The method and apparatus of the invention utilize the fact that CDs manufactured from the same master will have distinctive physical characteristics attributable to the physical manufacturing process of the master to distinguish counterfeit CDs from genuine discs. For a genuine disc (4), the relative angular orientation of specified sections (1, 2, 3) of the recorded data are determined and recorded. The relative angular orientation of the same sections (1, 2, 3) of data on a test disc (5) are also determined. Where the relative angular orientations are the same it is concluded that the test disc derives from the same source as the genuine disc and is therefore bona fide. Where there is no correlation, the test disc may be identified as counterfeit. The relative angular orientations, or other physical characteristics of the discs, may be physically measured, or may be calculated from information gained by reading the data on the disc.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for determining the provenance of data carrying discs, such as compact discs (CD).
The CD is a read only storage medium. Originally, CDs were used for the storage of music and other audio data. However, formats, such as the CD-ROM format, have been developed facilitating the reliable storage of data for use by computers and other digital devices. The CD-ROM format has become very popular and has become the mass data storage medium for computer programs and other files.
CDs can store about 74 minutes of high quality stereo sound or about 650 megabytes of data or some combination of both. The value of a CD to the end user, because of the value of the data it stores, is typically much more than its physical cost. This has made it an attractive target for counterfeiters who can produce replicas of an original CD at a nominal cost and sell the replicas, at the market price for the data, to make large profits.
With distribution media such as audio tapes or video cassettes, the quality of counterfeit copies tends to be lower than that of the originals due to the corruption of the analogue signal in the copying process. There is no such degradation in the case of CDs, however, as all of the information is stored digitally. Counterfeiters can therefore produce counterfeit copies of CDs which are almost indistinguishable from original or bona fide CDs.
If it were possible to distinguish between an original or bona fide CD and a counterfeit, then the problems caused by counterfeiters could be substantially reduced. Law enforcement officials, for example, would have a means of identifying counterfeit CDs, and could more easily obtain search warrants and secure prosecutions. If a CD carries a program, that program could be used to check that it was loaded from a bona fide, original CD.
The present invention seeks to identify counterfeit CDs and other data carrying discs.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of determining the provenance of a data carrying disc, the method comprising the steps of determining physical characteristics of selected data recorded on a test disc, comparing the physical characteristics determined with the physical characteristics of the same data on a data carrying disc produced from a known source to determine whether the test disc has been produced from the known source.
The manufacturing process for a data carrying disc, such as a CD, begins with the production of a master, and in the physical manufacturing process of the master, variations are introduced which give the master distinctive physical characteristics and cause errors in the data. The master is used to form generations of discs, and the physical characteristics of the master are passed on, down the generations. A group of discs manufactured from the same source, therefore, consistenty exhibit the physical characteristics of the master, and those physical characteristics can be used as a xe2x80x9cfingerprintxe2x80x9d for, or identification of, that source.
This invention has relevance to all data carrying discs, such as CDs and DVDs (digital versatile discs) and other optical discs, where physical characteristics arising out of the physical manufacturing process, are consistently reproduced in all discs originating from the same source.
Thus, in a method of the invention, the physical characteristics determined arise from the physical manufacturing process and act as a fingerprint for a particular known source in the manufacturing process.
An embodiment of a method of the invention may be used to identify that a test is genuine when the physical characteristics determined from the test disc correlate with the physical characteristics of the same data from a known and genuine source. Similarly, the absence of correlation between the physical characteristics may be used to identify a counterfeit disc.
CDs carrying popular music or computer programs, for example, may originate from a number of masters from manufacturing plants in different countries. What is more, the or each master will not be used to directly form the CDs. Each master is used in the production of a number of stampers which are used to produce the discs sold in the marketplace. It will, therefore, be appreciated that although the fingerprint of one master will be apparent in its progeny, each stage of the process will also introduce fingerprints from the sources used in those stages.
The physical characteristics determined may be chosen as appropriate. In an embodiment, the physical characteristics determined are the locations of selected data on the disc.
For example, the physical characteristics may be the total length of the data carrying spiral track, or the radial positioning of specified sections of data. In one embodiment, the physical characteristics determined are angular orientations of specified sections of the data recorded on the disc. The angular orientations determined may be absolute or relative.
In a presently preferred embodiment, the specified sections of the data recorded on a data carrying disc from a known source lie substantially on a single radius of the disc.
The selected data whose physical characteristics are determined may be dedicated data sections. For example, the dedicated data sections may be introduced during manufacture along a radius of a master to provide copy protection for the discs made therefrom.
However, it is generally preferred to determine physical characteristics of selected, identifiable sections of the data on the disc as this enables the techniques described herein to be used to determine the provenance of existing discs.
In an embodiment, the selected data whose physical characteristics are determined are selected frames of the data recorded on the disc.
Preferably, the selected frames of data are at evenly spaced radial positions on a data carrying disc from a known source.
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of extracting selected data from a test disc and determining the physical characteristics thereof, and at substantially the same time extracting the selected data from a disc from a known source and determining the physical characteristics thereof, whereby the comparing step is performed in real time.
For example, each of a test disc, whose provenance is to be determined, and a genuine disc from a known source are read in a respective disc reader and the determined information output from each reader is fed, for example, to processing means to enable the comparison to be undertaken.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the method may further comprise the steps of extracting selected data from a disc from a known source and determining the physical characteristics thereof, and recording the physical characteristics determined as a fingerprint of the known source.
There are different ways in which a method of the invention as defined above may be implemented. For example, measurements may be taken to determine the physical characteristics and to thereby enable the comparison. This would be an implementation in hardware.
Alternatively, data extracted from a disc can be processed to reveal information as to its location on the disc, for example, whereby physical characteristics thereof are determined. This would be an implementation in software.
Of course, an implementation which combines the two approaches would also be possible.
The present invention also extends to apparatus for determining the provenance of a data carrying disc by a method as defined above.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for enabling the provenance of a data carrying disc to be determined, said apparatus comprising means for determining physical characteristics of selected data recorded on a test disc, and means enabling the comparison of said physical characteristics determined with the physical characteristics of the same data on a data carrying disc produced from a known source.
Said means for enabling the comparison of physical characteristics may comprise a chart, table, graph or other hard copy representation of the physical characteristics of the selected data on a genuine disc. A similar representation of the physical characteristics determined for a test disc may then be displayed and/or printed and the comparison made by eye.
Preferably, however, said means enabling said comparison comprises processing means.
In one embodiment, said means for determining said physical characteristics of a test disc comprise means for rotating a test disc, sensor means for generating pulses representative of the angular orientation of the test disc, a pickup for extracting data from the rotating test disc, and circuit means for obtaining timing information from the extracted data.
It is possible to provide dedicated apparatus incorporating the features described above. However, it is generally preferred to modify a substantially conventional disc reader and a substantially conventional data extraction circuit to provide the data required for the comparison.
In the embodiments described above, the physical characteristics are determined by direct measurements. Additionally and/or alternatively it is possible to process the data on the disc to reveal information about the physical characteristics of the disc.
In a preferred embodiment, said means for determining said physical characteristics of a test disc comprise means for rotating a test disc, a pickup for extracting data from the rotating test disc, and circuit means for determining the location of the data extracted on the test disc.

Method and apparatus for determining the provenance of a data carrying disc


A profile storing process (S1), a downstream profile preparation process (S2 to S4), a downstream profile judgment process (S6 to S8), an upstream profile preparation process (S6, S7, S9), and a profile judgment process (S11 to S13) are performed. When it is judged in the downstream profile judgment process that the downstream profile has been improperly prepared, or when it is judged in the profile judgment process that at least one of the upstream and downstream profiles has been improperly prepared, then the prepared profile(s) are returned to the initial state of when stored in the profile storing process (S15). Afterward, the series of processes from preparing the downstream profile are again executed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing upstream profiles and downstream profiles which are used for processing image data before the image data is used in a recording process in a manner that the upstream profiles are used for performing prior processes onto image data and the downstream profiles are used for performing subsequent processes onto the image data which has already been subjected to the prior processes.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been known an image forming device, such as a color printer, that records color images on a recording medium using four colors of ink, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) ink. It is noted that the density level, actually outputted onto the recording medium, can vary according to a variety of conditions, such as the model of the printer, the resolution, the type of ink, and the type of recording medium. Therefore, according to the variation in those conditions, it will become impossible to faithfully reproduce color images, which are retrieved using a scanner, or prepared in a computer, if they are recorded onto a recording medium according to image data inputted as is from the computer or the scanner.
For this reason, before recording an image on a recording medium based on image data inputted from a computer or the like, normally the input image data is first corrected based on profiles in order to reproduce original images as faithfully as possible.


A computing device comprises a memory to store a first version of an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) message, a receiver to receive a second version of the XML message, a processor and a display interface. The display interface provides a user interface having a first control, a second control and a third control. The first control is to cause the processor to merge the second version with the first version to produce a third version of the XML message. The second control is to cause the processor to replace in the memory the first version with the second version of the XML message. The third control is to cause the processor to reject the second version of the XML message.

Using existing versioning software, multiple parties can download files from a central repository, build a local repository, make changes such as additions and subtractions to the local repository, upload the changes to the central repository, and apply the differences on the central repository to files in the local repository. The technology is based on a file system and allows for changes to be made on a file. The determination for making changes is based on differences that are found in the text. A text comparison, such as a diff utility in Unix, is used to find differences in the text.
Examples of existing versioning software include CVS and SUBVERSION.

