring a very large diameter baffle to keep the bird from stretching from the member used to suspend the perch to an edge of the baffle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,546, issued to Latham on Jan. 18, 1985, describes the use of a flexible covering sheet above the top of a bird feeder, again to keep squirrels from reaching the feeder. This sheet is fastened rigidly to a rod with hooked ends, by which the feeder is hung in place. The material of the sheet, which is in the form of a circular disk, is so flexible that the weight of a squirrel trying to climb across and around it will deflect the sheet downward, causing the squirrel to slide downward and fall off. While this type of baffle could also be used in the application of the present invention, its use in this way might allow injury to occur to a bird falling off after climbing fully or partly onto the baffle, and it may otherwise be ineffective because the weight of many domestic birds would be insufficient to cause the desired baffle deflection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,384, issued to Courteau on Dec. 9, 1986, describes a floor standing artificial bird tree for exercising the anatomical features of domestic birds and for removably collecting food and bird droppings. In Courteau, a vertical support member has attached thereto a plurality of relatively short perch members and a platform with ridges to maintain food, toys, and droppings in place. The perch members have a plurality of diameter dimensions to provide a bird with means to exercise its leg muscles, with elongated perch members preferably being wood dowels having a diameter range of 1/16 to 2 inches. The upright support and platform members are also preferably wood to provide domestic bird species with chewing and clawing members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,480, issued to Goldman et al on May 28, 1991, describes a simulated tree branch, made of thermoplastic material, which may be clamped to a side of a bird cage, extending inward therefrom to form a perch. The size of the Goldman et al simulated branch is limited by the size of the bird cage and thus, is generally relatively small relative to the needs of the bird to exercise.

Stabilized hanging bird perch with feeding cup having quick release feature


A servo pattern is positioned in a DC erased portion to which a DC erase process has been performed, and recording tracks and track groove portions (discrete portions) are positioned in an AC erased portion to which an AC erase process has been performed. The track groove portions extend in a circumferential direction. The AC erased portion and the DC erased portion are both made of a magnetic material. In the servo pattern, four lines of preamble portions extending almost in a radial direction are formed and a plurality of pit portions disposed in a dotted manner in two lines are arranged. The pit portions are positioned rearward of the preamble portions in respect of a scanning direction of a magnetic head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium suitable to increase recording density, a manufacturing method thereof and a magnetic recording device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a hard disk device being one of recording devices, recording density is on the logarithmic increase. In an aim of increasing recording density, studies on the perpendicular magnetic recording, which magnetizes in the perpendicular direction to the surface of a magnetic recording medium, show progresses, while a longitudinal recording, which magnetizes in the parallel direction with the surface of the magnetic recording medium, has been employed to this date.
As shown in FIG. 22, according to the perpendicular magnetic recording, information is recorded in a manner in which a recording layer of a perpendicular magnetic medium 105 is magnetized in accordance with magnetic field from a main magnetic pole 103 of a magnetic head. The magnetic head is also provided with a return yoke (auxiliary magnetic pole) 102 connected to the main magnetic pole, a coil 101 generating magnetic field, and a reproducing element 104 reading out information from the perpendicular recording medium.
As shown in FIG. 23, in a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, an adhesive layer 112, a soft magnetic underlayer 113, an intermediate layer 114, a granular layer (recording layer) 115, a cap layer 116, a protective layer 117, and a lubricant layer 118 are stacked on a glass substrate 111. In the perpendicular magnetic recording medium of the structure as described above, a recording magnetic field from a magnetic head is refluxed to obtain a favorable recording characteristic. Note that, in the perpendicular magnetic recording, demagnetizing field is generated from the surface of the recording medium. Therefore, a recording/reproducing characteristic varies depending on an initialized state. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, a curve (M-H curve) indicating a change in magnetization M when magnetic field H is applied from the direction perpendicular to the perpendicular magnetic recording medium goes upward almost vertically (broken line) when there is no influence of the demagnetizing field, while the curve slants when there is influence of the demagnetizing field (solid line). When the effect of the demagnetizing field as described above is considered, it is stable in view of energy when the magnetization is reversed little by little as compared with the case where the magnetization is constant, so that the perpendicular magnetic recording can be said to be suitable for high density recording.
In addition, in an aim of increasing recording density, studies on a recording medium called as a discrete track medium show progress as well. As shown in FIG. 26, in a conventional recording medium 121, a plurality of recording tracks 122 are arranged in a closely approaching manner to each other, and recorded portions 129 are formed in the recording tracks 122. However, as shown in FIG. 27, in the structure as described above, sometimes a writing running over the adjacent recording track 122 or a writing blotting out the adjacent track 122 is caused. As a result, information already recorded in the adjacent recording track 122 is sometimes erased.
As measures against the above-described situation, in the discrete track medium, a groove portion 123 is provided between the recording tracks 122 as shown in FIG. 28, or a magnetic portion 124 and a nonmagnetic portion 125 are provided as shown in FIGS. 29 to 31. In the example shown in FIG. 29, on the surface of the magnetic portion 124 being a base portion, a plurality of nonmagnetic portions 125 are formed to form the recording tracks 122 therebetween. In the example shown in FIG. 30, inside the magnetic portion 124 being a base portion, a plurality of nonmagnetic portions 125 are embedded to form the recording tracks 122 therebetween. In the example shown in FIG. 31, on the surface of the nonmagnetic portion 125 being a base portion, a plurality of magnetic portions 124 is formed to make the recording tracks 122 be the recording tracks 122 themselves.
In the discrete track medium shown in FIG. 28, recorded portions 129 are formed as shown in FIG. 32, and in the discrete track medium shown in FIG. 29, recorded portions 129 are formed as shown in FIG. 33. At this time, since the groove portion 123 or the nonmagnetic portion 125 exists between the recording tracks 122, the erase (side erases) of the information in the adjacent recording track 122 can be prevented even if the blotting out or running over of a writing is caused. The same is also applicable to the discrete track shown in FIG. 30 or 31.
As described above, in order to increase the recording density, it is effective to adopt the perpendicular magnetic recording and the discrete track medium.
However, under the present circumstances, these technologies are impossible to be combined. When an initialization process called an AC erase process adopted in the perpendicular magnetic recording is performed to the discrete track medium, an appropriate reproduction becomes difficult. This is a fact that the present inventor has found first.
Related arts are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-31846 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-48751.

