An ionic aqueous epoxy curing agent, a preparation method therefor and the use thereof. The aqueous epoxy curing agent is prepared by reacting the following raw materials in parts by weight: a) 1 part of a polyepoxy compound, b) 1.3-6 parts of a multifunctional compound, c) 0.2 to 1.25 parts of a monoepoxy compound, and d) 0.01 to 0.23 parts of a sultone, wherein the multifunctional compound has four or more active hydrogens. The curing agent obtained has a good hydrophilic effect and very good thinning performance, the paint film prepared by mixing same with an epoxy dispersion has the following advantages: excellent salt spray resistance and water resistance, strong adhesion, high hardness, etc.; in addition, the preparation process of the curing agent is simple, the conditions are mild, and room temperature curing is carried out.

In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, environmental problems have faced severe challenges. The cost of sacrificing the environment is paid more and more attention by the government and people, and the consciousness of environmental protection is gradually strengthened. Among them, coatings and adhesives are some of the products which have a great influence on the environment. In the industry of coatings and adhesives, solvent-based coatings and solvent-based adhesives have been gradually withdrawn from the stage due to the great harm caused by the solvent to the human respiratory system, nervous system, etc., and a storm is being set up in the market from oily products to aqueous products. The trend in epoxy coatings is the same. However, compared to solvent-based coatings, water-based coatings have many performance deficiencies, which limits their popularization and application to some extent. For aqueous epoxy coatings, the problem of insufficient salt spray resistance is a core factor affecting their popularization and application, especially in the field of heavy corrosion protection. Therefore, the improvement of the salt spray resistance has become a research focus of the related art.
Due to the inability of the aqueous epoxy coating itself to establish sufficient strength, its application as single component in the coatings on containers and construction machinery is greatly limited, and thus the introduction of an epoxy curing agent is required. The epoxy curing agent is generally an amine curing agent or a modified amine curing agent. Through the ring-opening reaction between active hydrogens of the epoxy curing agent with epoxy groups of the aqueous epoxy coating, the strength of the paint film is gradually established, thereby meeting the requirements for the resistance and strength of the paint film. In view of the cooperative application of the epoxy curing agent and the aqueous epoxy coating, it is still necessary to further reduce the content of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the epoxy curing agent so as to achieve the purpose of environmental protection and health.
Currently, the dispersion of the aqueous epoxy curing agent in water is mainly achieved through a non-ionic hydrophilic segment, and the common means is to introduce a polyether chain of ethylene oxide into the curing agent. There are two main types of aqueous epoxy curing agents based on the above method: one is amide modified curing agents, and the other is epoxy-amine addition modified curing agents. There are some examples of these curing agents.
Patent document CN 1292008 A relates to an amide modified curing agent, in which a curing agent modifies polyethylene glycol or poly(ethylene glycol-co-propylene glycol) to obtain a carboxyl-terminated polymer, and then is subjected to amidation with a polyamine to obtain a polyether-modified amide modified curing agent. The curing agent obtained by the above preparation method is in the form of an aqueous dispersion, which has a large structural difference from the epoxy resin so that there are some problems in the compatibility between the curing agent and the epoxy resin. Meanwhile, the oxidation process and the synthesis of the carboxyl-terminated polyethylene glycol are cumbersome, so such a curing agent is industrially unsuitable.
Patent document CN 103261317 A provides a curing agent modified on the basis of an emulsifier. Since the emulsion and the curing agent are similar in structure, the emulsion and the curing agent are well compatible with each other and have an obvious thickening phenomenon and suitable use window. However, the structure of the synthesis of such a curing agent is complex, a multi-step reaction is required, and the preparation of some of the raw materials therein is cumbersome and has a high requirement for industrial equipment.
In order to achieve the hydrophilicity of the curing agent, Patent document CN 1084864 A proposes the preparation of a polyamide curing agent by reacting an oxidized polyethylene glycol with a polyamine. However, in addition to the high technical difficulty of synthesis, the preparation requires the addition of a catalyst to achieve the curing at room temperature and thus cannot solve the problem of a quick-drying curing agent in the absence of the catalyst.
Patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,148 and US 460840 disclose the preparation method of an aqueous epoxy curing agent cured at room temperature. Since these two patents involve mostly modified products of the aliphatic polyamine, it means that the hydrophilicity of the product obtained after the aliphatic polyamine and a bisphenol A epoxy resin are subjected to a ring-opening addition is reduced. In order to ensure good dispersibility of such a curing agent in water, it is often necessary to add an organic acid (such as acetic acid) to the curing agent for neutralization to form a salt to enhance hydrophilicity. However, the introduction of an organic acid can cause a metallic coating to produce flash rust, thereby degrading the performance of the coating. Moreover, such a curing agent is susceptible to changes in pH, for example, when it is used with alkaline pigment fillers, such a curing agent tends to be unstable.
In order to improve the hydrophilicity of the curing agent, in Patent document CN 108250411 A, a sulfonate is introduced to modify the polyethylene polyamine to obtain a structure having hydrophilicity. However, since there is no epoxy resin structure in the structure of the curing agent, the compatibility between this curing agent and an emulsion is poor, and as a result, the paint film can only be used in the field of moderate corrosion prevention.
Therefore, the simple preparation of curing agents, room temperature curing, and quick-drying thereof remain the focus of the research. In addition, with the increasing demand for curing agents in the field of corrosion prevention of containers, construction machinery, etc., the salt spray resistance of the paint film prepared from the curing agent in combination with the epoxy dispersion is also critical.

Ionic aqueous epoxy curing agent, preparation method therefor and use thereof


The invention provides oncogenomic methods for detecting tumors by identifying circulating tumor DNA. A patient-specific reference directed acyclic graph (DAG) represents known human genomic sequences and non-tumor DNA from the patient as well as known tumor-associated mutations. Sequence reads from cell-free plasma DNA from the patient are mapped to the patient-specific genomic reference graph. Any of the known tumor-associated mutations found in the reads and any de novo mutations found in the reads are reported as the patient's tumor mutation burden.

About 8 million people die of cancer each year according to the World Health Organization. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells and can lead to malignant tumors that resist treatment, spread through the body, and potentially recur after removal. Early detection and vigilant monitoring are key to minimizing cancer's harm.
A lump in a patient may be biopsied to determine if it is a malignant tumor, but this only occurs after the lump has appeared. Some tumors, such as lung tumors, require difficult and painful biopsies in which a fine needle is inserted to the site of the tumor. A minimally-invasive procedure known as "liquid biopsy", which involves sequencing DNA from a patient's blood, promises to provide early detection.
Unfortunately, there are limits to the insights offered by a liquid biopsy. Sequence reads are generally analyzed by mapping them to a reference genome. Any difference between a sequence read and the reference is called as a mutation in the patient without regard to which should be considered the healthy genotype. The physician is left to search the literature to interpret the mutations found in the patient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for analyzing circulating tumor DNA


A device communicatively coupled to a host in a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) format. The device includes a processor to control operations in the device and a serial interface to control serial communication with the host in accordance with the SATA format. The serial interface, after the transmission of a continued primitive, inserts pass-through information to the host within or outside of a frame information structure (FIS). If the host is not pass-through enabled, the host ignores the pass-through information. However, if the host is pass-through enabled, the host recognizes the pass-through information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pass-through information transfers inserted after a continued primitive in serial communications between a device and a host. More particularly, the present invention relates to serial communication in accordance with a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) format in which pass-through information may be inserted into information transfers that is recognized by enabled devices and ignored by non-enabled devices.
2. Description of the Preferred Embodiments and Related Information
Today, computing devices, such as computers, are routinely used both at work and in the home. Computing devices advantageously enable file sharing, the creation of electronic documents, the use of application specific software, and access to information and electronic commerce through the Internet and other computer networks.
Typically, a host computer is connected to another device, such as a storage peripheral (e.g. a hard disk drive). Storage devices and other types of devices are typically connected to a host computer through a host interface connector for the transfer of commands, status and data. For example, a host computer may access a disk drive device and read data from the disk drive and/or save data to the disk drive.
The host computer is typically connected to a device, such as a disk drive, through a cable connection or a printed circuit board (PCB) connection. This connection is generally termed an "interconnect". For compatibility, the connectors, cables, and interface protocol are typically standardized. Accordingly, the interfaces of both the device and the host need to comply with the same interface standard.
In the past, a host computer was typically connected to an external storage device, such as a hard disk drive, by a parallel interface. The most common parallel interface is the Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment/Integrated Drive Electronics (PATA/IDE) interface.
Today, storage devices, host computers, and other devices, are being designed to comply with newer faster standards that operate in a serial fashion. Examples of these newer serial standards include the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard and the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) standard. Both the SATA and SAS standards define various related specifications for SATA and SAS compliant connectors and cables, along with various interface protocols for SATA and SAS devices, respectively.
The serial interface defined by the related SATA and the SAS protocols relates to the transfer of commands, data, and status via frame information structures (FISs). Unfortunately, the related SATA and SAS protocols do not allow for extensions to the protocol to provide enhancements without introducing significant compatibility issues with prior devices.

