A fluidized bed combustion system is disclosed and in particular a fluidized bed combustion system particularly well suited for the combustion of oil shale, generating steam thereby. The fluidized bed combustion system includes a furnace volume having a multi-chambered upper segment thereof, a deentrainment zone, a fluidized bed having a plurality of isolatable segments thereof, a fluidized bed ash cooler having a plurality of isolatable segments thereof wherein the fluidized bed ash cooler is in fluid communication with the furnace volume, a fuel supply means in fluid communication with the furnace volume for delivering oil shale thereto for combustion therein, a backpass volume defined by a plurality of backpass wall tubes integral to a thermodynamic steam cycle and in fluid flow relation with the furnace volume and a plurality of circulatory fluid flow paths integral to a thermodynamic steam cycle and operative to conduct the flow of steam or water therethrough.

This invention relates to fluidized bed combustion (FBC) systems, and more particularly to a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) combustion system that is particularly well suited for the purpose of effecting the combustion therein of oil shale and generating steam thereby.
The use of fluidized beds is widespread in industry. They have been used for such diverse purposes as coal gasification, chemical pulping, gas phase polymerization and catalytic cracking. It has also been known in the prior art to provide fluidized beds of various types in the generation of steam. In this regard, one convenient method of differentiating between such types of fluidized bed combustion systems is by the nature of the fluidization that takes place therein. As employed in this context, the term "fluidization" refers to the manner in which solid particulate material is provided with a free-flowing, fluid like behavior. To this end, as a fluidizing gas is made to pass vertically in a fluidized bed combustion system through a bed of solid particles, such a flow of gases produces forces that tend to separate the solid particles from one another. At low gas velocities such forces can be insufficient to cause the solid particles to separate from one another such that the solid particles tend to remain in contact with one another, i.e., there is still a tendency for the particles to resist movement therebetween. When such a condition exists, it is referred to as a fixed bed and combustion systems employing this particular technique are referred to as fixed bed fluidized bed combustion systems. On the other hand, as the velocity of the fluidizing gas is increased, a point is reached wherein such velocity is sufficient to produce forces, acting upon the solid particles, adequate to cause separation of the solid particles. When this occurs, the bed of solid particles becomes fluidized in that a gas cushion between the solid particles permits the solid particles to move freely, thus giving the bed of solid particles liquid-like characteristics.
The state of fluidization in a fluidized bed combustion system depends mainly upon the bed-particle diameter and the velocity of the fluidizing gas. At relatively low fluidizing gas velocities and with coarse bed-particle size, the fluidized bed is relatively dense with a relatively uniform solids concentration, and has a well defined surface. This is commonly referred to as a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB), because the fluidizing gas in excess of that required to fluidize the bed passes through the bed in the form of bubbles. The bubbling fluidized bed is further characterized by a modest bed solids mixing rate, and a relatively low entrainment of solids in subsequent flue gases. At higher fluidizing gas velocities and with finer bed-particle size, the fluidized bed surface becomes more diffuse as the entrainment of solids in the flue gases increases, such that there is no longer a well defined bed surface. At still higher fluidizing gas velocities, substantially complete entrainment of bed solids occurs and recycling of the entrained material to the bed is required in order to maintain bed-particle inventory. Also, with increasing fluidizing gas velocities, the bulk density of the bed decreases with height in the furnace volume. A fluidized bed with these characteristics is referred to as a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) because of the high rate of bed material recirculation.
Inasmuch as the subject of the present application is directed to bubbling fluidized bed combustion systems, the discussion hereinafter will be presented in that context. Fluidized bed combustion systems, including, but not limited to, bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) combustion systems, are normally intended to be operative to produce steam. Moreover, such production of steam results from the combustion of fuel and air within the furnace volume of a fluidized bed combustion system. Furthermore, the steam that is so produced is designed to be operative to function in accordance with a preselected thermodynamic steam cycle.
The design of fluidized bed combustion systems is generally such that, for the purposes of the combustion that takes place therewithin, fuel is burned in a bed of hot, incombustible particles, the latter particles being suspended by the upward flow of a fluidizing gas. Moreover, this fluidizing gas is comprised of both air, which is being supplied to the fluidized bed combustion system to support the combustion of fuel therewithin, and, if need be, the gaseous byproducts which result from the combustion of the fuel and air. The combustion is accomplished in a furnace volume. A bubbling fluidized bed combustion system includes a furnace volume, the walls of which are comprised of vertical waterwall tubes. In the lower segment of the furnace volume, fuel, and possibly sorbent are mixed with and burned in air and the aforesaid fluidizing gas, producing thereby hot combustion gases which rise within the furnace volume. As the hot combustion gases, more commonly referred to now as flue gases, rise within the furnace volume, heat is transferred therefrom to the waterwall tubes, integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle, causing steam to be evaporatively produced from water rising within the waterwall tubes. A mixture of steam and water is conveyed from the upper segment of the waterwall tubes to a steam drum for separation therein. From the steam drum, the water portion of the water/steam mixture is returned to the waterwall tubes in the lower segment of the furnace volume completing a water-evaporative steam loop. In addition, it may be such that similar, additional water-evaporative steam loops are utilized in the thermodynamic steam cycle. In either case the steam portion of the water/steam mixtures is conveyed from the steam drum to other components of the thermodynamic steam cycle to which reference will be made hereinafter.
Continuing with the description of the flow of the aforesaid flue gases through the bubbling fluidized bed steam combustion system, it is noted that depending upon the needs of the thermodynamic steam cycle, the upper segment of the furnace volume may be divided into multiple chambers, each separately in fluid communication with the lower segment of the furnace volume and operative to allow the flow of flue gases therethrough. Said multiple chambers contain additional heat exchange means for the purpose of superheating and reheating, i.e., further superheating, steam as part of the thermodynamic steam cycle. Further reference will be made to this superheating and reheating momentarily.
From the top of the furnace volume, the flue gases still contain useful energy and are directed to a backpass volume wherein still further heat exchange means are located. These heat exchange means typically comprise economizer heat exchange means and have flowing therethrough water, condensed from steam expanded in a turbine. This water is heated due to an exchange of heat that takes place between the still relatively hot flue gases flowing through the backpass volume and the relatively cool economizer heat exchange means disposed therein. The now heated water is then conveyed from the economizer heat exchange means to the steam drum for continued use in the thermodynamic steam cycle. The flue gases during the passage thereof through the backpass volume are cooled as a consequence of the exchange of heat that takes place between the still relatively hot flue gases and the relatively cool economizer heat exchange means. Upon exiting the backpass volume the now cooler flue gases are commonly made to flow to an air preheater wherein air is heated prior to use in the aforesaid combustion process in the lower segment of the furnace volume. Thereafter, the flue gases are commonly made to flow, in known fashion, to and through a flue gas cleaning apparatus after which the flue gases are emitted to the atmosphere via a stack. The latter completes the description of the flue gas flow path in the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system.
Returning to the description of the fluid circuitry of the thermodynamic steam cycle, the steam portion of the water/steam mixtures is typically conveyed from the steam drum to a plurality of steam cooled backpass wall tubes which define the backpass volume. The aforesaid steam, during passage thereof through the steam cooled backpass wall tubes, is superheated as a consequence of an exchange of heat that takes place between the steam and the relatively hot flue gases flowing through the backpass volume. Upon exiting the steam cooled backpass wall tubes the now superheated steam is made to flow to a first chamber of the aforementioned multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume. Said steam is then made to flow through a plurality of superheat heat exchange means disposed therein and operative to further superheat the steam. The superheated steam is thence made to flow to a high pressure turbine (HPT) for expansion therein. After expansion within the high pressure turbine the still superheated steam is made to flow to a second chamber of the aforementioned multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume. The still superheated steam is then made to flow through a plurality of reheat heat exchange means disposed therein and operative to again superheat the steam. The again superheated steam, now commonly referred to as reheated steam, is thence made to flow to a low pressure turbine (LPT) for expansion therein. After expansion in the low pressure turbine the reheated steam is still in a superheated state and is thence made to flow to a condenser where the steam condenses to water. The water is thence made to flow, via conventional fluid flow means, from the condenser to the economizer heat exchange means located in the backpass volume. The water is heated in the economizer heat exchange means as a consequence of an exchange of heat that takes place between the aforesaid water and the still relatively hot flue gases passing through the backpass volume. The heated water is thence made to flow from the economizer heat exchange means to the steam drum for further use in the thermodynamic steam cycle. It is noted that it may also be the case that the aforesaid additional heat exchange means, located in the lower segment of the furnace volume, are made part of the water-superheated steam loop. The foregoing then completes the description of the fluid circuitry of the thermodynamic steam cycle in the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system.
It should therefore be obvious from the foregoing that the production of steam from a bubbling fluidized bed combustion system involves both a combustion process and a thermodynamic steam cycle acting in cooperative association therebetween.
The prior art is replete with examples of the use of fluidized bed combustion systems in the generation of steam. Such examples include, but are not limited to, circulating fluidized bed (CFB) systems, pressurized fluidized bed (PFB) systems and internal circulating fluidized bed (ICFB) systems as well as bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) systems. Representative of such fluidized bed combustion systems is U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,982, entitled "Internal Circulating Fluidized Bed Type Boiler And Method Of Controlling The Same," which issued on Aug. 18, 1992 and relates to an apparatus for incinerating coal, anthracite, coal dressing sludge, petro coke, bark, bagasse, industrial waste, municipal waste and other combustibles using a so-called circulating type fluidized bed as well as for recovering thermal energy from the fluidized bed, and a method of controlling the amount of diffusion gas to be blown into a thermal energy recovery chamber and the amount of fuel to be supplied in order to regulate the amount of thermal energy recovered and to maintain a constant temperature in the primary incinerating chamber of the fluidized bed. Also in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,878, entitled "Boiler And A Supported Heat Transfer Bank," issued on Sep. 15, 1992 and discloses a boiler, having a reaction chamber with heat transfer panels or tube banks, formed by several horizontal heat transfer tubes attached one on top of the other, and in which the ends of the heat transfer panels or the tube banks are supported by two opposing walls defining the reaction chamber. Still further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,159, entitled "Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion Combined Cycle Power Plant and Method of Operating The Same," issued on Apr. 20, 1993, and is directed to a pressurized fluidized bed combustion combined cycle power plant and method of operating the same; more particularly to a combined cycle power plant comprising a pressurized fluidized bed combustion boiler, combustion boiler for burning coal and producing steam, a gas turbine, a compressor and a generator, with the steam being usable to drive a steam turbine and with means being provided for maintaining a stable fluidization in the pressurized fluidized bed combustion boiler even at partial load. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,507, entitled "Combined Cycle Power Pant Incorporating Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler And Gasifier," issued on Oct. 26, 1993 and relates to circulating fluidized bed boilers and pertains particularly to a combined cycle power plant incorporating an atmospheric circulating fluidized bed boiler and gasifier. Further representative of the prior art with respect to the use of fluidized bed combustion systems in the generation of steam is U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,000, entitled "Reheat Steam Temperature Control In A Circulating Fluidized Bed Steam Generator." U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,000, issued on Dec. 28, 1993, is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and discloses a method for the fluidized bed combustion of a fuel in a circulating fluidized bed system and particularly to a method for controlling the extraction of heat from the recycle solids to control the temperature of a fluid such as reheated steam. Still further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,955, entitled "Fluidized Bed Combustion System Having A Heat Exchanger In The Upper Furnace," issued on Dec. 5, 1995 and relates to a fluidized bed combustion system and method, and, more particularly, to such a system and method in which a heat exchanger is provided in the upper portion of the furnace. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,471, entitled "Fluidized Bed Reactor And Method Of Operation Thereof," issued on Jul. 9, 1996 and relates to controlled operation of a circulating fluidized bed reactor that has a number of advantages compared to prior art construction and processes.
