A new and distinct cultivar of Aglaonema plant named ‘TWYAG0003’, characterized by its upright and outwardly arching plant form; vigorous growth habit; freely clumping habit; full, dense and bushy appearance; leaf surfaces green in color with pink-colored midribs and random spots and blotches; and pink-colored leaf petioles.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Aglaonema plant, botanically known as Aglaonema commutatum×Aglaonema rotundum and hereinafter referred to by the name 'TWYAG0003'.
The new Aglaonema is the result of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Bogor, Indonesia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new fast-growing Aglaonema cultivars with freely clumping habit and unique leaf coloration.
The new Aglaonema originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in October, 1988 of the Aglaonema commutatum cultivar Tricolor, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of Aglaonema rotundum, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Aglaonema was discovered and selected by the Inventor in October, 2001 as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Bogor, Indonesia. The new Aglaonema was selected on the basis of its plant habit and uniquely colored foliage.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by divisions and cuttings since early 2002 in a controlled environment in Bogor, Indonesia, has shown that the unique features of this new Aglaonema are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A Two-part, Syringe-based Electrochemical Dispenser. The dispenser consists of a disposable syringe-like fluid storage reservoir and a reusable fluid driver. The driver is located at the proximal end of a conventional syringe; the fluid exit port at the distal end. The driver generates a gas that inflates an elongated bladder situated within the filled syringe. Expansion of the bladder releases liquid at a rate nearly identical to the gas generation rate. The dispenser is held in a vertical position with the distal end pointed downward. Liquid is released drop-wise onto a porous material from which it can evaporate. A battery-driven electrochemical oxygen generator is the gas source. Means to attach the dispenser in its vertical position are provided. Such dispensing devices can be used to release pheromones, repellants, insecticides, fragrances, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to vapor release devices/dispensers. More particularly it relates to small two-part dispensers with disposable fluid reservoirs and re-usable fluid pumping mechanisms.
2. Description of Related Art
Commodity fragrance releasers and pheromone dispensers must be economical in order to be deemed commercially feasible by potential consumers. Three such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,194 for "Self-contained liquid microdispenser" (Maget I), U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,165 for "System for achieving a controlled low emission rate for small volumes of liquid solutions" (Maget V) and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,809 for "Electrochemical dispenser" (Maget VI).
Most prior art dispensers include an integral battery-powered gas generation unit, such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/413,546 for "Electrochemical Gas Generator and Cell Assembly," as well as in Maget VI. The Ser. No. 12/413,546 device does not, however, embody a dispenser having two parts (one being replaceable).
One prior device does teach a two-part fluid dispenser—Maget VI, as well as the system taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,640 for "Two-part fluid dispenser" (Maget II). The teachings of Maget V and Maget VI are incorporated herein by reference since devices are described therein that includes an elongated dispenser similar to the device described herein, but with the following important distinctions: (i) fluid release in the prior system is from the top of the elongated reservoir and not the bottom, and (ii) the pumping mechanism of Maget V is an integral part of the disposable releaser.
Another important difference and improvement over Maget VI is the re-usable feature of the driver. While the fluid reservoir will require regular replenishment, the gas generator will not. Since the gas generator has a long service life (several years), the driver can be expected to operate up until the exhaustion of the onboard battery capacity. Even then, replacing the onboard batteries will provide another gas generator operating cycle. Therefore the cost per use of the driver is amortized over the multiple uses of the driver (i.e. multiple battery replacements and fluid replenishments.)
Since the fluid reservoir of the instant design is based upon a plastic syringe, the cost of replacement of the disposable component is expected to be as low as that of plastic syringes, a commodity product, that are produced in billions of units/year by the health care industry.
While it may seem trivial, to place the syringe with the distal end pointing downward, the reader is assured that this is not the case. In fact, by employing this configuration, all of the fluid can be eventually evacuated from the syringe barrel, whereas in the device of Maget VI, some of the liquid would be entrapped at the base of the elongated reservoir. Furthermore, compression of the bladder of the Maget VI device requires ever-increasing forces (pressures) to expel the fluid or ever-decreasing delivery rates, since the bladder eventually needs to collapse completely in order to surrender the contents that can be trapped in the bladder folds. In contrast, in the present invention, the bladder expands outward, with its outer dimensions being confined by the rigid syringe wall. Gravity assists the syringe driver in forcing the liquid contents towards the distal end.
Similarly, replacing the fluid receiver of Maget V with a porous plastic cup of the present invention facilitates the attachment of the fluid emanation surface to the syringe. The combination of an airtight bladder and an airtight generator render it possible to hold the syringe "upside-down" without any loss of fluid. Additionally, fluid stream discontinuity between the Luer tip and the porous receiver prevents fluid "streaming" (capillary extraction of fluid from the syringe) as well as preventing the introduction of ambient air into the syringe. If either of these were permitted, it would be impossible to control the fluid delivery rate, and therefore the rate of emanation. Finally, the orientation of the dispenser allows for the solar cells to be mounted to the top of the gas generator and still be exposed to sunlight.

Two-part, syringe-based electrochemical dispenser


Provided are a resource allocation method, device and system. The method includes: a network device allocating in advance, to the terminal device according to information associated with prediction of a service required by a terminal device, a network resource for subsequent service transfer. The resource allocation method, device and system provided in an embodiment of the invention enable a terminal to perform subsequent service transfer according to a network resource allocated in advance by a network device.

In the existing communication network, all operations for a user are post-triggered. That is, when the user has a corresponding service, a network side will be triggered to correspondingly allocate network resources in an application manner, A main flow is specifically described with reference to FIG. 1 as follows.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of network resource allocation interaction in the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, when a user is in an idle state, if a corresponding service needs to be initiated, multiple flows such as connection establishment, network resource allocation and data transmission are required. Such mode has a large response delay and a poor response effect.

Method, device and system for resource allocation

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


A tool for tuning an engine having a fuel injector unit with a follower and a body with a flange portion protruding outward from the body, includes a support structure having a follower contact surface, a plunger member slidably connected to the support structure, for bearing against the flange portion, a light source connected to a power source, a circuit for delivering electric current from the power source to the light source, and a switch which closes the circuit when the plunger member is moved to a predetermined position, and opens the circuit when the plunger member moves out of the predetermined position. The support structure preferably includes a tubular housing having two ends and which receives the plunger member in one end. A spring is preferably provided for biasing the plunger member in an extended position relative to the support structure. The follower contact surface preferably includes an outward projecting arm member, including a plate having a recess for receiving the top of the follower. A method is provided for tuning a fuel injector having a follower and a body portion and a flange protruding from the body portion, using the above-described tool, including the steps of placing the plunger member against the flange, positioning the arm member over the follower, moving the support structure toward the flange until the arm member touches the follower, and observing whether the light source becomes activated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of tools for tuning a diesel engine by adjusting the elevation of the follower on each mechanical injector unit, and more specifically to a tuning tool including a cylindrical housing having a perpendicularly protruding arm member for placing against the top of a follower, and including a spring-biased plunger protruding through one end of the housing for bearing against the injector fuel supply flange, and including a light source at the other end of the housing, and containing an electric power source and a circuit for delivering electricity from the power source to the light source, the circuit including a first conductor member attached to the plunger and a second conductor member attached to the housing which become aligned to complete the circuit only when the housing is moved relative to the plunger to a specific, pre-calibrated position, so that when the plunger is placed against the injector fuel supply flange and the housing is moved longitudinally against the biasing of the plunger until the housing arm member makes contact with the top of the follower, the light source is activated only when the follower elevation reaches proper adjustment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been tools for measuring the elevation of a diesel fuel injector follower relative to the injector body to determine if the injector is properly adjusted. Proper tuning is important because mis-adjustment leads to poor fuel efficiency and a heavy discharge of unburned gaseous pollutants. The Federal Government and the State of California now require that diesel engines be certified as correctly tuned, and truck drivers can receive traffic tickets if their trucks produce too much smoke.
The best known tool of this type is a shaft having one end narrowed to a needle tip and having a radially protruding arm portion. The shaft is positioned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the follower and the shaft needle tip is inserted into a small tool receiving hole in the injector fuel supply flange. The elevation of the follower is then adjusted until the tool arm portion just touches the top of the follower. This type of tool is calibrated during manufacture to one permanent tuning measurement. Therefore, a disadvantage of this tool is that a shop which services different types of diesel engines must purchase a separate tool for each engine type. Another problem is that, under normal shop lighting conditions, it can be difficult to see whether the proper contact between the tool and the top of the follower has been made. Thus the tuning work can become frustrating and time-consuming.
Another prior tuning tool is a cylinder having an adjustable calibration dial and gauge at one end, and a follower and rocker arm receiving hollow in the other end. The dial is rotated to calibrate the tool for a specific adjustment specification. An adjustable contact rod extends from the dial end parallel to the cylinder to touch the injector fuel supply flange. The hollow is placed over the follower and the follower is adjusted until the contact rod just touches the fuel supply flange. A problem with this tool is that the elongate rod can be accidentally bent or the calibration dial accidentally rotated, leading to mis-measurement and mistuning. Another problem is that this tool is expensive to manufacture and subject to failure with prolonged, rugged shop use.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a diesel tuning tool which clearly indicates proper adjustment by activation of a light source.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a tool which is durable and not easily thrown out of calibration with rough handling.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a tool which can be calibrated to numerous settings so that a single tool can be used to tune virtually all types of diesel engines.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a tool which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.


