A method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen are provided. Medical grade liquid oxygen is stored in a storage tank located within a medical facility which is capable of dispensing liquid oxygen to portable liquid oxygen reservoirs and to portable liquid oxygen tanks, as well as delivering oxygen gas through a gas pipeline network. The storage tank is filled through a fill station exterior to the facility. A fixed price billing method is provided for the cost of the liquid oxygen delivered for use in the system. Economical storage, delivery and billing services are thereby provided to medium sized facilities such as nursing homes or extended care facilities which utilize both liquid and gaseous oxygen but cannot afford to install the very large exterior liquid oxygen tanks used by major hospitals and research facilities. Increased safety in the storage and dispensing of the liquid oxygen is provided in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen, as well as a method of billing in connection therewith. In particular, the present invention relates to the storage of medical grade liquid oxygen in a storage tank located within a medical facility which is capable of dispensing liquid oxygen to portable liquid oxygen reservoirs or to portable liquid oxygen tanks, and delivering oxygen gas through a gas pipeline network. A fixed price billing method is provided for the cost of the liquid oxygen delivered for use in the system.
In prior art systems such as those used by major hospitals or other health care facilities, liquid oxygen is normally stored in very large (i.e. 1,500 to 2,500 gallon) tanks located exterior to the hospital or healthcare facility. Such tanks are normally used to deliver only oxygen gas through a gas pipeline. The gas pipeline may be routed to deliver oxygen gas to a surgical center for delivery to a surgery patient, to a laboratory, or directly to a patient""s room for direct delivery to the patient. Such facilities normally use portable liquid oxygen reservoirs to fill small portable liquid oxygen tanks with liquid oxygen for portable use by a patient. A standard portable liquid oxygen reservoir normally holds approximately 10 gallons of liquid oxygen. A portable liquid oxygen tank holds approximately 1 liter of liquid oxygen. The portable liquid oxygen tanks are provided with vaporizing mechanisms which enable a patient to obtain oxygen gas from the portable liquid oxygen tanks. One gallon of liquid oxygen is equivalent to 115 cubic feet of oxygen gas.
Although such large exterior storage systems may allow for dispensing of liquid oxygen into portable liquid oxygen reservoirs, the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs in such systems must typically be brought outside to the storage tank for filling. Alternatively, the hospital or healthcare facility will have the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs filled independently of the large exterior storage tank, typically by a separate delivery from that which fills the exterior tank. Normally the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs must be brought outside for filling at curbside from the delivery truck. Thus, such a system requires separate liquid oxygen delivery to the portable reservoirs and the large exterior storage tank.
Accordingly, liquid oxygen delivery costs for such facilities are high as two separate types of delivery trucks may be necessary, each with fittings adapted to either the exterior storage tank or the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs. In addition, the delivery trucks used to deliver liquid oxygen to the large exterior storage tanks are costly due to the large volume capacity of the trucks required to fill such large exterior tanks, as wells as the fittings, transfer pumps, and metering apparatus required for the dispensing of the liquid oxygen.
Smaller healthcare facilities may only use portable liquid oxygen reservoirs. These reservoirs are typically filled from smaller delivery vehicles holding approximately 100 to 120 gallons of liquid oxygen. The portable reservoirs must be brought outside to the delivery vehicle for filling. In addition, more frequent deliveries may be required where a facility only maintains a limited number of portable reservoirs having a 10 gallon capacity. As a result, delivery and manpower costs associated with filling the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs can be high. Such costs are of course passed on to the healthcare facility.
In addition, the initial costs of exterior storage systems are very high, as the installation of such large exterior storage tanks normally requires excavation work and the erection of a specially constructed concrete foundation and surrounding fencing.
The costs of installing a large exterior tank storage system in facilities such as nursing homes, extended care facilities, or other small healthcare facilities is typically prohibitive. Typically, a nursing home will have several portable liquid oxygen reservoirs which are filled periodically at each delivery. This results in several portable liquid oxygen reservoirs being filled to capacity at the same time. As a result, liquid oxygen will tend to boil off and escape from the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs over time, resulting in waste.
An additional concern associated with the use of the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs is safety. The more a portable reservoir is moved the more likely it is to be damaged. As existing systems require the portable reservoirs to be brought outside of the facility for each filling, the potential for damage to the reservoir is increased. Further, the storage of multiple reservoirs increases a facilities risk of accident due to the possibility of malfunction with respect to each reservor. It would be advantageous to provide a system that allows for filling of a portable liquid oxygen reservoir at a nursing home or other facility only as needed. This would reduce the number of portable liquid oxygen reservoirs needed by the facility and consequently reduce the number of such portable reservoirs which need to be filled and stored safely for a period of time.
It would be further advantageous to provide a method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen having a storage tank located within the medical facility. The storage tank should be adapted to allow connection to both an oxygen gas pipeline for delivery of oxygen gas to remote locations within the medical facility and one or more fill stations for filling either a portable liquid oxygen reservoir or a portable liquid oxygen tank. The storage tank of such a system should include a mechanism to prevent the liquid oxygen from being completely drained from the tank so that the supply of oxygen gas to the gas pipeline (i.e. the oxygen gas piped directly to a patient""s bedside) is not depleted when filling portable reservoirs or tanks. It would be still further advantageous to provide a mechanism for connecting an interior liquid oxygen storage tank to a remote fill station, located on the exterior of the medical facility, for delivery of the liquid oxygen into the storage tank.
It would be further advantageous to increase the safety of liquid oxygen delivery systems by reducing the number of portable reservoirs which are stored at a facility and eliminating the need to transport the reservoirs outside of the facility for filling.
The storage tank for use in the interior of a facility may be limited in size by various state and federal regulations to approximately 170 gallons of liquid oxygen (See, for example, regulations promulgated by The National Fire Protection Association). Therefore, it would be advantageous to limit the size of the liquid oxygen storage tanks to approximately 160 gallons. Smaller storage tanks can be provided in accordance with the needs of the facility.
The system of the present invention provides the aforementioned and other advantages.
As the liquid oxygen storage and dispensing system of the present invention provides liquid oxygen more economically and safely at a significantly lower cost than conventional systems used to deliver medical grade liquid oxygen, a fixed price billing plan for use in connection with the present invention is also disclosed, wherein oxygen delivery is provided to a medical facility for a fixed price per period based on prior usage estimates.
The storage, dispensing, and billing system of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of prior art systems by combining the storage and delivery of liquid oxygen and oxygen gas into one system. Therefore, costs associated with delivery are reduced and safety is increased. The large liquid oxygen delivery truck capable of filling the 1,500 to 2,500 gallon exterior tanks, which are equipped with specialized transfer pumps and metering apparatus, are no longer needed to fill the smaller (e.g. 160 gallon) tanks used with the present invention.
In addition, since the billing for delivery of the liquid oxygen is based on a fixed price per period, expensive transfer pumps and metering apparatus on the delivery trucks are no longer needed. At the time of filing the present application, such conventional delivery trucks with transfer pumps and metering apparatus typically cost approximately $150,000.00 each. The delivery trucks needed to fill the storage tank of the present invention presently cost approximately $30,000.00 each.
Additionally, costs associated with installation of the system are reduced. The storage tank of the present invention is sized so as not to require a special foundation but is large enough to handle the typical liquid oxygen usage of a nursing home, small hospital, or similar facility. Oxygen loss through boil off during prolonged storage in the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs is reduced as well.
Moreover, since the present invention allows the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs to be filled from a fill station located within the facility, these portable reservoirs no longer need to be brought out to a delivery truck for filling, thereby increasing safety and reducing manpower requirements and delivery costs. In addition, the present system provides a method to control the maximum volume of liquid oxygen located in a facility at a given time (i.e. the maximum volume would be the total of the maximum volume of the storage tank, the portable reservoirs, and the portable tanks located at a facility).
Further, the storage of a facility""s liquid oxygen in an interior storage tank is safer than storage of the liquid oxygen in numerous portable reservoirs, as the interior storage tank of the type used in the present invention is built to more demanding specifications (as determined by governmental regulation) than those of the portable reservoirs. Also, by avoiding the use of numerous reservoirs for the storage of liquid oxygen, a facility can reduce the number of variables which can factor into potential accidents (i.e. each portable reservoir has its own connections and fittings which may be defective or become damaged).
The present invention relates to a method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen. In particular, the present invention relates to the storage of medical grade liquid oxygen in a storage tank located within a medical facility which is capable of dispensing liquid oxygen to portable liquid oxygen reservoirs and to portable liquid oxygen tanks, as well as delivering oxygen gas through a gas pipeline distribution network. A fixed price billing method is provided for the cost of the liquid oxygen delivered for use in the system.
In an illustrated embodiment, a medical liquid oxygen storage and dispensing system is provided. A liquid oxygen storage tank is located inside a facility. An exterior fill station is provided on the exterior or the facility and connected to the storage tank. A gas pipeline distribution network is connected to the storage tank for delivery of oxygen in gaseous form directly to various locations throughout the facility (e.g. operating rooms, patient rooms, laboratory facilities, and the like). An interior fill station is provided within the facility and connected to the storage tank for dispensing liquid oxygen from the storage tank into portable liquid oxygen reservoirs (such as the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs manufactured by Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Model Nos. 31A or 41A). A pipeline connecting the interior fill station to the storage tank is provided with a valve mechanism which prevents the liquid oxygen from being completely drained from the storage tank. This ensures that a gaseous oxygen supply is provided to the gas pipeline distribution network without interruption.
The valve mechanism may comprise a dip tube with a float valve disposed at the end of the pipeline which is located inside the storage tank and arranged at a level above a bottom level of the storage tank, such that the float valve acts to close the pipeline when the liquid oxygen is drawn down to a preset level by the interior fill station.
The invention also can be used with multiple interior fill stations for portable liquid oxygen reservoirs. Interior fill stations may also be provided within the facility and connected to the storage tank for dispensing liquid oxygen into portable liquid oxygen tanks (such as the portable liquid oxygen tanks manufactured by Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Model No. C1000) which can be carried by patients. Portable oxygen tanks can also be filled with liquid oxygen from the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the exterior fill station has a fill connection for providing liquid oxygen from a delivery truck to the storage tank. One or more pressure relief valves are provided for venting oxygen gas in the event of an overpressure. A pressure indicator is provided which indicates the pressure of the oxygen gas in the storage tank and a tank level indicator is provided which indicates the level of liquid oxygen in the storage tank. A vent/full trycock valve is provided which prevents overfilling of the storage tank with liquid oxygen.
The exterior fill station may also be provided with a sample valve which allows oxygen gas from the storage tank to be withdrawn.
In another embodiment, the interior fill station for dispensing liquid oxygen from the storage tank into portable liquid oxygen reservoirs has a fill connection for providing liquid oxygen from the storage tank to the portable liquid oxygen reservoir. The interior fill station is also provided with a pressure relief valve for connection to the portable liquid oxygen reservoir which is capable of venting to the interior or the exterior of the facility. A liquid oxygen safety relief valve is also provided.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a pressure regulating mechanism is provided. The pressure regulating mechanism may include one or more pressure relief valves and a pressure build circuit. The pressure build circuit may include one or more pressure relief valves and one or more isolation valves. The pressure build circuit may also include a pressure indicator which indicates the pressure of the oxygen gas in the storage tank and a tank level indicator which indicates the level of liquid oxygen in the storage tank. A vaporizer connected to the storage tank may be provided which vaporizes liquid oxygen in order to increase system pressure.
The gas pipeline distribution network may include a gas control manifold. The gas control manifold may have one or more pressure indicators, one or more isolation valves, and one or more pressure control valves. The gas control manifold may have one or more connections for withdrawal of oxygen gas from the pipeline. In addition, the gas control manifold may include one or more pressure switches, one or more pressure control valves, and one or more check valves.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the liquid oxygen is delivered on a periodic basis (e.g. weekly or monthly) to the liquid oxygen storage tank via the exterior fill station. In this embodiment, the facility is billed a fixed price per period for the delivery of the liquid oxygen. The amount of liquid oxygen which can be delivered for a fixed price is subject to a cap. As is apparent, the delivery and billing periods can be any fixed length of time, such as a month, three months, four months, six months, one year, and the like.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a method of billing for the delivery of liquid oxygen to a liquid oxygen storage tank located inside the facility via an exterior fill station is provided. First, the amount of liquid oxygen used by the facility during a previous period is determined. Next, the amount of liquid oxygen to be used by the facility during a corresponding future period is estimated based on the amount of liquid oxygen used during the previous period. The liquid oxygen is delivered to the facility every period and the facility is charged a fixed price per period for the delivery of liquid oxygen to the facility (without regard for the amount of liquid oxygen actually delivered during that period). The fixed price is calculated based on the estimated amount.
The period may be divided into a number of sub-periods and the fixed price may be divided by the number of sub-periods to provide a fixed price for each sub-period. The facility can then be charged a fixed price per sub-period.
The sub-period can be any predetermined length of time, such as a one month period, a three month period, a six month period, a 12 month period or the like.
The amount of liquid oxygen which can be delivered for a fixed price per period may be subject to a cap.
The cost of rental of the liquid oxygen storage tank may be included in the fixed price. In addition, the cost of rental of any associated equipment may be included in the fixed price. The associated equipment may include portable liquid oxygen reservoirs, portable liquid oxygen tanks or any other similar equipment used with liquid or gaseous oxygen. In addition, the cost of maintenance of the storage tank, exterior fill station, and equipment may be included in the fixed price.

