An automated monitoring system and method of operation is provided for a nuclear reactor having a pressure vessel containing a reactor core for boiling water to generate steam. A plurality of monitors provide signals for respective monitoring parameters for monitoring operation of the reactor, and a computer includes a database therein containing predetermined setpoints for the monitoring parameters. The computer identifies abnormal and normal behavior of the monitoring parameters based on the database, and determines cause of abnormal behavior of the monitoring parameters using artificial intelligence. A warning i also provided to identify the cause of the monitoring parameter abnormal behavior. And, automatic mitigation action may also be effected.

A conventional boiling water reactor (BWR) includes a pressure vessel containing a reactor core for boiling water to generate steam for powering a steam turbine-generator for generating electrical power, for example. The BWR includes several conventional closed-loop control systems which control various individual operations of the BWR in response to demands.
For example, a conventional recirculation flow control system (RFCS) is used to control core flowrate which in turn controls output power of the reactor core. A conventional control rod drive system, i.e. rod control system (RCS), controls the control rod position and thereby control rod density within the reactor core for controlling reactivity therein. A conventional feedwater control system controls the feedwater supplied to the pressure vessel including its flowrate, and thereby water level within the pressure vessel, and the feedwater temperature is also controlled. And a conventional turbine control controls steam flow from the BWR to the turbine based on load demands and pressure regulation. All of these systems as well as other conventional systems utilize various monitoring parameters of the BWR for controlling operation thereof. Exemplary conventional monitoring parameters include core flow or flowrate effected by the RFCS, core pressure which is the pressure of the steam discharged from the pressure vessel to the turbine, neutron flux, feedwater temperature and flowrate, steam flow or flowrate provided to the turbine, core power, and various status indications of the BWR systems. Many of the monitoring parameters include conventional monitors or sensors for directly measuring the monitored parameter, whereas other monitoring parameters such as core power for example, are conventionally calculated using other monitoring parameters, and the status monitoring parameters are provided as output signals from the respective systems.
Conventional control parameters which include several of the monitoring parameters listed above are conventionally used for controlling operation of the BWR. The control parameters include, for example, core flow which controls reactor output power, control rod position which controls reactivity in the core, and feedwater flow and temperature which control water level within the pressure vessel and subcooling of the water contained therein, respectively. The several control systems conventionally control operation of the reactor in response to given demand signals such as load demand, for example. A computer program is conventionally used to analyze thermal and hydraulic characteristics of the reactor core for the control thereof. The analysis is based on nuclear data selected from analytical and empirical transient and accident events, and from conventional reactor physics and thermal-hydraulic principles. For example, core response to core flow changes in a BWR is related to conventionally known temperature, Doppler, Void, and power coefficients of reactivity, which reflect the conventional reactor physics and thermal-hydraulic principles.
However, in the event of an abnormal transient event, the operator on duty in the control room is required to manually react to the event at the very moment of the event based on his training, experience, and judgment. The remedial action taken may or may not be correct depending on the training and knowledge of the operator, and, in the latter event, an unnecessary reactor scram may be required. Furthermore, some transient events may occur exceptionally fast, and faster than the capability of a human operator to react thereto. In such an event, a reactor scram may be automatically effected.
One of the conventional reactor control systems is the nuclear system protection system (NSPS) which is a multi-channel electrical alarm and actuating system which monitors operation of the reactor, and upon sensing an abnormal event initiates action to prevent an unsafe or potentially unsafe condition. The NSPS conventionally provides three functions: (1) reactor trip which shuts down the reactor when certain monitored parameter limits are exceeded; (2) nuclear system isolation which isolates the reactor vessel and all connections penetrating the containment barrier; and (3) engineered safety feature actuation which actuates conventional emergency systems such as cooling systems and residual heat removal systems, for example.
Unless the operator promptly and properly identifies the cause of an abnormal transient event in the operation of the reactor, and promptly effects remedial or mitigating action, the nuclear system protection system will automatically effect reactor trip which is undesirable if not required.


The present invention is a method for producing an N-substituted carbamic acid ester derived from an organic amine from an organic amine, a carbonic acid derivative and a hydroxy composition containing one or more types of hydroxy compounds, wherein the organic amine, the carbonic acid derivative and the hydroxy composition are reacted using a urethane production reaction vessel provided with a condenser, a gas containing the hydroxy composition, the compound having the carbonyl group derived from the carbonic acid derivative, and an ammonia formed as a by-product in the reaction, is introduced into the condenser provided in the urethane production reaction vessel, and the hydroxy composition and the compound having the carbonyl group derived from the carbonic acid derivative are condensed, and wherein a stoichiometric ratio of a hydroxy compound contained in the condensed hydroxy composition to the condensed compound having the carbonyl group derived from the carbonic acid derivative is 1 or more, and a ratio of number of carbonyl groups (—C(═O)—) contained in the compound having the carbonyl group derived from the carbonic acid derivative and number of ammonia molecules contained in the ammonia recovered as a gas from the condenser is 1 or less.

