The present invention harvests and utilizes fluidized bed drying technology and waste heat streams augmented by other available heat sources to dry feedstock or fuel. This method is useful in many industries, including coal-fired power plants. Coal is dried using the present invention before it goes to coal pulverizers and on to the furnace/boiler arrangement to improve boiler efficiency and reduce emissions. This is all completed in a low-temperature, open-air system. Also included is an apparatus for segregating particulate by density and/or size including a fluidizing bed having a particulate receiving inlet for receiving particulate to be fluidized. This is useful for segregating contaminants like sulfur and mercury from the product stream.

About 63% of the world's electric power and 70% of the electric power produced in the United States is generated from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, or natural gas at electric power plants. Such fuel is burned in a combustion chamber at the power plant to produce heat used to convert water in a boiler to steam. This steam is then superheated and introduced to huge steam turbines whereupon it pushes against the fanlike blades of the turbine to rotate a shaft. This spinning shaft, in turn, turns the rotor of an electric generator to produce electricity.
Once the steam has passed through the turbine, it enters a condenser where it passes around pipes carrying cooling water, which absorbs heat from the steam. As the steam cools, it condenses into water which can then be pumped back to the boiler to repeat the process of heating it into steam once again. In many power plants, this water in the condenser pipes that has absorbed this heat from the steam is pumped to a spray pond or cooling tower to be cooled. The cooled water can then be recycled through the condenser or discharged into lakes, rivers, or other water bodies.
Eighty-nine percent of the coal mined in the United States is used as the heat source for electric power plants. Unlike petroleum and natural gas, the available supplies of coal that can be economically extracted from the earth are plentiful.
There are four primary types of coal: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. While all four types of these coals principally contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, as well as moisture, the specific amounts of these solid elements and moisture contained in coal varies widely. For example, the highest ranking anthracite coals contain about 98% wt carbon, while the lowest ranking lignite coals (also called "brown coal") may only contain about 30% wt carbon. At the same time, the amount of moisture may be less than 1% in anthracite and bituminous coals, but 25-30% wt for subbituminous coals like Powder River Basin ("PRB"), and 35-40% wt for North American lignites. For Australia and Russia, these lignite moisture levels may be as high as 50% and 60%, respectively. These high-moisture subbituminous and lignite coals have lower heating values compared with bituminous and anthracite coals because they produce a smaller amount of heat when they are burned. Moreover, high fuel moisture affects all aspects of electric power unit operation including performance and emissions. High fuel moisture results in significantly lower boiler efficiencies and higher unit heat rates than is the case for higher-rank coals. The high moisture content can also lead to problems in areas such as fuel handling, fuel grinding, fan capacity, and high flue gas flow rates.
Bituminous coals have been the most widely used rank of coal in the U.S. for electric power production because of their abundance and relatively high heating values. However, they also contain medium to high levels of sulfur. As a result of increasingly stringent environmental regulations like the Clean Air Act in the U.S., electric power plants have had to install costly scrubber devices in front of chimneys at of these plants to prevent the sulfur dioxide ("SO2"), nitrous oxides ("NOx"), and fly ash that result from burning these coals to pollute the air.
Lower rank coals like subbituminous and lignite coals have gained increasing attention as heat sources for power plants because of their low sulfur content and cost. However, they still produce sufficient levels of SO2, NOx, and fly ash when burned such that treatment of the flue gas is required to comply with federal and state pollution standards. Additionally, ash and sulfur are the chief impurities appearing in coal. The ash consists principally of mineral compounds of aluminum, calcium, iron, and silicon. Some of the sulfur in coal is also in the form of minerals—particularly pyrite, which is a compound of iron and sulfur. The remainder of the sulfur in coal is in the form of organic sulfur, which is closely combined with the carbon in the coal.
It has previously been recognized within the industry that heating coal reduces its moisture, and therefore enhances the rank and heating value (BTU per pound) of the coal by drying the coal. Prior to its combustion in hot water boilers, drying of the coal can enhance the resulting efficiency of the boiler.
A wide variety of dryer devices have been used within the prior art to dry coal, including rotary kilns (U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,743 issued to Berg), cascaded whirling bed dryers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,878 issued to Petrovic et al.), elongated slot dryers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,744 issued to Siddoway et al.), hopper dryers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,208 issued to Ohno et al.), traveling bed dryers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,793 issued to Petrovic et al.), and vibrating fluidized bed dryers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,129 issued to Ladt). Also well-known within the industry are fluidized-bed dryers or reactors in which a fluidizing medium is introduced through holes in the bottom of the bed to separate and levitate the coal particles for improved drying performance. The fluidizing medium may double as a direct heating medium, or else a separate indirect heat source may be located within the fluidized bed reactor. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,537,941 issued to Goldich; U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,875 issued to Selle et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,848 issued to Reynoldson et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,830,246, 5,830,247, and 5,858,035 issued to Dunlop; U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,336 issued to Kannenberg et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,955 issued to Dietz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,291 issued to Heard et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,431 issued to Parks.
Many of these conventional drying processes, however, have employed very high temperatures and pressures. For example, the Bureau of Mines process is performed at 1500 psig, while the drying process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,168 issued to Koppelman requires pressures of 1000-3000 psi. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,968 issued to Criner teaches the use of updrafted air at 1000° F. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,489 issued to Dunlop discloses a process for simultaneously improving the fuel properties of coal and oil, wherein a reactor maintained at 850-1050° F. is employed. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,434,932 issued to Mansfield (1400-1600° F.); and 4,571,174 issued to Shelton (≦1000° F.).
The use of such very high temperatures for drying or otherwise treating the coal requires enormous energy consumption and other capital and operating costs that can very quickly render the use of lower-ranked coals economically unfeasible. Moreover, higher temperatures for the drying process create another emission stream that needs to be managed as volatiles are driven off. Further complicating this economic equation is the fact that prior art coal drying processes have often relied upon the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil, or natural gas to provide the very heat source for improving the heat value of the coal to be dried. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,533,438 issued to Michael et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,489 issued to Dunlop; U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,544 issued to Blake; 4,192,650 issued to Seitzer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,129 issued to Ladt; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,743 issued to Berg. In some instances, this combusted fuel source may constitute coal fines separated and recycled within the coal drying process. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,322,530 issued to Merriam et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,418 issued to Erhard; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,877 issued to Stahlherm et al.
Efforts have therefore been made to develop processes for drying coal using lower temperature requirements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,516 issued to Johnson teaches a drying process for low-rank coal using warm inert gas in a fluidized bed within the 400-500° F. range as a drying medium. U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,258 issued to Greene discloses the use of a superheated gaseous drying medium to heat the coal to 300-450° F., although its preferred temperature and pressure is 850° F. and 0.541 psi. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,436,589 and 4,431,585 issued to Petrovic et al. (392° F.); 4,338,160 issued to Dellessard et al. (482-1202° F.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,710 issued to Ottoson (400-900° F.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,365 issued to Coleman et al. (302-572° F.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,549 issued to Fracas (500-600° F.); U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,858,035 issued to Dunlop; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,904,741 and 6,162,265 issued to Dunlop et al. (480-600° F.).
Several prior art coal drying processes have used still lower temperatures—albeit, only to dry the coal to a limited extent. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,247 issued to Dunlop discloses a process for preparing irreversibly dried coal using a first fluidized bed reactor with a fluidized bed density of 20-40 lbs/ft3, wherein coal with a moisture content of 15-30% wt, an oxygen content of 10-20%, and a 0-2-inch particle size is subjected to 150-200° F. for 1-5 minutes to simultaneously comminute and dewater the coal. The coal is then fed to a second fluidized bed reactor in which it is coated with mineral oil and then subjected to a 480-600° F. temperature for 1-5 minutes to further comminute and dehydrate the product. Thus, it is apparent that not only is this process applied to coals having relatively lower moisture contents (i.e., 15-30%), but also the coal particles are only partially dewatered in the first fluidized bed reactor operated at 150-200° F., and the real drying takes place in the second fluidized bed reactor that is operated at the higher 480-600° F. bed temperature.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,559 issued to Hunt teaches a process for treating coal in an inert atmosphere to increase its rank by heating it initially at 200-250° F. to remove its surface moisture, followed by sequentially progressive heating steps conducted at 400-750° F., 900-1100° F., 1300-1550° F., and 2000-2400° F. to eliminate the water within the pores of the coal particles to produce coal with a moisture content and volatiles content of less than 2% and 15%, respectively, by weight. Again, it is clear that the initial 200-250° F. heating step provides only a limited degree of drying to the coal particles.
