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Cases for hard cover books are typically produced by printing a rectangular sheet of paper, cloth or leather, known as the cover material, and subsequently gluing the cover material to a pair of panels and a spine. The panels and spine (the rigid component) provide rigidity for the case, with one of the panels forming the front of the finished book and the second forming the back. The spine provides rigidity to the spine portion of the book. The spine and panels are typically made of chipboard or other stiff material. A space is usually left between the spine and the panels so that the cover may be opened and closed in hinge-like fashion. Manufacturing techniques typically include a step of placing the panels and spine on a glued cover material and then folding the edges of the cover material up and onto the inside edges of the panels (and the ends of the spine). Together, the spine, panels, and cover material are known as a hard book cover assembly.
In an unfinished hard book cover assembly, the cover material is sized and placed to extend outwardly past the periphery of the spine and the panels to be later folded back over the edges of the spine and panels to produce an attractive cover. The overlapping edges of the cover material are glued on the inside of the panels and spine, and these edges are generally hidden later in the book making process when paper or other material is glued over the interior of the hard book cover in a manner that overlaps, and thus hides, the edge of the cover material from a reader. Typically, only a few millimeters of cover material are visible around the inside edges when a hard cover book is completed. One of the steps involved in producing a cover for hard cover books is the folding of the corners of the extended cover material over the corners of the panels. Procedures for fabricating a hard cover book are described below and in co-owned U.S Pat. No. 6,379,094 (the '094 patent) which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
There are two main types of corner folding used to make hard cover books. One type of corner fold is known as an “edition corner” (also cut corner, standard corner, tucked corner or square corner). The second type is known as a “library corner.”
For edition corners, the cover material is typically cut into a rectangular shape that is about 1½ inches larger in each of the X and Y dimension than the desired finished (open and flat) book cover (case) size. When the cover material is affixed to the rigid components of the hard book cover assembly (for example, 2 panels and 1 spine) there typically is a cover material overhang of about ¾ inch around the outer edges of the rigid components. To remove excess cover material, the corners of the cover material typically are trimmed prior to affixing the cover material to the panels and spine. By eliminating this corner material, multiple layers of bunched cover material do not develop at the corners of the finished hard book cover assembly.
Cover material is often cut in a stack so that multiple pieces can be cut simultaneously in preparation for a run of many copies of the same hard book cover assembly. This is typically performed at a cutting station separate from the hard book cover assembly apparatus.
An identically sized triangular piece is cut from each of the four corners as the spine and panel will be placed square and centered on the cover material. Preferably, these cuts are made at a 45 degree angle to the longitudinal edges of the panels leaving an amount of cover material extending outwardly from each of the outer two corners (in a direction bisecting the 90 degree corner of the panel) of each panel a distance that will be equivalent to approximately 2 times the thickness of the panel material in the finished product. By knowing what the final size of the finished hard book cover assembly will be and by placing the rigid component squarely centered on the cover material, all four corners of the cover material can be cut equally to arrive at approximately the desired overhang. Often, however, slight variations in placement of the spine or panels can result in a corner overhang that is not equal to the desired 2 times panel thickness.
After the corners have been cut and an adhesive has been applied to the cover material, the spine and panels are placed on the cover material with the outer edges of the panels in parallel with the adjacent (closest) outer edges of the cover material. Each edge can be longitudinally folded over the panel to produce an edition corner that has only a small area of glued, overlapping cover material on the inside surface of each panel at the corner.
For a library corner, the corner of the cover material is not cut off, but is instead folded back over the corner of the panel prior to folding back the longitudinal edges of the cover material. This results in an extra layer of cover material on the inside of the panel.
Due to the ease with which books and manuscripts can be printed using modem technologies, such as digital printing, a need has developed for hard cover book making machines that can produce small numbers (tens or hundreds, for example) of hard covers for authors and publishers desiring hard covers for their works. Furthermore, as digital printing becomes available in numerous outlets, including copy shops, work places, and even homes, there has developed a need for hard cover book making machines that can be operated in these areas. In addition to being inexpensive, it may be desired that the book cover making machines require as small an amount of space as possible, are easy to set up, and require minimal skill and training for operation. Space considerations may be of particular interest in those locations with higher real estate expense than traditional publishing companies.
In hard book cover making operations, it is desirable that a sheet of printed cover material be printed and cut accurately and with precision from one sheet to the next. In reality, this is not always the case, and often the printing may be out of registration, skewed or otherwise imperfect. Rectangular cover material is traditionally printed so that it can be centered in relation to the spine and panels, with a consistent amount of cover material overhang with respect to opposing edges. Often, the center of the cover material sheet is notched in the center at the top and/or bottom so that it can be easily aligned with the spine. If the printing on the cover material is not centered, or is not square, centering of the cover material in relation to the spine can result in a finished hard book cover assembly that is imperfect and may have to be discarded. For example, the title may not be aligned with the center of the spine on a finished book, or a photograph, border, or other artwork may extend inside the cover when originally designed to be displayed accurately on the outer portion of the cover. Such inaccuracies may not be discovered until after a number of imperfect cover assemblies are produced. This can result in, for example, added costs, significant downtime, or waste.
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In computer networks, databases are often replicated on multiple computers to provide better access to them. A user may have a local replica of a database (e.g. mail file). The local replica of a mail file, for example, regularly replicates with a server computer to pull in new messages, and to send updates to the server as the user processes their messages (e.g. deletes messages, files messages in various folders, sends new messages, etc). Following replication, typically a replication history is updated so that a replication application can determine where to pick up on the next replication. The replication history may be stored at the client computer, the server, or on both. Similarly, A replication application to perform the replication actions may be stored at the client computer, the server, or on both.
Typically, the replication history will contain the other computer's identity, as well as a time stamp representing the time of the last successful replication between the client computer and the other (server) computer. When a new replication is triggered between the client computer and the other computer, the replication application replicates changes from the time of the timestamp in the replication history. However, if a new server with a new server replica is added, or if replication fails over to a server replica that the client (or local) replica has not previously replicated with, then the client (or local) replica and the new server replica must perform a full (from time 0) replication. This full replication can be very time consuming and can be a CPU, network, and I/O intensive operation. Similarly, if replication fails over to a server that the local replica has not replicated with recently, a potentially long replication may result. Note that, even if the new server is completely up to date (through replication with the other server), it must engage in long replication to determine if the local and server replicas are in sync.
This problem is especially pronounced in cloud computing when a disaster recovery site is involved. In this scenario, the local replica replicates with the primary (active) site. Months may elapse with the local replica and the primary site replicating regularly. Then, one day, because of an actual disaster, or because of a planned site flip, the user's computer may be connected to the former disaster recovery site. Since the local replica has never replicated with the disaster recovery site, or in the case of a planned site flip, may not have replicated with the disaster recovery site in several months, a lengthy replication will result. In a cloud system, thousands of local replicas may be involved in a site flip, placing a huge load on the local and cloud systems.
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Single serve beverage containers for wine are known in the art. For example, single serve beverage containers for wine include a base, a stem and a bowl for containing the wine. Such containers are not suitable for certain activities including at outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events as they do not fit into cup holders, they tip over easily and are subject to breaking at the stem. Other single serve beverage containers for wine are known such as pouches. Such containers are not attractive and are not particularly palatable when drinking a fine wine. Accordingly, there is a need in the market for a single serve beverage cup for wine which is easy to grasp; is stable and not subject to tipping over or breakage; is aesthetically pleasing; is easy to drink from; is easy to manufacture and fill; and provides additional benefits over the known containers.
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The present invention relates to an air compressed thermal bucket and particularly to an air compressed thermal bucket with novel and simple construction which is convenient to users in usage.
Heretofore, the general buckets for containing boiling water include the oldest type tea bucket made in metal and the most currently prevailing thermal tea bucket. Those mentioned tea buckets usually operate by means of a faucet mounted on lateral side of bucket body for draining off and locking tea water within the bucket. In order to have water stored within the bucket drained off as clearly as possible, the faucet is always to be fixed near the bottom. However, this installation makes users getting more inconvenient by virtue of the height of the faucet lower than a cup.
The object of the present invention is an improvement over the mentioned tea buckets in the respect of usage and to disclose an air compressed thermos bucket with novel and simple construction which has some effective achievements.
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Hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers continually face a need for donated blood to help in treating patients. It is often difficult to notify and educate the public regarding donations. Donors may not become repeat donors due to a lack of information and access. Additionally, it is sometimes difficult to train operators and administrators regarding the particularities of blood collection instruments. Operators and administrators may introduce inefficiencies in their operation and management of blood collection instruments due to a lack of information and access.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to inflatable partitions, such as room dividers or shower curtains.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art is aware of room dividers and shower curtains.
Room dividers may be suspended from tracks in ceilings. Conventional room dividers may be collapsed when an open area is desired and extended to close off a predetermined area. For rooms with high ceilings, conventional room dividers place a great deal of weight on the tracks. When the room dividers are in the collapsed condition, there is even more weight per given track space on the portion of the track suspending the entire partition. This may necessitate repair or replacement of the tracks. Also, the conventional room dividers are more effective in eliminating sight distractions between adjoining rooms than in eliminating sound distractions. The sound-deadening/weight ratio of such room dividers is very low. Thus there is a need for a room divider which will eliminate both sight and sound distractions between adjoining rooms while not imposing undue stress on the tracks. The sound-deadening/weight ratio of such a room divider must be high.
Conventional shower curtains are suspended from support rods by a plurality of fasteners. Usually these fasteners fit around the support rods and through apertures along the top edge of the curtains. Conventional shower curtains are made of light-weight materials such as plastic and are very flexible. As a result, the air currents created by flowing shower water may dislodge the curtains from their desired position and allow water to escape from the shower enclosure. For purposes of this description, shower enclosure is intended to include those areas which contain a shower head and a floor containing a drain and those areas which include a shower head and a bath tub. Some shower curtains are known which contain suction cups which are located between the shower curtain and the bath tub or shower stall. The disadvantages of these conventional suction cups are pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,160 to Tischenor. Improved suction cups are disclosed by this patent which are designed to overcome some of the disadvantages of the prior art suction cups. The suction cups of Tischenor have disadvantages in that they require the user to reach down to the lower edge of the shower curtain, whether it be in a tub or stall. This is an undue hardship on individuals with certain physical handicaps. Further, suction cups are for use with thin, flexible curtains, and the resulting curtain does not deaden sound. Thus, those singing in the shower can still create an annoying distraction to others in the area.
Inflatable walls are known. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,606 to Daugherty teaches inflatable tents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,875 to Dow discloses self-supporting shower enclosures with or without partitions. Both of these patents are directed to self-supporting structures to be used by campers and the like and are not concerned with lightweight, suspended curtains to be used to divide large rooms or lightweight shower curtains to be suspended from support rods. Being intended for use in the outdoors, neither of these structures is concerned with the possibility of having decorative three-dimensional designs as part of the structure or permanent tracks supporting the partition.
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The present invention relates to a spatial light modulator, an image projector apparatus using the modulator and method of operating the same which can handle high light intensities. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cooling mechanism for efficiently cooling the heat-emitting components of such a projection display apparatus.
Large-screen, high-brightness ( greater than 1000 lumens) electronic projection display apparatuses serve different broad areas of application:
electronic presentations for business, education, advertising,
entertainment, e.g. home theater, electronic cinema.
status and information, e.g. military, utilities, transportation,
simulation in e.g. training and games.
Recently, in response to various limitations of the LCD technologies, high-brightness systems have been developed based on digital light processing (DLP) technology. At the heart of a DLP projection display is provided a spatial light modulator (SLM) unit. A spatial light modulator unit comprises at least one spatial light modulator, which is a device that modulates incident light in a spatial pattern corresponding to an electrical or optical input. The incident light may be modulated in its phase, intensity, polarisation, or direction, and the light modulation may be achieved by a variety of materials exhibiting various electro-optic or magneto-optic effects or by materials that modulate light by surface deformation. An SLM consists of a one- or two-dimensional array of light-modulating elements. Silicon technology used in projection data monitors is capable of producing small-sized, two-dimensional light-valve arrays having several hundred thousand to several million light-modulating elements.
Spatial light modulators are either transmissive or reflective. Transmissive devices modulate the light beam as it passes through the unit. Reflective devices modulate the light as it reflects from a mirror inside the unit.
A deformable mirror device (DMD), also called digital mirror device or digital micro-mirror device, is one embodiment of a reflective SLM, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,049. It is a semiconductor-based array of fast, reflective digital light switches that precisely control reflection of a light source using, for example, a binary pulse width modulation technique. Combined with image processing, memory, a light source, and optics it forms a DLP system capable of projecting large, bright, seamless, high-contrast color images. A DMD has a matrix of a plurality of individually electrically deformable or moveable mirror cells. In a first state or position, each mirror cell of the deformable mirror device acts as a plane mirror to reflect the light received to one direction (through a lens towards a projection screen for example), while in a second state or position they project the light received to another direction (away from the projection screen).
Reflective spatial light modulators, such as DMDs or reflective LCDs, are heat sensitive, and a hot DMD results a decrease of lifetime and/or in discoloration of the projected image.
A cooling mechanism for cooling the internal parts of a projection display apparatus, is generally built in into it. In general, outside air is introduced into the projector apparatus through an intake opening using an intake fan, and flows over the internal heat-emitting components to cool them. After cooling each of these parts, the air is vented by an exhaust fan to the ambient environment from an air vent opening in an outside case of the projector apparatus. Only one fan can be used for both intake and exhaust.
When air is introduced from outside the apparatus, dust and other foreign matter, such as smoke, oil, may penetrate to the inside of the apparatus. An air filter is generally placed over the intake opening to capture dust and filter the air, but it is still possible for fine particles to penetrate to the inside of the apparatus. When such particles enter the inside of the apparatus with the outside air, they may adhere to the surface of the optical elements. When particulate matter thus adheres to a DMD, it causes decreased light output, or it may hinder the individual mirrors in their movements, resulting in severely deteriorated image quality. A known solution to this problem is to disassemble the projector apparatus and replace the DMOs, as the spaces around a DMD are usually very small, and it is very difficult to clean a DMD in its mounted position.
There has been a long felt need to cool the heat-emitting parts inside the projector apparatus in a way that prevents particulate contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,205 describes an LCD projector with an optical lens unit comprising transmission LCD""s and other light transmitting heat-emitting components, such as polarising plates. The optical lens unit is enclosed in a substantially airtight internal chamber. A circulating air current is created by force, by means of a circulation fan, inside this chamber, which cools the heat-emitting components. Preferably means are provided for introducing outside air and for directing the outside air around the outside surface of the members separating the substantially airtight chamber. A heat exchange action between the circulating air current created in the airtight chamber and the outside air flowing through the intake air path is thereby accomplished. In this way, the projector is provided with a cooling mechanism such that no dust or foreign matter penetrates to the inside the optical lens unit.
The LCD projector described has a limited ability to operate at high light intensities. It is difficult to implement effective cooling of the optical components at the highest brightness levels. Particularly for LCD""s which operate as light valves, i.e. they either pass or absorb light, the absorbence of light energy in the LCD for those parts of the projected image which are dark results in large amounts of light energy being absorbed within the sealed chamber (e.g. in the polariser). It is difficult to remove this heat energy by forced convection cooling inside a sealed chamber which relies on an inefficient air-to-air heat exchanger to remove the heat from the sealed chamber and delivery it to an outer chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,195 describes methods of cooling transmission LCD""s. These methods involve placing cooling liquid in the light path. It is difficult to guarantee perfect optical clarity of a cooling liquid over the life of a projector. Also, the cooling liquid absorbs some of the transmitted light which reduces the transmitted light intensity and increases the load on the cooling circuit of the LCD. The density of the cooling liquid can change polarisation direction of the light thus causing discolorations of the projected image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an SLM unit, a projector apparatus and a method of operating the same which can handle high light intensities, without dust or foreign matter penetrating to the sensitive optical components inside of the apparatus and thus deteriorating the quality of the image projected.
According to the present invention, there is provided a spatial light modulating unit for a projector apparatus wherein the spatial light modulating unit is provided with a plurality of SLMs (Spatial Light Modulators, for example, one for each color) and a light splitting unit such as a prismatic device for splitting white light into color components. The spatial light modulating unit also has means for combining the light reflected from the SLMs for projection. This combining device can be the same prismatic unit as used for light splitting. The spatial light modulation unit is enclosed by a substantially sealed chamber. A cooling connection is provided for each SLM, whereby the cooling connection passes through the wall of the substantially sealed chamber and makes contact with each SLM in a heat conductive manner. In this way heat from the main heat sources within the sealed chamber is brought outside the sealed chamber for more efficient cooling, e.g. by an array of fins and a forced convection cooling system. Each SLM is preferably a reflective SLM, such as a DMD or a reflective LCD. With a reflective SLM, the path of light color components of the white light incident on the SLM are preferably remote or distal from the cooling connection for the SLM. Hence, the light needed for projection does not pass through the cooling connection. Particularly preferred are mirror deflection devices such as DMDs which can reflect black light energy out of the chamber. xe2x80x9cBlack lightxe2x80x9d is the difference in light between incident light and the light to be projected, i.e. it is the light energy which must be removed from the incident beam as it is not used for projection of the image on the screen, for instance in parts of the image which need not be illuminated. Preferably, each reflective SLM is located opposite a different face of a prism or prisms which is used to separate white light into component colors. One component of color separated light exits each different face of the prism before it strikes the reflective SLM.
Preferably, the light splitting unit is located substantially centrally in the sealed chamber and the plurality of reflective SLMs are arranged radially about the central light splitting unit, each heat path connection transferring heat in a starting linear direction substantially the same as the direction of light incident on each reflective SLM.
Preferably a forced convective cooling means for cooling the light splitting unit is provided inside the substantially sealed chamber, for example a circulation fan or blower for moving the gas in the sealed chamber. The sealed chamber is usually filled with air at atmospheric pressure. A very uniform temperature of a prism or prisms is desirable in order to have a good image quality.
Additionally, means for additional cooling of the SLMs may be connected to the heat path connection at the outside of the substantially sealed chamber. These means may be, for example, a heatsink, a Peltier element, other electrical cooling means or any other cooling means such as water cooling.
According to another embodiment, means are provided for removing xe2x80x9cblack lightxe2x80x9d out of the substantially sealed chamber so that heat energy within the black light is absorbed outside the sealed chamber.
The present invention also provides a method of cooling a projector apparatus having a spatial light modulating unit provided with a plurality of spatial light modulators (SLMs) and a light splitting unit for splitting white light into color components, the spatial light modulating unit being enclosed by a substantially sealed chamber having walls, the method comprising the step of: cooling each SLM via a heat path connection through a wall of the sealed chamber, the heat path connection being heat conductively connected to each SLM. The heat connection may be passive and comprise a heat conductive connection, for example, massive metal or may be an active cooling system such as forced liquid or gas cooling, heat pipes.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. The description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings.
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This invention relates to the supply of power to the trackway conductors forming the primary circuit of an inductive power supply system; in particular this invention relates to the supply of power to the trackway conductors connected in a series resonant circuit which comprises the primary circuit of an inductive power supply system capable of distributing inductive power over a distance.
An inductive power transfer system generally comprises (a) a generator of alternating current, (b) one or more conductors carrying the alternating current as tracks (the xe2x80x9cprimary inductive pathwayxe2x80x9d) to one or more consumers, (c) a space carrying an alternating magnetic flux as a consequence of current flow within the conductor(s), (d) a pickup means (the xe2x80x9csecondary windingxe2x80x9d), which intercepts a part of the magnetic flux, and (e) power consuming means. Systems originating from our developments have been characterised by inclusion of: (f) an operating frequency generally above 10 kHz, (g) a tuned, resonant primary and a tuned, resonant secondary, (h) loose coupling between primary and secondary, and (i) provide power control by means of partial decoupling of the secondary without significantly affecting other consumers sharing the same primary conductors.
We first developed parallel tuned primary inductive pathways for inductive power transfer. When inductive power transfer is to be applied to systems including relatively long primary inductive pathways or tracks, high-frequency alternating currents at the high voltage that is required to drive parallel-tuned tracks become rather difficult to generate in a practicable manner. The high voltage is required in order to insert sufficient current into the track, given an unavoidable track inductance. It is difficult to drive a long, parallel-tuned track because (apart from safety and insulation considerations) there are finite limits to the voltage that can be switched, and handled, using known technology. Furthermore, safety is a real issue. Track extension methods are not suitable for parallel tuned tracks because when the track length is increased the xe2x80x9cgroup velocityxe2x80x9d of the track tends to zero while the characteristic impedance at the required frequency tends to infinity. In contrast, series compensated tracks can be extended using xe2x80x9cmodulesxe2x80x9d including lumped series capacitors, without adding to the number of system poles.
Previous techniques for generating AC resonant currents in inductive power transfer have generally been optimised for the case of parallel-tuned circuits. An example high-frequency converter (see FIG. 1) has a half-bridge configuration. The action of the switches can be regarded simply as adding boosts to the resonating current, like maintaining a child""s movements on a swing. Usefully, the switches generally change state at or very close to a zero-voltage condition and switching losses are thereby minimised. In our preferred version, the resonating capacitance is generally a lumped capacitance within or close to the power supply, and the track inductance comprises most of the resonating inductance. The current in the track is a relatively pure sine wave. This type of converter is described for example in our Application No: PCT/GB92/01463. It can be regarded as a xe2x80x9chalf-bridgexe2x80x9d converter, where a centre-tapped inductor having a high reactance forms a passive half of a bridge and provides a DC return path. This type of converter is generally used in a xe2x80x9cslavexe2x80x9d mode in that its switching frequency is determined by the actual resonant frequency of the system. The particular converter that we have selected is quite efficient, has low switching losses, and the switches themselves do not carry the magnetising current of the track. However it does have a propensity to detuning and having an unstable frequency under heavy loads, and the energy stored in the DC inductor may cause a voltage and/or current overshoot if the load is reduced suddenly.
Now that the advantages of series compensated tracks (as defined later) are becoming evident, and series compensated tracks are seen as being more relevant to commercialisation of inductive power transfer, other types of power supply may be preferable.
Furthermore, for possible applications such as the provision of inductive power to rail vehicles, there is a need to raise the amount of current that can be fed into a given track, and to raise the distance over which that current can be effective, and in general there is a need for reduction of the capital costs associated with an installation.
A series compensated track for use in inductive power transfer systems may be described as an elongated conductive loop wherein the outgoing and return conductors are parallel and spaced apart. During installation the inductive reactance is maintained at or near a relatively small value despite extensions of length, by inserting sets of discrete capacitors in series with the conductors at one or more evenly spaced sites. One example xe2x80x9csmall valuexe2x80x9d of inductance is 620 xcexcHxe2x80x94in relation to a track energised at 15 kHz, resistance 0.4 ohms, circulating current 250 A, at 1 kV rms.
It is an object of this invention to provide improved means for energising an inductive power transfer system, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
In a first broad aspect the invention provides apparatus for the supply of power from an alternating power source to the primary conductors of an inductive power transfer system having at least one tuned primary trackway; each primary trackway having an inherent resonant frequency, wherein the apparatus includes at least one reactive network having an input and an output; the network being capable of being connected between the power source and at least one primary trackway, said network including at least one inductance having a selected value and connected to at least one capacitance having a selected value, said network being capable of affecting a transfer of power between the supply of power and the at least one primary trackway.
Preferably the tuned primary trackway includes one or more series compensating capacitors along its length
In a related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the network comprises a transconductance pi network (as herein defined) including one or more inductors and one or more capacitors, the transconductance pi network having an input and an output; the network being capable of being connected at the input to the power source and at the output to at least one primary trackway, wherein the network is capable of providing a deliberately mismatched coupling between the source of alternating power and the primary trackway so that the source appears to present a substantially infinite impedance and the primary trackway appears to present a substantially zero impedance; and so that the voltage at the output of the transconductance pi network may in use be substantially greater than that provided to the input of the transconductance pi network.
In another related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the component values within any one transconductance pi network are selected so that the network is capable of determining the proportion of circulating current to be fed from the output of the network into the primary trackway and so that the amount of circulating current within the primary trackway can be controlled.
In a further related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one transconductance pi network, each network being connected to a corresponding primary trackway, the network or networks being capable by means of a selection of suitable component values of determining the proportion of circulating current that may be fed from the network into each primary trackway so that the amount of circulating current within the primary trackway can be controlled.
In yet another related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus comprises more than one transconductance pi network each connected through controllable switching means to one primary trackway, so that the amount of circulating current within the primary trackway can be controlled by connection of the outputs of one or more networks at any time to the primary trackway.
In a still further a related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one transconductance pi network connected to each primary trackway, the at least one network being provided with at least one set of additional reactive components capable as a group of being controllably switched into or out of the network circuit from a first set of components capable of determining a first current, to a second set of components, capable of determining a second current, so that the circulating current to be supplied from the output of the network into each primary trackway can be controlled from time to time and so that the amount of circulating current within the primary trackway can be controlled.
In a yet further related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus provides switching means across the primary conductors of a primary trackway at a position where any one transconductance pi network is connected to the trackway; the switching means being capable when in a closed state of shorting the trackway so that the amount of circulating current within the primary trackway falls, and so that the primary trackway is in effect disconnected from the power supply yet the power supply itself does not experience a short-circuited output.
In an even further related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein one or more of the inductive components of any one transconductance pi network are selected so that the one or more inductive components are capable of entering a state of saturation if a current greater than an intended current should flow through the saturable inductor, so that the maximum amount of circulating current within the primary trackway can be limited.
In an even yet further related aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, having more than one primary trackway wherein each primary trackway forms a part of an extended primary trackway; an end of each primary trackway meeting an end of at least one other primary trackway near an alternating power source; each primary trackway being fed at the connection point by a separate transconductance pi network having a switching means connected across the output of the transconductance pi network, so that in use any primary trackway may be energised in response to the presence of a consumer of inductive power upon that primary trackway by opening the corresponding switching means, so that the power supply output may be directed down a selected section of the primary trackway and limitations of trackway length based on power supply capacity are substantially overcome.
In one more related aspect the invention provides an inductor suitable for use with apparatus including a transconductance pi network as previously described, wherein the inductor is provided with a ferrimagnetic or ferromagnetic core capable of saturation at an intended level of current, so that the total circulating current within the network may be limited.
In a still yet further related aspect the invention provides an inductor suitable for use with a transconductance pi network as previously described, wherein more than one turn of litz wire is held within a conductive container and apart from the inner surface of the container.
In a subsidiary aspect the invention provides inductor apparatus as previously described, wherein a ferrimagnetic core comprising one or more ferrite elements each having a xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped or modified toroidal ferrite core including an air gap is threaded over about one turn of litz wire. In another subsidiary aspect the invention provides an inductor as previously described, wherein the one or more ferrite elements are each mounted by means of a support occupying the air gap.
In a second broad aspect the invention provides apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus further includes termination apparatus; the termination apparatus being connected between an end of one conductor and an end of the other conductor at a position remote from a connection to a power supply, the termination apparatus comprising in parallel connection (A) a substantially pure resistance capable of exhibiting the characteristic impedance of the track at substantially any frequency, and (B) a series tuned resonant circuit tuned to the inherent resonant frequency; the termination apparatus being capable at the resonant frequency of presenting a short circuit to the track and capable of presenting the characteristic impedance to the track at other frequencies, so that the harmonic content of the current circulating in the track is reduced.
In a third broad aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus for the supply of power to the primary conductors of an inductive power transfer system having at least one series-tuned primary trackway; each primary trackway having an inherent resonant frequency, wherein the power supply apparatus comprises a set of four switching means arranged in a first, and in a second series-connected pairs across a supply of electric power, the series compensated trackway being connected from the junction between the first series-connected pair of switching means to the junction between the second series-connected pair of switching means, the apparatus having control means capable of delivering switching commands capable of causing each switching means to repeatedly open or close in a cyclic relationship controlled with respect to the other switches, so that both switches of either pair are not closed at the same time and so that the series compensated trackway is repetitively connected across the supply of electric power first in one direction and then the other, at or near the inherent resonant frequency of the track.
In a related aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus is driven from a voltage source of power.
In another related aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus is driven from a current source of power.
In a further related aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus is driven from a current source of power and further includes a parallel resonant circuit, capable of resonance at or near the inherent resonant frequency of the track, connected across the output of the power supply apparatus.
In yet another related aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein the apparatus includes control means capable of determining the controlled relationship; said control means being further capable of permitting variation of a pulse duration of the switching commands to at least one pair of switching means, so that the amount of current circulating in the series compensated track can be varied.
In a yet further aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein at least one of the switching means is adapted by means of installation of a capacitor across each switching means so as to be capable of being switched by a control means when in a zero-voltage state and by means of alteration of the inherent resonant frequency of the series compensated track to be slightly lower than the rate of delivery of control signals to the switching means.
In a still yet further aspect the invention provides power supply apparatus as previously described, wherein the power supply apparatus includes a parallel resonant circuit having a resonant frequency, and includes at least two switching means arranged to be capable of connecting a current from a current source to the resonant circuit and operated so that repetitive complementary closures of the switching means at a frequency close to the resonant frequency is capable of causing resonant current to flow within the parallel resonant circuit, and a power output from the power supply apparatus is connected across the parallel resonant circuit, wherein the power supply apparatus employs four switching means in a full bridge configuration to connect current from the current source to the resonant circuit.
In a fourth broad aspect the invention provides apparatus for supplying inductively transferable power over a distance; the apparatus comprising (1) a conductive primary pathway or track having a pair of conductors capable of carrying the current; the track including one or more sets of series capacitors capable of compensating for the series inductance and hence comprising a series of circuits capable of resonating at a resonant frequency, the track being terminated with (a) a short-circuit at the resonant frequency and (b) at the characteristic impedance of the track for other frequencies, and (2) a power supply capable of generating alternating current at a desired frequency and including an adaptation for feeding its output into the track.
In a related aspect the invention provides a first type of power supply apparatus for energising a conductive primary pathway or track of an inductive power transfer system with alternating current, wherein the power supply apparatus includes a set of four switches arranged in a bridge configuration and having a supply of electric power, and having means for causing each switch to open or close in a controlled relationship with respect to the other switches, so that the series compensated track, connected across the other arms of the bridge, is repetitively connected to the supply of electric power first in one direction and then the other, at or near the inherent resonant frequency of the track.
Preferably the controlled relationship permits variation of the phase of the drive to at least one pair of switches, so that the amount of current circulating in the series compensated track can be varied. Preferably any or each of the switches can be switched when in a zero-voltage state by a procedure comprising (a) installing a capacitor across each switch, and (b) supplying the switching commands at a frequency slightly higher than the natural resonant frequency of the system, including the series compensated track.
In a further related aspect the invention provides a second type of power supply apparatus for energising a conductive primary pathway or track as previously described of an inductive power transfer system with alternating current, wherein the power supply apparatus includes a parallel resonant circuit having a resonant frequency, a current source, and at least two switches arranged to connect the current to the resonant circuit and operated so that repetitive complementary closures of the switches at a frequency close to the resonant frequency is capable of causing resonant current to flow within the parallel resonant circuit, and a power output from the power supply apparatus is connected across the parallel resonant circuit.
In a still further related aspect the power supply apparatus employs four switches in a full bridge configuration to connect current from the current source to the resonant circuit.
In yet another related aspect the invention provides a method for removing the current from a primary inductive pathway fed from a trans-pi network, wherein the method comprises shorting the primary inductive pathway at or near the point of feed.
In a yet further related aspect the invention provides a method for varying the current circulating within a primary inductive pathway fed from more than one network, wherein the method comprises controllable addition of the outputs from each of the more than one network into the primary inductive pathway.
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In order to enhance avalanche capability, clamp diodes are formed between Gate and Drain for MOSFET and between Gate and Collector for IGBT, respectively. However, breakdown voltage degradation in main devices may be introduced while forming this integrated configuration in prior art if the clamp diodes are made on a polysilicon layer placed across the edge termination. The interaction between the electric fields in the polysilicon clamp diodes and edge termination may significantly degrade breakdown voltage of the main devices.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a MOSFET with gate-drain clamp diodes and FIG. 2 is the cross section view of a MOSFET of prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,187) where the cell is formed on N substrate 200. On the top surface of the substrate 200, there is an N+ source region 210 surrounded by a P body region 211. A metal layer 220 makes electrical contact to both said N+ source region 210 and P body region 211 acting as a source electrode. Meanwhile, metal layer 222 and 221 are deposited to function as a gate electrode and a drain electrode of the cell structure, respectively. Between the gate electrode and drain electrode, a serial of back-to-back polysilicon diodes 230 are formed across over the termination to enhance the avalanche capability of the semiconductor power device.
The prior art discussed above is encountering a technical difficulty which is that, as the gate-drain (or gate-collector for IGBT) clamp diode crosses over termination, a problem of breakdown voltage degradation will be arisen due to electric field in termination region is blocked by polysilicon.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a new and improved device configuration to prevent the degradation of breakdown voltage from happening.
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The present invention relates in general to online Internet advertising optimization, and more specifically to analysis of relationships between web browser agent data and characteristics and behavior of website visitors.
There are many advertising systems and methods which are used to select advertisements for display on Internet websites. These advertising systems use various strategies and logic to select which products and/or services may be of interest to an individual website visitor and how advertisements for the selected products should appear within a website. There are many competing ideas and many different approaches to designing the logic which is used to select and display the advertising.
One such strategy is based on data which is collected for each website visitor. In this strategy, a unique identifier (commonly, an Internet browser cookie) is downloaded from the website to the visitors computer. This unique identifier allows the advertising system to tag the visitor and recognize the visitor's visits to the website as a discrete individual. Further, data observed during the visit to the website is collected and stored in a data base and indexed to the unique identifier. This allows the advertising network to cross reference the stored data about the visitor in the database each time the visitors computer requests a web page. Observing a visitor's habits allows the advertising network to better determine which ads to display based on the stored data. A website may also retrieve visitor preferences and interests stored at the website by identifying a returning visitor. The different kinds of data which may be gathered and the means of referencing the data based on the users identifier are important aspects of the strategy.
