The present invention provides a method and apparatus for deforming a tubular body, running the tubular body through a restriction in a wellbore, reforming the tubular body, and expanding at least a portion of the tubular body past its elastic limit. In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for forming a substantially monobore well involving deforming a tubular body, running the tubular body below a restricted inner diameter portion, reforming the tubular body, and expanding at least a portion of the tubular body past its elastic limit. The restricted inner diameter portion may comprise a casing string previously disposed within the wellbore or a casing patch. The at least the portion of the tubular body expanded past its elastic limit may be a lower portion of the tubular body. Subsequent tubular bodies may be reformed and expanded below previous tubular bodies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for expanding a tubular body in a wellbore. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for forming a cased wellbore having an inner diameter that does not decrease with increasing depth within a formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In well completion operations, a wellbore is formed to access hydrocarbon-bearing formations by the use of drilling. Drilling is accomplished by utilizing a drill bit that is mounted on the end of a drill support member, commonly known as a drill string. To drill within the wellbore to a predetermined depth, the drill string is often rotated by a top drive or rotary table on a surface platform or rig, or by a downhole motor mounted towards the lower end of the drill string. After drilling to a predetermined depth, the drill string and drill bit are removed and a section of casing is lowered into the wellbore. An annular area is thus formed between the string of casing and the formation. The casing string is temporarily hung from the surface of the well. A cementing operation is then conducted in order to fill the annular area with cement. Using apparatus known in the art, the casing string is cemented into the wellbore by circulating cement into the annular area defined between the outer wall of the casing and the borehole. The combination of cement and casing strengthens the wellbore and facilitates the isolation of certain areas of the formation behind the casing for the production of hydrocarbons.
It is common to employ more than one string of casing in a wellbore. In this respect, the well is drilled to a first designated depth with a drill bit on a drill string. The drill string is removed. A first string of casing or conductor pipe is then run into the wellbore and set in the drilled out portion of the wellbore, and cement is circulated into the annulus behind the casing string. Next, the well is drilled to a second designated depth, and a second string of casing, or liner, is run into the drilled out portion of the wellbore. The second string is set at a depth such that the upper portion of the second string of casing overlaps the lower portion of the first string of casing. The second liner string is then fixed, or "hung" off of the existing casing by the use of slips which utilize slip members and cones to wedgingly fix the new string of liner in the wellbore. The second casing string is then cemented. This process is typically repeated with additional casing strings until the well has been drilled to total depth. As more casing strings are set in the wellbore, the casing strings become progressively smaller in diameter in order to fit within the previous casing string. In this manner, wells are typically formed with two or more strings of casing of an ever-decreasing diameter.
Decreasing the diameter of the wellbore produces undesirable consequences. Progressively decreasing the diameter of the casing strings with increasing depth within the wellbore limits the size of wellbore tools which are capable of being run into the wellbore. Furthermore, restricting the inner diameter of the casing strings limits the volume of hydrocarbon production which may flow to the surface from the formation.
Recently, methods and apparatus for expanding the diameter of casing strings within a wellbore have become feasible. As a result of expandable technology, the inner diameter of the cased wellbore does not decrease as sharply upon setting more casing strings within the wellbore as the inner diameter of the cased wellbore decreases when not using expandable technology. When using expandable casing strings to line a wellbore, the well is drilled to a first designated depth with a drill bit on a drill string, then the drill string is removed. A first string of casing is set in the drilled out portion of the wellbore, and cement is circulated into the annulus behind the casing string. Next, the well is drilled to a second designated depth, and a second string of casing is run into the drilled out portion of the wellbore at a depth such that the upper portion of the second string of casing overlaps the lower portion of the first string of casing. The second casing string is then expanded into contact with the existing first string of casing with an expander tool. The second casing string is then cemented. This process is typically repeated with additional casing strings until the well has been drilled to total depth.
An exemplary expander tool utilized to expand the second casing string into the first casing string is fluid powered and run into the wellbore on a working string. The hydraulic expander tool includes radially expandable members which, through fluid pressure, are urged outward radially from the body of the expander tool and into contact with the second casing string therearound. As sufficient pressure is generated on a piston surface behind these expansion members, the second casing string being acted upon by the expansion tool is expanded past its point of elastic deformation. In this manner, the inner and outer diameter of the expandable tubular is increased in the wellbore. By rotating the expander tool in the wellbore and/or moving the expander tool axially in the wellbore with the expansion member actuated, a tubular can be expanded into plastic deformation along a predetermined length in a wellbore.
The method of expanding the second casing string into the first casing string involves expansion of the second casing string past its elastic limit once located at the desired depth within the wellbore. Because a casing string is typically only capable of expansion to about 22–25% past its elastic limit, the amount of expansion of the casing string is limited when using this method. Expansion past about 22–25% of its original diameter may cause the casing string to fracture due to stress.
The advantage gained with using expander tools to expand expandable casing strings is the decreased annular space between the overlapping casing strings. Because the subsequent casing string is expanded into contact with the previous string of casing, the decrease in diameter of the wellbore is essentially the thickness of the subsequent casing string. However, even when using expandable technology, casing strings must still become progressively smaller in diameter in order to fit within the previous casing string.
Currently, monobore wells are being investigated to further limit the decrease in the inner diameter of the wellbore with increasing depth. Monobore wells would theoretically result when the wellbore is approximately the same diameter along its length, causing the path for fluid between the surface and the wellbore to remain consistent along the length of the wellbore and regardless of the depth of the well. With a monobore well, tools could be more easily run into the wellbore because the size of the tools which may travel through the wellbore would not be limited to the constricted inner diameter of casing strings of decreasing inner diameters. Theoretically, in the formation of a monobore well, a first casing string could be inserted into the wellbore. Thereafter, a second casing string of a smaller diameter than the first casing string could be inserted into the wellbore and expanded to approximately the same inner diameter as the first casing string.
Certain problems have arisen during the investigation of monobore wells. One problem relates to the expansion of the smaller casing string into the larger casing string to form a sealed connection therebetween where the first and second casing strings overlap. Forming a monobore well would involve first running the smaller casing string through the restricted inner diameter of the wellbore produced by the larger casing string, then expanding the smaller casing string to an inner diameter at least as large the smallest inner diameter of the larger casing string. This portion of the expansion of the smaller casing string likely would increase the inner diameter of the smaller casing string by the limit of 22–25%. To insert an even smaller casing string inside the smaller casing string to form a monobore well, the inner diameter of a lower portion of the smaller casing string would have to be enlarged to receive the even smaller casing string. In this way, expansion of the casing string to over 25% of its original diameter would be necessary, but not currently possible. Merely expanding the casing string past its elastic limit after passing the restricted inner diameter portion may not allow the casing string to expand to a large enough inner diameter to form a substantially monobore well, as the percentage which the casing string may expand past its elastic limit is limited by structural constraints of the casing string. Attempts to expand the casing string further than about 22–25% past its elastic limit may cause the casing string to fracture or may simply be impossible.
Another type of expansion is currently performed in the context of casing patches. A casing patch is a tubular body which is expanded into contact with the wellbore or casing within the wellbore to patch leaking paths existing in the wellbore or cased wellbore. To patch the leaking path within the casing or wellbore, a casing patch is often deformed so that the casing patch possesses a smaller inner diameter than the inner diameter of the existing casing or wellbore, then the casing patch is reformed to a larger inner diameter when the casing patch is located at the desired location for reformation of the casing patch. The reforming process is often performed by an expander cone. This method often leaves stress lines in the reformed casing patch where the corrugations originally existed, weakening the casing patch at the stress lines so that the casing patch is susceptible to leaking wellbore fluids into the casing patch due to the pressure exerted by wellbore fluids.
Utilizing the current methods of expanding a casing string or reforming a casing patch, the problems described above are evident when a casing string or casing patch must run through a restriction in the inner diameter of the wellbore, such as a restriction formed by a packer or a previously installed casing patch, and then expand to an inner diameter at least as large as the restriction once the casing string or casing patch is lowered below the restriction. When using a casing patch, merely reforming the casing patch may leave stress lines in the casing patch which may allow fluid leakage therethrough. When using a casing string, merely expanding the casing string past its elastic limit by 22–25% may not allow enough expansion to increase the inner diameter of the casing string to at least the inner diameter of the restriction.
There is, therefore, a need for a method for enlarging the inner diameter of a casing string or other tubular body by more than current methods allow without compromising the structural integrity of the casing string or tubular body. There is a further need for a method for expanding the inner diameter of a casing string or tubular body by a larger percentage than the percentage expansion allowed past the elastic limit after running the casing string or tubular body through a restricted inner diameter portion of the wellbore. There is yet a further need for a method of expanding a lower portion of the inner diameter of a casing string or tubular body further than the remaining portions of the casing string or tubular body without compromising the structural integrity of the lower portion of the casing string or tubular body.

Methods and apparatus for reforming and expanding tubulars in a wellbore


Use of δ-tocopherol for enhancing the heat stability and/or oxidation stability of a para-methoxycinnamic ester; an ultraviolet absorber comprising a para-methoxycinnamic ester, and an effective amount of δ-tocopherol to enhance its heat stability and/or oxidation stability; and a cosmetic comprising the above ultraviolet absorber.

