A test fixture for testing circuit boards has a vacuum chamber between a stationary probe plate and a movable top plate. Separate adjustable linear bearings located in quadrants of the fixture provide parallel alignment between the top plate and the probe plate. A continuous vacuum seal between the probe plate and top plate bypasses the bearings so the bearings are outside the vacuum area. Spring loaded test probes in the probe plate extend through holes in the top plate for access to a circuit board under test. The probes contact the board when the top plate moves down toward the probes under a vacuum. The top plate is secured, to the probe plate by separate quick-release latch pins extending through the linear bearings. The moving top plate carries fixed tooling pins for mounting the board to the top plate. Movable bearing blocks support the bearings. The top plate is movable for aligning the board with the test probes. The top plate, latch pins, bearings and bearing blocks are movable as a unit relative to the probe plate. After the top plate is aligned with the probes to compensate for art shift among circuit board lots, the quick-release latches are engaged to retain the alignment.

Automatic test equipment for checking printed circuit boards has long involved use of a "bed of nails" test fixture to which the circuit board is mounted during testing. This test fixture includes a large number of nail-like, spring loaded test probes arranged to make electrical contact under spring pressure with designated test points on the board under test. Any particular circuit laid out on a printed circuit board is likely to be different from other circuits, and consequently, the bed of nails arrangement for contacting test points in a particular board must be customized for that circuit board. When the circuit to be tested is designed, a pattern of test points to be used in checking it is selected, and a corresponding array of test probes is configured in the test fixture. This typically involves precision-drilling a pattern of holes in a probe plate to match the customized array of test probes, and then mounting the test probes in the drilled holes on the probe plate. The circuit board is then mounted to the fixture, superimposed over the array of test probes. During testing, the spring loaded test probes are brought into spring pressure contact with the test points on the board under test. Electrical test signals are transferred from the board to the test probes and then to the exterior of the fixture for communication with a high speed electronic test analyzer which detects continuity or lack of continuity between various test points in the circuits on the board.
Various approaches have been used in the past for bringing the test probes and the circuit board into pressure contact for in-circuit testing. One class of these fixtures is a wired test fixture in which the test probes are individually wired to separate interface contacts for use in transmitting test signals from the probes to the external test analyzer. These wired test fixtures are often referred to as "vacuum test fixtures" since a vacuum is applied to the interior of the test fixture housing during testing to draw the circuit into contact with the test probes. A movable top plate is mounted over the stationary probe plate and a vacuum seal is formed between the top plate and the probe plate. A second vacuum seal is mounted above the top plate and has a sufficient height to hold the printed circuit board above the spring probes which project through access holes drilled in the top plate for alignment with the underside of the board. During use, a vacuum applied to the region between the probe plate and the top plate is also applied to the underside of the board. This compresses both vacuum seals and pulls the board down against and into electrical contact with the test probes. By maintaining the vacuum seal, the probes are held in spring pressure contact with the test points on the board while the board is tested.
In order for the probes to make contact with the proper test points of the circuit board, the bottom stationary probe plate and the movable top plate which supports the board must remain in a parallel relationship, to hold the board flat while maintaining its position perpendicular to the probe field. A reliable vacuum seal also is necessary.
Various problems have existed in prior art in-circuit test fixtures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,104 to Douglas et al. discloses an in-circuit test fixture of the type described above. That patent refers in its background to various technical problems in manufacturing and using such in-circuit test fixtures. One problem has to do with reliably maintaining the alignment parallel to each other and between the top plate and the stationary probe plate, while the test probes are maintained in parallel alignment, perpendicular to the board. The top plate moves toward or away from the stationary probe plate on linear bearings and/or guide pins which allow for alignment of the top plate to the probe field as the board moves up or down. The test probes are disposed in matching patterns of holes drilled in the probe plate and in the top plate. The probes must remain in parallel alignment and the top plate must constantly move in parallel alignment with the probe plate on the bearings without causing any binding between these elements of the test fixture.
The vacuum seal system must prevent vacuum leakage and poor electrical contact between the spring probes and the circuit board under test.
In addition to the need for precisely aligning the top plate and the board with the test probes without mechanical problems, and the need for an efficient vacuum sealing system, the test fixture also should be adapted for easy use under repetitive test conditions by the end-user. The fixture also should be designed so that its component parts can be manufactured and assembled at a reasonable cost.
The present invention provides improvements over the type of in-circuit test fixture shown in the Douglas et al. '104 patent. For instance, the fixture in that patent has thumb screws inside four corners of the fixture that screw into long, narrow, rigid guide shafts affixed to the undersurface of the moving top plate. These long guide shafts fit through the center of linear bearings at the four corners of the probe plate. It can be difficult to remove the top plate because the thumb screws must be accessed from going inside the bottom portion of the fixture to unscrew the thumb screws before the top plate can be lifted out. In addition, the four guide shafts at the corners of the top plate can bind when the user manually removes the top plate. There is a need for an improved system of connecting the moving top plate to the probe plate since it is not desirable for the user to open up the fixture from access in the lower portion of the fixture where much of the complicated wiring is present. However, when the top plate needs to be removed, for service or diagnostic requirements, such as when a test probe must be replaced, it is desirable for the top plate to be removed as easily as possible.
The sealed linear bearing assemblies located at the corners of the Douglas et al. '104 fixture are complex and costly in terms of the number of parts and the labor for assembling the bearings. The present invention provides a greatly improved bearing system.
The Douglas et al. '104 patent also discloses an internal captive seal which surrounds the perimeter of the moving top plate. The top plate seal is a continuous double hollow seal. The underside of the top plate has a peripheral flange which fits down into a deep recess that carries the perimeter seal. The present invention provides a more stable vacuum seal that is manufactured at substantially lower cost. The seal arrangement also allows for "floating" of the top plate, which enables multi-axis freedom of movement of the top plate that is more useful in the proper alignment of the test probe array to test points on a board under test. The seal arrangement of this invention also avoids costly sealed bearings, and therefore substantially reduces manufacturing and labor costs.
There is also a need to provide a linear bearing arrangement that can reliably secure the top plate to the probe plate, without shifting of the top plate relative to the probe field, while also allowing the top plate to be released, when necessary, for shifting in different directions for alignment purposes. Such a bearing support system should be easily usable by the end-user while also being manufactured at a reasonable cost.


Disclosed is a method of forming electrodes on diamond comprising the steps of: forming a mask pattern on diamond or diamond film; performing a treatment of the diamond surface by a plasma of inert gases; forming an electrode film on the whole surface of the specimen; and removing the mask, thereby forming a specified pattern of the electrodes. By this method, it is possible to form electrodes having high adhesion to diamond and diamond film for electronic devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for forming electrodes with high adhesion to diamond for diamond electronic devices such as heat sinks, diodes, and transistors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diamond has high hardness and stability against heat, radiation, and chemicals. It also has a large band gap of 5.4 eV. Diamond is electrically insulating, but becomes semiconducting by doping. Thus, diamond is expected to be used for electronic devices which can be operated at high temperatures. Furthermore, diamond is transparent over a wide wavelength range between ultraviolet and infrared, and is used for optical windows.
Diamond films formed by vapor deposition methods also have the above-mentioned excellent characteristics, and are used for coatings on cutting tools and speaker diaphragms, as well as for electronic applications such as heat sinks, diodes, and transistors.
It is well known that diamond film can be formed by vapor phase synthesis using plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at low cost. Similarly for bulk diamonds, synthesized diamond film becomes semiconducting by doping with an impurity such as boron (B).
In the fabrication of electronic devices using diamond, it is necessary to form electrodes on the surface of diamond. Known methods of forming electrodes on the surface of diamond are as follows:
(I) Ohmic contacts were obtained by a method of vapor-deposition of metals liable to form carbides, e.g. Ta, on diamond followed by a heat treatment by electron beam irradiation, thus forming a carbide intermediate layer at the interface between diamond and the metal electrode, thereby enhancing the adhesion A. T. Collons et al. Formation of electrical contacts on insulating and semiconducting diamonds, Diamond Research, 1970!. This method will be referred to hereafter as Method I.
(II) Ohmic contacts were obtained by a method of vapor-deposition of metals liable to form a carbide, e.g. Mo, on diamond followed by a heat treatment using a vacuum furnace K. L. Moazed et al. Material Research Society Symposium Proceedings 162, P.347, 1990!.
Using this method, electrodes with high adhesion were formed by heat-treating metal films having multiple layer structures such as Au/Pt/Ti, Au/Ti, or the like. This method will be referred to hereafter as Method II.
(III) Metal electrodes were formed after irradiating Ar ions on the surface of diamond, thereby transforming the surface thereof into graphite C. B. Child, Fourth Annual SD 10/IST-ONR Diamond Technology Initiative Symposium, 1989!. By this method, Au electrodes with high adhesion were formed on the surface of diamond. This method will be referred to hereafter as Method III.
However, the above-described methods have the following problems:
In Method I, it is necessary to perform the heat treatment using an electron beam generator at high vacuum, which is expensive and time consuming. Thus, this method is disadvantageous in terms of production cost.
In Method II, the metal electrodes which have been vapor-deposited on diamond must be heated at high temperature (e.g. 800.degree. C.) to form a carbide. This causes a stress at the interface between the electrode and the diamond due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients. Thus, this method has the disadvantage that the electrodes are thermally damaged and tend to peel off from the diamond.
Also, in a heat treatment at high temperatures, the surface of a diamond is transformed into graphite. Thus, in this method, low resistance parasitic channels are liable to be formed on the surface of a diamond. Furthermore, similarly for Method I, since this method employs a vacuum furnace in the heat treatment, this process is very time consuming.
In Method III, an expensive ion beam generator has to be operated at high vacuum, which is costly and time consuming. Furthermore, when a processed sample is subjected to ultrasonic cleaning, the electrodes partially or totally peel off because of poor adhesion.

