The present disclosure relates to compounds that are useful as near-infrared fluorescence probes, wherein the compounds include i) a pteroyl ligand that binds to a target receptor protein, ii) a dye molecule, and iii) a linker molecule that comprises an amino acid or derivative thereof. The disclosure further describes methods of imaging of inflammatory diseases using the compounds.

Chronic inflammatory diseases affect millions of people daily. Patients undergo treatment of inflammatory diseases with varied results and many have a recurrence of locoregional or systemic disease throughout their lifetime. Despite major advances in the immunology field over the last decade, there are hurdles to overcome in the field, including, for example, improved patient quality of life by effective and preferably non-surgical ways of target-specific identification of the disease(s).
While the immune system normally provides a line of defense against foreign pathogens, there are many instances where the immune response itself is involved in the progression of disease. Diseases caused or worsened by a person's own immune response are autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, pulmonary fibrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis and diseases in which the immune response contributes to pathogenesis such as atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases, osteomyelitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and graft versus host disease (GVHD) often resulting in organ transplant rejection. Additional exemplary disease states include fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, sarcoidosis, systemic sclerosis, Sjogren's syndrome, inflammations of the skin (e.g., psoriasis), glomerulonephritis, proliferative retinopathy, restenosis, and chronic inflammations.
Activated inflammatory cells, such as macrophages, can contribute to the pathophysiology of disease in some instances. Activated inflammatory cells can nonspecifically engulf and kill foreign pathogens within the cells by hydrolytic and oxidative attack resulting in degradation of the pathogen. Peptides from degraded proteins can be displayed on the inflammatory cell surface where they can be recognized by T cells, and they can directly interact with antibodies on the B cell surface, resulting in T and B cell activation and further stimulation of the immune response. Inflammatory cell types that may be associated with inflammatory disease states include macrophages, monocytes, and progenitor cells, including endothelial progenitor cells.
The folate receptor (FR) is a 38 KDa GPI-anchored protein that binds the vitamin folic acid with high affinity (<1 nM). Following receptor binding, rapid endocytosis delivers the vitamin into the cell, where it is unloaded in an endosomal compartment at low pH. Importantly, covalent conjugation of small molecules, proteins, and even liposomes to folic acid does not alter the vitamin's ability to bind the folate receptor, and therefore, folate-drug conjugates can readily enter cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Because most cells use an unrelated reduced folate carrier (RFC) to acquire the necessary folic acid, expression of the folate receptor is restricted to a few cell types. With the exception of kidney and placenta, normal tissues express low or nondetectable levels of FR. Folate binds to its cognate receptor (major isoforms: FR-α, FR-β, FR-γ and FR-δ) with high affinity (Kd<0.5 nM) and specificity. FR-α, overexpressed in 80% of all malignant cell types (e.g., ovarian, lung, breast, kidney) and FR-β, expressed in unique subsets of activated macrophages and certain hematological malignancies, constitute the two primary FR isoforms exploited for delivery of targeted therapeutic and imaging payloads. It has also been reported that FR-β, the nonepithelial isoform of the folate receptor, is expressed on activated (but not resting) synovial macrophages.
A folate-targeted single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging agent (EC20) has been recently evaluated by Mary Jo Turk et al. (Arthritis & Rheumatism, Vol. 46, No. 7, July 2002, pp 1947-1955) to determine whether overexpression of a high-affinity folate receptor beta (FR-β) on activated macrophages can be exploited to selectively target imaging agents to sites of inflammation in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA). Preclinical studies with such radio imaging agents emphasized the value of imaging arthritic tissues in vivo. The results suggest that it may also be useful for assaying the participation of activated macrophages in inflammatory processes such as rheumatoid arthritis. The same radio imaging agent (EC20) was more recently used to image atherosclerosis by audioradiography in apoliprotein E knockout mice by Wilfredo Ayalo Lopez et al. (The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Vol. 51, No. 5, May 2010, pp 768-774) for the early detection of heart disease. However, some of the current radio imaging agents are not readily available and expensive, are difficult to model may lack the sensitivity for receptor-based imaging or may have undesirable half-lives or relatively short relaxation times.
Additional studies (Chrystal M Paulos et al., Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2006, 8:R77) have shown that folate-linked radiopharmaceuticals concentrate in arthritic joints, enabling visualization of such tissues by gamma scintigraphy. Selective removal of activated macrophages with folate-linked drugs could be exploited to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis with little toxicity to other tissues.
Immunotherapy treatment studies of another inflammatory disease, systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), have also previously been performed where activated macrophages have been targeted with known folate-linked hapten conjugates (Bindu Varghese et al., Molecular Pharmaceutics, 4(5):679-85 2007).
EC-20 has also been used to detect FR+ macrophages accumulated at sites of infectious disease by gamma scintigraphic imaging of bacterial infection foci after infecting BALB/c mice with Staphylococcus aureus
EC20 also has been used in the clinic to evaluate the RA joints in RA patients (Assessment of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis using a novel folate targeted radiopharmaceutical Folatescan. Matteson E L, Lowe V J, Prendergast F G, Crowson C S, Moder K G, Morgenstern D E, Messmann R A, Low P S. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2009 March-April; 27(2):253-9.)
Although SPECT scans are inexpensive, SPECT scans provide low resolution images when compared with PET scans. Therefore, multiple folate-targeted PET imaging agents are being evaluated in the preclinical stage, including several fluorine-18-labeled agents. However, the radionuclides used in PET imaging could possess either potential dosimetry issues due to their long half-lives [e.g. 86Y (t1/2˜14.7 h), 64Cu (t1/2˜12.7 h), and 66Ga (t1/2˜9.49 h)] or their requirement for on-site production due to their short half-lives [e.g. 11C (t1/2˜22 minutes), 13N (t1/2˜10 min), and 15O (t1/2˜2 min)]. Thus, major deficiencies exist in radioimaging.
Since radio imaging agents can damage the DNA that can lead to cancer, use of multiple doses of radio imaging agents are undesirable when monitoring response to therapy. Another disadvantage of radio imaging agents is that the patient has to stay in the hospital until the radio imaging agent clears through the body. Moreover, radioimaging agents can be expensive, may require on-site production, may not be able to store due to half-lives of the radionuclides. Therefore, there is a high medical demand to develop better and safer modalities for detection. In this regard, optical imaging offers many advantages over radio imaging, for instance, ease of synthesis, high purity, long term stability during storage, stability during the preparation, and a reasonable procedure for its synthesis and purification. Moreover, optical imaging agents are safe in clinical use.
Conventional fluorescent techniques use probes in the visible light spectrum (˜400-600 nm). Such a wavelength is not optimal to image inflammatory diseases as it is associated with a relatively high level of nonspecific background interference due to collagen in the tissues. Hence the signal to noise ratio from these conventional compounds is low. Moreover, the absorption of visible light by biological chromophores, in particular hemoglobin, limits the penetration depth of the fluorescent image penetration to a few millimeters. Thus disease sites that are buried deeper than a few millimeters in the tissue often remain undetected.
The combination of light absorption by hemoglobin in the visible light spectrum (<600 nm) and water and lipids in the IR range (>900 nm), offers an optical imaging window from approximately 650-900 nm in which the absorption coefficient of tissue is at a minimum. A suitable alternative to dyes that emit light in the visible range would be to develop dyes that can be used in the near infra red (NIR) range because light in the near infrared region induces very little autofluorescence and permeates tissue much more efficiently. Another benefit to near-IR fluorescent technology is that the background from the scattered light from the excitation source is greatly reduced since the scattering intensity is proportional to the inverse fourth power of the wavelength. Low background fluorescence is necessary for highly sensitive detection. Furthermore, the optically transparent window in the near-IR region (650 nm to 900 nm) in biological tissue makes NIR fluorescence a valuable technology for in vivo imaging and subcellular detection applications that require the transmission of light through biological components.
While the use of light in the NIR range for deeper tissue imaging is preferable to light in the visible spectrum, the NIR imaging dyes currently used in the art suffer from a number of challenges and disadvantages. These include a susceptibility to photobleaching, poor chemical stability, absorbance and emission spectra that fall within the same range as many physiological molecules (resulting in high background signal and autofluorescence). Moreover, most of the NIR dyes are not stable during the synthesis, not least due to the fact that conjugating to a ligand with an amine linker leads to multiple unwanted side products. Therefore, taking ligand-targeted NIR imaging agent for clinic can be expensive. Thus, current imaging methods that utilize NIR fluorescent probes for treatment of inflammatory diseases suffer from several drawbacks including being ineffective for deep tissue imaging (>5 mm from the surface); ineffective in quantifying fluorescence signal in mammalian tissues, and in production cost that increase preclinical-to-clinical translational time.
Progress has been made in using optical imaging agents that fluoresce in the near infrared spectral range. Previous advances have also included using non-targeted dyes as optimal contrast agents in the NIR-fluorescence spectral range of about 650 to about 1000 nm to identify inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. This included using cyanine dyes of the class of indotricarbocyanides, such as indocyanine green (ICG) known for its effectiveness in cardiovascular diagnostics and hepatic functional tests. While non-targeted fluorescent dyes have been shown to passively accumulate in some tissues, the resulting tissue-to-background ratios are often poor and the boundaries between inflammatory site and healthy tissues can be difficult to define.
Current research in NIR-fluorescence has led to new approaches for targeted imaging of inflammatory disease. Protease-activated NIRF probes have been studied in vivo for their ability to image the presence of collagen-induced arthritis in joints by targeting a particular cleavage site and resulting in fluorescence activation (Andreas Wunder et al., Arthritis & Rheumatism, 50(8):2459-2465 (2004)). Additionally, a recently developed NIR2-folate conjugate was tested for in vivo imaging of arthritis by targeting an abundance of folate receptors on activated macrophages in inflamed cells (Wei-Tsung Chen et al., Arthritis Research & Therapy, 7(2):R310-R317 (2005)).
However, NIR fluorescent dye-linker-ligand conjugate that comprise alternative folic acid derivatives as ligands with linkers to make better and brighter dyes have not been investigated for targeting inflammatory diseased tissue.
Thus, there remains a need for the use of alternative folic acid derivative-based-dye substances that can be used to specifically target inflammatory-diseased states and that have increased stability and brightness for use in vivo for imaging.