Ultraviolet rays reaching the surface of the earth are only 6% of the rays of the sun, but cause degradation in quality such as coloring, fading, lowering of strength, or destruction of rubbers, paints, inks, etc. For preventing such degradation caused by ultraviolet rays, ultraviolet absorbers are incorporated in various products into which these products and materials are compounded.
Also on human skin, ultraviolet rays cause skin acute reaction such as sun burn or sun tan, and, on a long-term basis, skin aging or cancer. In view of these points, development of sunscreen cosmetics in which an ultraviolet absorber or an ultraviolet-scattering agent is compounded has actively been made, and various preparations are sold.
Ultraviolet absorbers compounded in these preparations are classified, based on their structure, into cinnamic acid-type, PABA-type, benzophenone-type, salicylic acid-type, heterocyclic-type, camphor-type, dibenzoylmethane-type, chalcone-type, etc., and many ultraviolet absorbers have been developed. However, ultraviolet absorbers used for human skin are restricted in view of safety, touching in use, solubility thereof into the base in compounding in sunscreen cosmetics, etc., and among many so far developed ultraviolet absorbers, cinnamic acid-type and benzophenone-type ultraviolet absorbers are frequently used in skin external preparations.
As an invention which started from a motive of substituting a natural antioxidant for BHT in preparations being to contact with human bodies, an invention in which para-methoxycinnamic esters are stabilized using tocopherol is known (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 9-104856). Therein, it is only α-tocopherol that is specifically exemplified as the tocopherol.
Among cinnamic acid-type ultraviolet absorbers, ultraviolet absorbers containing a para-methoxycinnamic ester are mainly used, and as an example, 2-ethylhexyl para-methoxycinnamate is mentioned. Para-methoxycinnamic ester-type ultraviolet absorbers have a defect of being insufficient in stability with time lapse on smell, color, etc., and as their stabilizer, butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) is usually used. However, on the other hand, there is a trend that the addition of a stabilizer is not preferred, and both of BHT-added preparations and BHT-not added preparations are sold on the market.
However, butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) which has hitherto been used is a component on which the duty of indication is assigned among stabilizers in the cosmetic field, and although BHT is a stabilizer expected on its effect, it has an aspect of being hard to accept on the market in view of safety. Further, when no stabilizer is added, it is known that the prescribed preparation starts to deteriorate at an early stage on smell and/or color, and usually, the influence on the prescribed preparation increases together with time lapse. Therefore, when an ultraviolet absorber containing no stabilizer was prescribed, a treatment such as masking gets necessary, but in prescription of no perfume, there is a problem that such a treatment is hard to make.
Therefore, development of stabilizers whose component indication is not compelled and which have high safety has been desired.

Utilization absorber, cosmetic and method for enhancing stability of ultraviolet-absorbing substances

Abstract: δ-tocopherol enhances the heat stability and/or oxidation stability of the para-methoxycinnamic ester which is an ultraviolet-absorbing substance frequently used.


A vehicle running state judging apparatus calculates the edge detecting position of the first pixel group detected by the first gray value detection section, the edge detecting position of the second pixel group based on the gray value at that position, and the gray value at that position and judges meandering of a vehicle by comparing the edge detecting position of the second pixel group detected by the second gray value detection section and the gray value at that position, with the edge detecting position of the second pixel group calculated by the calculation section and the gray value at that position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle running state judging apparatus which judges whether a driver has lost consciousness and fallen asleep at the wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the road network has developed and leisure hours have increased, the opportunity to drive a car has increased. A driver is required to keep mental and physical health while driving. However, there may be a case of driving a car in poor health. In such a case, if a driver drives continuously or for a long time, the driver may fall asleep when fatigued and having lost concentration.
To prevent the above state, a camera is mounted on a vehicle to monitor the view in front of the vehicle, recognize a white road line to check meander driving, detect falling asleep, and warn against being asleep at the wheel. (Refer to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,327.)
According to the above system, the camera capture the running zone line on a road and judges meander driving based on that image. There is another method of judging meander driving by recognizing a white line on both sides of a road. However, in this method, if there is no while line on both sides of the road or snow is accumulated on the whole surface of a road, it is impossible to judge meander driving.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation


Methods of forming a conversion coating on metal surfaces such as galvanized steel are provided. The methods comprise reacting the metal surface with an aqueous solution of a water soluble polyacrylic acid or homopolymer thereof, maleic or acrylic acid/allyl ether copolymer alone or with an acid.

The purposes of the formation of a chromate conversion coating on the surface of galvanized steel are to provide corrosion resistance, improve adhesion of coatings and for aesthetic reasons. The conversion coating improves adhesion of coating layers such as paints, inks, lacquers and plastic coatings. A chromate conversion coating is typically provided by contacting galvanized steel with an aqueous composition containing hexavalent or trivalent chromium ions, phosphate ions and fluoride ions. Growing concerns exist regarding the pollution effects of the chromates and phosphates discharged into rivers and waterways by such processes. Because of high solubility and the strongly oxidizing character of hexavalent chromium ions, conventional chromate conversion processes require extensive waste treatment procedures to control their discharge. In addition, the disposal of the solid sludge from such waste treatment procedures is a significant problem.
Attempts have been made to produce an acceptable chromate free conversion coating for galvanized steel. Chromate free pretreatment coatings based upon complex fluoacids and salts or metals such as cobalt and nickel are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,724 which issued to Reinhold discloses a composition for coating ferriferous and zinc metal which comprises a metal such as nickel or cobalt and an acid anion selected from the group sulfate, chloride, sulfamate, citrate, lactate, acetate, and glycolate at a pH from 0.1 to 4.
PCT Publication No. WO 85/05131 discloses an acidic aqueous solution to be applied to galvanized metals which contains from 0.1 to 10 grams per liter of a fluoride containing compound and from 0.015 to 6 grams per liter of a salt of cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, nickel, strontium or zinc. Optionally, a sequestrant and a polymer of methacrylic acid or esters thereof can be present.
The formation of chromate free conversion coatings on the surfaces of other metals such as aluminum are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,552 which issued to Sander et al., discloses a non-chromate coating for aluminum which is dried in place and which forms a coating having a gravimetric weight from about 6 to 25 milligrams per square foot. The aqueous coating composition consists essentially of more than 8 grams per liter dihydrohexafluozirconic acid, and more than 10 grams per liter of water soluble acrylic acid and homopolymers thereof and more than 0.17 grams per liter hydrofluoric acid. The disclosure notes that it is believed that the copolymers of acrylic acid would also be effective, however, no examples were given. U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,596 to Dollman et al., discloses a conversion coating for aluminum which consists essentially of from about 0.5 to 10 grams per liter of a polymer of polyacrylic acid and esters thereof and from about 0.2 to 8 grams per liter of an acid selected from the group H.sub.2 ZrF.sub.6, H.sub.2 TiF.sub.6 and H.sub.2 SiF.sub.6. The pH of the solution is less than about 3.5.
A process for applying a protective coating to aluminum, zinc and iron under substantially identical operation conditions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,713 to Ries, et al. The coating consists essentially of from 0.1 to 15 grams per liter of complex fluorides of boron, titanium, zirconium and iron, from 0.1 to 10 grams per liter of free fluoride ions and from 0.5 to 30 grams per liter an oxidizing agent such as sodium m-nitrobenzene sulfonate. The solution has a pH of from 3.0 to 6.8 and is free of phosphoric acid, oxalic acid and chromic acid.
The use of allyl ether copolymers in non-analogous arts such as dust control, dispersants and water treatment is known. Japanese patent publication SHO 56-155692 entitled Method of Collecting Dust discloses the use of acrylic acid/polyethylene glycol monoallyl ether copolymers to treat the recirculating water in an aqueous dust collection system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,693 which issued to Takehara et al., discloses the use of copolymers composed of a methacrylic acid and an allylic ether monomer which are useful as scale preventing agents in cooling water systems and wet dust collection systems, aqueous slurry dispersants in inorganic pigments, cement dispersants, and builders and detergents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,100 which issued to Tsubakimoto et al., discloses a copolymer of maleic acid and polyethylene glycol ether and its use as a cement dispersant, pigment dispersant, chelating agent and scale inhibitor.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,872,995 and 4,913,882 to Chen et al., and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,429 and 4,895,620 to Barnett et al., disclose methods and uses for acrylic acid/polyethylene glycol allyl ether copolymers in aqueous systems such as cooling water systems and paper making systems, as felt conditioners or to inhibit calcium oxalate deposition.

Method and composition for treatment of galvanized steel


The present invention provides polymeric compounds that can form micelles in solutions. These compounds have a hydrophobic, core that is coupled to a plurality of hydrophilic moieties.

