A method including: storing, in a computer memory, geophysical data obtained from a survey of a subsurface region; and extracting, with a computer, a subsurface physical property model by processing the geophysical data with one or more convolutional neural networks, which are trained to relate the geophysical data to at least one subsurface physical property consistent with geological prior information.

This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
Hydrocarbons (e.g., oil and natural gas) are typically found thousands of meters below Earth's surface. In order to locate these resources, the oil and gas industry relies on geophysical prospecting. An important step of geophysical prospecting is to accurately image subsurface structures such as sedimentary layers, anomalies and faults using geophysical data. Seismic prospecting, for example, images subsurface structures and infers their geophysical properties through measurement of seismic waves originated from man-made sources at the Earth's surface. Seismic waves originated from the sources propagates into Earth's interior and reflects and refracts at the structural interfaces formed by geologic processes such as sedimentation, faulting and fracturing, and travels back to the surface where receivers such as geophones or hydrophones are located. The seismic data received by the geophones is processed in an effort to create an accurate mapping of the subsurface environment. The processed data is then examined with a goal of identifying geological formations that may contain hydrocarbons.
Extracting subsurface physical properties from geophysical data, typically known as geophysical inversion, involves determining distributed values of at least one physical parameter of a subsurface region (e.g., compressional wave speed, shear wave speed, density, electrical conductivity, permeability, or porosity) in a manner which is consistent with at least one geophysical data set acquired at locations remote from the subsurface region of interest [1]. In today's oil & gas industry, the geophysical inversion plays a vital role to build models of subsurface physical properties and generate high-resolution images of the subsurface. A geophysical inverse problem can be mathematically described through the minimization of an objective function which often includes a least-squares data misfit and a regularization term [7]. Such an objective function typically takes the formc(κ)=∫M∥u(κ)−ū∥2dx+R(κ),  (1)where κ represents the physical unknowns to be determined through optimization, ū is the measured data, u(κ) is synthetic data computed during the optimization according to a mathematical model (e.g., an array of numbers, typically a 3-D array, where each number, which may be called a model parameter, is a value of velocity, density, or another physical property in a cell, where a subsurface region has been conceptually divided into discrete cells for computational purposes), M denotes the locations at which the data is measured, ∥·∥ is an arbitrary norm used to quantify the error or misfit between the computed data u(κ) and the measured data ū, and R(κ) is a regularization term (e.g. Tikhonov regularization) often used to mathematically stabilize the inversion [2].
Although the true physical parameter κ is a spatially varying function defined at every point of a subsurface domain Ω, κ is typically discretized, for computational purposes, when optimizing the objective function c(κ). Such a discretization typically amounts to first partitioning the subsurface domain Ω into disjoint cells Ωi, such that Ω=∪Ωi, and then setting κ(x)=κi for x∈Ωi. One example of such a partitioning into cells 103 is a regular Cartesian grid as shown in FIG. 1, along with sources 101 and receivers 102. The parameter values {κi} are determined by optimizing Equation (1), typically using a gradient-based optimization technique such as Gauss-Newton, quasi-Newton, or steepest descent [11].
A number of inverse problems arise in the context of geophysics [5] including full-wavefield inversion [8], electromagnetic inversion [9], magnetic inversion [6], gravity and gradiometry inversion [10] problems. The state-of-the-art methods solving these inverse problems face a number of challenges including computational challenges, lack of convexity in functional defined in Equation (1) and the inherent non-uniqueness. In order to provide more quantitative details about these challenges, the following will describe a conventional full-wavefield inversion (FWI) problem as the representative inverse problem. However, challenges in solving these inverse problems with the state-of-the-art methods are common across these inverse problems, any discussion pertaining to FWI is merely an example and in no way limiting the scope of the present technological advancement.
FWI is a process of extracting subsurface information from the seismic data measured at the surface of the earth acquired during a seismic survey. In a typical seismic survey, seismic waves are generated by a source positioned at desired locations as shown in FIG. 1. As the source generated wave propagates through the subsurface and travels back to the receiver locations where it is recorded. FWI exploits these full seismic record including events that are treated as "noise" by standard seismic processing algorithms.
The main components of an FWI algorithm can be described as follows: using a starting subsurface physical properties model, synthetic seismic data are generated by solving a wave equation using a numerical scheme (e.g., finite-difference, finite-element etc.). The synthetic seismic data are compared with the field seismic data and using the difference between the two, the value of an objective function is calculated. To minimize the objective function, the subsurface model is modified along a descent direction (also called search direction) and the modified subsurface model is used to simulate a new set of synthetic seismic data. This new set of synthetic seismic data is compared with the field data to recalculate the new value of the objective function. The objective function optimization procedure is iterated by using the new updated model as the starting model for finding a new descent direction, which will then be used to modify the model in order to better explain the field data. The process continues until an updated model is found that satisfactorily explains the observed data. A global or local optimization method can be used to minimize the objective function and to update the subsurface model. Commonly used local objective function optimization methods include, but are not limited to, gradient search, conjugate gradients, quasi-Newton, Gauss-Newton and Newton's method. Commonly used global methods included, but are not limited to simulated annealing, Markov-Chain-Monte Carlo or grid search methods.
FWI is carried out through an iterative minimization of an objective function consisting of a norm data misfit and a regularization term as similar to (1):
                              ℱ                                (            κ            )                          =                                            1              2                                                                  ∑                s                                  N                  s                                                                                ∑                  r                                      N                    r                                                                                ∫                                          t                      0                                                              t                      f                                                                                                                                                              u                                                                                (                                                                                κ                                  ;                                                                      x                                    s                                                                                ,                                                                  x                                  r                                                                ,                                t                                                            )                                                                                -                                                                                u                              _                                                                                (                                                                                x                                  s                                                                ,                                                                  x                                  r                                                                ,                                t                                                            )                                                                                                                            2                                                            dt                                                                                +                                    R                                            (                κ                )                                      .                                              (        2        )
Here, κ(x) represents the unknown physical properties distributed across the subsurface to be determined through minimization of equation (2); these properties can include compressional wave speed, shear wave speed, anisotropy and attenuation parameters, and the source temporal signature in some cases [3, 4]. In addition, x is the spatial coordinate system, Ns and Nr are the number of sources and receivers respectively, t is time, t0 is the time at which the source s is fired and the recording is started and tf is the final recording time, ū(xs, xr, t) is the measurement at the receiver location xr due to source s located at xs at time t, u(κ; xs, xr, t) is the data at the receiver location xr due to source s located at xs at time t computed according to a mathematical model, R(κ) is a regularization term used to mitigate the mathematical ill-posedness of the inverse problem (e.g. Tikhonov or total-variation regularization).
The mathematical model, also known as a forward problem, used to compute u(κ; xs, xr, t) describes the physics of seismic waves propagating in the subsurface. Depending on the assumptions made about the subsurface medium, the governing equations for simulating seismic waves can be acoustic, elastic or acoustic-coupled-elastic wave equations. In some cases, additional aspects of wave propagation in the subsurface, namely anisotropy and attenuation, must be taken into account in order to fully explain the seismic measurements. Anisotropy is due to either the presence of materials or features in the subsurface below seismic wavelengths such as fine rock layers and fractures, whose response is equivalent to that of a homogeneous anisotropic medium. Seismic attenuation accounts for the loss of energy in the wavefield due to conversion into other forms such as heat and fluid motion. While this discussion will focus on acoustic waves, this in no limiting the scope of the present technological advancement. Adopting that u describes the acoustic pressure of a bounded medium where the acoustic waves travel through, we have that u satisfies
                                                        1              κ                                                                                ∂                  2                                                u                                            ∂                                  t                  2                                                              =                                    ∇                              ·                                  (                                                            1                      ρ                                                                                ∇                      u                                                        )                                                      -                                          f                ρ                                                          δ                                                  (                                      x                    -                                          x                      s                                                        )                                                                    ,                                                    u          =                                                    ∂                u                                            ∂                t                                      =                                          0                                                                                at                                                                                t                            =              0                                      ,                                                    u          =                      0                                                                          on                                                                                Γ              free                        ×                          [                              0                ,                                  t                  f                                            ]                                      ,                                                                                ρ                  κ                                                                                ∂                  u                                                  ∂                  t                                                      +                          n              ·                              ∇                u                                              =                      0                                                                          on                                                                                Γ              absorbing                        ×                                          [                                  0                  ,                                                                                t                    f                                                  ]                            .                                                          (        3        )
Here ∇ is the spatial gradient operator, ρ is the mass density and κ is the bulk modulus which is a function of compressional wave speed vp and density ρ as κ=ρvp2. A homogeneous mass density is assumed of ρ=1 g/cm3. In addition, Γfree and Γabsorbing are the free and absorbing boundaries, and n is the normal unit vector to Γabsorbing. Typically. Γfree represents the Earth's surface (i.e. the air-water interface in marine environments or the air-solid interface on land environments) due to the approximately stress-free state at the interface. The remaining boundaries of the computational domain typically belong to Γabsorbing; the boundary condition is designed to prevent spurious reflected waves due to truncation of the physical domain. Finally, it is assumed that the source is fired at location xs, ƒ(t)δ(x−xs), and is a spherically symmetric pressure source with a source temporal signature ƒ(t) (such as Ricker wavelet).
A variety of numerical techniques exist for solving the acoustic wave Equation (3). Typically, this can be discretized using the method of lines [12]. First, Equation (3) is discretized in space using finite difference [15], finite volumes [16] or finite elements (e.g. spectral elements [13] and the discontinuous-Galerkin method [14]). The resulting system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is then integrated using an appropriate time stepping scheme (e.g. forward Euler, Runge-Kutta).
The forward problems in geophysical applications, such as the acoustic wave Equation (3), are mathematically well-posed problems and numerical solutions to these forward problems exist. However, solving the inverse problems such as (2) subject to (3) face significant challenges. These include computational challenges, the lack of convexity in the objective function (1) and (2) and the non-uniqueness of solutions.
Even with today's available high-performance computing resources, one of the biggest challenges to geophysical inversions is still the computational cost. For instance, FWI applications often contain billions of unknowns and hundreds of thousands of sources and receivers. Solving such inverse problems is extremely intensive in terms of both computational memory and number of floating-point operations. Providing real-time solutions with the state-of-the-art methods are far-off intractable. Development of new algorithms and workflows that lead to faster turnaround time is a key step towards making this technology feasible for field-scale applications, allowing users to solve larger scale problems faster, or real-time (wherein real-time refers to an amount of time which is short enough that data processing can keep up with data acquisition).
The large scale nature of the geophysical inverse problems dictates that local-gradient-based techniques can be used to solve (2) and precludes the use of global optimization techniques. However, it has been observed that the functional (2) is not convex due to the oscillatory nature of the measured signal. Applying gradient-based optimization methods to the non-convex functional (2) leads to results that are sensitive to the initial guess for the starting subsurface physical property model. Proving a good initial guess for the starting model to an inverse problem remains to be a critical task to obtain reliable results.
Non-uniqueness is a pervasive feature of geophysical inverse problems. Geophysical surveys typically acquire data at locations remote from the subsurface region of interest and at narrow frequency bands due the physical limitations. In the context of FWI, the sources and receivers are placed on the Earth's surface (or at or near the ocean's surface for marine surveys) and the data typically contains frequencies from 3 Hz to 60 Hz with a good signal-to-noise ratio. These limitations lead to incomplete information and large uncertainty about the subsurface region of interest. Mitigating the uncertainty in inverse problems require additional data. One potential source of such data is geologic priors (existing geological information that was available before the solution was formed and which was incorporated into the solution). Other sources include well logs and joint inversion of different geophysical data sets. However, the current state-of-the-art methods don't offer a framework of incorporating the geologic priors or solving joint inversions of multiple geophysical datasets in a structurally consistent manner.

