A distributed system includes client- and server-side components that, together, allow XML schemas or the like to be managed in a collaborative way across an enterprise environment. The server-side component, or server, is used to assemble a collection of one or more schemas. The server exposes the collection of schemas to one or more client components that connect to the server. Such connections may be made over a computer network. The client component preferably exports a display interface through which a user can visualize dependencies between schemas, e.g., by dragging them into a workspace and viewing all related schemas and how they are connected, as well as what elements and other components they define. In this way, the client component provides a high-level view of a larger (e.g., enterprise-wide) information architecture.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the modeling and management of enterprise architecture data, such as XML schemas and other content models.
2. Description of the Related Art
The W3C XML Schema Definition Language is an XML language for describing and constraining the content of XML documents. XML Schema was published in 2001 as a Recommendation from the W3C, and it has become widely adopted. A schema defines a class of XML documents. One of the most powerful aspects of the XML Schema standard is the ability to construct complex schemas of multiple, smaller schemas. This modular approach to schema design promotes the development of schema components upon which organizations can standardize to increase consistency and reduce redundant development efforts. Despite these advantages, the process of managing complex schemas that consist of multiple interdependent files can be confusing and error-prone, especially in team environments where multiple users manage schema development.
It is known in the prior art to provide graphical schema editors, however, such tools typically only provide a view of actual schema components within the workspace local to the editor itself. Schema repositories, which are designed to facilitate document versioning and centralization, are also known in the art. These repositories, however, do not provide techniques that enable workgroups to model and/or manage the schemas across the enterprise, and they do not provide users with the ability to view and manage schema relationships or to construct complex schemas from smaller building blocks.
The present invention addresses the deficiencies in the art.

System and method for modeling and managing enterprise architecture data and content models and their relationships


A fuel cell system having an air quality sensor suite includes a fuel cell having an anode and a cathode, a fuel source providing a fuel flow, a fuel flow rate sensor having a fuel flow rate sensor output, a fuel flow control device, a fuel oxidizer flow conduit, a first mixing region coupled to the fuel source and the fuel oxidizer flow conduit, an anode chamber coupled to the anode, a combustion oxidizer flow conduit, a second mixing region coupled to the combustion oxidizer flow conduit, and at least one oxidizer flow rate sensor having an oxidizer flow rate sensor output. The system further includes at least one oxidizer pump, an air quality sensor having an air quality sensor output, and a control system coupled to the fuel flow rate sensor output, the oxidizer flow rate sensor output, and the air quality sensor output.

Fuel cells produce electricity from chemical reactions. The chemical reactions typically cause a fuel, such as hydrogen, to react with air/oxygen as reactants to produce water vapor as a primary by-product. The hydrogen can be provided directly, in the form of hydrogen gas or liquid, or can be produced from other materials, such as hydrocarbon liquids or gases. Fuel cell assemblies may include one or more fuel cells in a fuel cell housing that is coupled with a fuel canister containing the hydrogen and/or hydrocarbons. Fuel cell housings that are portable coupled with fuel canisters that are portable, replaceable, and/or refillable, compete with batteries as a preferred electricity source to power a wide array of portable consumer electronics products, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants. The competitiveness of these fuel cell assemblies when compared to batteries depends on a number of factors, including their size, efficiency, and reliability.
In a high temperature fuel cell system, such as a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system, an oxidizing flow is passed through the cathode side of the fuel cell while a reducing flow is passed through the anode side of the fuel cell. The oxidizing flow is typically air, while the reducing flow typically comprises a mixture of a hydrogen-rich gas created by reforming a hydrocarbon fuel source and an oxygen source, such as air, water vapor or carbon dioxide. The fuel cell, typically operating at a temperature between 500° C. and 1000° C., enables the transport of negatively charged oxygen ions from the cathode flow stream to the anode flow stream, where the ions combine with either free hydrogen or hydrogen in a hydrocarbon molecule to form water vapor and/or with carbon monoxide to form carbon dioxide. The electrons from the negatively charged ions are routed back to the cathode side of the fuel cell through an electrical circuit completed between the anode and the cathode, resulting in an electrical current flow through the circuit.
Challenges exist in portable fuel cell systems which are exposed to a variety of operating environments. Prior art has discussed sensing oxygen in the ambient air and ceasing system operation when a predetermined threshold is met. However, this results in a system which is frequently not providing power to the user, and therefore unreliable.

Fuel cell system having an air quality sensor suite


A disc cartridge and corresponding method/system are provided for limiting the number of copies which may be made of software stored on a magnetic disc. A magnetic field generating member is provided within a magnetic disc cartridge, or embedded within a magneto-optical or magnetic disc, so that after copying of the software from the first disc to a second disc, the magnet is energized so as to create an erasing magnetic or electromagnetic field proximate the first disc in order to erase the copied software therefrom, while an anti-copy signal is copied or otherwise sent along with the software from the first disc to the second disc so as to prevent later copying of the software from the second disc. According to certain other embodiments of this invention, a method/system is provided for erasing software from a disc using the above-discussed cartridge after a user attempting to copy the software enters an incorrect password a predetermined number of consecutive times.

With the tremendous increase in the number of home personal computers (PCs), as well as business PCs, currently in use, there has been a corresponding increase in computer software or programs for use with such PCs. For example, specialized application programs have been developed for everything from presenting elaborate spread sheets and desktop publishing to sophisticated computer games. In general, such application programs (or other confidential or secretive software) are sold to the end user either directly by the individual or company which developed the program, or through an established distribution network which may include mail order and/or retail sales outlets. In many cases, such programs (i.e. software) are stored on a standard magnetic disc within a supporting disc cartridge to facilitate loading of the software onto a PC hard drive for performing the desired tasks.
Control of such software, particularly confidential and/or valuable software distributed on discs, has become a problem due to the ease with which a program stored on such a disc may be duplicated. Although, in theory, copyright laws protect software developers from unauthorized copying of such programs, it is impractical, if not impossible, for software developers to fully enforce their copyrights, particularly against companies or individuals making a relatively small number of copies of such software. For example, a small company may purchase a single copy of original software from the developer and may then produce four or five unauthorized copies of the purchased software for separate use on computers or other PCs at different locations within the company. Likewise, a group of individuals may combine their money to purchase a single original of the software for a particular computer game, for example, and then make a number of unauthorized copies for separate use of the software by each of the individuals within the group on their own computers. In either event, it is difficult for the developer or owner of the original software to enforce the copyright.
Various methods have been developed to prevent unauthorized copying of software. One such method involves requiring the purchaser of the software to enter into a license agreement which permits use of the software only upon a single designated computer and prohibits the purchaser from making unauthorized copies. This form of protection is difficult and expensive to enforce, particularly when dealing with a large member of small companies and individuals.
A second form of protection requires utilizing a secret code or password which must be obtained from the software supplier and entered when using the software. While this form of protection has merit, it still does not preclude unauthorized use or copying on a relatively small scale since the code or password may be obtained by one person from the software supplier and then easily given to others within a small company or a group.
A third form of protection involves placing restrictions within the computer program itself which completely preclude copying or permit only a single copy of the program or software to be made. One problem with this type of protection used as a sale means of protection is that such restrictions within the computer program which completely preclude copying prevent the purchaser from copying the software onto his/her PC hard drive or even making a single backup copy, as permitted by law. Additionally, restrictions in programs which permit only a single copy of the program to be made are problematic in that specialized programs have been developed to circumvent or override this type of protection. Such program restrictions are susceptible to being broken or avoided so that multiple copies may then be made.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,089 discloses a system for safeguarding magnetically recorded data in which sensors are provided for generating destruct signals responsive to attempts to gain unauthorized access to the data (software). A control circuit responds to the destruct signals for energizing an electromagnet simultaneously with rotation of the turntable so that the disc is carried through the electromagnetic field created by the magnet for erasing the data. In such a manner, the software stored on the disc is destroyed or erased in response to unauthorized attempts to gain access to the software (e.g. any attempt to break into the housing or even to bodily carry the housing away). Unfortunately, the system of the '089 patent is undesirably bulky and does not provide for limiting the number of copies which may be made of the software to a predetermined number. Additionally, this system may result in the software being unintentionally erased or destroyed before it is ever used by the rightful user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,898 discloses a method and apparatus for preventing copying of an optical disc. In the system of the '898 patent, a standard program and an erasing program are non-rewritably recorded optically on a predetermined region of a disc. The erasing program attempts to erase the non-rewritable standard software portion upon use, this attempt having no effect on the original disc, but will, in fact, erase the standard software portion on a disc which is copied. Thus, if the software and the basic data for executing the program are copied without authorization, the copied disc is prevented from being used because if it is used, the copied standard software will be erased by the copied erasing program. Unfortunately, the system of the '898 patent does not provide a way in which to limit the number of copies made of the software stored on the original disc. Additionally, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that the erasing program on the original disc may be disabled, circumvented, or rendered useless, in which case, there is no limit upon the number of copies which may be made of the original software, authorized or unauthorized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,116 discloses a video tape cassette with an internal tape erasing system designed to erase data from the tape as it is wound onto the takeup reel, thereby providing for one time viewing only of the prerecorded material. Unfortunately, the system of the '116 patent is designed for use with a video tape cassette and may not be used in conjunction with discs, which are more prevalent in current computer systems. Also, unintentional erasure of data may easily occur with such a desire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,947 discloses a system for limiting the number of copies which may be made of material from a digital audio tape. Again, many tape erasing/destroying systems are not applicable to magnetic disc technology. Furthermore, inhibiting copying by way of software or hardware is not as efficient as simply erasing or destroying the material from the original disc after copying.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,836 discloses a system for preventing copying of software from computer discs, the system including a key sequence in a copy protection section of a program which is deliberately rendered ambiguous by repeatedly recording a word containing that sequence while gradually shifting the phase of the transition of a portion of the sequence until the sequence becomes a different sequence. This gradual phase shift cannot be reproduced if the disc is copied onto a standard PC so that the inconsistency on successive readouts will not be present in use via a copied disc. The program is designed so that it cannot run unless inconsistencies are detected in successive readouts in the copy protection section of the program. Again, such software based copy prevention techniques both 1) prevent copying a single time from one disc to another; and 2) are not as efficient as simply erasing the software after a predetermined number of acceptable copies have been made.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,769 discloses a copy protection system for PC software distributed on discs which provides a unique ID stored in a RAM of a PC in which software on a disc is to be used. This ID is accessible to the user of the computer. Prior to each use of the program, the software on the disc uses the PC and the source IDs and checkword to verify that the software is being used on the same PC on which it was installed. Unfortunately, authorized users often must switch PCs or use a backup copy or the like on another PC.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,066 discloses a method and apparatus for protecting software in which the use of software is enabled only when a predetermined intermediate code and a predetermined software code are identical. Again, this is a software based method of protection which is both expensive to produce and maintain, and is susceptible to being overcome.
FIG. 1 is a top elevational view of prior art magnetic disc cartridge 1 encasing disc 3. FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of cartridge 1 as viewed from the front or shutter edge of the cartridge. Cartridge 1 includes a housing or case made from synthetic resin which includes lower case or half 4 and upper case or half 5. Cartridge 1 rotatably houses and encases magnetic disc 3. Shutter 7 is slidably provided along the front edge side of cartridge 1 so as to open and close head insert opening 9 upon insertion and removal of cartridge 1 into and from a conventional computer (i.e. PC) respectively.
Head insert opening 9 defined within the cartridge body is opened by movement of shutter 7 when the cartridge is inserted into a computer due to the presence of rectangular aperture 11 defined in the body of the shutter, apertures 9 and 11 being aligned so as to open head insert opening 9 when the shutter is forced to the right as shown in FIG. 1 so that the head within the computer may access disc 3. Spring 13 including ends 15 and 17 is provided within the cartridge so as to engage shutter 7 thereby biasing the shutter toward the closed position when the cartridge is outside of the computer as shown in FIG. 1. At the center of cartridge 1, center opening 19 is provided so that metallic hub 21 provided at the center of magnetic disc 3 is exposed to the outside of the cartridge. Hub 21 is engagable with a turntable within the PC so that disc 3 may be rotated. For a further description of the magnetic disc cartridge shown in FIGS. 1-2, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,380 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need in the art for a more efficient and simpler apparatus/method for limiting the number of copies which may be made of software originally stored in a magnetic disc cartridge. The need exists for a system which completely erases or destroys the software after a predetermined number of copies have been made, thereby absolutely preventing further copying from the original magnetic disc. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art to render the copied version of the software noncopyable in the future (e.g. via a software code inserted into or copied onto the copied disc with the software).