One of the problems that can be encountered with the use of fluidized bed reactors to dry coal is the production of large quantities of fines entrapped in the fluidizing medium. Especially at higher bed operating conditions, these fines can spontaneously combust to cause explosions. Therefore, many prior art coal drying processes have resorted to the use of inert fluidizing gases within an air-free fluidized bed environment to prevent combustion. Examples of such inert gas include nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and steam. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,090,131 issued to Waterman, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,485 issued to Petrovic et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,300,291 and 4,236,318 issued to Heard et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,742 issued to Ekberg; U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,011 issued to Knappstein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,269 issued to Cha et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,288 issued to Galow et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,717 issued to Hauk; U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,559 issued to Hunt; and 5,904,741 issued to Dunlop et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,365 issued to Coleman et al. provides a process for drying low-quality carbonaceous fuels like coal in a "mildly reducing environment" achieved through the use of lower alkane inert gases like propane or methane. Still other prior art processes employ a number of heated fluidizing streams maintained at progressively decreasing temperatures as the coal travels through the length of the fluidized bed reactor to ensure adequate cooling of the coal in order to avoid explosions. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,174 issued to Shelton; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,157 issued to Wicker.
Still another problem previously encountered by the industry when drying coal is its natural tendency to reabsorb water moisture in ambient air conditions over time after the drying process is completed. Therefore, efforts have been made to coat the surface of the dried coal particles with mineral oil or some other hydrocarbon product to form a barrier against adsorption of moisture within the pores of the coal particles. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,830,246 and 5,858,035 issued to Dunlop; U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,516 issued to Johnson; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,705,533 and 4,800,015 issued to Simmons.
In order to enhance the process economics of drying low-rank coals, it is known to use waste heat streams as supplemental heat sources to the primary combustion fuel heat source. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,530 issued to Merriam et al. This is particularly true within coking coal production wherein the cooling gas heated by the hot coke may be recycled for purposes of heating the drying gas in a heat exchanger. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,053,364 issued to Poersch; U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,102 issued to Wagener et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,160 issued to Dellessard et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,903 issued to Weber et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,427 issued to Kemmetmueller; U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,438 issued to Michael et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,793 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,485 issued to Petrovic et al. Likewise, flue gases from fluidized bed combustion furnaces have been used as a supplemental heat source for a heat exchanger contained inside the fluidized bed reactor for drying the coal. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,537,941 issued to Goldich; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,717 issued to Hauk. U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,743 issued to Berg discloses a method for drying solids like wet coal in a rotary kiln wherein the dried material is gasified to produce hot gases that are then used as the combustion heat source for radiant heaters used to dry the material within the kiln. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,476 issued to Wagener et al., stack gas from an associated metallurgical installation is passed through hot coke in a coke production process to cool it, thereby heating the stack gas which is then used to preheat the moist coal feed prior to its conversion into coke.
None of these prior art processes, however, appear to employ a waste heat stream in a coal drying operation as the sole source of heat used to dry the coal. Instead, they merely supplement the primary heat source which remains combustion of a fossil fuel like coal, oil or natural gas. Thus, the process economics for drying the coal products, including low-rank coals, continues to be limited by the need to burn fossil fuels in order to dry a fossil fuel (i.e., coal) to improve its heat value for firing a boiler in a process plant (e.g., an electric power plant).
Coal mining companies typically clean their coal products to remove impurities before supplying them to end users like electric power plants and coking production plants. After sorting the pieces of coal by means of a screening device to form coarse, medium, and fine streams, these three coal streams are delivered to washing devices in which the coal particles are mixed with water. Using the principle of specific gravity, the heaviest pieces containing the largest amounts of impurities settle to the bottom of the washer, whereupon they drop into a refuse bin for subsequent disposal. The cleaned coal particles from the three streams are then combined together again and dried by means of vibrators, jigs, or hot-air blowers to produce the final coal product ready for shipment to the end user.
While the cleaning process employed by coal mining operations removes much of the ash from the coal, it has little effect on sulfur, since the organic sulfur is closely bound to the carbon within the coal. Thus, other methods need to be used to further purify the coal prior to its combustion. Methods are known in industry for separating different types of particulate materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,168 issued to Oetiker discloses a large machine for separating corn kernels from husk parts, wherein they are subjected to vibration and pulsated air currents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,099 issued to Zaltzman et al., on the other hand, teaches the delivery of granular materials through an upwardly inclined trough through which a fluidizing gas is forced from the bottom of the trough to create a fluidized material bed. A vertical oscillatory motion is also imparted to the trough to assist in the separation of the various components contained in the material mixture. Less dense components of the mixture rise to the surface of the fluidized bed, while the denser components settle to the bottom. At the output end of the trough, a stream splitter can be used to recover different layers of materials. This apparatus is good for separating agricultural products and sand.
It is known in the prior art that under some circumstances a fluidized bed may be used without the addition of mechanical vibration or vertical oscillation to achieve particle separation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,483 issued to Strohmeyer uses a heated fluidized bed dryer to treat municipal trash and remove heavier particles like glass from the trash before its combustion to produce heat. Meanwhile, U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,001 issued to Binnix et al. classifies materials from an admixture by means of intermediate selective removal of materials of predetermined sizes and specific gravities. The material mixture travels along a downwardly sloped screen support and is suspended by upwardly directed pneumatic pulses. U.S. Pat. No. 2,512,422 issued to Fletcher et al. again uses a downwardly inclined fluidized bed with upwardly directed pulses of air, wherein small particles of coal can be separated and purified from a coal mixture by providing holes in the top of the fluidized bed unit of a sufficient cross sectional area relative to the total cross sectional area of the bed to control the static pressure level within the fluidized bed to prevent the small particles of higher specific gravity from rising within the coal bed.
The process and devices disclosed in these Strohmeyer, Binnix, and Fletcher patents, however, all seem to be directed to the separation of different constituents within an admixture having a relatively large difference in specific gravity. Such processes may work readily to separate nuts, bolts, rocks, etc. from coal, however, they would not be expected to separate coal particles containing organic sulfur from coal particles largely free of sulfur since the specific gravities of these two coal fractions can be relatively close.
Another air pollutant of great concern is mercury, which occurs naturally in coal. Regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") require coal-fired power plants to dramatically reduce the mercury levels contained in their flue gases by 2010. Major efforts within the industry have focused upon the removal of mercury from the flue gas by the use of carbon-based sorbents or optimization of existing flue gas emissions control technologies to capture the mercury. However, utilization of carbon sorbent-based scrubber devices can be very expensive to install and operate. Moreover, currently existing emissions control equipment can work less well for high-rank coals (anthracite and bituminous) vs. low-rank coals (subbitumionous and lignite).
Western Research Institute has therefore developed and patented a pre-combustion thermal process for treating low-rank coals to remove the mercury. Using a two-zone reactor, the raw coal is heated in the first zone at approximately 300° F. to remove moisture which is purged from the zone with a sweep gas. The dried coal is then transferred to a second zone where the temperature is raised to approximately 550° F. Up to 70-80% of the mercury contained in the coal is volatilized and swept from the zone with a second sweep gas stream. The mercury is subsequently separated from the sweep gas and collected for disposal. See Guffey, F. D. & Bland, A. E., "Thermal Pretreatment of Low-Ranked Coal for Control of Mercury Emissions," 85 Fuel Processing Technology 521-31 (2004); Merriam, N. W., "Removal of Mercury from Powder River Basin Coal by Low-Temperature Thermal Treatment," Topical Report WRI-93-R021 (1993); U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,365 issued to Merriam et al.
However, this pre-combustion thermal pretreatment process is still capital-intensive in that it requires a dual zone reactor to effectuate the drying and mercury volatilization steps. Moreover, an energy source is required to produce the 550° F. bed temperature. Furthermore, 20-30% of the mercury cannot be removed from the coal by this process, because it is tightly bound to the carbon contained in the coal. Thus, expensive scrubber technology will still be required to treat flue gas resulting from combustion of coal pretreated by this method because of the appreciable levels of mercury remaining in the coal after completion of this thermal pre-treatment process.
Therefore, the ability to pre-treat particulate material like coal with a fluidized bed operated at a very low temperature without mechanical or chemical additives in order to separate and remove most of the pollutant constituents within the coal (e.g., mercury and sulfur) would be desirable. Such a process could be applied to all ranks of coal, and would alleviate the need for expensive scrubber technology for treatment of flue gases after combustion of the coal.
The concerted use of waste heat sources available within industrial plants using boilers that would otherwise be lost as the exclusive heat source for drying the coal prior to its introduction to the boiler furnace to improve the process economics of using low-rank coals like subbituminous and lignite coal would also be desirable. Such low-rank coal sources could suddenly become viable fuel sources for power plants compared with the more traditionally used bituminous and anthracite coals. The economical use of lower-sulfur subbituminous and lignite coals, in addition to removal of undesirable elements found within the coal that causes pollution, would also be greatly beneficial to the environment.