Geophysical inversion with convolutional neural networks


A deformable structure for occupant protection in vehicles has hollow energy-absorbing elements which are disposed between walls or other components. The hollow bodies are tube portions which are predeformed perpendicularly to their longitudinal axes and which are disposed with the tube axes parallel to the walls individually in a predeterminable arrangement or joined together in single-layer or multilayer fashion, and wherein the degree of predeformation is between 0.1% and 85% of the open width of the undeformed tube in the direction of the deformation impact force.

The invention relates to deformable structures for protection of vehicle occupants in particular for direct protection of occupants of a vehicle passenger compartment.
Because of the progressively more stringent vehicle safety requirements, use is made of deformable structures for cushioning arrangements in vehicle passenger compartments. In particular, foams and honeycombs having energy-absorbing properties are provided to reduce the risk of injury or the severity of injuries in the event of an impact because, while maintaining a maximum permissible impact-resisting force, such materials absorb as much kinetic energy as possible and thereby reduce the impact stresses.
Resilient foam materials absorb impact energy up to a certain level and then return the stored energy in the opposite direction. This leads to undesirably high reaction speeds.
Solid plastic foam materials absorb impact energy in the course of the compression of the pores and cells in a satisfactory manner, but only until the cells are completely compressed, leading to a "solid material" condition which produces an excessive increase in impact-resisting force and is not capable of further absorption of energy.
For occupant-protecting energy absorption, it is necessary to achieve a particular force/deformation path characteristic of the deformable element, by which a defined maximum permissible impact-resisting force is not exceeded upon commencement of the deformation, the impact resisting force being maintained over a deformation path which is as long as possible and which substantially corresponds to the thickness of the undeformed deformable element so that the function of the deformable element as an energy absorbing component is preserved and the impact force applied to it is not transmitted in its full magnitude to a vehicle occupant. In order to ensure adequate energy absorption by the deformable element, an excessive increase in impact-resisting force, a so-called force peak, must not occur at the start of the deformation, and the deformation should take place over the entire deformation path at a force level close to, but below the maximum permissible impact-resisting force.
Deformable elements and deformable structures in the form in which they are described in the following prior art documents attempt to provide solutions to this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,275 describes a vehicle door having an energy-absorbing cushioning cladding formed as a molded part containing a synthetic, rigid plastic foam with a plurality of molded-on projections, such as ribs, columns or cones, formed on the side remote from a vehicle occupant with a layer of a force-distributing semi-stiff plastic foam disposed on the same side of the cladding as the vehicle occupant compartment.
Deformable structures having energy-absorbing ceramic deformable elements are also known. Thus, German Patent No. 29 17 687 discloses a deformable element which has an energy-absorbing core containing a filling of mineral particulate foams, in particular spherical expanded clay, expanded silicate or expanded slate particles, the volume of which is filled with a foam material, the core being surrounded by a resilient jacket. German Offenlengungsschrift No. 43 40 346 discloses a deformable structure which is made of structured ceramic or framework ceramic embedded in a plastic foam, i.e. a spatial pattern of plastic filaments or plastic lattices. Furthermore, German Offenlengungsschrift No. 43 40 347 describes a beam for motor vehicles which is at least partially filled with a multiplicity of ceramic hollow bodies abutting its inner wall which, when acted upon by a force, become deformed with controlled folding in the direction of the major dimension of the beam. By selecting appropriate ceramic hollow bodies , it is possible to create a coordinated deformation behavior of the beam. In this connection, the use of larger and/or thin-walled hollow bodies provides a longer deformation path, while smaller and/or thicker-walled hollow bodies have a higher capacity to absorb impact forces.
A deformable element made from ceramic hollow bodies of differing diameter and differing wall thickness is described in German Offenlengungsschrift No. 43 40 349. The hollow bodies, preferably hollow spheres of aluminum oxide, are arranged in such a way that those having a relatively large wall thickness and having a greater energy absorption capacity are disposed at the front, on the force application side, and those having a large diameter or a small wall thickness to achieve a greater path length at a lower level of force are disposed behind them with respect to the direction of applied impact force.
The subject of European Application No. 0 530 042 is a vehicle door having a door body containing an impact cushion which is an integral composite structure having an arrangement of mutually parallel elongate foam elements, the axes of which are disposed transversely to the door cladding. U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,066 also describes a vehicle door having an inner and an outer body sheet and having a deformable structure at the inner body sheet which is designed in the form of a honeycomb, the cell-forming walls of which are aligned substantially transversely to the inner body sheet.
In the statement of the prior art in German Patent No. 36 21 697, horizontally disposed tubes or shaped members constructed of a homogeneous material are mentioned as energy-absorbing impact-resisting structures. To improve the specific reshaping capacity of such tubes or shaped members, reinforcement is provided by a tension strap and a compression strap. In this case, the reinforcing elements have cavity-forming elements which are disposed with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the tension strap and to the compression strap.
Finally, German Patent No. 30 38 252 describes an impact-absorbing deformable element for the knee impact region of a driver and a front seat passenger which is formed from a plurality of tubes extending parallel to each other with the tube axes extending transversely to the direction of impact.
To a greater or lesser extent, limits are set for the above-described arrangements with respect to satisfying the above-mentioned force/deformation path characteristic requirements. In particular, the deformable structure is compressed after a short deformation path and then behaves like a solid material, resulting in an excessive increase in impact-resisting force.

