An optical scanning apparatus for optically scanning at least one scanning target surface, the optical scanning apparatus including: a light source; a light-flux dividing unit disposed on a main optical path of a main light flux emitted from the light source, and the light-flux dividing unit configured to spatially divide the main light flux; an optical deflector disposed on a divided optical path of the divided light flux, and the optical deflector configured to deflect the divided optical path; an optical path opening/closing switch unit disposed on the divided optical path between the light-flux dividing unit and the optical deflector, and the optical path opening/closing switch unit configured to interrupt or pass at least one of the divided optical path; and a controller configured to control operation of interrupting or passing the at least one of the divided optical path by the optical path opening/closing switch unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical scanning apparatus, a method for performing the same and an image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention performs image formation by an electrophotographic process.
That is, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be carried out as an optical printer such as a laser printer, an optical plotter, a digital electronic copier, a plain paper facsimile, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, for an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a digital electronic copier, and a plain paper facsimile, colorization of formed images, an increase in the speed, and downsizing of the apparatus have been demanded.
In response to such demands, various image forming apparatuses that use a plurality of photoconductive photoreceptors have been proposed and realized.
As such an image forming apparatus, an apparatus that "shares a light source for optical scanning" with respect to a plurality of photoreceptors has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-145667).
As a light source for optical scanning in an image forming apparatus, a "semiconductor light-emitting element" such as a semiconductor laser or a surface-emitting semiconductor laser (so-called "vertical-cavity surface-emitting later (VCSEL)") is generally used.
High-speed drive of these "semiconductor light-emitting elements" has been realized and a signal for modulating exposure energy based on image information becomes a "modulation signal of a higher frequency" from several to several tens of megahertz.
In a semiconductor light-emitting element used for such a "modulation signal of an extremely high frequency", "offset light emission" is always performed for light-emission rise characteristics and stability of light-emitting power.
The offset light emission means to emit light with constant weak light emission intensity during optical scanning, even during a time when light emission does not contribute to image write based on image information.
When a semiconductor light-emitting element as a light source is shared by a plurality of photoreceptors and the "offset light emission" is performed by using the shared semiconductor light-emitting element, there are following problems.
For specific explanation, there is assumed a case where "one semiconductor light-emitting element is shared by two photoreceptors", and an image A is formed on one of the photoreceptors and an image B is formed on the other.
The images A and B are, for example, a cyan image and a black image used for forming a color image.
In this case, when both the images A and B are formed, light emission from the semiconductor light-emitting element is continuously performed, and modulation is performed alternately by a modulation signal for writing the image A and a modulation signal for writing the image B.
When only the image A is formed, the photoreceptor for the image A is optically scanned by "modulated light"; however, the photoreceptor for the image B is optically scanned by "offset light emission".
In this case, when the photoreceptor for the image B is stopped to save energy for driving the photoreceptor, the same spot of the photoreceptor is "optically scanned repeatedly by the offset light emission".
Therefore, light-induced fatigue occurs in a "portion which is optically scanned repeatedly" of the photoreceptor, and the photosensitive property thereof tends to be deteriorated. Such deterioration of the photosensitive property occurs "in a line shape".
When the image B is formed by using the "photoreceptor in which the photosensitive property is deteriorated in the line shape", an abnormal image is formed such that streaky density unevenness appears due to the deterioration of the photosensitive property in the line shape.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an optical scanning apparatus that favorably prevents the abnormal image described above.

Optical scanning apparatus, method for performing the same and image forming apparatus


A process for forming a doped nc-Si thin film thermoelectric material. A nc-Si thin film is slowly deposited on a substrate, either by hot-wire CVD (HWCVD) with a controlled H2:SiH4 ratio R=6-10 or by plasma-enhanced (PECVD) with a controlled R=80-100, followed by ion implantation of an n- or p-type dopant and a final annealing step to activate the implanted dopants and to remove amorphous regions. A doped nc-Si thin film thermoelectric material so formed has both a controllable grain size of from a few tens of nm to 3 nm and a controllable dopant distribution and thus can be configured to provide a thermoelectric material having predetermined desired thermal and/or electrical properties. A final annealing step is used to activate the dopants and remove any residual amorphous regions.

