An improved technique is provided for forming coal into a stabilized coal-oil mixture. Coal, in a fine mesh size, is admixed with oil, a monomeric compound, a reaction initiator and a reaction catalyst at elevated temperatures and under a condition of low shear. The coal mixture is thereafter immediately subjected to a condition of high shear at the maintained elevated temperature. The mixture is then admixed with a gelling agent to form a stable coal-oil mixture. According to the technique, coal of significantly greater water content than heretofore thought acceptable, is formed to a stable coal-oil mixture in a ready manner. In addition, the amount of monomeric compound heretofore thought needed to form the desired stable mixture is substantially reduced, resulting in improved process efficiency.. In its preferred aspect, the process is adapted to treat raw coal which has first been subjected to pulverization, chemical surface treatment, separation from ash and sulfur, and drying. The raw coal thus processed is thereafter formed into the coal-oil mixture in the form of a stable mixture using the described technique.

Coal is a most valuable form of energy. It is estimated that in the United States there is more energy available in coal than in petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, and tar sands combined. Recent energy shortages, together with the availability of abundant coal reserves and the continuing uncertainties in the availability of crude oil, have made it imperative that methods for converting coal into a more useful energy source be developed.
A number of methods are being explored for this purpose. One such method employs gasification techniques, such as destructive distillation, to effect the conversion of coal to a low or medium Btu gas. In another method, high pressure hydrogenation is utilized to liquefy the coal, making it more suitable for transport and burning. In still another more recently developed technique, termed the "chemical surface treatment" method, raw coal is pulverized to a fine mesh size and is chemically treated to treat the surface of the coal with a monomeric compound in the presence of chemical initiators and catalyst. According to the "chemical surface treatment" method the treated coal is then immediately separated from ash and sulfur and cleaned coal is recovered or, alternatively, formed into a liquid mixture, such as a coal-oil mixture. The coal-oil mixture is thereafter treated with additional materials and a stabilizing agent to form a gel or thixotropic mixture, thereby providing a clean or relatively clean stable composition ready for transport, storage, burning or further processing.
Among the many advantages of the chemical surface treatment method are that severe process conditions of, e.g., temperature and pressure, are avoided. In addition, the method achieves high separations of ash and sulfur using cleaning water, without significantly reducing the Btu value of the coal, a problem usually encountered when cleaning fine size coal with cleaning water, that is, the loss of coal in the cleaning water and the retention of water in the product coal. As a further advantage, the process is readily adapted for use at locations near or at the mine site, making it particularly suitable for reducing the transportation difficulties normally associated with coal processing.
In U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 114,357 and 114,414, each filed Jan. 22, 1980, and in U.S. Government Report No. 2694 titled "Fuel Extension by Dispersion of Clean Coal in Fuel Oil", all incorporated herein by reference, the above-described chemical surface treatment technique is disclosed for forming coal into a coal-oil mixture. In summary, according to the chemical treatment method, coal is first cleaned of rock and the like and pulverized to a fine size of about 48 to 300 mesh. The pulverized coal, now in the form of a water slurry, is then treated with a monomeric compound, usually in the presence of a liquid organic carrier, a reaction initiator and a reaction catalyst. The chemical treatment of the coal is adapted to make the coal both hydrophobic and oleophilic. Coal particles so treated are readily separated from unwanted ash and sulfur using oil and water separation techniques. The coal, which is now substantially cleaned of ash and sulfur, is then dried to a water content level suitable for further processing or recovery. The dried coal is thereafter formed into a coal-oil mixture, where it is again subjected to a chemical surface treatment using additional additives. The coal-oil mixture is thereafter treated with a gelling agent to form the coal-oil mixture in the form a stable gel or thixotropic mixture.
The coal-oil mixture product thus produced is advantageously non-settling and enjoys a dispersion stability normally difficult to achieve and maintain without frequent stirring, the addition of further additives or an inordinate amount of fine grinding. In addition, the mixture thus formed is thixotropic, allowing for ready pumpability on subjection to shearing or pumping forces.
It will be seen that the chemical surface treatment technique offers considerable advantages in providing coal as a useful energy source. Although the technique is attractive, however, it would be highly desirable that improvements be developed to make the process even more advantageous. For example, it would be highly desirable that the amount of drying which the cleaned coal is subjected to prior to forming the coal-oil mixture could be reduced, without adversely affecting the gel forming process. Such a decrease in drying would significantly improve the overall efficiency of the process, and advantageously would reduce or eliminate the need for burdensome and expensive drying equipment, such as large scale thermal dryers. Thermal drying equipment, e.g., is both unduly expensive and time consuming for large scale coal operations. The need for its use could seriously detract from the attractiveness of the process.
It would also be highly desirable to reduce the amount of monomeric compound utilized to form the coal-oil mixture. A reduction of this reactant would minimize the amounts of processing equipment and treatment time needed and would also reduce the need for undue amounts of raw materials other than coal, making the process even more attractive.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide stable coal-oil mixtures and methods for forming coal-oil mixtures.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for forming coal-oil mixtures in gel or thixotropic form, using coal of high water content.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a method for forming coal-oil mixtures in gel or thixotropic form, using lesser amounts of gelling agents than heretofore thought necessary to form stable mixtures.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for forming stable coal-oil mixtures using coal of high water content, less drying and less reactant materials, which technique would be readily integrated into an overall process for converting raw coal into a stable coal-oil mixture.
These and other objects will become apparent from the following summary of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying detailed description and drawing figures.

Process for forming coal-oil mixtures under selected conditions of temperature and shear


A computer-implemented method, computer program product, and system for detecting anomalous behavior of computing devices are provided. The computer-implemented method for detecting anomalous behavior of computing devices may include establishing a network of computing devices; receiving shared data from the networked devices; determining device behavior; predicting future device behavior, detecting anomalous device behavior, and sending an alert in response to a detection of anomalous device behavior.

The present invention generally relates to mobile device security, and more particularly to the security of mobile devices using device behavior.
Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops have become an integral part of our personal life, and more recently, our work environment. Many people use their smartphone or tablet to access corporate or government email and calendars, or run enterprise applications.
To mitigate theft/compromise risks, government agencies, corporations and defense forces invest significant money and resources in securing their property. Some resources include video surveillance, security personnel, and identification checkpoints. At the same time, mobile devices are pervasive. Some devices are equipped with powerful sensors, such as a camera, microphone, gyro, GPS, accelerometer and touch-screen readers. Mobile devices provide excellent coverage of spaces of interest, and they are mobilized around the sensitive areas by people. To a large degree, the mobile devices within the premises of an enterprise satisfy a trust relation. More specifically, it can be statistically safe to assume that nearby devices are to be trusted for the purpose of collaboratively mining and calibrating sensor data.

Crowd based detection of device compromise in enterprise setting

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A cooling medium accumulation part is integrally formed with a spindle housing and an attaching section between the spindle housing and the attaching section so that at least a width of the cooling medium accumulation part in a direction perpendicular to the spindle is wider than a width of the motor accommodation section in a virtual projection plane obtained by projecting the cooling medium accumulation part in a direction from the spindle housing to the attaching section. A straight oil supply through-holes communicating the cooling medium accumulation part and the cooling passages are formed in a side wall part of the spindle housing.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a spindle apparatus for a machine tool, and more specifically relates to an improvement of a cooling structure for cooling a periphery of a motor which rotatably drives a spindle.
Description of the Related Art
The following description of related art sets forth the inventors' knowledge of related art and certain problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
A spindle apparatus of this kind is provided with a cooling structure for cooling a periphery of a motor to avoid adverse influences to processing precision due to heat generation of a motor which rotatably drives a spindle. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-48087 (Patent Document 1), a ventilation fan is provided in an upper opening of a headstock to suck air around a bed through an air inlet of the bed and discharge it upward through the upper opening by passing the air through a cooling space surrounding a stator via a lower opening of a headstock fixing section.
In the meantime, it is generally difficult to integrally form a headstock having a motor accommodation section and a cooling medium accumulation part so as to include cooling passages for cooling a motor. For this reason, in the cooling structure of Patent Document 1, the headstock fixing section having a lower opening and a headstock main body having a cooling space are produced separately and then assembled. This causes a problem that the production cost arises.
Further, in the conventional structure of Patent Document 1, air is sucked from an air suction opening of a bed and discharged upward from the upper opening by passing from the lower opening of the headstock fixing section through a cooling space surrounding the stator. In other words, a cooling fluid is merely moved upward from the lower section of the headstock. Therefore, the supply quantity of the cooling fluid tends to become uneven especially in the axial direction of the motor. This raises a concern that the periphery of the motor cannot be cooled evenly.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. For example, certain features of the preferred described embodiments of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages and/or providing certain advantages, such as, e.g., disadvantages and/or advantages discussed herein, while retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.