Method for forming electrode on diamond for electronic devices


An alignment circuit comprises a plurality of inputs that receive corresponding data signals, wherein each of the corresponding data signals includes a training pattern. A plurality of delay lines correspond to each of the plurality of inputs, receive the corresponding data signals, receive a plurality of corresponding delay signals, and delay each of the data signals according to the corresponding delay signals. A controller receives the corresponding data signals and generates the plurality of corresponding delay signals based on the training patterns of respective ones of the data signals.

The present invention relates generally to data communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to deskewing data received over multiple parallel communication channels.
The field of electronic data communications is increasingly important to the global economy. High-speed data networks are now used to transport data representing text, music, images, and even moving pictures. One method of data transmission is serial transmission, in which data is transmitted over a single communications channel. Another method of data transmission is parallel transmission, in which data is transmitted over multiple parallel communications channels simultaneously. Parallel transmission is increasingly popular as it moves data more rapidly over a network, resulting in higher data transmission speeds.
One disadvantage of parallel transmission is data skew, which occurs when the parallel communication channels have different propagation delays. Therefore data sent simultaneously over the parallel communications channels arrives at different times. It can be difficult or impossible to correctly sample the skewed data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic alignment for data on a parallel bus


A compressor assembly which includes a housing having an air inlet. A cylinder sleeve having an end open into the housing receives a piston disposed in the housing. The piston extends into the cylinder sleeve open end for reciprocal movement in the sleeve. A fan fixed relative to the housing causes air to flow through the inlet toward the piston. A deflector is interposed between the piston and the inlet, wherein the deflector prevents air flowing through the inlet from impinging directly onto the piston.

Not Applicable
This invention relates to piston pumps and compressors, and more particularly to an air cooled, piston compressor.
In a typical air cooled, piston compressor, a housing encloses a piston reciprocating in a cylinder sleeve to compress air. Air is compressed by the piston which draws air into the cylinder sleeve in a downstroke, and forces the air out of the cylinder sleeve in an upstroke. The air passes through a valve assembly mounted to the cylinder sleeve top which directs the flow of air through the cylinder. A fan draws cooling air into the housing to cool the piston and cylinder sleeve.
The piston reciprocates in the cylinder sleeve with a seal material mounted thereon which establishes a sliding seal with the interior of the cylinder sleeve. The seal can pick up contaminants which collect on the cylinder sleeve interior surface. These contaminants can work their way up the inside of the cylinder sleeve and into the compression chamber, damaging the cylinder sleeve, piston seal material, and fouling the compressed air.
The fan draws contaminants into the housing with the cooling air. These contaminants are propelled by the fan, and can impinge directly onto the reciprocating piston and lower portion of the cylinder sleeve, thus increasing the potential for damage to the compressor. Therefore a need exists to protect the piston and cylinder sleeve from contaminants propelled into the housing by the fan.
The present invention provides a compressor assembly which includes a housing having an air inlet. A cylinder sleeve having an end open into the housing receives a piston disposed in the housing. The piston extends into the cylinder sleeve open end for reciprocal movement in the sleeve. A fan fixed relative to the housing causes air to flow through the inlet toward the piston. A deflector is interposed between the piston and the inlet, wherein the deflector prevents air flowing through the inlet from impinging directly onto the piston.
A general objective of the present invention is to prevent contaminants from impinging directly on the reciprocating piston or inside the cylinder. This objective is accomplished by positioning a deflector between the cooling air inlet and piston/cylinder to shield the piston and cylinder sleeve from contaminants propelled by the fan.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention.


A multi-stage planetary gearbox, in particular a torque split gearbox of a work machine, having a housing which accommodates four planetary gearsets, a plurality of shafts, and shift elements including brakes and clutches which implement different gear ratios between the drive and output shafts. The drive shaft couples a carrier of the third gearset which can couple, via a first clutch, a third shaft that is coupled to a ring gear of a second gearset and which can be connected, via a second clutch, to a fourth shaft connected to a sun gear of the third gearset. A fifth shaft couples a sun gear of the second gearset and can be locked, via a first brake, with the housing. A sixth shaft couples a ring gear of the third gearset and a carrier of the second gearset. The output shaft is coupled to a carrier of a fourth gearset.

Such a multi-stage gearbox is preferably used as a torque splitting gearbox in drive machines whereby the available gears of the torque splitting gearbox are defined by selective activation of shift elements and hereby with an effective flow of force within planetary gearsets. A "torque splitting gearbox" is hereby commonly meant to be a gearbox unit through which several transmission ratios can be achieved with few step increments. In an overall transmission of an agricultural drive machine, such as a tractor, such a torque splitting gearbox, as a load shift gearbox, is commonly combined with another multi-gear gearbox in form of a group gearbox with large step increments, so that through this combination an overall transmission with a large number of presentable drive steps can be achieved, simultaneously with a large spread. Often, the additional gearbox segments are hereby added in the form of a crawl and/or a turn segment.
The multi-stage gearbox in a planetary construction is known through the EP 0495942 B1, which is combined as a torque splitting gearbox of an agriculture drive machine with a group gearbox. Hereby, this torque splitting gearbox has a housing in which four planetary gearsets and several shafts are positioned, of which one corresponds to the driveshaft and the other one, to the output shaft of the multi-stage gearbox. In addition, several shift elements are provided in the area of the shafts through which, by means of selective activation, the flow of power can be varied within the four planetary gearsets, and therefore different transmission ratios can be defined between the drive shaft and the output shaft. In total, eight transmission ratios of the multi-stage gearbox can be implemented.

Multi-stage gearbox of planetary construction


An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply device in which a setting operation for each beverage is simplified and in which supply of a wrong beverage can be avoided in advance. The beverage supply device executes a beverage supply operation of discharging a beverage material and a diluting liquid into a cup to mix the beverage material and the diluting liquid. The device includes: an information output section of a flavor card which retains inherent information such as a dilution ratio of a beverage; an information detecting section which reads out the inherent information of the beverage retained by this information output section; and a control unit which executes the beverage supply operation based on the inherent information read out by this information detecting section.

The present invention relates to a beverage supply device in which a beverage material and a diluting liquid are discharged into a cup, mixed and supplied.
Heretofore, in this type of beverage supply device, a system is adopted in which a syrup (a beverage material) stored in a storage vessel such as a tank and a diluting liquid such as water and/or carbonated water are discharged from a nozzle to a cup, mixed in the cup and supplied (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-335541). Flavor cards on which names, photographs or illustrations of beverages to be supplied are described are attached to a front surface of the beverage supply device, and a customer selects the beverage with reference to the flavor cards.
In addition, inherent information such as a dilution ratio of the syrup and a gas (carbon dioxide) volume of the carbonated water for each beverage and a discharge time of the syrup and the diluting liquid for each cup size has heretofore been set (manually input) using a keyboard during installing of the beverage supply device and during changing of the beverage (flavor). Therefore, in a case where a large number of types of beverages are supplied, much time has to be consumed for the setting. Moreover, wrong setting might be performed.
Moreover, several types of amounts of beverages to be supplied can usually be selected in accordance with cup sizes such as S, M and L. Heretofore, the cup size has been selected by pressing a selection button. However, since much trouble is required for an operation, much time is lost during busy times. Moreover, the beverage has accidentally overflowed owing to a wrong operation.


A fan blade comprising a body having a tip end and an in-board end is configured with first and second fin portions that extend along the trailing edge of the body of the fan blade. The first fin portion extends from the in-board end of the fan blade along the trailing edge toward the tip end, while the second fin portion extends from the tip end of the fan blade along the trailing edge toward the in-board end. Both the first and second fin portions extend outwardly from the trailing edge of the body at an angle to this trailing edge. Generally a slot or gap would exist between these first and second fin portions and both such fin portions would have a tapered width which narrows in the direction of the tip end. Additionally, the width of the first fin portion would be greater than the width of the second fin portion. Furthermore, the two fin portions may or may not be co-planar in order to optimize air flow.