Magnetic disc cartridge and corresponding system/method for limiting coping of software


A method and apparatus for evaluating the task-processing style of an individual by presenting that individual with a simulated situation and recording the individual's responses while resolving the situation. A subject undergoing the assessment is asked to assume the responsibilities of an Assistant Superintendent of Parks, replacing an individual who has unexpectedly left that position. The subject is first trained in the use of a touch-sensitive screen display for accessing data that may be useful in fulfilling the responsibilities of the simulated position and for providing input data used in the exercise. Each action by the subject undergoing the assessment is recorded in a raw data stream, along with the time that it occurred, and is statistically analyzed with respect to several parameters that define the subject's task-processing style. These parameters are useful in determining whether an individual is suitable for a job and for other assessment purposes, or can be used for training a subject to improve the subject's ability and efficiency in dealing with tasks.

People often seek employment at jobs for which they are not well suited. The prospective employee may be influenced by salary, location, responsibility, esteem, and other desirable aspects of a position. Unfortunately, factors in the individual's personality, attitude, and task-processing style may cause the person to be unhappy with the job and unable to perform at a level consistent with the employer's expectations. Accordingly, it is likely that the employee will either quit after a short time on the job, or perform poorly so that both the employee and the employer will be dissatisfied.
To avoid this result, some corporations have begun to use personality profile tests that attempt to determine whether a prospective employee possesses certain characteristics that are believed appropriate and important in an employee selected to fill a specific position. These tests usually include multiple choice questions, a subjective evaluation by a psychologist, or both. While such tests may give some insight into certain aspects of the applicant's personality, they are generally incapable of answering more critical issues that directly affect the person's likely satisfaction with the job and subsequent performance if hired.
Prior art psychological tests have not included effective tools for assessing how an individual will process tasks, i.e., to determine a person's task-processing style. Instead, such tests try to develop data that describe the examinee's personality traits. This information may be useful in determining whether a person is trustworthy or for predicting an individual's ability to learn a new skill, but it does not help in evaluating the person's task-processing style.
Virtually every job involves some form of task-processing activity. The problems that arise on a job may be long-term tasks that must be completed by developing a multi-faceted solution, or, may simply represent the daily, routine decisions that an employee must make. Some courses of action or decisions are made only after assimilating a multitude of data, or alternatively, may be based on nothing more than an opinion. Regardless of the complexity of the situation, each individual typically exhibits a characteristic style in processing a task. One person may repetitively review all available data before beginning a task; another person may make decisions or start a task with only a minimal input of available data.
Determining an individual's task-processing style is particularly important if a significant portion of the employee's job involves processing tasks in prescribed ways. Accordingly, there is a need for an assessment that an employer can make of a prospective employee to determine the individual's characteristic task-processing style. The assessment should determine how an individual handles a situation, how the person processes data that can be used in resolving the situation, and how the person goes about developing a resolution to the situation. To minimize costs, the assessment should efficiently evaluate individual characteristics of a person's task-processing style using objective criteria that are subjectively applied to determine a person's suitability for a job. An assessment of this type would also be valuable in the fields of education, personal career evaluation, and in health sciences.
Several studies have been made of how people process and evaluate information in making a decision. For example, U. Dahlstrand and H. Montgomery reported on such a study in their paper "Information Search And Evaluative Processes In Decision Making: A Computer Based Process Tracing Study" Acta Psychologics, Vol. 56 (1984), pp 113-123. In this study, 26 subjects were asked to choose among five flats (apartments) by interacting with a computer on which information about each flat was available. Each flat was described in detail with regard to eight attributes, including rent, location, size, quality, floor plan, type of structure, surroundings, and access to public transportation. For each subject, the computer recorded the sequence of data accessed by the subject, a rating of the attractiveness of each presented aspect, and ratings of eligibility of each alternative after each tenth aspect presentation, along with the latency of each aspect presentation. The data compiled on the computer for each subject were analyzed to determined the number of times the subject requested information on an alternative and then ranked the alternatives by the amount of attention paid to them by the subject. However, this study was not intended to evaluate a particular individual's task-processing style; instead, it served to provide general and statistical information about how a group of subjects reached a decision so that the investigators could better understand the decision-making process.
In a report entitled, "The C.I.T.I.E.S. Game--A Computer-Based Situation Assessment Task for Studying Distributed Decision Making" by A. Rodney Wellens and D. Etgener, published in Simulation & Games, Vol. 19, No. 3, September 1988, pp. 304-327, a game developed for conducting empirical research on strategic decision making is described. This game is played by a group of four subjects that are divided into a fire-rescue team and a police-tow team of two members each. The teams are each instructed to respond to simulated emergencies and are given the task of protecting the lives and property of the inhabitants of an imaginary township. A touch-sensitive computer monitor displays city maps on which emergencies are identified as they arise in the imaginary township. Various icons graphically represent the types of emergencies that occur and indicate the appropriate team to respond. For each region displayed on the city maps, selectable information screens are provided that describe any emergency arising within that region in greater detail. More information is also available to the teams by successively touching a dialog box portion of the screen labeled "MORE INFO," by causing a succession of summary charts to be presented on the monitor. The teams respond to the emergencies by assigning resources such as fire trucks or squad cars to handle the emergency. If the assigned resources are insufficient, the controller causes the emergency icon on the screen to remain red; the icon turns purple if events accelerate out of control. Resources can be reassigned to higher priority emergencies, if the team chooses to do so. The computer records data indicating the amount of information sought by each team before assigning resources to an emergency and includes variable "growth" curves that define how the event magnitudes and frequency of events are determined.
By studying the data produced by teams playing the C.I.T.I.E.S. game under different conditions, the researchers have evaluated the effects of team-to-team communication bandwidth (i.e., team intercontact, computer conferencing, audio conferencing, and two-way TV) upon situation assessment, social dynamics, and team effectiveness. The report also suggests that the game can be used "as a diagnostic and training tool," noting that "considerable individual differences in event and team `management` style" have been evident. However, the report does not suggest or teach how the game might be used for assessing an individual's task-processing style; it appears that the game is more suited to evaluating the manner in which people work together in a team.
Although each of the above-noted studies have made use of a computer for presenting information to subjects being evaluated and for collecting data covering the subjects' response to a situation, these studies and other related prior art do not disclose how to identify or quantify a specific individual's characteristic approach to resolving a situation or carrying out a task. Information that defines an individual's characteristic task-processing style might include: the extent to which a person accesses input data before producing output, i.e., starts processing the task; an indication of how decisive versus selective the person is in making decisions; the nature of the person's output, i.e., whether conceptual, selective, or implementive; data showing how methodical the person is in processing information, i.e., input data, in resolving a situation; and an indication of whether the person tends to work on specific parts of a resolution or is very general in developing a resolution to a situation. Use of a computer to quickly and objectively assess a person's task-processing style is clearly important to eliminate subjective bias and to efficiently complete the evaluation of the individual's task-processing style within a reasonable time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for assessing the task-processing style of an individual. A further object is to evaluate the individual's task-processing style by presenting the person with a relatively complex, but loosely structured task and to provide the individual with many different sources of information that are relevant to processing the task. A still further object is to conduct the evaluation with a computer, and thus, to efficiently collect data useful in assessing the person's task-processing style. Another object is, prior to beginning the assessment, to train the person to: use the computer, access the information that may be helpful in resolving the situation, and input a resolution to the task. Finally, it is an object to process the data collected for the individual during the exercise and to produce objective parameters that define how the person resolves situations. The foregoing aspects and many further attendant advantages of this invention will become apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings and the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, which follows.

