A coin sorting and counting machine and a method for operating it to automatically dispense cash vouchers based on the value of the counted coins, manufacturers' coupons and store coupons. Coins are placed in a hopper tray angled downward from the horizontal. When the hinged tray is lifted, the coins travel over a peak structure, through a waste management system and into the coin sorting and counting apparatus. The value of the coins and the number of coins within each denomination are displayed as the coins are counted. The coins fall into a storage area and the user is issued a cash voucher and a series of manufacturer coupons.

The present invention relates to coupon dispensing machines and coin sorting machines.
There are a variety of machines which dispense stamps, tickets, coupons, money orders, bank transactions or the like. One type of machine, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,848 to Raymond Stoken, dispenses coupons in exchange for money. A display area indicates the different coupons available as well as the specific amount of money required to obtain each particular coupon. Money is inserted into the machine via a coin slot. Control circuitry determines which coupon has been selected, the amount of money required to purchase this coupon, and if the correct amount of money has been inserted into the coin slot. The control circuitry then causes the coupon dispenser to dispense the requested coupon.
Other machines dispense other types of products. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,967 to Lawrence Smith is a money order dispensing machine. This machine is meant to be operated by a system operator, not a customer, and therefore does not require the capability to receive money. The machine prints money orders on a dot matrix printer after receiving the necessary data inputs from the operator.
Such previous devices are deficient from the point of view of a consumer with an arbitrary amount of coins, since they require the input of an exact coin value. Further, the device requires a mechanism for determining if the required amount has been deposited and for taking an appropriate action depending on whether the required amount is deposited.
A different variety of machines has been patented which sort coins. One such machine, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,848 to David Goh uses two methods to sort coins, both methods based on the diameter of the coins. In this machine the coins are loaded into a hopper. A rotating wheel feeds the coins individually onto an inclined ramp. The coins roll down the ramp with their rear surfaces resting against a support surface. Specific denominations are selected when they fall through slots of varying size located in the support surface. Specific denominations are also selected using peeler knives which are arranged at different distances from the ramp surface. These knives topple the coins from the ramp into bins. Using both techniques allows a short ramp to be employed. Another type of machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,122 to Yoshio Kinoshita counts the number of coins according to denomination after sorting the coins.
Devices intended for counting/sorting coins are deficient in that the monetary value remains based in the coins, i.e., there is no transfer of the value from the medium of coins to a more convenient form such as a paper form.
Furthermore, a number of counting and sorting devices are deficient for certain other reasons. Many devices, while having some form of waste control device, have been unsuccessful in completely-controlling waste which may be mixed in with coins. As a result, many previous devices are only suitable for operation by an experienced or skilled operator and are not suitable for use by the general public who may be less careful about including foreign or waste material among coins. In particular, many previous devices were designed to admit coins into the counting device at such a rate that it was not possible for each coin to be individually exposed to the waste control device, i.e., such that some coins may block others from the waste control system.
Some counting/sorting devices have had complicated or ineffective control of the flow of coins so that it was difficult, or expensive to prevent unacceptably high surges of coin flow from jamming or otherwise overwhelming the sorting/counting mechanism. Some devices were designed to permit only a slow entry of coins into the counting/sorting mechanism but, in some cases, this was done at the expense of the ability to accommodate a high volume of coins and/or has resulted in unacceptably slow operation.
Many previous devices have been designed with insufficient accommodation for maintenance and/or cleaning so that it was difficult or impossible to adequately clean, maintain and/or upgrade such previous devices.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a device which receives an arbitrary amount of coins, i.e., which does not require insertion of an exact minimum amount and which converts the value of the coin from the inconvenient medium of coins to a more convenient medium. It would be further advantageous to provide a device which provides for effective and efficient waste management such that the device can be used by the ordinary consumer without resulting in jamming or damage of the machine. It would also be advantageous to provide for a device which accommodates a high volume or flow of coins without permitting surges of coin flow which can interfere with the counting/sorting and/or waste management systems, without complicated electro/mechanical machinery and, preferably, taking advantage of a gravity mechanism. It would also be useful to provide a device which efficiently and conveniently provides the sorted coins in a standard sized coin bag which is conveniently accessible.

Coin counter and voucher dispensing machine and method


A cogset with a plurality of sprockets has a subset of the sprockets connected together in a monolithic subset that is mounted directly in engagement with a coupling profile on the radially peripheral surface of a sprocket in the monolithic subset. The direct shape coupling between the sprocket of the monolithic subset and the sprocket-carrying body makes it possible to have very high solidity and rigidity of coupling to ensure the maximum precision of actuation of the gearshift that uses the sub-assembly.

Hereinafter, the spatial indications, such as in particular those of radial, axial and circumferential direction, will be given with reference to the rotation axis of the rear wheel of the bicycle, which coincides with the axis of the cogset, of the sprocket-carrying body, of the hub of the wheel and in general of all of the elements that rotate with the wheel. Moreover, the axial direction will be indicated as towards the outside if directed away from the longitudinal mid-plane of the bicycle or away from the hub of the wheel, and vice-versa as towards the inside if directed towards such a mid-plane or towards the hub. Moreover, in the radial direction, an orientation away from the rotation axis will be indicated as peripheral and vice-versa an orientation towards the rotation axis will be indicated as inner.
In order to mount a cogset on the hub of a bicycle rear wheel a so-called sprocket-carrying body is normally used, which on one side is made to rotate as a unit with the sprockets through shape coupling, and on the other side is made to rotate as a unit—but in a unidirectional manner—with the hub through a set of ratchets or similar, commonly called free wheel. In this way, the transmission chain engaged with the various sprockets is capable of transmitting a torque to the hub in the advancing direction of the bicycle.
The sprocket-carrying body essentially consists of a tubular body, which is mechanically coupled at the radially peripheral surface thereof with central mounting openings made in the sprockets. The radially peripheral surface of the sprocket-carrying body is shaped with substantially axial ribs and grooves, alternating in the circumferential direction, adapted for allowing the aforementioned shape coupling. For this purpose, the central mounting openings of the sprockets are provided with radially inner extensions or projections, i.e. directed towards the rotation axis, which couple with the grooves present on the sprocket-carrying body.
The sprockets are thus mounted axially on the sprocket-carrying body in succession, from the sprocket having the largest diameter, so that when the sprocket-carrying body is mounted on the hub of the wheel of the bicycle the sprockets having the largest diameter are located towards the inside, i.e. close to the rear wheel, whereas the sprockets having the smallest diameter are located towards the outside.
In most modern bicycle gearshifts, particularly for bicycles intended for competition, there is a well-known trend to increase the number of sprockets. When a cogset reaches 11, 12 or even more sprockets, it may be possible to do without the front gearshift; this simplifies and lightens the bicycle, which is undoubtedly appreciated by the cyclist provided that it is not accompanied by a penalization in the availability of gear ratios.
In order to allow this result, it is necessary to have a small sprocket with a very low number of teeth, for example 10 or 9, in the cogset. The reduced number of teeth, however, is clearly accompanied by a reduced diameter, which can end up being too small to allow it to be mounted on normal sprocket-carrying bodies.
Cogsets have thus become appreciated in which the smallest sprockets are made fixedly connected to one another to form a monolithic set (also called doublet, triplet or quadruplet, precisely because it groups together two, three or four sprockets), and the central opening for mounting on the sprocket-carrying body extends axially only at the largest sprockets of the set; the smallest sprockets extend more towards the rotation axis, but do not engage directly with the sprocket-carrying body, since it is ensured that they are set in motion by the fact that they are fixedly connected to the largest sprockets of the set. In this way, the smallest sprocket of the set can have 10 teeth or even less; on the other hand, the largest sprocket of the set must have at least 11 teeth, to be able to engage with the sprocket-carrying body.
There are thus constraints that reflect on the real possibilities of manufacturing. For example, with a doublet (monolithic set of two sprockets) it is necessary to have a first sprocket with 10 teeth (and not 9 or less), or accept a difference in teeth between the first and the second sprocket equal to 2 or more; however, this condition is not liked by cyclists who are normally accustomed to differences of a single tooth between the smallest adjacent sprockets.
In some cases, in order to try to manage the constraints imposed by the particular conditions, shape couplings with projections or teeth extending in the axial direction, between the largest sprocket of the monolithic set and the sprocket-carrying body, or couplings through threaded portions variously engaged between the monolithic set and the sprocket-carrying body are used. These couplings, however, do not ensure the same solidity of the shape coupling with grooved profiles.
There is thus a need to be able to have greater flexibility in the selection of the number of teeth of the smallest sprockets of the cogset.