Thermoelectric materials convert a temperature gradient into electricity and vice versa. They are of considerable current interest for solid state power generation from heat and refrigeration from electricity without moving parts. While all semiconducting materials have a non-zero thermoelectric effect, in most materials it is too small to be useful.
The thermoelectric figure of merit
  ZT  =                              S          2                        σ            κ            T  measures the thermoelectric efficiency of a material, where S is the Seebeck coefficient reflecting the thermoelectric power of the material, σ is the material's electrical conductivity, κ is its thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature. These parameters depend on both the electronic and the phonon transport properties of the material, with the ideal thermoelectric material having high S, high σ, and low κ.
The enormous potential of high-efficiency thermoelectric devices has led to decades of work aimed at optimizing these parameters in semiconductor and semimetal compounds in an attempt to increase ZT.
Unfortunately, the parameters of ZT are interdependent, such that changing one alters the others. As a result, it is often found that the resulting changes in ZT are minimal. See A. Majumdar, "Thermoelectricity in Semiconductor Nanostructures," Science 2004, 303, 777-778.
For example, the Seebeck coefficient S is a fundamental material property related to carrier effective mass and is typically difficult to engineer. In general, single-carrier materials (e.g. n- or p-type doped semiconductors) can achieve S in a suitable magnitude. In addition, in semiconductors, electrical conductivity σ can be increased by increasing the doping level. Thus, highly doped semiconductors can often satisfy the first two requirements for obtaining a high ZT, i.e., having a large Seebeck coefficient and high electrical conductivity. However, too much doping will drive a semiconductor into a metallic state and so will eventually reduce S. Therefore, obtaining a proper doping level that will achieve a high S2σ is difficult.
The plots in FIG. 1, which are modified from those shown in G. J. Snyder et al., "Complex thermoelectric materials," Nature Materials 7, 105-114 (2008), illustrates this dilemma. As can be seen from FIG. 1, as carrier concentration increases, the Seebeck coefficient S decreases while the electrical conductivity σ increases. S2σ also increases as carrier concentration increases, but only up to a certain level in carrier concentration, after which the decrease in S so outweighs the increase in conductivity σ that the combined value of S2σ also decreases.
In addition, increasing electrical conductivity σ in semiconductors will inevitably increase the thermal conductivity κ because the charge carriers that conduct electricity also conduct heat in addition to phonons, and most known mechanisms that would reduce phonon transport will hinder charge carrier transport as well.
The scientific community has focused its efforts on finding ways to reduce κ that have minimal effects on charge carrier transport. For example, one common way to reduce heat conduction is to introduce phonon scattering centers for phonons responsible for heat conduction.
The problem is that heat is carried by a broad band of phonons having wavelengths ranging from less than 1 nm to over 1000 nm. Since the phonon scattering centers have to be effective for the whole phonon bandwidth, the scattering centers that reduce thermal conductivity will almost inevitably also scatter charge carriers, thereby reducing electrical conductivity as well. The conventional approach to reduce phonon transport is to use grain boundaries to scatter phonons. Phonons are most effectively scattered by crystalline grains having the same size as the phonon wavelength, analogous to Rayleigh scattering of photons. In order for more substantial phonon scattering the entire phonon spectrum must be addressed with a matched distribution of grain sizes.
In the past two decades, there has been significant activity in thermoelectric research.
Approaches that have been used to reduce κ have included use of PbSeTe-based quantum dot superlattice structures, see T. C. Harman et al., "Quantum Dot Superlattice Thermoelectric Materials and devices," Science 297, 2229 (2002); and embedding ErAs nanocrystallites in crystalline InGaAs thin films, see W. Kim et al. "Reducing Thermal Conductivity of Crystalline Solids at High Temperature Using Embedded Nanostructures," Nano Lett. 8, 2097 (2008).
Some of the other approaches used to reduce κ include alloying (e.g. alloying Si with Ge to obtain Si80Ge20), use of heavy elements (Bi2Te3), and using materials having "rattling" modes in their crystal structures (CoSb3). See, e.g., S. K. Bux et al., "Nanostructured Bulk Silicon as an Effective Thermoelectric Material," Adv. Funct. Mater. 2009, 19, 2445-2452; W. Liu et al., "Recent advances in thermoelectric nanocomposites," Nano Energy (2012) 1, 42-56; and D. J. Voneshen et al., "Suppression of thermal conductivity by rattling modes in thermoelectric sodium cobaltate," NATURE MATERIALS, Vol. 12 (November 2013), pp. 1028-1032.
Dependence of thermal conductivity on nanocrystalline size in BiTe-based thin film systems and bulk silicon germanium alloys has also been reported. See M. Takashiri et al., "Effect of grain size on thermoelectric properties of n-type nanocrystalline bismuth-telluride based thin films," J. Appl. Phys. 104, 084302 (2008) ("Takashiri 2008"). see also X. W. Wang et al., "Enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit in nanostructured n-type silicon germanium bulk alloy," Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 193121 (2008); G. Joshi et al., "Enhanced Thermoelectric Figure-of-Merit in Nanostructured p-type Silicon Germanium Bulk Alloys," Nano Letters 2008, Vol. 8, No. 12, 4670-4674.
One newly explored approach has been to use nanostructured materials as thermoelectrics, motivated by early theoretical work which predicted the benefits of nanostructuring for increasing ZT. See, e.g., L. D. Hicks et al., "Effect of quantum-well structures on the thermoelectric figure of merit," Phys. Rev. B 47, 12727-12731, 1993; and L. D. Hicks et al., "Thermoelectric figure of merit of a one-dimensional conductor," Phys. Rev. B 47, 16631-16634 (1993).
Incorporation of nanostructures in addition to the legacy approaches described above has allowed for materials that reduce κ with minimal effect on σ, resulting in drastic improvements in ZT. Recently, ZT of ball-milled nanocrystalline SiGe alloys has reached 1.84. See R. Basu et al., "Improved thermoelectric performance of hot pressed nanostructured n-type SiGe bulk alloys," J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 6922-6930. In thin film systems, thermal conductivity has been reduced significantly by the use of interfaces in a Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 superlattice, reaching a maximum of ZT=2.4. See R. Venkatasubramanian et al., "Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit," Nature 413, 597 (2001). In bulk material, a maximum ZT=2.2 has been achieved in a PbTe bulk material with nanoparticulates of SrTe and an extremely high Na (p-type) doping concentration. See K. Biswas et al., "High-performance bulk thermoelectrics with all-scale hierarchical architectures," Nature 489, 414-418 (2012).
These results demonstrate the power of nanostructures in reducing κ and decoupling electrical and thermal conductivities, but do not offer a route for practical manufacturing, and suitable nanostructured materials are often expensive and difficult to prepare.
Nanocrystalline thermoelectric materials have previously been made using a ball-milling process whereby doped crystalline silicon is ground together with a few atomic percent of germanium to produce nanometer-sized fine grains which are subsequently hot-compressed into bulk material. Recently, ball-milling has been used to successfully fabricate bulk thermoelectric materials having a ZT reaching 1.84. See Basu et al., supra; Joshi et al., supra, and Wang et al., supra; see also U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,846 to Ren et al., "Methods for synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals and thermoelectric compositions"; U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,871 to Chen et al., "Nanocomposites with high foreign patent documents thermoelectric figures of merit"; U.S. Pat. No. 8,512,667 to Yang et al., "High Temperature Stable Nanocrystalline SiGe Thermoelectric Material"; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0202575 to Ren et al., "Methods for high figure-of-merit in nanostructured thermoelectric materials."
Ball-milling is less expensive than the more complicated techniques such as use of superlattices and quantum dots. However, the smallest grain size that ball-milling can obtain is about 10 nm, which is not small enough to scatter phonons having wavelengths smaller than that size, while at room temperature and above the majority of phonons have wavelengths smaller than 10 nm. To solve this problem, Ge is often added to the nanocrystalline structure to generate impurity scattering centers for short wavelength phonons.
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) generates thin film nc-Si thermoelectric materials directly on a substrate as opposed to producing a nanopowder which must then be formed into a solid as does ball-milling. Thin film CVD-based deposition techniques have not been widely used to fabricate thermoelectric materials, although some preliminary research in this direction has been reported, see M. Takashiri et al., "Transport properties of polycrystalline Si0.8Ge0.2 thin films for micro power generators," Proceedings ICT'03. 22nd International Conference on Thermoelectrics (IEEE Cat. No. 03TH8726), Pages: 395-8 (2003) ("Takashiri 2003"), and recently, CVD techniques have been used to harvest nanocrystalline SiGe powder which is then compressed to make bulk thermoelectric material. See Takashiri 2003, supra; see also T. Claudio et al. "Nanocrystalline silicon: lattice dynamics and enhanced thermoelectric properties," Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16, 25701-25709. However, the nanocrystalline silicon produced by the Takashiri group had grain sizes of at least 20 nm, while the nanocrystalline silicon produced by the Claudio group had even larger grain sizes over 30 nm. The large grain size of these previous CVD-prepared materials limits the improvement of ZT and makes the technique not as competitive as the ball-milling technique.
In addition, these prior art films all require the use of a silicon-germanium alloy, where Ge is used to scatter short-wavelength phonons and thereby reduce the thermal conductivity of the material. See, e.g., M. Takashiri et al., "Structure and thermoelectric properties of boron doped nanocrystalline Si0.8Ge0.2 thin film," J. Appl. Phys. 100, 054315 (2006) ("Takashiri 2006").
However, mixing Ge with Si has a number of problems. Ge is expensive, 1000 times more expensive than Si, making the use of such SiGe alloys impractical in many cases. Ge has a higher electron affinity than does Si, so that the addition of Ge impedes the transport of electrons through the material, reducing its electrical conductivity. Finally, Ge has a lower melting point than does Si, limiting the temperature range at which a SiGe alloy can be used.

CVD nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectric material

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A photodetector array of a stacked film comprises, a plurality of first electrodes formed on a substrate and extending in parallel in a first direction, a plurality of second electrodes extending in parallel in a second direction crossing the first electrodes, a first organic thin film diode and a second organic thin film diode disposed between each of the first electrodes and each of the second electrodes, and an intermediate connection electrode layer serving as a common anode or a common cathode. The intermediate connection electrode layer connects the first organic thin film diode and the second organic thin film diode by backward-diode connection. At least either the first electrodes or the second electrodes are transparent with light passing therethrough, the first organic thin film diode is a photoresponsive organic diode, and the second organic thin film diode is an organic rectifier diode.

Image sensors of CCD (charged-coupled devices) and CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) embedded in digital cameras have been widely pervasive as image acquiring devices for capturing two-dimensionally light intensity distributions. These image sensors are constructed by densely arranging photodetectors in a two-dimensional array form and combining the photodetectors with a lens-based reduction projection optical system. A device called an image scanner has been widely pervasive as equipment for converting an image or document formed on a recording medium such as a paper medium into digital image information. In an image scanner, a recording medium is relatively scanned with an image sensor including photodetectors arranged in a one-dimensional array form relatively to obtain two-dimensional information. These devices need mechanisms for lens projection and scanning, and the device size is large with respect to the size of the image sensor, so that it is required to secure a distance from a measurement object.
On the other hand, a sheet type image scanner has been proposed in which a two-dimensional image sensor is in close contact with a measurement object. A sheet type image scanner disclosed in Non Patent Literature 1 is formed by arranging photodetectors of organic photodiodes consisting of an organic semiconductor in a two-dimensional array form on a flexible base member consisting of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) resin. In addition, another PEN base member is provided with switching circuits each including an organic transistor, which are formed as a switch array, which is so-called active matrix type, in one-to-one correspondence with the photodetectors in order to read an output current from each photodetector. These two base members are stacked, and the photodetectors and the switching circuits are connected in one-to-one correspondence with conductive silver paste.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a diode-coupled active matrix type image sensor in which a diode consisting of a silicon semiconductor and a photodiode consisting of a silicon semiconductor serving as a photodetector are vertically stacked in a silicon substrate. With this configuration, current sneaking and voltage crosstalk appearing as noise and errors in a passive matrix array element can be avoided by a rectifying function of the diodes. In addition, a film structure of vertically-stacked materials between longitudinal and transverse wiring electrodes is in the form of a monolithically-layered device of photodetectors and switching circuits.
As described in these prior arts, to arrange the photodetectors in a two-dimensional array form and to detect light intensity accurately by each of the photodetectors, a switching element is necessary to be connected to each photodiode in series so as to electrically separate individual photodetectors provided at intersection portions of electrodes arranged in a matrix form from one another. The switching element may be a diode or a transistor. When a diode is used, anodes (positive electrodes) or cathodes (negative electrodes) are connected to each other in the connection between a photodiode and a diode.