System and method for assessing an individual's task-processing style


A self-aligning wireless interface system (1) couples a wide variety of equipment (12, 18, 20, 40, FIG. 1; 84, 90, FIG. 2) to one or more of a wide variety of communications, entertainment, Internet, security, control, and/or other wireless services. The system (1) can also provide a wireless interconnection among such equipment. The system (1) can include an antenna system (4), geo-location module (8), communications module (10), orientation module (22), solar cell array (24), and rechargeable battery (26). The system (1) provides a wireless link to satellite (30), airborne (36), and/or terrestrial (38) transceivers, and optionally a wireless link connecting user equipment. To facilitate installation, the system (1) can be deployed by a person possessing minimal or no technical qualifications, and it can power itself up into a fully operational state. The system (1) optionally comprises a self-contained power system, which can include a solar cell array (24).

This invention relates generally to wireless interfaces and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for providing a self-aligning wireless interface system to enable various types of equipment to communicate with at least one wireless service and/or with each other.
A wide variety of wireless services are currently provided to subscribers. Examples of such wireless services include communications, such as telecommunications, including telephone and facsimile; broadband communications; entertainment, such as television, radio, recorded music, movies, and computer-based games; the Internet and its associated electronic commerce, education, entertainment, communications, information, government, and other functions; security systems for business and the home; and building control systems for business and the home, such as lighting control, temperature control, process and industrial control, and a myriad of other monitoring and control functions.
At present, when coupling equipment, including subscriber equipment, to wireless services, it is typical to provide an on-site antenna system in the vicinity of the equipment that must be connected to a local power source by a skilled technician. The necessity of providing a wire or cable connection to a local power source adds considerable expense and time to the task of installing antenna systems, thus erecting a considerable entry barrier to installation ease and cost. In addition, after the system has been installed and the system is subsequently moved or relocated, it is necessary to re-cable or re-wire the connections between the equipment and the antenna system, resulting in additional expense and time. Therefore, as may be appreciated, there is a significant need for an interface system between wireless services and equipment which does not require a hard-wired connection to the user equipment, and which does not require the interface system to be connected to a local power source.

Self-aligning wireless interface system and method


A process for treating waste water streams containing at least hydrocarbons and salts to yield a clean water product, a concentrated brine product and a hydrocarbon-rich product, which process includes the steps of: (a) feeding the waste water feed into a first distillation column at a stage in the range of from 0.05 to 0.15 from the top, wherein n represents the total number of theoretical stages of the first distillation column and has a value in the range of from 20 to 40; (b) drawing off a vapor stream at a stage in the range of from 0.55 to 0.75 from the top and feeding this vapor stream into the bottom of a second distillation column having m theoretical stages, with m having a value in the range of from 3 to 10; (c) drawing off the clean water product as the top fraction from the second distillation column and drawing off a bottom stream from the second distillation column, which is fed back into the first distillation column below the draw off of the vapor stream in step (b) at a stage in the range of from 0.60 to 0.85 from the top; (d) drawing off the concentrated brine product as the bottom fraction of the first distillation column; and (e) drawing off the hydrocarbon stream as the top fraction of the first distillation column.

The present invention relates to a process for the treatment of waste water, in particular waste water from industrial processes containing at least hydrocarbons and salts.
The treatment or purification of waste water originating from industrial processes and containing at least hydrocarbons and salts (organic and/or inorganic) normally is a relatively expensive procedure. Environmental legislation nowadays puts stringent demands on the purification or waste water streams from industrial processes, particularly when the purified waste water is to be released into the environment. Accordingly, the choice of a purification method for industrial waste water is bound by practical, environmental and economic considerations.
One industrial process, wherein a relatively large amount of waste water is produced is the styrene monomer/propylene oxide (SM/PO) production process. In general such SM/PO process involves the steps of: (i) reacting ethylbenzene with oxygen or air to form ethylbenzene hydroperoxide, (ii) reacting the ethylbenzene hydroperoxide thus obtained with propene in the presence of an epoxidation catalyst to yield propylene oxide and 1-phenyl ethanol, and (iii) converting the 1-phenyl ethanol into styrene by dehydration using a suitable dehydration catalyst. In the last step water is produced. In addition to this reaction water organic by-products such as aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenols and organic acids are produced. The by-products are separated from the main products with the aid of clean water and the organic acids are neutralized using a basic aqueous solution, such as an aqueous sodium (bi)carbonate and/or sodium hydroxide solution. Furthermore, additional water is introduced with the air in the step (i) and as steam in step (iii) of the above process.
The waste water from an SM/PO production plant typically contains a total of from 1.0 to 3.5 wt % of non-salt organic compounds and from 3.0 to 6.0 wt % of organic salts. It may further contain up to 2.0 wt % of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate and/or traces of sodium hydroxide, depending on the basic solution used in the neutralization of organic acids.
The input of clean water to an SM/PO plant can be up to tens of thousands kg per hour, while the output of waste water is normally about 50% higher than the imput of clean water. The waste water cannot be discharged without additional purification treatment. As has already been indicated above, however, the choice of a suitable purification treatment is limited due to all sorts of practical, environmental and economic considerations.
In GB-A-2,252,052 further information is given about prior art methods for treating waste water and about typical compositions of SM/PO waste water streams. The purification process disclosed in GB-A-2,252,052 involves freeze-concentration combined with salts-removal, whereby the waste water is separated into an at least two-fold concentrated waste product, salt crystals and a substantially pure water product.
The method disclosed in GB-A-2,252,052, however, still leaves room for improvement. Particularly the economics of a freeze concentration process are still not satisfactorily. Capital investment required for a freeze concentration process at present account for at least 10% of the total capital investment necessary for an SM/PO plant. It would thus be beneficial if a cheaper, but at least equally goodxe2x80x94in terms of purificationxe2x80x94alternative waste water purification treatment could be developed. Thus, it is an important object of the present invention to develop such alternative. A further object is to develop a waste water treatment which produces a clean water stream, which meets all requirements for discharge into the environment.
It has been found in accordance with the present invention that by applying a specific distillative treatment a very effective purification of the waste water is accomplished at reduced cost.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a process for treating of waste water streams containing at least hydrocarbons and salts to yield a clean water product, a concentrated brine product and a hydrocarbon-rich product, which process comprises the steps of:
(a) feeding the waste water feed into a first distillation column at a stage in the range of from 0.05*n to 0.15*n from the top, wherein n represents the total number of theoretical stages of the first distillation column and has a value in the range of from 20 to 40;
(b) drawing off a vapour stream at a stage in the range of from 0.55*n to 0.75*n from the top and feeding this vapour stream into the bottom of a second distillation column having m theoretical stages, with m having a value in the range of from 3 to 10;
(c) drawing off the clean water product as the top fraction from the second distillation column and drawing off a bottom stream from the second distillation column, which is fed back into the first distillation column below the draw off of the vapour stream in step (b) at a stage in the range of from 0.60*n to 0.85*n from the top;
(d) drawing off the concentrated brine product as the bottom fraction of the first distillation column; and
(e) drawing off the hydrocarbon stream as the top fraction of the first distillation column.