Message-oriented divergence and convergence of message documents


An electromagnetic motorbrake has three wear compensating studs with threaded portions that receive nuts. The threaded nuts define cylindrical wrap surfaces for spring clutch elements that are coupled between the armature and the pressure plate of the brake by a bellcrank to be sequentially wrapped to turn the nuts as required to automatically take up any excessive gap between the armature and the electromagnet due to wear of the friction disc between the armature and the pressure plate.

This invention relates generally to electromagnetically operated brakes for electric motors, and deals more particularly with an electromagnetically operated motor brake having an automatic adjustment for the gap provided between the electromagnetic pole piece and its associated armature to compensate for wear in the friction disc of the brake.
Electromagnetically operated motorbrakes generally include biasing means for urging an armature toward a pressure plate so as to prevent rotation of a brake disc that turns with the shaft of an electric motor, and an electromagnet is adapted to pull the armature toward the pole piece and away from the disc and pressure plate when energized.
One problem associated with motorbrakes of this type is that they require periodic readjustment to maintain a predetermined gap between the armature and the pole piece of the electromagnetic device. This gap can increase due to wear of the friction disc.
Automatic wear compensation devices have been installed on motorbrakes in an attempt to minimize or eliminate the requirement for periodic adjustments to maintain acceptable operating performance of motorbrakes of this type. One such device is illustrated in the German publication OS No. 2314483 dated Oct. 3, 1974 entitled solenoid released spring disc brake. In this German disclosure the spring loaded stationary brake armature disc is mounted between the solenoid housing and a friction disc rotating on the shaft, and there is a stationary reaction plate on the other side of the shaft disc. Bolts are mounted in the solenoid housing and armature, and protrude into bores in the reaction plate. The bores contain axially lockable devices securing the reaction plate in position in relation to the bolts, and are automatic in operation. The locking devices allow the reaction plate to move toward the solenoid body as wear of the friction disc must be taken up.
In another prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,849 issued to Pape, an electromagnetic brake releasing device is disclosed that also has as automatic adjusting device designed to compensate for wear of the friction elements or pads. An armature is associated with a magnetic core to move toward and away from the friction elements or pads, and the adjusting device includes looking elements that permit the core to slide freely on guide bolts only toward the armature and toward the friction elements, and to slide toward the magnetic core only the distance of the armature stroke.

Automatic wear compensator for electromagnetic brake


The integrated reverse osmosis/pressure retarded osmosis system includes a first housing configured for pretreating feed brine, a second housing, a third housing configured for pretreatment of seawater, a first splitter positioned in communicating relation with the third housing, a first pump positioned in communicating relation with the first splitter, a fourth housing positioned in communicating relation with the first pump, a mixer positioned in communicating relation with the second housing and the first splitter, a first energy recovery system positioned in communicating relation with the second housing, a second energy recovery system positioned in communicating relation with the fourth housing, and a generator. The fourth housing configured for receiving pressurized seawater and producing desalinated product water by reverse osmosis. The second housing configured to receive feed brine from an oil production waste stream and decrease the salinity of the feed brine by pressure retarded osmosis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to desalination and potable water production and, more specifically, to an integrated reverse osmosis/pressure retarded osmosis system configured for treating and managing high salinity oilfield water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a by-product of oil production is water with a significantly high salinity content. Such water cannot normally be discharged into the ocean for fear that the high salinity content of the water may increase the salinity content of the ocean waters and adversely affect the aquatic environment. Further, due to the high salinity content, this water is too salty for either human consumption or agricultural use. Desalination, therefore, can be used to dispose such water safely into the environment and/or convert it into usable potable water.
Operation of conventional distillation and reverse osmosis plants to desalinate waters with extremely high salinity, such as salinities prevalent in oilfield waters, can be difficult. The configuration of the typical distillation and reverse osmosis plants currently in use limits how such systems can be used for desalting such high salinity waters.
Thus, an integrated reverse osmosis/pressure retarded osmosis system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Integrated reverse osmosis/pressure retarded osmosis system

KUWAIT INSTITUTE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH


An improved multi-leaf spring assembly is provided that permits greater flexibility and smoother, smaller folding of a stethoscope without deforming an individual user's adjustment. The spring leaves are held together at the ends by a spring clip. A cylindrical ferrule at each end of one leaf snaps into a groove in the lower end of an ear tube and is secured against removal by a spring clip. The entire assembly is encapsulated in an elastomer material to maintain the assembled parts in position while allowing swiveling of the ear tubes.

Medical stethoscopes generally consist of a chestpiece for picking up sounds and a pair of ear tubes connected to the chestpiece, usually through separate passageways, for transmitting the sounds to each ear. The ear tubes have traditionally consisted of bent metal tubes with plastic or cushioned earplugs on the end for comfort of the wearer and insulation of outside sound sources, together with a tensioning device such as a leaf spring for maintaining the earpieces in contact with the ears of the user. Stethoscopes of this general type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. such as 3,108,652 and 4,200,169.
Various of the prior art patents have shown leaf spring constructions for joining together the bottom ends of earpieces so as to urge the curved ends into proper position in the user's ear. These have generally involved a rather wide flat leaf spring, sometimes with several leaves, with the ends of the spring formed into a semi-tubular configuration to receive the end of the ear tube. Some show the spring being crimped to the end of the ear tube inside a bushing or similar holding mechanism for joining the spring to the earpieces. The prior art devices have generally been satisfactory, but have been somewhat bulky and hard to fold for easy placing in the pocket of a doctor/user. This has been particularly true with the large single leaf springs while the multiple leaf springs have generally required a tubular bushing or other connector means to join the spring leaves to the ear tubes with consequent higher costs and difficulty of manufacture.


