Presented is a computer-based system for exchange order routing over a communication network which includes a client terminal configured to provide an end-user interface between the client terminal and a first server, the interface providing a template for building an order routing strategy including a stipulation string, and to submit one or more orders and the order routing strategy to the first server. A program executable within the communication network to implement the routing strategy by crossing the order on a first electronic exchange, and placing order liquidity on respective second electronic exchanges. A method implements the order routing strategy by receiving an order and a routing strategy containing a stipulation string having parameters of predetermined criteria, a first phase order processing allocates a first order quantity to a crossing location, a second phase order processing allocates a second order quantity to an idle location.

The electronic securities trading marketplace has evolved such that multiple exchanges and brokers often trade the same particular product. For example, many equity products or instruments (e.g., stocks, options, futures, indices, etc.) are tradable on multiple equity exchanges. U.S. Treasury products are tradable with multiple brokers who present their order books electronically, which is similar to how exchanges present their order books, through a similar style of application programmable interface (API).
When buying and selling securities, it is often desirable to buy and sell at the best price available throughout a set of exchanges or brokers (the terms "exchanges" and "brokers" are used herein interchangeably) where a particular product can be traded. Often different exchanges have different prices and liquidity for the same product at the same time, so the decision to buy or sell a given security can mean buying or selling that security on multiple exchanges at the same time. Furthermore, different brokers might charge different commissions for trades done on them and might have different trading rules. A trader might wish to trade on an exchange with lower commissions or more favorable rules, execution price being the same among the exchanges.
Often, a trader wishes to buy (or sell) a certain quantity of a product at a size far greater than what is available in the market at a given time, or at a price better than where the market is willing to sell (or buy) that product. In that case, the trader may wish to show a smaller size than what he really wants to buy or sell, perhaps showing the smaller size among various exchanges at the price he is willing to buy or sell at. The trader might even be willing to buy (or sell) a quantity at a worse price, but doesn't want to show the worse price unless the market moves away from him. As market conditions change and his order is filled, he might want to add more size back into the market or adjust his price on the various exchanges.
A trader may wish to transact with other traders within the same firm or trading desk, or an otherwise "internal" trading group (affiliates, preferred customers and clients, preferred partners, etc.) without showing the general marketplace his or her order. He might be willing to trade at a better price internally than in the marketplace because he doesn't pay commissions or has a favorable relationship with the internal traders. Therefore, he may want to ensure that his orders are always executed internally before being executed externally or show them at a better price internally, while also showing them externally.
Lastly, the various exchanges and brokers in the marketplace generally have wildly different APIs for sending orders and receiving prices, which makes it difficult for those exchanges to all be accessed simultaneously through the same system.
Missing from the art is a unifying system that can allow a group of traders to transact internally with each other, allow a trader to route his order in a favorable way between internal traders and external marketplaces in order to maximize his goal of achieving the best price possible from a preferred set of exchanges without showing his hand, and unify the wildly varying APIs various exchanges provide such that the different exchanges can be accessed from the same end system. The present invention can satisfy these and other needs.

Trading system with internal order matching


An apparatus is provided for applying bait oil to a fishing lure. The apparatus includes a flexible pouch assembly having an interior compartment formed therein. An absorbent applicator lines the compartment and is secured therein to the pouch assembly for holding bait oil. A flexible closure is attached to the pouch assembly for selectively covering and uncovering the compartment. A fishing lure is introduced into the compartment and the exterior surface of the pouch assembly is squeezed to press the applicator against the lure and apply bait oil to the lure. A method for applying bait oil to a fishing lure, utilizing the above apparatus, is also disclosed.

When an angler handles a rubber or plastic fishing lure, he tends to impart a human scent onto the lure. This scent frightens fish and therefore interferes with successful fishing. Accordingly, experienced fisherman typically apply an appropriate scented bait oil, such as worm oil or crawfish oil, to the lure before it is cast into the water. This substance masks the human scent and, as a result, fishing is improved.
Conventionally, bait oil is squirted or sprayed from a bottle onto the bait. This is usually a messy and wasteful operation. Excess oil can spill onto the boat and into the water. As a result, it can pollute the environment. Moreover, bait oil is apt to stain hands, clothing and the carpeting of the boat. Spraying bait oil onto the lure is also highly inefficient because so much of the substance misses the bait and is wasted. And crawfish oil, in particular, attracts insects. Accordingly, when such oil spills, it is important that the affected area be thoroughly and promptly cleaned.

Apparatus for applying bait oil to a fishing lure


In a device with a central transparent member and a frame around the member, fixed elements hold the transparent member stationary with respect to the frame. A decorative element is mounted for rotation with respect to the fixed elements from a position in which one decorative aspect of the decorative element is displayed to a position in which another decorative aspect of the decorative element is displayed. In at least one embodiment, a multiplicity of decorative element is employed. In other embodiments, the central transparent member carries aligned, outwardly extending shafts on which the decorative element is mounted for rotation.

In applicant's application Ser. No. 08/651,271, eye glasses are described and claimed in which temple pieces are provided with fittings for varying the design displayed to the observer. In the present application, a provision is made for varying the appearance of the lens frame. A device for changing the appearance of lens frames has been described heretofore in a patent to Shaw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,889, in which the frame, made from transparent plastic material, has an elongated passage within which an elongated flexible colored member having sides of different colors is located. In order to change the appearance of the frame, the elongated member has to be withdrawn from the passage and threaded back through the passage in a different orientation.
The invention is described herein as applied to eyeglass frames. The same teaching can be applied to other articles in which a transparent or silvered transparent member is held fixedly in a frame. As to eyeglasses themselves, the term is used to embrace sunglasses, safety glasses, ordinary corrective lens glasses, goggles and the like.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide means for varying the appearance of the frame or frames surrounding a transparent member such as a lens in a simple, readily accomplished way.
Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description and the accompanying drawing.

Frame with decoration rotatably mounted on it


A dual gate lateral MOSFET comprises a drift region over a substrate, an isolation region formed in the drift region and a channel region formed in the drift region. The dual gate lateral MOSFET comprises a drain region formed in the drift region and a source region formed in the channel region, wherein the source region and drain region are formed on opposing sides of the isolation region. The dual gate lateral MOSFET further comprises a first gate and a second gate formed adjacent to the source region, wherein the first gate and the second gate are stacked together and separated by a dielectric layer.

The semiconductor industry has experienced rapid growth due to improvements in the integration density of a variety of electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.). For the most part, this improvement in integration density has come from shrinking the semiconductor process node (e.g., shrink the process node towards the sub-20 nm node). As semiconductor devices are scaled down, new techniques are needed to maintain the electronic components' performance from one generation to the next. For example, low gate-to-drain capacitance and high breakdown voltage of transistors are desirable for high power applications.
As semiconductor technologies evolve, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) have been widely used in today's integrated circuits. MOSFETs are voltage controlled devices. When a control voltage is applied to the gate of a MOSFET and the control voltage is greater than the threshold of the MOSFET, a conductive channel is established between the drain and the source of the MOSFET. As a result, a current flows between the drain and the source of the MOSFET. On the other hand, when the control voltage is less than the threshold of the MOSFET, the MOSFET is turned off accordingly.
MOSFETs may include two major categories. One is n-channel MOSFETs; the other is p-channel MOSFETs. According to the structure difference, MOSFETs can be further divided into three sub-categories, planar MOSFETs, lateral double diffused MOS (LDMOS) FETs and vertical double diffused MOSFETs. In comparison with other MOSFETs, the LDMOS is capable of delivering more current per unit area because its asymmetric structure provides a short channel between the drain and the source of the LDMOS.
In order to further improve the performance of the LDMOS, a dual gate structure may be employed to increase the breakdown voltage of the LDMOS and the gate charge. However, as the semiconductor process node keeps shrinking, there may be no space to accommodate a dual gate structure.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the various embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Alkaline and lithium batteries are disclosed that advantageously include separators comprising at least one porous layer of fine fibers having a diameter of between about 50 nm and about 3000 nm that provide improved combinations of reduced thickness, dendritic barrier against short-circuiting and low ionic resistance as compared with known battery separators.

