The present invention relates to computerized color graphics, color reproduction, and electronic printing systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for characterizing colorants such as inks and predicting the color appearance of placing one or more colorant layers on top of a substrate such as paper or film as occurs, for example, in printing a page and photography.
Computerized color graphics systems and electronic printing systems are known in the art. Typically, they enable a user to produce a color image (any visual two-dimensional pattern including text, graphic line art, continuous tone images, etc.), and from that image to produce a picture which can be printed via a color reproduction system, for example, by producing color separation plates for offset printing. There has been much effort in the past to develop ways to accurately predict or simulate the appearance of such images when printed on a substrate, for example paper or film, using a number of colorants, such as inks, the prediction carried out without actually printing the images.
Printing may be carried out using halftoning, also called screening, which is the process of creating the illusion of a continuous tone (xe2x80x9cCT,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9ccontonexe2x80x9d) image using an output (e.g., printing) device capable only of binary output (ink deposited or not deposited at any location on a substrate). For color printing, several images (xe2x80x9cseparationsxe2x80x9d) are produced in the primary colorants (typically inks) used to print in color, and printed over each other in a press. For typical four color printing, four images are produced in cyan (xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d), magenta (xe2x80x9cMxe2x80x9d), yellow (xe2x80x9cYxe2x80x9d) and black (xe2x80x9cKxe2x80x9d), and each of these images are halftoned. Usually, digital halftoning is used together with an imagesetter, laser printer, ink jet printer, digital film recorder, or other recorder output device.
It is desirable to be able to calculate accurately how a picture will look when one prints an image, including a halftoned continuous tone color image, with a certain technique on a certain substrate using a certain set of colorants (e.g., inks). A method of predicting the color appearance can be used for example to display a simulation of the color appearance on a computer display, or to print a simulation of the color appearance on a more easily accessible and cheaper printer as a proof of what is to be printed finally in production.
It is desirable to do this for both reflection printing on an opaque substrate, and transmission imaging on a transparent substrate.
By accurately calculating we mean a maximum deviation between predicted color and actual color of the order of 5 CIELAB Delta E units, and an average deviation of about 2 CIELAB Delta E units.
Various methods are known for calculating the color resulting from superimposing a set of colorant layers on a substrate. These methods can be divided in two groups. The first group are characterized by requiring printing and measuring a relatively large number of overprints of the colorants. That is, this group includes methods that for a particular set of colorants, a particular printing technique (e.g., offset printing on a particular imagesetter), a particular substrate type (e.g., paper, or film for a photographic transparency or print, textile, sheet of plastic, etc.), a particular substrate color (e.g., the color of the paper, or of the transparent film in the case of a transparency, or of the textile, or of the plastic sheet, etc.) and a particular order of printing the colorants, involve printing a relatively large number of overprints of the colorants in the set, for example as patches. These patches are measured with a spectrophotometer or calorimeter and the measurements are used to calculate any overprint of colorants in the set using mathematical techniques, for example, interpolation. If carried out well and carefully, these methods can lead to accurate results. Modem color management techniques such as COLORSYNC(trademark) (Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, Calif.) and the methods promoted by the International Color Consortium (ICC, see http://www.color.org) use such techniques. While these techniques can produce accurate results, and also work for halftone images, there are several drawbacks with such methods. One is that a large number of color patches of overprints need to be made. For example, the IT8.7.3 chart (American National Standards Institute [ANSI] Committee IT8 for Digital Data Exchange Standards) contains nearly a thousand patches for a four color output. Hence it is very difficult to characterize sets of more than four colorants, for example printing with six or seven colors (xe2x80x9cHI-FIxe2x80x9d printing including PANTONE(copyright) Hexachrome from Pantone, Inc., Carlstadt, N.J.). There also are applications where inks other than cyan, magenta, yellow and black need to be used. Another drawback is that a set of patches will only be useful for accurately calculating overprints using the particular colorants and the particular colorant printing order used in the patches. Changing one colorant in the colorant set or changing the order of overprinting typically requires redoing the whole job of printing the set of patches.
An additional problem occurs when using such characterizations with more than four inks in a typical modem color management workflow, such as the ICC workflow. The ICC standard uses look up tables and interpolation to predict the CIELAB values of a particular output device. The number of nodes in these lookup tables increases exponentially with the number of inks, and the amount of computer resources becomes too high to be feasible.