A heater member (1a) includes a support (10), a heating element (20), and at least one pair of power supply electrodes (30). The support (10) is made of an organic polymer and has a sheet shape. The heating element (20) is made of a polycrystalline material containing indium oxide as a main component and in contact with one principal surface of the support (10). The power supply electrodes (30) are in contact with one principal surface of the heating element (20). The heating element (20) has a sheet resistance in the range from 10 to 150 Ω/sq. The heating element (20) has a thickness of more than 20 nm and not more than 200 nm. The internal stress of the heating element (20) as measured by an X-ray stress measurement method is 500 MPa or less.

Conventionally, transparent planar heaters are known that are configured to remove mist and frost adhering to surfaces of transparent bodies by heating the surfaces.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a transparent body with a heater. In this transparent body with the heater, a transparent conductive thin film is formed on a surface of a transparent substrate. For example, the transparent conductive thin film made of tin oxide, indium oxide, or the like is formed on the entire surface of the substrate made of glass, an acrylic resin, a polyethylene resin, or the like by a method such as vacuum deposition or sputtering. Patent Literature 1 suggests that power supply electrodes exhibit low adhesion to the transparent conductive thin film. On this account, a layer made of titanium or a titanium alloy is formed on the transparent conductive thin film, and at least one pair of power supply electrodes are provided on the layer made of titanium or a titanium alloy. According to Patent Literature 1, providing the layer made of titanium or a titanium alloy between the transparent conductive thin film and the power supply electrodes improves the adhesion of the power supply electrodes. This prevents separation of the power supply electrodes.

Heater member, heater tape, and molded body equipped with heater member


There is provided a drying device including: an airflow path extending in a direction intersecting with a conveyance path of a recording medium; an external air intake section that introduces external air into the airflow path; and a heating and blowing section provided to the airflow path that heats external air introduced into the airflow path and blows drying air onto a front face of the recording medium being conveyed on the conveyance path.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a drying device and to an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
In image forming apparatuses, a known liquid droplet jetting recording type image forming apparatus includes liquid droplet jetting heads with multiple nozzles arranged in a row. Paper (a recording medium) is conveyed with respect to the liquid droplet jetting heads to form an image (including text) on the paper by jetting liquid droplets of for example ink from the nozzles towards the paper.
Processing performed after image forming in such liquid droplet jetting recording type image forming apparatuses reduces paper distortion (curling and cockling) caused by moisture in the liquid droplets by drying the paper onto which the liquid droplets have been jetted with a drying device.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2011-224932 discloses a configuration wherein external air is introduced into a drying device from the outside of an image forming apparatus, and the external air is blown as drying air onto a recording medium by a fan provided to the side of the recording medium that is being conveyed along a conveyance path.
JP-A No. 2009-45861 and JP-A No. 2010-125819 disclose a configuration wherein air inside an image forming apparatus is introduced into a drying device, and this air is blown as drying air onto the front face of a recording medium that is being conveyed on a conveyance path.
However, in the configuration of JP-A No. 2011-224932, the rate at which drying air is blown onto the recording medium is not uniform across the width direction of the recording medium since the drying air is blown from the side of the recording medium.
In the configurations of JP-A No. 2009-45861 and JP-A No. 2010-125819, the moisture content of the drying air increases since moist air inside the image forming apparatus is blown onto the recording medium as drying air.

Drying device and image forming apparatus


For a cleaning the conveyor belt of the image forming apparatus, the adhesive surface of the sheet of the sheet roller abuts on the outer surface of the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is driven in a direction so that the sheet roller rotates to roll the sheet in order to conduct a cleaning. For a renewal of the sheet, the conveyor belt is driven in a direction so that the sheet roller to unroll the sheet, the sheet is unrolled for a predetermined length, adhered to the outer surface of the conveyor belt and cut off in order to renew the adhesive surface of the sheet of the sheet roller.

Conventionally, as a recording apparatus which records on a recording medium such as paper, an image forming apparatus having an inkjet head is known. This image forming apparatus comprises a conveying mechanism which conveys a recording medium in the form of sheets, e.g. paper. A conveyor belt is disposed therein as a conveying device of a recording medium. In the conveying mechanism, as the number of conveyed recording media to be printed increases, foreign objects such as paper dust or dust of dried ink adhere to the conveyor belt. The foreign objects or dirt adhered to a conveyor belt are removed by way of raking with a blade disposed in a path of a conveyor belt, electro static adsorption, adhesion adsorption, vacuum adsorption or having an a water-bearing roller or brush abut on the conveyor belt.
However, with the conventional skill described above, the cleaning capability deteriorates gradually as more foreign objects such as dirt or ink adhere to a surface of a conveyor belt, and sufficient cleaning capability cannot be achieved. Moreover, mechanical cleaning such as with a blade or a brush has included possibility that some conveyor belts, depending on the material, could be scratched by a blade or a brush when being cleaned thereby.
On the other hand, various devices and methods for a direct cleaning of a recording medium are conventionally known.
For example, the patent document 1 identified below discloses an art to adhere powder dust remained on a recording medium to an adhesive sheet by unrolling the adhesive sheet from an unrolling roller disposed in a feed path of a recording medium, and rolling the adhesive sheet with a collection roller disposed above the unrolling roller.
In case of this art, however, one pair of unrolling and collection rollers is always required. Particularly, space for collection roller is necessary. Furthermore, a mechanism such as a roll drive device is required to roll an adhesive sheet on a collection roller. It has consequently made the size of an image forming apparatus larger, or caused possibility of making the entire mechanism of an image forming apparatus complicated.
Additionally, a cleaning with a cleaning roller which has an adhesive sheet applied to its surface is suggested. However, in this case, the adhesive sheet whose cleaning capability has gone down needs to be replaced manually to a new sheet.
(Patent document 1)                Unexamined Japanese patent publication No. 2000-318864

Image forming apparatus and cleaning method thereof


A tactical glove (1) with a glove body (2), glove fingers (3a to 3e) and a sheath (4) adjoining the glove body (2). A closure system is provided in the form of a strap (5). The strap is fastened at one end to the tactical glove (1) and has a mechanical closure (6) that is moved onto a corresponding mechanical closure (7) by a closing movement of the strap (5) in order to constrict the sheath (4), via which a mechanical closure is formed. On the sheath (4) a zipper (8) is provided, the slider (9) of which is joined to the strap (5) by a coupling such that when a closing movement of the strap (5) is performed, the zipper (8) closes. The strap (5) forms a wrist support.

The invention concerns a tactical glove.
Such tactical gloves are generally worn by persons engaged in action in places where harsh environmental conditions can exist. Accordingly, the tactical gloves are composed of stable materials that are resistant to such environmental conditions.
This applies above all to tactical gloves in the form of firefighter safety gloves. These are not only more exposed to strong splashing water, but also to high temperatures.
To adequately protect a person in such work situations, it is not sufficient for the tactical glove itself to ensure protection against environmental conditions. Rather, it is necessary for the tactical glove to form a leak-tight joint with a tactical jacket that is worn by a person engaged in an action, in particular to prevent water from penetrating between the tactical glove and the tactical jacket.
To meet these requirements, designing tactical gloves as cuffed gloves is known. Such a cuffed glove has a cuff on the glove body that is pulled over the tactical jacket. The advantage of such a cuffed glove is that the forearm of a person wearing the cuffed glove is completely covered. Moreover, it is advantageous that the cuffed glove can be relatively easily pulled on, although pulling the cuff over the tactical jacket requires a certain amount of time.
An essential disadvantage of cuffed gloves is that fluids, in particular water, can penetrate into the cuffed glove from above via the sleeves of the tactical jacket, which is problematic in particular when engaged in action in the rain.
Moreover, using tactical gloves tailored to be longer, for example such that a knitted cuff adjoins the glove, is known. The knitted cuff of the tactical glove is then worn under the sleeve of the tactical jacket, which, when the knitted cuff is tucked under the tactical jacket, is then closed by means of a zipper. It is advantageous here that the fluids, as well as hazardous substances, cannot enter the tactical glove via the tactical jacket. It is disadvantageous, however, that putting on such a tactical glove is relatively difficult and time-consuming, since tucking the knitted cuff under the tactical jacket is cumbersome.
A generic tactical glove is known from EP 3 698 664 A1.