Batteries include separators positioned between the anode and the cathode in order to prevent an electrical connection between the anode and the cathode, or a short-circuit. A short-circuit develops when conductive particulates bridge the separator or the separator deteriorates to the point where it allows the electrodes to touch. Rarely does a battery short-circuit occur all at once but rather over time by the building up of very small conductance paths termed "soft shorts." "Dendrite shorting" refers to the situation where a dendrite comprising deposits, e.g., zincates in the case of alkaline batteries or lithium metal in the case of lithium batteries, form on one electrode of the battery and grow through the separator to the other electrode, resulting in an electrical connection between the anode and cathode.
Primary alkaline batteries generally have a cathode, an anode, a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode and an alkaline electrolyte solution. The cathode is typically formed of MnO2, carbon particles and a binder. The anode can be formed of a gel including zinc particles. The electrolyte solution, which is dispersed throughout the battery, is most commonly an aqueous solution containing 30–40% potassium hydroxide. Battery separators used in alkaline batteries have certain performance requirements. For instance, such separators need stability in the presence of strong alkaline electrolytes (e.g. 30–40% KOH). Lack of alkali chemical resistance can result in internal short circuiting between the electrodes due to loss of mechanical integrity. Good electrolyte absorption is also necessary, meaning the separator is sufficiently impregnated with the electrolyte solution necessary for the electrochemical reaction of the cell. Another requirement of the separator is to be a barrier to the growing dendrites of conductive zinc oxide formed by the electrochemical reaction in the cell, which can penetrate the separator and cause a short circuit. The separator also must allow the movement of ions between the electrodes, in other words the separator should exhibit low resistance to the flow of ions.
Secondary alkaline Zinc-MnO2 batteries have similar anodes, cathodes and electrolytes as primary alkaline batteries. Certain additives (e.g. Bi2O3, BaSO4, organic inhibitors, etc.) are often added to the anode and the cathode to improve the reversibility so that the battery can be recharged after having been discharged and to reduce zinc corrosion. During charge and discharge, some of the additives can dissolve into the electrolyte and migrate to the other electrode. The use of a separator with good dendritic barrier properties will help extend the cycle life of Zinc-MnO2 secondary batteries.
Battery separators for alkaline batteries are conventionally either thick, multi-layered nonwovens having large pores that have good (low) ionic resistance but relatively poor barrier to growing dendrites (also referred to herein as "dendritic barrier"), or multi-layered nonwovens with microporous membranes thereon having very small pores that have good dendritic barrier but very high ionic resistance. It would be desirable to have alkaline batteries with separators having improved balance of dendritic barrier and ionic resistance.
International Publication Number WO9953555 discloses a composite battery separator including at least one nonwoven layer and a layer that reduces dendrite shorting, which may be a microporous layer of cellophane, polyvinyl alcohol, polysulfone, grafted polypropylene or polyamide. The thickness of the composite separator is about 8.3 mils thick. The battery separator has an ionic resistance of less than about 90 mohms-cm2 when measured at 1 KHz in 40% potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte solution. The microporous layer desirably has a very high level of barrier to air, but also undesirably a high ionic resistance, poor electrolyte wettability, and poor electrolyte absorption properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,586 discloses the use of PVA fibers having a denier of 0.8 or less to reduce the thickness and improve the barrier properties of battery separators for use in alkaline batteries, combined with cellulose fibers having a denier of no less than 1.0. If the cellulose fiber denier is reduced below this, the higher surface area fibers will lead to a higher rate of degradation.
Lithium batteries fall into three general categories, lithium primary batteries, lithium-ion secondary batteries and lithium-ion gel polymer batteries. Lithium primary batteries utilize many different types of battery chemistries, each using lithium as the anode, but differing in cathode materials and electrolytes. In the lithium manganese oxide or Li—MnO2 cell, lithium is used as the anode and MnO2 as the cathode material; the electrolyte contains lithium salts in a mixed organic solvent such as propylene carbonate and 1,2-dimethoxyethane. The lithium iron sulfide or Li/FeS2 battery uses lithium as the anode, iron disulfide as the cathode, and lithium iodide in an organic solvent blend as the electrolyte. Lithium-ion secondary batteries use lithiated carbon as the anode, lithium metal oxide (e.g. LiCoO2) as the cathode and a blend of organic solvents with 1 M lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) as the electrolyte. Lithium-ion gel polymer batteries use similar anode and cathode materials as lithium-ion secondary batteries. The liquid organic electrolyte forms a gel with the polymeric separator, which helps provide a good bond between the separator and the electrodes. The ionic resistance of the gel electrolyte is higher than that of liquid electrolytes but the gel electrolyte provides some advantages in terms of safety and form factor (i.e., the ability to form a battery into different shapes and sizes).
International Publication Number WO0189022 discloses a super fine fibrous porous polymer separator film for use as a battery separator in a lithium secondary battery, the separator film having a thickness of 1 μm to 100 μm. The separator film is formed from fine fibers having a diameter of between 1 and 3000 nm made by electrospinning a polymeric melt or polymeric solution.
In recent years, due to the miniaturization of electronic equipment, batteries must be made smaller without sacrificing the performance of conventional batteries. Nonwoven materials conventionally used as separators in alkaline batteries have large diameter fibers, thus making it difficult to achieve thin separators. Such nonwovens also have large pores, e.g. between about 15 μm and about 35 μm. The particles of the anode and the cathode may migrate towards each other through the large pores to cause an internal short circuit. In order to compensate for the large pore size and improve the dendritic barrier of the separators, i.e., protection from short-circuiting, thicker separators are made by using multiple layers. The thicker separators result in higher ionic resistance which is undesirable from a battery performance point of view. Moreover, these types of thicker separators cannot be used in certain designs, especially coin cells and other small battery designs useful in electronic equipment. It would be desirable to have batteries having higher energy density; therefore it would be desirable to have thinner separators. However, if conventional separators are simply thinned, it may not provide sufficient dendritic barrier. It would be desirable to have a separator which can be made thin, having lower ionic resistance without sacrificing barrier properties.

Batteries including improved fine fiber separators


A head carriage assembly is provided. A secondary magnetic driving device situated on a side of a hub portion is of a movable coil type, and includes a movable coil and a magnetic circuit body. The movable coil has an axial line perpendicular to a surface including a rotational center shaft, and is secured to a side surface of the hub portion. The magnetic circuit body 85 is made up of a U-shaped yoke and a permanent magnet. A yoke side surface penetrates through an opening of the movable coil, with a little room being left in the opening. A long side of the movable coil is engaged with the magnetic gap, also with a little room being left. The yoke side surface serves as the iron core of the movable coil. In a tracking operation, the secondary magnetic driving unit is actuated. A point in the movable coil where force is generated is distant from the rotational center shaft, and the torque constant of the point is large.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to magnetic disk drives and magnetic head carriage assemblies, and more particularly, to a magnetic disk drive and a magnetic head carriage assembly suitable for high-density recording.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, high-density recording is being introduced to 3.5-inch and other types of magnetic disk drives. In order to increase the recording density, however, it is necessary to increase the number of tracks per unit length of magnetic disk, or TPI, and increasing TPI decreases the width of each track and requires a consequent enhancement in the accuracy with which the magnetic head is positioned. Increasing the TPI to 25,000, for example, reduces the track pitch to 1 xcexcm, requiring the positional accuracy of the magnetic head to be within 0.1 xcexcm. Also, there is a trend toward smaller magnetic disk drives and less power consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a magnetic head carriage assembly which satisfies such demands.
To improve the positioning accuracy of the magnetic head, the loop gain of a positioning servo system should be increased, and the crossover frequency of the open loop should be increased. The maximum loop gain of the positioning servo system is determined by the natural frequency of the head carriage which is rotationally supported on a shaft. Therefore, in a conventional magnetic disk drive, the head carriage has a high rigidity so as to increase the natural frequency of the head carriage, and to increase the loop gain of the positioning servo system as much as possible.
However, even if the head carriage has a high rigidity, a translational force acts on the bearing in such a direction that influences the positioning of the magnetic head. In such a case, it is difficult to obtain the positioning accuracy of the magnetic head of 0.1 xcexcm or less.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a head carriage assembly in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a head carriage assembly which comprises: a head carriage which has a hub portion rotatably supported about a rotational center shaft on a base, and moves a head in a radial direction of a rotating disk; a first driving unit which generates a force to rotate the head carriage; and a second driving unit which generates a force to rotate the head carriage in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting a rotational center of the head carriage and the head. The second driving unit comprises: a coil secured outside the hub portion of the head carriage, and has an axial line vertical to a surface which includes the rotational center shaft on the base; and a magnetic circuit body which is made up of a yoke and a permanent magnet, with a magnetic gap being formed between the yoke and the permanent magnet, and engages the coil to be secured to the base. A part of the coil moves within the magnetic gap.
Since the axial line of the coil is perpendicular to the surface including the rotational center shaft, the space for the coil in the circumferential direction of a circle around the rotational center shaft does not have to be large. When the head carriage is rotated so that the head moves in the radial direction of the disk, the coil does not require a large space for moving in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, the magnetic circuit body can be small in the circumferential direction. Here, it is possible to place the coil outside the hub portion of the head carriage in the limited space. The coil can be situated at a longer distance from the rotational center shaft compared with the prior art, and the torque constant of the driving unit can be larger than in the prior art. Thus, the magnetic circuit body can be made smaller, and power consumption can be reduced compared with the prior art.
The object of the present invention is also achieved by a disk drive provided with the above head carriage assembly.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Dual driving unit for a magnetic head carriage assembly and magnetic disk drive


The present disclosure relates to a process for converting one or more alkyl halides to acyclic C3-C6 olefins, said process comprising the steps of (a) providing a feedstream comprising one or more alkyl halides; (b) providing a catalyst composition; and (c) contacting said feedstream with said catalyst composition under reaction conditions. The process is remarkable in that said process further comprises a step of steaming said catalyst composition before the step (c) and in that said catalyst composition comprises one or more zeolites and a binder, wherein said one or more zeolites comprise at least one 10-membered ring channel. The present disclosure further relates to the use of a catalyst composition in said process, said catalyst composition comprising one or more zeolites and a binder, wherein said catalyst composition is steamed before use.