Also included in this first group of known methods are those that use the well known Neugebauer equations to predict the color of an overprint of colorants, and their derivative based on Yule-Nielsen and spectral Neugebauer equations (See H. E. J. Neugebauer: xe2x80x9cDie theoretischen Grundlagen des Mehrfarbenbuchdrucksxe2x80x9d, Zeitschrift fur wissenschaftliche Photographie, Photophysik und Photochemie, Band 36, Heft 4, April 1937; J. S. Arney, C. D. Arney:xe2x80x9d Modeling the Yule-Nielsen Halftone effect,xe2x80x9d Journal of imaging science and technology, vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 233-238, June 1996; R. Rolleston and R. Balasubramanian: xe2x80x9cAccuracy of Various Types of Neugebauer Modelxe2x80x9d, ISandT and SID""s Color Imaging Conference: Transforms and Transportability of Color, pp. 32-37, 1993). These Neugebauer-like models still need the knowledge of the color of the overprints of the primary inks, so still requires measurements overprint combinations of the colorants and the gradation steps of the colorants. Also, Neugebauer equations-based methods are known not to produce accurate results.
A second group of prior art methods are those that determine spectral characterizations of individual colorants that can be used for predicting the color of overprints of so-characterized colorants. These methods, for a fixed substrate and printing technique, involve making one or more printouts of each colorant on one or more substrates, measuring the prints, and out of this data extracting a set of one or more parameters for each colorant that can be used to calculate an overprint of each colorant. These methods thus have the advantage of not requiring producing a large set of overprints. One such prior art method uses the two-parameter Kubelka-Munk method which describes an ink wither by one spectral parameter, (K/S)(xcex), or by two spectral parameters, scattering S(xcex) and absorption xcex1(xcex), where xcex is the wavelength. See James H. Nobbs: xe2x80x9cKubelka-Munk Theory and the Prediction of Reflectancexe2x80x9d, Rev. Prog. Coloration, Vol. 15, pp. 66-75, 1985.
Determining the two colorant parameters involves measuring the spectrum on a bare substrate and on a black substrate, and solving the resulting equations. There also exist in the literature refinements on the two-parameter Kubelka-Munk theory that incorporate internal reflection, anisotropic scattering and other second order effects. However, these methods are applicable only for full (i.e., 100%) coverage of a layer of ink of a particular thickness, and/or are not applicable for variable ink coverages, for example, halftoning at less than 100% dot percentage. In addition, the colorant parameters they determine are neither substantially independent of the lowest substrate color nor are capable of incorporating dependencies on other ink layers. Thus these parameters are not easily applied to predicting the appearance of sequentially applied inks at less than 100% coverage wherein the substrate with the previously deposited inks may be regarded as a new substrate, with characterizable influence from layer to layer.
In order to so predict the appearance of overprints, it is advantageous to spectrally characterizing colorants by parameters that are substantially invariant for all substrates of the same type, and independent of the substrate color, in that, when there is no interaction between colorant layers, one can treat a substrate with one or more colorant overprints on it as a raw colored substrate of the same type but a different color, that different color dependent on the one or more colorant overprints.
In summary, prior art techniques that are capable of accurately calculating overprints of inks, including rasterized (i.e., halftoned) inks, require making a number of overprints of the colorants, so do include determining spectral parameters of a colorant that spectrally characterize the colorant. Furthermore, prior art techniques that do spectrally characterize the colorants are not applicable to less than 100% coverage, do not produce parameters that are substantially independent of substrate color, and do not produce parameters that can take into account interactions between the colorant layers.
Thus there is a need in the art for a method of characterizing colorants capable of accurately predicting the color of an overprint of the colorants without requiring measurement of overprints of the colorants and capable of predicting the color of overprints of halftones.
The Parent Invention describes such a method for determining and using colorant parameters that are substantially independent on the substrate color. The use of these parameters is described when there is no interaction between the layers. At least two parameters are needed for non-scattering parameters and at least three parameters are needed for scattering colorants. Such colorant parameters also may be used when there is some interaction between the layers of colorants. Parameters in such a case also may be determined that are capable of characterizing some interdependency of the colorants deposited, so that even when there is interaction between layers, one can treat a substrate with one or more colorant overprints on it as a raw colored substrate of the same type. Needed is a more detailed description of how the Parent Invention is applicable to this case of the colorant layers influenced each other. That is, the effect of any colorant being influenced by one or more of the inks printed before or after in an overprint.