The present invention provides an anchor for securely positioning a catheter intended to deliver drug or other medicaments to a desired position in tissue wherever found in the body or in epidural or intrathecal space of a spinal cord or brain. The present invention comprises, in the preferred embodiment, a generally tubular body for receiving the catheter and a pair of wings to assist in securing the device. The body has a slot that extends through the body between the wings. The wings and the slot cooperate so that the opposed edges of the slot just come together as the wings are brought into contact with each other. The wings interact with the slot to radially compress the catheter within the lumen of the tubular body to hold the catheter in a fixed relation to the tubular body. In addition, the wings allow the device to be sutured to tissue to secure and fix the device to tissue. A first suture is placed around the base of the wings very near where the wings contact the body of the anchor. A second suture secures the wings together and affixes the anchor to the patient""s tissue.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the techniques for devices for delivering medicaments to selected sites in tissue. Specifically, this invention relates to an apparatus for securingly positioning a drug or medication delivering catheter after the catheter is positioned in the brain, spinal epidural space, the intrathecal space or in a peripheral nerve application or in other tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medication delivery to the brain, spinal cord, cerebrospinal fluid or other tissue throughout the body is useful in treating many maladies, diseases and illnesses. Through the use of an implantable pump and catheter, precise drug doses can be directly delivered to the area of interest to treat the malady, disease or illness or its symptoms.
Controlled placement of drug delivering catheters in the position of interest is highly desirable. This allows highly concentrated drugs or other medicaments to be delivered to a specific site where, because the drug or medicament is highly concentrated, the therapeutic effect will be maximnized. Further, because only a small amount of such highly concentrated drug or medicarnent is needed at the site to be therapeutically beneficial, side effects from receiving relatively large doses of the drug orally or intravenously are minimized.
In view of the desirability of placing the highly concentrated drug or medicament at a specific site, movement of the catheter from its desired position is highly problematic. This is a problem known as xe2x80x9cdislodgmentxe2x80x9d. Dislodgment means that the distal tip of the catheter is moved enough from its desired position for the therapy to be affected. For some therapies, for example, intrathecal administration of drugs to the spinal cord, movement on the order of 0.5 inch or less may cause a noticeable decrease in therapy. For others, such as when a catheter is implanted in the intrathecal space of the spinal cord, the catheter must exit the intrathecal space to cause a change in therapy. This can be as much as 8 inches.
It is rare for the anchor to move relative to the tissue it is attached to. It is much more likely for the catheter to move relative to the anchor (slip through). Where the catheter is implanted in the spine, an anchor is typically placed outside the spine and is anchored to a ligament. In this case, it is not uncommon for the catheter to exit the spine and xe2x80x9cbunch upxe2x80x9d just distal to the anchor between the anchor and the entrance to the spine.
Dislodgment causes the highly concentrated drug or other medicament to not be delivered to the desired location. As a result, the desired therapeutic effect is not achieved. In addition, applying the highly concentrated drug or medicament to another site may produce undesired effects. Therefore, dislodgment is a condition to be avoided.
There are currently several ways physicians attempt to solve the problem of dislodgment. One way is to suture the catheter to tissue to xe2x80x9canchorxe2x80x9d the catheter to the tissue. A problem with this approach is that often the suture cuts through or occludes the catheter thereby disabling the catheter. This prevents the desired drug or medicament from passing to the distal end of the catheter to be delivered to the target site. In addition, the drug or medicament then leaks out of the cut area where it may possible cause undesirable effects.
Another way to solve the dislodgment problem is to place an xe2x80x9canchorxe2x80x9d around the catheter and then secure the anchor to tissue. In this way, the anchor prevents the catheter from moving relative to the anchor and the anchor itself is prevented from moving relative to tissue because the anchor is securely fastened to the tissue.
An example of such an anchor is shown in FIGS. 1-4 labeled generally 2. The anchor 2 has a tubular body 4 and a pair of opposed wings 6. Body 4 has a central channel 8. Central channel 8 is typically sized to be the same diameter as the outer diameter of a catheter 14 that is to be secured by the anchor 2. Body 4 often has a longitudinal slit 10 that extends entirely through body 4 along the entire length of body 4.
The wings 6 each have an eyelet 12. In use, a catheter 14 is placed through slit 10 into channel 8. Because of the tight tolerance in the diameter of central channel 8 and the outer diameter of catheter 14, it is very difficult if not impossible to thread catheter 14 through channel 8. Thereafter, anchor 2 is moved to the desired position. Wings 6 are pinched together toward slit 10. A suture 16 is placed through eyelets 12 and tissue 18 to secure the catheter 14 in the anchor 2 and anchor 2 to tissue 18 (FIG. 4).
A problem with this design for anchor 2 is that as wings 6 are brought together, the material of body 4 develops hoop stresses. Hoop stresses are the stresses that develop as a tightening force is applied to a hoop and the hoop resists being inwardly compressed. In this case, the hoop is the cross-section of the body 4 of the anchor 2. The tightening force is the application of force to the body 4 by bringing wings 6 together. These hoop stresses take a substantial amount of the energy provided by moving the wings 6 together and store it in tension within the material of body 4. As a result, a seriously reduced amount of energy is available for contacting the outer surface of the catheter to cause frictional contact with the catheter to hold it in place with respect to the anchor 2.
Another problem occurs because anchor 2 is placed in a pocket 20 formed in tissue 18 in a patient""s body. A problem with this anchor 2 is that it is difficult bring the wings 6 from their 180xc2x0 opposed position to their pinched position in the small opening provided by in the pocket in the tissue 18. This problem is exacerbated when the surgeon also has to open slit 10 and place the catheter 14 in the central channel 8. This is often accomplished by bending wings 6 together on the opposite side of body 4 so that slit 10 opens. This requires a very dexterous maneuver in the small space presented by the pocket 20 in the tissue 18. Often, it takes several tries to get the catheter 14 positioned within central channel 8 through slit 10. This complicates the surgery with the concomitant chance or problems or complications.
The present invention provides an anchor for securely positioning a catheter intended to deliver drug or other medicaments to a desired position in tissue wherever found in the body or in epidural or intrathecal space of a spinal cord or brain. The present invention comprises, in the preferred embodiment, a generally tubular body for receiving the catheter and a pair of wings to assist in securing the device. The body has a slot that extends through the body between the wings. The wings and the slot cooperate so that the opposed edges of the slot just come together as the wings are brought into contact with each other. In this way, hoop forces are virtually eliminated so that all the stress produced by bringing the wings together is applied to the catheter to frictionally hold the catheter in position within the anchor. The wings interact with the slot to radially compress the catheter within the lumen of the tubular body to hold the catheter in a fixed relation to the tubular body.
In addition, the wings allow the device to be sutured to tissue to secure and fix the device to tissue. A first suture is placed around the base of the wings very near where the wings contact the body of the anchor. A second suture secures the wings together and affixes the anchor to the patient""s tissue. This suture is placed through an eyelet in each of the wings. In this way, the normal stresses applied to the catheter by bringing the wings together are maximized.
In use the catheter is placed in the central channel of the anchor. The wings are brought together and sutured. The wings are then sutured to the patient""s tissue.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an anchor that securely holds a catheter without crushing, kinking,pinching or occluding the catheter.
It is another object of the invention to provide an anchor can be securely attached to a patient""s tissue.
It is another object of the invention to provide an anchor that is easy to use.
The proposed design addresses these objects. Movement of the catheter relative to the anchor is greatly decreased because of the holding force provided as the wings are brought together and secured. Because the anchor is smaller and easier to place than known anchors, the physician should be able to place the anchor closer to the spinal entry site. This should make it unlikely that the catheter will pull out of the implant site and bunch up as the patient moves.


A small gas turbine engine for generating thrust and shaft horsepower is provided. The engine is comprised in a flow series arrangement of an inlet, a diffuser, a single stage compressor, a fuel slinger combustor, a single stage turbine, and an exhaust nozzle. The compressor circumscribes the turbine and is mounted on the same rotating wheel so that the flow of air in the compressor is in the direction opposite to the direction of hot gas flow in the turbine. Accordingly, both the compressor and turbine are on the same side of the combustor and hence only a single bearing support structure is required.

Small gas turbine engines have been built in numerous configurations. For example, some engines have a centrifugal compressor in a back-to-back arrangement with a radial turbine. These engines are poor candidates for applications having strict size limitations, because they generally have large diameters relative to their inlet air flow and hence, generate low thrust per unit of frontal area. Other small gas turbine engines consist of an axial compressor in axial arrangement with an axial turbine. These engines tend to have multistage compressors and turbines making them longer and mechanically more complicated than the centrifugal engines.
Holzapfel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,019 describes yet another gas turbine configuration in which a multistage turbine circumscribes a multistage compressor. The compressor and turbine are divided into two sections with each section having its own shaft. One disadvantage with the Holzapfel configuration is that the turbine blades have higher wheel speeds, (i.e. higher radius), than the compressor blades. Typically, the compressor in a gas turbine engine needs higher wheel speeds or more stages than its driving turbine in order to absorb the turbine's work. Thus, an engine configuration in which the turbine has higher wheel speeds than the compressor will require more compressor stages making the overall engine larger and perhaps requiring a multiplicity of shafts. Also, the Holzapfel configuration places the hotter turbine flowpath outside the cooler compressor flowpath. As a result, the engine's mount, and the surrounding airframe structure, referred to as the nacelle, must be made strong enough to withstand these hot temperatures, resulting in heavier components.
Accordingly, a need exists for a small, light weight gas turbine engines that overcomes the disadvantages found in the prior art, small gas turbine engines.

Counterflow single rotor turbojet and method


An apparatus for positioning at a target site and for treating a pulmonary condition in a subject includes a fluid exchange catheter for insertion into a tracheo-bronchial tree and an inflatable balloon coupled to the fluid exchange catheter. At least a portion of the inflatable balloon is for engaging a luminal wall of the tracheo-bronchial tree at the target site. The apparatus further includes an energy delivery mechanism operably coupled to the inflatable balloon. The energy delivery mechanism includes at least one energy delivery member for delivering electrical energy to the target site.

Diseases and disorders of the pulmonary system are among the leading causes of acute and chronic illness in the world. Pulmonary diseases or disorders may be organized into various categories, including, for example, breathing rhythm disorders, obstructive diseases, restrictive diseases, infectious diseases, pulmonary vasculature disorders, pleural cavity disorders, and others. Pulmonary dysfunction may involve symptoms such as apnea, dyspnea, changes in blood or respiratory gases, symptomatic respiratory sounds, e.g., coughing, wheezing, respiratory insufficiency, and/or general degradation of pulmonary function, among other symptoms.
A variety of methods are currently used to treat pulmonary diseases and disorders including, for example, the use of pharmacological compositions, such as albuterol, and surgical methods, such as lung volume reduction surgery. Another method used to treat pulmonary diseases and disorders involves electrostimulation of various nerves, such as the vagus and phrenic nerves to modulate pulmonary function. Such electrostimulation methods, however, are often highly invasive and offer only short-term symptomatic relief.

Apparatus and method for treating pulmonary conditions


An object of the present invention is to provide a nonaqueous electrolytic solution and a nonaqueous electrolytic solution battery capable of showing high output characteristics at a low temperature even after the battery is used to some extent, and capable of showing good high-rate properties, and further capable of showing sufficient performance again at low temperature even after stored at a high temperature. The present invention is characterized in the use of a nonaqueous electrolytic solution containing a nonaqueous organic solvent and an electrolyte dissolved in the nonaqueous organic solvent, the nonaqueous electrolytic solution comprising a difluoro ionic complex (1-Cis) in a cis configuration represented by the general formula (1-Cis), and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a carbonate having an unsaturated bond, a carbonate having a fluorine atom, an acid anhydride, and a compound having an isocyanato group.