Perpendicular magnetic recording medium, manufacturing method thereof and magnetic recording device


A device is provided that creates an account for a first member of a virtual community. The account includes a contact identifier used for communicating with the first member outside of the virtual community. The device receives a message via the virtual community from a second member of the virtual community. A recipient of the message being selected by the second member using outside contact information for a contact, and the outside contact information corresponding to contact information used to communicate with the contact outside of the virtual community. Additionally, the device identifies the first member of the virtual community as the recipient of the message based on the contact identifier included in the account and the outside contact information indicated by the message. Furthermore, the device transmits the message to the first member via the virtual community.

New virtual communities are frequently created. Becoming a member of a new virtual community generally requires a person to create a new identify for the community. The user may distribute the new identity to other members of the virtual community. Likewise, other members may distribute their identity for the virtual community to the user. Thus, the members of the virtual community may communicate with each other using the new identities created for the virtual community.

Communicating via a virtual community using outside contact information


Various embodiments of implant systems and related apparatus, and methods of operating the same are described herein. In various embodiments, an implant for interfacing with a bone structure includes a web structure, including a space truss, configured to interface with human bone tissue. The space truss includes two or more planar truss units having a plurality of struts joined at nodes. Implants are optimized for the expected stress applied at the bone structure site.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical devices and, more specifically, to implants.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Implants may be used in human and/or animals to support and/or secure one or more bones. For example, implants may be used in the spine to support and/or replace damaged tissue between the vertebrae in the spine. Once implanted between two vertebrae, the implant may provide support between the two vertebrae and bone growth may take place around and through the implant to at least partially fuse the two vertebrae for long-term support. Implants may include relatively large rims with solid material that may cover, for example, 50% of the area that interacts with the endplate. The rim may provide a contact area between the implant and the vertebral endplates. Large rims may have several drawbacks. For example, large rims may impede bone growth and reduce the size of the bone column fusing the superior and inferior vertebral bodies. Additionally, large rims preferentially support and regionalize loads, preventing distribution of force and accommodating response. The process of localizing loading also serves to under load other areas of the vertebral bodies, thereby activating regional resorption according to negative microstrain.
Spinal implants may include open channels through the center of the supporting rims in a superior/inferior direction. The open channel design may require members of the implant that separate the rims that interact with the vertebral endplates to absorb the compressive forces between the vertebral endplates. This may increase the pressure on smaller areas of the vertebral endplates and may potentially lead to stress risers in the vertebral endplates. Further, while bone graft material is often used in conjunction with implants to encourage bone growth, the open column design of implants may reduce the likelihood of bone graft material from securing itself to the implant which could result in a bio-mechanical cooperation that is not conducive to promoting good fusion.
Bone graft material may be packed into the implant in a high-pressure state to prevent bone graft material from exiting the implant while being placed between the vertebral endplates. The high-pressure state may also reduce the potential for the bone graft material loosening due to motion between the implant and the vertebral endplates or compressive forces experienced during settling of the implant. In addition, a high-pressure environment may allow the bone graft material to re-model and fuse at greater strength. High-pressure states, however, may be difficult to create and maintain for the bone graft material in an implant. In particular, the lack of attachment of the bulk graft cannot fully accept or integrate the differential loading anticipated in normal kinetic scope.
Various embodiments of implant systems and related apparatus, and methods of operating the same are described herein. In various embodiments, an implant for interfacing with a bone structure includes a web structure, including a space truss, configured to interface with human bone tissue, including cells, matrix, and ionic milieu. The space truss includes two or more planar truss units having a plurality of struts joined at nodes.