Medical liquid oxygen storage, dispensing, and billing system and method


A toner container according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a toner container to be detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus. The toner container includes a container body, a pair of guide portions, and a storage portion. The container body contains toner. The pair of guide portions are provided on a bottom surface of the container body and allow the container body to be guided in a mounting direction toward a mounting position that allows toner to be supplied from the container body to the image forming apparatus. The storage portion is attached at a predetermined position between the pair of guide portions on the bottom surface of the container body. The storage portion stores information about toner contained in the container body.

The present disclosure relates to a toner container to be detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus having the toner container.
Developing devices are mounted to image forming apparatuses, such as copy machines and printers, which form images on print sheets by electrophotography. In the developing device, developer including toner is stored. The developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum by using the toner included in the developer. Toner in the developing device is reduced by the development being performed. Therefore, the image forming apparatus is structured so as to include a toner container in which toner is stored, and additionally supply toner from the toner container to the developing device. Further, the toner container is detachably mounted to the image forming apparatus. When the toner in the toner container is all consumed, the toner container is exchanged for a new toner container that is filled with toner.
On a surface of a toner container of this type, a storage portion referred to as a memory chip is attached which stores information about the toner container, information about toner, etc. Therefore, when the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus, a reading portion provided in the image forming apparatus electrically contacts the storage portion, whereby the information stored in the storage portion is read.
Since the storage portion is attached on the surface of the toner container in an exposed manner, the storage portion is likely to be subjected to physical contact. If the storage portion is broken by physical contact, the image forming apparatus cannot acquire information about an exchanged toner container or information about toner thereof, and this may cause a problem with image forming operation or developing operation.

Toner container and image forming apparatus having the same


A device for washing a person's feet while the person is standing in an upright position includes a housing and brushes. The housing has a bottom wall first and second side walls and an open front end and rear end. The brushes include bottom brushes which are attached to the bottom wall, front side brushes which are attached to the side walls near the front end of the housing and rear side brushes which are attached to the side walls near the rear end of the housing. The device includes suction cups or the like for securing the housing to the floor of the shower or similar floor surface. The device is used by placing liquid soap or other cleaning agents into the housing while keeping both hands free to hold on to the shower walls, railing, or the like. A person using the device places their foot within the housing and moves it back and forth past the bottom brushes, front side brushes, and rear side brushes to clean the foot thoroughly. Through this method and device, the person's foot can be thoroughly cleansed without need for the person to use either arm or hand for the cleansing of their feet.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to devices of manufacture for washing a person's feet, and more particularly to devices which can be used to wash a person's feet while they are in an upright position in areas as showers, swimming pools, and wherever it would be desirable for a person to wash their feet while remaining in an upright position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many persons prefer washing in a shower rather than taking a bath. Since a person showers in an upright position, standing on both feet, to effectively wash their feet it is necessary to stand on one foot while lifting the other foot off the floor and washing it.
However, standing upright on one foot to wash the other foot is known to have caused many injuries. Because the floor or surface which is stood upon is slippery, due to the presence of the water, footing is already difficult. Standing upright under a stream of water on one foot while holding the other foot with one or both hands is a balancing act many people are unable to maintain.
The invention disclosed herein addresses these deficiencies in the prior art. The inventor of the disclosed invention is aware of no other invention having the particular form and attributes described and claimed herein. The inventive article of manufacture is preferably made of plastic so that it is durable in a wet environment. The use of the apparatus allows both hands to be free to grip stabilizing objects like the shower walls or handrails. By freeing both of the person's hands, the person has three points (two hands and one foot) with which to balance himself.