In recent years, there have been rapidly increasing demands for not only electricity storage systems for small-sized and high energy density applications, for example, information-related apparatus, communication apparatus, i.e., personal computers, video cameras, digital cameras, portable telephones, and smartphones; but also batteries with large capacity, high output and high energy density which can be used for electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and auxiliary power systems of fuel-cell vehicles. Moreover, there have been increasing demands for batteries which can be used for a long time even in electricity storage systems for large-sized and high power applications, for example, electric power storages. As one of the candidates for such electricity storage systems, nonaqueous electrolytic solution batteries have been under active development, such as lithium ion batteries, lithium batteries, and lithium ion capacitors.
Lithium secondary batteries mainly include a positive electrode, a nonaqueous electrolytic solution, and a negative electrode. As negative electrodes for lithium secondary batteries, known are, for example, metal lithium, metal compounds (for example, elemental metals, oxides, alloys with lithium, and the like) capable of occluding and releasing lithium, carbon materials, and the like. In particular, lithium secondary batteries where carbon materials capable of occluding and releasing lithium such as corks, artificial graphite, natural graphite, and the like are used have been put into wide practical use. For example, it is reported that in a lithium secondary battery where a highly crystallized carbon material such as natural graphite and artificial graphite is used as a negative electrode material, a nonaqueous solvent in a nonaqueous electrolytic solution may be reductively decomposed on the surface of a negative electrode upon charging, resulting in generation of decomposition products or gases. This may interfere with the desired electrochemical reactions of the battery, which in turn, may decrease cycle characteristics.
Further, in a lithium secondary battery where metal lithium or an alloy thereof, an elemental metal such as silicon and tin, or an oxide is used as a negative electrode material, pulverization of the negative electrode material is promoted during cycles although it has a high initial capacity. Therefore, a nonaqueous solvent is more susceptible to reductive decomposition as compared with a negative electrode made of a carbon material. As a result, the charge/discharge efficiency at the first cycle is known to be decreased due to an increased initial irreversible capacity of the battery. It is also known that this may significantly decrease battery performances such as battery capacity and cycle characteristics. A negative electrode may react with lithium cations or a solvent of an electrolytic solution when lithium cations are intercalated into the negative electrode upon charging at the first cycle. This may form a film containing lithium oxide, lithium carbonate, and lithium alkylcarbonate as the main components on the surface of the negative electrode. This film on the surface of the electrode which is called a Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) may, in nature, have significant impacts on battery performance. For example, it may reduce reductive decomposition of a solvent to prevent deterioration of battery performance. As described above, one of the disadvantages is that lithium may not be smoothly occluded into and released from a negative electrode due to adverse effects such as accumulation of decomposition products and generation of gases from a nonaqueous solvent, and pulverization of a negative electrode material, resulting in significant deterioration of battery characteristics such as cycle characteristics.
Meanwhile, as a positive electrode, known are, for example, LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiNiO2, LiFePO4, and the like. It is reported that in lithium secondary batteries where these materials are used, a nonaqueous solvent in a nonaqueous electrolytic solution may partly undergo local oxidative decomposition at the interface between a positive electrode material and the nonaqueous electrolytic solution when the temperature is increased during charging. This results in generation of decomposition products and gases. As a result, the desired electrochemical reaction of the battery may be interfered with, which in turn, may decrease battery performances such as cycle characteristics. As in the negative electrode, a film may also be formed on the surface of the positive electrode due to oxidatively decomposed products. This film is also known to play an important role. For example, oxidative decomposition of a solvent may be prevented, and the battery gas yield may be reduced.
As described above, conventional lithium secondary batteries have a problem in that decomposition products and gases generated when a nonaqueous electrolytic solution decomposes on a positive electrode and a negative electrode may interfere with the movement of lithium ions, and may cause the expansion of a battery. These may be responsible for decreased battery performance.
In order to overcome the above problems and further improve battery performance such as long term durability and output characteristics, it is important to form an SEI having a high ion conductivity, a low electron conductivity, and a long-term stability. To this end, attempts have been widely made for intentionally forming a good SEI by adding a small amount (usually 0.01 mass % or more and 10 mass % or less) of a compound called an additive to an electrolytic solution.
For example, in a secondary battery where a graphite-based negative electrode with a high degree of crystallinity is used, a nonaqueous electrolytic solution containing, for example, vinylene carbonate, vinylethylene carbonate, maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, and/or the like has been used to minimize decomposition of the nonaqueous electrolytic solution to obtain a high capacity. Further, attempts have been made for improving storage properties and cycle characteristics at high temperature (Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4). However, these are still less than satisfactory. For example, use of a nonaqueous electrolytic solution including ethylene carbonate as the main solvent and containing 0.01 to 10.0 mass % of vinylene carbonate relative to ethylene carbonate can not sufficiently prevent an increased internal resistance of a battery when stored at high temperature. Moreover, Patent Document 5 discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte battery in which an electrolytic solution containing a diisocyanate compound is used. This represents an attempt for improving the long-term storage reliability of a battery and others.
Meanwhile, the following methods have been considered: a method of improving the thermal stability of an electrolytic solution by using lithium bis(oxalato)borate as an Li salt in place of a common Li salt such as LiPF6 and LiBF4; and a method of improving life-time performance by preventing generation of hydrofluoric acid which is responsible for elution of transition metal contained in a positive-electrode active material (Patent Document 6). Further, a nonaqueous electrolytic solution is disclosed which contains a lithium salt having an oxalato complex such as lithium bis(oxalato)borate as an anion and at least one film-forming agent selected from the group consisting of vinylene carbonate, vinylethylene carbonate, ethylene sulfite, and fluoroethylene carbonate (Patent Document 7).
A nonaqueous electrolytic solution is disclosed containing a phosphorus-boron complex and the like as an additive for forming an effective SEI, such as a lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (Patent Document 8). Further, disclosed is a means for providing a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of having an outstanding regeneration output, which is configured to have a hard-carbon negative electrode and a predetermined capacity ratio of positive electrode/negative electrode, and contains a similar phosphorus-boron complex as a nonaqueous electrolytic solution (Patent Document 9). Further, proposals for improving input and output characteristics at low temperature are disclosed in which vinylene carbonate or fluoroethylene carbonate and lithium difluoro(bisoxalato)phosphate are included each in predetermined amounts (Patent Documents 10 and 11). Moreover, a proposal for improving battery characteristics such as battery capacity, cycle characteristics, and storage properties is disclosed in which an electrolytic solution is used containing lithium difluoro(oxalato-O,O′)borate or lithium tetrafluoro(oxalato-O,O′)phosphate and a carbonate ester of an unsaturated compound such as vinylene carbonate and vinylethylene carbonate as an additive (Patent Document 12).
Patent Document 13 describes a proposal for improving durability and loading characteristics such as cycles and storage, including at least one selected from the group consisting of compounds in which a triple bond is bonded to a ring structure via a single bond without via another functional group or a hetero atom (4-ethynylethylene carbonate, 4-ethynyl-1,3,2-dioxathiolane-2,2-dioxide, and the like); and further compounds such as LiPO2F2 and LiSO3F; lithium salts of oxalato complexes such as lithium bis(oxalato)borate, lithium difluorooxalatoborate, lithium tetrafluorooxalatophosphate, lithium difluorobis(oxalato)phosphate, and lithium tris(oxalato)phosphate; and carbonates having at least one carbon-carbon unsaturated bond or fluorine atom.
Patent Document 14 describes a proposal for improving discharge capacity, initial charge/discharge efficiency, and loading characteristics, including a lithium-transition metal composite oxide having the stratified rock-salt structure in a positive electrode, a nonaqueous solvent containing a fluorinated solvent (fluorinated carbonate and the like) in a range between 20 and 100 vol % relative to the nonaqueous solvent, and further at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds each having a carbon-nitrogen unsaturated bond, compounds each having a substituent having a carbon-carbon unsaturated bond, and compounds each having a structure of sulfonic acid ester.
Further, Patent Document 15 describes a proposal for improving charge-discharge cycle characteristics, in which a negative electrode includes an element capable of undergoing an alloying reaction with lithium or a compound of an element capable of undergoing an alloying reaction with lithium, and a nonaqueous solvent includes fluorinated ethylene carbonate, and an additive is included such as lithium difluorobis(oxalato)phosphate, lithium difluorooxalatoborate, and lithium tetrafluorooxalatophosphate.
Patent Document 16 discloses an electrolytic solution which can improve a low-temperature property (the ratio of discharge capacities of −20° C./25° C.) at 0° C. or below as well as cycle characteristics and high-temperature storage properties, the electrolytic solution including both a difluoro(bisoxalato)phosphate salt and a tetrafluoro(oxalato)phosphate salt.
It is noted that Patent Document 19 discloses a method of manufacturing a phosphorus-boron complex such as lithium difluorooxalatoborate used as an electrolyte for electrochemical devices. Further, Patent Document 17 discloses a method of manufacturing lithium tris(oxalato)phosphate. Patent Document 18 discloses that cycle characteristics and storage properties can be improved when a diisocyanate compound (hexamethylene diisocyanate), which is one of the compounds having carbon-nitrogen unsaturated bonds, is added to a nonaqueous electrolytic solution.    Nonpatent Document 1 discloses a method of manufacturing a fluoro complex having silicon or the like in the complex center.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H08-045545    Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-006729    Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H05-074486    Patent Document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-057235    Patent Document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2007-242411    Patent Document 6: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Translation of PCT Application), Publication No. 2002-519352    Patent Document 7: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-196250    Patent Document 8: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2002-110235    Patent Document 9: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2007-335143    Patent Document 10: PCT International Publication No. WO2010/067549    Patent Document 11: PCT International Publication No. WO2012/102259    Patent Document 12: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-05115 (Japanese Patent No. 4423888)    Patent Document 13: PCT International Publication No. WO2011/142410    Patent Document 14: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2013-030284    Patent Document 15: PCT International Publication No. WO2013/132824    Patent Document 16: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2011-22193    Patent Document 17: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Translation of PCT Application), Publication No. 2003-505464 (Japanese Patent No. 4695802)    Patent Document 18: PCT International Publication No. WO2012/117911    Patent Document 19: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2003-137890    Non-Patent Document 1: J. Chem. Soc. (A), 1970, 15, 2569-2574

Electrolytic solution for nonaqueous electrolytic solution secondary batteries and nonaqueous electrolytic solution secondary battery


A hydro-pneumatic pressure transformer with a storage piston fixed between storage oil and compressed air, which furthermore is centrally penetrated by a plunger piston, wherein, for the separation of oil from water, relief grooves are provided on the jacket face as well as in the wall of the central bore, which are connected with each other and are pressure-relieved via a ventilating bore leading to the exterior.