Olefins are used to make numerous downstream products. Starting from an alkane, and methane, in particular, it is feasible to obtain the corresponding alkyl halide, for example, methyl halide. Alkyl halides can be then transformed into olefins. By adjusting the reaction conditions and employing a specific catalyst, the ratios of these various olefins may be modified, leading to the obtaining of the desired effluents, that can be then separated by known technology. The process for converting one or more alkyl halides into olefins, namely the second step of the two-step process for producing olefins from alkanes, has already been thoroughly studied.
In US 2016/0347682, a crystalline zeolite catalyst having an STI framework topology, such as SSZ-75, was used. The document does not contain any examples of catalyst performance. It is assumed that the transformation of the alkyl halide on this catalyst in the temperature range between 300° C. and 500° C., and under the pressure range 1-2.4 bars, occurs with selectivity to ethylene equal to or less than 10%, with selectivity to propylene higher than 50% and with selectivity in olefin product being C5 and/or C5+ olefins less than 10%. No data on conversion and stability of the catalyst is given. This catalyst does not seem to be suitable to produce higher olefins.
In US 2017/0057886, an aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst, i.e. a chabazite zeolite of the SSZ-13 type, described as having a higher acidity than a silicoaluminophosphate catalyst (due to the presence of aluminium ions in the crystal structure instead of silicon atoms), has been used in the olefin production from methyl chloride. The experiment was conducted at a temperature of 450° C., WHSV of 2.7 h−1, and pressure of 0 MPa in order to obtain selectivity in ethylene of 34.95% and in propylene of 33.99% at substantially complete conversion. The catalyst stability was about 1 hour-on-stream (very fast deactivation). Selectivity in the fraction C4+ is not reported. The inventors assume also a potential co-feeding with MeOH. Based on the description, the material is only suitable for the fluidized bed reactors due to a very short period of stability and results mainly in ethylene production.
In WO 2016/099775, the methyl chloride transformation into olefins was studied with a SAPO zeolite catalyst. After 20 h on stream, a conversion of 90.7% was achieved and a good selectivity in ethylene (40.4%) and propylene (42.9%) was observed. However, the selectivity to C4 olefins decreases to 11.1%.
US 2008/0188701 describes the use of a silicoaluminophosphate molecular sieve catalyst, which comprises 50 wt. % of SAPO-34 molecular sieve as active component and 50 wt. % of alumina as a matrix. At relatively low temperature (350° C.), 28.46% of methyl chloride was converted affording a selectivity in ethylene of 28.31%, in propylene of 42.08% and in C4 olefins of 17.42%. At higher temperatures, the formation of ethylene is favoured. Using SAPO-11 molecular sieve at 450° C. instead of SAPO-34 (subsequently still with alumina as a binder) has however allowed for a reduction in ethylene selectivity up to 5.96%, which is still a relatively elevated level. Besides the conversion reaches only 62.8%.
In US 2016/0200642, 10-membered ring-containing ZMS-5 zeolite, presenting a silica-to-alumina ratio (SAR) comprised between 30 and 1192, is subjected to a contact with a methyl chloride under reaction conditions sufficient to produce an olefin hydrocarbon product comprising C2 to C4 olefins, wherein the selectivity of the C2 to C4 olefins is at least 85% at 20% alkyl halide conversion. The methyl chloride conversion to olefins was carried out at 350° C.
At high SAR (1192), a poor selectivity in ethylene (6.5%) while a high selectivity in C3-05+(89.3%) has been obtained. No trace of aromatics has been detected. A weak conversion (8.6%) after 20 h time on stream has been measured.
At lower SAR (334), the lowest selectivity in C2 (2.6%) has been attained while it was compensated by a slightly higher selectivity in C3-C5+(91.6%). Traces of aromatics (0.2%) were detected. However, the conversion in methyl chloride that has been reached at those conditions was of 45.1% after 20 h time on stream.
The catalyst thus suffers from deactivation, which does not allow to use it in a fixed bed reactor for C3-C6 olefins production. When catalyst with SAR as low as 30 is used, the conversion increases up to 96.6% after 20 h time on stream, but the selectivity to ethylene is of 3.0% and a high number (>17%) of aromatic compounds are generated.
In US 2016/0347681, the deactivation of the catalyst during methyl chloride conversion is addressed. The same zeolite, as in US 2016/0200642, having a silica-to-alumina ratio (SAR) of 278, and being ion-exchanged, for example with magnesium, has been demonstrated as presenting a high selectivity in C3 (51.2%) and C4 (16.8%) olefins compared to a poor selectivity in ethylene formation (6.2%). The conversion in methyl chloride has been improved to 77.6% after 3 h time on stream under those reaction conditions (still carried out at 350° C.).
However, one should mention that this solution cannot be used industrially. At a certain moment, the catalyst still needs to be regenerated. So, the zeolite-containing Mg or Ca chlorides (5-10% wt. % of Cl) and carbon depositions will be subjected in contact with air. The reaction will result in the formation of individual halogens, HCl, COx and water. The presence of Cl2 and HCl together with water at very high temperature (550-600° C.) will result in an irreversible deactivation of zeolite via dealumination. So, the amount of metals on zeolites needs to be limited.
One should mention that the literature describes the applications of MFI zeolites structure for the conversion of CH3Cl. The interest in that reaction is linked to the Cl-mediated conversion of CH4 to light olefins with the recycling of Cl2 back to the reaction medium:CH4+Cl2→CH3Cl+CH2Cl2+CHCl3+HCl  (1)CH3Cl→olefins+HCl  (2)HCl+O2→H2O+Cl2  (3)
In other words, methane is first transformed to methyl chloride derivatives (1), with the following conversion of methyl chloride to light olefins (2) and recovering of the Cl2 from HCl via oxidation (3) to recycle back to the step (1).
However, the conversion of CH4 to Cl-derivatives is not very selective to mono-chloride (see step 1). A very significant amount of di-, and tri-chlorides are formed already at a low conversion level of CH4.
CH3Cl could be selectively converted to light olefins but the catalyst stability still hampers any further development and requires a very sophisticated and expensive reactor design, which needs to be manufactured with noble metallurgy.
In addition, the conversion of HCl to Cl2 is highly energy-intensive.
All the above mentioned makes the process of the Cl-mediated conversion of CH4 to olefins economically unfeasible, very complex industrially, and still requires a better catalyst solution for CH3Cl conversion.
The description of the prior art shows that there is a lack of catalyst composition that can efficiently direct the conversion of alkyl halides into higher olefins with a low level of ethylene formation. Either the catalysts are not structurally adapted to the formation of higher olefins, or they are described as producing those higher olefins but with still an amount of ethylene and possibly other by-products that can be undesirable.
EP 0162590 discloses a process for converting mono-halomethane to aliphatic hydrocarbons in which the catalyst is a gallosilicate having an MFI structure and loaded with at least one modifying cation selected from hydrogen and metals of groups I to VIII of the periodic table and is steamed before use.
CN 106 140 259 discloses a process to transform methyl bromide to isobutylene (i.e. an acyclic C4 olefin) by contacting methyl bromide and a catalyst which comprises a ZSM-5 molecular sieve carrier. The ZSM-5 molecular sieve carrier is treated with water vapour and is combined with zinc oxide or another oxide (from titanium, zirconium, cerium or lanthanum) before the reaction.
However, such processes generate by-products, such as halides, that are corrosive and difficult to remove from the product stream.
In other words, the direct conversion of one or more alkyl halides to non-cyclic/acyclic C3-C6 olefins, with a limited amount of ethylene, and, in particular, on the substantially metal-free catalyst with stable performance has not yet been described.
The present disclosure has for objective to provide a process wherein the conversion of one or more alkyl halides into olefins lead selectively to the formation of acyclic C3-C6 olefins. In particular, the present disclosure has for objective to provide a process wherein the production of olefins from one or more alkyl halides has an improved selectivity toward acyclic C3-C6 olefins; preferably with reduced selectivity to ethylene (i.e. less than 2% of selectivity to ethylene) and with reduced selectivity to aromatics (i.e. less than 5% of selectivity to aromatics). The present disclosure has also for objective to provide a process wherein the production of olefins from one or more alkyl halides has an improved selectivity toward acyclic C3-C6 olefins and at the same time a high conversion rate (>60% per pass).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Alkyl halides conversion into acyclic C3-C6 olefins


A bowling alley bumper system which can be used for conventional bowling and for bumper bowling includes a bumper on each side of the alley. These bumpers are movable between an extended positioned to prevent a bowling ball from falling into a gutter and a retracted position for ordinary bowling. The system also includes a plurality of air cylinders and an electrical actuator for moving the bumpers between the two positions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a computer which is included in an automatic scorer, automatically raises and lowers the bumpers before and after an individual bowler who elects bumper bowling and at the same time elects to bowl with regular bowlers.