Cyanine dyes are disclosed having a nucleus of the formula: ##STR1## wherein; A and B are independently selected from the group consisting of heterocyclic ring nuclei and heterocyclic fused ring nuclei so as to complete a cyanine dye,. m and n independently have values of 0, 1, 2 or 3 with the proviso that 2.ltoreq.m+n.ltoreq.4, PA0 R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups and aryl groups, each of which groups may be substituted, and PA0 Q represents those non-metallic atoms necessary to complete a nucleus selected from the group consisting of heterocyclic ring nuclei, carbocyclic ring nuclei, heterocyclic fused ring nuclei and carbocyclic fused ring nuclei.. The cyanine dyes of formula (I) may be used to spectrally sensitise silver halide grains to radiation in the wavelength range from 650 nm upwards, especially 700 to 850 nm, to provide infrared-sensitive, silver halide photographic materials which are particularly suitable for use with electronically modulated exposure sources, such as lasers and light emitting diodes.

At present there is a great need for a method of producing hard copies of electronically stored information using electronically modulated exposure sources such as lasers, laser diodes and light emitting diodes. As many of these devices produce radiation in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared sensitive recording materials are required for imaging.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,955,939 and 4,581,325 disclose the use of meso-substituted cyanine dyes incorporating a barbituric acid substituent and a five membered bridging moiety on the methine chain, as spectral sensitisers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,552,974 and 3,623,881 disclose the use of meso-amino substituted bridged chain heptamethine cyanine dyes as spectral sensitisers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,463 and British Patent No. 1565593 disclose the use of meso-substituted trimethine cyanine dyes incorporating a nitroalkyl group as thermally bleachable antihalation dyes in Dry Silver materials. However, the dyes are not known as spectral sensitisers and appear to desensitise the material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,487 and British Patent No. 1058116 disclose the use of merocyanine dyes incorporating a nitro-alkane end group as thermally bleached acutance dyes in Dry Silver materials.
European Patent No 288261 discloses a number of examples of cyanine dyes for use as sensitisers in the infrared region of the spectrum. In particular a cyanine dye is disclosed comprising a heptamethine chain bridged across its three central carbon atoms by a saturated fragment which completes a five or six membered ring. Furthermore the central atom of the heptamethine chain may have a substituent such as a halogen atom, substituted amino group or a ketomethylene moiety of the type known to the art of merocyanine and oxonol dye synthesis.
The prior art discloses the use of meso-substituted trimethine cyanine dyes incorporating nitroalkyl groups and merocyanine dyes incorporating nitroalkyl end groups for use as thermally bleachable anti-halation dyes in photothermographic material. However, such dyes are not known as spectral sensitisers in conventional silver halide photographic materials.
U.S. Pat. No 2,955,939 discloses the electron withdrawing meso-substituents on heptamethine cyanine dyes such as chloro, amino, barbituric acid and dicyanomethylene groups and they are stated to be good spectral sensitisers. However, cyanine dyes for use in spectral sensitisation of photographic materials almost invariably do not contain nitro substituents and generally their incorporation into a cyanine dye molecule, especially as a ring substituent, causes a decrease in the spectral sensitising ability of the dye and in some cases produces a desensitising dye, e.g., PINAKRYPTOL YELLOW.

Infra-red sensitive photographic materials

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


Contemplated configurations and methods use first and second precoolers, preferably in alternating operation, to provide a combustion turbine with air at a temperature of 50° F., and more typically less than 32° F. and most typically less than 0° F. In such configurations and methods it is generally preferred that a heat transfer fluid circuit provides both, heated and cooled heat transfer fluid to thereby allow cooling and deicing of the precoolers. Most preferably, refrigeration is provided from an LNG regasification unit to form the cooled heat transfer fluid while heat from a power cycle (e.g., from surface condenser) is used to form the heated heat transfer fluid.

LNG has recently gained significant attention as an alternative clean energy source as the cost of crude oil has reached historic highs. Thus, it is not surprising that global consumption of natural gas is projected to increase substantially in the coming years, and that the anticipated demand may not be met by domestic production. Natural gas shortage is further compounded by the retirement of older power plants and replacement with more efficient combined cycle power plants. To satisfy at least part of the increasing LNG demand, various LNG import terminals are being developed in North America, and existing facilities are expanded to accommodate a higher LNG throughput.
Use of LNG in a power plant as a fuel typically requires that the LNG is vaporized before combustion. Unfortunately, vaporization is an energy intensive process and typically requires a heat duty representing about 2 to 3% of the energy content in the LNG. While conventional LNG regasification facilities typically require an external heat source (e.g., seawater heater), the heat for vaporization may also be provided by a combustion process in a synergistic manner. For example, the vaporized LNG in an LNG regasification facility can be used to fuel a power plant, eliminating gas pipeline transmission costs, while the waste heat from the power plant can supply the heating duty of LNG. Thus, there are economic incentives to locate a power plant close to an LNG regasification terminal.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,036,028 and 4,231,226 to Mandrin and Griepentrog, respectively, describe integration of a power plant with LNG regasification. Similar plants are reported in published U.S. Pat. App. No. 2003/0005698 and WO 02/097252 to Keller, U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,591, WO 96/38656, WO 95/16105, EP 0828925, and EP 0683847 to Johnson et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,258 and WO 01/07765 to Wen et al. Further substantially similar configurations are described in EP 0009387 to Mak or EP 0605159 to Tomlinson et al. In such known configurations, heat for regasification of LNG is provided by a heat exchange fluid, which is in thermal exchange with gas turbine intake, flue gas exhaust, and/or a working fluid of a power cycle. Such configurations are thought to improve the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle (Brayton cycle) by densifying the inlet air, thereby increasing its power output and efficiency. However, these processes are typically limited to cool the intake air to 40° F. (or higher) to avoid water freezing of the intake air.
Recently, various new configurations have been proposed that recover power at the LNG receiving terminal in which LNG is used as a heat sink for power generation, and/or as fuel to a power plant as described in our copending International patent applications with the serial numbers PCT/US03/25372 (published as WO 2004/109206) and PCT/US03/26805 (published as WO 2004/109180), and U.S. provisional patent application having Ser. No. 60/588,275, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
It should be noted that while some of the above configurations provide benefits of reducing fuel consumption in LNG regasification using heat derived from gas turbine exhaust, the gain in power generation efficiencies is often not significant. Still further, and among yet other difficulties, heat transfer in some of these configurations is often limited by the freezing of water. Moreover, dislodging of ice particles from the turbine inlet tends to damage the gas turbine and disrupts power generation. Moreover, while the currently known gas turbine air pre-cool methods improve power generation efficiencies in hot climate regions (e.g., in the tropics or sub-tropics), they are often not suitable to colder climate regions (e.g., northeastern parts of North America). Even in relatively hot climate, such configurations provide efficiency benefits only in the summer months, with decreasing benefits in the winter seasons. Worse yet, in some cases operation of these units must be discontinued when the ambient temperatures drop below 40° F. to avoid water freezing at the air intake.
Therefore, while numerous processes and configurations for power plants with LNG utilization and/or regasification are known in the art, all of almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Thus, there is still a need to provide improved configurations and methods for power plants with LNG utilization and regasification.

Configurations and methods for LNG fueled power plants


A piston, especially a cooling channel piston of an internal combustion engine, has an upper part and a lower part which can be produced separately from each other and subsequently be assembled. The upper part has at least three radially peripheral joining webs and the lower part likewise at least three radially peripheral joining webs. During assembly, the webs are put together and connect the upper part firmly to the lower part.

The invention relates to a piston, especially a cooling channel piston, of an internal combustion engine.
A cooling channel piston of an internal combustion engine is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,157 which consists of exactly two parts. These parts are an upper part which has a radially peripheral ring zone and a piston head combustion bowl. A lower part is provided as a second part which accommodates the piston skirt and the piston-pin bore. At the lower edge of the ring zone and at the lowest apex of the piston head combustion bowl there are two radially peripheral joining webs on the upper part which correspond in position and extension to two joining webs on the lower part. These two parts, which can be manufactured separately from each other, are solidly joined to each other by means of a joining process which is a friction-welding process. Afterwards, a single-piece cooling channel piston is provided which can be installed into the internal combustion engine, if necessary after it has been fine machined.
In this cooling channel piston known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,157 both the upper part and the lower part are shaped such that after the joining process, together with the mating joining points, they form a cooling channel lying behind the ring zone to circulate cooling medium. To this end, it is necessary to place the inward lying joining point very close to the outward lying joining point which is located in the vicinity of the ring zone so that the cooling channel in the piston head can be formed thereby. However, this has the disadvantage that support for the piston head can no longer be optimally ensured, in particular with respect to the injection and ignition pressures found in modern internal combustion engines.
Therefore, it is desirable to refine a generic piston, specifically a cooling channel piston, in such way that it has improved properties with respect to its strength and long-term stability.