Process for the treatment of waste water


A microstrip line for a printed wiring board such as a flexible printed wiring board which includes a sandwiched thin insulating layer and cannot use a solid grounding conductor, the microstrip line being such that shape of grounding conductors relative to signal lines remains unchanged even in the presence of a curved shape and that overlapping areas of signal lines and grounding conductors located opposite to each other remain unchanged even in case of exposure misalignment or stack misalignment. A printed wiring board with a microstrip line structure in which signal lines are curved include wire-type grounding conductors located across an insulating layer from the signal lines, characterized in that wiring pitch of the grounding conductors is 1/n of width of the signal lines (where n is a natural number of 1 or 2).

Recently, signal processing speed of electronic equipment has been getting faster and faster. Consequently, transmission speed of signals passing through printed wiring boards has been increasing as well. In high-speed signal transmission, it is necessary to match characteristic impedance of signal lines, and mismatch will cause signal reflection, resulting in losses.
Generally, the characteristic impedance is 50Ω in the case of a single-ended channel, and 50Ω per signal line in the case of a differential channel. To obtain desired impedance, printed wiring boards which handle high-speed signals use a microstrip line in which a signal line 1 and grounding conductor 2 oppose each other across a substrate 3 as shown in FIG. 8.
Normally, microstrip lines use a solid grounding conductor. That is, an entire surface without a signal line is structured to be a ground plane. However, in the case of flexible printed wiring boards, substrates are 25 μm thick in many cases, and generally as thin as 12.5 to 50 μm. This increases capacitance between the signal line and grounding conductor, resulting in reduced characteristic impedance of the microstrip line.
For example, a microstrip line with a solid grounding conductor and with a signal line width of 122 μm has characteristic impedance of 50Ω when 100-μm-thick glass/epoxy prepreg (with a relative dielectric constant of 4) is used, but the characteristic impedance drops to 8Ω or less when 25-μm-thick polyimide (with a relative dielectric constant of 3.3) is used.
To reduce the capacitance between the signal line and solid grounding conductor and ensure characteristic impedance of 50Ω using the same polyimide material, it is necessary to reduce the signal line width to as small as 17 μm. Such a signal line can be produced if a thin conductor is used, but the narrow line width and small thickness will increase DC resistance.
Also, due to the narrow signal line width, variations in the width of formed signal lines have a significant impact, making it difficult to obtain desired impedance accurately. Thus, a square-meshed (see Patent Document 1) or diamond-meshed (see Patent Document 2) grounding conductor is often used.
However, since characteristic impedance varies depending on whether a signal line is located on opening or conductive portions of a meshed grounding conductor, the use of the meshed grounding conductor will cause impedance mismatch, resulting in signal reflection or losses.
Also, when a signal line is laid out in a bent form, position of the signal line relative to the mesh changes before and after the signal line is bent. This causes characteristic impedance mismatch.
To deal with this, a technique has been proposed for making a meshed shape conform to the curved shape of the signal line (see Patent Document 3). Also, a technique has been proposed for controlling opening size of the mesh in inner and outer regions of the curved shape or controlling signal line width (see Patent Document 4).
However, width of the wire-type grounding conductors 5 is always equal to (as shown in FIG. 9(a)), or larger than, width of signal lines 4. If it is assumed that there is no misalignment between the wire-type grounding conductors and signal lines, since the wire-type grounding conductors are equal in area to the opposing signal lines, the capacitance between the signal lines and grounding conductors is the same as in the case of a solid grounding conductor.
Thus, when a thin insulating layer is put between the signal lines and grounding conductors as in the case of a flexible printed wiring board, it is difficult to transmit large current or control impedance accurately.
Also, misalignment can occur in an actual manufacturing process as shown in FIG. 9(b), causing changes in the overlapping areas of signal lines 6 and grounding conductors 7 located opposite to each other. This makes it impossible to obtain desired impedance.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-114722
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-147837
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-173310
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-077802
Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-085805

Printed wiring board having wire grounding conductors with distances that are 1/n the width of the signal lines


The invention relates to a method for monitoring a condition of a patient under anesthesia or sedation, whereupon one, two, three or more signals are acquired, and the signal(s) represent(s) cardiovascular and/or combined electrical biopotential on skull activity of the patient. From said signal or signals are derived or calculated at least two parameter values related to a quantity like waveform amplitude, waveform periodicity, waveform morphology, waveform variability, energy, power, signal complexity and frequency content. A predetermined mathematical index for probability of patient comfort is used, in which function said parameters are variables, and successively changing probability index values of said mathematical index is calculated.