Currently, there is a need for methods for delivering pharmaceutically active agents to patients in need of the active agent. One method for delivery is to encapsulate an active agent, such as, for example, a hydrophobic molecule in a polymer molecule wherein the polymer has a core that is coupled to a plurality of hydrophobic moieties.
Amphiphilic star-like macromolecules (ASMs) have been studied for drug delivery applications. (See, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/298,729 filed Apr. 23, 1999; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/422,295, filed Oct. 21, 1999, and International Patent Application US00/10050 filed Apr. 18, 2000.) The core-shell, amphiphilic structure of ASMs is covalently linked, which makes it thermodynamically stable as opposed to conventional micellar systems. Previously, aromatic cores were incorporated within the ASM structure but proved to be cytotoxic upon its degradation.
Polymeric micelles are a related type of amphiphilic block copolymers. These micelles have attracted attention as promising colloidal drug delivery systems (V. P. Torchilin J. Controlled. Release. 2001, 73, 137; C. Allen, D. et al., Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 1999, 16, 3; and H. Otsuka, et al., Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science 2001, 6, 3). In these colloidal systems, the hydrophobic block typically forms the core, essentially a "microcontainer" for a lipophilic pharmaceutical (K. Kataoka, et al., Adv. Drug Delivery Rev. 2001, 47, 113). The hydrophilic part forms the outer shell, stabilizing the interface between the core and the external aqueous environment. Compared to traditional micellar systems, these polymeric surfactant-based drug carriers display apparent advantages such as lower critical micelle concentration (CMC), improved bioavailability, reduction of toxicity, enhanced permeability across the physiological barriers, and substantial changes in drug biodistribution.
Despite these advantages, the use of ASM's is somewhat limited, due to the difficulty in directing the release of the active agent at or near an appropriate target. Accordingly, there is a need for additional micellar systems and reverse micellar systems that possess some of the advantages associated with the thermodynamic stability of ASM's, but which can be used to direct active agents to specific targets.

Amphiphilic star-like macromolecules for drug delivery

Rutgers The State University of New Jersey


This disclosure relates to techniques for performing display mode based video encoding to reduce power consumption in a source device of a Wireless Display (WD) system. More specifically, the techniques enable the source device to select an encoding process based on whether the video data to be encoded is in a static display mode or a dynamic display mode. For example, when the video data is in the static display mode, the source device selects a static encoding process that reduces an amount of video data processing and compression, which in turn reduces power consumption at the source device. When the video data is in the dynamic mode, the source device may select a conventional dynamic encoding process. The source device encodes the video data according to the selected encoding process, and transmits the encoded video data to one or more sink devices in the WD system for display.

Wireless display (WD) or Wi-Fi Display (WFD) systems include a source device and one or more sink devices. The source device sends media data, such as audio video (AV) data, audio data, and/or video data, to one or more of the sink devices participating in a particular media share session. The media data may be played back at both a local display of the source device and at each of the displays of the sink devices. More specifically, each of the participating sink devices renders the received media data on its screen and audio equipment. In some cases, a user of a sink device may apply user inputs to the sink device, such as touch inputs and remote control inputs. In the WD system, the user inputs may be sent from the sink device to the source device. The source device processes the received user inputs from the sink device and applies the effect of the user inputs on subsequent media data sent to the sink device.
The source device and each of the sink devices may be either mobile devices or wired devices with wireless communication capabilities. In one example, as wired devices, one or more of the source device and the sink devices may comprise televisions, desktop computers, monitors, projectors, and the like, that include wireless communication capabilities. In this case, battery life is not a concern as the source and sink devices are wall-plugged. In another example, as mobile devices, one or more of the source device and the sink devices may comprise mobile telephones, portable computers with wireless communication cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, or other flash memory devices with wireless communication capabilities, including so-called "smart" phones and "smart" pads or tablets, or other types of wireless communication devices (WCDs). WCDs are typically powered by limited battery resources. In the case of a WD system, the source device is typically responsible for processing all media data for display at the sink devices and user inputs received from the sink devices. Improved battery life and battery life conservation are, therefore, of paramount concern when designing WCDs for use as source devices in a WD system.

Display mode-based video encoding in wireless display devices


A handheld tactical knife comprising a hilt and an elongated knife blade with a substantially triangular cross section. A spine runs on the top of said elongated knife blade, and tapers from the hilt to a tip of the blade. A main cutting edge is located on the bottom of said elongated knife blade, and at least one scallop is cut into the main cutting edge. At least one scallop transitions into a gut hook with a gut hook tip, and a flat spreading surface is located between the gut hook tip and the tip of the blade. The substantially triangular cross section of the elongated knife blade transitions to a substantially trapezoidal cross section at the flat spreading surface.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to knives, specifically to tactical knives for hand-to-hand combat.
2. Prior Art
Prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,228,633; 6,837,896; 5,322,277; 436,891; 822,456; 2,631,366; 2,566,112; 4,495,698; D220,930; D137,916; D482,426
Tactical knives vary in layout and usually consist of a flat blade with one to both edges sharpened for an effective cutting edge. Some examples of this type can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. D482,426; D137,916; and D220,930. The straight edge on these knives makes an effective cutting and slashing tool, but lacks penetration power due to the wide profile. This constant profile also can limit knife removal due to suction within the wound. These knives are limited in their capacity to do additional damage that is more difficult to repair, such as tears, because of the sharpened edges. The addition of serrations, while making the wound more grievous, might cause the knife to become caught in the wound, clothing, or armor. The flat bladed knives also can bend and break if the force is sufficient perpendicular to the edge, limiting their durability.
Other weapons exist which penetrate well that are essentially long spikes, such as ice picks, spike bayonets, and some "throwing spikes." However, this variety of weapon lacks an effective cutting surface and contains a consistent cross section. This cross section subjects the weapon to the same problem of suction in the wound. Some of these weapons have triangular shapes, which reduces the probability of effective wound treatment. Many of these weapons are thin and bend easily, causing damage to the weapon and complicating weapon removal, if possible at all. Spike-like weapons usually are not designed with cutting edges, preventing such weapons from being used in a cutting role. If the spike-like weapon does include an edge, the edge is usually not in a configuration to allow more utilitarian roles of cutting objects.
3.Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are the ability to penetrate well, provide more than one cutting surface, and strength in all directions to ensure the knife does not bend, buckle or break when used in a tactical hand-to-hand combat situation. The invention is based on several concepts- triangular cross section for strength, a piercing point, tapered cross section, and cutting edges. Previous knives have not combined all of these aspects into a single hand-to-hand knife. When they are combined, the result is a knife capable of piercing, cutting, and slashing while reducing the likelihood of becoming deformed or suctioned in the wound. The triangular cross section provides not only strength, but also three potential cutting surfaces. The knife tip, when placed on the solid triangular cross section, can be subjected to higher loads in piercing due to the strength of the main portion of the knife. The tip will have less ability to flex, allowing the weapon to penetrate without losing energy or directionality due to deformation.
Tip cross-section allows for effective anatomical penetration, such as the intercostal area of the ribs and the foramina at the base of the skull. A standard knife is limited in its ability to penetrate this type of area. A spike-based weapon is unable to exploit the penetration to cause further damage by rotation of the weapon.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.


A method for plasmonic structure manufacture and for protecting a plasmonic nanostructure during annealing is provided. The method includes: lithographically forming a plasmonic nanostructure on a substrate; encapsulating the plasmonic nanostructure in high temperature resistant material; annealing the plasmonic nanostructure; and removing the high temperature resistant material to reveal the annealed plasmonic nanostructure.

Free electrons in metal nanostructures can be driven by light to oscillate collectively. This occurs at optical frequencies and results in so-called plasmon resonances. Plasmon resonances in these nanostructures are useful in applications where light needs to be coupled into or out of nanoscale materials. For example, plasmon resonances are used in sensing trace amounts of chemicals, heat assisted magnetic recording and solar cells. In these applications, the strength of the plasmon resonances is important. In other words, longer oscillation of electrons, i.e. a higher Q factor, is preferred. Accordingly, reduced damping in the electron oscillations is preferred to obtain such improved performances.
Plasmon resonances are strongly dependent on the size and shape of the nanostructures. Accordingly, lithographic methods that provide excellent size and shape control are preferred. However, these methods, when combined with metal deposition techniques such as electron-beam and thermal evaporation, result in polycrystalline nanostructures. The presence of grain boundaries in these polycrystalline nanostructures results in increased damping of the electron oscillations when compared with monocrystalline nanostructures and, therefore, leads to weaker resonances, i.e. a lower Q factor.
Smooth nanostructured surfaces are also desired to reduce further damping effects by surface scattering of electrons. Accordingly, deposition techniques that result in small grain size, e.g., deposition at low temperatures and/or high rate, are preferred. However, the smaller grain size in turn causes increased damping due to grain boundary scattering.
Annealing by thermal treatment is commonly used to improve crystallinity, such as promote crystal growth and minimize grain boundary defects in materials, and, thereby, increase Q factor. However, when applied to nanostructures on substrate, annealing also induces an undesired reshaping of the geometry, such as via dewetting of metals to form clumps. This reshaping is especially problematic in linear high-aspect structures such as the commonly-used nanorod antennas, as structural Raleigh instability results in segmentation of the nanostructure into randomly-sized particles.
Thus, what is needed is a process which preserves the original shape of the nanostructures while allowing grain boundary migration within the nanostructures. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure.