Deformable structure for protection of vehicle occupants


A black perylene-based pigment produced by calcining at least one compound selected from the group consisting of diimide derivatives of perylene tetracarboxylic acid and diimide derivatives of perylene diiminodicarboxylic acid, at a temperature of 200 to 600° C. in vacuum or in an inert gas atmosphere, exhibits an excellent blackness, an excellent heat resistance and an excellent weather fastness as well as a high resistance and a high safety.

As black pigments, there have been conventionally used carbon black, perylene-based pigments and the like. Among these black pigments, carbon black has been most widely used because of its high tinctorial strength as well as an excellent blackness, an excellent acid resistance and an excellent weather fastness. However, carbon black has a very small particle size and a large bulk density and, therefore, tends to suffer from problems such as poor handling property and workability. Also, it may be difficult to use such carbon black in applications requiring a high electrical resistance, such as black matrix materials for liquid crystal color filters, because of a low electrical resistance thereof. Further, the carbon black may contain carcinogenic polycyclic condensation compounds and, therefore, has a problem concerning a safety.
Although the perylene-based pigments extensively used as fast pigments exhibit red-violet-brown-black colors in a solid state, the color tone thereof is not necessarily kept thermally stable (W. Herbst & K. Hunger "Industrial Organic Pigments", VCH Press, pp. 467–480).
An object of the present invention is to provide a black perylene-based pigment exhibiting an excellent blackness, an excellent heat resistance and an excellent weather fastness as well as a high safety, which is usable as black matrix pigments for liquid crystal color filters.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Black perylene pigment and process for producing the same


A surveillance system and method of use thereof is disclosed. The surveillance system provides a continuous presence and may be operated by remote control. The system may automatically record video and audio when certain audio, such as a gun shot, is detected. The system may automatically contact the authorities, or other remotely located devices upon the occurrence of an undesirable event.

Many cities have high crime areas which require a police presence in order to keep the peace. Placing law enforcement officers in such high risk environments is not desirable. Further, it is costly and difficult to place such personnel in such environments at all times. Accordingly, what is needed is an automated surveillance unit which automatically monitors an environment, transmits video and audio signals from the environment, and allows remote control intervention of the surveillance unit in order to capture possible evidence from the environment should an undesirable event, such as a crime, occur.

Surveillance unit and method of use thereof


Techniques, apparatus and systems that use an optical probe head to deliver light to a target and to collect light from the target for imaging, monitoring, medical diagnostics and medical treatment applications.

This application relates to techniques, apparatus and systems that use optical waveguides to deliver light in endoscopes and other instrument for medical, biological, chemical and other applications.
Light can be guided through a light pipe or optical waveguide such as optic fiber to a target to obtain optical images, optical measurements and other operations of the target. The optical waveguide such as optic fiber can be used to reach the target at a location that is otherwise difficult to reach or requires some preparatory procedures to make the target more accessible. For example, the tissue of an internal organ of a patient may be made available for a medical examination or therapy procedure through a natural orifice or an incision to expose the internal organ. Such a procedure may be performed by delivering probe light to the tissue via an endoscope instrument or catheter to reduce or minimize the degree of invasiveness. At the distal end of the instrument, light is pointed to certain direction or steered to interact with an area or a slice of tissue of interest. Delivery of light via an optical waveguide can be implemented to perform various procedures, such as medical imaging, diffuse-reflection spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, coherence-gated optical tomography, photodynamic therapy, laser hyperthermia and others.
In the above and other procedures that direct light to a target issue, the light beam at the distal end of an endoscope instrument or catheter may be scanned to change the direction of the light beam and, in some procedures, it may be desirable to scan the light beam in more than one trajectory on the target tissue. Scanning of the light beam can be technically difficult because of various limitations in such applications imposed by locations, conditions, geometries, dimensions, or a combination of two or more of these and other factors associated with the target tissue. For example, in some procedures performed in vascular and pulmonary organs, the size of the channels, for instance, blood vessels or bronchus, may limit the dimensions of the instrument to sub-millimeters in their cross-sections and thus present a considerable challenge to designs of beam pointing or steering mechanisms.

Delivering light via optical waveguide and multi-view optical probe head


A system and method of a diagnostic imaging system includes a high frequency electromagnetic energy source that emits a beam of high frequency electromagnetic energy toward an object to be imaged, a detector that receives high frequency electromagnetic energy emitted by the high frequency electromagnetic energy source and attenuated by the object, a data acquisition system (DAS) operably connected to the detector, and a computer operably connected to the DAS. The computer is programmed to obtain CT scan data with two or more incident energy spectra, decompose the obtained CT scan data into projection CT data of two or more basis materials, reconstruct linearly weighted projections of the two or more basis materials, determine an optimized energy for the two or more basis materials within a region-of-interest (ROI), and form a monochromatic image of the projection CT data at the optimized energy using the two or more basis material projections.

The present invention relates generally to diagnostic imaging and, more particularly, to a system and method of basis material decomposition and representation of diagnostic imaging data at a virtual energy having minimized monochromatic noise or maximized contrast to noise ratio.
Diagnostic devices comprise x-ray systems, magnetic resonance (MR) systems, ultrasound systems, computed tomography (CT) systems, positron emission tomography (PET) systems, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and other types of imaging systems. Typically, in CT imaging systems, an x-ray source emits a fan-shaped beam toward a subject or object, such as a patient or a piece of luggage. Hereinafter, the terms "subject" and "object" shall include anything capable of being imaged. The beam, after being attenuated by the subject, impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the attenuated beam radiation received at the detector array is typically dependent upon the attenuation of the x-ray beam by the subject. Each detector element of the detector array produces a separate electrical signal indicative of the attenuated beam received by each detector element. The electrical signals are transmitted to a data processing system for analysis which ultimately produces an image.
Generally, the x-ray source and the detector array are rotated about the gantry opening within an imaging plane and around the subject. X-ray sources typically include x-ray tubes, which emit the x-ray beam at a focal point. X-ray detectors typically include a collimator for collimating x-ray beams received at the detector, a scintillator for converting x-rays to light energy adjacent the collimator, and photodiodes for receiving the light energy from the adjacent scintillator and producing electrical signals therefrom.
Typically, each scintillator of a scintillator array converts x-rays to light energy. Each scintillator discharges light energy to a photodiode adjacent thereto. Each photodiode detects the light energy and generates a corresponding electrical signal. The outputs of the photodiodes are then transmitted to the data processing system for image reconstruction.
A CT imaging system may include an energy discriminating (ED), multi energy (ME), and/or dual energy (DE) CT imaging system that may be referred to as an EDCT, MECT, and/or DE-CT imaging system. Such systems may use a direct conversion detector material in lieu of a scintillator. The EDCT, MECT, and/or DE-CT imaging system in an example is configured to be responsive to different x-ray spectra. For example, a conventional third generation CT system may acquire projections sequentially at different peak kilovoltage (kVp) levels, which changes the peak and spectrum of energy of the incident photons comprising the emitted x-ray beams. Two scans are acquired—either (1) back-to-back sequentially in time where the scans require two rotations around the subject, or (2) interleaved as a function of the rotation angle requiring one rotation around the subject, in which the tube operates at, for instance, 80 kVp and 160 kVp potentials. Special filters may be placed between the x-ray source and the detector such that different detector rows collect projections of different x-ray energy spectra. The special filters that shape the x-ray spectrum may be used for two scans that are acquired either back to back or interleaved. Energy sensitive detectors may be used such that each x-ray photon reaching the detector is recorded with its photon energy.
Techniques to obtain the measurements comprise: (1) scan with two distinctive energy spectra, and (2) detect photon energy according to energy deposition in the detector. EDCT/MECT/DE-CT provides energy discrimination and material characterization. For example, in the absence of object scatter, the system derives the behavior at a different energy based on the signal from two regions of photon energy in the spectrum: the low-energy and the high-energy portions of the incident x-ray spectrum. In a given energy region of medical CT, two physical processes dominate the x-ray attenuation: (1) Compton scatter and the (2) photoelectric effect. The detected signals from two energy regions provide sufficient information to resolve the energy dependence of the material being imaged. Furthermore, detected signals from the two energy regions provide sufficient information to determine the relative composition of an object composed of two hypothetical materials.
A conventional basis material decomposition (BMD) algorithm is based on the concept that, in an energy region for medical CT, the x-ray attenuation of any given material can be represented by a proper density mix of two materials with distinct x-ray attenuation properties, referred to as the basis materials. The BMD algorithm computes two CT images that represent the equivalent density of one of the basis materials based on the measured projections at high and low x-ray photon energy spectra, respectively. Because of the strong energy dependence of x-ray attenuation coefficients and the polychromatic nature of the x-ray spectrum, conventional CT images typically contain beam hardening artifacts, except in a given material—typically water, that the system is typically calibrated with. However, since a material density is independent of x-ray photon energy, beam-hardening artifacts can be greatly reduced or eliminated. The drawback is that the density images often have increased noise due to the BMD process. By linearly combining the two density images, a monochromatic image representation can be formed, resulting in a reduced noise level if proper weighting is used.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method that presents diagnostic imaging data having minimized noise or maximized contrast to noise ratio in the computed monochromatic images.

