An template positioning jig. In a preferred embodiment, a deformable member is used which is deformed inwardly along a first axis such that it bulges or otherwise deforms outwardly along a second axis, until contacting the sides of a cavity, whereupon it tends to center itself within the cavity. An operably associated template is likewise centered or otherwise positioned as desired relative to the cavity.

In the manufacture of members having an aperture therein, it is often desired to drill holes in the members, such that the holes are positioned at desired positions relative to the aperture, within acceptable tolerances. It is known to accomplish such manufacturing processes by the use of drilling templates, which are positioned as desired relative to the aperture prior to the drilling operation. It may be understood that accurate positioning of a template relative to an aperture correspondingly results in accurate positioning of the drilled holes relative to the aperture.
It is known in the art to provide tool guiding fixtures, or "jigs", which may be used to position a template as desired relative to a particular aperture. U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,459 to Stull, entitled "TOOL GUIDING FIXTURE" discloses a tool guiding fixture including a template 10, a thumbscrew driven cam member 21 and plunger-like members 32 (see FIG. 3). As the thumbscrew is tightened, cam member 21 is urged upwardly, forcing plunger members 32 outwardly. The plunger members likewise force fingers 38 outwardly and against the inside walls 14 of tubular part 13 such that template 10 is positioned as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,143 to Polivka, entitled "TEMPLATE CENTERING JIG" discloses a template centering jig including a template 10 which is centered along two perpendicular axes within a rectangular opening provided by tubing 42. Referring to FIG. 6, centering along the first axis is provided by threaded member 22 which, when tightened, urges actuating pin 34 downwardly, causing locating members 28 and 29 of the centering pin 26 to move apart and outwardly until they engage the inner walls 40 and 41 of the tubing 42. Centering along the second axis is provided by a threaded member 24 (see FIG. 4) which, when tightened, urges actuating a pin 56 downwardly, to urge member 53 and a similarly-shaped unnumbered member outwardly and against the walls of the tubing 42.
Although the methods and apparatuses described in these patents do provide adequate template positioning under certain conditions, they also possess several different disadvantages in that they tend to be relatively complex, and therefore expensive, and also may tend to mar the use of softer metals due to metal-to-metal contact during operation. They may also be relatively difficult to quickly engage and disengage during operation, resulting in disadvantageously excessive labor costs during use.
Therefore, a need has been realized to provide an improved template positioning jig which may be easily operated under a variety of conditions, does not tend to mar the surfaces of the material being processed and may be quickly engaged and disengaged. As always, a need exists to make such devices economical to produce and operate.


An organic electroluminescent apparatus including a substrate, an organic light-emitting device layer, a patterned structure layer and an encapsulation film is provided. The substrate has a light-emitting region and a non-light-emitting region. The organic light-emitting device layer is disposed on the substrate in the light-emitting region. The patterned structure layer is disposed on the substrate in the non-light-emitting region. The encapsulation film is disposed on the substrate and covers the organic light-emitting device layer and the patterned structure layer. A surface of the encapsulation film on the patterned structure layer is a concave-convex surface, and a surface of the encapsulation film on the organic light-emitting device layer is an even surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light-emitting apparatus, particularly to an organic electroluminescent apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
An organic electroluminescent apparatus is a self-emissive display. Organic electroluminescent apparatuses have properties such as wide view angles, high response speed (about more than one hundred times faster than the response speed of liquid crystals), light weight, the ability to be miniaturized as required by hardware equipment, high light-emitting efficiency, high color rendering index, and planar light source. Therefore, organic electroluminescent apparatuses have great potential for development and are expected to become new flat panel displays of the next generation.
In general, an organic electroluminescent apparatus includes a light-emitting region and a non-light-emitting region. An organic light-emitting device layer is disposed in the light-emitting region. If external moisture and oxygen enter the organic electroluminescent apparatus, an electro-chemical reaction between the moisture and the oxygen and the organic light-emitting device layer occurs, such that electrodes and organic light-emitting materials inside the organic light-emitting device layer are damaged and dark dots are generated on the light-emitting region so as to influence the performance of the organic electroluminescent apparatus. To achieve water-resistant and oxygen-resistant effects, generally, a cover is adhered to a substrate which carriers the organic light-emitting device layer. However, after the cover is adhered, a thickness of the entire organic electroluminescent apparatus is increased. In addition, the cover cannot be applied to a flexible organic electroluminescent apparatus.
Based on the above, a water-resistant and oxygen-resistant film may be used to cover the organic light-emitting device layer to achieve water-resistant and oxygen-resistant effects. In general, the conventional encapsulation film is formed by stacking multiple inorganic films and organic films, wherein the inorganic films have better water-resistance, and the organic films may fill defects and have better elasticity. Therefore, using the conventional encapsulation film may increase the reliability of the packaged organic electroluminescent apparatus. Most of the current inorganic films and the organic films are formed with a vacuum coating process. The coating process causes problems such as shadow effects occurring at a film edge in the non-light-emitting region and a poor patterned covering, which cause a coating edge to have poor water-resistance and oxygen-resistance. Therefore, moisture and oxygen are likely to penetrate the device through the coating edge in the non-light-emitting region to damage the organic electroluminescent apparatus.


A breather device for use in a vent hole of a double glazed window sash is provided and comprises an elongated hollow sleeve member extending into the vent hole and having opposite interior and exterior ends, and a plurality of resilient fingers extending axially from the exterior end of the sleeve member with each finger terminating in a radially inwardly extending tip portion. The fingers and tip portions of the device are closely spaced so as to inhibit entry of foreign matter into the sleeve and are resilient so as to deflect radially outwardly when a cleaning tool is inserted through the device for removing any foreign matter therein.

Many windows are manufactured for high energy efficiency by utilizing dual glazing panels with an insulating air space therebetween. Typically, the interior glazing panel is removable. Such a design requires that the insulating air space be vented to the atmosphere to prevent excessive moisture build-up which results in condensation on the glazing panels. Such ventilation is usually provided by drilling holes through the sash frame and inserting decorative eyelets therein to cover the edges of the holes.
However, these breather holes are subject to failure due to the presence of foreign matter, such as insects and wind borne debris which clog the holes and render them useless. Screens or grills used to cover the holes are unsatisfactory since small insects and debris can still become lodged in the openings of the screen or grill. Also, careless house painting plugs the screen or grill. Furthermore, a fixed screen or grill makes the vent hole much more difficult to clean. Such a vent hole also permits a wooden sash frame to absorb moisture from humid air, and when the air is less humid, the moisture is transferred from the wooden sash to the surrounding dry air, thereby contributing to condensation on the glazing panels.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a breather device for use in a window sash vent hole which inhibits entry of foreign matter into the hole and which is easy to clean.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a breather device for use in window sash vent holes which permits a cleaning tool to be inserted clear through the hole for cleaning purposes.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a breather device for use in a window sash vent hole which prevents a wooden sash frame from absorbing moisture.
Still a further objective of the present invention is the provision of a breather device for a window sash vent hole which utilizes closely spaced resilient fingers on the end of a sleeve extending through the hole to inhibit entry of foreign matter into the hole and to permit easy cleaning of the hole.
An additional objective of the present invention is the provision of a breather device which is economical to manufacture, easy to install, and effective and durable in use.


Based on the improvements of the invention it is possible to obtain by a single body, after its corresponding transformation, different boards for practicing multiple games, starting from the development of a rectangular sheet divided in a given number of equilateral triangles equal to each other, each one of which is equipped with a motif or drawing which combined in a given position will form a different game board for each transformed figure, which is obtained after the proper folding of that sheet, through the hinges that the contiguous sides of the triangles constitute, until obtaining a plane body of hexagonal contour formed by six equal triangles, capable of being transformed into another equal hexagon but showing so many other different triangles, up to a total number of five transformations, allowing the attainment of the same number of game boards based on the drawings which are suitably combined in each plane hexagonal figure shaped by each transformation.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to improvements in game boards, so that based on a same element or body, the latter may be transformed and occupy positions which will determine as many other game boards, the body constituting a module with an articulated geometrical configuration obtained based on the development of an elongated laminar element of rectangular shape.
There are many known types of game boards which, at the most, serve for two different games, such as the case of chess, and there are even laminar boards or bodies in which each one of the sides makes up a different game board, the most common we could mention being parcheesi, on whose opposite side the game board corresponding to snakes and ladders may be represented or even the chess game board may be represented.
On the other hand, there are the so-called "collected games," in which there are several different games in one and the same block, but each one of them requiring a different board, usually constituted by a carton or similar sheet.
In short, there is no known physical body constituting a game board that can be transformed in order to define different game boards.