Methods of imaging inflammatory diseases by ligands conjugated to fluorescent compounds


An internal combustion engine designed to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy according to the same general principle employed in conventional reciprocating piston-and-cylinder combustion engines, wherein the equivalent of the cylinder of the conventional engine is replaced by two series of chambers, a first series and a second series, each series of chambers being separately disposed in a circumferential arrangement about a common axis and separated in space one from another and wherein the conventional piston is replaced by one or more vanes, said vanes being adapted to form sealing contact with the chambers and the two series of chambers being connected by one or more transfer ports wherein air is compressed in one series of chambers and combustion gasses are exhausted by means of the other series of chambers.

The internal combustion engine is widely used as a means of converting thermal energy into mechanical energy. It has been developed extensively over the past few decades, especially by motor vehicle manufacturers, into a compact, lightweight and efficient unit.
However, the principle of a reciprocating piston connected by means of a connecting rod to a crank shaft and constrained within a cylinder has inherent drawbacks. The piston, by the very nature of its function, has a significant mass and thus inertia. Consequently, the reciprocating motion causes vibration and also limits the maximum possible speed of rotation of the crank shaft.
The standard reciprocating engine, as used in automobiles, has both a relatively small mechanical efficiency and fuel efficiency. One reason for this is the short stroke of the engine. The limited amount of time possible for the power stroke leads to incomplete detonation. The inefficiency increases with engine speed because the time for combustion is correspondingly reduced.
Another disadvantage of the conventional piston engine results from valve overlap. Since both exhaust and intake valves are open at the same time, a proportion of the air/fuel mixture is exhausted unburnt. The thermal efficiency of the reciprocating engine is also considerably less than optimal. Detonation occurs before top dead center and so expansion of the gases causes the mixture to heat up rather than to provide work energy.
One further drawback is that the power stroke and the compression stroke are an identical length for any given piston. Since power is only derived on the exhaust or power stroke of the engine cycle, the efficiency of an engine could be improved by lengthening this part of the cycle. Although theoretically possible, the design of a conventional two stroke or four stroke engine does not lend itself to this.
Many attempts have been made to minimize or obviate these inherent disadvantages. The WANKEL (TM) or rotary piston engine is probably the most well-known of these, where a rotating piston is used to rotate a shaft and thus generate motive power. In this modification, the edges of a rotating piston open and close ports in a cylinder wall, so that the piston itself controls the "breathing" of the engine, without the aid of valves. The piston is substantially triangular in shape with convex sides and rotates in a cylinder whose internal cross-section has a substantially oval shape slightly constricted in the middle (epitrochoid). When the piston rotates, seals mounted at its three corners continuously sweep along the wall of the cylinder. The three enclosed spaces formed between the piston and the wall successively increase and decrease in size with each revolution. These variations in the spaces are utilized for drawing in the fuel-and-air mixture, for compressing this mixture, for combustion, and for discharging the burned gases. In this way, the full four-stroke working cycle is performed.
It will be appreciated that in the rotary piston engine there are no reciprocating masses which have to be alternatively accelerated and decelerated and the forces or inertia associated with the reciprocating motion are therefore obviated in this type of engine. As a result, higher speeds of rotation are theoretically possible.
However, one of the major problems in the construction of the rotary piston engine is the sealing of the three spaces in relation to one another. Intercommunication between these spaces would be detrimental to the proper functioning of the engine. This problem has been partly solved by means of a system of sealing strips.
However, the problem of wear and durability has only been partly resolved and as a consequence, these rotary engines have yet to find universal acceptance.
Many attempts have been made to improve the WANKEL engine, the most relevant of these known to the applicant being described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,070 (McCann). This describes an engine with a rotor and at least one vane extending slidably through the rotor in a transverse direction for rotation therewith. The vane has opposite ends extendible beyond the rotor, which itself rotates within a stator which has a hollow, cylindrical interior. The stator has opposite side walls with circumferentially extending depressions therein, the depressions of the opposite walls being staggered, causing transverse reciprocation of the vane as the rotor is rotated. The depressions are shaped to slidably receive the ends of each vane in sealing contact.
The stator is in effect two static housings which embrace the rotor and support it at either end of a rotor shaft. The housings contain two cavities formed in their ends into which the rotor plus sliding vanes fit.
This design relies upon a relatively complex series of ducts and holding volumes to transfer an aliquot of compressed gas from one side of a vane during the compression cycle to the reverse side of the same vane for the power stroke. This not only exacerbates the sealing problems inherent with this type of engine but requires complex machining during manufacture. It also means that cavities on each side of the rotor are used for compression and power strokes alternately.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new kind of internal combustion engine which does not suffer from these disadvantages.

Rotary piston internal combustion engine


A differential apparatus is provided with a case; a pinion gear; a pair of side gears meshing with the pinion gear; a spherically depressed pinion gear supporting surface portion formed on an inner surface of the case to support a spherically projecting back side portion of the pinion gear; and spherically depressed side gear supporting surface portions formed on the inner surface of the case to respectively support spherically projecting back side portions of the side gears. The projecting back side portions of the side gears which are slidable on the depressed side gear supporting surface portions are formed on tooth portions of the side gears.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a differential apparatus which is provided on a motor vehicle.
2. Related Art
Patent Document 1 discloses a differential apparatus in which a case is formed of a one-piece member. In the differential apparatus of Patent Document 1, a working tool is inserted into the case from an opening therein so as to machine an interior of the case to produce a spherical inner space defined by a spherical inner surface. A pinion gear and a pair of side gears are inserted into the spherical inner space, and back sides of these gears are supported on the spherical inner surface. Spherical washers are interposed between the back sides of the gears and the spherical inner surface.
In this differential apparatus, external and internal shapes of the case can be simplified, and the machining is facilitated. In addition, the pinion gear and the pair of side gears are assembled together in a compact fashion for disposition in the interior of the case.
In addition, meshing reaction forces of the pinion gear and the pair of side gears are slidingly supported on the spherical back sides of the gears. Therefore, the sliding frictional properties of the gears are stable, and the durability of the gears is high.
However, when this differential apparatus is mounted on a vehicle, in the event that frictional resistances of a left wheel and a right wheel with a road surface come to differ, due to the characteristics of this differential apparatus, it becomes difficult to transmit a driving force which is equal to or greater than the driving force of the wheel with a lower frictional resistance.
This problem has conventionally been understood as a technical problem which is inherent in a differential apparatus having no differential action limiting function (referred to as a so-called "conventional-differential") due to the configuration and function thereof.
In contrast with this conventional-differential, various types of differential apparatuses with a differential action limiting function (referred to as a so-called limited slip differential (LSD)) are used on sport-type and 4WD vehicles.
Even in a general vehicle with a conventional-differential, such a differential action limiting function would be effective when attempting to increase the starting and hill-climbing properties thereof.
Patent Document 2 discloses a differential apparatus in which a case is formed of a one-piece member, and a pinion gear and a pair of side gears are inserted from an opening in the case. In the differential apparatus of Patent Document 2, a differential action limiting function is provided by tapered surfaces formed on the pair of side gears and the case.
However, according to the differential apparatus of Patent Document 2, in order to provide the differential action limiting function, it is required to form the tapered surfaces on the case and the pair of side gears, which causes the following problems.
First, a severe machining accuracy relating to a tapering angle is required to the tapered surfaces, which increases mashing manhours.
Second, the tapered surface is provided on an external side of the side gear, and therefore, the differential apparatus is enlarged in both radial and axial directions.
Third, although Patent Document 2 also discloses a differential mechanism as another embodiment which uses a multi-plate clutch as a differential action limiting function device, it is obvious that the number of parts involved is increased, and the differential apparatus is enlarged.    [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2009-250320    [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2003-294109