Isocyanates are widely used as production raw materials of such products as polyurethane foam, paints and adhesives. The main industrial production method of isocyanates comprises reacting an amine with phosgene (phosgene method), and nearly the entire amount of isocyanates produced throughout the world are produced according to the phosgene method. However, the phosgene method has numerous problems.
Firstly, this method requires the use of a large amount of phosgene as raw material. Phosgene is extremely toxic and requires special handling precautions to prevent exposure of handlers thereof, and also requires special apparatuses to detoxify waste.
Secondly, since highly corrosive hydrogen chloride is produced in large amounts as a by-product of the phosgene method, in addition to requiring a process for detoxifying the hydrogen chloride, in many cases hydrolytic chlorine is contained in the isocyanates produced, which may have a detrimental effect on the weather resistance and heat resistance of polyurethane products in the case of using isocyanates produced using the phosgene method.
On the basis of this background, a method for producing isocyanate compounds is sought that does not use phosgene.
Although examples of such methods include a method for synthesizing aliphatic isocyanate from an aliphatic nitro compound and carbon monoxide, and a method for converting an aliphatic amide compound to isocyanate by Hoffmann decomposition, both of these methods have poor yield and are inadequate for industrial application.
Methods for obtaining an isocyanate and a hydroxy compound by thermal decomposition of N-substituted carbamic acid ester have long been known, an example of which may include the method of A. W. Hoffmann (see Non-Patent Document 1). This method enables a high yield to be achieved more easily than the methods described above, and the basic reactions employed in this method are indicated below:R(NHCOOR′)n→R(NCO)n+nR′OH  (A)(R′NHCOO)nR→nR′NCO+R(OH)n  (B)(wherein R represents an organic residue having a valence of n, R′ represents a monovalent organic residue, and n represents an integer of 1 or more). Thermal decomposition represented by the above general formulas is reversible, and although the equilibrium thereof is biased towards the N-substituted carbamic acid ester on the left side at low temperatures, the side with the isocyanate and hydroxy compound is advantageous at high temperatures.
In this manner, thermal decomposition of N-substituted carbamic acid ester is associated with harsh reaction conditions, such as being carried out at high temperatures, as well as the concomitant occurrence of various irreversible side reactions.
As indicated in the publication by Schiff (see Non-Patent Document 2) and the research by E. Dyer and G. C. Wright (see Non-Patent Document 3), examples of such side reactions may include those resulting in the formation of substituted ureas, biurets, urethodiones, carbodiimides and isocyanurates.
These side reactions not only cause decreases in selectivity and yield of the target isocyanate, but also induce the formation of polymers during the production of polyisocyanate in particular, and depending on the case, can cause a situation that makes long-term operation difficult, such as causing the reactor to be clogged by precipitation of polymeric solids.
The majority of undesirable side reactions occur at higher temperatures, have a long reaction time, and the formed isocyanate tends to increase the longer the duration of contact with each component of the reaction mixture.
Various methods have been proposed thus far relating to the obtaining of a favorable isocyanate yield by inhibiting the formation of products of undesirable side reactions during thermal decomposition of N-substituted carbamic acid esters.
First, with respect to methods for producing an intermediate in the form of N-substituted carbamic acid ester, several methods have been disclosed for producing N-substituted carbamic acid ester that do not use phosgene. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for oxidative urethanation from a primary amine, carbon monoxide and an aliphatic alcohol or aromatic hydroxy compound using a precious metal catalyst. However, since this method uses highly toxic carbon monoxide and an expensive precious metal catalyst, it has problems such as requiring a complicated procedure and excessive cost to recover the catalyst from the product in the form of N-substituted carbamic acid ester.
In addition, Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester by reacting an N-alkyl-N,N′-dialkyl urea, an aromatic hydroxy compound and hydrogen chloride gas. However, this method uses corrosive hydrogen chloride gas, consumes an expensive and uncommon urea compound, and has the problem of requiring a complicated procedure and excessive cost to recover the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester from a hydrochloride of N,N′-dialkylamine formed as a by-product.
Methods using urea or a carbonic acid derivative (such as carbonic acid ester or carbamic acid ester) have been proposed as methods for producing N-substituted carbamic acid ester that are alternatives to methods using expensive raw materials or catalysts and the like in the manner of the methods described above.
Patent Document 3 describes a method for producing aliphatic N-substituted carbamic acid ester that does not use phosgene in which a 1,3-di-substituted urea is produced from a primary amine and urea in a first stage, and an N-substituted carbamic acid ester is produced by reacting the 1,3-di-substituted urea with a hydroxy compound followed by separating and recovering the primary amine produced as a by-product and returning it to the first stage in a second stage. However, not only is the yield of the N-substituted carbamic acid ester formed low, but recycling equipment is required for the primary amine, thereby making the process extremely complicated and making this method unsatisfactory for industrial application.
An example of a method for producing N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester using urea or a carbonic acid derivative is disclosed in Patent Document 4 in which a diamine, an alcohol and urea are reacted to convert to an N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester. Patent Document 5 discloses a method for producing N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester after first producing bis-urea from an aliphatic primary polyamine, urea and alcohol, while Patent Document 6 discloses a method for producing N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester by partially reacting urea and alcohol in a first step and then supplying a diamine in a subsequent second step.
However, since the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl esters produced by these methods are thermally extremely stable, a thermal decomposition reaction that produces isocyanates from these N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl esters requires a high temperature that causes the formation of polymers due to undesirable side reactions (for example those represented by the formulas (C) to (E) indicated below). In addition, although urea is generally added in excess to obtain N-(aliphatic)-substituted-O-alkyl urethane at high yield, since the residual excess urea itself undergoes a thermal decomposition reaction at temperatures of 130° C. or higher, isocyanic acid and ammonia gas are generated (see, for example formula (F) indicated below), or the isocyanic acid forms biurets that further undergo thermal decomposition at temperatures of 200° C. or higher (see, for example, formulas (G) and (H) indicated below), thereby contributing to the formation of polymers and the like (see, for example, formulas (I) to (L) indicated below). Since these polymers and the like have extremely low solubility in solvents and the like, they frequently adhere or solidify to the reaction vessel, thereby making these methods industrially unsatisfactory. In addition, since there is no description regarding recovery of the urea or carbonic acid derivative used in excess, increases in the amount of urea or carbonic acid derivative used were unable to be avoided.
(wherein R represents an organic residue, R′ represents an aliphatic group, and a represents an integer of 0 or more.)
Furthermore, for the sake of simplifying the explanation, although the above formulas indicate reactions in the case R represents a divalent organic residue and R′ represents a monovalent organic residue, it can be easily surmised that similar reactions proceed even in the case both R and R′ have a valence of 2 or more.
With respect to this point, N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl esters are known to easily decompose to their corresponding isocyanates and aromatic hydroxy compounds (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 4), and several methods for producing N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl esters have been disclosed.
Patent Document 7 discloses a method for producing an aliphatic N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester by a one-step reaction of urea, an aromatic hydroxy compound and an aliphatic primary amine. Patent Document 8 discloses a method for producing an N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester by reacting urea and an aromatic hydroxy compound in a first step followed by reacting with a primary amine in a second step.
In these methods as well, it is necessary to use an excess amount of urea or carbonic acid derivative with respect to the amino group of the aliphatic amine in order to improve yield based on the comparatively expensive aliphatic amine. However, since these patent documents also do not describe recovery of the urea or carbonic acid derivative used in excess, increases in the amounts of urea or carbonic acid derivative used were unable to be avoided.
Patent Document 9 discloses a method for producing an aliphatic N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester from an aliphatic primary polyamine, an aromatic hydroxy compound and urea and/or non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound, wherein the non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound is recovered from the resulting urethanation reaction solution and recycled as a raw material of the urethanation reaction. According to this method, an attempt is made to inhibit increases in basic units of the urea or non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound. This method comprises obtaining an aromatic hydroxy compound and isocyanic acid by thermal decomposition of a non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound contained in an urethanation reaction solution, reabsorbing the isocyanic acid formed by decomposition into the aromatic hydroxy compound, and then reacting with the aromatic hydroxy compound to recover the non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound. However, in addition to the procedure being complicated, the recovery rate of the non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound was unable to be made adequately satisfactory.
In the case of all of the methods described above, it is difficult to quantitatively obtain N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester by using urea and a non-N-substituted carbamic acid ester as raw materials, and not only are various structures of polymers formed (and in many cases containing polymers for which the structures thereof are unable to be identified), these polymers adhere to the reaction vessel or, as a result of these compounds being formed, there was the problem of increases in the amounts of urea and amine compounds used. In addition, when producing isocyanates by applying N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester to a thermal decomposition reaction, these polymers additionally form other polymers by reacting with isocyanates formed by thermal decomposition, which may also cause problems due to adhering to or solidifying in the reaction vessel.
Therefore, methods have been disclosed for enabling a solvent to be present during thermal decomposition of N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl esters or N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl esters, for example, to avoid the problem of adhesion and solidification of polymers to the reaction vessel.
For example, according to the description of Patent Document 10, thermal decomposition of an aliphatic, alicyclic or aromatic polycarbamate is carried out at 150 to 350° C. and 0.001 to 20 bar in the presence of an inert solvent and in the presence or absence of a catalyst, auxiliary agent in the form of hydrogen chloride, organic acid chloride, alkylating agent or organic tin chloride. By-products formed can be removed continuously from the reaction vessel together with the reaction solution, for example, and a corresponding amount of fresh solvent or recovered solvent is added simultaneously. However, a disadvantage of this method is that, for example, a decrease in the production efficiency of polyisocyanate occurs due to the use of a refluxing solvent, and what is more, a large amount of energy is required, including that for recovering the solvent, for example. Moreover, the auxiliary agent used is volatile under the reaction conditions, thereby potentially contaminating the decomposition product. In addition, the amount of residue is large based on the amount of polyisocyanate formed, thereby making economic efficiency and reliability as an industrial method suspect.
Patent Document 11 describes one method for continuous thermal decomposition of a carbamate, such as an alicyclic diurethane in the form of 5-(ethoxycarbonylamino)-1-(ethoxycarbonylaminomethyl)-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexane, supplied along the inner surface of a tubular reaction vessel in a liquid form in the presence of a high boiling point solvent. This method has the disadvantages of low yield and low selectivity during production of a (cyclic) aliphatic diisocyanate. In addition, there is no description of a continuous method accompanying recovery of rebonded or partially decomposed carbamate, and post-treatment of solvent containing by-products and catalyst is also not mentioned.
On the other hand, the description of Patent Document 12, for example, relates to a circulation method for producing (cyclic) aliphatic diisocyanate by converting a corresponding diamine to an N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester followed by thermal decomposition of this N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester as an example of a method for carrying out thermal decomposition of an N-substituted carbamic acid ester without using a solvent. This method minimizes the decrease in yield by recirculating the product from an N-substituted carbamic acid ester decomposition step to an N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester formation step following reaction with alcohol. By-products that are unable to be recirculated are removed by distillative separation of a reaction mixture of the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester formation step. In this case, worthless residue forms in the form of bottom products while all comparatively low boiling point components, including N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester, are removed from the top of the column. However, this method has the disadvantage of using a large amount of energy. This is because all of the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester is required to be evaporated in the presence of a catalyst, and this N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester must also be evaporated at a temperature level within a range of the decomposition temperature of the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester. Isocyanate groups formed in useful products react with residual carbamic acid ester groups, frequently resulting in the formation of comparatively high molecular weight by-products that cause a reduction in yield, thereby continuing to fail to solve the problem of adhesion and solidification of polymers to the reaction vessel.
In addition, according to the description of Patent Document 13, a method is disclosed whereby worthless by-products are partially removed prior to carrying out thermal decomposition of N-substituted carbamic acid ester. The disadvantage of this method is that the yield of isocyanate decreases as a result of N-substituted carbamic acid ester being contained in the partially removed by-products. In addition, since polymeric compounds form and adhere to the reaction vessel as a result of heating of by-products remaining in the reaction vessel without being discharged from the reaction vessel, the problem of adhesion and solidification of polymers to the reaction vessel remains unsolved, and long-term, continuous operation is difficult.
As has been described above, a method for thermally decomposing a non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester contained in a reaction solution of an N-substituted carbamic acid ester production step to obtain an aromatic hydroxy compound and isocyanic acid, reabsorbing the isocyanic acid formed by decomposition in the aromatic hydroxy compound, and recovering a non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound by reacting with the aromatic hydroxy compound (see Patent Document 9) and a method for purifying by crystallization (see Patent Document 14) have been developed as described above to solve the problems. However, in the case of the former method, it is difficult to adequately reduce the amount of non-N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl compound in the reaction solution of the N-substituted carbamic acid ester production step. In addition, in the latter method employing crystallization as well, it is difficult to selectively crystallize compounds having a similar structure at high yield, while also resulting in the problem of consuming energy to separate a solid-solution and recover the crystallization solvent. In addition, a method has been disclosed for removing urea and carbonic acid derivatives from a reaction solution of an N-substituted carbamic acid ester production step more easily in which an amine compound, urea and alcohol are reacted, the resulting solution of N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester is introduced into a distillation column, and urea and carbonic acid ester are recovered from the distillation column (see Patent Document 15). However, due to the low boiling point of the alcohol used, there are limitations on the set temperature and set pressure of the distillation column, thereby reducing the amount of urea in the N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester solution, while the effect of inhibiting formation of by-products is not necessarily clear.
For example, it is described in Patent Document 16 that when an O-alkyl urethane obtained by reacting carbonic acid ester and organic amine is subjected to thermal decomposition in the presence of an aromatic hydroxy compound, a minute amount of carbonic acid derivatives are also present. Here, the effect of the carbonic acid derivatives is to improve thermal stability of the aromatic hydroxy compound, and is not intended to have an effect on an N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester or an isocyanate formed during thermal decomposition. Moreover, there is no description regarding an effect on N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester. In addition, although Patent Document 15 describes a composition for transfer and storage of N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester that maintains the stability thereof by inhibiting a thermal denaturation reaction of N-substituted carbamic acid-O-alkyl ester, as well as an isocyanate production process that uses that composition, there is no mention of residual urea of urea-derived compounds as described above in that composition, and there is also no mention made of N-substituted carbamic acid-O-aryl ester.                Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,501        Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,553        Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,698        Patent Document 4: U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,476        Patent Document 5: European Patent Application No. 0568782        Patent Document 6: European Patent Application No. 0657420        Patent Document 7: U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,971        Patent Document 8: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H4-164060        Patent Document 9: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-157463        Patent Document 10: U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,246        Patent Document 11: U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,550        Patent Document 12: European Patent Application No. 0355443        Patent Document 13: Japanese Patent No. 3382289        Patent Document 14: Japanese Patent No. 2804232        Patent Document 15: WO 2008/120645        Patent Document 16: WO 2008/084824        Non-Patent Document 1: Berchte der Deutechen Chemischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 3, p. 653, 1870        Non-Patent Document 2: Berchte der Deutechen Chemischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 3, p. 649, 1870        Non-Patent Document 3: Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol. 81, p. 2138, 1959        Non-Patent Document 4: O. Bayer, Das Diisocyanat-Polyaditions Verfahren, p. 12, 1963        Non-Patent Document 5: Journal of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan, Vol. 20, No. 11, p. 1003, 1962