One common way to gather visitor interests is to observe the visitor's path through the website and noting the topics of the pages which the visitor views. Another way to gather data is to request that the visitor fill out a survey and then store the survey information for future use by the advertising system when the visitor returns. A third common way to gather this data is by saving information supplied by the visitor when purchasing goods. Oftentimes, the billing address given at the conclusion of an e-commerce transaction can be used to purchase demographic data from companies which compile such information on a wide basis. Thus, there are several existing approaches to collecting and referencing data for online advertising systems.
There are several concerns and problems with known methods of data collection and indexing. One overarching issue is that the visitor's privacy is threatened by the combined data gathering. Another potential issue is that the cookie used to store the visitor's unique identifier resides on the visitor's computer system. Visitors often delete these cookies and thereby defeat the ability to recognize repeat visits. In addition, due to privacy concerns, a market has developed for software applications which remove cookies placed by advertising systems. The result of removing the unique identifying cookie is that the advertising network can no longer reference information stored in the database for that visitor, and may incorrectly identify future visits by the same visitor as an additional visitor.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device structure suitable for transistors, thyristors, optical emitters, optical detectors, and other solid state devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The speed of operation and transconductance are two properties of transistors that device designers are endlessly seeking to increase, in order to obtain superior performance. Generally speaking, from the first practical implementation of the bipolar and field effect transistors in the 1950's and early 1960's, the major advances in device performance have resulted from technological inovation. The principles of operation have remained unchanged, but the physical sizes of the devices have been reduced at a steady rate towards smaller geometries. The progression towards miniaturization has been due to advances in lithography, processing technology, and improvement in device structural design.
Initially the bipolar transistor was the superior high-speed device, while the field effect transistor (FET) was more useful for low-speed/low-power applications. With continued scaling however, the FET has shown the ability to outperform bipolar transistors for very high speed and very high density circuits. The field effect transistor is frequently implemented as a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) structure, although other forms are possible. The advantages of the bipolar vis-a-vis the MOS are its higher transconductance (g.sub.m) and its higher current gain. However, to compare logic circuit performance one also has to consider the ratio of transconductance to capacitance (g.sub.m /C). In this regard, MOS technology benefits distinctly compared to bipolar technology as device geometries are reduced, because in MOS devices, capacitances are more amenable to scaling. This is because the shrinking of vertical dimensions in the MOS (junction depth and oxide thickness) is more easily accomplished than in the bipolar (emitter depth and base width).
The endless thrust to ever-decreasing device geometries leads to problems in both bipolar and field effect transistors, with one serious problem encountered by either device being the punchthrough effect. In the bipolar transistor, punchthrough occurs when the collector merges with the emitter, and in the field effect transistor when the drain and source depletion regions begin to merge. In both cases the characteristics change from the pentode-like to the triode-like form, which degrades inverter performance and eventually leads to complete loss of control of the base or gate, as the case may be.
For the last 25 years bipolar and field effect transistors have been the dominant device forms because of their proven abilities, although from time-to-time various other devices have been proposed. In particular, considerable interest has been shown in hot-electron devices--e.g., the tunnel-transistor (or MOM OM), the semiconductor-metal-semiconductor transistor, and the space-charge-limited transistor--because of their potential for high-speed operation. However, for various reasons, none of these devices have proved viable. Nevertheless, the basic concept of a device operating in the collision-free mode has its attractions.
Since the limits of performance of field effect and bipolar devices are looming ominously closely, there is a pressing need to consider new concepts to circumvent the basic limits of these devices. Any new device would desirably have at least some of the following characteristics:
I. have a transconductance and current gain equal to, or better than, the conventional bipolar transistor; PA1 II. have a figure of merit (g.sub.m /C) better than state-of-the-art bipolar or field effect transistors; PA1 III. be immune to punchthrough effects; PA1 IV. be integrable to a useful level of circuit complexity, PA1 V. permit fabrication of logic and memory circuits with power/delay products superior to state-of-the-art circuits; PA1 VI. be able to attain transit times that are not restricted solely by the lithographic capability; PA1 VII. be free of the scaling limitations on existing devices.
Thus, it is desirable to obtain a device that combines the virtues of the bipolar and MOS concepts; namely one which has high current gain and high transconductance coupled with relatively simple fabrication requirements and low charge storage.
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The generation of electricity by advanced gasification combined cycle power generation systems offers the potential for reduced power cost and lower environmental impact than standard coal-fired power plants. In these advanced systems, coal or other carbonaceous material is gasified with oxygen and the produced gas is cleaned to yield a low-sulfur fuel gas. This fuel gas is utilized in a gas turbine generation system to produce electric power with reduced environmental emissions. Because these advanced systems are more energy efficient than traditional coal-fired power plants, the amount of carbon dioxide produced for a given power output is reduced significantly. The growing interest in gasification combined cycle (GCC) technology in recent years has been stimulated by the higher efficiency and demonstrated reliability of advanced gas turbines, coal gasification processes, and air separation systems which are utilized in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) systems. The proper integration of these three main components of an IGCC system is essential to achieve maximum operating efficiency and minimum power cost.
A general review of the current art in GCC and IGCC power generation systems is given by D. M. Todd in an article entitled "Clean Coal Technologies for Gas Turbines" presented at the GE Turbine State-of-the-Art Technology Seminar, July 1993, pp. 1-18. A review of various integration techniques and the impact thereof on GCC economics is given in a paper by A. D. Rao et al entitled "Integration of Texaco TQ Gasification with Elevated Pressure ASU" presented at the 13th EPRI Conference on Gasification Power Plants, San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 19-21, 1994.
The integration of air separation units and gas turbines in IGCC systems are reviewed in papers entitled "Next-Generation Integration Concepts for Air Separation Units and Gas Turbines" by A. R. Smith et al in J. Eng. For Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 119, April 1997, pp. 298-304, and "Oxygen Production in an IGCC Plant" by R. J. Allam et al in Power-Gen Europe, Cologne (Germany), May 17-19 1994, pp. 581-596. Representative process configurations for integrated gas turbine and air separation systems are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,388,395, 5,459,994, and 5,609,041 and in European Patent Publication No. EP 0 773 416 A2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,078 describes a method of operating the air separation plant of an IGCC system under turndown conditions at reduced oxygen product pressure and purity.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,501,078, 5,224,336, 5,437,160, 5,592,834, and 5,566,825 describe process control methods for operating IGCC systems under changing oxygen and nitrogen product demand. A typical double-column air separation distillation system is used in which nitrogen-enriched liquid is withdrawn from the higher-pressure column and introduced as reflux into the top of the lower-pressure column. During periods of increasing or decreasing product demand, a portion of this nitrogen-enriched liquid is either stored to reduce the amount of reflux to the lower-pressure column or withdrawn from storage to increase the amount of reflux to the lower-pressure column. U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,336 teaches that nitrogen-enriched liquid is stored when the feed air pressure to the higher-pressure column increases, thereby decreasing reflux, and that nitrogen-enriched liquid is withdrawn when the feed air pressure to the higher-pressure column decreases, thereby increasing reflux. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,437,160, 5,592,834, and 5,566,825 teach that nitrogen-enriched liquid is stored when a decrease in the feed air flow rate to the higher-pressure column or a decrease in product demand occurs, thereby decreasing reflux, and that nitrogen-enriched liquid is withdrawn from storage when an increase in the feed air flow rate to the higher-pressure column or an increase in product demand occurs, thereby increasing reflux.
It is well-understood in the art that control of the air separation system in response to changing oxygen product demand from the gasifier, which in turn is a result of changing electric power demand, is of critical importance for efficient IGCC system operation. Since the air separation system is closely linked with both the gasifier and gas turbine systems, lack of proper control in the air separation system will have a serious negative impact on the control of the entire IGCC system.
As described in the background art cited above, the air separation system is linked with the gasifier and gas turbine of an IGCC system in several ways. First, oxygen at the proper purity, pressure, and flow rate is supplied to the gasifier to produce fuel gas for the gas turbine combustor. Second, byproduct nitrogen at the proper purity, pressure, and flow rate is withdrawn from the lower-pressure column, compressed, and mixed with the fuel gas to the combustor to recover additional energy and reduce combustion temperatures for nitrogen oxide control. Third, some or all of the compressed air feed to the air separation system can be provided by a portion of the air from the gas turbine compressor. In addition, high pressure nitrogen can be supplied to the gasifier for inerting and solids handling requirements.
A fully integrated air separation unit in an IGCC system must be capable of operating in the range of 50% to 100% of design capacity while responding to air feed flow rate changes of at least 3% of design capacity per minute. The proper control of feed air to the air separation unit during these periods of transient operation is a very difficult problem because of the wide changes in air feed flow and supply pressure. In addition, there are conflicting requirements to balance minimum pressure drop in the air separation system against control performance and to minimize capital investment in control system hardware. Improving control of the air feed flow into the air separation system will improve the efficiency and capital effectiveness of the entire IGCC system. The present invention, as described in the specification below and defined by the claims which follow, is an improved method to control the flow of feed air to the air separation system during both variable and steady state IGCC system operation.
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In a conventional method of resin-sealing a laminated core, a resin reservoir is provided in an upper die or a lower die, resin inside the resin reservoir is heated, and the resin is pushed out with a plunger and poured into magnet insertion holes formed in the laminated core. Also, to facilitate a removal of resin culls remained on a surface of the laminated core after a resin-sealing process, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which a cull plate including a runner (a resin passage) and a gate hole is placed on the surface of the laminated core and the resin is poured into the magnet insertion holes through the cull plate.
Furthermore, in some cases, the laminated core is manufactured such that the permanent magnets inserted in the magnet insertion holes are gathered in a radially outward side or a radially inward side of the laminated core. When the permanent magnets are placed in outward sides of the magnet insertion holes, a motor effective in reducing noises, losses, and oscillations can be manufactured. When the permanent magnets are placed in inward sides of the magnet insertion holes, breakages or damages of the permanent magnets can be avoided (see Patent Literature 2).
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Computer systems are steadily becoming faster, more capable, and more complex. As processor technology advances, new instruction sets are developed that more efficiently execute the various tasks that are performed by these processors. In general, software is increasingly being used to perform graphics operations, streaming audio, streaming video, etc., in which it is efficient to simultaneously perform the same operation on several small sets of data in parallel. In particular, Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) instructions may perform the same operation on several bytes (or nibbles, or words, etc.) that are located in the same register.
As the feature density of processors increases, allowing more circuitry to be placed in a single integrated circuit, the size of the registers that these instructions act upon may also increase. For example the size of the registers in processors has increased over the years from 8 bits, to 16 bits, to 32 bits, to 64 bits, to 128 bits, and now to 256 bits in some processors. New instruction sets have been created that use the full width of these larger registers, and new SIMD instructions may derive particular benefit from these larger registers.
An unfortunate side effect of this increase is that the installed base of legacy software applications using older instructions and smaller registers may sometimes not be compatible with software applications using the newer instructions and larger registers. For example, an instruction that is based on using 128-bit registers may save only half of the data in a 256-bit register, and therefore only those 128 bits will be restored to the register later. If the register had previously been completely filled with data by an instruction that assumed a 256-bit register, half of that data might be lost. This unexpected loss of data can have potentially catastrophic results. Trying to avoid the problem by replacing all the legacy software with new software would be prohibitively expensive in many applications.
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The present invention relates to a suction valve in a following variable displacement compressor. The compressor has a swash plate accommodated in a crank chamber, where the pressure is controlled so as to rotate the swash plate integrally and inclinably with a drive shaft, and a plurality of pistons, which are accommodated in cylinder bores arranged around the drive shaft and reciprocate in accordance with rotation of the swash plate. The inclination angle of the swash plate is adjusted in response to the pressure in the crank chamber, which is changed by adjusting the amount of gas supplied from a discharge chamber to the crank chamber, and the amount of gas relieved from the crank chamber to the suction chamber. Furthermore, flexible suction valves open and close suction ports, and in suction movements of the pistons, the suction valves are pushed up and draw gas through the suction ports into the cylinder bores.
In a piston type compressor, while the suction valves move from a closed position to close the suction ports to the maximum opening position to open the suction ports, vibrations occur at suction valves and this causes suction pulsations. The suction pulsations cause the evaporator in the outer refrigerant circuit to vibrate and generate noise.
In a variable displacement compressor having pistons, the pistons reciprocate with a stroke in accordance with the inclination angle of the inclinable swash plate, and the discharge capacity decreases when the inclination angle of the swash plate decreases. In a small discharge capacity state, an average amount of gas passing through the suction port is small, and the suction valve can hardly contact a stopper for regulating the maximum opening degree due to its small opening degree. As a result, in the variable displacement compressor the vibrations of the suction valve easily occur.
The object of the present invention is to offer an effective suction valve enough to prevent noise or clatter caused by vibrations of suction valves in a variable displacement compressor.
To achieve the above object, the inventors propose a following variable displacement compressor. The compressor has a swash plate accommodated in a crank chamber, where the pressure is controlled, so as to rotate the swash plate integrally and inclinably with a drive shaft, and a plurality of pistons, which are accommodated in cylinder bores arranged around the drive shaft and reciprocate in accordance with rotation of the swash plate. The inclination angle of the swash plate is adjusted in response to the pressure of the crank chamber, which is changed by adjusting the amount of gas supplied from a discharge chamber to the crank chamber, and the amount of gas relieved from the crank chamber to the suction chamber. Furthermore, flexible suction valves open and close suction ports, and in suction movements of pistons the suction valves are pushed up and draw gas through the suction ports into the cylinder bores.
Furthermore, in the present invention, a twisting flexibility regulating means to bend and twist the suction valve, and a maximum opening degree regulating means having a receiving portion receiving the suction valve and regulating maximum opening degree of the suction valve in contact with the suction valve comprise the structure of the suction valve. The maximum opening degree regulating means is formed at the associated cylinder bore as follows. A first distance (between the suction valve at the more twisted side in closed position and a confronting point on the receiving portion) is longer than a second distance (between the suction valve at the other side in closed position and a confronting point on the receiving portion).
Therefore, the suction valve bends while twisting and the opposite side to the twisted side contacts the receiving portion first. Then, as the opening degree of the suction valve becomes larger, the suction valve becomes more twisted. And the twisted side of the suction valve approaches the receiving portion.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the maximum opening degree regulating means is a recess for regulating maximum opening degree recessed in the direction of the reciprocating movement of the piston along the circumferential surface of the cylinder bore. And the receiving portion is a bottom of the recess for regulating maximum opening degree, which is the receiving portion of the recess. Moreover, the receiving portion is inclined in the direction of width of the confronting suction valve.
As for the suction valve, the lower bending flexibility side of the suction valve contacts the shallower stopper side of the recess for regulating maximum opening degree first. Then, as the opening degree of the suction valve becomes larger, the suction valve becomes more twisted. And the higher bending flexibility side of the suction valve approaches the deeper stopper side of the recess for regulating maximum degree of opening.
Furthermore, in the present invention the twisting flexibility regulating means comprises two bending flexibility regulating means of which bending flexibilities are different each other and arranged in the direction of width of the suction valve, so that the distance between the higher bending flexibility side of the suction valve and the confronting receiving portion is longer than that between the lower bending flexibility side and the confronting receiving portion.
As for the suction valve, the lower bending flexibility side of the suction valve contacts the receiving portion first. Then, as the opening degree of the suction valve becomes larger, the suction valve becomes more twisted. And the higher bending flexibility side of the suction valve approaches the receiving portion. Thus, in the arrangement that the bending flexibilities are different each other in the direction of width of the suction valve, the suction valve twists easily when the opening degree of the suction valve becomes large.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the suction valve has a pair of flexible portions separated in width and a closing portion closing the suction port placed adjoining to a pair of the flexible portions. The bending flexibility regulating means is a pair of the flexible portions. And each flexible portion urges the suction valve so as to close the suction port. And the bending flexibilities of a pair of the flexible portions are different.
In the above arrangement, the suction valve twists easily when the opening degree of the suction valve becomes large.
Furthermore, in the present invention, while the thickness of a pair of the flexible portions are equal, the bending flexibilities of them are different, since the width of a pair of the flexible portions are different.
The shorter the width of the flexible portion is, the higher the bending flexibility becomes.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the suction valve has a single flexible portion, and the closing portion closing the suction port placed adjoining to the flexible portion. Moreover, the flexible portion urges the suction valve so as to close the suction port. And the flexible portion, which is biased in the direction of width from the central line of the suction valve, is the twisting flexibility regulating means.
Therefore, the twisting flexibility becomes extremely high.
Furthermore, in the present invention, a part of the closing portion substantially constantly contacts the receiving portion of the recess for regulating maximum opening degree.
Therefore, the vibrations of the suction valve are securely prevented.
Furthermore, in the present invention, a plurality of the pistons are arranged around the drive shaft. The pistons reciprocate in the cylinder bore in accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft. The suction ports are formed in a valve plate defining a suction chamber, a discharge chamber and the cylinder bores. The discharge chamber is formed so as to surround the suction chamber. The gas in the suction chamber is sucked through the suction ports into the cylinder bores. The gas in the cylinder bores is discharged through the discharge ports formed in the valve plate into the discharge chamber.
In the arrangement that the discharge chamber surrounds the suction chamber, a cylindrical suction chamber can be formed. In the arrangement that the suction chamber surrounds the discharge chamber, a circular suction chamber is formed. The cylindrical suction chamber is superior to the circular suction chamber to suppress the suction pulsations.
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A gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air enters an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel mixes with the compressed air and burns within the combustion section, thereby creating combustion gases. The combustion gases flow from the combustion section through a hot gas path defined within the turbine section and then exit the turbine section via the exhaust section.
The turbine section includes one or more rows of turbine nozzles, which direct the flow of combustion gases onto one or more rows of turbine rotor blades. The turbine blades, in turn, extract kinetic energy from the combustion gases. These nozzles generally operate in extremely high temperature environments. As such, the nozzles may be constructed from a ceramic matrix composite (“CMC”) or other suitable material capable of withstanding the high temperature exhaust gases.
The CMC turbine nozzles in each row generally must be coupled together to form an annular arrangement thereof. Nevertheless, metallic fasteners are unsuitable for coupling each the CMC turbine nozzles to each adjacent turbine nozzle at high temperatures. More specifically, metallic materials have a greater coefficient of thermal expansion than CMC materials. In this respect, the metallic fasteners expand at a greater rate than the CMC turbine nozzles. As such, the metallic fasteners may outgrow the CMC nozzles, thereby providing less clamping force to couple the turbine nozzles at high temperatures. This could allow combustion gases to escape between the turbine nozzle segments, which could reduce the efficiency of the gas turbine. Accordingly, a clamping assembly that maintains or increases clamping force at higher temperatures would be welcomed in the technology.
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In the manufacture of paper products, it is often desirable to enhance physical and/or optical properties by the addition of chemical additives. Typically, chemical additives such as softeners, colorants, brighteners, strength agents, etc. are added to the fiber slurry upstream of the headbox in a paper making machine during manufacturing to impart certain attributes to the finished product. These chemical additives are usually mixed in a stock chest or stock line where the fiber slurry has a fiber consistency of from between about 0.15 to about 5 percent or spraying the wet or dry paper or tissue during production.
One disadvantage of adding a chemical additive at each paper machine is that the manufacturer has to install equipment on each paper machine to accomplish the chemical additive addition. This, in many cases, is a costly proposition. In addition, the uniformity of the finished product coming off of each paper machine may vary depending upon how the chemical additive was added, variations in chemical additive uniformity and concentrations, the exact point of chemical additive introduction, water chemistry differences among the paper machines as well as personnel and operational differences of each paper machine.
Another difficulty associated with wet end chemical additive addition is that the water soluble or water dispersible chemical additives are suspended in water and are not completely adsorbed or retained onto the fibers prior to formation of the wet mat. To improve adsorption of wet end chemical additives. the chemical additives are often modified with functional groups to impart an electrical charge when in water. The electrokinetic attraction between charged chemical additives and the anionically charged fiber surfaces aids in the deposition and retention of chemical additives onto the fibers. Nevertheless, the amount of the chemical additive that can be adsorbed or retained in the paper machine wet end generally follows an adsorption curve exhibiting diminishing incremental adsorption with increasing concentration, similar to that described by Langmuir. As a result, the adsorption of water soluble or water dispersible chemical additives may be significantly less than 100 percent, particularly when trying to achieve high chemical additive loading levels. The use of water insoluble chemical additives in the water systems of papermaking processes is even more problematic and typically provides even poorer loading levels. Water insoluble chemical additives or water nondispersible chemical additives cannot typically be used in such water systems unless in the form of an emulsion.
Consequently, at any chemical addition level, and particularly at high addition levels, a fraction of the chemical additive is retained on the fiber surface. The remaining fraction of the chemical additive remains dissolved or dispersed in the suspending water phase. These unadsorbed or unretained chemical additives can cause a number of problems in the papermaking process. The exact nature of the chemical additive will determine the specific problems that may arise, but a partial list of problems that may result from unadsorbed or unretained chemical additives includes: foam, deposits, contamination of other fiber streams, poor fiber retention on the machine, compromised chemical layer purity in multi-layer products, dissolved solids build-up in the water system, interactions with other process chemicals, felt or fabric plugging, excessive adhesion or release on dryer surfaces, physical property variability in the finished product.
Therefore, what is lacking and needed in the art is an improved method for using water insoluble chemical additives, providing more consistent water insoluble chemical additive additions to the pulp fiber and a reduction or elimination of unretained water insoluble chemical additives in the process water on a paper machine. The method minimizes the associated manufacturing and finished product quality problems that would otherwise occur with conventional wet end chemical addition at the paper machine.
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The instant invention pertains to a method for preventing the loss of brightness and for enhancing resistance to yellowing in pulp or paper, particularly pulp or paper which may still contain traces of lignin, by the addition of N,N-dialkylhydroxylamines, an ester, amide or thio substituted N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine or N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine, or their salts and other coadditives.
High-yield and ultra-high yield wood pulps undergo rapid light-induced discoloration, particularly when they are exposed to near ultraviolet light (wave lengths 300-400 nm) in indoor fluorescent light and daylight. This characteristic restricts their use to short-life, low-value paper products. High-yield and ultra-high yield wood pulps can be bleached to a high level of whiteness. If this whiteness could be stabilized against discoloration, these bleached high-yield pulps could displace significant amounts of more expensive fully-bleached, low-yield chemical pulps.
This discoloration is ascribed to the substantial lignin content of high-yield pulps totally about 20-30% by mass. Phenoxy radicals are the key intermediates in the reaction mechanism. Several light-induced reactions have been proposed to account for their formation such as cleavage of the aryl ether bond of phenacyl aryl ether groups, or breakdown of ketyl radicals formed from saturated aryl-glycerol xcex2-aryl ether structures in lignin. The phenoxy radicals are oxidized by other oxygen-centered radicals (alkoxy and perhydroxy) to form yellow chromophores.
I. E. Arzkin et al., Khymiya drevesiny (Chemistry of Wood), 1982, No. 2, 114 and A. D. Sergeev et al., ibid, 1984, No. 5, 20 disclosed that the use of iminoxyl radicals such as TEMPO (1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine) is useful in the delignification of wood using the one-stage oxygen-soda (alkaline) process, but made no mention or suggestion of any activity provided by TEMPO on preventing light-induced discoloration of paper or pulp made from such treated wood.
V. 1. Khodyrev et al., Vysokomol soyed, A29, No. 3, 616 (1987) [Polymer Sci. U.S.S.R., 29, No. 3, 688 (1987)] show that the photoinitiated oxidation by oxygen causes weathering of cellulosic textile materials such as flax or cotton, and that the light stability of the cellulose could be improved by photostabilizers such as the UV absorbers, benzophenols and 1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylhydroxypiperidine. The UV absorbers offer no protection, and are actually detrimental. The authors noted that the stable nitroxyl radical interacts with alkyl radicals in the cellulose to afford its salubrious stabilizing activity. There is no suggestion by the authors that this stabilizing activity could be applied successfully in wood pulp and/or paper made therefrom.
M-K. Syler et al., J. Assn. Paper Pulp Tech, 29, 135 (1990) show that selected metal salts such as magnesium sulfate and lower alkanoic acids inhibit color reversion in bleached pulp.
P. Fomier de Violet et al., Cellulose Chem. Tech., 24, 225 (1990) show that the use of UV absorbers and hydrogen donor agents such as thiols, ascorbic acid, etc. help prevent the photoinduced discoloration of hydrogen peroxide bleached wood pulp, but that chain breakers such as hindered phenols and hindered amines (having greater than Nxe2x80x94H or greater than Nxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94 moieties) had no or even a detrimental effect on preventing photoinduced discoloration.
R. Agnemo et al., 6th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Appita, 1991, confirmed that free hydroxyl radicals plus lignin lead to undesirable photoyellowing in pulp and paper.
S. Omori et al., J. Assn. Paper Pulp Tech, 48, 1388 (1993) describes the effect of antioxidants and UV absorbers on light reversion and concludes that the combination of an antioxidant and UV absorber prevents color reversion and has a synergistic effect in that activity.
M. Paulsson et al., 8th International Symposium Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Helsinki, 1995, show that efficient photostabilization of unbleached paper or hydrogen peroxide bleached TMP pulp can be achieved by acetylation.
There have been a number of different approaches proposed to inhibiting the yellowing of mechanical pulps. These include: radical scavengers and antioxidants; UV screens; elimination of chromophores after their formation; chemical modification of lignin by alkylation or acetylation; polymeric inhibitors; and two types of coadditives used in combination. Z-H. Wu et al., Holzforschung, 48, (1994), 400 discuss the use of radical scavengers like phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone to reduce the formation of chromophores during mechanical pulping and give a more light-stable pulp.
C. Heitner, Chemistry of Brightness Reversion and It Control, Chapter 5, TAPPI, Atlanta, 1996, pp 183-211, summarizes the state of the art in the thermal and light-induced yellowing of lignin-containing pulps such as thermomechanical (TMP) and chemithermomechical (CTMP) pulps, showing the seriousness of these undesirable effects discusses generally the then current prior art methods used to attack this problem. These include bleaching, the use of phosphites, UV absorbers, polyalkylene glycols and free radical scavengers such as ascorbic acid, thiols, thioethers, dienes and aliphatic aldehydes and chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The author concluded that, although much progress had been made, much still remains to be done before a successful and practical solution to this loss of brightness and undesirable yellowing of lignin-containing pulp and/or paper is found.
Copending application Ser. No. 09/119,567 describes a potential solution where the use of selected hindered amine nitroxides, hindered amine hydroxylamines or their salts in combination with selected UV absorbers and metal chelating agents is seen to prevent loss of brightness and to enhance resistance to yellowing in chemimechanical or thermomechanical pulp or paper still containing lignin.
Canadian Patent Application No. 2,164,394 and WO 97/36041 teach a multi-component system for modifying, degrading or bleaching lignin-containing materials. This system includes an oxidation catalyst as an essential component. The catalysts are selected enzymes such as oxidoreductases of classes 1.1.1 to 1.97. The system also includes a number of mediators which inter alia include lower N,N-dialkylhydroxylamines and N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine.
The instant invention describes another approach to this important problem where the use of N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine, an ester, amide or thio substituted N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine or N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine or their salts in combination with selected coadditives also prevents the loss of brightness and enhances resistance to yellowing in pulp or paper, especially pulp or paper still containing lignin. The ester, amide or thio substituted N,N-dialkyl-hydroxylamines are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,612,393; 4,720,517 and 5,019,285.
Hydroxylamines are known to be efficient free radical traps and may limit the production of o-quinones; UV absorbers limit photochemistry in the underlying substrate to which they are applied, and ultimately reduce the production of free radicals. UV absorbers and hydroxylamines are each effective at stemming some of the free radical chemistry leading to paper yellowing when used singly. However, when they are used together, hydroxylamines and UV absorbers can act synergistically to effectively stop photochemical yellowing of lignin containing papers. The hydroxylamines show enhanced inhibiting activity when combined with a metal chelating agent such diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid or citric acid, or polymeric inhibitors such as polyethylene glycol.
More particularly, the instant invention pertains to a composition having enhanced resistance to yellowing which comprises
(a) a chemical pulp or paper, especially a kraft pulp or paper, which may still contain traces of lignin, and
(b) an effective stabilizing amount of an N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine, an ester, amide or thio substituted N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine or N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine of formula I, II or III
R1R2Nxe2x80x94OHxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
(T1SCH2)(T2SCH2)Nxe2x80x94OHxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
(E1COCH2CH2)(E2COCH2CH2)Nxe2x80x94OHxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(III)
where
R1 and R2 are independently alkyl of 1 to 18 carbon atoms, alkyl of 1 to 18 carbon atoms substituted by a hydroxyl group; or benzyl;
T1 and T2 are independently alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, phenyl, 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl, benzyl or xe2x80x94CH2COOH;
E1 and E2 are independently xe2x80x94OE3, xe2x80x94NHE3 or xe2x80x94NE3E4 where E3 and E4 are independently hydrogen, alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms or said alkyl substituted by one hydroxyl group; or
of an acid salt of formula IA, IIA or IIIA
(R1R2NHxe2x80x94OH)h+(X)jxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IA)
[(T1SCH2)(T2SCH2)NHxe2x80x94OH]h+(Xxe2x88x92)jxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IIA)
[(E1COCH2CH2)(E2COCH2CH2)NHxe2x80x94OH]h+(Xxe2x88x92)jxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IIIA)
where
X is an inorganic or organic anion, and
the total charge of cations h is equal to the total charge of anions j.
Preferably, X is phosphate, phosphonate, carbonate, bicarbonate, nitrate, chloride, bromide, bisulfite, sulfite, bisulfate, sulfate, borate, formate, acetate, benzoate, citrate, oxalate, tartrate, acrylate, polyacrylate, fumarate, maleate, itaconate, glycolate, gluconate, malate, mandelate, tiglate, ascorbate, polymethacrylate, a carboxylate of nitrilotriacetic acid, hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, a diethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, an alkylsulfonate or an arylsulfonate.
Preferably the hydroxylamine is N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, N,N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)hydroxylamine, N,N-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)hydroxylamine, N,N-dioctadecylhydroxylamine, the N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine product made by the direct oxidation of N,N-di(hydrogenated tallow)amine, N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine, N,N-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-hydroxylamine or N,N-bis(benzylthiomethyl)hydroxylamine.
Most preferably, the hydroxylamine is N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, N,N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)hydroxylamine, N,N-bis(3-hydroxypropyl)hydroxylamine or N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine.
Most especially, the hydroxylamine or hydroxylamine salt is N,N-diethylhydroxylamine or tris(N,N-diethylhydroxylammonium) citrate.
The effective stabilizing amounts of the hydroxylamine is 0.001 to 5% by weight based on the pulp or paper. Preferably, the effective stabilizing amount is 0.005 to 4% by weight; preferably 0.01 to 4% by weight.
When a coadditive stabilizer is also present, the effective stabilizing amount of the coadditives is also 0.001 to 5% by weight based on the pulp or paper; preferably 0.005 to 3% by weight; most preferably to 2% by weight.
The instant compounds may additionally include an effective stabilizing amount of at least one stabilizer selected from the group consisting of the UV absorbers, the polymeric inhibitors, the sulfur containing inhibitors, the phosphorus containing compounds, the nitrones, the benzofuran-2-ones, fluorescent whitening agents, hindered amine hydroxylamines and salts thereof, hindered amine nitroxides, hindered amines and salts thereof and metal chelating agents.
The compositions which also include a UV absorber are especially preferred. The UV absorber is selected from group consisting of the benzotriazoles, the s-triazines, the benzophenones, the xcex1-cyanoacrylates, the oxanilides, the benzoxazinones, the benzoates and the xcex1-alkyl cinnamates.
Preferably, the UV absorber is a benzotriazole, an s-triazine or a benzophenone, most especially a benzotriazole UV absorber or benzophenone UV absorber.
Typical and useful UV absorbers are, for example,
5chloro-2-(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-3,5di-tert-butylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-amylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-3,5di-acumylphenyl)2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-3xcex1-cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-5tert-octylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole;
2-(2-hydroxy-3-tert-butyl-5-methylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole-5-sulfonic acid, sodium salt;
3-tert-butylhydroxy-5-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-hydrocinnamic acid;
12-hydroxy-3,6,9trioxadodecyl 3-tert-butylhydroxy-5-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-hydro-cinnamate;
octyl 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-hydrocinnamate;
4,6bis(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-(4-(3-dodecyloxy*-2-hydroxypropoxy)-2-hydroxyphenyl)-s-triazine (*is mixture of C12-14oxy isomers);
4,6-bis(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-(40octyloxy-2-hydroxyphenyl)-s-triazine;
2,4dihydroxybenzophenone;
2,2xe2x80x2,4,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxy-5,5xe2x80x2-disulfobenzophenone, disodium salt;
2-hydroxy4octyloxybenzophenone;
2-hydroxy4-dodecyloxybenzophenone;
2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone-5-sulfonic acid and salts thereof;
2-hydroxy4methoxybenzophenone-5-sulfonic acid and salts thereof;
2,2xe2x80x2-dihydroxy4,4xe2x80x2dimethoxybenzophenone-5,5xe2x80x2-disodium sulfonate; and
3-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-hydroxy-5-sec-butylbenzenesulfonic acid, sodium salt (CIBAFASR(copyright) W).
Other preferred compositions are those which additionally contain a polymeric inhibitor; preferably poly(ethylene glycol), poly(propylene glycol), poly(butylene glycol) or poly(vinyl pyrrolidone).