Methods and systems for localizing an asset using the modulated backscatter from an asset tag and one or more marker tags are described. The system includes the reader, a location module and one or more marker tags. The location estimates for the asset tag are based partially on a prior knowledge of the location of each of the one or more marker tags. The location for each marker tag may be stored in a database. The location module determines a location estimate for the asset tag using the estimated parameters of the modulated backscatter signals received from one or more marker tags and from the asset tag. Using the known locations of the marker tags, a location estimate of the asset tag can be determined. The location estimate may be a relative location, an absolute location, and/or may be a zone including the marker tags. A mobile reader using the marker tags can localize asset tags throughout a large area and may, for example, take an inventory of assets throughout the large area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to asset tracking, and more particularly to localizing tagged assets using modulated backscatter.
2. Related Art
In a conventional radio frequency identification (RFID) system, data encoded in a tag is communicated by the tag to a reader in response to a query from the reader. A tag may be batteryless (i.e., a passive tag), in which case a transmitted beam from the reader energizes the tag's circuitry, and the tag then communicates data encoded in the tag to the reader using modulated backscatter. Since the tag is typically affixed to an asset (e.g., an item being tracked by the RFID system), the data encoded in the tag may be used to uniquely identify the asset.
In the case of a semi-passive tag, a battery included with the tag powers the tag's circuitry. When the tag detects the transmitted beam from the reader, the tag communicates data encoded in the tag to the reader using modulated backscatter. In the case of an active tag, a battery included with the tag may power the communication to the reader without first detecting or being energized by the transmit beam. Semi-passive tags and active tags may also include data encoded in the tag that may uniquely identify the asset.
In conventional RFID systems, the ability of the reader to determine the location of a tag may be limited because the reader typically transmits a beam with a broad pattern. Conventional RFID systems may employ a reader including one or more antennas, where each antenna has a fixed beam pattern. These antennas are typically separated by a spacing that is large compared to the transmitted beam's wavelength, in order to provide diversity against multi-path fading and to increase the reliability of receiving the communication from tags with unknown orientations. In addition, conventional RFID systems may be limited when the communication range between a single fixed reader and a tag is too small to read all tags in an area of interest.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Localizing tagged assets using modulated backscatter


The Messaging Search and Management Apparatuses, Methods and Systems (“MSM”) transforms message, ranking request inputs via MSM components into work graphs, ML structure input data, ML structure, ranking response outputs. A work graph generation request that includes group level access control data may be obtained. A set of metadata access control carrying messages, a set of users, a set of channels, and a set of topics with access control data corresponding to the group level access control data may be determined. A user priority score for each of the other users, a channel priority score for each of the channels, and a topic priority score for each of the topics, from the perspective of each user, may be calculated. A work graph data structure may be generated that includes, for each user, data regarding the calculated user priority scores, channel priority scores, and topic priority scores.

The internet allows for various communication forms such as email, file transfer protocols, and messaging. Various types of messaging exist including Internet Relay Chat, AOL Instant Messenger, Apple's iMessage, all of which allow users to send and receive textual messages.
Generally, the leading number of each citation number within the drawings indicates the figure in which that citation number is introduced and/or detailed. As such, a detailed discussion of citation number 101 would be found and/or introduced in FIG. 1. Citation number 201 is introduced in FIG. 2, etc. Any citation and/or reference numbers are not necessarily sequences but rather just example orders that may be rearranged and other orders are contemplated.

Messaging search and management apparatuses, methods and systems


A mandrel for transporting a hollow cylinder including an elongated arm, a dish shaped disk adjacent one end of the elongated arm, the dish shaped disk having a flexible lip flared inclined away from the elongated arm, the flared flexible lip having a circular outermost edge, and a reciprocable presser means adapted to partially flatten at least a portion of the flexible lip adjacent to and including the outermost edge of the lip toward the elongated arm to increase the length of the circumference of the circular outermost edge of the lip. This mandrel is used in a process for coating hollow cylinders.

This invention relates in general to an improved mandrel for transporting hollow cylinders and, more specifically, to a mandrel and process for using the mandrel for coating hollow cylinders.
Although this invention is especially useful for the fabrication of electrostatographic imaging members, it is not limited to such application. Electrostatographic imaging members are will known in the art and include electrophotographic imaging members and electrographic imaging members.
Electrophotographic imaging member may be in the shape of a hollow drum or cylinder and are coated with at least one active electrophotographic imaging layer. The active electrophotographic imaging layer may comprise a single photoconductive layer or comprise a plurality of active electrophotographic layers such as a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer. These drum shaped electrophotographic imaging members embodiments are well known in the art.
Electrostatographic drums are conventionally coated by immersing hollow cylinders into a liquid coating solution, withdrawing the cylinders coated with the coating solution and drying the coating on the cylinders. Generally, the coating applied to the cylinder is confined to the exterior surface of the cylinder to conserve coating material, to avoid heat build-up, and to provide an internal contact surface for electrical contact for electrical grounding or biasing. To prevent any significant deposition of coating material onto the interior of the cylinder during immersion of the substrate into the coating bath, the cylinder axis is maintained in a vertical position or attitude and air within the hollow cylinder is trapped in at least the lower section of the interior of the cylinder by various known techniques. Trapping of the air in the cylinder while the cylinder axis is maintained in a vertical attitude minimizes wasteful deposition of coating material within the interior of the cylinder. One technique for trapping air within the cylinder is to insert the lower end of a mandrel into the upper open end of a cylinder, the mandrel having an expandable component positioned at or adjacent to its lower end which can be expanded to firmly contact and grip the interior of the cylinder to form a seal which traps air in the section of the cylinder below the seal during immersion of the cylinder in a coating liquid. One such technique is described in U.S. Pat No. 4,680,246, the entire disclosure thereof being incorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, the expandable mandrel component has a shape similar to that of a disk or thick washer. The outside diameter of this expandable disk shaped member, in its normal unstressed state, is slightly less than the interior diameter of the cylinder that is transported by the mandrel. The axis of this disk is coaxial with the main mandrel body. The expandable disk is expanded by applying compressive pressure on at least a segment of the upper and lower surfaces of the disk. The applied compression pressure causes the length of the circumference of the circular outermost edge of the disk to increase sufficiently whereby the outer periphery of the disk firmly contacts and grips the interior surface of the cylinder so that the mandrel can support and carry the cylinder from one location to another and also function as an air seal to trap air within the interior of the cylinder in the section below the cylinder when the cylinder is immersed in a liquid coating bath. The compressive pressure may be applied to the disk by applying a pulling or tension force on a tension shaft extending from a presser means through the center of the disk and through the mandrel body whereby the disk is squeezed by the presser means against the adjacent lower end of the mandrel body. The use of a mandrel that supports a hollow cylinder by gripping only the interior of the cylinder facilitates coating of the exterior surface of the cylinder without any mechanical object contacting either the exterior surface of the cylinder or the coating deposited on the exterior surface. The mandrel is supported at its upper end by any suitable conventional conveyor means. The conveyor means can comprise means to raise and lower the mandrel and/or the entire conveyor means may be raised and lowered by any suitable and conventional means such as an elevator means.
Although expandable disk shaped members made of natural or synthetic rubber or elastomers such as ethylene-propylene terpolymer perform well for a dip coating step, it has been found necessary that the freshly coated cylinder be supported on a metallic platen for transportation through a drying device or zone because the expandable disk or inflatable bladder tends to stick to the interior wall of a cylinder and inhibit or prevent mandrel removal after exposure to elevated temperatures during drying of the deposited coating. Also, the memory properties of the expandable disk or expandable bladder material degrade rapidly when repeatedly exposed to temporary compression or expansion forces and elevated drying temperatures. Degradation of the memory properties prevents the material from returning to its original shape and size after distortion. This, in turn, can cause difficulties in separating the disk or inflatable bladder from the interior wall of a cylinder. In addition, expansion of disk by application of compressive pressure requires especially high pressures that shorten the cycling life of the disk.
Expandable bladders also require a compressed fluid source, complex air tubing and couplings, air seals and the like which greatly increase the likelihood of failure during a coating or drying operation. For example, an air leak can cause a coated cylinder to fall away from a mandrel during or after coating. If a drum falls into a coating bath or onto the floor of a drying oven, the entire coating line must be shut down to remove the fallen drum and to repair the leak. Moreover, the large contact area between an inflated bladder and the interior of a cylinder presents heat transfer problems that ultimately result in coatings that have undesirable non-uniform physical and electrical characteristics following drying.

Mandrel with flared, dish shaped disk and process for using mandrel


Compounds according to formula I

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ketolide anti-infective compounds and methods for their preparation and use.
2. Description of Related Art
The erythromycins are a family of macrolide antibiotics made by the fermentation of the Actinomycetes Saccharopolyspora erythraea (formerly Streptomyces erythreus). Erythromycin A, a commonly used antibiotic, is the best known and most important member of the family.
Erythromycin ARa = OHRb = MeErythromycin BRa = HRb = MeErythromycin CRa = OHRb = HErythromycin DRa = HRb = H
Subsequent to the initial discovery of the erythromycins, considerable research efforts have been expended towards the development of antibiotics based on the erythromycin scaffold, with the objective of improving one aspect or another of its activity profile or other characteristic relevant to its use as an antibiotic. The approaches have ranged from the bioengineering of producing organisms to engender biosynthesis of new erythromycin-like compounds to post-biosynthesis chemical modification of an erythromycin to make semi-synthetic antibiotics to a combination of the two.
The serendipitous discovery that erythromycin A has activity as an agonist of the motilin receptor spurred another spate of research activity into erythromycin derivatives. (The binding of motilin, the natural ligand, to the motilin receptor stimulates gastrointestinal motility.) This time, the research was aimed identifying erythromycin derivatives for treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders, such compounds being referred to as motilides. Ironically, a key concern in designing a motilide is the elimination of antibacterial activity, lest it induce antibiotic resistant in the bacteria populating the gastrointestinal tract.