Bowling alley bumper systems are designed to be used by children and/or the physically handicapped as well as others who lack the physical coordination or strength to bowl i.e., project a majority of balls over the length of the alley without the ball falling into one of the gutters. Early systems required relatively difficult steps to set up a lane or lanes for so-called bumper bowling. For this reason, a number of bowling alley operating personnel were reluctant to promote bumper bowling or to encourage children or the handicapped to use the lanes.
One approach to overcome the aforementioned problem is disclosed by Chandler et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,024. In such systems, an elongated bumper is mounted alongside and parallel to each alley gutter. The system also includes movable supports that permit the extension of the bumpers to guard the gutters when guarding is desired and retraction of the bumpers to expose the gutters when normal alley operation is desired. The Chandler et al. system extends upwardly above the level of the alley even in its recessed position. This presents an obstacle to walking between lanes and is considered unsightly by many ordinary bowlers.
More recent approaches to bumper bowling such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,716 of Stephens have contributed to the growing popularly of bumper bowling. As disclosed therein, a bowling alley bumper system includes a pair of gutters having longitudinally extending portions and an extending and retracting mechanism for moving those portions into an extended or retracted position. In the retracted position, bowling balls are free to fall into the gutter and the alley has the appearance of an ordinary alley. In one embodiment of that invention, the bumper portion of the gutter is moved up and down along an arc in an xz plane with little or no lateral movement. However, in such systems it is necessary for an individual to manually extend and or retract the bumpers using a special tool which is inserted into the bumper from the approach section of the alley.
In view of the growing popularity of bumper bowling, there is a demand for improved bowling alley bumper systems wherein the bumpers can be extended or retracted from a remote area. For example, a semiautomatic bumper bowling system allows a front desk operator in a bowling center to raise or lower the bumpers without leaving his/her desk. This eliminates the need for an individual to select a special tool, walk to a selected lane to raise the bumpers at the beginning of the game and then return to lower the bumpers when the game is over. In such systems it is also desirable to include a damping mechanism to reduce the mechanical shock and or noise when the bumpers are returned to their retracted position.
It is also believed that there may be a significant commercial demand for a fully automated system which is controlled by an automatic scoring system. Such systems would allow mixed bowling i.e., a bowling game wherein one or more bowlers elect to bowl with the bumpers extended while others elect to bowl with the bumpers in their retracted position. For example, in a bowling alley bumper system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a bowler enters their name at the beginning of the game and are given an option of bowling with/without bumpers. Then, assuming that bowler number 2 chooses to have the bumpers activated, the scoring system would automatically activate the bumpers up into their extended position when it is bowler number 2's turn to bowl. Then when bowler number 2 finishes their turn, and moves over to the next lane, the system will automatically lower the rails on the previously bowled lane and activate the bumpers on the next lane. This will then be repeated until the game is complete.


Methods for fabricating printed circuit boards, devices for use in the fabrication of printed circuit boards, and structures for a printed circuit board. A mold may be formed as a device that includes a plurality of features, such as recesses, corresponding to a layout of a plurality of conductors for the printed circuit board. A sheet comprised of an electrically-conductive material may be deformed to match the features of the mold. A substrate may then be added to support the sheet, and the sheet may be selectively removed with a mechanical process to define the conductors of the printed circuit board.

The invention relates generally to structural platforms for mechanically supporting and electrically connecting electronic components, and, in particular, to methods and devices for fabricating printed circuit boards and other structural platforms, and structures for a printed circuit board and other structural platforms.
A printed circuit board is used to provide the physical structure for mounting and supporting electronic components, as well as providing their electrical interconnections. The electronic components, which may include passive devices (resistor, inductor, capacitors, etc.) and active devices (operational amplifiers, transistors, digital components, etc.), are connected on the printed circuit board by conductors. The conductors may be etched from a conductive sheet laminated onto a non-conductive substrate or from a conductive layer deposited onto the non-conductive substrate and then patterned. A printed circuit board assembly consists of a printed circuit board and electronic components populating the printed circuit board.
Improved methods for fabricating printed circuit boards, improved devices for use in the fabrication of printed circuit boards, and improved structures for a printed circuit board are needed.

Printed circuit boards fabricated using congruent molds


In order to produce a new substance having a diamond crystal structure, the following steps are taken in order. First, a graphite-like substance is prepared which contains boron (B), carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) as main elements. Then, the graphite-like substance is mixed with a metal powder to produce a mixture. Then, a pressure is applied to the mixture to produce a molded body, and then an explosion pressure is applied to the molded body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to artificial substances having a structure of diamond crystal and methods for producing the same, and more particularly to a method of artificially producing substances (which will be referred to as "c-BCN" hereinafter), which have a structure of diamond crystal, by applying dynamic high pressure to graphite or graphite-like subsance (which will be referred to as "h-BCN" hereinafter) which is composed of boron (B), carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) as main elements.
2. Description of Prior Art
As is known, both diamond and boron nitride of tesseral system (which will be referred to as c-BN hereinafter) having a crystal structure similar to that of the diamond are extremely hard and thus commonly applied to the manufacture of abrasive materials and cutting tools which are indispensable to the industrial field. Besides, in recent years, some of these substances have been used as the material for semiconductors. Although the diamond is the hardest substance, it is oxidized in oxidative atmosphere of high temperature as is known from the fact that it burns in air. Furthermore, the diamond has a tendency to be eroded when it is in contact with by any of materials of the group VIII elements or with alloys containing the metal such as iron, nickel or cobalt. Although the Vickers hardness is about a half of that of diamond, the c-BN does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks possessed by the diamond. Thus, in recent years, the c-BN has been taken notice of the material particularly applicable for the abrasive materials and cutting tools for ironwork.
Accordingly, if c-BCN substance of tesseral system (viz., a substance in which a part of crystal lattice in diamond is substituted with some boron (B) and nitrogen (N)) can be produced, the substance is expected to possess both the mechanical strength of the diamond and the chemical stability of the c-BN. That is, the substance is expected to be epock-making highly strong material.
Hitherto, for synthesizing the c-BCN substances of such tesseral system, various methods have been proposed and put into practical use. One is a method in which a h-BCN substance of hexagonal system is treated statically at temperature of 3600.degree. C. and pressure of 14 GPa (A. R. Badzian, Mater, Res, Bull., 16 (1981) 1385)). One is a method in which a h-BCN powder of hexagonal or amorphous system is mixed with a bit of metal of iron family elements and sintered under superhigh pressure and temperature (Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 55-67570). In this method, an installation disclosed in Japanese 38-14 was used. One is a method in which a h-BCN substance containing only 0.02 to 2.0% carbon is treated at temperature of 1300.degree. to 1600.degree. C. and pressure of 4 to 6 GPa (Japanse Patent First Provisional Publication 58-120505). One is a method in which a h-BCN substance of hexagonal or amorphous system is treated with a solvent at temperature higher than 1300.degree. C. and pressure higher than 5 GPa (Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 61-24328). In this method, a device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,248 was used. One is a method in which a h-BCN substance of hexagonal system is statically treated at pressure of 14 GPa and temperature of 3300.degree. C. and one is a method in which a h-BCN substance of hexagonal system is treated statically at pressure of 7.5 GPa and high temperature using, as catalyst, a metal of iron or aluminium family elements (Takayoshi SASAKI, Yoshinori FUJIKI, "Gypsum & Lime" No. 219, P45-50, 1989).
In addition to the above-mentioned methods, various attempts have been also carried out for production of the c-BCN substances by using a solvent under a condition of high pressure and high temperature.
One attempt (T. Sasaki et al., Chem. Mater. 5 ,1993, 695) revealed however that a c-BCN substance produced by statically treating a h-BCN substance together with a cobalt solvent at pressure of 5.5 GPa and temperature of 1400.degree. to 1600.degree. C. was just a mixture of diamond and c-BN susbstance. That is, it has been revealed that a desired c-BCN substance of tesseral system can not be produced under the static high pressure. This is because an essential problem which should be solved when synthesizing substances which are not present in the natural world is not solved by such static high pressure and high temperature treatment. It is considered that, under equilibrium condition of such process, separation of diamond and c-BN is natural in thermodynamic point of view.