It is known that a blade having a "twist" thereto provides more lift (and hence an increase in the displacement of air) than blades which are not so "twisted" or are uniform and consistent along their length.
The economical manner to produce aluminum fan blades is by the extrusion process, however, the extrusion process generally only produces non-twisted blades. To impart a uniform angular twist in an extruded airfoil requires mechanically yielding the airfoil in a secondary process. This secondary process is costly and it often produces inconsistent results. Consequently, it is desirable to combine the performance of the "twisted" blades with the economics of the uniform blades to achieve a high performance blade at a relatively low cost.
One attempt to achieve this result is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,313 to Mosiewicz. This patent discloses an axial propeller blade comprising a single tab (32) secured along its trailing edge. This single tab is also disclosed as being inclined from the blade at an angle of from 10.degree. to 70.degree. so as to enhance the lift of the blade. However, the tab of Mosiewicz is planar and of uniform or consistent configuration. Consequently, there is no possibility of this tab having one configuration and/or angle at the root end of the blade and another configuration and/or angle at the tip end of the blade so as to be more consistent with "twisted" blades. There is also no likelihood of this tab conforming to the multiple planes normally found in "twisted" fan blades which cause or result in increased performance.
Presently, there is no known fan blade which utilizes a multi-piece tab or fin that is either attached to or extruded from the trailing edge of a fan blade. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple piece fin which is extruded or attached to the trailing edge of the fan blade. Another object of this invention is to provide a fan blade incorporating a trailing fin whose angle and/or configuration can be varied as needed along the length of the fan blade for performance optimization. It is another object of this invention to provide a fan blade which is more economical to construct than "twisted" fan blades. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a fan blade whose operating performance is comparable with or exceeds that of "twisted" fan blade. These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious upon further investigation


A method of managing a network including a plurality of nodes. The nodes are displayed, in a pictorial display, relative to a current geographic location of the nodes. The method includes modifying, via the display and via the network, one or more capabilities of one of the nodes. The node is an ad-hoc node. This method can improve network management flexibility, asset utilization, resource sharing, and load leveling.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In military network-centric operations (NCO), it is highly desirable for communications and/or weapon systems to perform effectively under difficult conditions, and particularly under battle conditions. Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) can be extremely flexible and are often characterized by a significant amount of mobility and geographical movement. Because MANET nodes are mobile, however, the topology of a MANET network may change quickly and unpredictably. It can be extremely difficult to visualize trends and to spot potential trouble in a MANET in real time. Planning and management of mobile ad-hoc networks becomes even more complicated for a network-of-networks, in which a plurality of different network systems may be used.

Visualizing and modifying ad-hoc network nodes


A method for reducing power consumption of a processor is disclosed comprising steps of applying time-frequency transformation to a plurality of load values of the processor to obtain the feature sampling cycle of the processor, and adjusting the voltage/frequency of the processor based on said feature sampling cycle. With the method of the present invention, the processor load value in next time interval can be accurately predicted, and thus the voltage/frequency of the processor in the next time interval can be adjusted on the basis of the load value.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the power consumption conservation of a processor, and in particular to a method for reducing the power consumption of a processor, which can reduce the power consumption of the processor while guaranteeing that the voltage of the processor meets application requirements.
2. Description of Prior Art
Limited battery lifetime usually becomes the most severe bottleneck in a processing system powered by a battery, such as embedded handheld system. On the other hand, playing of multimedia, especially video, has gotten increasing popularity with various handsets, such as PMP and PDA. This gives considerable importance to a low power consumption design for any battery-powered processing system. Moreover, in current handsets, embedded CPUs have been expanded in terms of performance and function, and thus can enable such operation as soft decoding. It is well known that soft decoding is an application requiring intensive processing by CPU and consuming plenty of battery power.
During video soft decoding by CPU, a low power consumption design is generally realized with a technique called DVS/DFS (Dynamic Voltage/Frequency Scaling). One significant task in the DVS technique is selecting a suitable CPU load sampling cycle and predicting CPU load through a proper algorithm so as to determine the magnitudes of voltage and frequency should be set in next time interval. As well known in the art, the selection of sampling cycle has tremendous effect on the performance of DVS. Currently, it is generally believed that the sampling cycle or interval should be the reciprocal of frame rate, since video stream is in unit of frame in most cases. Take as an example a segment of a stream of 30 frames/s, the sampling cycle or interval takes the value of 33 ms, which is regarded as the most suitable. However, many studies have proved that data of CPU load obtained on such sampling interval have a very poor regularity. Thus, it is difficult to present a satisfactory prediction result, leading to the case of voltage being lower than that required by the processor or the case of excessive power consumption of the processor.
Another critical issue in the above low power consumption design based on time interval is how to accurately predict next time interval, since the processor load varies with applications. For example, Reference document 1 (Xiaotao Liu, Prashant Shenoy and Weibo Gong, A Time Series-based Approach for Power Management in Mobile Processors and Disks, In Proceedings of the 14th ACM Workshop on Network and Operating System Support for Audio and Video (NOSSDAV)) proposes a time series-based prediction method, in which the value of processor load is predicted using time series. This method, however, gives no discussion about how to adjust the processor power dynamically. In other words, this method cannot precisely predict the value of processor load for next time interval upon changes in the running condition of the processor.

Method for reducing power consumption of processor


The present invention relates to immunoglobulins that bind FcγRIIb+ cells and coengage the antigen on the cell's surface and an FcγRIIb on the cell's surface, methods for their generation, and methods for using the immunoglobulins.

Antigen recognition by B cells is mediated by the B cell receptor (BCR), a surface-bound immunoglobulin in complex with signaling components CD79a (Igα) and CD79b (Igβ). Crosslinking of BCR upon engagement of antigen results in phosphorylation of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) within CD79a and CD79b, initiating a cascade of intracellular signaling events that recruit downstream molecules to the membrane and stimulate calcium mobilization. This leads to the induction of diverse B cell responses (e.g., cell survival, proliferation, antibody production, antigen presentation, differentiation, etc.) which lead to a humoral immune response (DeFranco, A. L., 1997, Curr. Opin. Immunol. 9, 296-308; Pierce, S. K., 2002, Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2, 96-105; Ravetch, J. V. & Lanier, L. L., 2000, Science 290, 84-89). Other components of the BCR coreceptor complex enhance (e.g., CD19, CD21, and CD81) or suppress (e.g., CD22 and CD72) BCR activation signals (Doody, G. M. et al., 1996, Curr. Opin. Immunol. 8, 378-382; L1, D. H. et al., 2006, J. Immunol. 176, 5321-5328). In this way, the immune system maintains multiple BCR regulatory mechanisms to ensure that B cell responses are tightly controlled.
When antibodies are produced to an antigen, the circulating level of immune complexes (e.g., antigen bound to antibody) increases. These immune complexes downregulate antigen-induced B cell activation. It is believed that these immune complexes downregulate antigen-induced B cell activation by coengaging cognate BCR with the low-affinity inhibitory receptor FcγRIIb, the only IgG receptor on B cells (Heyman, B., 2003, Immunol. Lett. 88, 157-161). It is also believed that this negative feedback of antibody production requires interaction of the antibody Fc domain with FcγRIIb since immune complexes containing F(ab′)2 antibody fragments are not inhibitory (Chan, P. L. & Sinclair, N. R., 1973, Immunology 24, 289-301). The intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) of FcγRIIb is necessary to inhibit BCR-induced intracellular signals (Amigorena, S. et al., 1992, Science 256, 1808-1812; Muta, T., et al., 1994, Nature 368, 70-73). This inhibitory effect occurs through phosphorylation of the FcγRIIb ITIM, which recruits SH2-containing inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (SHIP) to neutralize ITAM-induced intracellular calcium mobilization (Kiener, P. A., et al., 1997, J. Biol. Chem. 272, 3838-3844; Ono, M., et al., 1996, Nature 383, 263-266; Ravetch, J. V. & Lanier, L. L., 2000, Science 290, 84-89). In addition, FcγRIIb-mediated SHIP phosphorylation inhibits the downstream Ras-MAPK proliferation pathway (Tridandapani, S. et al., 1998, Immunol. 35, 1135-1146).