Apparatus and method of enhancing the quality of high-moisture materials and separating and concentrating organic and/or non-organic material contained therein


There is provided a production method of a cosmetic, a preparation method of a gel for cosmetics, and a method of reducing the use amount of a polymer thickener blended in cosmetic raw materials. The present invention relates to a production method of a cosmetic comprising blending, into the cosmetic raw material in addition to the polymer thickener, at least one lipid peptide-type gelator that contains a low-molecular lipid peptide or a pharmaceutically usable salt thereof at a ratio of 0.1% by weight to 0.5% by weight based on a mass of the polymer thickener to form a thickening gel; a preparation method of a gel for cosmetics comprising blending, into an aqueous medium for cosmetics, a polymer thickener and at least one lipid peptide-type gelator that contains a low-molecular lipid peptide or a pharmaceutically usable salt thereof at the above-mentioned ratio to form a gel; and a method of reducing the use amount of a polymer thickener in production of a cosmetic comprising blending, into the cosmetic raw material in addition to the polymer thickener, at least one lipid peptide-type gelator that contains a low-molecular lipid peptide or a pharmaceutically usable salt thereof at the above-mentioned ratio.

Conventionally, various additives have been blended in cosmetics in order to impart various effects such as moisturizing, preserving, and thickening effects to the cosmetics. For example, polymer thickeners such as carboxyvinyl polymers are generally blended in cosmetics in order to impart the thickening effect to the cosmetics.
However, if the use amount of the polymer thickener blended in a cosmetic is too large, the viscosity of the cosmetic increases to make it difficult to allow the cosmetic to uniformly gel. Moreover, the polymer thickener causes crinkles or dripping of the cosmetic to make the feel in use of the cosmetic unpleasant.

Production method of cosmetic, preparation method of gel for cosmetics, and method of reducing use amount of polymer thickener blended in cosmetic raw materials


An etching method is provided for performing an etching process on an etching target film arranged on a substrate. The etching method includes the steps of supplying a treatment gas including a halogen-containing gas, hydrogen gas, an inert gas, and oxygen gas; performing a treatment on a patterned mask arranged on the etching target film using a plasma generated from the treatment gas; and etching the etching target film that has undergone the treatment using a plasma generated from an etching gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an etching method.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the growing miniaturization of etching patterns, precision of the dimensions of patterns formed by etching is becoming an important technical issue. In particular, when the aspect ratio of an etched pattern increases, the dimensions of the etched pattern is prone to degradation. In this respect, PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2003-506866 discloses a technique for reducing critical dimension (CD) microloading, which refers to a degradation in the precision of dimensions of a pattern and a decrease in the etch rate as the aspect ratio of the pattern being formed increases.
Also, in view of the miniaturization of patterns, a technique is known for shrinking the critical dimensions (CD) of an etching pattern to reduce the dimensions of a pattern to be etched. In the next generation, pattern miniaturization is expected to progress further, and as such, controlling the shrinkage of the vertical and horizontal CD of a pattern upon shrinking the CD may be important. Normally, the vertical to horizontal CD shrink ratio upon shrinking the CD of a pattern is preferably controlled to be 1:1.
However, in the case of shrinking an oval hole pattern, for example, the long diameter of the hole pattern normally shrinks by a greater amount compared to the short diameter, and it is difficult to control the long diameter to short diameter CD shrink ratio to 1:1.


A device includes memory cells, reference memory cells, and a sensing unit. The reference memory cells are configured to store first bit data, second bit data, third bit data, and fourth bit data, in which the first bit data and the fourth bit data are configured to be a high logic state, and the second bit data and the third bit data are configured to be a low logic state. The sensing unit is configured to read bit data stored in one of the memory cells according to the first bit data, the second bit data, the third bit data, and the fourth bit data.

Memory devices are widely used in many applications. Memory devices include, a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and so on.
In general, DRAM can provide a higher degree of integration. However, DRAM requires constant refreshing. As a result, the use of DRAM is limited for computer main memories by its power consumption and slow refresh speed.
On the other hand, SRAM can maintain its logic state as long as an adequate power is supplied. SRAM can operate with a higher speed and lower power consumption. Thus, SRAM can be utilized for computer cache memories, embedded memories or networking equipment memories.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A filter assembly for a computed tomographic imaging system includes first and second endplates at opposite ends of the filter assembly. Also provided is a first moveable subassembly that includes at least a first x-ray filter and which is configured to move along an axis perpendicular to the first endplate between the first the second endplates. A second moveable subassembly is also provided that includes at least a second x-ray filter. The second moveable subassembly is configured to move along an axis perpendicular to the second endplate between the first and second endplates. The first moveable subassembly and the second moveable subassembly are independently movable to provide at least a small bowtie x-ray filter, a large bowtie x-ray filter, a medium bowtie x-ray filter, a flat filter, and a closed position for a radiation source positioned in a fixed position relative to the filter assembly.

This invention relates generally to CT imaging systems, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for reducing a radiation dose applied to an object or person being imaged.
In some known CT imaging system configurations, an x-ray source projects a fan-shaped beam which is collimated to lie within an X-Y plane of a Cartesian coordinate system and generally referred to as an "imaging plane". The x-ray beam passes through an object being imaged, such as a patient. The beam, after being attenuated by the object, impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the attenuated radiation beam received at the detector array is dependent upon the attenuation of an x-ray beam by the object. Each detector element of the array produces a separate electrical signal that is a measurement of the beam intensity at the detector location. The intensity measurements from all the detectors are acquired separately to produce a transmission profile.
In third generation CT systems, the x-ray source and the detector array are rotated with a gantry within the imaging plane and around the object to be imaged such that the angle at which the x-ray beam intersects the object constantly changes. A group of x-ray attenuation measurements, i.e., projection data, from the detector array at one gantry angle is referred to as a "view". A "scan" of the object comprises a set of views made at different gantry angles, or view angles, during one revolution of the x-ray source and detector.
In an axial scan, the projection data is processed to construct an image that corresponds to a two-dimensional slice taken through the object. One method for reconstructing an image from a set of projection data is referred to in the art as the filtered backprojection technique. This process converts the attenuation measurements from a scan into integers called "CT numbers" or "Hounsfield units" (HU), which are used to control the brightness of a corresponding pixel on a cathode ray tube display.
To reduce the total scan time, a "helical" scan may be performed. To perform a "helical" scan, the patient is moved while the data for the prescribed number of slices is acquired. Such a system generates a single helix from a fan beam helical scan. The helix mapped out by the fan beam yields projection data from which images in each prescribed slice may be reconstructed.
Reconstruction algorithms for helical scanning typically use helical weighing algorithms that weight the collected data as a function of view angle and detector channel index. Specifically, prior to a filtered backprojection process, the data is weighted according to a helical weighing factor, which is a function of both the gantry angle and detector angle. The weighted data is then processed to generate CT numbers and to construct an image that corresponds to a two-dimensional slice taken through the object.
To further reduce the total acquisition time, multi-slice CT has been introduced. In multi-slice CT, multiple rows of projection data are acquired simultaneously at any time instant. When combined with helical scan mode, the system generates a single helix of cone beam projection data. Similar to the single slice helical, weighting scheme, a method can be derived to multiply the weight with the projection data prior to the filtered backprojection algorithm.
Significant dose reduction can be achieved by using a bowtie filter to shape the intensity profile of the x-ray beam in the X-axis. Also, different shaped bowties can be advantageously used. For example, one shape can be used for the head or a small body, yet another shape for a pediatric head and another shape for a large body or flat. A large selection of shapes would be useful to best fit each patient and patient anatomy.
However, manufacturing an imaging system with a large number of bowtie filters can significantly increase the overall cost of the imaging system because of the volume required to accommodate and move each of the filters.

Methods and apparatus for filtering a radiation beam and CT imaging systems using same


A first band pass filter selects and transmits light having an infrared wavelength specific to flame. A first infrared-ray receiving element receives the light from the first band pass filter. A second band pass filter selects and transmits light having an infrared wavelength which is not the infrared wavelength specific to flame. A second infrared-ray receiving element receives the light from the second band pass filter. A first output of the first infrared-ray receiving element is compared with a second output of the second infrared-ray receiving element to detect the flame. When light having homogeneous energy in a transmissive wavelength band of the first band pass filter and a transmissive wavelength band of the second band pass filter is incident on the first band pass filter and the second band pass filter, an amount of the light transmitted through the second band pass filter is less than an amount of the light transmitted through the first band pass filter, and the first output and the second output are adjusted so that a level of the first output is equal to a level of the second output.