In an embodiment, an implant for interfacing with a bone structure includes: a web structure that is formed from a plurality of struts joined at nodes, wherein the web structure is configured to interface with human bone tissue. The diameter and/or length of the struts and/or the density of the web structure are predetermined such that when the web structure is in contact with the bone structure, its matrix, or the cells from which it is derived, at least a portion of the struts create a microstrain, that is transferred to the adherent osteoblasts, bone matrix, or lamellar tissue, of between about 1με and about 5000με, or between about 500με and 2000με, or between about 1000με and about 1500με or to a negative reflection of compression in interval and resonance with loading in both flexion, extension, torque, or combinations thereof. These ranges are optimized to known load-response dynamics, but are meant as guides rather than limitations to the activity and response. The diameter and/or length of the struts is predetermined so that at least a portion of the struts during loading create a change in length of the adherent osteoblasts, bone matrix, or lamellar tissue, of between about 0.05% and about 0.2% or between about 0.1% and about 0.15% causing an osteogenic response. Struts may have a length of between about 1 mm to about 100 mm. The diameter of the strut may be predetermined such that the struts create a change in length of the adhered osteoblasts of between about 0.05% and 0.2% when the web structure is in contact with the bone structure. Alternatively, the diameter of the strut is predetermined such that the strut undergoes a change of length of between about 0.000125% and 0.0005%. or between about 0.00025% and 0.000375%. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the struts are composed of struts having a length of 1 mm to 100 mm and a diameter ranging between 0.250 mm and 5 mm.
In an embodiment, an implant for interfacing with a bone structure includes a web structure that is formed from a plurality of struts joined at nodes, wherein the web structure is configured to interface with human bone tissue. The web structure, in some embodiments, includes a first bone contact surface and a second bone contact surface. A first portion of struts that comprise the space truss have a physical property that is different from a second portion of the struts that comprise the space truss. The first portion of struts that comprise the space truss may have: a deformation strength; a defined length; a diameter; a differential diameter along its length; a density; a porosity; or any combination of these physical properties; that is different from the second portion of the struts that comprise the space truss. In an embodiment, the space truss includes one or more central struts extending from the first bone contact surface to the second bone contact surface, wherein the central struts have a deformation strength that is greater than or less than the surrounding struts. In an embodiment, the space truss comprises one or more longitudinal struts extending parallel to the first bone contact surface and/or the second bone contact surface, wherein the longitudinal struts have a deformation strength that is greater than or less than the surrounding struts. The diameter of the first portion of the struts may be greater than a diameter of the second portion of the struts. The material used to form the first portion of struts may be different from the material used to form the second portion of struts.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Note, the headings are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit or interpret the description or claims.

Programmable implant having curved or arced struts


An insulating material and the method of applying the insulating material to products and systems. The material, method and system may be applied to tubulars used in deep water projects. The insulating material is composed of ceramic particles, epoxy and an acrylate monomer that is a precurser to an acrylic resin, and additives. Equal volumes of a epoxy component mixtures and a curing agent component mixture when heated and mixed together create a liquid insulating material that can be applied to the outer surface of pipe involving a repetitive series of steps controlled by an operator at a main control panel. Pipe unrolled from a pipe reel is straightened and heated. In a heated retort, liquid insulating material is applied to the surface of pipe and cured to the final insulation coating. The final coated pipe can be replaced on the reel for shipment to the job site. Within the deep sea environment the hardness of the insulating material can withstand the compressive pressure, water absorption and corrosion; and the insulating properties avoid the affects of near-freezing water temperatures. A curing agent in the formulation provides flexibility to the insulation. In the underwater environment, current movements can damage and breech the connections of the systems. Flexibility in the insulation will protect the systems from the currents and ensure integrity of the systems especially critical in piping systems.