A hand-held power tool for rotating a working tool disc (30) includes a removable protection hood (6) for partially covering the working tool disc (30) during operation, and a clamping device (8) for securing the protection hood (6) relative to a power tool head (2) and having a clamping member (12) that limits partially a substantially cylindrical region (14) for receiving an attachment collar, and a clamping element (20) provided at opposite ends (19) of the clamping member (12) for displacing the clamping device (8) into its locking position and having a locking region (34) projecting into the receiving region (14) of the clamping member (12) at least in the locking position of the clamping device (8).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand-held power tool for rotating a working tool disc, in particular to a slitting or grinding disc, and including a removable protection hood for partially covering the working tool disc during operation, and a clamping device for securing the protection hood relative to a power tool head and having a clamping member that limits partially a substantially cylindrical region for receiving an attachment collar, and clamping means provided at opposite ends of the clamping member for displacing the clamping device into a locking position in which the size of the receiving region is reduced in comparison with the size of the receiving region in a release position of the clamping device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In hand-held power tools of the type discussed above, the protection hood can be secured in a predetermined pivotal position with a clamping device. By displacement of the clamping device from the locking position to the release position, the position of the protection hood relative to the remaining portion of the power tool can be adjusted or the protection hood can be removed completely.
German Patent Publication DE 198 34 839 A1 discloses a grinding machine with a removable or detachable protection hood having a clamping ring that can be placed on a spindle collar of the grinding machine. On the hood, there is provided a locking lug that projects radially inwardly beyond the clamping ring. The locking lug engages in a groove-shaped recess provided on the spindle collar and axially secures the protection hood on the spindle collar.
The drawback of the power tool disclosed in DE 198 34 839 A1 consists in that the provision of the locking lug is associated with relatively high additional manufacturing costs. In addition, the locking lug can easily be tilted during adjustment, mounting, or removal of the protection hood, which makes a respective process noticeably more difficult.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a power tool in which the aforementioned drawbacks of the known power tool are eliminated and additional manufacturing costs are minimized.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held power tool with a protection hood in which a reliable axial mounting of the protection hood on the power tool is ensured.

Hand-held power tool with protection hood


A new and distinct cultivar of Allamanda plant named xe2x80x98BCT9810ALLxe2x80x99, characterized by its upright, spreading and trailing growth habit; freely flowering habit; and double flowers that are yellow in color.

Allamanda hybrid cultivar BCT9810ALL.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Allamanda plant, botanically known as Allamanda hybrid, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98BCT9810ALLxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Voorhout, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Allamanda cultivars with double flowers with attractive coloration.
The new cultivar originated from a cross-pollination of two unnamed selections of Allamanda hybrid, not patented, in Voorhout, The Netherlands. The new cultivar was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from this cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Voorhout, The Netherlands, in 1998. The new cultivar was selected on the basis of its double yellow-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in Voorhout, The Netherlands, since 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Allamanda are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar BCT9810ALL have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98BCT9810ALLxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98BCT9810ALLxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar of Allamanda:
1. Upright, spreading and trailing growth habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Double flowers that are yellow in color.
Plants of the new Allamanda differ primarily from plants of the unnamed parent selections primarily in flower form as plants of the unnamed parent selections do not have single flowers.
Plants of the new Allamanda can be compared to plants of the cultivars Silver Dwarf and Hendersonii, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Voorhout, The Netherlands, plants of the new Allamanda differed from of the cultivars Silver Dwarf and Hendersonii in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Allamanda had darker green-colored, rounded and more pointed leaves than plants of the cultivars Silver Dwarf and Hendersonii.
2. Plants of the new Allamanda had larger flowers and were more freely flowering than plants of the cultivars Silver Dwarf and Hendersonii.
3. Plants of the new Allamanda had double flowers whereas plants of the cultivars Silver Dwarf and Hendersonii had single flowers.


The present invention relates to diaryl pyrimidine-2,4-diamines, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, and the use of the compounds and compositions for the inhibition of kinases. The compounds, analogs, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions can be used in the treatment and prevention of cancer.

The protein kinases constitute a large family of structurally related enzymes that are responsible for the control of a wide variety of signal transduction processes within the cell. (Hardie and Hanks (1995) The Protein Kinase Facts Book, I and II, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.). Protein kinases are thought to have evolved from a common ancestral gene due to the conservation of their structure and catalytic function. Almost all kinases contain a similar 250-300 amino acid catalytic domain. Protein kinases catalyze phosphorylation of the hydroxyl moiety of serine, threonine or tyrosine. Thus, the kinases may be categorized into families by the substrates they phosphorylate (e.g., protein-tyrosine, protein-serine/threonine, lipids, etc.), and sequence motifs generally corresponding to each of the kinase families have been identified.
The phosphorylation and dephosphorylation is an important post-translational control element in eukaryotic signal transduction. The phosphorylation state of a given protein can govern its enzyme activity, protein-protein binding interactions, and cellular distribution. Thus, protein kinases represent a large family of proteins which play a central role in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular processes, maintaining control over cellular function. A partial list of such kinases includes abl, AKT, bcr-abl, Blk, Brk, Btk, c-kit, c-met, c-src, CDK1, CDK2, CDK3, CDK4, CDK5, CDK6, CDK7, CDK8, CDK9, CDK10, cRaf1, CSFir, CSK, EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, ErbB4, Erk, Fak, fes, FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, FGFR4, FGFR5, Fgr, flt-1, Fps, Frk, Fyn, Hck, IGF-1R, INS-R, Jak, KDR, Lck, Lyn, MEK, p38, PDGFR, PIK, PKC, PYK2, ron, Syk, Src, tie, tie2, TRK, Yes, and Zap70. Inhibition of the kinases has become an important therapeutic target.
Kinases regulate many different cell processes including, but not limited to, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, motility, transcription, translation and other signaling processes, by adding phosphate groups to target proteins. Phosphorylation of target proteins occurs in response to a variety of extracellular signals (hormones, neurotransmitters, growth and differentiation factors, etc.), cell cycle events, environmental or nutritional stresses, etc. The appropriate protein kinase functions in signaling pathways to activate or inactivate, for example, a metabolic enzyme, regulatory protein, receptor, cytoskeletal protein, ion channel or pump, or transcription factor. Uncontrolled signaling due to defective control of protein phosphorylation has been implicated in a number of diseases, including, for example, inflammation, cancer, allergy/asthma, disease and conditions of the immune system, disease and conditions of the central nervous system, and angiogenesis.
For example, the Src family is composed of ten highly homologous cytosolic kinases which are critical components in an array of cell signaling pathways ranging from lymphocyte activation to cell growth and proliferation. Constitutive activation of these enzymes can lead to oncogenic cell transformation, making them putative drug targets for cancer therapies. Because of their importance in the regulation of these fundamental cellular processes, many studies have focused on developing inhibitors for the Src family kinase. However, the potent inhibitors that have been discovered lack the high selectivity that would be required for probing the cellular inhibition of an individual target kinase. Conventional inhibitor screens have produced few if any molecules which can discriminate between the active sites of the various Src family kinases.
WO01/00213 describes substituted pyrimidines as Src kinase inhibitors. WO01/40218 describes arylamine derivatives for use as anti-telomerase agents. WO00/39101 describes substituted pyrimidines as anti-cancer agents. WO01/29009 describes substituted pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors, while WO00/39101, WO00/59892, and WO01/47921 describe amino substituted pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors. U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,858 describes a process for preparing substituted pyrimidines. WO01/19825 describes amino substituted pyrimidines as synthetic intermediates. WO01/72745 describes 4-heteroaryl-substituted pyrimidines as inhibitors of CDK's. WO01/72717 describes 4-amino-5-cyanopyrimidines as inhibitors of CDK's. WO02/22601 describes 4-(pyrazol-5-ylamino)-pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors. WO02/46184 describes 4-(4-pyrazolyl)-pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors. WO02/46170 and WO02/46171 describes 2-anilino-pyrimidines as inhibitors of JNK and IKK, respectively. WO02/47690 describes 4-arylamino-pyrimidines as kinase inhibitors.
Many of the active 2,4-pyrimidinediamine compounds are also potent inhibitors of the tyrosine kinase Syk kinase. Examples of such 2,4-pyrimidinediamine are described, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/355,543 filed Jan. 31, 2003 (US2004/0029902A1), international application Serial No. PCT/US03/03022 filed Jan. 31, 2003 (WO 03/063794), U.S. application Ser. No. 10/631,029 filed Jul. 29, 2003, international application Serial No. PCT/US03/24087 (WO2004/014382), U.S. application Ser. No. 10/903,263 filed Jul. 30, 2004 (US2005/0234049), and international application Serial No. PCT/US2004/24716 (WO2005/016893).
The development of selective protein kinase inhibitors that can block the disease pathologies and/or symptoms resulting from aberrant protein kinase activity has generated much interest. However, additional compounds for inhibition of kinases and treatment and prevention of diseases associated with them are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A beverage dispensing device using a pressure regulator to maintain the pressure inside the beverage container as the beverage is dispensed is disclosed. The pressure regulator includes a second chamber separate from the space containing the beverage. The second chamber contains a sorbent on which a propellant gas is adsorbed. The pressure inside the beverage container controls the opening and closing of a flow regulator that allows either the beverage being dispensed or a displacing agent contained in a third chamber to flow into the second chamber when the pressure in the beverage container is decreased. If either the beverage or the displacing agent flow into the second chamber, it will liberate the propellant gas adsorbed to the sorbent, and the gas is released through an outlet into the beverage container. This increases the pressure in the beverage, which in turn closes the flow regulator and stops the liberation of the propellant gas from the sorbent. This process is repeated as the beverage is being dispensed to maintain the pressure of the beverage inside the dispenser.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices for dispensing carbonated beverages.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years, beer and other carbonated beverages have been available in kegs having a valve assembly. To dispense the beverage from the keg, a dispensing device is inserted into the keg valve assembly, typically through use of threaded mating parts, and a probe at the insertion end of the dispensing device depresses a valve permitting the flow of a pressurizing gas into the keg and the flow of the beverage out of the keg to a suitable dispensing tap.
In commercial establishments, one type of dispensing device uses pressurized carbon dioxide gas from a container to pressurize the keg. Of course, bulky pressurized gas containers are not practical for consumer use and therefore, portable dispensing devices that use a hand powered air pump to pressurize the container have been developed for consumer use. While these portable consumer dispensing devices are easy to use, they do have certain disadvantages. For instance, consumer dispensing devices are often too expensive to justify purchase by a consumer. Also, when the consumer dispensing device is provided by a beverage retailer with a keg, the consumer may face rental and/or deposit fees, and the consumer will need to make a separate trip to return the dispensing device to the beverage retailer. Furthermore, consumer dispensing devices typically use air to pressurize the keg such that the oxygen in air is introduced into the beer thereby limiting the shelf life of the beer due to oxidation.
Due to the drawbacks associated with these consumer dispensing devices, alternative beverage dispensing devices have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,923 describes a device for storing and dispensing carbonated beverages such as beer. One version of the device has a fluid compartment and a propellant compartment which is housed in the fluid compartment. The fluid compartment and a propellant compartment are placed in fluid communication through a pressure control means. The pressure control means delivers propellant (typically carbon dioxide) from the propellant compartment to the fluid compartment as the beverage is withdrawn from the fluid compartment to maintain a desired excess equilibrium pressure of the propellant in the headspace of the fluid compartment. The beverage is discharged from the fluid compartment by way of a dip tube connected to a dispensing means.
Even though various different beverage dispensing devices are available, there still exists a need for an improved device for dispensing carbonated beverages from a container.