The present invention relates to a flame detector.
As shown in FIG. 1, the related-art flame detector includes a first band pass filter 53a for transmitting infrared rays of, for example, about 4.4 to 4.5 μm, which are in a wavelength band of CO2 resonance radiation, a first infrared-ray receiving element (infrared-ray receiving sensor) 53b for receiving light from the first band pass filter 53a, a second band pass filter 54a for transmitting infrared rays of about 5.0 μm, which are in the vicinity of the wavelength band of CO2 resonance radiation, and a second infrared-ray receiving element (infrared-ray receiving sensor) 54b for receiving light from the second band pass filter 54a. A common protective glass 52 made of a member having infrared translucency such as sapphire glass is provided on the front surface of the first band pass filter 53a and the second band pass filter 54a.
With such a configuration, a sensor output based on the infrared ray of about 4.4 to 4.5 μm set in the first band pass filter 53a is generated from the first infrared-ray receiving element 53b. Moreover, a sensor output based on the infrared ray of about 5.0 μm set in the second band pass filter 54a is generated from the second infrared-ray receiving element 54b. The sensor output of the first infrared-ray receiving element 53b and the sensor output of the second infrared-ray receiving element 54b are amplified by amplifiers 55 and 56, respectively, and then a comparator 57 compares the sensor outputs to detect flame.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a relative intensity of the flame is the highest in the wavelength band (first wavelength band) of about 4.4 to 4.5 μm set in the first band pass filter 53a, and the relative intensity of the flame is the smallest in the wavelength band (second wavelength) of about 5.0 μm set in the second band pass filter 54a. Accordingly, it is possible to detect the flame when the sensor output of the first infrared-ray receiving element 53b is larger than that of the second infrared-ray receiving element 54b.
In this case, the sapphire glass used in the protective glass 52 transmits light of about 0.3 to 7.6 μm. That is, since the sapphire glass used in the protective glass 52 also transmits the visible light and the near-infrared rays as well as the infrared rays, the visible light and the near-infrared rays are directly emitted to the first band pass filter 53a and the second band pass filter 54a. In this case, in the first band pass filter 53a and the second band pass filter 54a, an optical energy (that is, the optical energy of the visible light and the near-infrared rays) outside the transmissive band is converted into heat, and thus is emitted as secondary radiation to the surroundings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the known flame detector has a problem in that the known flame detector may also detect the visible light and the near-infrared rays which are not originally transmitted through the band pass filters since the first infrared-ray receiving element 53b and the second infrared-ray receiving element 54b detect the secondary radiation.
In particular, in an environment where the flame detector is installed, there are factors causing a false alarm due to sunlight, an electric bulb, or the like. Accordingly, since the flame may be much affected by the visible light and the near-infrared rays emitted from the sunlight, the electric bulb, or the like, there arises a problem in that the flame cannot be detected with good accuracy.
This problem also arises in a one-wavelength type flame detector for detecting flame based on the infrared rays of about 4.4 to 4.5 μm or a multi-wavelength type flame detector.
In the past, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 was devised to solve this problem (that is, to prevent the influence (for example, the false alarm) caused due to the secondary radiation). That is, in Patent Document 1, a deposition film for cutting the visible light and the near-infrared rays is formed on the rear surface of the protective glass in order to prevent the visible light and the near-infrared rays from being incident on the first band pass filter and the second band pass filter.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-98372A
Like Patent Document 1, when the protective glass has a function for cutting the visible light and the near-infrared rays to prevent the visible light and the near-infrared rays from being incident on the first band pass filter and the second band pass filter, the influence (for example, the false alarm) caused due to the secondary radiation can be prevented. However, there arises a problem in that sensitivity for detecting the flame may deteriorate since attenuation occurs as much as light transmitted through the protective glass, thereby reducing an amount of light transmitted through the first band pass filter and the second band pass filter.


The inventions relate to purifying water and can be used in domestic water purification systems. The claimed filtered water storage unit for the storage device of a water purification system includes a housing, an elastic chamber for filtered water, and a region for pressurizing untreated water. The water purification system includes a reverse osmosis membrane, a clean water discharge pipe, an overflow into a drain, a clean water tap, and a storage device having a filtered water storage unit and a hydro-automatic unit. The outlet of the controlled chamber of a valve is associated with the water pressurizing region in the housing of the water storage unit, and the input of the controlling chamber of a valve is associated with the clean water discharge pipe upstream of the tap, wherein the valve for controlling water pressurization is normally open and the valve for controlling drainage is normally closed.

The present inventions relate to the means for water treatment, preferably drinking water, and can be used in domestic water purification systems.
There is known a domestic reverse-osmosis system with a storage device for water that contains placed in the outer housing of the storage tank an elastic shell hermetically separating its cavity into two parts: the internal part changing cyclically its volume depending on the amount of purified water in it, and the outer part arranged between the shell and the housing of the storage tank, and also includes a control valve for water pumping into the outer chamber and control valve for water drain from the cavity to drainage.
In the prior art, there is known a number of U.S. patents (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,579,242; 4,585,554; 4,604,194; 4,629,568; 4,650,586; 4,705,625; 4,776,952; 4,885,085; 4,997,553; 5,662793, etc.) that describe water purification systems with storage devices for water including an air cavity.
At the same time, in water purification systems, there are used mechanical valves (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,553), piston type valves (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,463), and membrane type valves (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,537).
However, practical implementation of these devices is difficult since it requires a complex, highly reliable control system for water-to-water storage device.
There is known a water purification system using a device to accumulate purified filtered water, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,595 published on 20 Jun. 2004, produced by Kinetico Incorporated, which is chosen as a prototype for the system and storage device.
The system includes a reverse-osmosis membrane, storage tank and control unit (block diagram shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B). The storage tank of the known water purification system is equipped with an elastic shell arranged inside an external vessel of the tank, which shell is intended for purified water (leachate or permeate), and a pumping area formed in the space between the shell and the vessel housing. In the system of water purification, the input of reverse-osmosis membrane is intended to supply pressurized tap water, and the output of reverse-osmosis membrane coupled with the shell cavity of the storage tank is connected with the tap for clean water via an outlet pipe.
Another output of reverse-osmosis membrane is connected with the drainage where the water with filtered impurities (concentrate) is discharged. For managing water pumping into the storage tank and discharge of the concentrate into the drainage, the system is equipped with two control valves connected in series, one after the other. That is, the system control unit includes a water-pressure-sensitive automatic primary control valve for water pumping (Pilot Valve), which valve has a controlling chamber and a controlled chamber, as well as a slave valve (Servo Valve) for drainage control with a controlling chamber and a controlled chamber. The controlling chamber of the Pilot Valve is connected with a tap of clean water via an outlet pipe, and the input of the controlled chamber is connected with the pipe-line. In the drainage control valve, the input of the controlled chamber is connected to a pumping water zone in the storage tank, and the output of the controlled chamber is connected to the drainage.
The described system uses combined type valves, which valves are driven by control pressure through the chamber containing an elastic membrane, and their shifting is performed using a piston spool.
The large number of inputs-outputs for the valve of control unit, i.e., large number of points needed in sealing, evidences a high degree of risk of potential leaks in the system, which reduces the reliability of the system. At the same time, a large number of connections in the system, as well as the connecting scheme, in which the control valve for water pumping is not coupled directly to the storage tank, but only through the drainage control valve, allows to make a conclusion on the complexity of the water purification system control unit, which reduces reliability of the system.
In addition, the storage device has the stagnant zone, which transfers hydraulic pressure, but in which the water does not circulate. In these areas, bacteria and germs develop, penetrate in time the line of clean water, and deteriorate its quality.
Storage tanks for water treatment systems include flexible membranes (shells, cells) designed to separate objects of storage and accumulate intermediate objects.
There is a group of tank constructions with a membrane that has reduced comparatively with the overall dimensions a connecting part—the neck. Such membrane configuration greatly simplifies connection to the tank housing and organization of stream redirection, allows to reduce sealing part dimensions and therefore tensions in sealing elements. Further, the configuration with the neck provides a possibility to remove the membrane sealing zone from the area of connection of tank housing elements, or to use one-piece tank housing.
Using the construction of storage tank with an elastic membrane in the system of water purification is known, for example, from aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,595 of Kinetico Incorporated.
Traditionally, similar membranes are manufactured using different methods. One method is direct or transfer (flow) molding of rubber compounds with subsequent removal of vulcanized products from a punch through a narrowed neck. Some types of rubbers have feature of high relative elongation, and also the punch cross section has figured shape, which allows to carry out the process of removal without damaging the product. The disadvantages of this method are energy intensity and duration of the product vulcanization process, and also the high complexity of the removing operation. Another method for obtaining membranes is pressure molding thermoplastic elastomer with subsequent removing a cooled product from punch through the neck. However, smaller in comparison with rubbers relative elongation of thermoplastic elastomers significantly complicates removing a product and the construction of a punch. Besides, pressure molding technology, which substantially reduces the cycle time, limits the thickness of the casting walls, and makes it difficult to obtain a membrane with a thickness of baseline minimum to perform its functions.
As a prototype, selected is a storage unit for filtered water described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,553 of 5 Mar. 1991, which storage unit includes a housing (of a tank) with an elastic shell inside performed of thermostatic elastomer and fixed to the housing using the neck that isolates hermetically the inner cavity intended for storing clean water from the volume formed between housing walls and shell walls intended for discharging process water.
During the operation, the membrane body is cyclically compressed and extended changing divided volumes, while the neck remains firmly fixed in the tank providing a seal. This gives rise to different requirements on mechanical properties of different parts of the membrane: the membrane body shall be more durable, flexible and wear-resistant, while the neck shall be more rigid. The prototype does not solve the aforesaid problem.


A system and method of damping fluid pressure waves in a subterranean well. In a described embodiment, pressure waves are damped by positioning a dampener in the well during a perforating operation. The dampener may attenuate the pressure waves by absorbing the pressure waves, flowing the pressure waves through viscously damping material, generating complementary pressure waves, changing a material phase, or by a combination of these methods.

The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides a system and method for damping fluid pressure waves in a subterranean well.
It is well known that detonation of perforating guns in a well can cause damage to equipment in the well. It has generally been considered that this damage is due primarily to forces generated by detonation of the perforating guns. These forces are transmitted to other equipment via a tubing string in which the perforating guns and the other equipment are interconnected.
For this reason, previous attempts to protect the equipment from damage have focused on isolating the equipment from the forces generated by the perforating guns' detonation. For example, shock absorbers have been interconnected in the tubing string between the equipment and the perforating guns. As another example, methods have been developed wherein the equipment is physically separated from the perforating guns prior to detonating the perforating guns.
However, damage to equipment may actually, or additionally, be caused by pressure waves generated by the perforating guns when they are detonated. Shock absorbers do not isolate the equipment from damage due to these pressure waves. Furthermore, separating the equipment from the perforating guns may not be necessary if damage to the equipment may be prevented, or at least substantially reduced, by damping the pressure waves.
Damping pressure waves may also be beneficial in other operations performed in wells. For example, fracturing operations, propellant-driven packer setting, casing repair, etc.