More specifically, the prior art also reveals reference to bubbling fluidized bed combustion systems for use in the generation of steam. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,646, entitled "Apparatus And Method For Combusting Carbonaceous Fuels Employing In Tandem a Fast Bed Boiler And A Slow Bed Boiler," issued on Aug. 1, 1978 and discloses an invention in which a fluid bed boiler and combustion method are provided having two zones. Still further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,327, entitled "Hybrid Fluidized Bed Combustor," issued on Apr. 20, 1982 and is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and embodies a system which includes a furnace whose source of heat is an atmospheric bubbling fluidized bed burning crushed solid fuel. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,775, entitled "Circulating Fluidized Bed Reactor And Method Of Operating The Same," issued on Jun. 18, 1996 and relates to a circulating fluidized bed reactor having substantially vertical walls with cooling elements therein, the vertical walls defining the interior of the reactor chamber; means for introducing fluidizing gas at the bottom of the fluidizing bed reactor; means for introducing particulate matter into said reactor; separator for separating particulate material from the gases, the separator being in connection with said reactor at the upper section thereof; return duct, being connected to the separator; bubbling fluidized bed adjacent to the reactor and being provided with heat exchanger means for cooling particulate material, side walls, and rear and front wall shaving cooling elements in fluid communication with the cooling elements of the reactor, said bubbling fluidized bed being connected with said return duct.
Fluidized bed combustion systems are known to be flexible in their ability to burn a wide variety of fuel types. Included in these fuels is pulverized coal, anthracite, sludge, petro coke, bagasse, bark, and industrial and municipal wastes. Representative of the utilization of such fuel types in fluidized bed combustion systems is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,958, entitled "Process For Incinerating Domestic Refuse In A Fluidized Bed Furnace," which issued on Aug. 18, 1992. In accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,958, a process for incinerating domestic refuse is implemented in a boiler comprising a fluidized bed furnace over which is a post-combustion chamber. Also in the prior art, reference is again made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,982. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,099 entitled, "Composite Recycling Type Fluidized Bed Boiler," issued on Oct. 20, 1992 and relates to an internal recycling type fluidized bed boiler in which combustion materials such as various coals, low grade coal, dressing sludge, oil cokes and the like are burnt by a so-called whirling flow fluidized bed, the interior of a freeboard and a heat transfer portion provided downstream of the freeboard portion. Still further in the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,964, entitled "Process For Burning High Ash Particulate Fuel," issued on Mar. 2, 1993 and relates to fuel combustion in stationary power generating plants; and more particularly to particulate carbonaceous fuel and the use thereof in fluidized-bed combustion processes. Continuing in the prior art with respect to the burning of various types of fuel in fluidized bed combustion systems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,889, entitled "Fluidized Bed Reactor And System And Method Utilizing Same," issued on Nov. 22, 1994 and relates to an improved fluidized bed reactor and method, and more particularly, to a fluidized bed reactor and method for incinerating combustible materials such as municipal and industrial wastes. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,596, entitled "Fluidized Bed Reactor And Method Utilizing Refuse Derived Fuel," issued on Mar. 7, 1995 and relates to a fluidized bed reactor and method of operating a fluidized bed reactor and, more particularly, to such a reactor and method in which the reactor is fueled in whole or in part by refuse derived fuel, or RDF. The prior art with respect to the utilization of a wide variety of fuels in fluidized bed combustion systems also reveals U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,482, entitled "Fluidized Bed Boilers." U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,482 issued on May 22, 1984 and relates to fluidized bed boilers. In accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,482, in reactors generating hot gases, air is passed through a bed of particulate material which includes a mixture of inert material and a fuel material such as coal, wood waste or other combustible materials. Yet still further the prior art shows U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,712, entitled "Multifuel Bubbling Bed Fluidized Bed Combustion System," issued on Apr. 25, 1989 and relates to providing multifuel capability for a fluidized bed combustor and related methods and apparatus for combusting low-BTU fuels and generating high-temperature gases while reducing environmental pollutants. The prior art relating to the burning of various fuel types in fluidized bed combustion systems also reveals U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,913, entitled "Pressurized Internal Circulating Fluidized-Bed Boiler" which issued on May 24, 1994 and relates to a pressurized fluidized-bed combined cycle electric generating system in which a fuel such as coal, petro coke, or the like is combusted in a pressurized fluidized bed and an exhaust gas produced by the combusted fuel is introduced into a gas turbine. Continuing in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,599, entitled "Pressurized Internal Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler," issued on May 7, 1996 and relates to a pressurized fluidized-bed boiler, and more particularly to a pressurized internal circulating fluidized-bed boiler for use in a pressurized fluidized-bed combined-cycle electric generating system in which a fuel such as coal, petro coke, or the like is combusted in a pressurized fluidized bed and an exhaust gas produced by the combusted fuel is introduced into a gas turbine.
It has been long known and practiced in the prior art to utilize oil bearing shale in a retorting process, i.e., in the extraction of various oils, gases and vapors therefrom. By driving off and then condensing volatiles found in the shale, light petroleum products such as gasoline may be derived from the shale. However, such a retorting process is distinct from the use of shale as a fuel in a fluidized bed combustion system wherein the entirety of the shale is burned and byproduct thereof are not sought. Representative of the prior art with respect to oil shale retorting is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,451,575, entitled "Oil Shale Retort," which issued on Apr. 10, 1923. In accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 1,451,575 the invention therein relates to an apparatus for and process of distilling or separating the oil contained in oil shale, asphalt or other oil bearing mineral, from the solid or residual matter thereof and is particularly designed for use in refining plants in which oil shale is treated for the purpose of extracting its oil contents. Still further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 1,465,277, entitled "Apparatus For Extracting Oil From Shales," issued on Aug. 21, 1923 and relates to a process, mechanism and retort adapted to receive crushed or powdered shale in suitable quantities, to heat and drive off the oil elements as a gas undeprived of its qualities, the gas being later condensed and stored as oil in containers such as may be provided. Continuing in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,726, entitled "Apparatus For The Recovery Of Oil And Gaseous Products From Shale," issued on Dec. 18, 1956 and relates to a method and apparatus for the recovery of oil and gaseous products from shale. Yet further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,092, entitled "Combination Process For Upgrading Oil Products Of Coal, Shale Oil And Crude Oil To Produce Jet Fuels, Diesel Fuels And Gasoline," issued on Oct. 11, 1983 and relates to a method and combination of processing steps for producing jet fuels from hydrocarbon materials derived from oil shale, coal and crude oil. Further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,816, entitled "Process For Recovery Of Hydrocarbons From Oil Shale," issued on Mar. 27, 1984 and relates to the processing of oil shale in a manner in which allows the recovery of a high percentage of the hydrocarbonaceous oil which is contained therein.
The use of oil shale in conjunction with fluidized bed systems is also found in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,454, entitled "Oil Shale Retorting And Combustion System," issued on Feb. 15, 1983 and relates to a fluidized bed system in which oil shale containing calcium carbonate is subject to sequentially occurring (two-stage) retorting and combustion steps whereby volatile hydrocarbons representing maximum heat value may be extracted from the oil shale prior to the occurrence of any calcination reaction so as to extensively increase the efficiency of the energy extraction process relating to oil shale. Further in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,080, entitled "Staged Fluidized Combustion," issued on Nov. 6, 1984 and relates to oil shale retorting and more particularly to staged fluidized bed oil shale retorting.
To summarize, it should be evident from the foregoing broad array of prior art that fluidized beds are utilized in numerous capacities, including the generation of steam. In particular, circulating fluidized beds, pressurized fluidized beds, internal circulating fluidized beds and bubbling fluidized beds are but a few of the fluidized bed combustion systems utilized in the generation of steam. Furthermore, the prior art shows that fluidized bed combustion systems, while utilized in the generation of steam, are capable of burning a wide variety of fuels including pulverized coal, anthracite, sludge, petro coke, bagasse, bark, and industrial and municipal wastes. Still further, the prior art shows that oil shale is utilized for purposes other than in the generation of steam, such as in the extraction therefrom of various oils, gases and vapors in contexts other than as a fuel in fluidized bed combustion systems, e.g., in retorting oil shale.
However, in canvassing the prior art it should be readily apparent that, although fluidized bed combustion systems, when utilized in the generation of steam and constructed in accordance with the teachings of the U.S. patents to which reference has been made, have been demonstrated to be operative for the purpose for which they were designed, there has nevertheless been evidenced in the prior art that there exists a need for such fluidized bed combustion systems to be improved. More specifically, a need has been evidenced in the prior art relating to the generation of steam by fluidized bed combustion systems that there exists a need for a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system in the nature of a bubbling fluidized bed combustion system capable of effecting therein the combustion of a highly reactive fuel having a high ash content, a low higher heating value (HHV), a high limestone (CaCO.sub.3) content and having a tendency to foul convective heat transfer surfaces.
Moreover, such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, capable of utilizing shale oil as a fuel therein and generating steam thereby, would be particularly characterized in a number of respects. To that end, one such characteristic which such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would desirably possess is that of a bubbling bed of hot solids disposed within the lower segment of the furnace volume. It is also desirable that such a bubbling bed of hot solids include therein a plurality of isolatable segments. Furthermore, it is desirable that the bubbling bed of hot solids be capable of being slumped, i.e., capable of having one or more of said segments thereof isolated and made inoperative for the purpose of operating the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system so as to effectively respond to changing demands placed thereupon. Still further, it is desirable that such a bubbling bed of hot solids be capable of containing, in such a plurality of isolatable segments thereof, a plurality of heat exchange means for use either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the thermodynamic steam cycle. By so incorporating such heat exchange means in the isolatable segments of the bubbling bed of hot solids, flue gas temperatures in the furnace volume may be effectively controlled. By so controlling the flue gas temperatures the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system may be operated at a lower flue gas temperature, thus reducing the aforesaid fouling of convective heat exchange means and reducing the tendency of the bed solids to agglomerate.
Still further, a characteristic which such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would desirably possess is that of a deentrainment zone disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume. Such a deentrainment zone would be characterized by an increasing cross sectional area with increasing height within the furnace volume such that larger particulate matter, i.e., larger unburned oil shale particles entrained within the upwardly mobile flue gases, fall out of the flue gas stream and are recirculated to the bubbling bed of hot solids for continued combustion. Such a deentrainment zone also increases the residence time of a particle of fuel, thereby providing for the greater likelihood of combustion of a particle of fuel. Furthermore, such a deentrainment zone reduces the amount of fly ash carried away in the flue gas stream, thus reducing the amount of fouling of convective heat transfer surfaces as well as increasing sulfur capture and carbon burnout.