Piston, especially cooling channel piston, comprising three friction-welded zones


The invention relates to dipole and monopole loops with a much shortened emitter relative to the theoretical length thereof and electrically extended at the ends thereof by non-emitting conductor pieces.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dipole loop (folded dipole) or monopole loop.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dipole loop or folded dipole consists of two closely adjacent lambda/2 dipoles, connected at the ends, but only one of which is fed. The same current direction is set on the dipoles. Both dipoles support one another in their action. By means of different thicknesses of the two dipoles the input impedance can be influenced via transformatory effects. A so-called monopole loop, which can be interpreted as a half dipole loop on a conducting plane and consists of two lamda/4 long dipoles, which again are arranged closely adjacent and are connected to one another at the upper end, acts on the same principle. Dipole or monopole loops of this kind on a conducting plane are used as transmitting and receiving aerials in the short- and ultra-short-wave range in various embodiments.
Radio operation is also carried out in the so-called threshold wave range in amateur and also military radio. The lowest practical frequency is approximately 1.5 MHz, which corresponds to a wavelength of just under 200 meters. A conventional lambda/2 aerial would consequently have a length of approximately 100 meters, the implementation of which as a horizontal or vertical aerial means a considerable mechanical outlay. It is known to shorten such aerials mechanically with respect to their theoretical length and to balance the associated disadvantage in efficiency by suitable measures, such as roof capacities and/or series inductivities, but these known solutions also require a further considerable outlay, especially with, an aerial in multi-band operation.


Disclosed is a fuel cell stack which includes: a cell assembly formed of stacked unit cells, each composed of a membrane electrolyte assembly and separators which sandwich the membrane electrolyte assembly; a pair of collector plates A and B which sandwiches the cell assembly; a pair of end plates A and B which sandwiches the cell assembly and the collector plates; and an elastic member disposed between end plate A and collector plate A, wherein end plate A has a convexed portion and a concaved portion on a surface facing collector plate A, and the concaved portion of end plate A holds therein the elastic member, and a bottom surface of the concaved portion includes a second convexed portion and a second concaved portion.

A fuel cell stack is a stack of fuel cells (unit cells), each consisting of a membrane electrode assembly (hereinafter also referred to as "MEA") and a pair of separators sandwiching the MEA. The MEA includes a polymer electrolyte membrane and a pair of catalyst electrodes which sandwiches the polymer electrolyte membrane.
The polymer electrolyte membrane is composed of an electrolyte which contains a polymer ion-exchange membrane or the like, such as a sulfonic acid group-containing fluorine resin ion-exchange membrane or hydrocarbon resin ion-exchange membrane.
The catalyst electrode is composed of a catalyst layer that promotes a redox reaction therein and of a gas diffusion layer having both air permeability and electric conductivity. The catalyst layer is in contact with the polymer electrolyte membrane. The gas diffusion layer is composed of a carbon coat layer for improving adhesion to the catalyst layer and of a gas diffusion base layer through which a gas supplied from an external source is allowed to diffuse to the catalyst layer. The catalyst layer for the fuel electrode contains, for example, platinum or platinum-ruthenium alloy, and the catalyst layer for the air electrode contains, for example, platinum or platinum-cobalt alloy.
The separator is a conductive member for avoiding mixing of a fuel gas to be supplied to the fuel and an oxidizing gas to be supplied to the air electrode.
In a fuel cell stack, unit cells can be electrically connected in series by stacking them on top of each other. Such a fuel cell stack further includes end plates for sandwiching the cell assembly (see, e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2). In some cases, in order to apply a uniform load to the cell assembly, a spring module (see, e.g., Patent Documents 3 and 4) or an elastic member (see, e.g., Patent Documents 5 and 6) is disposed between the cell assembly and the end plate.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of fuel cell stack 1 described in Patent Document 6. As illustrated in FIG. 1, fuel cell stack 1 disclosed by Patent Document 6 includes cell assembly 12, pressure plates 2 and 8 which sandwich cell assembly 12, and end plate 20. Elastic members 19 are disposed between end plate 20 and pressure plate 2.
The pressure plates are made electrically conductive on their surface which faces cell assembly 12, with the other surfaces being made insulating. Elastic members 19 are each held by concaved portion 9 formed in end plate 20 and by concaved portion 7 formed in collector plate 2.
Electric energy can be extracted by supplying a fuel gas (hydrogen is contained) and an oxidizing gas (oxygen is contained) to the respective unit cells of a fuel cell stack configured as described above. The following describes chemical reactions that occur by supplying a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas to the unit cells.
Hydrogen molecules supplied to the fuel electrode are split into hydrogen ions and electrons in the catalyst layer. The hydrogen ions migrate through the humidified polymer electrolyte membrane to the air electrode side. On the other hand, the electrons migrate through an external circuit to the air electrode to which oxidizing gas is supplied. The electrons migrating through the external circuit can be utilized as electric energy. In the catalyst layer of the air electrode, hydrogen ions from the polymer electrolyte membrane, electrons from the external circuit, and oxygen supplied to the air electrode are reacted together to form water. In addition, heat is generated during the reaction.
By supplying a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas to fuel cells in this way, it is possible to obtain electric energy and thermal energy at the same time. This allows fuel cell stacks to be used as a household co-generation system that requires both power generation and hot-water supply (see, e.g., Patent Document 7). In household co-generation systems, heat generated during power generation is recovered using a coolant that is caused to flow through channels formed in the separators. The recovered heat is stored in a hot-water storage tank for subsequent utilization as thermal energy.
In addition, technologies are known in which the cell assembly-side surface of end plates are concaved or convexed for the purpose of facilitating temperature adjustment of the fuel cell stack during operation (see, e.g., Patent Document 8).                [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-123114        [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-203553        [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-288618        [Patent Document 4] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0277012        [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-257865        [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-179220        [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-293996        [Patent Document 8] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0090122


The invention provides for a method of and means for supporting the packing in an evaporative cooling tower in which the packing includes packing elements, each of which is suspended at its central region by means of a wire hanger. The packing element includes spaced splash ribs and the elements are vertically arranged offset from each other so that in plan view the packing presents an uninterrupted surface.

This invention relates to improvements in or relating to cooling towers. The invention relates in particular to a method of and means for supporting the packing in wet cooling towers in which a heated liquid is cooled evaporatively by natural or induced air flow. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of and means for supporting a packing which is of a modular configuration and comprises a plurality of packing elements.
According to the invention there is provided a method of supporting a packing element of a packing of an evaporative cooling tower, the method including the step of suspending the element at a central region of the element.
The packing may be of the splash pack type, which splits and diffuses a spray of heated liquid into smaller droplets and the packing element is adapted to split and diffuse the spray of liquid into smaller droplets.
The splash pack comprises a plurality of splash elements or splash ribs, each having splash surfaces which may consist of a variety of forms such as grids, bars, rods or slats, and may consist of a variety of materials such as synthetic plastics materials or timber.
The method may include suspending the packing element by means of a support formation provided thereon. Still further the method may include suspending the packing element by means of a tensile element in the form of a wire hanger having hooked ends, one of the hooked ends being engageable with the support formation.
The packing element may have an elongate splash member and has a first support formation on one side, and a second support formation on the other side of the splash member, and the packing element is suspended by means of either the first or the second support formation.
Further according to the invention there is provided a method of constructing a packing of an evaporative cooling tower, including suspending packing elements from one another at central regions of the packing elements.
The packing may be of the splash pack type comprising several vertically spaced layers of packing elements.
In order to obtain optimum splitting efficiency, it is desirable that the splash ribs in the packing elements should not be vertically aligned in successive layers in order to ensure that droplets which do not splash on the splash ribs in one layer of elements will fall onto the splash ribs in a lower layer of elements.
Accordingly, the method may include arranging the packing elements in successive layers in the splash pack so that splash members of the packing elements in vertically successive layers are horizontally off-set from each other.
Thus, in plan view, several layers of splash elements will present an unbroken surface without any openings.
Each packing element may have a first support formation on one side of its splash member and a second support formation on the other side of its splash member, and the packing elements in two vertically spaced layers are suspended by means of different support formations such that the splash members in two vertically spaced layers are horizontally off-set from each other.
The first support formations may be adjacent their splash members and the second support formations are spaced a distance from their splash members, and which includes turning the elements through 180 degrees after the second layer and then again suspending the elements at alternative support formations in the central region of the elements in a third and a fourth layer of elements, so that all four layers are horizontally offset from each other.
The second support formations may be spaced from their splash members a distance equal to the thickness of the splash members such that the packing elements in successive layers are horizontally offset from each other by a distance equal to the width of one splash member so that in the four layers the elements will be off-set in the first and the fourth layers by four splash member widths.
Each packing element may have a plurality of splash members all of the same width and separated from each other a distance equal to four times their width.
Each packing element may further have a plurality of spaced-apart splash members with one of the splash members of each element being centrally located, the packing elements being suspended at central regions of the central splash members.
Further according to the invention there is provided a packing element for an evaporative cooling tower, the element having a support formation at a central region of the element by means of which the element can be suspended at the central region of the element.
The packing may be of the splash pack type, which is adapted to split and diffuse a spray of heated liquid into smaller droplets, the packing element having one or more splash member for splitting and diffusing the spray of heated liquid into smaller droplets.
The packing element may be suspendable by means of a tensile element in the form of a wire hanger having hooked ends, one of the hooked ends being engageable with the support formation.
More than one support formation may be included at the central region of the packing element, the support formations being spaced from each other.
The packing element may have a centrally located splash member, a first support formation on one side of the centrally located splash member, and a second support formation on the other side of the centrally located splash member.
The first support formation may be adjacent the centrally located splash member, and the second support formation may be spaced from the centrally located splash member a distance equal to its width.
The packing element may be a panel moulded of a synthetic plastics material.
The panel may be rectangular and may have a surrounding rib and two sets of ribs extending at right angles to each other between the surrounding rib. The two sets of ribs may be diagonally oriented.
By extending diagonally across the packing element, the splash ribs together with the surrounding rib provide a convenient orientation feature for orienting the packing elements during assembly.
Conveniently, one corner of the surrounding rib is made obtuse.
The obtuse corner thereby forms the tail of an arrowhead having its point diagonally opposite the obtuse corner. The arrowhead thus formed provides a convenient means for orienting the packing element.
One set of ribs may be splash ribs, while the other set of ribs may be stiffening ribs for stiffening and locating the splash ribs.
The splash ribs may all have the same width, the spacing between the centres of the splash ribs is four times their width.
The invention also extends to a packing for an evaporative cooling tower of the splash pack type incorporating packing elements in accordance with the invention.
The invention still further extends to a packing for an evaporative cooling tower of the splash pack type including packing elements suspended according to the method of the invention.
Still further the invention extends to an evaporative cooling tower including a packing in accordance with the invention.
The invention still further extends to a tensile element in the form of a wire hanger for suspending a packing element according to the method of the invention or for a packing element in accordance with the invention.
The tensile element may be of stainless steel.
The wire hanger may have a hooked end at each end thereof and the hooked ends may be co-planar.