A mobile phone with FM antenna includes a mobile phone body, an FM antenna, an FM microchip and a phone case. The FM antenna is fixed to an outer side of the mobile phone body. One end of the FM antenna has a feed point, and the other end of the FM antenna is an opening end. The FM antenna resonates at FM radio frequencies so as to receive FM radio signals. The FM microchip is disposed on the mobile phone body and coupled with the feed point of the FM antenna for processing the FM radio signals. The phone case encloses the mobile phone body, the FM antenna and the FM microchip. Thus the FM antenna is embedded in the mobile phone to enable the mobile phone to receive FM radio without extra external earphones.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile phone with FM antenna, and more particularly, to a mobile phone with FM antenna providing broadband FM reception.
2. The Related Art
Nowadays, most mobile phones are integrated to be multifunctional, such as taking images, listening to music, etc. among which FM (Frequency Modulation) broadcasting radio receiving function has come first to be the most popular function. Thus, most mobile phone manufacturers combine the mobile phones with FM function so that the mobile phones are capable of receiving FM broadcasting besides telephone communication to cater to the need of customers.
Conventional mobile phones themselves have no FM antenna to receive FM radio signals. So the conventional mobile phone must be equipped with a pair of external earphones that serve as an FM antenna and transmitting audio signals. When using the FM function of the conventional mobile phone, consumers should firstly insert the pair of earphones into earphone jacks of the conventional mobile phone, thereafter, the consumers can use the mobile phone to receive the FM radio and listen to the FM broadcasting.
However, as the earphone is used as an FM antenna as well as an earphone function to transmit audio signals in the meanwhile, the efficiency of the FM antenna is badly effected while the earphone transmits the audio signals, and otherwise, other electronic components, such as antistatic electricity components of the earphone, also bring negative impact on the performance of the FM antenna. For example, the FM antenna has lower gain, louder noise, and poor receiving efficiency.
Another obvious disadvantage of the conventional mobile phone with FM function is that FM function rarely works unless the earphone is inserted into the earphone jack as an FM antenna to receive FM radio signals. So it is necessary to carry the earphone all the time while using the FM function, otherwise the FM function does not work. Therefore, the FM function of the conventional mobile phone is inconvenient for the consumers to use.


A slug flow mitigation and gas separation device for well production fluids includes a primary fluid inlet conduit and a slug mitigation and gas separation chamber formed by a conduit section mounted generally vertically above the primary conduit. Spaced apart branch conduits interconnect the primary conduit with the slug mitigation and separation chamber and a check valve is interposed in the branch conduit disposed in the downstream direction of fluid flow through the device. Gas vent conduits are in communication with the slug mitigation and separation chamber for conducting separated gas away from the device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a fluid slug flow mitigation and gas separation system particularly adapted for installation in oil production well fluid gathering and distribution systems.
2. Background
In the production of oil and gas from subterranean wells, a long-standing problem is that of dealing with the two-phase flow (gas and liquid) of the produced fluid which may vary considerably during the production life of a well. Two-phase fluid flow often results in so-called "slug" flow wherein alternate slugs of liquid and gas flow through the conduits leading to the primary oil and gas separation, treatment and pumping equipment. Slug flow is known to cause a variety of mechanical, process and corrosion problems in oil field conduit systems and equipment, especially in remote or offshore production systems where long, relatively large-diameter multi-phase fluid conducting pipelines are in service.
Several inventions have been developed to deal with fluid slug flow, including those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/941,615, filed Sep. 8, 1992 by Richard L. Payne and U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,793, issued Nov. 24, 1987 to R. L. Cathriner, et al, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Similar devices, known primarily as degasifiers, include that which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,335, issued May 24, 1988, to Jorg Reimann, et al. However, since slug flow mitigation systems are necessary, but usually unwanted, additions to oilfield fluid gathering, distribution and separation equipment, there has been a continuing need to develop slug mitigation equipment which is mechanically simple, requires little or no control system, contributes little or no pressure losses in the fluid gathering and distribution system, may be readily adapted to existing facilities and, of course, is relatively inexpensive to install. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed with a view to providing a slug flow mitigation and gas separation system which is effective and meets the desiderata indicated herein as well as providing other advantages recognizable by those skilled in the art.

Fluid slug flow mitigation and gas separation system


An automatic transmission shifter for a vehicle comprises a unitary glass reinforced nylon housing open at the bottom and having interconnected, spaced upper, side and end walls. A slot is formed in the upper wall, a pair of spaced aligned apertured bosses are formed in the side walls, and integral flanges extend from the side and end walls and incorporate a plurality of spaced apertures for mounting the housing to vehicle structure. A pair of spaced, aligned position control plates, each comprising a plurality of notches, are formed interiorly on the side walls, a plurality of detent notches are formed interiorly on the housing on one of the side walls below the position control plates, and a shift cable access opening is formed in one of the end walls. A shift lever assembly including an operating lever extends upwardly through the slot. A plastic trunnion mounts the lever and a pivot pin carried by the boss apertures mounts the trunnion for pivotal movement of the lever among a plurality of transmission control positions. The ends of a position pin mounted centrally on the shift lever simultaneously engage notches in each position control plate to control lever movement between positions. A spring-biased detent ball mounted on the trunnion engages in the detent notches to locate the lever in each of the control positions.