System and method of optimizing a monochromatic representation of basis material decomposed CT images


A fabrication method for PCBs. The method includes providing a substrate having a layout area and a periphery area around the layout area on a surface, forming a patterned wiring layer, having a bus line in the periphery area, a plurality of pads in the layout area, a plurality of bridge lines providing electrical connection between the pads, and a plating line electrically connecting the bus line and pads, overlying the substrate, forming a patterned solder mask over the substrate and wiring layer, the patterned solder mask having a plurality of first openings respectively exposing the pads and plating a metal layer respectively overlying the pads, forming a plurality of second openings respectively exposing the bridge lines between the pads, and removing the exposed bridge lines.

The present invention relates to a fabrication method for a printed circuit board (PCB), and more particularly to a method of plating a metal layer of the PCB.
PCBs, such as substrates for ball grid array (BGA) packages, generally have exposed pads or fingers for connection to an external device.
In FIG. 1, a top view of an exemplary portion of a PCB for a BGA substrate is shown. Fingers 140 disposed a chip attachment area 120. Trace lines 150 on a top surface respectively extend from fingers 140 to via holes 160 and electrically connect to pads 130 on a bottom surface using trace lines on the bottom surface. A bus line 180, disposed an edge of the PCB, electrically connects to trace lines 150, fingers 140, and pads 130 using branch plating lines 181. The pads 130, fingers 140, trace lines 150, bus line 180, and branch plating lines 181 are typically copper. The pads 130 and fingers 140 are typically exposed for electrical connection to external devices (not shown). The pads 130 and fingers 140 are usually plated with a Ni/Au layer (not shown) by electrical plating where current flows to every pad 130 and finger 140 using bus line 180 and branch plating lines 181 to prevent the exposed pads 130 and fingers 140 from oxidation.
The connections between respective trace lines 150 and bus lines 180 are cut by a step to separate an encapsulated package from the PCB. The branch lines 181, however, remain in the package.
Due to the demand for small-aspect, light and powerful electronic products, PCB design rules demand to layouts with increased density, resulting in increased overall density and reduced pitch in the remained branch lines 181. Thus, a crosstalk effect resulting from mutual inductance and mutual capacitor between the branch lines 181 may not only negatively affect transmission of electrical signals and system stability, but also deviate character impedances of trace lines 150, thereby further negatively affecting the electrical performance of an end product using the PCB.

Fabrication method for printed circuit board


A pattern exposure method and a pattern exposure apparatus in which the throughput is improved with an inexpensive apparatus and without a low running cost. Output faces of a plurality of laser beams emitted from a plurality of semiconductor lasers respectively are arranged in two directions. One of the directions is the same direction as the scanning direction of a polygon mirror while the other is a direction crossing the scanning direction of the polygon mirror. In this event, the array pitch of the output faces arranged in the direction crossing the scanning direction of the polygon mirror is made equal to resolution of an exposure pattern. In this event, the wavelength of each laser may be made not longer than 410 nm.

In the background art, for pattern exposure on a printed circuit board, a TFT substrate or a color filter substrate of a liquid crystal display or a substrate of a plasma display (hereinafter referred to as "substrate"), a mask serving as a master pattern is produced, and the substrate is exposed to light through the mask by a mask exposure apparatus.
In recent years, in spite of increasing dimensions of substrates, the time allotted to design and production of these substrates becomes shorter and shorter. When the substrates are designed, it is very difficult to eliminate design errors perfectly. Exposure is often performed with another mask produced newly on revised design. In addition, some kinds of substrates are often produced in a multi-item small-quantity production manner. The situation that a mask is produced for each of many kinds of substrates has been inevitable though it should be avoided in terms of the cost, the date of delivery, etc.
In consideration of the aforementioned situation, the request for maskless exposure using no mask is increasing in recent years. One of methods for performing maskless exposure is a method in which a two-dimensional pattern generated by use of a two-dimensional spatial modulator such as a liquid crystal or a DMD (Digital Mirror Device), and a substrate is exposed to light with the two-dimensional pattern through a projection lens (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 320968/1999). In addition, there is a method in which a substrate is scanned with a laser beam by use of a high-power laser and a polygon mirror and exposed to the laser beam by use of an EO modulator or an AO modulator. Thus, the substrate is patterned.
However, in the former background-art method, a comparatively fine pattern can be drawn, but the apparatus is expensive.
On the other hand, in the latter background-art method, substrates can be produced at a comparatively low cost due to a simple configuration of the apparatus, but it is difficult to pattern a large area with high definition. In addition, since a high-power laser is required in order to improve the throughput, the apparatus cost increases, and the running cost also increases.

Pattern exposure method and pattern exposure apparatus


A coin receiving and disbursing apparatus aligns coins to travel along a curved path. The coins can be verified and appropriately sorted by denomination and dropped into a plurality of hopper units arranged in two arrays below the coin path. Positioned between the two arrays of hoppers is a conveying belt. The hoppers are operatively positioned to propel coins upon receipt of a discharge signal upward into the air fall on the coin conveying device. The arrangement of the hoppers and the coin conveying device minimizes bouncing of the coins and facilitates their travel to a money discharge port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin receiving and disbursing apparatus which stores a plural of denominations of coins in a separate reserving part for each coin denomination, and dispenses a specified number of a specified denomination of coins in response to an instruction from a related instrument, more specifically the present invention also relates to a compact coin receiving and disbursing apparatus, in particular, a low-height coin receiving and disbursing apparatus suited for installation under or beside a POS register and capable of completing the disbursement of coins in a short time period.
2. Description of Related Art
The term "coin" used herein means coins of currency, tokens and medals, which may be circular or polygonal in shape. In one conventionally known coin receiving and disbursing apparatus, after separating coins by a rotary disc, the coins travel in line along a received money conveying path and are checked by a judging unit to determine whether the coin is fake or real and to determine the coin denomination. The coins are then sorted by denomination in a sorting path after sequentially passed through a reject gate and overflow gate. The sorted coins are aligned on each side of a money disbursing path after passing through a chute, and introduced into a respective hopper provided for each denomination. The coins in each hopper engage a selector disk with a projection disposed on an inner periphery of an oblique circular disc, and a specified number of coins are disbursed from a hopper of a specified coin denomination into a money disbursing path in response to an instruction for money disbursement (see, Japanese Patent No. 2945235).
In the above conventional art, a coin is released from a hopper to a money disbursing path. In other words, the oblique circular disc is arranged so that it is in the lowest level on the side of the money disbursing path, and its level rises as the distance from the money disbursing path increases. Therefore, the money disbursing path is not able to convey a coin from a hopper unless it is disposed at a lower level than the lowermost end of the oblique circular disc. Since the received money conveying path, the hopper and the disbursing money conveying path are arranged in a stacked array, reduction of the height of the money receiving and disbursing apparatus is limited. In addition, since a coin may be disbursed with some speed towards the disbursing money conveying path from the hopper, the coin may strike the disbursing money conveying path and bounce in various directions, creating a problem that the money disbursement is not completed in a desired short time period.