Therapeutic methods for cancer treatments using a combined prokaryotic-eukaryotic delivery and expression system for the delivery of multiple therapeutic factors via a modified tumor-targeted bacteria. A targeted bacteria-vector system elicits an inter-kingdom dual expression (IKDE) of antitumor agents, in the nucleus or cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, with priming and maintenance of the vector in the bacterium. The therapeutic factors include small interfering RNAs, tumoricidal proteins, DNA molecules, or a combination thereof. The system provides direct killing of tumor cells and alters the tumor microenvironment by expressing anti-angiogenic factors and cytokines in intracellular and/or extracellular environments. Also provided are methods of using natural exosomes comprising cargoes obtained from the bacterially infected cells. The bacteria-vector system is useful for many types of tumor and cancer as well as recombinant vaccines. The method causes significant regression of tumor and prolongs survival of tumor-bearing mice and subject without detectable systemic toxicity.

The low costs, fast production, diverse natural and modified tropism profiles, high packaging capacity, coupled with their immunological tolerance in target organs and relative ease of control in the case of adverse events, make bacterial-mediated delivery an attractive alternative to gastrointestinal, respiratory, urogenital tracts and solid tumors. Therapeutic benefits of bacteria including attenuated Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Y. enterocolitica, Lactobacillus spp. and non-pathogenic E. coli, have been observed in vaccination against infectious disease, gene therapy against cancer, and topical delivery of antibodies and immunomodulatory cytokines in inflammatory bowel disease. These encouraging but pre-clinical studies justify further development of bacteria as a therapeutic vector against many types of pathology.
In cancer therapy, reducing problems such as inadequate tumor targeting, inefficient penetration of a tumor by a drug, toxicity to normal cells and limited lifetimes of therapeutic agents is a major target of research (Minchinton and Tannock 2006). Microbial organisms, which can act as natural anti-cancer agents and can be modified to enhance their therapeutic capabilities, are useful in overcoming many of the problems of conventional treatments (Forbes 2010). Most studies use attenuated bacteria to decrease the virulence (Hoffman 2011) and augment their natural cytotoxicity with vectors designed to deliver an agent to the tumor. Strategies for bacteria-based treatment have included delivering pro-drugs that are activated in the tumor (Barbe, Van Mellaert et al. 2006), producing a cytotoxic protein in the bacteria (Zhang, Man et al. 2010), delivery of DNA expression vectors and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) (Xiang, Fruehauf et al. 2006).
Oncolytic bacteria have a long/checkered history in cancer therapy and are perceived as safe but ineffective. Many challenges remain in effectively utilizing bacteria as antitumor agents and, to date, clinical trials of bacterial mediated therapy have had modest results (Cunningham and Nemunaitis 2001). One factor relates to the virulence of the bacteria and the effects of the host immune response to their presence (Westphal, Leschner et al. 2008). Other factors are the efficiency of intracellular delivery of multiple agents to target cells, instability of the vector carrying plasmid leading to its loss in the bacteria, inefficient transport of expression plasmids to the tumor cell nucleus and ensuring an optimal dose level of therapeutic agents. Thus, new methods are needed for the development of a novel class of bacterial vectors to treat mammals.
In immunotherapy/vaccination, delivery of eukaryotic plasmid-encoded antigens into macrophages, T cells and/or dendritic cells by live attenuated bacteria is has been used to stimulate cellular and humoral immune responses against bacterial toxin, virus and tumor antigens, but not very successfully. As an adjuvant for recruitment of innate immunity, pathogen-associated molecular patterns of these vaccine strains can amplify the immune response. When using invasive recombinant bacterial vectors for delivery of DNA vaccines, at least five problems should be solved: (a) plasmid loss (b) low frequency of host internalization (c) bacteria-induced apoptosis/pyroptosis (d) low efficacy of gene transfer and (e) transient gene expression.
A better understanding of the mechanism of preferential tropism profiles and of host-vector interactions as well as the advent of modern techniques for genetic manipulation have accelerated the development of novel synthetic bacterial systems for clinical testing. A long-homology arm′ strategy which is able to increase both accuracy and efficiency of genetic engineering technology in gram-negative strains has previously been reported. This robust and efficient method is powerful for multiple chromosome insertions or deletions to engineer bacteria for targeted delivery and expression of multiple therapeutic molecules and/or antigens in the target cells.

Therapeutic delivery and expression system, methods and uses thereof


A method of washing a soiled textile comprising cotton, the method comprising contacting the textile with a wash liquor, the wash liquor containing a soil-release effective amount of one or more soil release polymers obtained by polymerizing one or more polyisocyanates with one or more polymeric polyols having an average molar mass of above 1000 D and a 20° C. water solubility of above 300 g of polymer per liter, one or more polyols having an average molar mass of below 12,000 D and a 20° C. water solubility of below 100 g per liter, and optionally one or more further polyols.

The present invention relates to the use of certain dirt-removing polymers for enhancing the cleaning performance of laundry detergent compositions when used for washing textiles, especially textiles which consist of or contain cotton, and also to laundry detergent compositions which comprise such dirt-removing polymers.
Laundry detergent compositions, as well as the ingredients vital to the washing operation, such as surfactants and builder materials, generally further comprise constituents which may be grouped together under the heading of wash auxiliaries and which encompass such different categories of active chemical entities as foam regulators, soil antiredeposition agents, bleaches, bleach activators and color transfer inhibitors. Such auxiliaries also include substances which endow the laundry fiber with dirt-rejecting properties and which, if present during the washing process, augment the dirt-removing ability of the other laundry detergent constituents. The same applies mutatis mutandis to cleaning compositions for hard surfaces. Such dirt-removing substances are often known as soil release agents or, on account of their ability to render the treated surface, of the fiber for example, dirt-rejecting, as soil repellents. Owing to their chemical similarity to polyester fibers in the case of textiles composed of this material, particularly effective soil release agents are copolyesters which comprise dicarboxylic acid units, alkylene glycol units and polyalkylene glycol units. Soil release copolyesters of the kind mentioned and also their use in laundry detergent compositions have been known for a fairly long time.
For instance, German Offenlegungsschrift DT 16 17 141 describes a washing process which utilizes polyethylene terephthalate-polyoxyethylene glycol copolymers. The German Offenlegungsschrift DT 22 00 911 concerns laundry detergent compositions which comprise nonionic surfactant and an interpolymer from polyoxyethylene glycol and polyethylene terephthalate. German Offenlegungsschrift DT 22 53 063 mentions acidic textile-finishing compositions which comprise a copolymer from a dibasic carboxylic acid and from an alkylene or cycloalkylene polyglycol and also optionally from an alkylene or cycloalkylene glycol. Polymers from ethylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate wherein the polyethylene glycol units have molecular weights from 750 to 5000 and the molar ratio of ethylene terephthalate to polyethylene oxide terephthalate is in the range from 50:50 to 90:10 and their use in laundry detergent compositions are described in the German patent DE 28 57 292. Polymers having molecular weight 15 000 to 50 000 from ethylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate wherein the polyethylene glycol units have molecular weights from 1000 to 10 000 and the molar ratio of ethylene terephthalate to polyethylene oxide terephthalate is in the range from 2:1 to 6:1 can be used in laundry detergent compositions, according to German Offenlegungsschrift DE 33 24 258. European patent EP 066 944 concerns textile-treating compositions which comprise a copolyester from ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, aromatic dicarboxylic acid and sulfonated aromatic dicarboxylic acid in certain molar ratios. European patent EP 185 427 discloses methyl- or ethyl-endcapped polyesters having ethylene and/or propylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate units and laundry detergent compositions which comprise such soil release polymer. European patent EP 241 984 concerns a polyester which, as well as oxyethylene groups and terephthalic acid units, also comprises substituted ethylene units and also glycerol units. European patent EP 241 985 discloses polyesters which, as well as oxyethylene groups and terephthalic acid units, comprise 1,2-propylene, 1,2-butylene and/or 3-methoxy-1,2-propylene groups and also glycerol units and are end group capped with C1- to C4-alkyl groups. European patent EP 253 567 concerns soil release polymers having a molar mass from 900 to 9000 from ethylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate, wherein the polyethylene glycol units have molecular weights from 300 to 3000 and the molar ratio of ethylene terephthalate to polyethylene oxide terephthalate is in the range from 0.6 to 0.95. European patent application EP 272 033 discloses at least partly C1-4-alkyl- or acyl-endcapped polyesters having polypropylene terephthalate and polyoxyethylene terephthalate units. European patent EP 274 907 describes sulfoethyl-endcapped terephthalate soil release polyesters. In European patent application EP 357 280 soil release polyesters having terephthalate, alkylene glycol and poly-C2-4-glycol units are prepared by sulfonation of unsaturated end groups. German patent application DE 26 55 551 describes the reaction of such polyesters with polymers which contain isocyanato groups and the use of the thus prepared addition polymers as soil antiredeposition agents for the washing of synthetic fibers. German patent DE 28 46 984 discloses laundry detergent compositions which comprise a soil release polymer which is a reaction product of a polyester with a prepolymer which is obtained from a diisocyanate and a hydrophilic nonionic macrodiol and contains terminal isocyanate groups.
Polymers known from this voluminous prior art have the disadvantage that they are only insufficiently effective, if at all, in the case of textiles which do not consist of polyester or at least not overwhelmingly so. But textiles today consist to a large part of cotton or cotton-polyester blends, so that there is a need for soil release polymers which perform better against greasy stains on such textiles.
It has surprisingly been found that this object is achieved by the use of certain urethane-based polymers. As used herein, the indefinite articles "a" and "a" are synonymous with the phrases "one or more" and "at least one," unless specifically defined otherwise.