Sprocket-carrying body and sub-assembly of sprocket-carrying body and cogset for a bicycle rear wheel


A container having a container body (2) comprises a container wall (3) and forms a receiving space (4) for goods to be packaged (5). The container comprises a discharge opening (6) for discharging the goods to be packaged (5) and a container closure (10) for closing the discharge opening (6). The container closure (10) comprises a lid (12) which can assume a closed position for closing the discharge opening (6) and an open position for opening the discharge opening (6). The container further comprises a child-proof lock (30) including first and second locking elements (18, 19). The first and second locking elements (18, 19) can assume a mutual locked position in which the lid (12) is fixed in the closed position, and wherein the first and second locking elements (18, 19) can be moved to a release position in which the lid (12) can be moved to the open position.

DE 28 28 065 A1 describes a synthetic material lid closure for containers. The closure comprises a lock member, which can be unlocked by pressing onto the deformable outer wall of the lid support.
A further container with a child-proof lock is known from US 2003/0201283 A1. This document describes a container with a cap. The lid of the cap comprises two hooks, which, when the lid is closed, can protrude into the lower part thereof and latch at that position.
GB 2 082 552 A describes a child-proof container, which has an upper part which is provided with catch arms which lie against protrusions. The catch arms can be moved inwardly by means of a tab in order to release the upper part. A disadvantage of this design is that handling is not as simple as would be desired because the upper part cannot be grasped easily. Furthermore, the receiving space can only be inadequately sealed. This can lead to problems in the case of tablets being sensitive to moisture.


Adsorption material, preferably substantially spherical, wherein support particles having cellulose capable of binding charged particles such as proteins, are distributed over the exterior surfaces thereof, and a method for generating substantially spherical adsorption material.

Ion exchange, chromatographic separation columns, and immobilized enzyme reactors typically use a column packed with a suitable support material. In many separation or purification techniques, enzymes or other proteins are adsorbed to the outer surfaces of the support material or "carrier". The reaction solution is usually fed into the top of the reaction column (often under pressure) and is eluted after passing through the reaction column.
Cellulose-based resins are sometimes used as support material or carriers for immobilized enzymes or other charged substances including yeast cells or bacteria. The support material is typically in the form of irregularly shaped particles or "beads". Methods for the preparation of cellulose beads including dispersion of viscose cellulose into a suitable solvent are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,350 to Determan; Great Britain Patent No. 1,458,955; Swedish Patent No. 7,505,610 to Peska et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,510 to Peska; DE Patent Nos. 2,714,965 to Tolsdorf and 2,523,893 to Walser and DDR Patent No. 147,114 to Gensrich et al. In addition, cellulose beads can be prepared by dispersion in water (U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,017 to Tsao et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,022 to Tsao et al.), extrusion of cellulose together with a polymer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,419 to Bridgeford) and agglomerization of cellulose fiber with a resin as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,110,164 to Sutthuff and 4,355,117 to Antrim et al.
A cellulose-based carrier material can, for example, be prepared by admixing a polymer (for example, polystyrene), a densifier and fibrous cellulose, and melt extruding and grinding the admixture into particles to create irregularly shaped beads. In addition, a derivatization step is usually carried out to prepare diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose so that such particles, when exposed to an aqueous enzyme solution, are capable of binding the protein.
Although particles generated by these methods are generally useful, they have certain drawbacks. The cellulose, which binds the proteins exposed to the support material, is not uniformly distributed on the outer portions of the support material; the cellulose is generally incorporated into the matrix of the particle. As a result, much of the cellulose utilized is not available for protein binding. The cellulose which is a part of the particle is thus not maximally utilized and the overall absorption capacity is not what it theoretically could be if all, or substantially all of the cellulose is available for binding.
In addition, particles generated by these methods, particularly extrusion and grinding, agglomerization, and dispersion techniques, are irregularly shaped; these irregularly shaped particles can create serious "channeling" problems during continuous or semi-continuous column processes, which reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of the chromatographic separation, ion exchange, and conversion by immobilized enzyme processes. Cellulose based beads are often relatively soft and tend to shrink and swell--depending on the moisture and salt concentration in the column--which also reduces the effectiveness of the process. Softer materials cannot effectively be used with high flow rates and elevated pressures.
The present invention discloses adsorption material which has increased binding capacity of proteins and other charged particles, more efficient utilization of cellulose, a lesser tendency to shrink and swell and, in the form of substantially spherical particles, has improved packing and operational capabilities. The present invention contemplates a support particle which has cellulose capable of binding charged molecules such as proteins, distributed over substantially all of the exterior surfaces thereof. Rather than distributing the cellulose throughout the matrix, the present invention provides for particles with cellulose distributed on the exterior surfaces substantially all of which is available for binding charged molecules such as proteins. Hence, the material of the instant invention requires less cellulose, but will exhibit a higher binding capacity which results in increased effectiveness of the column due to the higher enzyme or other protein activity present. In addition, unlike softer cellulose based material, the material of the instant invention is not affected by the "wetness" of the reaction vessel and other conditions and will not shrink or swell.
It is known that in certain contexts, irregularly shaped particles create channeling and other problems. Spherical material tends to reduce or eliminate these problems. Generation of cellulose based spherical particles on an efficient and practical scale is not disclosed by the prior art.
In one specific aspect, the present invention discloses substantially spherical adsorption material which comprises support particles which have cellulose distributed over substantially all of the exterior surfaces thereof. Spherical support material reduces or eliminates "channeling" in the reaction vessels.
The instant invention also discloses a method for generating substantially spherical particles by the use of "prilling", i.e. dispersing droplets of a hot melt at the top of a prilling tower which is of sufficient height to permit the droplets to cool and form relatively spherical particles before they reach the bottom of the tower. A mixture of cellulose with support material such as wax matrices and/or polymers is too viscous to effectively "prill" in this fashion. According to the method of the present invention, spherical support particles of sufficient density are generated by "prilling" and cellulose is then distributed over the exterior surfaces of the support particles by, for example, standard fluidized bed techniques. The resulting material is well suited for use in ion-exchange chromatography, enzyme immobilization or other separation or purification expedients.


A well servicing assembly utilizes a plug mechanism for preventing fluid loss into a formation. The assembly includes a string of tubing which carries a packer, a perforating gun, a running tool, and a latch assembly. After perforating, the operator pulls the tubing upward, leaving the packer in place. The latch assembly engages the packer. The latch assembly has a plug contained therein which prevents downward flow of fluid through the packer as the tubing string is retrieved to the surface. After removing the perforating gun, the tubing string may be again lowered and re-engaged with the latch assembly. The latch assembly may be then repositioned below the packer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to oil well completion equipment, and in particular to an apparatus for preventing loss of fluid in the casing into the formation after perforating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In one type of well completion, a perforating gun will be secured to a string of tubing and lowered into the casing. A packer will be supported by the string of tubing above the perforating gun. When at the proper depth, the operator will set the packer in the casing. The operator then fires the gun either by increasing hydraulic pressure in the gun from the surface or by dropping a firing bar.
The shaped charges in the perforating gun will penetrate through the casing and annular layer of cement surrounding the casing. The well typically will then be flowed through the tubing for a test. After the test, the perforating gun is retrieved. Once the gun is pulled up through the bore of the packer, fluid contained in the casing above the packer is free to flow down through the bore in the packer.
In some formations, because of low pressure, a considerable amount of the fluid in the casing will flow through the packer into the formation. The penetration of a large amount of well completion fluid into the formation may make it difficult to cause the well to flow formation fluid again.