Methods and compositions for inhibiting CD32B expressing cells


A fluid cleaning system for removing meat particles from a rotating roll of a meat stripping machine with a minimum amount of pressurized fluid and water by sequentially opening and closing individual groups of fixed fluid nozzles located closely adjacent the roll. An air manifold extends longitudinally along the roll and is formed with groups of nozzles, each group being supplied by its own air supply channel. The air supply channels terminate in an annular air distribution chamber which is connected to a source of pressurized air. A disc, formed with at least one opening, is rotated within the chamber for sequentially opening at least one of the supply channels while maintaining the other supply channels closed from the pressurized air source. The roll and disc are driven by the same motor but at different speeds. Since only one group of nozzles is connected to the source of pressurized air at any one time, the supply of pressurized air is less than that required to supply all nozzles at the same time. The nozzle groups produce high velocity, momentary bursts of air longitudinally and circumferentially along and against the rotating roll to dislodge and remove the meat particles from the roll as the roll rotates past the nozzles while stripping skin and particles from a piece of meat. A water supply line also may be connected to each of the air supply channels through a ball check valve to supply a small quantity of water sequentially into the air supply channels for subsequent discharge with the pressurized air against the roll being cleaned.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to cleaning systems and, in particular, to a cleaning system for a meat processing machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a system which produces momentary bursts of pressurized fluid against and along a rotating tooth roll to dislodge and remove particles from the roll as the roll rotates past the nozzles while removing skin and other particles from meat.
2. Background Information
Various equipment in the meat processing industry use tooth rolls for removing skin and other particles from a piece of meat which is fed, either manually or automatically, past the rotating roll. One problem that is encountered with such tooth meat stripping rolls is that they quickly become clogged with skin, meat particles, fat and the like, reducing considerably their efficiency in a relatively short period of time. This requires stopping the machine and manually removing the collected particles from the roll teeth.
Various types of cleaning systems have been devised for removing such particles from the tooth rolls without interrupting the meat processing operation. One type of system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,321. This system provides air nozzles which are moved axially along the rotating tooth roll so that pressurized air is discharged from the nozzles against the rotating roll to remove particles therefrom. Although this apparatus may provide some cleaning of the tooth roll, it requires a number of moving parts and requires pressure seals which are subject to leakage. It also requires a relatively large volume of pressurized air in relationship to the number of nozzles in order to provide a sufficient cleaning system.
Another type of cleaning system using pressurized air which is impinged against the work being cleaned is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,840, and is used in the textile industry. In this prior system, a plurality of nozzles are oscillated back and forth across the roll being cleaned. In order to reduce the volume of pressurized air, the system has either a sliding plate or a hollow internal rotating cylinder which selectively opens and closes the inlets to the nozzles so that only one or several of the nozzles are being supplied with the pressurized air at any one time. This reduces the amount of pressurized air required, and reduces the size of the air supply system and power to provide the same. However, with this textile cleaning system, the nozzles are oscillated back and forth requiring additional motive power. Furthermore, such a system requires a relatively large internally rotating drum or sliding plate which requires increased power to operate the mechanical mechanism, in addition to the extra power required to oscillate the nozzles across the rotating roll.
Although the use of only pressurized air impinged against the rotating roll of a meat skinning machine is satisfactory for moving most of the trapped meat particles, it has been found that the use of jets of pressurized water impinged against the roll has increased cleaning ability to dislodge and remove the meat particles trapped between the teeth of the rotating roll.
Although these water cleaning systems increase the cleaning efficiency on the roll in contrast to those systems using only streams of high pressure air, they require a considerable amount of water and equipment for pressurizing the water, which increases considerably the cost of operating the cleaning system. Such prior water cleaning systems require the initial supply of water to the cleaning mechanism, as well as additional equipment for collecting and removing the large amounts of spent water, for subsequent discharge into a sewage system, which increases the total cost of the system, or requires expensive recirculating and processing equipment for cleaning such large amounts of spent water for subsequent use, in a closed water cleaning system.
None of the known prior art cleaning machines provide for pressurized air which is impinged against the roll of a meat cleaning machine to be supplied with relatively small amounts of water which is mixed with the pressurized air just prior to it being discharged from the spray nozzle, whereby a mixture of pressurized air and water is discharged from the cleaning nozzles and impinged against the rotating roll to remove the meat particles therefrom.
Therefore, the need has existed for an improved cleaning system for meat processing machines in which the cleaning system is operable during the process to provide for continuous cleaning of the meat or skin removing roll, which does not interfere with the cleaning operation, which requires a minimum volume of pressurized fluid to clean the roll, and which requires a minimum number of moving parts and eliminates maintenance prone moving air seals.

Food Industry Equipment International, Inc.


A method of curing an inflatable packing is provided that includes providing a packer assembly having an inflatable packer around a mandrel; a polyamide bandage around the inflatable packer; and a sealing layer around both the polyamide bandage and the inflatable packer to from an airtight seal about the inflatable packer, wherein the method further includes curing the assembled packer assembly.

A variety of packers are used in wellbores to isolate specific wellbore regions. A packer is delivered downhole on a conveyance and expanded against the surrounding wellbore wall to isolate a region of the wellbore. Often, two or more packers can be used to isolate one or more regions in a variety of well related applications, including production applications, service applications and testing applications.
In some applications, packers are used to isolate regions for collection of formation fluids. For example, a straddle packer can be used to isolate a specific region of the wellbore to allow collection of fluids. A straddle packer uses a dual packer configuration in which fluids are collected between two separate packers. The dual packer configuration, however, is susceptible to mechanical stresses which limit the expansion ratio and the drawdown pressure differential that can be employed.
An addition problem with inflatable packers in general, is that they are typically cured in an air autoclave. Prior to curing, a polyamide bandage is typically wrapped around the inflatable packer at a given tension, to apply a pressure on the outside diameter of the inflatable packer. This polyamide bandage is then removed after curing. This process has several weaknesses. For example, the polyamide bandage doesn't seal the inflatable packer against exposure to air. As such, the rubber of the inflatable packer is exposed to high pressure air in the autoclave. This introduction of air into the rubber can significantly reduce the quality of the rubber due to oxidation. In addition, this air can migrate through the rubber, creating some high pressure bubbles. These bubbles can "explode" when the air pressure is released, greatly reducing the quality of the rubber. Also, the polyamide bandage itself is exposed to pressurized air in the autoclave, risking oxidation to the polyamide bandage and resulting property losses in the polyamide bandage. As such, a need for a new inflatable packer curing process exists.


A method of installing a software package may include storing a software package coupon on a proximity tag coupled to a computing device; accessing the software package coupon and installing an operating system OS agent during an initial booting of the computing device; and with the OS agent, downloading and installing the software package.

Software installation on a computing device has increasingly become relatively easier for an end user or information technology specialist to complete. When a software package is installed on a computing device, customization of various software packages may also be completed. Where this occurs on a relatively high number of computing devices, a 'master' selected software package is customized, tested, and placed on the number of computing devices. Where this occurs on a relatively low number of computing devices, the selected software package is manually customized for each of the computing devices.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Software package installations with proximity tags

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Embodiments for locating, identifying and categorizing data-assets through advanced machine learning algorithms implemented by profiler components across Hadoop and Hadoop Compatible File Systems, databases and in-memory objects automatically and periodically to provide a visual representation of the category of data infrastructure distributed across data-centers and multiple clusters, for the purposes of enriching data quality, enabling data discovery and improving outcomes from downstream systems.

Enterprises are facing critical challenges in managing the vast amounts of data they generate, store, and process. The data is often housed in different data centers and cloud locations, and is thus spread widely across many clusters and repositories in hybrid storage systems. Knowing what data the company has and where it is located is becoming a critical and increasingly difficult challenge. Data stewards face the challenge of managing data assets due to the fact that there is no uniform way of identifying the behavior of users, the usage density, the sensitivity of assets under management, and the quality of the data. Such tasks are arduous and tend to lack complete coverage given the nature of data ingestion in a cluster for arbitrary data that is generally without schema. Therefore, an automatic way of classifying data, metadata and content is necessary to manage present data volumes in enterprise applications.
Consistent data representation, such as representing data in terms of numerical and string values is advantageous and indeed critical in allowing users to write efficient queries without putting additional load or burdens in terms of compute utilization. However, data governance, security, and management in large data storage systems is a significant challenge for data-administrators in a single or multi-cluster environments. The capability to manage all data assets, clusters, and maintain access control across clusters is a much-needed feature when the size of data is growing exponentially with ever-increasing numbers of clusters and disparate storage locations.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Automated discovery, profiling, and management of data assets across distributed file systems through machine learning


A method and apparatus are provided for hardsurface cladding a workpiece such as a tip shroud notch face of a turbine bucket configured for contact engagement with an adjacent tip shroud notch face. A continuous wave laser beam is generated in a Nd:YAG laser and directed on the notch face at a spot to provide heat thereat. A hardsurface cladding wire is dispensed at the spot under a shielding gas for being melted by the laser beam to form a molten cladding layer on the notch face. The laser beam and wire are traversed over the notch face to form a cladding layer over the entire notch face, which is cooled and solidified in a hardsurface cladding layer integrally bonded to the notch face.