Cotton active, dirt removing urethane-based polymers

Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (Henkel KGaA)


A distinct cultivar of Tiarella plant named xe2x80x98Pink Pearlsxe2x80x99, characterized by its mounded plant habit; vigorous and robust growth habit; numerous white showy flowers arranged on dense racemes; long flowering period; and excellent garden performance.

Tiarella unifoliataxc3x97Tiarella cordifolia.
xe2x80x98Pink Pearlsxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Tiarella plant, botanically known as Tiarella unifoliataxc3x97Tiarella cordifolia and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Pink Pearlsxe2x80x99.
The new Tiarella is a product of a planned breed program conducted by the Inventor in Scottdale, Pa. The objective of the breeding program is to create new vigorous Tiarella cultivars that have a long flowering period and showy and attractive flower and leaf coloration.
The new Tiarella was discovered by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Scottdale, Pa., from seedling progeny from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in May, 1994, of an unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Tiarella cordifolia cultivar George Schenk, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Tiarella was selected by the Inventor in May, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its plant size and desirable leaf and flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Tiarella by cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Scottdale, Pa., since August, 1995, has shown that the unique features of this new Tiarella are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Pink Pearls has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Pink Pearlsxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Pink Pearlsxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Full and densely foliated; mounded plant habit.
2. Vigorous and robust growth habit.
3. Numerous white showy flowers arranged on dense racemes.
4. Long flowering period.
5. Excellent garden performance.
Plants of the new Tiarella differ from plants of the female parent, the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata, in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Scottdale, Pa. in the following characteristics:
1. Plant habit of plants of the new Tiarella is compact and mounded whereas plant habit of plants of the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata is open and spreading.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Tiarella are glossier and not as pubescent as leaves of plants of the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata.
3. Plants of the new Tiarella have dense racemes whereas plants of the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata have sparse racemes.
4. Plants of the new Tiarella flower for a longer period of time than plants of the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata.
5. Plants of the new Tiarella are more hardy than plants of the unnamed selection of Tiarella unifoliata.
Plants of the new Tiarella differ from plants of the male parent, the cultivar George Schenk, in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Scottdale, Pa in the following characteristics:
1. Plant habit of plants of the new Tiarella is more outwardly spreading than plant habit of plants of the cultivar George Schenk.
2. Plants of the new Tiarella are larger, more vigorous and more robust than plants of the cultivar George Schenk.
3. Racemes of plants of the new Tiarella are more outwardly spreading and not as erect as racemes of plants of the cultivar George Schenk.
4. Plants of the new Tiarella have white-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar George Schenk have pink-colored flowers.
5. Plants of the new Tiarella flower for a longer period of time than plants of the cultivar George Schenk.
Plants of the new Tiarella can be compared to plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Scottdale, Pa., plants of the new Tiarella differed from plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe in the following characteristics:
1. Plant habit of plants of the new Tiarella is more outwardly speading than plant habit of plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Tiarella are solid green in color whereas leaves of plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe are green with extensive and variable dark purple markings.
3. Racemes of plants of the new Tiarella are more outwardly spreading than racemes of plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe.
4. Plants of the new Tiarella have white-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe have pink-colored flowers.
5. Plants of the new Tiarella flower for a longer period of time than plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe.
Plants of the new Tiarella can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Oliver, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Scottdale, Pa., plants of the new Tiarella differed from plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Oliver in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Tiarella are larger than plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Olive.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Tiarella are green in color whereas leaves of plants of the cultivar Tiger Stripe are green with dark purple coloration towards the leaf base.
3. Racemes of plants of the new Tiarella are taller than racemes of plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Oliver.
4. Plants of the new Tiarella have white-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Oliver have pink-colored flowers.
5. Plants of the new Tiarella flower for a longer period of time than plants of the cultivar Elizabeth Oliver.


The present disclosure relates to a method for preparing a disubstituted urea and carbamate compounds simultaneously through a one-pot reaction of an amine, carbon dioxide and an alkylene oxide compound in the presence of an ionic liquid-based complex catalyst system containing indium. In accordance with the present disclosure, a disubstituted urea and carbamate compounds can be prepared simultaneously at high yield. In addition, the ionic liquid-based catalyst containing indium according to the present disclosure is economical because it can be reused several times.

Disubstituted ureas are usefully used as starting materials or intermediates of agrichemicals, herbicides, insecticides and carbamates and various methods for their preparation are being studied.
The existing method of preparing urea by reacting an amine with phosgene is disadvantageous in that the highly toxic and corrosive phosgene is used and a large amount of the pollutant HCl is produced as byproduct. Accordingly, methods for preparing urea without using the harmful phosgene have been studied in the US, Japan and Europe.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,268 discloses a method for preparing urea by reacting an amine with carbonyl sulfide (COS) in the absence of a catalyst, and the literature "J. Org. Chem. (R. A. Franz, 26, p. 3309, 1961)" discloses a method for preparing urea by reacting an amine with carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur (S) using a tertiary amine as a catalyst. However, these methods are problematic in that byproducts difficult to handle such as H2S are produced because sulfur is used.
Japanese Patent Publication No. S62-59253 discloses a method for preparing urea from a nitro compound using a catalyst such as rhodium, ruthenium, etc. Although this method allows preparation of urea with relatively high conversion rate and selectivity, the expensive noble metal catalyst may be easily decomposed because of high reaction temperature and pressure.
European Patent No. 0 319 111 discloses a method for preparing urea from a mixture of an amine and nitrobenzene using a noble metal catalyst palladium with a salt of copper, iron, manganese, vanadium, chromium, etc. added to maintain the activity of the palladium catalyst. As described in Example 1 of the EP 0 319 111, this method is problematic in that the maximum yield of urea is low as 73% (turnover frequency, i.e., the number of moles of urea produced per unit time, per a mole of catalyst <4) when reacted for 20 hours under the condition of 140° C. and 50 atm.
A method for synthesizing aliphatic urea by carbonylation of an amine in the presence of a selenium catalyst is described in "Chemistry Letters (Koyoshi Kondo, p. 373, 1972)". This method is problematic in that a large amount of the catalyst is spent since the selenium is used in an equimolar amount with respect to the starting material amine and that the reaction hardly proceeds if an aromatic amine is used as the starting material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,454 discloses a method for synthesizing urea by reacting a nitro compound with water and carbon monoxide in the presence of a selenium metal catalyst. This method is economically unfavorable since, as described in Example 1 of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,454, nitrobenzene conversion rate and urea yield are only 66.3% and 33.8% (turnover frequency, i.e., the number of moles of urea produced per unit time, per a mole of catalyst <2) when reacted for 1 hour under the condition of 150° C. and 53 atm, with a molar ratio of the catalyst to the starting material nitrobenzene of about ⅛.
As described above, the existing methods for preparing substituted urea are inappropriate for preparation of the substituted urea in industrial scale because of byproduct formation, reaction condition with high temperature and pressure, and low yield, and are problematic in that it is difficult to prepare urea in high yield when a less reactive aromatic amine is used as a starting material in spite of the reaction condition with high temperature and pressure. And, the method for preparing urea using selenium as a catalyst also has a problem because of the characteristic unpleasant odor of selenium after the reaction under the condition with high temperature and pressure.
Hydroxyalkyl carbamates are synthetic intermediate useful in various fields, including drug synthesis and agrichemical production, and as precursors of polyurethane.
As an existing method for preparing a hydroxyalkyl carbamate, Korean Patent No. 10-0050365 discloses preparation of 2-hydroxypropyl carbamate by reacting propylene carbonate with a primary or secondary aliphatic amine.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,684 (Arthur E. Gurgiolo) discloses a method for preparing an aromatic carbamate by reacting an aromatic amine, e.g., aniline, with dimethyl carbonate, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,188 discloses a catalyst for reacting an aromatic amine with an organic carbonate, including a mercury salt and iodine. However, there are problems of the toxicity of mercury and low performance of the catalyst. Also, the aromatic polyurethane derived from the aromatic carbamate synthesized from the aromatic amine has unsatisfactory physical and chemical properties as compared to aliphatic polyurethane due to yellowing.
Meanwhile, Korean Patent Publication No. 1991-0009114 relates to a novel hydroxyalkyl carbamate having one or more secondary amine groups in the molecule and a method for preparing same, and describes preparation of a hydroxyalkyl carbamate from a polyfunctional amine having at least one primary amine group and at least one hindered secondary amine group, wherein the primary amine group(s) react(s) selectively with a cyclic carbonate and the secondary amine group(s) remain(s) unreacted.
Korean Patent No. 10-0576404 relates to a β-hydroxyalkyl carbamate-modified resin for pigment dispersion and a cationic electrodeposition paint composition containing same, and describes preparation of a β-hydroxyalkyl carbamate from reaction of a cyclic carbonate with a polyepoxide-amine resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,338 relates to a cathodic electrodeposition coating composition and describes preparation of a hydroxyalkyl carbamate from reaction of a primary or secondary amine or diamine with a cyclic carbonate such as ethylene carbonate.