A main problem with the prior art hydro-pneumatic pressure transformers resides in the sealing between the storage chamber and the control chamber, because the hydraulic pressures in the storage chamber and the pneumatic pressures in the control chamber continuously change in the course of a work cycle, and this is not necessarily synchronously. Thus, there is the danger, on the one hand, that oil from the storage chamber reaches the control chamber and leakage losses are created by this, which could impair the work capacity of the hydro-pneumatic pressure transformer. On the other hand there is the danger of air from the control chamber reaching the storage chamber, where it is absorbed by the oil with the disadvantage that it reaches the work chamber and tends there to create increased compressibility in the high-pressure phase of the pressure stroke, along with all the disadvantages for the work capability resulting therefrom.
For this reason, in a known hydro-pneumatic pressure transformer of the species (German Published, Non-Examined Patent Application DE-OS 28 10 894), two radial seals are provided toward the wall of the work cylinder as well as the jacket face of the plunger piston, which have the purpose of achieving an optimal separation of the air from the oil. In this case it is particularly problematic that the tendency of the air to move from the control chamber to the storage chamber is not at all evident in the low pressure phase, but in the high pressure phase, in the course of which small amounts of air are also "pumped so that they bypass" the radial seals in the form of wall laminates during the axial movement of the storage piston.


In an output circuit, a signal /.phi. opposite in phase to a signal /EN inputted through an input terminal 3 is generated by an inverter 1, and a signal .phi. in phase with the signal /EN is generated by two inverters 8 and 2. When the input signal /EN changes from a high level to a low level, a bipolar NPN transistor 35 is turned on instantaneously to decide an output terminal 5 at the low level forcedly. On the other hand, when the signal /EN changes from the low level to the high level, an NPN transistor 10 is turned on in advance of the other circuits to decide the output terminal 5 at the high level forcedly. Accordingly, it is possible to roughly equalize a delay time (from when the level of the input signal /EN changes at the input terminal 3 to when the level of the signal /.phi. changes at an output terminal 4) to another delay time (to when the level of the signal .phi. changes at the output terminal 5), thus realizing an ideal phase relationship between the two signals/.phi. and .phi. at two output terminals 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 shows a first example of prior art signal output circuits. In this circuit, a signal IN inputted through an input terminal 3 is inverted by an inverter 1, and then outputted through an output terminal 4 as a signal /.phi. opposite in phase to the input signal IN. Further, the signal inverted by the inverter 1 is further inverted by another inverter 2, and then outputted through another output terminal 5 as a signal .phi. in phase with the input signal IN.
The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 4 will be described hereinbelow.
The signal inputted through the input terminal 3 is inverted by the inverter 1, and then outputted through the output terminal 4 as an opposite-phase signal /.phi. with respect to the input signal IN. On the other hand, the signal inputted through the input terminal 3 is inverted by the inverter 1 and further by the inverter 2, and then outputted through the output terminal 5 as an opposite-phase signal .phi. with respect to the signal /.phi. outputted through the output terminal 4.
Therefore, the signal /.phi. outputted through the output terminal 4 is perfectly opposite in phase to the signal .phi. outputted through the output terminal 5 from the logical standpoint. In practice, however, the mutual phase relationship between the two is not necessarily accurate due to a delay of the inverter 2.
In more detail with reference to FIG. 6, the output signal /.phi. (as shown by (B)) outputted through the output terminal 4 is delayed from the input signal IN (as shown by (A)) due to a delay time of the inverter 1. On the other hand, the output signal .phi. (as shown by (C)) outputted through the output terminal 5 is delayed from the input signal IN due to delay times of both the inverters 1 and 2.
Accordingly, when the input signal IN rises at a time t1 and falls at a time t4 as shown by (A) in FIG. 6, the signal /.phi. outputted through the output terminal 4 falls at a time t2 and rises at a time t5 due to a delay time T1 of the inverter 1 as shown by (B). On the other hand, the signal .phi. outputted through the output terminal 5 rises at a time t3 and falls at a time t6 due to an addition T2 of the two delay times of the two inverters 1 and 2 as shown by (C).
FIG. 5 shows a second example of prior art signal output circuits. In this circuit, a signal IN inputted through an input terminal 3 is given to three inverters 1, 8 and 6, respectively. The output of the inverter 6 is given to the base of an NPN transistor 9. The collector of this NPN transistor 9 is pulled up by a supply voltage Vcc, and the emitter thereof is connected to an output of an output terminal 4 together with an output of the inverter 8. On the other hand, an output of the inverter 8 is given to other two inverters 7 and 2, respectively. An output of the inverter 7 is given to the base of an NPN transistor 10. The collector of this NPN transistor 10 is pulled up by the supply voltage Vcc, and then connected to an output terminal 5 together with the output of the inverter 2.
The operation of this circuit shown in FIG. 5 will be described hereinbelow.
When the input signal IN inputted through the input terminal 3 falls from a high level to a low level, the outputs of the three inverters 1, 6 and 8 rise to the high level, respectively. Since the output of the inverter 6 in at the high level, the NPN transistor 9 is turned on, so that the output terminal of the inverter 1 (i.e., the signal /.phi. at the output terminal 4) is pulled up to the high level toward the supply voltage Vcc. In other words, when the level at the output terminal 4 is pulled up from the low level to the high level, the NPN transistor 9 serves to increase the drive capability of the circuit, that is, the circuit response speed, in particular when a heavy load is connected to the output terminal 4. On the other hand, when the input signal IN inputted through the input terminal 3 falls from the high level to the low level, the output level of the inverter 8 changes to the high level. As a result, the output levels of the two inverters 7 and 2 change to the low level. Therefore, since the output of the inverter 7 is given to the base of the NPN transistor 10, the NPN transistor 10 is turn off, so that the signal .phi. outputted through the output terminal 5 changes to the low level.
In contrast with this, when the input signal IN inputted through the input terminal 3 rises from the low level to the high level, the outputs of the three inverters 1, 6 and 8 fall to the low level, respectively. Since the output of the inverter 6 is at the low level, the NPN transistor 9 is turned off, so that the output terminal of the inverter 1 (i.e., the signal /.phi. at the output terminal 4) is disconnected from the supply voltage Vcc. On the other hand, the low-level signal /.phi. is outputted to the output terminal 4 through the inverter 1.
On the other hand, when the input signal IN inputted through the input terminal 3 rises from the low level to the high level, the output level of the inverter 8 changes to the low level. As a result, the output levels of the two inverters 7 and 2 change to the high level. Therefore, since the output of the inverter 7 is given to the base of the NPN transistor 10, the NPN transistor 10 is turned on, so that the signal .phi. outputted through the output terminal 5 is pulled up from the low level to the high level. As a result, the level of the signal .phi. outputted through the output terminal 5 changes to the high level. In this case, it is possible to increase the drive capability of the circuit, that is, to improve the circuit response speed when a heavy load is connected to the output terminal 4.
In the prior art circuit as shown in FIG. 5, however, since the number of the inverters connected between the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 is different from that between the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 5 in the same way as with the case of the circuit shown in FIG. 4, although the drive capability can be it proved by the presence of the two NPN transistors 9 and 10, since there exists basically a difference in delay time between the two routes, it is impossible to obtain the accurate opposite-phase relationship between the signal /.phi. outputted through the terminal 4 and that .phi. outputted through the terminal 5.