Coin receiving and disbursing apparatus with storage devices capable of propelling coins


An article storage container for use in an article handler which uses a suction-type gripping device. The container comprises a bin having wall portions and a bottom portion, for storing in a columnar manner, articles to be retrieved by the gripping device. The gripping device enters a dispensing end of the bin which is opposite the bottom portion of the bin. An airflow path providing device at the bottom portion of the bin prevents the gripping device from developing enough suction force to grip to the bottom of the bin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for reducing/preventing the tendency of the pick-up head in a suction-type article dispensing machine from adhering to the bottom of an article storage bin in the event that the pick-up head tries to retrieve another article after the last article has already been dispensed.
2. Background Information and Description of the Related Art
My earlier published prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,139 and one of my more recent patent publications, such as WO 01/95276 A3 (entitled Method And Apparatus For Positioning An Article Handling Device, or US Patent Publication 2003/0063969 having the same title, disclose automatic vending machines which use a robotically controlled vacuum (sometimes referred to as suction) hose, in order to retrieve and dispense the articles stored in stacks in aligned bins.
With such an article dispensing arrangement, it is possible that in the event of a malfunction, the article pick-up head at the end of the vacuum hose may actually contact and then adhere to the bottom of an article storing bin. It would be desirable to provide modifications to the bottom of an article storage bin so as to reduce/prevent the pick-up head in a suction-type article dispensing machine from adhering to the bottom of the bin after the last article has been dispensed.

Floor gripping prevention device for a vending machine


The present invention provides a valve nozzle that can restrain property changes of an injecting melted resin by more strictly controlling the temperature of the injecting melted resin, wherein in the internal space or the rear space of a valve nozzle main body, a gate opening and closing mechanism is disposed which includes a torpedo provided with a coolant channel, a piston including a head portion, a shaft portion that is continued from the head portion and disposed in the internal space of the torpedo by being provided with a gap to serve as a resin flow channel on its outer circumferential surface, a tapered surface that is connected to the rear end of the shaft portion and serves as a surface for receiving the pressure of a resin in the resin flow channel, and a coil spring that presses the rear end part of the piston toward a gate, and when the pressure of the melted resin is at a predetermined value or less, the piston is pressed by the coil spring toward the gate to close the resin flow channel, and when the pressure of the resin reaches a predetermined value or more, it overcomes the pressing force of the coil spring and the head portion of the piston withdraws from the gate of the nozzle head to release the gate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve nozzle used for a synthetic resin molding machine, more specifically, a valve nozzle and a shut-off nozzle used for runner-less molding.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
To obtain moldings with stable quality by a resin molding machine, temperature management control is an essential matter during melting of a raw material resin, injecting of the melting resin into a mold and solidifying inside the mold, and removal from the mold after solidifying.
To control the temperature of the resin injected into the mold, there is known a technique of controlling the temperature of the cavity by supplying a coolant into the mold, proposed in Patent Documents of Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 3345196), Document 2 (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. H07-59375), Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H04-65214), Document 4 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. H04-11614), and so on.
According to the inventors' research, with the techniques shown in the above Documents 1 through 4, satisfactory temperature control is possible during injection molding by using a general resin, and moldings with stable quality are obtained, however, in the case of injection molding of silicone rubber or urethane rubber, etc., that requires more strict temperature control, in particular, foaming injection molding, it was found that properties changed when injecting.


An electronic component embedded substrate is disclosed. The electronic component embedded substrate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: a core substrate having a cavity formed therein; a plurality of electronic components embedded in the cavity and arranged in a predetermined format; and a plurality of dielectric spacers interposed in between the plurality of electronic components that are adjacent to one another in the cavity.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic component embedded substrate.
2. Background Art
Electronic component embedded printed circuit boards are formed by an embedding process, in which after a cavity is formed in a core substrate, an electronic component is placed in the cavity, and the electronic component is fixed in the cavity using, for example, a filling material.
The electronic component embedded printed circuit boards have recently become smaller and had an increased number of installed parts therein in order to address electronic devices that have become more functional and more integrated. Moreover, the electronic component embedded printed circuit boards have a decreased size of cavity, with each cavity having an increased number of parts embedded therein, in order to improve the freedom of circuit design. However, defects are often occurred by short circuit caused by the embedded parts contacting with one another while the electronic component embedded printed circuit boards is fabricated.
The related art of the present invention is disclosed in Korea Patent Publication No. 2011-0006252.


A clutch control device for controlling the operation of a hydraulically operated clutch with a flow control valve. The control device includes a volume flow regulating valve that enables both volume flow regulated filling and volume flow regulated emptying of a hydraulic clutch positioning element, to provide rapid and precise operation of the clutch.

The present invention relates to a clutch control device for controlling the operation of a hydraulically operated clutch with a valve. The present invention also relates to a clutch, in particular a wet clutch, having a clutch control: Furthermore, the present invention relates to a power train including an engine and a transmission, in particular an automatic shift transmission, a dual clutch transmission, or a CVT transmission.
Distance-regulated or pressure-regulated valves can be used, for example, to operate a clutch by means of a hydraulic system.
An object of the present invention is to provide a clutch control device for controlling the operation of a hydraulically actuated clutch with a valve that enables rapid and precise actuation of the clutch.

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


Disclosed is a apparatus and a method for displaying various character effects on a character input screen of a mobile station using a differentiated graphic element according to a key input signal. In the method a visual character theme set by a user is displayed in a character input mode, and a character input effect corresponding to the visual character theme is shown according to a key input signal. Accordingly, since the mobile station can show a visual character input effect in every key input sequence by allowing the user to select a desired visual character theme in advance, an entertaining effect is added to a user interface of the mobile station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile station, and in particular, to a character input method for adding various effects to a character displayed on a screen when the character is input and a mobile station therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as mobile stations have become more popular, they have incorporated additional functions so that users of the mobile stations can use the mobile stations for these additional functions in addition to a phone communication function. Moreover, in scope with the expansion of various services and additional functions, a mobile terminal's display screen size and color palette has also increased Due to the users' demands being more various and detailed than in the past, the screen space of the mobile stations must now be used more efficiently using various methods. Accordingly, screen space should be used such that, various demands of the users are satisfied and a user is not inconvenienced.
However, although current mobile stations can generate sound and images desired by users using a download service, when a recipient's number is input or a short message is edited, characters having the same font shape and/or size are typically used.
For example, a mobile station displays a number having a single font shape illustrated in FIG. 1(A) when a user presses a key when dialing. The number having a normal size or double size as the font size. When the user continues to dial, input numbers fill a screen as illustrated in FIG. 1(B), and if the user continues to press more keys, the input numbers are converted to a smaller font size and displayed as illustrated in FIG. 1(C). When the user presses a "call" key, an image of trying to connect a call to the input recipient's number is displayed as illustrated in FIG. 1(D).
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram illustrating a conventional dialing screen having a layered structure. The conventional dialing screen includes a background layer 10 for providing a single unicolor background image, a character input layer 20 for displaying key-input data according to a key press, and an icon layer 30 for informing of a current operation state according to the key press by displaying icons or images. That is, the icon layer 30 displays icons of various shapes, such as a telephone shape representing a conversation state and a speaker shape representing a sound setting item.
Accordingly, when a conventional mobile station displays key-input data input by a user when dialing, the conventional mobile station simply displays monotonous key-input data having an assigned font shape and size. That is, in the character display method described above, the mobile station does not allow the user to set various methods such as an assignment of the font size and color of characters.
As described above, a conventional mobile station displays a character by changing the font size and color of the character according to setting of a user when the character is input. Accordingly there is a need for a mobile station which can display a user selected font type, size, and color.

Character input method for adding visual effect to character when character is input and mobile station therefor


Novel pharmaceutical formulations for treating a cellular proliferative disease are provided comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of a Golgi apparatus disturbing agent; a biocompatible carrier; and a solvent. In preferred formulations, the Golgi apparatus disturbing agent is brefeldin A (BFA) and the biocompatible carrier is a polymer such as chitin or chitosan. Methods of treating cellular proliferative diseases using the pharmaceutical formulations are also described.