A method for controlling a security channel for reducing system load by extending the use period of a security association key is provided. In this method, an upper bit initial value of an initialization vector of an encryption algorithm and a using range thereof are shared between a transmitting side and a receiving side when a security channel is created. Then, a secure association is created between a transmitting side and a receiving side by setting an association number, a next packet number which is a lower bit value of an initialization vector, and a secure association key. Afterward, a packet number is modified whenever a frame is transmitted until all of packet numbers are used. When all packet numbers are used, the upper bit value of the initialization vector changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a security channel for reducing system load by extending the use period of an security association key for providing a secure service between ports or terminals in a MAC security network that provides a MAC security service based on IEEE 802.1AE.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to provide security and authentication function for transmitting frames in a network layer, an IP security (IPSEC) protocol or an application level security function such as password has been used.
As a local area network (LAN) has been enlarged, a bandwidth thereof was broadened and a fast L2 switching technology was introduced, a communication service using a data link layer only was recently introduced. Accordingly, it requires a security and authentication process for frames in a data link layer.
IEEE 802 organizes an IEEE 802.1AE work group for standardizing structures and plans for a MAC security technology of a data link layer. Also, the confidentiality, the integrity, and the authentication of the frames in the communication using the data link layer are provided through the standard defined by IEEE 802.1AE work group.
The specifications recently introduced by IEEE 802.1AE will be briefly described. In IEEE 802.1AE clause 14, GCM-AES-128 is recommended to use as the encryption algorithm. However, any other algorithm that satisfies the specifications introduced from the IEEE 802.1AE can be used instead of using the GSM-AES-128,
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a MAC security frame introduced by IEEE 802.1AE.
Referring to FIG. 1, the MAC frame structure introduced by IEEE 802.1AE includes a MAC address field storing a destination address and a source address of a corresponding packet. The MAC frame structure also includes a secure data field that stores coded user data, and a secure TAG (secTAG) field interposed between the MAC address field and the secure data field for transferring encryption parameters. Furthermore, the MAC frame structure includes an ICV field attached at the end of the secure data. The ICV field stores an integrity check value (ICV) for checking the integrity of a corresponding secure data.
With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a security service introduced by IEEE 802.1AE will be described as follows.
A transmitting terminal for exchanging MAC secure frames having the structure shown in FIG. 1 creates security association with a receiving side by sharing a security association key (SAK), and the predetermined part of an initialization vector (IV) of an encryption algorithm. When a transmitting frame is generated, the transmitting terminal attaches the security TAG (secTAG) after the source address (SA) field of the transmitting frame, where the secTAG includes encryption parameters. Then, the transmitting terminal places secure data at the back of the secTAG, where the secure data is user data that is encoded using the encryption parameters stored in the secTAG. The transmitting terminal also calculates an integrity check value (ICV) using an authentication key related to the corresponding security and adds the calculated ICV into the frame.
The secTAG includes an association number (AN), a packet number (PN), and encryption data such as V, ES, SC, SCB, E, C, SL, SCI, and etc.
The PN is a packet number sequentially assigned to frames which are transmitted within a same security association key. As shown in FIG. 4, the packet number is formed of lower 32 bits of an initialization vector. The secure data is encrypted using the upper bit value of an initialization vector, which is shared with the receiving side, the initialization vector constituent of the packet number, and the security association key.
Therefore, a receiving terminal in a MAC secure service network receives a MAC secure frame having a destination address (DA), a source address (SA), a SecTAg, a secure data, an ICV, and a FCS. Then, the receiving terminal calculates an integrity check value (ICV) using the authentication key of the secure association shared with the transmitting side, and compares the calculated ICV and the ICV in the received frame. If they are identical, the receiving terminal determines that the received frame has the integrity, and if not, the receiving terminal destroys the received frame.
Then, the receiving terminal extracts encryption parameters and the packet number (PN) from the SecTAg included in the ICV checked frame. After extracting, the receiving terminal generates an initialization vector by combining the upper bits of the initialization vector, which are shared with the transmitting side, with the packet number. Then, the secure data is decoded using the generated initialization vector and the security association key.
Then, an Ethernet frame is restored by combining the destination address, the source address, the restored data and the FCS.
As described above, the transmitting and receiving frames are secured in the MAC secure service network. That is, the transmitting side and the receiving side are synchronized by changing the lower 32 bits of the 96 bit initialization vector using the PN of the MAC secure frame with the upper 64 bits of the initialization vector that is shared with the transmitting side.
According to a method introduced by IEEE 802.1AE, a same PN cannot be repeatedly used for the identical security association key. Therefore, after using all of the PN numbers, the security association key must change. Since the security association key is 128 bits, it requires the great amount of computation power to generate, manage and distribute the security association key. In order to distribute a new security association key, corresponding messages must be exchanged, additionally.
That is, the PN value used in the MAC security is 32 bits, and 0 cannot be used as the PN value. Accordingly, total 232-2 PNs are available. If it assumes that the PN value starts from 1 and increases by 1 when a frame is transmitted, the security association key must change at every 232-2 frames.
As the worst case, it assumes that the length of the Ethernet frame is 64 bytes, and a transmit rate is a giga-bit Ethernet level. Under these assumptions, a use period Tk of a security association key can be calculated as Eq. 1. Herein, a MACsec framing overhead is 24 bits.
                                                        Tk              =                                                (                                      Lf                    +                    Lp                    +                    Lo                    +                    Lg                                    )                                ×                                  (                                                            2                      32                                        -                    2                                    )                                ×                8                                                                                ns                                                                                =                                                (                                      64                    +                    8                    +                    24                    +                    12                    +                                    )                                ×                                  (                                                            2                      32                                        -                    2                                    )                                ×                8                                                                                ns                                                                                =                              3710                                                                                sec                                                                        Eq        .                                          1
In Eq. 1, Lf denotes the length of a frame in a unit of a byte, Lp denotes the length of a preamble in a unit of a byte, Lo denotes the length of overhead in a unit of a byte, Lg denotes a gap between frames in a unit of a byte, and 8 ns is a time taken to transmit one byte through a giga-bit network.
According to the calculation in Eq. 1, the use period for the security association key is about one hour in the worst case. That is, the security association key needs to be generated and distributed at every one hour. Since the generation and distribution of the security association key is an event generating in one direction, the security association key is generated and distributed twice at every one hour for two direction event.
As described above, according to the convention method, the security association key needs to be generated and distributed whenever 232-2 frames are transmitted because of the short life time of the security association key. Therefore, the system load increases due to frequent generation and distribution of the security association key. Also, it requires many messages to exchange for generating and distributing the security association key.

Method for controlling security channel in MAC security network and terminal using the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Insitute


When a P-channel pass gate transistor is added in parallel to an N-channel pass gate, the resulting circuit improves overvoltage tolerance of an input buffer. A simple bias circuit including two small transistors controls a gate of this P-channel pass gate transistor in such a way that it is turned OFF when an overvoltage is applied, but turned ON when a normal voltage is applied. Another embodiment has two N-channel devices (M12, M13) coupled in series with each other and one of the N-channel devices (M13) being configured in a “turned off” position, by coupling the source and gate terminals to a ground voltage (VSS) and providing the supply voltage (VDD) at the gate terminal of another N-channel device (M12), whereby the device M12 protects the device M13 from overvoltage.

As a result of the many technologies and processes available to manufacture integrated circuits, a variety of circuits capable of operating in a variety of conditions, such as supply voltages, input/output voltages etc., became possible and with the adoption of several integrated circuit voltage standards, incompatibility became an issue. For example, circuits that operate at the earlier 5 V power supply standard may be incompatible with those operating under the newer standard of 3.3 V. Overvoltage is the condition where a voltage greater than which a technology was designed to support, for example, when a higher 5 V signal is applied to a circuit designed with lower 3.3 V. The problem of overvoltage is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,231 to Kothandaraman et al., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein. Numerous solutions have been proposed to solve the overvoltage problem but a need to improve the art remains.


A load sharing system which minimizes overall costs by assigning segments of a divisible load to distributed processors based on the monetary cost of each processor. The distributed processors are connected to a network such as a local area network or the internet. A controller divides a divisible load and assigns each segment of the load to a processor based on the processor's monetary cost which is a function of its operating cost and its processing speed. The allocation is then optimized by transferring portions of the load from the expensive processors to the cheaper processor while maintaining an acceptable finish time for all processing. The optimization can also be performed for minimizing the finish time of the processors within a cost constraint.