Process for creating lithographically-defined plasmonic structures with enhanced Q factors

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


Antimicrobial compositions containing a carboxylic acid, for example, a fatty acid, and a carrier medium including a freezing point depressant are disclosed. The compositions can be formulated for use as a teat dip, for use on milk producing animals. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, a composition is formulated as a teat dip and includes suitable emollients, skin conditioners and lubricants.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland. Bovine mastitis is the most common and most costly disease affecting dairy herds. Some estimates suggest at least half of the dairy animal population having some degree or form of mastitis. This condition results in lowered milk yield and reduced milk quality. Economic loss to mastitis in the U.S. is estimated at about $1.8 billion or approximately 10% of total milk sales with about two-thirds of this loss due to reduced milk production from infected cows. In dairy cattle, mastitis typically results from microorganisms; usually bacteria, that invade the udder, multiply in the milk producing tissues, and synthesize toxins, a by-product of bacterial metabolism. The characteristic features of inflammation are swelling, heat, redness, pain and disturbed function.
While the animal immune system can fight intramammary infections, many chronic infections remain sub-clinical (asymptomatic) and undetected unless diagnosed by laboratory testing. Sub-clinical mastitis can result in a reservoir of microorganisms, which can lead to the infection of other animals within the herd. More than 80 species of microorganisms have been identified as causal agents, although approximately 95% of mastitis is caused by four pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysagalactiae, and Streptococcus uberis. Mastitis causing pathogens fall into two categories namely contagious and environmental. Contagious bacteria, such as Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus, primarily colonize host tissue sites such as mammary glands, teat canals, teat skin lesions etc. and are spread from one infected cow to another during the milking process. Environmental bacteria, often streptococci, enterocci and coliform organisms, are commonly present within the cow's surroundings from sources such as cow feces, soil, plant material, bedding or water, and infect by casual opportunistic contact with an animal. This distinction, although not exclusive, is of practical importance because different dairy herd maintenance measures are needed for the different groups of microorganisms. In all bovine mastitis cases, whatever the causal microorganism, the route of transmission of the invading pathogen into the inner gland of the udder is through the teat orifice and teat canal.
Management of dairy herds focuses attention on treatment of both established mastitis and on prevention of new intramammary infections. Therapy and hygiene are two fundamental components of an effective mastitis control program. Each is applied in concert, and each operates independently. The primary effect of therapy is to eliminate established infections, whereas, hygiene reduces the incidence of new infection by interrupting transmission vectors. A non-exhaustive list of ancillary factors which may be employed for the elimination and prevention of mastitis, include, post-lactation antibiotic infusion into the udder (e.g., dry cow treatment); and, post-milking teat antisepsis or "teat dipping" during lactation.
Researchers agree, and an abundance of published evidence supports the concept, that dipping teats into an effective antimicrobial solution immediately after each milking is the single most effective procedure for decreasing new intramammary infections in lactating cows. Between 1955 to 1970, Dodd and co-workers conducted extensive epidemiologic investigations in commercial dairy herds (F. K. Neave, F. H. Dodd, and R. G. Kingwell, 1966, "A Method of Controlling Udder Disease", Vet. Rec. 78:521; F. K. Neave, F. H. Dodd, R. G. Kingwell and D. R. Westgarth, 1969, "Control of Mastitis in the Dairy Herd by Hygiene and Management", J. Dairy Sci. 52:696; F. H. Dodd, D. R. Westgarth, F. K. Neave and R. G. Kingwill, 1969, "Mastitis—The Strategy of Control", J. Dairy Sci. 52:689; and F. H. Dodd, and F. K. Neave, 1970, "Mastitis Control", Proceedings, Nat'l. Inst. Res. Dairying, pp. 21–60). From this work, they developed the conceptual basis for modern mastitis control methods of which teat dipping is an integral component. The efficacy and value of teat dipping has since been confirmed in dozens of field trials, and it is now accepted that an effective teat dip can reduce the incidence of new intramammary infections at least 50% and often up to 90%.
To reduce mastitis, commercial teat dips have been developed containing a variety of antimicrobial agents including iodophors, quaternary ammonium compounds, chlorhexidine salts, chlorine release compounds (e.g. alkali hypochlorites), oxidizing compounds (e.g. hydrogen peroxide, peracids), protonated carboxylic acids (e.g. octanoic, nonanoic, decanoic, acids), acid anionics (e.g. alkylaryl sulfonic acids), and chlorine dioxide (from chlorite). These agents, which have varying degrees of effectiveness, limit the transmission of mastitis by reducing pathogen populations on the teat. Teat dips, can also be divided into two broad classifications. The Class I type are antimicrobial and are applied to kill microorganisms already present in the teat canal or on the surface of the teat skin By design, their microbiological effect is immediate and they primarily target the contagious organisms that are vectored between animals during the pre-milking, milking and post-milking process. The Class II type teat dip, often referred to as a "teat sealer," is a film-forming or coating composition which may or may not be antimicrobial; and, functions by developing a residual protective barrier on the teat thus providing prophylaxis by sealing the teat orifice from environmental contamination. The film, which forms on the surface of the teat, serves as a physical barrier through which mastitis causing pathogens cannot penetrate during the intermilking period.
General disclosures of teat dip technology are shown in, for example, "Current Concepts of Bovine Mastitis." 1996, Fourth Ed. National Mastitis Council, Madison Wis.; P. A. Murdough and J. W. Pankey, 1993. "Evaluation of 57 Teat Sanitizers Using Excised Cow Teats", J. Dairy Sci. 76:2033–2038; J. W. Pankey et al., 1984, "Uptake on Post-milking Teat Antiseptics", J. Dairy Sci. 67:1336–1353; R. J. Farnsworth, 1980, "Role of Teat Dips in Mastitis Control", J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 76:1116–1118; W. N. Philpot, 1979, "Control of Mastitis by Hygiene and Therapy", J. Dairy Sci. 62:168–176; W. N. Philpot and J. W. Pankey, 1978, "Hygiene in the Prevention of Udder Infections V. Efficacy of Teat Dips Under Experimental Exposure to Mastitis Pathogens", J. Dairy Sci. 61:956–963; R. P. Natzke, 1977, "Role of Teat Dips and Hygiene is Mastitis Control", J. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc. 170:1196–1198; W. N. Philpot and J. W. Pankey, 1975, "Hygiene in the Prevention of Udder Infections. III. Effectiveness of 59 Teat Dips for Reducing Bacterial Populations on Teat Skin", J. Dairy Sci. 58:209–216; R. J. Eberhart and J. M. Buckalew, 1972, "Evaluation of a Hygiene and Dry Period Therapy Program for Mastitis Control", J. Dairy Sci. 55:1683–1691; W. D. Schultze and J. W. Smith, 1972, "Effectiveness of Postmilking Teat Dips", J. Dairy Sci. 55:426–431; D. P. Wesen and L. H. Schultz, 1970, "Effectiveness of a Post-Milking Teat Dip in Preventing New Udder Infections", J. Dairy Sci. 53:1391–1403; and British Pat. No. 1,144,637 (Kelco Chemicals Ltd.), published Mar. 5, 1969.
Typical disclosures of intermilking or protective (barrier-type) film-forming teat dips or teat "sealers" can be found in Akers et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,071, issued Nov. 27, 1962; Kraus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,252, issued Dec. 7, 1965 (but, see Philpot et. al., J. Dairy Science 58:205–216); Coughman and Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,777, issued Nov. 23, 1976; Pugliese, U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,830, issued Sep. 20, 1977; and Andrews et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,854, issued Sep. 12, 1978. One disadvantage of many such film-forming agents is their tendency to form a "hard" film, which is tenacious and often difficult to remove.
There is a growing acceptance among academics, veterinarians and dairy herd management that proactive maintenance of teat health and skin condition is an integral part of a complete program for the prevention, control and remedial correction of mastitis in mild producing animals. A growing number of publications support this (see for example, M. D. McKinzie and T. C. Hemling, 1995, "The Effect of Teat Skin Condition on Milk Yield and Milkout Time", National Mastitis Council Proceedings, pp 160–163; L. K. Fox, 1992, "Colonization of Staphylococcus Aureus On Chapped Skin: Effect of Iodine and Chlorhexidine Postmilking Teat Disinfectants", J. Dairy Sci. 75:66; and J J Goldbert et al., 1994, "Evaluation of Teat Conditioning Qualities of Postmilking Teat Dips", National Mastitis Council technology transfer Session, Orlando, Fla. The assertion is that a healthy milk delivery organ can naturally retard and more readily withstand the adverse affects of infection.
Although many teat dip products are available, and there remains a continuing need for new and effective teat dip compositions having immediate and long lasting antimicrobial effect against a wide spectrum of mastitis causing organisms; there is need for such antimicrobial compositions which additionally provide superior skin conditioning and health maintenance functions.
Additionally, many teat dip products are not conducive for use in cold environment conditions. For example, many teat dip compositions include a large amount of water, and can freeze in cold environments. Such compositions can freeze on the teats, and cause irritation, chapping and frostbite, and such conditions can enhance the incidence of mastitis caused by opportunistic invasive microorganisms.
Thus, although many teat dip products are available, there is a continuing need for new and effective teat dip compositions having immediate and long lasting antimicrobial effect against a wide spectrum of mastitis causing organisms that are formulated for use in cold environments.