Process for preparing disubstituted urea and carbamate compounds from amines, carbon dioxide, and epoxides

Korea Institute of Industrial Technology


A suspension system for a motor vehicle that controls torque reaction comprising a chassis, a rigid drive axle, an opposite axle, a road wheel attached to each end of each axle, at least one torque reaction control link positioned longitudinally of the motor vehicle between the road wheels, at least two longitudinal control arms attached proximate the road wheels, for longitudinal control of the drive axle, so that the at least one torque reaction control link has a longitudinal plane that extends longitudinally of the motor vehicle and whereby the effective projection lines of the at least two longitudinal control arms and the longitudinal plane of the at least one torque reaction control link intersect each other in the direction of the opposite axle, forming a convergent angle and that when a force moves the rigid drive axle vertically up the convergent angle does not increase.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a rigid drive axle suspension system for motor vehicles.
2. Description of Prior Art
Typically, as part of an automobiles suspension, the driveshaft between the engine/transmission and the rigid drive axle gear housing is enclosed in a "torque tube." The torque tube is rigidly attached to a drive axle/gear housing assembly at one end and the other end has a "ball" that is enclosed by "ball drive housing" that is attached to the output end of the transmission. Inside the "ball" is the universal joint that rotates the driveshaft inside the "torque tube." At the axle gear housing the driveshaft rotates the pinion gear through a straight splined coupling.
This design has severe limitations in that the complete axle housing has to pivot from the "ball" at the transmission in all planes. This makes it difficult to control the bump and roll steer of the axle as desired.
Presently, many race cars use a modified form that incorporates a sliding or "slipper ball" end of the torque tube that allows the torque tube's length to change. This allows some design freedom, but still has limitations, in that there is no allowance for lateral shifting of the axle perpendicular to the torque tube. To overcome these shortcomings many other cars now use a torque arm with an open driveshaft. The torque arm is rigidly attached to the axle housing and extends toward the transmission. The end of the torque arm attached to the chassis near the transmission may be mounted in rubber. Sometimes it is attached to the chassis through a pivotally connected short vertical link.
Other designs typically have the torque arm attached to the chassis through a shock absorber with a parallel spring. This allows the end of the torque arm to move in all planes with the vertical plane controlled by the spring and shock absorber.
A torque arm has limitations on the length of the side view swing arm (SVSA) because of the placement of the engine/transmission in the chassis of the vehicle. It may also intrude into the body of the vehicle.
All of these designs are limited, because the length of the torque tube or torque arm is restricted by the distance between the rigid drive axle and the transmission. Because of this limitation, the torque reaction is fed into the chassis at less than one half of the wheelbase of the vehicle. This causes the torque reaction to lift the chassis both at the front and at the rear. The lifting of the chassis at the end where the drive axle is located decreases the sprung weight and increases the undamped weight on the drive axle, thereby reducing the control of the axle by the shock absorbers, when the wheels and axle move vertically over irregular terrain.
There is also a considerable change of the pinion angle in the negative direction when the axle is displaced vertically with the short torque tube or torque arm. This change in the negative direction of pinion angle causes forward rotational scrub of the tire contact patch on the ground, and when accelerating, a loss of traction. Pinion angle, usually measured in degrees is the convergent angle formed by the planes of the horizon and the longitudinal axis of the pinion gear intersecting. Zero pinion angle is when the planes are parallel. Negative pinion angle is when the planes are convergent toward the center of the vehicle and positive pinion angle is when they are convergent away from the center.
Various vehicle suspension systems have been designed to allow a vehicle to maintain traction of the drive axle tires when accelerating over irregular terrain. U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,844 (Olley) discloses a four link suspension having upper links that are shorter than the lower links. In this invention the instant center produced by the projection lines of the upper and lower links intersecting will move closer to the drive axle when the axle goes into a bump condition. The problem with this design is the side view swing arm (SVSA) is relatively short and becomes shorter with the movement of the instant center toward the drive axle which causes an increase in the pinion angle change in the negative direction and the conversion of sprung weight on the drive axle to direct vertical force or undamped weight on the tires or road wheels thus decreasing the ability of the tires to maintain traction over irregular surfaces while accelerating.
Another vehicle suspension systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,253 (Brumm) in which a rigid driven rear axle is connected adjacent each end of the vehicle body by single longitudinal link and by a spring strut consisting of a helical spring and a telescopic shock absorber. The projected line of the link intersects with the projected line of the vehicles chassis and the resulting instant center lies at a point beyond the axle opposite the drive axle. This awkward configuration results in the instant center shifting from one end of the vehicle to the opposite end when the drive axle moves into a bump condition. The problem with this design is that the when the drive axle moves into a bump condition the torque reaction of the axle when accelerating will pull the vehicle's chassis down at the drive axle decreasing available chassis clearance to the ground, drive axle clearance to the chassis and the springs and shock absorbers available stroke. Another problem with this design is that it calls for the spring strut or shock absorber bearing the axle's reaction forces in a bending mode.
Thus it is readily apparent that there is a longfelt need for a vehicle suspension system that positions the instant center closer to the opposite axle that will remain at a relatively static position or move away from the rigid drive axle toward or beyond the opposite axle during a bump condition. A significant deficiency with the previous developed solutions, as well as many other similar devices, is that they provide a vehicle suspension system that limits the ability of the vehicle's drive axle tires to maintain traction when accelerating over irregular terrain and/or puts the drive axle reaction forces on the spring strut or shock absorber rather than the axle attachment structures. The present invention satisfies the above-mentioned needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies in devices heretofore developed.


A vehicle clamp which may be a motorcycle clamp includes an elongated body having a pair of spaced fork leg receiving openings and an opening disposed generally between the fork receiving openings for receiving a steering shaft. A pair of spaced handlebar mounts are disposed on opposite sides of the steering shaft opening with each handlebar mount being disposed between a fork receiving opening and the steering shaft opening and a vibration dampening insert interposed between the body and the handlebar mounts. In one embodiment, the vibration dampening insert has a plurality of recesses and a lower portion of the base of the handlebar mounts has a plurality of alternating lands and grooves, with the lands being receivable within the grooves in the dampening insert. The insert serves to dampen engine generated vibrations as well as road created vibrations to minimize transmission of the same to the handlebars.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle triple clamp which has a vibration dampening insert interposed between the body of the clamp and the handlebar mounts to resist transmission of engine and road generated vibrations to the handlebars.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known that vehicles such as motorcycles generate vibrations which may be transmitted to the handlebars as a result of operation of the engine and on irregularities in the road over which the motorcycle is being driven.
It has been known to provide in riser assemblies, which connect the handlebar to the front fork assembly, rubber bushings at the interface between the riser assembly and the front fork assembly. Other types of bushings seeking to achieve this purpose have been known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,269.
In spite of the foregoing known systems, there remains a very real and substantial need for an improved vehicle clamp which effectively dampens undesired transmission of vibrations to the handlebars.

Vehicle clamp having a vibration dampening insert


An image processing device includes an acquisition section, first conversion section, determination section, filtering section, and second conversion section. The acquisition section acquires first image data defined by a plurality of color components. The first conversion section converts, for each pixel data, the plurality of color components into converted pixel data defined by a luminance and a color difference. The determination section determines whether or not each converted pixel data is target pixel data having a black character attribute. The filtering section performs a filtering process on a luminance of each target pixel data using a filter coefficient to obtain processed pixel data defined by the luminance and the color difference. The filter coefficient enhances a difference in the luminance between the each target pixel data and neighboring pixel data. The second conversion section converts each processed pixel data into updated pixel data defined by the plurality of color components.

Conventionally, there is known a device that applies filtering processing, such as edge enhancement or smoothing, to image data (for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 11-220618). In this conventional technology, the filtering processing is applied to all input color image signals, and it is determined whether or not the input signal is a black character signal. When the input signal is the black character signal, a filtering signal is used to output an image with a solid black color to prevent color blurring.