Furthermore, a characteristic which such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would desirably possess is that of the presence of freeboard heat exchange means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume above the deentrainment zone. Such freeboard heat exchange means should be capable of heat transfer duty either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the thermodynamic steam cycle. Furthermore, such freeboard heat exchange means are disposed parallel to the flow of the upwardly mobile flue gases and act to remove heat therein released thereto due to the combustion of oil shale. The freeboard heat exchange means also provide effective control of the temperature of the upwardly mobile flue gases in the furnace volume so as to allow the fluidized bed combustion system to be operated at a lower flue gas temperature, thus reducing the potential for the aforesaid fouling of convective heat exchange means.
Another characteristic which such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would desirably possess is that of a fluidized bed ash cooler incorporated as an integral part thereof wherein the fluidized bed ash cooler acts as a heat exchanger. It is desirable that such a fluidized bed ash cooler be capable of accepting as input thereto relatively hot ash particles, originating from the bubbling bed of hot solids and resulting from the incomplete combustion of oil shale within the furnace volume. Still further, such a fluidized bed ash cooler should be capable of accepting as fluid input thereto relatively cool air, for exchanging heat therein with the aforesaid relatively hot ash particles. Thereupon, the now hotter air is delivered therefrom to either the aforesaid bubbling bed of hot solids or to an overbed air inlet means disposed above the bubbling bed of hot solids in the lower segment of the furnace volume. Such an exchange of heat between the air and the relatively hot ash recovers still useful energy from the relatively hot ash for further use in the flue gas flow path or the thermodynamic steam cycle, thus improving the efficiency of the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system. Furthermore, it is desirable that such a fluidized bed ash cooler be capable of classifying finer ash particles from coarser ash particles and returning the finer ash particles directly to the bubbling bed of hot solids while yet delivering the coarser ash particles to an ash discharge means. Yet further, it is desirable that such a fluidized bed ash cooler be capable of performing heat transfer duty either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the aforesaid thermodynamic steam cycle. It is also desirable that such a fluidized bed ash cooler include therein a plurality of isolatable segments thereof. Still further, it is desirable that such a fluidized bed ash cooler be capable of being slumped, i.e., capable of having one or more of said segments thereof isolated and made inoperative for the purpose of operating the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system so as to effectively respond to changing demands placed thereupon, while yet maintaining the aforesaid classification capability.
Yet another characteristic which such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would desirably possess is that of a multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume; each chamber therein being in fluid communication with the lower segment of the furnace volume. In particular it is desirable that such multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume comprise for example two chambers whereby a first chamber thereof contains a plurality of superheat heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the aforesaid thermodynamic steam cycle and a second chamber thereof contains a plurality of reheat heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle. Still further it is desirable that such a multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume have operatively connected thereto, means for controlling the distribution of the flow of the aforesaid upwardly mobile flue gases between and through the first and second chambers thereof and controlling thereby the reheated steam outlet (RHO) temperature of the thermodynamic steam cycle.
Another desirable characteristic that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would possess is that of an underbed air inlet means connected to the lower segment of the furnace volume and operative to properly fluidize the bubbling bed of hot solids by delivering upwardly mobile fluidizing air to the fluidized bed at a prescribed volumetric flow rate. By so controlling the volumetric flow rate of the fluidizing air, proper control may be had of the local stoichiometry of the combustion process, thus maintaining proper flue gas temperatures. Furthermore, such control of the volumetric flow rate of the fluidizing air helps prevent agglomeration of bed solids by mechanical agitation thereof.
Still further it is desirable that such a bubbling fluidized bed combustion system have an overbed air inlet means operative to deliver overbed air to the furnace volume to support the combustion of oil shale therein. By the judicious manipulation and control of such combustion supporting air and the upwardly flowing fluidizing air, proper control may then be had of the stoichiometric ratio of the combustion process in the furnace volume, thus controlling NO.sub.x emissions therefrom.
It is also desirable that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system possess an overbed fuel inlet means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume above the bubbling bed of hot solids and proximate in elevation with the overbed air inlet means. Said overbed fuel inlet means is operative to spread oil shale evenly over the bubbling bed of hot solids.
Still another desirable characteristic that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system would possess is that of an ash drainage means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume proximate in elevation with the bubbling bed of hot solids while yet further disposed opposite from the overbed fuel inlet means in the furnace volume.
Yet further, it is desirable that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system be capable of the combustion of oil shale therein and the generation of steam thereby without the need for incorporating in the fluidized bed combustion system a solids/gas separator.
Still further, it is desirable that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system have a backpass volume in fluid communication with the furnace volume and contain therein a plurality of economizer heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle. It is also desirable that such a backpass volume contain an air preheater means for heating air prior to injection thereof into the furnace volume via the underbed air inlet means.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system. To that end it is an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system that is in the nature of a bubbling fluidized bed combustion system which is particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of a highly reactive fuel having a high ash content, a low higher heating value (HHV), a high limestone (CaCO.sub.3) content and having a tendency to foul convective heat transfer surfaces.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have a bubbling bed of hot solids disposed within the lower segment of the furnace volume. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a bubbling bed of hot solids including therein a plurality of isolatable segments whereby such a bubbling bed of hot solids which is capable of being slumped, i.e., having one or more segments thereof isolated and made inoperative for the purpose of operating the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system so as to effectively respond to changing demands placed thereupon. Still further, it is an object of the present invention that such a bubbling bed of hot solids be capable of containing, in such a plurality of isolatable segments thereof, a plurality of heat exchange means for use either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the thermodynamic steam cycle.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have a deentrainment zone disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume and characterized by an increasing cross sectional area with increasing height within the furnace volume such that larger particulate matter, i.e., larger unburned fuel particles entrained within the upwardly mobile flue gases, fall out of the flue gases and are recirculated to the bubbling bed of hot solids for continued combustion.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect the combustion therein of oil shale, having freeboard heat exchange means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume above the deentrainment zone. It is an object of the present invention that such freeboard heat exchange means are capable of performing heat transfer duty either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the thermodynamic steam cycle. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention that such freeboard heat exchange means be disposed parallel to the flow of the upwardly mobile flue gases and operative to remove heat therefrom released thereinto due to the combustion of shale oil, providing effective control thereby of the temperature of the upwardly mobile flue gases in the furnace volume. Such control of the temperature of the upwardly mobile flue gases allows the fluidized bed combustion system to be operated at a lower flue gas temperature, thereby reducing the potential for the aforesaid fouling of convective heat exchange means that arises with the use of oil shale as a fuel.
Yet further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have a fluidized bed ash cooler incorporated as an integral part thereof wherein the fluidized bed ash cooler acts as a heat exchanger. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a fluidized bed ash cooler that is capable of accepting as input thereto relatively hot ash particles, originating from the bubbling bed of hot solids and resulting from the incomplete combustion of shale oil within the furnace volume. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a fluidized bed ash cooler which is capable of accepting as fluid input thereto relatively cool air, for exchanging heat therein with the aforesaid relatively hot ash particles, prior to delivery therefrom to either the aforesaid bubbling bed of hot solids or to an overbed air inlet means disposed above the bubbling bed of hot solids in the lower segment of the furnace volume. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a fluidized bed ash cooler so as to be capable of classifying finer ash particles from coarser ash particles and returning the finer ash particles either to the bubbling bed of hot solids while yet delivering the coarser ash particles to an ash discharge means. Still further it is an object of the present invention to provide such a fluidized bed ash cooler which is capable of performing heat transfer duty either in a water-evaporative steam loop, or in a water-superheated steam loop in the thermodynamic steam cycle. It is also an object of the present invention that such a fluidized bed ash cooler include therein a plurality of isolatable segments thereof. Yet further it is an object of the present invention to provide such a fluidized bed ash cooler that is capable of being slumped, i.e., having one or more segments thereof isolated and made inoperative for the purpose of operating the bubbling fluidized bed combustion system so as to effectively respond to changing demands placed thereupon while yet maintaining the aforesaid classification capability.
Yet further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have a multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume;
each chamber therein being in fluid communication with the lower segment of the furnace volume. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume so as to comprise for example two chambers whereby a first chamber thereof contains a plurality of superheat heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle and a second chamber thereof contains a plurality of reheat heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle. Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a multi-chambered upper segment of the furnace volume so as to have operatively connected thereto, means for controlling the distribution of the flow of the aforesaid upwardly mobile flue gases through the first and second chambers thereof and controlling thereby the reheated steam outlet (RHO) temperature of the thermodynamic steam cycle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have an underbed air inlet means connected to the lower segment of the furnace volume and operative to properly fluidize the bubbling bed of hot solids by delivering upwardly mobile fluidizing air to the fluidized bed at a prescribed volumetric flow rate.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, so as to have an overbed air inlet means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume above the bubbling bed of hot solids and operative to control the stoichiometric ratio of the combustion process in the furnace volume; thus controlling NO.sub.x emissions therefrom.
It is also an object of the present invention that such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system possess an overbed fuel inlet means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume above the bubbling bed of hot solids and operative to spread oil shale evenly over the bubbling bed of hot solids.
Still further it is an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, having an ash drainage means disposed in the lower segment of the furnace volume proximate in elevation with the bubbling bed of hot solids yet disposed opposite from the overbed fuel inlet means.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system which is particularly well suited for effecting therein the combustion of oil shale without incorporating in the fluidized bed combustion system a solids/gas separator.
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved bubbling fluidized bed combustion system, particularly well suited to effect therein the combustion of oil shale, having a backpass volume in fluid communication with the furnace volume and containing a plurality of economizer heat exchange means in fluid communication therebetween and integral to the thermodynamic steam cycle. It is also an object of the present invention that such a backpass volume contain an air preheater means for heating air prior to injection thereof into the furnace volume via the underbed air inlet means.