Concept of the depth of anesthesia has been of interest for recent decades, and several measures have been proposed to assess the depth of anesthesia. Recently, however, this unitary anesthesia theory of the existence of one-dimensional concept called "depth of anesthesia" has been strongly criticized as oversimplified. Instead it has been suggested that the anesthesia has not one but three main components: hypnosis, analgesia and muscle relaxation. Different anesthetic regimens have different effect on these three components. Furthermore, they have effects on both cortical and sub-cortical levels. An adequate anesthesia means unresponsiveness to both noxious and non-noxious stimuli. The former may be defined by means of hemodynamic, motor and endocrine stability, while the latter is related to the loss of consciousness and recall and amnesia. In practice the adequate anesthesia is administered by using a combination of drugs with different effects on the brain autonomic nervous system and neuromuscular junction. The combination of these effects hence creates the hypnotic, analgesic and muscle relaxing effects.
In general anesthesia the patient is conducted through the phases of anesthesia from the induction to the varying lengths of maintenance period and to the final emergence out from anesthesia. Though the patient does not usually recall any surgical events or perceive surgical pain, the recovery and the post-operative comfort of the patient very often depend on the quality of the anesthesia during the operation itself. Adequate administration of analgesic drugs—meaning that over-doses and under-doses can be avoided during anesthesia—is believed to advance the recovery of the patient. It has been suggested that this is due to two main reasons. Surgical pain may sensitize the pain pathways during surgery and thus lower the pain threshold in such a way that even rather intense pain management in the post-operative period is ineffective. It is said that the best way to avoid post-operative pain is a good and adequate administration of analgesics during operation. The other mechanism is probably related to the secretions of stress hormones during surgery. These hormones may have their effects long after surgery and can slow down the physical and psycho-physiological heeling of the patient. Adequate pain medications can suppress the autonomic nervous system and prevent excess secretion of these stress hormones. In this context the term "nociception" is commonly used to refer to the perception of pain. The receptors involved in pain detection are aptly enough referred to as nociceptors. Nociceptive input is conveyed from the peripheral end organs to the central nervous system. Projection neurons in the spinal dorsal horn project to cell nuclei in supraspinal areas such as the thalamus, the brainstem, the midbrain etc. Of these, the synaptic junctions in the thalamus play a very important role in the integration and modulation of spinal nociceptive and non-nociceptive inputs. Nociceptive inputs are finally conducted to the cortex, where the sensation of pain is perceived. Stimulation of these central nervous system regions either electrically or chemically, e.g. by morphine and other opiates, produces analgesia in humans.
Currently the anesthesia practices rely on rather subjective assessments of the adequacy of the drug treatment during anesthesia. Anesthesiologists observe the patient and decide for the proper drugs they give to the patient. Though this often is enough to avoid adverse events such as arousal or muscle movements during surgery, which in fact very seldom occur in normal anesthesia nowadays, more objective measures for the anesthesia are needed. Recently the progress in the biopotential signal analysis has lead in reasonable quantitative estimation of the hypnotic level of the patient, and thereby the titration of the anesthetic agents can be guided by these new measurements.
For instance, the neurological activity of the brain is reflected in biopotentials available on the surface of the brain and on the scalp. Thus, efforts to quantify the extent of anesthesia-induced hypnosis have turned to a study of these biopotentials. The biopotential electrical signals are usually obtained by a pair, or plurality of pairs, of electrodes placed on the patients scalp at locations designated by a recognized protocol and a set, or a plurality of sets or channels, of electrical signals are obtained from the electrodes. These signals are amplified and filtered. The recorded signals comprise an electroencephalogram or EEG, which normally has no obvious repetitive patterns, contrary to other biopotential signals, like electrocardiogram (ECG). Among the purposes of filtering is to remove electromyographic (EMG) signals from the EEG signal. EMG signals result from muscle activity of the patient and will appear in electroencephalographic electrodes applied to the forehead or scalp of the patient. They are usually considered artifacts with respect to the EEG signals. Since EMG signals characteristically have most of their energy in a frequency range from 40 Hz to 300 Hz, which is different than that of the EEG, major portions of the EMG signals can be separated from the contaminated EEG signal.
A macro characteristic of EEG signal patterns is the existence of broadly defined low frequency rhythms or waves occurring in certain frequency bands. Four such bands are recognized: Alpha waves are found during periods of wakefulness and may disappear entirely during sleep. The higher frequency Beta waves are recorded during periods of intense activation of the central nervous system. The lower frequency Theta and Delta waves reflect drowsiness and periods of deep sleep.
For clinical use, it is desirable to simplify the results of EEG signal analysis of the foregoing, and other types, into a workable parameter that can be used by an anesthesiologist in a clinical setting when attending the patient. Various such parameters for relating EEG signal data to the hypnotic state of the patient are discussed in the literature. Several use frequency domain power spectral analysis. These parameters include peak power frequency (PPF), median power frequency (MPF), and spectral edge frequency (SEF). A peak power frequency (PPF) parameter uses the frequency in a spectrum at which occurs the highest power in the sampled data as an indication of the depth of anesthesia. The median power frequency (MPF) parameter, as its name implies, uses the frequency that bisects the spectrum. In the same fashion, the spectral edge frequency uses the highest frequency in the EEG signal. To improve the consistency of an indicator of the hypnotic state or depth of anesthesia, several parameters are often employed in combination. For example, the spectral edge frequency (SEF) parameter may be combined with the time-domain burst suppression ratio (BSR) parameter to improve the consistency and accuracy with which the depth of anesthesia can be indicated. Also more complex combinations of parameters, like bispectral index (BIS) have been described.
There are a number of concepts and analytical techniques directed to the complex nature of random and unpredictable signals, like EEG. One such concept is entropy. Entropy, as a physical concept, describes the state of disorder of a physical system. Applying the concept of entropy to the brain, the premise is that when a person is awake, the mind is full of activity and hence the state of the brain is more nonlinear, complex, and noise like. Since EEG signals reflect the underlying state of brain activity, this is reflected in relatively more "randomness" or "complexity" in the EEG signal data, or, conversely, in a low level of "order." As a person falls asleep or is anesthetized, the brain function begins to lessen and becomes more orderly and regular. As the activity state of the brain changes, this is reflected in the EEG signals by a relative lowering of the "randomness" or "complexity" of the EEG signal data or conversely, increasing "order" in the signal data. When a person is awake, the EEG data signals will have higher entropy and when the person is asleep the EEG signal data will have a lower entropy.
According to the International Publication WO-02/32305 both the EEG and EMG signal data are typically obtained from the same set of electrodes applied, for example, to the forehead of the patient. The EEG signal component dominates the lower frequencies (up to about 30 Hz) contained in the biopotentials existing in the electrodes and EMG signal component dominates the higher frequencies (about 50 Hz and above). The presence of EMG signal can provide a rapid indication of the conscious-unconscious state of the patient. Importantly, because of the higher frequency of the EMG data signal, the sampling time can be significantly shorter than that required for the lower frequency EEG signal data. This allows the EMG data to be computed more frequently so that the overall diagnostic indicator can quickly indicate changes in the state of the patient. In one embodiment of the publication, the EEG signal data and the EMG signal data are separately analyzed and thereafter combined into a diagnostic index or indicator. As noted above, because of the celerity with which changes in the anesthetic state of the patient can be determined from the EMG data, the overall index can quickly inform the anesthesiologist of changes in the state of the patient.
Another way is to observe a photoplethysmographic (=PPG) signal, which is obtained by measuring the intensity of light transmitted through or reflected by the tissue. The dynamic part of the signal is caused by variations in blood volume and perfusion of the tissue, affecting scattering and absorption of the incident light. The most usual application of the signal is the measurement of the oxygen saturation of blood. The pulse waveform of the PPG signal is closely similar to that of the intra-arterial blood pressure. The waveform is reflecting the interaction between left ventricular output, i.e. cardiac output or stroke volume, and the capacitance of the vascular tree, also called vascular resistance. Blood pressure is determined by the cardiac output, which is stroke volume multiplied by heart rate, and vascular resistance. However, in addition to these global circulatory parameters, the dynamic capacitance of the vasculature affects also the nonlinear relationship of PPG signal and circulatory parameters. Especially complex is the relationship between the PPG waveform shape within one pulse and the integrated pulse-to-pulse variables. The PPG signal is related to the changes in peripheral tissue blood volume and blood absorptivity. As it is the blood flow, that causes the blood volume changes, the PPG signal is hence indirectly related to local blood flow. The flow, in turn, depends on the pressure gradient and local vascular dynamic resistance and capacitance.
The PPG measuring as such has been utilized for a long time. For instance U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,075 discloses a method and device for monitoring the depth of anesthesia (=DOA) during surgery by analyzing patterns and characteristics of oscillatory phenomena in measured pulse pressure and skin temperature signals. The method utilizes pulse pressure and skin temperature oscillatory patterns describe the nature of sympathetic vasomotor tone. The method monitors DOA in two ways. Spectral characteristics of skin temperature or pulse pressure oscillatory phenomena are used to describe the depth of anesthesia, and the concordance between oscillatory patterns of two physiological signals, which have been recorded simultaneously but at different locations, are used to describe the depth of anesthesia. According to the publication a PPG signal of an anesthetized patient is continuously monitored, and the recorded raw PPG signal is then processed so as to generate a signal depicting the beat-to-beat pulse pressure amplitude. Then the signal is derived by detecting peaks, and calculating the difference between each positive-negative peak pair, after which a further signal is processed in a manner so as to derive a data set describing very low frequency variations in pulse pressure over time in the 0.01-0.04 Hz range, that is, the PPG signal amplitude variability. Power spectrum analysis is finally performed on said further signal, and the received frequency power spectrum characteristics are used to describe the DOA, such that a progressively narrower bandwidth describe a progressively deeper level of anesthesia.
However, it appears that the position of the dicrotic notch as well as the PPG amplitude are dependent on various other sources than the status of vasoconstriction or vasodilatation, including fluid balance, temperature of the site of PPG measurement, heart rate, etc. Hence, these parameters may be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, they refer to the usage of the PPG information as a measure of the depth of anesthesia, which is an oversimplified one-dimensional assumption as described above.
The publication E. Seitsonen, M. van Gils, I. Korhonen, K. Korttila, A. Yli-Hankala: "EEG, Heart Rate, Pulse Plethysmography and Movement Responses to Skin Incision"—A-582, 2002 ASA Meeting Abstracts, Oct. 16, 2002, discloses studies concerning evaluation of analgesia and nociception during general anesthesia. Raw EEG, the bispectral index, electrocardiography (ECG) and PPG data were collected and analyzed offline. RR-interval (RRI) tachogram was derived from ECG and frontal electromyography (FEMG) from EEG, and several beat-to-beat morphology parameters were derived from PPG signal, as well as various time and frequency domain parameters were computed from EEG, RRI and PPG data. When derived variables calculated as ratios or differences between post-incision and pre-incision values were compared, RRI, amplitude of the dicrotic notch in PPG, EEG spectral entropy and FEMG power appeared as primary variables in the optimal linear discriminant function between movers and non-movers. Finally it was concluded that combination of these parameters may be useful in assessing the level of analgesia and nociception during anesthesia. However, the publication does not provide any practical procedure for monitoring a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,713, discloses a system and method for providing information to the user of a medical monitoring or diagnostic device to aid in the clinical decision making process. The preferred embodiment uses two estimators or predictors of the same physiological quantity, with each of the estimators being designed to detect specific states or artifacts in the estimated parameter and thus operating at a different point on its respective ROC curve; one chosen to provide high sensitivity, the other chosen to provide high specificity. The divergence between the estimators is indicated by the use of a shaded region between their respective time trends. The use of two estimators of the same parameters with different performance characteristics allows the system and method of the present invention to derive additional information about the underlying physiologic process over and above that which would be available from a single estimator. The system and method of the present invention can derive information from not only the instantaneous values of the estimators and the difference between them, but also from the time trend of the difference. Accordingly, this publication is primarily directed to the accuracy of a measurement, but does not discuss the problem how the level of analgesia could be reliably monitored while the patient is under anesthesia or sedation.
Anyway, the administration of analgetics is still largely based on the visual observations of the vital signs and the hemodynamic responses of the patient to surgical stimulation. Analgesic drugs are usually given, when the heart rate or blood pressure show fast increases or are in long term at the high end of the normal ranges. Different motoric responses, sweating and lacrimation of the patient can be observed as well. A further problem not considered in the publications is the possible suppressive effect of relaxants on at least some signals acquired from patient, which can have adverse effect on the reliability of the results received. The concept of analgesia is very complex and due to inter- and intraindividual variability the combined specificity and sensitivity for the single-parameter based methods is not very good.
Accordingly the main object of the invention is to achieve a method and apparatus for monitoring the anesthesia or sedation of a patient so that a reliable data about level or depth of analgesia would be available to an anesthetist or to other purposes.
The second object of the invention is to achieve a method and apparatus for monitoring the anesthesia or sedation capable of using measured signals derived from various sources of the patient, which means that the method should not be dependent on any single type of detector.
The third object of the invention is to achieve a method and apparatus for monitoring the anesthesia or sedation capable to deliver such results as an output, with the basis of which the adequacy of analgesia could be reliably enough assessed by inexperienced anesthetists or other operators, too.
The fourth object of the invention is to achieve a method and apparatus for monitoring ing the anesthesia or sedation functioning with an acceptable speed so that a change in analgesia to a hazardous direction is detected and reported early enough to allow timely corrective actions.