Still other preferred compositions wherein the additional stabilizer is a sulfur containing inhibitor; preferably polyethylene glycol dithiolacetate, polypropylene glycol dithiolacetate, polybutylene glycol dithioacetate, 1-thioglycerol, 2-mercaptoethyl ether, 2,2xe2x80x2thiodiethanol, 2,2xe2x80x2-dithiodiethanol, 2,2xe2x80x2oxydiethanethiol, ethylene glycol bisthioglycolate, 3-mercapto-1,2-propanediol, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)-ethanethiol, glycol dimercaptoacetate, 3,3xe2x80x2-dithiopropionic acid, polyethylene glycol dithiol, polypropylene glycol dithiol, polybutylene glycol dithiol or ethylene glycol bis(mercaptoacetate).
Other preferred compositions are those wherein the additional stabilizer is a phosphorus containing compound; preferably tris(2,4di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite, 2,2xe2x80x2,2xe2x80x3-nitrilo[triethyl-tris(3,3xe2x80x2,5,5xe2x80x2-tetra-tert-butyl-1,1xe2x80x2-biphenyl-2,2xe2x80x2-diyl) phosphite], bis(2,4-di-tert-butyl-6methylphenyl) ethyl phosphite, sodium hydroxymethyl phosphinate, tetrakis(2,4di-butylphenyl) 4,4xe2x80x2-biphenylenediphosphonite, tris(nonylphenyl) phosphite, bis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) pentaerythrityl diphosphite, 2,2xe2x80x2-ethylidenebis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) fluorophosphite or 2-butyl-2-ethylpropan-1,3-diyl 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl phosphite.
Still other preferred compositions are those wherein the additional stabilizer is a benzo-furan-2-one; preferably 5,7-di-tert-butyl-3-(3,4dimethylphenyl)-2H-benzofuran-2-one.
Still other preferred composition are those wherein the additional stabilizer is a metal chelating agent; preferably citric acid, keto acids, gluconates, heptagluconates, phosphates, phosphonates and aminocarboxylic acid chelates, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), hydroxyethylethlenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonic acid (DTPMPA).
Some preferred compositions contain a mixture of additional stabilizers such as a mixture of a UV absorber and polymeric inhibitor; or a mixture of a UV absorber and a sulfur containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber and a phosphorus containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber and a metal chelating agent; or a mixture of a polymeric inhibitor and a sulfur containing compound; or a mixture of a polymeric inhibitor and a phosphorus containing compound; or a mixture of a sulfur containing compound and a phosphorus containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber, a polymeric inhibitor and a sulfur containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber, a polymeric inhibitor and a phosphorus containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber, a polymeric inhibitor, a sulfur containing compound and a phosphorus containing compound; or a mixture of a UV absorber, a polymeric inhibitor and a metal chelating agent.
Some preferred compositions are those wherein the additional stabilizer is a mixture of a hindered amine hydroxylamine or hindered amine hydroxylamine salt with at least one other stabilizer in the group consisting of the UV absorbers, the polymeric inhibitors, the sulfur containing inhibitors, the phosphorus containing compounds, fluorescent whitening agents, brighteners, metal chelating agents and hindered amine nitroxides and salts thereof.
Some preferred composition are those wherein the additional stabilizer is a mixture of a hindered amine hydroxylamine with at least one fluorescent whitening agent such as 2,2xe2x80x2-[(1,1xe2x80x2-diphenyl)4,4xe2x80x2-diyl-1,2-ethenediyl]bis-benzenesulfonic, disodium salt {or bis[4,4xe2x80x2-(2-stilbenesulfonic acid)], disodium salt} which is TINOPAL(copyright) SK, Ciba.
Preferably the compositions are those wherein the compound of formula I, II, III, IA, IIA or IIIA is of low molecular weight or contains hydrophilic moieties or is both of low molecular weight and contains hydrophilic moieties.
The instant invention also pertains to a process for preventing the loss of brightness and for enhancing resistance to yellowing of a chemical pulp or paper, particularly a kraft pulp or paper, which may still contain traces of lignin, which comprises
treating said pulp or paper with an effective stabilizing amount of a compound of formula I, II or III, or formula IA, IIA or IIIA as described above.
The instant inhibitor additive system can be added to pulp or paper at a number of places during the manufacturing or processing operations. These include
a. on a pulp slurry in the latency chest;
b. on a pulp slurry in or after the bleaching stage in a storage, blending or transfer chest;
c. on pulp during or after bleaching, washing and dewatering followed by cylinder or flash drying;
d. before or after the cleaners;
e. before or after the fan pump to the paper machine headbox;
f. to the paper machine white water;
g. to the silo or save all;
h. in the press section using a size press, coater or spray bar;
i. in the drying section using a size press, coater or spray bar;
j. on the calender using a wafer box;
k. on paper in an off-machine coater or size press; and/or
l. in the curl control unit.
Clearly, the precise location where the stabilizer additives should be added will depend on the specific equipment involved, the exact process conditions being used and the like. In some cases, the additives may be added at one or more locations for most effectiveness.
If the stabilizer or other coadditives are not themselves xe2x80x9cwater-solublexe2x80x9d, they may be dispersed or emulsified by standard methods prior to application. Alternatively, the stabilizer and/or coadditives may be formulated into a paper sizing or paper coating formulation.
The following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed to limit the instant invention in any manner whatsoever.
All additives are applied by syringe-injecting the appropriate weight % of additive combination in either an aqueous solution when the additive is water soluble, or a solution in 1:1 ethanol/dioxane, onto bleached thermomechanical pulp (BTMP) brightness squares (4 cmxc3x974 cm). The clamped sheets are allowed to air dry for one day.
The brightness of the handsheets is recorded before and after treatment by light exposure under controled intensity conditions.
Accelerated testing is carried out by subjecting the treated sheets to accelerated light induced yellowing in a fan-cooled light box containing eight fluorescent lamps with a spectral maximum output at 5700 xc3x85 with a total output approximately 43 times greater than normal office fluorescent lamps. The lamps are about ten inches away from the handsheets being illuminated.
Ambient testing is carried out by placing the treated handsheets on a desk under normal cool-white fluorescent office lights at a nominal distance of six feet.
In both cases, ISO brightness is tracked as a function of photolysis time and converted to post color number (PC number) in the usual manner.
Post color (PC) number is defined as follows:
PC=[(k/s)afterxe2x88x92(k/s)before]xc3x97100
k/s=(1xe2x88x92Rinf)2/2Rinf
where k and s are the absorption and scattering coefficients, respectively, and Rinf is the value of ISO brightness.
The relationship between Rinf and the chromophore concentration is non-linear, whereas, the PC number is roughly linearly related to the concentration of the chromophore in the sample.
Low PC numbers are desired as they indicate less yellowing.
When, using the ambient test conditions, untreated BTMP handsheets are compared to Kraft handsheets after 60 days, the BTMP handsheets have a PC number which is about 10 while the Kraft paper has a PC number which is about 0.39. The Kraft handsheets are clearly less yellow than untreated BTMP handsheets after exposure to ambient light.
The incident light flux for the accelerated yellowing experiments (Examples 1-10) is 43 times greater than normal office fluorescent lamps as measured by the A. W. Speery SLM-110 digital light power meter. The brightness of the handsheets is tracked and compared to that of untreated sheets exposed in the same manner. The treated sheets exhibit significant resistance to yellowing as is seen below.
Compound A is N,N-diethylhydroxylamine.
Compound B is N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine.
Compound C is N,N-dioctadecylhydroxylamine.
Compound D is the N,N-dialkylhydroxylamine product made by the direct oxidation of N,N-di(hydrogenated tallow)amine.
Compound E is tris(N,N-diethylhydroxylammonium) citrate.
PEO is poly(ethylene glycol) of molecular weight 300.
TINUVIN(copyright) 8 328 (Ciba) is 2-(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-amylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole.
TINOPAL(copyright) SK (Ciba) is 2,2xe2x80x2-[(1,1xe2x80x2-diphenyl)-4,4xe2x80x2-diyl-1,2-ethenediyl]bis-benzenesulfonic, disodium salt {or bis[4,4xe2x80x2-(2-stilbenesulfonic acid)], disodium salt}.
CIBAFAST(copyright) W (Ciba) is 3-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4-hydroxy-5sec-butylbenzenesulfonic acid, sodium salt.
Compound F is N,N-bis(2-carboxyethyl)hydroxylamine.
Compound G is N,N-bis(benzylthiomethyl)hydroxylamine.
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This invention is directed to surfactant materials and compositions and to methods for making concentrated intermediates with good handling properties.
Rheological behavior is an important consideration in a liquid. An appropriate viscosity in a liquid product enables it to either be (a) usefully consumed as received or (b) conveniently received into a conditioning system for further adjustment of the viscosity to a useful value for the application. The utility of components used in a liquid blend is also affected by viscosity; and, in this regard, highly concentrated alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acid as manufactured has a relatively high liquid viscosity. DOWFAX(trademark) surfactants (DOWFAX is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company) are good examples of products from alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acids. Highly concentrated alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acids have solids concentrations from about 60% to about 95% and are denoted as High Actives Acid, or HAA, herein. While the high viscosity can be moderated to acceptable levels with dilution in some HAAs, other HAAs (e.g. DOWFAX Detergent Acid) demonstrate an apparent liquid crystal region in the 40% to 80% solids range. The liquid crystal region is characterized by very high viscosity (greater than 1,000,000 centipoise) and the material is accordingly too viscous at temperatures below 40 degrees C. for convenient handling. When the material is heated to render the viscosity acceptably convenient, the material is unfortunately too hot for safe handling outside of relatively expensive blending environments optimized for safe operations at such temperatures. As noted previously, DOWFAX surfactants are good examples of products from alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acids. DOWFAX surfactants have two ionic charges per molecule. Each molecule consists of a pair of sulfonate groups on a diphenyl oxide backbone. This double charge density is largely responsible for excellent solvating and coupling action in this molecular family. DOWFAX surfactants have excellent solubility and stability in concentrated electrolytes and are resistant to oxidative and thermal degradation. DOWFAX surfactants have hydrophobes of a linear or branched alkyl group comprised of from six to sixteen carbons, depending upon the particular surfactant. Example utility of DOWFAX surfactants is in textile dyeing, polymer emulsion processing, agricultural chemical manufacturing, and (as an additive) cleaning fluid formulating.
It has been desired for some time to be able to sell High Active Acid as a concentrated product for use in formulations prior to neutralization in order to minimize shipping and handling costs respective to the surfactant product water component; however, (a) the addition of water to HAA at room temperature has traditionally not been convenient because of the high viscosity of the HAA at room temperatures and (b) most customers for the surfactant product are not conveniently availed of a blending environment for safe handling of hot HAA. Speculated benefits, therefore, of efficiency in shipping and handling and the benefits in safety from an HAA which could be blended into water at room temperature have not been realized. What is needed is an HAA having a useful viscosity at room temperature which can be added to water. The present invention solves this problem by providing HAA formulation embodiments and methods for their formulation so that an HAA having a relatively low viscosity at room temperature is provided.
The room temperature viscosity of an alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acid blend is beneficially controlled according to the invention by admixing a fatty acid having a carboxylic chain length between 1 and 12 into the alkyl diphenyl oxide sulfonic acid blend to provide between about 5 weight percentage and about 50 weight percentage of fatty acid in the admixture.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a transmission cable termination box, and a transmission cable installation and recovery method which is employed when installing transmission cables such as copper wire cables and optical fiber cables.
There is a strong demand to simplify the transmission cable installation process because of increasing use of transmission cables, such as optical fiber cables, in the communications industry. Transmission cables are often required to span great distances. In a conventional installation method, optical fiber cables are fused together to provide a transmission cable of the required length. Another installation method, uses optical fiber cables with connectors at the optical fiber cable ends. Optical fiber cables with connectors are delivered to a work site where they are connected to provide a transmission cable of sufficient length. The resulting transmission cable is often longer than required, and the extra transmission cable length must be dealt with.
It is not practical to produce transmission cables, such as optical fiber cables or copper wire cables, of different lengths to accurately obtain the exact length of the transmission cable required for a given installation. Therefore, techniques for accommodating the extra length of transmission cable have been developed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When installing a transmission cable such as a copper wire cable or optical fiber cable, a predetermined length transmission cable is accommodated in a termination box. The cable is laid by being dram out of a working side of the termination box.
European Patent Application (OPI) No. 0296860 discloses an optical fiber cable accommodating container wherein the optical fiber cable is placed in the container by utilizing the cable's own weight to drop the cable into the container. During installation the optical fiber cable is pulled out of the container.
FIGS. 18 through 20 are explanatory diagrams showing a transmission cable accommodating unit disclosed by European Patent Application No. 0296860. More specifically, FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission cable which is being accommodated within the transmission cable accommodating unit. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the transmission cable which has been accommodated within the transmission cable accommodating unit. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing the transmission cable being pulled out of the transmission cable accommodating unit. In FIGS. 18 through 20, reference numeral 91 designates the transmission cable; 92, the transmission cable accommodating unit; 93, a central hole; 94, an upper guide; 95, a lower guide; 96, a drawing roller; 97, a roller drive force transmitting section; 98, a withdrawing angle adjusting device; 99, a gear 100, a drive motor; 101, a motor casing; 102, a cable taking device; and 103, a guide cap.
As shown in FIG. 20, the transmission cable accommodating unit 92 is cylindrical and has the aforementioned central hole 93 at its center. The central hole 93 is cylindrical and extends through the bottom of the transmission cable accommodating unit 92. Therefore, the transmission cable accommodating unit 92 has a transmission cable accommodating chamber, at the bottom, which is annular.
FIG. 18 shows the cable taking device 102 set on the transmission cable accommodating unit 92, the lower guide 95 set on the cable taking device 102, and the upper guide 94 set on the lower guide 95. The motor casing 101 is located at the center of the lower portion of the cable taking device 102 in such a manner that it is in the central hole 93 of the transmission cable accommodating unit 92. The drive motor 100 is provided in the motor casing 101, and the rotation of the drive motor 100 is transmitted through the gear 99 and the roller driving force transmitting section 97 to the drawing roller 96. The drawing roller 96 is rotated, drawing the transmission cable 91 down the upper guide 94 and along the locus 104 thereof. The gear 99 also applies torque to the drawing angle adjusting device 98, thus changing the angle of the drawing roller 96. Therefore, while the transmission cable 91 is drawn, position of locus 104 of the transmission cable 91 is shifted slightly.
FIG. 19 shows a part of the transmission cable 91 which has been accommodated in the transmission cable accommodating unit 92. As shown in FIG. 19, the transmission cable 91 is accommodated by being shifted in position. Once the transmission cable 91 has been accommodated in the transmission cable accommodating unit 92, the transmission cable accommodating unit 92 is disengaged from the cable taking device 102.
When installing the transmission cable, as shown in FIG. 20, the guide cap 103 is set on the transmission cable accommodating unit 92, and the transmission cable 91 is withdrawn through the hole in the guide cap 103.
To aid in understanding the withdrawal process, FIG. 20 illustrates the guide cap 103 removed obliquely above the transmission cable accommodating unit 102.
The above-described conventional technique is disadvantageous in the following ways:
(1) The transmission cable accommodating unit is bulky due to the drive motor being positioned at its center.
(2) The drawing roller's intricate motion requires a large number of components, and accordingly is high in manufacturing cost.
(3) For the same reason in (2), it is difficult to adjust the drawing roller.
(4) Since the transmission cable is dropped or drawn into the transmission cable accommodating unit by its own weight, it is necessary to provide a transmission cable accommodating unit with a considerably large floor area.
(5) Since the transmission cable is withdrawn from the transmission cable accommodating unit using the cap guide set on it as shown in FIG. 20, the cable drawing tension is unstable.
The noted disadvantages of the prior art transmission cable accommodating technique require the process of accommodating the transmission cable within the transmission cable accommodating unit to be performed at the factory. Therefore the prior art technique is not suitable for dealing with the extra length of transmission cable encountered during transmission cable installation.
Additionally, it is desirable to form a high tensile strength transmission wire. A method in the art achieves this by winding a transmission cable around a strength wire. However, such transmission cables are large in sectional area and low in flexibility. Therefore, any technique for providing for the extra length of transmission cable, especially those transmission cables having connectors, must accommodate for the extra space requirement of large cross section, low flexibility transmission cables.
During the installation of a transmission cable, it sometimes becomes necessary to draw out or draw in the transmission cable while the transmission cable is connected to a communications network; for instance, when moving the transmission cable transmission box or when constructing a building. This requirement occurs most frequently with a so-called "drop transmission cable" which is laid between a subscriber and a branching point on a communication pole. In order to meet this requirement, the extra length of transmission cable which can be wound or unwound should be at least 10 m. The transmission cable termination box for dealing with this extra length remains connected to the communication line. Therefore, in order to allow for wide use of a transmission cable termination box, it is essential that it be small in size and low in manufacturing cost.
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Streaming media devices are becoming more and more popular. Streaming media devices allow a user to browse, search, and watch media content on demand. However, the input mechanisms for these streaming media devices are often simple remote controls without keyboards that require a user to hunt and select individual text characters when entering a search query into a text input control (e.g., text input box). Thus, the process of providing textual input to these streaming media devices can be burdensome to the user.
Some streaming media devices have a corresponding application by which a user can provide text input using a virtual keyboard on the user's handheld device (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer, etc.). However, the user must install and invoke the application before being able to use the virtual keyboard to provide text input to the streaming media device.
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It is known that the accuracy rate of speech recognition applications is affected by the volume setting of the microphone used to capture the speech. To improve accuracy rate, attempts have made to allow for automatic optimization of the microphone volume. One such attempt is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,886, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, wherein volume is optimized by a multi-step process involving the comparison of multiple audio captures taken at different, predetermined volume levels. Depending on noise conditions and the initial microphone volume setting, a user may be required to provide several audio captures to determine the optimal microphone volume setting. Also, the user is required to remain silent for predetermined periods of time to allow for determination of the noise level.
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The operation of a PM wind turbine generator is highly dependent on the condition of the permanent magnets. Faults such as broken magnets or non-uniformly magnetization levels of the magnets give rise to a degraded quality and utilization of the generator.
It is well known to assemble an electrical PM machine with pre-magnetized magnets in prepared slots comprised in the rotor as disclosed in Danish patent DK 172430.
A disadvantage by the described method is that at the installation extensive magnetic forces act between the magnets and other magnetic components of the electrical machine. This requires special precautions to be taken during installation comprising special tools handling the magnets, magnetic components and the forces that interact.
Furthermore as the magnets are magnetized prior to installation, the condition of the magnets after installation is left uncertain until the wind turbine is operated.
US patent application US 2002/0149275 discloses an electrical machine comprising magnetic-field sensors mounted on the stator as to detect the angular position of the rotor.
It is an object of the invention to provide technique without the above mentioned disadvantages and especially it is an object to provide technique that enables monitoring the condition of the permanent magnets after they are installed in the rotor of a wind turbine generator.
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Medical ultrasound imaging systems have evolved into complex instruments offering a wide variety of imaging modalities including two dimensional imaging mode (2D) which may have a sector or linear format, M Mode (MM), Color Flow (COLOR), and Doppler (DOPPLER) imaging. Each modality requires a set of user controls unique to that modality. Not only is each mode operational independent of the other modes, but they may also be combined into a variety of composite modes. These composite modes include 2D/MM, 2D/COLOR, 2D/COLOR/MM, 2D/DOPPLER and 2D/COLOR/DOPPLER. The complexity of the user controls required to operate the system in a composite mode is increased substantially since the user controls for each mode making up the composite mode must be readily available to the user. The situation is further complicated since some controls must be dedicated to system functions which are independent of the selected modality, e.g., VCR and hard copy controls.
Medical ultrasound imaging systems are typically used to image patients in real time. Thus, the user must be able to operate the system controls efficiently. As the complexity and functionality of the ultrasound system increases, traditional hard-wired controls dedicated to each function produce more crowded control panels which are more difficult for the user to operate in real time. A control panel for an ultrasound system having a dedicated control for each available function would require over 100 controls.
Ultrasound system control panels have been developed which minimize the control set available to the user at any one time, dependent on the selected ultrasound mode, to reduce control complexity. One such minimum control set approach uses programmable "soft keys" whose functions change dependent upon the selected mode. A new function may be assigned to each soft key as the mode change and displayed on a display device.
Hierarchical menus, such as "pull-down" menus, have also been used to minimize the control set available to the user. Each menu is displayed on a display device and typically offers a list of available menu items related to a particular mode or function from which the user selects one item. This selection either produces the desired function or causes another lower level menu to be displayed which offers more menu items related to the first selected item. The selection process is repeated until the desired ultrasound system function is selected. The user may need to go through several menu layers to reach the desired function. From there the user may need to back track through several menu layers to reach another desired function.
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It is now well established that an elevated cholesterol level in blood is an indicator of a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Therefore, there is an increased demand for measuring blood cholesterol levels for screening general populations and for monitoring patients who are on cholesterol reducing diets or drugs. Since the recent data from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) survey of 5,000 participating laboratories revealed that a great deal of inaccuracy exists in reporting of cholesterol test results, it has become evident that there is an urgent need for an improved cholesterol test which will yield accurate and reliable results (Naito, H.K. and Hartmann, A.E., "The ABC's of Cholesterol Standardization", by the College of American Pathologists, 1987).
Conventionally, cholesterol is measured by direct or indirect chemical methods (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,001,950; 3,479,154; 3,558,516) which involve the handling of highly corrosive material. Therefore, direct enzymatic methods today have virtually replaced the chemical methods in clinical laboratories. These enzymatic methods involve a) hydrolysis of cholesterol esters by an esterase or a combination of lipase and esterase (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,776,816; 3,884,764; 3,925,164), b) subsequent oxidation of cholesterol by cholesterol oxidase (U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,645) which uses oxygen and produces cholestenone and hydrogen peroxide and c) quantitative measuring of hydrogen peroxide thus produced by means of peroxidase and reduced chromogen as shown below: ##STR1##
Alternatively, instead of measuring the hydrogen peroxide produced, the cholestenone produced or the oxygen consumed can be measured in this reaction to determine the level of cholesterol present in the sample. This enzymatic approach has admittedly brought considerable advancement in the determination of cholesterol due to its specificity, sensitivity and convenience when compared with previously used chemical methods. The process, however, has not been suitable for a rapid, kinetic (rate) method.
Cholesterol oxidases catalyze the most specific part of the reaction sequence in the determination of cholesterol. These cholesterol oxidases are obtained from organisms such as Nocardia, Brevibacterium or Streptomyces (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,907,642; 3,983,005; 4,212,938; 4,226,713; 4,229,527; 4,350,762) and have a low Km (Michaelis and Menton) value of 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-5 M for cholesterol. The low Km values of these cholesterol oxidases do not allow the reaction to proceed as first order or pseudo-first order at a concentration range of up to 13 mmoles/L cholesterol, which is the range of interest for serum concentration. Therefore, the enzymatic methods developed with these cholesterol oxidases are "end-point" methods where all of the cholesterol is titrated by an excess of cholesterol oxidase. The "end-point" methods generally take 6 to 10 minutes to perform, require sample blanks and are subject to interferences by turbidity, bilirubin, hemolysis, ascorbate, and so forth. Some of these problems can be avoided and the cholesterol measurement further improved by developing "kinetic" or "rate" methods as an alternative to "end-point" methods. However, to develop a rapid and convenient kinetic" method for the cholesterol determination, a first order or pseudo-first order reaction is required. This can only be achieved if one has available a cholesterol oxidase with a Km of 10.sup.-2 to 10.sup.-3 M for cholesterol, i.e., a Km of about 20-100 fold larger than the substrate concentration of interest, thus making the reaction rate limiting. In this case the reaction will follow pseudo-first order kinetics.
The kinetic method thus developed can offer many advantages over end point methods, such as, 1) reduction in analysis time; 1-2 minutes, 2) less interference by turbidity, bilirubin, hemolysis and ascorbate, 3) obviate the need for a sample blank, and 4) offers improved accuracy.
Such a kinetic method for cholesterol determination was successfully developed by Deeg, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,144) where the inventors were able to artificially increase the Km of cholesterol oxidase from genus Streptomyces which has a Km of 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-5 moles/L by adding a competitive inhibitor, such as, 3,4-dichlorophenol. By manipulating the concentration of 3,4-dichlorophenol and cholesterol oxidase, it was possible to increase the Km of the enzyme allowing the cholesterol oxidase reaction to proceed as pseudo-first order.
In contrast to Deeg et al., the present invention utilizes a new and unique cholesterol oxidase (GDS-41) isolated from a mutant of genus Nocardia which was found surprisingly to have an inherent Km value of 10.sup.-2 to 10.sup.-3 M for cholesterol. Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a kinetic method and a test composition for the determination of cholesterol using this cholesterol oxidase. This invention provides a significant advantage over the previously described Deeg, et al. method as it does not require artificially increasing the Km value by using a competitive inhibitor and therefore, requires only about one tenth to one hundredth the amount of cholesterol oxidase normally used in a prior art test composition. As cholesterol oxidase is usually the most expensive ingredient in the test composition, this method will allow the development of a more cost effective cholesterol test. In addition, the method allows measuring the reaction rate within 0.5-1.5 minutes, thus permitting higher throughput using automatic clinical analyzers or alternatively, providing immediate results for use in "on-site" or physicians office testing.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling press conditions of a mechanical double action press machine, and more particularly to a method and apparatus in which a function is provided which controls various conditions which are related to press forming, such as hydraulic pressure and pneumatic pressure, automatically by a feedback method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A deep drawing mechanical double action press machine is shown in FIG. 3. This press is equipped with upper (inner) die 38 and outer ram 39. Outer ram 39 produces a pressure aided by the distortion of outer connection rods 40 at the lower dead point of lower die 37. Hydraulic pressure is supplied to outer connection rod connector parts 7, which are located at the point where outer connection rods 40 are attached to outer ram 39, to transmit the above-mentioned pressure and absorb the overload during the forming process.
Conventionally, a control system such as shown in FIG. 4 has been utilized as a means to control the hydraulic pressure.
The outer connection rod control part 7 consists of a cylinder (a protector cylinder) 42 which is drilled in outer ram 39 and a piston 43 which is housed in cylinder 42 and to which outer connection rod 40 is attached. An oil chamber 8 is defined by the piston 43 and the cylinder 42.
A hydroblank holder 18, which has an oil chamber 18a and an air chamber 18b, is also included in a control system of the prior art. Oil chamber 18a and oil chamber 8 of the outer connection rod connector part 7 are connected to each other. A predetermined hydraulic pressure is supplied to these two oil chambers 8 and 18a from a hydraulic source 46. Hydraulic source 46 typically includes a hydraulic motor 46a, and a pressure setting valve 46b. A predetermined pneumatic pressure is also supplied to air chamber 18b of the hydroblank holder 18 from a pneumatic source 47 which typically includes a regulating valve 47a, and an accumulator 47b.
With above configuration, the hydraulic pressure is balanced with the pneumatic pressure regulated by the regulating valve 47a, i.e., the air regulator pressure. Hydraulic pressure is applied to oil chamber 8 of outer connection rod connector part 7, and thus determines the pressure of the outer ram 39. In this case, when the predetermined pressure of the regulating valve 47a is varied, the hydraulic pressure balancing with it also changed as a result, hence varying the pressure of the outer ram 39.
When the internal pressure of an outer balance cylinder (the reference numeral 48 of FIG. 3) connected to the upper part of the outer ram 39 is regulated by a regulator (not shown) to a magnitude just sufficient to push up both the weight of the upper (inner) die and the weight of the outer ram at the time of the lower dead point of the press, an outer (outward) load corresponding to above predetermined hydraulic pressure is transmitted. Conversely, if the pressure is regulated by the regulator (not shown) to a magnitude exceeding the value just enough to push up the weight of the upper (inner) die (hereinafter referred to as inner die) and the weight of the outer ram at the time of the lower dead point of the press, the outer load with the magnitude obtained by reducing the excess upward pressure of the outer balance cylinder 48 (excess value of the regulator pressure) from the pressure corresponding to above predetermined hydraulic pressure is transmitted.
Also if the hydraulic pressure in the oil chamber (which is predetermined at the time of the upper dead point of the outer) is changed at the time of the lower dead point, the compression property of the operating oil is changed so that the above outer load is changed.
The prior art mentioned above has thus posed a problem as described below. The internal pressure of air chamber 18b of hydroblank holder 18, the internal pressure of outer balance cylinder 48 and the internal pressure of oil chamber 8 of the outer connection rod connector part 7 at the upper dead point of the press, greatly affect the forming characteristics of the pressing in the prior art. However, these pressures are manually set in advance by an operator at the upper dead point of the press, prior to the forming. Thus, the change in the desired pressure values at different times during the forming process cannot be determined.
Therefore, in order to manually preset the pressure in the prior art, not only have much labor and time been required, but also an abnormal change of the preset pressure at the time of the upper dead point cannot be determined, and hence forming has been carried out even when the outer load has shown an abnormal value at the time of the lower dead point. Thus, it has been difficult to maintain stability during the process.
Moreover, abnormal situations such as oil leakage in oil chambers 8 and 18a, oil accumulation in air chamber 18b and malfunction of hydroblank holder 18 at the time of forming have been very difficult to detect. Therefore, when such factors have caused a press to malfunction, those factors could not be identified, and the malfunction was inadequately corrected, for instance by adjusting the dies.
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The present invention relates to a bidirectional DC/AC inverter, and more particularly to control for a bidirectional DC/AC inverter to switch between an operation of charging a battery and an operation of outputting alternating-current power.
FIG. 3 is a view of an existing bidirectional DC/AC inverter. The bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 includes a filter 34, a bridge circuit 39, a bridge circuit 45, a bridge circuit 51, a condenser 53, a coil 54, a plug 55, an outlet 56, and a relay 57. The filter 34 includes coils 31 and 32 and a condenser 33. The bridge circuit 39 includes four switching devices 35 through 38 and is connected to the filter 34. The bridge circuit 45 includes four switching devices 41 through 44 and is connected to the bridge circuit 39 through a condenser 40. The bridge circuit 51 includes four switching devices 47 through 50 and is connected the bridge circuit 45 through a transformer 46. The condenser 53 and the coil 54 are disposed between the bridge circuit 51 and a battery 52. The relay 57 electrically connects the bridge circuit 39 to the plug 55 through the filter 34 when the battery 52 is charged. The relay 57 connects the bridge circuit 39 to the outlet 56 through the filter 34 when the bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 outputs alternating-current power. The switching devices 35 through 38, the switching devices 41 through 44 and the switching device 47 through 50 are, for example, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and a diode is connected in parallel to each switching device. The plug 55 is connected to the outlet 59 of an external power source 58 when the battery 52 is charged. The outlet 56 is connected to the plug 61 of an external load 60 when the bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 outputs the alternating-current power.
The bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 alternately turns on and off the switching devices 41 and 44 and the switching devices 42 and 43 of the bridge circuit 45 when the battery 52 is charged. More specifically, when the battery 52 is charged, alternating-current power inputted from the power source 58 into the bridge circuit 39 through the outlet 59, the plug 55, the relay 57 and the filter 34 is rectified by the diodes connected in parallel to the switching devices 35 through 38 of the bridge circuit 39 and smoothed by the condenser 40, thus being converted into direct-current power. And then, the direct-current power is converted into alternating-current power by the bridge circuit 45 and outputted to the bridge circuit 51 through the transformer 46. Sequentially, the alternating-current power is rectified by the diodes connected in parallel to the switching devices 47 through 50 of the bridge circuit 51 and smoothed by the condenser 53, thus being converted into direct-current power. Lastly, the direct-current power is supplied to the battery 52 through the coil 54.
In supplying alternating-current power to the load 60, the bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 alternately turns on and off the switching devices 47 and 50 and the switching devices 48 and 49 of the bridge circuit 51 and alternately turns on and off the switching devices 35 and 38 and the switching devices 36 and 37 of the bridge circuit 39. More specifically, when the alternating-current power is supplied to the load 60, direct-current power obtained from the battery 52 is converted into alternating-current power by the bridge circuit 51 and outputted to the bridge circuit 45 through the transformer 46. And then, the alternating-current power is rectified by the diodes connected in parallel to the switching devices 41 through 44 of the bridge circuit 45 and smoothed by the condenser 40, thus being converted into direct-current power. Lastly, the direct-current power is converted into alternating-current power by the bridge circuit 39 and supplied to the load 60 through the filter 34, the relay 57, the outlet 56 and the plug 61.
The bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 drives the bridge circuit 45 in charging the battery 52 and the bridge circuit 39 and the bridge circuit 51 in outputting alternating-current power (cf. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-37226).
However, current inputted to the inverter 30 when the battery 52 is charged or current to be outputted from the inverter 30 when the inverter 30 outputs the alternating-current power flows through the relay 57. Thus, the bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 requires large-sized relay 57, with the result that the bidirectional DC/AC inverter 30 becomes large in size.
The present invention is directed to a bidirectional DC/AC inverter which prevents its size from becoming large.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention related to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Related Art
In recent years a semiconductor device necessitates to be lightweight, thin, and short sized, and a high performance. In the semiconductor device such as multi-chip package or the like, realizing high density interconnect, miniaturization of a logic chip and capacity increase of a memory is aggressively promoted.
As for one corresponding medium coping with such proposals, it is tried that realizing high density interconnect or the like is achieved upon providing a through electrode on the semiconductor substrate. A through electrode as for the conventional one is described in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-311982.
The Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-311982 discloses the semiconductor device having the through electrode. Configuration of the through electrode is that an intermediate insulating layer is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the through hole penetrating the semiconductor chip substrate, and a conductive layer is filled in the through hole inside the intermediate insulating layer. According to the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-311982, if the configuration is used, this makes it possible to form plural semiconductor chip substrates three-dimensionally with high density.
In addition, although a technical field is different, there is a technique described in “Wafer Process and Issue of Through Electrode in Si wafer Using Cu Damascene for Three Dimensional Chip Stacking” By Masataka Hoshino and other five members, 2002, Proceedings of the International Interconnect Technology Conference p. 75 to 77 (Masataka Hoshino et. al,), as for a technique to remove the semiconductor substrate and a metal film simultaneously. The Masataka Hoshino et. al, describes the semiconductor substrate including the process in which grinding a rear surface is performed, after forming an electrode, that is described later.