Among the semi-synthetic erythromycin antibiotics, clarithromycin is made by methylation the 6-hydroxyl group of erythromycin A and has improved acid stability, making it more suitable for oral administration. Telithromycin is another semi-synthetic erythromycin antibiotic, in which a 3-keto group has replaced the 3-cladinose group and the 11,12-positions have been bridged by an N-substituted carbamate moiety. Telithromycin displays good activity against gram-positive cocci having resistance to erythromycin A and, like clarithromycin, has improved acid stability. Generically, telithromycin and other 3-keto erythromycin compounds are referred to as the ketolides. For a review on ketolides, see Bryskier and Denis, "Ketolides: novel antibacterial agents designed to overcome resistance to erythromycin A with gram-positive cocci," in Schonfeld and Kirst, eds., Macrolide Antibiotics, pp. 97-140 (Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 2002).
Other disclosures relating to erythromycin-derived semi-synthetic compounds include: Bright, U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,768 (1984); Weber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,926 (1992); Agouridas et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,780 (1996); Lundy et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,226 (2000); Agouridas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,404 (2000); Phan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,269 (2000); Chu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,710 B1 (2002); Hlasta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,582 B1 (2002); Chu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,768 B1 (2002); Hlasta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,771 B1 (2002); Chu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,944 B2 (2003); Ashley et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,795 (2003); Hlasta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,083 B1 (2003); Hlasta et al., WO 02/32918 A2 (2002); Ashley et al., WO 03/061671 A1 (2003); the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Abstract: Compounds according to formula I

Abstract: wherein m is 0 or 1;X is

Abstract: and R1, R2, R3 R4, and R5 are as defined herein, are useful as anti-infective agents.


An spring apparatus for use with an automatic swinging door closure system wherein the system includes a motor linked to a door via a gear train and a drive arm, the train including a plurality of gears including a first gear adjacent the motor, the motor driving the gears to move the door in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction and the apparatus for driving the gears in the direction opposite motor direction when motor power is cut off, the apparatus including a spring mounted within a housing which is linkable to the first gear in a first orientation to cause clockwise door movement and is linkable to the first gear in a second orientation to cause counter-clockwise door movement, the apparatus is easily modifiable so as to be configured in either of the first or second orientations and also includes a tension adjusting mechanism for adjusting spring tension.

The present invention relates to door operating devices and more particularly to a motorized swinging door apparatus having a spring loaded door closing mechanism.
There are many closure applications wherein a pedestrian door is opened often to facilitate passage therethrough yet should remain closed most of the time. To this end the door industry has configured many different types of automatic opening/closing systems. One exemplary system for opening and closing a swinging door is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,270 which is incorporated herein by reference. That system includes an activation mechanism, a motor, a gear box, a shaft, an arm and a helical spring. The gear box typically comprises three or four gears arranged to form a gear train. The gears include first and last gears at proximal and distal ends of the gear train, respectively. The last gear is typically a piston type gear such that when other gears are rotated, the piston gear is driven linearly. The shaft includes gear teeth at least a proximal end and the piston gear includes linear teeth for engaging the shaft teeth, the shaft rotating when the piston gear is driven linearly.
The motor is linked to the first gear at the proximal end of the gear train such that when a motor rotor rotates, the gears cause the piston gear at the distal end of the gear train to move linearly thereby rotating the shaft. The gears are designed so that motor force increases along the gear chain. The arm is linked at one end to the shaft and at another end to the door and can be forced between open (i.e. wherein the door is open) and closed (i.e. wherein the door is closed) positions. The spring is linked to the last gear and biases the last gear, shaft and arm into the closed position. Typically the spring operates over only a small operating range (e.g. less than 4 inches). The activation mechanism, typically a foot pad, microwave or infra-red sensor, is linked to the motor.
When a pedestrian is sensed by the activation mechanism (e.g. the pedestrian steps on the foot pad or enters the space monitored by the sensor), the motor is excited. When the motor is excited, the motor forces the gears to rotate, the piston gear forcing the arm and door into the open position against the spring force. When the door is opened, the spring is compressed and mechanically loaded. When the motor is turned off or is driven in the opposite direction, the spring decompresses and forces the door closed. If, during a period when the door is closing, a pedestrian again activates the activation mechanism, the motor is again excited and the door is forced open against the spring force.
According to another design, instead of using a helical spring which operates on a last piston-type gear adjacent the shaft, a torsion spring (i.e. similar to a watch spring) has been used in conjunction with a last round gear to effect door closure. In this case, the shaft extends axially from the last round gear and the spring forces rotation of the gear and associated shaft in a closing direction when power is removed from an associated motor. When the motor is turned on the motor compresses the spring as the last gear and shaft cooperate with an arm to open the door. In this case, the torsional spring typically only rotates through approximately 135 degrees between opened and closed spring positions. An example of this type of apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,914 which is incorporated herein by reference.
For safety purposes, spring and gear systems like those described above are rendered inaccessible to pedestrians by providing a housing around the entire system which is only removed during installation or maintenance.
While most automatic swinging door systems have components and operate as described above, most system manufacturers provide several different system configurations having the general characteristics described above to facilitate door operation, each configuration designed to accommodate a unique set of environmental constraints. For example, the system configuration required to cause a door to open inwardly is different than the configuration required to cause a door to open outwardly. In addition, the system configuration required to open a door inwardly which is hinged along a right hand door edge is different than the configuration required to open a door inwardly which is hinged along a left hand edge.
While each of the systems above operate to open and close a door, each system suffers from several shortcomings. First, because the spring is linked to the last gear in the gear train, the spring has to be chosen such that it can overcome the full weight of the door in addition to gear friction to effect closure. In addition, in certain applications it is necessary to provide a spring capable of even more force than that required to overcome door weight and gear friction to close a door. For example, where an outside door opens inwardly and is located in an area prone to relatively high wind, the spring also has to overcome the wind force on the door to close the door. Similarly, in climates where snow can be expected the spring force may have to overcome some snow blockage at the base of the door during closure. Where environmental factors can be expected to periodically hinder door closure, springs which store extra force are provided.
In these configurations, while the spring will cause a door which is impeded to a maximum degree to close at an ideal rate, when the door is unimpeded or is impeded at less than the maximum degree and the motor is turned off the spring will distress rapidly closing the door at a faster than ideal rate. Rapid closure can cause door damage and/or can injure a pedestrian within the range of door motion.
For this reason, to provide an ideal spring distressing rate and hence door closure rate which is independent of environmental conditions, the motor is often used to control spring distressing which in turn regulates door closure speed. To this end, assuming clockwise motor rotation opens a door, the motor is driven in a counter-clockwise direction during closure and at a rate which is slower than the rate at which the spring alone would close the door. This type of motor control is often referred to as braking as it effectively brakes the rate of door closure.
Despite large spring force requirements, the space provided for the system spring is extremely limited for both practical and aesthetic reasons. As indicated above, typical helical springs are only approximately twelve inches in length. Torsional springs are typically less than four inches in diameter. Such springs are relatively expensive and usually, to meet the force and space criteria, have to be designed close to their material failure limits. Springs designed close to their material failure limits are more likely than more robust springs to fail which increases component and maintenance costs over the useful life of the system.
Second, none of the systems described above is easily reconfigurable to accommodate different environmental constraints. Where a system is used with a right-hand-hinged inwardly opening door, the system cannot easily be reconfigured for use with a left-hand-hinged inwardly opening door or either a right-hand-hinged or left-hand-hinged outwardly opening door. This is particularly problematic where environmental constraints are changed and different door opening characteristics are required.
In addition, these systems cannot be reconfigured such that the spring opens the door and the motor closes the door. While most applications favor a door which is driven open by the motor and is forced closed by the spring, there are applications where the opposite is advantageous where the motor closes the door and the spring opens the door. An example might be an interior office with an inwardly opening door where there are no windows to provide natural light. Upon power loss which may occur during an emergency, the above systems close the door leaving an office occupant in the dark and forcing the occupant, after locating the door, to pull the door open against the spring force to exit.
Moreover, the springs in these systems cannot be easily replaced for maintenance purposes or to change the spring force to accommodate different environmental constraints. For example, as indicated above, some doors may be located in a relatively windy environment while other similarly configured doors are not. While a high stress spring may be required for door closure in the windy environment, the high stress spring may not be required in another environment. In this case, it would be advantageous to have a configuration which allows an installer to select and easily install the spring required for the system thereby minimizing system costs. In fact, it would be advantageous to have a system wherein, if desired, the spring could easily be removed from the configuration and the motor alone could be used to open and close the door.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an automatic swinging door system which requires a relatively inexpensive spring which is both relatively small, is well within material limit constraints and which can still provide a large force for closing a door, wherein the system is easily configurable to accommodate many different environmental constraints.