The present invention relates generally to hardsurfacing a workpiece for effecting wear resistance, and, more specifically, to hardsurfacing superalloys subject to heat induced cracking.
Large industrial gas turbine engines may be used for powering an electrical generator for producing electrical power. The engine conventionally includes a compressor for compressing air which is mixed with fuel and ignited in a combustor for generating combustion gases which are channeled through one or more turbine stages which extract energy therefrom. Each turbine stage includes a plurality of circumferentially adjoining turbine rotor blades or buckets extending radially outwardly from a rotor disk to which they are conventionally mounted. In some designs, undesirable bucket vibrations may be eliminated by providing frictional damping using interconnecting tip shrouds integrally joined to the radially outer ends of the buckets. An exemplary tip shroud is generally rectangular in plan view and forms with adjoining tip shrouds a circumferentially continuous outer shroud ring around the buckets. Adjacent tip shrouds are complementary with each other and have a generally Z-notch therein, with the middle of each notch having a face which abuts an adjacent notch face during rotary operation of the buckets. The notch faces therefore define contact surfaces which provide frictional damping to reduce or eliminate undesirable bucket vibration during operation.
Since the notch faces are contact surfaces they typically require suitable hardsurfacing treatment to effect a suitably high wear resistance layer or cladding thereon for obtaining a suitable useful life of the buckets during operation.
Modern turbine buckets are typically formed of conventionally known superalloys for maximizing strength and useful life, and are therefore expensive to manufacture. Each bucket must be suitably manufactured and pre-machined prior to hardsurface treatment, and therefore care must be taken in the hardsurface treatment in order to avoid damaging the bucket and rendering it unacceptable for turbine use. Conventional hardsurface treatments necessarily impart heat into the bucket tip shrouds which must be carefully controlled to avoid or minimize heat induced cracking or damage in the superalloy parent material.
One conventional manner of turbine tip shroud hardsurfacing uses a conventional thermal spray process in which the portions of the tip shroud not requiring hardsurfacing are covered with a protective tape, with the notch face then being coated with a suitable hardsurface material such as chromium-carbide (CrC) which is sprayed thereon using a high temperature thermal spray process. This process is labor intensive and expensive.
Another conventional process utilizes a carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) laser which melts a suitable high wear resistance material in powder form such as conventionally known Stellite (28Cr-19.5W-5Ni). Since the superalloy parent tip shroud material and the wear resistance coatings are different materials, the various hard surface processes must be carefully qualified to ensure the formation of a suitable wear resistance coating without unacceptably damaging the parent material by introducing heat effected microcracks for example.
Since the wear resistance material is in a powder form, some of the powder is dissipated during the process and does not deposit in the region of the notch face. The lost powder is therefore wasted. And, using a powder in the CO.sub.2 laser process typically results in the deposition of the wear resistance cladding which is non-uniform in thickness and typically has a valley in the middle portion thereof which must be suitably filled during the process.
Since the final notch face must be formed within suitable relatively small tolerances on the order of mils, the hardsurfacing treatment usually provides excess cladding so that it may be machined in a post operation to the required dimensions of the Z-notch. If insufficient hard surface cladding is initially formed in the different treatments, yet another process such as conventional tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is then used to add additional hardsurface material to the notch face to suitably increase its size for machining to the required final dimensions. If heat induced cracks or other defects are detected in the hardsurfacing cladding or in the heat affected zone of the parent tip shroud material, a manual, hand TIG repair process is typically used. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved hardsurfacing process for applying high wear resistance coatings to a superalloy turbine bucket tip shroud.

Method and apparatus for Nd: YAG hardsurfacing


An inflatable evacuation slide system includes an inflatable evacuation slide stored in a packboard compartment the cover panel of which is retained by a plurality of frangible pneumatic latches. The frangible pneumatic latches each comprise a tension member one end of which is attached to the packboard housing and the other end of which is releasably attached to the cover panel. In normal operation, a pneumatic signal operating on an actuator piston withdraws the piston to allow the latch mechanism to release the cover panel. In the event of a failure of the release mechanism, since the releasable latch secures the cover panel to the frangible tension member rather than to the packboard directly, the force of the inflating evacuation slide breaks the frangible member allowing the cover panel to drop away with only a brief delay in slide deployment.

This invention relates to emergency evacuation equipment for aircraft, in particular, to inflatable aircraft evacuation slides.
The requirement for reliably evacuating airline passengers in the event of an emergency is well known. Emergencies at take-off and landing often demand swift removal of passengers from the aircraft because of the potential for injuries from fire, explosion, or sinking in water. A conventional method of quickly evacuating a large number of passengers from an aircraft is to provide multiple emergency exits, each of which is equipped with an inflatable evacuation slide. These inflatable slides are normally stored in an uninflated condition in a container or packboard requiring a minimum of space in the interior of the aircraft. Door exit inflatable slides are typically either mounted on the interior of the aircraft door or immediately adjacent thereto. Overwing exits are normally stored in an uninflated condition in a special compartment that opens to the exterior of the aircraft adjacent the overwing exit. The packboard compartment is closed by means of a cover panel that fits flush with and blends smoothly into the contours of the aircraft exterior. The cover panel is retained to the packboard compartment by means of a plurality of releasable latches. Opening of the aircraft emergency evacuation exit in the armed condition releases the releasable latches allowing the cover panel to fall away. Simultaneously, the emergency evacuation slide is inflated and extends to its deployed condition ready for evacuation of passengers.
The releasable latches that secure the cover panel must be sufficiently robust to hold the cover panel in place through numerous takeoff and landing cycles in all types of weather yet must function reliably to release the cover panel in spite of ice, snow, dust or other contaminants. Failure of a releasable latch to release when activated can cause damage to the inflatable slide and/or slide compartment and even delay deployment of the emergency evacuation slide. Accordingly, what is needed is a fail-safe releasable latch that releases the cover panel even in the event of a failure of the latch mechanism.


A sheet supplying apparatus, comprising a sheet accommodating portion which accommodates stacked recording sheets such that the recording sheets are supported by a support surface thereof; a sheet supplying arm which is supported by a frame such that the sheet supplying arm is pivotable about a first axis line, and which is biased toward the support surface of the sheet accommodating portion; a sheet supplying roller which is supported by an end portion of the sheet supplying arm such that the sheet supplying roller is rotatable about a second axis line parallel to the first axis line, and which is pressed on the uppermost recording sheet, so that when the sheet-supply roller is rotated, the uppermost recording sheet is supplied from the sheet accommodating portion; a receiving portion which is provided in the support surface and which is covered by the recording sheets and is opened when a trailing end of the last recording sheet passes over the receiving portion; and a moving device including a detecting portion which is supported by the recording sheets and which moves, when the trailing end of the last recording sheet passes over the receiving portion, into the receiving portion, and further including a detection-movement converting device which converts the movement of the detecting portion into the receiving portion, into the pivotal movement of the sheet supplying arm about the first axis line in a direction to move the sheet supplying roller away from the support surface of the sheet accommodating portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet supplying apparatus that supplies a plurality of recording sheets, one by one, to an image recording portion, and an image recording apparatus including the sheet supplying apparatus and the image recording portion.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is known a sheet supplying device for use in, e.g., an ink-jet recording apparatus. The sheet supplying device supplies a plurality of recording sheets, one by one, to an image recording portion of the ink-jet recording apparatus. The sheet supplying device includes an arm member that is connected, at a base end portion thereof, to a frame of the recording apparatus such that the arm member is pivotable about an axis line. The plurality of recording sheets are stacked on each other on a sheet supporting portion such as a bottom plate of a sheet-supply cassette that opens upward. The arm member is biased downward by a biasing force of a spring, and accordingly a sheet-supply roller supported by a free end portion of the arm member is pressed on the uppermost one of the recording sheets. When the sheet-supply roller is rotated, the uppermost recording sheet is moved relative to the remaining recording sheets, so that a leading end of the uppermost sheet engages an inclined sheet-separate plate provided at a downstream-side end of the sheet supporting portion with respect to a direction of moving of recording sheet. Thus, only the uppermost recording sheet is separated from the other recording sheets remaining on the sheet supporting portion, and is supplied to the image recording portion so that the recording sheet is opposed to the same. This sheet supplying device is disclosed by, e.g., Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-249248) or Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-338905 or its corresponding U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005-001371).
In addition, Patent Document 2 teaches that an outer circumferential surface of the sheet-supply roller is formed of a material having a high friction coefficient, such as rubber. Moreover, a portion of the sheet supporting portion that is opposed to the outer circumferential surface of the sheet-supply roller is provided with a material having a high friction coefficient. For example, a cork sheet is adhered to that portion of the sheet supporting portion. Thus, when only a few recording sheets remain on the sheet supporting portion, a frictional resistance is applied to the recording sheet or sheets underlying the uppermost recording sheets, so that the underlying sheet or sheets can be prevented from being supplied with the uppermost sheet directly engaged with the outer circumferential surface of the sheet-supply roller. On the other hand, when no recording sheet remains on the sheet supporting portion, the outer circumferential surface of the sheet-supply roller is pressed on an upper surface of the sheet supporting portion. In this state, if the sheet-supply roller is rotated, then the outer circumferential surface of the roller may be worn excessively. If the frictional force is increased excessively, then the sheet-supply roller may be locked so that a driving system that drives the roller may be broken or an electric motor of the driving system may be seized or stuck. To avoid this problem, Patent Document 2 proposes to form, in the upper surface of the sheet supporting portion, a relief hole that prevents the outer circumferential surface of the sheet-supply roller from contacting the sheet supporting portion.
However, the sheet supplying device disclosed by Patent Document 2 suffers the following drawbacks: When only a few recording sheets remain on the sheet supporting portion and each of the recording sheets is thin, the sheet-support roller may be pressed, by the biasing force of the spring to bias the arm member downward, against the recording sheets, so that the recording sheets may be partly forced into the relief hole. Thus, the recording sheets may be flexed, or wrinkled, along the edges of the relief hole that extend parallel to the direction of moving of recording sheet, or may be jammed because of the shortage of sheet-moving force.

Sheet supplying apparatus and image recording apparatus including same


A monitor embodiment, monitoring overflow levels in a bathtub, comprises an input water unit, including a control circuitry, coupled to a hot-cold water facet; a water level detection unit including telescopically joined tubes with a floatable lowest tube associated with an indicator, an uppermost tube fixed to the input unit, sensors attached to non-lowest tubes variably coupled. The sensors detect the indicator's position reaching a predetermined alarm or shutoff level, causing respective initiating an alarm signal, or terminating the input unit's water flow. Another embodiment additionally comprises an output water unit associated with the circuitry, incorporating a temperature sensor and a user preset-temperature selector. The output unit outlets cooled water from the bathtub, the input unit inlets hot water until the preset-temperature is reached, provided no alarm signal was issued. An additional sensor, incorporated in the input unit, allows adding the hot water when it's hotter than the bathtub water.