Pass-through information transfers inserted after a continued primitive in serial communications between a device and a host


Apparatus and methods are provided for treating an infracted region of myocardium following acute myocardial infarction by reducing the rate of blood flow through infracted region, and then injecting a solution containing stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells or mediators of stem cell mobilization, migration and attachment into the effected region so that the stem cells become embedded therein and promote tissue regeneration. In a first embodiment, delivery of the stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells or mediators of stem cell mobilization, migration and attachment is accomplished using a catheter that relies upon antegrade flow through the coronary artery and a flow control catheter placed in the coronary sinus. In an alternative embodiment, the delivery catheter delivers the stem cells in a retrograde manner through the coronary sinus, and the delivery catheter further comprises an occlusion balloon for controlling outflow through the coronary sinus ostium.

Myocardial infarction is caused by an abrupt occlusion of a coronary artery resulting in interruption of circulation to the affected muscle. It is now known that most myocardial infarctions occur when a blockage in the coronary artery ulcerates creating a milieu for clot formation. The cause of this change in plaque morphology (ulceration) is unclear but may be related to an inflammatory cascade or some other yet to be determined "trigger". The term now used to describe this transition in coronary lesion morphology preceding myocardial infarction is "vulnerable plaque". Rarely coronary artery occlusion may be caused by clot from a remote location (paradoxical embolic event from a deep venous thrombosis or migration of clot from an left ventricular thrombosis). Even less common is embolic septic emboli from valve infections or spontaneous coronary dissection
In either of the foregoing scenarios, once the blockage occurs, the portions of the heart muscle nourished by the effected artery becomes ischemic and cell death or "necrosis" begins within minutes. If the blockage can be opened quickly, e.g., generally in less than 15 minutes, the infracted region may continue to perform without degraded function. Accordingly, great urgency is required in resolving a blockage once it is formed.
As is well-known, most tissue in the human body originates from undifferentiated cells known as stem cells. These fundamental building blocks differentiate into specific target parenchymal tissue based on hormonal and other signals. Scientific evidence suggests that stems cells or endothelial progenitor cells injected into a target tissue will differentiate into the cell line of that specific tissue. This feature is of particular interest in treating conditions involving organs that cannot regenerate, such as the heart.
It has been postulated that it may be possible to improve function of an infracted region of heart muscle by injecting stem cells or endothelial progenitor cells into the effected region as soon as the blockage is resolved. Unfortunately, conventional methods of separating stem cells from autologous material, such as bone marrow, typically require several hours of laboratory processing and culturing—far too long to provide effective near-term treatment for an acute myocardial infarction.
Since stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells have been observed in the circulation, it also may be beneficial to inject mediators of stem cell mobilization, migration and attachment. For example, Granulocyte-stimulating factor (GSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow may be introduced into circulation. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) causes release of homing factors that may bring circulating progenitor cells to the infracted myocardium to assist in repair.
In addition, it has been observed that blood vessels within ischemic tissue tend to dilate. Accordingly, even where direct injection of stem cells into the cardiac vasculature is possible, such a process would be impractical after the blockage has been opened, as the dilated myocardial blood vessels would permit the injected stem cells to be swept through the vessels so quickly that only a small percentage of the stem cells could embed in the tissue.
In view of the aforementioned limitations of previously-known systems and methods, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for treating myocardial infarction by controlling the rate of blood flow through the vessels of infracted tissue during introduction of stem cells into the region.
It would further be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for treating myocardial infarction by occluding the coronary sinus, and then injecting stem cells into a coronary artery.
It also would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for treating myocardial infarction by inducing retrograde blood flow within the coronary sinus, and then injecting stems cells into the coronary sinus.
It still further would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for treating myocardial infarction using direct injections of autologous material, e.g., such as bone marrow aspirants, into the cardiac vasculature to promote tissue regeneration in an infracted region of the myocardium.
It also would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for inducing retrograde blood flow within the coronary venous vasculature that do not require an external power source, but instead may be driven by naturally-occurring pressure gradients within the patient's body.

Methods and apparatus for treating infarcted regions of tissue following acute myocardial infarction


A light duty, liquid comprising: a paraffin sulfonate, an alpha olefin sulfonate, an amine oxide, lauryol ethylenediaminetriacetate, a zinc inorganic salt and water.