Method and apparatus based on combination of physiological parameters for assessment of analgesia during anesthesia or sedation


The structure of an office furnishing system is constituted by a plurality of modular elements which can be interconnected in various possible configurations, the same basic elements being usable to form work stations as well as partition walls and screens, integrated into a harmonious unit. Each modular element includes a framework of upright members and cross members interconnected together. Each upright member and each cross member is formed from two parallel, profiled, metal sections spaced apart and interconnected by in at least two regions by first and second connectors respectively. The first and second connectors have complementary engaging surfaces for quickly connecting the cross members to the upright members.

The present invention relates to office furnishing systems. In recent times ever more widespread use has been made in modern offices of partition walls constituted by modular elements which can be assembled in various possible configurations and are used to divide an area into several separate work spaces. The partition walls usually extend from the floor to the ceiling of the area in which they are fitted and may be equipped with auxiliary elements such as bookshelves, suspended fittings or cupboards. The main advantage of the use of such partition walls lies, on the one hand, in the fact that the space available can be partitioned as desired fairly quickly and easily and, on the other hand, in their extreme flexibility in use which means that the furnishing of an area can be modified quickly and easily after its initial fitting-out, or even that elements originally used in one location can be re-used to furnish a different location.
A similar development, parallel to that indicated above, has also taken place in the field of office work-station furnishings (desks, boardroom tables, work surfaces for typists, etc.). In this field, it has also been proposed to use furnishing systems which provide for the assembly of modular elements in various possible configurations so as to fulfil the needs for ease, rapidity and flexibility of assembly.
Finally, still in the field of office furnishing, screens (this term meaning low partition walls which do not extend up to the ceiling) have for some time been used within a work space, for example, for dividing one work station from another. These screens may also be equipped with shelves, suspended fittings, or work surfaces.
Hitherto, separate modular furnishing systems have been proposed for partition walls and for screens and work stations respectively. In some cases, integrated modular systems have also been proposed and provide both partition walls and screens.


The subject invention pertains to materials and methods that provide a person conducting activity at the rear of a vehicle, such as when loading items into the trunk of a car or the rear of a van the opportunity to observe the area immediately to the rear and rear sides of the vehicle without turning around and facing in that direction. One embodiment concerns a mirror or other reflective material adapted for mounting inside a trunk or rear of a van to permit a user to observe behind them at the same time that they are facing toward the open trunk or van hatchback.

There is a growing societal problem of kidnappers and car-jackers in addition to robberies and assaults. There have been numerous instances where children were abducted in broad daylight while their parents were placing items into the trunk of their cars or the back of their vans. When they finished loading their parcels into the car or van trunk, they turned around and discovered that their children were gone. There have also been reports of kidnappings and assaults of adults who were placing items in the trunk of their cars, or removing something out of the trunk of their car, and did not observe a stranger or drunkard approaching from behind who could pose a safety hazard.
Criminologists generally agree that one of the most under-appreciated crime prevention techniques is simply to remain alert to your surroundings. The main objective is to avoid becoming distracted or preoccupied and to make quick eye contact with those around you, conveying the message that you are aware and mindful of their presence.
Although there are numerous descriptions of mirrors mounted on the side or interior of a vehicle, these are all intended for utilization by the individual seated in the driver""s seat, positioned primarily to allow the driver to observe traffic behind their vehicle. Examples of these mirrors are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,949,595; 4,964,712; 5,488,515; and 5,084,785.
As can be understood from the above, there remains a need for persons to be able to view the area behind them where they are working or conducting activities at the rear of a vehicle.
The subject invention pertains to materials and methods that provide a person (user) standing or loading items into the trunk of a car or rear of a van, or conducting other activities at the rear of the vehicle, the opportunity to observe the area immediately to the rear and rear sides of the vehicle while the user is facing generally toward the front of the vehicle. In one embodiment, a mirror or other reflective material is adapted for mounting inside a trunk or rear of a van to permit a user to observe behind them at the same time that they are facing toward the open trunk or van hatchback. Another embodiment provides a trunk or van hatch with a mirror or other reflective material incorporated into the trunk or hatch so as to allow the user to observe behind them.
By allowing for a person to conduct activities at the rear of the vehicle in a confident manner, it decreases the likelihood of the person being a target of criminal activity. When a stranger is spotted in the mirror approaching from behind, the user of the present invention may turn around for a face-to-face confrontation or take other actions or precautions as the situation warrants. This would likely deter a sneak-up attack since the appearance of a would-be offender has already been determined. The would-be criminal may choose to move on if the element of surprise is eliminated.


Methods and apparatus to improve addressing of device resources in variable page size environments are described. In one embodiment, an address conversion logic (which may be provided within a chipset in an embodiment) may convert a first address into a second address based on a difference between a first memory page size and the second memory page size. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronics. More particularly, an embodiment of the invention relates to techniques for addressing device resources in variable page size environments.
Input/output (I/O) virtualization is a technology being developed to ensure that I/O devices function properly in a virtualized environment. For example, when an I/O device issues a direct memory access (DMA) request in a virtualized environment (e.g., where there may be more than one operating system (OS) active in the system), a translation may be performed on the address specified by the DMA request to ensure that the DMA operation and resulting effects are committed to the portion of the memory space that corresponds to the given I/O device.
Moreover, to limit data corruption, memory space utilized by different agents such as software applications or operating systems may be divided into predefined portions (also referred to as "pages") and each of the agents may only be allowed to access data within the boundaries defined for corresponding pages. However, the page size used by a system memory shared amongst various agents (such as I/O devices, software applications, or operating systems I/O devices) may be reconfigured over time, e.g., to improve performance or allow access to additional memory space. When the page size of the system memory is modified, an I/O device may end up having a different page size than the system memory. As a result, changes in the system memory page size may render some I/O devices inoperable or cause complications.

Addressing device resources in variable page size environments


A sport device imitating weapon fight has two elongated elements which are connected with one another to form a substantially right angle therebetween, one of the elongated elements being formed to be held by a user, the other of the elongated elements being longer than the one elongated element and has two longitudinal edges and two transverse edges, the other elongated element being substantially flat, one of such longitudinal edges of the other elongated element having a thickness which is smaller than a thickness of a remaining part of the other elongated element to increase efficiency of a strike transversely to the other longitudinal element by the at least one longitudinal edge, one of the transverse edges of the other elongated element being provided with a substantially sharp formation to improve efficiency of a strike delivered along the other elongated element.

The present invention relates to sports devices which imitate fights with the use of weapon, as well as to devices which can be used for self defense.
Devices of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. One of such devices is for example formed as an elongated round bar which is held by its one end and can delivery corresponding strikes. Such a device is used in sports, in self defense, as well as for example by police. It is believed that the known device can be further improved.

Sports device for imitating weapon fight


A tire repair device comprises a bottle body for containing tire sealant and a bottle cap deposited at an opening of the bottle body to seal the bottle body; wherein the tire repair device further comprises a tire sealant guiding tube provided in the bottle cap, and the tire sealant guiding tube includes a first tube section extending into the bottle body and a second tube section; a flange is formed on an internal surface of the first tube section; a plug is slidably placed in the first tube section; at least one rib is fixed in the first tube section and is deposited between the flange and the first bottom end. The tire repair device of the present application has a simple structure, is easy to operate, and is cost-effective; besides, the tire repair device can be used either upright or upside-down, which is good for promotion and implementation.

Currently, tire repair devices on sale in the market can normally provide preventative functions, including automotive tire repairing and leakage proof. However, a spray-type tire sealant is usually adopted in the tire repair device in the prior art. In this case, a spray nozzle of a tire repair sprayer will be connected to a gas filling nozzle configured on the tire; by pressing the sprayer, the tire sealant can be injected into the tire. During operation process, human fingers are required to press the tire repair sprayer to make it work. Due to insufficient strength of human fingers applied to the sprayer in the pressing process, the tire sealant injected into the tire is not much enough. In that way, effective tire repairing cannot be obtained. Moreover, the tire repair sprayer cannot work when placed upside down. That is, if the gas filling nozzle is reversed to the direction of the tire repair sprayer normally placed, the tire repairing cannot be achieved.