This invention relates generally to vehicle transmission control shifters and, more particularly, to a shifter for controlling an automatic transmission.
Conventional automatic transmission shifters comprise a metal or plastic mounting bracket which mounts a pivoted shift lever for shifting the transmission among a plurality of discrete control positions. The bracket mounts a plastic or metal cover that has a slot for the shift lever that is usually flanked by a PRNDL transmission control position indicator.
A shift control plate engaged by a lever-mounted position pin is usually provided to restrict movement of the lever between the control positions. A metal "rooster comb" comprising a series of detent notches and a cooperating spring-biased follower are provided to locate the lever in these positions.
Most controls are mechanical, with the lever operating a Bowden cable connected to the transmission. Some controls are electronic and include a switch operated by the control lever which must have an insulated mounting.
These conventional shifters are unduly complex and expensive to manufacture, comprising 20 to 50 or more separate component pieces which must be manually assembled.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a simpler automatic transmission shifter mechanism that comprises fewer component pieces and is simpler and less expensive to manufacture.

Simplified automatic transmission shifter


A measurement system for performing measurements. The measurement system includes a positioning system for positioning at least one device to be positioned. The positioning system includes at least two rotational positioner modules configured to perform a rotational movement, thereby rotating the device to be positioned, as well as at least one linear positioner module configured to perform a linear movement, thereby translationally moving the device to be positioned. The linear positioner module includes a mounting interface for the device to be positioned. The rotational positioner modules and the linear positioner module together are configured to move the device to be positioned from a starting point of the movement. The rotational positioner modules are configured to set the starting point. The linear positioner module is configured to move the mounting interface relative to the starting point.

In the state of the art, measurement systems for performing measurements of a device under test are known, wherein the measurement systems typically comprise an anechoic chamber that encompasses the device under test. In the anechoic chamber, antennas as well as reflectors are provided that are used for directing signals used for the measurements towards the device under test. In addition, it is known that the device under test is held by a positioning system that is configured to move the device under test during the measurements/testing such that the device under test reaches several different test positions at which a certain measurement is performed.
A classical positioning system comprises two rotational positioner modules such that the device under test can be rotated about two rotational axes, for instance azimuth and elevation or rather θ and φ.
However, in case of a positioning system that has two rotational axes, it is not possible for a certain measurement point that is offset from the center of the coordinate system to simultaneously receive two or more signals at different angles of arrival (AoA). This is caused by the standardized method of antenna measurements according to which it is assumed that the device under test is located in the center such that any offset from the center is associated with a measurement uncertainty.
Therefore, it is known from the state of the art to use a positioning system having three angular positioners, namely three rotational positioners, that are enabled to rotate the device under test about three axes. These positioning systems are also known as three axes positioning systems that have three rotational positioners, for instance θ, φ and θ or rather φ, θ and φ.
Generally, the positioning systems with three rotational positioners can be used to perform measurements of the device under test with more than one signal at different angles of arrival simultaneously.
However, the existing solutions are cost-expensive and require a certain space.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cost-efficient and compact solution to perform measurements on the device under test by a measurement system that uses a positioning system, thereby enabling reception of two or more signals at different angles of arrival simultaneously.


A process for stimulating a formation is disclosed wherein a diverting fluid is used to divert an acid treatment package from a high permeability or damaged portion of a formation to a low permeability or undamaged portion of a formation. The fluid, which preferably forms vesicles, comprises at least one surfactant, at least one quaternary amine polyelectrolyte, water, and a non-aqueous solvent.

Matrix acidizing, the process of injecting a formation stimulation fluid such as acid or other acid-forming materials that may react with minerals in the formation to increase the formation permeability, is a common method used to stimulate and enhance the production of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon producing formation and remove formation damage caused by drilling mud invasion and clay migration.
For most matrix acid treatments, acid is injected into the reservoir below or above fracturing rates and pressures. To obtain the maximum benefits of matrix acidizing, it is often desirable to treat the entire productive interval of the formation with the stimulation fluid. As the stimulation fluid is pumped, it will preferentially enter the interval of least resistance (lowest stress) or highest permeability and will react with the formation material and open additional flow paths. As a result, the high permeability interval or non-damaged zone receives most or all of the stimulation while the desired low permeability or damaged zones do not receive the desired stimulation. In most cases, the low permeability or damaged zone is the portion of the reservoir that will benefit the least from stimulation. Without proper diversion, the acid, by flowing to the higher permeability zone, leaves the low permeability zone untreated.
Acid treatment is further used to remove formation damage. Standard sand control treatments often use high rate water packs. Before or after placement of gravel with a completion fluid, low-density brine or a linear gel, a large acid treatment is typically pumped to remove the near wellbore formation damage or high skins encountered in perforation wells. Thus, a clay acid package is often pumped into the formation before the gravel pack to stabilize the residual clay. The results of these treatments are often directly related to the ability of the acid to remove the near-wellbore damage and connect the wellbore to the formation. In addition to determining the most effective combination of acid blends and volumes for each particular reservoir, treatment design and planning is often performed in order to insure that the acid is placed across the entire interval. Such staging of acid treatment across the entire interval further serves to treat the damaged clean portion of the sands.
The successful acid placement in matrix treatments of open hole horizontal wells is even more difficult due to the length of the zone treated and potential variation of the formation properties. A successful diversion technique is critical to place the acid to the location where damage exists. For an ideal acid treatment on a long heterogeneous reservoir, one would prefer the majority of the acid to be injected into damaged or low permeability intervals; the minimum amount of acid being spent in the clean or undamaged reservoir. However acid, a nonviscous fluid, enters into the region with the lowest stress contrast which unfortunately is typical of the cleanest interval or the partially depleted sand. In order to re-direct the stimulation fluids from the non-damaged intervals into the damaged intervals, a pressure differential across the high permeability or non-damaged intervals is preferably created. This pressure differential typically forces the stimulation fluid into new portions of the reservoir that otherwise would not receive the stimulation fluid. Until a sufficient pressure differential is built up in this region, the fluid continues to be injected into the high permeability zones of the interval.
In light of such difficulties, operators and service companies typically attempt to stagger the introduction of acid fluid into damaged intervals. Such methodology more effectively treats all of the requisite intervals. In conjunction with the acid staging of the acid volumes, diverter stages are often pumped to temporarily "plug" the zones that are taking the acid. Rate increases during the treatment to increase injection pressure and cause diversions also are often attempted. Depending on the formation condition, various diverting techniques, such as particulate diverting agents, or viscous acids, have been used both successfully and unsuccessfully in gravel pack and stimulation treatments for numerous years. With many options of chemical diverting or bridging agents available, the type of product used varies from application to application and in some causes may even cause formation damage by the chemical residues. Previous works also established the model and practice to control the pumping rate was to achieve the desired diversion.
The overall success or failure of many acid treatments is often judged by the ability to inject or direct the acid into the damaged or lower permeability zone. Without good diversion, the results of the acid treatment often lead to either incomplete damage removal and/or requirements for uneconomical volumes of treatment fluids. A well developed diverting agent, without formation damage after the treatment, is critical to the success of any matrix acid stimulation treatment and successful sand control completion.
Chemical diverting agents attempt to temporarily block the high permeability interval and divert the stimulation fluids into the desired low permeability or damaged intervals. It is desirable for these viscous gels to be stable at the bottom hole temperature and also to be removable from the formation rapidly after the treatment in order to eliminate any potential damage to the high permeability intervals. One chemical diverting fluid is a gelled hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) pill. This technique relies upon the viscosity of the pill to influence the injection pressure of the interval it enters. As the pill enters the formation, the viscosity of the pill will restrict the injection of other fluids into this area. As the injection pressure increases within this portion of the interval, other sections of the interval will break down and begin accepting fluid. This technique is severely limited if the temperature of the gelled HEC exceeds 200° F. Above this temperature, the base viscosity and life of the pill is greatly decreased. Another problem seen with gelled HEC is that the blocked zone may be damaged from the polymeric residues left inside the porous media once the acid treatment is completed.
Foams may also be used as a diverting method for acid stimulation. Foams typically are generated through a blend of surfactants and/or a polymer. One of the popular diverting techniques in gravel packing and stimulation is the use of a foamed KCl or NH4Cl or a gelled HEC pill. When a fluid with high viscosity enters into the high perm zone which restricts the injection of other fluids into the same zone, the injection pressure will begin to increase. As the overall injection pressure increases and overcome the pressure threshold, the relatively low perm sections of the interval begin accepting the injected fluid. This technique is severely limited by temperature due to the instability of most foamed or gelled pills above 200° F. Above this temperature the base viscosity of the pill will be greatly decreased and the life of the pill also affected.
Another problem associated with the foamed or gelled diverters is the lack of effectiveness in extremely high permeability reservoirs (>500 mD). Foamed or gelled HEC pills will have little effect in high permeability reservoirs due to the ability of the formation to allow for "leak-off" of such fluids. Properly sized particles such as silica flour, calcium carbonate, or organic resins, with the ability to effectively pass through the gravel or perforations but plate or "bridge off" on the formation face have been introduced in these environments. Even combinations of HEC diversion agents, nitrogen, and oil-soluble resins have been field tested. The main problems associated with the solid particles may be the improper sizing causing deep invasion problems that may not readily "clean-up" and cause further damage.
The addition of the polymer may also cause formation damage, as described above, while the use of nitrogen gas tanks and other associated pumping equipment are typically required for foam used as acid stimulation diverting agent. This may not be practical in many cases, especially for offshore acid treatments, as the operation is often limited by available deck space on the rig or vessel. In addition, foams typically become unstable above 250° F.
Another type of viscous fluid diverting agent used to assist in formation stimulation is a surfactant or surfactant mixture. One such viscoelastic fluid forms micelles. These wormlike micelles are sensitive to hydrocarbons. By utilizing this sensitivity, the fluid may selectively block water-bearing zones while the hydrocarbon-bearing zone is unaffected. However, this viscoelastic surfactant fluid typically cannot discriminate between zones with various permeabilities as long as the zones are hydrocarbon-bearing. Further, unlike polymer based fluids which rely upon filter cake deposition to control leak-off to the formation, viscoelastic surfactant diverting agents control fluid leak-off into the formation through the structure size of the micelles. The micellar based VES fluids usually have high leak-off rates to the formation due to the small size of the wormlike micelles. Rapid weaving and breaking of these structures also limits the ability of the micellar based viscoelastic system to control fluid leak-off. The temperature limitations for such a system is generally around 200° F. due to the low stability of micellar structure.
With every type of diverting system available currently, clean-up only occurs with the inclusion of some type of outside source. Time, temperature, and interaction with either reservoir fluids or hydrocarbons is required to remove the diverting agent in place. For example, a viscoelasctic surfactant acid diverters typically require contact with the liquid hydrocarbon during flowback. Without this interaction the very thing that prevents fluids from entering a certain portion of the reservoir may also inhibit the ability of the reservoir to produce hydrocarbons.
In summary, the success of a stimulation treatment or gravel packed completion is often dependent on the ability of the diverting agent to force the acid treatment into different portions of the reservoir. A need therefore exists for a method for diverting the stimulation fluid from high permeability zones to desired low permeability zones by a method which avoids the shortcomings of the prior art. This method should preferably use a composition that does not damage the formation, and is easily removed from the formation.