This invention relates to an insulating material. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this invention relates to an insulated material and a method of applying the insulated material to goods and industrial products such as tubular members. In the most preferred embodiment, a flexible insulating material for underwater systems and a method of use is disclosed.
Global energy demands have provided the impetus and engineering advances to drill into underwater oil and gas reservoirs so that today a significant portion of the world's oil is supplied by offshore drilling off the coasts of the United States, Europe, Russia and Brazil. Oil and gas exploration and production in underwater environments presents challenges not encountered in onshore industry. The underwater environment exposes equipment to compressive forces, near-freezing water temperatures, water absorption, salt water corrosion, undersea currents and marine life. An insulating material to counter the effects of these harsh conditions would allow already established systems used in onshore applications to be used in underwater systems with little or no alteration to the systems. The insulating material would need to possess a unique set of characteristics not present in insulating materials currently in use.
In recent years, technology has begun to catch up with the ever growing interests in the deep water development. Newer and more economical designs in oil and gas production equipment and processes has finally opened the deep water development to many oil and gas exploration companies. However, there are still many more problems and expenses that exists at water depths of 2,000 feet (600 meters) and beyond.
Some of the most costly problems are the formation of paraffins in crude oil and hydrates in natural gas at these deep water depths. Hydrocarbons (paraffins and hydrates) that are brought from deep within the earth are very hot when they reach the sub-sea wellhead, somewhere between 150° F. to 190° F. (66°-88° C.), but rapidly cool due to seawater surrounding the steel piping system as it is flowing up to the surface. These impurities, paraffins and hydrates, remain in solution as long as the fluid stream remains hot enough to flow. When the stream starts to cool off or slow down the impurities begin to solidify and constrict then block the internal diameter of the piping system, slowing flow then eventually total blockage of the flow. To clear the constriction and the blockage, expensive restoration technology is required such as chemically unstopping the piping system. This restoration causes much unscheduled production down-time and in extreme cases total abandonment of the well site. These unscheduled restorations become a greater and more prevalent problem as companies explore deeper depths and produce longer piping systems.
Recently, oil and gas exploration companies have tried to develop many fixes to remedy the expenses associated with the formation of hydrates at deeper water depths. Again, improved designs in the oil and gas production equipment are just some of the answers to economically producing oil and gas at the greater water depths. One of the remedies of reducing the formation of paraffins and hydrates is insulating the wellhead and piping systems from the 40° F. (4° C.) seawater environment. Most of the recent attempts to insulate the wellhead and piping systems used a product known as "Syntactic Foam", that was previously and mostly used for buoyancy applications. The syntactic foam does have good thermal insulation properties but economic success has been limited due to cost and significant application problems such as production problems in application. The syntactic foam has minimal flexibility characteristics which is a deterrent to the contraction and expansion that takes place during production and installation. Since prior art syntactic foam is so brittle, it limits the economic life requirements at these depths. In addition, great care is needed when deploying large assemblies due to the inability to flex when moving the equipment to the offshore location.
The novel compound, method application and system was developed due to the ever growing need for a flexible, insulating material that can be applied to industrial equipment and products. All types of industrial equipment that require and/or can benefit from an encapsulation of insulation material will benefit from the disclosed invention.
The invention is particularly well suited for deep water exploration activity. The product was designed with all the stringent variables of sub-sea exploration and production applications in mind. The novel compound has thermal insulation characteristics that rival prior art syntactic foam with much greater flexibility characteristics than any deep water insulation material. It is also applied with greater precision with much less labor costs. Due to its greater performance and flexibility it resists compression and water absorption better than most deep water thermal insulation systems. The novel compound will be the preferred insulation system because of its reduced labor costs, ease of field applications and less time needed for insulation of sub-sea equipment and piping projects. With the ease of application and flexibility, it is the ideal insulation material for flexible risers, bulkheads, subsea trees and flexible flowlines and jumper systems that are used in deep water applications. The novel compound, method application and system has greater potential as the offshore oil and gas industry explores and develops deeper and more demanding areas of the world's oceans.
Further, the novel compound, method and system has many other potential markets due to its enhanced characteristics. The Petrochemical and Chemical industry has many applications of insulating the outside diameter of piping systems. Many of the current products are very expensive and labor intensive to apply and repair. Also, many are not flexible and require repairs and reinstallation with the age of the product. Color can also be added to the novel product to identify the welded joints of the pipeline to ease the repair and installation process, and can easily be applied in the field. In addition, the novel product has application potentials in the boat building industry due to its thermal insulation and flexible characteristics. Insulating large refrigerated ships and barges are just one of the applications. Other applications and potentials are certainly possible and will be more readily understood by a reading of the remainder of the application.