Packing in wet cooling towers and method of and means for supporting the packing


An apparatus and method are disclosed that enables detecting the spoofing of a telephone number. To validate the identity of a calling terminal, some techniques in the prior art rely on exchanging data that only the legitimate calling system and the called system know about. In contrast, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention validates the identity of the calling terminal by assessing characteristics other than the calling terminal's telephone number, such as the telephone type and the signaling protocol. By using characteristics other than telephone number to validate the identity, the data-processing system of the illustrative embodiment makes it more difficult to spoof a legitimate telephone's number.

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a telecommunications system in the prior art. Telecommunications system 100 comprises:                i. telecommunications network 101,        ii. network telephone 103,        iii. private branch exchange 105,        iv. on-premises telephones 106 and 107,        v. Internet protocol network 108,        vi Internet protocol telephone 109,        vii. cellular protocol network 110, and        viii. cellular telephones 112 and 113,all of which are interconnected as shown.
Telecommunications network 101 is one of multiple, telecommunications networks that are represented in FIG. 1. Telecommunications network 101 comprises the Public Switched Telephone Network, which is a complex of telecommunications equipment that is owned and operated by different entities throughout the World. In the United States of America, for example, the Public Switched Telephone Network (or "PSTN") comprises an address space that is defined by ten digits, and, therefore, comprises 10 billion unique addresses or "telephone numbers." The public switched telephone networks in other countries are similar.
Network 101 interconnects the other telecommunications networks that include (i) the enterprise network supported by private branch exchange 105, (ii) Internet protocol network 108, and (iii) cellular protocol network 110. The enterprise network supported by private branch exchange 105 provides telecommunications service to one or more telecommunications terminals—for example, telephones 106 and 107—within the enterprise area served, such as an office building or campus. Internet protocol network 108 provides telecommunications service to one or more Internet protocol-capable telecommunications terminals, including telephone 109. Cellular protocol network 110 provides telecommunications service to one or more cellular telecommunications terminals, including telephones 112 and 113.
Additionally, network 101 provides telecommunications service to other telecommunications terminals, such as telephone 103. For example, network 101 is able to route a call that telephone 103 originates to private branch exchange 105.
Internet protocol network 108 is capable of switching incoming calls from network 101 to terminals that are capable of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), such as telephone 109. Network 108 is also capable of handling outgoing calls from VoIP-capable terminals to network 101. Network 108 handles calls that involve telephone 109 via one or more routers.
Cellular protocol network 110 is capable of switching incoming calls from network 101 to cellular-capable terminals that have registered with the network, such as telephones 112 and 113. Network 110 is also capable of handling outgoing calls from cellular-capable terminals to network 101. Network 110 handles calls that involve telephones 112 and 113 via one or more mobile switching centers and radio base stations.
Private branch exchange (PBX) 105 is an enterprise system capable of switching incoming calls (e.g., originated by telephone 113, etc.) from telecommunications network 101 via one or more communications paths to one or more on-premises terminals, such as on-premises telephones 106 and 107. Private branch exchange 105 is also capable of handling outgoing calls from on-premises terminals to network 101 via one or more communications paths.
Private branch exchange 105 is also capable of forwarding an incoming call, such as from telephone 113, to a telephone number of a PBX user's "off-premises" terminal that is accessible through network 101. This type of forwarding to a terminal affiliated with exchange 105 is also known as "extending" a call because the connection to the off-premises terminal appears to exchange 105 as an additional PBX line, or "call appearance." Exchange 105 extends the call to the call appearance at the off-premises terminal in addition to switching the same incoming call to a call appearance at an "on-premises terminal" within the enterprise area that exchange 105 serves. In telecommunications system 100, telephones 106 and 107 are the on-premises terminals with respect to private branch exchange 105, while telephones 103 and 112 are the off-premises terminals with respect to exchange 105. Note that in system 100, telephones 113 and 109 are not considered off-premises terminals because, unlike telephones 103 and 112, they are not affiliated with exchange 105.
To accomplish (i) the switching of an incoming, enterprise-related call to an on-premises terminal and (ii) the extending of the call to the correct off-premises terminal, private branch exchange 105 maintains a table that correlates the off-premises telephone number to the on-premises, private branch exchange extension. Table 1 depicts a table that illustrates the correlation.
TABLE 1PBX Extension-to-PSTN Number DatabaseOn-PremisesPrivate BranchOff-PremisesTelecommunicationsTelephoneExchange ExtensionTelephoneNetwork Number106732-555-0102, x11103201-555-1236107732-555-0102, x12112908-555-3381. . .. . .. . .
In addition, private branch exchange 105 is capable of receiving an incoming call attempt from an off-premises terminal, such as from telephone 103 or 112, in which the call attempt is for accessing one or more PBX user features. Note that outside of the enterprise network, only those terminals that are affiliated with exchange 105 (i.e., telephones 103 and 112) are intended to have access to the user features. In handling the call attempt, network 101 passes to exchange 105 the caller identifier that represents the calling, off-premises terminal. Exchange 105 checks that the caller identifier matches with one that is stored (e.g., 908-555-3381, etc.) and, as a result, grants the PBX user at the off-premises terminal the privilege to access one or more features.
The problem with exchange 105 relying on the caller identifier of the calling terminal is that a telephone user who is using a bogus telephone can masquerade as the legitimate PBX user by manipulating (i) the bogus telephone or (ii) the calling network, or both, to represent the bogus telephone as the legitimate one. This was not a major concern when telecommunications networks were somewhat closed systems that were not easily compromised. However, with the advent of broadband telephone services (e.g., Vonage, AT&T CallVantage, etc.) that coexist with the Internet, it has become easier for hackers to manipulate telecommunications networks for unethical or unlawful purposes, such as to "spoof" the caller identifier of a legitimate calling party. For example, a user of a VoIP telephone in certain broadband telephone networks, such as telephone 109 in Internet protocol network 108, is able to use a three-way calling feature to manipulate the value of the VoIP telephone's caller identifier. If the user of a bogus telephone takes on the number of a legitimate user of exchange 105, the bogus user becomes able to access features that are reserved only for legitimate, off-premises users. Access by illegitimate users enables breaking into voice mail accounts and the calling of legitimate PBX users for gathering proprietary information. To minimize this unwanted activity, what is needed is a way to detect the spoofing of a telephone number, without some of the disadvantages of the prior art.


A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine executes shaft heating control that controls the energization of an electric motor so that a driving torque and a braking torque are alternately imparted from the electric motor to a rotary shaft when the temperature of a lubricating oil (lubricant) is less than or equal to a predetermined value. According to the shaft heating control, in a case where a target intake air pressure Pt is higher than an actual intake air pressure P, a proportion that a driving torque impartation period τD occupies in a cycle T is increased relative to a case where Pt and P are equal or substantially equal, and in a case where Pt is lower than P, the proportion τD that the driving torque impartation period occupies in the cycle T is decreased relative to a case where Pt and P are equal or substantially equal.