FIG. 7 shows a third example of prior art signal output circuits. In this circuit, an enable signal /EN inputted through an input terminal 3 is inverted by an inverter 1, and then given to two NAND circuits 11 and 12 and an inverter 2. An output of the inverter 2 is given to two NOR circuits 13 and 14 via an output terminal 5. On the other hand, a data signal D-In inputted through an input terminal 44 is given to a NAND circuit 11. An output of the NAND circuit 11 is given to a NOR circuit 13 and an inverter 15. An output of the inverter 15 is given to a NOR circuit 14. An output of the NOR circuit 13 is given to the base of an NPN transistor 22. The collector of the transistor 22 is pulled up by a supply voltage Vcc, and the emitter thereof is connected to the base of a transistor 23. The collector of the transistor 23 is pulled up by the supply voltage Vcc, and the emitter thereof is connected to an output terminal 45. The output of the NOR circuit 14 is applied to the gate of an NMOS transistor 17, and the output of the NAND circuit 12 is applied to the gate of an NMOS transistor 16. The drain of the MOS transistor 17 is pulled up by the supply voltage Vcc via a resistor 21. Further, the source of the MOS transistor 17 is connected to the drain of the MOS transistor 16, and the source of the MOS transistor 16 is connected to ground GND. The drain of the MOS transistor 17 is connected to the emitter of the transistor 22 via a Zener diode 19 and similarly to the emitter of the transistor 23 via another Zener diode 18. Further, a resistor 20 is connected between the emitters of the two transistors 22 and 23. Further, a junction point between the source of the MOS transistor 17 and the drain of the MOS transistor 16 is connected to the base of an NPN transistor 24. The emitter of the transistor 24 is connected to the ground GND, and the emitter of the transistor 23 is connected to an output terminal 45 through which a signal Q is outputted.
The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 7 will be described hereinbelow.
The circuit shown in FIG. 7 constructs a buffer circuit provided with three-state functions. On the basis of the signal /EN inputted through the input terminal 3 and the signal D-IN inputted through the input terminal 44, the level of the output terminal 45 can be controlled to one of three levels (a low level, a high level, and a high inpedance).
Here, if the data D-IN inputted through the input terminal 44 is at the low level, the output of the NAND circuit 11 is at the high level, so that the output of the NCR circuit 13 is at the low level and the output of the inverter 15 is at the low level. In other words, the NOR circuit 14 and the NAND circuit 12 function as an inverter for an input signal inputted through the other input terminal.
Under these conditions, since the base of the transistor 22 is at the low level, the transistor 22 is turned off, so that the transistor 23 is also turned off.
Under these conditions, when the signal /EN inputted through the input terminal 3 is at the low level, since the output of the inverter 1 is at the high level, the output of the inverter 2 is at the low level.
As a result, the output of the NAND circuit 12 is at the low level. Since this low-level signal is applied to the gate of the MOS transistor 16, the transistor 16 is turned off.
On the other hand, the output of the NOR circuit 14 changes to the high level, so that the MOS transistor 17 is turned on in response to this high-level signal. As a result, a base current is supplied from the supply voltage Vcc to the base of the transistor 24 through a resistor 21 to turn on the transistor 24, so that the low-level signal is outputted through the output terminal 45.
On the other hand, when the signal /EN inputted to the input terminal 2 is at the high level, the output of the inverter 1 is at the low level and that of the inverter 2 is at the high level.
As a result, the output of the NAND circuit 12 is at the high level, so that the MOS transistor 16 is turned on in response to this high-level signal.
On the other hand, the output of the NOR circuit 14 is at the low level, so that the MOS transistor 17 is turned off in response to this low-level signal.
As a result, since the base of the transistor 24 is connected to the ground GND through the MOS transistor 16, the transistor 24 is turned off. On the other hand, since the transistor 23 is turned off, the output terminal 45 changes to a high impedance output state.
In contrast with this, when the data D-IN inputted through the input terminal 44 is at the high level, the NAND circuit 11 functions as an inverter for a signal inputted to the other input terminal thereof.
Under these conditions, when the signal /EN inputted through the input terminal 3 is at the low level, the output of the inverter 1 is at the high level; the output of the NAND circuit 11 is at the low level; and the output of the inverter 15 is at the high level. That is, the output of the NOR circuit 14 changes to the low level, so that the output of the NAND circuit 12 changes to the high level.
As a result, the gate of the MOS transistor 17 is at the low level, and the gate of the MOS transistor 16 is at the high level. As a result, the MOS transistor 17 is turned off, and the MOS transistor 16 is turned on, so that the base of the transistor 24 is connected to the ground GND; that is, the transistor 24 is turned off.
On the other hand, since the output of the inverter 2 is at the low level, the output of the NOR circuit 13 is at the high level.
Under these conditions, since the base of the transistor 22 is at the high level, the transistor 22 is turned on, so that a base current is supplied from the supply voltage Vcc to the base of the transistor 23 through the emitter of the transistor 22. As a result, a high-level signal Q is outputted through the output terminal 45.
On the other hand, under these conditions, when the signal /EN inputted through the input terminal 3 changes to the high level, since the output of the inverter 1 changes to the low level, the outputs of the inverter 2 and the NAND circuit 11 are both at the high level. As a result, the output of the NOR circuit 13 is at the low level; the output of the inverter 15 is at the low level; the output of the NOR circuit 14 is at the low level; and the output of the NAND circuit 12 is at the high level.
Under these conditions, since the output of the NOR circuit 13 is at the low level, the transistor 22 is turned off. Therefore, the transistor 23 whose base is connected to the emitter of the transistor 22 is also turned off.
On the other hand, the gate of the MOS transistor 17 is at the low level, and the gate of the MOS transistor 16 is at the high level. As a result, the MOS transistor 17 is turned off; the MOS transistor 16 is turned on; and the base of the transistor 24 is connected to the ground GND. Therefore, the transistor 24 is turned off.
As a result, the two transistors 23 and 24 are both turned off, so that the output terminal 45 is kept at a high impedance state.
In other words, the output state of the output terminal 45 can be controlled into three states on the basis of the level of the input signal /EN at the input terminal 3 and the levels of the two-phase signals of the input signal D-IN at the input terminal 44. Here, the circuit operation is taken into account by designating the output signals of the two inverters 1 and 2 as /.phi. and .phi., respectively as shown in FIG. 7.
In this case, when the three-state control is constructed by logic on the basis of internal two-phase signals of/.phi. and .phi., the response speed of the circuit is inevitably decided on the basis of the level change of a more delayed signal of the two signals/.phi. and .phi., that is, the change of the signal .phi. in phase with the signal /EN.
In more practice, when the signal /EN changes from the high level to the low level and the signal /.phi. changes to the high level, the two NAND circuits 11 and 12 change from the disable state to the enable state. However, in order to output the high or low level through the output terminal 45, the two NOR circuits 13 and 14 must output a normal signal, respectively.
Therefore, it is to be understood that the response speed of the circuit as shown in FIG. 7 depends upon the delay time between the signal /EN inputted through the input terminal 3 and the signal .phi. obtained through the two inverters 1 and 2. In other words, in the case of the control on the basis of one-phase input inversion signal of the signal /EN, the delay time can be minimized. In the case of logic on the basis of the one-phase input in-phase signal control or two-phase signal control, however, since the response speed is dependent upon that of the more delayed signal, the response speed of the circuit is inevitably reduced.
In the prior art signal output circuits constructed as described above, where two-phase signals are generated in response to one-phase signal and the generated signals are applied to a latch circuit, a flip-flop circuit, a three-state logic circuit, etc., since these circuits are basically provided with the alternating characteristics, there inevitably exists an imbalance in delay time in the internal circuits, so that it is difficult to keep constant the phase relationship between the generated two-phase signals stably. In particular, when these two-phase signals are used as clocks, this causes an erroneous operation of the circuit, thus resulting in a serious problem. In particular, when the operation speed of the circuit increases, there exists such a possibility that the two-phase signals become in phase with respect to each other in an extreme case. Therefore, when these signals are used as clock signals, a problem arises in that an erroneous operation such as hazard, the absence of data, etc. occurs. These problems may be overcome by positively delaying the leading signal so that the phase thereof can match that of the more delayed signal. However, this method is not preferable when a high operation speed is required for the output circuit. Accordingly, an effective method of operating the output circuit on the basis of multi-phase clocks has been so far required.