A method for coding a message of a plurality of m-state symbols into a coded message of n-state symbols wherein n>m is disclosed. A method to make the distribution of states of n-state symbols a uniform distribution is also disclosed. A coding rule is initiated based on a distribution of states of m-state symbols. A method of coding the coding rule by transposition is also provided. In one embodiment a coded message of n-state symbols has symbols that each have a unique state. A system for executing the coding and decoding methods is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to coding of a sequence of symbols into a different sequence of symbols in a manner that modifies the statistical properties of the original sequence. More specifically it relates to coding a message of m-valued symbols into a message of n-valued symbols with n>m.
For illustrative purposes messages using symbols that may represent text are used herein. It is to be understood that any message, including but not limited to a text message, a data message, an audio message, a video message or any message that applies symbols may apply the coding and/or decoding methods and systems disclosed herein as an aspect of the present invention.
It is known that text messages based on letters or other symbols comprise important statistical information related to the applied language. For instance frequency analysis of letters in an English text message of sufficient length will show that the letters 'e' and 't' occur the most often. Such analysis can also be applied to combinations of 2 letters (digrams), such as 'th' and 'ea' or combinations of even more letters. Such a frequency analysis will provide important information about an encrypted message and may form the basis for cryptanalysis.
Known statistical technologies can provide a cryptanalyst important hooks to start deciphering an enciphered message. Current encryption methods may apply keys. A key may be a known series of symbols against which a message may be coded or decoded. Cryptanalysis of the ciphers is known to be difficult and very resource intensive. However ultimately statistical assumptions, combined with brute force calculations have proven to help break many codes. Clearly it would be helpful the security of a message if one could modify the statistical distribution of symbols of a message, whereby the modification will not affect the content or cleartext of a message and the coding and decoding can be performed automatically with a computer program.
Performance of transmission systems, may improve if the energy in a message is distributed equally and uniformly over time and over individual channels.
Accordingly novel and improved methods and systems are required that can modify statistical information of a message to resist cryptanalysis or to obtain better transmission performance.