Parallel processing techniques divide jobs among at least two separate processors to gain computational efficiencies when operating on a large group of data, called a load or job. It is often more efficient, where possible, to divide a job for concurrent processing among multiple processors in order to complete the computations in a shorter period of time. Loads to be processed can either be characterized as indivisible or divisible. An indivisible load is one that cannot be divided into two or more smaller fragments to be distributed among multiple processors but requires that the load be processed by a single processor. A divisible load is a load that can be arbitrarily partitioned in a linear fashion and can be distributed to more than one processor to achieve a faster solution time. An example of a divisible load is a very long linear data file associated with a simple operation such as the summation of a large set of numbers. Intermediate sums of the list of numbers can be computed on different distributed processors and then later recombined and added together to gain the final solution.
A more sophisticated example of a divisible load is data representing an input waveform which is to be applied to a series of digital filters to identify the waveform. The data can be segmented and processed on different processors in order to expedite the required computation period. In general, the class of divisible loads includes problems where a number of repetitive and independent operations are performed on very large data files. Examples of divisible loads commonly appear in the areas of signal processing, image processing and experimental data processing. Divisible load theory has the benefit of being completely deterministic without requiring any statistical or probabilistic assumptions.
When a divisible load is distributed to a number of processors, there is a need for a central controller, which can be one of the processors, to select which processor gets which portion of the load and in what order. One scheme is to assign the fastest processor (in terms of computational speed) with as much data as possible within a given time constraint. This speed based load sharing approach must take into account the number of available processors, the speed of each processor, the speed of the communication links, the load origination point and the network architecture.
Previous allocations of controllers have been based upon processor speed among networked processors in order to gain time efficiencies by parallel processing the divisible load. As computer hardware and communications technology are quickly advancing, an opportunity to link processors located at different remote sites together to compute a load is promising. The internet currently allows for the fast and cheap communication between processors irrespective of their physical locations. Indeed, the internet allows for worldwide communication on a relatively inexpensive basis.
Communication costs (e.g., telephone line charges) are one of the monetary costs associated with distributed processing. Different processors also have varied associated monetary costs themselves. One minute of processor time on a super-computer is many orders of magnitude more expensive to operate than on a simple 486 computer platform. Businesses now have the capability of renting out their idle processor time to other users when connected in a global network such as the internet. Ross Perot, founder of Electronic Data Systems of Texas, made a business out of renting idle time on private mainframe computer installations to run programming. The increased number of different types of processors with varied associated monetary costs creates a need for a load sharing controller which assigns divisible loads among distributed processors to minimize the overall monetary cost to process the load.

Load sharing controller for optimizing monetary cost

The Research Foundation of State University of New York


The present invention relates to novel laccase enzymes obtainable from the strains of the genus Thielavia or from the strains of the genus Chaetomium. The invention relates also to nucleic acid sequences encoding the enzymes, recombinant hosts into which the nucleic acid sequences have been introduced and to methods for the production of the enzymes in recombinant hosts. The enzymes of the invention are suitable for several applications, for example for treating denim and for strain removal.

Laccases (EC. 18.104.22.168 p-benzenediol:oxygen oxidoreductase) belong to a family of multi-copper oxidases. Laccases are widely distributed enzymes in higher plants, fungi, some insects and bacteria. They are characterized by low substrate specificity, oxidizing various substrate, including diphenols, polyphenols, different substituted phenols, diamines, aromatic amines, and even inorganic compounds like iodine. Laccases oxidize their substrates by a one-electron oxidation mechanism, and they use molecular oxygen as an electron acceptor. Among laccases the primary sequence, induction mechanism, physico-chemical (e.g. isoelectric point and carbohydrate content) and biochemical characteristics are variable. The copper binding sites of laccases are, however, strictly conserved.
Several laccase proteins and genes encoding these laccases have been previously isolated. For example WO 01/92498 describes a fungal laccase enzyme isolated from Melanocarpus albomyces strain, the patent publication EP 0765394 B1 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,243) describes the cloning of a laccase gene from Myceliophthora thermophila and its expression in Aspergillus and U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,388 describes the cloning of a laccase gene from Scytalidium thermophilum and its expression in Aspergillus.
Chefetz et al. (1998a) describe isolation and preliminary characterization of a laccase from composted municipal soil waste. The microbe producing this laccase was later identified as Chaetomium thermophilum, and the enzyme was further purified and characterized (Chefetz et al., 1998b). The reported enzyme had pI 5.1. The laccase was stable for 1 h at 70° C. and had half-lives of 24 and 12 h at 40 and 50° C., respectively. The enzyme was stable at pH 5 to 10 and the pH optimum was 6. Saito et al. (2003) describe purification and characterization of an extracellular laccase of a fungus from family Chaetomiaceae. The molecular mass of the enzyme was approximately 73 to 80 kDa and pI of 3.5. The optimum pH for the oxidation of syringaldazine was 7.0 and the optimum temperature was 42° C. The laccase was stable for up to 288 h at 4° C. and its respective half-life times at 25 and 40° C. were estimated to be 150 and 20 h.
Laccases have many industrially potential applications, such as delignification of wood pulps, methods for treating lignin containing fibers, methods for treating wood fibers in order to functionalize them or glue the fibers, improval of the production of fuel ethanol from renewable raw materials, food applications (for example in baking or clarification of beer or wine), various bioremediative processes and textile applications, such as denim treatment, stain removal, treatment of various fibers for textile industry, methods for decolorizing dyes and methods for treating dye house effluents, or use in hair dyeing composition, in hard-surface cleaning or in detergent formulations.
"Stone washed" look or an abraded look has been denim producers' interest in recent years. Traditional stone washing with pumice stones reduces the strength of fabric and burdens the laundering apparatuses. Past years the trend has been towards enzymatic denim finishing processes. "Bleached look" of denim is normally obtained by means of bleaching chemicals, e.g. sodium hypochlorite. So far bleaching with hypochlorite has been the most efficient bleaching method for denim dyed with Indigo, since almost all shades can be obtained. However, hypochlorite process is environmentally very harmful, it is difficult to control and it damages the fabric easily. It is also very inconvenient or even harmful method for the user, it cannot be used for Lycra containing products and antichlor treatment with several rinsing/washing steps is required. There is thus a need for development of ecologically less harmful alternative for sodium hypochlorite, in particular laccases have been studied for that purpose.
WO 97/25468 describes the use of laccase in a method for providing to dyed denim an abraded look. The method comprises a cellulase treatment and simultaneous or subsequent treatment with a phenol oxidizing enzyme, such as laccase, and an enhancing agent, such as methylsyringate. Myceliophthora thermophila laccase is the example of laccases in the patent publication.
In textile industry new materials, finishes and dyes have been developed in recent years. Although the new developments have many advantageous properties, such as easy drying, stain and water resistance, or bright colours of the textiles, their disadvantage quite often is that they must be washed at low temperatures. Low temperatures are preferred also for economical reasons, since the use of low temperatures saves energy. There is thus a need for laccases which function at low temperatures.
Even though numerous publications describing laccases from various microorganisms are available, there is still a need for novel laccases, which would function more effectively and be more suitable for the various conditions in different applications.


There is a need for a detection device which has high photoreceptive sensitivity in a generally wide frequency region including the infrared region. Therefore, in the present invention, by utilizing a phenomenon in which electric field strength is enhanced by surface plasmon resonance in a negative dielectric constant medium, a detection device is provided which has an electromagnetic wave detection portion disposed at a position where the electric field strength is large.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detection device for detecting an electromagnetic wave of a generally wide frequency region including the infrared region and ranging between a longer wavelength region of the millimeter wave region to the terahertz bandwidth (30 GHz to 30 THz) and a shorter wavelength region of the visible light region, and to an image forming device using the detection device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a detection device in the infrared region, there have hitherto been widely known a thermal detection device having no wavelength dependency and a quantum detection device having wavelength dependency. Most of these devices utilize a feature of infrared detection. For example, these are applied in a wide range of fields and various applications such as a human body detector at an automatic door, a temperature sensor in a fire alarm or air conditioner, a gas detector using an infrared absorption spectrum of gas, and space research in the submillimeter wave/far-infrared region. Here, the thermal detection device includes, for example, a pyroelectric device (LiTaO3, TGS, etc.), a Golay cell and a bolometer. In addition, the quantum detection device includes, for example, an intrinsic semiconductor device (InGaAs PIN photodiode, MCT photoconduction device, etc.) and an impurity semiconductor device. In addition, a schottky barrier diode can perform the both operations.
Comparing the both types of devices with each other, the thermal detection device has a feature of simple, convenient usability, and for example, a typical thermal detection device does not need cooling, while a typical quantum detection device needs cooling. On the other hand, it is known that the thermal detection device generally has small detectivity because of its small photoreceptive sensitivity and large NEP (Noise Equivalent Power). The detectivity can be represented by specific detectivity D*. Generally, it is said that the larger D* (D-Star) is, the better a detection device is, and in addition, in order to easily compare different devices with each other, D* is given as a reciprocal of NEP normalized to square root of unit area. Comparing the both types of devices with each other in terms of the specific detectivity, for example, the specific detectivity D* of a typical quantum detection device in the mid-infrared region is within the range from 1010 cm·Hz1/2/w to 1011 cm·Hz1/2/w, and the D* of a typical thermal detection device is within the range from 108 cm·Hz1/2/w to 109 cm·Hz1/2/w. Therefore, as seen from the D*, it can be said that the thermal detection device is inferior in performance to the quantum detection device by about two orders of magnitude.
As described above, the thermal detection device has convenient usability, but on the one hand, it has small detectivity and a very wide, detectable frequency region. Then, in order to improve detectivity in a particular wavelength region, a method is usually used in which the noise on the whole of a device is reduced by using a wavelength selection filter that allows an electromagnetic wave in a part of a detectable frequency region to pass therethrough. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-145787 discloses a method of narrowing down infrared light to be detected by a pyroelectric device by use of a diffraction optical lens. At this time, the diffraction optical lens functions as a wavelength selection filter for infrared light. Furthermore, since the utilization of the diffraction optical lens reduces lowering of the light intensity of infrared light due to passing through the filter, the device disclosed in the patent document has a structure such that the photoreceptive sensitivity of the device as a whole is difficult to lower.
In addition, on the other hand, the development of the light detection technology has enabled detection of an optical electric field involved with surface plasmon. Tsutomu Ishii et al.; Jpn. Jour. Appl. Phys., Vol. 44 (2005), L364 disclose a structure in which photodiodes are integrated on a metal diffraction ring for selectively enhancing optical electric field of a particular wavelength which has a hole with a diameter not larger than the wavelength provided at the center thereof and has some grooves provided at intervals of a dimension similar to the wavelength. At this time, light desired to be detected is concentrated in the form of surface plasmon at the center of the metal diffraction ring to show an effect to enhance the optical electric field at the central hole where the photodiodes are positioned. Therefore, there is a possibility that utilization of such enhancing effect may improve the photoreceptive sensitivity of the device as a whole.

