The present invention provides a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly that can be used in apparatuses used to inject vaccines or other beneficial materials into eggs. In particular, the components of the assembly are manufactured from a polymeric material and the connections between the components in the assembly are by luer lock connections.

Not Applicable.
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Not Applicable.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly that can be used in apparatuses used to inject vaccines or other beneficial materials into eggs. In particular, the components of the assembly are manufactured from a polymeric material and the connections between the components in the assembly are by luer lock connections.
(2) Description of Related Art
Automatic injection systems comprising egg injection apparatuses for inoculating eggs with vaccines or other beneficial materials are known in the art. Examples of egg injecting apparatuses are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,464 to Lewis, U.S. Pat. Re. No. 35,973 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,979, both to Paul et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,954 to Phelps et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,612 to Williams.
Current needle and hub assemblies for use in many egg injecting apparatuses consist of a metal fitting with a cavity that is attached to a second metal fitting with a cavity using standard screw threads. A needle is attached to a hub which has standard screw threads. The hub is screwed to the fitting and the fitting screwed to the second fitting such that the needle cannula extends through the cavities of the fitting and second fitting. The disadvantages of the needle and hub assembly are that they are expensive to manufacture and the screw threads make it difficult to quickly replace damaged needles in the assemblies when mounted in the injecting apparatus. To make tight seals, the hub and both fitting connections must be tightened using tools. Furthermore, the threads can be easily stripped, which renders the fittings unuseable.
Therefore, there is a need for an inexpensive needle and hub assembly that can be used in egg injecting apparatuses. There is a further need for a needle and hub assembly that is easily to assemble in the injection apparatus.
The present invention provides a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly comprising (a) an elongate needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the cannula having a lumen therethrough; (b) a hub securely fixed to the proximal end of the needle cannula, the hub including a distal end with a tip projecting therefrom for fixing the proximal end of the needle cannula so that the needle cannula extends away from the distal end of the hub, a proximal end having an inlet projecting therefrom which is connectable to a supply line and wherein the inlet is continuous with the lumen of the needle cannula, and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the hub in spaced concentric relationship about the tip; and (c) a fitting including an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the hub to form a seal between the side wall of the fitting and the tip of the hub so that the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the fitting, the elongate body having at its distal end a tip projecting therefrom and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the fitting in spaced concentric relationship to the tip, and the elongate body having an inlet traversing the sidewall connectable to a supply line.
In a preferred embodiment, the quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly further includes a second fitting wherein the second fitting has an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body of the second fitting having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body of the second fitting at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the fitting to form a seal between the side wall of the second fitting and the tip of the fitting, wherein the cavity of the second fitting is continuous with the cavity of the fitting, and wherein the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body of the second fitting parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the second fitting.
The present invention further provides a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly mounted in an injection apparatus for injecting a material into an egg comprising (a) an elongate needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the cannula having a lumen therethrough; (b) a hub securely fixed to the proximal end of the needle cannula, the hub including a distal end with a tip projecting therefrom for fixing the proximal end of the needle cannula so that the needle cannula extends away from the distal end of the hub, a proximal end having an inlet projecting therefrom which is connectable to a supply line for the material and wherein the inlet is continuous with the lumen of the needle cannula, and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the hub in spaced concentric relationship about the tip; and (c) a fitting including an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the hub to form a seal between the side wall of the fitting and the tip of the hub so that the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the fitting, the elongate body having at its distal end a tip projecting therefrom and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the fitting in spaced concentric relationship to the tip, and the elongate body having an inlet traversing the sidewall connectable to a supply line for introducing a means for sterilizing the needle cannula; and (d) a second fitting wherein the second fitting has an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body of the second fitting having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body of the second fitting at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the fitting to form a seal between the side wall of the second fitting and the tip of the fitting, wherein the cavity of the second fitting is continuous with the cavity of the fitting, and wherein the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body of the second fitting parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the second fitting, wherein the second fitting is mounted in the apparatus and the needle cannula is moved with the second fitting to inject the material into the egg.
Further still, the present invention provides in an injection apparatus for injecting a material in an egg, wherein the injection apparatus includes an injection needle mounted in the apparatus for injecting the material into the egg, the improvement is that the injection needle mounted in the apparatus is a quick-disconnect disposable needle and hub assembly comprising (a) an elongate needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the needle cannula having a lumen therethrough; (b) a hub securely fixed to the proximal end of the needle cannula, the hub including a distal end with a tip projecting therefrom for fixing the proximal end of the needle cannula so that the needle cannula extends away from the distal end of the hub, a proximal end having an inlet projecting therefrom which is connectable to a supply line for the material and wherein the inlet is continuous with the lumen of the needle cannula, and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the hub in spaced concentric relationship about the tip; (c) a fitting including an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the hub to form a seal between the side wall of the fitting and the tip of the hub so that the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the fitting, the elongate body having at its distal end a tip projecting therefrom and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the fitting in spaced concentric relationship to the tip, and the elongate body having an inlet traversing the sidewall connectable to a supply line for introducing a means for sterilizing the needle cannula; and (d) a second fitting wherein the second fitting has an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body of the second fitting having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body of the second fitting at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the fitting to form a seal between the side wall of the second fitting and the tip of the fitting, wherein the cavity of the second fitting is continuous with the cavity of the fitting, and wherein the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body of the second fitting parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the second fitting, wherein the second fitting is mounted in the apparatus and the needle cannula is moved with the second fitting to inject the material into the egg.
Further still, the present invention provides a package containing a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly comprising (a) an elongate needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the needle cannula having a lumen therethrough; (b) a hub securely fixed to the proximal end of the needle cannula, the hub including a distal end with a tip projecting therefrom for fixing the proximal end of the needle cannula so that the needle cannula extends away from the distal end of the hub, a proximal end having an inlet projecting therefrom which is connectable to a supply line and wherein the inlet is continuous with the lumen of the needle cannula, and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the hub in spaced concentric relationship about the tip; and (c) a fitting including an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the hub to form a seal between the side wall of the fitting and the tip of the hub so that the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the fitting, the elongate body having at its distal end a tip projecting therefrom and a collar having an array of internal luer lock threads projecting unitarily from the distal end of the fitting in spaced concentric relationship to the tip, and the elongate body having an inlet traversing the sidewall connectable to a supply line.
In a preferred embodiment, the package includes a second fitting wherein the second fitting has an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, the elongate body of the second fitting having a cavity therethrough wherein the elongate body of the second fitting at its proximal end has external luer lock threads which engage the internal luer lock threads of the collar of the fitting to form a seal between the side wall of the second fitting and the tip of the fitting, wherein the cavity of the second fitting is continuous with the cavity of the fitting, and wherein the distal end of the needle cannula extends through the cavity of the elongate body of the second fitting parallel to the sidewall and extends away from the distal end of the second fitting.
In the above embodiments of the present invention, it is preferable that the hub and fitting comprise a material that is a polymer, in particular, a material that is transparent. It is further preferable that the needle is cylindrical.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly that can be used in the injectors that comprise the apparatuses used for injecting eggs with vaccines or other beneficial materials.