Fiber grating environmental measurement systems are comprised of sensors that are configured to respond to changes in moisture or chemical content of the surrounding medium through the action of coatings and plates inducing strain that is measured. These sensors can also be used to monitor the interior of bonds for degradation due to aging, cracking, or chemical attack. Means to multiplex these sensors at high speed and with high sensitivity can be accomplished by using spectral filters placed to correspond to each fiber grating environmental sensor. By forming networks of spectral elements and using wavelength division multiplexing arrays of fiber grating sensors may be processed in a single fiber line allowing distributed high sensitivity, high bandwidth fiber optic grating environmental sensor systems to be realized.

This disclosure describes means to enhance the speed and sensitivity of fiber grating sensors systems to measure environmental effects and means to multiplex these sensors while retaining high speed characteristics. The background of these types of fiber grating sensors may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995, 5,402,231, 5,592,965, 5,841,131 and 6,144,026. The teachings in those patents are incorporated into this disclosure by reference as though fully set forth below.
This invention relates generally to fiber optic grating systems and more particularly, to the measurement of environmental effects using fiber optic grating sensors. Typical fiber optic grating sensor systems are described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995, 5,402,231, 5,592,965, 5,841,131 and 6,144,026.
The need for low cost, a high performance fiber optic grating environmental sensor system that is capable of long term environmental monitoring, virtually immune to electromagnetic interference and passive is critical for such applications as moisture sensing and monitoring of adhesive bonds. Another advantage of these system is that when they are appropriately configured the frequency response of the system can be very high.
The present invention includes multi-axis fiber grating sensors that may be used to sense axial strain and temperature, or axial and transverse strain simultaneously to detect chemical changes such as moisture by using appropriate transducers or changes to the structural integrity of coatings such as adhesive bonds. Means are also described to multiplex these fiber grating sensors allowing high sensitivity and high speed measurements to be made.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995 and 5,397,891 fiber grating demodulation systems are described that involve single element fiber gratings and using spectral filters to demodulate fiber gratings. The present invention includes means to extend the demodulation system to multiple fiber grating sensors operating at high speed on a single fiber line. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,591,965, 5,627,927 the usage of fiber gratings to detect more than one dimension of strain is described. These ideas are extended in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,869,835, 5,828,059 and 5,841,131 to include fibers with different geometries that can be used to enhance sensitivity or simplify alignment procedures for enhanced sensitivity of multi-parameter fiber sensing. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/176,515, xe2x80x9cHigh Speed Demodulation Systems for Fiber Grating Sensorsxe2x80x9d, by Eric Udd and Andreas Weisshaar means are described to process the output from multi-axis fiber grating sensors for improved sensitivity. All of these patents teaching are background for the present invention which optimizes the fiber grating sensor for optimum response to strain changes induced by changes in the state of its coating or surrounding media to form water/chemical sensors and monitor the status of adhesive joints through measurements of strain interior to the bond.
The present invention consists of an optical fiber whose axial, transverse and or temperature sensitivity has been optimized through the construction of the optical fiber or mechanical mechanisms to enhance sensitivity. High speed demodulation is provided by wavelength division multiplexing of these fiber grating sensors using series of fiber grating filters. The spectral filters are arranged so that each fiber grating sensor has a corresponding filter to match it, allowing higher speeds and sensitivity than many current approaches. To sense transverse strain at high speeds in birefringent optical fiber, the two spectral peaks associated with the fiber gratings are tracked individually by locking onto its preferred polarization state.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to monitor changes in moisture or chemical content of an environment through measured strain changes.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means of monitoring bond lines for degradation.
Another object of the invention is to provide means to measure changes in several fiber grating sensors at high speed and with high sensitivity simultaneously in a single fiber.
Another object of the invention is to measure transverse strain as well as axial strain at high speed and with high sensitivity.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed specification including the drawings wherein:

Fiber grating environmental sensing system


A communication system comprises a central unit configured to transmit and receive communication signals; a remote unit configured to transmit and receive communication signals; and a regenerator unit configured to regenerate and transmit received communication signals, the regenerator unit comprising a first interface, a second interface and a control and status circuit configured to control operation of the first and second interface, wherein each interface is configured to operate as an independent logical regenerator unit; wherein the central unit and the remote unit communicate over a first communication loop via the first independent interface of the regenerator unit.

Regenerator units (also referred to as doublers or repeaters) may be used to extend the loop (also referred to as communication line) length between a central unit and a remote unit. Through the use of regenerator units, the loop length can be extended beyond the maximum length normally available between a single central unit and remote unit. In particular, regenerator units receive communication signals and regenerate or otherwise amplify the communication signals for transmission at a higher power than the power of the communication signals when received. In this way, regenerator units are able to extend the loop length. However, conventional regenerator units are typically limited to basic network topologies which can lead to increased costs for implementing regenerator units with more complex topologies.


An embodiment of an analysis filterbank for filtering a plurality of time domain input frames, wherein an input frame comprises a number of ordered input samples, comprises a windower configured to generate a plurality of windowed frames, wherein a windowed frame comprises a plurality of windowed samples, wherein the windower is configured to process the plurality of input frames in an overlapping manner using a sample advance value, wherein the sample advance value is less than the number of ordered input samples of an input frame divided by two, and a time/frequency converter configured to provide an output frame comprising a number of output values, wherein an output frame is a spectral representation of a windowed frame.

The present invention relates to an analysis filterbank, a synthesis filterbank and systems comprising any of the aforementioned filterbanks, which can, for instance, be implemented in the field of modern audio encoding, audio decoding or other audio transmission-related applications. Moreover, the present invention also relates to a mixer and a conferencing system.
Modern digital audio processing is typically based on coding schemes which enable a significant reduction in terms of bitrates, transmission bandwidths and storage space, compared to a direct transmission or storage of the respective audio data. This is achieved by encoding the audio data on the sender site and decoding the encoded data on the receiver site before, for instance, providing the decoded audio data to a listener.
Such digital audio processing systems can be implemented with respect to a wide range of parameters comprising a typical storage space for a typical potentially standardized stream of audio data, bitrates, computational complexity especially in terms of an efficiency of an implementation, achievable qualities suitable for different applications and in terms of the delay caused during both, the encoding and the decoding of the audio data and the encoded audio data, respectively. In other words, digital audio systems can be applied in many different fields of applications ranging from an ultra-low quality transmission to a high-end-transmission and storage of audio data (e.g. for a high-quality music listening experience).
However, in many cases compromises may have to be taken in terms of the different parameters such as the bitrate, the computational complexity, quality and delay. For instance, a digital audio system comprising a low delay may require a higher bitrate of a transmission bandwidth compared to an audio system with a higher delay at a comparable quality level.

Analysis filterbank, synthesis filterbank, encoder, de-coder, mixer and conferencing system

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


A universal fingerprint recognition system for firearms that greatly reduces misuse and accidental discharge of a firearm. The fingerprint recognition assembly is completely embedded within the firearm to prevent tampering. A chip embedded in the trigger scans the firearm owner's fingerprint, and when recognized releases a safety pin, allowing the trigger to be pulled. A charging port embedded in the firearm's grip allows a USB-type connector to be attached and charge the battery chip in the CPU.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of firearm safety and more specifically relates to a fingerprint recognition safety system for use with firearms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many individuals in modern society own and shoot firearms. A firearm is a portable gun, being a barreled weapon that launches one or more projectiles often defined by the action of an explosive. The first firearms in the world were invented in 13th century China when the man portable fire lance was combined with projectiles such as scrap metal, broken porcelain, or darts/arrows. The technology gradually spread through the rest of East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and then into Europe. In older firearms, the propellant was typically black powder, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
Firearms have various safety mechanisms to prevent accidental discharge. These features, however, do not prevent unauthorized users from disengaging the safety mechanisms and using the firearms. Additionally, most safety features currently on the market can be turned 'off' if desired, so accidental use and misuse of guns by children, teens, and adults continue to be an unfortunate and devastating part of life in today's society. A safe solution is desirable.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,179 to Adams; U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,265 to Pathak; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,104,313 to Wolfe. This art is representative of firearm safety devices. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a firearm safety device should provide safety, reasonable ease of use and, yet would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable fingerprint recognition safety system to greatly reduce the occurrence of accidental weapons discharge and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.


To generate a magnetic resonance image of a region comprised of two species of nuclei that have non-identical Larmor frequencies, the nuclei are excited and two read-out gradient pulses are generated. The relative phase offset between the two species of nuclei is different at the center of the first pulse than at the center of the second pulse. Data acquired during the two read-out pulses are processed in accordance with these relative phase offsets.