Examples of when the effect of a colorant (e.g., ink) may be so dependent on inks earlier printed on which the new ink is to be printed, include phenomena such as xe2x80x9cink trappingxe2x80x9d in which an ink is xe2x80x9ctaken upxe2x80x9d less by the substrate when another ink has first been printed onto this substrate. Such a phenomenon could occur, for example, in offset printing. Another case is when the parameters of one or more inks already deposited onto a substrate are influenced on a new ink being deposited on top of these previously deposited inks. A lower ink may xe2x80x9cspreadxe2x80x9d as a result of additional inks deposited on top, so that the area the lower ink covers is increased. This is called xe2x80x9cspreadingxe2x80x9d herein, and might occur, for example, with ink-jet printing. Other examples when one colorant may be dependent on one or more overlying or underlying colorant layers include an ink-re-transfer-like phenomenon which could occur, for example, in dye sublimation printing, and mixing of the inks, which can occur in many printing techniques.
In the cases of xe2x80x9ctrappingxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cspreadingxe2x80x9d, the perceived ink quantity (halftone coverage percentage) also may change from the amounts laid down because of such interdependencies.
Thus there is a need in the art for a method for characterizing the spectral properties of colorants overprinted at a coverage percentage which may be less than 100%, on a reflective or transmittive substrate, the characterizing being by a small number of colorant parameters that are a function of the coverage percentage and that are substantially invariant to the substrate color for all substrates of a particular substrate type and for a particular printing technique, such colorant parameters capable of substantially incorporate the dependency on the colorants deposited before and after. Also, there still is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for accurately predicting the color of printing a set of colorants at any coverage percentages on a reflective or transmittive substrate, the method not requiring making and measuring overprints of the colorants, and applicable to overprinting where each colorant is laid at less than 100% coverage, for example using halftoning.
An object of this invention is a method for characterizing the spectral properties of colorants such as inks when printed on a substrate of a particular type by a small number of parameters which are independent of the base substrate color and that can incorporate interaction between other colorants printed on the substrate. A further object of this invention is a method and apparatus which use such characterization for predicting the color of printing a set of colorants such as inks on a substrate. Other objects would be clear from the description below.
These and other objects of the invention are provided for in a method and apparatus for determining a set of colorant parameters that spectrally characterize a colorant in order to predict the color spectrum of an overprint of the colorant deposited using a printing technique at a coverage percentage on a substrate of a substrate type, the set of colorant parameters substantially independent of the base substrate color and capable of incorporating mutual dependencies of the colorant with other colorants deposited on the substrate. For the example of offset printing using halftoning, these colorant parameters are a function of the dot percentage and wavelength.
At least two parameters are determined for characterizing a non scattering colorant, and at least three are determined for a colorant that has scattering properties. When mutual interaction of colorant layers in an overprint is possible, at least six parameters are determined for characterizing a non scattering colorant, and at least eight are determined for a colorant that has scattering properties.
In one aspect of the invention, the method includes making a number of sets of prints of the colorant at a range of coverage percentages on different background colors, for example, different dot percentages for the case of offset printing. To incorporate mutual interaction, more parameters need to be determined, so additional set of prints are made. For example, three sets of prints are made on three backgrounds for non scattering colorants and on four backgrounds for scattering colorants and in addition, if necessary to obtain a sufficient number of sets of prints on different backgrounds to determine the parameters, one or more similar sets of printouts are overprinted with one or more overprinting colorants.
The spectra of the prints, for example, the reflection spectra in the case of offset printing, are measured, and equations in the set of parameters are formed and numerically solved for the parameters. The backgrounds are, in one embodiment, two lightly colored backgrounds, a medium colored background, and, for the case of four sets of prints, a dark colored background and any overprinting is done with a lightly colored colorant. In one implementation for offset printing, the four backgrounds are formed by pre-printing the backgrounds, for example, in the case of the lightly colored background using 25% halftone dots, for the medium dark background, using 50% halftone dots with black ink, and in the case of the dark background used for the case of a colorant that has a scattering component, using 100% black ink, the overprinting happens for instance with a 100% colorant in a second set of prints. For coverage percentages for which prints are not made, interpolation is used to determine the parameters for such colorant coverages.