Image processing device performing filtering process on image data components using filter coefficient


A method of environmental cleanup by producing an autoclaved aerated cement building material (termed AAC) by a process that uses the available silica sand and other raw materials in mine tailings, in particular copper mine tailings from porphyry copper mines. The process minimizes the need for processed silica sand and other raw materials, normally used in the production of the AAC building material. The lightweight AAC building material produced from the mine tailings has excellent thermal insulation properties, sound absorption and other desirable construction qualities comparable to AAC building material produced using processed silica sand, i.e. from non-mine tailings raw material sources. The utilization of the copper mine tailings for producing the AAC building material, not only rids the countryside of the blight of the mountains of mine tailings waste material, but also preserves the natural resources by using the available silica, lime and other contained elements, and further conserves energy because the silica in the mine tailings is already previously ground to the desired gradation by the mining process. Further, since the AAC is a substitute for lumber, the forests as a natural resource, are preserved.

The construction industry requires the massive exploitation of natural resources such as limestone, sand, gravel, gypsum and lumber. The materials are found, almost without exception, in every single edifice or man made structure in the United States. By example, a lightweight construction material, known generically as autoclaved aerated concrete, also known by the acronym AAC, uses the same basic ingredients as in concrete, but in addition, also comprise aluminum powder. The AAC building material requires the mining of silica (SiO2) as the main raw material. The silica is in a coarse state and requires being ground and sieved for utilization as in the production process of the AAC. The preparation of the silica sand for utilization obviously requires expending a substantial amount of energy which further depletes natural resources and adds to the cost of the building material. The construction industry further depletes the forests by requiring huge amounts of lumber in the construction of buildings and residential housing. The AAC is known to replace the need for lumber as a basic structural element. Other material, such as lime, must be added to produce the AAC product.
While the building material industry depletes natural resources such as limestone, sand and gravel, the mining industry is creating waste materials in the form of mine tailings. In particular, in the State of Arizona, there are mountains of waste material containing billions of tons of copper mine tailings. The Arizona copper mines that produce the waste material are porphyry copper mines, where traditionally the host copper containing rock is predominantly silica (SiO2). The average composition of the porphyry copper mine tailings in Arizona, in weight percentage, has been found to consist of:
Silica Sand (SiO2): 61% PA1 Lime (CaO): 12% PA1 Aluminum Oxide (Al203): 7% PA1 Ferrous Oxide (Fe203): 7% PA1 Pyrite (FeS2): 3% PA1 Magnesium Oxide (MgO): 1% PA1 Potassium Oxide (K20): 2% PA1 Sodium Oxide (Na20): trace PA1 Sulfur (S) trace
The composition analysis of the Arizona copper mine tailings shows that silica sand is in fact found in substantial amounts. Also, and a very important characteristic, the silica is found in a granular state that is substantially equivalent to the granular state to which the silica must be ground and sieved to produce the AAC lightweight building material. The fine granular state of the silica sand in the mine tailings results from a flotation process that produces copper from pulverized copper ore. Similarly, lime is found in substantial amounts in the copper mine tailings. While, no particular data is presently available, mine tailings from other metal ore mines conceivably also contain comparable amounts of silica sand and lime in their mine tailings, especially if the host rock for the other metals is porphyritic.
Although the composition analysis of the copper mine tailings shows that silica sand, and lime is readily available, there are no known processes for producing building structural material that have capitalized on the availability of the silica and other of the contained elements in the waste material resource. The mine tailings from metal ore mines, especially the Arizona copper mine tailing, are not being utilized for any useful purpose and are contributing to a form of pollution of the environment. Present day environmental concerns will eventually require cleanup of the copper mine tailings, and other metal ore mining tailings. The utilization of the copper mine tailings, for example, when used to produce the AAC building material, would not only rid the blight of the mountains of mine tailings, but would also preserve the natural resources by using the available silica, lime and other contained elements, and conserve energy by virtue that the silica in the mine tailings does not require the expending of energy to arrive at the desired material gradation for use as a processed silica sand substitute. Further, since the AAC is a substitute for lumber, the forests as a natural resource, would also be preserved.
Thus, a need is seen to exist for a building product produced by a process that minimizes the need for natural resources, conserves on energy, and that uses the mine tailings from mining to effect environmental cleanup.
A particular need is seen to exist for a building material produced by a process that minimizes the need for natural resources used in the building material, that conserves on energy, and that uses copper mine tailings in the production of the building material to effect environmental cleanup.
A more particular need is seen to exist for a building material produced by a process that minimizes the need for processed silica sand and other raw materials by using the available silica sand and other raw materials found in copper mine tailings to effect environmental cleanup.

Method of environmental cleanup and producing building material using copper mine tailings waste material


A control method of a printing device comprising setting a threshold value based on a first detection value and a second detection value acquired from a detector when a target object is in a first state; comparing the threshold value with a detection value acquired from the detector and determining whether the target object is in a first state or a second state; and setting the threshold value at a time when printing starts on the target object.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing device, a control method of a printing device, and a program.
2. Related Art
Label printers that use roll paper having labels affixed at a regular interval to a continuous liner, and print on labels of the roller label paper, are known from the literature. Such label printers convey each label to a printing position for printing, peel the label from the liner with a peeler (a label separating mechanism), and then discharge the printed labels from a label exit.
If a printed label is not correctly peeled from the liner, or if the label discharged from the label exit is not removed by the user, conveyance problems may result from the liner being conveyed with the label still attached, or the label sticking in the label exit and causing a paper jam.
A detector may therefore be disposed on the downstream side of the printing position to detect if each label is correctly peeled or if the label was removed from the label exit.
Such label detectors are, however, normally located on the upstream side of the label exit, and when a photodetection unit is used as the detector, light noise from outside the label exit can cause detection errors.
JP-A-H09-249339 discloses technology for detecting whether paper is present in a printer having an optical sensor including an emitter and a detector. The printer detects the output level of the detector when the emitter is not emitting, adds a predetermined specific value to this detection level to set a threshold value, detects the output level of the detector when the emitter is emitting, and compares this detection level with the threshold value to determine if media is present.
The technology described in JP-A-H09-249339 acquires a detection result from which the effect of external light noise has been removed. However, because the effect of the external environment changes continuously due to aging and changes in the position or ambient environment of the label printer, appropriately detecting whether a label is present may not be possible depending on the actual operating environment where the label printer is used.

Printing device, control method of a printing device, and a program


Disclosed are systems, methods and computer readable mediums for optimized throughput of an object based storage system. The systems, methods and computer readable mediums including receiving an I/O request to the storage system, determining a busy ratio based on a number of blocks available in a local cache and a queue size, determining an I/O speed to the storage system, the I/O speed based at least in part on the busy ratio and an upload speed, wherein the I/O speed does not exceed a current speed of the storage system, and executing the I/O request to the storage system at the I/O speed.

Many cloud based services provide "as needed" storage and compute capacity. Often, the fee associated with storage or compute varies based on the amount of compute or storage needed at a given time. Furthermore, many cloud storage solutions throttle input/output (I/O), or read/write, functionality based on any or all of the volume of data stored, the rate at which data is read from cloud storage, the rate at which data is written to cloud storage, and the like. It can be difficult to predict throttling because the exact threshold values can not be provided by the cloud services vendor or the threshold values can be dynamically adjusted by the cloud vendor in order to balance load across the vendor infrastructure. It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived.