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Based on established and proposed standards for encoding and decoding video data, such as H.264 (also known as MPEG-4, Part 10, and Advanced Video Coding), encoded digital video data may be broadcast at data rates exceeding 20 MBits per second for high definition television (HDTV). For compression, the H.264 standard allows individual frames to be encoded using varying amounts of data. As an example, the first frame of a sequence contains complete picture detail, and therefore requires more data, while subsequent frames are largely predicted from preceding frames, and therefore need only enough data to describe the differences.
H.264 optionally uses context adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) to further compress data that has already been compressed using spatial and temporal prediction, transforms, quantization and other techniques.
Unlike the other methods, CABAC is categorized as lossless compression because CABAC coding does not result in the loss of information. Nevertheless, CABAC can result in considerable compression gains.
In CABAC encoded data, a “syntax element”, which typically represents a coefficient or other datum from prior compression, is encoded as a variable length sequence of binary bits (“Bins”), and the individual Bins (i.e. 2-valued symbols) are then encoded using arithmetic coding. Arithmetic encoding expresses a sequence of symbols as a single fractional binary number between 0 and 1 using recursive subdivision of intervals to encode successive symbols. The number has as many fractional bits of precision as are needed to express its value. The relative likelihood of occurrence of a 1 and a 0 is used to encode the Bin with statistically optimal efficiency. In the CABAC decoder, a dynamic context table is kept with likelihood entries for each of many different types of Bins within syntax elements. The context table is preloaded at the beginning of a “slice” of video data, and subsequently the appropriate context table entry is updated after each Bin of a syntax element is decoded. Because a context table entry is referenced and updated in order for each Bin, parallelization of the decoding process is computationally complex.
A typical HDTV video decoder may assemble 30 frames per second. The standard allows for encoded frame data sizes as high as 12 Mbits per frame for HDTV. Therefore, an arithmetic decoder may need to decode at speeds of 360 Mbits/sec of encoded data at a peak decoding rate, if it is to complete the decoding process for each frame within one frame time. The peak rate of Bins is even higher than 360 Mbits/sec in this case. It is difficult using conventional CMOS integrated circuits, to build an arithmetic decoder and context memory that operates at this rate.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns polymeric perfluoroetheracyl peroxides, and an improved process for making them.
Selected high molecular weight fluorocarbon and perfluoroether peroxides have been known in the art for a number of years. The synthesis of these compounds has generally involved the reaction of aqueous peroxide with an acid halide. Using this method, some of the acid halide is converted to carboxylate salt. As the molecular weight of the carboxylate salt increases, soaps and stiff emulsified gels are formed that interfere with the isolation of the pure compound. Conventional methods of isolating the peroxide have involved treatment of the mixture with sulfuric acid and following up the procedure with centrifugation to separate out the peroxide. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,193. The present invention improves upon prior art procedures for synthesizing oligomeric peroxides by limiting the presence of water so as to retard emulsion and gel formation and result in the direct formation of a liquid product containing the high molecular weight perfluoroether peroxides. This invention also concerns novel polymeric peroxides produced by the present process, and a novel method of coating substrates with fluoropolymers using the polymeric peroxides.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,559,630 and 2,792,423 disclose polymeric perfluoroalkylacyl peroxides and a method for making them. The chemistry used in the process to produce the acyl peroxides is the reaction of the corresponding acyl halide (usually fluoride or chloride) with a peroxide under basic conditions. The peroxide can be added as hydrogen peroxide and a base such as sodium hydroxide added, or the base and peroxide can be combined in one compound such as sodium peroxide. The reaction is often done in a heterogeneous system containing water to dissolve the inorganic salts, and an organic solvent to dissolve the perfluoro polymer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,810,875 and 3,882,193 disclose polymeric perfluoroether acyl peroxides wherein both ends of the perfluoroether polymers end in peroxides, and each "block" of perfluoroether polymer is part of a larger polymer molecule joined by peroxide linkages. Thus, such poly(perfluoroether)acyl peroxides are "difunctional", that is reactive on both ends of the perfluoroether blocks. The same basic chemistry described above was used to prepare the peroxides.
Z. Chengxue et al., in Journal of Organic Chemistry, vol. 1982, pages 2009-2013 describe the decomposition of perfluoroacyl peroxides for both perfluorocarbon and perfluoroether compounds, but the molecular weights of the perfluoro segments are very low.
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Computer graphics systems are commonly used for displaying graphical objects on a display screen. These graphical objects include points, lines, polygons, and three dimensional solid objects. Using techniques well known in the art, color and surface details can be added to areas and surfaces of objects. One particularly useful technique for adding surface detail to areas or surfaces is texture mapping. Using texture mapping, a pattern image or texture map is combined with an area or surface of an object thereby producing a modified object with the added detail of the texture map. For example, given a flat black solid cube and a texture map defining a wood grain pattern, the texture mapping technique can be used to map the wood grain pattern onto the cube thereby producing a cube that appears to be made of wood. The texture mapping technique is particularly useful as surface detail becomes finer and more intricate thereby rendering the use of geometric primitives less practical.
The effect of texture mapping onto objects can be further improved using filters. Filters are useful for blurring or uniformly reducing the detail of a texture mapped onto an object. Filtering used in this way is particularly useful for modeling the distance that an object is located from the viewer, the effects of atmospheric fog, or the effect of poor lighting. For example, one would expect that an object positioned close to the viewer would appear to have greater detail that an object located some distance away from the viewer. This effect can be created in a computer graphics environment by applying a filter to the more distant object. One limitation in the use of filters in the prior art is the fact that filters typically must be applied uniformly for each of the pixels in an area or surface of an object. This limitation on the use of filters is particularly troublesome for generating and displaying objects where more than one filter level is necessary. For example, a polygon may be generated depicting a road extending into the distance. As expected for a perspective view, the sides of the road would be positioned wide apart in the foreground and converging to a point in the distance. Texture mapping may be used to apply an asphalt surface to the road object. A viewer would expect, however, to see finer detail of the road texture in the foreground versus the road texture in the distance. In order to appropriately model this perspective view, a fine detail filter should be used in the foreground of the road object, and a coarse detail filter should be used in the more distant region of the road object. Further realism may be achieved by using a plurality of filters at intermediate points of the road object from the nearest point to the furthest point. Typically, however, prior art systems have been unable to apply more than one filter to a single area or surface.
One way used in the prior art for applying variations in the detail of a texture mapped onto an object is to apply a filter to each pixel of an area or surface of the object. In this way, complete control over the rendering of an object can be achieved. Unfortunately, however, the use of a separate filtering computation for each pixel is very computationally expensive. Use of the pixel filtering technique requires extremely fast and typically expensive hardware. In some situations for large and complex objects, the use of the pixel filtering technique may not be possible for generating the object within the allowable time constraints. Thus, a better technique is needed for applying variant filter levels to a graphical object.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a technique for applying various filter levels to areas and surfaces of a single object. If is further an object of the present invention to provide a means for applying various filter levels to areas and surfaces of an object without requiring an expensive filter computation on a per pixel basis. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means and method for applying atmospheric and texture parameter variations to an object based on its distance from the eye of a viewer.
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The advancement of pulsed ion beam technology has been motivated by the potential to use such beams in applications requiring the bombardment by or deposition of a precisely controlled quantity of charged particles onto very small well defined target areas. Such applications include implantation of ions on semiconductor surfaces to produce components of an integrated circuit, sputtering from localized areas of a target to analyze the chemical nature of the surface using MS (mass spectroscopy), producing chemical changes in small localized areas such as are required in developing photo resist, and chemical milling to produce tiny well defined features on the target surface.
The ideal pulsed beam for these applications has a small cross section, is pure in terms of the absence of neutral particles and spread in the range of particle weight (elimination of isotopes and/or ion species having identical charge but different weight) and minimal range of energy (velocity) of the ions.
FIG. 1 shows a "column" 11 for generating a pulsed ion beam 13 according to the present state of the art. The beam 13 originates in source 15 and is formed by "beam forming" lens 17. Beam 13 then passes through "beam defining" aperture 19 which limits the outer envelop (divergence) of the beam 13. Beam 13 then passes through a crossover point 21 which is midway between two blanker electrodes 10 and through a "blanking" aperture 25. Objective lens 27 focuses beam 13 onto the target surface 29. A pulsed field applied between blanker plates 23 periodically deflects the beam 13 so that the beam is cutoff periodically by blanking aperture 25 thereby generating the pulsed beam.
The cross sectional area of the beam 13 (divergence of the beam 13 from the cross over location 21) is determined by the size of the "beam defining" aperture 19 and illustrated by the comparison of FIG. 1 showing a large beam defining aperture 19A to FIG. 2 showing a small beam defining aperture 19B. In columns of the present art, the user can select the size of the aperture (19A or 19B) corresponding to whether he requires a large spot size with a large current or a small spot size with a small current. According to the present art, the size of the blanking aperture 25 is fixed by the largest size of beam cross section that the user requires. However the use of a large blanking aperture places a limit on the minimum spot size that can be achieved by reducing the size of the beam defining aperture for reasons which are discussed in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4.
Although I do not wish to be bound by any theories that are presented in this specification, it is believed that the following discussion illustrates the mechanics of the motion of the beam during cutoff which results in an effective blurring of the beam spot at the target.
Motion of the beam during cutoff is illustrated in FIG. 3 and 4. (prior art).
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the deflection of the particle (defined as the deflection angle .alpha.) experienced by a particle depends upon the position of the particle between the electrodes in the direction of travel at the instant when the deflecting field is applied. Therefore, the beam does not experience a sharp cutoff when the blanking field is applied but rather a graded reduction of intensity and a divergence of the beam which is manifested as motion of beam due to cutoff.
FIG. 3 shows opposed blanking plates 10 and the position of a beam of particles 12 (three are shown) at the instant (t=0) that a voltage, V, is applied between the plates to deflect the beam so as to turn the beam off as the particles of the beam travel from left to right. The blanking plates have a thickness, D. Each particle is at distance "d" from the exit edge 14 of the blanker plates at the instant the blanking voltage is applied. Blanking aperture 25 that limits the greatest deflection angle of any particle of the beam. Then it can be understood by one having skill in the art that any particle (labelled as the n.sup.th particle) which is located a distance, d.sub.n, from the exit edge of the blanking plates at the instant the blanking voltage is applied will be diverted so that as it emerges from between the plates, will travel along a straight path given b y EQU y.sub.n =(Fd.sub.n x)/V.sup.2 +(Fd.sub.n.sup.2)/2V.sup.2
where:
x and y are coordinate axes, y being the "vertical" distance from the undetected beam and x is the "horizontal" distance from the edge of blanking plates, PA1 F is the force on the particle between the blanking plates equal to the deflection voltage, V, multiplied by the charge on the particle and divided by the separation of the plates; PA1 d.sub.n is the distance along the x axis of the "n.sup.th " particle from the exit edge of the deflector plates at the instant when the deflection voltage is turned on; PA1 D is the width of the deflection plates measured in the direction of the ubdeflected beam.
The effect of each particle following its unique path is that, after the cutoff voltage is applied, the "n.sup.th " particle will appear to pass through a location having coordinates, x.sub.n =D/2 (the center location between the edges of the plates) and y.sub.n (at a distance y.sub.n from the undetected beam) given where EQU y.sub.n =(Fd.sub.n D-Fd.sub.n.sup.2)/2V.sup.2
y.sub.n is a quadratic function of d.sub.n having a maximum at the center of the blanking plates, i.e., d.sub.n =D/2.
When the beam is turned back on, the paths of the particles again diverge from one another producing a motion of the beam which is in a direction opposite the direction occurring with cut off. FIG. 4 is a plot of y.sub.n vs. d.sub.n for both the turn off and turn on situations.
The effect of the divergence of the beam paths is to cause an apparent growth in the cross section of the beam at the midpoint of the blanker plates by an amount illustrated as 2y.sub.n in FIG. 4. thus giving a larger (blurred) spot at the target site. The problem becomes especially severe for pulse lengths of less than about 50 nsec. There are also excessive neutral particles which are undetected by the blanker and therefore contaminate the target surface when they reach the sample.
As discussed above, blurring of spot due to turning the beam off increases as the size of the blanking aperture is increased. However, selecting a size of the blanking aperture to reduce blur when using a small beam defining aperture results in a reduction of the maximum beam current that can be achieved when using a larger beam defining aperture. Although simultaneously selecting a small blanking aperture for use with a small beam defining aperture might be considered, the approach of replacing BOTH apertures is prohibitively inconvenient.
Advancement in the art has included the development of smaller and more efficient ion sources and improvement in the lenses used to form the beam.
The ion source of the present state of the art providing the smallest ion source is the liquid metal ion source in which the ion source is a needle to which an electrical potential is applied to develop a strong field at the tip of the needle. The strong field induces liquid metal wetting the needle to be drawn to the tip where the liquid metal forms an even sharper point. The lower limit of the size of the area emitting ions at the end of the needle is determined by charge interaction between the ions at the point. Areas having a breadth of about 500 .ANG. are achieved by this technique.
Elimination of neutral particles from the beam is achieved by the so-called "chicane" technique in which a beam is deflected by a field so that it passes around a "blocker" (shield). Neutral particles are not deflected by the blocker but separate from the beam and strike the shield, thereby removing them from the beam.
Other disclosures have appeared cataloging the advancements in FIB (focused ion beam) technology.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,279 to Martin discloses a chromatically compensated paricle beam column featuring a needle type ion source, one or more round lenses and a plurality of interleaved quadrupole lenses which are intended to reduce chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is understood in FIB context as being a spread in the focal length of a lens due to a spread in the energy of the ions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,739 to Sato et al discloses a liquid metal ion source of Ce ions forming a beam focused to a microspot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,794 to Davies discloses a system for compensating for spread in flight time by a circuit that meaures actual flight time of a given mass of ion and then adjusts a drift field to accommodate to deviations of velocity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,010 to Shobet discloses ion implantation having a target with pulses of high voltage applied to the target periodically to implant ions. The plasma is "purified" by passing the plasma through an ion ion plasma resonance system.
A critical review entitled "Focused Ion Beam Technology and Applications" by Meingallis published by the J. Vac. Sci. Technology B 5 (2), Mar/Apr 1987 is incorporated in this specification for further reference in the field.
None of the disclosures of these prior an addresses the problems associated with manual selection of the aperture as discussed above.
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1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to video processing and, in particular, to conversion of monoscopic images to stereoscopic 3D images.
2. Description of the Background Art
Stereo or “3D” videos enhance the illusion of depth perception by simulating stereopsis, thereby creating the illusion of depth through the simulation of parallax. One aspect slowing the widespread adoption of stereo videos, however, is the availability of videos in a stereo format. Traditionally, the primary way to generate stereo videos was to film in stereo using two different cameras angled from different points of view to capture depth information. Due to the difficulty and expense associated with filming in stereo, comparatively few stereo videos have been generated to date.
Furthermore, although it is currently possible to create a stereo video out of monoscopic images, some existing techniques rely on object segmentation to identify objects within an image, and then approximate to determine the depths of the objects relative to the plane of the image. Object segmentation may incorrectly determine the boundaries of objects, causing incorrect depth assignments that make it difficult for a viewer to discern what objects in the image are projected and what objects are recessed. As a consequence, existing techniques are generally not able to create stereoscopic images from monoscopic images that depict the depth of objects in the image in a consistent and accurate manner.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a supporting member and a substrate processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a substrate processing apparatus is a plasma processing apparatus that provides a predetermined process such as etching to a substrate such as a wafer for a semiconductor device using plasma.
For example, the plasma processing apparatus includes a treatment container, inside of which plasma is generated, upper and lower electrode provided opposite to each other, and a gas supply portion for supplying a process gas to a space sandwiched between the upper and lower electrodes through the gas supply port. A high frequency power is applied to at least any one of the upper and lower electrodes provided opposite to each other to excite a process gas by the electric field energy. A plasma process is applied to a substrate by generated discharge plasma.
The temperature of the upper electrode is controlled by using a chiller unit so that a cooling or heating medium having a predetermined temperature is circulated and supplied through a pipe. For example, in a case where the temperature of the upper electrode is controlled to be 150° C., the heating medium heated at a temperature of 150° C. is circulated and supplied.
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It has been known that binders, such as starch or starch-containing flours, can be sprayed with water, steam or aqueous salt or sugar solutions and that the agglomerates formed during this process can then be dried such as by means of a fluidized bed. However, this process cannot be applied when using pregelatinized starch or flours containing pregelatinized starch wherein the starch is present in a cold-swelling state. Wetting of these products, even when treated with steam, results in the formation of lumps. Consequently, the food preparations made using these products also contain lumps and do not swell easily in water and other aqueous liquids.
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In older conventional feed systems for continuous digesters, high-pressure pocket feeders have been used as sluice feeders for pressurisation and transport of a chips slurry to the top of the digester.
The Handbook of Pulp, (Herbert Sixta, 2006) discloses this type of feeding with high-pressure pocket feeders (High Pressure Feeder) on page 381. The big advantage with this type of feed is that the flow of chips does not need to pass through pumps, but is instead transferred hydraulically. At the same time it is possible to maintain a high pressure in the transfer circulation to and from the digester without losing pressure. The system has however demonstrated some disadvantages in that the high-pressure pocket feeder is subjected to wear and must be adjusted so that the leakage flow from the high-pressure circulation to the low-pressure circulation is minimized. Another disadvantage is that during transfer the temperature must be kept low so that bangs due to steam implosions do not occur in the transfer.
As early as 1957, U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,540 disclosed a feed system for a continuous chip digester where the chips are pumped from an impregnation vessel to a digester in which the chips are cooked in a steam atmosphere. Here, a part of the cooking liquor is charged to the pump to obtain a pumpable consistency of 10%. However, this digester was designed for small scale production of 150-300 tons pulp per day (see col. 7, r. 35).
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,098 from 1959 discloses a feed system for a continuous chip digester without a high-pressure pocket feeder. Here the chips are suspended in a mixer before they are pumped with a pump to the top of the digester. The pump arrangement is provided under the digester and here the pump shaft is also fitted with a turbine in which pressurised black liquor is depressurised to reduce the required pump power.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,088 from 1967 also discloses a feed system for a continuous chip digester without a high-pressure pocket feeder, where the wood chips are first steamed in a steaming vessel, followed by suspension of the chips in a vessel, whereafter the chips suspension is pumped to the top of the digester.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,600 from 1971 discloses another feed system for a continuous digester mainly designed for finer wood material. Here, a high-pressure pocket feeder is not used either, and the wood material is fed with a pump 26 via an upstream impregnation vessel to the top of the digester.
Similar pumping of finer wood material to the top of a continuous digester is also disclosed in EP157279.
Typical for these digester house embodiments from the late 50's to the beginning of the 70's is that these were designed for small digester houses with a limited capacity of about 100-300 tons pulp per day.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,004 shows a variation of feeding wood chips into a digester where the chips mixture is fed into the digester via a series of pumps. Here, so called DISCFLO™ pumps are used. A disadvantage with this system is that this type of pump typically has a very low pump efficiency.
The previously mentioned Handbook of Pulp also discloses on page 382 an alternative pump feed of chips mixtures called TurboFeed™. Here three pumps are used in series to feed the chips mixture to the digester. This type of feed has been patented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,075, U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,668, U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,890, U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,993 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,462; however in many cases, U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,088 for example, has not been taken into consideration.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,075 relates to pumping from a steaming vessel to a processing vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,668 relates specifically to the addition of AQ/PS during pumping.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,890 relates to at least two pumps in series and the arrangement of these pumps at ground level.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,993 relates to a detail solution where chemicals are added to dissolve metals from the wood chips and then drawing off liquor after each pump to reduce the metal content of the pumped chips.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,462 essentially relates to the same system already disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,088.
A big disadvantage with the systems with multiple pumps in series is limited accessibility. If one pump breaks down, the whole digester system stops. With 3 pumps in series and a normal accessibility for each pump of 0.95, the total systems accessibility is just 0.86 (0.95*0.95*0.95=0.86).
Today's modern continuous digestion houses with capacities over 4000 tons pulp per day use digesters that are 50-75 meters high and where a gauge pressure of 3-8 bar is established in the top of the digester in the case of a steam phase digester or 5-20 bar in the case of a hydraulic digester. The continuous digester systems are designed to, during the main part of operation, typically well over 80-95% of operation, run at nominal production, which makes it necessary, in regard to operational costs, for the pumps to be optimized for nominal production.
A typical digester system with a capacity of about 3000 tons with a feed system with the so called “TurboFeed™” technology requires about 800 kW of pumping power. It is obvious that these systems must have pumps that run at an optimized efficiency close to their nominal capacity. Such a feed system requires 19,200 kWh (800*24) per 24 hours, and at a price of 50 Euro per MWh, the operational cost comes to 960 Euro per 24 hours or 336,000 Euro per year.
The systems must also be operational within 50-110% of nominal production which places great demands on the feed system.
This means that a system supplier must offer pumps that are large enough to handle 4000 ton but can also be operated within a 2000-4400 ton interval. Such a pump operated at 50% of its capacity is far from optimised, but it is necessary to at least temporarily be able to operate the pump at limited capacity in case of temporary capacity problems, for example further down the fibre line.
If this system supplier offers digester systems that can handle nominal capacities of 500-5000 tons, then pumps must be designed in a number of different pump sizes so that each individual installation can offer, from a power consumption and energy perspective, optimised transfer at nominal production. This makes the pumps very expensive, as normally a very limited series of pumps are manufactured in each size. To be able to meet demands of reasonably short delivery times, the system supplier must stock pumps in all pump sizes which is very expensive.
The digester feed should also be able to guarantee optimal feeding to the top of the digester even if the flow in the transfer line is reduced to 50% of nominal flow.
This is difficult, because the flow rate in the transfer lines should be maintained above a critical level, as well-steamed chips have a tendency to sink against the direction of the transfer flow if the speed becomes too low.
A corrective measure that can be used at low rates is to increase the dilution before pumping so that a lower chip concentration is established. However, this is not energy efficient as this force the feed systems to pump unnecessarily high volumes of fluid which increases the required pump power per produced unit of pulp.
Each pump has a construction point (Best Efficiency Point/“BEP”) at which the pump is intended to work. At this “BEP”, shock induced loss and frictional loss are, in the case of centrifugal pumps, at their lowest which in turn leads to that the pumps efficiency is highest at this point.
A first aim of the present invention is to provide an improved feed system for wood chips wherein optimal transfer can be achieved within a broader interval around the digesters design capacity.
Other aims of the present invention are; improved efficiency of the feed system; improved accessibility; lower operational costs per pumped unit of chips; constant chip concentration during pumping regardless of production level; a limited range of pump sizes that can cover a broad span of the digester's production capacity; simplified maintenance; lower installation costs compared to feed systems with high-pressure pocket feeders or multiple pumps in series;
The above mentioned aims may be achieved with a feed system according to the present invention.
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Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) may be either directly driven or multiplexed. In directly driven LCDs, each segment or element has its own driver. In multiplexed LCDs, one driver drives a number of elements. For multiplexed LCDs having large numbers of elements, a matrix arrangement is commonly used, the matrix consisting of rows and columns of conductors having elements disposed at the intersection of each row and column conductor. The row and column conductors are energised by multiple level driving waveforms. The voltage levels of the waveforms are chosen according to the upper and lower transmission voltage threshold values of the liquid crystal and are conveniently generated by a resistive potential divider. This allows the voltage levels to be adjusted in step with each other by adjusting the voltage which is applied across the potential divider, e.g. by hand tuning. Such adjustment is required for initially setting up the display. Temperature-compensated LCDs are known, in which a temperature - dependent voltage source is included having a linear temperature voltage characteristic. Such temperature compensation gives acceptable performance over a limited temperature range, for example -5.degree. to 45.degree. C. If it is desired to operate over a wider range, it would be possible in principle to produce a voltage source having a non-linear temperature characteristic matching that of the display, but such a source would be considerably more complex and expensive than one having a linear characteristic, and would require calibration over the temperature range.
Another disadvantage of a temperature--controlled voltage source is that the temperature responsive element is in general somewhat remote from the display panel and has a different time--response under rapid changes of temperature. This means that until the temperature has stabilised, the contrast and legibility of the display will be degraded.
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In recent years, advances in technology have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. Many of these changes involve the complexity and magnitude of power usage of various electrical systems within automobiles, and particularly those of hybrid and electric vehicles. These vehicles are typically designed to draw a significant amount of their power output from rechargeable batteries. To better accommodate consumers, manufacturers of such vehicles have made the process of recharging batteries easier and more convenient by designing recharging systems to be compatible with common 110/120V home/garage outlets. A driver may “refuel” a vehicle during periods of non-use such as overnight by simply plugging a recharger's specially constructed power cable into such an outlet. The system maintains the recharging rate at safe levels throughout the process, and automatically turns the power off when a full charge level is achieved.
Automotive power cables for home-based vehicular recharging are designed to handle relatively high current loads for extended periods of time. To provide added protection, manufacturers often include built-in safety features that generally comprise a circuit breaking device such as a ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI, located at or near the cable's plug. A GFCI prevents current leakage by automatically opening the circuit whenever a sufficient disparity between outgoing and returning current levels is detected. However, the plug end of a recharging power cable may still become loose fitting and/or bent over time, possibly degrading outlet-to-plug electrical contact and contributing to overheating. Further, recharging is often performed without supervision over a period of several hours and an overheated plug may not cause a current leakage and thus may go undetected by a GFCI.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system for detecting the temperature of the plug on a vehicular battery recharging cable during a recharging cycle. Further, it is also desirable to halt the flow of current in the recharging cable when the plug temperature reaches a specified threshold level. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
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The present invention is suited for use in a storage apparatus with a virtual/logical volume to which a dynamically variable storage area is allocated, the volume being provided to a host computer.
In recent years, storage apparatuses providing a host computer with storage areas for storing data have been able to include quite a large number of large-capacity disk drives, and the storage apparatus capacity has been expanding. This type of storage apparatus is operated so that: a disk array configured based on RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is generated from several disk devices; a plurality of so generated physical storage resources is then collected to make a physical/logical volume; and a storage area of a capacity needed by a host computer is taken out from that physical/logical volume to make a logical volume to be provided to the host computer.
Furthermore, another type of storage apparatus has recently been proposed where, instead of making a logical volume of a fixed capacity from a physical/logical volume, a host computer is initially provided with a virtually defined logical volume (hereinafter referred to as a virtual/logical volume), and, in response to the host computer's command, a dynamically variable storage area is allocated from a physical/logical volume (i.e., a physical resource) in particular units to that virtual/logical volume, thereby the storage capacity being dynamically expanded.
For example, JP Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-015915 discloses a storage apparatus that provides each host computer with a corresponding virtual/logical volume made of a plurality of disk memory devices; obtains the read/write target logical block address from a command from the host computer directed to the virtual/logical volume; and if the virtual/logical volume has no storage area associated with the logical block address that has been specified by the command, allocates a storage area from unused magnetic disk memory devices so that the storage area for the virtual/logical volume is dynamically expanded.
However, the above storage apparatus disclosed by JP Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-015915 is configured to allocate a storage area to the virtual/logical volume in predetermined fixed units of allocation. So, if the fixed allocation unit size for the storage area for storing data sent from the host computer is large, that large portion of the storage area will be allocated even when a small piece of data is sent from the host computer, resulting in lower storage area operation efficiency.
On the other hand, in the storage apparatus disclosed by JP Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-015915, the fixed allocation unit size for the storage area for storing data sent from the host computer is small, it is necessary to increase the number of management bits for managing the storage area allocated, and huge memory capacity is required to maintain those management bits.
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Direct-conversion receivers are used in various communication systems, such as, for example, in mobile communication terminals. A direct-conversion receiver down-converts an input Radio Frequency (RF) signal to baseband or other low frequency by performing a single frequency conversion operation. Signals produced by direct-conversion receivers are sometimes distorted by DC offset.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application.
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Interfaces are provided to enable users to access local or remote content. Users may interact through the user interface with a provider of the user interface. The interfaces may be preselected for the user.
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Phase-lock systems for variably moving one signal in frequency/phase until it matches or "locks" with another reference signal are well known. When such systems are fabricated on chips, they often require a manual selection of several circuit elements that are external to the chip system itself. For example, in all systems an external de-coupling capacitor is normally used, and that external element is also required in the system of this invention. In addition to that capacitor, however, several other external elements are normally required in the prior art systems. Both the selection and several additional external elements are serious drawbacks to these prior art systems.
The system approach of this invention achieves a phase lock selection automatically. A major system component is a ring oscillator of selectable length and variable delay. The ring oscillator includes a plurality of tandem-connected current-starved inverter stages, each forming one curve in the system's family of curves. Automatic frequency/phase selection determines the proper operating point on the proper frequency curve without any extra external elements as required by the prior art.
A concurrently filed application, entitled CURRENT STARVED INVERTER VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR by one of the inventors hereof, describes two prior art conventional oscillator design approaches explained in articles entitled Design of PLL-Based Clock Circuits, by Deog-Kyoon Jeon et al published in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. sc-22, No. 2, April 1987, pages 255 through 261 and A Variable Delay Line PLL for CPU-Coprocessor Synchronization, by Mark Johnson and Edwin Hudson, published in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits on Oct. 18, 1988 at pages 1218 through 1223. A current starved inverter, and a bipolar multivibrator varying a load capacitance are featured, and the designers, when several cells were cascaded together, elected to go with a shunt capacitor delay cell due to the severe non-linearity of the current starved approach.
In spite of the above-noted deficiencies of conventional current starved inverter approaches, however, the inventors of this application have persisted and have provided a broadband, low power, and highly noise free voltage controlled oscillator circuit based upon a current starved inverter cell with a troublesome high gain non-linear area eliminated by an anti-high-gain circuit. Each inverter cell defines one essentially linear frequency curve in the system's family of curves. Combining a series of the improved low gain cells in a variable length, variable delay ring oscillator with an automatic selection method, provides a broadband low gain system which was not heretofore thought possible in the art.
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The IPTV video service consumes a lot of bandwidth, and permits no packet loss in the process of transmitting video data. Network bandwidth, especially user link bandwidth, however, is rather limited. To ensure normal running of an IPTV video service and ensure Quality of Service (QoS), a Resource Management (RM) function and a Connection Admission Control (CAC) function need to be deployed in the network.
IPTV services include multicast/broadcast video (such as BTV, i.e., Broadcast TV) and unicast video (such as VOD, i.e., Video-On-Demand). The working mode of a multicast service differs from that of a unicast service sharply, and therefore, the two services implement the CAC function in different ways:
For a multicast service, the multicast CAC is generally performed on an Access Node (AN) locally. That is, when user dial-up is detected and the user requests to join a channel, the AN judges whether the link bandwidth of the user satisfies the bandwidth requirement of the requested channel, or judges whether the number of channels joined by the user exceeds an upper limit. If the link bandwidth of the user is not enough or the number of channels joined by the user exceeds the upper limit, the CAC on the AN fails, and the AN rejects the user's request for joining the channel.
In a unicast service, the unicast CAC function is generally performed by a stand-alone RM server. The RM server knows the network topology and manages the end-to-end bandwidth from the unicast video server to the client. Therefore, when the user requests a unicast video service, a service server requests resources from the RM server, and the RM server judges whether the end-to-end bandwidth satisfies the bandwidth requirement of the unicast video service and returns a resource request result to the service server. Finally, the service server decides, according to the resource request result, whether to admit the service.
In the process of implementing the IPTV service in the prior art, a first solution in the prior art reserves the bandwidth for the multicast service and the unicast service separately. Consequently, the multicast service and the unicast service cannot share bandwidth resources, resulting in a waste of bandwidth resources. Moreover, this solution is applicable to limited scenarios, namely, applicable only if the user link bandwidth is wide enough.
In a second solution in the prior art, the AN reports join information of a multicast user, and the RM server performs CAC uniformly, and this unifies the implementation mode of the CAC for the multicast service and the unicast service.
However, the implementation process is complicated. Moreover, the switching frequency of the multicast service is greater than the switching frequency of the unicast service. Television users switch the channel frequently, resulting in massive information interactions between the AN and the BM server, or between the AN/Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) and the BM server. Consequently, the channel switching duration is long, delay occurs, and the user experience is affected.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a method for strengthening glass and a glass using the same, and more particularly to a method for strengthening glass capable of controlling the cambering of the glass and a glass using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Float process is one of the methods for manufacturing glass substrate. During the float process, a glass solution in a molten state is placed on a tin solution, one surface of the glass solution contacts the tin solution, and the other surface of the glass solution is exposed in the air, and the glass solution in a molten state, after cooling down, is solidified as a glass substrate in a solid state. Following the formation process, a strengthening process is applied to the glass substrate. Let the ion-exchange strengthening process be taken for example. The glass substrate is immersed in a potassium nitrate solution. Due to the diffusion reaction between the sodium ions of the glass substrate and the potassium ions of the potassium nitrate solution, the potassium ions enter the glass to replace the sodium ions, so that the lattice structure of the glass substrate changes and the glass is strengthened. The size of the potassium ions is larger than that of the sodium ions.
Referring to FIG. 1 (prior art), a cross-sectional view of a generally known strengthened glass substrate is shown. Since the first surface 16 of the glass substrate 12 contacts the tin solution, the first surface 106 has more tin particles aggregated thereon than the second surface. During the process of strengthening the glass substrate, the first surface 16 uses tin particles as a barrier to limit the potassium ions of the potassium nitrate solution in the quantity entering the first surface 16. Consequently, due to the large difference between the quantity of the potassium ions entering the first surface 16 of the glass substrate 12 and the quantity of the potassium ions entering the second surface 18 of the glass substrate 12, the internal stress of the first surface 16 is thus different from the internal stress of the second surface 18, and the glass substrate 12 is cambered as indicated in FIG. 1.