N-substituted carbamic acid ester production method, isocyanate production method using such N-substituted carbamic acid ester, and composition for transfer and storage of N-substituted carbamic acid ester comprising N-substituted carbamic acid ester and aromatic hydroxy compound


A storage controller is provided. The storage controller includes a memory storing an indication of a current owner, a previous owner, and a preferred owner for each of one or more logical volumes. The storage controller is configured to write protect the logical volumes where the current owner and the preferred owner is the storage controller and the previous owner of the logical volumes was a different storage controller. For the logical volumes where the storage controller is the preferred but not the current owner, the storage controller is set as the current and preferred owner of the logical volumes that the different storage controller was the current but not the preferred owner for, storage controller is set as the previous owner of the logical volumes that the storage controller is the current and preferred owner of, and allowing read and write access to the one or more logical volumes.

The need to store digital files, documents, pictures, images and other data continues to increase rapidly. In connection with the electronic storage of data, systems incorporating one or more data storage controllers have been devised. Storage controllers receive data read and write requests from host computers and control one or more physical storage devices to beneficially store or provide the requested data from/to the host computers.
In order to improve read and write performance, storage controllers often have cache memories. Cache memories provide temporary storage for frequently or recently accessed data in order to reduce average access time to data stored on storage devices controlled by storage controllers. Cache memories are typically much faster to access than storage devices, and do not incur the many latencies of preparing storage device commands, identifying the physical location(s) to access, and going through a storage device bus or network interconnect system.
Data writes to storage devices may be cached, or not. In a write through cache, every write to the cache also causes a corresponding write to the storage devices. Therefore, the data in the cache is always good since it is consistent with what has been stored to the storage devices. However, write through caches can limit write performance since a command completion is not sent to the host computer generating the write request until the data has been safely written to the slower storage devices.
Write performance to storage devices can be improved over write through performance by using a write back or copy back cache memory to store posted write data. Posted writes are host writes that have been stored to a write back cache, but have not yet been written to the storage devices. The storage controller generates a command completion to the host computer generating the write request after the data has been written to cache, but not yet written to the storage devices. Because the command completion is generated sooner than in the case of the write through cache, the host computer can issue a next data read or write request faster and throughput is thereby improved.

Storage controller cache synchronization method and apparatus


An acoustic training device for simulating the effects of an unexploded sunition in a tactical engagement simulation system generates an audible signal of a predetermined frequency and duration when handled or otherwise disturbed. A timing circuit allows the referee to place the armed device in the playing field without activating the audible signal. Exemplary submunitions include the M118 Rockeye with an integral horn, the blue series of spherical bomblets, and the M42/46 grenade submunition.

The present invention relates generally to Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) type training devices, and more particularly to an acoustic training device for simulating the effects of unexploded submunitions in a tactical engagement simulation system such as the MILES.
"Submunition" are weapons that are delivered en masse by being packaged in containers that comprise a weapon system. For example: cluster bombs contain many small bomblets (submunitions) which are clustered together and delivered simultaneously. Once dispersed a submunition becomes an individual, independent, and lethal weapon system. Similarly, a dispersed submunition simulator becomes an independent weapon simulator.
The MILES has revolutionized the way in which armies train for combat. MILES has been fielded with armies of many nations around the world and has become the international standard against which all other Tactical Engagement Simulation (TES) systems are measured. For the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, MILES is the keystone of their opposing force, free-play TES program. It is highly valued in its ability to accurately assess battle outcomes and to teach soldiers the skills required to survive in combat and destroy the enemy. With MILES, commanders at all levels can conduct opposing force free-play tactical engagement simulation training exercises which duplicate the lethality and stress of actual combat.
The MILES system uses laser "bullets" to simulate realistically the lethality of a modern battlefield. Eye-safe Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) laser transmitters, capable of shooting pulses of coded infrared energy, simulate the effects of live ammunition. The transmitters are easily attached to and removed from all hand-carried and vehicle-mounted direct-fire weapons. Detectors located on opposing troops and vehicles receive coded laser pulses. MILES decoders then determine whether the target was hit by a weapon which could cause damage (hierarchy of weapons effects) and whether the laser bullet was accurate enough to cause a casualty. The target vehicle or troops are made instantly aware of the accuracy of the shot by means of audio alarms and visual displays, which can indicate either a hit or a near miss.
The codeed infrared energy is received by silicon detectors located on the target. In the case of ground troops, the detectors are installed on webbing material which resembles the standard-issue load-carrying lift harness. Additional detectors are attached to a web band which fits on standard-issue helmets. For vehicles, the detectors are mounted on belts which easily attach to the front, rear, and sides. The detectors provide 360.degree. azimuthal coverage and sufficient elevation coverage to receive the infrared energy during an air attack. The arriving pulses are sensed by detectors, amplified, and then compared to a threshold level. If the pulses exceed the threshold, a single bit is registered in the detection logic. Once a proper arrangement of bits exists, corresponding to a valid code for a particular weapon, the decoder decides whether the code is a near miss or a hit. If a hit is registered, a hierarchy decision is made to determine if this type of weapon can cause a kill against this type of target and, if so, what the probability of the "kill" might be.
While great success has been enjoyed with weapons that can be aimed, there has been no convenient or economic way for the military to incorporate grenades, mines, submunitions and other omnidirectional weaponry into their tactical exercises using the MILES. Grenades, for instance, tend to rotate during flight and would require a plurality of laser emitters to simulate a burst. Even were it economical to provide several laser emitters on each grenade, there is still the possibility that a player may be obstructed from view and thus unrealistically protected. Similarly, unexploded submunitions may be laying in tall grass or under a rock when disturbed, effectively attenuating any possible visual signal.
Copending patent application Ser. No. 07/691,603, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Interfacing Indirect-Fire Devices with MILES," uses a predetermined acoustic signal to simulate an explosion in combination with receiver circuitry sensitive to the acoustic signal and operatively connected to the existing MILES power supply. A special feature presently incorporated in the MILES provides for an audible alarm to be activated upon removal and reinsertion of the MILES power source. This feature prevents someone from cheating by deactivating his MILES receiver during simulated combat. When the power source (typically a battery) is reinstalled an audible alarm is sounded. Consequently, by momentarily removing the MILES power source from the circuit for a brief instant and then reconnecting it back into the circuit the interfacing device is able to indicate a "kill" on MILES. This operation is performed when receiver circuitry detects a predetermined acoustic signal of sufficient amplitude and duration or can even be a coded acoustic signal. An acoustic signal overcomes the disadvantages of highly directional laser pulses because of its substantially omnidirectional propagation characteristics.
Training devices which generate a predetermined acoustic signal of sufficient amplitude and duration and/or coded acoustic signals are described in copending patent application Ser. No. 07/983,952, entitled "Acoustic Training Device for Use in a Tactical Engagement System." Particular training devices which simulate a grenade, a "Bouncing Betty," and a Claymore mine are also described in copending patent applications Ser. Nos. 07/608,923, 07/708,253 and 08/002,367, respectively. All of these training devices are designed to accurately simulate the effects of a properly functioning weapon in a tactical engagement simulation.
The present invention, on the other hand, is intended to simulate the effects of a weapon which has failed to operate after deployment. Many of the submunitions and M42/M46-type grenades now in use require a mechanical firing pin to impact a stab detonator in order to initiate the explosives found in these devices. It has been demonstrated that a firing system relying on a firing pin to strike a stab detonator is not sensitive to impact angles significantly less than 90.degree. with respect to the target. Consequently, the battlefield can become littered with armed submunitions that can then be triggered upon contact by vehicles or personnel walking through the battlefield.
An example of such a mechanical submunition firing system is exhibited in the Army M223 fuze, which is employed in M42/M46 submunition grenades. These grenades, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,496, to Campagnuolo, are stacked atop one another and are delivered either by artillery projectile or rocket cargo rounds.
In addition to the M42/M46 grenades, there exists a host of other submunitions used by the Navy, Air Force and Marines. Some of these include the M118 Rockeye submunition grenade which is launched by aircraft, and the blue series of submunition grenade which are spherical bomblets also delivered by aircraft.
If any of these submunition grenades do not function after release, either from aircraft, bomb, rocket or artillery projectile, they will lie upon the ground and remain live. Any disturbance will then cause them to explode. The disturbance can occur whenever a vehicle drives over the submunition, or even when a soldier or civilian picks one up out of curiosity or in an attempt to recover souvenirs. This can be particularly troublesome in a desert environment where the relatively soft impact afforded by the sand results in a significant number of "duds."