In-phase signal output circuit, opposite-phase signal output circuit, and two-phase signal output circuit


A finishing apparatus and method for surface finishing workpieces. A tub is rotatable about vertical axis and operable to hold and rotate abrasive media completely submerged in water or other liquid. One or more manipulators, each supporting a spindle operable for supporting and rotating a workpiece about a spindle axis of the spindle with the workpiece at least partially submerged in the abrasive media and operable for holding spindle axis normal to and spaced apart from the vertical axis with the spindle horizontal in the tub during the surface finishing process while the tub is rotating. Manipulators are independently operable to present one of the workpieces for loading and unloading on and off spindle while tub is rotating and continuing to process the other workpieces submerged in the media and water. A rake includes a plate and means for lifting the plate up and down vertically through the abrasive media.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mass finishing methods and machines used to process and to remove material from surfaces of workpieces such as surface finishing of metal workpieces to produce either a surface ready for further treatment (e.g., plating or coating) or a finished article.
2. Description of Related Art
Mass finishing is an industrial process used in various forms to remove material such as, but not limited to, metal from the surface of workpieces. The material is removed by physically contacting the objects with a collection of solid abrasive particles with or without the use of additional chemicals to enhance the process. Mass finishing is used in various forms to smooth-out and to reduce the surface roughness of workpieces. Mass finishing processes are used for finishing the surfaces of objects, particularly, metal workpieces, by physically contacting the objects with a collection of solid particles with or without the use of additional chemicals to enhance the process. Mass finishing machines and methods usually incorporate a motor-driven vibrating container that holds a specialized media along with appropriate chemicals or water that enhance the finishing capability and action of the media.
Mass finishing is used to reduce or eliminate the amount of hand finishing that must be applied to metal articles including articles that are processed for functionality, for example, airplane propellers which are subsequently painted. More examples of such articles include, articles that are to be further plated, for example, with chromium plating such as is commonly used in open-style alloy wheels. Cast wheels have a coarse surface that requires appropriate treatment either to give a final appearance or to prepare the surface for further plating or coating processes. These wheels tend to be difficult to completely finish in conventional media finishing machines before they are suitable either for sale as finished or after plating, painting, or other coating.
Drag finishing has been used for mass finishing. However, the workpieces being processed tend to leave the equivalent of a wake behind them as they are dragged through the media, typically, in a revolving circular pattern. The skewed pattern of the media in the wake keeps the media from presenting itself to the full face of the object being polished (or vice versa) thus, either reducing the quality of the finished part or greatly extending the time required to carry out the finish, or both. It also causes much more power to be used.
Chrome-plated wheels formed of aluminum or alloys are typically difficult to finish because of the openings ("windows") in the wheels which often require much hand finishing. If the wheels are intended to be chrome plated, they tend to take the plating less favorably in the "low current density" area of the wheel. As a result, the chrome plating process can magnify, rather than reduce, the coarse or rough appearance in those areas.
Coarse surfaces require appropriate treatment either to give a final appearance or to prepare the surface for further plating or coating processes. These wheels tend to be difficult to completely finish in conventional media finishing machines, however, usually require several steps of hand polishing and buffing, both before and after any media finishing before they are suitable either for sale as finished or after plating, painting, or other coating. This is labor intensive, time consuming, and expensive.
During finishing, the media wears down with use, the abrasive particles of the media become smaller and smaller until it is just abrasive dust. With wear, pounds of media are lost and make-up must be added. Over time, some of the media is virtually new and as supplied in size, some is just about to be completely consumed, resulting in a steady-state condition where the abrasive media is present in any size.
A typical drag finisher uses a large horsepower drive (typically in a range of 50-100 Hp) for tub rotation and a secondary smaller horsepower drive(s) (a few Hp per station) for customer part rotation about a spindle axis. The media is subject to a water/soap mist of water and spent abrasive media. In order to keep the spent media from fouling the system between processing cycles, the vessel is stopped and vibrated by means of an internally mounted eccentric rotation mass to roll the media in the vessel to counter the natural stratification, and to help drain the resulting slurry from the floor of the vessel through grated openings.
When finishing workpieces in a typical drag finisher, tub rotation drives the media to dam-up in front of the workpiece. This is the primary source of resistance to tub or vessel rotation and, in turn, the primary cause of inefficiency of the current and typical processes. This resistance results from the pressure created when the abrasive media does not flow over and through the workpiece. The media locks and balls up on itself and is pushed around in a circle consuming lots of energy not applied to finishing the workpiece, but wearing against itself and doing little work to the workpiece or the customer's part. The process exhibits a pressure bias towards the surfaces deeper down into the media. Rotation about the spindle axis presents all surfaces on the workpiece equally to the biased media pressure.
As a result of the balling-up, little media finds its way past the workpiece and through the openings in the workpiece and, as a result, the process has a slow gain in improvement of the surface roughness per unit of run time. This is not very economical and reduces throughput. Secondly, the outer edges of the workpiece are cut disproportional and the workpiece loses definition and is cut undersized, while some of the interior faces are not cut enough. Vessel or tub rotation about its axis is such that a tangential media velocity is in the 300-400 feet per minute, measured at the imaginary circle through the center of the workpiece. Workpiece rotation about the spindle axis is in the 5 to 20 rpm range.
If the mass finishing process fails to remove sufficient material or otherwise fails to properly polish the surface, the workpiece generally must be hand finished with small finishing tools. The hand finishing process tends to be labor intensive, relatively slow, and generally expensive. Additionally, the hand finishing will discharge unwanted metals into the ambient surroundings.
Accordingly, a need exists for a mass finishing technique that can successfully and completely finish all of the custom and difficult-shaped portions of certain object such as automobile wheels and do so in a manner that either successfully supports later plating or coating, or that produces a finished workpiece that has little or no need of hand finishing (or of other mechanical finishing such as relatively expensive robotic belting or buffing machines) prior to marketing and use.


In a light emitting device (10) includes a light source (11) which emits near-ultraviolet laser light and a fluorescent member (12) which includes a fluorescent body (13) that is excited by the light emitted from the light source (11) so as to emit light, the fluorescent member (12) includes a substrate (16) which is formed with a highly heat conductive member and a fluorescent body layer (14) in which particles (13d) of the fluorescent body (13) are deposited on the substrate (16).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device that excites a fluorescent body with near-ultraviolet light and emits light.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional light emitting device is disclosed in JP-A-2010-86815. This light emitting device includes a light source and a plurality of fluorescent members. The fluorescent members have fluorescent bodies that are excited by excitation light to emit red light, blue light and green light, respectively, and are provided on a heat transmission member. The light source is formed with a light emitting diode or a laser diode, and emits, as the excitation light, ultraviolet light having a wavelength shorter than the band of the wavelength of the light emitted by the fluorescent bodies. In general, the fluorescent member is formed by dispersing the particles of the fluorescent body into a sealant such as a resin or an inorganic glass.
In the light emitting device configured as described above, the excitation light formed with the ultraviolet light emitted from the light source is applied to the fluorescent members. The fluorescent bodies of the fluorescent members are excited by the excitation light, and thereby emit red light, blue light and green light, respectively. The light emitted from the fluorescent members is combined, and thus intended light is emitted
When a light emitting device is used in an application where illumination light having a high brightness is required, a high-power laser diode can be used as a light source. When excitation light emitted from a light source is not utilized as illumination light, it is preferable to increase the rate of absorbing the excitation light by the fluorescent members and thereby enhance the efficiency of light emission of the fluorescent members.
When the high-power laser diode is used as the light source, the density of excitation of the emitted light is increased, and thus the fluorescent body produces heat. In the conventional fluorescent member described above, the heat produced by the fluorescent body is transmitted though the sealant and is dissipated from a substrate. Here, when the thickness of the sealant of the fluorescent member is increased so as to enhance the rate of absorbing the fluorescent member, and thus a content of the fluorescent member is increased, since the fluorescent body on the emission surface side is separated from the substrate, the heat dissipation of the fluorescent member is disadvantageously degraded. This causes the temperature of the fluorescent body to be increased, and thus the efficiency of light emission is reduced and a light emission portion is degraded. Moreover, since temperature quenching is different according to the type of fluorescent body, variations in chromaticity may occur.
Although, in the conventional fluorescent member described above, the fluorescent member is moved to change the position of application of the excitation light, and thus the increase in the temperature of the fluorescent body is reduced, a drive portion for moving the position of the application is required, with the result that disadvantageously, the consumption power is increased and its configuration is complicated.
On the other hand, since the particles of the fluorescent body are dispersed into the sealant, it is difficult to increase the content of the fluorescent body while the sealant is thin.


The invention provides a device to purify waste water by a two-step procedure containing an electroflotation unit and an electrical disinfection unit integrated into the same overall construction. Characteristic to the construction is that the said two units have a common anode and two individual cathodes which can be in different potentials in respect to the common anode.