The invention relates to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequences and data processing.
MRI generally involves subjecting an object (e.g., a region of the human body) to a magnetic field, exciting nuclei in the object using an RF signal, and using the RF resonance signals emitted by the excited nuclei to generate an image of the object or a region thereof.
When excited, a nucleus at a point (x,y,z) resonates at a "Larmor" frequency f that depends on the strength of the local magnetic field B(x,y,z): EQU f(x,y,z)=.gamma.B(x,y,z) (1)
.gamma., the gyromagnetic ratio, is constant for a particular element in a particular compound. Because of the abundance of water in the human body, medical MRI typically images using hydrogen nuclei in water, which have a gyromagnetic ratio .gamma. of 4.258 kHz/Gauss (42.58 MHz/Tesla) Thus, in a 0.5 Tesla magnetic field, the Larmor resonant frequency f.sub.w of hydrogen nuclei in water is approximately 21.3 MHz.
Certain regions of tissue, such as a female breast, include relatively large volumes of intermixed fat and water. For a magnetic field of a given strength, the Larmor resonant frequency of a hydrogen nucleus in fat, f.sub.f, is 3.5 parts per million ("ppm") less than the resonant frequency of a hydrogen nucleus in water. Thus, a fat hydrogen nucleus in a 0.5 Tesla field resonates at a frequency that is 74.5 Hz lower than the resonant frequency of a water hydrogen nucleus.
As explained for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,264, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a typical MRI system generates a magnetic field that varies in strength both spatially and temporally. The resonant frequency of a particular excited nucleus therefore depends on the location of that nucleus within the object being imaged. The MRI system exploits this dependence between resonant frequency and position to reconstruct an image from the sensed RF signal emitted by the excited nuclei.

Separation of fat and water magnetic resonance images


An attitude control system controls the attitude of a nozzle of a CNC laser beam machining apparatus with respect to a workpiece surface being three-dimensionally machined thereby. An interpolator (1) for interpolating values with respect to .alpha.-, .beta.-, X-, Y-, and Z-axes produces interpolation outputs (P.alpha., P.beta.) for the .alpha.- and .beta.-axes. The interpolation output (P.alpha.) for the .alpha.-axis is read by a corotation compensator (2), which calculates a corotation corrective (.DELTA..beta.) depending on the gear ratio of gears by which horizontal and vertical shafts of the .beta.-axis are coupled to each other. The corotation corrective (.DELTA..beta.) is added to the interpolation output (P.beta.) for the .beta.-axis by an adder (4), making it possible to compensate for a corotation with respect to a desired gear ratio of the gears by which horizontal and vertical shafts of the .beta.-axis are coupled to each other.

There have been widely used computerized numerically controlled (CNC) laser beam machining apparatus composed of a laser oscillator and a computerized numerical control (CNC) system. Particularly, the high-speed machining capability of a laser beam machining apparatus and the complex profile control of a CNC system are coupled to each other for the high-speed machining of a complex configuration in a non-contact fashion. CNC laser beam machining apparatus, in particular, capable of three-dimensional machining that cannot be performed by conventional punch presses, nibbling machines, or the like have been put to practical use.
For three-dimensionally machining a workpiece on a CNC laser beam machining apparatus, it is necessary to control X-, Y-, and Z-axes and also to control the attitude of a nozzle on the tip end of a hand. The control axes use for the control of the attitude of the nozzle are referred to as .alpha.- and .beta.-axes. There are two types of nozzle head mechanisms, described below, for controlling the attitude of a nozzle.
The first type of nozzle head mechanism is known as a zero-offset or one-point-oriented type nozzle head mechanism that has an .alpha.-axis as a rotational axis with respect to a Z-axis, and a .beta.-axis as a rotational axis inclined with respect to the Z-axis.
The second type of nozzle head mechanism is referred to as an offset type nozzle head mechanism that has an .alpha.-axis as a rotational axis with respect to a Z-axis, and a .beta.-axis as a rotational axis perpendicular to the Z-axis.
The zero-offset type nozzle head mechanism is complex in mechanism structure, but can be controlled easily and is preferable from the standpoint of nozzle control since the position of the tip end of the nozzle remains unchanged even when the positions of the X-, Y-, and Z-axes change. One attitude control system for a CNC laser beam machining apparatus with a zero-offset type nozzle head mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1-162592 filed by the applicant.
The offset type nozzle head mechanism requires a complex control process and is not suitable for high-speed machining though the mechanism structure is simple. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1-22419 filed by the applicant discloses a system for controlling the attitude of an offset type nozzle.
In either type of nozzle head mechanism, however, when the components rotate about the .alpha.-axis, they also rotate about the .beta.-axis. Since the components are rotated about the .beta.-axis by the rotation about the .alpha.-axis, it is necessary to compensate for the corotation about the .beta.-axis. Particularly, for such corotation compensation, the gear ratio of gears which couple vertical and horizontal shafts for the .beta.-axis is limited to 1:1. This has posed problems with respect to the service life and mechanical strength of the gears.

Attitude control system for CNC laser beam machining apparatus


A resin for coatings, particularly useful as a medium for printing inks and paints, comprising a modified polymer produced by adding at least one .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof to at least one liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer having a number average molecular weight of 150 to 3,000, a viscosity of 2 to 5,000 cps at 30.degree. C. and at least 50% of cis-1,4 structure and subjecting the resulting adduct to diesterification with at least one alcohol having 1 to 27 carbon atoms and whereby the acid value owing to the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group of the resulting modified polymer being made not more than 10.