Training device for simulating an unexploded submunition

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A pressure resistant, impact resistant, and corrosion resistant electromagnetic transmitter for pipeline uses and other applications. During use, the ferromagnetic core, the electromagnetic windings, and the other electromagnetic transmission components of the transmitter are entirely contained and sealed within a rugged outer housing.

A need exist for an improved electromagnetic transmitting device which can be used, for example, for tracking and locating pigging devices employed in pipeline systems. The improved electromagnetic transmitting device will preferably be (a) compact enough to be installed within or towed behind pigging devices used even in small diameter lines, (b) pressure sealed and pressure resistant, (c) impact resistant, (d) corrosion resistant for use in water lines, petroleum and petroleum product lines, gas lines, etc., (e) resistant to cleaning agents and other chemicals used in such lines, and (f) economical to build and use.
An example of a prior art electromagnetic transmitter is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,580. The prior art transmitter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,580 comprises a ferromagnetic tubular battery housing. The ferromagnetic battery housing has an electromagnetic coil wrapped around the exterior surface thereof so that the battery housing serves as the transmitter core. The electronic transmission components for the prior art device are also positioned on the exterior surface of the battery housing, adjacent to the electromagnetic coil. In order to provide some degree of protection to the electromagnetic coil and the electronics on the exterior of the battery tube, these components are covered with a non-conductive plastic coating.
Unfortunately, the prior art transmitter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,580 is deficient in various significant respects. In one respect, the only protection provided for the electromagnetic coil and the electronic components of the prior art transmitter against damage caused, for example, by abrupt stops, collisions with valve gates, other impacts, and the high fluid pressure conditions often encountered in pigging operations, is merely a non-conductive plastic coating. The electromagnetic coil and the electronic components are therefore susceptible not only to destructive damage caused by physical collisions and impacts, but also to corrosion and interference caused by exposure to pipeline fluids which can reach the coil and electronic components (a) through breaks, cracks, or chips which occur in the plastic coating and/or (b) by infusion beneath the plastic coating due to high pressure conditions existing in the pipeline.
Moreover, the ferromagnetic core tube of the prior art transmitter is also susceptible to corrosion and chemical attack. Because the core tube must have significant ferromagnetic properties, it cannot be formed, for example, of an austenitic stainless steel such as 304 stainless or 316 stainless which is essentially non-magnetic, or even a ferritic stainless steel which is only somewhat magnetic and is also less rugged.
Rather, it is recommended in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,580 that the ferromagnetic core tube of the prior art transmitter be formed simply of low carbon steel. Although possessing ferromagnetic properties, low carbon steel is highly susceptible to corrosion when exposed to water and other fluids. Consequently, the core tube of the prior art transmitter is also subject to damage and corrosion caused by exposure to water and/or other fluids or chemicals present in the pipeline which breach the plastic coating through breaks, cracks, or chips, or by pressure infusion. In addition, even if the plastic coating remains intact, the capped end of the ferromagnetic core tube, which must be openable for installing and replacing the batteries, is not coated with the plastic material and therefore is constantly exposed to whatever fluids and chemicals happen to be in the line, no matter how corrosive.

Pressure resistant housing device for protecting an electromagnetic transmitter


A vehicle moisture barrier comprises a formed barrier film and one or more bend flaps. The bend flaps may be bent along a bend axis formed by a deformation created at a junction line between the bend flap and the barrier film. The distal or free end of the bend flap contacts a trim panel to provide a stiffening force proximate to a raised rib extending from the opposite side of the barrier to promote sealing of the raised rib when a drawn form opposite to the raised rib is not provided to promote such sealing.

Automobile vehicles commonly provide acoustic barriers between vehicle body members and the interior trim components of the vehicle. In addition to acoustic attenuation, these barriers when used between a door member and a door trim member of an automobile vehicle also provide a seal for moisture and dirt to prevent moisture or dirt from entering into the mechanical component areas of the door structure or contacting the trim panel. In door applications when the barrier is affixed to a door trim member prior to assembly to the door assembly, such barriers are known as trim integrated acoustic shields (TIAS). TIAS barriers are formed of foamed and/or molded polymeric material and/or interpolymer materials and are also commonly provided with a layer of lofting material to improve acoustic attenuation. The lofting material can also be specifically located to promote sealing contact between the barrier and the door member.
Improvements to known acoustic barriers are required, for example, in applications where complex geometry components and a complex seal area are present between a door structure and an interior trim panel. The interpolymer materials currently used in these applications may not provide sufficient porosity control when fabricated in a thermoforming operation. Where thermoformed or permanently formed pockets are desirable, an improved perimeter seal is also desirable in addition to the adhesive bead seal commonly used. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/786,906, entitled "Water And Sound Shield Having Raised Sealing Rib", filed Feb. 25, 2004 and commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, incorporates a raised sealing rib operable without an adhesive bead to seal against specified portions of a vehicle door panel.
The raised sealing rib of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/786,906 provides up to a 360 degree water seal. However, the geometry of some applications of vehicle door and trim panels do not provide sufficient contact force throughout the length of the raised sealing rib. Additional, loose pieces of lofting material are commonly added at the time of installation to improve seal contact. This increases the installation costs and does not always effectively position the lofting material where necessary. An improved panel design is therefore desirable to eliminate the need and expense of adding loose lofting material.

Bend flaps for trim panel mounted watershields


An ultrasound probe and an ultrasound imaging system include a plurality of transducer elements arranged in an array. The plurality of transducer elements are organized to form a transmit aperture and a receive aperture. The ultrasound probe and ultrasound imaging system include a plurality of summing nodes. The ultrasound probe and ultrasound imaging system include a set of receive switches associated with each of the transducer elements in the receive aperture. Each set of receive switches is configured to selectively connect the associated transducer element to any one of the plurality of summing nodes.