Prior art describes a numerous types of devices for control of overflow levels in bath tubs and for alarming a user of bathtub overflowing. There are also a lot of devices intended to monitor the bathtub water temperature at the user's desire.
One of such devices is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 6,956,486 to Robert L. King, Jr., as follows: "A bathtub water level monitoring system for alerting a user upon acquisition of a pre-selected level in a bathtub. The bathtub water level monitoring system includes a bathtub, a main unit adapted for attachment to an interior face of a bathtub, the main unit having a plurality of water sensors aligned along a lower portion of the main unit. The main unit further includes a transmitter and alarm system for producing an audible alarm upon the water sensor detecting a predetermined water level. The system includes a remote alarm device for giving an audible alarm upon reception of a signal transmitted from the transmitter of the main unit." The device of that patent is substantially installed inside the tub, which is often inconvenient to users. It does not provide for a means to shut off the incoming water flow, in case the user does not hear the alarm sound, e.g. when she left the house and forgot about the bath.
Another device is exemplified in a U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,522 to R. Eric Hirtriter, that comprises an alarm "adaptable to common American bathtub cover plate configurations." That invention chiefly deals with attachment arrangements of the device, which device is also substantially installed inside the tub. It does not provide for a means to shut off the incoming water flow, in case the user is not at home and forgets about the bath.
A U.S. Pat. No. 7,068,175 to Larry Pennington teaches: "A water level warning device for use in conjunction with a bathtub or a sink for audibly warning a user when the water flowing into the bathtub or sink has reached a predetermined level. The warning device comprises a cylindrical tube containing a floating ball and having a plurality of circular openings extending fully therethrough for allowing water from the bathtub or sink to enter the tube. The top of the tube has a pressure activated sensor and a speaker in communication with the sensor. The height of the tube may be telescopically adjusted by the user . . . the floating ball floats upon the upper surface of the water entering the tube, and activates the sensor when the level of water reaches the top of the tube. Upon selective activation of the sensor, the speaker emits an audible alarm." In detail, it explains: "The circular bottom 12B of the tube 12 has a suction cup 18 attached thereunto, for firmly anchoring the warning device 10 to the base of the bathtub." Similarly to those described in the aforementioned patents, that device is intended for installation inside the tub to be attached to its bottom. It does not provide for a means to shut off the incoming water flow, when the user does not hear the warning sound of the speaker.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,388 to McKenna, entirely incorporated hereby by reference, describes "An overflow system suitable for use in controlling the level of water in, for example, a bathtub (3) is described. The overflow system comprises a conduit attached to the overflow outlet (21) of the bathtub (3) and is arranged so that when the bathtub (3) is overfilled, any excessive flow rate of overflow water through the conduit (19) is detected. The excessive flow rate is detected by arranging for the outlet (25) of the conduit to have a smaller maximum flow rate than the inlet (23) of the conduit so that water backs up within the conduit during an excessive flow rate condition. The backed up water may be detected by a reed switch (31) in conjunction with a magnetic float (27) in order to actuate a solenoid valve (9) to prevent any more water from entering the bathtub (3)." That invention contemplates substantial alterations to the existing plumbing arrangements for known bathtubs, and thus would entail significant additional expenses.
A published U.S. patent application 2005/0251906, entirely incorporated hereby by reference, teaches "A control system for filling a bathtub which automatically shuts off the bathtub faucet when the water has reached a desired level, by detecting a volume of water that has passed through the dispensing pipe or a level of water in the bathtub. In the preferred embodiment a timer is provided to automatically shut off the bathtub faucet after a preset time interval, as a backup or as an independent filling regulator. In one embodiment a temperature sensor or timer is provided to adjust the flow of hot water and cold water as necessary to maintain a constant temperature which has been set by the user. In another embodiment one or more timers are provided to control the flow of hot water and cold water separately as necessary to reach the desired temperature." The system, described in that patent application, is capable to additionally regulate the water temperature in the bathtub. That construction though requires certain alterations of the existing bath plumbing arrangements.
Liquid level switches, also known as reed-style switches, are mounted to the inside of a tank and are activated when the liquid content reaches the float. As the float rises and falls, a magnet attracts and releases the contacts, opening and closing the switch. Therefore, such a switch would need to be mounted to the interior of the bathtub that is not always acceptable to the users.


Calories of a first mixed gas are predicted by calculations based on the mixed flow rate of a blast furnace gas and the mixed flow rate of a converter gas measured by flow meters, and preset blast furnace gas calories and converter gas calories; the flow rate ratio of the mixed flow rate of a coke oven gas to a gas turbine consumed fuel gas flow rate is calculated based on the predicted calories, set calories, and preset coke oven gas calories; the mixed flow rate required value of the coke oven gas is calculated based on the flow rate ratio and a gas turbine fuel gas requirement signal corresponding to the gas turbine consumed fuel gas flow rate; and the opening of a coke oven gas flow control valve provided in a fuel gas production system is controlled, based on the mixed flow rate required value, to control the mixed flow rate of the coke oven gas.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuel gas calorie control method and device for controlling the calories of a fuel gas (fuel gas produced using a blast furnace gas) which is supplied to blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
An iron mill utilizes a blast furnace gas discharged from a blast furnace as a fuel gas for blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment, or utilizes it for other facilities to make the effective use of the blast furnace gas.
A blast furnace gas is a gas which is relatively low in calories, and always causes calorie changes, for example, depending on the operating state of a blast furnace. If a blast furnace gas is utilized as a fuel gas for blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment, therefore, a heat increasing gas is mixed with the blast furnace gas in order to produce a fuel gas utilizable for the blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment, and feedback on the calories of the mixed gas measured by a calorimeter is given to control the calories to a constant level. Moreover, advanced control is exercised such that the flow rate of the heat increasing gas mixed becomes a flow rate suitable for the flow rate of the gas turbine consumed fuel gas of the blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment.
This control will be explained further concretely based on FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a configurational drawing of a conventional fuel gas production system. As shown in this drawing, a blast furnace gas and a heat increasing gas B (for example, a converter gas or a coke oven gas) are mixed in a first mixer 1, while a blast furnace gas and a heat increasing gas A (for example, a coke oven gas or a mixed gas consisting of a blast furnace gas and a coke oven gas) are mixed in a second mixer 2. A piping line 8 for supplying the heat increasing gas B to the mixer 1 is provided with a flow control valve 3 for the heat increasing gas B, and a shut-off valve 4 for the heat increasing gas B. On the other hand, a piping line 9 for supplying the heat increasing gas A to the mixer 2 is provided with a flow control valve 5 for the heat increasing gas A, and a shut-off valve 6 for the heat increasing gas A. The calories of a fuel gas to be supplied to blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment (i.e., the mixed gas consisting of the blast furnace gas and the heat increasing gas A, or the mixed gas consisting of the blast furnace gas and the heat increasing gas B) are measured by a fuel gas calorimeter 7 provided in a supply piping line 10 for the fuel gas. A conventional fuel gas calorie control device applied to this fuel gas production system exercises the following control:
(1) Advanced control is exercised on the assumption that the calories CALBF of the blast furnace gas, the calories CALmA of the heat increasing gas A, and the calories CALmB of the heat increasing gas B are constant. The amount of fuel gas consumption in the blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment varies according to the operating state of the gas turbine equipment (i.e., gas turbine output). Thus, the flow control valve 5 for the heat increasing gas A or the flow control valve 3 for the heat increasing gas B is operated in advance in response to a heat increasing gas requirement signal based on a gas turbine fuel gas requirement signal appropriate to the gas turbine consumed fuel gas flow rate.
(2) Only one of the heat increasing gas A and the heat increasing gas B is used (only one of the shut-off valves 4 and 6 is opened). Thus, CALt′=CALt always holds for the calories CALt′ of the mixed gas and the calories CALt of the fuel gas measured by the calorimeter 7.
(3) If discrepancy occurs in the advanced control owing to changes in the calories of the blast furnace gas, namely, if the calories CALt of the fuel gas measured by the calorimeter 7 differ from set calories (calories required by the blast furnace gas fired gas turbine equipment), the opening of the flow control valve 5 for the heat increasing gas A is controlled based on the deviation between the calories CALt of the fuel gas measured by the calorimeter 7 and the set calories to control the flow rate of the heat increasing gas A, or the opening of the flow control valve 3 for the heat increasing gas B is controlled based on the above deviation to control the flow rate of the heat increasing gas B, thereby bringing the calories CALt into agreement with the set calories (feedback control).
The following patent documents are available, for example, as prior art documents which disclose calorie control devices for a fuel gas (mixed gas):
Patent document 1 . . . Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-4132
Patent document 2 . . . Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1994-331131
The above-mentioned conventional fuel gas calorie control devices involved the following problems:
(1) Arbitrary mixing of the heat increasing gas into the blast furnace gas would contribute to calorie changes, and thus was not permissible.
(2) It was impossible to mix the two types of heat increasing gases A and B with the blast furnace gas at the same time and exercise control without interference.
(3) Since the calorimeter had a low response speed, the calorimeter was able to follow long-term (slow) calorie changes of the fuel gas (mixed gas), but was unable to follow short-term (rapid) calorie changes of the fuel gas (mixed gas) associated with changes in the flow rate of the heat increasing gas.
The present invention has been accomplished in light of the above-described circumstances. It is an object of the invention to provide a fuel gas calorie control method and device which can mix two types of heat increasing gases (first heat increasing gas, second heat increasing gas) into a blast furnace gas and exercise calorie control, can set the flow rate of the first heat increasing gas arbitrarily, can follow rapid calorie changes of a fuel gas (mixed gas) due to changes in the flow rate of the first heat increasing gas, and can further respond to calorie changes of the blast furnace gas, the first heat increasing gas, or the second heat increasing gas.