Quick disconnect, disposable needle and hub assembly


A mobile omnidirectional device having a base support, four wheels pivotally connected to the base support, each wheel being driven by a drive motor, a controller for individually controlling each of the drive motors, and a power source for powering the controller and the drive motors. The device provides a zero inch turning radius and can be configured as a jib hoist or a rolling transportation cart.

There is a need for a small mobile device with a zero inch turning radius, which can be configured for many uses, for example as a jib hoist or a rolling transportation cart.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention, below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.


The present invention provides a model that can be use to describe biological processes having a complex spatial geometry, for example, cell signaling processes. The models can also be used to model the pathology underlying diseases characterized by disrupted signaling pathways, and to identify target proteins at an appropriate site in a signal transduction network such that modulation of the target proteins elicits therapeutic effects. Methods of modeling diffusion processes, as well as machine-readable products embodying the methods are also disclosed.

Cells respond to their environment by processes known as signal transduction. A signal transduction process generally begins with a hormone, pheromone or neurotransmitter binding to its receptor, which in turn activates a cascade of biochemical events culminating in a cellular response. In a biological system (e.g., a cell), there can be many different types of cascades and each one of these cascades can be considered to be a signaling module which, when activated, leads to a cellular response. Cells have many different kinds of receptors and are faced with many different kinds of signals, and multiple modules can be activated and/or active at the same time. Often, these modules interact with each other such that the net cellular response is an integrative function of all the inputs (e.g., cascades) interacting with the cell's unique machinery, which can lead to a range of cell-specific responses. The complexity of signal transduction networks poses a challenge to traditional experimental analysis. Mathematical models that can help to explore and critically evaluate data are needed to deal with this biological complexity (Weng et al., (1999) Science 284: 92–96 and Bhalla et al., (1999) Science 283: 381–387).
The quantitative analysis of the behavior of enzymes using Michaelis-Menten kinetics assumes that the enzymes are in an aqueous three-dimensional space. However cells are not well-stirred sacs, and to quantitatively analyze cellular regulatory pathways it can be important to take into consideration the local concentration and time-dependent diffusion of second messengers and protein cascades (e.g., spatio-temporal effects).
To develop a more refined quantitative approach to this problem, partial differential equations are more adequate than ordinary differential equations. Biochemical components can be described in a point-to-point way, with a time-dependent evolution for description of signaling processes, metabolic processes, transport processes, and other biological processes.
Pointwise descriptions of the various components of signaling present a higher order of complexity with respect to global, average, and bulk descriptions in several regards. One aspect of the complexity is the difficulty in solving partial differential equations, either theoretically or numerically. Another aspect of the complexity is that pointwise descriptions naturally involve the geometry of the space in which these processes are analyzed.
In implementing partial differential equations that provide spatial and temporal resolution of the pathway, the highly complex geometry of a cell can be addressed mathematically. Some of the features that are implemented in the present invention include a novel mathematical treatment of the complex geometry of the cells via homogenization and concentrated capacity, as well as the coupled diffusion of second messengers with explicit spatial and temporal control using partial differential equations.