The present invention relates to novel antibacterial light duty liquid cleaning compositions with high foaming and good grease cutting properties.
The prior art is replete with light duty liquid detergent compositions containing nonionic surfactants in combination with anionic and/or betaine surfactants wherein the nonionic detergent is not the major active surfactant. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,985 an anionic based shampoo contains a minor amount of a fatty acid alkanolamide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,398 discloses a betaine-based shampoo containing minor amounts of nonionic surfactants. This patent states that the low foaming properties of nonionic detergents renders its use in shampoo compositions non-preferred. U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,335 also discloses a shampoo containing a betaine surfactant as the major ingredient and minor amounts of a nonionic surfactant and of a fatty acid mono- or di-ethanolamide. U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,204 discloses a shampoo comprising 0.8 to 20% by weight of an anionic phosphoric acid ester and one additional surfactant which may be either anionic, amphoteric, or nonionic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,334 discloses an anionic-amphoteric based shampoo containing a major amount of anionic surfactant and lesser amounts of a betaine and nonionic surfactants.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,129 discloses a liquid cleaning composition containing an alkali metal silicate, urea, glycerin, triethanolamine, an anionic detergent and a nonionic detergent. The silicate content determines the amount of anionic and/or nonionic detergent in the liquid cleaning composition. However, the foaming properties of these detergent compositions are not discussed therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,515 discloses a heavy duty liquid detergent for laundering fabrics comprising a mixture of substantially equal amounts of anionic and nonionic surfactants, alkanolamines and magnesium salts, and, optionally, zwitterionic surfactants as suds modifiers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,195 discloses an aqueous detergent composition for laundering socks or stockings comprising a specific group of nonionic detergents, namely, an ethylene oxide of a secondary alcohol, a specific group of anionic detergents, namely, a sulfuric ester salt of an ethylene oxide adduct of a secondary alcohol, and an amphoteric surfactant which may be a betaine, wherein either the anionic or nonionic surfactant may be the major ingredient.
The prior art also discloses detergent compositions containing all nonionic surfactants as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,154,706 and 4,329,336 wherein the shampoo compositions contain a plurality of particular nonionic surfactants in order to affect desirable foaming and detersive properties despite the fact that nonionic surfactants are usually deficient in such properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,787 discloses a piperazine based polymer in conditioning and shampoo compositions which may contain all nonionic surfactant or all anionic surfactant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,091 discloses high viscosity shampoo compositions containing a blend of an amphoteric betaine surfactant, a polyoxybutylenepolyoxyethylene nonionic detergent, an anionic surfactant, a fatty acid alkanolamide and a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty ester. But, none of the exemplified compositions contain an active ingredient mixture wherein the nonionic detergent is present in major proportion which is probably due to the low foaming properties of the polyoxybutylene polyoxyethylene nonionic detergent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,526 describes a composition comprising a nonionic surfactant, a betaine surfactant, an anionic surfactant and a C12-C14 fatty acid monoethanolamide foam stabilizer.
It has now been found that a high foaming antibacterial light duty liquid cleaning composition can be formulated with a paraffin sulfonate, an alpha olefin sulfonate, an amine oxide, lauryol ethylene diaminetriacetate, a magnesium inorganic salt, a zinc inorganic salt, an alkali metal inorganic salt, a proton donating agent, and water.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide novel, high foaming, light duty liquid detergent compositions containing an alpha olefin sulfonate surfactant and lauryol ethoylene diamine triacetate which has both good grease cutting and excellent disinfecting properties on hard surfaces.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein the novel, high foaming, light duty liquid detergent of this invention comprises an alpha olefin sulfonate, a paraffin sulfonate, an amine oxide, lauryol ethylene diamine triacetate, a magnesium inorganic salt, a zinc inorganic salt, an alkali metal inorganic salt, a proton donating agent, and water, wherein the composition does not contain an alkali metal salt of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid or hydroxy ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid, a glycol ether solvent, a mono- or di-saccharides a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty acid, a builder, a polymeric thickener, a clay, a fatty acid alkanolamide, abrasive, silicas, tricloscan, alkaline earth metal carbonates, alkyl glycine surfactant or cyclic imidinium surfactant.
The present invention relates to an antibacterial light duty liquid cleaning composition which comprises approximately by weight:
(a) 10% to 30% of an alpha olefin sulfonate surfactant;
(b) 4% to 16% of a paraffin sulfonate surfactant;
(c) 7% to 15% of an amine oxide;
(d) 0.5% to 10% more preferably 0.75% to 8% of lauryol ethylene diamine triacetate;
(e) 0.25% to 10% of a solubilizing agent;
(f) 0.25% to 5% of a magnesium inorganic salt;
(g) 0.25% to 5% of an alkali metal inorganic salt;
(h) 0.01 % to 2% of a proton donating agent;
(i) 0.25% to 2% of a zinc inorganic salt; and
(j) the balance being water wherein the composition does not contain a glycol ether solvent, an ethoxylated nonionic surfactant, a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty acid, a mono- or di-saccharides, a builder, a polymeric thickener, a clay, a sodium salt of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid or hydroxyethylene diamine tetra acetic acid abrasive, silicas, triclosan, alkaline earth metal carbonates, alkyl glycine surfactant or cyclic imidinium surfactant.
The C10-C20 paraffin sulfonates used at a concentration of 4 wt. % to 16 wt. %, more preferably 6 wt. % to 14 wt. % in the instant compositions may be monosulfonates or di-sulfonates and usually are mixtures thereof, obtained by sulfonating paraffins of 10 to 20 carbon atoms. Preferred paraffin sulfonates are those of C12-18 carbon atoms chains, and more preferably they are of C14-17 chains. Paraffin sulfonates that have the sulfonate group(s) distributed along the paraffin chain are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,503,280; 2,507,088; 3,260,744 and 3,372,188 and also in German Patent. 735,096. Such compounds may be made to specifications and desirably the content of paraffin sulfonates outside the C14-17 range will be minor and will be minimized, as will be any contents of di- or poly-sulfonates.
The present invention also contains 10 wt. % to 30 wt. %, more preferably 15 wt. % to 25 wt. % of an alpha olefin sulfonates, including long-chain alkene sulfonates, long-chain hydroxyalkane sulfonates or mixtures of alkene sulfonates and hydroxyalkane sulfonates. These alpha olefin sulfonate surfactants may be prepared in a known manner by the reaction of sulfur trioxide (SO3) with long-chain olefins containing 8 to 25, preferably 12 to 21 carbon atoms and having the formula RCHxe2x95x90CHR1 where R is a higher alkyl group of 6 to 23 carbons and R1 is an alkyl group of 1 to 17 carbons or hydrogen to form a mixture of sultones and alkene sulfonic acids which is then treated to convert the sultones to sulfonates. Preferred alpha olefin sulfonates contain from 14 to 16 carbon atoms in the R alkyl group and are obtained by sulfonating an a-olefin.
The instant compositions can optionally contain about 0 wt. % to about 12 wt. %, more preferably 1 wt. % to 10 wt. % of an alkyl polysaccharide surfactant. The alkyl polysaccharides surfactants, which are used in conjunction with the aforementioned surfactant have a hydrophobic group containing from about 8 to about 20 carbon atoms, preferably from about 10 to about 16 carbon atoms, most preferably from about 12 to about 14 carbon atoms, and polysaccharide hydrophilic group containing from about 1.5 to about 10, preferably from about 1.5 to about 4, most preferably from about 1.6 to about 2.7 saccharide units (e.g., galactoside, glucoside, fructoside, glucosyl, fructosyl; and/or galactosyl units). Mixtures of saccharide moieties may be used in the alkyl polysaccharide surfactants. The number x indicates the number of saccharide units in a particular alkyl polysaccharide surfactant. For a particular alkyl polysaccharide molecule x can only assume integral values. In any physical sample of alkyl polysaccharide surfactants there will be in general molecules having different x values. The physical sample can be characterized by the average value of x and this average value can assume non-integral values. In this specification the values of x are to be understood to be average values. The hydrophobic group (R) can be attached at the 2-, 3-, or 4-positions rather than at the 1 -position, (thus giving e.g. a glucosyl or galactosyl as opposed to a glucoside or galactoside). However, attachment through the 1-position, i.e., glucosides, galactoside, fructosides, etc., is preferred. In the preferred product the additional saccharide units are predominately attached to the previous saccharide unit""s 2-position. Attachment through the 3-, 4-, and 6-positions can also occur. Optionally and less desirably there can be a polyalkoxide chain joining the hydrophobic moiety (R) and the polysaccharide chain. The preferred alkoxide moiety is ethoxide.
Typical hydrophobic groups include alkyl groups, either saturated or unsaturated, branched or unbranched containing from about 8 to about 20, preferably from about 10 to about 18 carbon atoms. Preferably, the alkyl group is a straight chain saturated alkyl group. The alkyl group can contain up to 3 hydroxy groups and/or the polyalkoxide chain can contain up to about 30, preferably less than about 10, alkoxide moieties.
Suitable alkyl polysaccharides are decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, pentadecyl, hexadecyl, and octadecyl, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexaglucosides, galactosides, lactosides, fructosides, fructosyls, lactosyls, glucosyls and/or galactosyls and mixtures thereof.
The alkyl monosaccharides are relatively less soluble in water than the higher alkyl polysaccharides. When used in admixture with alkyl polysaccharides, the alkyl monosaccharides are solubilized to some extent. The use of alkyl monosaccharides in admixture with alkyl polysaccharides is a preferred mode of carrying out the invention. Suitable mixtures include coconut alkyl, di-, tri-, tetra-, and pentaglucosides and tallow alkyl tetra-, penta-, and hexaglucosides.
The preferred alkyl polysaccharides are alkyl polyglucosides having the formula
R2O(CnH2nO)r(Z)x
wherein Z is derived from glucose, R is a hydrophobic group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkylphenyl, hydroxyalkylphenyl, and mixtures thereof in which said alkyl groups contain from about 10 to about 18, preferably from about 12 to about 14 carbon atoms; n is 2 or 3 preferably 2, r is from 0 to 10, preferable 0; and x is from 1.5 to 8, preferably from 1.5 to 4, most preferably from 1.6 to 2.7. To prepare these compounds a long chain alcohol (R2OH) can be reacted with glucose, in the presence of an acid catalyst to form the desired glucoside. Alternatively the alkyl polyglucosides can be prepared by a two step procedure in which a short chain alcohol (R1OH) can be reacted with glucose, in the presence of an acid catalyst to form the desired glucoside. Alternatively the alkyl polyglucosides can be prepared by a two step procedure in which a short chain alcohol (C1-6) is reacted with glucose or a polyglucoside (x=2 to 4) to yield a short chain alkyl glucoside (x=1 to 4) which can in turn be reacted with a longer chain alcohol (R2OH) to displace the short chain alcohol and obtain the desired alkyl polyglucoside. If this two step procedure is used, the short chain alkylglucosde content of the final alkyl polyglucoside material should be less than 50%, preferably less than 10%, more preferably less than about 5%, most preferably 0% of the alkyl polyglucoside.
The amount of unreacted alcohol (the free fatty alcohol content) in the desired alkyl polysaccharide surfactant is preferably less than about 2%, more preferably less than about 0.5% by weight of the total of the alkyl polysaccharide. For some uses it is desirable to have the alkyl monosaccharide content less than about 10%.
The used herein, xe2x80x9calkyl polysaccharide surfactantxe2x80x9d is intended to represent both the preferred glucose and galactose derived surfactants and the less preferred alkyl polysaccharide surfactants. Throughout this specification, xe2x80x9calkyl polyglucosidexe2x80x9d is used to include alkyl polyglycosides because the stereochemistry of the saccharide moiety is changed during the preparation reaction.
An especially preferred APG glycoside surfactant is APG 625 glycoside manufactured by the Henkel Corporation of Ambler, Pa. APG25 is a nonionic alkyl polyglycoside characterized by the formula:
CnH2n+1O(C6H10O5)xH
wherein n=10 (2%); n=122 (65%); n=14 (21-28%); n=16 (4-8%) and n=18 (0.5%) and x (degree of polymerization)=1.6. APG 625 has: a pH of 6 to 10 (10% of APG 625 in distilled water); a specific gravity at 25xc2x0 C. of 1.1 g/ml; a density at 25xc2x0 C. of 9.1 lbs/gallon; a calculated HLB of 12.1 and a Brookfield viscosity at 35xc2x0 C., 21 spindle, 5-10 RPM of 3,000 to 7,000 cps.
Amine oxide semi-polar nonionic surfactants used in the instant compositions comprise at a concentration of 7 wt. % to 15 wt. %, more preferably 9 wt. % to 13 wt. % compounds and mixtures of compounds having the formula
wherein R1 is an alkyl, 2-hydroxyalkyl, 3-hydroxyalkyl, or 3-alkoxy-2-hydroxypropyl radical in which the alkyl and alkoxy, respectively, contain from 8 to 18 carbon atoms, R2 and R3 are each methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, 2-hydroxyethyl, 2-hydroxypropyl, or 3-hydroxypropyl, and n is from 0 to 10. Particularly preferred are amine oxides of the formula:
wherein R1 is a C12-16 alkyl, or cocoamidopropyl group and R2 and R3 are methyl or ethyl. The above ethylene oxide condensates, amides, and amine oxides are more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,824 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Preferred amine oxides are lauryol amine oxide and cocoamido propyl amine oxide. The concentration of the amine oxide in the instant compositions is 3 to 12 wt. %, more preferably 4 to 10 wt. %.
The instant compositions can contain a solubilizing agent at a concentration of 0.25 to 10 wt. %, more preferably 0.5 wt. % to 8 wt. %. The solubilzing agent is selected from the group consisting of C1-C4 alkanols such as ethanols, alkylene glycols such as hexylene glycol, alkali metal halides such as sodium chloride and sodium salts of C1-C3 alkyl substituted benzene sulfonates such as cumene sulfonate or xylene sulfonate and mixtures thereof. The composition can also contain 0.1 wt. % to 4 wt. % of urea.
The proton donating agent is a hydroxy containing organic acid such as hydroxy benzoic acid, citric acid or lactic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid or an inorganic acid.
The zinc inorganic can be zinc sulfate or zinc halide such as zinc chloride or zinc bromide, wherein zinc chloride is preferred. The alkali metal inorganic salt is an alkali metal halide, wherein sodium chloride is preferred. The magnesium inorganic salt is either magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfate heptahydrate.
The water is present at a concentration of 50 wt. % to 90 wt. %.
In addition to the previously mentioned essential and optional constituents of the light duty liquid detergent, one may also employ normal and conventional adjuvants, provided they do not adversely affect the properties of the detergent. Thus there may be used a cationic antibacterial agent, coloring agents and perfumes; polyethylene glycol, ultraviolet light absorbers such as the Uvinuls, which are products of GAF Corporation; pH modifiers; etc. The proportion of such adjuvant materials, in total will normally not exceed 15% by weight of the detergent composition, and the percentages of most of such individual components will be a maximum of 5% by weight and preferably less than 2% by weight. Sodium formate or formalin or Quaternium 15 (Dowcil75) can be included in the formula as a preservative at a concentration of 0.1 to 4.0 wt. %.
The present light duty liquid detergents such as dishwashing liquids are readily made by simple mixing methods from readily available components which, on storage, do not adversely affect the entire composition. Solubilizing agent such as ethanol, hexylene glycol, sodium chloride and/or sodium xylene or sodium xylene sulfonate are used to assist in solubilizing the surfactants. The viscosity of the light duty liquid composition desirably will be at least 100 centipoises (cps) at room temperature, but may be up to 1,000 centipoises as measured with a Brookfield Viscometer using a number 21 spindle rotating at 20 rpm. The viscosity of the light duty liquid composition may approximate those of commercially acceptable light duty liquid compositions now on the market. The viscosity of the light duty liquid composition and the light duty liquid composition itself remain stable on storage for lengthy periods of time, without color changes or settling out of any insoluble materials. The pH of the composition is about 3 to 8.0. The pH of the composition can be adjusted by the addition of Na2O (caustic soda) to the composition.
The following examples illustrate liquid cleaning compositions of the described invention. Unless otherwise specified, all percentages are by weight. The exemplified compositions are illustrative only and do no limit the scope of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, the proportions in the examples and elsewhere in the specification are by weight.