The present invention relates to a novel resin useful for coatings. More particularly, it relates to a resin for coatings, i.e. useful as a medium for printing inks, paints or the like, which contains a modified polymer produced by adding an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof to a liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer having at least 50% of cis-1,4 structure, wherein the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group of the resulting adduct is diesterified, and thereby the acid value of the modified polymer is made substantially not more than 10.
Generally, the printing inks useful as a coating composition comprises a pigment, a medium and an auxiliary, i.e. a regulator for giving the composition suitable workability, drying characteristics and usability.
The medium may be usually drying oils, natural resins, processing natural resins, synthetic resins, bituminous substances, waxes, celluloses, rubber derivatives, solvents and plasticizers. As the drying oils linseed oil is mainly used, but Chinese tung oil, perilla oil and soybean oil may also be used. The natural resins and the processing natural resins include rosins, hardened rosins, polymerized rosins, rosin esters, maleic resins and shellac. The synthetic resins include phenol resins, phenol resins modified with rosin, xylene resins, modifed alkyd resins, polyamide resins, and coumaronindene resins. There may be used other mediums, such as chlorinated rubber, cyclized rubber, nitrocellulose and various solvents.
The auxiliary agent includes a drier for promoting the drying of the composition (e.g. lead naphthenate, cobalt naphthenate), or a drying inhibitor, or a perfume, a ultraviolet absorber, or the like.
Besides, paints are used as a coating composition. The paints comprise a pigment (as a colorant); a medium, such as drying oils (e.g. tung oil, linseed oil, or dehydrated castor oil), semi-drying oils (e.g. soybean oil, tall oil, or fish oil), natural resins (e.g. rosin, copal.multidot.dammar gum, or shellac) and synthetic resins (e.g. phenol resin, melamine resin, urea resin, coumaron resin, acrylic resin, polyester resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, or alkyd resin); an appropriate solvent and a metallic drier for promoting the drying of the composition.
However, the natural drying oils and the natural semi-drying oils used for coating compositions, such as printing inks or paints, are variable with the weather or the harvest, and therefore, it is very difficult to supply constantly a large amount of the products having good qualities.
Accordingly, it has been desired to develop a synthetic oil having the same or more excellent qualities and properties than those of the natural drying oil or the natural semi-drying oil.
Owing to the recent development in the petrochemistry, butadiene or other materials are easily available. Besides, the present inventors have found a process for producing an improved liquid polymer from diolefins, such as butadiene or isoprene, and it has now been found that a modified polymer having excellent properties and being usable for coating composition instead of the conventional natural drying oils or natural semi-drying oils can be produced from the liquid polymer.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved resin suitable for coating composition, such as printing inks or paints.
Another object of the invention is to provide a modified polymer having an acid value of not more than 10, i.e. an adduct of a liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer having at least 50% of cis-1,4 structure with an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof wherein the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group is diesterified.
A further object of the invention is to provide a printing ink containing the modified polymer as set forth above.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a paint containing the modified polymer as set forth above.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The resin for coatings of the present invention contains a modified polymer having not more than 10 of an acid value owing to the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group, which is produced by adding an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof to a liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer having a number average molecular weight of 150 to 3,000, a viscosity of 2 to 5,000 cps at 30.degree. C. and not less than 50% of cis-1,4 structure and subjecting the resulting polymer adduct to diesterification.
The liquid polymer used in the present invention is characterized in that it has mainly cis-1,4 structure, which means that the present liquid polymer has an extremely lower viscosity in comparison with the conventional liquid polymer having predominantly vinyl structure. It is known that derivatives of a low molecular weight polybutadiene having predominantly vinyl structure are used for paints, but the derivatives have usually a high viscosity and therefore are limited in the use thereof. On the other hand, the liquid polymer having a wide range of molecular weight and having predominantly cis-1,4 structure of the present invention can be modified in the liquid state, and further, since it is liquid and has a low viscosity even after diesterified, it can give the desired ink or paint without using a diluent and can give a film having excellent toughness, plasticity and adhesion. Moreover, the liquid polybutadiene having predominantly cis-1,4 structure has a merit that in case of using as a printing ink it is easily cured when applied in a thickness of the film of 3 to 5.mu..
It is described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11,195/1971 that a maleic anhydride adduct of a polybutadiene having predominantly vinyl structure, which is obtained by polymerizing butadiene in the presence of a catalyst system comprising an alkali metal, an organic compound of an alkali metal, an alkali metal-aromatic hydrocarbon complex, boron trifluoride etherate-water or a radical initiator, is semiesterified with an alcohol and then diesterified with an alkylene oxide to give an esterified compound containing a free hydroxy group in the molecule.
The maleic anhydride adduct of a polybutadiene has usually a higher viscosity with the increase of the addition amount of the maleic anhydride, which is, however, variable in accordance with the difference of the bonding manner of the butadiene unit in the polybutadiene. That is, the polybutadiene having vinyl structure shows extremely higher viscosity by the addition of maleic anhydride in comparison with the polybutadiene having cis structure. Accordingly, the polybutadiene having vinyl structure is remarkably restricted in the reactivity and in the utility thereof. For instance, the maleic anhydride adduct of a polybutadiene described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11,195/1971 has a content of the combined maleic anhydride of about 8% (calculated from the acid value), a number average molecular weight of 970 and a viscosity of 20,000 cps at 25.degree. C.
On the other hand, the maleic anhydride adduct of the liquid polybutadiene having predominantly cis structure (the content of the combined maleic anhydride: 8% and the number average molecular weight: 1,080) in the present invention has a viscosity of only 620 cps at 25.degree. C., and when the adduct is diesterified according to the present invention, the viscosity thereof can be more reduced. For instance, as shown in Example 2 described hereinafter, the diesterified product derived from a liquid polybutadiene having predominantly cis-1,4 structure (the number average molecular weight: 1,000) shows a viscosity of 1,165 cps at 25.degree. C., while the content of the maleic anhydride thereof is 20%.
When a resin is used as a vehicle for printing inks, the presence of free hydroxy group in the resin gives undesirable effect on the printability. The product described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11,195/1971 contains necessarily one hydroxy group per each maleic anhydride unit, but on the other hand, the product of the present invention does not contain any free hydroxy group.
The starting liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer used for the adduct in the present invention contains at least 50% of cis-1,4 structure and 0.5 to 10% of vinyl structure and the remaining percent of trans-1,4 structure (in case of polyisoprene, 3,4 structure being less than 30%) and has a number average molecular weight of 150 to 3,000 and a viscosity of 2 to 5,000 cps, preferably 2 to 2,000 cps at 30.degree. C.
Suitable examples of the liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer are a liquid polybutadiene, a liquid polyisoprene, a liquid copolymer of different kinds of conjugated diolefins, a liquid copolymer of a conjugated diolefin with a small amount of a monoolefin or an aromatic vinyl compound, or the like. In case of copolymer of butadiene or isoprene with styrene, the liquid copolymer contains not more than 40% by weight of styrene. These liquid conjugated diolefinic polymers can be produced by the methods described in Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication (without examination) Nos. 43,084/1973, 26,396/1974 and 89,788/1974, but any other method may be usable.
Other starting .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof used for the adduct in the present invention may be maleic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, citraconic acid, or the like. Preferred one is maleic acid and maleic anhydride.
The adduct in the present invention can be produced by heating a mixture of at least one liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer and at least one .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof at an atmosphere of an inert gas at a temperature of 150.degree. to 250.degree. C. for 1 to 10 hours without using any catalyst. In this reaction, the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof is quantitatively added to the liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer.
The adduct used in the present invention contains preferably 3 to 50% by weight, more preferably 10 to 40% by weight, of the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof. When the content of the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof is less than 3% by weight, the diesterified product derived from the adduct shows inferior properties, particularly insufficient compatibility with natural oils and fats or natural or synthetic resins and insufficient drying characteristics and film-forming properties, and on the other hand, when the content is over 50% by weight, the product derived therefrom has too high viscosity and can not practically be used.
The diesterification of the adduct of the liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer with the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof can be carried out with alcohols having 1 to 27 carbon atoms. Suitable examples of the alcohols are saturated monovalent alcohols (e.g. methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, n-amyl alcohol, sec-amyl alcohol, diethylmethanol, isoamyl alcohol, tert-amyl alcohol, tert-butylmethanol, methylisopropylmethanol, n-hexyl alcohol, methylisobutylcarbinol, methylamylcarbinol, n-heptyl alcohol, methyl-n-amylcarbinol, n-octyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, 2-ethyl-n-hexyl alcohol, isooctyl alcohol, n-nonyl alcohol, n-decyl alcohol, n-undecyl alcohol, n-dodecyl alcohol, n-tridecyl alcohol, n-tetradecyl alcohol, n-pentadecyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, n-nonadecyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, or cyclohexanol), unsaturated monvalent alcohols (e.g. allyl alcohol, propargyl alcohol, crotyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, eraidyl alcohol, linoleyl alcohol, or geraniol), aromatic alcohols (e.g. benzyl alcohol, .beta.-phenylethyl alcohol, or hydrocinnamyl alcohol), ether alcohols (e.g. ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoisopropyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, furfuryl alcohol, or tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol), or the like, which may be used alone or in a mixture of two or more kinds thereof. Among these alcohols, preferred one is the alcohol having 2 to 18 carbon atoms. Besides, divalent alcohols (e.g. ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, propanediol, or butanediol) may be used unless the product shows so high viscosity that the product is hardly used.
The diesterification reaction of the adduct with alcohols can be carried out in the conventional manner, for instance, by reacting the adduct with a somewhat excess amount, preferably 20 to 50 molar percent excess amount, of the alcohol at a temperature of 50.degree. to 250.degree. C., preferably 100.degree. to 200.degree. C., for 30 minutes to 8 hours in the presence of a catalyst such as inorganic acid (e.g. sulfuric acid, or hydrochloric acid) or an organic acid (e.g. para-toluenesulfonic acid), while the by-produced water is taken out from the reaction system. An appropriate solvent may be used in the reaction.
According to the above diesterification of the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group in the adduct, the modified polymer shows not more than 10 of an acid value owing to the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group. When the acid value of the polymer is over 10, the product shows undesirably inferior water resistance.
It is very important for obtaining the desired coating composition having excellent properties that the resin satisfies the above-mentioned conditions. That is, there are known some liquid conjugated diolefinic polymers, but they are not suitable for the coating composition of the present object because of the inferior dispersibility with pigments and the inferior compatibility with other various resins, natural drying oils or semi-drying oils. When the conventional liquid conjugated diolefinic polymers are used for the coating composition in the form of an adduct thereof with an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof, the dispersibility with pigments and the compatibility with other resins are improved, but on the contrary, the acid value thereof becomes more than 30, and as the result, the stability thereof with pigments is remarkably reduced to induce the phrase separation, and further, owing to the rapid increase of the viscosity thereof, they are hardly used as the medium for printing inks or paints. Besides, in order to decrease the viscosity, the adduct of the conventional liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer with an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof may be reacted with an alcohol to give a semi-esterified product, but the product is still not practically usable for coating compositions because it has still inferior stability with pigments owing to the high acid value thereof and further shows inferior water resistance.
The resin for coating of the present invention comprising the modified polymer, i.e. the adduct of the liquid conjugated diolefinic polymer with the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride thereof wherein the carboxyl group or the carboxylic anhydride group is diesterified is useful as a medium for printing inks and paints. When the resin of the present invention is used as one component of the printing inks or paints, it shows an excellent compatibility with the other various resinous components contained therein, and the resulting printing inks and paints show excellent characteristics. For instance, it is used for a printing ink for offset printing, the product shows an excellent adhesion onto the paper, particularly excellent drying characteristics, and therefore there can be obtained a good print having an excellent gloss. Moreover, the printing ink containing the resin of the present invention is remarkably excellent in the elimination of the dirts which occur in case of losing the balance between the dampening solution and the addition amount of the printing ink during the printing in comparison with the conventional printing ink containing the drying oil. Besides, the paint containing the resin of the present invention can give a glossy coating layer having excellent properties.
The printing ink of the present invention contains 3 to 50% by weight of the present resin and further an appropriate amount of the other components used in the conventional printing inks as mentioned hereinbefore, such as pigments, solvents, resins (e.g. natural resins, phenol resins, or xylene resins), driers, ultraviolet absorbents, or the like.
The paint of the present invention contains 5 to 80% by weight of the present resin and further an appropriate amount of the other components used in the conventional paints as mentioned hereinbefore, such as pigments, and optionally solvents, resins (e.g. phenol resins, alkyd resins), metallic driers, or the like.