A hub cap for a wheel hub having a cylindrical housing with a closed first end and an open second end adapted for attachment in an air-tight sealing arrangement to the outer end of a wheel hub to form a closed air system in the interior of the wheel hub. An air pressure gauge in an air flow connection with the closed air system is operable to provide a visual indication of the air pressure in the closed air system. The air pressure gauge includes a dial face and a pressure indicating needle moving relative to the dial face in direct relation to the air pressure within the closed air system. The dial face includes indicia thereon to assist an observer to readily identify a breached seal condition within the wheel hub.

Wheel hubs for use in coupling a tire to a vehicle axle are well known. By way of illustration, a conventional boat trailer utilizes a fixed axle secured to a trailer frame. A wheel assembly is coupled to the axle by use of a wheel hub. The wheel hub employs a bearing assembly to allow free rotation of the hub in relation to the axle. Thus, the wheel assembly, which includes the tire, permits transportation of the boat trailer over a road when trailered by an automobile. The conventional wheel hub employs bearings, namely an inner and outer bearings with an associated inner and outer race, which permits rotational movement in relation to the axle.
As with any friction producing components, it is imperative that the bearings are lubricated in order to prevent premature wear. Typically, a bearing grease is used which liquefies during bearing rotation for use in lubricating the bearings. The grease is sealed within the hub by use of an oil seal positioned along an inner side surface of the hub, and a bearing cap positioned along an outer side surface of the hub. The seals are used to prevent liquified grease from escaping the hub joint.
Thus the integrity of the oil seal and hub cover is critical to prevent loss of grease. Absence of a lubricant can quickly lead to catastrophic failure of the bearings causing hub disengagement of the axle, which can result in wheel assembly loss and the associated dangerous scenario of property and possibly life endangerment. For instance, a trailer carrying a heavy load such as a 25 foot boat, will quickly heat up a bearing that is not properly lubricated. Should the bearing fail, the bearing and race will typically disintegrate with a likely result of the hub and wheel detaching from the axle of the trailer. Boat trailers present an excellent example of premature wear as a boat trailer is typically inserted into water for loading or unloading of the boat. Should there be a failure of the hub seal, water is allowed to enter the hub resulting in the premature wear. In addition, should the water be saltwater, bearing disintegration is greatly enhanced since rust forming on the bearing surfaces will operate to destroy the bearings with very short use.
In light of the above numerous attempts have been made in order to prevent loss of bearing lubricant Many prior art wheel hub devices maintain pressurized grease within the hub. A very successful system consists of a modified hub cap having a grease fitting with a spring which visually indicates that grease has been inserted into the hub. However, should the hub seal fail, the assembly will actually facilitate grease being pushed through the seal. Should the spring jam, even if the bearing indicator illustrate that grease is prevalent in the seal, it may be providing a false indication. In addition, a slow leak will allow grease to be inserted into the hub and upon liquification during operation the seal could allow the liquified grease to easily escape.
Unfortunately, a spring loaded system to pressurize grease into the hub results in an excess amount of grease injected into the hub for proper operation. This results in an obvious waste of grease for only the bearing rollers must be lubricated. Thus, the amount of grease necessary is simply a coating over the bearing rollers. The spring loaded system advocates that should a seal leak, the user need simply pump more grease into the wheel hub on a continuous basis. Of course, the grease continues to leak from the wheel hub because the breach in the seal remains. For instance, a person may check a hub and insert grease into the hub before taking the trailer on the road. Once the trailer reaches operating speed, the liquified grease may easily escape. Should the operator back trailer into a lake, for purposes of unloading a boat, grease that has escaped from the hub and remains on the trailer will be exposed to the water.
Prior art patents directed to wheel bearing lubricators teach that the release of grease into the water is advantageous. Vangalis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,706, discloses a hub cap of transparent plastic which is closed at the outer end and contains a spring-backed piston for applying pressure on lubricant grease in the hub cap for yielding when the lubricant expands. The hub cap has two small vents, one for permitting lubricant to escape when expansion is excessive and the other to vent the enclosed portion of the hub behind the piston to atmospheric pressure.
Ploeger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,133, discloses a wheel bearing pressure lubricator for hubs subject to periodic submersion in water. The device includes a piston for relieving excess lubricant pressure and a piston position indicator providing a visual indication when the piston is in hub filled position and when the piston is in a no pressure position at which the piston ceases to apply pressure to the lubricant in the hub.
The adverse environmental impact of petroleum product contamination of natural water environments is well known. The constant expulsion of grease into natural waters by the prior art bearing lubrication systems will have a cumulative negative impact on the environment. In the year 2001, the National Marine Manufacturers Association estimated that 7,564,900 boat trailers were in operation, a significant number of which are continuously expelling grease into natural waters. Should the water be a reservoir for drinking water, even a few drops of oil can result in system contamination. However, it is well known that any oil in water has an adverse effect to wildlife.
Total estimated retail expenditures on boating totaled $25,593,409,000 in 2001. Recreational boating in the United States is an ever-growing industry, a trend which is increasingly at odds with environmental concerns. The continued water pollution by leaking wheel hubs is unnecessary and preventable, and that there remains a need for an "environmentally friendly" system of bearing maintenance.
Thus, what is lacking in the art is a positive indication of hub and oil seal integrity to indicate availability of bearing grease within the hub which does not release grease into the environment.

Environment protector-pressurized wheel hub


A confectionery product which has discrete pieces of a chocolate material, which is a chocolate, a chocolate substitute or a chocolate analogue, having specific characteristic shapes which are images dispersed in a confectionery material is prepared by distributing the discrete pieces having a temperature less than 20.degree. C. into a stream of frozen, chilled or ambient confectionery material to obtain a composite product, and the composite product may be mixed.

The present invention relates to confectionery products and in particular to frozen, chilled or ambient confectionery products wherein a confectionery material, including such as an ice cream, contains pieces of chocolate or other fat-containing confectionery material dispersed therein.
Ice cream products are known which have dispersed therein ingredients such as nuts, raisins, seeds, fruits, coconut flake, miniature marshmallows, candies or chocolate chips in order to impart certain specific organoleptic characteristics. Such ingredients can be inserted in a controlled manner into a flowing stream of ice cream by means of standard ingredient feeders commonly used in the ice cream industry. One kind of ingredient feeder is a continuous ingredient feeder manufactured by APV, Model S-420, in which positive, accurate metering is accomplished by means of an agitator and auger feed combination which transfers the ingredients from the main hopper, usually at room temperature, onto an enrobing rotor at a controlled rate of speed. The controlled speed and smooth action of the agitator and auger assure gentle handling without damage to the ingredients. This works very well for the sturdy ingredients such as nuts and seeds and for the more flexible products such as raisins and miniature marshmallows. With regard to chocolate chips, which do not have any particular recognizable shape and consist of particles whose maximum dimensions are generally less than 5 mm, usually from 1-3 mm, the actual shape of the chips is of little significance, the desired effect of the presence of chocolate chips in ice cream being almost entirely organoleptic.
However, there has been a desire to have a novelty product, particularly one with a visual appearance which adds to the interest and amusement of children, comprising ice cream in which are dispersed discrete pieces of shaped chocolate or a fat-containing confectionery material having specific characteristic shapes, e.g. images of cartoon animals, dinosaurs, stars, letters of the alphabet, etc. Due to their relatively small size, many of these shapes or parts thereof may be rather delicate, and clearly, in order to maintain their novelty value, it is important that any damage or breakage during production and storage is minimized, and up until now, it has not been possible to distribute shaped products into ice cream economically.
Although it is possible to produce shaped chocolate or fat-containing confectionery pieces by traditional forming methods such as roller forming or liquid-state moulding, these methods are costly in operation and the investment required to produce a different shape is large due to the need for new sets of moulds or forming rollers.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0 603 467 (hereinafter "EP-A-0603467"), the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present specification, a process is described for the cold extrusion of chocolate, which process enables the cost-effective production of large quantities of extruded, shaped chocolate pieces for incorporation into confectionery products. Since a new shape only requires investment in a new die (or dies) the relative cost of changing to a different shape is very low compared to other methods. This process therefore gives an economically viable method to produce large quantities of shaped chocolate or fat-containing confectionery pieces.
Furthermore, the production of very small shaped pieces by traditional moulding techniques, is not reliable in view of the difficulty in controlling deposit shot weight as well as accuracy of positioning of the mould and demoulding of the final product. The cold extrusion process of EP-A0603467, however enables shapes with very high definition two dimensional outlines to be produced.
Moreover, roller forming techniques inevitably results in a web of chocolate between the shapes emanating from the gap between the rollers, this web is difficult to remove from complex shapes and would therefore reduce the shape definition of the final product. In the cold extrusion process of EP-A-0603467, however no such webbing exists.