Detection device and image forming device


Materials such as amines, alcohols, aminoalcohols, ethers and mixtures thereof, including halogenated adducts thereof, have been found to be useful floc modifiers for water clarifiers to form an effective overall water clarifier composition. The water clarifier portion of the composition is a dithiocarbamate. The floc modifier of a particular water clarifier composition need not be the same compound that is reacted with carbon disulfide (CS.sub.2) to make the water clarifier portion of the novel compositions.

Any refinery process water, petroleum chemical waste water, ballast waste water, river water, underground feed water, ethylene quench waste water, oil-in-water waste emulsions from oil recovery fields, and the like are contaminated waters requiring difficult chemical treatment and clarification. These aqueous systems are also found in steam cylinder dispersions in which small amounts of oils which are used for lubrication may be found in the steam of engines and pumps; emulsions and other dispersions containing polystyrene and styrenes-in-water frequently found in synthetic rubber manufacturing facilities; emulsions and other dispersions obtained during clay pipe manufacture using steam initiated processes; oil-in-water emulsions or dispersions which are found in coolant water devices and in gasoline absorption facilities; emulsions and dispersions containing wax-type products which are encountered in oil refinery dewaxing procedures; "fluxoil" emulsions and dispersions occurring in condensate steam resulting in dehydrogenation of butylene during catalytic procedures to produce butadiene; emulsions and dispersions obtained during procedures for making butadiene from naphtha by means of standard "cracking" procedures in gas generators; emulsions and dispersions in latex-in-water formed in copolymerization procedures for butadiene and styrene derivatives.
Such dispersions and emulsions are also problems in synthetic resin paint and pigment manufacturing processes, as well as in food processing of derivatives of pasteurized additives. In each of these processes, as well as in the equipment which is used during steps in the various procedures, oil-in-water emulsions or dispersions of a nonaqueous phase are inherently formed as a by-product of the particular given operation. The disposal of the produced waste water becomes a problem which is compounded by the presence of the oil-in-water emulsions, or dispersions containing a non-aqueous discontinuous phase. Often, extreme difficulties are presented in the treatment and clarification processes employed. If one were to successfully treat these kinds of waste waters which contain oily waste matter as well as dispersed solid matter of an organic or inorganic nature, one could advance the art of treating and clarifying contaminated waters of this type.
The present invention is directed to the clarification of such aqueous systems, so that the resultant stream of the aqueous system contains essentially two separate phases: an oil- or hydrocarbon-based phase, or non-aqueous phase, and an essentially aqueous phase, with the resultant aqueous phase being clarified without the production of a problematic floc. Clarification is accomplished with water clarifiers which are compounds which, when added to produced water containing oil, form "flocs." The dispersed oil and solid particulates adsorb on the floc and thereby are removed from the water when the floc is skimmed off the surface of the treated water. The treated aqueous system can then pass certain industrial and/or governmental water clarity tests or specifications and be discharged.
The aqueous systems contemplated in this invention will contain water in various forms, such as tap water, brines or seawater (in the case of aqueous systems involved in the drilling, completion, workover or production of subterranean oil or gas wells), and the like.
In any oil-in-water emulsion, the amount of oil in the water or aqueous phase, or in the case of a dispersion of non-aqueous phase, the amount of such non-dispersed phase will vary considerably depending on the industrial application. In the case of emulsions which are frequently found in the oil field and in applications of well completion operations, the oil-in-water emulsion will contain a crude oil content varying from a few parts per million to about 20%, by volume, or even higher.
In treating such emulsified or dispersed aqueous systems for disposal or other uses or recycling, it is necessary to break the emulsified oil-in-water or resolve the dispersion such that the oil phase, or the non-aqueous dispersed phase and the water phase may be separated. The water should be clarified by the demulsification treatment without production of a problematic "floc."
"Floc" is considered to be a by-product of water clarification which may vary in characteristics depending on the composition of the clarifier used to clarify the water. While "floc" may always be expected to be produced as a result of a water clarification treatment procedure, such "floc" should be made to be controllable. A problematic floc may adversely affect operations or clarification systems by means of adherence, plugging and interface problems with manufacturing equipment or production equipment. Floc characteristics can be visually judged by observing a sample of the treated aqueous system. The present invention contemplates water clarification such that the floc which is formed does not cause operational problems in the treatment system by means of adherence, plugging, or interface buildup with equipment being exposed to the aqueous system. An improved floc is one that is easily skimmed and does not build up in the system--essentially, a floc which is easier to handle.
In the past, those skilled in the art have recognized the use of derivatives of certain amines as demulsifiers in water clarification procedures. Typical of such prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,177, which teaches the use of nitrogen-containing dithiocarbamic acid compositions formed by the reaction of alkoxylated triamines with CS.sub.2 as "reverse" demulsifiers. While certain of the materials disclosed in the '177 patent may or may not be used satisfactorily to demulsify particular aqueous systems, it has been found that not all such materials are satisfactory to clarify water without the production of a resultant problematic floc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,060 notes that if bis(hexamethylene)triamine (BHMT) is reacted in an approximate stoichiometric ratio of primary amine with carbon disulfide, that the resultant product can be used to successfully break the emulsion and clarify the water, without the production of a problematic floc. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,060, these problematic flocs were termed "uncontrollable" and it will be understood that these terms refer to the same kinds of undesirable flocs. The commercial product related to the material of this patent is marketed by Baker Performance Chemicals, Inc. as MAGNACLEAR.RTM. W213 water clarifier, referred to herein as W213. MAGNACLEAR.RTM. W213 is a trademark for water clarifier products made by Baker Performance Chemicals, Inc.
On an oil and gas production site, dithiocarbamate water clarifiers work in conjunction with gravity settling equipment, flotation devices, filtration equipment and the like by creating a floc with metal ions in the brine. After the oil and grease have absorbed onto the surface of the floc, the floc is separated and returned to crude production. Most prior flocs are "sticky" and adhere to surfaces inside the equipment. After a relatively short period of time, the build-up of floc on the skimmer, walls and in the trough causes the unit to need to be shut down and cleaned. Preferably, the water clarifier provides an "acceptable" floc which does not cause operational problems in the system via adherence, plugging and interface build-up.

Water clarification using compositions containing a water clarifier component and a floc modifier component


The invention relates to a ram assembly of a blowout preventer and particularly to a pipe ram front packer assembly (100) suitable for a single use, which includes a packing (110) formed of a metal material, where the metal material is sufficiently deformable to collapse around an outer periphery of a drill pipe to seal the annulus of a preventer bore.

Blowout preventers are used extensively throughout the oil and gas industry. Typical blowout preventers are used as a large specialized valve or similar mechanical device that seal, control, and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers are generally split into two main categories, the ram blowout preventers and the annular blowout preventers.
Ram units, used in the blowout preventers may be used to shear and seal the drill pipe or may be used to seal the annulus around the drill pipe by sealing against the pipe. The former shearing rams and latter pipe rams are usually used in combination with one another where a blowout preventer consists of stacked preventers along a single pipe. The stacked configuration provides for redundancies and back-ups should one or more of the rams fail.
The blowout preventer includes a main housing with a vertical bore. Ram bonnet assemblies may be bolted to the housing, according to any means known in the industry. Each bonnet assembly includes a piston which is laterally movable within a ram cavity of the bonnet assembly by pressurized hydraulic fluid acting on one side of the piston. The opposite side of each piston may be connected to a ram or packer. Depending on whether the ram is a shear ram, for shearing the drill pipe, or a pipe ram, for sealing the annulus between the bore and outer periphery of the pipe, so the design of the ram will differ.
A shear ram is designed to move laterally toward the vertical bore of the blowout preventer to shear or seal off on any object located therein. A pipe ram typically has a semi-circular opening in its front face to form a seal about half of the outer periphery of the pipe. When the opposing pipe rams are closed, the opposing pipe rams engage each other and seal the entire periphery of the object. The annulus between the bore and the pipe is thus effectively sealed.
A pipe ram assembly includes a packing body composed of an elastomeric or rubber material. The packing material abuts the outer periphery of the pipe to form the seal, when the rams are closed around the drill pipe. The elastomeric or rubber material of the packing body is positioned between upper and lower plates.
At high temperature or in the face of a high concentration of sour gases, such as H2S concentration above 35%, ram packers become susceptible to mechanical wear. At high temperatures, such as over 200° C., the elastomeric or rubber material of a ram packer can degrade and breaks-up, and can extrude past the upper plate of the ram packer into the blowout preventer borehole. The collapse of the packer directly affecting the sealing capabilities of the ram packer. Further, high sour gas concentrations can erode the elastomeric or rubber material. When this occurs, the gas may permeate up through the annulus and to the surface. The noxious gases cause dangers to the rig and workers above. For these reasons a well would be closed, or alternatively could not be available for exploration.