Polycrystalline BCN substance and method of producing same

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


According to the radio receiver, a first path P1 included in a frequency conversion circuit 12 does not have a filter, and a filter 171 for extracting a reference signal 74c is provided in a second path P2 so that a second IF multiple signal 74 and the reference signal 74c are multiplied together in a mixer section 12a. Consequently, by extracting the reference signal 74c, the filter 171 in the second path P2 operates as a local oscillation signal source synchronized with the second IF multiple signal 74. Therefore, according to the signal obtained by down-conversion of the second IF multiple signal 74 with use of the reference signal 74c in the mixer section 12a, signals identical in quality to input signals inputted on the transmission side can be reproduced.

The present invention relates to a radio communication device, more particularly, for example, a microwave-band radio receiver for receiving signals of broadcast waves wirelessly transmitted in microwave bands, a microwave-band radio communication system and electronic equipment.
Conventional microwave-band radio communication systems include those having radio-frequency radio transmitters and radio-frequency radio receivers as shown in FIG. 21 (see, e.g., JP 2003-258655 A). Herein, microwave bands refer to frequency bandwidths including millimeter-wavebands.
First, description is given of a conventional radio-frequency radio transmitter 1900 shown in FIG. 21. The radio-frequency radio transmitter 1900 is composed of a first up-converter (intermediate frequency mixer) section 1300, a second up-converter (microwave-band mixer) section 1350 and a transmission antenna 1100.
The first up-converter section 1300 has a local oscillator 1200, a frequency mixer 1400, a filter 1500, an amplifier 1600, a power combiner 1801 and an attenuator (level setter) 1850.
In this conventional radio-frequency radio transmitter 1900, at first, the first up-converter section 1300 receives inputs of a first IF signal (modulated wave signal) IF1. The modulated wave signal IF1 is a signal modulated by, for example, orthogonal multi-carrier modulation (OFDM modulation). The frequency mixer 1400 multiplies an inputted signal IF1 and a first LO signal (local oscillation signal) LO1 (frequency fLO1) together to output a second IF signal IF2 (frequency fIF2). Further, the filter 1500 provided immediately after the mixer 1400 mainly extracts only a second IF signal IF2 component. In this description, the filter 1500 passes upper sideband signals as desired signals.
Moreover, a power divider 1802 distributes part of the first local oscillation signal LO1 outputted by the local oscillator 1200 to the attenuator 1850, which adjusts the level of the distributed first local oscillation signal LO1, and then the power combiner 1801 combines the first local oscillation signal LO1 and the second IF signal IF2 (frequency fIF2).
Thus, a multiwave signal (intermediate frequency multiple signal) composed of the second IF signal IF2 (radio-frequency signal RF1 (frequency fRF1)) and the first local oscillation signal (reference signal) LO1 is formed. This intermediate frequency multiwave signal is amplified by the amplifier 1600, and the amplified intermediate frequency multiwave signal is inputted into the second up-converter section 1350.
Description is now given of the second up-converter section 1350. The second up-converter section 1350 has a second local oscillator 1250, a mixer 1700, a filter 900 and an amplifier 1000.
The mixer 1700 multiplies a multiwave signal composed of the second IF signal IF2 and the first local oscillation signal LO1 by a second LO signal (local oscillation signal) LO2 (frequency fLO2) outputted from the local oscillator 1250 to up-convert the signal to a radio signal. Further, the filter 900 passes only desired frequency components of the up-converted radio signal, and the amplifier 1000 amplifies the passed radio signal. The signal amplified by the amplifier 1000 is a multiple signal composed of a signal of a radio modulated signal component (radio-frequency signal RF1+second LO signal LO2) and a signal of a local oscillation signal component (first local oscillation signal LO1+second local oscillation signal LO2).
The transmission antenna 1100 transmits a signal of a radio modulated signal component (frequency fRF1+frequency fLO2) and a signal of a local oscillation signal component (frequency fLO1+frequency fLO2).
Description is now given of a conventional radio-frequency radio receiver 2900. The radio-frequency radio receiver 2900 is composed of a receiving antenna 2100, a first down-converter section 2300 and a second down-converter section 2350.
The radio-frequency radio receiver 2900 receives signals transmitted by the radio-frequency radio transmitter 1900. As schematically shown in a portion indicated by reference symbol Z in FIG. 21, signal components transmitted by the radio frequency radio transmitter 1900 are composed of a radio reference signal of a local oscillation signal component (frequency fLO1+frequency fLO2) and a signal of a radio modulated signal component (frequency fRF1+frequency fLO2). The radio-frequency radio receiver 2900 down-converts the received signals to original modulated wave signals (first IF signal IF1).
The first down-converter section 2300 has a filter 2500, an amplifier 2000, a mixer 2700 and a local oscillator 2200. The signal received by the receiving antenna 2100, which is a signal component 3000 transmitted by the radio-frequency radio transmitter 1900, is composed of a signal of a local oscillation signal component (frequency fLO1+fLO2) and a signal of a radio modulated signal component (frequency fRF1+fLO2). The filter 2500 passes a necessary signal out of the signal frequency (fLO1+fLO2) and the signal (frequency fRF1+fLO2), and the signal passed the filter 2500 is amplified by the amplifier 2000. With a local oscillation signal LO2 (frequency fLO2) from the local oscillator 2200, first frequency conversion is performed in the frequency mixer 2700.
Thus, the signal of the local oscillation signal component (frequency fLO1+fLO2) and the signal of the radio modulated signal component (frequency fRF1+fLO2) are down-converted to an intermediate frequency multiple signal (i.e., a multi-wave signal composed of a second IF signal IF2 and a first local oscillation signal LO1).
Then, after being amplified by an amplifier 2600, the multi-wave signal (frequency fRF1+fLO1) is inputted into the second down-converter section 2350 and divided by a divider 2800, and through a filter 2950 passing only a radio-frequency signal RF1 (frequency fRF1), the radio-frequency signal RF1 (frequency fRF1) is inputted into a frequency mixer 2400. In the meanwhile, the first local oscillation signal LO1 goes through a filter 2930 which passes only the first local oscillation signal LO1 and is amplified by an amplifier 2650 before being inputted into the frequency mixer 2400. The frequency mixer 2400 multiplies the radio-frequency signal RF1 by the first local oscillation signal LO1 so that the radio-frequency signal RF1 is down-converted and demodulated to a first IF signal IF1.
The conventional radio-frequency radio receiver 2900 has following problems.
A multi-wave signal, which is the signal down-converted in the first down-converter section 2300, contains a second IF signal IF2 (radio-frequency signal RF1) and a first local oscillation signal LO1.
In the first up-conversion step on the side of the transmitter 1900, the radio-frequency signal RF1 uses, for example, upper sidebands (frequency fLO1 of first local oscillation signal LO1+frequency fIF1 of first IF signal IF1). Therefore, the radio-frequency signal RF1 as a component of the multi-wave signal outputted after the first down-conversion on the side of the receiver 2900 contains a component of (frequency fIF1+frequency fLO1).
However, an output signal from the first down-converter section 2300 as a receiving side contains a signal of (frequency fLO1−frequency fIF1). This is mainly caused by the following reasons.
That is, the bandpass filter 1500 on the side of the transmitter 1900 is imperfect, and so at the time of first frequency up-conversion on the side of the transmitter 1900, the radio-frequency signal RF1 contains not only a component of (frequency fLO1+frequency fIF1) but also a component of (frequency fLO1−frequency IF1). At the time of the second up-conversion in the transmitter 1900, a frequency component (fLO1−fIF1) is up-converted and strengthened by the transmission amplifier 1000. Consequently, on the transmitter 1900 side, the undesired wave of the frequency [(fLO1−fIF1)+fLO2] is generated although its signal level is sufficiently low.
On the receiver 2900 side, in the first down-converter section 2300, the first down-conversion is performed with the second LO signal LO2 outputted by the local oscillator 2200, as a result of which a component of (frequency fLO1±frequency IF1) is generated as a component of the radio-frequency signal RF1. In addition, in the case where a radio transmission distance is relatively short, the peak level of the frequency component (fLO1+fLO2) that is a local oscillation signal component is larger by about 20 dB than the radio modulated signal component (fRF1+fLO2), and particularly, the nonlinearity in the intermediate frequency amplifier 2600 in an intermediate frequency stage is strong, by which the frequency component (fLO1−fIF1) that is an undesired wave is strengthened.
Thus, once an undesired wave component is amplified in the intermediate frequency amplifier 2600 in the first down-converter section 2300 on the receiver 2900 side and the undesired wave component is strengthened by non-linear action, complete filtration becomes difficult even though desired signal waves are separated in the filter 2950 and the filter 2930 in the subsequent stages.
For example, an undesired wave component that is the frequency component (fLO1−fIF1) remains though its level is smaller than that of (fLO1+fIF1) side of the desired wave, becomes larger than noise floor of the receiver 2900, and turns out to be a signal having phase distortion and noise added thereto. Consequently, during frequency down-conversion in the second down-converter section 2350 in the next stage, the frequency component (fLO1−fIF1) that is a desired wave functions as a noise component.
During the second down-conversion, the frequency component (fLO1+fIF1) that is a desired wave is converted to the frequency band identical to the frequency component of the undesired wave. Consequently, compared to a CN (Carrier/Noise ratio) value as signal quality of an input signal on the transmitter 1900 side, a CN value of an output signal after the final down conversion on the receiver 2900 side is deteriorated.
In addition, a multi-wave signal amplified in the amplifier 2600 and inputted into the second down-converter section 2350 is divided in the divider 2800 and a radio-frequency signal RF1 (frequency fRF1) goes through the filter 2950 passing only the radio-frequency signal RF1 and is inputted into the frequency mixer 2400. At the same time, a first local oscillation signal LO1 goes through the filter 2930 passing only the signal of frequency fLO1 and is amplified by the amplifier 2650 before being inputted into the mixer 2400. In such configuration, when the frequency fRF1 and the frequency fLO1 are close, it is difficult to fulfill a filter which can pass only the component of the frequency fRF1.
In addition, since the filter 2950 for passing the frequency fRF1 allows desired signals to pass, the filter 2950 is a broadband filter compared to the filter 2039 which passes only the frequency fLO1 and is therefore composed of a plurality of resonators and the like having wide frequency ranges. Because of this, in a loop L1 composed of the divider 2800, the filer 2930, the amplifier 2650, the mixer 2400 and the filter 2950, a resonator composed of the amplifier 2650 and the filter 2950 constitutes a positive feedback loop. Eventually, with the resonator formed by the filter 2950, the loop L1 operates as an oscillator to generate undesired oscillation waves, causing a problem that it is difficult for the present configuration to normally demodulate desired signals.
In addition, the broadband filter 2950 is large in size and so the loop L1 is also large so that the frequency range of the positive feedback loop covers a wider region toward both the high and low frequency sides, thereby increasing unnecessary noise floor and constituting an unstable loop.
In addition, in the case of such configuration as automatically regenerating the local oscillation signal LO1 during the second down-conversion, when a lot of out-of-band undesired components are present and undesired wave components spread to wide bands in the first frequency down-conversion, it becomes difficult to completely extract a non-modulated signal only with a narrow-band filter 2930. Consequently, the local oscillation signal inputted into the mixer 2400 contains undesired wave components, which hinders normal second frequency down-conversion, thereby causing a problem of considerable deterioration in characteristics.