Technical Field
Preferred embodiments relate to a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that is suitable as an apparatus that controls an internal combustion engine that includes an electric supercharger.
Background Art
An internal combustion engine that includes an electric-motor-assisted turbosupercharger that is capable of assisting driving of a compressor by means of an electric motor has already been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-120376. The electric motor is electrically connected to an inverter that converts direct current supplied from a battery to alternating current, and supplies the alternating current to the electric motor. In this internal combustion engine, a power line that is provided between the electric motor and the inverter is wound around an exhaust pipe. According to this configuration, when an alternating current is supplied from the inverter to the electric motor, an eddy current is generated in the exhaust pipe around which the conducting wire has been wound, and the exhaust pipe can be heated utilizing Joule heat (induction heating) that is generated by the eddy current.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine


A multilayer semiconductor structure includes a conductive via. The conductive via includes a pellet of metal having a high resistance to electromigration. The pellet is made from a conformal layer of copper or gold deposited over the via to form a copper or gold reservoir or contact located in the via. A barrier layer is provided between the reservoir and an insulating layer to prevent the pellet from diffusing into the insulating layer. The pellet can be formed by selective deposition or by etching a conformal layer. The conformal layer can be deposited by sputtering, collimated sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), dipping, evaporating, or by other means. The barrier layer and pellet may be etched by anisotropic dry etching, plasma-assisted etching, or other layer removal techniques.

In general, as semiconductor devices or integrated circuits have become smaller, the corresponding current densities across the metal conductors in the devices have increased. Metal conductors typically have an upper current density limit imposed by the phenomenon of electromigration. For example, aluminum conductors experience electromigration problems at current densities of approximately 10.sup.5 amperes per square centimeter (A/cm.sup.2).
Electromigration refers to the transport of mass in metals due to electric current. Electromigration is caused by the transfer of momentum from the electrons associated with the electric current to the positive metal ions. When a significant amount of current passes through thin metal conductors in semiconductor devices or integrated circuits, the metal ions associated with the thin metal conductors are transported and tend to accumulate in some regions and be removed from other regions. The accumulation or pileup of the metal ions can short circuit adjacent conductors in the device. The removal of metal ions in other regions may create voids which result in an open circuit. Short circuits and open circuits caused by electromigration often result in device failure.
Electromigration is a particular problem in multilayer semiconductor devices which include conductive vias or contacts connecting at least two conducting lines or paths. Conductive lines in semiconductor devices are generally thin layers (e.g., approximately 4,000 Angstroms (.ANG.) thick) of aluminum (Al) or an alloy of Al. The excessive current density associated with the conductive vias cause electromigration problems on the conductive line. The area proximate the conductive via commonly experiences excessive current densities because current from two or more conductive paths generally merges at the conductive via. Generally, a void is formed on one side of the via and a pile-up is formed on the other side of the via in accordance with the direction of current flow through the via.
Typically, the Al conductive lines are doped with copper (Cu) (e.g., alloying the aluminum with 0.5%-2% of Cu). Al conductive lines are generally doped with less than 2% Cu because higher concentrations of Cu make the lines difficult to dry etch. The Cu in the Al conductive line makes the conductive line less susceptible to the harmful effects of electromigration due to the higher electromigration resistance of the Cu. However, even conductive lines containing approximately 1% Cu or more are susceptible to electromigration as semiconductor devices become smaller and consequently, current densities increase.
Thus, there is a need for a multilayer semiconductor structure which is less susceptible to the harmful effects of electromigration. There is also a need for a conductive via which does not create electromigration problems on the conductive line. There is further a need for semiconductor structure having lightly doped (less than 2% Cu) Al conductive line which is less susceptible to electromigration problems proximate the via.

Copper pellet for reducing electromigration effects associated with a conductive via in a semiconductor device


A discharge lamp unit which does not require enlargement of the discharge lamp and can still prevent application of a high voltage to a cap holder when the lamp is not connected includes a core of a high-voltage transformer inside a cap of the discharge lamp. Both a primary coil and a secondary coil of the high-voltage transformer are provided around a cap holder of the discharge lamp power supply. The cap of discharge lamp is inserted into the cap holder of the discharge lamp power supply to provide an electromagnetic link between the primary coil and the secondary coil of the high-voltage transformer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a discharge lamp unit which applies a high voltage to a discharge lamp .such as a metal halide lamp at the start of lighting, to light up the lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the above-described type of discharge lamp unit generates a high voltage ranging from a few kilovolts to a few tens of kilovolts using a high-voltage generation circuit and applies the generated high voltage to the discharge lamp at the time of lighting, to discharge the lamp instantly. Once the lamp lights up, the discharge lamp unit keeps applying a low voltage of a few tens of volts to the lamp so that the lamp can be kept lit continuously.
Thus, if the unit is started with the discharge lamp having been removed when, for instance, the lamp needs to be replaced by a new one, a high voltage will be applied to the cap holder of the lamp. This has necessitated that the cap holder and its peripheral section withstand such a high voltage. For this purpose, the cap holder and its peripheral section have been enlarged or materials having high voltage withstanding characteristics have been employed, thereby resulting in an increase in costs.
To solve the above problem, a suggestion for a discharge lamp unit having a start and lighting circuit, containing a high voltage circuit below the discharge lamp in the same unit has been made (for instance, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,219). However, with such a discharge lamp unit, the unit itself becomes larger and the entire unit must be replaced to change a bulb.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 6-119911, a discharge lamp unit having only a starting circuit booster transformer in the same unit was introduced. However, with this type of unit, at least four connecting wires and connectors were required in the bottom of the discharge lamp, resulting in increased size of the unit.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. 4-293630, a discharge lamp unit having a connection detection circuit which detects whether the discharge lamp is connected to the cap and shuts off the high voltage supplied to the cap holder if the cap of the discharge lamp is not connected to the cap holder, to prevent application of high voltage when the lamp is not connected, was introduced. However, a special connection detection circuit and detection wires to connect such a circuit to the cap holder were required, thus making the structure complicated.

Discharge lamp unit having separable high-voltage transformer safeguard


Foamed polyurethanes substantially free from non-uniform density distribution are obtained by dispersing an inert gas with mechanical stirring into a foamed polyurethane-forming composition containing substantially no blowing agent and comprising (1) an organic polyisocyanate component, (2) a polyol component comprising a high molecular weight polyol (A1) and a low molecular weight polyol (A2), (3) a dehydrating agent (B) and optionally organic microballoons, and curing the resulting composition containing therein the inert gas substantially homogeneously distributed. Foamed polyurethanes thus obtained are lightweight and of reduced warpage after processing and are suitable for model materials.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foamed polyurethane-forming composition, a foamed polyurethane and a process making the same. More particularly, it relates to a composition and process capable of providing a foamed polyurethane substantially free from non-uniform density distribution and suitable for model materials, and such a formed polyurethane.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been proposed techniques for producing rigid polyurethane foams of reduced non-uniform density distribution, with use of microballoons and blowing agents.
Rigid polyurethane foams thus prepared, however, have non-uniform density distribution remained undiminished, and it is inevitable to cause warpage after processing for producing model materials.

Foamed polyurethane-forming composition, foamed polyurethane and process making the same


Lubricating basestock oil suitable for use as such or as blending oil is obtained by the low severity hydrotreatment of industrial circulating oils of the type employed in low severity lubricating applications, and which have been mildly degraded and are no longer suitable for use for their intended purpose.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,551 treats a waste lube oil with hydrogen in an ebullating bed of catalyst, then vacuum distills the product to produce a clean stock. An ebullating bed is used because prior art fixed bed treatment required vacuum distillation to remove metal containing sludge to prevent catalyst degradation in fixed bed operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,365 teaches hydrotreating of a used insulating oil when the used oil is contaminated with halocarbon compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,076 teaches a process where a light, saturated hydrocarbon solvent is used to remove impurities such as high molecular weight additives, additive fragments, and oil oxidation products plus high density particulates from a used automotive lube oil or similar waste hydrocarbon oil. Subsequent hydrogenation is conducted under severe conditions of temperature and pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,859 teaches a process wherein used oil, such as automotive crankcase oil, is pretreated by heating to above about 400.degree.-800.degree. F. while the system is maintained in the liquid phase at a pressure between 500-3500 psig for 15-60 minutes. A sludge containing insoluble degradation products, metallic compounds and water is separated by e.g., centrifugation, leaving a substantially ashless oil product which can be used as such or as a fuel oil or which can be further refined to produce a high quality lube oil.

Process to produce lube oil basestock by low severity hydrotreating of used industrial circulating oils


The present invention is directed to a tape library (10) and a cartridge magazine (22) for transferring cartridges (24) to and from a tape library (10), without interrupting the operation of the tape library (10). The cartridge magazine (22) is sized and shaped to selectively fit within a load port (20) of the tape library (10). Further, the cartridge magazine (22) selectively retains at least two cartridges (24) simultaneously. With this design, the cartridge magazine (22) allows for the bulk transfer of cartridges (24) into and out of a tape library (10) without interrupting the operation of the tape library (10). Further, the cartridge magazine (22) provides temporary or permanent storage of a set of cartridges (24) containing a particular data set.