Antimicrobial compositions formulated for use in cold temperature conditions and methods of use thereof


A display including a back cover, a diffuser plate, a display panel, and a light source is provided. The back cover has a first supporting portion, a connecting portion and a second supporting portion. Two opposite ends of the connecting portion are connected to the first supporting portion and the second supporting portion respectively. The first supporting portion has a first surface, the second supporting portion has opposite second and third surfaces, and the first surface faces the second surface to form a containing space between the first surface, the connecting portion and the second surface. At least a part of a periphery of the diffuser plate is disposed in the containing space. The display panel is supported on the third surface. The light source is disposed on the back cover and adapted to provide a light beam to illuminate the display panel after passing through the diffuser plate.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a display, and relates particularly to a display having a back cover.
Description of Related Art
Smart phones, notebooks, tablet PCs, flat screen TVs and the like digital displays are developing with convenience of use, multi functions, and aesthetical appearance. When using these products, a display screen is an indispensable interface, and liquid crystal displays (LCD) have become the main stream for display screens. Because the LCD panel does not emit light inherently, a backlight module is arranged under the LCD panel to provide the light necessary for displaying an image.
Generally, a backlight module of a display requires a plastic frame mounted on a back cover (may also be termed as "back plate") to assemble a diffuser plate, an optical film set, a display panel and such components. However, excessive components make the overall thickness and frame width of the display unable to be effectively reduced, and is unfavorable for the trend of thin and narrow frame of displays. In addition, excessive components will increase the difficulty of assembly and manufacturing costs of the display.
China patent publication number CN101672999A discloses a display device which uses a back cover for accommodating the edges of optical films and uses the back cover for supporting the edges of the display substrate. China patent publication number CN102778784A discloses a back cover frame for supporting a liquid crystal panel and containing the sides of the optical parts. China patent publication number CN103267251A discloses a backlight module, in which the bending part of the back cover penetrates the hole of the optical film to position the optical film. China patent number CN203250090U discloses a back cover having a bending portion used to support the display panel.
The information disclosed in this "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION" section is only for enhancement understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, the information disclosed in this "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION" section does not mean that one or more problems to be solved by one or more embodiments of the invention were acknowledged by a person of ordinary skill in the art.


Black-and-white elements, such as radiographic films, can be processed rapidly using a black-and-white developing composition containing a hydroquinone developing agent, and specific amounts of sulfite and borate ions. Thus, the molar ratio of sulfite ions to borate ions is less than 20:1, and the molar ratio of sulfite ions to the hydroquinone developing agent is from about 1:1 to about 2.5:1. The developing composition is effective, rapid and stable.

Roentgen discovered X-radiation by the inadvertent exposure of a silver halide photographic element. In 1913, Eastman Kodak Company introduced its first product specifically intended to be exposed by X-radiation (X-rays). Silver halide radiographic films account for the overwhelming majority of medical diagnostic images. It was recognized almost immediately that the high energy ionizing X-rays are potentially harmful, and ways were sought to avoid high levels of patient exposure. Radiographic films provide viewable silver images upon imagewise exposure followed by rapid access processing.
One approach still in use is to coat the silver halide emulsions useful in radiographic films on both sides of the film support. Thus, the number of X-rays that can be absorbed and used for imaging are doubled, providing higher sensitivity. Dual-coated radiographic films are sold by Eastman Kodak Company as DUPLITIZED.TM. films. Films that rely entirely upon X-radiation absorption for image capture are referred to in the art as "direct" radiographic films while those that rely on intensifying screen light emission are referred to as "indirect" radiographic films. Because the silver halide emulsions in direct radiographic elements are used to capture the X-rays directly, the silver coating coverages are generally higher than for indirect radiographic elements.
Among the "direct" radiographic films, are films most commonly used for dental intra-oral diagnostic imaging and hereafter referred to as dental films. Intra-oral dental imaging presents obvious barriers to the use of intensifying screens. There are other applications for direct radiographic films, such as in various industrial applications where X-rays are captured in imaging, but intensifying screens cannot be used for some reason.
It is the prevailing practice to process direct radiographic films for more than 3 minutes because of higher silver coverage. Such processes typically include black-and-white development, fixing, washing and drying. Films processed in this manner are then ready for viewing.
Photographic developing solutions containing a silver halide developing agent are well known in the photographic art for reducing silver halide grains containing a latent image to yield a developed photographic image. Many useful developing agents are known in the art, with hydroquinone and similar dihydroxybenzene compounds and ascorbic acid (and derivatives) being some of the most common. Such solutions generally contain other components such as sulfites as antioxidants, buffers, antifoggants, halides and hardeners. A workable pH for such solutions is usually in the range of from about 10 to about 11, depending upon the developing agent and other solution components.
Fixing solutions for radiographic films are also well known and include one or more fixing agents, of which thiosulfates are most common. Such solutions also generally include sulfites as antioxidants, and hardeners (such as aluminum salts), and a buffer (such as acetate), and have a functional pH range of from about 4 to about 5.5.
Sulfite ion has long been known as a preservative in photographic developing compositions. Thus, it has become a universal preservative for black-and-white developing agents by stabilizing and maintaining uniform activity. In addition, high concentrations of sulfite ions are known to provide considerable protection from aerial oxidation by reducing the solubility of oxygen in the developing composition. High molar ratios of sulfite ion to hydroquinone type developing agents are common in black-and-white developing compositions (see for example, TABLE V below). However, high sulfite levels are often undesirable because sulfite ion can act as a weak silver complexing agent. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,025 (Yamada et al) suggests molar ratios of 1.6:1 to 3.5:1 with molar ratios of from 1.65:1 to 2.8:1 being preferred.
Borates are known as buffering agents in black-and-white developing compositions (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,622 of Yamada et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,875 of Opitz et al), but borate ions typically have limited solubility, so they are often used in combination with other buffering agents. They also limit solution alkalinity so that higher pH is difficult to maintain using borates alone.
In high activity developing compositions used for rapid processing, the level of hydroquinone developing agent is quite high. However, this limits the molar ratio of sulfite to hydroquinone, without which in time, stability problems are encountered due to aerial oxidation and hydroquinone degradation. Increasing the sulfite level alone at this point is ineffective. Moreover, as hydroquinone activity is lost, the activity from co-developers such as 3-pyrazolidone co-developers is also prematurely diminished.
This is a need for a black-and-white developing composition that can include high hydroquinone developing agent concentration, but also have the desired stability without the need for high chemical loading with sulfites.

Black-and-white photographic developing composition and a method for its use


An image forming apparatus which enables resolution modes to be readily changed over has a light-emitting element for irradiating a polygonal mirror with a light beam and a controller for controlling the light-emitting element. The controller is connected to an image clock signal changeover circuit that changes the period of an image clock signal to a period which is n (a positive integer) times the former. The controller is arranged such that the image recording density in the horizontal scanning direction can be changed by the image clock signal changeover circuit and/or the controller judges the pulses of a horizontal synchronizing signal output from a photosensor to be valid at intervals of (n-1) pulses, thereby enabling control of the recording density in the vertical scanning direction. An electrostatic latent image with the desired recording density can be obtained on a photosensitive member by selecting a combination of an image recording density changeover operation for the horizontal scanning direction in which the period of the image clock signal is multiplied by n and an image recording density changeover operation for the vertical scanning direction in which the pulses of the horizontal synchronizing signal are judged to be valid at intervals of (n-1) pulses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, for example, a laser printer.
2. Description of Prior Art
Recently, the use of optical printers that employ a laser beam of a light-emitting element, e.g., LED, has been spreading. As recording densities of images output by these printers, 240, 300, 400, 480 and 600 dpi (dots/inch) are available in general. These image recording densities are used exclusively for each type of printer and for each printing purpose. However, since it is inconvenient and uneconomical that only one kind of recording density can be obtained with a single printer, there has been a demand for a printer which provides a plurality of recording densities. To meet the demand, printers having two or more recording densities which can be changed for each particular use have recently been developed. One example of this type of printer has control means for changing the laser beam diameter, the synchronizing frequency, the number of revolutions of a polygonal mirror and the developing bias, and enables these factors to be changed by a control operation conducted from an engine control board (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 01-264850, 1989). Another example of the above-described printers has a plurality of laser sources, and is arranged such that, in response to change-over of recording densities from one to another, the number of revolutions of a polygonal mirror is changed in a relatively low speed range and also the number of laser sources is changed, thereby minimizing the number of revolutions of the polygonal mirror, and thus avoiding difficulties in design that accompany the high speed rotation of the polygonal mirror (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 01-299042, 1989).
The first example of the prior art has the disadvantage, however, that the control means for changing over image recording densities is complicated, resulting in an increase in the cost. The second example also has the disadvantage that it is necessary not only to change the number of revolutions of the polygonal mirror but also to employ a plurality of light sources. Consequently, the control means is more complicated, resulting in an increase in the cost. In each of the prior art devices, it is necessary, in order to obtain high-density printing to increase the revolution rate of the polygonal mirror, so that it is impossible to avoid fluctuation of the resulting image and it is hence difficult to obtain an image of high quality.