Methods and systems for modifying the statistical distribution of symbols in a coded message


A peripheral pump for feeding fuel from a supply tank to the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, in which, in a pump chamber (17) embodied by at least two adjacent walls (18, 19), a revolving circular-cylindrical impeller (12) is disposed, on whose face end in an intake-side wall (18) and an outlet-side wall (19) of a medium a feed conduit (41, 42) is provided, which communicate with one another at an angle (.beta.) via a radially disposed connecting conduit (49, 51) in the wall (18, 19) having a pressure region (34, 35) cooperating with the impeller (12), and these pressure regions (34, 35) can be acted upon by the pressure building up increasingly in the feed conduit (41, 42), thus bringing about an equalization of axial force with respect to the impeller (12) at the walls (18, 19) of the pump chamber (17).

The invention relates to a peripheral pump
From German Patent Application DE 40 20 521 A1, a peripheral pump is known that includes a circular-cylindrical impeller revolving in a pump chamber; on at least one of its two end faces, the impeller has a ring of vanes spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction of the impeller, and viewed in terms of the longitudinal section through the pump, a bottom of the groovelike gap between two adjacent vanes forms a circular segment whose center is virtually identical to the center of another circular segment that is formed by the bottom of an annular feed conduit, which is disposed facing the ring of vanes, each in one wall of the pump chamber. Peripheral pumps of this kind, even after only a relatively short time in operation, show that the impeller is subject to considerable wear, which is due to an axial force that builds up in the peripheral pump, acts on the impeller, and presses the impeller in particular against an intake-side wall of an intake cap. Such a peripheral pump also has poor startup performance. Moreover, the axial force that builds up in the fuel feed unit leads to poor noise abatement.

Peripheral pump, in particular for feeding fuel from feed tank to internal combustion engine of motor vehicle


A method includes receiving by a processor a prescription drug claim transaction data from a claims processor over a data communications network, analyzing the prescription drug claim transaction data by the processor, identifying by the processor from the prescription drug claim transaction data an entity selected from the group consisting of: prescribing doctor and dispensing pharmacy, determining by the processor a location of the entity, and generating by the processor a token for the digital wallet of the user device, the token includes rules for displaying a message in the user device when the user device passes to within a threshold distance of the location of the entity as detected by a location sensor of the user device. The rules cause display of the message in the user device when the user device passes to within a threshold distance of the location of the entity as detected by a location sensor of the user device.

Digital wallets are often used to conduct commerce. The digital wallets may retain or connect to servers that maintain payment information for transacting purchases. Digital wallets may also retain or connect to servers that maintain coupons, ads, information, and other tokens that are available to the digital wallet.
Cell phones and other mobile devices may include a digital wallet. The digital wallet presents payment information at point of sale to complete a purchase. Coupons, ads, information, and other tokens saved to the digital wallet may be enabled for availability in effecting the sale.
Cell phones and other mobile devices may include global positioning system (GPS) units or other location based detectors. Those detectors locate the devices by longitude and latitude coordinates.
It would be a significant improvement in the art and technology to provide location-based messaging in devices through digital wallet tokens.

Digital wallet notification systems and methods


A filled hollow structure includes an open hollow structure from a first material. The open hollow structure is at least partially closed by a closing structure. The hollow structure is filled with a filler medium. The filled hollow structure is overmoulded with a second material.

Hollow structures are known in the prior art, for example, in the field of face masks for delivering breathable gas or fluid to a patient. In such face masks, hollow cushions are used for providing contact zones for contacting the face of the user in order to improve comfort by moderating or otherwise distributing contact force. Furthermore, such structures are used as a sealing structure for sealing the mask interior from the exterior in the contact region where the mask rests on a user's face.
A disadvantage of hollow structures known in the art is that they are complicated to manufacture and numerous manual manufacturing steps are often necessary. Moreover, such hollow structures are either not closed, i.e., open, or are closed in an ineffective and/or complicated manner.
In particular, it is known to fill a mask cushion with silicone or gel wherein the hollow structure is closed by use of a silicone adhesive.
The solutions known in the prior art are in particular, not easy to handle, not durable, complicated and expensive to manufacture, not suitable for automating, not bio-compatible as well as optically and hygienically objectionable.
WO 2008/089799 discloses an improved method for producing a filled hollow structure by producing an open hollow structure of a first material, positioning the open hollow structure on a tool adapted to hold the open hollow structure, filling the open hollow structure with a filler medium, and then closing the filled open hollow structure with a second material.

Filled hollow structure and tool for manufacturing same


An energy object extension to an industrial protocol having a comprehensive suite of attributes, messages and services utilized for the monitoring and control of energy consuming or producing resources by a manufacturing automation application is provided. The energy object includes an identifier associated with an energy resource that is associated with a manufacturing automation application and an energy type associated with the energy resource. This includes a measurement characteristic associated with the energy resource to facilitate energy management by the manufacturing automation application.