An enclosed smoking device including a dome sealingly engageable with a base member, and a solid bowl sealingly engageable with a socket extending through the base member, the bowl being heatable from the exterior of the device. The assembly of dome, base member, and bowl define an enclosed interior space to prevent the escape of smoke or vapor produced by the heating of a smokable material in the bowl. The dome further includes a choke and a non-projecting integrated mouthpiece. A method of using an enclosed smoking device wherein no smoke or vapor is permitted to escape from the device during the smoking operation.

Pipes and other devices for the smoking of materials such as tobacco, essential oils, and the like are well known. They typically include an open bowl to contain the smokable material. The bowl communicates with a hollow projecting stem or tube that terminates in a mouthpiece. Hookahs and the like employ variants of this design wherein an air or water filled cooling chamber intervenes at some location between bowl and mouthpiece.
A shortcoming of prior smoking devices is the escape of smoke or vapor from the device into the surrounding atmosphere. This escape causes both the waste of material and the unintentional exposure of nearby individuals to smoke that they do not desire. The escape of smoke is not prevented by prior art devices, which at best provide only partial isolation of the source of smoke from the atmosphere during the smoking process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,573 to Aldin and U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,252 to Bianchino disclose smoking pipes including a bowl which can be sealed off at its upper end by a lid or cap. This feature does not isolate the source of smoke from the atmosphere, because the bottom of the bowl is always open to the atmosphere, being occluded only by an open screen or mesh upon which the smokable material rests. The open bottom is necessary to allow the application of flame to the smokable material, and to allow a continuous draft to pass through the material during inhalation. U.S. Pat. No. 7,905,236 to Bryman et al. discloses a bowl that is closed at its lower end and sealable with a slidable cover at its upper end, but is operable only when the slidable cover is open, the closed condition being useful only for storage.
Another shortcoming of prior smoking devices is the inclusion of projecting stems or mouthpieces. These structures are easily damaged or broken when the device is transported. The devices disclosed by Aldin, Bianchino, and Bryman et al., discussed above, all feature projecting stems or mouthpieces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,753 to Stryker discloses a smoking device with a non-projecting mouthpiece that is essentially an aperture in a smoke-receiving box, but does not disclose a device that completely isolates the source of smoke from the atmosphere.
There is therefore a need for a smoking device which isolates a source of smoke or vapor from the atmosphere during a smoking operation, and which features a nonprojecting, integrated mouthpiece.


Steam turbine system and control system therefor are provided. In one embodiment, a steam turbine system includes an auxiliary turbine in fluid communication with an IP turbine via an auxiliary turbine inlet conduit branch of an IP exhaust conduit. A heat exchanger system may remove heat from an IP exhaust steam, and may add the removed heat to water flowing through a boiler feed-water conduit to a boiler of the steam turbine system.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure is related generally to turbine system. More particularly, the disclosure is related to a steam turbine system and a steam turbine control system for the steam turbine system.
2. Related Art
Conventional steam turbine systems are frequently utilized to generate power for electric generators. More specifically, a working fluid, such as steam, is conventionally forced across sets of steam turbine blades, which are coupled to the rotor of the steam turbine system. The force of the working fluid on the blades causes those blades (and the coupled body of the rotor) to rotate. In many cases, the rotor body is coupled to the drive shaft of a dynamoelectric machine such as an electric generator. In this sense, initiating rotation of the steam turbine system rotor can initiate rotation of the drive shaft in the electric generator, and cause that generator to generate an electrical current (associated with power output).
The amount of power generated by the steam turbine during operation, and ultimately the efficiency of the steam turbine, oftentimes stated in the form of 'heat rate', may be dependent upon a plurality of factors. For example, one such factor may include the efficiency of the condenser of the steam turbine system. The condenser may be responsible for receiving exhaust steam that has flowed through the various sections (e.g., high-pressure section, low-pressure section) of the steam turbine system, and converting the exhaust steam to fluid. The fluid may be subsequently converted back to steam and flowed through the various sections of the steam turbine system again. When exhaust steam enters the condenser at an undesirable temperature (e.g., higher than optimum conversion temperature), a portion of the exhaust steam may be removed from or rejected by the condenser in order for the condenser to convert all of the exhaust steam to fluid. The overall efficiency of the steam turbine system may be reduced when a portion of the exhaust steam is rejected by the condenser. To compensate for this loss in efficiency, larger condensers are used in the steam turbine system, such that less exhaust steam having an undesirable temperature may be rejected. However, a larger condenser requires an increased power requirement for operation, and also increases the size of the steam turbine system.
An additional factor that may affect the efficiency of the steam turbine system is the temperature of the fluid prior to reaching the boiler of the steam turbine system. That is, the overall efficiency of the steam turbine system may be directly affected by the temperature of the fluid just prior to the fluid reaching the boiler and subsequently being converted to operational steam. The greater the difference between the actual fluid temperature and a desired conversion temperature, the greater the power requirement for the boiler to convert the fluid to steam. That is, as the difference between the actual fluid temperature and the desired conversion temperature increases, the power required to convert the fluid to steam also increases, increasing the heat rate of the steam turbine system. The power required by the boiler to convert the fluid to steam may be generated from other portions of the steam turbine system, which may result in a decrease in power generated by the steam turbine system, and ultimately may decrease the efficiency of the steam turbine system.


An output driver for an integrated circuit. The output driver includes a core data terminal, a pad terminal, a pull-down transistor and a pull-up transistor. The pull-down and pull-up transistors are coupled to the pad terminal and have pull-down and pull-up control terminals, respectively. A first inverter circuit coupled between the core data terminal and the pull-down control terminal. First and second voltage level shifting differential amplifiers are coupled in series between the core data terminal and the pull-up control terminal.

The present invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuits and, more particularly, to an output driver which is fabricated on 2.5V technology and which drives a 5V I/O signal without exceeding transistor tolerances.
CMOS integrated circuits are typically provided with tri-state output drivers that are selectively operable between a normal drive mode and a tri-state or high impedance mode in which the drivers appear transparent to the output terminals to which they are connected. Advancements in semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication technology enable the geometries of semiconductor devices to be progressively reduced so that more devices can fit on a single integrated circuit. As a result, core voltages of the integrated circuits are being reduced to prevent damage to the small devices and to reduce overall power consumption. For example, power supplies are now being reduced from 5V to 3.3V, and from 3.3V to 2.5V.
However, low voltage CMOS devices are often interconnected at a board level to TTL logic and other devices that operate at higher supply voltages of 5V or 3.3V. If no precautions are taken, an external 5V level signal applied to the output terminal of a 2.5V tri-state driver can cause voltage drops across the transistor devices in the driver that exceed the transistor tolerances, which can cause the gate oxide of the devices to break down. It is therefore desirable to provide an output driver that can drive large voltages off of the integrated circuit without exceeding the tolerance levels of the devices within the driver.


Techniques are described for trace layer for replicating a source region of a digital image. In an implementation, a user leverages a content editing system to select a source region of a source image to be replicated and a target region of a target image to which portions of the source region are to be replicated. A trace layer is generated that is a visual representation of portions of the source region, and the trace layer is positioned on the target region of the target image. Further, the trace layer is generated based on a visibility factor such that the trace layer is at least partially transparent. The trace layer receives user interaction to select portions of the trace layer and visibility of the selected portions is modified to replicate corresponding portions of the source region to the target region.

Persons today are afforded a variety of different options for digital image editing, such as via applications that enable digital content creation and editing. As part of editing digital content users often wish to copy a portion of a digital image and paint the portion over another portion of the digital image or on a different digital image. For instance, to remove an unwanted visual feature from a digital image, a user copies another portion of the image such as a background portion and utilizes the copied portion to cover the unwanted visual feature.
Conventional techniques for copying portions of an image onto another portion of the image experience a number of drawbacks. For instance, in some conventional techniques a user input modality used to insert a copied image portion in another image region obscures a target region and thus results in inexact copying. For example, where a user provides touch input to insert a copy of an image portion, the user's finger obscures a target copy region and thus results in off-target insertion of a copied image portion.
In another example using conventional techniques, a user copies an image portion and then zooms in on a target image region for inserting the copied image portion. However, in zooming in on the target image region, a source image region from which the copied image portion was taken is no longer visible. Since the source image region is no longer visible the user is faced with guessing at how the source image region is to be inserted into the target image region. Accordingly, in attempting to utilize conventional techniques for copying an image portion to another image region, users encounter frustration and imprecise copying of an image portion often results. This not only provides a less than optimal user experience but wastes system resources utilized to repeatedly attempt to insert a copied image portion into a target region to achieve an image editing objective.