System and method for optimized input/output to an object storage system


A blotter/charging device is provided for simultaneously removing excess liquid carrier from a developed toner image and recharging a photoreceptor in preparation for generating and developing another electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. The blotter/charging device is useful for all types of liquid developing systems that generate two or more toner images on a photoreceptor, including image-next-to-image, image-on-image, highlight and other types of systems. A method is also provided for generating a plurality of toner images on a support wherein excess liquid carrier is removed from a developed toner image simultaneous with recharging of the support in preparation for generating and developing a second electrostatic image on the support.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an image conditioning and recharge apparatus and method for liquid developing electrostatic printing systems. In particular, the invention relates to simultaneous image conditioning, i.e., removal of liquid carrier from a developed toner image, and photoreceptor recharge for subsequent exposure and development of a second toner image.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrostatographic printing is well known and commonly used for copying or printing documents on a paper substrate. Electrostatographic printing is performed by forming a substantially uniform charge on a photoconductive member and exposing the photoconductive member to a pattern of light. Exposing the photoconductive member to the pattern of light generates a corresponding electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member. Toner particles are then deposited onto the photoconductive member so that the toner particles are selectively deposited in either charged or discharged areas on the photoconductive member. The developed toner image is then typically transferred to a substrate and fixed to the substrate by heat and/or pressure. The photoreceptor is then cleaned of any residual toner or electric charge in preparation for another charge/electrostatic latent image generating/development process.
Electrostatographic printing systems typically develop an electrostatic latent image using solid toner particles either in powder form or suspended in a liquid carrier. In liquid developing systems, the liquid developer typically has about two percent by weight toner material distributed in the liquid carrier. An electrostatic latent image is developed by applying the liquid developer to the photoconductive member, whereby the toner particles are selectively attracted to the surface of the photoconductive member in accordance with an electrostatic latent image. Typically, the toner image on the photoconductive member immediately after development contains about 12% by weight particulate toner. To improve the quality of a final image transferred to a substrate such as paper, excess liquid carrier should be removed from the developed image.
A method for removing excess liquid carrier from a developed toner image is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,238 to Till et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,244 to Landa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,964 to Landa et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,492 to Landa et al., in which an electrically-charged roller is positioned near and/or against a moving photoconductive surface having a developed toner image. As the developed toner image passes by the roller, excess liquid carrier is removed. The roller is charged to repel toner particles in the developed image so that toner particles are not removed along with the excess liquid carrier. In some cases, the roller is also said to have some affect on the charge on the photoconductive drum and/or the developed toner image.
Some liquid developing systems perform an image-on-image (IOI) process. In an IOI process, layers of toner are built up on a photoreceptor to create a process color image. Therefore, in an IOI process, after a first toner layer is formed on the photoreceptor, the photoreceptor typically must be recharged and exposed before a next toner layer can be deposited on the photoreceptor. One process for recharging a photoreceptor is a "split recharge" process, in which a first charging device overcharges the photoreceptor and a second charging device applies a charge of opposite polarity to the photoreceptor to reduce the level of charge on the photoreceptor. A split recharge system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,430 to Folkins et al., although the described system is used in a powder developing system. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,430, a first charging device, such as a corona charging device overcharges the photoreceptor to a level higher than a desired voltage level for exposure. A second charging device, such as a corona charging device, applies a charge of opposite potential to the photoreceptor to reduce the charge level on the photoreceptor to a desired pre-exposure level.

Image conditioning/recharge apparatus for electrostatic printing systems using liquid development


Some embodiments provide a method for a network controller that manages multiple logical networks implemented by multiple managed forwarding elements (MFEs) operating on multiple host machines. The method receives a notification from a particular MFE that an interface corresponding to a logical port of a logical forwarding element has connected to the particular MFE and has a particular logical network address. The method assigns a unique physical network address to the interface. Each of multiple interfaces connected to the particular MFE is assigned a different physical network address. The method provides the assigned unique physical network address to the particular MFE for the particular MFE to convert data messages sent from the particular logical network address to have the unique physical network address.

Network virtualization plays a crucial role in the operation of datacenters, with two different approaches generally used to achieve network virtualization. In the overlay approach, the physical datacenter network is used as a packet carrier, and the network functionalities (of the logical networks) are separated and implemented in the upper overlaying layer. A common technique is to embed logical L2 (data link layer) packets in physical L3 (network layer) packets. In the underlay approach, the physical network devices (e.g., switches, routers) are programmed based on the logical network model, so that the physical datacenter network acts as both the packet carrier and logical network provider.
Using overlays provides flexibility, but the network stack includes five layers rather than three for IP networking. The extra protocol layers consume extra physical network bandwidth, which means less bandwidth is available for the actual payload. In addition, the packet encapsulation and resulting fragmentation and checksum calculation use extra CPU cycles, which otherwise would be available for guest workloads (e.g., virtual machines). As such, other techniques for network virtualization would be useful.

Assignment of unique physical network addresses for logical network addresses


A square shaped lightweight steel component with reinforced members includes a main body structure (1) and reinforced members (2). The main body structure (1) is a square steel tube integrally molded by a steel plate with certain thickness. One side of the square steel tube is provided with an opening. Angular curled edges (5) are respectively set on two sides of the opening. The reinforced members (2) are fixedly connected with the side of the main body structure (1) having the opening and installed with an interval therebetween.

A square-shaped steel member, which is used in the lightweight steel field, generally adopts a square-shaped steel tube or two C-shaped steel members welded together. Ordinary tacking holes for bolting with other members in present square-shaped steel tube could only be made with a driller or flame and hence cannot be punched and processed with a press machine, thereby causing the cost to be high. The present square-shaped steel tube cannot be engaged with other member with a friction-type high-tension bolt, thus greatly reducing bearing capacity of a joint. As shown in FIG. 1, the figure shows the combination of present steel tube member used in the prior art. As to the member, the square-shaped steel, which is molded through a welding method, is used and taken as the main body structure 7. When used, the member is connected with a C-shaped steel 6 by a common bolt. Therefore, the square-shaped steel will be deformed because of too big shearing force. For corrosion resisting, the square-shaped steel tube is generally coated after being processed, which causes the cost to be high. If the tube was welted together by galvanized C-shaped steel, the process of welting will hurt the coating of corrosion resisting layer.
Therefore, the abovementioned present square-shaped steel member still has some shortcoming in actual application, which is rather urgent to implement further breakthrough improvement. In order to solve the present problems of the present lightweight square-shaped steel member, the inventor, based on the rich and practical experience in the design and manufacture of such products for many years as well as matching the applications of theories, actively carries out research and innovation, so as to create a novel square-shaped lightweight steel member with reinforced components which may improve the general present square-shaped lightweight steel member and facilitates it to have further practicability. Through continuous research, design, repeated trials and improvement, the inventor finally creates the invention which is indeed useful and practical.

Square shaped lightweight steel component with reinforced members


A pulsed-electric drilling system includes a bit that extends a borehole by detaching formation material with pulses of electric current from one or more electrodes, and a drillstring that defines at least one path for a fluid flow to the bit to flush detached formation material from the borehole. The system modulates the fluid flow across the one or more electrodes.

There have been recent efforts to develop drilling techniques that do not require physically cutting and scraping material to form the borehole. Particularly relevant to the present disclosure are pulsed electric drilling systems that employ high energy sparks to pulverize the formation material and thereby enable it to be cleared from the path of the drilling assembly. Such systems are at illustratively disclosed in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,405, titled "Focused Shock Spark Discharge Drill Using Multiple Electrodes" by Moeny and Small; and WO 2008/003092, titled "Portable and directional electrocrushing bit" by Moeny; and WO 2010/027866, titled "Pulsed electric rock drilling apparatus with non-rotating bit and directional control" by Moeny. Each of these references is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Generally speaking, the disclosed drilling systems employ a bit having multiple electrodes immersed in a highly resistive drilling fluid in a borehole. The systems generate multiple sparks per second using a specified excitation current profile that causes a transient spark to form and arc through the most conducting portion of the borehole floor. The arc causes that portion of the borehole floor penetrated by the arc to disintegrate or fragment and be swept away by the flow of drilling fluid. As the most conductive portions of the borehole floor are removed, subsequent sparks naturally seek the next most conductive paths. If this most conductive path is created by the residue of the previous disintegration, the subsequent sparks will be shunted through the residue rather than through the formation, negating the intended effect of the drilling process. The known pulsed-electric drilling systems and methods do not appear to adequately address this issue.
It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments given in the drawings and detailed description do not limit the disclosure. On the contrary, they provide the foundation for one of ordinary skill to discern the alternative forms, equivalents, and modifications that are encompassed in the scope of the appended claims.

Systems and methods for pulsed-flow pulsed-electric drilling


A power converter circuit includes a plurality of input nodes, an output, a plurality of switch and inductor circuits, a plurality of rectifier circuits, a first capacitor network, and a second capacitor network. Each of the plurality of switch and inductor circuits is connected between a respective pair of the plurality of input nodes, and each of the plurality of rectifier circuits is connected between a respective one of the plurality of switch and inductor circuits and the output. The first capacitor network includes at least two capacitors connected between at least one of the plurality of input nodes and the output, and the second capacitor network includes at least one capacitor and is connected to the output. A capacitance of the at least one capacitor of the second capacitor network is greater than a capacitance of each of the at least two capacitors of the first capacitor network.

Switched mode power converters (which are often also referred to as switched mode supplies (SMPS)) are widely used in various types of automotive, industrial, household and consumer electronic applications. A switched mode power converter includes at least one electronic switch coupled to at least one inductor. A switched mode power converter is configured to receive an input power, which is given by an input current multiplied with an input voltage, at an input and supply an output power, which is given by an output voltage multiplied with an output current, to a load coupled to an output. By regulating the input power received at the input, the switched mode power converter may regulate at least one operating parameter, for example, the output voltage. The input power may be regulated by regulating a current through the at least one inductor, wherein the inductor current may be regulated by a switched mode operation of the at least one electronic switch.
AC-DC switched mode power converters are configured to receive an AC (alternating current) input voltage and provide a DC (direct current) output voltage. Some types of AC-DC power converters have a so-called "voltage doubler" topology. In this type of power converter, a voltage level of the output voltage is at least twice an amplitude of the input voltage. Examples of power converters with a voltage doubler topology include power converters including a "VIENNA rectifier" topology.