Radio receiver, radio communication system and electronic equipment


Resin-based structures for use in corrosive environments. The resin-based structures may include a mixture of resin and aggregate. The resin-based structures may be formed in a mold by placing aggregate and resin into the mold. The resin-based structures may have thin wall design with high compression and tension strength.

1. The Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to polymer concrete structures, and systems and methods for making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditional concrete is a material composed of two main materials, namely, common cement and aggregate, that are mixed together in a mixer and then poured into a form. Common cement is traditionally made by heating limestone, with small quantities of other materials, in a kiln. The resulting hard substance removed from the kiln is then ground with a small amount of gypsum into a powder to make the cement. The aggregate mixed with the cement may comprise coarse particulate material, that including sand and gravel. One drawback to the use of common cement in concrete is that it tends to breakdown over time. For example, common cement used in concrete may breakdown due to microorganisms that actually may feed on the cement itself.
Recent advancements in concrete technology have resulted in the common cement traditionally used in concrete being replaced with a synthetic resin, such as polymer resin. For example, in the past, polymer concrete was formed by mixing a polymer with an aggregate in a mixer. One significant drawback to the use of a polymer in a mixer is that due to the polymer's relatively short cure time, the mixer may be ruined, or rendered unusable for a significant period of time, unless the polymer and aggregate mixture is quickly removed from the mixer. One object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for mixing the polymer and aggregate in a mixer.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the present disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

System and method for making polymer concrete


A multiprocessor data processing system includes a group of computational data processor nodes including at least one communication data processor node, at least one shared global memory with memory banks, and a number of bus interfaces each coupled between one of a set of local buses and a global bus. Each interface includes a number of input queues and output queues coupled between the local bus and the global bus. The interface supports the use of an inter-processor communication (IPC) mechanism that allows any processor to send an interrupt to any other processor in the system during a single global bus cycle. An interrupt mask is transferred over the address bus during a specially marked bus cycle, with the interrupt mask identifying the processor or processors to be interrupted for interprocessor communication.

System requirements needed to interact with and visualize large, time-dependent data sets include a large, high-bandwidth disk array to store the entire data set being processed, a high speed network to download a problem set, a large, high-speed memory to buffer all data required to process a single simulation time step, computational power that is adequate to manipulate, enhance, and visualize the data sets, and a real-time, high resolution visual display. Furthermore, it is important that these functions be provided within a highly programmable and flexible user environment.
One fundamental problem encountered in multiprocessor systems is the interconnection of a collection of processors and/or I/O devices to a common Global Memory. Typical shared bus solutions limit the number of devices that can be attached to the bus, as determined by the electrical characteristics of the bus interface logic and the total bandwidth limitation of the bus. Electrical factors which limit the maximum number of devices that can be supported on a shared bus include the total distributed capacitance, the loading presented by the attached interface logic, and bus termination logic relative to the maximum drive capability of the bus drivers. Factors limiting the total bandwidth of the shared bus include the operating clock speed and the width of the data paths.
Given the existing state of technology, known types of high-speed, shared buses typically limit the total number of bus loads (i.e., processor cards, memory cards, and I/O interface cards) to less than 20. Thus, assuming that each processor, I/O interface, and memory card represents one bus load, these multiprocessor systems are typically limited to less than ten processor nodes in order to support a complementary mix of memory and I/O devices.
It is one object of the invention to provide a Universal Buffered Interface (UBIF) for coupling multiple data processors, memory units, and I/O interfaces to a common high-speed interconnect, such as a shared system bus.
It is another object of the invention to provide a mechanism for one data processor of a multiprocessor system to rapidly communicate with any other data processor or group of data processors in the data processing system.

Universal buffered interface for coupling multiple processors, memory units, and I/O interfaces to a common high-speed interconnect

International Business Machines Corporation


At a milling machine to work ground surfaces, with a machine frame, a milling drum supported at the machine frame, at least one transport device arranged at the machine frame which accepts the milled material from the milling drum, as well as with a suction device for the air polluted with dusts and vapors, whereby the milled material on the at least one transport device is enclosed by a channel, the suction device is connected to a rear channel section of the channel in the direction of the material transport and sucks off the air polluted during milling at the milling drum and in the rear channel section essentially in the direction of the material transport, it is provided that the suction device consists of a suction ventilator, a separator device for solids and a suction channel which is connected to the rear channel section, that the suction ventilator is arranged downstream of the separator device, and that the suction device disposes of the separated solids onto the transport device in a forward channel section in the direction of the material transport or into a collecting device, and the suction ventilator blows off the cleaned air into the environment.