Method for modeling signal transduction in cells


A multi-step reduction gear with forward reverse gears comprising a drive shaft, a power take-off shaft, three planet sets, rotating shafts as well as six switch elements. The drive shaft is connected with the sun gear of the planetary set and can be connected to the shaft, which is connected to the carrier of the second planetary set and the carrier of the third planetary set. The power take-off shaft is connected with the ring gear of two of the planetary sets, the shaft connected to the carrier of the planetary set to a housing and across the clutches with the shafts is detachably connected. The shaft connected with the shaft of one of the ring gears of the planetary set and is connected with the sun gear of the planetary set and the shaft with the sun gear of the planetary set can be linked to the housing.

Automatic transmissions, particularly those for motor vehicles, cover planetary assemblies, which are switched by way of friction and/or control elements, such as clutches and brakes, and generally are equipped by choice with a bridging clutch with a starting element and linked to an underlying slip effect, such as a hydrodynamic torque converter or a Foettinger coupling.
Such transmission is based on an EP 0 434 525 A1. It basically consists of a drive shaft and an output shaft, which are arranged parallel to each other; one concentrically to the output shaft, arranged as a double planetary gearset, and five switch elements in the form of three clutches and two brakes, whose optional locking, always in pairs, and in each case, determines the various gear transmissions between the drive shaft and the output shaft. Herein the transmission consists of a wheel set series and two power modes so that, by selective pair gearing, six forward gears are obtained from the five switching elements.
Herein within the first power mode of the two clutches, it is required for transmission of the torque from the wheel set series to the two elements of the double planetary gearset. They are essentially arranged behind the wheel set series in direction of the double planetary gearset in the direction of the power flux. An additional clutch is provided in the second power mode that loosely connects this one with a further element of the double planetary gearset. The clutches are thus arranged in such a manner that the inside plate carrier forms the output.
Furthermore, a compact multi-step reduction gear transmission of the planetary type construction, especially well-known for motor vehicles, which displays two planetary wheel sets and a wheel set series as well as three clutches and two brakes, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,463. This well-known multi-stage gear has two clutches C1 and C-3 for torque transfer at the first power mode from the wheel set series to both of the planetary wheel sets. In this way, the outer plate beam and/or the cylinder and/or piston and the compensation side of the clutch C-3 are linked with a first brake B-1. In addition, the interior plate beam of the third clutch C-3 is connected to the cylinder and/or piston and the compensation side of the first clutch C-1, whereby the interior plate beam of the first clutch C-1 is arranged at the output side and is connected with a sun wheel of the third planetary wheel set.
Furthermore, a multi-step reduction gear transmission is also known from the patent holder of the DE 199 49 507 A1, which is equipped with two wheel set series on the drive shaft that cannot be switched and which, on the output side, produce two revolutions which, in addition to the revolutions of the drive shaft, act selectively upon a switchable dual planetary wheel set that operates by way of selectively shutting off the used switch elements in order to switch from one gear of the two operating switch elements into the next following higher or lower gear of the two just engaged switch elements so that only one switching element has to be switched on or off.
DE 199 12 480 A1 is well known for its automatic, adjustable, motor vehicle transmission with three access planet sets as well as three brakes and two clutches for switching six forward and a reverse gear and with a drive as well as an output shaft. The automatic, adjustable, motor vehicle transmission is constructed in such a manner that the drive shaft is connected directly to the sun wheel of the second planetary set and that the drive shaft is linked across the first clutch to the sun wheel of the first planetary set and/or can be connected across the second clutch with the fixed link of the first planetary set. Additionally or alternatively, the sun wheel of the first planetary set can be connected across the first brake with the housing the transmission and/or the fixed link of the first planetary set across the second brake with the housing and/or the sun wheel of the third planetary set across the third brake with the housing.
Moreover a multi-stage gear automatic transmission is well-known from the DE 102 13 820 A1 patent, includes an input path T1 of a first speed ratio; an input path T2 which has a larger speed ratio this input path T1; a planetary gearset of four elements, wherein the four elements are a first element, a second element, a third element, and a fourth element following an order of elements on a speed diagram; a clutch C-2 transmitting a rotation from the input path T2 to the first element S3; a clutch C-1 transmitting the rotation from the input path T2 to the fourth element S2; a clutch C-4 transmitting a rotation from the input path T1 to the first element; a clutch C-3 transmitting the rotation from the input path T1 to the second element C3; a brake B-1 engaging the fourth element; a brake B-2 engaging the second element and an output member coupled with the third element R3.
Within the scope of DE 101 15 983 A1, the patent holder describes a multi-stage reduction transmission that has a drive shaft, which is connected with a wheel set series by an output shaft that is linked to a lower switching set that has no more than seven switching elements through which selective switching through at least seven forward gears without parallel shifting is possible. The wheel set series is constructed of a planetary gearset series or maximally two non-switchable planetary wheel sets that are linked to the first connection planetary wheel set wherein the lower switching set is designed as a two-bar, four-shaft transmission with two adjustable lower switch planetary wheel sets and displays four idle shafts. The first idle shaft of this two-bar four-shaft transmission is connected to the first switch element, the second idle shaft in the second and third switch elements, the third idle shaft to the fourth and fifth switching elements and the fourth idle shaft is connected to the drive shaft. According to this invention, for a multi-stage, reduction gear with a total of six shifting elements it is suggested additionally connect the third idle shaft or the first idle shaft of the lower switch set to a sixth switching element. The invention suggests that the third idle shaft of the multi-stage reduction gear transmission with a total of seven switch elements should be additionally connected with a sixth switching element D′ and that the first idle shaft should be connected with a seventh switch element.
furthermore, the Applicant describes the multi-stage reduction gear transmission with at least seven gears within the scope of the DE 101 15 987 patent. In addition to the drive shaft and the output shaft, this transmission consists of a non-switchable wheel set series and an adjustable connecting lower switch set in the form of a two-bar, four-shaft transmission. The wheel set series consists of a first planetary gearset which, in addition to the feed number of revolutions of the drive shaft, provides a second number of revolutions that can be selectively switched to a lower switch set. The lower switch set consists of two adjustable planetary gearsets which, together with the six switch elements, provide for at least seven gears, wherein two power mode, output passages are created. Thus with each switching operation in a favorable manner, continuous group shifting is avoided. Furthermore, a 9-gear-multi-stage, reduction gear is well-known from DE 29 36 969; it comprises eight shifting elements and four wheel sets.
The automatic adjustable car transmissions in planetary design methods are generally described from the state of the art technological point of view and are subject to a continuous development and improvement process. In this way, such transmissions should display a sufficient number of forward gears as well as a reverse gear to provide for a well-suited gear reduction for motor vehicles displaying an overall flexibility as well as a favorable progressive ratio. In addition, these transmissions should make a high takeoff reduction possible in a forward gear and maintain a direct gear operation and also be suited for passenger cars, as well as commercial vehicles. In addition, these transmissions should require a lower manufacturing cost and especially a small number of shifting elements and to avoid double shifting during sequential gear shifts so that with shifts in a defined gear group only one element at a time will be shifted.
This invention is basically intended as a multi-stage reduction gear transmission of the above described type in which the manufacturing cost is optimized and, furthermore, the effectiveness of the main driving gears regarding losses due to drag and toothing. In addition, in case of the multi-stage reduction gears, according to this invention, small moments which have an effect on the shift elements and the planetary sets, as well as on the shaft rotations, shift elements and planetary sets are kept as low as possible. Moreover, the number of gears, as well as the gear flexibility, should be increased so that the seven forward gears and at least one reverse gear are used to an advantage. Also according to the invention, the transmission should be suitable for any vehicle; in the transmission should be suitable for vehicles of any type of design, especially in a front transverse arrangement.