Acid diverting system containing quaternary amine


Systems and methods for filtering cellular messages to prevent receipt of certain messages are described. In one aspect, a computing device detects an incoming cellular telephone message for delivery to a receiver. The device filters the message by determining source identification information for the incoming cellular telephone message. The device compares this information to source identification entries in an acceptable senders list. The acceptable senders list includes source identification information corresponding to previous incoming and outgoing voice contacts by the receiver. If the source identification information for the incoming cellular telephone message is not found in the source identification entries in the acceptable senders list, the device deletes the cellular telephone message from a memory to prevent receipt of the message by the receiver.

Cellular telephone users may receive messages from any sender over a cellular telephone network. Cellular telephone messaging is a widely utilized form of communication that continues to gain in popularity. Cellular telephone messaging may encompass many different forms, including messages, data, photographs, and/or other types of information. For purposes of the present disclosure, the term "message" is intended to encompass messages, data, photographs, and/or any other types of information passed across a cellular telephone network. One form of cellular telephone message, the short message service (SMS), has particularly contributed to rapid deployment of cellular telephone messaging over wireless networks.
Cellular telephone messages attempt to mimic real-time communications by sending a message to an intended destination as quickly as possible over wireless networks. The delivery time of a cellular telephone message may be adversely affected by undesirable cellular telephone messages because undesired cellular telephone messages may occupy limited and valuable cellular telephone network resources.
As with many other forms of electronic communications, cellular telephone messaging may be abused by certain users of a wireless network. The sending of spam or other types of unsolicited communications is of particular concern in cellular telephone messaging. The cellular telephone messages may be unsolicited and the content may be annoying, offensive, or may interfere with reception of legitimate messages.
Moreover, most cellular telephone messaging services charge a per-use fee to a user for every cellular telephone message sent or received. Thus, a recipient of an undesirable cellular telephone message will incur a cost for receiving messages the user does not want.

Systems and methods for filtering cellular telephone messages


A trace amount of a tungstate is disclosed for inhibiting corrosion by nitrogen fertilizer solution, in particular, an ammonium nitrate fertilizer solution, (UAN) in contact with ferrous metal storage tanks, piping, and equipment surfaces. Tungstate added with a dispersant polymer is also effective for inhibiting corrosion.

Nitrogen solutions represent an important class of fertilizers. A commercially popular nitrogen fertilizer solution is made from urea and ammonium nitrate, often referred to as UAN. The UAN does not need to be kept under pressure, and can be applied directly for agricultural purposes.
The production of UAN solutions is straightforward, comprising blending urea solution, ammonium nitrate solution and any additional water in a mixing tank, in either a batch or a continuous process. Ammonia is sometimes also added to adjust the pH. Mixtures of ammonium nitrate and urea have much greater solubility as compared to that of either material alone. The UAN is typically manufactured with 20% by weight water and (32% Total Nitrogen Content,), but for field application is diluted with water to 28% Total Nitrogen Content. The economics of such solutions are relatively attractive in comparison to solids because evaporation is decreased and granulation, drying and conditioning are not necessary.
One problem that has been persistent in the production, storage, transportation and use of UAN has been that the UAN liquid is corrosive to carbon steel. Without adequate corrosion inhibition, UAN solutions in ferrous tanks or piping systems can become colored within a matter of days, usually orange or reddish indicating iron corrosion. This problem in ammonium nitrate (AN) and UAN solutions has been the subject of several reported corrosion studies over the last 50 years. (Vreeland et al., 1956; Novak et al., 1984; and Cahoon, 2002). The behavior of UAN solutions and AN solutions have been found to be similar in these studies. However, the actual inhibitors tested are often listed as "proprietary compounds," and thus the studies are of limited value. The corrosive effect of AN and UAN on various metallurgies has also been reported. (Zavoronkova et al., 1989).
However, the actual corrosion of field equipment, e.g. storage tanks, can be substantially more complicated than laboratory electrochemical studies may indicate. In particular, sludge that collects in low spots on the tank floor, such as the chine weld connecting the tank walls to the floor or along the lower plate of a lap weld, seems to be important in contributing to the pitting corrosion that is often observed in these areas. Sludge can be formed by corrosion product (rust) particles that drop off the tank walls to the bottom of the UAN storage vessel, creating these sludge deposits on the vessel bottom over time. It is therefore particularly useful for a corrosion inhibitor to be able to reduce the generation of particulate matter associated with even small amounts of corrosion in UAN storage and transportation vessels (e.g. rail cars).
In the past, several general types of corrosion inhibitors have been used in urea ammonium nitrate solutions. High levels (hundreds or thousands of mg/kg) of phosphate or polyphosphate salts were employed early on by the industry. This approach eventually fell into disfavor due to the production of precipitates of the phosphates with other ionic constituents such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc. These precipitates lead to unfavorable deposits on the bottom of storage vessels (as noted above) as well as plugging of spray application devices.
Various types of filming inhibitors (a.k.a. "filmers"), in particular phosphated esters and the like, were the next generation of treatment technology (Hallander et al., 2002). Many different types of filmers have been employed, but these filmers typically have three drawbacks. First, due to their surfactant nature, they may contribute to undesirable foaming during loading/unloading of the UAN. Second, the hydrophobic character of the uncharged end of the molecule may lead to preferential absorption into floating oil layers that are often found on the top of UAN in storage. These oil layers are formed over time by small oil leaks from the compressors used in manufacturing the UAN raw materials. Third, the filmers may have difficulty penetrating existing sludge layers to inhibit under-deposit corrosion on a tank bottom.
The next generation of inhibitors were based on molybdate (Cunningham et al., 1994), which passivates the corroding metal surface by forming a surface complex with iron (Hartwick et al., 1991). In actual applications, molybdate has the advantage that it seems to give good penetration of existing sludge layers to inhibit under-deposit corrosion on tank bottoms. Molybdate has the additional advantage that it is a plant micronutrient. However, the cost of this type of treatment is currently unacceptable due to the steep rise in molybdate costs over the last 2 years.