The invention concerns a milling machine to work ground surfaces, in particular pavements, as well as a process to dispose of dusts and vapors developing during the milling operation on a milling machine.
Such milling machines are self-propelled and are also referred to as road milling machines.
A front-loading milling machine in accordance is known from DE 102 23 819 A1. The known road milling machines show a self-propelled chassis with a travel drive unit consisting of several wheel units or several crawler track units. The chassis carries a machine frame in which a milling drum is supported transversely to the direction of travel. To achieve the completest possible removal of the milled material, the milling drum is generally enclosed by a housing, the wall of which pointing in the direction of travel is designed as a covering blade with an opening for the milled material. The material processed by the milling drum is accepted by a first transport conveyor, which transfers the processed material at the forward end of the milling machine onto a discharge conveyor, which can be tilted and slewed laterally for transport onto a loading space of a truck.
It is already known from DE 102 23 819 A1 and EP 0 971 075 A1 to provide the transport conveyors of a road milling machine with a hood in order to suck off and dispose of the dust developing at the milling drum and beneath the hood of the transport conveyors by means of a ventilator and, where appropriate, a cyclone.
In EP 0 971 075 A1, it is proposed to suck off the dust against the direction of the material transport and to dispose of the dust by means of a ventilator and a cyclone at the rear end of the road milling machine. Here, it is of disadvantage that an extraction by suction at the transport conveyors takes place against the direction of transport. The dust-laden air is thereby sucked off towards the rear in the direction of travel and against the actual direction of the material transport, thus requiring a considerable additional expenditure for the equipment of the machine and a distinctly higher ventilator output. The particles separated by means of the ventilator and a downstream cyclone are dropped on the ground surface, thereby contaminating again the ground surface just milled. The cyclone dust separator provided at the rear end can separate only the coarser particles but not the respirable fine dusts, so that the arrangement of the air outlet at the rear end of the road milling machine is arranged too close to the operator's platform. In this way, the dusts and vapors are blown off at the rear end of the milling machine close to the operator's platform. In addition, the ventilator transports the dust-laden air so that high wear and tear leads to a short service life of the ventilator.
From DE 102 23 819 A1, it is therefore known to divide the channel formed by the hoods on the transport devices and to suck off the air polluted during milling in the direction of the material transport. This provides the advantage that the dusts and vapors are disposed of at a position located considerably farther away from the operator's platform and dust can only develop during the disposal onto the truck, where the development of dust is unavoidable anyway, and not additionally behind the road milling machine close to the operator's platform.
According to the prior art, the suction device shows an axial-flow fan arranged in a suction channel which, due to the high exposure to dusts and sharp-edged particles, is subject to heavy wear and tear, which ultimately leads to a reduced air output and the development of bearing damages. The fan blades of the axial-flow fan are heavily worn and damaged due to the impact and the deflection of the particles being conveyed at high speed. When larger particles and smaller stones are sucked in, other parts of the ventilator are also damaged mechanically, which in case of a damage to the fan blades frequently results in the occurrence of unbalances leading to bearing damages in continued operation. In case of repair, it is of disadvantage that the ventilator is arranged at a position which is difficult to access and a repair therefore leads to a major break in operation. Finally, due to the transport of the dusts and the sharp-edged particles, the ventilator must be designed in such a way that the clearance between the fan blades and the walls of the ventilator is larger so that the air output and the efficiency of such a ventilator for dust-laden and particle-laden air is lower.
A further disadvantage is that although the dusts are blown off at a distant position in relation to the operator's platform, they are still blown off into the environment so that a pollution of the workplace with dusts and vapors in the vicinity of the operator's platform, even if reduced, still exists.
Starting from this prior art, the task of the invention consists in creating a milling machine of the aforementioned type, as well as a process to dispose of dusts and vapors by means of which dusts and vapors developing during the milling operation and during the transport operation, in particular the respirable dusts, can be sucked off and disposed of with little mechanical expenditure and with higher effectiveness, and the service life of the suction device can be extended considerably at the same time.

Milling machine as well as method for working ground surfaces


There is provided an image processing apparatus including a processing unit configured to processes projection data in which X-ray detection data representing a detection result of parallel beam X-rays output from an X-ray source has been converted by projection, and form an X-ray image based on the X-ray detection data.

The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing system.
For example, a CT (computed tomography) apparatus (or a CT system; hereinafter, the same) that utilizes X-rays output from an X-ray source or an apparatus (or a system; hereinafter, the same) having a tomosynthesis function that utilizes X-rays is widely used in the medical field, for example. JP-A-2004-329784 describes a technology relating to a CT apparatus that utilizes X-rays.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and image processing system


An exhaust heat recovery apparatus includes: an exhaust heat recovery unit that produces motive power by recovering thermal energy from exhaust gas discharged from a heat engine; an electric generator that is driven by the exhaust heat recovery unit; a first power transmission-switching device that switches between connection and disconnection between the heat engine and the exhaust heat recovery unit; and a second power transmission-switching device that switches between connection and disconnection between the exhaust heat recovery unit and the electric generator, wherein the heat engine or the electric generator is selectively connected to the exhaust heat recovery unit, depending on the operational status of the heat engine. The exhaust heat recovery apparatus makes it possible to effectively use surplus motive power produced by an exhaust heat recovery unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exhaust heat recovery apparatus that recovers thermal energy from the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, factory exhaust heat, or the like to produce motive power.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exhaust heat recovery apparatus is available that, using a heat engine, recovers the exhaust heat from an internal combustion engine that is mounted on a vehicle, such as a passenger car, a bus and a truck. In the exhaust heat recovery apparatus used for such a purpose, an external combustion engine is used, such as the Stirling engine, which is excellent in theoretical thermal efficiency, for example.
Published Japanese Translation of PCT application No. 2003-518458 (JP-T-2003-518458) discloses a technology in which a clutch is provided between the internal combustion engine and the Stirling engine, and the Stirling engine is used as an additional drive unit of the internal combustion engine. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-332665 (JP-A-2004-332665) discloses a technology concerning a system that includes a combustion engine, an electric generator, a motor, and a Stirling engine for driving the electric generator, wherein the electric power generated by the electric generator is supplied to the motor and a battery, and the electric generator is driven by the motor, wherein, a clutch is provided between the electric generator and the combustion engine, and the electric generator is driven by the combustion engine or the motor in a selective manner using the clutch.
In external combustion engines, such as the Stirling engine, the heat input from a heat source, such as the exhaust gas, is transferred to the working fluid of the external combustion engine through a heat exchanger, and the output from external combustion engines is therefore less responsive to the variation of the heat input. In addition, external combustion engines, such as the Stirling engine, which obtain thermal energy from a heat source through a heater, sometimes continue to produce motive power even after the heat input is stopped, by virtue of the heat stored in the heater.
As a result, if an external combustion engine, such as the Stirling engine, is used as the exhaust heat recovery unit, the exhaust heat recovery unit sometimes continues to produce motive power by virtue of the heat stored in the heater that the exhaust heat recovery unit includes, even when exhaust heat is not supplied to the exhaust heat recovery unit. In such a case, in the case of the configuration in which the output from the exhaust heat recovery unit and the output from the heat engine are combined and output together, the exhaust heat recovery unit produces surplus motive power even when there is no request to drive the heat engine. In JP-T-2003-518458, the poorness of the output response when an external combustion engine, such as the Stirling engine, is used as the exhaust heat recovery unit is not considered, and there is yet room for improvement.
In the meantime, with regard to the technology disclosed by JP-T-2003-518458, the configuration is adopted in which an electric generator is always interposed. When the thermal energy recovered by the exhaust heat recovery unit is output as electric energy, the energy conversion efficiency of electric generators and batteries is less than 100%. Thus, if the technology disclosed by the JP-T-2003-518458 is used, the thermal energy recovered by the exhaust heat recovery unit declines.


The present device includes a high frequency induction thermal plasma generation unit 10; a second tube portion 20, which is connected to a first tube portion 13 and which includes window 25 on at least one side surface; and a testing subject installing pedestal 23 configured to be fixedly attached at a reference position in the second tube portion 20, wherein the testing subject installing pedestal 23 includes a seating portion for installing the testing subject 40, and a hold-down portion for fixing the installed testing subject 40 with a part of the testing subject exposed; and an ablated vapor generated from the testing subject is observed through the window from an outer side of the second tube portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to arc resistance performance evaluation devices, arc resistance performance evaluation systems, and arc resistance performance evaluation methods, and in particular, to a device and a method for evaluating the arc resistance performance of a fiber material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the United States, five to ten cases of arc flash accidents occur every day. Since the temperature of the arc is very high, namely approximately 5000K or higher, if such accidents once occur, it may lead to severe burns or fatal accidents in some cases. Thus, protective clothing having high arc resistance performance is desired to protect one's self from such an accident.
In developing such protective clothing, a detailed study on what kind of material to use for the clothing fabric needs to be carried out. To this end, the following method is considered one form of approach. Fibers of different materials are prepared, the fibers are irradiated with thermal flux under various conditions, and the reaction at the time is accumulated as data. The accumulated data are then analyzed to find the fiber material suited for the protective clothing.
In view of such an aspect, it can be recognized that the experiment of irradiating the fiber with thermal flux and obtaining the data needs to be conducted many times.
One example of a configuration of protective clothing having high arc resistance performance is disclosed in JP-A-2003-244811, for example.

Arc resistance performance evaluation device, arc resistance performance evaluation system, and arc resistance performance evaluation method


Implants associated with bone are coated with natural bony tissue by incubating the implant with osteoblasts under conditions where the osteoblasts grow and lay down a bony coating. Different methods are provided for maintaining the osteoblasts in contact with the implant and allowing for the growth and maintenance of the osteoblasts with formation of the bony tissue. The resulting coated implants can provide for a better juncture with the natural tissue in the patient, so as to provide for a more comfortable and effective prosthesis or other device.