Disclosed is a geometric puzzle comprising a plurality of three-dimensional components of at least one type, each component of the same type being derived by notionally dividing a fundamental shape into a plurality of equal parts, said fundamental shape being selected from the group consisting of a regular tetrahedron having edges of equal length and a regular pyramid with a square base and also having edges of equal length, said components being capable of assembly into multiple composite shapes. Each component may be equal and identical to one another or each pair of components may comprise mirror images of one another. Surfaces of said components may be provided attractive magnetic elements to hold said components in a composite shape.

Geometric puzzles, both two dimensional and three dimensional, are known in the art. Many of these puzzles are of the type that comprises individual parts which can be assembled and reassembled to form various shaped objects.
However, there is always a need for a new puzzle to challenge puzzle solvers, especially a puzzle that requires manual dexterity and educational skill. Such a puzzle can be useful to both adults and children alike, providing a challenge for an adult and an educational opportunity for a child. Many prior art puzzles are limited in the number of solutions possible and thus are quickly exhausted.


An all-solid battery is formed so that an electrode active material layer of at least one of positive and negative electrodes has a composition distribution such that a local volume ratio, expressed by a ratio of a volume of an electrode active material contained in a part of the electrode active material layer with respect to a volume of a solid electrolyte material contained in the part of the electrode active material layer, increases as the part of the electrode active material layer approaches from an interface of the solid electrolyte layer toward an interface of a current collector in a thickness direction of the electrode active material layer, and a voidage of the electrode active material layer increases as the part of the electrode active material layer approaches from the interface of the solid electrolyte layer toward the interface of the current collector in the thickness direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an all-solid battery that has a reduced diffusion resistance and an improved rate characteristic.
2. Description of Related Art
With a rapid proliferation of information-related equipment and communication equipment, such as personal computers, camcorders and cellular phones, in recent years, it becomes important to develop a battery used as a power supply of the information-related equipment or the communication equipment. In addition, in automobile industry, or the like, development of a high-power and high-capacity battery for electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles has been proceeding. Currently, among various types of battery, a lithium battery becomes a focus of attention in terms of high energy density.
Currently commercially available lithium batteries employ an electrolytic solution that contains a flammable organic solvent. Therefore, it is necessary to install a safety device that suppresses an increase in temperature in the event of a short circuit, or improve a structure or a material for short-circuit prevention. In contrast to this, all-solid lithium batteries that replace an electrolytic solution with a solid electrolyte layer do not use a flammable organic solvent in the batteries. For this reason, it is considered that the safety devices for the all-solid batteries are simplified and the all-solid lithium batteries are excellent in manufacturing cost and productivity.
In an electrode of such an all-solid lithium battery, normally, a solid electrolyte material is mixed and used in order to improve the conductivity of lithium ions. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-146657 (JP-A-2009-146657) describes a solid electrolyte lithium secondary battery in which a positive electrode, a solid electrolyte layer (SE) and a negative electrode current collector are sequentially laminated on each surface of a plate-like positive electrode current collector. In the positive electrode, a positive electrode mixture layer that contains positive electrode active material powder and solid electrolyte powder is formed. This is because a layer configuration is formed so that a solid electrolyte having a high adhesion with a positive electrode or negative electrode is interposed to thereby reduce warpage, deformation and crack of the battery due to expansion and contraction of the positive electrode and negative electrode resulting from charging and discharging.
In addition, all-solid lithium batteries are, for example, required to have a further high capacity and high power as an in-vehicle battery, and a method for the batteries to have a high capacity is to increase the thickness of an electrode active material layer. However, there is a problem that this method leads to an increase in resistance resulting from the increased thickness of the electrode active material layer and, therefore, the output characteristic deteriorates. As measures against the above, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-210003 (JP-A-2006-210003) describes a battery electrode that includes a current collector and an active material layer. The active material layer contains an active material and is formed on the surface of the current collector. In the battery electrode, the specific surface of the active material increases from the surface of the active material layer toward the current collector. This is intended to improve the durability of a battery in such a manner that the specific surface of the active material is increased from the surface of the active material layer toward the current collector of the active material layer to reduce nonuniform reaction in the thickness direction of the active material layer even during charging and discharging under a high power condition. In addition, Japanese Patent No. 4055671 describes an electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte battery. In an electrode active material layer that contains an all-solid polymer electrolyte or a polymer gel electrolyte as an electrolyte and that is formed on a current collector, the electrode has a concentration gradient such that the concentration of a solid content other than the electrolyte increases from the surface of the electrode active material layer toward the current collector. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-27530 (JP-A-2010-27530) describes a battery electrode that includes a current collector and an active material layer formed on the surface of the current collector. In the battery electrode, the concentration of an active material contained in the active material layer increases from the current collector toward the surface of the active material layer.
All-solid batteries are required for further reduced diffusion resistance and further improved rate characteristic.


A method and apparatus for allowing a troubleshooter to reuse existing indicators, such as displays, LEDs, or specialized indicators, for a purpose other than the indicator's usual purpose. In response to an initial occurrence of a problem, the troubleshooter modifies the indicator's behavior to indicate a later occurrence of a fault or a set of faults, which may be the cause of the problem. Upon the later occurrence of the problem, the indicator is monitored for simultaneous notification of occurrence of the fault. After the problem is triaged, the modified indicator is returned to its original use. The notification from the indicator can be sensory, i.e., auditory, visible, or tactile. The indicator's change in behavior can occur after the fault happens once or an administrable threshold number of times, or intermittently. Alternatively, the change in behavior may become semi-permanent if the fault continues to occur for some administrable number of times.