Well fluid loss plug assembly and method


A method and apparatus for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of a moving object, and in particular MR imaging by retrospectively selecting and sorting the MR data acquired with the known prior positions of an orthopedic joint. A mechanical apparatus limits the motion of the joint while an optical or electronic apparatus determines the instantaneous articulation position of the joint, for example its rotational angle. Either partial or complete MR data are acquired asynchronously with respect to various positions of joint movement, and the MR data are then retrospectively selected and sorted to form images of the joint at the various articulated positions. This retrospective selecting and sorting allows sharp images to be acquired using MR data acquired over several flexions and extensions of the joint, regardless of the periodicity or velocity of its motion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and more particularly relates to a method and apparatus useful for developing high resolution MR images of an object in motion.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that Magnetic Resonance (MR) images can be degraded by motion during the imaging scan. One particular exemplary application of MR imaging where motion is an issue, is in the field of orthopedics, where physicians find value in viewing not only static images of joints, but also images of the joint while in motion (commonly referred to as "kinematic studies"). In order to provide such images, several devices exist for adjusting and then fixing the position of a joint so as to image it at selected ones of a plurality of different fixed positions. Use of such mechanical devices is undesirable because of the time it takes to repeatedly adjust and then fix the position of the joint to successive new positions, and to individually acquire the MR images at each of those fixed positions. Although movies of joint motion can be created with such devices, such kinematic studies do not demonstrate the dynamic effects of normal movement, such as muscle contraction against resistance and joint compression.
One known magnetic resonance (MR) method for acquiring images of a moving joint uses a very fast pulse sequence of ordinary and well known design to acquire single images in less than one tenth of a second, yielding so-called "real time" imaging of the joint motion. However, the speed of the acquisition reduces the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the images, and joint motion during this fraction of a second can still cause a degradation of image quality.
Another known method of MR imaging acquires data only at several specific rotational positions as the joint is repeatedly flexed by a motorized apparatus. During each flexion, only a portion of the required data is acquired at each joint position, this acquisition being performed with synchronization of the MR imaging pulse sequence with the motorized drive. The data from several flexions are combined to form complete images at the specified rotational positions. Because a portion of the data may be acquired in a shorter time window than a full data set, blurring is reduced (See for example Shah's U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,178). However, it is not convenient to drive the motion of the joint in this synchronous manner, and the images do not show the natural positions of the tissues as the joint works against resistance.
Another known method of MR imaging triggers a full or partial acquisition of MR data as the joint is flexed, this triggering being initiated by a position measuring device. Because motion during this acquisition period will blur the resulting images, the period is kept short, and the MR imager is halted shortly after the onset of the triggered acquisition. The imager pauses until the position measuring device signals the next desired position (See for example De Boer's U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,781). However, the natural irregular motion of the joint makes these pauses irregular in duration, allowing the tissue magnetization to relax back to its equilibrium value for an irregular time. This changes the amplitude of the acquired signal in an irregular manner, creating image artifacts.
Another known method of MR imaging acquires repeated copies of one data subset during one cycle of tissue motion, this acquisition utilizing one set of position-encoding magnetic field gradients and a steady rhythm which is asynchronous with the cycle of tissue motion. This rhythmic acquisition continues into the next cycle of motion, where, with a different set of position-encoding magnetic field gradients, repeated copies of a second data subset are acquired. This technique is commonly used to acquire one or several position-encoded "Fourier lines" of the beating heart per cycle, the start of each cycle announced by the "R-wave" of the electrocardiogram. Although the varying durations ("periods") of each cycle are known, the exact motion of the, for example, heart tissue during these cycles must be assumed. One such assumption would be that the complex motion of the heart tissue stretches or contracts proportionally with the period of the cycle. After making this or some other assumption to correlate time with position, the data are retrospectively sorted into groups that are presumed to represent specific spatial positions of the heart tissue. The accumulated data in each group are then reconstructed to form images. The steady rhythm of the data acquisition maintains the tissue magnetization in a steady state to reduce image artifacts (See for example Pelc et al's U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,717). However, this technique is not directly applicable to joint imaging, because it assumes that the tissue moves in a predictable pattern from one cycle to the next, even if the period of the cycle changes. During joint imaging, the patient may move the joint in an unpredictable manner following initiation of movement.
Because the technique of Pelc acquires data asynchronous to the movement of the heart, it is clear that, even after a moment in time is estimated to represent a particular spatial position of the heart, it is not possible retrospectively to select an MR data subset that was acquired at precisely this moment. To reduce image artifacts created by this temporal mismatch, two data subsets are linearly interpolated: one is acquired just before this moment, and the other is acquired just after this moment. Only data acquired with the same position-encoding gradient pulse or pulses are interpolated.

Method and apparatus for improving the quality of kinematic MR images


Microbiological control in aqueous media and/or eradication or reduction of biofilm on a surface in contact with such media is achieved by introducing into the aqueous medium a microbiocidally effective quantity of one or more 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dialkylhydantoins where one of the alkyls is methyl and the other is a C1-4 alkyl, wherein (i) the molar quantity of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dialkylhydantoin introduced is less than the molar quantity of N,N′-bromochloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin that would be required to effect the same degree of microbiological control in that medium, (ii) the molar quantity of the 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dialkylhydantoin introduced releases an amount of “free chlorine” that is greater than the amount of “free chlorine” that would be released in that medium by an equimolar quantity of N,N′-bromochloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin, and (iii) the amount of “free chlorine” released by the quantity of the 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dialkylhydantoin introduced is greater than the amount of “free chlorine” that could be predicted to be released by that quantity of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dialkylhydantoin on the basis of the amount of “free chlorine” that would be released in that medium by an equimolar quantity of N,N′-bromochloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin.

As is known in the art of water treatment for microbiological control, a deficiency of chlorine, of hypochlorites, and of certain halogenated organic water-treating agents is the formation, during usage, of undesirable disinfection by-products. These by-products are undesirable both from the standpoint of environmental concerns and also from the standpoint of toxicological considerations.
Certain 1,3-dihalo-5,5-dialkylhydantoins have been found to be effective as biocides for aqueous systems such as industrial cooling water, recreational water, and wastewater.
Persons using biocidal agents in the biocidal treatment of water customarily, if not universally, refer to "free chlorine" level as a measure of biocidal control. To achieve "free chlorine" levels in water treatment, solid materials are often preferred because of their high weight percent activity. N,N′-bromochloro-5,5-dimethylhydantion (BCDMH) has been one of the most widely-used solid sources of "free chlorine" for water treatment. One of the features emphasized for BCDMH by suppliers of BCDMH is that in use, the combined chlorine from the biocide regenerates "free chlorine" by reaction with inactive bromide species formed during the water treatment operation. In other words, the chlorine atom in the initial N,N′-bromochloro-5,5-dialkylhydantoin is said to be a precursor for additional "free chlorine" for sanitation purposes.
In use, BCDMH hydrolyzes into HOBr and HOCl both of which register as "free chlorine" species in commonly-used standard test procedures. These methods for determining "free chlorine" levels in treated water, involve use of a reagent known as DPD (i.e., N,N′-diethyldiphenylenediamine) and a buffer, and the results of such analyses are commonly used, if not universally used, as the basis for determining the quantity of a halogen-containing microbiocidal agent to be used for water treatment. Heretofore, consumers of BCDMH have only been concerned with the level of "free chlorine" provided by a given quantity of that biocidal material. What has not been realized by such consumers is the amount of "total chlorine" being utilized in order to achieve the requisite "free chlorine" level. As a consequence, the consumer has not had available a yardstick by which to determine the true economic efficiency of using BCDMH as a biocidal agent in the treatment of water. To achieve optimum economic efficiency, the consumer should have available for use a biocidal agent in which the amount of "free chlorine" released into the water corresponds closely to the "total chlorine" content of the biocidal agent.
In the event a biocidal agent provides a relatively small amount of "free chlorine" in relation to its "total chlorine" content, it has been deemed necessary to utilize a relatively large amount of such agent in order to achieve microbiological control. This in turn means high levels of halogenated materials are released into the environment. If on the other hand, a biocidal agent could provide to the water an amount of "free chlorine" that closely corresponds to the "total chlorine" content of the biocidal agent, effective microbiological control could be realized by use of much smaller dosages and with consequent minimal adverse impact upon the environment.