The claimed subject matter relates generally to industrial control systems and more particularly to control of power and energy that enables efficient and automated management of the same across various communications networks.
Various industrial protocols are employed to support automated manufacturing operations and communications. These can include device protocols, mid-level protocols between the device level and the control level, and upper-level protocols such as Ethernet that has been adapted to communicate via industrial control objects among factories and on to high-level networks such as the Internet. In one specific example of such an industrial protocol, the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP™) encompasses a comprehensive suite of attributes, messages and services, organized as objects, for the enablement of manufacturing automation application objectives—control, safety, synchronization, motion, configuration and information collection. Further, it enables users to integrate these manufacturing applications with enterprise-level Ethernet networks and the Internet. Supported by hundreds of vendors around the world, CIP provides users with a unified communication architecture throughout the manufacturing enterprise. The CIP protocol allows users to benefit today from the many advantages of open networks while protecting their existing automation investments when upgrading in the future.
Through the addition of functionally specialized objects, the CIP protocol provides a coherent integration of control, motion and synchronization, configuration and diagnostics, and safety information. This protocol includes seamless bridging and routing without the added cost and complexity of bridges and proxies. Further, the protocol provides freedom to deploy interoperable, multivendor systems, allowing users to choose best-of-breed products, with the assurance of competitive prices and low integration cost. This includes single, media independent protocol for all network adaptations of CIP—EtherNet/IP™, DeviceNet™, CompoNet™, and ControlNet™—that allows users to select the best network or networks for their application while still minimizing their overall investment in system engineering, installation, integration and commissioning. The CIP protocol also integrates support of Modbus® server devices into the CIP architectures with Modbus translation services for originator devices on CIP; allows devices supporting Modbus TCP and EtherNet/IP to reside on the same TCP/IP network—or even in the same device. Modbus integration is accomplished by the usage of objects to create an abstraction. Modbus is then accessed as if the Modbus devices were native CIP devices. It should be recognized that the functionality provided by a CIP object can be extended into other non-CIP networks in a similar manner.
A key topic that has gained prominence in modern industrial manufacturing is the ability to efficiently manage power and energy within a plant or across a set of plants and an associated supply chain, where such management spans a wide geography and communicates over networks. This includes the ability to understand and track in real time, where energy is being generated, transmitted, distributed and utilized. For instance, Cap and Trade policies may have to be considered in the management of a particular plant or even across broader energy domains that may be associated with a grid. Some of the energy management must be coordinated with the grid such as the ability to receive energy from the grid or conversely return unused energy back to the grid for appropriate credit. Unfortunately, existing industrial protocols do not support a standardized ability to aggregate energy data or manage energy resources let alone communicate or facilitate control in even the most basic energy demand applications. Presently, the difficulty in automation due to the lack of uniform methods of energy management information exchange leads most often to a manual exercise that is far from an efficient and responsive method for controlling and managing complex energy flows that dynamically change over time.


A controller for variable speed three-phase AC squirrel-cage induction motors in accordance with a volts-per-hertz control method is disclosed. Direct current ("DC") link current is employed to compensate for rotor slip. In particular, rotor slip is estimated and added to a speed reference command to compensate for changing loads. A direction input and speed reference command provide complete control over the induction motor.

The present invention is generally related to motor controllers, and more particularly to an open-loop speed controller integrated circuit ("IC") for alternating current ("AC") induction motors.
One advantage of induction motors as compared to permanent magnet synchronous motors is the ability to change air gap flux. This allows greater than base speed operation by reducing the flux to operate in a constant power region. However, motor current must be adjusted to match motor load in order to achieve efficient operation.
One known technique for matching motor current to motor load is vector control. Vector control employs secondary flux rotational speed and a torque command signal to control stator current frequency and amplitude. However, vector control requires a speed sensor to be placed near to the motor in order to sense motor rotation frequency, and such a speed sensor increases controller cost and may be more susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,135 issued to Ashikaga et al describes a sensorless induction motor vector controller in which a vector controlled flux calculator is employed to estimate rotor speed from motor phase currents and d and q axis flux and torque commands. The sensorless controller estimates the rotor speed by other than measurement means. However, this controller is relatively complicated to implement and may be costly to produce.


In one embodiment a video system comprises a first tuner, a first memory buffer coupled to the first tuner to receive a first video signal from the first tuner, a second tuner, a second memory buffer coupled to the second tuner to receive a second video signal from the second tuner, and a controller comprising logic to direct the first video signal from the first memory buffer to an output port, receive a signal to switch the output port from the first memory buffer to the second memory buffer, and in response to the signal, couple the output port to the second memory buffer without disrupting the operations of the first memory buffer.

Video entertainment devices such as televisions, computers, digital video recorders, and the like may be provided with multiple tuners to enable reception of multiple signals or channels. Signals output from tuners are stored in a memory buffer and may be presented on a display device such as, e.g., a television or computer monitor, or may be recorded on a memory device such as, e.g., a hard disk drive. Switching between tuners causes the memory buffer to be flushed, which may cause a user to lose content from the video signal.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Methods and apparatus provide PCI Express support on a programmable device. A device includes a hard-coded transceiver that supports functionality associated with the PCI Express physical layer and link layer. The hard-coded transceiver can also support part of the PCI Express transaction layer. Soft-coded logic is used to support higher layer functionality including a portion of the transaction layer to allow custom configuration of PCI Express features such as virtual channels, buffers, prioritization, and quality of service characteristics. The hybrid solution reduces logic resource cost and provides an effective custom configurable solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supporting PCI Express. In one example, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for implementing a device having both hard-coded and soft-coded PCI Express support.
2. Description of Related Art
PCI Express is a low-cost, scalable, switched, point-to-point, serial I/O interconnection scheme that maintains backward compatibility with PCI. PCI Express provides a number of benefits over existing bus standards, including increased bandwidth availability and support for real-time data transfer services. PCI Express provides quality of service, power management, and I/O virtualization features. Quality of service and power management improve data integrity and allow control of power consumption. I/O virtualization allows data to be routed along logical routes such as virtual channels, permits allocation of bandwidth to groups of devices, and provides the ability to prioritize traffic streams.
Many existing devices fail to fully and efficiently support PCI Express. Some devices only support PCI Express in very specific configurations. For example, some Application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs) and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) may have PCI Express support but only for a specified number of channels. Some other devices such as programmable chips can support PCI Express but only by using a relatively large amount of logic resources.
Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved techniques and mechanisms for providing PCI Express support that overcome at least some of the limitations of existing devices.


A lighting device (1) is disclosed, comprising at least a first elongated carrier (2) and a second elongated carrier (3), each of the first elongated carrier (2) and the second elongated carrier being foldable (3). At least the first elongated carrier (2) and the second elongated carrier (3) have been folded over each other such that a plurality of sections (16) of the first elongated carrier (2) are interleaved with respect to a plurality of sections (17) of the second elongated carrier (3) so as to form an interleaved structure (10). The interleaved structure (1) may have been arranged such that a plurality of cavities (9) in the interleaved structure (10) are formed, each cavity (9) at least being constituted by a surface (12) of one of the sections (16) of the first elongated carrier (2) and a surface (13) of one of the sections (17) of the second elongated carrier (3), wherein the surfaces (12, 13) of the sections (16, 17) of the first elongated carrier (2) and the second elongated carrier (3), respectively, at least in part face each other.