Image forming apparatus with resolution control


A Wi-Fi virtualized network operator (WVNO) function can be created by offering resources of a wireless access point (AP), for example, a Wi-Fi access point, to one or more third party service providers. In one aspect, the AP can broadcast two or more service set identifiers (SSIDs) that are linked to respective service provider over the same frequencies. End user devices (EUDs) located within the coverage area of the AP can select a SSID corresponding to a preferred network and connect to the preferred network via the access point. A routing device can be employed to direct traffic to/from the EUDs and a device of an appropriate network based on the SSID that has been selected.

In modern day society, user connectivity to selected wireless networks is desirable. Wireless networks are preferred over wired networks due to the reduction in complexity resultant from interacting with familiar computing and device environments. The value of providing wireless services to the user is generally recognized as a desirable service that businesses, institutions, and public venues can offer. However, conventional solutions for providing access to various networks are sub-optimal, and competing solutions can result in a bad end-user experience, which is associated with the location or business that may not be directly responsible.
Wi-Fi service was initially designed to have one or a few access points active within a defined area to provide end user network access. Wi-Fi utilizes unlicensed radio spectrum in the 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz), 5 GHz, and occasionally the 900 Megahertz (MHz) range, similar to cellular and/or personal communications services (PCS) radio network bands. Competing cellular radio networks do not generally interfere with each other because the spectrum they use is under exclusive license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). However, since Wi-Fi radio spectrum is unlicensed, multiple and sometimes competing companies can and do establish multi-access point networks which re-use the same frequencies, causing Wi-Fi interference. Additionally, Wi Fi interference can be caused by other non Wi-Fi devices (e.g. cordless phones, microwaves, etc). These other sources of interference also make the conventional state of infrastructure deployment sub-optimal.
Further, each company has to build and deploy the infrastructure (e.g., physical connectivity to a network, aka backhaul, access points, etc.) within the defined area. The deployment and maintenance costs associated with the infrastructure can be significant. Further, installation of the infrastructure can be a time consuming process. Maintenance is more extensive with Wi-Fi networks as the performance can further degrade after initial installation with the subsequent installations of additional Wi-Fi access points within the area.


A method of depolymerizing galactomannan-type polysaccharide polymers and xanthan, preferably galactomannans, to a pre-selected lower molecular weight by irradiation with high energy electron beams. The preferred galactomannans for treatment according to this method are guar gum, guar splits and hydroxypropyl guar. In a preferred embodiment the guar gum is depolymerized preferably to a molecular weight of about 150,000 Daltons to about 200,000 Daltons. The depolymerized guar has a polydispersity of less than about 3.0 and is useful in oil well fracturing to enhance oil production.

Polysaccharides, in particular, galactomannans such as guar and hydroxypropyl guar, and xanthan and xanthan gum, have a variety of uses. Guar in the form of gum is used primarily in food and personal care products for its thickening property. The gum has five to eight times the thickening power of starch. Guar gum is also used as a fracturing aid in oil production.
Guar gum is the mucilage found in the seed of the leguminous plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. The seeds are composed of a pair of tough non-brittle endosperm sections, hereinafter referred to as guar splits. Guar splits contain guar gum but are tough and extremely difficult to grind into a powder form for recovery of the gum. After processing, native guar gum is obtained in the form of a yellow powder and has a molecular weight of between about 2,000,000 Daltons and 5,000,000 Daltons.
In certain applications forguargum, such as in food products and personal care compositions in oil well fracturing and petroleum recovery, it is preferred to use a relatively low molecular weight material for better performance. For example, in oil wells when used as a fracturing aid it is preferable that guar gum have a molecular weight of between 100,000 Daltons and 250,000 Daltons, as such lower molecular weight gum achieves better high fracture conductivity and low formation damage results in oil production operations. In addition, as guar gum used in oil field applications is modified by means of crosslinking additives as will be discussed below, the depolymerized guar must be capable of crosslinking.
Guar gums of lower molecular weights have been obtained by depolymerizing the native gum. One method of depolymerizing guar currently in use is through treatment with hydrogen peroxide. However, depolymerization via hydrogen peroxide treatment has the disadvantage that it is difficult to control so as to yield guar gum of a pre-selected range of molecular weights. More specifically, hydrogen peroxide treatment generally produces depolymerized guar gums having a polydispersity of between 3 and 5, which is too high. (Polydispersity is defined as the weight average molecular weight divided by the number average molecular weight of the treated guar.) The depolymerized guar gum used in oil well production should have a polydispersity value of no greater than about 3.0. This depolymerization method also causes the guar gum to form agglomerates with hydrogen peroxide, which reduces the purity of the depolymerized guar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,767 relates to a method of preparing a modified rapidly hydrating xanthan and/or guar gum and sterilizing food products comprising xanthan and/or guar gum by irradiation. The irradiation may be carried out with a high energy electron beam at a level between about 0.1 and 4.5 Mrad.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,344 B1 discloses a method of reducing the molecular weight of polysaccharide polymers, in particular, hyaluronic acid and carboxymethylcellulose, by irradiation of the polymers. The specific forms of irradiation disclosed are by gamma rays and microwaves. The preferred form disclosed is gamma radiation. However, the use of gamma radiation requires rigorous safety precautions as gamma radiation generated from a radioactive source is highly toxic.
An article by King et al., entitled "The effect of Gamma Irradiation on Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum (Gum Tragacanth) and Gum Karaya," Food Hydrocolloids, Volume VI, No.6, pp.559-569, 1993, reports on treatments of galactomannans, such as guar gum, with low doses of gamma radiation. The resulting products were disclosed as having lower viscosities. The article indicates that viscosity of solutions of guar gum and locust bean gum decrease with increasing gamma irradiation dose when irradiated in dry powder form.
British Patent Publication No. 1,255,723 relates to the depolymerization of a water soluble cellulose ether by high energy electron beam irradiation. The process involves irradiating a layer of a free-flowing particulate, water-soluble cellulose ether, said layer having a uniform depth adjusted to within ten percent (10%) of the penetration depth of the beam. Cellulose ether is a substituted polysaccharide but not a galactomannan. This patent does not disclose the depolymerization of polymers to form a product having a preselected molecular weight range or a polydispersity value of less than about 3.0.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,929, irradiation of polymer materials yields two types of substantially different products. Some high polymers such as polyethylene and its copolymers, polybutadiene, polyvinylchloride, natural rubber, polyamides, polycarbonamides and polyesters, undergo molecular combination and eventually become crosslinked. Crosslinking essentially increases the molecular weight of a polymer and increases its melt viscosity, as measured by the melt flow rate, i.e., the numerical value of the melt flow rate decreases. A second class of polymers such as polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride and fluorocarbon polymers, including polytetrafluoroethylene are known to undergo polymer degradation when irradiated with high energy ionizing radiation. This chain scissioning tends to decrease the molecular weight of the polymer, which is reflected by a decrease in the melt viscosity properties, as measured by an increase in the melt flow rate (MFR).

Molecular weight reduction of polysaccharides by electron beams


An operational amplifier capable of supplying a large power approximate to a power supply voltage to a load resistance and of rendering the current consumption relative to the power supply voltage small when a signal is not issued. The operational amplifier comprises a first differential amplifying stage, a first amplifying stage, a first level shifting stage, a second differential amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage, a second level shifting stage, and outputting stage, a first phase compensation circuit and a second compensation circuit. The first differential amplifying stage differentially amplifies input signals while n-channel transistors serves as a differential amplifying elements. The second differential amplifying stage differentially amplifies input signals while p-channel transistors serves as a differential amplifying elements. The first amplifying stage amplifies an output of the first differential amplifying stage in opposite phase. The second amplifying stage amplifies an output of the second differential amplifying stage in opposite phase. The outputting stage comprising a p-channel transistor a source of which is connected to a first power supply voltage and an n-channel transistor a source of which is connected to a second power supply voltage for executing complementary operation in response to outputs of the first and second differential amplifying stages. The first level shifting stage level shifts an output of the first amplifying stage in the direction of the first power supply voltage to control a gate of the n-channel transistor of the outputting stage. The second level shifting stage level shifts an output of the second amplifying stage in the direction of the second power supply voltage to control a gate of the p-channel transistor of the outputting stage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an operational amplifier for executing adding and subtracting operations, etc. of analog signals, particularly to an operational amplifier capable of supplying a large power approximate to a power supply voltage to a load resistance and of reducing the current consumption when a signal is not issued.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a technique in this field, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-274551. An operational amplifier disclosed in this publication includes a differential amplifying stage, a first level shifting stage, a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage, a second level shifting stage and an outputting stage. An input signal is differentially amplified by the differential amplifying stage. The first level shifting stage level shifts an output of the differential amplifying stage in the direction of a second power supply voltage. The first amplifying stage amplifies an output of the first level shifting stage in opposite phase. The second amplifying stage amplifies the output of the differential amplifying stage in opposite phase. The second level shifting stage level shifts an output of the second amplifying stage in the direction of a first power supply voltage. The outputting stage comprises a p-channel MOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as PMOS) and an n-channel MOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as NMOS) for executing complementary operation in response to output signals of the first amplifying stage and the second level shifting stage. The PMOS constituting the outputting stage is driven by an output of the first amplifying stage. The NMOS constituting the outputting stage is driven by an output of the second level shifting stage.
However, there are following problems in the conventional operational amplifier. That is, a driving signal of the PMOS constituting the outputting stage is amplified through the first level shifting stage for level shifting the output of the differential amplifying stage in the direction of the second power supply voltage, the first amplifying stage for amplifying the output of the first level shifting stage in opposite phase, and the second level shifting stage for level shifting the output of the first amplifying stage in the direction of the second power supply voltage. Accordingly, it is difficult to set the dc voltage of the driving signal.
Since the dc voltage of the driving signal determines a current which flows through the outputting stage when a signal is not issued, namely, at the signal non-issuance time, it is necessary that this current is not varied largely owing to the variations of transistor characteristics during fabricating process and the change is power supply voltage. Accordingly, higher gain is not taken place from the differential amplifying stage to the second level shifting stage. As a result, it was necessary to render the ratio (W/L) of the channel width (W) of a transistor of the outputting stage with respect to the channel length (L) thereof large so as to render the channel conductance large in order to permit a large current to flow through the outputting stage. Further, on the grounds set forth above, the change in the power supply current relative to the change in the power supply voltage was large at the signal non-issuance time.
Accordingly, there has been desired so far an operational amplifier capable of supplying a large power approximate to a power supply voltage to a load resistance and of rendering the change in the consumption current relative to the power supply voltage low at the signal non-issuance time.