An engine ECU executes a program including the steps of: detecting an air intake; subtracting an air fuel ratio detected by an upstream air fuel ratio sensor from that detected by a downstream air fuel ratio sensor; using the calculated air fuel ratio difference to determine a range for a lower GA range; determining a range for a higher GA range; and determining from the combination of the determined ranges of the lower and higher GA ranges whether a section A's exhaust system operates normally or has abnormality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses detecting abnormality of internal combustions engines and particularly to those identifying abnormality of exhaust systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
For a vehicle's internal combustion engine an air intake system intakes air which is in turn mixed with a fuel provided from a fuel system and the air fuel mixture is combusted in a combustion chamber and an exhaust system exhausts gas. Accordingly the internal combustion engine's operation is controlled as based on detection signals issued from the air intake, fuel and exhaust systems, respectively.
For such an internal combustion engine the exhaust system is provided with an exhaust sensor outputting a signal which is used to provide a feedback learning value allowing an air fuel ratio (or air fuel mixture) to be controlled by feedback to be a theoretical air fuel ratio.
If the exhaust system or the like has trouble, however, the internal combustion engine's each system is unsatisfactorily controlled. Accordingly an internal combustion engine is equipped with an abnormality detection apparatus detecting abnormality of the internal combustion engine including an exhaust system. For example a technique employed to detect an internal combustion engine's abnormality, an exhaust system's gas leak and other similar abnormality is disclosed in the following documents:
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-47130 discloses an apparatus detecting abnormality of an internal combustion engine that accurately, separately identifies abnormality of an air intake system, that of an exhaust system and that of a fuel system. This apparatus, in an internal combustion engine including an exhaust system provided with an exhaust sensor outputting a signal used to provide a feedback learning value allowing an air fuel ratio to be controlled by feedback to be a theoretical air fuel ratio, includes an abnormality determiner. More specifically, a condition is established for diagnosis of abnormality of the internal combustion engine, a feedback learning value and a preset feedback learning value are compared, a feedback learning value varying with the internal combustion engine's condition of operation and preset feedback learning value are compared, and the internal combustion engine's abnormal portion is determined by the abnormality determiner. The internal combustion engine's abnormality portion can early be specified to prevent large amounts of exhaust gas released into the atmosphere and negatively affecting the environment.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-206805 discloses an engine's air fuel ratio control apparatus diagnosing with precision an exhaust gas leak introduced upstream of a catalyst. This apparatus includes air fuel ratio sensors arranged upstream and downstream, respectively, of the catalyst, a portion calculating a basic control constant for air fuel ratio feedback control, a portion determining whether it is a time at which a condition for the air fuel ratio feedback control is established, a portion driven by a decision that it is a time at which the condition is established to use the downstream air fuel ratio sensor's output to calculate a modified value for the basic control constant, a portion using the modified value to modify the basic control constant to calculate a control constant, a portion using the calculated control constant to control by feedback an air fuel ratio as based on the upstream air fuel ratio sensor's output, and a portion determining that exhaust gas is leaking when a difference between a modified value for a lower air intake range and that for a higher air intake range exceed a predetermined value.
If a decision that exhaust gas is leaking is made from a modified value for a single condition of operation exceeding a prescribed value, a base air fuel ratio with an offset associated with variation in production, degradation with time and the like contributes to reduced precision for decision. The disclosed engine air fuel ratio control apparatus can use modified value for two different operation ranges to determine whether an exhaust path upstream of the catalyst has exhaust gas leak. If the base air fuel ratio has an offset, the apparatus can determine exhaust gas leak with precision.
However, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-47130, comparing a learning feedback value and a set feedback value to detect abnormality, provides poor precision for detection and also consumes time for detection. This is because the feedback control employs a learning value used to eliminate effects of a variety of variations to determine abnormality and it is difficult to separate the variations and the occurrence of abnormality. As such, improved precision for determination of abnormality can hardly be achieved and to provide such an improved precision a severer condition for detection of abnormality is unavoidable. This results in limited occasion for detection of abnormality and if abnormality occurs it may not be detected.
Furthermore, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-206805 employs a difference between a modified value for the lower air intake range and that for the higher air intake range to detect an exhaust gas leak introduced upstream of the catalyst. This modified value is a modified value for the basic control constant for air fuel ratio feedback control that is calculated from the downstream air fuel ratio sensor's output. In this regard, the apparatus can have a disadvantage similar to that of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-47130.

Apparatus detecting abnormality of exhaust system of internal combustion engine


A learning machine has plural multiple-input single-output signal processing circuits connected in a hierarchical structure. The learning machine sets a threshold value, which is a evaluation standard for change in weight coefficients, high during the early part of the learning process and enables rough learning to progress without changing the weight coefficients for those multiple-input single-output signal processing circuits for which errors are sufficiently small. On the other hand, the learning machine gradually reduces the threshold value as learning progresses and advances learning by a non-linear optimization method (including a conjugate gradient method, a linear search method, or a combination of conjugate gradient and linear search methods) during the later part of the learning process, and thereby improves the learning speed.

This invention relates to a learning machine capable of learning by means of a hierarchical structure without mutual connections within levels thereof, and having plural multiple-input single-output signal processors connected in a network structure in such a manner that signals propagate only to a higher level.
A conventional learning machine has been described by D. E. Rumelhart, G. E. Hinton, and R. J. Williams in their article "Learning Representations by Back-Propagating Errors" in the Oct. 9, 1986 issue of Nature (vol. 323, pp. 533-536).
FIG. 8 shows a structure of a conventional learning machine. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 8, this conventional learning machine comprises an output signal calculator 1 and a weight coefficient renewer 2 which renews the value of the weight coefficient of the output signal calculator 1 based on the output signal obtained therefrom. The output signal calculator 1 is a multiple stage circuit network as shown in FIG. 9 comprising plural multiple-input single-output signal processors 3 and plural input means 4. A specific example of the multiple-input single-output signal processor 3 used in this output signal calculator 1 is shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10, each multiple-input single-output signal processor 3 comprises plural input 5, a memory 6 to store the weight coefficients which weight the plural inputs from the inputs 5, plural multipliers 7 which multiply the weight coefficients from the memory 6 by the inputs from the inputs 5, an adder 8 which adds the outputs from each of the multipliers 7, and a threshold value processor 9 which limits the output from the adder 8 to a value within a predetermined range. The input/output characteristics of the threshold value processor 9 are shown in FIG. 11.
For example, the input/output characteristics of the threshold value processor 9 which limits the output to a value within the range of (0, 1) can be numerically expressed as EQU f(I)=1/(1+exp(-I+.theta.)).
It is to be noted that the weight coefficient renewer 2 shown in FIG. 8 comprises a teacher signal generator 10, an error signal calculator 11, a steepest descent direction determination means 12, an amount of weight change calculator 13, and a weight modifier 14.
A conventional learning machine constructed as described above operates as described below.
When an input signal is input to the input section 4 of the output signal calculator 1, each of the multiple-input single-output signal processors 3 multiplies the output of each of the lower level multiple-input single-output signal processors 3 connected thereto by a weight coefficient, which represents the significance of the connection and is stored in the memory 6, by means of the multipliers 7 and then obtains the sum of the outputs from the multipliers 7 by means of the adder 8; this sum is converted by the threshold value processor 9 and the resulting value is output to the multiple-input single-output signal processors 3 one level higher. In other words, the multiple-input single-output signal processor 3 shown in FIG. 10 processes the equation EQU o.sub.i =f (.SIGMA..sub.j w.sub.ij o.sub.j)
where o.sub.j is the input value to the input means 5 (the output of the lower level multiple-input single-output signal processor at position j) and w.sub.ij is the weight coefficient stored in the memory 6 (the connection weight of the i position multiple-input single-output signal processor to the lower level j position multiple-input single-output signal processor). FIG. 11 is a graph of the input/output characteristics of a function f which expresses a threshold value process of the multiple-input single-output signal processor 3, wherein I in FIG. 11 is the input value to the threshold value processor 9.
The teacher signal generator 10 in the weight coefficient renewing means 2 generates a desirable output signal for the number p input signal input from the input section 4 of the output signal calculator 1; this output signal is used as the teacher signal t.sub.pk (where t.sub.pk expresses the teacher signal for the output of the number k multiple-input single-output signal processor in the highest level of the output signal calculation means 1). The error signal calculator 11 then obtains the error from the difference between the teacher signal t.sub.pk and the actual output signal o.sub.pk to the number p input signal output from the output signal calculation means 1 (where o.sub.pk expresses the output of the number k multiple-input single-output signal processor in the highest level of the output signal calculation means 1) using the equation ##EQU1## and applies this value to evaluate the performance of the network at the present connection state (weight coefficient value). In equation (1), .SIGMA..sub.p is the sum for all input signals, .SIGMA..sub.k is the sum of the outputs of all multiple-input single-output signal processors in the highest level of the output signal calculator 1, and W is a vector which has the weight coefficient W.sub.ij as each component, and which hereinafter is called a weight vector. The error E becomes a function of the weight vector W. Furthermore, the teacher signal t.sub.pk is a value of either 0 or 1.
Based on the obtained error E, the steepest descent direction determination means 12 computes EQU g=.differential.E/ .differential.W (2)
to obtain the direction of steepest descent, which is the direction of change of the weight vector of the output signal calculator 1. The direction of steepest descent is a vector of which a component is a differential of the error E to the weight coefficient W.sub.ij.
The amount of weight change calculator 13 obtains the amount of change in the weight vector of the output signal calculator from this direction of steepest descent by the equation EQU .DELTA.W=-.epsilon.*.differential.E/.differential.W+.alpha.*.DELTA.W'(3)
where .epsilon. is a positive constant called the learning rate, .alpha. is a positive constant called the acceleration parameter, and .DELTA.W' is the amount of change in the weight vector in the previous learning cycle. The weight modification means 14 changes the weight vector of the output signal calculation means according to the amount of change in the weight vector. The amount of error is reduced by thus repeatedly renewing the weight, and when the error is sufficiently small, it is concluded that the output signal is sufficiently close to the desired value and learning stops.
Because learning is accomplished by minimizing the sum square error E in the conventional learning machine as described above, the weights of multiple-input single output signal processors are simply changed while an error for each of the multiple-input single-output signal processors becomes sufficiently small, if a total error, which is expressed as the total sum square error, decreases, even if another multiple-input single-output signal processor with a large error remains; thus, learning efficiency deteriorates.
Furthermore, minimizing of the sum square error is not limited to changing the weight so that the error of the multiple-input single-output signal processor with the greatest error is reduced, and if the error of only some of the multiple-input single-output signal processors in the highest level remains extremely high without converging and yet the block causing this high error is biased towards the multiple-input single-output signal processors which should output "1" (the teacher signal=1), the convergence speed thereof will deteriorate compared with the multiple-input single-output signal processors which should output "0" (teacher signal=0).
Therefore, the problem exists with the conventional learning machine as described above that the time required for learning becomes greater.