Bone-calcified tissue is a highly complex and dynamic organ in the human body. Regulated chemical components within the bone-forming cells control the extracellular chemical activities which produce the calcified bone materials Escarot-Charrier, et al., J. Cell. Biol. (1983), 96, 639-643; Sudo, et al., J. Cell. Biol. (1983), 96, 191-198; Stein et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1988)). The two primary chemical components of bone are inorganic calcium phosphate solids and organic collagen matrix. Several different types of calcium phosphate minerals exist, including calcium hydroxyapatite, tricalcium phosphate, octacalcium phosphate, etc. Only calcium hydroxyapatite has been established as a major mineral constituent in human bone. The size of the hydroxyapatite crystals found in bone are extremely small, on the order of several hundred .ANG. wide and several microns long. These tiny crystals lend their unique characteristics to the rigidity of the bone tissue.
Collagen is a ductile organic bio-polymer that provides molecular binding sites for the calcium phosphate minerals and provides the flexibility to the overall mechanical property of the bone. Collagen is a major protein component in the human body and is found in skin, cartilage and tendon.
It is the combination of the calcium phosphate minerals and the collagen, in combination with other minor components, which provides the unique structural, chemical and biological properties of bone tissue.
For the most part, bone or bony implants involve non-biological materials, primarily metal alloys, such as titanium alloys, stainless steel and cobalt chromium alloys. These materials provide for superior mechanical properties, such as fracture toughness, load properties and ability to maintain a good stress-strain relationship. Their use is predicated on the inability to produce bony structures which can be successfully introduced to replace diseased, fractured or otherwise non-functional bony structure present in the host.
Greater than fifty percent of the total orthopaedic surgery performed on patients today fails during the first ten years. The failure is primarily due to the lack of biocompatibility between the prosthetic material and the naturally occurring bone tissue. The inability for bony tissue to provide a strong bond with the prosthetic device causes several clinical complications. The most serious complication is a tissue rejection process that occurs along the surface of the prosthetic material which results in bone resorption. The bone resorption process creates a "gap" between the prosthesis and the adjacent bone surface. This gap facilitates the movement of the prosthesis, causing severe pain to the post-operative patient and the ultimate failure of the implant.
Despite the large amount of effort which has already been expended in trying to solve this problem, the problem has remained substantially intractable. Efforts have been primarily directed to using new methods of coating orthopaedic prostheses with calcium phosphate minerals. There has been continued concern about a natural integration between new bone growth and the prosthesis. There is, therefore, substantial interest in finding new techniques which will enhance the integration between new bone growth and prostheses and provide for extended useful periods without the problems associated with prostheses today.

Methods of coating implants with bony structure


The present invention discloses a method for comprehensive evaluation of shale fracability under the geology-engineering “double-track” system, comprising the following steps: S1: Divide the target horizontal fracturing interval into multiple sampling sections; S2: Establish the reservoir property evaluation factor of each sampling section, and calculate the geological evaluation index of the target horizontal fracturing interval according to the reservoir property evaluation factor of each sampling section; S3: Establish the brittleness factor, natural fracture factor and natural fracture opening factor of each sampling section, and then establish the engineering evaluation index of each sampling section according to these factors; S4: Calculate the engineering evaluation index of the target horizontal fracturing interval according to the engineering evaluation factor of each sampling section; S5: Evaluate the fracability of the target horizontal fracturing interval according to the geological evaluation index and the engineering evaluation index.

As the main method of shale gas development in China, the multi-stage and multi-cluster fracturing of horizontal wells aims to form a fracture network in shale reservoir, which reduces fluid flow resistance and improves the production efficiency and recovery degree of shale gas reservoir. Before the fracturing of shale reservoir, the shale fracability is evaluated according to the abundance of shale gas reserves, rock brittleness, degree of natural fracture development and other factors, which is favorable for avoiding the inefficient and ineffective construction of fracture network fracturing of horizontal wells and reducing the construction loss in the process of reservoir stimulation and has important guiding significance for developing the economical and efficient fracturing construction scheme.
Currently, there are many methods for the evaluation of shale fracability, mainly based on the comprehensive evaluation index of reservoir. However, the current comprehensive evaluation index of fracability ignores the essence of geological and engineering impact factors: geological factors determine the development potential of reservoirs, and engineering factors determine the difficulty of forming fracture network. The comprehensive evaluation index obtained from their simple superposition cannot accurately reflect which fracturing method is more suitable, especially in extreme conditions, such as: (1) the formation with high development potential and great difficulty of forming fracture network (according to the comprehensive evaluation index, the fracability of such formation is moderate, but such reservoir just needs to increase the fracturing scale and free up the shale gas capacity); (2) the formation with low development potential and little difficulty of forming fracture network (the fracability obtained under the same evaluation method is also moderate, but such formation should be abandoned to reduce unnecessary fracturing cost).

Method for comprehensive evaluation of shale fracability under the geology-engineering “double-track” system


A piezoelectric vibration module includes a piezoelectric element, a wiring member connected to the piezoelectric element and drawn out to the outside, and an elastic plate bonded to one surface of the piezoelectric element, wherein the elastic plate is made of a silicone rubber.

A piezoelectric acoustic module such as a piezoelectric speaker for use in a mobile telephone or the like is intended for sound amplification for audio signals and, therefore, a piezoelectric element vibrates with a large amplitude and thus is conventionally supported by a material with high mechanical compliance. A problem of this structure is that while molding is carried out for ensuring water-tightness, when molded, the temperature characteristics are poor. In particular, if molding is carried out using a material with high flexibility such as polyurethane, the flexible material hardens at a low temperature so that the resonance frequency in the form of a molded body increases, while, the flexible material softens at a high temperature so that the resonance frequency in the form of a molded body decreases. Consequently, the temperature dependence of the resonance frequency is high, resulting in difficulty for practical use.
Patent Document 1 discloses an acoustic vibration generating element with improved temperature dependence, wherein a silicone rubber solution is poured into a brass mold over the entire surfaces of a bimorph element and then a curing treatment is carried out to cover the bimorph element with a rubber coating film having a thickness of 2 mm on the two surfaces of the bimorph element in its thickness direction and a thickness of 1 mm in its width direction.

Piezoelectric element, piezoelectric vibration module, and methods of manufacturing the same


A method of frequency tracking based on recovered data, for use in an automatic frequency control subsystem at the receiver of a mobile station, is disclosed. The frequency tracking mechanism derives frequency error information from the recovered data to determine the adjustment needed at the mobile station's local voltage controlled oscillator in order to track the frequency of the base station.

In a wireless communications system, the air interface typically involves a mobile station communicating with a base station over the airwaves. For example, the most common standard for wireless communications in the world is the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). In one specific implementation, GSM utilizes two bands of 25 MHz, which have been set aside for system use. The 890-915 MHz band is used for mobile station to base station transmissions (reverse link), and the 935-960 MHz band is used for base station to mobile station transmissions (forward link). The GSM protocol uses frequency division duplexing and time division multiple access (TDMA) techniques to provide base stations with simultaneous access to multiple users. Transmissions on both the forward and reverse link are made at a channel data rate of 270.833333 Kbps, using binary Gaussian Minimum Shift Key (GMSK) modulation. Additionally, each link contains traffic channels and control channels. The traffic channels carry the digitized voice or user data. The control channels carry network management or control information such as the frequency correction channel (FCCH).
When a mobile station is powered on, it must first perform a power scan across all the control channels, to identify the channel with the strongest signal. The mobile station then tunes into the strongest channel to locate the FCCH. FCCH carries a frequency correction burst, which occupies time slot 0 for the very first GSM frame and is repeated every ten frames within a control channel multiframe. The FCCH burst allows each mobile station to synchronize its reference local oscillator or voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to the exact frequency of the base station.
However, the VCO in a mobile station is usually not as robust as the VCO at the base station. Consequently, the frequency will fluctuate with the temperature of the VCO, in addition to other factors, such as aging, that will also contribute to the fluctuation but in a less significant amount. The frequency fluctuation will accumulate over time resulting in degrading the performance of the mobile station's receiver. An automatic frequency control (AFC) subsystem is an important component of a receiver for performance stability. For example, the GSM 11.10 specification requires a mobile station to maintain a carrier frequency to within 0.1 parts per million (ppm) of the base station's reference frequency, in other words, 0.1 ppm compared to the signals received from the base station. Although, the prior art Maximum Likelihood method can be used to obtain reliable frequency tracking, but it requires a long data stream and complex computation. Similarly, the prior art Time Domain Bias method can also be deployed for estimating frequency offset, but it needs a high sampling rate as well as a long data stream. Accordingly, the AFC subsystem in the receiver of a mobile station needs a reliable, simple, and effective frequency tracking technique to minimize frequency error to an acceptable level.

Method and apparatus for frequency tracking based on recovered data