Summaries of entities (e.g., people, places, things, concepts, etc.) may provide additional useful information to user. For example, a search engine may provide a summary of an entity within search results. A category (e.g., “writer”, “politician”, etc.) of the entity that is short and concise may be advantageous to provide within a summary of the entity. The category may allow a user to quickly determine whether the information of the entity relates to the intended entity (e.g., search results of an entity as “a writer” vs. search results of an entity as “a politician”). Potential categories and summary text may be extracted from pre-labeled data. The potential categories and summary text may be intersected to determine a set of candidate categories that may be ranked. An entity category having a desired ranked may be determined as the entity category that describes the entity in a desired way.

The internet provides a rich source of information that users may search, consume, and/or share with others. For example, users may search for information regarding entities, such as people, places, things, blogs, companies, ideas, concepts, and/or a wide variety of other information. To enhance a users experience in searching and/or consuming content relating to entities, it may be advantageous to provide additional information, such as summaries, relating to the entities. In one example, a summary of an entity may comprise a category providing a short and succinct description of the entity (e.g., an entity of "Mr. Dan" may have a summary comprising a category of "writer", which may aid a user in distinguishing "Mr. Dan" the "writer" from another Mr. Dan who is a politician). Given the vast amount of information available on the internet, however, deficiencies still remain regarding assisting users in finding relevant content.

Entity category extraction for an entity that is the subject of pre-labeled data


An adjustable key block assembly includes an outer housing block having an upper face and a lower face. The outer housing includes an elongated table engagement member extending from the lower face arranged and configured to be received within a groove of a table of a milling machine defining a set direction of the adjustable key block assembly. A drive screw is rotatably connected to the outer housing block and extending through a slide member opening in the upper face of the outer housing block. The drive screw defines a drive axis that is offset angularly from the set direction. A center slide member includes a collar portion having a threaded opening extending therethrough that is threadably engaged with the drive screw such that rotation of the drive screw moves the center slide member along the drive axis within the slide member opening. The center slide member further includes an engaging portion that extends upwardly from the collar portion beyond the upper face.

Often, numerical control (NC) machines are used in machining workpieces to a desired shape. A workpiece may be placed on a table and machined using a working tool mounted to a spindle. The table and/or working tool may move according to a machining program to produce a desired workpiece shape.
Because the table and/or working tool may be computer controlled, it can be important to have accurate alignment of the workpiece on the table at a desired position and orientation. For extra large workpieces (e.g., weighing greater than one ton), alignment of the workpieces on the table can be difficult to accomplish, particularly by hand.

Adjustable key block assemblies and associated methods of adjusting extra large workpieces

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A derivative security whose value is determined by whether an underlying instrument will trade above or below a given price at or by a given time. The price of the underlying instrument in the inventive instrument must move a certain amount in a certain direction in a limited amount of time. If it does, that trade yields a fixed amount of money for the acceptor of the contract (510, 545). If it does not, that acceptor loses the premium lie paid for the contract (510, 545).