Learning machine with a hierarchial structure without mutual connections within levels thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus is provided for lateral registration of image exposures on photoreceptive belts subject to lateral deviation from linear travel. In one embodiment, a plurality of Raster Output Scanner (ROS) imagers in a digital color printer are positioned so as to form successive images on the surface of the belt. A plurality of split cell photodetectors are positioned beneath the belt, one each associated with each of the ROS imagers. An aperture is formed in the belt in a non-image area, but in alignment with the detectors. Scan lines from each ROS unit are periodically visible through the aperture and illuminate the photodetector. The outputs from each of the photodetector photosites are compared and lateral belt movement errors thereby identified. Appropriate correction signals are generated to maintain the correct lateral registration.

The present invention relates to the registration of color images in a digital color printer and, more particularly, to an improved method and apparatus for detecting lateral registration errors between color separations in Raster Output Scanner (ROS) systems.
In recent years, digital color printers have been increasingly utilized to produce output copies from input video data representing original image information. The printer uses a plurality of imagers, either ROS or LED print bars, to expose the charged portions of a photoconductive member to record an electrostatic latent image thereon. Generally, a ROS incorporates a laser for generating a collimated beam of monochromatic radiation. The laser beam is modulated in conformance with the image information. The modulated beam is incident on a scanning element, typically a rotating polygon having mirrored facets. The light beam is reflected from each facet and thereafter focused to a spot on the photosensitive member. The rotation of the polygon causes the spot to scan linearly across the photoconductive member in a fast scan (i.e., line scan) direction. Meanwhile, the photoconductive member is advanced relatively more slowly in a slow scan direction which is orthogonal to the fast scan direction. In this way, the beam scans the recording medium with a plurality of scan lines in a raster scanning pattern. The light beam is intensity-modulated in accordance with an input image serial data stream, at a rate such that individual picture elements ("pixels" ) of the image represented by the data stream are exposed on the photoconductive member to form a latent image, which is then transferred to an appropriate image receiving medium such as paper.
Color digital printers may operate in either a single pass or multiple pass mode. In a single pass, process color system, three ROS imagers are positioned adjacent to a moving photoreceptor surface and are selectively energized to create successive image exposures, one for each of the three process colors, cyan, magenta and yellow. A fourth black imager is usually added. A color digital printer may also operate in a highlight color mode wherein one or two colors and black are exposed.
In a multiple pass system, each image area on the photoreceptor surface must make at least three revolutions (passes) relative to the transverse scan lines formed by the modulated beam generated by the imagers. With either system, each image is typically formed within a tight tolerance of .+-.0.05 mm. Each color image must be registered in both the photoreceptor process direction and in the direction perpendicular to the process direction (referred to as fast scan, lateral or transverse registration). The description "lateral" will be used hereafter.
In the past, the problems associated with lateral registration of pixels in multiple exposures of images on photoreceptive belts have been addressed either by attempts to guide the belt in a manner to avoid or at least reduce lateral belt shifting, or by corrective steering of the belt in response to sensed lateral deviation from true linear travel. Belt steering techniques previously employed have most commonly relied on belt edge sensors to detect lateral shifting of the belt and to control a mechanical steering mechanism for returning it to the correct line of travel. Such belt steering systems are subject to inaccuracy resulting from belt width tolerances and edge waviness and also require a mechanical steering mechanism which requires a substantial measure of belt travel and time before the electrically sensed belt shifting can be accomplished. Registration in the transverse direction of ROS systems is known in the prior art and registration techniques are disclosed in copending applications, U.S. Ser. No. 07/635,835 filed on Jan. 3, 1991, U.S. Ser. No. 07/807,927 filed on Dec. 16, 1991, and U.S. Ser. No. 07/821,526, filed on Jan. 16,1992, all assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
The following patents and applications may be relevant to various aspects of this invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,491 to Hoshino discloses an apparatus for forming superimposed images as well as forming registration marks corresponding to the position of the images associated therewith. The registration marks are formed apart from the imaging portion of the medium and are formed in a transparent area so as to be illuminable from below. Thus, detectors detect the position of the registration marks as the marks pass between the illuminated areas. The detection/sensing of marked positions is used in determining proper registration positioning whereby the image forming devices may be adjusted to achieve such registration.
U.S. Pat. No. Re. 32,967 to St. John et al., a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,982, issued Dec. 4, 1984, discloses a web tracking system for a continuous web which passes along a predetermined path through one or more processing stations. The tracking system has aligned tracking indicia on one or both sides of the web and means are provided for sensing these indicia which are indicative of dimensional changes in width and length of the web at a particular point and further there is also provided an edge sensor to determine movement of the web itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,089 to Jamzadeh discloses an electrostatic reproduction apparatus having a web tracking system wherein the web rotates about image processing stations with a plurality of rollers. A guide means is provided to move the web around the rollers. The guide means include a steering roller which is actuated according to a web tracking system.
The teachings of the above-referenced disclosures, however, have not relieved the need for a relatively low cost, simple and accurate registration system. That is, a system permitting superimposing successive images formed on a surface moving relative to the imaging stations by compensating for deviations in the travel of the belt from a predetermined aligned condition.

Digital color printer with improved lateral registration


Systems and methods for forming a magnetostatic MEMS switch include forming a movable beam on a first substrate, forming the electrical contacts on a second substrate, and coupling the two substrates using a hermetic seal. A shunt bar on the movable plate may close the switch when lowered onto the contacts. The switch may generally be closed, with the shunt bar resting on the contacts. However, a magnetically permeable material may also be inlaid into the movable plate. The switch may then be opened by placing either a permanent magnet or an electromagnet in proximity to the switch.