A conventional ultrasound imaging system comprises an array of ultrasonic transducer elements for transmitting an ultrasound beam and receiving a reflected beam from the object being studied. By selecting the time delay (or phase) and amplitude of the applied voltages, the individual transducer elements can be controlled to produce ultrasonic waves which combine to form a net ultrasonic wave that travels along a preferred vector direction and is focused at a selected point along the beam. Multiple firings may be used to acquire data representing the same anatomical information. The beamforming parameters of each of the firings may be varied to provide a change in maximum focus or otherwise change the content of the received data for each firing, e.g., by transmitting successive beams along the same scan line with the focal point of each beam being shifted relative to the focal point of the previous beam. By changing the phase rotation and amplitude of the applied voltages, the beam with its focal point can be moved in a plane to scan the object.
The same principles apply when the transducer array is employed to receive the reflected sound energy. The voltages produced at the receiving elements are summed so that the net signal is indicative of the ultrasound reflected from a single focal point in the object. As with the transmission mode, this focused reception of the ultrasonic energy is achieved by imparting a separate phase and gain to the signal from each receiving element.
Many conventional ultrasound imaging systems have included a two-dimensional transducer array (hereinafter a 2D transducer array). For purposes of this disclosure, a 2D transducer array is defined to include a transducer array where the center points of the transducer elements form a two-dimensional pattern. The two-dimensional pattern may follow a curved surface according to some embodiments. Typically, the transducer elements are dimensionally similar in both length and width in a 2D transducer array. Also, a 2D transducer array may have full electronic focusing and steering. The 2D transducer array typically comprises a number of transducer elements arranged in a grid; the grid may have a square, rectangular, hexagonal, or other basis. By controlling the timing and amplitude of the elements in the 2D transducer array, it is possible to steer the transmitted ultrasound beam simultaneously in both an azimuth direction and in an elevation direction. The use of a 2D transducer array allows the ultrasound transducer or probe to have greater flexibility.
It is often advantageous to collect ultrasound data using a continuous-wave Doppler imaging mode for the imaging of moving fluids such as blood. In a continuous-wave Doppler imaging mode, a group of transducer elements in a transmit aperture are used to transmit ultrasonic energy into the anatomical region being imaged. A second group of transducer elements in a separate receive aperture are used to detect reflected ultrasonic energy that is reflected back from the region being imaged. Typically, for a probe with a 1D transducer array, there is an amplifier associated with each of the transducer elements in the receive aperture. However, due to both space and power constraints, the amplifiers within a probe with a 2D transducer array typically have limited dynamic range, leaving them poorly-suited for procedures such as continuous-wave Doppler imaging. In continuous-wave Doppler imaging, the signals from moving blood may be orders of magnitude weaker than the signals from stationary tissue. For proper signal analysis, both the weak blood echoes and the strong tissue echoes must be processed. Using amplifiers with limited dynamic range, such those which would be found in a conventional probe with a 2D transducer array, to process the signals received during a continuous-wave Doppler acquisition may be problematic since the blood echo signals are so much smaller than the signals received from tissue. Generally, the use of amplifiers with a limited dynamic range for continuous-wave Doppler imaging will result in sub-optimal analysis of the blood echoes.
Additionally, 2D transducer arrays typically require electronic beamforming in close proximity to the transducer array for optimal results. However, conventional 2D arrays may have several thousand elements and it is not practical to bring electrical signals from all of these elements back to the ultrasound console for electronic beamforming.
For these and other reasons there is a need for a new ultrasound probe and a new ultrasound imaging system.

Ultrasound probe and ultrasound imaging system


A direction finding radiation detector for detecting the direction of incidence of radioactive rays, comprising: a plurality of scintillators (41, 42, 43) (101, 102, 103) made of the same material, being arranged to overlap circumferentially at least in part so that they are shadowed by each other from radioactive rays incident in circumferential directions and so that light emitted from one of the scintillators is not incident on the other scintillators; and photoreceptor devices (51, 52, 53) (111, 112, 113) having light receiving surfaces optically coupled to the respective scintillators, wherein a combination of proportions of radioactive rays incident directly on the respective scintillators and radioactive rays incident indirectly thereon, being shadowed by the other scintillators, varies with the direction of incidence circumferentially. This achieves weight saving of the detector, improves the detection efficiency of the radioactive rays, elaborates detection information through measurements in half the circumferential directions or all the circumferential directions, and simplifies setting for improved operability.

Conventional gamma ray detectors to be used as survey meters and monitoring posts have been configured to determine a count rate, i.e., a count per unit time or a dose rate, i.e., a dose per unit time.
Then, in order to measure such important information as the incoming direction of radioactive rays, a method has been adopted in which a gamma ray detector is equipped with a large heavy collimator made of lead that it has sensitivity only to gamma rays of one direction passed through the lead collimator. This method, however, has had the problem that the heavy load of the lead collimator makes the detector greater in size and impairs portability thereof. Moreover, there has been another problem that since gamma rays are incident on the detector only in some directions, it is impossible to determine the count rate and dose rate of the radioactive rays (incident from all directions) in that site.
In order to solve these problems, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-66275(Patent Document 1), for example, there has also been developed a radiation detector 30 in which a plate-like thin plastic scintillator 32 of 5 mm or so and a CsI(Tl) scintillator 34 are joined in front and behind as shown in FIG. 1, so that directivity occurs from the relationship between the intensities and the characteristics in shape, such as a rise and a fall, of electric pulses that are generated by the incidence of gamma rays. In FIG. 3, the reference numeral 36 is a photoelectric transducer device, and 38 is a light-shielding case.
Nevertheless, (1) the plastic scintillator 32 has a low density, and the probability for the plastic scintillator 32 to react with, for example, 662-keV gamma rays of Cs137 incident from the front is 5% or so at best, based on calculations using the public code EGS4 of Monte Carlo simulation method. Ninety-five percent enters the subsequent CsI(Tl) scintillator 34 without reaction, which in principle makes calculation impossible. That is, there occurs the problem of low detection efficiency of gamma rays. Moreover, (2) the response sensitivity varies greatly with the angle of incidence. That is, the sensitivity is high in the forward direction to the plastic scintillator 32, whereas the sensitivity drops sharply in lateral directions beyond 20°. The detector is thus unsuitable to monitoring posts or the like which require a wide directivity. Besides, (3) setting the directivity requires an additional operation of recognizing complicated factors such as the intensities and the shapes of electric pulses. Moreover, (4) the detector has no sensitivity backward. Furthermore, there has also been the problem that (5) it is impossible to determine the count rate and dose rate of radioactive rays in that site.

Direction finding radiation detector, and radiation monitoring method and apparatus

National Institute of Radiological Sciences


The invention relates to a bidirectional drive for rotating in the one or the other direction of drive a drive wheel which is linked with an adjusting device. The bidirectional drive includes a drive lever which can be rotated about a drive axis, starting from an initial position, in the one or the other direction. The lever is linked with a coupling element for expanding a spring element that is at least partially supported by the cylindrical drive surface of the drive wheel and that entrains the drive wheel in the peripheral direction when the drive lever is moved away from the initial position, while the spring element is no longer supported by the cylindrical drive surface of the drive wheel and the drive wheel is not entrained when the drive lever is returned to the initial position. The coupling element includes expansion cams that can be tilted about an axis spaced apart from the drive axis. The expansion cams expand the actuation lever which is linked with the spring element in such a manner that the spring element which is supported by the cylindrical drive surface of the drive wheel is expanded.

The invention relates to a bidirectional drive for rotating a drive wheel connected to an adjusting device.
From German Patent Application No. 198 55 285 A1 a bidirectional manual drive is known for generating a rotational movement which starting from a zero point position of a drive lever which is able to swivel about a drive axis follows selectively in one or other rotational direction. During rotation of the drive lever from the neutral position contact bearing faces of circular section shaped coupling elements bear with force locking engagement against the opposing partially circular shaped faces of a cylindrical drive face of an output element and entrain the output element in the circumferential direction whilst during return of the drive lever into the neutral position the force locking engagement of the coupling elements against the cylindrical shaped drive face is lifted so that the output element is not entrained.
A bidirectional adjusting device known from German Patent No. 199 07 483 C2 for generating a rotational movement has a housing in which are mounted a drive element, an output element which can be angularly adjusted by actuating the drive element, and a loop spring with several windings which are supported on the inside wall of the housing and block any torque introduced from the output side whilst in the event of torque introduced on the drive side they trigger the transfer of torque from the drive element to the output element. The angled ends of the loop spring are connected to a transfer element mounted between the drive element and output element.
Through a dynamic reversal a bidirectional drive can be produced from this torque lock wherein the output element is connected to a drive lever and the cylindrical housing is replaced by a cylindrical drive wheel so that during swivel movement of the drive lever the loop spring is expanded through the transfer element from the drive lever and transfers the swivel movement of the drive lever to the cylindrical inside face of the drive wheel.
With the known bidirectional drives high flat surface pressures occur as a result of a linear bearing of the transfer elements which are designed as circular section shaped coupling elements against the drive face. The use of a loop spring requires several windings to provide sufficient force locking engagement of the loop spring against the cylindrical inside face of the output element. Nevertheless as a result of the forces which have to be applied when transferring torque there is the danger that in the event of overload the angled loop spring ends are bent round so that the bidirectional drive becomes unable to function.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a bidirectional drive of the type mentioned at the beginning for turning a drive wheel connected to an adjusting device which enables torque transfer from the drive lever to the drive wheel with slight surface pressure of the force transfer elements, which has a very simple compact structure with a high service life and which is cost-effective to manufacture.