Methods for microbiological control in aqueous systems


A system and method allow for a more effective synchronous scanning mirror (SSM). A lithography apparatus comprises an illumination system, a patterning device, a substrate table, and a projection system. The illumination system conditions a beam of radiation received from a radiation source operating at a first frequency. The patterning device patterns the beam. The substrate table supports and scans a substrate at a scanning velocity. The projection system includes a scanning device including a reflective device and a plurality of flexures. The plurality of flexures being configured to allow the reflective device to resonate about an axis of rotation. The scanning device is configured to scan the patterned beam onto a target area of the substrate The resonant frequency of the scanning device is substantially equal to the first frequency, and is synchronized with the scanning velocity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method.
2. Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate or part of a substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of flat panel displays, integrated circuits (ICs) and other devices involving fine structures. In a conventional apparatus, a patterning device, which can be referred to as a mask or a reticle, can be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of a flat panel display (or other device). This pattern can be transferred onto all or part of the substrate (e.g., a glass plate), by imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (e.g., resist) provided on the substrate.
Instead of a circuit pattern, the patterning device can be used to generate other patterns, for example a color filter pattern or a matrix of dots. Instead of a mask, the patterning device can be a patterning array that comprises an array of individually controllable elements. The pattern can be changed more quickly and for less cost in such a system compared to a mask-based system.
A flat panel display substrate is typically rectangular in shape. Lithographic apparatus designed to expose a substrate of this type can provide an exposure region that covers a full width of the rectangular substrate, or covers a portion of the width (for example half of the width). The substrate can be scanned underneath the exposure region, while the mask or reticle is synchronously scanned through a beam. In this way, the pattern is transferred to the substrate. If the exposure region covers the full width of the substrate then exposure can be completed with a single scan. If the exposure region covers, for example, half of the width of the substrate, then the substrate can be moved transversely after the first scan, and a further scan is typically performed to expose the remainder of the substrate.
Typically, if a source of radiation has jitter, a pulsed beam may be generated before or after a desired moment in time. This can cause a patterned light beam, formed from the pulsed beam interacting with a patterning device, to pattern the substrate in front of or behind a desired target position. A synchronous scanning mirror SSM, which is synchronized to both a frequency of the pulsed beam and a scanning velocity of the substrate, has typically been used to compensate for such jitter. Through using the synchronous scanning mirror SSM, the patterned beam can be directed onto a scanning substrate supported by a scanning substrate table at a desired target position. However, for maskless lithography, the synchronous scanning mirror SSM has to scan at high frequency (e.g., 6 kHz), a scanning motion has to be a pure rotation (small amplitude, +/−1.2 mrad), and a rotation axis must lie on an active surface of the synchronous scanning mirror SSM. Also, the synchronous scanning mirror SSM has to be of an excellent optical quality (i.e., very flat, in the order of about 0.5 nm flatness), which requires it to have substantial thickness, resulting in a large mass.
Conventional synchronous scanning mirror SSMs are typically incapable of producing a pure rotational scanning motion with low mirror distortion. Dynamically, the unavoidable existence of undesired modes with low eigenfrequencies (e.g., one of the frequencies with which a particular system may vibrate) makes it impossible to achieve a pure, distortion-free rotation. A second mode having eigenfrequency only 2× higher than the useful first mode produces out-of-plane translation and mirror distortion. In addition, from a manufacturability point of view, the requirement that an axis of rotation lay on a reflective surface of the synchronous scanning mirror SSM makes it difficult to access the reflective surface for polishing, unless the reflective surface is a separate part. With a separate reflective surface, mounting the reflective surface without introducing distortion and without introducing modes lower than the very high scanning frequency can present an unsolvable compromise.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that allows for a more effective synchronous scanning mirror SSM.


A seismic coupling is provided for coupling a first longitudinal section of plain end plastic pipe to a second longitudinal section of plastic pipe. The coupling is provided in two halves with a left half being initially installed on the plain end of the first section of pipe. An internal shoulder is fused onto the first section of pipe and a right half of the coupling is then fused onto the left half to capture the first end of pipe within the coupling. The second pipe end is then installed within an end opening of the coupling and held in position by a connector installed between the right half of the coupling and the second pipe end. Internal seals are provided for sealing the first and second pipe ends within the interior of the coupling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to joining and sealing systems used in plastic pipelines of the type used for transporting fluids, potable water, sewage, electrical power lines, telephone and communication lines and, more specifically to such pipe systems which are assembled together with a special coupling which is resistant to separation in the presence of a wide range of external and internal forces including seismic forces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fluid joining and sealing systems for plastic, fluid conveying pipes are used in a variety of industries. The pipes used in such systems are typically formed from thermoplastic materials including polyolefins and PVC. In forming a joint between sections of PVC pipe, the spigot or male pipe end is inserted within the female or socket pipe end. An annular, elastomeric ring or gasket is typically seated within a groove formed in the socket end of the thermoplastic pipe. As the spigot is inserted within the socket, the gasket provides the major seal capacity for the joint. Various types of sealing technologies have been employed to assure the sealing integrity of the pipe joint.
While such pipe joints may form adequate seals, problems have sometimes occurred in some instances, particularly where the pipe line is subjected to earth movement and other seismic type forces. The tendency of the connected pipe sections to pull apart while in service, when subjected to various sources of stress, can result in consequent damage to the pipeline and environment, as well as presenting a difficulty in locating the break for repair. Plastic pipe systems which do not include interlocking ends also present problems when there is a change in direction or the pipeline, or a change in diameter of the pipe sections, since unbalanced thrust forces may separate the pipe segments. Another situation arises when extreme tensile forces are exerted on the pipe string, such as in an earthquake. As a result, various specialized end connections and coupling devices have been employed utilizing, e.g., external clamps, sleeves or other auxiliary paraphernalia. Such devices are less than advantageous since they require extraneous parts and since the protruding clamp portions of the devices always present the danger of becoming accidentally struck when installed inside a casing or of causing the pipe to move more when the ground laterally flows as a result of an earthquake. External mechanical restraint mechanisms are usually subject to corrosion and deterioration over time. They are also often complicated in design and add to the labor cost in installing the mechanisms in the field. Because they usually require tightening bolts and the like, problems can occur in field installations.
One particular problem area is that of seismic joints or connections. In earthquake prone areas or areas with underground faults, a perpendicular crossing of the fault line subjects the pipeline mainly to bending forces. An oblique crossing subjects portions of the pipeline to compression forces and bending while other portions of the pipeline may be subjected to tension forces and bending. Where the pipeline lies parallel to the main length of the fault, portions of the pipeline are subjected to tension while other portions of the pipeline are subjected to compression. All of these forces may cause an unrestrained joint to separate, causing the connection to fail.
A need therefore exists for a plastic pipe coupling which would help to insure the integrity of a pipe joint, even in the presence of extreme seismic events, such as earthquakes and earth movement.
A need also exists for such a coupling which would be relatively simple in design and economical to manufacture.
A need also exists for such a seismic coupling for plastic pipe joints which can be easily adapted for PVC pipe systems and which provides a reliable seal as well as a restrained connection.

PVC seismic coupling and method of installation


A sealing device which is used to seal a leak test aperture in an ECU. The sealing device is selectively disposed in the leak test aperture, and an inner surface is formed as part of the leak test aperture. The sealing device has a first portion, and a second portion connected to the first portion. The sealing device is press-fitted into the leak aperture such that the first portion is in contact with the inner surface, securing the position of the sealing device in the leak test aperture, and the second portion is also in contact with the inner surface to prevent moisture and debris from passing through the leak test aperture. The second diameter is larger than the first diameter such that the second diameter of the second portion applies a pressure to the inner surface of the leak test aperture, forming a seal.

An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is used in many different types of vehicles to provide control over the operation of various components. The ECU is used to control various actuators which are part of an engine to optimize the operation of the engine. The ECU controls air-fuel mixture, ignition timing, idle speed, and in some more advanced versions of an ECU, variable valve timing, transient fueling, maximum RPM, and the like, are also controlled by the ECU.
The ECU is often required to function in a harsh environment, where the ECU may be exposed to different temperatures, as well as moisture. The ECU includes a cover which is part of a casing, and after assembly, the casing is tested for leaks to make sure that no moisture or debris is able to enter into the casing and damage any internal components. One type of approach to test the ECU for leaks is to force pressurized air into an aperture formed as part of the cover, referred to as a "leak test aperture," and determine if any air leaks out of the casing. Once the test is complete, a seal is deposited into the aperture.
However, current seals used in leak test apertures do not adequately provide assurance that the leak test aperture is sealed. Some of these seals do not provide an adequate sealing function due to die casting surface irregularities in the leak test aperture. Also, the location of the seal in the leak test aperture may not always be known once the ECU is assembled, making it difficult to determine whether the leak test aperture is in fact sealed.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved sealing of a leak test aperture once the assembly of the ECU is completed.