Esters of an adduct of diolefinic polymer and unsaturated dicarboxylic compound


A charge-coupled device camera is removably mounted in a adaptor and the adaptor is removably mounted in the viewing aperture of a speculum. The camera is connected to a display device, such as a video monitor, by a cable. At least one high-intensity light is also mounted in the adaptor with the axis of the light parallel to that of the camera. The light is connected to an adjustable power source by a power supply cord. In one embodiment of the invention, a cervical positioner is provided to allow the physician to align the patient""s cervix with the camera""s axis for optimal viewing.

The present invention is related to an apparatus for conducting gynecological examinations using an electronic image receiving device such as a charge-coupled device.
A charge-coupled device camera is removably mounted in a adaptor and the adaptor is removably mounted in the viewing aperture of a speculum. The camera is connected to a display device, such as a video monitor, by a cable.
At least one high-intensity light is also mounted in the adaptor with the axis of the light parallel to that of the camera. The light is connected to an adjustable power source by a power supply cord.
In one embodiment of the invention, a cervical positioner is provided to allow the physician to align the patient""s cervix with the camera""s axis for optimal viewing.

Video gynecological examination apparatus


A battery separator composed of a microporous sheet product having first and second major surfaces and a thickness of less than about 50 mils, formed from a uniform mixture of a polysulfone polymer and a filler or polysulfone polymer and structure enhancing agent, said sheet product having a fibrous sheet embedded within said mixture and between the first and second major surfaces. The porosity of the sheet product is at least about 60 volume percent composed of pores such that the average pore diameter increases from each major surface toward the interior of the sheet product's thickness.

The subject invention is directed to a sheet product which is useful as separator components for batteries and to improved batteries containing the formed separator. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a thin microporous sheet product composed of either a highly filled polymeric matrix or a low level filled (including unfilled) polymeric matrix having a porous support sheet embedded between the sheet product's first and second major surfaces and having an average pore size distribution across the thickness of the sheet product such that there is a gradient of nominal pore size increasing from each major surface towards the interior, central portion of the sheet product's thickness.
Membranes have been formed from various materials and used in various applications such as in ion exchange, osmotic and ultra filtration devices including desalinization, kidney dialysis, gas separation and other applications. Macro and microporous membranes have been used as a means of insulating and separating electrodes in battery devices. Each application provides an environment and a set of desired parameters which are distinct to the specific application.
Storage batteries have at least one pair of electrodes of opposite polarity and, in general, have series of adjacent electrodes of alternating polarity. The current flow between these electrodes is maintained by an electrolyte which may be acidic, alkaline, or substantially neutral depending upon the nature of the battery system. Separators are located in batteries between adjacent electrodes of opposite polarity to prevent direct contact between the oppositely charged electrode plates while freely permitting electrolytic conduction. Separator components have taken many forms. In a modern battery design, the separator is in the form of a thin sheet or film or more preferably, a thin envelope surrounding each electrode plate of one polarity.
It is generally agreed that one of the critical elements in a battery design is the separator component and, to be highly effective in the design, the separator should have a combination of features. The battery separator must be resistant to degradation and instability with respect to the battery environment, including the other battery components and the battery chemistry. Thus, the battery separator must be capable of withstanding degradation of strong acids (such as sulfuric acid commonly used in acid battery designs) or strong alkali (such as potassium hydroxide used in alkaline battery designs) and to do so under ambient and elevated temperature conditions. Further, the separator should also be of a thin and highly porous character to provide a battery of high energy density. Although battery separators of thick or heavy design have been utilized in the past, such materials detract from the overall energy density of the battery by reducing the amount of electrodes that can be contained in a predetermined battery configuration and size. Another criteria is that the battery separator must be capable of allowing a high degree of electrolytic conductivity. Stated another way an effective separator membrane must exhibit a low electrical resistance when in the battery. The lower the electrical resistance the better the overall battery performance will be. A still further criteria is that the separator should be capable of inhibiting formation and growth of dendrites. Such dendrite formation occurs during battery operation when part of the electrode material becomes dissolved in the electrolyte and, while passing through the separator, deposits therein to develop a formation which can, after a period of time, bridge the thickness of the separator membrane and cause shorting between electrodes of opposite polarity.
In addition to meeting the above combination of properties, it is highly desired to have a sheet product which is capable of exhibiting good physical properties of tensile strength, flexibility and ductility to withstand the handling and processing without developing imperfections and cracks which would cause the sheet product to be unsuitable as a battery separator. Meeting this criteria is contrary to some of the above described properties (i.e. thin and light weight material and high porosity to provide good conductivity). In providing envelope type separators, these physical properties must also be accompanied by the ability of the material to be sealable by heat, or other means to provide a pocket design. As part of the physical property requirements, the sheet product must be capable of being formed as a cohesive material which retains this property throughout its service life.
Various microporous membranes or sheet materials have been suggested for utilization as a battery separator. Separators conventionally used in present battery systems are formed of polymeric films which when placed in an electrolyte or an electrolyte system, are capable of exhibiting a high degree of conductivity while being stable to the environment presented by the battery system. The films include macroporous as well as microporous materials. The porosity permits transportation of the electrolyte. Examples of such separators include unfilled polyolefin sheets which have been stretched and annealed to provide microporosity to the sheet, such as is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,558,764; 3,679,538; and 3,853,601. In addition, polyolefin separators which include filler materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,495 and 4,024,323. In general, such polymer/filler compositions are friable materials and tend to exhibit electrical resistance which does not permit the formation of a highly efficient, high energy battery system.
Polysulfones are a known class of polymers which have been used to form various types of membranes. Polysulfone membranes are of a substantially non-flexible physical form. They have been widely used in forming in various separation apparatus, such as osmotic and ultrafiltration devices. Separation membranes differ from and do not normally have the constraints such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,855,122 and 3,709,841 placed upon a battery separator. For example, separation membranes are normally anisotropic in configuration (that is, asymmetrical in surface configuration, are not required to be ultra thin, and do not have to provide a high void volume as desired for battery separator designs. Further, such separation membranes are not conventionally used in highly corrosive environments as is conventionally found in a battery nor do they undergo the high degree of handling and processing as is required in the assembly of a battery. It has been noted that U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,663 discloses the use of a cast polysulfone membrane which is free of tertiary hydrogen atoms as being useful in a zinc ferricyanide battery, as an ion-selective separation membrane. The polysulfone separator is used as a means for separating the two different electrolyte solutions of this particular battery design.
It is highly desired to have a battery separator which is capable of exhibiting very low electrical resistance while at the same time providing the combination of properties described above.


The present invention concerns devices and methods for controlling actin filament growth and organization with micropatterned nucleation sites, and their uses for studying actin network formation, for screening of drugs or for preparing complex structures.

Actin filaments constitute one of the main components of the cell cytoskeleton. Actin filaments are polymers which spontaneously self-assemble into cells from actin monomers. They form complex intracellular structures, providing mechanical support for regulating cells' shape. Assembled into bundles in filopodia, or in stress fibres, they play a pivotal role during cell morphogenesis, adhesion and motility. The bundles' emergence has been extensively related to specific actin regulators in vivo. Such dynamic modulation was also highlighted by biochemical reconstitution of actin network assembly, in bulk solution or with biomimetic devices. However, the question of how geometric boundaries, such as those encountered in cells, affect the dynamic formation of highly ordered actin structures has not been examined.
Monomers of actin can be isolated and purified from filtrated cellular homogenates. In vitro, these monomers can polymerize in the presence of nucleation proteins and ATP (energy source), forming new actin filaments (F-actin). Unlike intracellular assemblies, the filaments network has no particular structure when formed in vitro. Several methods have been described for recreating an actin network in vitro (Haraszti et al., 2009).
In a first approach, the in vitro polymerization of actin filaments is performed in solution from purified monomers (e.g., US2004/0038323, US2006/0003399). However, this type of reconstitution suffers from spontaneous and random organization of the filaments network, in particular the complete lack of geometric control of the initiating regions.
In a second approach, the actin polymerization is performed with beads coated with nucleating proteins dispersed in a solution (Michelot et al., 2007). However, one of the major limitations of these coated beads is their random relative positions in solution.
In a third approach, the filaments' organization is controlled after their polymerization in a solution.
For instance, they may be immobilized on a pillar network (i.e., the actin filaments are put in a line with the pillar network) (Roos et al., 2003). Arrays of 2-micron-wide gold discs were fabricated on top of 20-micron-high pillars. These dots were used to graft myosin and thereby attach actin filaments. These attached filaments were then elongated using a solution comprising actin monomers. Long filaments growing out of the dots were not oriented and the network was not spontaneously organized in space. But the addition of filamin, an actin associated protein, could force filament bundling and induce the formation of bridges between the dots. This organization could occur only when filaments were anchored on top of micro-pillars, whose length has to exceed the filaments' length. The same array of dots on a flat surface, rather than on top of pillars, only promotes the formation of an ill-defined network even in the presence of filamin.
They may also be sent in a chamber where beads with optical traps are placed (Uhrig et al., 2009).
However, in these two cases, the actin filament network is not self-assembled; it is externally oriented by fluid flow or capturing beads' positions. The final architecture does not rely on biological properties of actin filaments assembly and interactions, so these methods cannot be used to test these properties. In addition, in the filament bundles that are externally oriented, the polarity of individual filament is not controlled. The precise architecture of these networks is therefore not highly controlled.
In a fourth approach, the filaments' organization is controlled on a solid support by introducing on a surface an actin nucleation site and an actin capture site (US20050106629). With these two anchorage points, the filaments' organization may be controlled. However, the structure is not self-assembled but externally arranged by the controlled location of nucleation and capture sites. In particular, the nucleation sites are arranged on the support so that the actin filaments from one nucleation site do not interact with actin filaments from another nucleation site. In addition, filament growth out of the nucleation site is not oriented and has to be externally driven by beads, or manipulated by a magnetic or optical trap.
None of these approaches provide self-assembling of an ordered actin filament network with reproducible and controlled geometry.