Antibacterial light duty liquid detergent containing zinc salt


An ultrasonic sensing module, an ultrasonic sensing device and a control method thereof, and a display device. The ultrasonic sensing module includes a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer, a receiving electrode layer and an emission electrode layer. The first electrode layer is on a first side of the piezoelectric layer; the receiving electrode layer and the emission electrode layer insulated from the receiving electrode layer are on a second side of the piezoelectric layer; and the second side is opposite to the first side.

An ultrasonic sensor based on the piezoelectric principle can use the inverse piezoelectric effect of a piezoelectric material acting as a transmitter (applying an alternating voltage in a particular direction to vibrate the piezoelectric material) to emit ultrasonic waves at a specific frequency. There is energy attenuation or phase change (time delay) in the propagation of ultrasonic waves. When the ultrasonic wave reaches a piezoelectric material acting as a receiver, the piezoelectric material undergoes a positive piezoelectric effect (the piezoelectric material generates electric charges under pressure), and the energy or phase change of the ultrasonic wave is detected.
Multiple such transmitters and receivers form an array according to a certain rule, and the ultrasonic wave propagation conditions on multiple paths can be detected. Therefore, the physical environment in the ultrasonic propagation path can be detected with the help of piezoelectric sensor arrays, such as fingerprint identifiers, touch switches, pressure sensors, imaging of internal organs in the human body, and inspection of metal products.

Ultrasonic sensing module, ultrasonic sensing device and control method thereof, display device


A dual function flow measurement apparatus is provided that combines the functionality of an apparatus that measures the speed of sound propagating through a fluid flowing within a pipe, and measures pressures disturbances (e.g. vortical disturbances or eddies) moving with a fluid to determine respective parameters of the flow propagating through a pipe. The apparatus includes a sensing device that includes an array of pressure sensors used to measure the acoustic and convective pressure variations in the flow to determine desired parameters. The measurement apparatus includes a processing unit the processes serially or in parallel the pressure signals provided by the sensing array to provide output signals indicative of a parameter of the fluid flow relating to the velocity of the flow and the speed of sound propagating through the flow, respectively.

A fluid flow process (flow process) includes any process that involves the flow of fluid through pipes, ducts, or other conduits, as well as through fluid control devices such as pumps, valves, orifices, heat exchangers, and the like. Flow processes are found in many different industries such as the oil and gas industry, refining, food and beverage industry, chemical and petrochemical industry, pulp and paper industry, power generation, pharmaceutical industry, and water and wastewater treatment industry. The fluid within the flow process may be a single phase fluid (e.g., gas, liquid or liquid/liquid mixture) and/or a multi-phase mixture (e.g. paper and pulp slurries or other solid/liquid mixtures). The multi-phase mixture may be a two-phase liquid/gas mixture, a solid/gas mixture or a solid/liquid mixture, gas entrained liquid or a three-phase mixture.
Various sensing technologies exist for measuring various physical parameters of single and/or multiphase fluids in an industrial flow process. Such physical parameters include, for example, volumetric flow rate, composition, consistency, density, and mass flow rate.
The various different types of parameters that are measured throughout an industrial processing plant requires separate meters or flow measuring devices for each parameter. As one can appreciate, the need to monitor numerous steps in a process becomes very costly in the operation of the plant. It would be advantageous in the operation of industrial processes to deploy a flow measuring device that is capable of measuring a number of different parameters of a system.

Dual function flow measurement apparatus having an array of sensors


A white balance correction device comprises a gain control circuit which controls the gain of a color signal coming from an image sensor, a color detecting circuit which detects the color of an object on the basis of a signal output from the gain control circuit, and a signal forming circuit which forms a signal for the gain control operation of the gain control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the white balance correction device of an image sensing apparatus such as a video camera or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The white balance correcting methods for the image sensing apparatus such as a video camera or the like can be roughly divided into two classes. One is a method of using a color temperature sensor. The other is a method of using a video signal.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of the conventional image sensing apparatus adopting the automatic white balance correcting method of using a video signal. Referring to FIG. 1, the illustration includes an image sensor 1; a luminance and chromaticity forming part 2; a red (R) signal gain control part 3; a blue (B) signal gain control part 4; a color-difference signal forming part 5; an encoder 6; gate parts 7 and 8; clipping parts 9 and 10; an R-B signal detecting part 11; an averaging part 12; a comparing and amplifying part 13; a tracking correction part 14 which is arranged to generate tracking correction signals. Parts 7-14 comprise and an automatic white balance correction signal generating device 15b.
Referring to FIG. 1, an image formed on the image sensor 1 is converted into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is supplied to the luminance and chromaticity forming part 2. The part 2 then forms a luminance signal YH which has a luminance signal frequency band, a luminance signal YL which has a color signal frequency band, and color signals including an R signal and a B signal respectively. The R and B signals are respectively supplied to the gain control parts 3 and 4. At the gain control parts 3 and 4, the levels of the R and B signals are controlled according to control signals output from the tracking correction part 14. These signals are then output from the parts 3 and 4 as an R' signal and a B' signal respectively. The R' and B' signals are then supplied together with the luminance signal YL to the color-difference signal forming part 5. At the part 5, color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL are formed from these three input signals. Further, the color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL are supplied together with the luminance signal YH to the encoder 6. As a result, the encoder 6 produces a standard TV signal.
The color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL are distributed via terminals M and N also to the automatic white balance correction signal generating device 15b. Within the device 15b, these input signals R-YL and B-YL are supplied to the gate parts 7 and 8. The gate parts (or circuits) 7 and 8 remove, from these inputs, unnecessary signals obtained during a blanking period and any abnormal signal that is caused by level saturation occurring in taking a picture of a high luminance object.
Signals R-YL and B-YL thus output from the gate parts 7 and 8 are supplied respectively to the clipping parts 9 and 10. At the clipping parts 9 and 10, any color-difference signal that has, within a practical color temperature range, an excessive degree of saturation is thus processed to limit its amplitude.
The color-difference signals R-YL and B-YL are thus subjected to the processes of varied kinds to be converted into signals (R-YL)' and (B-YL)'. The color-difference signals (R-YL)' and (B-YL)' are supplied to the R-B signal detecting part 11. At the part 11, an (R-B) signal is obtained from a difference between the signals R-YL)' and (B-YL)'. The (R-B) signal is supplied to the averaging part 12 to undergo an averaging process. As a result, the (R-B) signal of a value averaged for a whole image plane is obtained in a DC value. The averaged (R-B) signal is supplied to the comparing and amplifying part 13. At the part 13, the signal output from the averaging part 12 is compared with a reference voltage Vref1, which is a voltage corresponding to R-B=0. Then, a signal representing the result of comparison is supplied to the tracking correction part 14.
The tracking correction part 14 forms gain control signals for the gain control parts 3 and 4 on the basis of the signal output from the comparing and amplifying part 13. As a result, the circuit arrangement operates to correct the white balance of a video signal. As apparent from the above description, a negative feedback loop is formed by the gain control parts 3 and 4, the color-difference signal forming part 5 and the automatic white balance correction signal generating part 15b. The color-difference signals are supplied to the encoder 6 after white balance adjustment. The encoder 6 then produces a standard TV signal.
The conventional white balance correction device, however, sometimes makes a correction error. In a typical example of such cases, the color distribution of an object to be shot consists of 50% in white and 50% in yellow. The device operates in this case as described below with reference to a vectorial representation of FIG. 2 in conjunction with the block diagram of FIG. 1.
The points of white and yellow on the vectorial representation of FIG. 2 are assumed to be W and Ye when the gains of the gain control parts 3 and 4 of FIG. 1 are at the rate of one-fold. In this instance, the negative feedback loop acts to cause the (R-B) signal to be zero. Therefore, the direction of white balance correction is in parallel to an axis R-B of the vectorial representation. Points on vectors where the negative feedback action becomes stable are Ye' and W' at which there obtains a relation Ye-Ye'=Ye'-a=a-b=W-W'. A segment Ye-b is in parallel to the axis R-B. A point "a" is located on a segment which passes through an origin W and is perpendicular to the axis R-B.
As shown in FIG. 2, points Ye and W after correction are located in coordinate positions Ye' and W' respectively. In other words, the yellow color changes toward green and the white color toward blue. The white balance correction is thus not adequately performed.
As described above, in cases where the color temperature distribution of the object is uneven and eccentric, the conventional white balance correction device makes an error in correcting white balance. It has been thus difficult to attain an adequate effect of correction under such a condition.


Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing a program and a method for receiving a monocular image that includes a depiction of a hand and extracting features of the monocular image using a plurality of machine learning techniques. The program and method further include modeling, based on the extracted features, a pose of the hand depicted in the monocular image by adjusting skeletal joint positions of a three-dimensional (3D) hand mesh using a trained graph convolutional neural network (CNN); modeling, based on the extracted features, a shape of the hand in the monocular image by adjusting blend shape values of the 3D hand mesh representing surface features of the hand depicted in the monocular image using the trained graph CNN; and generating, for display, the 3D hand mesh adjusted to model the pose and shape of the hand depicted in the monocular image.

The popularity of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications continues to grow, and vision-based 3D hand analysis is very important in this growing field. Particularly, these applications generally present an animated model of a hand in VR or AR which represents the user's hand in the real world. The user interacts with VR or AR content using the animated model of the hand. In order to allow the user to accurately position the animated model of the hand within the VR or AR application to interact with the VR or AR content, estimations of the real-world hand have to be performed accurately and quickly.


Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus which includes an apparatus body, a splitter for splitter relatively larger pieces of material into relatively smaller pieces of material coupled with the apparatus body, and a grinder for grinding the relatively smaller pieces of material also coupled with the apparatus body. A power source may be adapted to provide power to both the grinder and the splitter. The grinding can be accomplished with minimal repositioning of the relatively smaller pieces once split. The splitting, then the grinding can be accomplished with little to no translational movement within a job site of a nearby piece of equipment adapted for picking up first the relatively larger pieces then the relatively smaller pieces.

Debris, such as construction debris, wood and/or other organic or inorganic materials are often ground in a large recyclers/grinder machines in order to size reduce the debris into useful uniform smaller particles. Oftentimes, however, a piece of debris will be encountered that is too large or shaped such that it cannot be fed through a horizontal grinder without an initial reduction. For example, in the case of clearing trees from land, some of the more difficult materials to reduce are the tree stumps, roots and/or the large butt end of the tree. While these objects may be able to be handled by a tub grinder, they can be too large to pass through most types of horizontal grinders.
Currently, jaw- or scissor-type shearing devices are used with recyclers to break down large objects before feeding them into a horizontal grinder. These shearing devices are typically mounted on a backhoe or excavator arm and are operated with the aid of the machine's hydraulics. These shearing implements, however, require the use of a second machine or limit the usefulness of the machine with the shearing attachment for feeding material to the horizontal grinder.


An image display system includes a light pen to generate light to input data, and a display panel to display images in response to the light provided from the light pen. The display panel includes a first substrate on which pixel electrodes are formed, a second substrate on which a common electrode are formed, and a photo-sensor formed on the first substrate. The photo-sensor detects the light provided from the light pen to generate a light detect signal. The image display system also includes a driving module to provide new image data to the display panel to display new images in response to the light detect signal from the photo-sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for displaying images, and more particularly, to an image display system having a light pen to input information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, conventional image display devices have such a data interface function that electrical data provided from an image data processing device is converted into images. In the conventional image display devices, the electrical data from the image data processing device is externally inputted using various input devices, such as a keyboard, a key pad, a mouse, etc.
Recently developed display devices have a screen which is capable of receiving input data, and the input data is processed to display the processed data on the screen. In other words, a display device and an input device are unified in such display devices.
To configure a display system having the unified display device and the input device, the display device includes a touch screen panel. When a specific position on the touch screen panel is compressed, location information of the specific position is transferred to an information processing device. Then, the information processing device processes the location information to output a new image signal. The display device then displays a new image using the new image signal.
However, the touch screen panel increases weight and volume of the display device. Further, when an image or a picture to be displayed on the touch screen is minute, the touch screen panel is inappropriate.
More recently, there have been developments of display devices having capability of sensing light provided form an external input device to detect the location in which the light is entered into a display device. Such display devices have a light detect sensor, which detects the entered light and outputs a signal containing location information, as well as pixels for displaying images. The signal is transferred to the information processing device which then processes the signal to display image(s) corresponding to the location information.
Generally, a light pen is used to generate the light to be inputted onto the display device. The light pen includes a light source generating light of high luminance. A light emitting diode is generally used for the light source. The light emitting diode is disposed at an end portion of the light pen.
In such conventional display systems, the light pen generates white light which is then filtered by a color filter to form a single colored light. Such process decreases the amount of the light. Additionally, the single colored light passes through a liquid crystal layer, an indium tin oxide layer (or indium zinc oxide layer), an organic layer, etc. Thus, the amount of the light is more decreased. As a result, the light detect sensor may malfunction due to the decrease in the amount of the light provided to the light detect sensor. Further, the light pen includes the light source, such as a light emitting diode, to generate the light, it is inevitable to cause an increase in its weight and volume and manufacturing cost.
Therefore, a need exists for an image display system in which the amount light provided from a light pen is not or little decreased so that the light detect sensor operates properly and accurately. Further, it will be advantageous to provide an image display system in which the light detect sensor is disposed within a display panel of the display system so that there is no need of a touch screen panel. It is also further desirable to provide a light pen for the display system which provides light to the light detect sensor without a light source.


The present invention features a method and circuit for ensuring substantially continuous, on-line communications for a vehicle that is directed to travel along one of a plurality of closed loop guide paths. The system includes a signal generator, and a first buffer operatively connected to the signal generator and to a first guide member defining one of the plurality of closed loop guide paths. The generator and first buffer provide a first reference signal at a predetermined frequency. A second buffer is operatively connected to the signal generator and to a second guide member defining a second guide path. The second buffer provides a second signal at the predetermined frequency. Connected to the second buffer is a mechanism for shifting or time delaying the second signal relative to the first reference signal, as a periodic function of time. In this way, destructive coupling of signals provided in each of the guide members in their respective guide paths is substantially eliminated and constructive coupling of signals provides enhanced effective signal amplitude to the vehicle.

Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) often receive communications from a buried wire disposed along a guide path. This type of communications system is inductive. With more sophisticated AGVs, however, both guide path information and communications information must be transmitted to and from the vehicle from remote locations. Two or more floor loops are often provided for carrying such signals independently to or from the AGV. Each floor loop has an oscillator which generates a signal at a predetermined frequency. Unfortunately, when the floor loops intersect with one another, there is a potential for both the guidance and the communications signals to destructively interfere or otherwise cancel each other. This can result in a loss of communications that is detrimental to overall system operations.
An AGV system using inductive communications is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,540, issued to Walter Luke, Jr., on Jan. 22, 1991, entitled: "AUTOMATIC GUIDED VEHICLE SYSTEM HAVING COMMUNICATION AND TRAFFIC CONTROLLER WITH UNGUIDED PATHS," the teachings of which are herein incorporated by way of reference.
While elaborate schemes have been suggested for separating the guide path and communications signals, and for reducing the likelihood of destructive interference between them, no practical solution has yet been found.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a system for decreasing, or eliminating the likelihood of destructive interference between two signals in an automatic guided vehicle inductive communications system.
It would also be advantageous to provide a fool proof and simplified automatic guided vehicle inductive communications system.
It would also be advantageous to minimize the likelihood of inadvertent potential for destructive signal interference in an inductive communications system for AGVs to a short duration, i.e., on the order of milliseconds.

Continuous on-line communications system for automatic guided vehicles


An enclosure for an electrical motor of the explosion proof type, wherein each of the openings for the cable supporting the electrical leads of the motor includes an adapter threadedly received in the opening, and a plug coaxially received in the adapter. The adapter and the plug are retained by means of a C-shaped clamp plate which is releasably fixed directly to the wall of the enclosure and which includes an edge portion which is received in a circumferential groove in the plug. The plug may be solid in cases where it closes the spare lead opening, or it may have an internal passage through which the electrical cable extends.