Some colorants, called derived colorants, can be defined by a recipe of concentrations of basic inks. In another aspect of the invention, the set of colorant parameters of a derived colorant is determined by making measurements on a set of dilutions of each of the basic colorants on several background colors on one or more substrates of the same substrate type, a set of dilutions in this sense possibly including the undiluted basic colorant. The prints that are made of each of the dilutions at different colorant coverages are the same as would be made to determine the colorant parameters of each of the dilutions of the basic colorants. Measurements of the resulting spectra are made. From these, coefficients, for example Kubelka-Munk coefficients are determined for the dilutions at the coverage percentages, and, using interpolation, Kubelka-Munk coefficients are determined for the concentrations specified in the recipe of the derived colorant. Then, using a formula for mixtures of colorants using the coefficients, for example, the Kubelka-Munk theory for mixtures modified for all the printed coverage percentages, the spectra that would result by printing the derived colorant on the different backgrounds at the different coverage percentages are calculated without actually having to print the derived colorant. From these calculated spectra, using steps analogous to the case of determining the spectral parameters directly, the spectral parameters of the derived colorant are determined.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for using the parameters for determining a single overprint of a colorant on a substrate also is disclosed. Using the result that the colorant parameters are substantially independent of substrate color and can incorporate the effects of interdependency with other colorants, a method is disclosed for determining the spectrum of several overprints of several colorants by sequentially applying the method for one colorant. One first determines the coverage percentages xe2x80x98belowxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98abovexe2x80x99 each colorant, i.e., for a particular colorant, those on which the colorant is deposited and those deposited over the colorant, and from these percentages, one modifies the colorant parameters and then determines the color of the colorants when deposited sequentially on the background in much the same way as if the colorant parameters were substantially independent of each other (see the Parent Invention). the reflection spectrum of an overprint of the first colorant on the raw substrate. One then treats the resulting print as a new substrate of the same type but a different color (the color given by the first obtained reflection spectrum) and in the same way determines the reflection spectrum of overprinting a second colorant on top of the first. One continues this process until one has determined the reflection spectrum of all the overprints of the several colorants.
Also disclosed is an apparatus for using the colorant parameters to determine the spectrum of overprints on a substrate of a set of colorants at a set of coverage percentages. The apparatus comprises a first memory for storing the spectrum of the substrate, a logic unit with inputs specifying the coverage percentages and a set of outputs which are the values of the colorant parameters (as modified by interaction between the colorant layers) at the coverage percentages. When inter-layer interaction may occur, some dot gain values also are input for a range of coverage percentages. The outputs of the logic unit are coupled to a combiner unit, which also has an input coupled to the first memory. The combiner unit determines the color spectrum of the overprints on the substrate of the set of colorants at the set of coverage percentages. One embodiment of the apparatus described comprises the logic unit being implemented as one or more lookup tables and an arithmetic unit. Another embodiment described comprises the logic unit being implemented as one or more interpolators for determining by interpolation the colorant parameters at the required coverage percentages for each colorant from values of the parameters at a set of fixed values of coverage percentages and an arithmetic unit that incorporates the calculation of the average coverage percentage below and above each colorant and the modification of the colorant parameters by these coverage percentages. The combiner unit is implemented as one or more arithmetic units, each arithmetic unit having an associated background spectrum as an input and a set of colorant parameters at a coverage percentage as another input and determining the spectrum of the overprint of that colorant on a substrate having the associated background spectrum. A parallel implementation is described in which the number of sets of interpolators in the logic unit is the number of colorants and the number of arithmetic units in the combiner unit also is the number of colorants. A serial implementation also is disclosed which is applicable to the case of no interaction between th layers and in which the logic unit comprises a single set of interpolators for a single colorant and the combiner unit comprises a single arithmetic unit for determining a single overprint. The operation of such a serial implementation is that the logic unit and arithmetic unit determine one overprint at a time in sequence, starting with an overprint on the raw substrate, and continuing with the second overprint being on the raw overprint with the first colorant, etc., until all overprints have been determined. After a number of cycles equal to the number of colorant overprints, the output of the arithmetic unit is the spectrum of all the overprints.
Also disclosed is a method and apparatus for simulating the appearance of overprints of a set of colorants on a display using colorant parameters determined according to one or more embodiments of the method of the invention for such determination. One embodiment of the method includes the steps of determining the spectrum of the overprints according to one or more of the above embodiments for determining the spectrum of overprints, and from the spectrum, determining the CIE-XYZ values of the overprint using CIE illuminant-observer weightings, and converting these XYZ values to RGB values to drive a CRT (or LCD, etc.) monitor using matrix multiplication and, in some embodiments, also one-dimensional lookup tables. Another aspect of the method includes using a matrix multiplier, one dimensional lookup tables, a multidimensional lookup table and interpolation for converting the XYZ values to the device dependent color values needed to drive a proof printer. One embodiment of the apparatus includes an apparatus for determining the spectrum of the overprints according to one or more of the above embodiments, and multiplier adders for determining the CIE-XYZ values of the overprint using CIE illuminant-observer weightings, and a matrix multiplier and, in some embodiments, also one dimensional lookup tables to produce RGB values to drive a CRT monitor. Another aspect of the apparatus includes a matrix multiplier, one dimensional lookup tables, a multidimensional lookup table and a multidimensional interpolator for converting the XYZ values to the device dependent color values needed to drive a proof printer.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with the accompanying drawings.