For diagnostic purposes, the person who is diagnosing the problem, i.e., troubleshooter, may rely on indicators that have a fixed purpose. For example, for catastrophic problems that require immediate attention, such as, if a car's engine oil pressure is low, a single purpose "check oil" light on the dashboard turns on. Similarly, when a car door is ajar, there may be a special indicator on a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an audible message, notifying the driver to close the car door. Likewise, when the driver and/or passenger are not wearing their safety belt, an indicator on an LCD may light or an audible message may tell the driver that a safety belt is not properly on. These indicators' function cannot be modified to have a different function for troubleshooting purposes.
Non-catastrophic car problems often are difficult to troubleshoot. An indicator, such as the "check oil" light, may provide visible notification of a generic problem, but the computer error code that identifies the specific problem may be hidden under a car seat, carpeting, or in the trunk, and may not be visible while driving the car. For example, Honda provides a light emitting diode (LED) under the carpet on older models that flashes 1-20 times. If the error code is 92, there are nine flashes followed by two flashes. On newer models, the LED presents two digits. The error code appears to be a fixed function that indicates one error even when there may be multiple problems. Below are two examples of two Honda error codes, and a more comprehensive list is available at http://www.c-speedracing.com/faq/05.php
9196-98 CivicFuel Tank Pressure Sensor low input97-98 Prelude94+ Integra9296-98 CivicEvaporative Emission Control System insufficient97-98 CRVpurge flow96-98 Prelude94+ Integra
In addition, stored performance information from the car's computer may not be downloadable, or accessing thereof may require specialized equipment.
Hesitation is an example of a difficult car problem to troubleshoot. The difficulties arise as the troubleshooter attempts to correlate the time when the troubleshooter perceived the hesitation with the error codes stored in the car's computer log. Hesitation may happen regularly or intermittently, and may be due to various causes, such as, mechanical or electrical. To make matters worse, at the time of the perceived hesitation, the car's computer log may record an error code 138, but reset or overwrite the error code when the computer's log memory is full.
The car industry is not the only industry that uses indicators that are not multifunctional for troubleshooting purposes. Communication equipment, such as, routers, gateways, switches, and port boards within the equipment, etc., use LEDs to indicate the various states that the electronic product may enter and exit. For example, an electronic product may have several multi-colored LEDs. If a green LED is steadily on, then the product is operating normally. If a yellow LED is steadily on, the product may have experienced a problem. If a red LED is steadily on, then the electronic product may be off-line. Alternatively, a single LED may indicate a change in state by flashing on and off for a variable period. For example, the LED may be flashing on for a long period of time and off for a short period. Conversely, the LED may be flashing on for a short period and flashing off for a long period. These LEDs are visible and provide state information, but the troubleshooter cannot modify the LED's behavior to help the troubleshooter correlate the time when the troubleshooter notices a problem with an error logged by a computer.
Troubleshooting problems on communication equipment, and especially on a converged network, is difficult. A converged network's operation is complicated and includes specialized communication equipment providing voice communications over a packet network, such as, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Specialized communication equipment may include call-processing stored program code and a VoIP interface board. The call-processing stored program code (i.e., software and firmware) completes transmission requests for voice, data, and video. The VoIP interface board converts media types, such as, analog or digital, to Internet Protocol (IP), thereby allowing conversations to occur between an analog phone and an Internet Protocol (IP) phone. In the communication equipment, call-processing stored program code and/or the VoIP interface board compute error codes for quality-of-service (QoS) faults. QoS faults include but are not limited to the following: loss of packets of data (packet loss); packet jitter (variation in time between data packets arriving, which may be due to network congestion, changes in packet routing, and timing issues); and out-of-order packets; etc. Packet loss and jitter are examples of two transient faults that cause voice impairments, drop fax and modem calls on converged networks, and disrupt telecommunications device for the deaf/telephone typewriter (TTY/TDD) calls.