An exposure apparatus for performing direct exposure on a relatively moving exposure target substrate comprises: a plurality of exposure heads arranged so that an overlapping exposed area occurs between exposed areas formed on the exposure target substrate as a result of exposure by the exposure heads; and light adjusting means for adjusting the amount of light to be projected from two adjacent exposure heads onto the overlapping exposed area so that the amount of the projected light becomes equal to the amount of light that a single exposure head would project onto an exposure area if the exposure area were to be exposed through the same pattern by the single exposure head alone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, and an exposure method, for performing direct exposure, on a relatively moving exposure target substrate, using a plurality of exposure heads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a wiring pattern on a wiring substrate is formed by exposing the substrate based on design data relating to the wiring pattern and by developing and printing the desired pattern on the substrate, followed by etching. During the exposure process, photomasks are usually used. More specifically, a photosensitive resin is applied over a substrate constructed by bonding metal foil as a conductive layer onto an insulating material, and a photomask with the desired wiring pattern drawn thereon is placed over it. By exposing the thus prepared substrate, the wiring pattern defined by the photomask is transferred to the photosensitive resin on the substrate. Thereafter, by performing the steps of developing, etching, plating, etc., the metal foil on the substrate is formed as the desired wiring pattern.
In an exposure method using such a photomask, the photomask is placed in intimate contact with the substrate prior to exposure; if, at this time, any foreign matter or stain remains adhering to the substrate, the shape of the foreign matter or stain is also transferred onto the substrate. The finer the wiring pattern drawn on the substrate is, the more sensitive the photomask is to foreign matter and staining and, therefore, particularly strict management of the photomask is required. Further, if the wiring pattern is changed or damaged, a new photomask must be produced. In this case, the photomask must be produced on a trial basis a number of times by making corrections to account for the expansion, shrinkage, distortion, displacement, etc. that can occur in the substrate. The resulting increase in production cost and time has been a great burden in the production of a wiring substrate.
On the other hand, a patterning method based on direct exposure that does not use photomasks has been proposed in recent years. According to this method, as corrections for expansion, shrinkage, distortion, displacement, etc. of the substrate can be made in real time, or in advance at the exposure data generation stage, significant improvements can be achieved, for example, in enhancing the manufacturing accuracy, increasing the manufacturing yield, shortening the delivery time, and reducing the manufacturing cost.
The patterning methods based on direct exposure include, for example, methods that form an exposure pattern by direct exposure using a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), an electron beam exposure machine, or the like.
In the prior art, one example of the patterning methods based on direct exposure that use the DMD is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-112579. According to the technique disclosed therein, when directly exposing the photoresist formed on an exposure target substrate, pattern data corresponding to the pattern to be exposed is generated and this pattern data is input to the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), causing each of the micromirrors arranged thereon to tilt according to the pattern data and thereby changing the direction of the light, reflected by each micromirror on the DMD, as needed; the light thus controlled is projected onto the resist on the exposure target substrate to form an exposure pattern that matches the pattern data.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing, by way of example, exposed areas formed by an exposure apparatus according to the prior art. In the figure, DMD micromirrors in each exposure head 100 constructed from the DMD are indicated by open circles (reference character Q). In this and other figures, the number of exposure heads, the number of micromirrors in each exposure head, and their relative sizes are shown for illustrative purposes only. As, usually, the entire area of the exposure target substrate 151 cannot be exposed by a single exposure head 100, a plurality of exposure heads 100 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the relative movement of the exposure target substrate 151, and the exposure is performed using these exposure heads 100. In the figure, the area exposed by each exposure head 100 (hereinafter called the "exposed area", indicated by reference numeral 152) is shown by oblique hatching. The area that can be illuminated by the micromirrors Q in each exposure head 100 is limited, and there occurs a spatial gap between each exposure head 100 due to the nature of its structure; here, if the gap between each exposure head 100 is large, an area left unexposed (hereinafter called the "unexposed area", indicated by reference numeral 153) occurs on the exposure target substrate 151, as shown in FIG. 8. On the other hand, if the gap between each exposure head 100 is too small, an area (not shown) that simultaneously receives light from two adjacent exposure heads occurs on the exposure target substrate, and such an area is subjected to a larger amount of light than necessary compared with other areas.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-146789 discloses a technique that projects an equal amount of light over the entire exposure surface by moving a single exposure head back and forth for exposure in such a manner that adjacent exposed areas overlap each other.
However, in the exposure apparatus in which a plurality of exposure heads are arranged, the occurrence of the unexposed area due to the gap between each exposure head and the unevenness in the amount of projected light are undesirable because these can significantly affect the quality of the wiring substrate as a finished product.
On the other hand, the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-146789, which aims at projecting an equal amount of light over the entire exposure surface, requires that the exposure head be moved back and force, i.e., in two directions, not in one direction, relative to the exposure target substrate, and also that the movements be repeated a plurality of times; therefore, this prior art technique has the shortcoming that not only does it take a longer time to complete the exposure of one exposure target substrate, but the apparatus becomes complex in construction because of the provision of the mechanism for the back and forth movements.
Accordingly, in view of the above problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exposure apparatus and an exposure method for performing direct exposure using a plurality of exposure heads, wherein provisions are made to be able to accomplish the direct exposure at high speed while ensuring that no unexposed areas occur on the exposure target substrate moving relative to the exposure heads.


A dispensing system for dispensing a viscous, flowable product such, for example, as a spin-art paint solution, comprises an axially extending container that defines an opening and an interior chamber for receiving and storing the flowable product. A discharge assembly is coupled to the container, the discharge assembly being dimensioned and arranged to spin, relative to the container, as it receives the flowable product from the interior chamber. The spinning motion of the discharge assembly, which may be accompanied by a linear movement of the container itself relative to a target surface, allows the user to cleanly and evenly distribute the flowable material onto a target substrate in an attractive, curvilinear deposit pattern. Optionally, the discharge assembly may be configured with a pivoting nozzle that can be moved from a position for obtaining a helical (curvilinear) deposit pattern to a position for obtaining a rectilinear deposit pattern.

Squeeze bottles for storing and dispensing viscous, flowable materials such as food products like syrups, jellies, and condiments, liquid paints used to produce "spin art", and other liquid and/or granular materials such as detergents, cleansers and the like are well known. Generally, such bottles include a container made of a plastic or other easily deformable material and define an interior cavity for receiving and storing the product. The container may further define a neck portion disposed at one end of the container that is attached to a dispensing closure assembly. A typical dispensing closure assembly includes a cap that is threadedly connected to the neck of the container at one end, and has a single outlet tip that faces outwardly from the container at the other end. During use, the container is inverted and squeezed to dispense the viscous product from the tip orifice onto a target surface as a directed stream.
Conventional dispensing closures define an orifice having a circular cross section sized to provide the user with flexibility to apply a desired amount of product to the target surface. A softer squeezing of the container will yield a lower mass flow rate out of the tip. Accordingly, in order to accommodate those who wish to apply only a small amount of material to the target surface, the tips are generally designed with a small cross section. Those who desire an additional amount of material can squeeze harder. In the context of a child's spin art toy environment, the target surface consists of a sheet of paper or other material temporarily secured to a turntable adapted to rotate at a controlled rate. As the sheet rotates, the child squeezes the container and the expelled material moves outwardly through the exertion of centrifugal forces. Although the spin art amusement device continues to enjoy a degree of popularity after several decades, its reliance upon a powered rotary mechanism comes at a considerable cost and complexity.
A need therefore exists for a discharge assistant usable in combination with a conventional container that enables one to apply a sufficient and consistent amount of a flowable material, such as a spin art paint solution, to a target surface.
A further need exists for a spin art amusement system that avoids the cost and complexity of prior art systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Flowable product dispensing toy and methods of using the same


A method for operating an inductive load, which is operated in a motor vehicle with electric voltages of different magnitudes, is provided, a current rise in the inductive load being influenced by selecting pulse lengths and pulse pauses of the electric voltage.

In the area of engine management for gasoline and diesel engines, components representing an inductive load are frequently used such as quantity-control valves of high-pressure pumps or injection valves, for example. These components are typically triggered via a simple switch output stage.
As a result of fluctuations in the vehicle system voltage, the components behave differently, depending on the vehicle system voltage currently available. This changes especially the metering behavior of valves, particularly of injection valves. It is possible to compensate for changes in the metering behavior caused by fluctuations in the vehicle system voltage for example by extending or shortening the triggering times of the affected components accordingly. Since the metering behavior, however, is not necessarily a linear function of the vehicle system voltage, such compensation is costly.
Further there is the danger that, in the event of very high voltages, the current rises to such a magnitude that the stress on the components becomes unacceptably high such that the component must be switched off above a certain voltage. This results in undesirable restrictions of the functionality of the system as a whole.
To reduce the current stresses on a component, there is to an extent the possibility of shortening the switching time. Here there is the risk, however, that a reliable opening or closing of a valve is no longer ensured when switching times are all too short.
German Patent Application No. DE 4444810 describes a control circuit, in which a blower drive motor is triggered by a pulse-width modulation signal (PWM signal), the pulse duty factor of the PWM signal being a function of an adjustable setpoint rotational speed. If the rotational speed deviates from the setpoint rotational speed, for example due to varying electrical voltages, the rotational speed is returned to the setpoint rotational speed via a control circuit by changing the pulse duty factor of the PWM signal.