This invention relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising pharmacologically active agents, biocompatible carriers, and solvents and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to pharmaceutical formulations containing Golgi apparatus disturbing agents such as, for example, brefeldin A. This invention also relates to methods of treating cellular proliferative diseases in patients in need of such therapy.
Local cancer chemotherapy involves the introduction of an anti-cancer agent near or within a tumor. As a potential cure for some cancers, local chemotherapy has generated a tremendous interest among researchers and health care providers, in part because local chemotherapy (in contrast to systemic delivery) avoids or minimizes the potential for systemic toxicity, and in part because the target site can be exposed to higher concentrations of the active agent than possible with conventional chemotherapy. Thus, local chemotherapy can provide a useful tool in the treatment of some cancers.
Local chemotherapy is not, however, without drawbacks. One problem associated with local chemotherapy is insufficient retention of the chemotherapeutic agent at the target site (i.e., the diseased organ or tissue). Another problem with local chemotherapy (and many types of chemotherapy, for that matter) is the insoluble or slightly soluble nature of the active agent. Thus, the ability of local chemotherapy to offer a cure for some cancers has been compromised by retention and/or solubility problems associated with previously known or suggested chemotherapeutic agents and formulations.
The proposed solutions to these problems either do not fully address these drawbacks or create their own additional drawbacks. One often-cited approach is to employ a sustained release delivery system of a pharmacologically active anti-cancer agent. It is believed that locally administered, sustained release delivery systems allow high doses of the anti-cancer agent to be delivered while ensuring sufficient retention at the target site. Theoretically, such an approach would both increase efficacy and limit toxicity. To date, however, such approaches have not been effective. Thus additional agents and formulations are needed in order to bring the full potential of local chemotherapy to fruition.
Recently, there has been a significant interest in Golgi apparatus disturbing agents, particularly brefeldin A, due to its reported anti-tumor activity. Brefeldin A (BFA) was first described to be an antifungal, cytotoxic, and cancerostatic antibiotic. Haerri, et al. (1963) Chem. Abs.59:5726h. Brefeldin A was also reported to have anti-viral properties. Tamura et al. (1968) J. Antibiotics 21:161-166. In recent years, brefeldin A has been studied extensively as a protein transport inhibitor. It is believed that brefeldin A can reversibly disrupt the Golgi apparatus, thereby affecting protein transport through the cytoplasm. Domes et al. (1989) J. Cell Biol. 109:61-72 (1989); Lippincott-Schwartz et al. (1991) J. Cell Biol. 112:567-577. It is now known that brefeldin A induces retrograde membrane transport from Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Dinter et al.(1998) Histochem. Cell Biol. 109:571-590. Currently brefeldin A is primarily used as a tool by researchers to interfere with the processing and sorting of finished proteins in order to more fully understand protein trafficking.
Due to solubility and related toxicity problems of brefeldin A, it has not yet been used successfully as an active agent in a pharmaceutical formulation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,078 to Acker et al. reported preparation of derivatives of brefeldin A in order to overcome solubility problems, but these derivatives still exhibited toxicity and insufficient solubility. In 1997, preparation and antitumor activity of water-soluble derivatives of brefeldin A were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,154 to Malspeis et al. These derivatives were claimed to be suitable for intravenous delivery in animals and humans. However, these analogs have been tested only in vitro and in very small amounts, which may not produce desired therapeutic effects in vivo. Thus, there remains a need for pharmaceutical formulations which can deliver, inter alia, insoluble or slightly soluble active agents such as brefeldin A and other Golgi apparatus disturbing agents, for the treatment of cellular proliferative diseases. There is a further need for pharmaceutical formulations of brefeldin A.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to address the aforementioned needs in the art and provide a pharmaceutical formulation comprising a Golgi apparatus disturbing agent as will be described in detail herein.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pharmaceutical formulation comprising brefeldin A as will be described in detail herein.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a formulation which significantly reduces the drawbacks associated with other types of local chemotherapy.
It is still another object of the invention to provide such a formulation which provides for sustained release of the active agent.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a formulation which increases the solubility of an otherwise insoluble or slightly soluble active agent.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of treating a cellular proliferative disease comprising administering to a patient in need thereof the pharmaceutical formulation of the invention as described in detail herein.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
In a first embodiment, then, a pharmaceutical formulation for treating a cellular proliferative disease in a patient is provided comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of a Golgi apparatus disturbing agent; a biocompatible carrier; and a solvent.
The Golgi apparatus disturbing agent can be any agent known to interfere with the functioning of the Golgi apparatus but it is preferred that the Golgi disturbing apparatus disturbing agent is brefeldin A. The biocompatible carrier can comprise any substantially non-antigenic and non-toxic compound that can serve to increase the solubility of the active agent and/or provide a sustained release profile of the active agent following administration of the pharmaceutical formulation. Preferred carriers include polysaccharides and particularly preferred polysaccharides are selected from the group consisting of chitin, chitosan, and combinations thereof. It is preferred also that the biocompatible carrier is covalently linked to brefeldin A.
In another embodiment, a method of treating a cellular proliferative disease is provided comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a pharmaceutical formulation comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of a Golgi apparatus disturbing agent; a biocompatible carrier; and a solvent.
The method of treating includes injecting the pharmaceutical formulation directly or nearly directly to the target site (e.g., an area exhibiting cellular proliferative disease). Preferably, the method is useful for treating proliferative selected from the group consisting of brain cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Treatment of oncologic tumors with an injectable formulation of a golgi apparatus disturbing agent


An Ethernet passive optical network over coaxial (EPOC) system rate mechanism. A network device is provided that includes a physical layer device (PHY) that is configured for coupling to a coaxial cable, a medium independent interface that facilitates data transmission at 10 Gbit/s or greater, and a reconciliation sublayer that is coupled to the PHY via the medium independent interface. The reconciliation sublayer has a codeword detector that is configured to detect a reserved codeword that is received from the PHY over the medium independent interface. The codeword detector can be configured to forward a rate control signal to a media access control (MAC) based on the detection of the reserved codeword.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multipoint control protocols and, more particularly, to an Ethernet passive optical network over coaxial (EPOC) system rate mechanism.
2. Introduction
In a point-to-multipoint system such as an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON), a single optical line terminal (OLT) at a head end can be designed to communicate with a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) at various end nodes. This arrangement leverages a shared fiber optic plant by multiple networking nodes. Typically, the OLT broadcasts its transmissions in the downstream direction to all of the ONUs. Each of the ONUs, on the other hand, transmit in the upstream direction to the OLT in a pre-assigned time slot.

Ethernet passive optical network over coaxial (EPoC) system rate mechanism


A locking device, which mounts a user key (the first key) and a manager key (the second key) separatedly, places a first lock and a second lock unitedly in an outer cylinder. The first lock is opened or rotated by the first key. After the first lock is open, the first key cannot be pulled out of the locking device. If the second lock is open by the second key, the first key can be pulled out together with the second key.

As publicly known, the conventional lock or the locking device can be open by only one key. Also, it is designed in such a manner that after the lock is open or locked by the key, the key can be pulled out from the lock.
Thus, in the case of the locking device used publicly, for example, the locking device used for a locker in a subway station or a public bath, the manager had to manage the key one by one in order to prevent the key from being taken away by the user. Currently, in order to resolve such problem, at the time of using the locker, the locking device is designed in such a manner that the user cannot pull out the key while the locker is open.
However, both cases have problems in that the locker cannot be used if the user takes away the key at the locking state, and the lock has to be renewed or repaired. In particular, in the case that the user cannot pull out the key when the locker is open, it was difficult to manage the key since the key should always be inserted into the lock of the locker.
Meanwhile, the above locking device is used when the department store, the big supermarket or an amusement hall provide a predetermined key with a winner who wins a free gift so the winner opens the door of the gift box with the predetermined key to take the free gift. However, if the winner can pull out the key from the gift box after opening the lock of the box, the key could be missing. However, if the key cannot be pulled out, there still exists a problem that the manager needs to manage the key one by one for the next use.


A method is provided for environmentally benign paint spraying with a dispersion of oven-curable lacquer in water in a paint spraying station having a cubicle with water-rinsed rear wall for collecting and washing out of overspray in cubicle waste water. The entire cubicle waste water is separated by ultrafiltration into permeate and lacquer-containing residue, the permeate being returned to the paint spraying station, the lacquer-containing residue being enriched with lacquer by removing water until its lacquer content is essentially equal to that of dispersion that is freshly fed to the spray painting station. The residue that is enriched with lacquer is admixed to the freshly fed dispersion for reuse in spray painting. A constituent for preventing coalescence of the lacquer is admixed to the dispersion fed to the paint spraying station, wherein a constituent for the inhibition of the drying is admixed to the dispersion that is fed to the paint spraying station, a constituent for adjusting the throughput for ultrafiltration is admixed to the cubicle waste water, and the conductibility of the water returned to the paint spraying station is monitored and kept below the limit.