Trace layer for replicating a source region of a digital image


An anti-counterfeit card includes a substrate on which an anti-counterfeit membrane is attached. The substrate includes a sheet of plastic with two transparent surface layers formed on two opposite sides thereof. Printing may be selectively carried out on the two sides of the plastic sheet and the outer surfaces of the surface layers. The anti-counterfeit membrane includes a hologram film on which serration defining a hologram is formed so as to make it difficult to counterfeit the card. A method for manufacturing the anti-counterfeit card is also disclosed. A method for manufacturing the anti-counterfeit card is also disclosed, comprising the steps of providing a substrate; providing an anti-counterfeit membrane which comprises a hologram film; and attaching the anti-counterfeit membrane to the substrate to form the anti-counterfeit card.

With the development of human society and civilization, commercial and industrial activities are significantly increased and the modern people enjoy all kinds of services from the society and businesses. The personal identification is very important to identify the person who is to enjoy or use the services, for example, an access card for entry to a particular building or a restricted area, or a driver's license or other picture IDs. Conventionally, the identification card is protected by a transparent plastic cover which is adhesively or tightly attached to the card and once the transparent cover is peeled, the card is damaged. This achieves certain effect in preventing duplication or counterfeit of the identification card. However, since such a plastic cover itself is not provided within means for anti-counterfeit, it is still likely to be counterfeited. It is thus desired to have an anti-counterfeit card structure which itself is difficult to be counterfeited so as to reduce the likelihood of counterfeit of the card.
Thus it is desirable to have an anti-counterfeit card structure which itself is difficult to counterfeit so as to have an improved effectiveness of anti-counterfeit of the identification card.

Anti-counterfeit card and method for manufacturing the card


An optical frequency generator provided with an optical comb generator for generating a plurality of frequencies including a central frequency and side bands spaced by a frequency transmitter. The central frequency is adjustably combined with the spectral component of a reference light source. Modification of frequency differences between the central frequency and the reference light source and modification of the transmission frequency of the frequency transmitter displaces the frequency comb of the comb generator or alters its spectral width. A heterodyne receiver connected to the output of the comb generator and a test light source of unknown frequency is provided for determining the frequency of the latter.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optical frequency generator including a reference light source, a frequency transmitter, an optical comb generator for generating a plurality of optical frequencies, and electronic controls.
2. The State of the Art
An optical frequency generator of this kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,462. In the known optical frequency generator, the light output of a laser functioning as an intensive monochromatic reference light source is fed to an optical comb generator provided with a plurality of optical parametric oscillators. The optical parametric oscillators arrayed in parallel are tuned relative to each other such that the so-called signal and idler beams of individual ones of the optical parametric oscillators form a coarse frequency comb with large frequency spacings. One of the two output beams, e.g. the signal beam, of each optical parametric oscillator is fed to an associated electro-optical modulator of the comb generator, the modulator being fed with a frequency from a microwave transmitter acting as a frequency transmitter and capable of generating a plurality of side bands to the center frequency of the input signal beam, the frequency spacing of the side bands corresponding to the supplied microwave frequency.
While, because of the optical parametric process at a constant frequency of the reference light source, the tuning range of the known optical frequency generator is relatively wide, it is extremely complex in terms of equipment, owing to the requisite number of optical parametric oscillators, electro-optical modulators as well as the requirement for precise control of the frequency division ratio of each optical parametric oscillator. Furthermore, to operate the optical parametric oscillators, a highly intensive reference light source is mandatory. Moreover, before the unknown frequency of an light source can be determined it is necessary to take advance measurements with a wavelength meter.
In one application, the known frequency generator is used as an optical frequency measuring device. In this context, it is possible to measure the unknown frequency of the frequency component of the test light, provided the frequency of the frequency component of the reference light source, the division ratio of the optical parametric oscillators and the frequency of the microwaves fed to the electro-optical modulators are known exactly. To this end, the beat signal or frequency between the unknown frequency and the next adjacent sideband of an optical parametric oscillator are measured following a relatively coarse measurement of the wavelength of the test light. The exact position of the sideband and, with it, the absolute frequency may be determined by varying the frequency of the microwaves fed to the electro-optical modulators and by measuring any change in the beat frequency correlated to the order of the sideband.

Heinrich Hertz Institut Fuer nachrichtentechnik Berlin GmbH


A device and a method for notifying the driver of a motor vehicle, equipped with an adaptive distance and speed controller, by activating a takeover prompt, informing the driver that the vehicle is coming critically close to a target object. The takeover prompt is activated and deactivated as a function of a fixed minimum distance between the distance- and speed-controlled vehicle and the target object and/or a relative speed-dependent minimum distance between the distance- and speed-controlled vehicle and a target object and/or a maximum vehicle deceleration producible by the distance and speed controller.

German Patent Application No. DE 100 15 299 A1 describes a method and a corresponding device for triggering a takeover prompt, which signals the driver of a vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control that the adaptive cruise control system is probably no longer able to control the driving situation and that the driver must intervene. By monitoring two or more vehicle variables, which are causal in triggering the takeover prompt, the probability of a false alarm by the system is reduced, and the triggering of the takeover prompt is adapted to the current vehicle speed.

Method and device for notifying the driver of a motor vehicle


A golf putter including a hosel offset rearwardly of the ball striking surface such that the entire ball striking surface is visible from above when addressing a golf ball. Further, the golf shaft is angled above and forwardly of an imaginary plane defined by the ball striking surface such that the golfer can keep their hands ahead of the putter head through impact, creating a pulling action to produce overspin on the ball and to allow the face of the putter to remain square to the intended line through impact. The shaft has an extended length to provide stability of the putter head while putting. The golf head includes both heel and toe weighting to provide both statically and dynamically balanced putter head. The head is comprised of stainless steel with a black coated sole plate and hosel such that the polished stainless steel ball striking plate is clearly visible and distinctive in contrast to the remaining head.

Golf enthusiasts, both amateur and professional, are always seeking improved golf equipment. Whether its an improved golf ball with unique dimple designs to lengthen and control the flight of drives, balanced perimeter weighted irons to compensate for improper golf swings, or balanced putter heads to help a golfer achieve a better putting stroke, new and better golf equipment enters the sports scene each year which promises to improve scores and reduce handicaps. Perhaps no slogan is better known than the phrase "drive for show, putt for dough". Arguably, most tournaments are won on the putting greens, and perhaps this is best exemplified in the annual golf Skins tournaments where several hundred thousand dollars may be on the line on a single putt.
Golf equipment is usually primarily designed based on physics to control inertia to attain the ideal performance club. However, physical and aesthetic appearance can be equally important thus giving the golfer the confidence in the club to make great shots. Most golfers will agree that if the club doesn't look like it is precision designed and manufactured, it just won't feel right thus making the golfer inclined to find another piece of equipment. Thus, both physical attributes, as well as engineered attributes, together give the golfer the confidence and the ability to use the equipment and achieve better scores.
Perhaps no golf club is more revered than the golf putter. In fact, many golfers will bestow the putter with a name, and even talk and address the golf putter, as well as the Holy One above, when attempting those crucial putts. Special protective gloves or socks are often used to protect one's most cherished putter. Even the simplest of putters, namely, a shaft and a plain copper bar serving as the golf head, can be the perfect putter for one's game.
But aesthetics are not all that gives the golfer confidence to make putts and great scores. Balancing of the putter head is important such that inertia is controlled and one can consistently address and stroke the ball properly to make straight putts. The putter head is typically precision weighted to reduce torquing the putter head while putting. This can include weighting the putter head at the toe and heel, along the mid-section thereof, and manufacturing the putter head with multiple types of material each having different densities to achieve the best possible balanced head.
Since the sport of golf originated in England over a hundred years ago, many putter heads have been designed. While balancing the putter head has always been considered important, the ability to visually see the golf ball while both addressing and stroking is another pair of important considerations. Indicia is commonly defined on the putter to help the golfer align the striking face such that the sweet spot will strike the ball during a putt. Many designs also include uniquely designed and positioned hosels which couple the putter shaft to the putter head and which are integral to the balancing of the putter head.
However, most hosels are coupled to the putter head proximate the front ball striking surface of the putter, and thus, visually interfere with the golfer's ability to see the ball, both while addressing and putting the golf ball. Thus, the golfer's vision can become impaired, which degrades both the performance and confidence of the golfer and which can account for higher golf scores. USGA golf rules also dictate the acceptable putter designs which are approved for competitive play. One rule requires that the putter shaft tapers at at least a 10 degree angle starting no more than five inches above the bottom sole surface of the putter in the plane defined by the heel and the toe of the putter. Thus, many designed considerations come into play when designing the ultimate putter.
While many golf putters are available on the market today, none that the inventor is aware of provides a golf putter with a static and dynamically balanced putter head, which provides a ball striking surface which is entirely visible from above when addressing and putting the golf ball, and which provides a shaft allowing complete visibility of the ball and the ball striking surface while facilitating stability of the putter head.