Devices and methods for controlling actin filaments growth and organization using micropatterned nucleation sites

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE


A non-linear Hall IC that stores conversion information for converting Hall voltage output from a Hall element, and converts the Hall voltage into an output voltage based on the conversion information stored. The Hall voltage is converted into the output voltage such that a relation between the magnetic field strength and the output voltage becomes a non-linear relation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-linear Hall IC for outputting voltage in accordance with a magnetic field strength, and more particularly, to a non-linear Hall IC having non-linear output characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Hall element is a semiconductor device for outputting voltage that is proportion to a magnetic field strength. A Hall IC comprising the Hall element combined with an amplifier circuit or correcting circuit has conventionally become commercially practical.
However, since the conventional Hall IC is formed for the sake of bringing the magnetic field strength and the output voltage into precise proportion to each other, although the conventional Hall IC is effective for measuring the magnetic field strength, it is necessary to prepare a calculating circuit for converting the output voltage into a desired value outside the Hall IC when it is unnecessary to bring the magnetic field strength and the output voltage into proportion to each other. Therefore, there are problems that an entire apparatus can not be reduced in size and costs thereof are increased.
For example, a shape of a fuel tank of an automobile is complicated and thus, a liquid level of fuel and an amount of fuel are not proportional to each other. Therefore, if an attempt is made to measure the amount of fuel by designating the displacement of liquid level with variation of magnetic field strength, and by measuring the magnetic field strength using the conventional linear Hall IC, although the liquid level can be measured precisely, the amount of fuel can not be measured precisely. Therefore, in the conventional Hall element, the calculating circuit is separately provided outside of the Hall IC to convert the output voltage of the Hall IC and to calculate the amount of fuel.
Since the calculating circuit is separately provided outside of the Hall IC in this manner, the Hall IC can not be reduced in size and costs thereof are increased.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the invention to provide a non-linear Hall IC capable of outputting arbitrary necessary output voltage to magnetic field strength.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a non-linear Hall IC for detecting a magnetic field strength using a Hall element to convert a Hall voltage outputted by the Hall element and output an output voltage, comprising storing means for storing conversion information for converting the Hall voltage outputted by the Hall element into the output voltage, and non-linear conversion means for converting the Hall voltage on a basis of the conversion information stored in the storing means thereby to establish a non-linear relation between the magnetic field strength and the output voltage.
According to the first aspect, it is possible to output arbitrary output voltage required for the magnetic field strength.
Therefore, if this non-linear Hall IC is utilized in a structure requiring non-linear characteristics such as the fuel tank for the automobile, since it is unnecessary to separately provide the calculation circuit, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and costs thereof can be reduced.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the conversion information stored in the storing means includes a plurality of sections of the magnetic field strength divided by arbitrary distances and the non-linear conversion means judges which of the sections the magnetic field strength corresponding to the Hall voltage does belong to and further converts the Hall voltage into the output voltage in each of the sections.
According to the second aspect, if this non-linear Hall IC is utilized in a structure requiring that characteristics are varied in each of arbitrary sections, since it is unnecessary to separately provide the calculation circuit, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and costs thereof can be reduced.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the conversion information stored in the storing means includes a plurality of sections of the magnetic field strength divided by constant distances and the non-linear conversion means judges which of the sections the magnetic field strength corresponding to the Hall voltage does belong to and further converts the Hall voltage into the output voltage in each of the sections.
According to the third aspect, if this non-linear Hall IC is utilized in a structure requiring that characteristics are varied in each of constant sections, since it is unnecessary to separately provide the calculation circuit, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and costs thereof can be reduced.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the non-linear conversion means establishes a curved relation between the magnetic field strength and the output voltage.
According to the fourth aspect, if this non-linear Hall IC is utilized in a structure in which characteristics are varied continuously, since it is unnecessary to separately provide the calculation circuit, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and costs thereof can be reduced.


Systems and methods for monitoring a user by a plurality of image sensors are disclosed. The system includes a plurality of image sensors that output content descriptive of one or more visual attributes of the user, where each of the image sensors are positioned at a unique angle facing a user. The system also includes one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The non-transitory memory modules storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to receive the content from the plurality of image sensors, and assign respective weights to each of the plurality of image sensors based on the content. The respective weights of the plurality of image sensors are actively re-weighted over a period of time. The processors are also caused to merge the content of the plurality of image sensors together.

Autonomous systems may monitor various aspects of a vehicle such as, but not limited to, vehicle speed, the surrounding environment, weather conditions, and the manipulation of any system by a driver (e.g., the degree to which a driver may turn the steering wheel or press upon a brake). Another aspect the autonomous system may monitor is the driver's face. More specifically, the driver's face may be monitored to detect characteristics such as gaze direction, mental state, emotion, identity, and the like. A single camera or other image sensor may be provided to monitor the driver's face, and a vehicle computer may determine information based on data captured by the cameras.
Sometimes conventional cameras may not be able to monitor a portion or all of the driver's face, which may affect the ability of the system to determine characteristics such as emotion, gaze direction, and the like. For example, a driver may move his or her hands in a direction and unintentionally occlude the camera for a few moments. Other components of the vehicle such as the steering wheel, dashboard, or rear view mirror may also occlude the camera as well. In another example, the camera may be unable to view a portion of the driver's face. For instance, facial features such as the driver's eyes or mouth may not be captured by the camera for reasons such as vantage point or due to insufficient lighting. Furthermore, the system may not be able to determine gaze direction if the driver's eyes are not visible. The system may be unable to determine some types of emotions if the driver's eyes or mouth are not visible.

Systems and methods for actively re-weighting a plurality of image sensors based on content


A general purpose apparatus for measuring the chemical and physical state of flowing liquid materials and chemical additives and for introducing chemical materials to the stream uses a Venturi or other apparatus in which differential pressure is developed as an incident to fluid flow. It is arranged to be used both as a sample pump, a chemical additive pump, and as a differential pressure meter for use in calculating flow rates. The process method includes chemical addition at rates determined by pressure differential at the Venturi and for times which bear a selected relation to that differential pressure, temperature and the chemical state of the liquid. It also includes special temperature comparisons and flushing of chemical addition lines on an optional basis.