Insulating material of epoxy compound, acrylic resin, ceramic particles and curing agent


This disclosure describes techniques for reducing adverse effects of TX signal leakage in a full-duplex, wireless communication device. The techniques make use of a notch filter to reject TX signal leakage in a signal processed in the RX path of the wireless communication device. The notch filter may be constructed as a complex notch filter using passive resistor and capacitor components to produce a notch frequency that attenuates TX signal leakage components in a desired signal. The notch filter may be applied to a down-converted, baseband signal produced by a passive mixer.

A wireless device in a full-duplex communication system can simultaneously transmit and receive signals to support two-way communication. In a transmit path, a power amplifier amplifies a radio frequency (RF) signal for transmission. The transmit (TX) signal is routed through a duplexer and transmitted via an antenna. In the receive path, a desired receive (RX) signal is received via the antenna and coupled through the duplexer to a low noise amplifier (LNA). Following amplification by the LNA, the RX signal may be filtered and down-converted to baseband by a mixer. The down-converted RX signal is processed by other baseband components, such as a modem, to recover the received data.
In a full-duplex system, the TX path can interfere with the RX path. A portion of the TX signal may be coupled from the duplexer to the RX path, resulting in TX signal leakage. TX signal leakage can cause interference in the desired RX signal processed by the RX path. The interference may include second order distortion and/or cross-modulation distortion. The desired RX signal is a signal received via the antenna, in contrast to a TX signal received via leakage across the duplexer. Because the transmitter and receiver frequencies are different, the TX signal leakage can be rejected by filtering. Even with filtering, however, a residual amount of TX leakage can remain, causing degradation of the desired RX signal.

Wireless receiver with notch filter to reduce effects of transmit signal leakage


An infant personal flotation device (PFD) that comprises a torso float, a head float and a harness. The torso float is wider at the leg region than at the neck region and includes a non-conforming and planar buoyant material. The torso float is wider than the torso of an infant, such that an infant falling in water will automatically assume a supinating position regardless of the position the infant had when he entered the water.

Water sport and leisure activities are as popular as ever with the safe practice of these activities being at the forefront of every parent's mind. Parents wishing to take their infant children on aquatic activities have had to rely on cumbersome and ill-fitting personal flotation devices (PFDs) for quite some time. The problem is particularly felt for infants weighing less than 25 lbs. A further explanation of this problem will be discussed in relation to currently available PFD's.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,497 (French) illustrates an example of the configuration, or style, of a typical life jacket. The primary difference between a life jacket and a personal flotation device (PFD) are the safety standards which apply to them, but both can be considered personal marine buoyant devices to keep a wearer floating in water. These personal marine buoyant devices can be used in recreational, commercial and military applications. Most personal marine buoyant devices, simply referred to as PFD's from this point forward, have the same general configuration shown in FIG. 1.
PFD 10 of FIG. 1 is a vest-style PFD having a front float 12 and a back float 14. The front float 12 and the back float 14 are constructed of a buoyant material, which can either be a single unitary piece of material, or layers of buoyant material enclosed in a shell material, such as nylon for example. The front float 12 is segmented to allow a user to don PFD 10 like a jacket. A strap 16 is attached to the front float 12 to tightly secure the front float 12 and the back float 14 tightly around the torso of a user. While not shown, a zipper can be included for securing the two segments of the front float 12 to each other for a more secure fit. PFD 10 is but one example of the configuration of most PFD's currently available, but those skilled in the art will understand that many available PFD's have the same general configuration as PFD 10. Regardless of the style or configuration, the importance of a secure fit of any PFD is paramount.
The purpose of wearing a PFD or life jacket is to ensure that a wearer falling in water will float in a supinating position i.e., face up. For well-fitting PFDs and life jackets, the wearer entering the water should automatically find himself turned on his back with his face out of the water. A PFD which is not properly secured to the torso of the user, and/or is too large for the user, can result in the PFD slipping off the user. Some PFDs available for small children usually target the 20-30 lbs weight range. When such PFDs are used on even smaller children under 20 lbs, they can be uncomfortable and even dangerous to wear. When a vest-style PFD is used on an infant and is ill fitting, the infant can find himself cradled by the vest in either a pronating or supinating position with his/her face in or barely above the water. Unbeknownst to the parents, the infant child they think is protected by wearing the vest is not safe at all.
This is mainly due to the fact that the typical vest-style PFD such as PFD of FIG. 1, has a front float which is segmented. Each of the two segments, when secured together by a zipper or a strap, will generally conform to the torso of the infant, such that they form a "V". This is illustrated by example in FIG. 2, which shows a cross section of a typical PFD 10, when the infant wearing PFD 10 has fallen face-first into a body of water.
When the PFD 10 is secured to a torso of an infant designated by reference number 18, the segments of front float 12 torso form a "V" shape. Due to the "V" shape and the weight of the infant, the PFD is biased to remain in this position. In other words, the infant will remain face-first in the water 20. Since small infants are not capable of repositioning themselves face-up in the water, there is a high potential of drowning.
In addition to not being safe, an infant wearing such a life vest will be uncomfortable and limited in his movements. Typically, the front of the PFD is too long for the infant. This leads to the front torso portion of the vest partly covering the face the infant when the infant is sitting. This can be remedied by partly unzipping the vest; however, by doing so, the relative safety of the PFD is decreased as the infant can slip out from the PFD.
Infant PFD's are available, as demonstrated by U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,266. FIG. 3 is an illustration of the infant PFD shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,266. This infant PFD 22 is of unitary construction having a front float 24 which is designed to conform to the torso of an infant. The strap 28 which encircles the front float 24 ensures that the front float 24 conforms to the torso of the infant. Because the front float 24 conforms to the torso of infant, the same problem with PFD 10 of FIG. 1 can occur if the infant falls face-first into a body of water. When secured to the infant, the rounded shape of front float 24 will have the same effect as the "V" shaped PFD of PFD 10 shown in FIG. 2. Once again, there is a danger that an infant incapable of righting themselves face-up can drown due to the front-first biasing in the water caused by the shape of the PFD when secured to the torso of the infant.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a safe PFD for infants. It is also desirable to provide a PFD for infants that will ensure that an infant wearer entering water automatically assumes a supinating position regardless of the way the infant enters the water. It is also desirable to provide a PFD for infants that is comfortable to wear and allows normal movements for an infant wearer.