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The recreational boating industry involves the use of a watercraft, such as a jet ski or boat, on a body of water. Many different structures have been developed to facilitate the use of and enjoyment of such watercraft. One such structure is a boat lift and an adjoining dock. The boat lift includes a movable cradle that may be raised and lowered to lift the watercraft into a storage position out of contact with the water or drop the watercraft into a use position in which the watercraft floats on the water. The cradle of the boat lift may be powered either manually or by some type of motor.
In northern locales where the body of water freezes during the winter, boat lifts and docks are typically used seasonally. Usually, a boat lift/dock is installed in the body of water in the spring and used throughout the summer. Then, prior to the onset of cold weather in the late fall, the boat lift/dock is removed from the body of water and stored on land during the winter. This prevents the boat lift/dock from being damaged by ice formed in the body of water during the winter.
Installing and removing a boat lift or dock from a body of water is often a very strenuous and difficult operation. While docks come in sections to allow a dock to be disassembled and removed piece by piece, the same is not true of a boat lift. A boat lift is typically provided as one assembled, unitary structure. Thus, a boat lift often has to be manhandled into and out of the water using brute force. This usually requires a number of strong, fit people who often must be specifically hired for the job.
The boat lift installation and removal problem is made even worse if the shorefront property over which the boat lift must travel to the body of water is steep, rocky or uneven or the beach is narrow or non-existent. Most prime shorefront property having relatively wide, smooth and flat beaches has already been developed. Thus, owners of more newly developed shorefront property may have an impossible time of installing and removing a boat lift or dock from the water. It often can't be done if there is a large drop or highly uneven terrain between where the boat lift or dock must be stored out of season and where the boat lift or dock is to be installed and used during the season.
In addition, some boat lifts are part of larger, multi-level structures that include an entertainment area, such as a patio or sundeck, in a second level located above the boat lift. Obviously, such multi-level structures are considerably heavier and more complex than a boat lift or dock alone. To date, such multi-level structures are only used in climates where they can be assembled in place in the body of water and left year round. Thus, the use of such multi-use, multi-level structures has been restricted to bodies of water that remain open and ice free year round.
There is a need in this art for a simpler, easier way of installing and removing structures such as boat lifts and docks from a body of water. In addition, there is a need to find some way of being able to install and remove a multi-use, multi-level structure from a body of water without having to assemble and disassemble such structure in place. This invention addresses these and other needs.
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Recently, in accordance with the expansion of broadcasting services having high definition (HD) resolution in the country and around the world, many users have been accustomed to a high resolution and definition image, such that many organizations have attempted to develop the next-generation video devices. In addition, as the interest in HDTV and ultra high definition (UHD) having a resolution four times higher than that of HDTV have increased, a compression technology for a higher-resolution and higher-definition image has been demanded.
For image compression, an inter prediction technology of predicting pixel values included in a current picture from a picture before and/or after the current picture, an intra prediction technology of predicting pixel values included in a current picture using pixel information in the current picture, an entropy encoding technology of allocating a short code to symbols having a high appearance frequency and a long code to symbols having a low appearance frequency, or the like, may be used.
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This invention relates to a magneto-optic information-carrying medium that enables direct overwriting of new information and old information.
FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the principle of the prior art of magneto-optic information reading and writing as shown in "Single Beam Over Write Method Using Multilayered Magneto Optical Media", 28p-ZL-3, Extended Abstracts (The 34th Spring Meeting, 1987); The Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies. FIG. 3A shows an oblique view; FIG. 3B is cross-sectional view showing the main parts. The apparatus in these drawings comprises a magneto-optic information-carrying medium 1, which in turn comprises a glass or plastic substrate 2 and two ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic layers: a first layer 3 and a second layer 4. The apparatus also comprises an objective lens 5 for focusing a laser beam onto the information-carrying medium 1, where it forms a focused spot 6. Reference numeral 7 designates a region on the first layer 3 where binary data "1" is recorded by magnetization in the upward direction in FIG. 3B. The apparatus also comprises two magnets: an initializing magnet 8 for creating an initial magnetic alignment in the second layer 4; and a bias magnet 9 located opposite the objective lens 5 on the other side of the information-carrying medium 1.
This apparatus operates as follows. A support and drive mechanism not shown in the drawings turns the information-carrying medium 1 in a fixed direction (indicated by arrow a in the drawing). The first layer 3, which is positioned on the incident side of the laser beam, has properties similar to those of the recording layer of the information-carrying media used in ordinary magneto-optic discs, and also operates as a recording layer in the apparatus under discussion. The second layer 4, called the supplementary layer, is provided to enable overwriting; that is, to enable new data to be written over old data directly. Let Tc1 and Tc2 be the Curie temperatures of the first layer 3 and second layer 4, and let Hc1 and Hc2 be the coercive forces of first layer 3 and second layer 4, respectively. These parameters of the two layers satisfy the following relationships:
Tc1<Tc2 PA1 Hc1>Hc2 PA1 Hini<Hc1 PA1 Hini>Hc2
Let us first consider the reading of information recorded on the recording layer, that is, the first layer 3. The objective lens 5 is driven by a driving mechanism not shown in the drawings in the direction of its optic axis and in a direction perpendicular to its optic axis (the radial direction of the information-carrying medium) so as to keep the spot 6 in focus and on the track on the recording layer.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the recording layer is magnetized parallel to its direction. The magnetic alignment is either up or down in the drawing, these two directions corresponding to "0" and "1" of binary codes. Magnetization in the up direction in the drawing represents "1. 38 When the information is read, the spot 6 is focused onto the first layer 3. The magnetic alignment of the first layer is converted to optical information through a well-known magneto-optic effect (such as the Kerr effect); thus the information on the information-carrying medium 1 is detected. The intensity of the laser beam on the information-carrying medium 1 in this reading operation is equivalent to intensity a in FIG. 4. At this intensity the temperatures of regions of the first layer 3 and second layer 4 illuminated by the focused spot 6 do not reach their Curie temperatures Tc1 and Tc2, so the focused spot 6 do not erase the recorded information, that is, the magnetic alignment.
Information is overwritten as follows. The information-carrying medium 1 is subject to an external magnetic field Hini (indicated by arrow b in the drawing) generated by initializing magnet 8 in FIG. 3B. The external magnetic field is related to the coercive forces of the first layer 3 and second layer 4 as follows:
As the information-carrying medium 1 rotates in direction a in FIG. 3B, when the second layer 4 passes over the initializing magnet 8 it is uniformly magnetized in the up direction, regardless of the magnetic alignment of the first layers 3. At room temperature the first layer 3 retains its existing magnetic alignment, being unaffected by the magnetic field generated by the initializing magnet 8 or the magnetic field generated by the magnetization of the second layer 4.
To write the information "1," that is, to magnetize the first layer 3 in the up direction, the laser beam is modulated to an intensity equivalent to b in FIG. 4. The temperature of the region of the first layer 3 where the spot 6 is focused by the objective lens 5 then rises until it exceeds the Curie temperature Tc1 of the first layer 3, destroying the magnetic alignment of the first layer 3. The second layer 4, however, remains below its Curie temperature Tc2, so it retains the upward magnetic alignment given it by the initializing magnet 8. When the region of the first layer 3 illuminated by the focused spot 6 cools, it therefore acquires the upward magnetic alignment in accordance with that of the second layer 4.
To write the information "0," that is to magnetize the first layer 3 in the down direction, the laser beam is modulated to an intensity equivalent to c in FIG. 4. In this case the temperatures in the regions illuminated by the focused spot 6 on the first layer 3 and the second layer 4 rise until they exceed the Curie temperatures Tc1 and Tc2, respectively, causing both layers to lose their magnetic alignment. Due to a weak external magnetic field Hb, with magnetic alignment indicated by arrow c in the drawing, generated by the bias magnet 9 located opposite the objective lens 5 on the other side of the information-carrying medium 1, however, the second layer 4 is remagnetized in the direction of the magnetic field Hb, namely the down direction. When the first layer 3 cools, it acquires the downward magnetic alignment of the second layer 4. In this way the first layer 3 is magnetized in the downward direction. The intensity of the external bias field Hb is weak but within the range consistent with the above operation.
As described above, new information can be overwritten directly on old information by modulating the laser beam between intensities b and c in FIG. 4 in accordance with the binary codes "1" and "0".
When the magneto-optic information-carrying medium is structured as in the prior art described above, however, it is difficult to achieve a simple, compact apparatus configuration because the bias magnet must be placed in alignment with the objective lens on the opposite side of the information-carrying medium.
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This invention relates to the production of extruded thermoplastic films, and more particularly to an improved process for preparing films from polyesters and laminates employing these films.
The number of uses for extruded plastic films in general and polyesters in particular, has increased steadily in recent years. Their uses in food packaging alone have accounted for much of the increased volume of polymer films used commercially. Films made of polyester materials are particularly useful in food packaging due to their good moisture barrier properties and their freedom from any harmful residues which may pass into the food materials. Polyesters films have been particularly useful in packaging frozen foods, and laminates of polyesters on paperboard substances are very suitable for forming rigid packaging structures which may be employed for transporting and storage of the foods as well as for use as cooking containers in microwave ovens.
There are essentially two methods for preparing films made of polyester resins. In one, a stream of molten polyester film-forming material is passed through an elongated sheeting die which has an elongated slit die opening. Upon exiting the die, the material is drawn from the die opening at a rate greater than the rate of extrusion. The film, drawn in this manner, it thinned out to a thickness suitable for the intended utility and can be cooled and rolled or coated onto a substance prior to cooling.
In the other process for preparing polyester films, a circular die having an annular die opening is employed. The molten polymer is passed from the annular opening to form a tubular extrudate in which a gas is held under pressure to stretch the film in the direction transverse to the machine direction. Stretching in the machine direction can also be obtained by virtue of nip rollers which collapse the film and draw it from the die opening at a rate greater than the rate of extrusion.
Both of these extrusion procedures have their known advantages as well as limitations. When a particular set of conditions dictates the use extrusion in the form of a flat film from an elongated sheeting die, there has always been the problem with polymers in general, and polyesters in particular, that the film tends to neck-in and fluctuate to an undesirable degree as it is drawn from the die opening. This neck-in causes a bead to form at the edges of the film and also causes the edge of the material to weave or otherwise become uneven. This problem is especially pronounced with the extrusion of polyester films. Because there are very few applications where a necked-in film can be used as is without trimming off the undesirable portions along the edges, there is a great deal of wastage involved not only in the polymer employed but, also any substrate to which it is applied to those cases where it is not practical to trim the film prior to laminating it to the substrate.
A number of procedures have been proposed to obviate the problem of heavy or uneven edges on extruded plastic materials in the form of films. One such proposal involves metering the extrudate with deckle rods, adapted to control the beading, disposed in the extrusion die. This is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,995.
In another proposal for solving this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,556 suggests splitting the film longitudinally by means of at least one wire disposed in the path of the film prior to laminating the film to a suitable substrate. By maintaining the width of the film strip to less than about 1.5 inches, the problem of beading at the edge was not noticeable. However, this particular practice is not suitable for the formation of wider films, such as those required for use in food trays suitable for microwave heating or the like.
In another proposal for controlling the neck-in problem attempts have been made to provide means for holding either the inherently-formed or an intentionally-enlarged bead area to restrain the normal tendency of the film to decrease in width. Such means are in the nature of air jets which cool the film below the adhesion point. However, this procedure has not been as successful as would be desired in view of the high capital and operating expenses required. Thus, there remains a need to provide an improved process for extruding polyester films to avoid these problems.
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Breast and prostate cancers are the most frequently diagnosed malignancies in the United States. Generally these cancers cannot be curatively resected, except when detected early. Other non-surgical approaches, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, also affect normal cells and result in side effects that limit treatment. In addition, all treatments for recurrent or metastatic cancer are palliative. Consequently, development of novel systemic approaches to treat advanced, recurrent or metastatic cancer is needed. Immunotherapy may have great potential as a promising treatment for cancer patients because of its specificity and freedom from toxic effects of chemotherapies.
CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can recognize and specifically kill tumor cells expressing peptides from tumor-associated antigens presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. Therefore, most current cancer immunotherapy strategies focus on induction of CTLs that lyse tumor cells. Antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy often relies on identification of epitopes expressed by cancer cells that can be used as targets for CD8+ T cells. However, the natural CTL epitopes of cancers are not always optimal because the CTL repertoire against high-affinity epitopes is often tolerized (Gross et al., J. Clin. Invest. 113(3):425-433, 2004). Epitope enhancement, by means of modification of the amino acid sequence of epitopes, was developed to improve the efficacy of vaccines primarily through increasing affinity of peptide for MHC molecules (Berzofsky et al., Nat. Rev. Immunol. 1(3):209-219, 2001).
Discovering tumor-specific antigens is critical to the development of effective cancer immunotherapy. Recently, a novel tumor associated antigen, POTE, was identified from several kinds of human cancers (Bera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99(26):16975-16980, 2002; Bera et al., Cancer Res. 66(1):52-56, 2006). This tumor antigen is called POTE because its expression was first identified in normal prostate, ovary, testis, and placenta tissues, as well as in prostate cancer. The POTE gene family was found dispersed among eight different chromosomes (2, 8, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, and 22) with different mRNA length. Nevertheless, the POTE cDNA sequence among various chromosomes is highly homogeneous with the divergence less than 10%. Subsequent studies revealed that POTE genes were expressed not only in prostate cancer, but also in a wide variety of human malignancies, including breast, colon, lung, ovary and pancreas. There are distinct patterns of expression of POTE in normal tissues and cancers. Among the various cancers, the POTE paralogs on chromosome 2 (POTE-2γ) are the most frequently expressed.
Because POTE mRNA is detectable only in a limited number of normal human tissues (prostate and testis in the male, and ovary and placenta in the female), the POTE protein is considered as a member of the cancer-testis antigen family. Expression of cancer-testis antigens in the placenta or testis should not lead to T-cell activation because of the very low expression of MHC class I molecules in these tissues. Therefore, the POTE antigen is a potential target for the immunotherapy of cancers, including breast and prostate cancers.
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The invention relates to a method for replacing format dependent cellular panels used in container-filling machines for filling containers with foodstuffs, flavorings as well as other liquid or pastiform products. The machines of this type are generally arranged to pick up and transport containers, whereby the cellular panels are arranged adjacent to each other on a through-conveyor or periodically circulating conveyor and are thereby connected to the conveyor with means for replacement.
Present day container-filling machines are not utilized for filling one product alone, but rather numerous fluid or pastiform foodstuffs and flavorings. Due to this large number, there arises a requirement for various container forms and sizes. Consequently, the conveyor which runs through the filling machine carries cellular panels which are arranged in rows across the direction of transportation. These cullular panels are equipped with container pick-ups appropriate to the container for filling. Whilst the container's external dimensions are always the same, during one filling operation, the container pick-ups must always correspond with the relevant container sizes, and consequently the cellular panels have to be changed with each alteration of the product. Furthermore, for product or format alteration, all work stations also must be converted in addition to the changing of the cellular panels.
Due to the considerable time required for the conversion of the container-filling machine as a whole, the practice hitherto has been, in particular for the exchange of cellular plates, to detail an additional employee to perform the following operations under the most arduous conditions: to detach the screw connections connected to the two conveying chains arranged on both narrow sides of the cellular panels; to remove the old cellular panel and to replace it with a new one; and finally reattaching the screw connection. The mere exchange of these cellular panels takes approximately one hour. It should also be taken into account that the space available between the individual work stations is dimensioned to very close tolerances and that, due to the relatively great depth involved (four containers adjacent to each other), it may be very laborious to gain access to the furthermost bolt. Amongst these laborious conditions: the freshly installed cellular panels also have to be realigned such that the cellular panels--which also fulfill the function of pressure pads for the sealing tool--arrive at the sealing station at an accurate position relative to the same. A particular disadvantage of cellular panels which have to be laboriously manually exchanged is that after repeated removal and re-attachment, the aluminum cellular panels, which possess surface protection against corrosion, suffer damage due to handling by tools. As long as the occurrence of such damage is restricted to the area of the screwed connection, the damage is tolerable. It is a different matter if the edges of the container pick-ups also suffer damage. Damage of this kind means that correct sealing can no longer be achieved and consequently he preservability of the filled product is greatly reduced and, therefore, production has to be stopped. Damage relating to container pick-ups also applies in the case of the utilization of stainless materials, e.g. V2A, for the construction of the cellular panels.
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A puzzle solver finds enjoyment in the challenge of assembling or arranging pieces or filling in blanks to obtain the final form or state of the successfully completed puzzle. The utility of a puzzle primarily lies in the process the puzzle solver must perform to obtain this final form or state and only incidentally in the final form or state resulting when the puzzle is successfully completed. For example, once completed, a crossword puzzle is essentially worthless; similarly, while the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle may be assembled to form an interesting or beautiful picture, jigsaw puzzles are normally disassembled when the assembly process is complete. Accordingly, the process performed is the most important aspect of a successfully designed puzzle and should present a new and interesting challenge to the puzzle solver.
The utility of toys for children generally is derived in large part from the above-mentioned factors describing the utility of a puzzle; in addition, however, a toy should be educational and allow a child to be creative.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to biometric identity verifier devices, and more specifically to optical fingerprint identity verifier hardware systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Existing optical fingerprint sensors generally use a right angle prism to capture the fingerprint image. The characteristic optical path in such sensors is illustrated in FIG. 1. Collimated light rays from a light source pass through one side of the prism. These light rays then travels to the top of the prism where a finger is placed. If a light ray impinges on a location where the finger is not in direct contact with the top of the prism, the light ray undergoes total internal reflection, and emerges through the other side of the prism where it is captured by an imaging sensor that is oriented perpendicular to the light ray. Alternatively, if the light ray impinges on a location where the finger is in direct contact with the top of the prism, the light ray does not undergo total internal reflection but is instead absorbed by the skin. Thus, the optical fingerprint sensor captures a pattern of light and dark bands representing the fingerprint.
As a consequence of the characteristic optical path described above, existing optical fingerprint sensors have the following drawbacks: (1) the sensor module has a large volume thereby limiting the range of commercial applications, (2) the non-planar orientation of the light source and the imaging sensor increases the cost to manufacture the sensor module and also limits commercial applications, and (3) the fingerprint image captured by the image sensor is compressed along one direction necessitating software correction of the fingerprint image which increases the cost to manufacture the sensor module and further limits commercial applications.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,892,599 and 5,629,764 added a holographic phase grating to the prism so that the image capture plane is normal to the optical axis of the imaging lens in order to remove the image distortion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,200 added a series of prisms as an alternative means to remove the image distortion. The problem with these approaches is that they necessitate a bulky and expensive sensor module.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,858 used a grating to replace the prism. The problem with this approach is that the fingerprint image quality suffers due to the optical imperfections of the grating.
Accordingly, there is a need for an optical fingerprint sensor that reduces the size and cost of the sensor module while ensuring a high quality of the fingerprint image.
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Enterprise systems have long relied on mobile devices that provide voice on carrier networks and funnel data through enterprise servers, such as BLACKBERRY ENTERPRISE SERVER (BES). BES provides secured communications by controlling user profiles and applications that may be installed on enterprise mobile devices. However, modern enterprise systems allow users to operate unsecured mobile devices with access to enterprise systems. These devices are becoming increasingly popular across all industries despite the limited ways to control or detect malicious activity on these types of mobile devices.
For example, Android smartphones are popular with users of enterprise systems because of their flexible platforms, despite the fact that data from Android smartphones is communicated over carrier networks, rather than being funneled through a BES. Android smartphones can use separate mobile device management software, but typically, the ability to download applications by users is not controlled by any BES-like server or service. Consequently, there is an inability by enterprise systems to control users from taking malicious actions on these types of mobile devices, or detect any malicious activity after the fact. Undetectable malicious activity in enterprise systems includes, for example, unintended application installations, and unauthorized users of the mobile devices that are masquerading as authorized users.
Malware in mobile devices is also becoming a significant problem for enterprise and individual users. For example, the amount of Android malware tripled in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter. See Y. Namestnikov, IT Threat Evolution: Q2 2012, SecureList, available at www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792239/IT_Threat_Evolution_Q2_2012.
One approach to combat malware on enterprise mobile devices is to install a local virus scanner, much like an administrator would do on enterprise laptop or desktop computers. Mobile virus scanners run as similar privileged applications inside a virtual machine environment of a mobile device. Virus scanners compare installed applications against a known repository of malware signatures. That is, a virus scanner compares applications against a blacklist of known malicious applications. This technique has recognized weaknesses that are exploited by malware distributors. For example, a malicious application that is not in the blacklist is undetectable and could surreptitiously escalate privileges by modifying critical system files and altering mobile device behavior, rendering the virus scanner useless.
Thus, current security mechanisms for enterprise mobile devices can only detect malicious activity that has been previously identified as malicious, such as known malicious applications. Consequently, unknown malicious applications, unauthorized users, or malicious authorized users can readily take actions that potentially leave sensitive data exposed with little recourse for enterprise systems. Moreover, the risk of data loss inherently increases as more sensitive enterprise information becomes accessible over these types of mobile devices.
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Many therapeutic agents are highly lipophilic, meaning that they are soluble in lipids and some organic solvents while being substantially insoluble or only sparsely soluble in water. The poor water-solubility of these lipophilic agents often results in major difficulties in formulation. When administered in the form of an oil solution or some kind of water and/or oil suspension or emulsion, lipophilic compounds usually show poor bioavailability.
Various approaches to overcoming this limitation are known in the prior art. One such approach consists of dissolving a lipophilic compound in a water-miscible organic solvent such as ethanol or propylene glycol. However, when the resulting solution is admixed with blood or gastrointestinal fluids, the lipophilic compound usually precipitates as a solid or liquid emulsion, which results in a low bioavailability. Furthermore, for many lipophilic compounds no water-miscible organic solvents exist.
Another approach involves physico-chemical solubilization techniques such as micellar solubilization by means of surface-active agents (i.e., the use of surfactant micelles to solubilize and transport the therapeutic agent). In aqueous solution, micelles can incorporate lipophilic therapeutic agents in the hydrocarbon core of the micelle, or can entangle the agents at various positions within the micelle walls. Although micellar formulations can solubilize a variety of lipophilic therapeutic agents, the loading capacity of conventional micelle formulations is limited by the solubility of the therapeutic agent in the micelle surfactant. For many lipophilic therapeutic agents, such solubility is too low to offer formulations that can deliver therapeutically effective doses.
Another method consists of preparing a derivative or an analog of the lipophilic compound having a better solubility in water than the original compound. For example, this derivative may be a water-soluble salt of the compound that usually retains the original biological activity. However, this approach is applicable only to compounds having acidic or basic properties. If more substantial modifications are introduced into the original compound to improve its solubility, a decrease or even a complete loss of the original bioactivity of the compound is frequently observed.
Another approach consists of preparing a water-soluble pro-drug capable of liberating the original bioactive compound under physiological conditions. Such pro-drugs usually improve bioavailability of the compound and can ensure a targeted delivery of the compound or its sustained release over a period of time. However, the use of pro-drugs is not universally applicable since they usually require the presence of certain functional groups in the original compound. In addition, synthetic methods of improving solubility of a compound by chemical modifications are relatively complicated and expensive.
Other methods involve the formation of complexes by the addition of chelating agents such as citric acid, tartaric acid, amino acids, thioglycolic acid, and edetate disodium. Still other methods use buffering agents such as acetate, citrate, glutamate, and phosphate salts. However, buffers and chelating agents have been implicated in imparting high levels of aluminum in products, leading to adverse side effects. Furthermore, certain chelating agents such as EDTA have been implicated in adverse events such nephrotoxicity and renal tubular necrosis.
Therefore, there is a need for improved compositions and methods for the administration of lipophilic active agents to treat a variety of disorders in subjects in need thereof.
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Polymerization processes for producing polymers, such as polyolefins, may be highly exothermic, thus, requiring removal of heat during the polymerization process. Typically, shell and tube heat exchangers have been used to remove heat from polymerization processes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,251 generally discloses a polymerization process utilizing one or more shell and tube heat exchangers. However, there is a high pressure drop associated with shell and tube heat exchangers due to the high volume capacity needed to provide sufficient surface area for heat transfer in shell and tube heat exchangers. Also, a shell and tube heat exchanger may further require internal structures or static mixers to achieve an acceptable heat transfer coefficient, which increases the already high pressure drop resulting in limited recirculation rates and production rates.
WO 00/61644 discloses a method for continuously producing polymers comprised of vinyl aromatic compounds by means of mass polymerization or solvent polymerization, whereby the feed materials are fed into a spiral heat exchanger and are reacted therein. Other references of interest include: EP 0 926 161; WO 97/36942; U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,251; WO 2015/040522; U.S. Pat. No. 8,431,096; U.S. Pat. No. 8,153,757; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,153,757.
Thus, there is a need in the art for new and improved polymerization processes, which are capable of sufficient heat removal so as not to significantly affect production rates. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide polymerization processes where the sufficient removal of heat from the reaction is achieved by heat exchangers with increased heat transfer capabilities, smaller footprints, and lower pressure drops.
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This disclosure relates to trampolines.
A typical trampoline comprises a sheet (also termed: a mat), usually, though not invariably, circular, supported around its periphery within a frame like support structure by spring couplings (usually a plurality of helical springs or an elastic cord) under tension which fink apertures around the edge of the sheet to openings in the frame. The frame will generally have a configuration that matches that of the trampoline sheet or mat. Thus, when the trampoline sheet is circular, the frame will usually take the form of a generally circular ring with a diameter larger than that of the sheet in order that the sheet is stretched. When the trampoline sheet is rectangular in shape, the frame will usually comprise a ring of generally rectangular form that is similarly larger than the sheet in order that the sheet may be supported by helical springs under tension. The frame must be supported above the ground or floor. A typical trampoline support structure comprises a plurality of tubular members adapted to fit together to form the particular configuration of frame. At least some of the tubular members have a stub pipe welded thereto, which is adapted to interfit with an upper end of a respective leg, the several legs together supporting the frame and the trampoline sheet above the ground or floor. Alternatively couplings are used to interconnect the tubes of the frame with legs. The respective legs are suitably tubular and pairs of legs will typically be formed from a single tube bent into a generally U- or W-shape in which the uprights of the U or W form the legs proper, the lower ends of which are interconnected by the bight portion of the U or the central portion of the W. In the case of a U-shaped structure, the bight portion of the U provides support from the floor or ground, whereas in a W-shaped structure the lower angular corners of the “W” serve the same purpose.
A pad, annular when the trampoline sheet or mat is circular, generally covers the helical springs or cord so that a user does not hurt themselves as they climb on to the trampoline or step off it.
Users are warned only to bounce in the centre of the sheet or mat. Users are also warned that only one person at a time should use the trampoline. Unfortunately children pay little heed even to explicit warnings. Net enclosures have been provided to give at least a measure of protection and a feeling of security to a user against inadvertently falling off the trampoline on to the ground. The net enclosure is mounted on a plurality of generally upright poles that extend above the frame and are commonly attached to the legs. The net obviously requires an entrance/exit between two such poles so that users can climb on and off the trampoline.
Commonly the net is sewn to a plurality of sheaths, each of which simply slides over a respective pole so that the net generally corresponds with the outer periphery of the frame. The annular pad lies within this periphery. Thus, even though the enclosure may offer some protection against a child falling off the trampoline, they may still fall on to the pad or tread heavily on the pad and be hurt as a result by the unyielding helical springs beneath the pad.
To overcome this problem, smaller net enclosures have been provided in which the position of the net generally corresponds with the inner periphery of the pad, the net being mounted from the poles either by respective ties which may be individually fastenable or be sewn both to the net and to respective sheaths that slide over the poles. In either event, this construction is both not a strong as the prior arrangement in which the net is sewn directly to each sheath along its length, and also significantly reduces the generally usable area of the trampoline sheet, as an active user will come into contact with the net in this arrangement as they bounce near the edge of the sheet, and gives users a cramped enclosed feeling.
Until the present disclosure, there has been no satisfactory solution to these problems. Users requiring a net enclosure had to opt either for an outer periphery net enclosure with a risk of falling or stepping on the pad, or a weaker inner periphery net enclosure that prevented pad injuries but had other drawbacks.
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Interior design may involve developing and evaluating a design for a room or environment. For example, a designer may wish to position various objects, including furniture, lighting fixtures, and wall hangings, within a two-dimensional (2D) environment of an interior room. Conventional interior design tools may enable a user to position a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object by selecting the object, and “dragging and dropping” the object to a location in the 2D environment using a mouse, keyboard or other input device.
The inventors herein have recognized various issues with the above methods. Namely, although 3D objects may be positioned independently within the 2D environment, it may be difficult to precisely align the 3D object relative to other objects already present in the 2D environment. For example, a user may want to place a table underneath and in vertical alignment with a light fixture. Using conventional methods, a user can manually position an object to be in alignment with another object; however, manually aligning objects may be time-consuming and imprecise.
One approach that at least partially address the above issues may include a method for placing the 3D model of the object in the 2D environment, comprising projecting a projection from the 3D object while positioning the 3D object within the 2D environment.
In another embodiment, a method for placing 3D models of objects in the 2D environment may comprise placing the 3D object along a plane at a first position, moving the 3D object away from the first position along an axis perpendicular to the plane, and projecting a planar target or planar shadow of the 3D object on the plane about the axis. In projecting the planar target about the axis, the perpendicular axis passes through the center of the 3D object to the center of the planar target projected on the plane.
In another embodiment, a method of aligning a first 3D object and a second 3D object in the 2D environment about an alignment axis may comprise selecting the alignment axis, generating a planar projection along the alignment axis from the first 3D object, and positioning the second 3D object corresponding to the planar projection.
In another embodiment, a method may comprise projecting an elevated 3D object wherein the projection may be demonstrated as crosshairs. The crosshairs on the ground plane may be used for placing another 3D object in the 2D environment.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
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The present invention relates to detachable coupling for bicycle transmissions and, more particularly, to an easily detachable coupling for connecting a pull cable to an internal gear hub.
A detachable coupling allows the cable pull to be connected or disconnected from the gear hub before connecting or disconnecting the driving wheel. A detachable coupling is disclosed in European Patent Application EP 0805104A2 that includes a casing for housing a control cable that is connected to a rear wheel multispeed hub having a driving wheel. The driving wheel is positioned, coaxially to the hub axle, at one of the ends of the hub. The cable spool converts the linear movement of the control cable into a rotating movement. The casing includes a drive casing for covering the driving wheel and a casing extension for accommodating the control cable and the cable. A joint having a cable guide connects the drive casing to the casing extension. The casing extension is tubular and has an opening covered by a hinged lid and a fastening element to attached it to the bicycle frame. A spring element and a coupling is accommodated in the casing extension. The operating pull is connected to one end of the spring element by a clamp and the cable is connected to the other end of the spring element. A cable casing supports itself on an adjusting screw connected to the casing extension.
To disconnect the connecting device, the shifting position is set to position resulting in the least amount of cable pull tension. The hinged lid on the casing extension is swung open and spring element and the coupling are removed from the casing extension and then separated from one another. The spring element remains on the casing extension, and consequently on the driving wheel, while the cable casing with the adjusting screw and the cable with the coupling piece remain on the bicycle frame.
Another connecting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,614. Here, the casing adjacent the hub leads into a tube extension to guide the shifter cable and to house one end of the cable casing. The other end of the cable casing is accommodated by a clamping device, which provides the necessary installation space for the connecting device of the shifting and pull cables and supports the cable casing of the pull cable connected to the shift actuator.
The connection between the shifting cable and the pull cable is a detachable screw or bayonet connection. The corresponding parts of the bayonet connection are connected to the ends of the shifting or pull cable. To detach the connecting device, the shift adjustment is set to the least pull cable tension and the screw or the bayonet connection is opened by twisting the corresponding components. Locking parts are located within an open holding device, resulting in the locking parts being unprotected. Since the locking parts are unprotected, it is necessary to seal the cables during the shifting process and the locking parts. The cable pull with the appropriate locking part and the cable casing may be removed from the slotted receptacle in the holding device. When the driving wheel is detached, the casing remains with the shifter cable and the cable casing with the holding device on the wheel, while the cable pull remains with its cable casing on the bicycle frame.
The problem with the above devices is that in order to connect or disconnect the pull cable from the shifting cable, the cable connection must either be removed with difficulty from the casing extension or twisted against each other in the holding device. The connecting device with the casing extension requires relatively a lot of installation space and is difficult to handle if a wheel needs to be changed since the hinged lid must be opened and the cable connection removed and unhooked for releasing. The connecting device with the open holding device is very dirt-prone since it is right next to the chain, and despite the open holding device, the twisting of the bayonet connection is prevented. Even there, the handling of the detached wheel is impaired by the shifter cable or shifter cable casing that remains sticking out on the hub.
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Obesity is defined as an increased mass of adipose tissue, and is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia and coronary heart disease (Reaven, G. M., Diabetologia 38, 3-13 (1995); Spiegelman, B. M. et al, Cell 87, 377-389 (1996)). Impaired glucose and lipid metabolism, a hallmark of obesity and type 2 diabetes, causes increased lipid storage in insulin target tissues such as muscle and liver, thereby leading to insulin resistance (Ruderman, N. B. et al, Am. J. Physiol. 276, E1-E18 (1999); Shulman, G. I., J. Clin. Invest. 106, 171-176 (2000)). The adipose tissue itself serves as the site of triglyceride (TG) storage and free fatty acids (FFA)/glycerol release in response to changing energy demands (Spiegelman, B. M. and Flier, J. S., Cell 87, 377-389 (1996)). Adipose tissue also participates in the regulation of various types of energy homeostasis as an important endocrine organ that secretes a number of biologically active substances called “adipokines” (Matsuzawa, Y. et al, Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 892, 146-154 (1999)) such as FFA (Shulman, G. I., J. Clin. Invest. 106, 171-176 (2000)), adipsin (White, R. T. et al, J. Biol. Chem. 267, 9210-9213 (1992)), leptin (Friedman, J. M., Nature 404, 632-634 (2000)), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) (Shimomura, I. et al, Nat. Med. 2, 800-803 (1996)), resistin (Steppan, C. M. et al, Nature 409, 307-312. (2001)) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (Hotamisligil, G. S., J. Intern. Med. 245, 621-625 (1999)).