The present invention relates to an enclosure for an electrical motor of the explosion proof type, and which incorporates a novel opening structure for the electrical cable.
Electrically operated equipment which is intended for use in coal mines must conform to the strict construction and design requirements of 30 CFR 18.20 et seq to insure safety for its intended use. Among the requirements are those intended to render electrical motors explosion proof in a mine environment, and included in this category are detailed specifications for the openings in the motor enclosure that are provided for the electrical cable entrances. For example, such openings must be of at least a specified length and diameter, and the walls of the openings must be of a specified surface finish.
Presently, the electrical cable openings in motor enclosures include a tubular metal adapter which is threadedly received in the opening of the enclosure, and a tubular cylindrical plug which is coaxially received within the adapter. The cylindrical plug includes an end portion which extends outwardly beyond the wall of the enclosure, and a circumferential groove is positioned in the end portion of the plug. A clamp plate is then positioned so as to be received in the circumferential groove of the plug, and the clamp plate is in turn secured to the outer surface of the adapter by a threaded bolt.
In order to prevent the unintended unthreading and removal of the adapter from the opening, along with the plug and the attached clamp plate, it has been necessary to secure the adapter to the wall of the enclosure by means of external devices, such as bolts, cables, or welding. These external devices cause difficulty in the event the opening or electrical cable is damaged through the rough usage often encountered in mines, and when repair is required. In such cases, it is necessary to first remove the external attachment devices, i.e. the bolts, cables, or welding, which secure the adapter to the wall of the enclosure, and it is then necessary to reattach these devices when the repair is completed. The environment within a mine for conducting these repairs is often confining and dirty, rendering the repair operation tedious and difficult.
Some of the commonly employed attachment devices, such as bolts which are threaded into openings in the enclosure wall, require that the adapter be precisely bottomed to insure that the bolts properly engage the adapter. Such precise buttoning also can be difficult to verify in the field.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an enclosure for an electrical motor of the explosion proof type which includes electrical cable openings which significantly alleviate the difficulty of making repairs in the field.


A method of and system for purifying fluid of an internal combustion engine or hydraulic system utilizes an evaporation chamber separate from a filtering chamber. A metering valve may be oriented between the filtering chamber and the evaporation chamber to control the flow of fluid to the evaporation chamber.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to fluid purification, and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to a system and method for fluid purification by utilizing separate evaporation and filtration chambers particularly adapted for purification of lubricating, hydraulic, and other oils.
2. Description of Related Art
Internal combustion engines and hydraulic systems typically utilize oil to lubricate the moving parts included therein. Over time, particulates and liquid contaminants such as water, antifreeze, and fuel degrade the performance of lubricating oil. Currently, contaminated oil is changed at regular intervals because the liquid contaminants and small particulates are not easily filtered out of the lubricating oil.
Alternatively, some purification systems employ a filter to filter out the particulates and an evaporator to remove the liquid contaminants from the lubricating oil. These systems involve a single canister that houses both a filter element and an evaporation chamber. However, the single canister design tends to be bulky, problematic to install, and more expensive to service. In some cases, single canister systems must be installed outside the engine.
For example, as described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,315, a single canister includes two chambers, a first chamber may include a filter for filtering particulates from the oil and a second chamber for evaporating some contaminants from the oil. The first chamber is located exterior to the second chamber. The oil flows to the first chamber, flows through the filter to the interior, second chamber. The second chamber includes a vent for releasing vaporized contaminants and a drain for receiving the filtered oil.
In addition, purification systems typically meter the flow of the oil by restricting the flow before it enters the evaporator. A metering valve controls the flow of oil to the evaporator to aid in evaporating the emulsified liquid contaminants of the oil. In most single canister designs, the metering valve is located prior to the filtration chamber in order to permit easier access to the metering valve. Because the metering valve is oriented prior to the filtration chamber, the lubricating oil includes particulates that may clog the metering valve.
As described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,455, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, a purifier for lubricating oil includes an evaporator heating wand. The evaporation of liquid contaminants is increased by a ridged cup shape of the evaporator. The flow of oil is impeded by ridges along the exterior of the cup and therefore more evaporation may occur. The evaporated impurities are vented out of the purifier via an upper conduit. The cleaned oil pools at a lower portion of the evaporator and is then returned to the engine.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a method of and system employing an evaporation chamber and separate filtration chamber.

Method of and system for fluid purification


A variable resistance layer between a first electrode and a second electrode includes: a first variable resistance layer contacting the first electrode; and a second variable resistance layer contacting the second electrode and having a lower degree of oxygen deficiency than the first variable resistance layer. A principal face of the first variable resistance layer which is close to the second variable resistance layer is flat. The second variable resistance layer is in contact with both the first variable resistance layer and the second electrode in a polygonal region including a vertex inward of an outline of the variable resistance layer and vertices along the outline when seen from a direction perpendicular to the principal face of the variable resistance layer, and is not in contact with at least one of the first variable resistance layer and the second electrode in a region outside the region inside the polygon.

Recent years have seen increasing high performance in electronic devices such as mobile information devices and information appliances following the development of digital technology. With the increased high performance in these electronic devices, there has been rapid progress in the increase in scale, level of integration, and speed of nonvolatile memory devices to be used, and the uses for such memory devices are also expanding rapidly. Among these, applications for large-capacity nonvolatile memories represented by a flash memory are rapidly expanding. In addition, as a next-generation nonvolatile memory to replace the flash memory, research and development on a nonvolatile memory device which uses a variable resistance nonvolatile memory element (also called variable resistance element) is advancing. Here, variable resistance element refers to an element which has a property in which its resistance value reversibly changes according to electrical signals, and is capable of storing information corresponding to the resistance value in a nonvolatile manner.
As an example of such variable resistance element, there is proposed a nonvolatile memory device having a variable resistance layer in which transition metal oxides of different oxygen content atomic percentages are stacked. For example, Patent Literature (PTL) 1 discloses selectively causing the occurrence of oxidation/reduction reaction in an electrode interface which is in contact with a variable resistance layer having a high oxygen content atomic percentage, to stabilize resistance change.
The aforementioned conventional variable resistance element includes a lower electrode, a variable resistance layer, and an upper electrode, and a memory array is configured from a two-dimensional or three-dimensional array of such variable resistance element. In each of the variable resistance elements, the variable resistance layer is of a stacked structure including a first variable resistance layer and a second variable resistance layer, and the first and second variable resistance layers comprise the same type of transitional metal oxide. The oxygen content atomic percentage of the transitional metal oxide forming the second variable resistance layer is higher than the oxygen content atomic percentage of the transitional metal oxide forming the first variable resistance layer.
By adopting such a structure, when voltage is applied to the variable resistance element, most of the voltage is applied to the second variable resistance layer which has a high oxygen content atomic percentage and exhibits a higher resistance value. Furthermore, oxygen, which can contribute to the reaction, is abundant in the vicinity of the interface. Therefore, oxidation/reduction reaction occurs selectively at the interface between the upper electrode and the second variable resistance layer, and stable resistance change can be realized.
Furthermore, in the above-described conventional variable resistance element, in order to transition to a state in which resistance change is started, it is necessary to initially apply voltage to the variable resistance element to form a filament in the second variable resistance layer (such filament formation is referred to as break, and the voltage applied to the variable resistance element at such time is referred to as an initial break voltage). In view of this, there is proposed a nonvolatile memory device in which a step is formed in a variable resistance element to allow easy formation of an initial filament. For example, in PTL 2, a step is formed in the interface between a first variable resistance element and a second variable resistance element, and the second variable resistance layer is formed to cover the bend of the step. By adopting the above-described configuration, the shape of the step of the first variable resistance layer is reflected, thereby forming the bend in the second variable resistance layer on the step, and thus it is possible, through electric field concentration, to cause the break phenomenon even with a low voltage, with the bend as a starting point.

Nonvolatile memory element and method of manufacturing the same

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A boot for recreational exercise which is equipped with a pneumatic ball spring. The ball is configured as a first semi-ovoid segment and a second smaller semi-ovoid segment which intersect at a minimum dimension. This minimum dimension receives an inwardly directed ledge which is captured by the fully inflated ball to secure the ball to its retainer. The retainer is in turn, secured to the bottom of the boot platform by adjustable dovetail members to permit the ball to be adjusted under the center of gravity of the wearer. The platform has a clamshell attaching member which secures a portion of the boot's weight to the calf of the wearer. The clamshell mechanism limits rotation about the ankle to .+-.15.degree. and restricts rotation of the foot about the axis of the leg and foot to reduce the potential of injury to the wearer.