The most troublesome faults are from outside of the boundaries of the enterprise network, and are outside of the enterprise's control, which leads to joint debugging sessions between multiple companies to solve a particular customer's problem. Packet loss due to network traffic may occur anywhere in the network path. Pinpointing the specific communication equipment that is causing the packet loss is often extremely difficult to determine in real-time by using current troubleshooting techniques. Current troubleshooting techniques include the following: using hardware or software based network sniffers; sending test packets between the near and far end of the call; performing dynamic calculations on the test packets between both ends of the call using the test data; and could include providing an endpoint with an audio or visible indication of the network QoS performance based on the dynamic calculations. Alternatively, the far end of the call can send a message to the near end of the call regarding the QoS of the call. The display can use the telephone's LED or other visible or audible means to convey the QoS information.
These troubleshooting techniques do not help correlate the customer's complaint or perceived problem, such as "I hear clicking on my phone calls," with a recorded fault (ex. error code) in the error log. The troubleshooter will ask the customer what time did the clicking occur? The troubleshooter peruses the error log. Typically, there are many errors, and some time-stamps are not easily decipherable. Time-stamps are based on the communication equipment's clock, which may be incorrectly set to standard or daylight savings time. Alternatively, the clock may be synchronized to another clock, but has lost its synchronization. These problems make it difficult for the troubleshooter to correlate the time-stamp of the error in the error log with the time when the customer thought the transient problem occurred. Hence, the troubleshooter must wait for the problem to recur, and the cycle repeats.

Programming an existing indicator to indicate the cause of a condition


A high efficiency environmental control system uses air exhausted from a pressurized cabin to cool compressed air entering the cabin. Air exhausted from the cabin may flow directly from the cabin through a heat exchanger which cools the compressed air entering the cabin. Alternatively, air exiting the cabin may flow through a turbine which expands and cools the air prior to passing through the heat exchanger. The turbine may be used to drive a compressor to provide the compressed air to the cabin. Supplemental power to drive the compressor may be provided by a second turbine driven by bleed air from one or more turbine engines, or by an electric motor. Bleed air may also be mixed with air from the compressor to provide fresh air to the cabin. To further increase efficiency and meet the cooling requirements of the cabin on the ground and at altitude, switch dampers may be employed to selectably vary the flow path of air supplied to the cabin.

A common approach to environmental control system design for vehicles using turbo machines is based on the air cycle machine or "pack". The pack outputs cool air at a pressure sufficient to move the air through distribution ducts and at a rate sufficient to satisfy the fresh air needs of the occupants (while also compensating for intentional and unintentional outward leaks). The air cycle machine is said to emulate the "air-standard refrigeration cycle" found in thermodynamic texts. However, differences exist which provide the opportunity for increasing efficiency of the traditional air cycle machine approach.
The typical air cycle machine extracts an amount of "bleed air" from the engine core compressor ports, such as the eighth stage (low stage bleed air) or fourteenth stage (high stage bleed air). The bleed air is compressed or pressurized and as a result heated to a very high temperature relative to ambient. The bleed air is then passed through a compressor which further increases the temperature and pressure. Ram air flow is used to cool the compressed bleed air before it is expanded and further cooled in a turbine to an appropriate temperature and pressure to operate a water separateor and cool the controlled space, generally referred to herein as the cabin.
In terms of engine fuel consumption, bleed air is very expensive. For example, in a typical aircraft application cruising at 35,000 feet, one pound per second (pps) of low stage bleed air costs the same as 158 kilowatts (211 hp) of shaft power extracted from a gearbox coupled to the engine: 1.2% specific fuel consumption (SFC). Furthermore, fan air used to precool the bleed air before passing it to the compressor may add an additional 0.52% SFC. As such, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate the use of bleed air to increase efficiency of the environmental control system. Alternatively, it is desirable to fully utilize the energy of the bleed air.
For aircraft applications, cabin or fuselage pressure is regulated by restricting outflow of air through an outflow valve. The outflow valve has an open area modulated to provide a desired pressure. To maintain a constant cabin pressure level, the rate of air supplied must equal the rate of air leaked plus the rate of air exhausted through the outflow valve. In an attempt to recover energy from the outflow air by converting it to forward thrust, the outflow valve is carefully shaped to form a converging-diverging supersonic nozzle since the pressure ratio allows an exit Mach number of about 1.6 in a single process. The actual savings in % SFC are difficult to isolate and measure due to various factors, such as the possibility of creating an adverse yaw moment which requires rudder compensation thereby leading to additional aerodynamic drag. As such, it is desirable to provide an alternative approach to energy recovery to improve the efficiency of the environmental control system.