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Coburg


This invention is directed to an electrorheological fluid which comprises nonconductive particulate susceptible to ionic and electronic polarization dispersed in a nonconductive fluid. The nonconductive particulate are a phenoxy organometallic salt. This salt is the reaction product of an esentially stoichiometric amount of phenoxy salt soluble or dispersible in a liquid and a divalent metal salt. The phenoxy salt can be made by reacting diphenol material with active metal or active metal hydroxide.

1. Technical Field
This invention is directed to an electrorheological (ER) fluid comprising nonconductive particulate susceptible to ionic and electronic polarization dispersed in an nonconductive fluid.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
It is generally known that ER fluids exhibit pronounced reversible changes in viscosity and resistance to shear in response to the application of an electric field. Such fluids generally comprise suspensions of finely divided, polarizable particles in an electrically nonconductive oil which can be rapidly and reversibly increased from the liquid to the plastic or solid state under the influence of a sufficiently powerful electric field. Both direct current electric fields and alternating current electric fields may be used for altering the viscosity. Such ER fluids are proposed for use, e.g., in shock absorbers and variable speed accessory drive clutches. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,855, the particles generally comprise materials like zeolite, silicate, silica gel, and china clay. Fluids containing particles of such materials have the disadvantage that the particles have a tendency to settle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ER fluid which maintains a low fluid viscosity in an electric field. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ER fluid which exhibits strong ER effects in an electric field. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ER fluid whose particles remain substantially dispersed, avoiding the tendency to settle as is common with conventional ER fluids.

Electrorheological fluids comprising phenoxy organometallic salt particulate


Methods, systems, apparatus, including computer program products for browsing and editing input for an input method editor. In one implementation, a method is provided. The method includes receiving an input sequence of characters in a first writing system; identifying in the input sequence of characters one or more first subsequences of consecutive characters, where each subsequence represents a syllable in a different, second writing system; identifying in the input sequence of characters one or more second subsequences, where each second subsequence includes one or more consecutive first subsequences and represents a term in the different, second writing system; determining one or more boundaries that delimit the one or more second subsequences; and generating one or more selectable indicators for display in a user interface, where each of the one or more selectable indicators identifies a respective second subsequence delimited by the one or more boundaries.

This specification relates to input methods.
A writing system uses symbols (e.g., characters or graphemes) to represent sounds of a language. A collection of symbols in a writing system can be referred to as a script. For example, a Latin writing system, including a collection of Roman characters in one or more Roman scripts, can be used to represent the English language. The Latin writing system can include blocked Roman characters (e.g., capitalized character "B"), typed Roman characters (e.g., plain character "b"), and cursive Roman characters (e.g., cursive character "b"). Each visual representation of the character "b" represents the same grapheme in the Latin writing system.
As another example, the Chinese language can be represented by more than one writing system. For example, the Chinese language can be represented by a first writing system, e.g., Pinyin (or Romanized Chinese). As another example, the Chinese language can be represented using a second writing system, e.g., Bopomofo or Zhuyin Fuhao ("Zhuyin"). As yet another example, the Chinese language can be represented using a third writing system, e.g., Hanzi. In particular, Pinyin and Zhuyin are phonetic systems for representing Hanzi characters.
Languages that use logographic writing systems in which one or more symbols, e.g., characters, correspond roughly to one word or meaning have more characters than keys on a standard input device, such as a computer keyboard on a mobile device keypad. An input method editor, however, facilitates the use of computer keyboards to input characters in these writing systems. For example, an input method editor can take Roman character inputs in the Pinyin writing system and map the inputs to the many Hanzi characters of the Chinese language. Accordingly, a keyboard designed for input in a first writing system can be used to input text in a second writing system, e.g., a keyboard for Roman scripts (e.g., a QWERTY keyboard) can be used to input Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters.


An Ethernet solid-state drive (eSSD) system includes a plurality of eSSDs, an Ethernet switch and a baseboard management controller. The Ethernet switch is coupled to each of the eSSDs, and the baseboard management controller is coupled to the each of the eSSDs and to the Ethernet switch. The baseboard management controller controls the Ethernet switch to provide to each eSSD a corresponding predetermined bandwidth that is based on bandwidth information for the eSSD that is stored in a policy table of the baseboard management controller. The at least one predetermined bandwidth may include a predetermined ingress bandwidth and a predetermined egress bandwidth for the corresponding eSSD. The at least one predetermined bandwidth may be based on a service level associated with the corresponding eSSD, and may be adaptively based on operating parameters of the corresponding eSSD.

Ethernet SSDs (eSSDs) allow one or more remote server hosts to be connected to an eSSD through an Ethernet network in a remote Direct Attached Storage (rDAS) mode. Conventional eSSD storage systems, however, do not easily allow a bandwidth SLA to be applied to a particular eSSD in a storage system having a plurality of eSSDs.

Method for controlling BW SLA in NVME-of ethernet SSD storage systems


A tool is provided for assistance in removing tires from wheel rims. The tool has a rim engaging member with a lateral opening for engaging the flange of a wheel rim, and a tire engaging member movably coupled to the rim engaging member. The rim engaging member has a slot, within which a pin of the tire engaging member can slide to thereby allow the tire engaging member to rotate and translate relative to the rim engaging member. A roller is mounted on one end of the tire engaging member to exert a downward pressure on the tire sidewall, and a handle protrudes on an opposite end. A resilient roller is mounted on a lip portion of the rim engaging member to facilitate engagement between the member and the rim, and to prevent damage to the rim. The rim engaging member also may have a resilient roller for engaging a portion of the tire engaging member to enable smooth movement of the two pieces with respect to each other. The tool also has an adjustable tire bead hook member for supporting an upper tire bead while the tool is being used to remove the lower tire bead. This adjustable hook member can be adjusted to fit a variety of tire widths, including double-width tires.

Various manual and powered tools for installing and removing tires from wheel rims are known. In a manual version such tools generally comprise an elongated pry bar handle, which is gripped by a user, and a flattened tool end for insertion between the tire bead and the wheel rim. The bead of a tire is generally wire reinforced and resists deformation. The bead is usually intended to seal a mounted tire to the wheel rim. For this purpose the bead has a diameter that is somewhat less than the diameter of the wheel rim flange and resides between the spaced flanges of the wheel rim. The bead resists stretching and is urged axially against the rim and sealed to the rim, inter alia, by pneumatic pressure in the tire or in an inner tube in the tire.
To remove a tire from a rim, the beads are unsealed or "broken" by moving them axially inwardly to disengage from sealing engagement with the rim. Then the two beads and sidewalls of the tire are passed axially over one of the rim flanges to remove the tire from the rim. Inasmuch as the diameter of the bead is less than that of the rim, this involves forcing the bead over the rim, by stretching the bead and/or deforming the bead into an oval and moving the longer dimension of the oval around the rim.
A working end of a tool is typically inserted between the tire bead and the rim flange. The user then applies pressure to the opposite handle end, using the tool as a lever and the wheel rim as a fulcrum. A short length of the tire bead is thereby lifted axially over the rim flange. This process is repeated in successive stages to increase the length of the bead on the axial outside of the rim flange, often using two or three pry tools around the periphery of the wheel rim to hold a portion of the bead against popping back over the rim flange while more of the bead is pried over the rim flange. After a certain angular span of the bead has been passed over the rim flange, prying at a distance from that span (e.g., at a diametrically opposite position) pulls the bead portion that is already outside the rim radially inwardly on the outside, rather than tending to pull that portion back between the rim flanges. It thus becomes easier to pass the remainder of the bead axially over the rim until the entire tire bead resides outside the rim.
Powered machines are available to serve the same function. Using such devices, the wheel is typically mounted on a spindle and the bead is broken. A short length of the tire bead is then pried over the rim flange, and a tool is placed under the lifted bead and engaged with a driving shaft on the spindle. An end of the tool is then passed circumferentially around the periphery of the wheel rim flange, pulling the entire bead over the rim flange.
With each of the above techniques, in order to fully remove the tire from the rim, the opposite side bead must be passed over the same rim flange as the first bead, in a similar manner. For installing a tire on a wheel rim, the foregoing process is carried out in reverse order, manually or using powered means.
Recently, truck tire manufacturers have introduced tires that are sized to take the place the traditional "dual tire" pairs used for trailer applications. These new tires are significantly wider than either of the single width tires they replace. As such, they can also have significantly deeper wheel rims, which can complicate the removal process when using current tools as described above.
Often, truck tires must be replaced on the roadside, such as when a truck driver experiences a flat on the highway. In such cases, the driver usually calls ahead for roadside assistance, rather than attempt to change the tire himself. Thus, a desirable tool for performing the above functions should be compact for easy storage and transportation. Additionally, since it can be expected that flats will occur in the winter, the tool should reduce or eliminate the need for the user to stand on the tire or wheel rim to remove and install a tire on a rim. This would reduce the chance that the user could slip and injure himself when applying the forces to the handle necessary to operate the tool.
Thus, there remains a need to provide an easy to use tool that is effective for installing and removing any of a wide variety of sizes of tires from their associated wheel rims, including newer truck tires having significantly wider wheel rims, and which can be used by the operator in a safe manner, even in inclement weather.