A combustor having a combustion liner and at least one combustor orifice assembly, the combustor orifice assembly comprising a boss, an orifice plate that defines an orifice, the orifice plate having a bottom surface that is adapted to be received by the boss, and a retaining ring, whereby the orifice plate is retained between the retaining ring and the boss.

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting the NOX level of emissions of heavy-duty gas turbines for emissions compliance without disassembly of the combustors and particularly relates to a mechanical arrangement enabling external access to the dilution air sleeves for the combustion chamber for adjusting the combustor dilution air flow hole areas and methods of adjustment.
Heavy-duty gas turbines employing dry low NOX, combustion systems are typically installed with predetermined dilution flow hole areas for flowing compressor discharge air into the combustion liner to shape the gas temperature profile exiting the combustion system and provide reduced NOX emissions. Dilution air flow sleeves are typically provided and have a predetermined hole area for flowing compressor discharge air into the combustion liner. Not infrequently, however, and after installation of the turbine at the power generation site, the NOX emissions level is either too high or too low, with corresponding CO emissions level that is too high. This is a result of the normal variability of machine air flow fraction that is delivered to the combustor and the resulting variability of flame temperature in the NOX, producing zones of the combustor.
Under those circumstances, the turbine is typically brought into NOX emissions compliance by removal of the combustion liners from the turbine and resizing the dilution holes to redistribute the combustor air flow. This procedure requires the physical removal of the combustion liner from the turbine with attendant removal of certain piping for fuel, as well as piping for oil and water systems and auxiliary air piping for atomization. It is also necessary to remove the heavy end cover of the combustor to gain access to the dilution holes. Further, there is the possibility of contaminating the fuel system in the process of removing and reassembling the various piping systems. The combustion liners are then sent to a service shop to have the existing dilution holes resized. Still further, this process can take between one to two weeks time, during which there is a gas turbine outage, preventing the electricity provider from producing power during that period of time. Consequently, there is a need for a system that facilitates change of the combustor dilution hole areas without disassembly and subsequent reassembly of major portions of the combustor and in a reduced timeframe.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mechanical arrangement enabling external access to the combustion chamber which facilitates changeover of combustor dilution hole areas to adjust the NOX levels without disassembly of the combustors. To accomplish this, the combustion liner and surrounding air flow sleeve have aligned radial openings at an axial location along the liner for admitting dilution air through dilution sleeves in the aligned radial openings into the combustion chamber. An outer casing surrounds the flow sleeve and defines with the flow sleeve an annular flow passage for flowing compressor discharge air through the dilution sleeves into the combustion chamber. The openings through the flow sleeve are provided with collars which form seats for receiving flanges of the dilution sleeves. The outer casing is also provided with a cylindrical boss or flange in line with the axes of the openings through the combustion liner and flow sleeve, affording access to the dilution sleeves externally of the combustor. A cover is releasably secured to the cylindrical flange, for example, by bolts, and a spring cooperates between the cover and the flange on each dilution sleeve to maintain the dilution sleeve in the aligned openings of the combustion liner and flow sleeve with the flange of the dilution sleeve seated on the collar.
Each dilution sleeve has a central opening of a predetermined area. In the event that the NOX emissions are out of compliance after initial installation of the gas turbine, the access covers to the installed dilution sleeves are removed and dilution sleeves having holes of different areas are inserted to provide more or less compressor discharge air flow through the sleeves into the combustion chamber. Particularly, after the NOX emissions of the newly installed turbine have been measured at the design operating conditions, the actual measured NOX emission level is compared with the required NOX emission level for compliance. If the measured NOX emissions deviate to the extent the turbine is out of compliance, an increase or decrease