An image forming device includes a toner-image forming unit; a heating unit; and a processor. The toner-image forming unit is configured to form a toner image on a sheet using toner. The heating unit is configured to generate heat for thermally fixing the toner image to the sheet. The processor is configured to perform a first fixing process to control the heating unit to start generating heat in a first mode, and a second fixing process to switch the first mode to a second mode at a switch timing ahead of an estimated end timing at which thermal fixing of toner images to all sheets to be consecutively printed is completed. The heat amount per unit time generated by the heating unit in the second mode is smaller than a heat amount per unit time generated by the heating unit in the first mode.

One conventional image forming device provided with a fixing unit for thermally fixing a toner image formed on a sheet has the following structure (see Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-242746). This conventional image forming device has a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the fixing unit. At the beginning of a printing operation, the image forming device determines whether the number of sheets to be printed is greater than a prescribed number and enters either (1) a first mode for supplying the first sheet to be printed once the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds a first temperature when the number of sheets is greater than the prescribed number or (2) a second mode for supplying the first sheet to be printed once the detected temperature exceeds a second temperature lower than the first temperature when the number of sheets is no greater than the prescribed number.

Image forming device for suppressing power consumption by fixing unit


The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for extending non-volatile storage at a computer system. In some embodiments, a file operation is performed on at least one shadow copy of a file that is perceived by an application to be stored on a single volume. A plurality of shadow copies of a file can be accessed using durable file identifiers that are durable across changes to other file characteristics. It is indicated back to the application that the file operation was performed on the file perceived to be stored on the single volume. Storage capabilities are enhanced through migration and/or replication of files to newly added volumes.

1. Background and Relevant Art
Computer systems and related technology affect many aspects of society Indeed, the computer system's ability to process information has transformed the way we live and work. Computer systems now commonly perform a host of tasks (e.g., word processing, scheduling, and database management) that prior to the advent of the computer system were performed manually. More recently, computer systems have been coupled to one another and to other electronic devices to form both wired and wireless computer networks over which the computer systems and other electronic devices can transfer electronic data. As a result, the performance of many computing tasks are distributed across a number of different computer systems and/or a number of different computing components.
Data for computer systems it typically stored on and accessed from disks, such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc. A software component such as a volume stack receives I/O commands from upper layer modules (e.g., applications) and interfaces with a physical component (e.g., a magnetic platter) to implement the I/O commands. Typically disks suffer from at least two problems: disk fill and disk failure.
A disk fills when its available storage space is filled with data. When a disk becomes full, there is typically no way to seamlessly add new a disk drive to expand available storage space. Some operating systems have attempted to address this issue. At least one operating system allows multiple disks to be bound together into a "volume set". However, a drive containing the operating system can not be included in the volume set. Thus, for a user with an operating system and document directory stored in the same disk, there may be no way to create a volume set when adding a second disk dive.
Further once a volume set is created, the disks in the volume set can never be removed, even if one of them is beginning to fail, or if a user wishes to replace an old smaller disk and a new larger and faster disk. Additionally, if one disk in a volume set fails, other disks in the volume set typically become inaccessible.
Failure of a disk drive can result in data becoming inaccessible. Some types of disks, such as, for example, magnetic hard disks, include moving mechanical parts. Thus, these types of disks are more likely to suffer from failure, relative to other computer system components such as processors and system memory. Failure of a hard drive can result in the loss of years of data that is potentially hard to replace.
Some techniques to reduce the chances of losing data due to disk failure have been developed. For example, software mirroring "mirrors" the complete contents of one drive to another drive. However, these techniques have several limitations. For example, due to significant system level interactions, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to create a mirror set for a volume that includes an operating system. Further, mirror sets typically can not include external drives and require that two disks be of the same size. Additionally, mirroring has at least some needless overhead since every sector, even unused sectors and sectors for unimportant temporary files, must be copied to both disks.

Extending non-volatile storage at a computer system


A controller controls a control target device and includes: a storage unit to record event history data of an event occurring during operation of the controller; a hash value calculation unit to calculate a hash value on the basis of the event history data; and a communication unit to transmit the hash value to another controller external to the controller.

Conventional devices such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs) record information on a history of occurrence of an event that occurs during operation. The event is predetermined device processing typified by reception of a notification of various pieces of information provided to a device in operation from an external device. The event in an PLC is exemplified by reception processing of a notification of a change in the state of a device to be controlled that is controlled by the PLC, the notification being provided from the device to be controlled to the PLC and including a notification of a change in a sensor value in the device to be controlled, a notification of a change in an output value in the device to be controlled, and a notification of occurrence of input/output that is out of tolerance in the device to be controlled.
PLCs have an available memory capacity that is extremely small compared to that of personal computers (PCs) or cloud computing. Moreover, PLCs have a small data capacity for event information and a small amount of computer resources such as a memory usage capacity and a calculation amount that a computer spends on recording the event information. For this reason, there has been a possibility that information recorded in a PLC can be easily falsified, or tampered with, from outside the PLC via a network.
Meanwhile, there is used a technique for verifying that data on an event occurrence history recorded in a device is correct by calculating a hash value of a current event while including a hash value of previous event information for each event that occurs during operation.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for creating a hash value for each event information that occurs, generating a hash node that records the hash value created and the event information, and generating a hash node chain by chaining the nodes in the generated order. In verifying the event information, the technique of Patent Literature 1 evaluates the validity of the hash node chain using the hash value and the event information recorded in the hash node, and verifies whether or not the event information to be verified matches the associated event information recorded in the hash node.

Controller and control system that manages event occurrence history utilizing a flash chain of event history data


A chip package is made with the ring or dish interposer and an embedded array capacitor. A computing system is also disclosed that includes the ring or dish interposer and the embedded array capacitor.

Power delivery is a significant concern in the design and operation of a microelectronic device. Where the microelectronic device is a processor or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an adequate current delivery, a steady voltage, and an acceptable processor transient response are desirable characteristics of the overall system. One of the methods for responding to a processor transient is to place a high-performance capacitor as close to the processor as possible to shorten the transient response time. Although a large-capacity and high-performance capacitor is preferable to answer the processor transients, the capacitor is in competition for space in the immediate vicinity of the processor. This may involve making a cutout in a portion of a board or socket to make room for the capacitor. A cutout in a board is a factor for increasing overall package size, which is counter to the trend to miniaturize. Another problem is placing the capacitor relatively far from the die, such that significant resistance exists in the decoupling signal path. Additionally, significant inductance is experienced in decoupling capacitors due to their conventional configuration.
The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of materials proximate a die is also a problem. During the flip-chip assembly process, the solder balls (C4 bumps) are re-flowed in order to form an interconnect between the die and the substrate. The large CTE mismatch between die and substrate create detrimental stresses on the inner structure of the die.

Array capacitors in interposers, and methods of using same


A degradation compensating pixel circuit includes: an organic light emitting diode (OLED); a driving circuit including a first capacitor and a first transistor, the first capacitor being configured to be charged in response to a data signal and a scan signal, the first transistor being configured to drive the OLED according to a first voltage between first and second terminals of the first capacitor, the first terminal of the first capacitor being configured to receive a supply voltage, the second terminal of the first capacitor being coupled to a gate terminal of the first transistor; and a degradation compensating circuit coupled to a source terminal of the first transistor and the gate terminal of the first transistor, the degradation compensating circuit being configured to change the first voltage according to a first current of the first transistor.