The present invention relates generally to tape libraries. More specifically, the present invention relates to a removable cartridge magazine for inserting a plurality of cartridges into and/or removing a plurality of cartridges from a tape library.
Automated tape libraries are used for storing and retrieving relatively large amounts of information in digital form. One type of tape library includes a library housing, a plurality of cartridges retained in a plurality of storage bins within the library housing, a robotic cartridge handling mechanism and one or more tape drives. The robotic cartridge handling mechanism is used to individually retrieve one of the cartridges from one of the storage bins and place the cartridge within one of the tape drives.
Unfortunately, existing tape libraries are not completely satisfactory. In particular, the operation of some tape libraries must be interrupted to insert or remove cartridges from the tape library. One solution to this problem involves the use of a load port which extends through the library housing. The load port allows for the insertion or removal of cartridges without interrupting the operation of the tape library. Some existing load ports are designed of use with individual cartridges. In large tape libraries, it is often necessary to insert or remove a plurality of cartridges from the library housing. With existing load ports, the process of inserting or removing a plurality of cartridges without interrupting the operation of the tape library is time consuming and inconvenient.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which allows for the bulk transfer of cartridges into and out of a tape library without interrupting the operation of the tape library. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows for the temporary or permanent storage of a set of cartridges containing a particular data set. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tape library having improved durability, which is relatively easy and cost efficient to manufacture and utilize.
The present invention is directed to a cartridge magazine and a tape library which satisfies these needs. The cartridge magazine facilitates the bulk transfer of a plurality of cartridges to and from the tape library. As provided herein, the cartridge magazine is sized and shaped to selectively fit within a load port of the tape library. Further, the cartridge magazine selectively retains at least two cartridges simultaneously. With this design, the cartridge magazine can be used for the bulk transfer of cartridges into and out of a tape library without interrupting the operation of the tape library. Further, the cartridge magazine provides temporary or permanent storage for a set of cartridges containing a particular data set.
The cartridge magazine includes a magazine body having at least two cartridge slots. Each cartridge slot receives one of the cartridges. Preferably, the cartridge magazine selectively retains more than two cartridges simultaneously. In particular, the cartridge magazine can be designed to receive six cartridges. Additionally, the cartridge magazine can include a cartridge latch for selectively securing the cartridges in the magazine. The cartridge latch insures that the cartridges are securely retained in the cartridge magazine until the cartridges are to be removed from the cartridge magazine.
The load port extends through a library housing of the tape library and provides access to a library cavity of the tape library. As provided herein, the load port can be designed to receive multiple cartridge magazines simultaneously. Further, as provided herein, the load port can include a frame assembly and a cylinder assembly which retains the cartridge magazine. Importantly, the cylinder assembly and the cartridge magazine selectively move relative to the frame assembly. In particular, the cylinder assembly and cartridge magazine slide relative to the frame assembly. Further, a portion of the cylinder assembly and the cartridge magazine rotate relative to the frame assembly. This feature allows the cartridges to be properly positioned for removal within the library cavity.
Additionally, the tape library includes a cartridge handling mechanism positioned within the library cavity of the tape library. The cartridge handling mechanism moves each cartridge from the cartridge magazine into the library cavity. Further, the cartridge handling mechanism preferably moves the cartridge latch from an engaged position to a disengaged position. This feature allows the cartridge handling mechanism to release each cartridge from the cartridge magazine and individually grasp each of the cartridges in the cartridge magazine.


A manufacturing method includes providing a substrate with an outer surface and at least one interior space and machining the substrate to selectively remove a portion of the substrate and define one or more cooling supply holes therein. Each of the one or more cooling supply holes is in fluid communication with the at least one interior space. The method further includes disposing an open cell porous metallic layer on at least a portion of the substrate. The open cell porous metallic layer is in fluid communication with the one or more cooling supply holes. A coating layer is disposed on the open cell porous metallic layer. The coating layer having formed therein one or more cooling exit holes in fluid communication with the open cell porous metallic layer. The substrate, the one or more cooling supply holes, the open cell porous metallic layer and the cooling exit holes providing a cooling network for a component.

The disclosure relates generally to gas turbine engines, and, more specifically, to cooling therein.
In a gas turbine engine, air is pressurized in a compressor and mixed with fuel in a combustor for generating hot combustion gases. Energy is extracted from the gases in a high pressure turbine (HPT), which powers the compressor, and in a low pressure turbine (LPT), which powers a fan in a turbofan aircraft engine application, or powers an external shaft for marine and industrial applications.
Engine efficiency increases with temperature of combustion gases. However, the combustion gases heat the various components along their flowpath, which in turn requires cooling thereof to achieve an acceptably long engine lifetime. Typically, the hot gas path components are cooled by bleeding air from the compressor. This cooling process reduces engine efficiency, as the bled air is not used in the combustion process.
Gas turbine engine cooling art is mature and includes numerous patents for various aspects of cooling circuits and features in the various hot gas path components. For example, the combustor includes radially outer and inner liners, which require cooling during operation. Turbine nozzles include hollow vanes supported between outer and inner bands, which also require cooling. Turbine rotor blades are hollow and typically include cooling circuits therein, with the blades being surrounded by turbine shrouds, which also require cooling. The hot combustion gases are discharged through an exhaust which may also be lined and suitably cooled.
In all of these exemplary gas turbine engine components, thin walls of high strength superalloy metals are typically used to reduce component weight and minimize the need for cooling thereof. Various cooling circuits and features are tailored for these individual components in their corresponding environments in the engine. Transpiration cooling and micro-channels are considered two of the most effective methods of providing well distributed cooling in the outer layer of materials near the heat source. Transpiration cooling in the past has focused on making porous load bearing materials, which have typically been too weak for use in turbine technologies.
An example conventional cooled part includes a series of internal cooling passages, or serpentines, may be formed in a hot gas path component. A cooling fluid may be provided to the serpentines from a plenum, and the cooling fluid may flow through the passages, cooling the hot gas path component substrate and any associated coatings. However, this cooling strategy typically results in comparatively inefficient heat transfer and non-uniform component temperature profiles. Micro-channel cooling provides fabrication of one or more grooves into the load bearing substrate material with a subsequent application of one or more coating layers to bridge the one or more grooves and define the micro-channels. In addition, in many instances, forming the microchannels in the load bearing substrate causes weakening of the substrate.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method for cooling hot gas path components that provide for efficient heat transfer, uniform component temperature profiles, and reduced fabrication time.

Components with porous metal cooling and methods of manufacture


There are provided a method for producing particles by suspension polymerization which ensures an excellent dispersion stability of the monomer and a simpler washing step, composite particles obtainable by this production method, and use of the composite particles. The method for producing composite particles includes a polymerization step of subjecting a monomer mixture which contains a polymerizable vinyl monomer to aqueous suspension polymerization in a presence of small polymer particles having a volume-average particle size of 20 to 500 nm, with a water-soluble cellulose compound adsorbing on surfaces of the small polymer particles, and thereby obtaining composite particles which contain the small polymer particles and large polymer particles greater than the small polymer particles.

Polymer particles having a particle size of 1 to 100 μm are utilized for various uses, such as for an additive (e.g. a flatting agent) for a coating agent such as a coating material, an additive (e.g. a flatting agent) for ink, a main component or an additive for an adhesive, an additive (e.g. a shrinkage reducing agent) for cultured marble, a paper treating agent, a filler (a filler for improving lubricity) for an external preparation such as cosmetics, a column packing material for chromatography, a toner additive for developing an electrostatic image, an anti-blocking agent for a film, and a light diffusing agent for a light diffuser (e.g. a light diffusion film).
The above polymer particles are generally produced by suspension polymerization of a polymerizable monomer. In the process of suspension polymerization, droplets of a polymerizable monomer are dispersed in an aqueous medium in the presence of a suspension stabilizer (a dispersant) by a mechanical shear force with use of a stirrer, and polymerization proceeds within the droplets of the suspended polymerizable monomer. Since suspension polymerization proceeds in a state where the droplets are dispersed, the distribution and the size of the droplets depend on the characteristics, structure, shape, rotational speed, etc. of the stirrer. However, even if the size of the droplets can be miniaturized, droplets may coalesce or flocculate with each other during polymerization, unless the dispersion stability of the droplets can be maintained. Hence, it is important in suspension polymerization to stabilize the droplets of the polymerizable monomer after the droplets are finely dispersed, and thereby to prevent coalescence of the droplets.
In order to prevent coalescence or flocculation of droplets during the polymerization process without fail, choice of the suspension stabilizer is important. Use of various suspension stabilizers have been reported in relation to suspension polymerization. Commonly employed suspension stabilizers include, for example, water-soluble polymers (such as polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, and starch) and poorly soluble, finely powdered inorganic compounds (such as poorly water-soluble salts including barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, tricalcium phosphate, and magnesium pyrophosphate; and powders of silicic acid, clay, silica, and metal oxides).
Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages in using the above water-soluble polymers as the suspension stabilizer. First, the particle size distribution of the particles obtained by suspension polymerization is undesirably wide. Second, emulsion polymerization which coincides with suspension polymerization generates many fine particles (particles whose particle sizes are finer than the desired particle size range). Third, it is difficult to remove water-soluble polymers which adhere to surfaces of polymer particles.
On the other hand, the particle size distribution can be comparatively narrowed if the above inorganic compounds are employed as the suspension stabilizer. For example, PTL 1 discloses polymer particles (resin particles) obtained by suspension polymerization of a polymerizable monomer in an aqueous medium, using silica as a suspension stabilizer (a dispersant). In the resulting polymer particles, the coefficient of variation (CV) in particle size is between 10% and 50%.