Adiponectin or Acrp30 (Hu, E., Liang, P. et al, J. Biol. Chem. 271, 10697-10703 (1996) and others) is an adipocyte-derived hormone with multiple biological functions. It has been reported that obesity, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease are associated with decreased plasma adiponectin levels, and that adiponectin may have putative anti-atherogenic properties in vitro (Ouchi, N. et al, Circulation 103, 1057-1063 (2001); Yokota, T. et al, Blood 96, 1723-1732 (2000)). Also, it has been reported that an acute increase in circulating levels of Acrp30 lowers hepatic glucose production (Berg, A. H. et al, Nat. Med. 7, 947-953 (2001); Combs, T. P. et al, J. Clin. Invest. 108, 1875-1881 (2001)). Also, it has been reported that globular Acrp30 increases fatty acid oxidation in muscle, and causes weight loss in mice (Fruebis, J. et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 2005-2010 (2001)). Also, it has been reported that treatment with adiponectin consisting solely of the globular domain (globular adiponectin or gAd) increases fatty acid oxidation in muscle, thereby ameliorating insulin resistance in lipoatrophic mice and obese mice, while treatment with full-length adiponectin also ameliorates though less than with gAd (Yamauchi, T. et al, Nat. Med. 7, 941-946 (2001)).
Recently it has been reported that adiponectin acutely activates AMP kinase (AMPK) in skeletal muscle, thus stimulating fatty acid oxidation and glucose uptake (Yamauchi, T. et al, Nat. Med. 8, 1288-1295 (2002)), and that adiponectin chronically activates PPARα, resulting in increased fatty acid oxidation but reduced tissue TG content in the muscles, with these effects being greater with gAd than with full-length adiponectin (Yamauchi, T. et al, J. Biol. Chem. 278, 2461-2468 (2002)). Interestingly, in the liver full-length adiponectin alone acutely activates AMPK, causing a reduction in gluconeogenesis-associated molecules and stimulating fatty-acid oxidation, and moreover full-length adiponectin alone chronically activates AMPK, stimulating fatty-acid oxidation and reducing tissue TG levels in the liver. All these changes serve to enhance insulin sensitivity in vivo (Yamauchi, T. et al, Nat. Med. 8, 1288-1295 (2002); Yamauchi, T. et al, J. Biol. Chem. 278, 2461-2468 (2002)).
These effects of adiponectin are believed to be mediated by receptors on the cell surface, but adiponectin receptors have not been identified, and it is unknown whether the adiponectin receptors in the skeletal muscle and liver differ either structurally or functionally. The inventors identified a gene encoding adiponectin receptors, and discovered from a homology search that yeast YOL002c gene is a homologue (Karpichev, I. V. et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry 277, 19609-19617 (2002)). YOL002c encodes a seven transmembrane protein that plays a key role in the metabolic pathways of lipids, such as fatty acid oxidation (Karpichev, I. V. et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry 277; 19609-19617 (2002)).
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Acyl amino acids are commercially important compounds. Many have advantageous characteristics and are sold as surfactants, antibiotics, anti-insect agents and as a variety of other important agents.
Traditionally, acyl amino acids are manufactured chemically. Such chemical manufacturing methods are hampered by a variety of shortcomings including the ease of obtaining and storing the starting materials, the necessity of using harsh and sometimes dangerous chemical reagents in the manufacturing process, the difficulty and efficiency of the synthesis itself, the fiscal and environmental cost of disposing of chemical by-products, etc. Thus, new compositions and methods for the efficient and cost-effective synthesis of acyl amino acids and manufacture on a commercial scale would be beneficial.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier, printer, or facsimile, and a control method and computer program for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus having a function of reading an original, what is called ACS (Automatic Color Selection) processing is executed for automatically determining whether an original is color or monochrome. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-202689 proposes a technique of registering paper feed cassettes for use in executing the automatic monochrome-color determination. There is also an image forming apparatus with a sensor for detecting, in order to read an appropriate range, the size of an original that a user wants to be read.
However, the following problems exist in related art. For example, in an image forming apparatus having insufficient memory and hardware resources, it is difficult to execute the ACS processing by storing an image in the memory and then analyzing the stored image. It is necessary to read an original and at the same time to execute the monochrome-color determination based on read image data. Therefore, in order to increase the accuracy of the ACS processing, scanning an appropriate reading range without reading the outside or edges of the original is required.
However, in a low-priced image forming apparatus without a sensor for detecting the size of an original, the execution of the ACS processing for an appropriate range of an original has been difficult. Therefore, in order to scan an appropriate range of an original, it has been necessary to cause a user to enter the size of the original every time before reading. Even when the ACS processing is not executed, the range of an original needs to be appropriately recognized depending on various executing conditions of reading processing. For example, if read data is to be transmitted to an external facsimile apparatus, an original needs to be read in a size specific to facsimile transmission. Thus, in the conventional art, it has been necessary for the user to enter the reading size for an original corresponding to various executing conditions. Operations for this are troublesome for the user and have caused a reduced operability.
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Recently, a network conference system is widely used. In the network conference system, a plurality of terminals (each having a display, a speaker, a camera, a microphone) is connected via internetworking, the Internet, or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), and a plurality of users mutually confers using each terminal. This network conference system operates with following basic principle. First, a first user's video and speech are input via a camera and a microphone of a first terminal of the first user. Next, input information is output via a display and a speaker of a second terminal of a second user, i.e., the input information is informed to the second user. By performing this operation mutually, communication between the first user and the second user can be realized. In this case, a system which one virtual conference space is displayed on a display, or a system which a video of each participant is displayed with a tile shape, exists.
On the other hand, in a communication behavior, importance of non-verbal communication using non-verbal information has been recognized. Especially, in a remote communication such as the network conference, it is pointed that much non-verbal information is dropped. By drop of the non-verbal information, for example, a participant cannot well control turn of utterance (turn-taking). As a result, the conversation cannot proceed smoothly, and a quality of the conversation is affected badly.
Accordingly, as to the network conference system of prior art, in order to recover the non-verbal information based on an eye contact, following two trials are performed. As a first trial, a technique to effectively exclude a parallax effect, which is caused by a situation that a center of the camera is different from a position of another participant to be displayed, is proposed (For example, JP-A H08-195945 (Kokai) (Patent reference 1), JP-A H11-355804 (Kokai) (Patent reference 2)). However, in this method, a problem how to represent information (For example, “who is looking at whom”) among a plurality of users cannot be solved, and this method is not useful for the conference.
As to a second trial, a target required for an eye contact is clearly determined, and the eye contact is quickly realized. For example, in JP No. 3292248 (Patent reference 3), in case that a plurality of users utilizes the conference system, a technique to represent the eye contact by changing a camera position and a layout of each user, is proposed. Furthermore, in JP-A H08-237629 (Kokai) (Patent reference 4), on condition that the user's head is modeled, in the same way as the virtual camera of the Patent reference 2, a technique to exclude the parallax effect is proposed. Additionally, as to the user looking at another user, a method to rotate a head of the user's model as 90 degree along a direction of another user is proposed. Furthermore, in JP-A H08-256316 (Kokai) (Patent reference 5), a technique to display a video based on a distance between users (displayed) and realize a user's gaze to a material is proposed.
With regard to importance of non-verbal communication in the communication behavior, in a remote communication such as the network conference, much non-verbal information is dropped. Especially, in the non-verbal information dropped, the most important one is gaze information representing that “In he/she looking at me?”, “What is he/she looking at?” and so on.
As to above problem, in the method of the Patent reference 3, a complicated optical system is used. Accordingly, this method has a problem that cheap component cannot be realized. Furthermore, the video display is not represented based on a distance among a plurality of users (displayed). As a result, the gaze information is not always accurate, and unnatural.
In the method of the Patent reference 4, the cheap component is possible. However, the video display is not represented based on a distance among a plurality of users (displayed). Furthermore, in the method of the Patent reference 5, a plurality of videos previously acquired is displayed by switching. Accordingly, a large number of videos for reference need be previously recorded, and distributed to each terminal. Additionally, a user's status in actual conversation is not reflected to the video. As a result, the facial expression and a variation of the user's clothes cannot be reappeared, and unnatural video is displayed.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new antibiotic, which is called cammunocin, to a process for the preparation thereof from Streptomyces species Y-84,36210 (deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung fur Mikroorganismen (German Microorganism Collection) on Dec. 23, 1987, under the No. DSM 4329), to the variants and mutants thereof, and to the use of cammunocin as a pharmaceutical.
Str. sp. Y-84,36210 was isolated from a soil sample collected at Poona, Maharashtra, India. Variants and mutants of the culture No. HIL Y-84,36210 can be obtained in a known manner by use of a mutagen such as, for example, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine or ultraviolet light. The microorganism Str. sp. Y-84,36210 belongs to the order of Actinomycetales, family Streptomycetaceae and genus Streptomyces.
Str. sp. Y-84,36210 is regarded as a new strain because it differs in some of its morphological, cultural and physiological properties from the known strains, as is evident from the description which follows. Another reason for regarding it as a new strain is that it produces a new antibiotic complex whose characteristics are given in the following description, which is called cammunocin herein, and to which the present invention relates.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a numerical control apparatus for controlling machine tools and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A numerical control apparatus primarily consists of a numerical control part, a motor control part, a motor amplifier, an amplifier power supply, and a motor. The numerical control part outputs a move command to the motor control part. The motor control part generates, based on the command, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal for rotating the motor by performing loop control processing of position and speed, and the like. The motor amplifier rotates the motor based on this PWM signal. The amplifier power supply provides the motor amplifier with driving power.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional numerical control apparatus which has been commonly used. The numerical control part 1 is placed away from the power panel 3 along with the display 2. The power panel 3 is placed near the motors 6-1 to 6-4 which drive a machine such as a machining tool. And, on this power panel 3, there are placed motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 for the respective motors which drive each moving part of the machine and an amplifier power supply 7. From this amplifier power supply 7, driving power is delivered to motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 through a power line 9. The motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 include motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4, respectively. Each of these motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 is connected with the numerical control part 1 by a high-speed communication path 11 consisting of an optical cable or the like, and the numerical control part 1 and the motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 exchange move commands and various signals with each other through a high-speed serial communication.
Move commands from the numerical control part 1 to the motors 6-1 to 6-4 are sent to the motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 through the high-speed communication path 11. Upon receiving the move commands, the motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 generate PWM signals by performing a loop control processing of position, velocity and current, and control the driving of motors 6-1 to 6-4 by controlling the motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 based on the PWM signal.
FIG. 3 shows the numerical control apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-69004; this numerical control apparatus consists of a digital signal processor (DSP) and others, in which a motor control part 42 for controlling a plurality of motors is provided in the numerical control part 1. The motor control part 42, and motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 placed in the power panel 3 are connected by a high-speed communication path 13 of a daisy chain mode with a serial servo bus consisting of a optical fiber cable. Other configurations are the same as the prior art example shown in FIG. 2; the same elements as those of FIG. 2 are given like numerals.
In the prior art example shown in FIG. 3, the motor control part 42 performs loop control processing of position, speed and current for motors 6-1 to 6-4 based on the move commands given to the motors 6-1 to 6-4 from the numerical control part 1 to generate PWM signals so that the PWM signals are sent to the motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 through the high-speed communication path 13. The motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 control the driving of the motors 6-1 to 6-4 respectively based on the PWM signals.
In the numerical control apparatus shown in FIG. 3, since multiple motors 6-1 to 6-4 are controlled by a single motor control part 42, it is easy to perform a cooperative control of the motors. On the other hand, since the motor control part 42 is provided inside the numerical control part 1, a problem exists in that when the numerical control part 1 falls into an abnormal condition, this would affect the motor control part 42 as well thereby resulting in a complete failure of the control.
Also, in the numerical control apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 are separated from one another, and are provided along with motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 for the motors 6-1 to 6-4. The apparatus offers an advantage in that even if the numerical control part 1 falls into an abnormal condition, the motors 6-1 to 6-4 can maintain a minimum level of control; however, it also has a drawback in that a cooperative control of the motors is difficult since the motor control parts 41-1 to 41-4 are distributed.
Moreover, in the prior art numerical control apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, since the numerical control part 1 and the motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 are connected by means of optical fiber cables 11, 13, expensive optical interfaces must be provided for the motor amplifiers 5-1 to 5-4 thus resulting in a problem of high cost of the numerical control apparatus.
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Certain cooktop appliances include gas burners for heating cooking utensils on the cooktop appliances. The gas burners may operate at a variety of flow rates in order to vary a heat output of the gas burners. The heat output of the gas burners is generally low at low flow rates and high at high flow rates. However, operating at high flow rates can be problematic. In particular, flames of the gas burners tend to lift at high flow rates. Various solutions have been proposed to alleviate or reduce flame lift at high flow rates.
For example, certain gas burners include burner heads with ledges above main flame ports of the gas burners. The ledges reduce a vertical velocity component of fuel flowing by the ledges in order to stabilize and reduce flame lift at high flow rates. However, the ledges are generally an integral part of the burner head, and the flames can significantly heat the burner heat during operation of the gas burner. Thus, the burner head is generally made from a material that has a relatively high melting temperature, and such materials are generally expensive and can comprise a significant portion of an overall cost of the gas burner.
As another example, certain gas burners include small retention ports in addition to larger main ports. The retention ports are generally positioned above main ports of the gas burner, and fuel from the small retention ports can stabilize flames at the larger main ports in order to reduce flame lift at high flow rates. However, effects of the retention ports are generally limited to a portion of flames of the main ports adjacent the retention ports, and lifting at a bottom portion of the flames is still problematic. Other gas burners include retention ports drilled into a burner body below the main ports. However, such retention ports are expensive to machine and clog easily with debris from cooking utensils above the gas burners. In addition, fuel from such retention ports also limits entrainment of secondary air for flames at the main ports, and lack of secondary air can cause poor combustion and flame coalescence at the main ports.
Accordingly, a gas burner with features for limiting flame lifting when a flow rate of gaseous fuel through the gas burner is high would be useful. In particular, a gas burner with features for limiting flame lifting while the gas burner is operating at a high flow rate without restricting a flow of secondary air to the flames would be useful.
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For security purposes, a mobile device can be configured to route application network traffic through an encrypted network tunnel, such as a virtual private network (VPN). This configuration, is especially useful when the mobile device is connected to the Internet through an open Wi-Fi access point, where any device can eavesdrop on the network traffic. This configuration is also useful in situations where the mobile device is connected to a secured network to which untrusted dev ices can be connected, or if the operator of the network (or intermediate networks) cannot be trusted. Also, the use of a VPN can be necessary to connect to resources hosted on an organization's private network or intranet.
Different applications can have different requirements for bandwidth or quality of service (QoS) for network access. For example, applications that involve real-time voice or video content can require a higher QoS level than applications performing a bulk data transfer. A video telephony application experiencing a temporary network delay can have dropouts in video or audio that can interrupt the flow of a conversation and perceivably diminish the user experience. However, an application performing a bulk data transfer will likely not be set back by the temporary network delay and can recover by way of increased bandwidth later.
Although network operators can sometimes set QoS levels or priorities for different types of traffic on their networks, such QoS levels or priorities do not affect tunneled application traffic. To the network operator the tunneled traffic appears identical since it is encrypted. For instance, video network traffic and bulk data network traffic that is tunneled can appear to the network operator as indistinguishable socket secure (SOCKS) traffic. Moreover, control of prioritization rests with the network operator, not the mobile device owner or the organization that manages the mobile device.
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Telecommunications networks have seen very rapid advances in their numbers of users and the types of services available. In particular, the combination of data-orientated mobile telecommunications networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.) and feature rich smart phones and tablet devices has enabled users to consume a greater variety of services. As more users utilize these services, telecommunication system operator networks must expand to meet the increase in user demand, support the array of new services and provide fast, reliable communications. This expansion has greatly increased the complexity of wireless and cellular networks, and the efficient management of network traffic is becoming an ever more challenging task.
Another recent development within the computing and telecommunications industries has been the proliferation of mobile devices that are capable of performing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. Such devices may communicate and interact with other devices to accomplish a variety of tasks, all without any direct involvement of human users or operators. Yet, unlike conventional M2M devices, mobile M2M capable devices are not always tethered to the network via physical connection. Rather, these devices may communicate using wireless or the cellular telephone networks, such as 3G, 4G, LTE and UMTS networks.
As M2M capable devices continue to grow in popularity and use, telecommunication network providers must develop improved solutions for managing the increases in network traffic caused by the use of such devices. Therefore, improved solutions for managing the traffic characteristics of M2M devices, ensuring efficient traffic flow, avoiding network congestion, and allowing for the proper compensation of the telecommunication network operators/providers for the use of their networks by M2M devices will be beneficial to consumer and telecommunication network operators.
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1. Field of the Invention
My invention relates generally to the field of dental models and, more particularly, to a novel dowel-pin and locking assembly for a tooth die and to a method of making a dental model incorporating such an assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to fabricate a crown or inlay on a tooth, an impression of a patient's mouth is taken, and a reproduction is made in the dental laboratory. Since the reproduction is a solid positive model of the mouth, it is necessary to isolate reproductions or dies of the individual teeth which have been prepared to receive a restoration. This isolation is accomplished by various types of dowel pins, each of which is secured to a respective die by either a first known process wherein a dowel-pin is inserted into the impression material before the dental model is fabricated, or a second known process wherein the entire solid dental model is first made and, then, holes are drilled above the individual prepared tooth areas or dies to receive individual dowel pins which are inserted and glued into the drilled holes.
In the fabrication of dental models and individual tooth dies, it is extremely important to have both an accurate reproduction of each tooth die and also of the relationship between each individual die and the adjacent model teeth. Since the natural teeth that are positioned in the dental arch are stationary, each individual die on the dental model must be accurately positioned with respect to the entire model so as to correspond to the natural teeth. If there is any movement of the die in the model, then the fabrication of a dental restoration (crown, inlay, etc.) will not be accurate, because, then, the model will not be an accurate reproduction of the natural teeth.
Furthermore, when individual crowns are to be fabricated to restore two or more natural teeth and are to be intentionally joined (soldered) on the model, any movement of the die or dies will cause the final restoration to be inaccurate since the movement of the dies creates an inaccurate reproduction of the natural teeth. Similarly, when crowns are fabricated on dies, and removable appliances are fabricated to be inserted on or into these crowns, any movement of the dies would produce an inaccurate restoration for obvious reasons.
The prior art is replete with various types of dowel pins for incorporation into each individual die. For example, there are (a) single vertical dowel pins with tapers, (b) double vertical pins and (c) single and double vertical pins with corresponding sleeves that are embedded into the stone model. In each case, the intention is to isolate each individual die, and the purpose of the single or double vertical pins is to prevent movement of the die on the master model. Since each die, with its inserted dowel-pin, rests upon the base of the dental model, and since this base has a flat surface, the only security of the die is the vertical dowel that penetrates into the base. As a result, a fulcrum or pivoting effect commonly occurs since there is nothing to prevent the vertically extending conventional dowel-pin from moving. As a result of this fulcrum effect, the die can move in five directions: bucally; lingually; mesially; distally; and also upwardly since there is also nothing available to prevent upward movement of the dowel-pin. Furthermore, often the die bottom that rests upon the flat base surface of the dental model is rough, broken or contains debris that prevents the die from properly seating on the surface of the model base. As a result, and in addition to the fulcrum effect of such a vertical dowel-pin, there is produced an inaccuracy in the relationship of the die to the model and, consequently, an inaccuracy in the fabrication of any restoration which is to be installed on the natural teeth. In addition, since dental models are not standard, and since tooth lengths are not standard, it is often necessary to have an extremely long die. Furthermore, dental models may be of different thicknesses. As a result, it should be clear that, as the length of the die increases, or as the thickness of the dental model increases, the so-called fulcrum effect of the die and dowel-pin also increases. Since there is no standard length of die or model, the conventional dowel-pin or pins do not prevent movement of the die relative to the model.
A pre-examination search of the prior art revealed many U.S. patents relating to means for positioning the dowel-pin when making a dental model according to the first process cited above, i.e., a process wherein the dowel-pin is positioned within a negative impression which is then filled with dental material or plaster which surrounds and embeds the dowel-pin, as opposed to the second process (with which my invention is associated) wherein the entire negative impression is filled with dental material or plaster to produce a positive master casting or model into which holes are selectively drilled for receiving subsequently inserted dowel-pins.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,851,728 shows a dental dowel-pin having a single hole therein for receiving an elongated, rod-like repositioning gauge supported in the base stone of a dental model; thus, there is no provision for preventing the above-mentioned fulcrum effect. Furthermore, the single rod-like gauge passes through more than one dowel-pin, a construction which has limited practical value compared to an individual locking device for each dowel pin.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,413,725; 3,454,256; and 3,521,354 merely disclose dowel-positioning systems, and also show the use of channel forming members located on the end of a dowel-pin to form a channel in the base stone for facilitating the removal of a selected tooth die from the stone.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,709 shows a coiled wire rod for holding a dowel-pin in position in a dental cavity of a tooth impression during the pouring of dental die casting material into the cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,548 shows a dental model provided with horizontal wedges which are inserted in mating sockets spanning the parting lines between adjacent tooth dies for maintaining alignment of the tooth dies within the model.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,585 and 4,139,943 show dowel-pin constructions for use in a dental die.
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The present invention relates generally to Internet/Intranet network systems, and in particular, to web caching where Web objects are predictively pre-cached based on time-based pattern of usage.
Web caching is generally well known to those skilled in the art. Generally, a web cache sits between web servers (or remote servers) and a client and watches requests for HTML pages, images and files (known as objects) as they come by, saving a copy for itself. Typically, the web cache resides in a proxy server that sits in a local server. Then if there is another request for the same object, it will use the copy that it has, instead of asking the remote server for it again.
There are two main reasons for using web caches. One is to reduce latency. Because the request is satisfied from the cache (which is closer to the client) instead of the remote server, it takes less time for the client to get the object and display it. This makes web sites seem more responsive. The second reason is to reduce traffic. Because each object is only gotten from the server once, it reduces the amount of bandwidth used by a client. This saves money if the client is paying based on traffic, and keeps their bandwidth requirements lower and more manageable.
Generally, there are two types of web caches: browser caches and proxy caches. The browser cache works by setting a section of a computer""s hard disk to store objects. The browser cache works according to fairly simple rules. It will check to make sure that the objects are fresh, usually once a session. Proxy cache, while it works on a similar principle, is usually located in a local server, a gateway, or a router and can be shared by a number of clients.
All caches have a set of rules that they use to determine when to serve an object from the cache if it""s available. Some of these rules are set by the HTTP protocols and, some are set by the administrator of the cache. (For a full discussion of above, see Caching Tutorial for web Authors and webmasters by Mark Nottingham).
A number of cache replacement strategies are currently suggested as an attempt to optimally reduce latency and/or traffic. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,598 describes a cache system that includes a storage that is partitioned into a plurality of storage areas. Each storage area stores one kind of object received from remote sites. The cache system further includes a cache manager which causes objects to be stored in the corresponding storage areas of the storage. The cache manager causes cached objects in each of the storage areas to be replaced in accordance with one of a plurality of replacement policies, each being optimized for one kind of objects.
In another example, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,701 describes a system for automatically refreshing documents in a cache, so that each particular document is refreshed no more often and no less often than needed. For each document, the cache estimates a probability distribution of times for client requests for that document and a probability distribution of times for server changes to that document. Times for refresh are selected for each particular document in response to both the estimated probability distribution of times for client requests and the estimated probability distribution of times for server changes.
Yet in another example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,292 describes a method for predictive pre-fetching of objects over a computer network which includes the steps of providing a client computer system, providing a server computer system, a network link to the client computer system, requesting from the server computer system by the client computer system a retrieval of a plurality of objects, retrieving the plurality of objects by the server system, storing the retrieval and an identity of the client computer system in the memory of the server computer system, sending the plurality of objects from the server computer system to the client computer system over the network link, predicting in the server computer system a subsequent retrieval request from the client computer system according to a predetermined criteria, sending the prediction to the client computer system, and pre-fetching by the client computer system an object based on the prediction and other information.
In general, however, a conventional caching method being employed is one where a table keeps track of the requested web page URL (Universal Resource Locator), the time it was last used, and the time stamp of the page. If the table can hold one hundred entries, for instance, then the last hundred web pages visited by the server client using this cache will still be cached locally. If a page is not found in the local cache, the hundredth page is removed from the table, and the URL of the new page is added to the top of the table. If a page is found in the local cache, the cache requests a new page from the remote server, checks the time stamp, and if it is the same as the time stamp of the web page found in the table, stops the transfer and delivers the web page already cached. If the time stamp is different, however, the page is reloaded into the cache and is delivered to the client.
In this prior art method the local server only keeps track of the time stamp of the web page. A web page, however, is typically composed of many elements or objects, such as text files, graphic files, audio files, and video files. Each of these elements or objects has a unique URL and a time stamp, and can be downloaded independently of each other. However, the conventional caching method does not keep track of these individual elements. Consequently, a decision to use a cached web page is an xe2x80x9call or nothingxe2x80x9d deal. Even if only a component, e.g. a graphic file, has changed on a web page, the entire web page is requested from a remote server. Consequently, all of the elements that make up the web page need to be sent again. A significant reduction in latency and/or traffic may be achieved by keeping track of the time stamp of the individual elements of a web page as well as the time stamp of the web page itself, and only requesting those elements which have undergone a change. However, this type of replacement strategy is not available in the current cache systems.
Moreover, in the current caching system, the web pages are cached at the time they are requested. While this type of caching method does help to reduce the overall traffic and latency, it does not take into account the fact that certain web pages are downloaded more heavily during certain times of the day. The latency may further be reduced if the web pages which are popular during a certain period is pre-loaded some time before the xe2x80x9chigh-access periodxe2x80x9d begins. By pre-loading the web pages, the clients will experience fewer delays in accessing the web pages. If the high access period for a particular site happens to be during a heavy congestion period, the web pages may be pre-loaded or pre-fetched into the cache during a less congested period. This will reduce both latency as well as traffic. However, this type of time-based method of predictive pre-fetching of web pages is currently not available.
The present method for predictive caching operation determines a time-based pattern of a high-access period for a web page, and pre-fetches the web page into a cache before the high access period begins. A table is generated where the table comprises a URL, a time of last access and a time stamp of the pre-fetched web page. When a request for a web page is made, the requested web page""s URL and time stamp are checked with the URL and time stamp listed in the table to determine whether any modification has been made. The web page which has been modified is downloaded into the cache.
In another embodiment, the method for predictive caching operation comprises determining a time-based pattern of high-access period for a web page; pre-fetching the web page into a cache before the high access period begins; generating a table, said table comprising a URL, a time of last access and a time stamp of the pre-fetched web page, said table further comprising a URL, time of last access and time stamp of elements found on the pre-fetched web page; when a request for a web page is made, checking the requested web page""s URL and time stamp and URL and time stamp of the requested web page""s corresponding elements with the URL and time stamp listed in the table to determine whether any modification has been made; and selectively downloading in a cache only those elements which are deemed to have been modified.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an outboard motor steering system and more specifically to an outboard motor steering system wherein the steering mechanism is driven by an actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
The source of motive power for conventional outboard motor steering mechanisms including, for example, the tiller handle type, where a tiller handle mounted to the outboard motor is steered by an operator's hand, and the remote control type, where the steering mechanism is controlled remotely via a push-pull cable, is generally human power.
However, the steering load is typically heavy in such systems that utilize human power, so the burden on the operator is large. To solve this problem, for example, with the prior art recited in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 62(1987)-125996, FIG. 2, etc., a hydraulic actuator (specifically a hydraulic cylinder) is connected to the steering mechanism (tiller handle) of the outboard motor via an arm and the like, thus reducing the steering load by actuating the hydraulic cylinder in a manner corresponding to the steering input of the operator. A pump that supplies hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder is connected to a steering wheel, and the hydraulic cylinder and pump are connected via hydraulic lines disposed within the hull (boat).
In addition, prior art that allows the tilt and trim angles of the outboard motor to be adjustable with a hydraulic actuator has also been proposed by, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 7(1995)-228296, FIGS. 2, 3 etc.
However, with the prior art recited in '996 mentioned above, where the mechanism for supplying hydraulic fluid to the cylinder (i.e., pumps and hydraulic paths) is disposed in the boat, there are problems in that the structure becomes complex and the number of parts increases, and also the work of installing the system in the boat becomes complicated.
Further, when the steering angle of an outboard motor is adjusted with a hydraulic actuator, this requires a hydraulic fluid supply source (hydraulic pump and electric motor that drives the hydraulic pump) for supplying fluid to the actuator. However, the steering load of an outboard motor (specifically, the driving force of the hydraulic actuator required to adjust the steering angle) varies greatly depending on the type of boat, its speed, the wave conditions and the like. Accordingly, if the output torque of the electric motor that drives the hydraulic pump is inadequate, differences in the driven speed of the hydraulic actuator arise depending on fluctuations in load, so there is a risk of deterioration of the steering feel.
To solve this problem, the electric motor that drives the hydraulic pump is typically given sufficient output torque to be able to adequately handle the maximum hypothetical load so that stable steering can be achieved even should fluctuations in the steering load arise. However, with such a configuration, there is a problem in that torque that exceeds the output required for steering continues to be provided as output even at times of low loads, so the operating efficiency is poor and the power consumption is wasteful.
Furthermore, when the tilt and trim angles of an outboard motor are adjusted using a hydraulic actuator, a hydraulic fluid supply source for supplying fluid to this actuator is also required and the required capacity of this hydraulic fluid supply source to supply pressurized hydraulic fluid also varies greatly depending on the load factors of the type of boat, its speed and the wave conditions.
Specifically, there is a problem in that in order to stably adjust the tilt and trim angles with a hydraulic actuator, it is necessary to avoid increasing the power consumption by the hydraulic fluid supply source in the same manner as for steering.
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The present invention relates to an image drawing method, and an image drawing apparatus which make it possible to draw images of shadows produced by light emission from a light source based on a positional relationship of a plurality of objects generated by three-dimensional modeling such that shadow images of objects positioned near the light source are drawn on other objects positioned distantly from the light source. Further, the present invention relates to a recording medium which stores a program for carrying out such image processing, and the program itself.
In recent years, there has been a rapid advancement of computer graphics techniques, such as hidden line removal, hidden surface removal, smooth shading, and texture mapping thanks to the dramatic development of hardware.
Generally, with computer graphics techniques, images are generated by the following procedure. Firstly, a plurality of three-dimensional objects are generated by three-dimensional modeling. Then, rendering is performed by adding optical properties such as specular reflection, diffuse reflection, refraction, and transparency to the objects using shading techniques, by adding surface patterns to the objects, and by plotting images depending on surroundings, such as a window and scenery reflections and ambient light.
It is difficult to perform a process of expressing a shadow of an object cast on another object positioned therebehind based on the layout of a light source and a plurality of objects. One rendering technique for performing the process is ray tracing. However, such a technique requires highly complicated calculations which put CPUS or the like under heavy load. Another rendering technique for expressing a shadow utilizes a stencil buffer. However, the technique requires a stencil buffer as an additional mask (memory). Further, the technique requires a process of extracting an area corresponding to a shadow from the stencil buffer and a process of drawing semi-transparent polygons in a blackish color in the extracted area. As a result, this technique requires a large number of processes.
If heavy load and complicated processes are to be avoided, such as for real time rendering, then it has heretofore been customary to approximate such a shadow with perspective projection onto a simple plane in a simple figure such as a circle.
The present invention has been made taking the above problem into account, and an object of which is to provide an image drawing method and an image drawing apparatus which make it possible to draw shadow images of a plurality objects in a complicated positional relationship, and draw a shadow image of a complicated object without any difficulties. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium which stores a program for carrying out such image processing without any difficulties, and to provide the program itself.
According to the present invention, a method of drawing a shadow image of a three-dimensional object includes defining at least one primary surface of the three-dimensional object;
generating new secondary surfaces based on the primary surface utilizing a light source as a base point;
drawing a first image of a front-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces; and
drawing a second image of a back-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces, the second image being drawn so as to eliminate a portion of the first image, whereby a remaining portion of the first image constitutes the shadow image of the primary surface.
Further, according to the present invention, an apparatus for drawing a shadow image of a three-dimensional object includes
means for defining at least one primary surface of the three-dimensional object;
means for generating new secondary surfaces based on the primary surface utilizing a light source as a base point;
first means for drawing a first image of a front-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces; and
second means for drawing a second image of a backside secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces, the secondary image being drawn so as to eliminate a portion of the first image, whereby a remaining portion of the first image constitutes the shadow image of the primary surface.
Further, according to the present invention, a recording medium is recorded with a program and data for drawing image data in an image memory and outputting the image data from the image memory to a monitor. The program includes
defining at least one primary surface of the three-dimension object;
generating new secondary surfaces based on the primary surface utilizing a light source as a base point;
drawing a first image of a front-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces; and
drawing a second image of a back-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces, the second image being drawn so as to eliminate a portion of the first image, whereby a remaining portion of the first image constitutes the shadow image of the primary surface.
Further, according to the present invention, a program is readable and executable by a computer for operating an image drawing apparatus for drawing image data in an image memory and outputting the image data from the image memory to a monitor, the program including
defining at least one primary surface of the three-dimension object;
generating new secondary surfaces based on the primary surface utilizing a light source as a base point;
drawing a first image of a front-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces; and
drawing a second image of a back-side secondary surface selected from the secondary surfaces, the second image being drawn so as to eliminate a portion of the first image, whereby a remaining portion of the first image constitutes the shadow image of the primary surface.