Light strips—for example comprising flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) configured to support one or more light sources—may facilitate installation of several light sources to achieve a desirable light effect. Light-emitting diode (LED) light strips (or LED strip) are widely available and used for various applications, including outdoor lighting (e.g., architectural lighting) and indoor lighting, and are used in both consumer and professional applications. Advantages with LED strips include miniaturization and a flexibility with regard to form factor. Some LED strips may be relatively easily customized, e.g., they may be cut to a desired length. LED strips may for example have a length from one to several meters, such as up to five meters or even more. LED strips may be integrated with other electronics and may exhibit functionality such as connectivity to other electrical devices, e.g., to other LED strips, LED drivers, etc. LED strips may include several LEDs which for example may be arranged as one or more LED strings. For example, a LED strip may comprise a flexible PCB which is configured to support one or more LEDs or LED strings, and which may be covered with a transparent material or a diffusor. For outdoor applications, LED strips may be covered by a conformal coating made or encapsulated by a sleeve for example made of Silicone or Polyurethane or a similar material.
On a LED strip with a flexible PCB, the flexible PCB is usually flat, and LEDs are usually arranged on one of the sides of the flat, flexible PCB. Therefore, light emission from such a LED strip may be directed from the LED strip only in one general direction. However, it would be desirable to have a LED strip which allows for a greater flexibility in directionality of the light emission from the LED strip.
CN 202501406 discloses a light bar group that is equipped with at least one light emitting assembly and comprises two light bar units. Each light bar unit includes a wire layer provided with a plurality of wires exposing on the upper surface of the wire layer, upper and lower insulating layers coating the wire layer, and a conductive connecting part arranged on at least one end of the light bar unit. The upper insulating layer is provided with at least one opening part, the conductive connecting part includes a base part and a bending part bending from the base part, and a clamping space is formed between the bending part and the base part. The bending part of one light bar unit is inserted in the clamping space of the other light bar unit so that the two light bar units are connected with each other

Lighting device and a method of manufacturing a lighting device


A data exploration tool which has a graphical user interface that employs directed graphs to provide histories of the data exploration operations. Nodes in the directed graphs represent operations on data; the edges represent relationships between the operations. One type of the directed graphs is the derivation graph, in which the root of the graph is a node representing a data set and an edge leading from a first node to a second node indicates that the operation represented by the second node is performed on the result of the operation represented by the first node. Operations include query, segmentation, aggregation, and data view operations. A user may edit the derivation graph and may select a node for execution. When that is done, all of the operations represented by the nodes between the root node and the selected node are performed as indicated in the graph. The operations are performed using techniques of lazy evaluation and encachement of results with the nodes. Another type of the directed graphs is the subsumption graph, in which an edge leading from a first node to a second node indicates that the second node stands in a subsumption relationship to the first node. If a result of the operation represented by the first node has been computed, the result is available to calculate the result of the operation represented by the second node.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns graphical user interfaces generally and more particularly concerns graphical user interfaces for data exploration systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The computer has permitted organizations to acquire, store, and access vast amounts of data about their operations, their suppliers, their customers, and their employees. The existence of this data has in turn lead to the development of techniques for exploring and analyzing the data and the emergence of a new information specialist: the business data analyst or BDA.
The business data analyst is not without tools. There are dozens of commercial data exploration and analysis tools available available under the overlapping categories of "decision support systems", "executive information systems", analysis environments, and OLAP (on-line analytic processing) tools. See for example the survey of these tools in "A data miner's tools", Byte Magazine, 2(10):91, October 1995. Other tools include ad-hoc query tools and report writers. New commercial tools continue to appear almost weekly.
The academic database research community has also addressed data exploration and analysis. They have done so first with research in difficult technical areas including query optimization, database structure, and advancing the underlying relational data model to handle new types of data. One product of their research has been improved algorithms for dealing with the problems raised in these areas. Additionally, "knowledge discovery in databases" has become an active research area. Knowledge discovery is similar to data mining, but is primarily concerned with using machine learning and statistical approaches to deriving new knowledge from preexisting large corporate and scientific databases.
In spite of all of this activity, the business data analyst still does not have a set of tools that is really well suited to what he or she does. The academic tools, with their emphasis on machine learning, do not take into account the central role of the human data analyst in discovering useful patterns in the information, while the commercial tools are useful for finding information once the analyst knows what he or she is looking for, but do not help the analyst to figure out what part of the data is relevant to the task at hand. Moreover, existing tools cannot be easily combined to form an easy-to-use environment for data exploration and analysis. The following example shows the problems faced by a business analyst who employs the tools presently available:
AT&T Corp markets a variety of telecommunications services. The marketing activities include promotions, on-going advertisement, new service offerings, new equipment offerings, bundled offerings, etc. Of course, AT&T's competitors are engaged in the same kinds of activities. AT&T is vitally interested in understanding the general market reaction to these efforts; doing so is surprisingly difficult. While AT&T has many large databases containing billing and customer premise equipment information, it is still difficult to find the right data and interpret it in the right context to glean the appropriate business insight. It is the task of the business data analyst to use this data to answer various business questions.
The task is made more difficult at AT&T the sheer volume of the data. A data file, which combines data from many sources, might have 15 million records and take up 1/2 a gigabyte of storage. AT&T has many hundreds of such data files. For this reason, the data is not read into a relational data base. Instead, AT&T keeps most of the data files on 8 mm tape until they are needed, at which point they are read into flat files of the type used in the UNIX operating system for processing (UNIX is a trade mark of the X Open Foundation).
The tools presently used in AT&T to explore and analyze this data are the following:
a small set of utilities provided with the UNIX operating system, including "grep", "sort", "unique"; PA1 programs written in programming languages like C or AWK; PA1 statistical packages like S; and PA1 tree induction routines. PA1 Run custom AWK script to divide base file by credit history into 4 segment files. PA1 Pick smallest segment file for initial exploration. PA1 Visually scan data to get a feeling for number of nulls in the revenue field. PA1 If it seems high, run a small script to actually count them. If still high, note down. PA1 Decide to examine revenue by region--run a small script to translate data file into files that S can read. PA1 Drop into S to do the graphing, potentially customize the graph using the S language. PA1 Note that one region has an "interesting" value (perhaps much higher than expected). PA1 Extract the records with that region (by running a small script) into a new file. PA1 Examine some other attribute of that file, using S, and create a graph "really" worth saving. PA1 Try to go back and "do the same thing" to all of the categories created, or some combinations of the categories (which, in this example, is credit history by region by revenue, with several other attributes). PA1 use of a data base to store not only the data being investigated, but also persistent representations of the directed graphs; PA1 a client-server architecture in which the data base operations are performed in the server and the client displays the directed graphs, provides data base queries derived from the directed graphs to the server, and receives the tables resulting from those queries; and PA1 lazy evaluation of the operations specified in the directed graph, with evaluation being done only when the user specifies execution of a branch of the graph and with the results of operations being encached in the representation of the graph, so that a branch need be evaluated only from the point at which an encached result is available.
These tools are used under the X window system. The main reason these tools are used instead of a data base system is the quantity of data to be analyzed. With really large amounts of data, it is typically much faster to do analysis on a flat file than to use a data base system. That is particularly the case if the calculations involved in the analysis are well-understood and can be done on one pass through the data. The price paid for this speed is a lack of the "meta-data" support which is typically provided by a data base system: a flat file has no inherent structure, no information on the semantics or types of the data in the fields, and no integrity checking.
A typical one to two hour exploration and analysis session at AT&T involves operations like the following:
As is apparent from the foregoing, the work involves the use of many different tools. This in turn necessitates (1) manual bookkeeping, and (2) data translation. What the data analyst needs, and what the current tools do not provide are support for flexible data segmentation, support for keeping track of a sequence of operations, support for reuse of work, and enforced semantics between operations and data (and thus between sequences of operations). The analyst further needs support for translation of data between file formats, support for capturing relationships between files, support for recovery from errors made earlier in a session, and support for window management. It is an object of the techniques described in the following to overcome these and other problems of the environments presently available for doing data exploration and analysis and thereby to provide an improved system for doing that work.

Interactive data exploration apparatus and methods


Seat assemblies for a vehicles include seat panels in communication with a controller and having a fiber optic sensing device that measures pressure exerted at various locations of the seat panels and cushioning materials comprising active materials, wherein upon receipt of pressure signals by the controller from the sensing device, the controller generates activation signals that adapt physical characteristics of the active materials.