Methods and apparatus for detecting microcalcifications in breasts. The methods and apparatus will greatly improve detection of breast microcalcifications and concomitantly increase the early detection of breast cancers. The methods and apparatus described herein activate the resonance frequency of a breast microcalcification, thereby allowing for detection of small masses.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention described herein relates to an apparatus and method for imaging an element within a tissue, for example, imaging a microcalcification within a human breast.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
One of the most common clinical features associated with breast cancer is the presence of microcalcifications. It is often an important sign of early cancer and may be the only abnormality in up to 31% of screening-detected carcinomas. Malignant calcifications often appear in breast as innumerable, irregular salt-like grains. Although the size of calcifications can range from the microscopic up to 2 mm, or more, calcifications typically are between 100 and 500 .mu.m. Important factors in differential diagnosis include the size, shape, number and spatial distribution of calcium particles. Generally, clusters of at least 5-10 microcalcifications must be observed before malignancy is suspected.
Currently, mammography is the most reliable method for imaging calcifications. Other diagnostic techniques, including sonography, thermography, light scanning, and magnetic resonance imaging, cannot adequately image calcium deposits. Because calcification is an important sign of early breast cancer, it can be a useful marker in ultrasonic screening examinations. Ultrasound is not an ionizing radiation and has no known side effects associated with it, relative to X-ray mammography. This makes it particularly attractive for use on women of all ages on a routine basis. Although state-of-the-art mammography is very sensitive in detecting calcifications, it is low in specificity. The relatively high-false positive mammograms result in a low rate of true positive biopsies, and an attendant significant morbidity and high financial cost. For example, it is estimated that out of nearly half a million biopsies performed annually in the US, about 100,000 are done on the basis of microcalcifications detected by screening mammography. The annual cost of these procedures exceeds $250 to $300 million. Of these biopsies, only 24,000 are likely to be an intraductal carcinoma. That is, only one out of every four biopsies proves to be true-positive. A substantial reduction in cost and morbidity can be achieved if the number of negative breast biopsies is reduced. This can be best accomplished by improving the evaluation of microcalcifications.
Clinical evaluation indicates that current ultrasound systems and methods can be prone to high rates of false-positive and false-negative readings, thereby limiting existing ultrasound imaging to use as an adjunct to X-ray mammography. The current methods of ultrasonic imaging use acoustic reflectivity of the tissues to image breasts. Calcium particles are highly reflective compared to the surrounding soft tissues, yet they are difficult to identify reliably on the sonograms. This is largely due to the high background "noise" in the images caused by the coherent interference of the ultrasonic waves.
There have been many attempts to use ultrasonography to image entities within the body. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,167, to Magnin (1989), entitled "Method and Apparatus for Determining and Displaying the Absolute Value of Quantitative Backscatter," a selected point in the body is imaged by detecting and utilizing the backscatter attenuation of an ultrasonic signal. In addition to the backscattered signal from body tissues, Magnin's method also requires the detection and analysis of backscatter attenuation from moving blood at a particular point, which is close to the selected point in the body. However, Magnin does not indicate how backscattered signals may be used to image entities independently of moving blood.
Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,787 to Antich, et al. (1991), entitled "Method and Apparatus for Analyzing Material Properties Using Reflected Ultrasound," the method and device disclosed identify and use critical angles of reflection to evaluate the mechanical properties of a material, for example bone. However, this device is intended to take measurements locally over a selected area, in order to minimize the effects of any non-homogeneity at the site under investigation. Another disclosed device characterizes, small non-homogeneous masses embedded within soft tissue, thus being inadequate for the detection of microcalcifications in the breast.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,984 to Perez-Mendez, et al. (1982), entitled, "Method and Apparatus for Detecting and/or Imaging Clusters of Small Scattering Centers in the Body," a method and apparatus for imaging clusters of calcification in the breast by ultrasound scattering is disclosed. The apparatus includes a plurality of receiving transducers disposed to receive ultrasound energy scattered by inclusions in the breast. The apparatus also employs a water tank or similar coupling means to couple the transmitted ultrasound signals through to the breast tissue. Furthermore, the apparatus and method rely upon phase differences between among the several received scattered energy signals to locate the scattering clusters. The ultrasound frequency used for cluster detection is adapted to generate scattering signals in a manner dependent upon cluster size. This apparatus and method, however, presume that a cluster is a calcification solely on the basis of particle size. Also, the apparatus can experience speckle interference which can lead to erroneous results. In addition, water tanks are very difficult to use for imaging patients. Generally, in such systems there is significant refraction artifact and the motion of breast loosely suspended in water can be a problem.
The advantages of using ultrasound Doppler techniques are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,184 to Greene, et al. (1988), entitled "Ultrasound Doppler Diagnostic System Using Pattern Recognition." This device employs a frequency-analyzed signal from a pulsed Doppler ultrasound examination that is processed using statistical pattern recognition to assess the presence and extent of arterial disease. Although this system can be used to visualize blood vessel wall calcifications and anatomical variations, it requires the flow of blood through the vessel to produce the Doppler signal. However, Greene, et al. do not suggest a system or method by which non-homogeneous entities embedded within other tissues of the body can be located, characterized, and visualized.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,028 to Mitchell, et al. (1994), entitled "High Resolution Ultrasound Mammography System and Boundary Array Scanner Therefor," an ultrasound mammography system that employs a synthetic array and a boundary array concept is described. Although the synthetic array structure reduces the array hardware complexity and resolves projector depth-of-field problems, it requires the synchronization of transmitted pulses to the time between human heartbeats, so that the body motion induced thereby does not corrupt the scanned image. In this system, the reflection data collected from a scan provides a basis for imaging the breast volume scanned. The nature of the tissue is determined by the shape and relative contrast of the image, as determined from the reflectivity characteristics. This system is ostensibly limited to applications where the relative movement between the array and objects in the scanned volume is not excessive during the scan period. Furthermore, the image will also exhibit speckle which, in turn, will make the detection of calcification difficult.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,792 to Seale (1988), entitled "Non-Invasive Determination of Mechanical Characteristics in the Body," a non-invasive system and method for inducing relatively low-frequency vibrations in a selected element of the human body and detecting the nature of responses for determining mechanical characteristics of the element are provided. In this system, a broad-band ultrasonic transducer is employed to impart an acoustic wave into the body at multiple frequencies below 20 kHz. By sensing variations in the time-frequency components of the reflected waveform relative to the transmitted multi-frequency signal, the mechanical characteristics of the element can be determined on the basis of the parameters of vibration and of the components of the vibration mode-shape and mechanical vibrational impedance of the element under study. However, Seale's system and method do not provide high resolution imaging of the tissue surrounding the element, or the element itself, to permit additional analysis.
High-resolution breast sonography presents several technical challenges. For example, breast tissue is heterogeneous, resulting in rapid diminution of the beam, owing to reflection and scattering from the many impedance mismatches of tissue surfaces. Also, extensive refraction from curved breast tissue interfaces adds to ultrasonic beam defocusing. Masses located in the superficial breast tissues may be distorted or missed because they are in the near field of the transducer.
Under existing technology, the heterogeneous intensity pattern of the beam in the near field may cause echoes from surrounding tissues to appear within a cyst, suggesting that it is a solid mass. For this reason, breast examination with a hand-held transducer typically requires either the use of a fluid offset, or a transducer with a built-in fluid offset. For the former, a suitable fluid offset would be a degassed water-filled bag placed between the transducer and the breast, or a commercially-produced water tank or offset device.
Masses deep in the breast may also be distorted owing to the diverging beam that degrades lateral resolution. This distortion may take the form of blurring of the margins of masses, filling-in of shadows behind small masses, and failure to resolve smaller masses. Although phased-array probes can provide high-resolution imaging of breast tissue, phased-array probes typically image superficial masses improperly unless a transducer offset device is used to bring the mass into the slice-thickness focus.
In general, although the high-resolution systems are able to successfully differentiate between benign cysts and solid malignant masses, high-resolution systems are hard-pressed to image calcifications in the breast and are unable to differentiate those that are malignant from those that are benign. See, for example, "Breast Sonography", by Bassett et al., AJR 156:449-455, March 1991; "Sonographic Demonstration and Evaluation of Microcalcifications in Sonography" by Leucht, et al. Teaching Atlas of Breast Ultrasound, 2nd Edition, 1996, pp. 189-204; and Breast Sonography, Diagnostic Ultrasound, Vol. 1, Ch. 25, pp. 541-563, for additional discussion regarding the benefits and drawbacks of using current ultrasound technology for breast microcalcification characterization.
What is needed then is a method and apparatus for providing high-resolution, high-specificity imaging and characterization of an element in a surrounding tissue, for example, for detecting, characterizing, and displaying microcalcifications in a human breast.