There are many processes that involve the addition of chemical substances to fluids in which the amount of added material is to be adjusted according to physical and chemical criteria. Some of those processes will require a degree of treatment, either physical or chemical, which is determined by the state of the treatment apparatus. Examples can be found in hydroponic gardening, drug manufacture, maintenance of decorative pools, marine animal "farming, " and others.
Another, and a very important example, is found in the processing of the water in swimming pools. In addition to its recreational use, the water in swimming pools represents a very important energy storage medium in private and public energy conservation systems. Because of the large volume of water in a swimming pool, it is capable of absorbing, storing and releasing very large quantities of heat with relatively small temperature changes. That makes it specially useful as a place in which to store heat when cooling living spaces and as a source of heat when heating living spaces. And, the pool is an excellent place in which to store solar energy with or without an energy collection cover, as a solar energy collector.
On the other hand, to use a swimming pool as a heat storage element results in pool water temperatures that are higher at times than the temperatures that are maintained for recreational use alone. Algae, pathenogenic bacteria, and pool water chemistry control are likely to be a more difficult problem in the swimming pool that also serves as a thermal energy storage unit.
The problem of dirt and debris removal remains unchanged except that the usage of pool covers, which also enhance solar energy collection, results in the pool being covered for more of the time. This is offset by the fact that the pool water is subsequently warmer and recreational use is feasible for more months of each year. Economic and social factors dictate that most heat storage water pools will have an exposed solar surface and will utilize removable covers for additional recreational as well as heat storage use.
Both mechanical filtration and chemical management are required, and at the least, the chemical processing will need to be much more precisely controlled. Mechanical filtration must be controlled if the amount of energy expended on water circulation is to be minimized. The best criterion for filtration is the "turnover" frequency when all of the pool water is moved through the filter based upon the conditions of local environment. The "turnover" frequency having been selected, and the pool volume being known, the parameters are volumetric pumping rate and time. Because the size of pumps and filters is fixed at each installation, the practical variable is time.
On the chemical side, the major variables are pH and the need for a bacteriacide and algicide. In practice, some form of sanitizer, typically chlorine is used to control bacteria and algae. The effectiveness of the chlorine, the swimming quality of the water, and the corrosion rate is determined by controlling pH. In each geographic area, pH tends to change in one direction or the other requiring only addition of acid or base as required. In most cases it is acid that needs to be added. It is much preferred that these materials be added at a very slow rate over a long period except when chlorine "shocking" is required. With time, algae and bacteria mutants, resistant to the chlorine treatment, will survive and multiply in the pool. To kill the individuals of that strain, a massive dose of a different bacteriacide and algicide is applied to the pool. In most cases the "shocking" dose is formed by a chlorine component other than what is used for sanitizing maintenance control.
The measurement and control of pool water composition has been beyond the capability of most pool owners unless the process is reduced to simplified approximations. In most cases, control is accomplished as a function of time. Measurements and chemical additions are made daily, at best, and more often on the one or two days of the week that the pool maintenance person makes his rounds. Chemical additions are made in batches. The concentrations that result cause excessive corrosion, both in the pool and in the water circulation system. Breakdown of heating and filtration systems may go undetected for long periods. Because they operate only periodically, the fact that these units are not operating when the pool is being serviced may be interpreted as being normal.
This swimming pool example is only one of many in which combined physical and chemical control is exercised. It is, however, a very important example, not only because of the very large number of existing private swimming and spa pools, but because those pools represent an important existing facility that is easily applied to the problem of conserving energy and utilizing solar energy.
The availability of microprocessors has made it possible to solve very complex algorithms at far less cost than was possible with discrete digital and analog devices and the relays of prior times. The microprocessor has not always simplified the task of sensing conditions and taking corrective actions. Sometimes it leads to greater complications. This invention is related to those tasks, the tasks of sensing conditions and applying the controlling actions to be accomplished, in most cases, in conjunction with algorithm solution, whether by the new computers or the old discrete components.


A combined amusement and audio cassette holding device and method for presenting multi-media information to children includes a functional toy having a cassette receiving cavity which receives and frictionally engages and retains one or more cassettes or disks in the cavity in a visible but protected position relative to the exterior of the toy, whereby indicia on exterior surfaces of the cassette(s) remains visible while the cassette(s) is housed in the toy. The body of the toy may be configured to physically correspond to subject matter recorder on the cassette or disk. The toy/cassette combination may be packaged with a text which also corresponds to the subject matter recorded on the audio tape and the character or object which the configuration of the toy represents.

Children are entertained and educated by playing with toys which they use to enact imaginary and real life scenes. Children also enjoy music such as "sing-along" songs which combine melodies with stories or educational information. Music also serves as an excellent means of bringing excitement and enthusiasm to the presentation of a story or lesson and effectively captures the attention and imagination of children. And children are also of course interested in books, in the presentation of graphic and textual information, as may be further enhanced by an accompanying sound track.
These three very common and effective entertainment and educational media for children have heretofore been combined or associated in various formats, such as audio cassette tapes which contain recorded readings or singing of stories or songs printed in an accompanying book, and toys which represent characters of a story in a book or on a tape. For audio cassette tapes or compact disks containing information related to a particular toy, there exists a need for keeping the tape or disk and the toy physically together such that the toy is available when the tape is played for the child's use and enjoyment. Furthermore, when the child is not listening to a cassette tape or disk, it must be put away to prevent it from becoming lost. Tapes or disks must also be put in a protective compartment to prevent damage. The prior art has dealt with this problem, primarily by providing plastic boxes which may be packaged with a book or toy. Another solution to this problem has been to include a concealed pocket or compartment in a toy for storing a cassette or compact disk, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,149. Such compartments completely shroud the cassette or disk from view such that one cannot easily determine which cassette has been stored in the compartment. In those instances where the information on the cassette relates to the toy, one cannot be certain that the correct cassette has been stored with the corresponding toy.

Combined functional toy and cassette holder


An information communication system 1 according to the present invention is comprised of a cellular phone 10 having a data storage 11, a data list transmitter 13, and a data transmitter 16; and a cellular phone 20 having a check list DB 21 and a data receiver 26. The cellular phone 10 makes the data list transmitter 13 transmit a data list of content data stored in the data storage 11, to the cellular phone 20. The cellular phone 20 collates the data list with a check list stored in the check list DB 21 to generate a request list, and transmits the request list to the cellular phone 10. The cellular phone 10 extracts the content data recorded in the received request list from the data storage 11 and transmits the content data to the cellular phone 20. The cellular phone 20 receives the content data through the data receiver 26.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission-side mobile unit, a reception-side mobile unit, an information communication system, an information communication method, and a server apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, the development of information communication technology has provoked transmission and reception of data such as documents, images, etc. through networks including the Internet. Particularly, in the case of mobile units such as cellular phones and the like, data of an address book, a user dictionary, etc. is transferred to another mobile unit on the occasion of switching between models, where the same user uses a plurality of mobile units, and so on. This permits the user of the mobile units to continuously use the data having been used in the old mobile unit, in the new mobile unit as well.

Transmission-side mobile unit, reception-side mobile unit, information communication system, information communication method, and server apparatus


The present invention provide a transmitting/receiving device that includes a sensing period information setting part for, in an interfering system that shares at least a part of a frequency band with an interfered system, setting sensing period information that shows a sensing period for a signal using a shared frequency band; and a transmission prohibition period information notifying part for notifying a terminal in the interfering system of transmission prohibition period information for prohibiting transmission processing in the interfering system until an end of the sensing period, a maximum transmission period for one transmission by the terminal in the interfering system prior to a start point of the sensing period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmitting/receiving device, a wireless terminal device and a wireless communication method for sharing a part of frequencies in a complex system including plural communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a study has been made about a method of secondary use of a frequency band of TVWS (TV White Space) using sensing. In the secondary use of a frequency band used in broadcasting, there exists a wide not-used area of the frequency band and it has enough usage value even in a frequency sharing method of comparatively low accuracy. Meanwhile, in secondary use of a frequency band between cellular systems, the area is developed closely in an interfered system (system that suffers from interference) and the not-used frequency area is not broad. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a frequency use method of higher accuracy.
As a method of commonly using a part of frequencies in a complex system including an interfered system (primary system or system that suffers from interference) and an interfering system (secondary system, system that inflicts interference on others), there is known a method in which the interfering system uses a shared frequency band in accordance with presence or absence of a signal of the interfered system in the shared frequency band (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-222665). In this method of sharing a frequency band, estimation is done whether or not a signal component of the interfered system is contained in a received signal sensed by the interfering system, and if the received signal does not contain the signal component of the interfered system, the shared frequency band is used in transmission thereby to reduce interference on the interfered system.
However, in the method of sharing a frequency band in the complex system disclosed in JP2006-222665, it is difficult to estimate a signal component of the interfered system accurately due to intra-system interference of the interfering system. In this case, the intra-system interference in a sensing period can be suppressed by issuing a directive to prohibit transmission processing to each terminal in the interfering system before the sensing period. However, if the transmission processing of each terminal is started before issuance of the directive immediately before the sensing period, the terminal cannot be notified of the directive and the intra-system interference in the sensing period cannot be suppressed.

Transmitting/receiving device, wireless terminal device and wireless communication method for suppression of intra-system interference


An outboard motor mounting arrangement including a mounting bracket adapted to be mounted on a boat hull, a support bracket mounted on the elongated motor tube for relative rotational and axial movement, a support arm pivotally connected to the support bracket and to the mounting bracket for pivotal movement of the outboard motor between a generally upright operating position and a generally horizontal storage position parallel to the boat hull, and a steering friction member mounted on the motor tube for adjustable frictional engagement therewith. The steering friction member is releasably coupled with the support bracket to prevent relative rotation therebetween when the outboard motor is in the operating position and is automatically uncoupled therefrom in response to movement of the support arm from the operating position toward the storage position to permit free rotation of the motor tube relative to the support bracket and thereby facilitate turning of the lower unit of the motor to the storage position.