The kid in each of us is intrigued by the possibility of defying gravity, bouncing along like walking on the moon. The possibility of strapping a miniature trampoline to each foot and bounding across the terrain is fascinating. Accordingly, many attempts have been made to realize such a fantasy. Examples of shoe springs employing metal springs include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,843,493 to Pfeifenbring and 3,377,722 to Downing. Bouncing shoes that employ pneumatic springs include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,545,437 to Malone et al., 2,756,517 to Youtz, 4,525,941 to Ruth, Jr., and 4,676,009 to Davis et al.
Among the short comings of each of these devices is the risk to life and limb for the participant. Each of these devices effectively hangs a dead-weight load upon the ankle and most of them produce a torsional moment tending to rotate the toe downwardly about the ankle. This greatly increases the risk of stumbling or misstepping producing ankle injuries and/or falls.
The present invention provides a bouncing boot for recreational exercise which significantly reduces the risk of injury. A shoe platform is equipped with a stabilizer in the form of a clamshell mechanism including a first clamshell member engaging and partially surrounding a front-calf portion of a wearer's leg and a second clamshell member engaging and partially surrounding a rear-calf portion of a wearer's leg. The clamshells are each equipped with shoulder protrusions which engage stops on the pivot mounts of the platform. The two clamshell members can pivot to open positions encompassing an angle of at least 90.degree. for ingress and egress of the wearer's foot but, the engagement of the pivot-limiting shoulders with the stops limit the on-foot tilting of the boot to .+-.15.degree., slightly less than the tilt angle permitted by the ankle. In addition, the stabilizer restricts twisting of the foot about the axis of the leg and longitudinal twisting of the foot about its own axis. The combination of sharing the weight load of the boot with the calf of the leg and limiting twisting about each of three orthogonal axes, significantly reduces the risk of injury to the wearer.
A second important feature which will reduce the risk of injury relates to the center-or-gravity adjustment capability of the present invention. Not all users will be of the same size nor have the same size foot. By providing the boot attachment with means to adjustably accommodate different size feet and providing the pneumatic ball retainer with the capability to assume a plurality of positions, the position of the pneumatic ball spring may be adjusted to best suit the wearer: a position most directly beneath the wearer's center of gravity.
Another unique feature of the present invention has to do with the manner in which the pneumatic ball is secured to the boot. The ball is configured as a first semi-ovoid segment with a first major and minor axis, a second semi-ovoid segment with a second smaller major and minor axis, and a minimum major and minor axis at the intersection of the two segments. This minimum dimension receives an inwardly directed ledge of a receptacle of the ball retainer. The receptacle is secured to the shoe platform using sliding dovetail slots. This sliding capability affords the multiple position adjustability previously referred to. When in use, a force applied to the bottom portion of the first semi-ovoid segment will cause inflating fluid to migrate into the second semi-ovoid segment causing it to expand, further reducing the likelihood of undesired withdrawal of the pneumatic ball from its retainer.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following detailed description.


A fat continuous spread having less than about 35 wt. % of a fat phase and a method of preparing the spread are described. The fat blend of the product must have a solid fat content at 10.degree. C. of greater than 25 wt. % and the aqueous phase must contain 0.05 to 0.5 wt. % of a modified protein. The viscosity of the aqueous phase must be at least 25 mPa.s at a shear rate of 17090 sec-.sup.1 and a temperature of 5.degree. C.

A fat continuous spread having less than about 35 wt. % of a continuous fat phase is described. The fat phase contains a fat or a fat blend having a solid fat content at 10.degree. C. of greater than 25 wt. %, while the aqueous phase contains 0.05 to 0.5 wt. % of a modified protein.
Fat continuous spreads or water-in-oil spreads are widely available commercially as a replacement for higher fat products such as butter or margarine. Such spreads should have a plastified continuous fat phase to give suitable spreadability and to prevent microbiological deterioration. The spreads should not release moisture when being spread yet should be spreadable at room temperature. Moreover, a desirable low fat spread should be stable at room temperature, but should destabilize and release its flavor when eaten by the consumer. All of these issues should also be addressed while providing a nutritious and good tasting product. With only a small amount of fat present in the product to be used to constitute the continuous phase, these goals are difficult to achieve.
Prior art formulators have addressed these concerns by producing spreads having a gel forming aqueous phase which must exhibit a minimum viscosity (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,915 issued to Cain et al.). These spreads, however, are destabilized upon the introduction of even a small amount of a non-gelling protein and will tolerate only gelling proteins to provide additional nutritional value.
A process for making a fat continuous spread having more than 200 ppm amino acid residues has been described in Norton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,285. The addition of only a small amount of native or unmodified protein to the fat continuous compositions will create a destabilized or less stable product unless the product is carefully processed.
High levels (5 wt. % and greater) of native proteins have been shown in the art to aid in processing of low fat spreads. The functional role of these proteins is to structure the aqueous phase due to gelling properties of these proteins (see Cain et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,915).
High levels of modified protein have also been demonstrated for use in spreads. The role of these proteins is as fat replacers. See U.S. Pat. No.5,151,451 (Brown et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,732 (Mongeau et al.).
Low levels of modified whey protein (e.g., 1-3%) have also been used as fat replacers (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,287, Singer et al.). As fat replacers these proteins provide a sensation of fatty material and trick the mouth into believing it is tasting fat.
At these levels of proteins in low fat spread (i.e., 1-15 wt. %) stable fat continuous products are difficult to process. Proteins, either natural or modified, at these levels do not melt in the mouth and the resulting taste is unsatisfying.
There thus continues to exist the need for a low fat spread which provides both the nutritional and organoleptic properties of low fat spread products, particularly low fat butter products, while additionally being low in fat content. An improved low fat spread product which contains a higher level of solid fat at 10.degree. C. yet is easier to process than commercially available low fat spreads is also desirable.

Van den Bergh Foods Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.


A fodder mixing wagon including a fodder mixing container equipped with at least one vertical auger above the bottom region, and including an undercarriage having a chassis and ground wheels, is provided with an active adjusting system for adjusting the fodder distribution within the mixing container in at least two opposed directions being substantially parallel to the bottom region, the adjusting system being equipped with at least one sensor arrangement for detecting either the actual fodder weight distribution within and/or the inclination of the mixing container. The adjusting system allows to actuate actuators for adjustable counter blades provided in the mixing container and/or mixing container/slanting devices, respectively.

A self-propelled fodder mixing wagon as known from DE 20 005 671 O is provided with a mixing container with two vertical augers on a running undercarriage of a conventional truck. The mixing container is tiltably connected to the chassis frame of the undercarriage via a lateral axis in order to unload fodder through the rear delivery opening. The mixing container comprises a weighing device by which the filled in fodder is weighed and recorded. A horizontal conveyor may be provided at the delivery region.
The mixing container of a dragged fodder mixing wagon known from EP 0 387 547 A is set on the chassis frame of a uniaxial undercarriage.
The enforced container bottom of a fodder mixing wagon known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,436 A is set on an intermediate frame. The intermediate frame rests by blocks and suspension parts on the axle tube of a uniaxial wheel undercarriage. Only one vertical auger is provided in the mixing container. The weighing system of the fodder mixing wagon has two weighing members below the mixing container and one weighing member at the towing bar.
In the mixing container of the fodder mixing wagon known from DE 20 201 339 U three vertical augers are provided in the mixing container one behind the other in longitudinal direction. The mixing container is provided on a tractor towed undercarriage.
Particularly in the case of long fodder mixing wagons containing several vertical augers it is difficult to maintain the mixing container in a horizontal position. When the mixing container is inclined, the fodder locally is split outwardly during the mixing procedure. A uniform distribution of the fodder within the mixing container hardly can be achieved when the mixing container is inclined, even if only synchronously adjustable counter knives are provided in the mixing container (EP 0 7 04 153A, EP 0 704 154 A). Moreover, an inclined position of the mixing container is interfering in uncontrolled fashion with a per se predetermined circulation of the fodder during the mixing process and with the delivery of the fodder in a desired direction. Furthermore, such long fodder mixing wagons have, due to their design, an undesirably high dead weight. Since the allowable axle load is limited in most countries, e.g. to 10 tons, in many cases a multi-axle undercarriage is needed distributing the dead weight onto several axes and thus allowing a higher maximum weight. In such cases until now a separate intermediate frame is used for the mixing container. The intermediate frame is heavy due to its large dimensions. The intermediate frame is suspended on the chassis of the undercarriage. Due to the needed lateral conveyor a more compact design is not possible since the conveying device has to be positioned above the chassis. This reduces the load capacity to an undesirable extent. Because of the size of the mixing chamber the bottom region is long, e.g. 8.0 m, such that the bottom region hardly can be kept horizontal when the mixing wagon stands or travels on the ground.


This invention provides, e.g., devices for detection of particle concentrations in a vessel in real time from outside the vessel. The device is attached to the vessel so that light from an optic fiber enters a media of the vessel, is scattered by the particles, and the scattered light received by a second optic fiber. The received light is transmitted to a detector, generating a signal to a processor for determination of a particle concentration.