A method and apparatus for a first network device to identify the VLAN for which the first network device is a member. In response to the broadcasting of a discovery request message by the first network device, a second network device transmits a first data message including VLAN information relating to the VLANs configured on the network. From the VLAN information, the first network device determines the VLAN ID of the VLAN in which the first network device is a member.

A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is a group of network devices (such as PCs, servers, and other network resources and devices) that function as a single administratively configured LAN or broadcast domain. VLANs may be configured on single or different LAN sections, and may span multiple switches/routers, and even across Wide Area Network (WAN) links. Thus, the network devices associated with a specific VLAN may be separated by geography and location in the network. A VLAN is not a physical location, but a membership. Users located in separate areas or connected to separate ports may be assigned to a single VLAN group. In other words, a VLAN is a logical grouping of ports and end-stations such that all ports and end-stations for a given VLAN appear to be on the same physical (or extended) LAN segment even though each may be geographically separated.
One of the problems with VLANs is that VLAN-aware devices (or 802.1Q compliant devices) require programming of the VLAN ID in order for the device to transmit frames with the VLAN Tag (4 bytes, with twelve bits identifying the VLAN ID). Currently, the programming may be done manually or by another method that is proprietary in nature. One such method utilizes a proprietary ethernet protocol whereby the ethernet devices obtain VLAN IDs directly from their respective ethernet switch. The problems with such methods are the proprietary nature of the protocol and/or the added functionality needed within the switch.
Accordingly, there is needed a method and apparatus that automatically programs a VLAN ID into an IP/ethernet device without the need for additional functionality at the respective switch.

Method and apparatus for VLAN ID discovery


A printed barcode including first basic barcode information stored in a first basic mode of printed data storage, and second additional enhanced barcode information stored in a second enhanced mode of printed data storage. The second information is printed, at least partially, as a component of the first information. The first information is adapted to be read by a basic barcode reader. The second information is adapted to be read by an enhanced barcode reader and cannot be read by the basic barcode reader.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to barcodes and, more particularly, to a barcode having a first basic stored information structure and a second enhanced stored information structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,418 discloses multiple resolution machine-readable symbols. Barcodes are used in many applications for the identification, tracking, and tracing of objects, letters, or packages. Some applications require only very basic information about an object (identity or destination), while other applications require detailed information about an object (e.g., postage paid, origin address, postage meter number, sender, addressee, destination address, weight, date, contents, batch number). Barcodes are also used extensively for the identification of objects for sale; for example, the Universal Product Code (UPC), and in many other applications. Such barcodes, in principle, could be expanded to include data about batch numbers, production dates, or expiration dates to aid in product recalls and rotation of product inventory.
Introduction of additional barcode information is hindered by several factors including real estate available on the object for barcoding; existing standardized barcode specification precluding expansion (e.g., Postnet is set as 12 digits); resolution of existing barcode readers and printers; expense and logistics to retrofit existing readers and printers; and need for barcoding schemes to conform to the least common denominator user.
Currently the solution for adding additional information in a barcode is to retain the old scheme barcodes (e.g., PostNet) for a period of time longer than desired. When the need becomes acute, then new barcode schemes (for instance PLANET and Universal Postal Union (UPU)/Remote Video Encoding (RVE) barcode supplementary barcodes) will be added to the same envelope. This approach is especially unsatisfactory, because it drives the adoption of independent non-integrated barcodes rather than driving the adoption of coordinated integrated barcoding solutions with a clear upward migration path. In the retail market place, the problems associated with expansion of barcodes and introduction of new barcode reader standards have precluded the use of these barcodes to aid in the Universal Product Code (UPC) tracking of expiration dates or product batch numbers.
Barcodes also carry heavy overhead costs. Because data read from barcodes is often affected by errors due to printing or poor handling, various error detection and correction solutions are applied to correct the read errors. Error detection mechanisms are generally based on the idea that a mathematical algorithm is applied to the data received (read) and, if the result indicates inconsistencies, then some of the data is used to recover the missing information. Current implementations have the useful data payload, error detection, and error correction transmitted (read) as part of a "homogeneous" process. Often, the three kinds of data are intermixed. When there is no loss of data (no read error), the error correction information never gets used. In such instances, the resources necessary to carry, read, and process that portion of data are "wasted". These resources are real estate on the label, scan time, processing time, storage for additional information, etc. The error correction and overhead information component of the total data stored in a barcode, depending on the level of redundancy required by the application, may exceed fifty (50%) percent.

Barcode with enhanced additional stored data


Methods and systems for embedded web-based management are disclosed. In some embodiments, an index web page is provided with a link to an uncacheable version control file, and with a script to cause redirection to a uniform resource locator (URL) having a version indicator determined from the version control file. The version indicator allows web caching of current files while ensuring that the cache be updated when the software on the target device is updated. The target device may have an embedded web server configured to enforce caching policies through expiration dates in HTTP response headers. The embedded web server may also be configured to remove version information from the URLs in requests before servicing the requests.

The Internet confers many benefits due to its connectivity. Users are able to access public content from any web-enabled computer. People throughout the world are able to interact one-on-one and in groups. Businesses are able to market their goods for minimal costs. Employees are able to tap into their employers' networks to work outside the office. These benefits are just some examples of why the Internet has been almost universally embraced.
As the Internet continues to expand, new applications are being discovered. Storage area networks are being equipped with switches and storage controllers that have embedded web-based management utilities. Such devices ("target" devices) are accessible using Internet Protocol (IP) communications, allowing a user to configure and review the operation of the target devices via a conventional web browser. Proposals have even been made to connect home control systems and even home appliances to the Internet using such embedded web-based management utilities.
Constraints for such devices are expected to include memory and processor power. Processors built in to target devices are expected to be inexpensive (i.e., to have limited processing power) and to have most of their processing power devoted to coordinating device operation. Memory is also expected to be limited. Visually complex web-based interfaces generally manifest themselves as large files and/or a large number of files that need to be transferred by the utility to the user's web browser. Due to the limited resources available to the utility, such transfers may take an unreasonable amount of time to complete, testing the user's patience if many such transfers are needed.
Conventional web browsers offer caching of web pages, so that repeated downloads of a given file may be avoided. When caching is enabled, a web browser downloads a given file once and stores it in a cache, giving the cached file an expiration date. Subsequent accesses to the file, so long as they occur before the expiration date, are satisfied by retrieving the file from cache rather than downloading the file again.
However, caching creates a potential problem when, e.g., a web-based management utility is updated. Depending on the caching policy employed, the utility may continue to use out-of-date files, rendering the update ineffective, or may fail to operate properly because the browser employs a mix of old and new files. Various solutions to this dilemma exist that involve a tradeoff in performance vs. update risk.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Disclosed herein is a junction box having a housing and a plurality of straps. The housing includes a plurality of ribs with posts extending therefrom. Each one of the straps has a plurality of receiving areas defined by a contiguous radial surface, such as a countersink surface. The posts extend through the receiving areas and securingly retain the straps against the housing. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the posts are substantially frustoconical prior to assembly and may be characterized as deformed frustrums after assembly.

Junction boxes for containing electrical connections are known in the prior art, and typically includes a housing with one or more plates securable thereto. Reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,769 (the "Slater '769 patent") for a cast weatherproof electrical outlet box with staked end plates for mounting electrical wiring devices. The Slater '769 patent discloses end plates that are installed onto a casting. The plates are permanently held in position by stakes formed in the end plates and complementary recesses formed in the casting.
The prior art also includes junction boxes such as the prior art junction box shown in FIG. 1, which includes a housing and two mounting straps secured thereto. The housing includes tab-like lugs integrally formed with the walls of the housing, and the mounting straps have open channels along the edges thereof for securingly receiving the lugs. Further illustrative of the prior art, FIGS. 2 and 3 show another prior art junction box that also includes a housing and two mounting straps secured thereto. The housing of the prior art junction box of FIGS. 2 and 3 includes posts that are each formed as a right cylinder. The mounting straps of the prior art junction box of FIGS. 2 and 3 have conventional bores formed therethrough for receiving the right cylinders.
Junction boxes are often the subject of evaluation by organizations that promulgate standards in connection therewith. These standards propose that a junction box should have a minimum resistance to the environmental forces that are typically applied to the junction box. However, the magnitude of the environmental forces applied to a junction box has increased over time, and what is needed in the art is a reinforced junction box that is resistant to increased environmental forces.