1. Field
One or more aspects of example embodiments relate generally to a pixel circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device displays an image using an organic light emitting diode that generates light, the OLED display device doesn't need a light source (e.g., backlight unit), unlike a liquid crystal display device. Thus, the OLED display device may be relatively thin and light. In addition, the OLED display device may have low power consumption, improved luminance, improved response speed, etc., when compared to the liquid crystal display device. Hence, the OLED display device is widely used as a display device included in an electronic device.
In a case of pixel circuits which display a logo (e.g. NBC, CBS), and thus, display the same pattern consistently with high luminance in the display panel of the OLED display device, mobility of the driving transistors are degraded because of consistent strong currents. After degradation of the pixel circuits, image sticking occurs on the pixel circuits so that viewers may observe the logo on another image that does not include the logo.

Degradation compensating pixel circuit and organic light emitting diode display device including the same


A putting trainer is provided along with a method to improve the putting stroke of golfers and includes a planar base having opposing side walls of different heights with inwardly projecting flanges at their upper ends under which the putter head is placed and is swung therealong to simulate putting a golf ball. The base comprises a series of perpendicular longitudinal and lateral lines which allow the golfer to easily determine the alignment of the putter head before, during and after the swing.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention pertains to a device to teach a golfer a correct swing, and particularly to assist golfers in learning and maintaining a correct putting stroke.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Golfers are well aware of the importance of a clean, straight putting stroke and its importance in lessening one's overall score. Many golfers practice for hours on conventional putting greens only to find their stroke has been practiced incorrectly or it is later determined that their putting swing has a slight horizontal arc. Also, many times golfers realize to late that they "lift" the putter during the swing causing incorrect contact with the ball and thus missing the hole.
Various types of putting correction devices have been conceived in the past such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,669 which consist of a putting track to allow a golfer to learn how to properly swing a putter. Another such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,426 which includes a trough type mechanism which also is believed to help the golfer's swing. Another such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,796 which includes a stripe painted on the base to assist in the training swing.
While each of the aforesaid prior art devices may be useful in certain circumstances none of the devices as shown provide all the needed advantages for a putting trainer and accordingly it is one objective of the present invention to present a putting trainer and method for using the same which includes a base on which a grid is positioned for better viewing of the putting stroke before, during and after the swing.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a putting trainer having front and rear walls with inwardly projecting flanges to maintain the putter thereunder during the swing.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a putting trainer which can be used by amateur or experienced golfers to help increase their putting accuracy.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer program products for managing a redundant array of independent disks (RAID). The method comprises: in response to a number of a plurality of disks occupied by the RAID exceeding a first threshold, determining a first number of disk pairs to be disassociated among the plurality of disks, the first number of disk pairs at least comprising a first disk and a second disk associated with each other, and a first extent in the first disk and a second extent in the second disk being included in a same RAID extent of the RAID. The method further comprises determining a third disk for migrating at least one of the first extent and the second extent among the plurality of disks. Besides, the method further comprises migrating the at least one extent to the third disk to disassociate the first disk and the second disk so that a second number of disk pairs associated with each other among the plurality of disks is below a second threshold.

A storage system generally has a plurality of storage disks which can be organized into a disk array. For example, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is a data storage virtualization technology which organizes a plurality of storage disks into a single logic unit for the purpose of data redundancy backup and/or performance improvement. Taking RAID5 for example, an RAID group (RG) may include five physical storage disks which can be divided into block-levelled extents having distributed proof information. If a single disk in RG fails, the subsequent reading may be calculated with distributed proof information so that user data will not be lost. Besides, backup disks for the RG may be selected to rebuild the faulty disk. However, before the rebuilding of the faulty disk is completed, if another disk in the RG also fails, user data will be lost.
With the development of storage technology, RG can be distributed onto more than five storage disks. As the number of disks in the RG increases, the probability of simultaneous failure of two disks in RG increases significantly, resulting in a corresponding increase in the probability of loss of user data.

Methods, devices and computer program products for managing a redundant array of independent disks


There is provided a self-stabilized apparatus for training an individual to kick balls. The apparatus includes a platform, having a pair of vertical posts exceeding therefrom. A ball, which is preferably a soccer ball, is attached to the posts by means of elastic bands. The user places one foot on the platform while kicking the ball with the other foot so that the apparatus is self-stabilized. The elastic bands cause the ball to return to its initial position after it has been kicked.

This invention relates to sports training apparatus. More particularly, it relates to apparatus for training an individual to kick balls, particularly, soccer balls.
The game of soccer requires a player to be equally dexterous with either foot to be proficient at the game. Traditionally, a player is advised to kick a soccer ball against a wall to gain dexterity, particularly, using the less dominate foot. The soccer player quickly grows tired of this activity and discontinues practice because a disproportionate amount of time is spent running after a missed kick or running after the ball which ricochets off the wall and away from the player. Various devices have been devised to overcome these problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,095, issued to Sowards, shows a soccer training practice device including a ball which is attached to a anchor in the form of a helical coil. The coil includes a sharp tip which the user must first press into the ground so that the coil is anchored. Thus the ball will not travel a great distance after it is kicked. Obviously, Sowards suffers from a disadvantage in that it can be only used outdoors. In addition, the ground must be soft enough to permit one to press the helical coil into the ground. The set-up time for the Sowards apparatus is substantial.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,840, issued to Patton, et al., shows a tethered football practice kicking aid. The Patton patent shows the use of two stakes which are hammered into the ground to anchor the apparatus. The Patton apparatus obviously suffers from some of the similar drawbacks of the Sowards Patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,916, issued to Kopp, shows a football kick training apparatus which includes a means for holding a football either at the punting level or at the place kicking level. However, Kopp does not tether the ball to the apparatus, and thus, once the ball is kicked, the kicker must retrieve the ball.

Apparatus for training an individual to kick balls


This invention relates to a method for carrying out, using control means capable of gathering operating information of one or more construction machines to be rented to one or more renters, a service to renters according to the operating information, wherein the control means calculates the point number for service for giving back the profit to the renters on the basis of an evaluation standard preset with respect to the construction machines from the operating information, and totals the point number calculated every renter to present it.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rental service method, apparatus and system for a construction machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Construction machines such as hydraulic excavators used in a work site for construction are greatly different in necessary kind of machines or specification according to the kinds of work. Accordingly, it is more economical to rent construction machines from rental companies rather than purchasing them. Therefore, recently, rental service of construction machines has been rapidly prevailed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a flow of construction machines for rent. In the figure, a rental company (including affiliated companies thereof) R purchases and owns construction machines m1, m2 and m3 from a plurality of construction machine manufacturers M1, M2 and M3 in order to serve wide needs of a construction company U as end user. Thereby, a so-called group rental is constituted. Suppose that the construction company U selects, for rent, for example, the construction machine m1 made of M1 out of a plurality of construction machines from the rental company R. The president u0 of the construction company U causes operators u11, u12 and u13 to operate the construction machine m1 at the spot through a site foreman (a supervisor) u1. On the other hand, the construction company U pays a rental fee c of the construction machine m1 to the rental company R.
In this case, it is difficult for the rental company R to grasp accurately how the construction machine m1 is operated. Therefore, the rental fee c has been set according to a rental period of the construction machine m1. For example, in a case of a hydraulic excavator of 20-ton class, if the fee is set to ¥20,000/day, the rental fee for 10 days will be ¥20,000×10 days=¥200,000.
However, it cannot be denied to be unfair that even if the machine m1 is rarely operated or fully operated, the same rental fee c is charged. On the other hand, the machine m1 gradually becomes consumed due to its continuous operation, and finally lifetime of the machine m1 ends. The rental company R is to purchase a new construction machine m1 from the construction machine maker M1. Normally, the lifetime depends on the operating state of the machine m1. Accordingly, it is contemplated that the rental company gives back any profits to the construction company U in consideration of the lifetime difference of the machine m1. However, in the existing rental method, unfair feeling regarding the rental fee is not yet overcome. Therefore, it was difficult to create motivation that a person who has authorization to select a construction machine to be rented (a site foreman u1) wants to select that construction machine at any cost.

Method, apparatus and system for doing rental service of construction machine

Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.