Damping fluid pressure waves in a subterranean well


This invention discloses a scanning mechanism of an ion implanter. The mechanism is a PR-PRR type parallel mechanism with two subchains and two DOFs, driving the wafer holder to scan when the first subchain and the second subchain are translated in the same direction at the same speed and adjusting the rotational angle of the wafer holder when the first moving link (30) and the second moving link (32) in the first subchain and the second subchain have different translation amounts in the same direction or opposite directions. The driving motor for the scanning mechanism is provided outside the implant chamber. The invention also solves problems like low rigidity and large accumulation errors of existing serial scanning mechanisms and the effect of the electromagnetic field of the motor within the ion implant chamber on the trajectory of the ion beam.

Ion implanters are applied widely in manufacturing semiconductor wafers. Before an ion beam is implanted, the angle between the normal axis of the surface of wafer 416 and the direction of the ion beam 404 (as shown in FIG. 1), named implant angle, is adjusted to a desired value. The wafer 416 is fixed on the wafer holder 414. When the ion beam is implanted, the wafer holder 414 is then driven to bring the wafer to perform repeatedly translational scan perpendicular to the direction of ion beam implantation, while maintaining implant angle unvaried. To ensure the dose of ion implantation over the wafer to be uniform, it's necessary to precisely control the implant angle and the scanning motion of the wafer holder 416.
In conventional ion implanters as shown in FIG. 1, a scanning mechanism with a wafer holder 414 which utilizes serial kinematic mechanism is installed in champer 700 (for example, as illustrated in International Publication No. WO02/43104 entitled "Hybrid scanning system and methods for ion Implantation" filed by Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. on May 30, 2002). In the so-called serial kinematic mechanism, there is provided only one kinematic chain from the wafer holder 414 to the location where the scanning mechanism is fixed to the wall 28 of ion implant chamber 700. In ion implant chamber 700 shown in FIG. 1, knuckle 604 is driven by motor 1 (not shown) to be rotatable around an axis 605, so as to adjust the implant angle at which ion beam 404 impinges on surface 418 of wafer 416. Meanwhile, wafer 416 together with wafer holder 414 and the like are driven by motor 2 to perform repeatedly translational scan along direction Y in the figure.
The above serial kinematic mechanism is fixed on wall 28 of the ion implant chamber by its fixing link. Motor 2 is installed outside the ion implant chamber and motor 1 that drives the wafer holder to rotate is arranged inside the ion implant chamber to be coupled with mechanism 604. The weight of motor 1, which is relatively large and increases the load of the scanning mechanism, leads to rise in the power consumption of motor 2 and being prone to cause the above serial scanning mechanism bent and distorted, thereby exacerbating error in angle control and scan control of the wafer.


A steam separator achieves primary separation by directing the flow of a steam-water mixture against a baffle. The baffle redirects the flow so that the steam-water mixture is directed toward the surface of accumulated water ordinarily present in the separator. The liquid components of the steam-water mixture collect on the baffle and drip down into the accumulated water. The steam components pass around the edge of the baffle and escape upwardly. To improve the effectiveness of the separator, the edge of the baffle is extended below the water surface and openings or gables are formed in the baffle above the level of the water surface. The spaces between the gables provide a surface along which the separated liquid water component can flow undisturbed into the accumulated water, and the gables provide ports through which the steam component can escape from the baffle without reentraining significant amounts of the separated liquid water component.

This invention relates generally to steam generating equipment and, more particularly, to steam separators for separating liquid water from gaseous steam in a steam-water mixture generated in such equipment.
Steam separators are well-known devices in the field of steam generating apparatus and equipment. Such separators receive a steam-water mixture generated in a boiler and function to separate liquid water components from gaseous steam components to ensure that only steam is delivered to a downstream device such as a steam turbine. Typically, steam separators are coupled to a boiler through steam-water risers. Flow is supplied to the steam separator in the form of a steam-water mixture. Steam separates from the water in the separator and is discharged through a steam outlet. Liquid water collected in the separator is returned to the boiler through one or more downcomers. "Primary" separation principally involves the removal of the bulk of the liquid water components from the steam. "Secondary" separation, or "steam scrubbing," involves removing most of the remaining water from the steam. Typically, both primary and secondary separation structures are included in a single steam separator.
Primary separation can be achieved mechanically in a number of ways, the simplest way being gravity separation. In gravity separation, the steam-water mixture is introduced into a closed vessel having an outlet at the top, and the inherent weight of the entrained liquid water causes the water to fall out of the steam flow. Although moderately effective, particularly at very low pressures and flow rates, gravity separation is largely ineffective at high pressures and flow rates. Gravity separation is also unsuitable in certain critical applications wherein it is important that liquid water be almost completely removed from the steam flow.
Primary separation can also be accomplished using various baffles or deflector plates that extend into the steam-water mixture flow and collect and channel the liquid water components away from the gaseous steam components. Such separation methods are far superior to simple gravity separation. In addition, they have the benefits of being relatively simple and inexpensive.
Still another way of achieving primary separation is through the use of centrifugal separators. In a typical centrifugal separator, the steam-water mixture is admitted tangentially into a cylindrical structure. Centrifugal force tends to drive the liquid components outwardly against the cylinder walls where they collect and drip down, while the gas components move toward the center where they collect and rise. Corrugated scrubbers near the upper end of the cylindrical structure further separate the liquid components from the gaseous ones. Although highly effective, centrifugal scrubbers are relatively complex and expensive.
In one form of primary mechanical separator, the effectiveness of centrifugal separation is largely combined with the simplicity and economy of baffle/deflector types of separators. In this form of separator, the steam-water mixture is introduced through the side of a cylindrical separator vessel below the level of the water ordinarily present in the vessel. An internal baffle near the vessel wall confines the steam-water mixture and causes it to flow upwardly along the interior side wall of the vessel. As the steam-water mixture breaks through the surface of the water, a curved deflector plate or baffle captures the flow and bends it back down toward the water surface. The resulting centripetal accelerations cause the liquid water components to accumulate along the curved baffle where they separate from the steam component and drip back down into the vessel. Although effective, such a separator requires that the steam pass through the "curtain" of water that drips off the end of the baffle. At high flow rates, this can reentrain some of the separated water, thereby reducing the overall effectiveness of the separator.

Steam separator including an interior baffle with openings defining steam ports and a water flow surface


An ink jet printing system is provided which has an ink jet printing apparatus and a host and which alleviates a data processing load on the ink jet printing apparatus, prevents a reduction in a printing operation speed, and realizes a cost reduction. The ink jet printing apparatus of this invention has an ink receiving member for receiving waste ink ejected onto an overrunning area outside edges of a print medium and an accumulated value memory section for storing an accumulated value equivalent to waste ink volumes ejected onto the ink receiving member. The host includes a waste ink volume setting section for obtaining a value equivalent to a waste ink volume and a data sending section for sending data to the ink jet printing apparatus. The accumulated value memory section of the ink jet printing apparatus stores the accumulated value equivalent to waste ink volumes obtained by the host.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, a program to process data to be sent to a printing apparatus capable of executing a marginless printing that leaves no blank margins at edges of a print medium, and a printing system including the data processing apparatus and the printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among modes in which an ink jet printing apparatus prints on a print medium, a so-called marginless printing is known, which forms an image on an entire surface of the print medium without leaving any blank margins at peripheries of the print medium. With this marginless printing, a printing operation is performed until there is no blank margin left at at least one of top, bottom, left and right edges of the print medium. To ensure that peripheral parts of the print medium are printed reliably, the printing apparatus ejects ink not only over a print area inside the edges of the print medium but also over an area extending a few millimeters outwardly beyond the edges. Ink that is applied to the outside of the print medium lands on an ink absorbing member on a platen (platen absorbent) and is absorbed in it.
In this printing apparatus, until the amount of ink accumulated in the platen absorbent exceeds a predetermined volume, a problem of contaminated print medium and apparatus scarcely occurs. But once a total volume of accumulated waste ink exceeds an absorption limit of the platen absorbent, the ink oozes out from this absorbent, staining a back of the print medium or, in some cases, adhering to an interior of an ink jet printing apparatus. To deal with this problem, this kind of ink jet printing apparatus cumulatively adds up the volume of waste ink applied to the platen absorbent and, when the sum reaches the absorption limit of the platen absorbent, displays an error prompting a replacement of the platen absorber.
The management of the waste ink volume and the error annunciation described above may be carried out as follows. (A) The printing apparatus may perform the steps of (1) analyzing print data received from a host to calculate the waste ink volume applied during the marginless printing, (2) cumulatively adding a value representing the calculated waste ink volume to a value representing a total volume of waste ink accumulated in the platen absorbent up to that point in time (platen waste ink volume) and (3) when the cumulative value exceeds a predetermined value (e.g., absorption limit), issuing an alarm signal, such as an annunciation that "ink may ooze out of a platen absorbent." (B) The host may perform the step of (4) displaying an error based on the alarm signal received from the printing apparatus.
With the method described above, however, since the printing apparatus must perform data processing, such as analyzing the print data sent from the host to calculate the waste ink volume applied during the marginless printing and cumulatively adding the calculated waste ink volume, the processing load of the printing apparatus increases, complicating the control. Another problem is that the load of this additional data processing affects other processing (e.g., indexing the received print data), reducing the processing speed of the apparatus as a whole and therefore the printing operation speed. Further, to store a program for executing the data processing described above requires installing a memory of large capacity (ROM) on the printing apparatus side, and such a large-capacity memory is costly. In addition, for the above data processing to be executed, a high-performance calculation means (CPU) is required. Such a high-performance calculation means is also costly. Such processing therefore results in a cost increase.