High efficiency environmental control systems and methods


In one embodiment, a scintillator includes a scintillator material; a primary fluor, and a Li-containing compound, where the Li-containing compound is soluble in the primary fluor, and where the scintillator exhibits an optical response signature for thermal neutrons that is different than an optical response signature for fast neutrons and gamma rays.

Radioactive materials are often detected and identified by measuring gamma-rays and/or neutrons emitted from the materials. The energy of gamma-rays is specific to that particular material and acts as a "finger print" to identify the material. Similarly, neutron energy is particular to the material, and may be used to identify the material. Of very high value are detectors capable of identifying the distinctive time-correlated signatures corresponding to neutrons and gamma rays, or "gammas" emitted by fissioning material from within a background of uncorrelated natural radiation. A detector capable of distinguishing neutrons from gammas, as well as offering a fast response time typically has better capability for detecting the distinctive time-correlated events indicative of the presence of fissioning nuclei.
The ability to detect gamma rays and/or neutrons is a vital tool for many areas of research. For example, gamma-ray/neutron detectors allow scientists to study celestial phenomena and diagnose medical diseases. Additionally, these detectors are important tools for homeland security, helping the nation confront new security challenges. The nuclear non-proliferation mission requires detectors capable of identifying diversion or smuggling of nuclear materials. Government agencies need detectors for scenarios in which a terrorist might use radioactive materials to fashion a destructive device targeted against civilians, structures, or national events. To better detect and prevent nuclear incidents, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are funding projects to develop a suite of detection systems that can search for radioactive sources in different environments.
One particularly useful type of radiation detection, pulse shape discrimination (PSD) provides means for high-energy neutron detection in the presence of gamma radiation background by utilizing the difference in the shapes of scintillation pulses excited by neutrons (recoil protons) and gamma (γ)-rays in organic scintillators. PSD phenomena are based on the existence of two-decay component fluorescence, in which, in addition to the main component decaying exponentially (prompt fluorescence), there is usually a slower emission that has the same wavelength, but longer decay time (delayed emission). According to a commonly accepted mechanism shown in FIG. 1, the fast component results from the direct radiative de-excitation of excited singlet states (S1), while the slow component originates from the collisional interaction of pairs of molecules (or excitons) in the lowest excited n-triplet states (T1).
Since the triplet is known to be mobile in some compounds, the energy migrates until the collision of two triplets collide and experience a process, shown as Equation 1:T1+T1→S0+S1  Equation 1
In Equation 1, T1 is a triplet, S0 is the ground state, and S1 is a first excited state. Finally, the delayed singlet emission occurs with a decay rate characteristic of the migration rate and concentration of the triplet population, and is represented by Equation 2:S1→S0+hv  Equation 2
In Equation 2, hv is fluorescence, while S0 is the ground state and S1 is a first excited state. The lifetime of the delayed emission is determined by the lifetime of T1 and the rate of T1T1 collisions. The short range of the energetic protons produced from neutron collisions yields a high concentration of triplets, compared to the longer range of the electrons from the gamma interactions, leading to the enhanced level of delayed emission with longer decay times in neutron-induced pulses in comparison to those produced by the gamma excitation. The observation of PSD in organics with phenyl groups is believed to be, in part, related to the aromatic ring structure, allowing for the migration of triplet energy.
FIG. 2A shows a plot of average waveforms for a stilbene test crystal indicating different levels of delayed light in neutron and gamma scintillation pulses. As can be seen from the plot, some light is produced by the crystal almost immediately, referred to as prompt light, and other light is produced by the crystal over a period of time, referred to as delayed light. Generally, the plot for each type of radiation will have a steep component 202 and a tail component 204. The upper line in the plot represents neutron light decay, while the lower line represents gamma (γ) light decay. As shown in FIG. 2A, the shape for the neutron response has a large tail component 204, which is much smaller or almost negligible for gammas. Thus, stilbene is able to differentiate between the neutron and gamma light decays, and produces noticeably different lines for each radiation type. However, not every compound has this ability to separate between gamma and neutron light decay; therefore compounds with such ability are very useful for PSD.
Modern high-speed waveform digitizers allow for easy separation of neutron and gamma pulses, enabling rapid characterization of PSD properties, as shown in FIG. 2B. The waveforms may be numerically integrated over two time intervals: ΔTotal and a subinterval ΔTail (e.g., for >50 nsec), corresponding to the total charge and the delayed component of the signal, respectively. The value of the ratio of charge R=QTail/QTotal for the two time intervals indicates whether the considered event was likely produced by a neutron (high R value) or a gamma ray (small R value). The plot shown in FIG. 2B reveals the presence of both neutrons (upper scatter points) and gammas (lower scatter points) in a plot of the ratio of charge (QTail/QTotal) versus the pulse height.
FIG. 2C illustrates one approach where the neutron/gamma delayed light separation, S, in the stilbene test crystal is used for calculation of the PSD figure of merit (FOM). The PSD separation, S, refers to the gap between the mean ratio of charge (QTail/QTotal) for gamma rays and the mean ratio of charge (QTail/QTotal) for neutrons taken over an extended period of time. The larger the separation, S, the better the organic crystal is at PSD for distinguishing gammas and neutrons.
The PSD technique is most frequently utilized for discrimination between fast neutrons (recoil protons) and gamma-rays (Compton electrons) using liquid scintillators and a few organic crystals. Recent developments broadened the group of PSD materials to include scintillating plastics. However, because the composition of organic scintillators is currently comprised of mostly hydrocarbons, traditional PSD materials can be used only for detection of fast neutrons, leaving undetected the large fraction of low-energy and thermal neutrons that do not generate enough light in elastic scatter interaction.
Present techniques for detection of thermal neutrons are typically based on 3He detectors. However, due to the imminent shortage of 3He, other neutron detection technologies utilizing 10B- and 6Li-loaded scintillating materials have been considered as possible replacements for 3He detectors. The neutron detection properties of 10B- and 6Li-containing scintillators are based on known capture reactions:10B+no=7Li+α+2.79 MeV6Li+no=3He+α+4.78 MeV.
Current scintillators utilizing the thermal neutron detection capabilities of 10B generally use boron in a gaseous form, as BF3, or in a solid form consisting of pure boron or a compound mixture (e.g. boron carbide) present in a matrix. Moreover, current scintillators utilizing the thermal neutron detection capabilities of 6Li include inorganic single crystals (e.g. LiI, LiF, Li-aluminate, Cs2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC), 6Li-lanthanide borate, etc.), 6Li-loaded glass scintillators, and composite materials including dispersions of nano- or micro-particles of different Li-containing compounds (e.g. nano- or microscale Li-containing crystals) in liquid or plastic matrices.
However, there are several disadvantages associated with existing 10B and 6Li based detectors. For example, single crystal detectors are limited by the size of the crystals that can be grown and the high cost of doing so. Additionally, difficulties that may arise from use of 6Li-loaded and/or 10B-loaded glass scintillators include long decay times and high sensitivity to gamma rays due to the presence of relatively heavy constituents in their compositions. Further, a drawback with composite materials comprising dispersions of small scintillating compounds, e.g. Li-containing crystals, in polymer and/or liquid matrices includes elevated levels of light scatter due to inhomogeneous composition and structure, as well as limitations in effective neutron detecting due to insufficient optical clarity in the scintillating wavelength region.