Human mankind is encountered with increasing problems of municipal and industrial waste waters which must be purified and reused. Physical, chemical, and biological purification processes have been developed.
Electroflotation and electroflocculation are established and rather commonly used purification methods especially for industrial waste waters. Direct current is applied to achieve decomposition of water to produce hydrogen, oxygen and other gases depending on the inorganic content of water. Electricity causes various secondary reactions in the solutions which affect the solubility of colloidal particles to decrease. They form flocks which are bound to gas bubbles and lifted by the buoyance forces to the surface to form relatively stable flocks (froth) which is then collected. The present state of the art is described, for example, in the publication by Anglada et al. (2009), J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 84:1747-1755.
Purification and microbial disinfection of waste waters are interconnected tasks. Removal of organic load from waste water usually removes also microbes. The allowed amount of microbes or viruses in purified discharge water is very low and water purification enough carefully to attain the microbial purity is rarely economical. Therefore, microbial residues may need to be disinfected.
When the treated water is released to the natural water circulation, it almost always still contains microbes, particles, and chemicals interfering with the natural habitats. The risk of infections by micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, prions, and algae is still high. They may have survived through the purification process or even been propagated in the process itself. Pathogens may cause aberrations in the ecosystems although they will not directly infect humans. The possible harmful effects largely depend on the climatic and soil/drainage basin conditions of the waste discharge environment. However, even occasional infections may be harmful and it needs to secure that the discharge liquids are microbiologically safe by applying disinfection.
The disinfection of contaminated waters can be divided into chemical and physical techniques. The chemical ones include treatment with active chlorine compounds. Ozone is popular in disinfection of drinking water. Various methods to produce ozone and chlorine gas or compounds which release them are in use. Chemical methods have the drawback of yielding residues of unnatural chemicals and their reaction products, in addition to the high costs and difficulties in controlled dosing.
Many disinfection methods deploy ultraviolet (UV) radiation to kill microbes. A drawback is its low effectivity and high selectivity to only certain organisms, and the poor penetration of the UV radiation in water, especially in turbid solutions. A further problem is the fouling of the radiation surfaces that demands their constant cleaning. High voltage electric pulses of kV range kill microbes by causing small pores in cell membranes that allows cell contents to leak out. It is evident that different microbes have largely different sensitivities to the electricity. Applying of the high voltages is limited to spaces closed from the public.
Low-voltage direct current has been deployed for disinfection of waste waters in various formats. The most popular is in situ production of oxidative chlorine compounds from concentrated NaCl solutions exemplified by publication WO 2012 170774 A1 (Lumetta M.). The chlorine gases from anode are introduced to water to be disinfected. The gases contain also other disinfecting compounds like reactive oxygen, ozone, alkali and acids. The electrodes may include semipermeable membranes or porous filters so that gases at anode and cathode do not mix as exemplified by publication by Baichen W., CN1075699A. In situ production of disinfection gases has the advantage of production of poisonous chemicals without need of their storage and transport. The main disadvantage of the in situ processes is the use of semipermeable membranes which tend to clog and must be regularly cleaned and/or changed.
The electrochemical cathode reactions produce basic hydroxyl ions and molecular hydrogen. The hydrogen is generated about 0.4 liter (NTP) per Ah. The hydrogen formation is less useful for the disinfection while it is important for obtaining the flotation effect. US 2004/0031761 (M. Blaschke et al.) describes a device without cathodic hydrogen evolution. In proper conditions the reduction power at cathode can be transformed to hydrogen peroxide formation which may be used as a disinfectant. The method is, however, too complex for wider use.
The electric disinfection systems have been tested in various electrolysis chambers including additional walls or not. A classification of different prior art cells is described in FIG. 3 by Angala, A. et al. (2009) J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 84:1747-1755.
Anodic corrosion is a serious problem in electroflotation, as well as, in the disinfection systems. It can be diminished by specific coatings of the electrodes, like boron-doped diamond on titanium or stainless steel as described by V. Schmalz in Water Research 43:2009, pp. 5260-5266. Such anode coatings have been considered to provide higher organic oxidation rates and greater current efficiencies than other commonly used metal oxides like PbO2 and Ti/SnO2—Sb2 O5. High current density increases the generation of electrochemical oxidants. The specific coatings of the electrodes provide relatively limited benefits considering the increased costs of the electrodes. Titan anode was coated with nanocatalytic TiO2 of 10-35 nm thickness by S. Zhang (WO2012088867 A1). Because of the stability of the grainy nano-coating is dependent on the polarity of the electrode, the polarity cannot obviously be changed to prevent the clogging of electrodes which makes a drawback in the said invention. Clogging is a general serious drawback in the use of such coatings.
Electrode corrosion is also exploited in waste water purification. When corroding (synonyms: reactive, dissolving, consumable, sacrificed etc.) electrodes are exploited in a flotation device construction, the purpose is to produce coagulating metal ions (e.g. of Fe, Al, Mg). This has advantage of unnecessity to add them whereas a very serious drawback is that the control of the process is lost since the amount of metal dissolution and the relative gas evolution cannot be optimized. Limitations to change polarity are also met. Reactive electrodes have been, however, described with different constructions in the context of flotation devices exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 7,914,662 B" (2011) by Robinson, V. N. E. The publication describes Al or Fe reactive anodes with inert cathode. US 2012/0186992 (Barrack, A.) describes corroding electrodes which additionally contain strong agitation of the fluid to force flocculating materials to meet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,247 (Stralser, B. J., 1976) exploits multiple of electrodes which are not electrically connected to a DC power supply except the outer and inner electrodes. The essential physical effect of the inner metal plates is to act as barriers to force waste water to flow up to down and cause mixing which may aid in electroflocculation.
Especially serious hindrance for adoption of electric technologies in waste water purification is the technical realization of convenient and long-life maintenance-free equipment. The primary problems arise from electrode corrosion and electrode passivation by deposition of materials on the electrodes. When considering the overall economy, usual low-corrosion anode materials, like titanium and stainless steel may be optimal if the corroded electrodes can be easily serviced, i.e. changed and/or cleaned.
The present invention exploits the low voltage electricity techniques but avoids the above-described drawbacks by using a novel integrated construction for flotation and disinfection device. The buoyance force of electro-generated gas bubbles are arranged to take an optimal role in liquid flow to up and down while the construction remains simple and allows an easy service and easy removal of the corroding parts.

Construction of devices for purification and disinfection of waste water with electrical current


A refrigerated icebox employs a cabinet that is internally corrugated to provide a multiplicity of lengthwise channels for air flow within the enclosure defined. The cabinet has a top wall that is provided with an opening to accommodate a drop-in refrigeration unit, and it is, in the main, integrally formed as a single piece.

It is now common practice to merchandise blocks of ice, and ice cubes in bulk packaged form, from free-standing refrigerated cabinets. Presently available systems for doing so are not however of optimal design or construction, from a number of standpoints.
More particularly, it is of course desirable that refrigeration be achieved in any such system in a highly efficient and reliable manner. The cabinet employed must not only contribute to that function but should also be capable of a relatively facile and economic manufacture, and economic transport and ready installation are highly significant commercial factors as well.


An object of the present invention is to provide an electrostatic image developing toner containing toner mother particles, wherein the toner mother particle is formed by being provided with a plurality of convex portions on a toner mother particle precursor; the toner mother particle precursor contains a vinyl resin, a crystalline resin, and a mold release agent; the convex portion is formed with a hybrid amorphous polyester resin which is formed with a vinyl type polymerization segment and a polyester type polymerization segment both bonded together; and the hybrid amorphous polyester resin contains constituting units of a bisphenol A-propylene oxide adduct and a bisphenol A-ethylene oxide adduct.

In the past, it has been required to obtain a copying machine of achieving high speed and energy saving. It has been developed an electrostatic image developing toner (hereafter, it may be simply called as "a toner") excellent in low-temperature fixing property for that purpose. With respect to this kind of toner, it is required to decrease the melting point or the melt viscosity of the binder resin, and it was proposed a toner that improved low-temperature fixing property by adding a crystalline resin such as a crystalline polyester resin (refer to Patent document 1: JP-A 2008-40319, for example).
At this moment, it was also proposed to make toner mother particles to have a core-shell structure and to avoid the presence of the crystalline resin on the surface of the toner mother particles. However, due to the compatibility of the crystalline resin and the shell, there were produced deterioration of thermal storage property, and deterioration of toner fluidity caused by increased adhering property. Further, by uniformly forming a shell layer that is difficult to melt than the core particle, the wax became difficult to reach the toner surface. As a result, the fixing belt separation property of the thin paler became insufficient especially at high speed fixing.
On the other hand, from the viewpoint of cleaning property, developability, and transferability, it was proposed a technology of forming a convex portion on the surface of the toner mother particles by using a vinyl modified polyester resin (refer to Patent document 2: JP-A 2014-02309, for example). However, the property of the toner was insufficient as the toner containing the crystalline resin.

Electrostatic image developing toner and production method of electrostatic image developing toner


A system for removing paint, varnish and the like which comprises: a stripper composition including an aliphatic dibasic acid ester, N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone, and an ingredient selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether and a combination thereof. The composition may include propylene glycol and an acrylic polymer (or latex paint), either acetic acid or monoethanolamine, a surfactant and a thickening agent. In addition, the system includes an extender. The system may further include a laminated cover which comprises paper coated with polyethylene or wax.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a paint system for stripping or otherwise removing one or more layers of cured coats of paint, varnish or the like from a surface which system utilizes environmentally safe chemicals that have an efficient rheology identical to that of paint. The present invention, more particularly, relates to such a system which has safer effective chemicals and greatly improved rheology to ensure even application.
It is well known in the art to remove or otherwise strip cured coatings of paint, varnish or the like chemically from surfaces by treating the coated surfaces with a stripper system or composition that includes volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as methylene chloride, or strong alkaline, such as sodium hydroxide. Commercially available paint stripper compositions contain these ingredients or chemicals. While such ingredients provide effective paint stripping capabilities, their use presents problems for the environment.
Specifically, methylene chloride is a suspected carcingenic. Therefore, full protective clothing and breathing equipment is recommended when methylene chloride is used, especially in a confined area. Furthermore, the rapid evaporation of methylene chloride limits the dwell time, and thus the number of coats that can be removed in one application. Accordingly, this increases the amount of labor and material costs when removing multiple coats of paint. Also, certain surfaces, such as fiber glass, can be damaged by using paint removers containing methylene chloride.
It is believed that heretofore all types of chemical paint removers suffer from one serious drawback, that is the inability of the user to ensure an exactly even coating of the stripper composition so essential to an even paint strip, since an uneven strip requires further applications to remove all the paint.
While sodium hydroxide in a paint remover composition does not produce toxic fumes, it can cause serious burns on unprotected skin. Also, sodium hydroxide needs to be used in an alkaline water based system, therefore it will darken certain woods and, in addition, treated surfaces will need neutralizing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,627 to Michael I. D. Brailsford, the inventor of the present invention, issued on Apr. 1, 1986. This patent, which is directed to a Paste Stripper System for Surfaces, provides a stripper composition system which uses methylene chloride in an amount between about 15 to 85 percent by weight of the total stripper composition. This patent also provides for the use of cover means to remove stripped paint.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,185 to Mitsuo Toyama, et al., issued on Apr. 13, 1976 and is titled Film Removing Compositions. This patent is directed to compositions which include at least one halogenated hydrocarbon solvent selected from a group including methylene chloride.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,250 also to Michael I.D. Brailsford, the inventor of the present invention, issued on Jan. 17, 1984. This patent, which is titled Stripper System for Surfaces, provides a stripper composition system which includes a one alkaline material, such as sodium hydroxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,581,413 to Raymond M. Yoakam, which issued on Apr. 20, 1926, is titled Paint and Varnish Removing Composition. This patent is directed to a composition for removing paint and varnish which composition contains eleven and one-eight ounces of sodium hydroxide.
There is commercially available from 3M a product called "Safest Stripper" for removing paint or vanish. This product includes a dibasic ester and aluminum silicate which is not found in the present system. Further, this product does not contain the N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone of the present system.

Dorton Hill House, Chilton, Nr. Aylesbury