Composite particles, method for producing composite particles, and use thereof


A window with a sash mounted in a frame has elongated draft stops extending along the rails of the sash. The draft stops are disposed in the frame and normally project out to overlap the sash rails. The draft stops are retractible outwardly beyond the outer edges of the rails and the sash is mounted to turn about its vertical centerline when the draft stops are retracted. When a handle mounted in the frame is turned in one direction, it operates a mechanism to retract the lower draft stop. The side draft stops retract in response to retraction of the lower draft stop and this, in turn, raises the upper draft stop so that all of the draft stops are retracted together. Turning the handle in the opposite direction returns all of the draft stops to their projected or active position.

This invention relates to windows having a sash mounted within a frame and, more particularly, to comparatively large windows such as those commonly called a picture window. Normally, the sash in such a window is held in the frame in a fixed position by elongated draft stops which project inwardly from the frame and overlap the rails and stiles of the sash. Usually, draft stops are employed on both the inside and outside of the sash.
It would be desirable to be able, under certain conditions, to move the sash. For example, the sash could be opened for purposes of ventilation at times and thus reduce the need for air conditioning. Also, it is desirable for two reasons that the sash may be turned completely around so that each side of the pane of the sash may be either inside or outside. First, this makes it easy to clean both sides of the sash from the inside. Second, one side of the pane may be reflective in which case that side can face out in the summer and in during the winter.


A portable device permits the dispensing of water, potable liquids, particulate solids and other like flowable feed material to dogs and other animals from a reservoir mountably receivable thereon, into a pooling space for consumption. A trough having a shape which allows nesting of the reservoir therein is movably coupled with the reservoir to allow movement from a first mounted position in which the bottle and trough are nested, to a second mounted position in which the reservoir brought out of nesting position and is clear of the trough. In the second mounting position, the concave interior of the trough provides the pooling space, and an outlet of the reservoir is in pool feeding communication therewith, to permit at least partial emptying of the contents of the reservoir into the trough, when a contents emptying force is applied.

The present invention relates to a portable device for selectively dispensing feed material to animals, and more particularly to a device which is useful for dispensing water, potable liquids, granulated solids and other flowable consumables from a reservoir into a pooling region for consumption thereof.
It is known that dogs and certain other household pets will drink only their fill of liquids. It is therefore, acceptable, as well as desirable, that they be given access to a supply of water at all times. Generally this consists of periodic filling of a bowl with water in order to maintain the constant supply.
In a desire to better meet the need for providing a replenishable supply of liquids, a device is described in the prior art which utilizes a bowl, adapted to receive and hold an inverted bottle-shaped reservoir containing water. The bowl includes means for maintaining the reservoir in a generally vertical, inverted position, with the neck opening positioned below the lip of the bowl. Due to such configuration, the water pours from the reservoir, and fills the bowl, but does not overflow it, because atmospheric pressure exerts a downward force on the surface of the water in the bowl. As a dog or other animal drinks from the bowl, water from the reservoir replaces the consumed amount, maintaining water in the bowl at a constant level just above where the neck opening penetrates the surface.
This approach is effective in supplying a replenishable source of water where a level grade location is available. However, the device is not intended for portable use, for example where a dog is taken to a park, fair, outdoor antique show or the like. In such situations, the pet owner will take along a bowl and either bring a sealed bottle of water, or seek a water supply as needed.


A circuit arrangement (3) of modular design, in particular for propulsion of a railroad vehicle, having at least two series-connected, power-electronic modules (M.sub.1, M.sub.2, . . . M.sub.n), which each have a DC isolation point. A first (M.sub.1) of these modules is connected to high voltage and a second (M.sub.1) is connected to frame or ground potential. The first module (M.sub.1) has a first power-electronics assembly (4) which is at high voltage and is connected to a power-electronics assembly (4) (which is at a lower potential) of the second or of a third module (M.sub.2). The power-electronics assemblies (4) of each module are arranged in one of several equivalent and dielectric material housings (10), each of which is normally designed in a cuboid shape. The housings (10) are arranged parallel and at a short distance away from one another with regard to their height on a plate (9) which is at frame or ground potential. On its top surface (11), bottom surface (12) and front face (13), each housing (12) has an electrically conductive layer which is connected to frame or ground potential. An electrical connection for a contact (16, 17) of a contact arrangement which produces the series circuit of these two modules (M.sub.1, M.sub.2) is passed through the mutually facing side surfaces (14, 15) of the dielectric material housings (10) of in each case two of the modules (M.sub.1, M.sub.2). The devices (4) and the contact arrangement are thus shielded in a dielectric beneficial manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is based on a circuit arrangement of modular design, in particular for propulsion of a railroad vehicle, as claimed in the preamble of patent claim 1.
2. Discussion of Background
A circuit arrangement of the type mentioned initially is described, in particular, in FIG. 6 of DE 196 30 284 A1. This circuit arrangement comprises n partial converter modules 40.1, . . . , 40.n, which are connected in series with one another and have outputs which are connected in parallel with one another. The outputs can be connected to partial converter modules 41.1, . . . 41.m, each having a traction motor 42.1, . . . , 42.m. The partial converter modules 40.1, . . . 40.n split the relatively high AC voltage between the traction wire 36 and the rail 37 of propulsion for a railroad vehicle corresponding to the number n of converter modules. A low output voltage is produced at the outputs of the partial converter modules 40.1, . . . 40.n, reduced corresponding to the number of modules n, is, in each case DC-isolated from the input voltage by a transformer 6 (FIG. 1) and feeds the traction motors 42.1, . . . 42.m, via the partial converter modules 43.1, . . . 43.m. Conversely, when the railroad vehicle is being braked, the traction motors can also feed power into the power supply system via the partial converter module. Since only a low voltage is supplied to each of the partial converter modules, they can be operated in a cost-effective manner using semiconductor switches 11 (FIG. 1) having a normal withstand voltage.

Circuit arrangement of modular design, in particular for propulsion off a railroad vehicle


Automated sample analysis is performed by a computer-implemented apparatus and method for distinguishing objects of interest in an optical field from other objects and background in the optical field, collectively called background. Once an object has been identified, the color comprised of a combination of the red, green and blue components of the pixels occupied by the image of the object of interest, or another parameter of interest relative to that object can be measured and stored. This computer-implemented analysis apparatus and method is performed on objects of interest in the sample which are tagged using fluorescent tags. The sample may be a cell sample containing a nucleic acid target and the tagging achieved by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