in the hole area of the installed dilution sleeves is calculated to arrive at a dilution hole area effective to provide a NOX emission level within the compliance range. Once the required dilution hole area is determined, the combustion covers are removed and a new set of dilution sleeves conforming to the new required hole area is provided. Alternatively, the initially installed set of dilution sleeves are machined to the required new dilution hole areas. In either case, the dilution sleeves with the required hole areas are inserted through the cylindrical bosses to seat on the collars about the openings in the flow sleeve and extend through the aligned openings through the flow sleeve and the combustion liner. The springs and covers are then reinstalled to secure the dilution sleeves in place with the properly sized dilution hole areas.
In an embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a combustor for a gas turbine comprising an outer casing, a flow sleeve within the outer casing defining an air flow passage with the outer casing, a combustion liner within the flow sleeve for flowing hot gases of combustion, at least one opening in each combustion liner and the flow sleeve, a dilution sleeve removably received within the openings of the combustion liner and the flow sleeve and an access port in the outer casing for access to the dilution sleeve, the dilution sleeve being sized for passage through the access port enabling insertion into or removal of the dilution sleeve from the openings.
In a further embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided in a combustor for a gas turbine having a combustion liner defining a hot gas flow path, an outer casing, a flow sleeve between the outer casing and the liner defining a dilution air flow path therebetween, and openings through the flow sleeve and the liner for flowing dilution air in the dilution air flow path into the hot gas flow path, a method of adjusting the level of NOX emissions comprising the steps of (a) providing a dilution air flow sleeve in the openings having an air flow passage of a predetermined area, (b) measuring the NOX emissions from the gas turbine at design operating conditions, (c) determining a deviation of the measured NOX emissions from a predetermined desired level of NOX emissions, (d) ascertaining a predetermined area of a desired air flow passage through an air flow dilution sleeve based on the deviation, and (e) installing an air flow dilution sleeve in the turbine having a flow area sized to provide at least approximately the desired level of NOX emissions.
An alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises a combustor air tuning liner design having combustor orifice assembly comprising a boss, an orifice plate, and a retaining ring. This embodiment provides an alternative construction for the retuning of a combustor by allowing for the replacement of incorrectly sized orifices with correctly sized orifices, all without having to send the combustion liner to a service shop. Thus, the alternative embodiment of the present invention reduces the time and money needed retune combustors to achieve a desired level of NOX emissions.
Further, since the only part that is replaced is the orifice plate, the present invention provides for easy and efficient retuning than a retune that requires service shop work on the combustion liner. This alternative embodiment can be used to retune a combustor prior to or after the combustor is placed into service so that it meets emission requirements.
The present invention eliminates service shop time and cost, and at the same time provides operator friendly dilution hole change capability. Further, the present invention provides proper cooling for successful operation in a harsh thermal environment where the liner skin reaches about greater than 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, the present invention provides a simple, reliable, and structurally sound design.

External dilution air tuning for dry low NOX combustors and methods therefor


The present disclosure discloses an optical imaging lens assembly including, sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis, a first lens having positive refractive power; a second lens having negative refractive power; a third lens having refractive power; a fourth lens having refractive power; a fifth lens having refractive power with a convex object-side surface; a sixth lens having positive refractive power with a convex object-side surface a convex image-side surface; and a seventh lens having negative refractive power, wherein a distance TTL along the optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an imaging plane of the optical imaging lens assembly and half of a diagonal length ImgH of an effective pixel area on the imaging plane of the optical imaging lens assembly satisfy ImgH/(TTL/ImgH)>5.0 mm.