1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a warmer, and more particularly to a portable warmer, wherein a warmer bag is received in a casing to safely warm up the heat exchanging fluid in the warmer bag through a safety arrangement such that when the heat exchanging fluid is heated above an usable temperature, the safety arrangement automatically cuts off an electrical connection between the heating element and the external power source for preventing the heat exchanging fluid from being overheated.
2. Description of Related Arts
During winter time, most people would like to use some warmer apparatus, such as electric heaters, in order to keep themselves warm. However, such warmer apparatus requires an electric power and has a relatively bulky size that the user cannot carry the warmer apparatus everywhere.
One kind of small and portable heating device, called warm water bag comprises a sealing bag, which is made of waterproof material such as plastic, having an inner cavity and an opening. In order to use the water bag, the user has to fill up the hot water into the inner cavity of the bag. Therefore, the user is able to hold the water bag close to the body of the user. In other words, the water inside the cavity gradually dispenses its heat through the sealing bag, so that the user can put the water bag to part of body, such as hands or feet, to keep himself or herself warm.
An improved water bag is made that the water bag is adapted to be placed in a microwave oven to heat up the water inside the water bag. Likewise, a built-in heating element is mounted into the water bag to heat up the water inside the water bag.
However, the traditional water bag is inconvenient for people to use. Since the hot water is gradually cooling down in a timely manner, the water bag cannot provide the warming ability after a short period of time. Then, the user must pour out the water inside the sealing bag and refill the hot water. In other words, the user must repeatedly refill the hot water frequently, which is very inefficient and inconvenient.
In the other hand, it is convenient for the user to heat up the water inside the sealing bag by microwave oven. However, it is relatively dangerous for the user when the water inside the sealing bag is overheated. Accordingly, few seconds of contacting with the hot water will cause a serious burn. The overheated water inside the sealing bag will also cause a serious explosion.
Likewise, by electrically connecting the heating element with the external power source, the water inside the sealing bag can be gently heated up by the heating element. However, when the water is heated, the volume of the water is expanded. When the water expands at a predetermined volume larger than the capacity of the sealing bag, the sealing bag will be forced to be popped and the hot water will be leaked from the sealing bag. Since the heating element is electrically connected to the power source, the hot water leaking from the sealing bag may cause an electrical short circuit or even a serious electric shock to the user. In other words, the user needs to find more secure and safe way to keep warm by using the water bag.


The invention relates to a distilling and desalination apparatus comprising an evaporation chamber and a condensing chamber.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for forming film, a process for manufacturing a device, an electro-optical device, and electronic equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
Manufacturing processes of electro-optical devices used in displays, display light sources, or the like, and electronic devices such as semiconductor devices, contain a step for placing material on a substrate to form a film on the substrate. Quality and functionality are intimately associated with the technique for placing material and the technique for forming a film. Therefore the techniques are important to improving the performance of each of the above-described devices.
A technique for placing material on a substrate is a method of discharging liquid material as droplets via a nozzle provided in a discharge head (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 11-274671). This droplet discharge method generates less waste in the consumption of liquid material, and more easily controls the amount and the location of liquid material placed on a substrate compared with techniques such as a spin coating method.
A technique for forming a film on a substrate using a droplet discharge method requires accuracy in placing liquid material on a substrate, and also requires an improvement in the accuracy and stability of the form of a film after the liquid film has dried.
Incidentally, regarding a technique for making liquid material into droplets to place it on a substrate, there is a technique whereby a bank is formed on a substrate, and droplets are placed in the region surrounded by the bank (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 11-271753, for example). In this technique, since the region where droplets are placed is defined by the bank, being a partition, the droplets (liquid material) are prevented from spreading while wet.
In recent years, progress has been made in regards to the high density of circuits comprising devices, so fine detail is required in the pattern. Furthermore, devices are required to be of low cost.