This invention relates to mounting arrangements for outboard motors and, more particularly, to mounting arrangements for small electric outboard motors used for trolling or the like.
Such motors are mounted on a boat in a manner so that they can be withdrawn from the water and retained inside of the boat in a retracted or storage position when the boat is being propelled at normal speed by a higher horse power motor or being transported. For the sake of convenience, the motor mounting arrangement desirably should be arranged in a manner to afford movement of the motor between an extended or operating position and the storage position with a minimum of effort and without having to manually adjust the position of the motor. Also, in order to avoid damage to the motor when in shallow water or an underwater obstruction is encountered unexpectedly, the mounting arrangement desirably should permit a quick upward movement of the motor with minimum restraint.
Examples of prior art outboard mounting arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ INVENTOR U.S. PAT. NUMBER ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ Evans 3,119,365 Jan. 28, 1964 Ibbs 3,245,640 April 12, 1966 Wilkerson 3,604,674 Sept. 14, 1971 Horton 3,674,228 July 4, 1972 Harris et al 3,724,790 April 3, 1972 Henning 3,765,369 Oct. 16, 1973 Kreiger 3,861,628 Jan. 21, 1975 Shimanckas et al 3,870,258 March 11, 1975 Langley 3,874,318 April 1, 1975 Metcalf 3,948,472 April 6, 1976 ______________________________________

Mounting arrangement for electric outboard motor


The present invention concerns a method and system for monitoring electrolyzer performances and for diagnosing and predictive identification of faults and events that could affect the manufacturing processes that uses electrolyzers. The system has a plurality of acquisition and transmission units, each of the acquisition and transmission units measuring a plurality of variables related to a respective electrolyzer and for transmitting these variables; a database and data management unit for recording the variables transmitted by each of the acquisition and transmission units; a monitoring unit for monitoring the variables; and an intelligent data analysis and fault diagnosis unit for analyzing the variables and diagnosing events. All of the units are interconnected through a communication unit.

The present invention concerns a method and apparatus for monitoring electrolyser performances and for diagnosing and predictive identification of faults and events likely to affect the manufacturing processes that uses those electrolysers.
An electrolyser is used to convert a lower value chemical (e.g.: NaCl) into a higher value chemical (e.g.: NaCl3O). These types of electrolysers can be found in different areas of the chemical industry, such as for the production of sodium chlorate, caustic soda and chlorine. In an electrolyser, there is a number of anodes and cathodes. An oxidation reaction takes place at the anode and a reduction reaction takes place at the cathode. The rate of chemical reaction is directly related to the current. An ion exchange membrane can be used to separate the anodic reaction from the cathodic reaction. The electrolysis of sodium chlorate is usually carried out in an undivided electrolyser. The overall reaction is described as: NaCl+3 H2Oxe2x86x92NaClO3+3 H2
This reaction requires 6 electron per sodium chlorate produced. It involves a multi-step reaction, taking place at the anode and in the bulk of the reactor. The article from B. V. Tilak and C. P. Chen B. V. Tilak and C. P. Chen; xe2x80x98Electrochemical Society Proceedingsxe2x80x99; vol 99-21; 1999; pp.8; xe2x80x98Electrolytic sodium chlorate technology: current statusxe2x80x99 gives an overview of the technology. The electrolysis of chlorine and caustic soda can be achieved simultaneously in the same electrolyser. Caustic soda is formed is the cathode compartment. The chlorine is formed at the anode compartment. In modern chlor-alkali electrolyser, the separation between the anodic and the cathodic reaction is achieved with an ion exchange membrane. This membrane ideally only allows the passage of sodium from the anodic compartment to the cathodic compartment. The article from D. L Caldwell (D. L. Caldwell; Comprehensive Treatise of Electrochemistryxe2x80x99; Vol 2; 1981; pp 105; xe2x80x98Production of chlorinexe2x80x99; Editor: O""M. Bockris, B. E. Conway, E. Yeager and R. E. White; Publisher: Plenum Press, New York) gives more detail about this technology.
A fuel cell is a special type of electrolyser that is used as a generator. It converts the chemical energy of a fuel into electrical energy. Fuel cells are composed of a number of anodes and cathodes. It is at the anode that the fuel is electrochemically oxided and it is at the cathode that the oxidant is electrochemically reduced. Electrons are generated at the anode and flow through an external load to the cathode. Ions flow between the anode and the cathode in an electrolyte to complete the circuit. There are different fuel cell technologies. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of them. The PEMFC is also known as a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell. In such fuel cell, a thin proton exchange membrane has on one of its faces an anode and on the other a cathode. Hydrogen is fed to the anode and reacts to produce protons. These protons move to the cathode where they react with oxygen to produce water. The overall reaction is: H2+xc2xdO2xe2x86x92H2O
The ways the anodes and cathodes are connected differ according to the technology. The electrodes can be connected in parallel, in series or in a combination thereof.
One of the problems associated with the monitoring of the electrolysers is the extremely hostile conditions in which they operate. This makes data acquisition difficult and unreliable. Furthermore, it is essential to monitor these electrolysers in order to maximize the production rate and quality while still maintaining a minimal operating cost. Looking at the overall production performance does not allow the operator to discover that a unit cell is under-performing and should be changed. There is a growing need from the industry to be able to diagnose the plant on a macroscopic level as well as on an individual cell unit level in order to correctly assess the cause of any performance decrease and determine what is the more economic solution to deal with the problem so identified. Usually, a plant operator monitors the electrolysers by measuring manually the pertinent parameters as voltage and current. Then, the data records are sent to the plant engineer, and by using his expertise and different data analysis he can find the symptoms that may cause the faults. This procedure is time consuming and imprecise, especially when the faults symptoms are defined by a large amount of data. For this reason, it is useful to have a system that can automatically and accurately monitor the electrolysers and help to quickly identify the problems that can occur in such plants to increase the production performance.
Known in the art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,229, to General Motors Corporation entitled xe2x80x9cPattern Recognition Monitoring of PEM Fuel Cellxe2x80x9d. The CO concentration in the H2 feed stream to a PEM fuel cell stack is monitored by measuring current and voltage behaviour patterns from an auxiliary cell attached at the end of the stack. The auxiliary cell is connected to the same oxygen and hydrogen feed manifolds that supply the stack, and discharges through a constant load. Pattern recognition software compares the current and voltage patterns from the auxiliary cell to current and voltage signatures determined from a reference cell similar to the auxiliary cell and operated under controlled conditions over a wide range of CO-concentrations in the H2 fuel stream. However, one of the problems associated with this method is that the reference signature is taken at ideal operating conditions for a fuel cell. No allowance is made for the variation in the operational characteristics of the fuel cell during the life of the fuel cell.
Also known in the art is U.S. Pat. No. 6105149 to General Electric Company entitled xe2x80x9cSystem and Method for Diagnosing and Validating a Machine using Waveform Dataxe2x80x9d. In this patent, a method and a system are developed to diagnose faults in devices such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging machines. The faults are diagnosed by analysing waveform data obtained from the machines. A database containing the faults symptoms and corresponding repair actions are used to build classification rules. These rules are used to analyze new waveform data.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,291 to Instrumentarium entitled xe2x80x9cMethod for recognizing and identifying emergency situations in an anaesthesia system by means of a self-organizing mapxe2x80x9d describes a method of identifying emergency situations in an anaesthesia system by measuring a plurality of variables associated with an anaesthesia delivery. The measurement values of the measured variables are formed into pattern vectors characterizing the instantaneous states of the system.
Other fault diagnosis methods applied in plants that uses electrolysers can be found in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,018 to Olin Corporation entitled: xe2x80x9cChlor-alkali cell control system based on mass flow analysisxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,345 to Denora Permelec entitled: xe2x80x9cMethod for detecting defective ion exchange membrane in monopolar and bipolar electrolysersxe2x80x9d and European patent application EP1069636A1 to General Motors Corporation entitled: xe2x80x9cFuel cell stack monitoring and system controlxe2x80x9d.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and apparatus that gives valuable information relative to the performance of electrolysers in a chemical manufacturing plant and helps to diagnose the origin of performance fluctuations that sometimes occur during the production.
In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a method and apparatus for monitoring electrolyser performances and for diagnosing and predictive identification of faults and events that could affect the manufacturing processes that uses electrolysers. The system comprises:
a) a plurality of acquisition and transmission units, each of said acquisition and transmission units measuring a plurality of variables related to a respective electrolyser and for transmitting said variables;
b) a database and data management unit for recording the variables transmitted by each of said acquisition and transmission units;
c) an intelligent data analysis and fault diagnosis unit for analysing said variables and diagnosing events;
wherein each of said units are interconnected through a communication unit.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system includes: a data acquisition and transmission unit which acquires parameters such as voltage, current and temperature from the cells. These convert the analog signals into digital data streams. Those data sets are concentrated and transmitted by the communication unit to the database and data management unit, which records and formats them into data rows files. A processing and monitoring unit that displays desired data trends and added value data, which are pre-processed and filtered based on a user-defined manner. In addition, the monitoring units displays alarms, recommended actions and generates reports. The data rows are fed to the monitoring unit from the database and management unit by making export requests to the communication unit. An intelligent data analysis and faults diagnosis unit tracks the evolution of defined pertinent parameters. This unit prevents faults and events before they occur by isolating data trends signatures. The plant engineer or the plant analysis lab defines these faults signatures in advance based on their experience or based on a prior knowledge for the characteristics of the electrolysers in the plant. All the units are constructed around the communication unit that simplifies the importing and exporting of data and information between the system units and a remote third party software or hardware through a network.

Method and system for acquisition, monitoring, display and diagnosis of operational parameters of electrolyzers