The advent of the Internet and electronic trading has completely changed how people invest in the stock market. While once the stock market was almost exclusively the domain of powerful businessmen with only a very small percentage of the public actually owning stock, today the stock market is part of everyday life for the vast majority of Americans. More people own equities, either directly or indirectly through mutual funds and pension funds, than at any time before.
In the first half of the twentieth century, a stockbroker was typically the intermediary between the investing public and the stock market. These brokers would "read the ticker tape" as it came out on long ribbons, and would then convey this information to their clientele at opportune moments. As technology has advanced, the ticker tape has been replaced by electronics, greatly enhancing the efficiency of price dissemination and lowering the learning curve needed to trade on the stock market.
With the advances in technology, the brokerage industry has also changed. Technological advances such as Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) and the Small Order Execution System (SOES) and new and better access to research information have come together to empower the individual investor. The self-motivated investor does not need a brokerage firm to get research information, it is all available over the Internet. While once brokerages were almost exclusively full-service, offering investment advice and a multitude of financial services, today people have the choice of using discount brokers and online brokers to invest in the market. A discount broker offers access to the markets without all the advice a client typically gets from a full-service firm. As a result, those using a discount broker pay less to conduct transactions than a person doing business at a full-service firm does. Reduced trading commissions, sometimes more than 50% less than traditional full-service brokerage firms, are available to individual investors through discount brokers.
The automated systems associated with trading on the Web have reduced the broker's cost of executing trades, and therefore deep-discount online brokerages have been developed. These online brokers have enabled a large number of do-it-yourself investors to trade securities completely independent of financial advisors and stockbrokers. The Internet brokerage industry is currently executing more than 800,000 trades a day. The largest online brokerage firms have nearly 2 million accounts, and at least one stock trade in seven is executed over the Internet.
There are basically two types of people that participate in the stock market the—"investor" and the "trader". The buy and hold investor has a long-term view of the market and buys securities with the intention of holding them through market ups and downs. The "institutional investor" makes investments and trades stocks on behalf of other people. Institutional investors buy and sell large quantities of stocks and may qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions by trading large enough quantities. In the past, almost all trades made on the stock market were made through institutional investors. However thanks to the advent of discount and online brokerages, individuals who wish to invest in the market now have an abundance of information and electronic trading services available to them to make their own transactions.
A "trader", as opposed to the buy-and-hold investor, is a person who buys and sells often, even intraday, with the objective of short-term profit. A trader looks for price swings and situations for profitable trading. Traders constantly monitor market moves, looking for trends, trend reversals, breakouts and all manner of stock movements.
Increasingly, individuals ("retail traders") are speculating in different types of securities using online brokerages. Retail traders may be individuals who actively follow the financial markets, and like the excitement of speculating. Typically, these investors are young and have relatively high incomes, but have a lower net worth than traditional, full-service brokerage clients. They tend to trade frequently; at least a few times a week. A "day trader" is a retail trader who buys and sells stocks or options intraday, looking more for quick profits than long-term capital appreciation.
Several types of existing securities and trading methods are currently popular with retail traders speculating in the financial market, including financial futures contracts, exchange-based options, trading on margin and selling a stock short. Each of these types of traditional securities or trading methods has significant disadvantages to the retail trader.
A futures contract is an agreement from a buyer to accept delivery (or for a seller to make delivery) of a specific commodity, currency or financial instrument for a predetermined price by a designated date. Most futures contracts are bought on speculation about future prices, and most futures traders are speculators (i.e., they do not expect to take delivery of the product). Speculators intend to buy low and sell high. They make money by forecasting price movement. In the futures markets, speculators not only have to forecast price movement, but they also need to predict when a price will be higher or lower. This makes trading in futures more risky than trading in stocks. Owning a futures contract exposes the trader to theoretically unlimited risk if the position moves against him and he is unable to close it out due to market circumstances. In addition, many retail traders cannot invest in futures contracts because of the significant net worth required to trade futures.
An option is a trading instrument that represents the right to buy (call) or sell (put) a specified amount of underlying security at a predetermined fixed price within a specified time. The underlying security can be stock, indexes, bonds, currencies or futures contracts. The fixed price, or "strike price", is the price at which the security underlying an option can be purchased (call) or sold (put).
The option purchaser pays a premium for the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the specifics of the option contract. An option is worthless upon expiration, and the premium paid for the option cannot be recouped. The option seller assumes a legal obligation to fulfill the specifics of the contract if the option is assigned to him or her, however the premium is the extent of the potential risk to the option buyer. It is a payment to the seller of the option to tie up the obligation on the security for the requisite time period—the longer the period, the higher the premium. Options lose value with time. This "time decay" is part of the premium paid for the option. Time value will decay, or disappear, as the option approaches the expiration date.
Options can be used in a variety of ways to profit from a rise or fall in the market. Buying an option offers limited risk and unlimited profit potential. Selling an option, however, comes with an obligation to complete the trade if the party buying the option chooses to exercise the option. Selling an option therefore presents the seller with limited profit potential and significant risk unless the position is hedged in some manner.
There are two types of options—calls and puts. A call option contract gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time in exchange for a premium. The call option buyer hopes the price of the underlying stock will rise by the call's expiration, while the call option seller hopes that the price of the underlying stock will decline or remain stable.
A put option contract gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time in exchange for a premium. The put option buyer hopes the price of the underlying stock will drop by a specific date, while the put option seller hopes the price of the underlying stock will rise or remain stable.
The strike price is the fixed price at which the security underlying an option can be purchased (call) or sold (put) at any time prior to the option's expiration date if the option is exercised. An option's expiration date designates the last day on which an option may be exercised. American-style options can be exercised at any time before the expiration day, while European-style options can be exercised only on the expiration date. Exchange traded options have an expiration month, and American-style options expire on the third Saturday of the expiration month.
An option's premium denotes the actual price a trader pays to buy an option or receives from selling an option. The "bid" is the highest price a prospective buyer is prepared to pay for a specified time and the "ask' is the lowest price acceptable to a prospective seller. Together, the bid and ask prices constitute a quote and the difference between the two prices is the bid-ask spread.
Option pricing is a complex process. There are several major components that affect the premium of an option, including the current price of the underlying security, the type of option, the strike price as compared to current market price (the option's intrinsic value), the amount of time remaining until expiration (the option's time value) and the volatility of the underlying security.
In general, an option's premium is its intrinsic value plus its time value. "Intrinsic value" measures the amount by which the strike price of an option is in-the-money in relation to the current price of the underlying stock. A call option whose strike price is above the current market price of the underlying security has no intrinsic value. A put option whose strike price is below the current market price of the underlying security has no intrinsic value. The time value is simply the option value less the intrinsic value. As the option approaches expiration, the time value goes to zero. At expiration the only value in an option, if any, is its intrinsic value.
The time value portion of the option premium depends on volatility. "Volatility" is a percentage that measures the amount by which an underlying security is expected to fluctuate in a given period of time. Basically, it is the speed of change in a market. Options often increase in price when there is a rise in volatility even if the price of the underlying security doesn't change. Options of a high-volatility stock generally command a higher premium because they have a greater chance of making a big move and being in-the-money by expiration.
Historical volatility measures a stock's propensity for movement based on the stock's past price action during a specific time period. Implied volatility is a computed value that measures an option's volatility, rather than that of the underlying security. The fair value of an option is frequently calculated by entering the historical volatility of the underlying security into an option-pricing model, such as the Black-Scholes for stocks. The computed fair value may differ from the actual market price of the option. Implied volatility is the volatility needed to achieve the option's actual market price. For example, if the market price of an option rises without a change in the price of the underlying security, implied volatility will have risen.
Exchange-traded options are not efficient for a retail trader for a number of reasons. First, exchange-traded options tend to have a wide bid/ask spread. The market maker or specialist at the exchange prices a significant markup into the two-way quote he offers to the market. This spread, which covers his hedging costs and profit, can make short-term options trading costly and generally inefficient. Traditional exchange-traded options have significant levels of time value and implied volatility, the movement of which can cost a speculator returns even if he is right on the movement of the underlying index or stock. This can make options trading extremely expensive for traders speculating on relatively small moves in the market. For example, the transaction costs on a representative at-the-money call on the S&P 500, including commissions and bid/ask spread, may be close to 15% of the premium, while the minimum trade size may average approximately $1500 per contract. The implied volatility of an option fluctuates, which can cost the trader potential gains even if the market moves in the predicted direction. In addition, the minimum trade size may be an obstacle for many retail traders.
Over-the-counter options and contracts have the same types of limitations as do exchange-traded options, and are additionally limited to institutional investors in blocks typically of $1 million or more. Therefore, they are also inadequate for retail traders to speculate in the market.
Retail traders may also speculate by buying on the margin. Buying stocks on margin is limited by Federal Reserve regulations. In addition, the risk of a margin call makes this type of trading risky. Short selling stocks is also risky, and requires substantial margin.
Meanwhile, new regulations at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have spawned the development of the Alternative Trading System (ATS)—an ATS is a new method of trading financial instruments (stocks, bonds, currencies, option, etc.) on an electronic platform that directly connects buyers and sellers. Trades on an ATS bypass exchanges and dealer networks. The development of Alternative Trading Systems has led to greater parity between institutional and retail investors. However, these systems are still limited to traditional securities.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for a financial instrument that provides for speculating in the market with a small minimum trade size, no required net worth and limited risk, while still providing high leverage capabilities. In addition, a need exists for a trading system designed to trade such a new financial instrument.

Derivative securities and system for trading same


An improved design for hammermills. The invention contains a centered rotor from which eight rows of hammers pulverize material against cutting plates inside a working chamber. The cutting plates have slots that are angled. The hammers may have a beveled, angled leading edge. Both the angled cutting plate slots and the angled hammer leading edges work to drive the material through the working chamber in a helical fashion, with a preferred travel profile of 450 degrees, but the helix length is adjustable depending on the specific needs. There are no perforated screens in the hammermill, thus the material is placed in an inlet, is urged through the hammermill by the action of the rotating hammers where the material is comminuted and then removed via an exit. The communitive efficiency and particle size may be affected by the following adjustable elements: The clearance distance between the hammer tips and the cutting plate; the degree of angle of the cutting plate slots, the degree of angle of the hammers' leading edges; the density and pattern of the cutting plate slots; the speed of rotation of the hammers; and the length of helical travel of the material within the working chamber. The invention further provides a discharge assist by allowing one set of hammers to be non-beveled so that the material is swept along. A second discharge assist embodiment provides that the last section of the helix is smooth to increase the particle speed at the outlet.

Hammermills have long been used for grinding or comminution of materials. Typically hammermills consist of a rotor mounted on a solid through rotor shaft inside a housing. A material inlet is generally located at the top of the housing with one or more material outlets located near the bottom of the housing. The rotor includes a solid through drive shaft and rows of hammers which are normally flat steel blades or bars. A steel rod or pin pivotably connects the hammer to the rotor. The rotor is mounted inside a typically teardrop shaped enclosure, commonly known as a grinding or working chamber, which is comprised of a cutting plate mounted on either side of the material inlet for reversible hammermills. Reversible hammermills are capable of rotation in either direction, a feature which provides for increased life for the hammers, cutting plates and screen plates. The known cutting plates are comprised of a upper linear section connected with a convex radiused section and do not allow particles to escape.
Downstream of the cutting plate, the interior of the working chamber is defined by curved screen plates. The screen opening diameter is selected to match the desired particle size. Generally, material at or below an intended size limit exit the chamber through the screens while material above the size limit continue to be reduced by the rotating hammers.
Current hammermill rotor designs consist of a solid through rotor shaft which supports a number of cylindrical head disks. The head disks are keyed to the shaft and are spaced along the shaft with ring type spacers, often squeeze collars or the equivalent are employed. The head disks and spacers are held together on the rotor shaft by using bearing locknuts which are positioned on the threaded ends of the rotor shaft. These nuts are then tightened to take the clearance out between the disks and the spacers.
The disks structurally support a number of hammer pins radially around the solid rotor shaft. The swinging hammers are mounted on the hammer pins. The disks structurally support the hammer pins from the centrifugal forces generated by the rotation of the rotor which typically rotates over a range of 1200 to 3600 rpm. The disks also transmit the torque from the rotor shaft to the hammer pins; required to power the hammers through their impact against the product being processed in the hammermill.
In operation, the material to be reduced is fed into the material inlet and is directed toward the rotating hammers. The material is initially impacted by the hammers, which may cause some material reduction. The material is then flung from the hammer face against the cutting plates resulting in a primary reduction of material. After the material impacts the cutting plate, from which there is typically no outlet, the material is either flung back toward the rotating hammers or continues downstream between the hammer tip and the cutting plate until the screen plates are reached.
Ultimately, the particles encounter the openings of the screen plates. Here, the particles that are small enough begin to exit through the screen openings. The remaining particles impact the leading edge of the screen openings and are deflected up into the hammers' path. The rotating hammers continue to pulverize the material downstream of the cutting plate, moving it along the surface of the screens which define the circumference of the working chamber, causing gradual diminution of the material. Ultimately, the material is ground finely enough to permit it to flow out through the screens.
Pulverizers work generally in the same manner as hammermills except that non-swinging knives are used in place of the swinging hammers. This configuration allows for a finer particle size than the typical hammermill, but results in greater wear damage to the rigid knives.
While the hammermill and pulverizer designs as described above have been generally accepted and is widely used, there is a constant need and desire to achieve a finer particle size without the associated wear and stress encountered in known designs.
The present invention accomplishes these goals.