Method and device for operating an inductive load with different electric voltages


A display device including plural pixels, plural scan lines for applying scan signals to the pixels, plural first data lines for transmitting first data currents to the pixels, a scan driver for outputting the scan signals, a demultiplexer including plural demultiplexing circuits for demultiplexing second data currents into the first data currents, and for transmitting the first data currents to the plural first data lines, and a data driver for transmitting the second data currents. A demultiplexing circuit demultiplexes one of the second data currents into at least two first data currents, and transmits them to at least two first data lines. The number of the at least two first data lines is an integer multiple of the number of sub-pixels in each pixel. A display device and a demultiplexer having a simple structure data driver, where a stationary pattern due to demultiplexing is reduced or eliminated, can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a demultiplexer, and more particularly to an organic electroluminescent display and a demultiplexer, in which a stationary pattern such as a horizontal pattern or a vertical pattern does not arise.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An organic electroluminescent display is based on a phenomenon that an exciton emits light of a specific wavelength in an organic thin film, wherein the exciton is formed by recombination of an electron and a hole injected from a cathode and an anode, respectively. The organic electroluminescent display includes a self-emitting device, unlike a liquid crystal display (LCD), so that a separate light source is not needed. In the organic electroluminescent display, the brightness of an organic electroluminescent device varies according to the quantity of current flowing through an organic light-emitting device or organic light-emitting diode (OLED).
The organic electroluminescent display can be classified as a passive matrix type or an active matrix type according to its driving method. In the case of the passive matrix type, the anode and the cathode are perpendicularly disposed and form a line to be selectively driven. The passive matrix type organic electroluminescent display can be easily realized because of its relatively simple structure, but is not suitable for realizing a large-sized screen because it consumes much more power and the time allotted to drive each light emitting device is shortened. On the other hand, in the case of the active matrix type, an active device is used to control the quantity of current flowing through the light-emitting device. As the active device, a thin film transistor (hereinafter, referred to as "TFT") is widely used. The active matrix type organic electroluminescent display has a relatively complicated structure, but it consumes relatively little power and the time allotted to drive each organic electroluminescent device is relatively longer.
Hereinbelow, a conventional organic electroluminescent display will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional organic electroluminescent display having an active matrix of n×m pixels.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional organic electroluminescent display includes a panel 11, a scan driver 12, and a data driver 13. The panel 11 includes n×m pixels 14, n scan lines SCAN[1], SCAN[2], . . . , SCAN[n] formed horizontally, and m data lines DATA[1], DATA[2], . . . , DATA[m] formed vertically, where n and m are natural numbers. Here, the scan driver 12 transmits scan signals to the pixels 14 through the scan lines SCAN[1] to SCAN[n], and the data driver 23 applies data voltages to the pixels 14 through the data lines DATA[1] to DATA[m].
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a pixel employed in the organic electroluminescent display of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, DATA represents one of the data lines of FIG. 1, and SCAN represents one of the scan lines of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, a pixel of a conventional organic electroluminescent display includes an organic light emitting device OLED, a driving transistor MD, a capacitor C, and a switching transistor MS. The driving transistor MD is connected to the organic light emitting device OLED, and supplies a current to the organic light emitting device to emit light. Further, the switching transistor MS applies a data voltage to control the quantity of current supplied by the driving transistor MD. Further, the capacitor C is connected between a source and a gate of the driving transistor MD, and maintains a voltage corresponding to the data voltage applied by the switching transistor MS for a predetermined period.
With this configuration, when a scan signal is applied to a gate of the switching transistor MS and thus the switching transistor MS is turned on, the data voltage is applied to the gate of the driving transistor MD through the data line DATA. Accordingly, as the data voltage is applied to the gate of the driving transistor MD, the driving transistor MD supplies a current to the organic light emitting device OLED, thereby allowing the organic light emitting device OLED to emit light.
At this time, the current flowing through the organic light emitting device OLED is based on the following Equation 1.IOLED=ID=(β/2)(VGS−VTH)2=(β/2)(VDD−VDATA−|VTH|)2,  [Equation 1]
where IOLED is a current flowing through the organic light emitting device, ID is a current flowing from the source to a drain of the driving transistor MD, VGS is a voltage applied between the gate and the source of the driving transistor MD, VTH is a threshold voltage of the driving transistor MD, VDD is a power voltage, VDATA is a data voltage, and β is a gain factor.
Referring back to FIG. 1, in the conventional organic electroluminescent display, the data driver 13 is directly connected to the data lines of the pixels. Therefore, when the number of data lines is increased, the data driver 13 becomes more complicated in proportion to the number of data lines. On the other hand, even though the data driver 13 is realized as a chip separately from the panel 11, when the number of data lines is increased, the number of pins for the data driver 13 and the number of interconnection lines connecting the data driver 13 and the panel 11 should be increased in proportion to the number of data lines, thereby increasing production costs and circuit mounting space needed.


A fibre suspension is separated by a filter device having a hollow filter body (1) with a wall (2) of filter material, and a container (3). The entire fibre suspension to be separated is sprayed in the form of at least one liquid jet onto said wall (2) to force a fine fraction of the suspension containing most of said undesired particles through said wall of filter material into the hollow filter body, thereby leaving a created coarse fraction of the fibre suspension mainly containing fibres in the container outside the filter body. Relative displacement between the liquid jet and the filter material is provided. Said created coarse fraction is dewatered through the wall of filter material, and said dewatered coarse fraction is discharged from the container.

In known filter devices of this kind the fibre suspension to be separated is supplied to the container, such that the filter body is at least partly immersed in the suspension. The hydrostatic pressure in the fibre suspension in the container forces a fine fraction of the fibre suspension through the part of the wall of filter material of the filter body which is immersed in the fibre suspension, so that fibres are deposited and form a layer of fibres on the filter material. The formed layer of fibres constitutes in itself a filter medium, which is substantially tighter than the filter material of the filter body and which merely allows water from the fibre suspension in the container to pass through.
A filter device for thickening fibre suspensions is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,338, which discloses a disc filter with an inlet tank for a fibre suspension to be thickened. From the inlet tank fibre suspension flows directly into a container, in which the discs are immersed in fibre suspension. To increase the dewatering capacity of the disc filter a number of spray members is arranged to spray liquid, for instance a quantity of the fibre suspension to be thickened, onto the disc walls of filter material which are immersed in the fibre suspension in the container, so that creation of tight fibre layers on the walls is prevented.
The known filter devices, as described above, are not suited for the separation of undesired relatively small particles from fibre suspensions, since most of such small particles would be trapped by the created tight layer of fibres deposited on the filter material or by thickened fibre suspension during the separation. Consequently, in practice such known filter devices usually have only been used for thickening of fibre suspensions, i.e. mere dewatering of the latter. Conventionally, undesired relatively small particles are therefore initially separated from the fibre suspensions by other kinds of separation devices, for instance by flotation plants. Subsequently, the fibre suspensions thus cleaned can be dewatered, for instance by known filter devices of the kind described above.
When producing paper from waste paper pulp the undesired relatively small particles are substantially composed of printing ink. They are separated from the waste paper pulp to avoid greyness of the produced paper. Hitherto, the profitability of producing paper from such a waste paper pulp has been poor. However, the authorities tend to tighten up the requirements on paper manufacturers to produce some paper from waste paper pulp, in order to provide a reduction of the paper waste and a saving of raw wood material.