Fuel gas calorie control method and device


A differential vapor pressure (DYP) cell is disposed in a divided wall column that receives a feed comprising a first, second, and third component. A separation section on the feed side of the divided wall column separates the feed in a vapor comprising the first and second component, and a liquid comprising the second and third component. The DYP cell is disposed in the divided wall column at a level below the point where the feed enters the column, and the DYP cell measures the concentration of the first component.

Thermally coupled distillation and the concept of carrying out such a distillation in a single column with a dividing wall separating the feed side from the side product side have been known for a long time (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,256 to Brugma, U.S. Pat. No. 2,471,134 to Wright, and the paper by Triantafyllou and Smith [Design and optimization of fully thermally coupled distillation columns. Trans I. Chem. E, Vol 70, Part A (1992), pages 118-132]).
Divided wall columns typically have a configuration in which a vertical baffle in the middle section of the column separates the feed point from the point at which the intermediate boiling point product is withdrawn. In this way, the quantities of both light and heavy components in the feed reaching the side draw may be controlled at any specification (which is traditionally achieved in two conventional distillation steps). This allows for various advantages, including significant reduction of reboiler and condenser duties (e.g. up to 30% as compared to a two-column arrangement), and further reduces capital cost by reducing the number of required components.
Despite these and other advantages of employing a divided wall column for separation of at least ternary feeds, several aspects of these columns remain problematic. Among other things, identification of suitable properties that will adequately correlate with the desired separation on the feed side of the partition has been difficult for many years. For example, effective control and operation of a divided wall column typically requires adequate separation of the lights from the heavies on the feed side. If excess heavies rise to the top of the partition on the feed side, the intermediate product will be contaminated with heavies. If excess lights descend to the bottom of the partition on the feed side, the intermediate product will be contaminated with lights. Separation of the intermediate component is less problematic, since the intermediate component can distribute either way (i.e., to the top or bottom of the feed side column).
One method of achieving adequate separation of the lights from the heavies on the feed side includes use of temperature indicators/sensors to detect movements of lights towards the bottom of the feed side of the partition (Lights will be indicated by a drop in temperature). While temperature measurement is conceptually viable, temperature measurement is frequently limited to a scenario in which the concentration of lights has a significant effect on tray temperatures below the feed. Unfortunately, it is relatively common that the tray temperature is insensitive to the presence of lights, especially when the concentration of lights below the feed is relatively small.
To circumvent at least some of the problems associated with temperature indicators/sensors, analyzers may be used to detect the composition of the feed at a particular position in the divided wall column on the feed side. However, analyzers tend to be expensive, unreliable (at least in some cases), and frequently exhibit significant lag times, which adds further problems in tower control.
Although various methods and configurations for operation and monitoring of divided wall columns are known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Therefore, there is still a need to provide improved methods and configurations for operation and monitoring of divided wall columns.


An object of the present invention is to provide a transmitter-receiver RF-IC having a built-in regulator, which can reduce a minimum value of an input voltage of the regulator without increasing its area, the input voltage being supplied from a battery, the transmitter-receiver RF-IC being capable of normal operation with the input voltage, whereby the operating time of a mobile terminal can be improved as compared with the prior art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmitter-receiver with a built-in regulator used for a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Arts
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating how a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications)-capable mobile terminal is in general configured (for example, refer to FIG. 5 in PCT Patent Laid-open No. WO01/052427). This mobile terminal includes: a base band (hereinafter referred to as "BB") 102; a transmitter-receiver RF-IC (hereinafter referred to as "RF-IC"); a power amplifier (hereinafter, refer to as PA) 103; an SAW filter (hereinafter refer to as SAW) 104e; and an antenna switch (hereinafter referred to as "ASW") 105. The BB 102 subjects audio and data to proper signal processing such as encoding, error correction, or modulation and demodulation. The RF-IC subjects an IQ signal coming from the BB 102 to proper processing such as frequency conversion or amplification before outputs the signal to the PA 103. In addition, the RF-IC receives as an input signal an output signal of the SAW 104e to subjects the input signal proper processing such as frequency conversion or amplification before outputs an IQ signal to the BB 102. The PA 103 adds a proper gain to an output signal of the RF-IC. The SAW 104e suppresses unnecessary signals. The ASW 105 is used to properly connect the antenna 111 to the SAW 104e or the PA 103. Since GSM applies the time-division multiplexing (TDMA) method, the antenna 111 is connected to an output end of the PA 103 at the time of transmission, whereas the antenna 111 is connected to an input end of the SAW 104 at the time of receiving. A voltage Vbat is applied to the power supply of the PA 103. Usually, the voltage Vbat is directly supplied from a battery of the mobile terminal. Reference numeral 113d denotes a voltage stabilization regulator (hereinafter referred to as "regulator"). The regulator receives the voltage Vbat as an input voltage, and outputs a voltage that is suitable for the RF-IC 101. For example, the regulator converts a value of the voltage Vbat from 5 V to 2.8 V before outputting the voltage Vbat. An output voltage of the regulator 113d is supplied through wiring 502 to circuit blocks 500a, 500b inside the RF-IC 101. The wiring 502 includes wiring on a mobile terminal substrate, and wiring inside IC. As shown in the figure, power supply wiring of the circuit block 500a and that of the circuit block 500b are separately led out from the RF-IC 101 to the outside so that the length of the wiring inside IC becomes as short as possible.
In recent years, mobile terminals require not only basic functions as a telephone but also additional functions including data communications, a camera function, and a bluetooth function. For this reason, further miniaturization is required for each part constituting a mobile terminal. The RF-IC has been improved in integration degree in order to satisfy the requirement of miniaturization.

Semiconductor device and module having a transceiver with a built-in regulator

Abstract: According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an output end of a regulator built into a RF-IC is first led to the outside of the RF-IC. Then, the output end is led to an area in proximity to the circuit block by use of wiring on a mobile terminal substrate whose resistance is low, or by use of wiring on a module whose resistance is low, thereby shortening the wiring length inside the RF-IC.


An apparatus for manufacturing a strand composed of organic filaments and glass filaments for use in the production of composite materials. This apparatus comprises at least one die, which is supplied with molten glass, and at least one drawing head, which is supplied under pressure with organic thermoplastic material, and from which are simultaneously drawn continuous filaments that are combined to form a composite strand. The drawing head comprises a central passage through which filaments of glass are drawn, and is shielded by a hood. The top of the hood includes an opening situated in the centerline of the passage, and the bottom of the hood is formed of a wall which surrounds the drawing head and extends below the level of the bottom of the head. The drawing head is connected with a device for cooling the organic filaments.

The invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a strand formed of reinforcing fibers, such as glass fibers, and fibers formed of an organic thermoplastic material.
The invention is employed with a manufacturing apparatus composed of two installations: the first comprises at least one die, which is supplied with glass, from the orifices of which continuous filaments are mechanically drawn; the second comprises at least one drawing head, which is supplied with organic thermoplastic material, from the orifices of which continuous filaments are mechanically drawn. Such an apparatus is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,523.
This patent discloses various examples of installations that, when used in combination, are employed for the direct production of a composite strand. Thus, certain installations are equipped in a manner such that the glass filaments that are drawn (whether or not they are combined into strand form) pass through a drawing head that delivers a conical layer of organic filaments.
Glass filaments and organic filaments are drawn at rates that may attain dozens of meters per second. Under such drawing conditions, the air in the vicinity of the filaments is propelled and moves in a more or less disorderly manner in proximity of the fiber extrusion installations. When glass filaments and organic filaments are drawn in a manner such that they travel along coaxial paths, the air flow in the entire drawing area is particularly pronounced. This applies particularly to the area of the drawing head which delivers organic filaments. This drawing head and the surrounding equipment presents an obstacle to the flow of air induced by the different filaments. This produces a convection current which is relatively poorly controlled, especially near the area where the organic filaments are drawn. This phenomenon interferes with the cooling of the filaments and may produce fluctuations in the diameter of the drawn filaments, and even breakage of one or more filaments. This results in a localized variation in the percentage of organic material in relation to glass, which may present a disadvantage when the manufactured composite strand is employed for the direct production of a composite material.

Apparatus for manufacturing a composite strand formed of reinforcing fibers and of organic thermoplastic material


A telecommunications system and method is disclosed for determining the address of both the home and serving Mobile Positioning Centers (MPCs). Each Mobile Switching Center/Visitor Location Register (MSC/VLR) and Home Location Register (HLR) within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) will be provided with the MPC address that is valid for its PLMN. When a Mobile Station (MS) roams into a new (serving) PLMN, a Location Update is performed by the serving MSC/VLR to the Home Location Register (HLR). The MPC address for the serving MSC/VLR will be included in every location update operation to the HLR, which can then store this serving MPC address in the subscriber's HLR record. Furthermore, the home MPC address, valid for the PLMN of the HLR, is included in every subscriber data transfer operation from the HLR to the serving MSC/VLR, which can then store this home MPC address, in the subscriber's VLR record.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems and methods for determining the location of a mobile terminal within a cellular network, and specifically to determining the location of a mobile terminal that has roamed into a serving network by informing the home and serving networks of the addresses of both the home and serving Mobile Positioning Centers.