Lithium-containing scintillators for thermal neutron, fast neutron, and gamma detection

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


The invention relates to a kit of parts comprising DC, low voltage system of an elongated track and a plug. The elongated track has a first and a second end and comprises an elongated slot formed by a central groove with at least one shielded lateral groove, both grooves lying in a plane P. Typically two electric conductors are accommodated in said at least one lateral groove. A connector portion of the plug having a connector cross section which matches with a cross section of the slot. Both said slot cross section and connector cross section are asymmetrical with respect to a plane Q extending over the length axis perpendicular to plane P, and at least one of the slot cross section and connector cross section is mirror symmetrical with respect to said plane P. The symmetric and asymmetric requirements posed on both the cross section of the elongated track and the connector portion of the plug ensure that the connector portion only being insertable into the first end in the axial direction and, after a rotation of 180° over its connector axis, only being insertable in the axial direction into the second end of said track, with maintenance of the correct polarity The invention further relates to a plug suitable for use in the kit of parts according to the invention.

In particular such a kit of parts is related to an electrical power track system for lighting purposes, such as a minitrack system being of direct current (DC) thus having a specific polarity, and being of low voltage, e.g. 24 Volt or 12 Volt. These tracks find wide application for distribution of power, for example in domestic appliances, such as a room of a house, or in professional environments such as offices and/or shop windows. Via plugs, the track can be connected to power means for providing power to a single module or a plurality of energy consuming modules mountable on said track. Often the provision of a plurality of plugs is done to provide all of the plurality of mounted modules with power. However, this involves both the risk of a power overload of the track with subsequent risk of overheating and early failure, and involves the risk of connecting plugs with reversed polarity for said DC tracks. GB2149230A discloses a mains voltage electric power distribution system comprising a track and a plug in which the abovementioned problems of overload and connecting with reversed polarity are counteracted. When transformed to low voltage systems, this known power distribution system has yet the disadvantage that only one plug can be provided which often is insufficient to provide all of the plurality of mounted modules with enough power.

Power distribution system comprising a track to which electrical components are connected