Method and device for separating a fibre suspension


A media loader for a media roll having a pair of endcaps. The media loader has a handle portion, a support portion adapted to partially encircle the endcap and a flexible midportion having an opening narrower than a selected portion of the endcap and adapted to flex to allow the passage therethrough of the selected portion of the endcap. The support portion is substantially the same cross-sectional size as the selected portion of the endcap but is adapted to remain stationary when the endcap rotates therein. The handle portion is adapted to accept therethrough portions of the endcap of larger cross-sectional size than the selected portion of the endcap while the flexible midportion is sufficiently stiff so as not to flex under the weight of the media loader.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of plotters and, in particular, to a media loader for a plotter which enables a wide, large diameter media roll to be easily loaded onto and unloaded from its support brackets within a plotter housing.
2. Description of Related Art
As plotters have become more sophisticated in their ability to transport media quickly for continuous multipen plots and also to run unattended for considerable periods of time, the rolls of media used in the plotting process have become wider, greater in diameter and heavier, thus making it more difficult to manually insert such rolls into the narrow confines of the plotter housing. In addition, the bulky rolls must be carefully and precisely lowered onto the support brackets within the plotter housing, which brackets are generally located very close to the side walls of the plotter housing and surrounded by numerous alignment and feed devices. While prior art devices for loading media rolls, such as the hoisting bar and hook arrangement shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,286, issued Oct. 28, 1980, entitled "Core Holder for Reeling", are satisfactory for loading very large jumbo or parent rolls 5 feet in diameter and 5 to 10 axial feet in length onto exposed unwind stands, they have proven inadequate for use in inserting media rolls into the narrow confines of a commercial plotter.
Thus, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved media loader for a plotter.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved media loader for a plotter which enables the media roll to be precisely lowered onto the support brackets within the plotter housing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved media loader for a plotter which can remain secured to the media roll within the plotter and then used to remove the core which supported the media.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved media loader for a plotter which is lightweight, compact and inexpensive.


A planetary transmission with a planetary gearset (RS1), having a satellite carrier with planetary gearwheels (11, 14), mounted bolts (12, 15) attached to the satellite carrier. The satellite carrier comprises a web plate (17) via which lubricant is fed to the planetary gearwheels (11, 14) through lubricant bores in the bolts (12, 15) of the planetary gearwheels (11, 14). A structural element adjacent to the web plate (17) has no rotation speed relative to the web plate (17). A static-seal element (18) is arranged between the web plate (17) and the structural element adjacent to the web plate (17) above the bolts (12, 15) so that a lubricant chamber (109) is formed between the web plate (17) and the structural element adjacent to the web plate (17). Lubricant flows into this chamber (109), accumulates therein, and passes from the chamber (109) into the lubricant bores of the bolts (12, 15) of the planetary gearwheels (11, 14).

Many types of planetary gearsets of single-element or also multi-element planetary transmissions are known. For the lubrication and cooling of the planetary gearwheels of individual planetary gearsets it is generally provided that the bolts of the planetary gearwheels each have lubricant bores—usually a central bore and one or more radial bores—so that lubricant can be fed via these lubricant bores both to the mounting bearings and to the teeth of the planetary gearwheels concerned. For this purpose the lubricant supplied by a hydraulic system is usually fed, via a central shaft of the planetary transmission and suitably located radial holes in the said central shaft, into an area close to the individual planetary gearsets, preferably an area immediately adjacent to the planetary gearset concerned, in such manner that as a result of centrifugal force action the lubricant can flow axially past the planetary gearset in question in the radial direction. To retain this radially flowing or spraying lubricant in the area of the bolts of the respective planetary gearset, lubricant baffles are usually provided, which are usually attached to the satellite carrier of the planetary gearset concerned. The lubricant so retained then passes in a simple way into the lubricant bores of the bolts of the respective planetary gearset under centrifugal action, and is then distributed to the mounting bearings and teeth of the planetary gearwheels. An example of an arrangement for the lubrication and cooling of a planetary gearset made in such a way according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 1, in which the path of the lubricant feed is indicated as A.
However, the lubricant baffles can also be arranged on a structural element immediately adjacent to the satellite carrier, leaving only a small axial gap between the lubricant baffle and the satellite carrier.
Such arrangements for the lubrication and cooling of individual planetary gearsets are also known in combination with various gearset concepts in multi-stage planetary transmissions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,410 discloses a sectional view of a 6-gear automatic transmission with several planetary gearsets, each having a lubricant baffle attached on its satellite carrier.
A disadvantage of these arrangements known from the prior art for lubricating and cooling the planetary gearwheels of single-element or multi-element planetary gearsets, besides having to provide the lubricant baffles as additional structural elements, is also the cost and effort of machining the respective structural elements to which the lubricant baffles have to be attached securely under rotational load, as well as the cost and effort of fitting the lubricant baffles.
The purpose of the present invention is now, starting from the aforesaid prior art, to provide a planetary transmission with at least one single-element or multi-element planetary gearset and a simple, assembly-friendly and inexpensive lubrication system for the planetary gearwheels of the planetary gearset.


In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a controller may be communicatively coupled to a media interface and to each of a plurality of slots of a chassis, and may be configured to identify information handling systems instantiated within the chassis which require network configuration, read network configuration deployment information from a computer-readable medium received at the media interface, and for each information handling system instantiated within the chassis which requires network configuration, deploy network configuration parameters for the information handling system based on information set forth in the network configuration deployment information.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Existing server architectures either provide a single monolithic server capable of running one operating system (or a single hypervisor running multiple virtualized operating systems) and input/output ("I/O") resources at a time, or bulky blade server chassis providing multiple servers and I/O control modules in a single chassis. A system chassis with multiple information handling systems with various peripheral and I/O capabilities common to the chassis as a whole may provide advantages, as it allows a blade server chassis in a small form factor, thereby providing a blade server chassis with a size comparable to the size of a monolithic server. Implementation of a system chassis with multiple information handling systems with various peripheral and I/O capabilities common to the chassis as a whole presents numerous challenges.

Methods and systems for deploying network configuration information for multiple information handling systems


A system for optimizing short-term stability of a clock source clock pulse synchronized with a long-term stable reference-clock transmits clock numbers of a first reference clock to the clock source, between an initialization time and several times within a data-packet network. The clock pulse is adjusted by controlling a difference between clock numbers of the first reference clock received in the clock source and clock numbers of the first reference clock between the initialization time and the reception times of the clock numbers of the first reference clock. Clock numbers of a second reference clock are transmitted to the clock source with the clock number of at least one second reference-clock source at individual times. The maximum difference between the first and the second reference clock is known. The difference between the clock pulse of the clock source and each second reference clock is limited to an adjustable threshold value.

In networks, especially networks with high real-time requirements, for example, in a head station (a so-called head end), in which a digital datastream with video and audio data associated in each case with different programs is generated for transmission within a digital radio system, the clock sources used are synchronized with a reference-clock source. In this context, the Global-Position-System (GPS)-time, which is broadcast via GPS-satellites as a high-precision time signal in the form of one-second pulses (1 Pulse Per Second (PPS)) or in the form of a 10 MHz reference clock, or the Network-Time-Protocol (NTP), which transmits reference-time information of the Universal-Time-Coordinated (UTC)-time from an NTP-server via a data-packet orientated network, preferably via the Internet upon demand from a requesting client, are used as the reference-clock source.
As shown in FIG. 1, timestamp information based on the reference time is transmitted in data packets from primary time-servers 11, 12, 13 and 14, the so-called NTP-servers, which are coupled with a high-precision reference-time source 21, 22, 23 and 24, the UTC reference-time source, upon demand from a secondary server 31, 32, 33 and 34. On the basis of the transmission time from the requesting, secondary server to the NTP-server and from the NTP-server to the requesting secondary server, which depends upon the level of data traffic in the Internet, the requesting, secondary server receives the requested time with a statistical time delay. This statistical time delay, which leads to an inaccuracy of the time in the requesting, secondary server, must be minimized as far as possible via appropriate algorithms.
One possibility for minimizing the inaccuracy of the requested time is implemented according to FIG. 2 in the case of several NTP-servers upon demand from the requesting clock filters 41, 42 and 43 of the secondary server 3. The minimum time, which corresponds to the smallest transmission delay, is selected from all of the received times in a sub-computer 5 of the secondary server 3 by means of an NTP-algorithm. Finally, NTP-servers in which the transmission time from the time request to reception of the time information is subject to major statistical fluctuations and/or the time information is basically false are eliminated.
A further minimization of this statistical time delay is realized by a phase-locked loop 6, a so-called phase-locked loop (PLL), integrated in the secondary server 3, in which the received times represent the clock pulses of the associated reference-time source counted in the NTP-server from an initialization time until the respective transmission time and therefore represent phases, are compared and corrected with the counted clock pulses of the associated reference-time source at the reception time of the individual timestamp information in the secondary server 3, which also represent phases. In the phase-locked loop, a minimization of this phase jitter or phase noise is implemented by averaging in an averaging filter over several phase differences. The clock number of the associated reference-time source counted in the secondary server at the reception time of the individual timestamp information is obtained from the received clock number with the addition of the clock pulses of the associated reference-time source counted in the time interval between the transmission time in the primary server and the reception time in the secondary server. The transmission time in the primary server is selected approximately, as a mean value between the time of the time request by the secondary server and the time of reception of the associated timestamp information in the secondary server.
A clock source for a head end, of which the clock pulse is also synchronized with the long-term stable reference clock of an NTP-server is known from DE 10 2009 057 362 A1. For the simultaneous increase of the short-term stability of the clock pulse of the clock source, the long-term stable reference clock of the NTP-server is interpolated with the short-term stable reference clock of a further reference-clock source.
Both the implementation of the averaging and also the interpolation requires a certain processing time within which a drift of the clock pulse of the clock source in the secondary server occurs, which leads to an accumulated time offset of the clock source of typically a few tens of milliseconds within a delay time of one hour. In this context, a change in the ambient temperature leads to a relatively rapid frequency change of the clock source, which is recognized and corrected by the averaging only subject to a delay. In the case of real-time applications of a head end, this can lead to an overflow or a zero loading of the buffer, in which the individual data packets of the digital transport datastream to be transmitted are buffered, and accordingly to a loss of data packets to be transmitted or a gap in transmission, which, in each case, represent unacceptable operating conditions.
What is needed, therefore, is an approach for rapid-response optimization of the short-term stability of a clock pulse of a clock source, which is already synchronized with a long-term stable reference clock.