The invention relates to a method for environmentally benign paint spraying with a dispersion of oven-drying lacquer in water in a paint spraying station that is provided with a cubicle with water-rinsed rear wall for collecting and washing out of overspray in cubicle waste water, the entire cubicle waste water being separated by ultrafiltration into permeate and lacquer-containing residue, the entire permeate being returned to the paint spraying station, the lacquer-containing residue being enriched with lacquer by removing water until the lacquer content is essentially equal to that of dispersion that is fed to the paint spraying station the residue that is enriched with lacquer in this way being admixed to the freshly fed dispersion for reuse in spray painting, and with a constituent for preventing coalescence of the lacquer being admixed to the dispersion fed to the paint spraying station.
In prior art the overspray will be disposed of, which constitutes a heavy burden for the environment and is also very costly. For instance, a binding agent for oven-drying lacquer, which can be dispersed in water, is known from EP-0032554: the disposal of such a binding agent constitutes a heavy burden to the environment, because it Contains phosphor. Besides, special measures have to be taken so as to avoid conglutination of the appliances used for separating the overspray from the cubicle waste water, in this context cf. for example DE-3704683.
The separation of cubicle waste water into permeate and lacquer-containing residue by means of ultrafiltration is known, for example, from EP-0307047, EP-0245863, EP-0137877 or EP-0127685. On the other hand, it is known from EP-0318827 or EP-0271015 that the permeate has to be deacidified before it is returned to the paint spraying residue. Both of these aspects of the state of the art are taken into account in EP-0217212.
Experiments for the recuperation of the lacquer from the overspray in cubicle waste water are made reference to in "Oberflache +JOT" 5/1987, page 36, however, in this publication they are considered as "successful only in certain cases". In "Oberflache +JOT" 2/1988, pages 24-25, lacquer and binding agent circuits in the spraying cubicle are qualified as "future", while the recuperation of the lacquer by means of special reprocessing is mentioned as known. Also in DE-3800980, the recuperation of the lacquer by means of reprocessing is known.
In "Oberflache +JOT" 5/1988, pages 61-63, the use of amines for preventing coalescence of over-drying lacquer and the additional cleaning of the cubicle waste water by reverse osmosis following its separation into permeate and lacquer residue are mentioned. In this publication, the recuperation of the lacquer from the overspray is considered as being "in its initial stages of development".
Therefore it is in accordance with prior art that the lacquer-containing residue has to be disposed of.

Method for environmentally benign paint spraying using a dispersion of oven cured lacquer enamel in water


A new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant named xe2x80x98Eckalveenxe2x80x99, characterized by its large inflorescences with bright red-colored flower bracts; dark green-colored leaves with red-colored petioles; uniform and mounded plant habit; early flowering; and good post-production longevity.

Euphorbia pulcherrima.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Eckalveenxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Eckada, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,124. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of plants of the cultivar Eckada in November, 1998 in a controlled environment in Oxnard, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal cuttings taken at Encinitas, Calif., since December, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Eckalveenxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Eckalveenxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Large inflorescences with bright red-colored flower bracts.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with red-colored petioles.
3. Uniform and mounded plant habit.
4. Early flowering, natural season flower maturity date is November 20 for plants grown in Encinitas, Calif.; response time, about 8 weeks.
5. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia are most similar to plants of the parent, the cultivar Eckada. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Encinitas, Calif., plants of the new Poinsettia differed primarily from plants of the cultivar Eckada in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were not as freely branching as plants of the cultivar Eckada.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia had larger leaves than plants of the cultivar Eckada.
3. Inflorescences of plants of the new Poinsettia had larger flower bracts than inflorescences of plants of the cultivar Eckada.
4. Plants of the new Poinsettia flowered about one week earlier than plants of the cultivar Eckada.


A rotor processor includes a stator chamber and a rotor mounted for rotation within the chamber. The rotor has a perimeter edge spaced closely to the interior wall of the chamber so as to define a slit or gap there between. The rotor is slidably mounted upon a rotor shaft, for movement between raised and lowered positions during operation of the processor, so as to automatically adjust the dimension of the slit, without operator intervention. As air flows from a plenum beneath the rotor, through the slit, and into the chamber, a pressure differential is created, which provides a lifting force to raise the rotor. The pressure drop is maintained relatively constant at a predetermined level after a lifting equilibrium force is achieved, regardless of the air flow volume.

There are many types of processors used to granulate, create spherical particles, and coat powders, seeds, pharmaceuticals, beads and other types of particulate material. For example, granulating methods include tumbling, agitating, extruding, disintigration, and fluidized beds. Some apparatus rotate the container, while other apparatus rotate a disk or rotor within a fixed container.
A rotor processor, also known as a centrifugal tumbling processor, has a narrow annular slit between the inner wall of the cylindrical container or chamber, and an outer peripheral edge of the rotatable rotor. The width of the slit is narrow so as to prevent particles in the chamber from falling through the slit. Air is forced upwardly through the slit as the rotor rotates within the chamber. The rotor forms a floor in the chamber upon which the powder or particles is supported. Rotation of the rotor and parts applies centrifugal force to the particles, which are thrown to the wall of the stator. Particles in the chamber are tumbled by the centrifugal force of the rotating rotor and the lifting force of the air passing upwardly through the slit.
The width of the slit governs the air velocity at the slit for a given air flow, which creates an upward draft that carries the particles upwardly. The upward movement of the particles continues, so long as the air velocity exceeds the transport velocity required to fluidize the particles. The air passes through the small gap with a relatively high velocity, and then expands into the larger volume of the stator chamber, thereby loosing velocity. As the particles loose their transport velocity, they fall back toward the center of the rotor and return to the rotor surface. The air slit velocity must exceed the transport velocity of the particles at all times, to prevent particles from passing downwardly through the slit.
Certain rotor processes require that a high slit velocity be achieved with a low volume of air flow, which necessitates that the slit be very narrow. Other processes, such as drying, require a large volume of air flow, which results in a large pressure drop across the slit. If the pressure drop is too large, then the static capacity of the air source, such as a blower, may be exceeded and the desired air flow is not achievable. In order to reduce the static pressure drop at larger air flows, it is necessary to increase the slit width or improve the inlet and exit geometry of the slit. In the prior art, the slit dimension has been modified using mechanical devices, such as levers or screws to raise and lower the rotor. In such prior art, movement of the rotor requires two steps: first, increasing the air flow potential, and second, adjusting the rotor slit, so as not to lose transport velocity of the particles in the chamber.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved rotor processor.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a rotor processor having a floating rotor for adjusting the slit dimensions.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a rotor processor wherein the slit dimension is automatically adjusted without human intervention.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a rotor processor wherein the air pressure drop across the slit is maintained substantially constant as the slit dimension varies.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a rotor processor wherein the rotor is slidably mounted upon a rotor drive shaft for upward and downward movement along the shaft.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a rotor processor wherein the rotor is raised and lowered by air pressure.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved rotor processor having the ability to adjust the point at which a rotor lifting force exceeds a rotor resisting force.
Still another objective of the present invention is a method of processing particulate material in a rotor processor wherein the rotor is automatically raised and lowered in response to lifting and resisting forces.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved rotor processor which is efficient and effective in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the drawings and specification.


To provide a waste heat recovery power generation plant for sintering facility capable of efficiently recovering a waste heat of a sintering machine in addition to that of a sintered-ore cooler, while restraining that sulfuric anhydride contained in an exhaust gas of the sintering machine forms drops. An SM boiler is configured to heat all of or a part of hot water generated by an SC boiler, by introducing a high temperature part of an exhaust gas of a sintering machine. At this time, a temperature of the hot water to be supplied to the SM boiler is controlled such that a temperature of an exhaust gas at an exhaust-gas temperature of the SM boiler is maintained at a temperature higher than an acid dew point.