Apparatus for imaging an element within a tissue and method therefor

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A ground stabilization apparatus and method for using the same in the installation of an elongated post such as a fence post, mailbox post, or sign post. The ground stabilization apparatus has a central ground support collar to which a plurality of radially extending stabilization arms are attached. By changing the position of the stabilization arm when it is inserted into the central ground support collar, a variety of post sizes and shapes can be installed using the apparatus. The ground stabilization apparatus is used to maintain the post in its upright and plumb position over time by distributing the force action on the post to a large area surrounding the post near the surface of the ground. The method of using the ground stabilization apparatus describes installing the device in a shallow channel that surrounds the post hole into which the post is to be placed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for use in the installation of an elongated post in the ground to stabilize the post in an upright position, and more particularly to a ground stabilization apparatus that outwardly distributes forces applied by the post into the substrate in which it is embedded.
2. Background Art
It has long been recognized that an elongated fence post that is simply buried in dirt hole will begin to lean over time. Eventually, the lean becomes extreme enough that the fence has to be replaced because of aesthetic or structural considerations. The solution in the background art has been to hinder the movement of the post by attaching an apparatus to its base end before that end is buried in the dirt. The added surface area of these apparatus provides extra resistance against the dirt surrounding it.
An example of this type of device is found in a 1903 patent granted to Harbold. In this patent, U.S. Pat. No. 720,025 taught attaching two sets of cross members to two sides of the bottom of the fence post before burying it. The post is further braced by a cable that loops around the top of the post and descends outwardly toward the ground where it is held by anchor bars that are also designed to resist pulling from the ground by having a relatively large surface area held by the force of the dirt in which it is buried.
This concept of increasing the surface area of the base of the post in an effort to increase resistance is also found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,025,823 (Morrow). In Morrow, the post is designed to support horizontally mounted plates at a variety of depths along the buried portion of the post. U.S. Pat. No. 897,417 granted to Self adds surface area at variety of depths along the buried portion of telephone poles. This surface area adding apparatus is comprised of an upper cylindrical collar with a flanged base that is attached to the bottom end of a telephone pole. The flange portion of the base is covered with dirt, partially filling the hole, where a second surface area increasing member is attached to the upper collar portion of the base. The end of the telephone pole is secured within the collar flange and the device is then fully buried.
Two other devices to increase the surface area of the base of a rod or post are found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,433,621 (Hutton) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,010 (Glass). The device taught in Hutton is comprised of a base plate with four upwardly extending concrete reinforcing fins that converge to a vertical central collar. This central collar holds the base of the rod. This entire anchor assembly is then buried in a hole dug large enough to accommodate the entire apparatus. Another finned device is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,010 (Glass). This device has a central plate with an opening through which the base of the post is firmly gripped by a plurality of radially spaced, elongated vertical splines. Several of these devices are buried at different depths along the base portion of the post.
While the patents above all take advantage of their extra surface area to act as a resistance against the soil in which they are buried, the problem is that the ability of the soil to counter the resistive force of these devices is severely compromised by the very fact that a great deal of the naturally compacted dirt has to be removed in order to place these devices into the hole. The dirt is then replaced over the resistance members and tamped down. It is probable that it will take months, if not years, for the soil to regain the compaction that it possessed before it was disturbed in order to bury these devices.
One patent that recognized the problem of losing the natural compaction of the dirt when a hole is dug for the post is U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,226 (Thomson). In this patent, Thomson teaches a device that does not require a large hole to be dug. Instead, a collar is driven into the ground where an explosive charge is detonated in its end to form an underground cavern. The post assembly is placed into the collar where a set of spring loaded fins extend once they reach the open cavern. It is even suggested in the Thomson patent, just discussed, to fill the underground cavern with concrete by pouring it through the collar.
Despite the teaching of these patents, the preferred method of fence post installation is the pouring of concrete either around the base of the post, or filling the entire hole, commonly two to three feet deep with a diameter approximately twice that of the post, with cement. Once the post is lowered into the hole, it is temporarily braced in an upright and plumb position using boards nailed to the post on one end and to stakes on the opposite end. Typically, between one and three sixty-pound bags of concrete are mixed and poured into each hole. The concrete is then allowed to dry for two days or more. Once the concrete is set, the temporary bracing is removed and the partitions of the fence are constructed between the posts. A typical one-quarter acre lot requires approximately four hundred and twenty feet of fencing to surround it. This means that about fifty-five posts have to be installed with each requiring between one and three sixty-pound bags of concrete. With between a ton and a half and almost five tons of concrete required to install this relatively short fence, it is not hard to imagine the considerable amount of cost and effort that goes into the digging, concrete mixing, alignment and temporary bracing of the fence posts. And this method is the current state of the art in post installation.
Installation of fence posts in concrete is by its very nature a permanent installation-- permanent being until the fence needs to be replaced. To replace the post, one must typically dig out a two to three foot by eight inch concrete plug weighing at least sixty pounds, lift the old post and concrete plug from the hole, and then figuring out how to dispose of it. A new post is then set in the hole, which is now larger than the original installation, which means that an even greater quantity of cement is required to fill it. In some applications, a large quality of concrete is acceptable. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,036,047 (Hill) teaches a design for a footing of a transmission tower that is meant to provide adequate surface area to create a firm anchorage when the backfill material, presumably concrete, is placed over the footing and tamped in place. For most installations, however, concrete is a little too permanent.
In some applications, concrete is not desirable because the installation of the post is only meant to be temporary. A primary example of this is a real estate sign. U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,231 (Knowles) attempts to meet this need where a device for the temporary placement of posts is described. This device includes a ground engaging portion that is comprised of three radially extending fins that taper to an axially aligned center point, much like an arrowhead used for hunting. At the upper junction of the three fins, similar to the where the shaft of an arrow would be placed, is a collar that receives the base of the fence post. The device is installed in the ground by placing a temporary driver cap into the collar and driving the point of the ground-engaging member into the ground using a mallet, probably better described as a sledge hammer. The cap is then removed and the lower portion of the post is secured into the collar.
A very similar concept was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,646 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,157, both granted to Mills prior to the Knowles patent. The device described in these earlier patents seems to be an elongated version of the Knowles device. The ground engaging member of this device has a plurality of fins in a cruciform cross-section that taper to a point and an open box section mounted on the upward portion of the ground engaging member for reception of the bottom end of the post. The primary difference between the Mills and Knowles designs seems to be that Mills uses a piece of scrap lumber as an impact plug for driving the ground engaging member into the ground, while the Knowles design using a specially designed plug that can also be used to start a reception hole in the ground and can later be used as a cap when the post is not inserted into the upper collar portion. In both of these devices, the base of the post is secured inside the collar portion of the device. Mills bends tabs into the post, or in the production version currently on the market, uses a clamp at one corner of the collar to tighten the collar around the post.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,444 (Nelson) is another variation on the concept of driving a finned ground engaging member into the ground and then inserting the base of the post into an extended collar with three radially extending fins welded at equal distances around its circumference. Each of these three fins has a second fin mounted perpendicularly to the first at its upper end. This forms a space between the first and second fins that is roughly triangularly shaped and that is intended to act as a pincer that will grab roots and the like as it is driven into the ground.

Ground stabilization apparatus and method for installing an enlongated post