Power converter circuit and power conversion method


An implantable device and method is provided for anchoring a drug depot to a site beneath the skin of a patient, the device and method comprising a head, a shaft and a tip, the head having a recess and/or at least one projection arranged to be engaged by an implantation tool, the shaft having an outer surface that engages the site in a manner that holds the device at the site beneath the skin, the head or shaft having members for attaching the drug depot thereto, and the tip disposed on the shaft opposite the head and capable of insertion into the site beneath the skin of the patient.

Drugs may be delivered to patients by a variety of methods including oral, intravenous, intramuscular, inhalation, topical, subcutaneous delivery or delivery directly or locally to the treatment site (e.g., intrathecally, intraspinally, intraarticularly, etc.). The method of delivery chosen depends, among other things, upon the condition being treated, desired therapeutic concentration of the drug to be achieved in the patient and the duration of drug concentration that must be maintained.
Recently, drug depots have been developed which allow a drug to be introduced or administered to sites beneath the skin of a patient so that the drug is slowly released over a long period of time. Such drug depots allow the drug to be released from the depot in a relatively uniform dose over weeks, months or even years. This method of administering drugs is becoming especially important and popular in modulating the immune, inflammation and/or pain responses in treatment of chronic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, lower extremity pain, upper extremity pain, cancer, tissue pain and pain associated with injury or repair of cervical, thoracic, and/or lumbar vertebrae or intervertebral discs, rotator cuff, articular joint, TMJ, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and the like.
Sometimes, after the drug depot is implanted at the treatment site, the drug depot may migrate from the implant site as physiological conditions change (e.g., repair and regeneration of cells, tissue ingrowth, movement at implant site, etc.). At times, this may reduce efficacy of the drug as the drug depot migrates away from the implant site and lodges in a distant site. If this occurs, the drug depot will have to be removed from the distant site and have to be reinserted causing additional physical and psychological trauma to a patient. In some cases, if the drug depot migrates into a joint, the drug depot may inhibit movement. In more severe cases, if the drug depot migrates, it may restrict blood flow causing an ischemic event (e.g., embolism, necrosis, infarction, etc.), which could be detrimental to the patient.
Previously, implantable devices have been used to stabilize tissue (e.g., bone, joints, etc.) or used to bridge gaps between ruptured tissues. These implantable devices include rigid anchoring members, which allow little or no movement at the implant site; flexible anchoring members that stabilize the joint and allow some degree of movement; retaining anchoring members that are bolted to one side of a joint and engage like a hook on the opposite side; and anchoring members with articular connections to bridge gaps and stabilize tissue.
New implantable devices are needed that improve the drug depot efficacy and reduce the risk associated with unwanted migration of the drug depot. Implantable devices that allow accurate and precise implantation of the drug depot with minimal physical and psychological trauma to the patient are also needed.

Implantable device and method for delivering drug depots to a site beneath the skin


The present invention relates to a method of making a polymeric porous separation membrane for a lithium ion polymer battery, the method comprising: providing a porous polyolefin membrane and a polymer solution of the concentration of 1–20 weight % in an organic solvent fabricated by dissolving in an organic solvent a polymer compound that is stable in an electrolyte containing a lithium salt and can be gelled in the electrolyte, at the temperature of 10–40° C.; and fabricating a polymeric porous separation membrane by coating the polymeric porous polyolefin membrane with the polymer solution. Thus, the porous separation membrane for a lithium ion polymer battery is fabricated by using the polymer solution fabricated at the low temperatures of 10–40° C., and the size of the pores of the coated is proper, so that the containing capacity of the electrolyte and the ion conductivity are good. Further gelling at low pressure is enabled and cohesive force to the electrodes is improved. In the lithium ion battery containing the porous separation membrane, the gelling is accomplished at atmospheric pressure or at low pressure for a few hours, so that problems caused by gelling for a short period at high pressure and high temperature such as the non uniform gelling of the battery, the deformation of the separation membrane and the weakened cohesion can be avoided. Moreover, the high-rate discharge, the cycle life becomes excellent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making porous polymeric separation membrane for a lithium ion polymer battery and the lithium ion polymer battery containing the same, and more particularly to a method of making a polymeric porous separation membrane fabricated by gelling polymer and inorganic material on a porous polyolefin membrane and making a lithium ion polymer battery fabricated by using the above method of making a polymeric porous separation membrane having a good cycle life, a good retention of capacity at high rate discharge and an excellent characteristics for safety
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the electric, electronic, communication and computer industries have been rapidly developed, which has increased demand for secondary batteries that have high qualities and safeties. Especially, electric or electronic products tend to become smaller, thinner and more adequate to be carried and this tendency brings demand for smaller and thinner secondary batteries, the core component of the above electric or electronic products.
Currently, a lithium ion battery is used in a portable device and an electronic product. In the lithium ion battery, a porous film made of polyethylene or polypropylene is used as a separation membrane. To fabricate the lithium ion battery, electrodes and the separation membrane are wound and put in a cylinder shaped case or a rectangular shaped case, as it is difficult to flatly laminate the electrodes and the separation membrane. The rectangular shaped lithium ion battery fabricated by being wound as described above is commercially used but is complicated to fabricate and restricted by shape, so that it is limited for the battery to become thinner and to have more capacity. Thus, a lithium polymer battery is suggested as an alternative for the lithium ion battery; the lithium polymer battery is fabricated by a solid polymeric electrolyte available to be employed as the separation membrane and an electrolyte. Thus, according to kind of the electrolyte, the solid polymeric electrolyte and the electrodes can be not only flatly laminated but also be wound, thereby increasing productivity.
A conventional solid polymeric electrolyte is made usually of polyethyleneoxide, but it has very low conductivity of about 10−8 S(Siemens)/cm at normal temperature, so that it is not proper to be exclusively used. To solve the above problem, a polymeric electrolyte in a gel form was developed to have the conductivity of 10−3 S/cm. The representative polymeric electrolyte in a gel form is composed of polyacrylonitile disclosed in American U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,679, The gelled polymeric electrolyte disclosed in American U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,679 has a high conductivity and a strong cohesive force to the electrodes, but a low mechanical strength, so that it has a difficulty in being practically used.
A polymer compound of polyvinylideneflouride(PvdF) in a hybrid form was disclosed in American U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,319 and 5,460,904 by Gozdz, which attempted a mass-production of the lithium polymer battery in the hybrid form. However, to produce the above the lithium polymer battery, a plasticizer should be added to fabricate the solid polymeric electrolyte, an anode and a cathode, thereby causing a difficulty in fabricating the battery, as the plasticizer should be extracted later. Further, the PvdF electrolyte has a high mechanical strength, but weak cohesive force, so that the fabrication of the battery requires a process making layers thinner by heat at high temperature. Further, the electrodes and the gelled polymeric electrolyte are exfoliated in the extracting process, which causes a drop of quality of the battery.
Thus, the requirement to fabricate the battery by using the gel electrolyte cannot be accomplished by using exclusively the gel electrolyte having a low mechanical strength. To solve the above problem, Korean patent no. 2000-7004714 discloses a method to coat the electrodes with the gel electrolyte. However, the method to coat the electrodes with the gel electrolyte has difficulty in generalization, as the fabrication process should be accomplished under an inert air condition, so that it is difficult to control the process.
American U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,681,357, 5,688,293 and 5,834,135 disclose methods as follows: a solution in which polymer such as PvdF is dissolved in a solvent or in an organic solvent is applied to a polypropylene or polyethylene separation membrane used for the lithium ion battery. Then, the above membrane is dried and the dried membrane and the electrodes become thin layers by heat to be united. Thereafter, the organic electrolyte is inserted therein to fabricate the battery. The above method has a weak point that the polypropylene or polyethylene separation membrane may be deformed or pores of the separation membrane may be closed, as a polymeric solution of high concentration is cast in the polypropylene or polyethylene membrane. Further, the contact between the electrodes and the separation membrane are not sufficient, as the electrodes and the separation membrane are united by heating process to become thin layers, thereby causing a low high-rate charge/discharge property and a short cycle life. Thus, this method is hardly used.
Also American U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,916 discloses a process as follows to solve the problem: A cell is fabricated by coating a polyolefin porous separation membrane with polymer, which is followed by a gelling process at a predetermined temperature and pressure. However, the above method has a problem that a partial electrode position may be occurred at edges, because, to fabricate the battery in a wound form, a high pressure should be exerted on the battery in a vertical direction at a high temperature, so that a pressure in a horizontal direction is relatively lower. Further, the high-rate charge/discharge property of the battery and a cycle property are reduced, as a path of ion conduction is limited to the gel electrolyte. This method is not commercially used any more.

Method of making porous polymeric separator and lithium ion polymer battery