This invention relates to a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) magnetic switch device, and its method of manufacture. The MEMS switch, may be magnetically actuated, and opens or closes contacts to activate a circuit.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are devices often having moveable components which are manufactured using lithographic fabrication processes developed for producing semiconductor electronic devices. Because the manufacturing processes are lithographic, MEMS devices may be made in very small sizes, and in large quantities. MEMS techniques have been used to manufacture a wide variety of sensors and actuators, such as accelerometers and electrostatic cantilevers.
MEMS techniques have also been used to manufacture electrical relays or switches of small size, generally using an electrostatic actuation means to activate the switch. MEMS devices often make use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, which are a relatively thick silicon "handle" wafer with a thin silicon dioxide insulating layer, followed by a relatively thin single crystal silicon "device" layer. In the MEMS devices, a thin movable plate of silicon may be etched into the silicon device layer, and a cavity is created adjacent to the thin beam, typically by etching the thin silicon dioxide layer below it to allow for the electrostatic deflection of the beam. Electrodes provided above or below the beam may provide the voltage potential which produces the attractive (or repulsive) force to the movable plate, causing it to deflect within the cavity.
MEMS switches generally rely on some method of applying a force to a beam in order to drive the contacts closed on a normally open switch, or open on a normally closed switch. Counter-acting springs that are incorporated into the structure then open the switch when the force is removed.
One known embodiment of such an electrostatic relay is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,486,425 to Seki. The electrostatic relay described in this patent includes a fixed substrate having a fixed terminal on its upper surface and a moveable substrate having a moveable terminal on its lower surface. Upon applying a voltage between the moveable electrode and the fixed electrode, the moveable substrate is attracted to the fixed substrate such that an electrode provided on the moveable substrate contacts another electrode provided on the fixed substrate to close the microrelay.
Another prior art device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,528,691, issued May 5, 2009 and assigned to the same assignee as the instant applications. In this reference two substrates are bonded together to form the switch. A movable plate is formed on one substrate, and attached to the substrate by a set of restoring springs. A pair of fixed contacts is formed on a second substrate. A shunt bar on the movable plate is dimensioned to span the contacts when the movable plate is pressed against the second substrate. The movable plate with shunt bar is drawn toward the fixed contacts on the second substrate electrostatically when a voltage potential is applied between the plate and the substrate.
These two references describe a type of switch is generally referred to as "normally open", since the contacts are open when no force is applied. Such MEMS switches often use an electrostatic force to attract a movable plate toward a fixed plate. A voltage of 50-100V is needed to generate a force of approximately 100 microNewtons, which overcomes the support spring restoring force and stores energy in these springs so the switch can be opened when the voltage is turned off. More generally, MEMS switches that rely on force to close the contacts generally require an expensive power supply or battery to drive the high voltage or high current to generate this force. For many applications, the power source is not available or practical.
Accordingly, for many applications a switch that does not require such high voltages is needed. Also, a "normally closed" switch may be preferable for many reasons, including shipping, shock and vibration robustness.
Other microfabricated switches have been described, which used magnetic actuation. For example, U.S. Ser. No. 16/104,145 (the '145 application) describes a switch formed on two separate substrates which are then bonded together to form the switch. The '145 application is incorporated by reference in its entirety. This 'However, magnetic materials have properties which must be accounted for when designing such a device.
When a magnetic field is applied to a magnetic circuit, such as a switch, relay or magnetic field sensor, North and South magnetic poles tend to accumulate on opposite ends of the device. For large devices, such as motors and generators, which are comprised of magnetically permeable structures that are centimeters to meters in dimension, this accumulation of poles has little effect on the performance of the device. As the device size is reduced, as in MEMS applications, the pile up of poles can create a magnetic field of its own. The vector of this field generally points in the direction that opposes the externally applied field and thus tends to diminish the net magnetic flux that flows through the permeable structures. For relays, switches, field sensors, motors and generators, performance is enhanced with increased flux. In the case of microscopic magnetic devices, the close proximity of the North and South pole clusters can create a demag field that renders the device nonfunctional. Therefore, the understanding of these demag fields and methods to abate them are essential.
Although the abatement of demagnetization fields is essential, it is not sufficient. Efficient use of the often-weak field that is available is important, particularly when the device is small and thus it's cross-section in the field is small. For devices, such as switches, that are mechanically actuated by an external magnetic field, a flux guide, which routes and concentrates the magnetic field is needed. Additionally, movable structures that permit the mechanical actuation of devices, for instance switches, must be designed and implemented. These movable structures must contain a substantial volume of permeable material to promote low magnetic reluctance of the magnetic circuit. Thus, integration of the permeable material with the flexible structures is necessary. In some cases, the permeable material itself can be employed as the flexure, however magnetically permeable materials are generally microcrystalline metals, which suffer from fatigue and creep with long and repeated usage. Silicon, on the other hand, is monocrystalline and thus far superior a material for flexures. A reliable design where adequate permeable metal is embedded within a Si flexure is needed.
Yet another challenge lies in design and fabrication of MEMS magnetic switch specifically is reliability. The single most important factor in the design of a MEMS switch is the contact material. Almost universally the MEMS industry is now using a thin layer of RuO2 on surface of each contact. This metal oxide is highly conductive and thermodynamically stable. However, many MEMS switch architectures preclude the use of RuO2. Often the switch contacts are fabricated as part of a sandwich stack of layers. The contacts themselves are finally exposed at the very end of a manufacturing process and are therefore occluded from line of sight deposition and cleaning. Thus, the design and production process must provide clear access to the contacting surfaces.

MEMS dual substrate switch with magnetic actuation


A stripper/packer which also serves as a blowout preventer includes a split bonnet. The split bonnet comprises a pair of opposed bonnet halves that may be hydraulically actuated into contact with each other and locked in place to form a bonnet over a packer chamber with the body of the packer. The bonnet halves may be locked together by hydraulic actuation of a latch pin or a pair of pins, or a sleeve may be inserted to hold the bonnet halves together. The split bonnet feature provides clear and easy access to a packer element within the packer chamber with coiled tubing or other tubular member through the packer, or with the coiled tubing withdrawn from the packer.

In known oil field systems, coiled tubing operations have generally been performed with small diameter tools available for such operations. As coiled tubing is fed into the hole for operations such as drilling, the drilling or other assembly must pass through a relatively large diameter opening at the well head to pass a string of downhole drilling tools that are larger in diameter than the coiled tubing itself. The well head invariably includes a sealing mechanism such as a stripper/packer that can be closed around the coiled tubing as the coiled tubing is being run in and out of the well.
Packers have been in use in oil and gas wells for many years. A packer is generally used in the stack at the well head to seal off down hole pressure from lower well pressures above the packer so that various operations may be performed safely above the well.
A packer commonly comprises a packer element made of a polymeric material that is somehow deformed to seal between a tubular member extending through the packer and the body of the packer. Known well head devices combine the functions of a packer with a BOP, which serves to completely shut off the well when no drill string or coiled tubing is down hole.
Although the packer element is made of a flexible polymeric material, movement of the tubing through the packer abrades the inner surface of the packer, eventually requiring replacement. Sufficient permanent deformation of the packer element will cause the packer to leak by and the packer element must then be replaced. Replacement of the packer element has been shown to be an expensive and often dangerous operation since the packer element is often retained on top by a one-piece bonnet.
In order to replace the packer element, a large number of hold-down bolts, typically 20 or more such bolts, which secure the one-piece bonnet to the body of the packer, must first be removed. Then, the one-piece bonnet must be lifted vertically clear of the packer body, generally two to several feet, to provide clear access to the packer element so that it can be removed and replaced. This vertical clearance above the packer for access to the packer element is otherwise wasted space between the packer and a coiled tubing injector, increasing the overall vertical height of the well-control apparatus at the well head.
Thus, there remains a need for a stripper/packer which provides space saving above the packer and a quick way to change the packer or sealing element, either while tubing is in the well or with the tubing withdrawn from the well.
Further, there remains a need for a stripper/packer/BOP in which the packer element may be replaced quickly and easily without the need for wasted vertical clearance between the packer and any accessory above the packer, such as a coiled tubing injector. This could most advantageously be achieved by horizontally retracting opposed halves of a split bonnet. There also remains a need for a stripper/packer having a split bonnet that resists movement under the influence of downhole pressures when the bonnet is closed.
Such a stripper/packer should be easily adaptable to stacks currently in use, be simple in construction to minimize the cost of construction and enhance the ease of maintenance. Finally, the packer must securely pack off down hole pressure and work at least as effectively as known packers.

Stripper/packer and blowout preventer with split bonnet


An EGR valve useful for metering exhaust gas to the intake of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The EGR valve includes a base member through which exhaust gas passes and in which is disposed a valve member. An actuator housing is constructed with integral, hollow leg members for mounting the actuator to the base and also includes a valve stem passage which sealingly engages an opening in the base to provide a leak-free passage for the valve from the base to the actuator. A solenoid assembly disposed within the housing includes a bottom portion which is configured with openings to support fasteners which pass through the bottom and the hollow housing legs to engage corresponding faster openings in the base to fix the actuator housing to the base by placing the legs in compression thereagainst. In addition the housing includes integral venting features which allow the housing interior to remain in communication with atmospheric pressure when said valve passage is exposed to manifold vacuum thereby preventing contamination of the solenoid actuator with exhaust gas from the exhaust gas passage.

An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve is typically used with automotive internal combustion engines to meter exhaust gas from a source such as the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold where the exhaust gas is introduced to the combustion air charge to assist in the reduction of regulated exhaust constituents. The harsh underhood environment of an automobile exposes the EGR valve to high temperatures both from the internal flow of exhaust gas and external engine temperatures. Additionally, high levels of vibration, dirt and moisture require an EGR assembly which is immune to contamination from external as well as internal sources.
Electromagnetic solenoid actuators used in state-of-the-art exhaust gas recirculation valves can be sensitive to high temperatures which are transferred from the exhaust gas passing through the valve. Attempts to isolate the actuators have resulted in contamination concerns, especially in the area of valve stem entry to the actuator housing. Actuator mounting to the valve base presents a challenge due to the high vibrational loads experienced by the mounting hardware and associated durability concerns.
In certain sealed actuator housings, exhaust gas enters the actuator because the actuator resides at intake manifold pressure (vacuum) in the valve-closed mode. During closed-open valve transitions, exhaust is drawn into the actuator by the vacuum condition until an equilibrium condition exists. As a result, hot moisture-laden exhaust gas may be drawn into the actuator housing to condense on the lower temperature solenoid assembly causing a potential for corrosion.