Data processing apparatus, data processing method, program, and ink jet printing system


An image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine, employs a simultaneous transfer and fixing method to obtain a highly lustrous image of high image quality, free of uneven lusterand disordered pixels over the entire density area. Assuming the outside diameter of the convex side roll to be R (mm), the hardness of hardness test of durometer type A and the thickness of the surface layer of the concave side roll to be HR (degree) and dR (mm) respectively, the hardness of hardness test of durometer type A and the thickness of the surface layer of the toner image carrier in contact with the recording medium to be Hb (degree) and db (.mu.m) respectively, and the nip width to be N (mm), the material and thickness of each surface layer for these two rolls and the intermediate transfer belt are selected so as to satisfy the following relationship: EQU (Hb/HR)>0.8566 Ln{(N.sup.2 /R).multidot.(db/dR)}-0.5077. where Ln<X> represents natural logarithm of X.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine, employing a simultaneous transfer and fixing method for transferring a toner image on a toner image carrier onto a recording medium and fixing the toner image on the recording medium during the transfer.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, an image forming method has been widely used in which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photosensitive member, and after it is developed with dry toner, the toner image is electrostatically transferred onto a recording medium for fixing. In such image forming method, paper, which is a recording medium, cannot be brought into tight contact with the photosensitive member completely because of irregularity on the surface of the paper, and uneven gaps are caused, thus causing disordered transfer electric field or Coulomb repulsion between toner themselves. This leads to a problem that the image is blurred.
In order to solve this problem, proposed are an image forming method in which a plurality of toner images having different colors are superposedly transferred electrostatically on an intermediate transfer, member, and after those multi-colored multiple toner images are further melted on the intermediate transfer member, the multiple toner images thus melted are transferred and fixed on a recording medium to obtain a color image, and an image forming method in which a toner image on a photosensitive member formed into the shape of an endless belt is melted, and the toner image thus melted is transferred and fixed on a recording medium to obtain an image. According to the latter method, it is difficult to cause such deteriorated image quality as described above because the toner image is non-electrostatically transferred onto the recording medium.
In such an image forming method, in order to improve the transfer of a toner image onto a recording medium from an intermediate transfer member or a photosensitive member, it is proposed to cool and set the toner while the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member, the toner image and the recording medium are laid one on top of another, and thereafter to separate the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member from the toner and the recording medium. According to such a method, since the toner sets along the surface of the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member, it is possible to obtain a highly lustrous image having a feeling of high grade by smoothing the surface of the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member.
In such an image forming method, however, an excellent, uniformly lustrous image without disordered pixels can be obtained at low speed in which sufficient heating time is given, but it has been found that at high speed, in which sufficient heating time is not given, very little uneven luster at a pitch of about 0.3 mm to 2 mm occurs although there is no blurred image. In addition, such uneven luster was not recognized when the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member was separated from the toner and the recording medium immediately after the intermediate transfer member or the photosensitive member, the toner and the recording medium are laid one on top of another for heating and compressing as described above.
Such uneven luster is generally known as "microgross unevenness" in fixing. It is known that this phenomenon occurs because the surface of a fixing roll which comes into contact with toner has high hardness, uniform heating and compression are not performed on the toner, but it is unevenly melted. This is solved by making the hardness of the surface the surface of the fixing roll lower.
In the transfer fixing method in which after a multi-colored multiple toner image is melted on an intermediate transfer member or a photosensitive member, the multiple toner image thus melted is transferred onto a recording medium to obtain a color image, when the hardness of the elastic layer on the surface of the intermediate transfer member which comes into contact with the toner is reduced, it was recognized that the uneven luster described above is rather worsened. Problems to be solved by the Invention:
The present invention has been achieved in the light of the above-described problems, and its object is to provide an image forming apparatus, such as a printer and a copying machine, employing a simultaneous transfer and fixing method for transferring a toner image carried on a toner image carrier, such as an intermediate transfer member or a photosensitive member, for carrying a toner image, onto a recording medium and fixing the toner image on the recording medium during the transfer, capable of obtaining a high image quality of image having high glossiness without uneven luster and disordered pixels over the entire area from the highlight area to the medium density portion and the high density portion. PA1 an endless toner image carrier for carrying a toner image on the surface thereof while circulating, and for conveying the toner image to a predetermined transfer fixing unit; PA1 recording medium conveying means for conveying a recording medium to the transfer fixing unit in synchronism with timing at which the toner image on the toner image carrier is conveyed to the transfer fixing unit; and heating and compression means having, in the transfer fixing unit, a first roll, which comes into contact with the back of the toner image carrier, and a second roll for compressing the toner image carrier and the recording medium, which sandwich the toner image therebetween, between the first roll and the second roll, for heating and compressing the toner image by these first and second rolls, for conveying the recording medium to a predetermined separation position by the toner image carrier while the recording medium, which has passed through a location whereat it is sandwiched between the first and second rolls, is being maintained in a state being in contact with the toner image carrier, and separating the recording medium from the toner image carrier to thereby form an image fixed on the recording medium, PA1 the first roll and the second roll have a surface layer respectively, and the toner image carrier has a surface image on the side in contact with the recording medium, PA1 in a nip portion formed when the first roll and the second roll are pressed against each other, each diameter, and the material and thickness of each surface layer of the first roll and the second roll are selected so that a plane or a concave surface is formed on a part of the nip portion in the concave side roll of one of the first and second rolls, and PA1 assuming the outside diameter of the other convex side roll is different from the concave side roll of the first and second rolls to be R (mm), the hardness of a hardness test of durometer type A and the thickness of the surface layer of the concave side roll to be HR (degree) and dR (mm) respectively, the hardness of a hardness test of durometer type A and the thickness of the surface layer of the toner image carrier in contact with the recording medium to be Hb (degree) and db (.mu.m) respectively, and the nip width, which is the width of the toner image carrier in the movement direction, of the nip portion to be N (mm), the material and thickness of each surface layer of the first roll, the second roll and the toner image carrier are selected so that the following relation is satisfied: EQU (Hb/HR)>0.8566 Ln{(N.sup.2 /R).multidot.(db/dR)}-0.5077

Image forming apparatus for simultaneous transfer and fixing of images


A technique for processing at least one bad pixel occurring in an image sensing system is provided. Dynamic bad pixel detection is performed on a plurality of streaming pixels taking from at least one controlled image and value and coordinate information for each bad pixel is subsequently stored as stored bad pixel information. Thereafter, static bad pixel correction may be performed based on the stored bad pixel information. The stored bad pixel information may be verified based on histogram analysis performed on the plurality of streaming pixels. The technique for processing bad pixels in accordance with the present invention may be embodied in suitable circuitry or, more broadly, within devices incorporating image sensing systems.