In recent years, imaging lens assemblies based on CMOS and CCD have been widely used in various fields. With the continuous improvement of the performance of photosensitive elements, such as CMOS and CCD, and the gradual reduction of the pixel size, higher demands are placed on the optical imaging lens assembly. At the same time, users have higher and higher imaging demands for imaging lens assemblies mounted on, for example, portable electronic products, and the imaging lens assemblies are required to be able to clearly image the scene in various shooting scenarios. How to satisfy the characteristics of large aperture, large imaging plane, and high pixels while satisfying miniaturization is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

Optical imaging lens assembly including seven lenses of +−++−+−, +−+−−+−, +−−+−+−, +−−−−+−or +−+−++− refractive powers


A pressure sensitive labeling machine incorporating a wedge shaped suction plate assembly which uses negative pressure to assist in securing and holding the non-adhesive side of a label carrier web. The labeling machine advances the label carrier web by automatically engaging and disengaging a pinch roller assembly driven by a pneumatic piston. The pinch roller assembly obviates the need for high maintenance clutching mechanisms and multiple tension roller assemblies. A label application station applies labels to passing containers when the carrier web advances around a label separator edge of the suction plate assembly by peeling the labels from the carrier web and applying the labels via a rotating applicator roller and container catch arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of labeling machines, and more particularly, to a relatively compact labeling machine and method incorporating the use of a suction plate assembly and air piston to control the advancement and continuous application of pressure sensitive labels from a carrier web onto containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art relating to pressure sensitive labeling devices includes a variety of specialized machines comprising differing means of applying labels to bottles or containers. Pressure sensitive labels are typically secured to one side of a non-adhesive label carrier web that is rolled into a dispensing reel. The pressure sensitive labels are evenly spaced along the label carrier web and can be peeled off the web with appropriate mechanical manipulation of the carrier web.
A device or apparatus used to continuously apply pressure sensitive labels to bottles or containers that travel along a conveyor must control numerous dynamic variables as necessary to automatically place and secure the labels onto the passing bottles or containers. These dynamic variables include dispensing the label carrier web, timing the advancement of the labels to the passing containers, separating the labels from the carrier web and securing the labels onto the container. It is crucial that both the timed advancement and placement of the label carrier web be carefully controlled and monitored so that the labels are precisely advanced and accurately placed upon the container. Typically, the label carrier web is advanced and controlled by running the carrier web through a series of tension rollers intended to keep the carrier web from slipping or sliding. A mechanical clutching device is used to engage and disengage a driving roller according to the necessary advancement of the carrier web. A serious disadvantage of using mechanical clutching devices with labeling machines is the mechanical wear experienced over time and the need to adjust and tune the clutching operation.
Most pressure sensitive label machines differ from each other in the method in which the labels are removed and placed upon the moving bottle or container. Most devices that incorporate the use of negative pressure use suction to lift the label off the carrier web and place the adhesive side of the label to the container or bottle. This may be accomplished by a rotating vacuum drum or a vacuum swivel arm.
An example of a vacuum drum device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,239 to Voltmer et al. described as a continuously moving web pressure-sensitive labeler for applying labels to containers. The device comprises a label applying means for stripping labels from the moving web and delivering the stripped labels to containers as they pass a label applying station. The label applying means includes the use of a rotating vacuum drum that strips the pressure sensitive label from the web by pulling the non-adhesive side of the label onto the drum after which the drum rotates and applies the adhesive side of the label to the passing container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,334 to Paules is described as a machine and method for high speed, precisely registered label application with sprockets for positioning the label on a transfer wheel. This apparatus has a similar application means as the Voltmer et al. invention described above in that there is a vacuum drum used to peel the labels off the web and then apply the pressure sensitive label to a container.
A distinct use of a vacuum device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,279 to Bohdan Wolodymyr Siryi which is a labeling apparatus that uses a vacuum label head that pivots on a pivot joint. The vacuum pivot head removes the non-adhesive side of the label from the carrier web and then applies the label to the surface of a container. The head incorporates a plug that is arranged to move out of a gas tight position upon contact with the label to allow application of the label to the container.
Although the present invention employs the use of a vacuum, the application of a vacuum and control of the carrier web is distinct from the prior art. A double sided suction plate assembly is used in the present invention to lightly hold the non-label side of the label carrier web to a front and rear face plate of the suction plate assembly. The suction provides sufficient tension on the label web carrier to properly control and regulate both the advancement of the carrier web and placement of the labels onto passing containers. In this way, no vacuum is used to directly manipulate the labels themselves from the label web carrier and then onto a passing container. Instead, the suction plate assembly obviates the need for multiple tension rollers to create the necessary carrier web tension to properly control the label carrier web.
The present invention replaces the mechanical clutch engaging mechanism common in the prior art with a pinch roller assembly that advances the carrier web by periodically pinching the carrier web between a pinch roller and a constant rotating pressure roller. The pinch roller is engaged when a passing container or bottle triggers a catch switch activating the pneumatic piston to push the pinch roller lever against the rotating pressure roller. This action advances the carrier web so that a label may be applied onto the passing container at the label applicator station.

Machine and method for applying pressure sensitive labels