A hydraulic seal is defined between a rotating member such as a turbocharger shaft and a stationary member such as part of a bearing housing of a turbocharger. The members define a projecting annular disc that is received in an annular channel that is filled with hydraulic sealing fluid such as oil. Rotation of the rotary member applies a centrifugal force to the fluid thereby ensuring that it is retained in the channel between walls thereof and the disc. This annulus of fluid provides a hydraulic seal around the shaft between the bearing housing and the compressor or turbine housing. The oil is delivered into the channel from a supply in the rotary member. One of the walls of the channel serves as a weir whereby when the channel has an excess supply of oil is overflows the wall and passes the drain. The arrangement provides an effective seal against blow-by across the turbine end seal and restricts gas flow from the relatively high pressure regions of the compressor and turbine housings into the relatively low pressure area of the bearing housing. It also ensures that there is a continuous flow of oil across the seal so as to prevent it degrading in the high temperature environment.

Turbochargers are well known devices for supplying air to the intake of an internal combustion engine at pressures above atmospheric (boost pressures). A conventional turbocharger essentially comprises an exhaust gas driven turbine wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft within a turbine housing. Rotation of the turbine wheel rotates a compressor wheel mounted on the other end of the shaft within a compressor housing. The compressor wheel delivers compressed air to the intake manifold of the engine, thereby increasing engine power.
The turbocharger shaft is conventionally supported by journal and thrust bearings, including appropriate lubricating systems, located within a central bearing housing connected between the turbine and compressor wheel housing. It is well known that providing an effective sealing system to prevent oil leakage from the central bearing housing into the compressor or turbine housing is problematic. Oil leakage is regarded as a particular problem at the compressor end of the turbocharger since at low boost pressures (e.g. when the engine is idling) there can be a significant drop in pressure from the bearing housing to the compressor housing which encourages oil leakage into the compressor housing. It is for instance conventional to include an oil slinger in the compressor end seal assembly. An oil slinger is an annular component which rotates with the turbocharger shaft and has surfaces or passages arranged for propelling oil away from the shaft as it rotates, and in particular from the passage through the bearing housing into the compressor housing.
It is moreover important for a sealing arrangement to be able to withstand the increasingly high boost pressures that are delivered by modern turbochargers. The pressure of the bearing housing is effectively at the same pressure as the engine oil sump (typically around up to 100 millibar) and there is thus a pressure gradient between the bearing housing and the compressor and turbine housings. A significant pressure differential can also be set up between the bearing and turbine housing when an exhaust gas engine braking arrangement is employed at the turbine outlet as this creates back pressure. The sealing arrangement must thus be able to restrict "blow-by" gas flow from the relatively high pressure regions of the turbine and compressor housings into the relatively low pressure region of the bearing housing, without impairing its ability to restrict oil leakage.
Although oil leakage at the turbine end of the turbocharger is regarded as less of a problem, it is nevertheless important to prevent oil leaking into the turbine housing where it will mix with the exhaust gas and increase exhaust emissions. The turbocharger turbine wheel is conventionally welded to a seal boss at the end of the turbocharger shaft. In existing turbocharger bearing housings sealing is typically provided by one or more sealing rings (a piston-type rings) seated in annular grooves defined in an outer surface of the shaft or in the housing and which serve to restrict gas flow between the housing and the shaft in a direction in or out of the bearing housing. A rotating surface perpendicular to the shaft is provided to sling oil and so control oil leakage.
In addition to the blow-by gases referred to above, as the sealing efficiency of the engine piston rings decreases additional blow-by exhaust gases enter the crankcase and increase its internal pressure. Such an increase in crankcase pressure is transmitted to the bearing housing of the turbocharger as the two are connected by virtue of the bearing oil from the turbocharger draining back to the crankcase. Exhaust gases can thus enter the bearing housing, become entrained with the oil and "blow-by" the turbine end seal. With increasingly stringent exhaust emission regulations there are restrictions on venting such gases to atmosphere and there is a continuing need to improve the efficiency of the turbine end seal arrangement.
An example of a known oil seal arrangement is shown in our European patent application published under no. EP 1387061.
Rotating hydraulic seals for sealing rotating shafts by making use of the centrifugal force acting on the hydraulic fluid have been known for some time. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,014,850. In short, an annular channel defined by a fixed structure is penetrated by a thin disc or plate defined on the rotating shaft (or vice versa). Oil is maintained in the channel by centrifugal forces generated by the rotating disc or channel and provides a seal between the two. However, such seals have not been thought suitable for use in the hot environment of a turbocharger. The very high rotation speeds of a turbocharger (up to 150,000 r.p.m.) would cause extremely high shear rates in the sealing oil and thereby raise its temperature to a level where there is a risk of breakdown by coking.


Drill cuttings and similar earth materials are reduced in particle size, slurried and disposed of from a system which includes a ball mill, a reduced particle receiving tank, a grinder pump in communication with the receiving tank and separator screens for receiving a slurry of particles which have been reduced in size through the ball mill and the grinder pump. The underflow of the separator is suitable for discharge for final disposal, oversized particles are returned to the ball mill and the underflow discharged from the separator is controlled to maintain a certain level in the primary receiving tank. A secondary tank may receive a portion of the underflow to be mixed with viscosifiers and dispersants to maintain a suitable slurry composition for discharge. The system may be mounted on a semi-trailer and in weather-proof enclosures with the ball mill, receiving tanks and grinder pump on a first level and the separators on a second level. Receiving hoppers for wet drill cuttings as well as frozen or dried cuttings are provided and water or steam may be mixed with the cuttings and conveyed by a bucket elevator from the first level to the second level of the enclosures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a processing system including screening and grinding devices for processing earth drilling cuttings and the like to form a slurry of fine particles and liquid which may be injected through wells into the earth as a way of disposal.
2. Background
The generation of wetted earth particles during drilling of oil and gas wells and the like, as well as the generation of certain types of grindable materials which may be disposed of through deep injection wells has resulted in the development of certain processes and systems for preparing slurries of finely ground particles which are suitable for deep well injection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,929, issued Jul. 24, 1990 to Malachosky et al, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,109,933 and 5,129,469, issued May 5, 1992 and Jul. 14, 1992, respectively, to J. E. Jackson, all assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describe disposal systems for earth drilling wastes and the like. In particular, the system described in the Jackson patent includes a modified centrifugal pump which is operable to reduce the particle size of certain types of earth material generated during the drilling of wells primarily by a shearing action. However, the drill cuttings disposal system described in the Jackson patent is not well suited to processing cuttings of relatively hard earth materials. In this regard, it has been determined that a device for reducing drill cuttings particle size, such as a ball mill or the like, is better adapted to handle certain sands, gravels and other earth materials that cannot be adequately ground by a shearing type action. A treatise entitled: "The Cuttings Grinder" by R. I. Smith, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc. (SPE 22092), 1991 , describes one system using a ball mill for grinding drill cuttings.
Still further, however, there has developed a need for a portable earth drilling cuttings processing system which is not only adapted to receive wet cuttings from drilling operations but also to receive and process cuttings which have been previously disposed of in so-called reserve pits associated with drilling operations. It is also desirable that a drilling cuttings processing system be provided which is adapted for operation in harsh environments and which may be easily moved from one site to another where drilling wastes are being generated or have previously been generated and disposed of on the earth's surface. Still further, there has been recognition of a need for a processing system that may be used to process materials similar to drill cuttings but which have been generated from other sources. It is to this end that the present invention has been developed.

Earth drilling cuttings processing system


A communications method includes determining, by a first platoon member, at least one second platoon member, where the first platoon member and the at least one second platoon member belong to a same platoon, and signal quality of a communication link from the first platoon member to each second platoon member is less than a first preset quality threshold, determining, by the first platoon member, a target communications node, where signal quality of a communication link from the target communications node to each second platoon member is greater than or equal to the first preset quality threshold, and sending, by the first platoon member, to-be-sent data to each second platoon member through the target communications node.

A platoon is an important application in the Internet of vehicles, and means that a plurality of vehicles equipped with intelligent sensing devices and short-range communications devices are lined up in a row, and a leading vehicle is controlled by a driver, and a following vehicle in the platoon is controlled through an Internet of vehicles communications technology, to follow a moving track of the leading vehicle such that the plurality of vehicles automatically travel.
Currently, in the Internet of vehicles, vehicles in the platoon communicate with each other in a direct device-to-device (D2D) communication mode. However, when communication between a vehicle in the platoon and another vehicle in the platoon is congested, or is blocked by objects, the vehicle cannot send a message or forward a group message of the platoon to the other vehicle. Consequently, a traffic accident is easily caused.

Communications method, apparatus, and system

HUAWEI CLOUD COMPUTINGTECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.