Digital image sensing systems are well known in the art. In practice, such systems may be included in digital cameras, cellular telephones, digital video cameras, etc. A key component of such image sensing systems are the image sensors, such as arrays of light-sensitive charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors (pixels), that convert light into digital signals. Ideally, such sensors arrays provide flawless conversion of the incident light, i.e., each sensor responds identically to all other sensors in the array. In practice, however, this is typically not the case. Due to fundamental imperfections in the individual sensors, a finite number of pixels will be defective. Such defects typically fall into two categories.
In a first category, sometimes referred to as hard faults, a given pixel is "stuck" at a given value and is invariant to incident light. For example, a "white" pixel (assuming a gray-scale sensor, although the principle applies equal to color formats) will always have a value at or near the maximum pixel value (e.g., a value of 255 assuming each pixel output is represented in an 8-bit format) regardless of the incident light. Similarly, a "black" pixel will always have a value at or near the minimum pixel value (e.g., a value of 0) regardless of the incident light. In a second category, sometimes referred to as soft faults, pixels are responsive to incident light but deviate visibly from normal response values. For example, a "bright" pixel will saturate much quicker in response to a given level of incident illumination when compared to normal pixels. On the other hand, a "dark" pixel will saturate much more slowly in response to a given level of incident light than a normal pixel.
Both categories of faults are illustrated in FIG. 1, which illustrates pixel behavior, i.e., output value, as a function of exposure and temperature. Note that, as know in the art and as used herein, the term "pixel" may refer to specific locations within an image sensor array or image, or to a specific values corresponding to such locations. An ideal response curve 102 illustrates that, generally, the value of a pixel increases in a linear fashion in accordance with increased exposure and/or temperature. For present purposes, it is assumed that temperatures do not vary greatly and that pixel behavior is more significantly driven by exposure lengths. The shaded region around the ideal response curve 102 illustrates a typical "good" pixel range and is shown to include a response curve of a good pixel 104 falling within the tolerance limits of the ideal response curve 102. FIG. 1 further illustrates behavior of the various categories of bad pixels. For example, a white pixel 106 exhibits the same value (in this case, 255 assuming an 8-bit black and white representation) regardless of the level of exposure. Similarly, a black pixel 108 has a value of 0 regardless of the level of exposure. A bright pixel 110 and a dark pixel 112 are also shown. In essence, the bright pixel 110 and dark pixel 112 exhibit different gain values causing those pixels to either saturate too quickly or too slowly.
A way to combat these "bad" pixels is to store a list of the positions of such pixels in a memory. Typically during image pre-processing, the pixel values corresponding to each such bad pixel is replaced by, for example, the average of the surrounding pixels. While this method (sometimes referred to as static bad pixel processing) is relatively easy to implement (and is therefore preferable), it cannot handle pixel faults that appear intermittently. Furthermore, the stored information identifying each bad pixel is determined by the manufacturer of the sensor array and is invariant thereafter.
Another technique to correct bad pixels (sometimes referred to as dynamic bad pixel detection) uses relatively sophisticated processing techniques to identify and correct bad pixels. Because this technique does not rely on a fixed indication of bad pixels, it can catch intermittently bad pixels. However, they are relatively expensive to implement and, perhaps of greater significance, such filters also tend to remove useful detail from images. For example, and with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, consider the example of a point source of light. Given the physical limitations of image sensing systems, even the smallest source of light will typically be spread across multiple pixels as illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the point source of light results in a first white pixel 202 surrounded by pixels of varying shades of gray 204, 206 and, further away, by essentially black pixels 208. In contrast, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a bad pixel 302 results in abrupt contrast boundaries with its surrounding pixels. These differences are further illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 each comprising a one-dimensional cross section along the middle row of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the white pixel 202 (labeled c) is surrounded by gradually transitioning pixels (labeled a, b, d and e). In contrast, the bad pixel 302 (labeled c′) has no transitioning neighboring pixels (labeled a′, b′, d′ and e′). Although dynamic bad pixel detection and correction can identify the existence of the bad pixel 302, there is a chance that it will also modify the good pixel 202 and its neighbors 106-108 unnecessarily, depending on how the dynamic bad pixel detection is configured.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a technique which provides the benefits of both static and dynamic bad pixel detection while overcoming their respective shortcomings described above.

Method and apparatus for processing bad pixels


A method of operating a gas operated automatic or semi-automatic weapon that has a bolt that locks by a partial rotation of the bolt with respect to a bolt carrier, the bolt carrier in communication with a gas port on the barrel of the weapon, the method comprising utilizing the gas pressure from a cartridge received from a port in the barrel to unlock the bolt, and utilizing the expansion of a telescoping cartridge in the chamber to recycle the weapon after the bolt is unlocked. In embodiments the cartridge is a 5.56 mm cartridge. In embodiments, the propellant driving the projectile does not provide enough gas pressure to recycle the weapon and the telescoping cartridge supplements the needed power for recycling sufficient to accomplish the recycling. The invention include the telescoping cartridge providing a projectile with lethal energy and recycle capability for gas operated rifles. The subsonic cartridge may have at least 80 ft lbs of energy and operates subsonically.

A common rifle for military and police are gas operated firearms. These include, but are not limited to, AR10, AK-47, AK-74, M14 M16, M16A2, M4, FN SCAR family, M110, MK11, and others. These gas operated rifles have been produced by numerous manufacturers. These weapons, typically shoot, but are not limited to, 5.45 mm, 5.56 mm, 6.8 mm, and 7.62 mm bullets which provide very high bullet velocities.
These gas operated gas operated-style rifles utilize either a direct gas impingement system or a gas and push rod system for operating their ejection and loading mechanisms, in an automatic mode and a semi-automatic mode. The expanding gas from the cartridge propellant is tapped from a port in the barrel intermediate the chamber and the muzzle end of the barrel. In the direct gas impingement system, a conduit extends from the port to the upper receiver and into the region of the bolt carrier. In the gas and pushrod system, the gas impinges against the push rod which extends to the upper receiver and into the region of the bolt carrier. During the initial firing of the cartridge, the bolt is locked into the barrel extension, the gas forces the bolt carrier backward a short distance to unlock the bolt. As the bolt carrier moves toward the butt of the gun, a bolt cam pin, forces the bolt to rotate, by this time the bullet has left the barrel. The inertia of the bolt and bolt carrier continues the rearward motion causing the bolt to extract the fired empty cartridge. A spring absorbs the rearward motion of the bolt and bolt carrier forcing the bolt and bolt carrier forward to engage the next cartridge in the magazine and push same into the chamber ready for firing.
The gas pressures for operating the gas operated style weapons are significant and with the 5.56 mm cartridges the exit velocities, typically in excess of 2700 fps, way exceed the sound barrier (about 1,126 fps). Associated with these velocities are high bullet travel distances, in excess of 2 miles, and noise levels, including from the bullet breaking the sound barrier that cannot be effectively suppressed.
Modifications have been developed for these gas operated weapons to shoot low mass rounds at low velocities that utilize telescoping cartridges-practice ammunition. Typically the cartridges have very low mass, compared to lethal rounds, and may also have frangible projectiles with marking media. The modifications include a bolt and bolt carrier modification that allows the bolt to retract entirely by the propulsion of the expanding telescoping cartridge with no assist from the gas port, effectively changing the function of the weapon from a direct gas impingement system to a direct blowback system. The bolt does not lock into place rearward of the chamber. The energetics in these cartridges is minimal compared to a normal lethal round. For certain manufacturers, the primer contains the entire energetic load for launching the projectile and operating the ejection mechanism by the force from the telescoping cartridge. See Force on Force™ ammunition available from Federal Cartridge Company, the owner of the instant invention. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,931,978; 6,178,889; 6,564,719; 6,625,916; 6,439,123; 5,677,505; 5,492,063; 5,359,937; 6,625,916; 7,278,358; 8,146,505; 7,225,741; 7,621,208; 7,984,668; U.S. Publ. Nos. 2010/0269724.
In certain instances, it would be desirable to have lethal cartridges that may effectively operate the gas operated style ejection mechanism and that travel below the speed of sound. Such cartridges could effectively be mixed with normal high velocity lethal rounds without gun modification. The lower velocity rounds could then be effectively used with suppressors. Attempts to manufacture such ammunition have not yet been entirely successful. For example, simply lowering the amount of propellant to reduce the exit velocity of the bullets results in less gas pressure to reliably operate the weapon. Also, using lower amounts of propellant results in lower ignition pressures, which in turn results in very dirty propellant burn and/or incomplete combustion which causes gun malfunctions. Although weapon modifications are possible to utilize less powerful ammunition, then switching back to the regular full energy ammunition is problematic and certainly cannot reasonably done in a combat situation.

Combination gas operated rifle and subsonic cartridge


In an SIF signal processing circuit, an SIF signal, which is an FM signal having a carrier frequency equal to a frequency difference between a video IF carrier and a sound IF carrier, is first converted to a lower carrier frequency common to SIF signals of any broadcasting system, and is then demodulated. The SIF processing circuit is provided with a PLL circuit for converting an SIF signal down to a lower frequency, so that an output from the PLL circuit is mixed with the SIF signal. The output of the PLL circuit is varied in accordance with a broadcasting system. A plurality of frequencies can be easily obtained from the PLL circuit simply by controlling a frequency division factor of its frequency divider. Thus, resonators can be dispensed with except for one for generating a reference oscillation signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an SIF (sound intermediate frequency) signal processing circuit for use in a television set, videocassette recorder, or other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is customary to use a quadrature circuit to demodulate an SIF signal, which is an FM signal, especially when the SIF signal is demodulated at a high frequency such as 4.5 MHz. However, the use of a quadrature circuit is disadvantageous because of its high distortion factor and unsatisfactory linearity.
For this reason, it is also customary to use instead a pulse counting method, which offers a lower distortion factor and a better linearity. However, in order to demodulate an SIF signal by the pulse counting method, the SIF signal needs to be first converted to a lower frequency of approximately 500 Khz.
In certain geographical areas where television is broadcast in more than one type of television system, such as the NTSC and PAL systems, television receivers and videocassette recorders are usually designed to be capable of receiving broadcast signals of more than one type of television system.
In conventional SIF signal processing circuits, SIF signals carried by carrier waves of different frequencies of 4.5 MHz, 5.5 MHz, 6.0 MHz, and 6.5 MHz are uniformly converted down to 500 kHz. This is achieved by obtaining oscillation signals of 5 MHz, 6 MHz, and 6.5 MHz from different resonators, each designated for a particular type of SIF signal, and selecting with a switch one signal to be supplied from the oscillator to the mixers.
In this case, the 6.0 MHz resonator can be shared between SIF signals of 5.5 MHz and 6.5 MHz, but still three resonators are required in total. Inconveniently, this not only increases the manufacturing costs, but also increases the space occupied by the resonators.