An LED lighting device includes first through third luminescent devices and first through third current controllers. The first and second luminescent devices are driven by a rectified AC voltage for providing light of a first color. The third luminescent device is driven by the rectified AC voltage for providing light of a second color different from the first color. The first through third current controllers are configured to regulate the current flowing through the first through third current controllers according to a first current setting, a second current setting and a third current setting, respectively. The color rendering index of the LED lighting device can thus be adjusted flexibly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an LED lighting device, and more particularly, to an LED lighting device with high power factor and adjustable color rendering index.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An LED lighting device directly driven by a rectified alternative-current (AC) voltage usually adopts a plurality of LEDs coupled in series in order to provide required luminance. As the number of the LEDs increases, a higher forward-bias voltage is required for turning on the LED lighting device, thereby reducing the effective operational voltage range of the LED lighting device. As the number of the LEDs decreases, the large driving current when the rectified voltage is at its maximum level may impact the reliability of the LEDs. Therefore, there is a need for an LED lighting device capable of improving the effective operational voltage range and the reliability.
Additionally, color rendering refers to the effect of an illuminant on the color appearance of objects by conscious or subconscious comparison with their color appearance under a reference illuminant, as defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). the color rendering index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reveal the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. Generally speaking, light sources with a high CRI are desirable in color-critical applications such as photography and cinematography. However, the CRI of a conventional LED lighting device, generally 60-70, is very poor. Therefore, there is a need for an LED lighting device capable of improving the effective operational voltage range, the reliability and the color rendering index.

Light-emitting diode lighting device with adjustable color rendering indexes


An arrangement of bump pads for use on a face of a flip-chip semiconductor die. The arrangement comprises four corner regions, each corner region comprising multiple I/O bump pads and power bump pads. The corner regions are specialized bump arrangements depending upon the size of the die, signal to power ratios, and the core power requirements. The die arrangement also comprises multiple edge regions having multiple I/O bump pads and power bump pads. The edge regions are located along the edges of the die and are interleaved between the corner regions. The dimensions of the corner regions and the edge regions depend upon the power to signal ratio of the region. Also provided is a core power region having multiple power bump pads, centrally located within the edge regions and the corner groups. Core requirements mandating an odd number of rows and columns of bumps for the core require a special "checkerboard" arrangement also provided. Connections between the bumps and the edge of the die surface are shown. According to a second embodiment, there is provided a die surface arrangement with two power bumps, one live voltage, or power, bump and one ground bump, and multiple I/O bumps, all bumps linearly aligned, with the ground and power bumps both located intermediate between the I/O bumps. The ground, power, and I/O bumps form an array, and this array is replicated linearly across the die surface forming a linear array arrangement having alternately directed redistribution traces. The die surface arrangement comprises multiple linear array arrangements interspersed with multiple linearly aligned core power bumps.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit packaging, and more particularly to an efficiently designed integrated circuit flip-chip die providing access to chip signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern high performance integrated circuit, or IC, chips require large numbers of interconnections between the upper level IC structure, or die, and the lower level IC structure, or package. The large number of interconnections are necessary to perform complex operations. Prior methods for providing these interconnections include wire bonding, wherein the die is mounted to the package or substrate with connections between the top surface of the die and the surface of the package. The die and package are then mounted to the motherboard. Another known method for providing connections is through tape automated bonding (TAB). These methods are inherently inefficient for providing power and I/O to the die because limited space is available on the periphery of the die for wire bond or tape pads. Space at the periphery of the die which must be used for bonding translates into space which is unavailable for active circuitry. Further, the resistance and limited inductance associated with the wiring connecting the surface of the die to the package is frequently inadequate for ICs having high performance requirements.
As modern ICs perform numerous functions, package terminals and die conductors are constantly requiring a greater number of I/O and power connections. With current ICs sometimes requiring thousands of connections within a limited space on the die, terminal sizing and spacing must be highly precise in order to form the proper connection between the die and the terminal pattern formed on the associated package.
A method used to join the die to the package which provides adequate bonding and power-I/O capability is the "flip-chip" packaging process. The flip-chip process utilizes an IC flip-chip, which is a monolithic semiconductor unit having bead-like solder bump terminals provided on one face of the chip. These bumps are densely packed together on the die surface, thereby facilitating electrical connections to the substrate. A flip-chip configuration provides access to more core area for a given die size. Bump pitches of 250 micrometers on the surface of the flip-chip is typical. Allowing bumps over active circuitry yields greater silicon utilization. The proximity of the solder bumps on, the die to the associated terminals on the package have the further benefit of decreasing the overall resistance in transmitting power or signals between the package and the die, improving overall system performance.
The problem with flip-chip designs is providing an efficient arrangement and orientation of the interconnections from the bumps to the outlying packaging. High performance ICs frequently require hundreds or even thousands of interconnections for input/output (I/O) or power and ground. Flip-chip interconnections must satisfy power ratio constraints, where the number of I/O interconnections drive the total number of power connections on the chip. The ratio between the number of I/O connections and power connections to support modern chip specifications are in the 4 to 1 range. I/O to power ratios of 5 to 1 or 6 to 1 are not unusual. These power ratios translate into a requirement that no more than four times as many I/O connections as power source connections can exist between the die and the package.
Pitch requirements typically mandate regular intervals between the bumps, further limiting bump placement and organization. Current pitch requirements for typical package-die arrangements are approximately 8 to 10 mils (center-to-center) between bumps for a flip-chip configuration.
It is an object of the current invention to provide an adaptable and efficient flip-chip distribution on the surface of a die for a packaging arrangement requiring hundreds or thousands of interconnections between the semiconductor die and package, whereby the arrangement provides maximum usage of the die surface for a given pitch ratio.
It is a further object of the current invention to provide an adaptable packaging arrangement able to support and efficiently operate an IC chip with a signal to power ratio down to four to one and an I/O cell pitch of approximately 2.5 mils.
It is another object of the current invention to provide an adaptable packaging arrangement which adequately and efficiently provides power to the chip core while satisfying the aforementioned design constraints.

Method for distributing connection pads on a semiconductor die


A method and apparatus suitable for producing an artificial snow surface for tire evaluation is provided. The process provides for manufacturing a series of snow layers, each layer followed by a packing and a grooming step to provide a multi-layered snow surface. Desirable shear strength properties of the snow surface are enhanced by a surface grooming technique that applies a layer of water to the upper snow surface followed by grooming of the surface. The manufactured snow surface allows the testing and evaluation of tires that compares favorably to tire evaluation data obtained from outdoor testing facilities.

Outdoor testing grounds are conventionally used to evaluate a tire's performance under various snow and ice conditions. Standardized methodology for evaluating tire traction and other performance data is widely practiced within the industry. One such ASTM standard followed by the industry includes ASTM designation: F 1805-98 entitled, "Standard Test Method for Single-Wheeled Driving Traction in a Straight Line on Snow—and Ice—Covered Surfaces" and which is incorporated herein by reference. The ASTM methodology sets forth a procedure used by the tire industry to evaluate a tire's performance on snow and ice.
There currently exists outdoor tire evaluation test tracks. These test tracks are utilized for tire evaluation techniques on snow and ice using the ASTM procedures described above. The performance characteristics of a given tire are made in comparison to the performance of a reference tire. The standard specification for a radial reference test tire uses the ASTM standard E 1136-93 (Re-approved in 1998) and which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the development of a new tire, it is desirable to undergo snow performance evaluation of the tire. Further, a snow evaluation setting forth minimum performance standards is required before a tire may carry industry designations as a snow tire.
Outdoor test facilities make every effort to maintain a uniform and reproducible snow track surface. However, there are inherent limitations in an outdoor track's ability to maintain a uniform evaluation snow track. Fluctuations in temperature, natural snowfall, humidity, and the presence or absence of direct sunlight are all factors that can produce differences in the quality and characteristics of the snow test surface. Indeed, changes over a single day can bring about significant differences in the quality of the test track surface. Further, there are additional limitations to outdoor evaluation tracks since such tracks operate on a seasonal basis and are largely dependent upon natural snowfall.
There have been prior efforts within the art to carry out tire evaluations on indoor manufactured snow surfaces. These efforts have included blowing layers of snow followed by packing of the blown snow. In addition, applications of water to the snow surface have been used in an attempt to improve the snow quality. While such an artificial snow surface may permit relative traction or braking comparisons between tires, there remains room for improvement in the art.

Controlled snow-making process and apparatus


A water vaporization apparatus is provided which uses the heat from the sun to vaporize water from a water collection means. The water collection means has a water container member which may be partially submerged in a water reservoir, or connected to a remote reservoir of water. The water container member has a water transport member connected to it, through which water from the water reservoir may move into the water container member, as the sun vaporizes water from the water container member, since the water levels will naturally try and reach equilibrium. An electricity generation means may be operatively connected to the water collection means in such a manner that the movement of the water through said water transport member may be used to generate electricity. In an alternate configuration, a water condenser means may be connected to the water collection means in such a manner that the vaporized water may be transformed back into liquid form, for use as drinking water and/or industrial water.

This invention relates to a water vaporization apparatus which has a sunlight beam channeling means for channeling and concentrating the heat rays of the sun into a water filled container. The water filled container may be surrounded by a reservoir of water, or may be connected to a reservoir of water. As the heat rays of the sun are channeled and concentrated into the water in the water filled container, the water will begin to evaporate or vaporize, with water from the reservoir moving into the container through an inlet, thus constantly replenishing the water filled container with new water. The movement of reservoir water into the water container may be used to turn an electric generator for producing electricity. Also, the vaporized water may be channeled through a condenser, so that it may be converted back into liquid form for drinking and/or for industrial use.