Accordingly, it is possible to easily generate shadow images of a plurality of objects in a complicated positional relationship, or generate a shadow image of an object having a complicated shape, without using a stencil buffer. Since the shadow image is generated when the second image is drawn so as to partially eliminate the first image, it is no longer necessary to draw semi-transparent polygons in a blackish color in the last step. Therefore, the number of processes can be effectively decreased. In particular, according to the present invention, three-dimensional information concerning an object on which a shadow is projected is not necessary in drawing a shadow image. That is, all that is needed is information concerning two-dimensional images in an image memory and Z-buffer values for respective pixels of the two-dimensional images.
According to the present invention, the primary surface may be drawn by rendering and hidden surface removal. Further, the first and second images of the secondary surfaces may be drawn by rendering and hidden surface removal. Preferably, Z-buffering is used in performing hidden surface removal.
Further, according to the present invention, a series of drawing processes, including drawing the primary surface, generating the secondary surfaces, and drawing the first and second images of the secondary surfaces, are performed for each of the primary surfaces constituting the three-dimensional object, thereby drawing both an image of the three-dimensional object and a shadow image of the three-dimensional object.
Further, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of primary surfaces constituting at least one three-dimensional object, the series of drawing processes are performed for each of the primary surfaces in an order beginning with the primary surface farthest from the light source and ending with the primary surface closest the light source such that a shadow image of a primary surface is drawn on another primary surface.
Further, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of three-dimensional objects, the series of drawing processes are performed for each of the three-dimensional objects in an order beginning with the three-dimensional object farthest from the light source and ending with the three-dimensional object closet to the light source such that a shadow image of at least one three-dimensional object is drawn on another three-dimensional object.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
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This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-282852, filed Sep. 19, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device and particularly to a semiconductor laser device including a semiconductor laser element adapted for an optical pickup based on a tracking servo system using a three-beam method.
2. Description of Related Art
A CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) has come to be indispensable as a recording medium for a personal computer (PC). In an optical pickup used for an optical disk, tracking control generally adopts a system called a 3-beam method.
FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of an optical system adopted to the 3-beam system. A laser beam 601 emitted from a semiconductor laser element such as a laser diode (not shown) is guided to a diffraction grating 602. The diffraction grating 602 generates diffraction lights of 0-order, 1-order, and xe2x88x921-order. The diffraction lights pass through a collimator lens 603, a half-mirror 604, and an objective lens 605 and have a focus point on an optical disk 610. That is, three beams of a main beam 606 and sub-beams 607 and 608 are focused on the optical disk 610. Reflection lights from the optical disk 610 are guided to the half-mirror 604 passing again through the objective lens 605 and are reflected on the half-mirror 604, to enter into patterned PDS (photo diodes) 611. Incident light is photoelectrically converted at each PD 611. The signal outputted from each PD 611 is calculated to obtain a position shift of the beam. The calculation result is fed back to a drive part of the optical pickup and is controlled so as to let the main beam 606 follow the track 609.
The tracking control based on the 3-beam method covers a wide following range, and no limitation is put on the density and phase of the disk. Therefore, the tracking control is less influenced by variations in the disk quality. Accordingly, this is suitable for an optical pickup for reading. This method, however, has a problem of returning light from sub-beams.
That is, as shown in FIG. 10, two sub-beams 705 reflected from the disk partially return to the upper and lower sides of the laser diode chip (hereinafter called a LD chip) 701 (this is hereinafter called 3-beam returning light). The two sub-beams 705 are distant from the laser beam 703 by a distance d. For example, when the 3-beam returning light 705 is guided to the side of the sub-mount, the beams are reflected again on the side surface of the sub mount 704. Therefore, reflection light 707 is generated from the 3-beam returning light and is mixed into the optical system. Consequently, a tracking error is caused in some cases.
To avoid this problem, a sub-mount 801 as shown in FIG. 11 is used. A side surface of this sub-mount 801 that is positioned just below the laser beam emission facet of the LD chip 701 has three parts. That is, an upper part of the side surface of the sub-mount is formed to be vertical to the upper surface 802 of the sub-mount. A part of the side surface near a position at a distance d (see FIG. 10) from the emission point is inclined at an angle xcex8. A lower part of the side surface of the sub-mount is also formed to be vertical to the upper surface 802 of the sub-mount. The beam direction of the 3-beam returning light 705 is refracted in correspondence with the inclination angle xcex8 of the inclined part. For example, the beam direction of the returning light 705 which returns in a direction vertical to the laser beam emission side surface 808 is refracted by 2xcex8, according to Snell""s law. NA (Numerical Aperture) of a collimator lens for a CD is about 0.1. An estimated half angle is about 5.7 degrees where the relationship of NA=nxc3x97sin xcex8. At this time, if the inclination angle is 3 degrees or more, the returning light reflected on the side surface of the sub-mount is incident again to the collimator lens 603 (see FIG. 9), and is thus prevented from mixing into the optical system. Thus, influences from the 3-beam returning light can be eliminated by inclining the side surface of the sub mount 801 at an angle corresponding to the NA of the collimator lens.
If a countermeasure is taken only against the returning light of the 3 beam optical system, the entire side surface of the sub-mount may be inclined. However, in case of die-bonding the sub-mount to a metal heatsink or die-bonding the LD chip to the sub-mount, the optimal axis direction must be set precisely. Therefore, operation for letting the laser beam emission facet of the LD chip collide with a positioning pin is required. Hence, constant areas on the upper and lower parts of the side surface of the sub-mount are formed to be vertical to the upper surface of the sub-mount. That is, an inclined part is formed only on a part of the side surface of the sub-mount upon requirements, as shown in FIG. 11.
The sub-mount 801 is formed by a dicing process as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. At first, as shown in FIG. 12A, a sub-mount substrate 902 is partially cut by a blade 901 having a substantial V-shape. In this manner, a vertical part and an inclined part at an upper part of a side surface of the sub-mount are formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the sub-mount substrate 902 is cut and divided by a blade 903 having a normal shape. At this time, another vertical part at a lower part of the side surface of the sub-mount in the laser-beam emission side is formed. Thus, a sub-mount 904 having three side surfaces corresponding to the laser-beam emission facet is formed. That is, this sub-mount 904 has two flat parts respectively having heights a and e for abutting with a pin, and an inclined part as a countermeasure against 3-beam returning light, which has a height b and a depth c. The heights a and b and the depth c need to be highly precise, within a margin of error of about 10 xcexcm. Therefore, when cutting is carried out by the V-shape blade 901, the position of the blade must be controlled precisely in the plane direction and in the depth direction. In addition, when cutting is carried out by the blade 903 having a normal shape, the blade must be positioned precisely. Further, the shape of the V-shape blade changes due to friction as cutting continues. To cope with the effect of friction, the cutting depth must be changed, and the inclined part must be matched with the required dimensions. Therefore, a complicated adjustment operation is required.
As described above, the sub-mount having the structure shown in FIG. 11 has a very complicated structure and is difficult to manufacture. The cost for the sub-mount is too high to enable an effective entire cost reduction for the semiconductor laser device.
Hence, there has been a demand for a semiconductor laser device and a method for manufacturing the same, which are capable of consistently removing the influences of the returning light of three beams, and enable excellent mass-productivity.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a semiconductor laser device comprising: a semiconductor laser chip having an emission facet for emitting a laser beam; and a sub-mount having a first surface on which the semiconductor laser chip is provides, and at least one second surface vertical to the first surface, wherein one of the second surface, which is arranged in line with the emission facet of the semiconductor chip, is inclined at an angle of 3 to 30 degrees to the emission facet, and the second surface which is inclined reflects reflection light of a sub-beam diffracted from the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser chip.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information authenticating apparatus and an authenticating station performing authentication of data, and to an information authenticating apparatus and an authenticating station adapted to improve probative value of data as evidence by ensuring the objectivity of the data in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently in the United States, not only photographs taken with usual cameras, but also digital images taken with digital cameras are becoming accepted as evidence in law suits. However, digital data such as digital images, which are relatively easily susceptible to alteration in general, has a problem of insufficient probative value as evidence.
For example, a vehicle control event data authenticating apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-115831 is conventionally known as an apparatus relating to a technique of improving the probative value of digital data as evidence.
The aforementioned apparatus records control events such as a series of driving operations performed by a driver before, during, and after the occurrence of a car accident, and comprises a micro-controller which is connected to receive control event information and which provides first information by adding a first time stamp and a vehicle identification number VIN to the control event information and outputs the first information to a memory according to a time overlapping method; a memory which is connected to the micro-controller and a microprocessor, and which stores the first information and second information according to the time overlapping method; and the microprocessor, which is connected to the memory and a plurality of transducers, determines whether or not received collision data are different from past collision data, and when different, generates the second information in addition to the collision data for which a second time stamp and a VIN have been received.
In the aforementioned conventional vehicle control event data authenticating apparatus, however, a time stamp is generated on the basis of a value acquired from an internal timer and added to control event information. The internal timer value may be altered by the user or suffer from deviations caused by, for example, secular deterioration, thus causing a problem in that the control event information has insufficient probative value as evidence.
For the control event information recorded by the micro-controller, a “signature” is added by the micro-controller. That is, the time stamp and a prescribed identification value are contained so as to ensure that the recorded control event information has been generated during maneuvers of a particular vehicle. This “signature”, independently generated and added, has poor objectivity and also has insufficient probative value as evidence.
Because a personal ID or a vehicle identification number VIN is stored in the memory as is, it may be altered by the user, thus resulting in insufficient probative value as evidence.
In addition to law suits, on the other hand, the following cases conceivably require improvement of probative value as evidence of data.
When carrying out an examination in a hospital, for example, it is conceivable to record data proving when, where, and who has been examined. Since such data are important for a patient, it is hoped that the data are never altered by anyone, and are objective. In this case, therefore, it is necessary to improve the probative value as evidence of the data.
When delivering a parcel via door-to-door delivery service, for example, it is conceivable to record data proving when and by whom the parcel has been delivered and via what route, and such data are necessary when the parcel is lost or damaged in the course of delivery. The data should therefore be free from alteration and have objectivity. In this case, therefore, it is necessary to improve the probative value of data as evidence.
Other cases include evidencing the photographer, date or place when taking photographs of an accident site or exclusive photographs of people in show business, recording survey data in an academic survey, specifying details of a purchase order with an orderer when entering the order for a product or a service via telephone or facsimile, and proving the date of copyright when composing a piece of music.
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Rooftop drain covers are used to protect drainpipes that protrude from flat surfaces of rooftops. There are many types of rooftop drainpipe protection systems in use today. Most type of rooftop protection systems attach to roofing and attempt to block debris from entering the drainpipe. One type of rooftop drain has a one-piece body that includes and a drain flange/ring, a pipe that is inserted into the drainpipe opening, and a strainer dome that sits over the drainpipe to filter debris. A mechanical compression seal may be used to provide a watertight connection to the drainpipe. Similar drain covers are used to protect drains that provide rooftop through-wall/site-wall drainage, called scupper drains. The drain are mostly made of some type of metal, including aluminum, steel and copper, but may also be made of other materials.
Although conventional rooftop drain covers are widely used, experience has shown that these devices have drawbacks. One drawback is that conventional rooftop drain covers have to be mechanically fastened down, typically with screws, bolts, and/or drain seals. This creates a potential problem with the rooftop itself because holes for the screws/bolts need to be created in the roof during the installation process, damaging the roof.
Another drawback is that despite wide use of these devices, the drainpipes that are supposedly protected by these devices still often become clogged by leaves and debris. One reason for this is that the wires comprising the drain domes are often spaced too far apart and allow debris to filter through the dome itself and into the drainpipe. And, because some drains are made of thin metal, they can rust and become weak, and are therefore collapsible over time.
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The present application is related to U.S. Ser. No. 08/059,038, filed May 7, 1993(now U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,999) and U.S. Ser. No. 08/212,603 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,353.
The present invention is concerned with a novel intermediate and process for synthesizing compounds which inhibit the protease encoded by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and in particular certain oligopeptide analogs, such as compound J of the Examples below. These compounds are of value in the prevention of infection by HIV, the treatment of infection by HIV and the treatment of the resulting acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). These compounds are also useful for inhibiting renin and other proteases.
The invention described herein concerns a process to effect the regiospecific generation of a cis-1-amino-2-alklanol, particularly cis-1-amino-2-indanol (Compounds C and F) from either a 1,2 -diol precursor or from a 2-halo-1-alkanol. For 1,2-diol precursors, the stereochemical integrity of the carbon-oxygen bond at position 2 of the indan core is retained, so that there is substantially complete conversion to the appropriate product 1-amino-2-indanol. For example, 1R,2S-indandiol and 1S,2S-indandiol (Compounds A and B) each produce substantially 1R-amino-2S-indanol (Compound C). Similarly, 1R,2R-indandiol and 1S,2R indandiol each produce substantially 1S,2R-indandiol. Mixtures of enantiomeric diol precursors produce substantially the same mixture of 1-amino-2-alkanol enantiomers.
For 2-halo-1-indanol precursors, the stereochemistry of the carbon at position 2 of the indane core is inverted so that there is substantially complete conversion to the appropriate product cis-1-amino-2-indanol. For example, 2S-bromo-1S-indanol (compound G) produces substantially 1S-amino-2R-indanol (Compound F), and 2R-bromo-1R-indanol (compound H) produces substantially 1R-amino-2S-indanol (Compound C). Mixtures of enantiomeric 2-halo-1-alkanol precursors produce substantially the same mixture of 1-amino-2-alkanol enantiomers. ##STR1##
The process described is superior to prior an in that the process is shorter, more productive, higher yielding and has less environmental impact.
A retrovirus designated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the etiological agent of the complex disease that includes progressive destruction of the immune system (acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS) and degeneration of the central and peripheral nervous system. This virus was previously known as LAV, HTLV-III, or ARV. A common feature of retrovirus replication is the extensive post-translational processing of precursor polyproteins by a virally encoded protease to generate mature viral proteins required for virus assembly and function. Inhibition of this processing prevents the production of normally infectious virus. For example, Kohl, N. E. et al., Proc. Nat'l Acad. Sci., 85, 4686 (1988) demonstrated that genetic inactivation of the HIV encoded protease resulted in the production of immature, non-infectious virus particles. These results indicate that inhibition of the HIV protease represents a viable method for the treatment of AIDS and the prevention or treatment of infection by HIV.
The nucleotide sequence of HIV shows the presence of a pol gene in one open reading frame [Ratner, L. et al., Nature, 313, 277 (1985)]. Amino acid sequence homology provides evidence that the pol sequence encodes reverse transcriptase, an endonuclease and an HIV protease [Toh, H. et al., EMBO J., 4, 1267 (1985); Power, M. D. et al., Science, 231, 1567 (1986); Pearl, L. H. et al., Nature, 329, 351 (1987)]. The end product compounds, including certain oligopeptide analogs that can be made from the novel intermediates and processes of this invention are inhibitors of HIV protease, and are disclosed in EPO 541,168, which published on May 12, 1993. See, for example, compound J therein.
Previously, the synthesis of compound J and related compounds was accomplished via a 12-step procedure. This procedure is described in EPO 541,168. The extreme length of this route (12 steps), renders this process time consuming and labor intensive, and it requires the use of many presently expensive reagents and a presently expensive starting material. A route requiting fewer reaction steps and reagents would provide desirable economical and time-saving benefits.
In the case of the diol precursor, this invention provides a process for the regiospecific synthesis of cis-1-amino-2-indanol from 1,2-indane diol, with specific retention of the stereochemical integrity of the carbon at the 2 position. The indane diol is treated with a strong acid, then hydrolyzed with water to give the target compound. This process of the present invention is a one step procedure, and avoids isolation of any intermediate.
For the 2-halo-1-indanol precursor, this invention provides a process for the regiospecific synthesis of cis-1-amino-2-indanol, with the specific inversion of the stereochemistry of the carbon at the 2 position. The 2-halo-1-indanol is treated with strong acid to give a 1-acetamido-2-halo intermediate, then base is added to form an oxazoline intermediate. Treatment with aqueous weak acid gives the desired product.
The preparation of 1-amino-2-indanol was previously accomplished via a multistep sequence. This sequence involved the treatment of an indene oxide with aqueous ammonia to produce a trans 1-amino-2-indanol (Cpd J). ##STR2## The intermediate J was then treated with an acyl halide, thereby convening the amine to an amide intermediate (Cpd K). The hydroxyl group of the hydroxy amide K is activated by conversion to an mesylate (Cpd L), then induced to cyclize and form the oxazoline M. The oxazoline B produced by this prior art method is purified, then subjected to conditions similar to that described above effecting its conversion to the target cis-1-amino-1-indanol.
The application of 1,2 diols in the Ritter reaction is novel. See, for example, L. I. Krimen et al., Organic Reactions Vol. 17 John Wiley & Sons New York 1969 (covers up to 1966); R. Bishop, Comprehensive Organic Synthesis eds. B. M. Trost et al., Pergammon Press New York, 1991 vol. 6. Glycols are well known when the two alcohol functions are separated by more than one carbon atom. They react as individual alcohols or assist in forming a larger ting. Based on known chemistry in the literature, one would expect a 1,2 diol in strong acid to undergo a pinacol rearrangement to lose a mole of water and form 2-indanone, as pictured as follows. ##STR3##
The process of the present invention provides a route with fewer chemical steps to accomplish the same overall synthesis of cis-1-amino-2-indanol. Furthermore, the isolation of intermediates is not necessary in the present invention. Also, the present process utilizes smaller quantities of organic solvents and proceeds in greater overall yield than prior methods, a result providing lower environmental impact than prior methods.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a modular ramp system which can be assembled with a threshold in order to facilitate passage of, inter alia, wheeled vehicles including wheelchairs through doorways and other entrance ways.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ramps which can be fitted to thresholds in order to facilitate travel by wheelchairs and other wheeled vehicles over the threshold are already known in the art. Examples of such structures are shown in FIGS. 18-20.
FIG. 18 shows a metal component, or member, 20 constructed to form part of a ramp that can facilitate passage over a step 11 which may be located at a doorway or may simply be a change in elevation of a floor or walkway. Such a step may, as indicated in FIG. 18, have a height of a 1/2". These steps can have other heights and are often referred to in the art as an "offset", which term will be employed hereinafter. Component 20 presents an upper surface having a horizontal portion 21, a relatively long sloping ramp portion 22 and a relatively short sloping ramp portion 23.
An additional ramp component can be placed adjacent ramp portion 22 to provide a ramp surface which extends to the level of the floor or walkway.
This additional component may be a preformed concrete ramp component or a metal ramp component such as the component, or member, 25 shown in FIG. 19.
As shown in FIG. 19, component 25 may be used alone as a ramp whose high end abuts offset 11. In FIG. 20, components 20 and 25 are placed together to abut one another and firm the complete ramp described above.
Reverting to FIG. 18, ramp portion 23 can be somewhat steeper than ramp portion 22 because of its smaller total length.
One of the major problems associated with modular threshold ramps is that the respective ramp members tend to slide apart and create a safety hazard. The prior art attempts to solve this problem by welding the ramp members together during installation. For example, abutting vertical legs of components 20 and 25 of FIG. 20 could be welded together. Welding, however, adds significant time and expense to the installation process. Additionally, if one of the ramp members is damaged, the weld must be broken in order to replace the damaged member. Breaking the weld may cause damage to the other ramp member, thus necessitating the replacement of the previously undamaged portion of the ramp. Accordingly, welding adds significant time and expense to the removal and replacement of damaged portions of the modular ramp.
Another problem often encountered results from the fact that there are a number of standard threshold offset heights and that when threshold ramps are first installed and/or retrofitted, there are often numerous limitations placed on particular ramp dimensions. For example, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), the slope of threshold ramps must be 1:12 for new buildings and can be retrofitted to a maximum of 1:8 in some existing buildings. Accordingly, the dimensions of prefabricated threshold ramps must be individualized for each standard offset height in order to meet the threshold ramp slope requirements. Moreover, prior to retrofit of an existing building, the height of all of the threshold offsets in the building must be measured so that the proper number of each size of prefabricated ramp can be ordered. Thus, the necessity of using prefabricated ramps adds significant time and expense to the retrofit process.
A similar problem relates to the fact that not all threshold offsets are one of the standard heights (1/2", 3/4", etc). Prefabricated threshold ramps are useless in such situations and a custom threshold ramp must be produced at great expense.
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Delay-locked loop (DLL) circuits are often used in high-speed signaling systems to generate signals for precisely timing sampling and transmission events within input/output circuits. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior-art delay-locked loop (DLL) circuit 100 that includes a reference loop 101, tracking loop 103 and clock generator 105. A complementary pair of reference clock signals, CLK and /CLK (102 and 104), are supplied to the reference loop 101 which, in turn, generates eight incrementally delayed clock signals 122, t0-t3 and /t0-/t3, referred to as phase vectors. Ideally the phase vectors are evenly phase-spaced within a time interval that corresponds to a cycle of the reference clock signal 102 such that a 45° phase offset separates each phase-adjacent pair of phase vectors. The tracking loop 123 includes a mixer 117, clock tree circuit 119 and phase detector 115 which cooperate to generate a feedback clock signal 112 that is phase aligned with the reference clock signal 102. The mixer 117 receives the phase vectors 122 from the reference loop 101 and interpolates between a selected pair of the phase vectors to generate a mix clock signal 110. The mix clock signal 110 propagates through the clock tree circuit 119 (typically a set of amplifiers used to generate multiple instances of the mix clock signal 110) to generate the feedback clock signal 112. The phase detector 115 compares the feedback clock signal 112 with the reference clock signal 102 and generates a phase adjust signal 106 (U/D) according to which clock signal leads the other. For example, if the reference clock 102 signal leads the feedback clock signal 112, the phase detector 115 signals the mixer 117 (i.e., by appropriate state of the phase adjust signal) to shift interpolation toward the leading one of the selected phase vectors and away from the trailing phase vector, thereby advancing the phase of the feedback clock 112 and reducing the phase difference between the reference and feedback clock signals. If the reference clock signal 112 still leads (or lags) the feedback clock signal after interpolation has been shifted completely to one of the selected phase vectors, a different pair of phase vectors (i.e., bounding an adjacent phase range) is selected by the mixer 117. The DLL circuit 100 achieves phase lock when the phase of the feedback clock signal 112 becomes aligned with the phase of the reference clock signal 102.
The clock generator 105 includes a mixer 121 and clock tree circuit 123 that mirror the operation of the mixer 117 and clock tree circuit 119 within the tracking loop 103 to generate a local clock signal 116 (LCLK). The mixer 121 receives the phase adjust signal 106 generated within the mix loop 103 and therefore, when an offset control value 108 (OFFSET) is zero, performs nominally the same interpolation operation on the same pair of selected vectors as the mixer 117. Ideally, as the adjust signal 106 is incremented and decremented, the mixer 121 tracks the operation of the mixer 117 such that the local clock signal 116 and the feedback 112 are phase aligned. The offset control value 106 is summed with a count value maintained within the mixer 121 to provide a controlled, adjustable offset between the local clock signal 116 and reference clock signal 112, thereby allowing compensation for skew between the reference clock signal and a sampling instant, transmit instant or other event to be timed by the local clock signal 116.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior-art phase mixer 121 in greater detail. The mixer 121 includes a counter 139, adder 141, bias voltage generator 143, and a bank of differential amplifiers 151. Each of the differential amplifiers 151 is formed by a pair of differentially coupled transistors having gate terminals coupled to receive a respective pair of complementary phase vectors, source terminals coupled to the drain terminal of a corresponding biasing transistor 153, and drain terminals coupled to a mix clock line 116 and complement mix clock line 118, respectively. The mix clock line 116 and complement mix clock lines are pulled up to a supply voltage via respective resistive elements, R. By this arrangement, when a given one of the biasing transistors 153 is biased to a current conducting state, the corresponding differential amplifier is enabled to draw current via resistive elements R in accordance with the input phase vectors, thereby causing the phase vector and its complement to appear on the complement mix clock line 118 and mix clock line 116 as a mix clock signal (MCLK) and complement mix clock signal (/MCLK), respectively. When two of the biasing transistors 153 are biased to a current conducting state, the input phase vectors supplied to the corresponding differential amplifiers are each enabled to contribute to the mix clock signal. The mix clock signal will initially slew (i.e., transition between states) at a rate determined by a leading one of the input phase vectors and then, after the trailing vector begins to transition, at a rate determined by the sum of the leading and trailing phase vectors, thereby yielding a mix clock signal phase that lies between the leading and trailing vectors according to the relative bias currents drawn by the biasing transistors 153.
The counter 171 is incremented and decremented in response to the phase adjust signal 106, and summed with the offset value 108 in adder circuit 141 to generate a phase control word 142. The phase control word 142 is decoded by decode logic 145 within the bias voltage generator 143 to generate a complementary pair of bias words 146 which are supplied to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 147. The most significant three bits of the complementary control values 146 indicate one of eight phase-adjacent pairs of phase vectors to be mixed to generate the mix clock signal, MCLK, and corresponding complementary phase vectors to be mixed to generate the complementary mix clock signal, /MCLK. Thus, the DAC 147 generates bias voltages on bias lines 154 in response to the complementary control values 146, such that at most two of the biasing transistors 153 are enabled at any given time, all other biasing transistors 153 being placed in a non-conducting state. As the count value is incremented by the counter, the bias voltage applied to one of the two enabled biasing transistors is increased, increasing the contribution of the corresponding phase vector to phase of the mix clock signal, and the bias voltage applied to the other selected biasing transistor is decreased, decreasing the contribution of the corresponding phase vector to the mix clock signal. Thus, as the count value is incremented and decremented, the phase of the mix clock signal is correspondingly advanced and delayed.
Because of the relatively small voltage steps generated by the DAC 147 and the high impedance load presented by the gates of biasing transistors 153, substantial time is typically required for each stepwise change in the output of DAC 147 to settle and produce a stable mix clock signal. Also, noise on the bias voltage lines 154 tends to produce phase jitter in the mix clock signals 116 and 118 so that capacitive elements are typically coupled to the bias voltage lines 154 as illustrated by (i.e., as illustrated by capacitive element, C, in FIG. 2). Unfortunately, capacitive loading of the bias voltage lines 154 further increases the time required for the lines 154 to settle in response to an increase or decrease of the bias voltage. Additionally, significant changes in the RC time constant result from process variations and from changes in temperature and voltage, making it difficult to quantify or predict the worst case settling time for the bias voltage lines 154. Consequently, several cycles of the reference clock signal are typically required for the phase of the output clock signal to stabilize in response to each bias voltage change. This is a significant disadvantage of the mixer 121, as a relatively long time is typically required to perform a phase locking operation in which numerous successive phase steps are needed to reach phase lock. The ability to rapidly switch between phase offsets in response to changes in the offset control value 108 is similarly limited by the DAC settling time.
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It has been known for some time that the management of solid particles, for example, sands, asphaltenes, clays, drill cuttings, and scale particles, discharged from hydrocarbon producing wells, has an important impact on downstream processing equipment. Some typical problems associated with downstream processing are: Wear on valves, particularly choke pressure control valves Drop out of solids in processing vessels such as three phase separators Wear on pumps and rotating equipment The management of separated solids on the seabed following sub-sea processing Disposal of solids, which are contaminated with oil offshore.
With the advent of directional drilling, which is used to seek out and produce ever more recoverable hydrocarbons from old or marginal reservoirs, and the use of lateral completions, ever increasing volumes of solids are being produced.
The use of a well head de-sander in the form of a solid/liquid cyclone housed in a pressure vessel is well known and has been utilised successfully in the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry. A well head de-sander is typically designed to cope with slowly increasing flow rate, in order to match the field production profile of a reservoir's life. Therefore, the design must have a sufficient turndown (ie, minimum to maximum flow capacity whilst remaining an efficient separator).
Up to now, this is often been achieved in one of two ways, either by taking the de-sander off-line and changing the number of cyclone liners before returning it on-line, or by directing the flow to one or more cyclone vessels as required.
In the first method, a cyclone vessel may have the ability to hold, for example, forty cyclone liners, but has only twenty liners installed with twenty blank liners. When the flow rate through the cyclone vessel increases to the point where the pressure drop across the cyclone vessel is too high, the operator takes the cyclone vessel off line, opens it and installs more cyclone liners.
In the second method, the same effect can be achieved by having two cyclone vessels, for example, each with twenty liners installed on a skid system with valves installed on the skid manifold to allow selection of the vessels and hence number of cyclone liners on line at a given time.
In a typical example system, a well produces a volume of liquids with some associated gas, for example, 50 m3/hr. The pressure available for use by the cyclone de-sander is typically 1 bar. Cyclone liner design characteristics determine that the efficient maximum flow rate per liner whilst meeting its d90 cut size is given by the available pressure drop allowed divided by a constant depending on the cyclone shape size and efficiency. In this example a cyclone liner is chosen that has a maximum flow rate under these conditions of 10 m3/hr whilst separating 90% of all particles 20 microns and above that have a density equal to or greater than 2000 kg/m3. The field's initial flow rate is considered to be 30 m3/hr and after one years operation is likely to increase to 50 m3/hr.
The cyclone vessel is therefore initially filled with three cyclone liners and two blanks. Once the pressure drop through the cyclone vessel increases to above 1 bar, the vessel is taken offline, the two blanks are removed and two extra cyclone liners are installed. The cyclone vessel is then brought back on line.
When considering a gas field, the problem of flow and pressure change is exaggerated because the gas production often begins as a low volume dense phase fluid at high pressure, and as the field matures the volume increases and the pressure drops. This therefore requires either a smaller cyclone liner type on start up, which will need to be replaced later in the field's life with a larger cyclone, or a high number of extra smaller cyclone liners in separate vessels or added to a single vessel as needs be.
Whereas these systems have had some success to date onshore and on topsides offshore, these systems are not practicable when considering sub-sea processing, because the retrieval of a cyclone vessel for maintenance and/or the use of divers in deep sea areas are not viable.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a new cyclone assembly, which has an improved turndown, ie, minimum to maximum flow capacity whilst remaining an efficient separator.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a continuously variable transmission, and more particularly to a transmission which can convert and transmit the power of an engine to comply with the load on the output shaft without engaging, or disengaging the gears with a shift lever.
In general, a transmission device converts and transmits the power generated by an engine to comply with the load placed on the output shaft. Prior art transmission devices utilize a hand-operated shift lever and a foot-operated clutch to cut the power between the input side receiving the power from the engine and the transmission device in order to accomplish a shifting of the gears. Automatic transmissions are those which do not need a foot clutch.
A continuously automatic transmission device which makes it possible to convert and to transmit power without a clutch by using a combination of differential gears consisting of ring gears, planetary gears and sun gears, is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 347,916, filed May 5, 1989. Further, another continuous transmission uses a combination of bevel gears and worm gears and is fully described in a U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,879 by Thomas A.W.K. Watson.
However, such transmission devices fail to provide smooth transmission steps and utilize a complicated structure. Hence there is a need for the development of a transmission device which provides excellent capability and simple structure.
The object of the present invention is to provide a continuously variable transmission which is very efficient, capable of converting and transmitting power to the output shaft in a smooth and stepless manner while being mechanically simple in design.
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In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,452,799; 4,524,206 and 4,590,196 these are described a number of 3-piperazinyl-1,2-benzisoxazoles and -1,2-benzisothiazoles having psychotropic, tranquilizing and analgesic properties. In EP-A-0,196,132, published Oct. 1, 1986 and J. Med. Chem. 1985, 28, 761-769, there are described 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisoxazoles and -1,2-benzisothiazoles as antipsychotics and in EP-A-0,135,781, published Apr. 3, 1985, there are disclosed a number of 3-piperidinyl-indazole derivatives having antipsychotic and analgesic properties. Other structurally related piperidinyl derivatives are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,127 and 4,485,107.
The present compounds differ therefrom by the fact that they are invariably substituted with a 2-aminopyrimidininone containing moiety and that a number of them show antihistaminic activity.
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Synthetic bicomponent fibers comprising poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) are known. Such fibers are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,379, International Published Application No. WO01/53573, European Published Patent Application No. EP1059372, and Japanese Published Patent Application JP61-032404. In addition, Japanese Published Patent Application Nos. JP49-124333, JP51-037376, and JP2002-54034 disclose methods of treating polyester bicomponent fibers. However, these and other methods of treating bicomponent fibers can result in fibers that have crimp values that are too high for satisfactory further processing. Accordingly, new methods of processing such fibers are sought.
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The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Hydraulic accumulators generally include a piston that fits within a bore. Hydraulic fluid exerts pressure on one side of the piston. A spring or other biasing member acts on the piston in the opposite direction from the hydraulic force. The piston may include a piston ring or seal that seals between the piston and cylinder wall.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a cross-section is shown of a low pressure accumulator (LPA) 10 in accordance with the prior art. LPA 10 includes a cylinder or bore 12 that is formed in a housing 14. A piston 16 fits within bore 12. A spring 18 urges piston 16 towards the bottom of bore 12. A cover 20 closes one end of bore 12. Spring 18 compresses against an interior surface of cover 20. A seal 22 provides a seal between piston 16 and the wall of border 14.
During operation a fluid, such as brake fluid, enters an inlet port 24. The fluid displaces piston 16 upwards thereby compressing spring 18. The fluid can be released through an outlet port 26. Outlet port 26 may include a check valve 28. The volumetric capacity of LPA 10 is limited by the diameter of bore 12 and the stroke of piston 16. Increasing the volumetric capacity of LPA 12 therefore requires increasing the size of LPA 10.
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The present invention relates to a method and apparatus which is used to retain spinal elements in a spatial relationship. More particularly, a modular pedicle screw assembly of the invention consists of a base fastener and connecting headpieces which are varied in length and angularity in order to provide a clinician a greater degree of flexibility in stabilizing the spine when performing spinal fusions in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.