Currently, vehicle seat assemblies are static with respect to stiffness, rebound, etc. As such, the comfort provided to heavier persons vs. lighter persons can vary. In addition, while some current seat assemblies provide functionality to manually adjust the panels of the seat assemblies and/or the lumbar support, seat assemblies do not provide functionality to tune the panels, or particularly, cushions of the seat assembly pursuant to physical characteristics of the passenger, so that comfort level can be optimized.
Accordingly, improved vehicle seat assemblies are desired.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


The powered hand truck has a chassis supported at one end by a single axle with two independently operable drive wheels. A prime mover is provided generally medially on the chassis, driving the drive wheels and powering the forklift mechanism. An operator console extends from the end of the chassis opposite the wheels, with an operator platform extending beyond the base of the operator console. The forklift mechanism has a pantograph arrangement supported by a pivotally mounted column. The forklift mast remains parallel to the column at all times and includes a manually actuated upper extension. A storage rack and dolly may be installed upon a suitable transport vehicle for transporting the powered hand truck. The hand truck forks engage the storage rack dolly, with the dolly translating along the rack to allow the truck to be deployed from, or loaded onto, the transport vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to small, portable, powered lifting and transport devices. More particularly, the present invention comprises a powered hand truck having a self-contained prime mover on board, which powers a hydraulic system for driving the wheels and lifting mechanism of the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of powered devices comprising a wide array of different configurations have been developed in the past for the powered lifting and carriage of large, bulky articles. The conventional forklift in its various configurations is a well-known example of such. However, such forklift type vehicles are not suitable for use in the operating environment of the present invention due to their relatively bulky configuration, wheel configuration, etc.
Various other specialized powered machines for lifting various heavy and/or bulky articles have also been developed in the past. An example of such is found in Japanese Patent No. 2-133,232, published on May 22, 1990. The '232 patent describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) various improvements in a relatively small, lightweight powered forklift type device, with the improvements primarily directed to a specially configured frame and balance weights to reduce vibration. The forklift device itself has four wheels, with two closely spaced directional guidance wheels controlled by a vertical column connected thereto and controlled by an operator who may ride upon a small platform extending from the device. The controls are deployed from a fixed location on the machine and cannot articulate to suit the location or position of the operator.
Thus, a powered hand truck solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A harvesting method gathers and threshes grain in the field, leaving behind the straw. It removes chaff and weed seeds from the field with the harvested grain, and separates the chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds from the grain in a separate yard plant. The chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds are compacted and crushed in a mill for use as animal feed. The simplified harvest units have augmented holding tanks, one version of which can be attached to (and detached from) existing farm tractors. An automated integrated yard plant (1) separates and cleans harvested grain and (2) compacts and crushes chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds for use as animal feed.

At present grain harvesting is carried out using combine harvesters, which thresh the grain in a threshing cylinder or rotor then separate out the grain from chaff, grain leavings, straw and weed seeds. The combine harvester keeps the grain and rejects the other material, which is left on the field. Its thresher breaks the grain from the stalk or pod. A degree of separation is achieved in rotary threshers by using apertures in the thresher tube which allow passage of grain. However the combine's separation process is not totally efficient, the straw portion includes grain, grain leavings, and chaff, and the grain portion includes chaff, grain leavings and straw. The straw portion is then usually passed along a straw walker to remove more grain from the straw. When the thresher is a cylinder and a concave, the concave has apertures to pass the grain portion, but again the straw portion is usually passed along a straw walker to remove additional grain from the straw. The grain portion, which in combines includes chaff, grain, grain leavings and weed seeds, are then passed through a sieve with air blowing upwards. This is called the shoe and includes the aspiration (blowing) and sieve (cleaning) apparatus. The grain falls downward, while chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds and any straw are blown upward. Chaff, grain leavings, straw and weed seeds are left as waste by-products in the field, while the grain is transported to storage. Thus the economic value of chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds for animal feed is lost. Moreover the present combine method spreads weed seeds through the fields, necessitating intensive, extensive and expensive pesticide and herbicide applications, whereas the new method collects chaff and weed seeds. The weed seeds are crushed thereby releasing their nutrients into chaff for animal feed.
The problem with chaff (and grain leavings and weed seeds) is simply that the farmer has enough problems at harvest without trying to handle chaff in addition to grain. The time and labor required to gather chaff, haul it to the farmyard and then mill it to destroy weed seeds are commonly just not available. Chaff on mixed farms is either browse fed in field or feedlot without milling. Weed seeds are spread through manure, and weed control is lost.
Other advantages of the new method compared to the present combining method are in a cleaner grain product, providing farmers with less dockage, higher prices and less freight demurrage. Total harvesting equipment will be less costly. Equipment depreciation is less because the automatic cleaning plant is separate and incurs less wear. The field unit is simpler because it has none of the cleaning and separating equipment of the combine. At present prices the yard plant and associated harvester together cost less than a new combine harvester.
Although the term `grain` is primarily regarded as cereal grain referring to the seeds of grasses including many domesticated species, it is not limited thereto in instant application, since combine harvesters may be used as well for oilseeds, legumes and other domesticated plants. The term `grain` is herein intended to cover besides the usual definition, all crops harvestable by combine harvesters, especially but not limited to all prairie crops including small grains, and specifically including the major popular crops of alfalfa, barley, beans, buckwheat, canola, clover, corn (maize), flax, grass (most varieties), lentils, lespedeza, millet, mustard, oats, (edible) peas, rice, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower, (birdsfoot) trefoil, vetch, and wheat, which are regularly harvested by combines. As those in the art appreciate the above list is indicative rather than restrictive in nature, and other crops harvestable by combine harvester are covered by the term `grain` as understood in the broad sense. The present invention is applicable to all combine harvestable crops which are referred to as `grain` herein.
The new method has several substantial advantages over current practice. At present combines harvest grain, and there is no alternative. A combine's equipment cost can exceed US $150,000. Under the new method the two unit equipment cost is US $95,000. The two units can be traded independently, thus giving farmers more flexibility in purchase decisions.
An environmental goal is to add value to waste. Chaff is currently left on the field as waste. Tests show chaff can be removed with no detrimental effects to soil. Chaff has value as animal feed (worth US $7.50 per acre). The new method removes chaff from the field cost effectively. There are other chaff collection methods available which are expensive, awkward, require more labor, but are not in common use.
Removal of chaff results in field advantages. Chaff rows, which may adversely affect minimal till seeding, are eliminated. Fertilizer application is often prevented from entering the soil by crop residue, which is mostly chaff by volume. The new method's removal of crop residue other than straw gives a cleaner field.
The new method produces cleaner grain reducing grain dockage and freight demurrage.
Grain loss from the combine's shoe is eliminated, which recovers an average of 1 to 2% more grain than conventional combine methods, which is a saving of about US $1,500 for a 700 acre field.
Combines return and spread weed seeds on the field creating weeds and weed patches. The new method doesn't spread weed seeds by collecting up to 250,000 weed seeds per acre with the chaff, thereby lowering pesticide (herbicide) and tillage requirements. The collected weed seeds are crushed in the method's yard plant, and their fat and protein adds to the collected chaff's feed value.
Volunteer growth is greatly reduced, both by decreasing grain loss and by collecting chaff. In dry years the small grain kernels, formerly left on the field, are collected with the chaff and enhance its feed value.
The new method is efficient. The field, or harvesting unit's has a larger grain bin (up to about three to four times as large as the combine's grain bin) and need be emptied every 10 acres, as opposed to 6 acres for a combine, even though the unit is collecting more material from the field. Since the yard plant has a consistent throughput, the grain cleaning unit, which is preferably electric, operates automatically, and can be left unattended. There is no need to keep up with the field harvesting process, as grain can be cleaned 24 hours per day.
The yard plant preferably contains a specifically designed roller mill which densifies the chaff, enhancing its value for transport and sale to feed lots.
A grain dryer can easily be incorporated into the yard plant.