Measurement of particle concentrations is important in many industrial and research applications. For example, monitoring cell density (e.g. biomass) in liquid cell cultures is used: to determine the growth phase or rate; as a feedback signal for adjusting growth conditions (e.g. dissolved oxygen, pH, media constituents); as an indicator of when to induce expression of genes, harvest cells, or inoculate cells into a larger media volume; and/or as a feedback signal for maintaining a constant biomass during a continuous fermentation (e.g. turbidostat) process. The growth rate of many cultures, particularly microbial organisms (e.g. yeast, bacteria), is limited by the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the medium. The culture of such organisms is often performed in vessels (e.g. fermenters, bioreactors) in which gases are bubbled ("sparged") and the medium is stirred or otherwise agitated, often at such high rates that the bubbles constitute a significant fraction ("gas hold-up") of the total volume. The presence of such a high concentration of bubbles presents a challenge to many techniques for cell growth monitoring.
Many biomass monitoring techniques take advantage of the scattering of light by cells. For example, one of the most common laboratory techniques for monitoring cell growth is to extract a sample, dilute it, and measure its absorbance (e.g. at 600 nm) in a fixed path length (e.g. 1 cm) cell in a spectrophotometer. Absorbance is typically limited to about 0.5 in order to remain in the linear range of Beer's Law. The measured absorbance multiplied by the dilution factor is referred to as the optical density (e.g. "OD 600 nm"), and used as an indication of biomass. Despite its prevalence, this technique has numerous limitations: it requires opening the culture, with the attendant risk of contamination; the dilution step is subject to volumetric error; the extracted sample is expended, of particular concern in small volume cultures; and it is labor-intensive.
In an effort to overcome these limitations and provide continuous ("on-line") monitoring, much work has gone into the development of invasive sensors for measuring optical density directly in the cell culture. Unfortunately, such sensors are often subject to the same limitation of narrow linear range as are off-line techniques: in order to measure biomass over a wide range, the use of multiple sensors, having different optical transmission path lengths, is frequently required. Immersible sensors that measure back-reflected light (instead of transmission) typically have a somewhat wider but still limited linear range of response to biomass, and may suffer, particularly in the low biomass range, from a sensitivity to reflections from nearby non-biological objects within the vessel, such as impellers, pH sensors, etc. This can render the sensors inaccurate, in an unpredictable way.
A growing trend in the fields of fermentation and cell culture is the use of multiple parallel small-scale vessels for optimizing process conditions, varying media constituents, selecting between different strains of organisms, and the like. Unfortunately, most existing devices for monitoring on-line cellular biomass are poorly suited to use in highly multiplexed parallel vessels. These poor suitability factors include the need for large volumes for accurate measurement, the requirement that the device be inserted through a port into the culture, and the inability to adapt the technology for multiplexing. These constraints make it cumbersome and cost-restrictive, if not impossible, to provide much-needed real-time monitoring of cell biomass for all vessels simultaneously in multiple parallel bioreactors.
Methods for monitoring biomass non-invasively, through the vessel wall, or through an optical window, have been developed in recent years. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,462 "Self Adjusting Sensor Mounting Device", methods and devices are described for reproducibly mounting a sensor to a wide variety of cylindrical and flat surfaces in a manner that automatically compensates for the curvature of the mounting surface.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,603,772, "Particle sensor with wide linear range", methods and devices are described for measuring particulate concentration in vessels, where the response from multiple source-detector pairs is combined to provide a linear response over a wide range of particle concentrations. Also described, are methods and devices for confining the measurement to a specific volume within the medium, as methods and devices for performing rapid sequential measurement of particle concentration in multiple vessels.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,405,033 "Optical sensor for rapid determination of particulate concentration" and U.S. Pat. No. 9,752,974 "Particle sensor with interferent discrimination", methods and devices are described for limiting the optical penetration depth of measurements of particle density by the use of light at wavelengths that are strongly absorbed by the medium, and matching the source-detector separation to the absorbance path length.
In view of the above, a need exists for devices that can read particulate concentrations accurately in multiple parallel small-scale vessels in the presence of bubbles as well as other nearby reflective objects, that is not prone to fouling, and that is linear over a wide range of biomass. Benefits could also be realized by adapting components mass-produced in other industries (e.g. telecommunications), for sensing applications. The present invention provides these and other features that will be apparent upon review of the following.

Non-invasive particle sensor using a multi-fiber connector


A deactivation valve lifter includes a lifter body. The lifter body has a first end configured for engaging a cam of an engine and at least one annular pin chamber. A pin housing includes a pin housing bottom. The pin housing bottom defines at least one pin stop aperture and a radially directed pin bore. A deactivation pin assembly is disposed within the pin bore and includes pin members. The pin housing is concentrically disposed within the lifter body. A portion of each pin member may be disposed within the annular pin chamber to thereby selectively couple and decouple the lifter body to the pin housing. A drain aperture defined by the pin housing bottom extends from the pin bore to an outside surface of the pin housing. A stop pin is disposed in the at least one pin stop aperture for limiting the inward motion of the pin members.

Automobile emissions are said to be the largest contributor to pollution in numerous cities across the country. Automobiles emit hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide as a result of the combustion process. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and the 1990 Clean Air Act set national goals of clean and healthy air for all and established responsibilities for industry to reduce emissions from vehicles and other pollution sources. Standards set by the 1990 law limit automobile emissions to 0.25 grams per mile (gpm) non-methane hydrocarbons and 0.4 gpm nitrogen oxides. The standards are predicted to be further reduced by half in the year 2004. It is expected that automobiles will continue to be powered by internal combustion engines for decades to come. As the world population continues to grow, and standards of living continue to rise, there will be an even greater demand for automobiles. This demand is predicted to be especially great in developing countries. The increasing number of automobiles is likely to cause a proportionate increase in pollution. The major challenge facing automobile manufacturers is to reduce undesirable and harmful emissions by improving fuel economy, thereby assuring the increased number of automobiles has a minimal impact on the environment. One method by which automobile manufacturers have attempted to improve fuel economy and reduce undesirable emissions is cylinder deactivation.
Cylinder deactivation is the deactivation of the intake and/or exhaust valves of a cylinder or cylinders during at least a portion of the combustion process, and is a proven method by which fuel economy can be improved. In effect, cylinder deactivation reduces the number of engine cylinders within which the combustion process is taking place. With fewer cylinders performing combustion, fuel efficiency is increased and the amount of pollutants emitted from the engine will be reduced. For example, in an eight-cylinder engine under certain operating conditions, four of the eight cylinders can be deactivated. Thus, combustion would be taking place in only four, rather than in all eight, cylinders. Cylinder deactivation is effective, for example, during part-load conditions when full engine power is not required for smooth and efficient engine operation. In vehicles having large displacement push rod engines, studies have shown that cylinder deactivation can improve fuel economy by as much as fifteen percent.
The reliability and performance of the large displacement push rod engines was proven early in the history of the automobile. The basic designs of the large displacement push rod engines in use today have remained virtually unchanged for a period of over thirty years, due in part to the popularity of such engines, the reluctance of the consumer to accept changes in engines, and the tremendous cost in designing, tooling, and testing such engines. Conventional methods of achieving cylinder deactivation, however, are not particularly suited to large displacement push rod engines. These conventional methods typically require the addition of components which do not fit within the space occupied by existing valve train components. Thus, the conventional methods of achieving cylinder deactivation typically necessitate major design changes in such engines.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a device which enables cylinder deactivation in large displacement push rod engines.
Furthermore, what is needed in the art is a device which enables cylinder deactivation in large displacement push rod engines and is designed to fit within existing space occupied by conventional drive train components, thereby avoiding the need to redesign such engines.
Moreover, what is needed in the art is a device which enables cylinder deactivation in large displacement push rod engines without sacrificing the size of the hydraulic element.

Deactivation roller hydraulic valve lifter


A combine harvester stone trap having its upwardly facing inlet generally in the proximity of the transition between the discharge end of the crop elevator and the forward end of the combine threshing concave. The stone trap includes a front wall in the form of a door which can be opened into a retracted position for emptying the stone trap and a rear wall which, in an operative position, effectively closes the gap between the forward end of the threshing concave and the forward end of the combine grain pan located below the concave in a conventional manner. The rear wall is movable into an inoperative position providing access to the gap between the forward ends of the threshing concave and the grain pan.

When harvesting windrowed crops with a pick-up attachment mounted on the header of a combine harvester or when cutting the crops close to the ground surface with a direct-cut attachment, stones and other hard foreign objects inadvertently may be picked up and fed to the threshing mechanism, which thereby is exposed to severe damage. To prevent these foreign objects from entering the threshing mechanism, combine harvesters commonly are equipped with a trough-shaped stone trap disposed between the threshing mechanism and the normal crop elevator which conveys crop material from the crop gathering attachment to this threshing mechanism. Foreign objects which are fed towards the threshing mechanism are hit by threshing bars thereof and, as a result, are projected into the stone trap.
The crop elevator commonly is in the form of a feeder housing enclosing a chain-and-slat apron conveyor which entrains crop material and feeds the same rearwardly through a discharge opening of the feeder housing proximate to the threshing mechanism. The stone trap thus is positioned with its inlet opening generally at the transition between said discharge opening and the threshing mechanism with the stone trap itself being positioned below the plane of that transition. In other words, as seen from the front of the combine, the stone trap is positioned below the rearward end of the feeder housing.
Details of a combine harvester equipped with a conventional stone trap can be taken from EP-A-0.096.923, the content of which is included herein by reference.
As can be seen from the aforementioned prior art document, the stone trap obstructs access from underneath the crop elevator to the grain pan; said grain pan being disposed beneath the threshing mechanism and extending rearwardly into the machine from the vicinity of the rear wall of the stone trap for conveying threshed crop material, received from the threshing mechanism, to the cleaning mechanism for further processing. During operation in wet crop conditions, dirt may accumulate on the surface of the grain pan and, when this occurs, cleaning of the grain pan becomes necessary. Access to the grain pan for removing accumulated dirt normally is possible only from the rear of the machine by reaching over the cleaning apparatus. This is a difficult task and, as a consequence, there is substantial operator reluctance to carry out this grain pan cleaning as frequently as is required.
Access to the grain pan from the forward end of the machine at a location beneath the discharge end of the crop elevator is possible in the arrangements according to CA-A-991.937, DE-A-2.013.289 and DE-A-2.523.715 by providing means which permit the grain pan or parts thereof to swing downwardly for servicing. However, this is a complicated and hence also an expensive solution.