In a bank forming technique as mentioned above, a bank is formed by patterning using a printing method, or patterning by lithography. However, in the printing method, it is difficult to handle the fine detail of the pattern. Furthermore, in the lithography method, since part of the bank forming material is removed along with patterning, there is a lot of waste in the amount of material used.
A technique for forming a film on a substrate using a droplet discharge method requires accuracy of placing liquid material on a substrate, and also requires fine detail in a film and an improvement in film properties after the liquid film has dried.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for recovering an extra fluorescent material (phosphor) produced in a step for coating phosphor screens of color image receiving tubes, and purifying the fluorescent material for recycle and reuse thereof, and more particularly to a method and a system for easily and simply effecting the above described purification at the manufacturing location of such color image receiving tubes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Color image receiving tube (color picture tube, color television picture tube) is manufactured through steps of preparing fluorescent material (phosphor) slurries of red, green, and blue colors being three primary colors, respectively, and applying these slurries to predetermined dot-shaped or stripe-shaped positions on phosphor screen, thereby forming phosphor film. In this case, a large amount of extra phosphor slurries are produced, and when such extra phosphor slurries are dumped without any consideration, it is not only wasteful of resources and manufacturing cost, but also it is affected adversely in view of safeguard for environment. Typically, rare earth fluorescent materials used as red fluorescent material, for example, a fluorescent material represented by Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu is expensive, so that reuse of the material after recovering the same is important for reducing the manufacturing cost of color image receiving tube.
However, these phosphor slurries contain additives such as carbon (dag), pigments, polyvinyl alcohol, chromium compounds such as bichromates and dispersants in addition to fluorescent materials. Furthermore, there is such a case where inclusion of fluorescent materials having different colors deteriorate color-developing characteristics of the fluorescent material to be reused in case of recovery thereof. In order to remove these additives and the fluorescent materials having different colors, very complicated steps are required in recovery and reuse of fluorescent material. In this respect, any simple and efficient regenerating or recycling method by which a fluorescent material can be purified up to a satisfactory degree could have not yet been found.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-131486 discloses a regenerating or recycling method for fluorescent materials (phosphors) wherein a recovered fluorescent material containing a photosensitive binder prepared by dispersing a bichromate into polyvinyl alcohol is treated with an oxidizing agent, and examples of the oxidizing agent include hydrogen peroxide, alkali peroxide, periodic acid and the salts thereof, perchloric acid and the salts thereof, hypochlorous acid and the salts thereof, peroxosulfuric acid and the salts thereof, bichromates and the like.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-149186, disclosed is a regenerating or recycling method for fluorescent materials wherein tannic acid is added to a recovered fluorescent material containing graphite and chromium compounds, the resulting mixture is heat-treated at a temperature of 400 to 600.degree. C., whereby the graphite is oxidized to vaporize away the same as carbon dioxide, and the remaining oxide is washed with water to remove the same.
Among the impurities contained in the above described recovered fluorescent materials, particularly, carbon exhibits black color so that it absorbs easily light rays, and therefore emission luminance of fluorescent material is remarkably reduced in the case where such carbon remains in the regenerated fluorescent material. Furthermore, since carbon is chemically stable, it is difficult to dissolve or decolor the recovered fluorescent material by reacting carbon with any material in accordance with any chemical treatment, and accordingly, it is required to separate carbon from the fluorescent material to remove the same in regenerating process.
Other than a method for washing simply a recovered fluorescent material with water for separating and removing carbon from the fluorescent material, disclosed are a method wherein a recovered fluorescent material is treated with an oxidizing material such as periodic acid and the salts thereof, and sodium hypochlorite, and then the material so treated is washed with water (Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication Nos. 2-504160 and 2-504162), a method wherein a recovered fluorescent material is subjected to reduction treatment, and then the material so treated is washed with water (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-154784) and the like methods. Any of these methods is efficient for separating and removing carbon at a certain degree.
In recent years, however, with increase in strict demand for emission luminance of color image receiving tube, improvements in luminance of phosphor which decides the luminance of color image receiving tube are required, while regenerated and recycled fluorescent material has been used as a part of raw fluorescent material. For this reason, improvements in characteristic properties of the regenerated fluorescent material are increasingly required. For such recent requirement of improvements in characteristic properties of regenerated fluorescent material, the above described conventional methods are insufficient for the one for removing carbon from the regenerated fluorescent material.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-51190 discloses a method wherein for removing included sulfide fluorescent materials from recovered rare earth fluorescent materials, a specified amount of silver ion is reacted with the sulfide fluorescent materials.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-52052 discloses a method for regenerating fluorescent materials characterized in that recovered Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S fluorescent materials are subjected to acid washing and water washing, and then the resulting slurry is treated with a solution containing polyvinyl alcohol and ammonium bichromate, or with a solution prepared by adding further acrylic emulsion thereto without drying the slurry. Moreover, as an improved method of the above described one, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-53588 discloses a method for treating a recovered fluorescent material with a solution prepared by adding further an anionic surfactant to the above described solution to prevent inclusion of other fluorescent materials.
In Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. 2-504160, a method wherein periodate is used for removing an organic polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol stuck to a recovered fluorescent material as well as a method wherein chromium compounds existing in the aforesaid fluorescent material are permitted to dissolve into water by the use of an aqueous solution of an oxidizing material such as sodium hypochlorite, ammonium peroxodisulfate, and hydrogen peroxide, whereby the resulting solution is removed are disclosed. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. 2-504162 discloses a method for recovering organic contaminants from a recovered phosphor slurry without requiring a calcining or sintering step by employing the above described method.
However, an individual method of the above described methods is insufficient for recovering an extra phosphor slurry produced in a step for coating a phosphor screen and removing a variety of substances contained in the slurry to regenerate the phosphor, while a mere combination of these methods only brings about complicated steps. Particularly, organic materials such as polyvinyl alcohol and carbon cannot be completely removed, so that a fluorescent material having reusable characteristics cannot efficiently be obtained. For this reason, luminance and grade of coating film in a phosphor screen manufactured by employing the regenerated fluorescent material are adversely affected.
Furthermore, there arises a necessity for regenerating or recycling a recovered phosphor slurry in a image receiving tube manufacturing plant without spending labor and cost for long distance transportation of such slurry instead of conducting concentratively regenerating treatment of the recovered phosphor slurry. In this respect, a simple regenerating method of fluorescent material for satisfying the above described necessity is demanded, but the purpose therefor could have not been attained by the combination of conventional methods as mentioned above.
On the other hand, the regenerating treatment as described above is carried out usually by such a manner that a recovered phosphor slurry is successively agitated, admixed, and washed with each of aqueous solutions of the above described chemicals in a variety of agitation tanks. Although it is also possible to treat such recovered phosphor slurry at normal temperatures, the treatment is mostly conducted with the use of hot aqueous solutions for elevating washing effect. For this reason, a mild steel material on the surface of which had been coated with polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, or had been applied glass lining has been heretofore used for a tank body for the agitation tank and a baffle (baffle plate) disposed in the tank for elevating agitating efficiency, and such baffles have been fixed to the tank body by means of welding or bolting.
Such conventional agitation tank as described above has involved the following problems.
(1) Baffles have been prepared separately from tank bodies and the former has been mounted on the latter, and in this connection, the working and mounting therefor are troublesome.
(2) Mounted portions of baffles are liable to be loaded, and such portions are easily damaged.
(3) Fluorescent material is easily stuck to and deposited on the mounted portions of baffles.
(4) Protecting tubes for protecting a drain tube, a level sensor and the like to be inserted into a tank from agitation flow are necessary, and mounting for such protecting tubes are troublesome as same as in the case of mounting for baffles.
(5) Agitating effect for liquid into which has been dispersed a fluorescent material is not sufficient.
In addition to the above described problems, polyvinyl chloride used for a surface coating of mild steel has a poor heat resistance, so that the polyvinyl chloride surface coating is corroded with hot aqueous solution. On one hand, polypropylene exhibits poor workability. Further, glass lining is easily attacked by aqueous alkaline solution in addition to exhibiting poor impact resistance. Other problems than those described above are such that sections to which such surface coating as described above is applied hardly are corroded with aqueous chemical solutions to be used, and the like problems.


The human proenkephalin A gene (PENK-A) contains 4 exons and codes for a series of structurally related oligopeptides like methionine enkephalin (Met-ENK), leucine enkephalin (Leu-ENK), methionine enkephalin arginine phenylalanine (Met-ENK-Arg-Phe) as well as methionine enkephalin arginine glycin leucine (Met-ENK-Arg-Gly-Leu), wherein one molecule of proenkephalin comprises the sequences of 4 Met-ENK and one Leu-ENK, Met-ENK-Arg-Phe and Met-ENK-Arg-Gly-Leu each. Met-ENK-Arg-Phe and Met-ENK-Arg-Gly-Leu are further metabolised to Met-ENK. The enkephalins have a function as neurotransmitters as well as neuromodulators and neurohormones. PENK-A besides the enkephalins comprises the sequences of enkelytin and peptide B at its N-terminus as well as synenkephalin at its C-terminus, that have an antibacterial function.