System and method for mobile terminal positioning


A projector assembly having a light source and a reflector body positioned proximately to the light source for reflecting light forward along an axis of the projector assembly. Mounted to the reflector body is a lens. The lens is in front of and at a distance from the light source to focus the light into a beam pattern. An actuator is mounted to the reflector body and includes a pair of rotatable shafts extending from opposing ends along an axis that is perpendicular to and below the axis of the projector assembly. A light shield is mounted onto the rotatable shafts of the actuator and is rotatable between a first position, wherein substantially all of the light below the axis of the projector assembly is blocked, and a second position, wherein at least a portion of the light below the axis of the projector assembly is allowed to project forward through the lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a projector assembly for an automotive vehicle headlamp and more particularly to a projector assembly having a bi-functional mechanism for switching between high beam and low beam conditions.
2. Related Technology
In prior art projector assemblies, the bi-functional lighting units, units with high and low beam operational modes, use mechanical solutions with a movable shield. However, an actuator provides translational movement, typically through a magnet or solenoid. The actuator is typically located on the side of the light assembly and, thus, the translational movement of the actuator must be converted to rotational movement of the shield. This conversion requires multi-jointed linkage components and, therefore, large packaging requirements. These additional components and linkage mechanisms have a negative impact on accuracy, reliability, and packaging concerns.

Bi-functional lighting mechanism based on rotary actuator


Marine towed streamer seismic data are combined from a first survey and a second survey, wherein the first survey and the second survey are shot with a bin size of L×L and the second survey is shot with a shooting direction rotated 90° relative to the shooting direction of the first survey. The combined seismic data from the first and second surveys are binned on a bin grid with a bin size of

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of geophysical prospecting. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of marine seismic surveying with towed streamers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the oil and gas industry, geophysical prospecting is commonly used to aid in the search for and evaluation of subterranean formations. Geophysical prospecting techniques yield knowledge of the subsurface structure of the earth, which is useful for finding and extracting valuable mineral resources, particularly hydrocarbon deposits such as oil and natural gas. A well-known technique of geophysical prospecting is a seismic survey. In a land-based seismic survey, a seismic signal is generated on or near the earth's surface and then travels downward into the subsurface of the earth. In a marine seismic survey, the seismic signal may also travel downward through a body of water overlying the subsurface of the earth. Seismic energy sources are used to generate the seismic signal which, after propagating into the earth, is at least partially reflected by subsurface seismic reflectors. Such seismic reflectors typically are interfaces between subterranean formations having different elastic properties, specifically sound wave velocity and rock density, which lead to differences in acoustic impedance at the interfaces. The reflected seismic energy is detected by seismic sensors (also called seismic receivers) at or near the surface of the earth, in an overlying body of water, or at known depths in boreholes and recorded.
The appropriate seismic sources for generating the seismic signal in land seismic surveys may include explosives or vibrators. Marine seismic surveys typically employ a submerged seismic source towed by a ship and periodically activated to generate an acoustic wavefield. The seismic source generating the wavefield may be of several types, including a small explosive charge, an electric spark or arc, a marine vibrator, and, typically, a gun. The seismic source gun may be a water gun, a vapor gun, and, most typically, an air gun. Typically, a marine seismic source consists not of a single source element, but of a spatially-distributed array of source elements. This arrangement is particularly true for air guns, currently the most common form of marine seismic source.
The appropriate types of seismic sensors typically include particle velocity sensors, particularly in land surveys, and water pressure sensors (typically pressure gradient sensors), particularly in marine surveys. Sometimes particle acceleration sensors are used in place of or in addition to particle velocity sensors. Particle velocity sensors and water pressure sensors are commonly known in the art as geophones and hydrophones, respectively. Seismic sensors may be deployed by themselves, but are more commonly deployed in sensor arrays. Additionally, pressure sensors and particle velocity sensors may be deployed together in a marine survey, collocated in pairs or pairs of arrays.
The resulting seismic data obtained in performing the survey is processed to yield information relating to the geologic structure and properties of the subterranean formations in the area being surveyed. The seismic data is processed for display and analysis of potential hydrocarbon content of these subterranean formations. The goal of seismic data processing is to extract from the seismic data as much information as possible regarding the subterranean formations in order to adequately image the geologic subsurface. In order to identify locations in the Earth's subsurface where there is a probability for finding petroleum accumulations, large sums of money are expended in gathering, processing, and interpreting seismic data. The process of constructing the reflector surfaces defining the subterranean earth layers of interest from the recorded seismic data provides an image of the earth in depth or time.
The image of the structure of the Earth's subsurface is produced in order to enable an interpreter to select locations with the greatest probability of having petroleum accumulations. To verify the presence of petroleum, a well must be drilled. Drilling wells to determine whether petroleum deposits are present or not, is an extremely expensive and time-consuming undertaking. For that reason, there is a continuing need to improve the processing and display of the seismic data, so as to produce an image of the structure of the Earth's subsurface that will improve the ability of an interpreter, whether the interpretation is made by a computer or a human, to assess the probability that an accumulation of petroleum exists at a particular location in the Earth's subsurface.
In a typical marine seismic survey, a seismic survey vessel travels on the water surface, typically at about 5 knots, and contains seismic acquisition equipment, such as navigation control, seismic source control, seismic sensor control, and recording equipment. The seismic source control equipment causes a seismic source towed in the body of water by the seismic vessel to actuate at selected times. Seismic streamers, also called seismic cables, are elongate cable-like structures towed in the body of water by the seismic survey vessel that tows the seismic source or by another seismic survey ship. Typically, a plurality of seismic streamers are towed behind a seismic vessel. The seismic streamers contain sensors to detect the reflected wavefields initiated by the seismic source and reflected from reflecting interfaces. Conventionally, the seismic streamers contain pressure sensors such as hydrophones, but seismic streamers have been proposed that contain water particle velocity sensors such as geophones or particle acceleration sensors such as accelerometers, in addition to hydrophones. The pressure sensors and particle motion sensors may be deployed in close proximity, collocated in pairs or pairs of arrays along a seismic cable.
Unfortunately, several asymmetrical features are involved in conventional 3D marine seismic acquisition by towed streamer. These features include asymmetrical spatial sampling and fold between inline and cross-line directions, asymmetrical illumination due to single direction shooting, and asymmetrical offsets between streamer length and streamer span width. Thus, the single-direction shooting in towed streamer acquisition typically results in a regular but asymmetrical array of seismic data sampling points, such as Common Mid Points (CMP's). The sampling density of the sampling points is denser in the inline direction (parallel to the towed streamers) than in the cross-line direction (perpendicular to the towed streamers). The asymmetry is due to a wider spacing between receivers in separate streamers than between receivers in the same streamer.
Some new marine acquisition technologies have been developed recently to address and mitigate the above weakness of the conventional towed streamer seismic systems. These technologies include High Density (HD) surveys, Multi-Azimuth Towed Streamer (MATS) surveys, and Wide-Azimuth Towed Streamer (WATS) surveys. The first of these technologies, HD, attempts to solve the asymmetrical sampling issue while the latter two, MATS and WATS, attempt to address the asymmetrical illumination and offsets issues. All these technologies achieve signal-to-noise ratio improvement in the same way by acquiring and stacking more data for the same area.
HD technology is still a single-direction shooting method. HD technology addresses the asymmetrical sampling issue by reducing separation of streamers and increasing the cross-line density of streamer passes. For instance, reducing the separation of streamers to half or doubling the number of streamer passes would double the cross-line density of sampling points. For HD surveys, twice the streamer passes, at roughly twice the cost, gives twice the sampling density as conventional shooting.
Multi-Azimuth Towed Streamer technology is a multi-direction shooting method. MATS addresses the asymmetrical illumination issue by increasing the number of directions (azimuths) that streamer passes are made in. Increasing the azimuths increases the illumination of the seismic targets, but does not, in general, increase the sampling density. For MATS, twice the streamer passes, at roughly twice the cost, gives increased illumination, but the same sampling density as conventional shooting. Thus, for the same cost, HD delivers denser spatial sampling than MATS. Additional cost for more azimuths and sparser spatial sampling than HD are two main constraints preventing multi-azimuth techniques such as MATS from being a more popular exploration tool.
Thus, a need exists for a method for acquiring marine towed streamer seismic data that improves both the spatial sampling density and the illumination over convention acquisition techniques. In particular, a need exists for a method for processing multi-azimuth seismic data that yields greater spatial sampling density than conventional processing does.

Method for processing marine towed streamer seismic data from regular multi-azimuth surveys

Abstract: L          2        ×      L          2      and with a bin grid orientation rotated 45° relative to the shooting directions of the first and second surveys. Then, seismic data processing is applied to the binned seismic data to create an image of the Earth's subsurface.