Main iron ores used in steel plants are uniform powdery iron ore made by blending powdered iron ores of different origins/proveniences and different properties. When powdery iron ore is directly loaded into a shaft furnace, the shaft furnace is clogged by the powdery iron ore thus inhibiting the flow of a reduction gas. Therefore, in general, small amounts of lime powder and coke are mixed with powdery iron ore in advance, and the powdery iron ore thus mixed with the lime powder and the coke is sintered in a sintering machine into sintered ore pellets of a certain size. In Japan, sintered ores currently account for substantially 75% of the iron ores loaded into a shaft furnace.
The sintered ore is manufactured according to the following steps. Firstly, a granulated sintering material, which is formed by mixing ore powder, lime powder and coke powder, is loaded into a sintering machine and burned. Then, while the sintering material is moved by a conveyor toward a terminal portion, the coke powder is burned by air blown from above to below, which was sucked by a suction blower. Thereafter, the ore powder is partially melted by a combustion heat of the coke so as to bond. Then, the bonded ore is fragmentized and selected, so that sintered ore pellets having a diameter of 15 mm to 30 mm are obtained. The high temperature sintered ore manufactured in the sintering machine is transferred to a sintered-ore cooler. While being transported by a conveyor, the sintered ore is subjected to a cooling air from below the conveyor, so that the sintered ore is cooled to a temperature at which the sintered ore can be stored.
As described above, the sintering facility for manufacturing sintered ore is composed of the sintering machine and the sintered-ore cooler. The sintering machine is configured to burn a sintering material by supplying air thereto. In this case, a gas generated by the combustion becomes an exhaust gas which temperature ranges from a low temperature of about 50° C. to 60° C. at an ignition portion, to a high temperature of about 400° C. to 450° C. at a terminal portion of a conveyor. The sintered-ore cooler is configured to use air to cool the high-temperature sintered ore. In this case, the cooling air becomes a high-temperature exhaust gas of 300° C. to 400° C.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a surplus heat of an exhaust gas of a sintered-ore cooler 2 is recovered by a waste heat boiler 30, and steam is generated by the heat. The steam is utilized as a utility steam or as power obtained through a steam turbine 51. In this way, the waste heat of the exhaust gas from the sintered-ore cooler 2 is effectively recovered.
Patent Document 1 discloses an improved invention related to a waste heat recovery method in which a cooling air heated by the sintered-ore cooler 2 is introduced into the waste heat boiler 30 to generate steam, and the generated steam is supplied to the steam turbine 51 so as to generate power.
In the method of recovering a waste heat of the sintered-ore cooler 2 disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sintered-ore cooler 2 is divided into a boiler communication area in which a sintered ore has relatively a higher temperature, and a gas-duct communication area in which a sintered ore has a lower temperature. A cooling gas introduced into the boiler communication area cools a sintered ore, and is then introduced to a boiler through a hood covering the sintered ore, so that a heat of the cooling gas is recovered. A cooling gas introduced into the gas-duct communication area is directly introduced to a gas duct so as to be released to an outside atmospheric air. A feature of the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 resides in that an inside of the hood is always kept at a positive pressure so that an outside atmospheric air cannot enter thereinto in order to prevent lowering of the temperature of a cooling gas to be recovered, and that a partition between the boiler communication area and the gas-duct communication area can be optionally set, whereby a heat recovery rate can be improved.
Patent Document 1 neither describes nor suggests that a surplus heat generated in the sintering machine 1 is recovered and used.
A cement calcination plant including a suspension preheater (PH) and an air quenching cooler (AQC) conventionally uses a waste heat power generation system in which a heat of an exhaust gas of the PH is recovered by a boiler to dry a cement material, and a heat of an exhaust gas of the AQC is recovered to the maximum extent by a boiler so as to generate power. A temperature of the exhaust gas of the pH is 350° C. to 400° C., for example, and a temperature of the exhaust gas of the AQC is 300° C. to 250° C., for example. An amount of the exhaust gas of the AQC is generally greater than that of the PH.
Citation 2, for example, discloses a waste heat power generation system of a cement calcination plant, in which a waste heat of a PH and a waste heat of an AQC are respectively recovered by waste heat boilers, steam is obtained, and power is generated by a turbine driven by steam.
In the waste heat power generation system of the cement calcination plant disclosed in Citation 2, a part of hot water heated by an economizer of an AQC boiler 130 is transformed into low-pressure steam through a flasher, and the low-pressure steam is introduced into a low-pressure stage of the steam turbine. In addition, a part of the remaining hot water is superheated through an evaporator and a superheater of the AQC boiler 130, and the remaining part is further superheated through an evaporator and a superheater of a pH boiler 110. Then, a generated high-pressure steam is introduced into a high-pressure stage of the steam turbine.
As shown in FIG. 7, a feature of the waste heat power generation system of Patent Document 2 resides in that a second evaporator including a steam drum is further provided on an exhaust-gas exit side of the PH boiler 110, that hot water returned from the flasher is introduced into the second evaporator through the steam drum, that the hot water heated by the second evaporator is returned to the steam drum, and that steam generated by the steam drum is put into the low-pressure stage of the steam turbine.
The disclosed waste heat power generation system maintains an outlet gas temperature of the AQC boiler 130 as low as possible. In addition, the PH boiler is configured to generate high-pressure steam and low-pressure steam, so that steam suitable for the respective high-pressure stage and the low-pressure stage of the multi-stage steam turbine can be supplied thereto. Thus, an outlet gas temperature of the PH boiler 110 can be maintained as low as possible. The above system is designed to significantly improve a waste heat recovery rate.
In the disclosed system, a gas temperature, which is 325° C. at an inlet of the PH boiler 110, is lowered down to 165° C. at an outlet thereof. On the other hand, a gas temperature, which is 360° C. at an inlet of the AQC boiler 130, is lowered down to 105° C. at an outlet thereof.
Namely, the disclosed waste heat power generation system can sufficiently recover a waste heat of the AQC and can sufficiently use a waste heat of the PH, so as to transform the waste heat to electrical energy.
From the above, it is conceivable that applying the technical idea of a waste heat power generation system of a cement calcination plant to a sintering facility including a sintering machine and a sintered-ore cooler enables the effective use of a waste heat of the sintering machine. In this case, the sintering machine is combined with a sintering machine boiler (SM boiler), which corresponds to a PH boiler, and the sintered-ore cooler is combined with a sintered-ore-cooler waste heat boiler (SC boiler), which corresponds to an AQC boiler.
However, in the sintering machine, a sulfur component contained in a sintering material is oxidized in the course of a sintering process to generate sulfurous acid gas SO2. In addition, sulfuric anhydride SO3 is generated by further oxidation. Thus, sulfuric anhydride SO3 is contained in an exhaust gas. Therefore, when a temperature of the exhaust gas becomes lower than an acid dew point, the sulfuric acid gas formed by SO3 reacting with steam might condense (form dews) causing sulfuric acid drops to appear on solid surfaces and display the highly corrosive nature of the sulfuric acid drops. Thus, there is a possibility that an outlet portion of the sintered-ore-cooler waste heat boiler, an exhaust gas treatment apparatus provided on a passage through which an exhaust gas of the sintering machine flows, a gas duct and so on might be corroded and damaged.
In the waste heat boiler disclosed in Patent Document 2, an exhaust temperature at an outlet thereof is lowered to thereby obtain an effective waste heat recovery. Thus, when the sintering machine and the waste heat boiler are combined based on the technical idea of the waste heat power generation system of the cement calcination plant disclosed in Patent Document 2, an exhaust gas temperature condition required for the sintering-machine waste heat boiler cannot be satisfied. For example, the exhaust gas may be excessively cooled, causing the outlet portion of the sintered-ore-cooler waste heat boiler and an exhaust gas system to be damaged. Thus, the technical idea of the waste heat power generation system of the cement calcination plant cannot be applied directly to the sintering facility. Thus, a waste heat of an exhaust gas of the sintering machine cannot be effectively recovered in conventional cases.
Patent Document 1: JP2000-226618A
Patent Document 2: JP2008-157183A

Waste heat recovery power generation plant for sintering facility


The present invention relates to an antibody active against a fusion polypeptide comprising a histidine portion, a process for the preparation thereof and its use.

It is known to express a polypeptide in the form of a histidine fusion polypeptide. In such a polypeptide, a histidine portion of, e.g., 6-18 successive histidine residues is fused to the C- or N-terminus of the polypeptide. Hence it is possible to isolate the histidine fusion polypeptide by means of a nickel-chelate chromatographic column from the supernatant or cell lysate of the cell expressing it.
However, the above column is expensive. Furthermore, its use costs a lot of time. Therefore, it is not suited for the rapid detection of the expression of a histidine fusion polypeptide. But such a detection is necessary, particularly when it is the objective to screen large numbers of cells.
Thus, it is the object of the present invention to provide means by which the expression of a histidine fusion polypeptide can be detected rapidly.

Antibodies active against a fusion polypeptide comprising a histidine portion

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Stiftung Des Offentlichen Rechts