An apparatus (10) comprises a pump (12) and a pressure compensating valve (94). The pump (12) includes a member (22) having a surface (24) defining a pumping chamber. A rotatable rotor (30) is located in the pumping chamber. The rotor (30) has circumferentially spaced vane-like members (42) defining pumping pockets (48) that expand and contract during rotation of the rotor (30). The pump (12) has a fluid circuit (72) providing fluid pressure for biasing the vane-like members (42) of the rotor (30) radially toward the surface (24). The pressure compensating valve (94) controls fluid flow through an outlet (16) and also controls the pressure in the fluid circuit (72). The pressure compensating valve (94) has an initial condition blocking fluid flow through the outlet (16) at pump start-up to provide fluid pressure in the fluid circuit (72) to bias the vane-like members (42) of the rotor (30) radially toward the surface (24).

Vane pumps are used for supplying fluid to a hydraulic motor of a power steering mechanism. The vane pump includes a rotor that is rotatable within a cam ring. The rotor of the pump includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced grooves. A vane is carried in each groove. The vanes extend radially outwardly from the grooves of the rotor toward a surface of the cam ring. Pumping pockets are formed between adjacent vanes. The pumping pockets receive fluid from an inlet port and deliver fluid to a discharge port of the pump.
When the pump is at rest, i.e., the rotor is stationary relative to the cam ring, the vanes may move radially inwardly into the grooves of the rotor and away from the surface of the cam ring. When the rotor begins to rotate and one or more of the vanes of the pump are in a radially inward position, the amount of fluid discharged from the pump is low relative to pump operation with all of the vanes extended radially outwardly toward the surface of the cam ring.
A hydraulic power steering mechanism requires a minimum flow rate of fluid from the pump for proper operation. When the flow rate is below the minimum value, the power steering mechanism may be non-responsive to inputs requesting power steering assistance.
A vane pump generally cannot provide a fluid flow sufficient to reach the minimum flow rate until all of the vanes of the pump move radially outwardly toward the cam ring surface. Thus, the power steering mechanism may be not sufficiently responsive from pump start-up until all of the vanes are positioned radially outward toward the cam surface.
Upon start-up of the vehicle, the vane pump is rotated from a rest position to an angular velocity that is equal to the engine idle speed. For example, some commercial truck engines idle at a speed of between 600 and 750 rpm.
In some vane pumps used for supplying fluid to a power steering mechanism, all of the vanes may not move radially outward toward the cam ring until the pump reaches an angular velocity that is greater than the vehicle engine's idle speed. For example, in some pumps all of the vanes do not extend radially outwardly toward the cam ring until the rotor of the pump rotates at approximately 900 rpm. Thus, the power steering mechanism in the vehicle having one of these pumps may not be sufficiently responsive until the engine speed is increased to about 900 rpm. It is desirable to increase the responsiveness of the hydraulic power steering mechanism and to provide a pump in which all of the vanes move radially outward toward the cam ring at a pump speed that is well below the vehicle engine's idle speed.

Vane pump having a pressure compensating valve


The present specification describes a modular, portable hemofiltration system, for providing improved clearance levels of blood toxins, which includes at least one roller pump that is designed and operated to generate a rapidly varying pressure profile of fluid within at least a blood circuit of the hemofiltration system.

Blood purification systems, which are used for conducting hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration or hemofiltration, involve the extracorporeal circulation of blood through an exchanger having a semi-permeable membrane. Such systems further include a hydraulic system for circulating blood and a hydraulic system for circulating replacement fluid or dialysate including the certain blood electrolytes in concentrations close to those of the blood of a healthy subject.
Hemodialysis ("HD"), using a high flux membrane, removes toxins from the blood using transport mechanisms including diffusion and ultrafiltration (i.e., convective transport). Diffusion removes toxins using a concentration gradient across the semi-permeable membrane. For example, in a hemodialysis circuit, the dialysate solution flows on one side of the dialyzer membrane in one direction while simultaneously blood flows on the other side of the membrane. Ultrafiltration occurs when water (along with small solutes) is driven from the blood to dialysate in the dialyzer because of the hydrostatic pressure gradient between the blood and dialysate compartments (i.e., the transmembrane pressure ("TMP"). However, the small amount of waste removed by ultrafiltration during HD is not enough to provide convective clearance.
During hemofiltration ("HF"), a significant amount of ultrafiltration (more than is required to remove excessive fluid) is coupled with infusion of a replacement fluid to remove solutes. When compared to HD, HF achieves a higher removal of larger, poorly diffusible solutes, such as inulin (MW 5,200).
Hemodiafiltration ("HDF") is a treatment modality that combines convective and diffusive clearances. Like HD, HDF uses dialysate flowing through a dialyzer to provide a diffusive clearance. In addition, substitution solution is provided directly to the extracorporeal circuit, to provide convective clearance.
Most of the conventionally available blood purification systems are, however, quite bulky in size and difficult to operate. Further, the design of these systems makes them unwieldy and not conducive to the use and installation of disposable components. These conventional blood purification systems require a continuous supply of large amounts of fresh filtered water to create the dialysate fluid.
Another problem with existing dialysis machines is as these machines become smaller and a bit more portable, smaller hemofilters or dialyzer filters must be used that do not clog or clot too quickly so that extended or continuous dialysis can be performed. A common type of dialyzer includes several hundred or more cylindrical hollow fibers through which blood flow is provided. The hundreds of cylindrical hollow fibers are contained in a shell or container in which dialysate fluid is circulated around and past the exterior walls of the hollow fibers. The exterior walls of the hollow fibers or lumens are semi-porous so that impurities in the blood can be moved from the blood and into the dialysate. One problem that occurs in a dialyzer is the clogging or clotting of blood flow within individual hollow fibers. Such clogging of blood flow through the fibers decreases the effectiveness of the dialyzer's filtration and blood cleaning properties. Furthermore, it is understood that proteins and other compounds or substances in the blood may clog the pores of the semi-porous membrane overtime and decrease the effectiveness of the dialyzer filter.
Conventional systems and methods for improving the effectiveness of filtration of the dialyzer have been directed towards enabling a higher trans-membrane pressure ("TMP") gradient that is consistently positive, even at time scales less than 5 seconds, and does not cycle from negative to positive. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20110139704 discloses a blood dialyzing apparatus that "includes a blood dialyzing filter for dialyzing blood by using a pressure difference between the blood and a dialysis solution, and a supplying means for supplying the blood and the dialysis solution to the blood dialyzing filter to alternately generate a state where a blood pressure is higher than a dialysis solution pressure and a state where the dialysis solution pressure is higher than the blood pressure. The blood dialyzing apparatus dialyzes a large volume of blood in a short period without increasing the size of the blood dialyzing filter and simply controls the volume of the dialyzed blood by adjusting the supply pressures of the blood and the dialysis solution."
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20110142700 discloses "a dual channel pulsatile pump for use with a completely wearable renal replacement device" such that "the pulsating flow of the exemplary dual channel pulsatile pump 1206 produces higher clearances than a continuous, steady, non-pulsating flow."
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20090120864 discloses a system that "uses two pulsatile pumps, a first pulsatile pump 301 for the blood circuit 310 and a second pulsatile pump 321 for the dialysate circuit 320. Prior art dialysis machines generate steady flow in both the blood circuit and the dialysate circuit. Some prior art dialysis machines use pulsatile flow in the blood circuit to more closely mimic the flow generated by a healthy heart but use steady flow in the dialysate circuit. In accordance with a novel feature, the dialysis system 300 of the present invention uses pulsatile flow in both circuits 310, 320 and runs the two pulsatile pumps 180 degrees out of phase so that the blood circuit pressure reaches a maximum when the dialysate circuit pressure reaches a minimum and vice versa. This pressure waveform periodically increases the trans-membrane pressure gradient in the dialyzer which adds convective mass transfer forces to drive fluid and waste exchange."
However, there is a need for a dialysis system that provides enhanced dialyzer clearance with reduced quantities of filtered water to create the dialysate. There is also a need for modulating pressure profiles within blood and/or dialysate circuits to generate desired pressure waveform characteristics for enhanced dialyzer clearance.

Methods and systems of generating rapidly varying pressure amplitudes in fluidic circuits in a dialysis treatment system


A new and distinct cultivar of Lantana plant named ‘LAX 600’, characterized by its compact, upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit; short internodes; relatively small leaves; early, freely and continuous flowering habit; inflorescences with initially golden yellow-colored flowers that become orange and eventually light red with development; and low seed set.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lantana plant, botanically known as Lantana camara, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name LAX 600.
The new Lantana is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hawthorne, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create compact Lantanas with little to no seed set.
The new Lantana originated from an open pollination in September, 1999 of the Lantana cultivar Tangerine, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with an unidentified Lantana selection as the male, or pollen parent. The new Lantana was selected as a single flowering plant from the resulting progeny of the open pollination by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Hawthorne, Fla. in June, 2000, on the basis of its growth habit and attractive flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Hawthorne, Fla., since July, 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Lantana are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.