Important considerations for spinal instrumentation used to promote spinal fusion are safe insertion, rigid fixation, and ease and adaptability of implantation. Historically, Harrington rods were an early type of spinal instrumentation used to stabilize the thoracic and the upper lumbar regions to obtain correction and stability for fusion. This instrumentation involved long rods attached to hooks, which were inserted over the bony arches (lamina) of the spinal canal. The instrumentation was subject to failure when the hooks either broke the lamina or became displaced and thus, the intended stabilization and correction was lost.
Subsequent spinal instrumentation included the use of a longitudinal member, such as a plate, to interconnect a series of pedicle screws such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,899 issued to Laura C. Small ("Small, et al"). In this system, the clinician must strive to place the series of pedicle screws into the bone in longitudinal alignment with as little lateral displacement and angular deflection as possible so that the plate may be attached to the series of pedicle screws in order to achieve a solid biomechanical relationship. However, due to variances in the spinal column or imperfect placement by the clinician, the screws are often inserted at an angle or must be placed laterally outside the longitudinal axis defined by the plate and other screws. While slight angular deviations of screw placement of up to 20.degree. may be overcome by the use of contoured washers, larger angular deflections and the problems associated with lateral displacement of the pedicle screws cannot be overcome by the instrumentation disclosed in the Small, et al. patent.
The development of the Kambin Offset Bolt for the use with the device disclosed in the Small, et al. patent allows greater flexibility when the pedicle screws cannot be placed in the desired longitudinal relationship. The Kambin system, which is offered by Smith & Nephew and known to those of skill in the art, uses bolts having lateral extensions that allow attached threaded shanks to reach the plates in a more desirable biomechanical relationship. The offset bolt, however, has several drawbacks. First, insertion of the offset bolt requires a larger area of clearance to obtain insertion. This often leads to insertion difficulty when the bolt interferes with the spinal retractors, other elements of the spine, or other screws which have already been implanted. This interference can cause other implanted screws to loosen when impinged. In addition, once in place, the offset bolt can only overcome translational malalignment, but not angular malalignment of the pedicle screws.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,900 ("Asher, et al."). There, pedicle screws are connected to a longitudinal member, such as a rod. Lateral deviations may be cured by the use of connector members which include oblong openings. (Col. 4 lines 54-67). Like the offset screw taught by the Small et al. patent, however, the device disclosed in the Asher, et al. patent cannot overcome the difficulties associated with angular malalignment.
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The present disclosure relates to a electronic data recorder mounted on a vehicle, such as an automotive vehicle. The recorder can store at least acceleration data of the vehicle prior to, during, and after a traffic accident.
As an example of representative apparatus for storing data at a traffic accident occurrence time, a flight data recorder mounted on an aircraft is well known. The flight recorder for an aircraft receives and records data such as the speed and acceleration of the aircraft through wires from hydraulic cylinders, the speed indicator and other sensors, while the aircraft is flying. However, because an aircraft flight recorder is a very large scale apparatus, it is not practical to apply such a system to automotive vehicles because of the complex mounting requirements, cost, etc.
Nonetheless, in order to investigate the cause of an automotive accident, it is advantageous to know the condition, or state of an automotive vehicle at the time a traffic accident has occurred involving the vehicle. In a traffic accident involving the vehicle, it is advantageous to analyze data, such as, acceleration, angular velocity, etc., at the accident occurrence time, in order to look into the cause of the accident. This information is most readily stored in an electronic condition.
Unfortunately, most electronic data recorders are susceptible to damage from environmental factors. This is particularly true for an electronic data recorder that has experienced accident conditions. The present disclosure is focused upon a suitable enclosure to protect an electronic data storage device and maintain its environmental isolation, and therefore its integrity, both before and after a crash.
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A popular emerging framework for facilitating the execution of multiple software applications on a single computing device is the software container. Prior to containers, multiple virtual machines (VMs) concurrently emulating separate computer systems within a single hardware computer system might be employed. In such examples, each VM provides the environment in which a separate operating system (OS), one or more applications, and any necessary libraries and binary files, may execute, and the VMs interact with the underlying hardware by way of a hypervisor. On the other hand, multiple software containers (e.g., Docker® containers) may execute atop a single container engine, which may operate atop a single OS employed within a hardware computer system. Each container, in turn, may include an application with any binaries and libraries necessary to execute the application, often resulting in each container being much smaller, and starting execution more quickly, than a corresponding VM. Consequently, containers may be more readily employed in smaller client computer systems, and may facilitate a modularized deployment of individual applications within a single computer system.
An additional benefit of containers is the ability to execute applications written in different programming languages so that multiple processes may operate concurrently so that each individual process may be employed using a language most appropriate to its corresponding task. However, the use of multiple separate containers may also complicate the ability of the various applications to communicate with each other between containers, which may be useful in some examples, such as when multiple applications operate on the same set of data.
The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.
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1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is devices for providing electrical power aboard jet aircraft. The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Grant No. DE-FG01-86CE-15301 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,359 issued May 23, 1978 and entitled "RADIANT ENERGY POWER SOURCE FOR JET AIRCRAFT AND MISSILES" details a power source which derives electrical energy from the radiant energy emitted from a jet engine. This is accomplished by placing photovoltaic cells proximate the jet engine combustion liner and interiorly the jet engine combustion casing.
Since the issuance of Applicant's prior patent, Applicant has continued to improve upon the basic underlying concept in respect of structural features encapsulating the radiant energy power source.
Applicant herein details structural features which he believes substantially improves the utilization of his prior invention.
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A wide variety of gas sensor types are utilized to detect gases and other ambient air conditions. For example, electrochemical sensors are well known. Such sensors may include the use of a metal or plastic can, which houses a liquid electrolyte having electrodes immersed in the liquid. An opening or gas diffusion barrier allows atmosphere to ingress and make contact with a gas-sensing electrode. Infrared sensors are also well known. Infrared sensors advantageously utilize the characteristics of gases which show differing absorption spectrum at various infrared frequencies. Further, metal oxide based gas sensors, such as sensors employing precious metal (Pt, Pd, Au, Ag)-activated SnO2, are also known. Such sensors may utilize porous metal oxides which exhibit a shift in electrical parameters when exposed to differing gases. For example, such electrical parameters may include resistance and capacitance characteristics. Such metal oxide sensors may be housed in a metal and/or plastic cylindrical can or ceramic housing with an opening provided on one end of the can to allow ingress of gas through an active charcoal filter to contact a porous metal oxide bead that is positioned within the can. Often such metal oxide based sensors utilize high operation temperatures, for example as high as 300 to 500 degrees Celsius.
It is known to add Sb2O3 to a gas sensitive SnO2 material to lower resistivity to manageable values at room temperature, and to dope the material with platinum (or palladium, gold or silver) to enhance gas response kinetics and possible sensitivity. It is also known to use thick film air-fireable inks in the electronics industry to make capacitors, resistors, dielectrics and conductors. Thick film air-fireable inks have also been used to make gas sensors from platinised Sb-doped SnO2 materials. Such inks typically include an ink vehicle that itself includes a volatile solvent based on terpineol or butyl carbitol and an ethyl cellulose binder. The purpose of the solvent is to both dissolve the binder and to provide a workable liquid-like form for depositing the oxide material. In conventional methods, the ink vehicle is combined with a base oxide material that has been previously prepared by combining Sb2O3 with SnO2, followed by ball milling, calcining and sieving. Before combination with the ink vehicle, platinum is typically added to the previously prepared base oxide material by droplet deposition in which drops of a liquid solution of a platinum salt are applied to the surface of the base oxide material. During heating after deposition of the ink vehicle/oxide combination, the solvent evaporates at approximately 150° C., leaving behind the binder which acts like a cement in holding the powdered oxide together in a so-called “green state” and providing adhesion to the substrate. The ethyl cellulose binder requires a burn-out temperature of approximately 450° C. during later heating, at which time the metal oxide particles also start fusing together to form a sintered material that is considered to be in the “fired state”. During the burn-out process, the platinum salt decomposes and particles of metallic platinum form on the metal oxide surface.
Thick film inks such as described above are typically deposited either by stencil or by screen printing. The former utilizes a solid metal screen with apertures or holes laser-drilled into it, through which the viscous ink is forced. The ink is deposited typically in one pass, with the screen thickness governing the overall wet print thickness. Screen printing is performed by forcing ink through a metal or plastic mesh with the print pattern required achieved by a combination of closed or open apertures. Screen printing allows more flexibility on printed patterns, but requires multiple prints if thicknesses greater than 20 microns are required. Also, the ink is formulated to deliver a lower viscosity than is the case with stencil inks which are more commonly referred to a ‘pastes’.
Droplet deposition and spin coating are alternative deposition techniques for thick film inks. The former requires very low viscosity probably using a water-based solvent or a sol-gel formulation. Problems with clogging of the dispensing nozzle and settling of the heavy oxide particles leading to sedimentation are reported drawbacks of this technique. If very thin coatings are required (5-10 microns), spin-coating is an option, requiring the use of a photo-sensitive binder to enable patterning of the deposit through a mask. This is then followed by washing away the material not hardened by light exposure.
The use of metal oxide based gas sensor materials in combination with integrated circuit technology to provide an integrated gas sensor has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,134, issued Jun. 30, 2009 to Cummins, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,167, issued Aug. 30, 2011 to Cummins, both of which are assigned to the present assignee and the disclosures of both of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,554,134 and 8,007,167 a single chip wireless gas sensor may include metal oxide sensing materials combined with a microcontroller, wireless transmit/receive circuitry, and other electrical circuits, all on a single integrated circuit.
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This invention relates to molding apparatus, and more particularly to improvements in injection molding apparatus of the plural-cavity type.
In the fabrication of end closures for containers it has been a practice to form, by an injection molding operation, a closure sealing ring along a peripheral region of a metal disk insert comprising a central portion of the closure. In such a molding operation, an insert is placed in a suitably formed mold cavity followed by injection of the molding compound to form the sealing ring. Closures of this type are, of course, mass produced at relatively high rates of speed, using multiple cavity injection molding apparatus. The quantity of molding compound typically is metered according to the volume required to fill all the cavities, assuming a closure insert is present in each cavity. Malfunctions sometimes occur, however, resulting in that one or more inserts are missing from the mold. Injection of the molding compound under this condition wastes it on a cavity from which an insert is missing, and forms a defective sealing ring about any insert that is present.
It is a general objective of the invention to provide improved multiple-cavity injection molding apparatus overcoming the hereinabove stated difficulties.
It is a further and more specific objective of the invention to provide novel means for metering flow of molding compound into a multiple cavity mold according to the number of inserts present in the individual cavities.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide improved means for controlling the supply of molding compound in an injection molding apparatus.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to diaphragms for filter press cells. More particularly, the present invention pertains to the manufacture of diaphragms for filter press cells. Even more particularly, the present invention pertains to the manufacture of a plurality of diaphragms for filter press cells at a single time.
2. Prior Art
The use of diaphragms in composite filter press cells, i.e., bipolar and monopolar, has been well documented heretofore. Such diaphragms, generally, comprise a support surface having deposited thereon a suitable non-conductive material, e.g., asbestos, fibrous material and polymeric material. Conventionally, these diaphragms are made or manufactured on a piecemeal basis, i.e., one at a time.
A plurality of methods have been developed for manufacturing diaphragms on an individual basis. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,372,118 teaches a method for producing an asbestos diaphragm wherein an asbestos slurry is deposited on a support screen. The slurry is densified by the use of varying vacuums and superatmospheric pressure. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,855,497 there is disclosed a deposit box for the manufacture of asbestos diaphragms wherein the fingers of the cathode downwardly depend into the interior of the box. Perforated feed pipes traverse the interior of the deposit box for introduction of water thereinto. According to this reference, dry asbestos is placed in the tank and, then, water is introduced thereinto to form a slurry. The cathode is, then, inserted into the box and the water is turned on full. A partial vacuum is then applied to pull off the water. After the water level is normalized, a greater vacuum, then, is applied. The slurry is, then, compacted by the application of a full vacuum across the cathode away from the slurry deposit box.
Other background art is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,910,771 and 3,505,200.
However, it is to be appreciated from the prior art that there has not heretofore been taught the manufacture of a plurality of diaphragms at any one time. It is to this which the present invention is directed.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a capacitor in series connecting with contacts of the electrical connector for reducing cross talk.
2. Description of Related Art
US patent publication No. 20130017721 issued to Mason et al. on Jan. 17, 2013 discloses an electrical connector assembly including an interposer having a side surface and an array of electrical contacts exposed along the side surface. The electrical contacts are located within a contact region that extends along the side surface. The electrical contacts are configured to engage an electronic module mounted on the contact region. The connector assembly also includes a shield wall attached and extends along the side surface. The shield wall separates the contact region into shielded sub-regions. The shield wall includes a conductive material and is electrically coupled to an interposer. At least one electrical contact is located within the shielded sub-region. The shield wall extends between adjacent electrical contacts to shield the adjacent electrical contacts from electromagnetic interference. However, this type of electrical connector assembly still needs to reduce cross talk.
Therefore, an improved electrical connector is needed.
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The sonic treatment of sheet material immersed in a treating liquid for its cleaning, pickling, phosphating, or the like, is known; however, usually the sonic vibrations have been directed against and relatively close to the large flat surfaces of the sheet material, such as disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Name No. Date Class ______________________________________ Engelhardt 2,894,860 July 14, 1959 134/1 Osterman, Jr. 3,066,084 November 17, 1962 134/1 et al Tardoskegyi 3,123,084 March 3, 1964 134/1 Sasaki 3,240,963 March 15, 1966 134/1 ______________________________________
Thus, when larger sheets were to be treated, more sonic vibrators were used to cover their larger surface.
Nevertheless, FIGS. 7 and 8 of Massa U.S. Pat. No. 2,702,260 issued Feb. 15, 1955 and found in U.S. Class 134 subclass 1 does show sonic vibrators along the edges of a shallow tank for treating a continuous web, but no means for supporting and directing the web or even treating separate successive sheets are shown.
If the material to be sonically and liquid-treated is not a web, but separate pieces, the pieces are usually suspended in a tank and/or given a batch-type of treatment, the tanks for which are relatively deep and thus require a large volume of treating liquid, such as shown in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Name No. Date Class ______________________________________ Hightower et al 3,033,710 May 8, 1962 134/1 Mobius et al 3,449,163 June 10, 1969 134/1 Jacke et al 2,950,725 August 30, 1960 134/1 Brech 3,596,883 August 3, 1971 134/184 ______________________________________
Since it has been considered more effective to place the sonic vibrators as close to the material being treated as possible, the vibrators often have been placed in the treating liquid in the tanks, including their necessary electrical connections, all of which requires expensive protective shielding. Although vibrators have been placed outside of tanks, they are usually placed in false bottoms in the tanks as disclosed in the above mentioned Tardoskegyi and Jacke et al patents, or the vibrators have been placed on the bottoms of the tanks as disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Name No. Date Class ______________________________________ Camp 3,058,014 October 9, 1962 310/8.7 Cook 3,371,233 February 27, 1968 310/8.1 Brech 3,596,883 August 3, 1971 134/184 Morita 3,730,489 May 1, 1973 134/184 ______________________________________
The use of conveyors which move through reactive liquids in treating tanks is also known, even in ultrasonic cleaning liquid tanks as shown in Branson U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,221 issued Dec. 7, 1965 found in Class 134 subclass 1, but the conveyors do not pass through the sonically vibrated liquid. Also a conveyor resistant to treating liquid is shown in Millard U.S. Pat. No. 1,656,528 issued Jan. 17, 1928 found in Class 134 subclass 124, but such a conveyor is not for or used in combination with sonic treating.
Several of the above mentioned patents, such as Engelhardt U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,860 issued July 14, 1959; Osterman, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,084 issued Nov. 17, 1962 and Sasaki U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,963 issued Mar. 15, 1966 disclose the sonic treating of a web of sheet material from a coil, but no reference of record was found in which either sheets or webs from coils were supported during and in sonically vibrated liquids.
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Crack stops, guard rings and other moisture oxidation barriers (MOB) are structures fabricated along the perimeter of an integrated circuit chip to prevent delamination of the various layers of the integrated circuit chip and other edge damage that may occur during “dicing” of individual integrated circuit chips. The guard rings and MOBs are sometimes referred to as crack stops. These structures can protect the active area of the chip from moisture, mobile ions, and mechanical damage. For example, the guard rings can prevent moisture from corroding the structures on the integrated circuit chip. Also, the guard rings can prevent damage to the components within an active area of the integrated circuit due to cracking that may form during the dicing process.
More specifically, after formation of the active and passive components, the wafer is cut or diced into individual integrated circuit chips, either by sawing or by scribing and breaking. During the cutting or dicing process, the wafer is subjected to high shear stresses which can cause cracks extending inwardly from the edges of each chip. Due to the stresses encountered when dicing the chip, or even later during use, cracks can propagate inward from the edges of the chip and eventually reach the active portion of the chip, damaging semiconductor devices disposed in the active region. Guard rings, though, can prevent the propagation of cracks from reaching the active region of the chip.
Guard rings, though, can be damaged due to dicing issues. Also, guard rings use valuable real estate on the integrated circuit.
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The present invention relates to a new and distinct strawberry plant designated as ‘Malibu’ (a.k.a. ‘109221’). ‘Malibu’ is a short-day strawberry plant.
‘Malibu’ (a.k.a. ‘109221’) is the result of a controlled-cross between a female parent cultivar designated 105429 (strawberry plant named ‘Dani’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,533) and a male parent cultivar designated 105218 (strawberry plant named ‘Zarina’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,936) made by the Inventor and was first fruited in Watsonville, Calif. growing fields. Following selection and during testing, the plant was originally designated ‘109221’ and subsequently named ‘Malibu’.
This new strawberry plant was asexually reproduced via runners (stolons) by the inventor at Watsonville, Calif. Asexual propagules from the original source have been tested in Watsonville growing fields and to a limited extent, grower fields in high elevation. The properties of this new plant were found to be transmissible by such asexual reproduction. This plant is stable and reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
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This invention relates to high-surface area anatase titania alkaline sol compositions useful as catalyst supports and binders, and methods of their manufacture. High surface area, or ultrafine, anatase titania (TiO2) is commonly used as a catalyst support material for reacting with atmospheric pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen, particularly from diesel engine exhaust, via reduction with ammonia or urea, in a process termed selective catalytic reduction (SCR). In this catalytic process, the titania is typically used as the support material for the active catalytic metal or oxide, which is typically vanadia or other active materials such as iron, cerium, copper, and/or manganese oxides. Anatase titania is also active by itself in the light-catalyzed (photocatalysis, PC) destruction of such atmospheric pollutants such as the oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, ozone, toxic and unpleasant odors such as VOCs, and particulate materials such as dust and dirt. The titania can be used alone, or can be mixed with other materials, and disposed as a coating on a surface. The titania coating, when illuminated by UV light, absorbs the UV light thereby driving the photocatalytic process which degrades, reduces, or oxidizes the pollutants. The titania may be provided as a stable, aqueous colloidal dispersion (a sol), that is, a mixture in which the titania particles are small enough to resist sedimentation over time. Examples of ultrafine anatase titania sols include S5-300A® and S5-300B®, which are peptized with acid and base, respectively, and are available from Millennium Chemical Co. Sol S5-300B® for example comprises titania in a weight % of 17.5±2.5, at a pH of 11.5±1, and has a surface area of >250 m2/g of dried product as measured by BET. In addition to serving as a catalyst material, small particles of anatase titania provided in the stable sol can be used as a binder material in order to improve the adhesion of other titania particles onto a monolith support. Further, the ability to provide titania catalytic materials and support materials in small particle form is particularly advantageous for adding SCR activity to a diesel particulate filter (DPF) by coating the pores in the walls of a wall-flow particulate filter. Such a combined particulate filter/SCR catalyst is termed SCR-F, and this approach offers significant advantages over separate SCR/DPF catalysts.
While S5-300B® titania sol has shown great usefulness as a titania source for use in production of catalytic materials, it has several short comings. S5-300B® has, as noted above, a titania content of about 17.5 wt %. It is desirable to increase the solids content of the sol for several reasons. First, a sol provided at higher solids will have lower freight and duty costs. Second, when used in a production process such as wash-coating a monolith, a higher solids sol will enable more of the titania solids to be deposited in one wash-coating step, which can lead either to improved functionality, lower processing costs, or both. Further, S5-300B® is stabilized at a pH of about 11.5 by the organic dispersant diethylamine (DEA), which is both strongly alkaline and miscible in water, and as such is a good alkaline peptizing agent However, this conventionally-available S5-300B® sol has a relatively high flammability (flashpoint 35° C.) due to the high vapor pressure and low boiling point of diethylamine which constitutes about 2.6 wt % of the sol.
While S5-300B® has the undesirable properties of being provided at relatively low solids content with a high vapor pressure dispersant, it does have the desirable properties of low viscosity and low surface tension. These desirable properties are useful in that they facilitate the ingress of the sol into the channels and/or pores of a monolith support, so that the washcoating process is improved.
It is thus desirable to develop an improved sol, which is provided at higher solids, with a lower vapor pressure, that can be made under relatively mild conditions, while still maintaining the favorable properties of low viscosity and low surface tension.
The peptization route to prepare stable titania sols is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,309, and more recently in US 2009/0062111 A1. In this approach, a precipitated hydrous titania precursor from the sulfate process can be used. The physical structure of this precipitated hydrous titania precursor is described in two references: Sathyamoorthy, S., et al, in Crystal Growth and Design, (2001) Vol. 1, No. 2, 123-129, and Jalava, J.-P., in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, (2000), Vol. 39, No. 2, 349-361. To briefly summarize, such a precipitated material is comprised of small anatase primary crystallites, typically on the order of a few nm in size. These crystallites are further bonded together to form what are often referred to as primary aggregates which typically range in diameter from 50-100 nm. These primary aggregates are also further bonded together to form agglomerates that are roughly one or two microns (1 μm-2 μm) in diameter. The final agglomerated particle thus has an internal porous network. It is believed that in the peptization process, severe conditions of time, temperature and pH are used to create chemical forces that disrupt the forces that bond the primary aggregates together to form the micron-sized agglomerate. When these latter forces are overcome, the agglomerates are broken down into the primary aggregates roughly 50-100 nm in size. Under more severe peptization conditions, the primary aggregates can then be broken down into the primary crystallites. One object of the present invention is to provide an alternative means of breaking the agglomerates down into smaller particles that can be done under less severe conditions of pH, time and temperature, while enabling sols with higher solids content to be obtained.
For use of the titania sols as active catalyst materials, catalyst supports or catalyst binders, it is disadvantageous to use the hydroxides of Group IA or IIA elements as dispersants or peptizing agents because such alkali (such as NaOH and KOH) are strong catalyst poisons for SCR reactions, for example. Therefore, the alkaline dispersants of the present invention are restricted to organic bases (and hence can be burned off during the production process of the final catalytic article for applications such as SCR). Examples of weak organic bases such as NH3 and the alkanolamines, which have lower flammability and cost than DEA, are not as strongly alkaline as DEA, and hence do not effectively to peptize the titania to prepare a stable sol. An example of a very strong base that has lower flammability than DEA is tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH). This reagent, by virtue of the fact that it is a salt in aqueous solution, however, produces sols that have relatively high surface tension. Further, TMAOH and its decomposition products (amines) have very strong and offensive odors. Finally, TMAOH is a relatively expensive reagent compared to other organic bases such as the alkanolamines.
A titania sol which optimizes the optimal features of high solids content and stability and minimizes the features of flammability, viscosity and surface tension would be highly desirable.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscopic surgical procedure and surgical apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, endoscopic surgeries, such as cholecystectomy have been used, in which the inside of a body cavity is observed by an endoscope, internal organs are operated by treatment instruments or the like, and operations are performed. In such endoscopic surgeries, it is important to displace internal organs which are not related to the observation or the operation and assure a field of view and operative field by enlarging a narrow cavity. However, these are not big issues in general abdominal operations.
Specifically, the operations performed are namely; moving a body tissue or an internal organ located above observation or operation target with grasping forceps; slightly moving the internal organ or the like, which is not under observation or the operation target, during operations, with grasping forceps or the like; moving the internal organ or the like, which is not under observation or the operation target, with another grasping forceps or the like.
On these occasions, there are issues that the body tissue or the internal organ, which are not target of a treatment or the like, might be damaged. Also, a plurality of grasping forceps or the like is necessary for moving the body tissue or the internal organ, which is not target of a treatment or the like. Accordingly, other holes are necessary for inserting the grasping forceps or the like into the body, whereby there are issues of increasing the invasiveness of a patient.
As an apparatus for handling these issues, an instrument having an axis body, a hollow tube provided in a revolvable manner around the axis body, and a plurality of elastic striatums, one end of which being fixed to the axis body and the other end of which being fixed to the hollow tube, is proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H08-336538. The apparatus proposed in the publication is able to select from a stored state in which the elastic striatum is constricted and an operation state in which the elastic striatum is enlarged by allowing the axis body and the hollow tube to rotate relatively. By selecting the operation state in which the elastic striatum is enlarged, it is possible to support the body tissue or the internal organ.
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In order for a wireless receiver to be able to acquire meaningful data from a transmitter, it is necessary for the receiver to be properly synchronized with the received signal. That is to say, the receiver must sample the data at the correct timing with respect to the received signal. To achieve this, the transmitter must broadcast some kind of synchronization signal whose form is known to the receiver, and which the receiver can use as a reference to determine the timing of the received data.
For example, to acquire a signal in a W-CDMA system, the receiver synchronizes to three broadcast channels, the Primary Synchronization Channel (P-SCH), the Secondary Synchronization Channel (S-SCH) and the Common Pilot Channel (CPICH). For the initial cell search, a primary synchronization is first performed using the P-SCH to provide information on the slot timing, and then a secondary synchronization is performed using the S-SCH to provide information on the code group and frame boundary (i.e. slot position within a frame, or frame boundary acquisition).
One method for performing a synchronization search is discussed in a paper titled “Cell Search Robust to Initial Frequency Offset in WCDMA Systems” (June Moon and Yong-Hwan Lee, School of Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University; from the 13th IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications, 2002; ISBN: 0-7803-7589-0). Summarized briefly, this involves correlating the received P-SCH with a locally generated version of the P-SCH code using a matched filter, then averaging the results over a number of time slots using a coherent combing scheme before performing a peak detection followed by the secondary synchronization.
A difficulty with synchronization is discussed in relation to FIG. 1, which illustrates schematically a wireless communication system 1 comprising a transmitter 2 having a first clock (cktx) 6 and a receiver 4 having a second clock (ckrx) 8. For example, the transmitter may be a base station of a cellular W-CDMA network and the receiver 4 may be a mobile terminal.
The transmitter 2 transmits data to the receiver 4 at a first frequency ftx dependent on the first clock (cktx) 6, including the P-SCH, S-SCH and CPICH. The receiver 4 samples the data at a second frequency frx dependent on the second clock (ckrx) 8. The first frequency ftx and second frequency ftx are nominally the same. However, in reality no two clocks can ever be completely identical, for example due to manufacturing differences. Therefore the second clock (ckrx) 8 will in practice be slightly (but not necessarily negligibly) different from the first clock (cktx) 6, resulting in a frequency offset f0 such that frx actually equals ftx+f0. In the case where the receiver is a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, the frequency error is likely to be particularly significant because the crystal oscillators used in the clocks 8 of such consumer devices tend to be cheaper and therefore more prone to error and manufacturing spread.
Because of the nature of the received data, any frequency difference f0 between the transmitter frequency ftx and the receiver frequency frx will be seen as an ordinary stationary data vector spinning around the origin, i.e. multiplied by a factor ejφt where φ is dependent on the frequency error f0.
Moon & Lee describe a synchronization method which is more robust against such frequency errors due to an improved, coherent combining scheme. However, one point which is overlooked by the above Moon & Lee reference is that there will be a time shift because of the receiver sampling clock 8 being different from the transmitter clock 6. That is, because data is sampled at a slightly different rate than it is transmitted, the sampling shift will be perceived as a constant movement in time of the data, or a sliding of the received data relative to the transmitted data.
After attempting primary synchronization for example, the secondary synchronization may fail, because the data is not where it is expected to be and so the correlation values returned may be very poor. The degree of averaging and hence the accuracy of the estimation is therefore also determined by the time drift. In practice, to reliably detect a P-SCH at the cell edge limits the allowable frequency error using current techniques is between 1 kHz and 2 kHz depending on implementation. This degree of frequency correction is usually termed fine AFC (automatic frequency control).
Coarse AFC, for correction of frequency errors greater than this, would typically involve trial and error searches with the receiver clock adjusted in incremental amounts for each search. This is a slow process.
It would be advantageous to provide a fast and accurate method of frequency error estimation. It would also be advantageous to be able to cope with larger frequency errors. Particularly, in a case where the receiver 4 is a mobile consumer device such as a mobile phone, it would be preferable to be able to use a cheaper oscillator for the clock 8.
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Embodiments of the invention are directed to improving the transfer of voice messages to terminals.
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The invention relates generally to integrated circuits and more particularly to an integrated resistor having a contact that is aligned with the resistor body and a method for forming the resistor.
As their customers continue to demand new versions of integrated circuits (ICs) that are smaller and more functional than prior versions, IC manufacturers try to include more integrated components such as resistors, transistors, and capacitors per unit area of an IC die. One technique for achieving this result is to minimize the layout area that an integrated component occupies.
FIG. 4(c) of U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,857 entitled RESISTOR STRUCTURE AND PROCESS discloses an integrated resistor 10 having a resistor body 14 and resistor heads 16, which are low-resistance contacts for coupling the body 14 to other integrated components.
One problem with the integrated resistor 10 is that it occupies more than its optimal layout area, and thus may hinder a manufacturer""s efforts to decrease the size of an IC that incorporates the resistor 10. Specifically, the optimal layout area of the resistor 10 is the area occupied by the heads 16 and the body 14 where the edges of the heads and body are aligned. To allow for potential misalignment during the manufacturing process, however, the manufacturer makes the body 14 significantly wider than the heads 16. Unfortunately, this widening of the body 14 increases the area of the resistor 10 beyond its optimal area. In addition, this widening tends to decrease the resistance of the resistor 10. Therefore, so that the resistor 10 has the desired resistance, the IC manufacture proportionally lengthens the body 14. Lengthening the body 14 tends to increase the resistance of the resistor 10, and thus counteracts the resistance decrease caused by the widening of the body 14. Unfortunately, this lengthening of the body 14 further increases the area of body 14, and thus further increases the area of the resistor 10 beyond its optimal area.
An integrated resistor includes a layer of semiconductor material having a first edge. A first region having a first conductivity is disposed in the layer contiguous with the first edge. A second region having a second conductivity is also disposed in the layer contiguous with both the first edge and with the first region, and the second conductivity is different than the first conductivity.
Because such a resistor can include an aligned body and contact, the resistor often occupies a smaller area than a prior integrated resistor having a similar resistance.
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A cowl (cowling) as a front component of saddle-ridden type vehicles (e.g., motorcycles) has such roles as direction-adjusting a riding wind (i.e., a flow of air around the saddle-ridden type vehicle that is running), protecting the rider from a riding wind, and improving the design of the saddle-ridden type vehicle (refer to JP-A-2012-162094, for example).
Increase of the cowl size can enhance, for example, the effect of protecting the rider from a strong riding wind that he or she receives during a high-speed ride and the effect of reducing the degree of fatigue that the rider suffers due to continued reception of riding winds during a long-time ride. In the case of vehicle types such as a tourer, a racer replica, and a super sport type, increase of the cowl size may be able to improve the appearance or create an individualistic design.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, a fiber light source formed of a combination of a small solid light source and an optical fiber is being developed. The fiber light source is used as a lighting apparatus which emits light from a distal end of a thin structure.
As such a lighting apparatus, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Pub. No. 2009-3228 presents a fiber light source apparatus (light-emitting apparatus) using a solid light source.
In the fiber light source apparatus disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Pub. No. 2009-3228, a light guide member (optical fiber) is connected to a small solid light source, and a wavelength converting member (fluorescent material) is attached to a distal end of the light guide member. The light guide member is attached to a retaining member, and a spacer is placed between the light guide member and the wavelength converting member. The spacer includes a through hole, and a metal thin film is formed on an internal surface of the through hole. In the fiber light source apparatus, a backward emitted light emitted from the wavelength converting member toward the light guide member is reflected by a reflector formed of the metal thin film provided on the internal surface of the through hole of the spacer. Thereby, the light emitted toward the light guide member is returned toward the wavelength converting member, and thereby the illumination light quantity of the wavelength-converted light is increased.
The fiber light source apparatus disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Pub. No. 2009-3228 includes a light-emitting element, a light guide member which guides light from the light-emitting element, a retaining member attached to at least an emitting end of the light guide member, and a wavelength converting member which is provided on the emitting side of the light guide member, absorbs at least part of the light from the light-emitting element, and converts the light into light of a different wavelength. The fiber light source apparatus has a structure in which a spacer which reflects backward emitted light emitted from the wavelength converting member is attached to a part between the retaining member or the light guide member and the wavelength converting member. By virtue of this structure, it is possible to reduce a loss of light due to incidence of light reflected or generated by the wavelength converting member on an end surface of the retaining member, and improve the light output. Thus, it is possible to improve brightness, by providing means for reflecting backward emitted light, which was not efficiently used before, toward a direction in which the light is to be output.
The above fiber light source apparatus has a structure in which the whole surface of the emitting opening of the spacer is covered with the wavelength converting member. Thus, the backward emitted light reflected by the reflector being the internal surface of the through hole of the spacer passes through the wavelength converting member, and is output to the exterior. However, the wavelength converting member generally has self-absorbability, and thus absorbs part of the wavelength-converted light which has been wavelength-converted by the wavelength converting member. This absorption reduces the light quantity of the wavelength-converted light emitted to the exterior. Thus, the structure of the above fiber light source apparatus has a problem that the wavelength-converted light from the wavelength converting member is not sufficiently used, and the light extraction efficiency is improved to a lesser degree than expected.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
}
|
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