The normal human complement of chromosomes consists of the sex chromosomes (designated X and Y) and 22 autosomes (numbered 1-22). It has been estimated that a minimum of 1 in 10 human conceptions has a chromosome abnormality. As a general rule, an abnormal number of sex chromosomes is not lethal, although infertility can result. In contrast, an abnormal number of autosomes typically results in early death. Of the three autosomal trisomies found in live-born babies (trisomy 21, 18 and 13), only individuals with trisomy 21 (more commonly known as Down syndrome), survive past infancy.
Although Down syndrome is easily diagnosed after birth, prenatal diagnosis is problematic. To date, karyotyping of fetal cells remains the established method for the diagnosis of Down syndrome and other genetic abnormalities associated with an aberration in chromosomal number and/or arrangement. Such genetic abnormalities include, for example, chromosomal additions, deletions, amplifications, translocations and rearrangements. The assessment of such abnormalities is made with respect to the chromosomes of a healthy individual, i.e., an individual having the above-described normal complement of human chromosomes.
Genetic abnormalities include the above-noted trisomies, such as Down syndrome, as well as monosomies and disomies. Genetic abnormalities also include additions and/or deletions of whole chromosomes and/or chromosome segments. Alterations such as these have been reported to be present in many malignant tumors. Thus, aberrations in chromosome number and/or distribution (e.g., rearrangements, translocations) represent a major cause of mental retardation and malformation syndromes (du Manoir et al., et al., Human Genetics 90(6): 590-610 (1993)) and possibly, oncogenesis. See also,. e.g., (Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 12th edition, ed. Wilson et al., McGraw Hill, N.Y., N.Y., pp. 24-46 (1991)), for a partial list of human genetic diseases that have been mapped to specific chromosomes, and in particular, for a list of X chromosome linked disorders. In view of the growing number of genetic disorders associated with chromosomal aberrations, various attempts have been reported in connection with developing simple, accurate, automated assays for genetic abnormality assessment.
In general, karyotyping is used to diagnose genetic abnormalities that are based upon additions, deletions, amplifications, translocations and rearrangements of an individual's nucleic acid. The "karyotype" refers to the number and structure of the chromosomes of an individual. Typically, the individual's karyotype is obtained by, for example, culturing the individual's peripheral blood lymphocytes until active cell proliferation occurs, preparing single, proliferating (e.g. metaphase, and possibly, interphase) cells for chromosome visualization, fixing the cells to a solid support and subjecting the fixed cells to in situ hybridization to specifically visualize discrete portions of the individual's chromosomes.
The rapid development of non-isotopic in situ hybridization techniques and the general availability of an ever-expanding repertoire of chromosome-specific DNA probes have extended the number of genetic disorders for which karyotyping is feasible. See, e.g., Lichter et al., "Analysis of Genes and Chromosomes by Non-isotopic in situ Hybridization", GATA 8(1):24-35 (1991). Such methods include the use of probe sets directed to chromosome painting for visualizing one or more preselected chromosomal subregions in a targeted fashion. Methods such as these require at least a modicum of knowledge regarding the types of aberration(s) expected in order to select useful DNA probes complementary to target nucleic acids present in a clinical or tumor cell sample.
Nucleic acid hybridization techniques are based upon the ability of a single stranded oligonucleotide probe to base-pair, i.e., hybridize, with a complementary nucleic acid strand. Exemplary in situ hybridization procedures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,326 and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/668,751, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Fluorescence in situ hybridization ("FISH") techniques, in which the nucleic acid probes are labeled with a fluorophor (i.e., a fluorescent tag or label that fluoresces when excited with light of a particular wavelength), represents a powerful tool for the analysis of numerical, as well as structural aberrations chromosomal aberrations. See, e.g., PCT Application WO 94/02646, inventors M. Asgari et al., published Feb. 3, 1994, (hereinafter, "Asgari") co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/915,965; P. Lichter, et al., Genet. Anal. Tech. Appl. 8:24-35 (1991); and S. Du Manoir, et al., Human Genetics 90(6):590-610 (1993), the entire contents of which publications are incorporated herein by reference.
Asgari reports in situ hybridization assays for determining the sex of a fetus, genetic characteristics or abnormalities, infectious agents and the like, by nucleic acid hybridization of fetal cells such as those circulating in material blood. The fetal cells are distinguished from maternal cells present in the fixed sample by staining with an antibody which specifically recognizes the maternal or fetal cell or by in situ hybridization to detect one or more fetal mRNAs. The method reportedly is useful for detecting chromosomal abnormalities in fetal cells. However, the fetal cells must be enriched prior to analysis.
PCT Application WO 94/02830, inventors M. Greaves, et al., published Feb. 3, 1994, (hereinafter, "Greaves") report a method for phenotyping and genotyping a cell sample.
The method involves contacting a fixed cell with an antibody labeled with a first fluorophor for phenotyping the cell via histochemical staining, followed by contacting the fixed cell with a DNA probe labeled with a second fluorophor for genotyping the cell. The first and second fluorophors fluoresce at different wavelengths from one another, thereby allowing the phenotypic and genetic analysis on the identical fixed sample.
Despite the above-described advances in the development of fluorescent in situ hybridization methods for the diagnosis of genetic abnormalities, the analysis of the fluorophor-labeled sample remains labor-intensive and involves a significant level of subjectivity. This is particularly true in connection with the prenatal diagnosis of genetic abnormalities in which fetal cells must either be isolated from maternal cells or visually distinguished therefrom prior to assessment for genetic abnormalities. Thus, for example, a laboratory technician must manually prepare and sequentially stain the sample (first, with a histochemical stain to phenotype the cells, second, with a hybridization probe to genotype the cell); visually select fetal cells from other cells in the optical field (using, for example, the above-mentioned histochemical staining procedure); assess the relative distribution of fluorescent color that is attributable to hybridization of the fluorophor-tagged probe; and compare the visually-perceived distribution to that observed in control samples containing a normal human chromosome complement. As will be readily apparent, the above-described procedure is quite time-consuming. Moreover, because the results are visually-perceived, the frequency of erroneous results can vary from one experiment to the next, as well as from one observer to the next.

Automated fluorescence in situ hybridization detection of genetic abnormalities


The preparation for preventing and curing organ dysfunctions, provided by the present invention, is a medicament having the activity to prevent and cure organ dysfunctions which active oxygen species and active organic radical species would cause, and unconventionally improved in stability in vivo by containing, as an active component, the ascorbic acid derivative of the formula, ##STR1## wherein R.sub.2 is a group selected from the class consisting of an alkylcarbonyl lower alkyl group of which the terminal alkyl group has 7 inclusive to 15 inclusive carbon atoms, an alkyl group having 9 inclusive to 17 inclusive alkyl groups and an alkoxycarbonyl lower alkyl group of which the terminal alkoxy group has 7 inclusive to 20 inclusive carbon atoms; and the ascorbic acid derivative of the above formula in which R.sub.2 is an alkylcarbonyl lower alkyl group of which the terminal alkyl group has 7 inclusive to 15 inclusive carbon atoms is novel and disclosed in the present specification together with the process for its preparation.

Recently increasing organ dysfunctions in the heart, brain, kidney, liver, etc., have been found to be caused as follows. An ischemic state (bloodstream malcirculation) causes a failure in supply of an energy source and a metabolic change. Various tissue-disordering factors, which are caused by reperfusion with a bloodstream, destroy or injure cells and tissues of which the resistive strength has been lowered due to the above metabolic change.
In recent years, a study of the above tissue-disordering factors has advanced and showed that active oxygen species or active organic radical species have a large share as a factor for the tissue disorder [I. Fridovich, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Vol. 247, p. 1 (1968); B. Halliwell, Biochemical Journal, Vol. 219, p. 1 (1984); J. M. McCord, Advance in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vo. 2, p. 325 (1986)].
Development of these active oxygen species or active organic radical species during the ischemia-reperfusion and a decrease in endogenous resistive factors are considered to have an essential effect on organ dysfunctions.
SOD (superoxide dismutase) and compounds such as .alpha.-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, etc., are considered to eliminate these active oxygen species or active organic radical species, and studies of a therapy using these enzyme and compounds are now under way.
However, SOD shows a short half-life in vivo. Being an enzyme, SOD poses an antigenicity problem having regard to an acquisition method and source. And, .alpha.-tocopherol has a defect in that its activity in vivo is low. Ascorbic acid has a defect in that it is easily decomposed and inferior in stability.
JP-A-61-263969 discloses that 2-O-substituted ascorbic ascorbic acid is able to eliminate the above active species and useful as a preparation for preventing and curing the dysfunction of a circulatory system which is one of organ dysfunctions. However, this 2-O-substituted ascorbic acid also has a defect in that it is easily decomposed and poor in stability.
Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to provide a novel ascorbic acid derivative which has the activity to prevent and cure organic dysfunctions caused by active oxygen species and/or active organic radical species induced by ischemia, etc.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a process for the preparation of the above novel ascorbic acid derivative.
Further, the third object of the present invention is to provide a preparation for preventing and curing organic dysfunctions, which contains, as an active component, the above novel ascorbic acid derivative and/or other known ascorbic acid derivative.


A lubricating base oil composition improved in flash point and low temperature fluidity without decreasing the high temperature traction coefficient, and a process for producing the same are provided. The lubricating base oil composition comprises (a) from 80 to 98% by weight of a naphthenic synthetic lubricating base oil having a flash point of 180.degree. C. or less, and (b) from 2 to 20% by weight of a paraffinic synthetic lubricating base oil having a flash point higher than that of the naphthenic synthetic lubricating base oil.

A base oil for a traction oil used in a traction type CVT (continuously variable transmission) for automobiles necessarily satisfies contradictory conditions, i.e., a high traction coefficient at high temperature and a low viscosity at low temperature, and at the same time, preferably has a flash point of 150.degree. C. or more from the standpoint of safety on practical use. However, synthetic naphthenic compounds having high traction coefficients at high temperature exhibit poor low temperature fluidity. Thus, the low temperature fluidity must be preferentially realized with indispensable slight decrease of the high temperature traction coefficient. In this case, the molecular weight of the compound must be lowered, and as a result, the flash point is decreased to cause a problem of lacking practical utility. That is, because synthetic naphthenic compounds having high traction coefficients at high temperature have higher viscosity than paraffinic compounds having the same molecular weight, the molecular weight of the naphthenic compounds must be low to satisfy the low temperature fluidity. However, the low molecular weight brings about high volatility of the base oil to lower the flash point. It is generally preferred that the flash point of a lubricating oil for an automobile is maintained at 150.degree. C. or more upon practical use. Therefore, there has been a demand that the flash point of the naphthenic synthetic lubricating oil used as a traction oil for an automobile is improved without decreasing the high temperature traction coefficient, so as to satisfy all the high temperature traction coefficient, the low temperature fluidity, and the flash point.
In order to solve the problem of the naphthenic synthetic lubricating oil, there has been conducted an attempt to add a poly-.alpha.-olefin (JP-A-1-149898 and JP-A-3-103495). In these techniques, however, since the viscosity of the poly-.alpha.-olefin is too high, the addition amount thereof becomes too large to improve the low temperature fluidity, and as a result, the high temperature traction coefficient is greatly decreased. Furthermore, because the poly-.alpha.-olefin has a volatility (boiling point) that is greatly different from the naphthenic synthetic lubricating oil, the content of the poly-.alpha.-olefin is increased by volatilization of the light component (synthetic naphthenic compound) to greatly lower the high temperature traction coefficient, which causes a problem of gross slip of a CVT.

Lubricating base oil composition and process for producing same