Method and system for optimizing short term stability of a clock pulse


A ferromagnetic thin-film based magnetic field detection system used for detecting the presence of selected molecular species. A magnetic field sensor supported on a substrate has a binding molecule layer positioned on a side thereof capable of selectively binding to the selected molecular species held on a magnetic particle. The magnetic field sensor can be substantially covered by an electrical insulating layer having a recess therein adjacent to the sensor in which the binding molecule layer is provided. A thin-film channel structure to the sensor is supported on the substrate that can be accompanied by a reservoir structure, and an electrical interconnection conductor is supported on the substrate at least in part between the sensor and the substrate, and is electrically connected to the sensor. The magnetic field sensor can be provided in a bridge circuit, and can be formed by a number of interconnected individual sensors.

The present invention relates to the detection of magnetizable beads and, more particularly, to detection of magnetizable beads in connection with biological and chemical assays.
Among the biomolecular detection methods used to detect selected molecules in the presence of other kinds of molecules mixed therewith are binding assays which are based on use of certain binding molecules to capture through specific chemical bondings the molecules selected for detection. Such specific bondings include polynucleic acid bondings or hybridizations involving DNA and RNA, antibody to antigen bondings, and various ligand to various receptor bondings. The detection of the selected molecules may be of primary interest in its own right, but may instead be of primary interest in indicating the presence of some other analyte molecule, species or organism.
One arrangement for implementing such a detection scheme is to provide a sensor in which the binding molecules are relatively strongly attached to a solid substrate. An assay is begun by applying a sample solution containing various kinds of molecules possibly including the molecules selected for detection to the sensor along with label molecules attached to label beads (or particles) also present in the sample solution or in a supplemental solution concurrently also capture the selected molecules or the label molecules attached to label beads, or both, and thereafter hold them at the corresponding capture sites, i.e. the sites of the binding molecules undergoing such a bonding.
Label molecules on label beads are needed so that the occurrence of a recognition event leads to some measurable signal to indicate that a selected molecule was found present. One kind of label bead for doing this is a paramagnetic material bead having magnetizations that depend on externally applied magnetic fields. Application of such an externally applied field forcefully draws away any unbound label beads leaving the bound label beads at the capture sites while also magnetizing those bound label beads. Magnetic field detectors at the capture sites must sense the anomalies introduced into the externally applied field by the presence of bound label beads to produce the desired signals indicating the number of, and possibly the location of, such bound label beads. From this information the number of selected molecules, and kinds thereof, in the sample solution can be determined.
Such label beads can range in magnetic material composition from pure ferromagnetic material (e.g. permalloy) to small percentages of paramagnetic material encapsulated in plastic or ceramic spheres. As indicated above, such label beads are typically coated with a chemical or biological species that selectively binds to the selected molecules in an analyte of interest including DNA, RNA, viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, proteins, etc. to define the assay function, or the kind of recognition events, to be associated with that bead.
However, the label beads must typically be very small, that is, on the order of a few to tens of nanometers (nm) up to maybe a hundred or so or even up to a few microns in some instances. As a result the anomalies in an externally applied field will be very small. Thus, there is a desire for suitable magnetic field detectors for use with such beads.

Thin-film structure magnetizable bead detector


Systems and techniques to optically boost a router. In general, in one implementation, the technique includes: receiving an optical signal defining a packet of data, initiating electronic routing of the optical packet, and initiating optical routing of the optical packet. The optical routing involves determining forwarding information based on a routing field in the optical packet, and if optical forwarding is available, terminating the electronic routing of the packet before completion of the electronic routing, and forwarding the optical signal, which defines the packet, based on the determined forwarding information.

The present application describes systems and techniques relating to handling packets defined by optical signals in a machine network.
A machine network is a collection of nodes coupled together with wired and/or wireless communication links, such as coax cable, fiber optics and radio frequency bands. A machine network may be a single network or a collection of networks (e.g., an internetwork, such as the Internet), and may use multiple networking protocols, including internetworking protocols (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)). These protocols define the manner in which information is prepared for transmission through the network, and typically involve breaking data into segments generically known as packets (e.g., IP packets, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) cells) for transmission. A node may be any machine capable of communicating with other nodes over the communication links using one or more of the networking protocols.
The networking protocols are typically organized by a network architecture having multiple layers, where each layer provides communication services to the layer above it. A layered network architecture is commonly referred to as a protocol stack or network stack, where each layer of the stack has one or more protocols that provide specific services. The protocols may include shared-line protocols such as in Ethernet networks, connection-oriented switching protocols such as in ATM networks, and/or connectionless packet-switched protocols such as in IP.
Typically, many of the sub-networks in a network are wire-based electronic networks. But for long-haul connections, the networks being used are increasingly fiber-based optical networks (e.g., SONET and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) based networks) connected with existing networks. IP routers are currently used in such optical networks. Many such routers receive packets as optical signals, convert them to electronic signals, compare destination addresses to a list of addresses or address prefixes in a forwarding table, modify their headers, send the packets to selected output interfaces, and convert back to optical signals.
In optical networks, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) can be used to increase link speeds. Often associated with WDM is the idea of an "all-optical network," which offers ingress-to-egress transport of data without intervening optelectronic conversions, thus promising potential reductions in end-to-end latency and data loss as well as potential improvements in throughput. Some routers have been enhanced by wavelength-selective optical crossconnect switches and label-switching software, which maps flows of IP packets to lightpaths of WDM channels created dynamically between specific packet-forwarding endpoints. Label switching for optical networks is being developed as various standards such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Multiprotocol Lambda Switching (MPXS) and Simple Wavelength Assignment Protocol (SWAP).
In an attempt to overcome the high latency of lightpath establishment typical in optical label switching, optical burst switching (OBS) and Terabit Burst Switching (TBS) have been considered as alternative methods of exploiting WDM. The first of a stream of packets destined for one address can blaze a path through the network by setting up segments of the lightpath as it is being electronically routed, succeeding packets in the stream use this lightpath, and the lightpath is torn down later, either by a packet or implicitly by a time-out.


A magnetic separation device separating magnetic material from a working fluid of a container is disclosed. The magnetic separation device includes a first element, a second element and a magnetic assembly structure including a plurality of magnetic units. The first element includes a first body, a plurality of first main positioning portions disposed on the first body, and a plurality of first sub-positioning portions disposed on the first body and next to the first main positioning portions to receive the container. The second element includes a second body, a plurality of second main positioning portions disposed on the second body, and a plurality of second sub-positioning portions disposed on the second body and next to the second main positioning portions to receive the container. The magnetic units disposed on the first main positioning portions and the second main positioning portions absorb magnetic material from the working fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic separation device, and more particularly relates to a magnetic separation device capable of separating magnetic material from a working fluid of a container.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, after a separation process, a conventional magnetic separation device is not able to efficiently separate magnetic substances from liquid, thus, the concentration of the separated target is not purified completely, and the activity of biomaterial contained in the liquid may be destroyed.

Industrial Technology Research Institute