The expression of proenkephalin occurs in the central nervous system as well as the peripheral nervous system. In the brain increased concentrations of PENK are observed in the nucleus caudatus and the nucleus accubens, in the peri-aqueductal grey as well as in the hippocampus and the raphe nuclei.
Enkephalins play a major role in a variety of physiological processes like perception of pain, regulation of stress response comprising hormone regulation, regulation of bone formation as well as regulation of immune responses. Met-ENK stimulates the proliferation of B- and T-lymphocytes and Leu-ENK the proliferation of T-helper and cytotoxic T-cells. Due to the immune regulatory properties of Met-ENK this enkephalin is classified as cytokine. Endogenous enkephalin peptides are also involved in normal regulation of cardiovascular functions like heart frequency, contractile strength and arterial blood pressure.
Enkelytin has antibacterial function against gram-positive bacteria like Streptococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium and Micrococcus luteus, however it is not inhibiting the growth of gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli, as well as the growth of fungi. Synenkephalin shows antibacterial properties against gram-positive bacteria as well as gram-negative bacteria.
The level of enkephalin is altered in body fluids and tissue in a variety of diseases. The Met-ENK immune reactivity in plasma of patients suffering from a brain infarctus in the acute phase and diabetes patients with symptomatic myocardiac ischemia is significantly increased as compared to healthy control individuals, as well as in plasma and liquor of patients suffering from migraine and headache and in liquor of schizophrenia patients.
In Parkinson's disease the content of Met-ENK-Arg-Gly-Leu in liquor of patients is significantly decreased as compared to healthy control individuals.
Patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease showed a 4-fold increase in Met-ENK-like immune reactivity.
The concentration of enkephalin m-RNA in the striatum of patients suffering from Huntington's disease is significantly reduced, in liquor a decrease of met-ENK-Arg-Gly-Leu concentration was shown.
In tumor diseases prolactin-(PL) and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting adenomas of the hypophysis show an increased concentration of Met-ENK as well as a 10-fold increased concentration of proenkephalin peptides in the latter.
Enkephalins play a role in the pathophysiological response of nerve tissue in traumatic injuries like head injuries and injuries of the skin for example during and after surgery.
Enkephalins furthermore play a major role in the pathogenesis of systemic inflammations. In animal models the induction of a peritonitis or the application of lipoypolysaccarides lead to an increase in PENK-expression as well as to an increase in Met-ENK-plasma concentrations.
In abscesses of periarthritic cattle different PENK-fragments could be detected, that comprise the sequence of enkelytin. In human peripheric monocytes and rat lymphocytes the induction of PENK-m-RNA expression by lipopolysaccharides could be demonstrated:
The infection of rats by borna-viruses resulted in an increased PENK-A transcription in the striatum.
Met-ENK, Met-ENK-Arg-Phe and the proenkaphaline peptides B and F are significantly increased in plasma during hemorrhagic hypotension.
The biosynthesis of enkephalins (see FIG. 2) occurs as is the case in other peptide hormones, as preprohormone at (Golgi-) bound ribosomes. After separation of the hydrophobic N-terminal signal sequence by so-called signal peptidases and folding of the proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, the propeptides are packed into vesicles in the Golgi apparatus and are transported to the cell membrane. During transport the propeptides are processed to mature hormones by so-called prohormone convertases at usually dibasic amino acid sequences. Via different stimuli the peptides are secreted into the extracellular space or into the plasma. The mature peptides are rapidly inactivated after secretion by proteolysis.
Enkephalins have a half-life of 12 to 15 minutes in plasma (ex vivo).
The processing of proenkephalin occurs in several steps in a strict timely order and is tissue-specific. An earlier step in processing is the separation of the C-terminal peptide B that comprises the sequences of enkelytin and Met-ENK-Arg-Phe. The processing of proenkephalin leads to the formation of different proenkephalin peptides.
The presence of the PENK-fragment 119-159 in liquor, however not in blood, was already shown by Stark et al., 2000.
As this fragment plays a central role in this invention, it is called “enkephalin-footprint” (ENK-fp) herein.


The sales of industrial robots that has been driven by the automotive industry is now moving into tasks as diverse as cleaning sewers, detecting bombs, and performing intricate surgery. The number of units sold increased to 120,000 units in 2010, twice the number as the previous year, with automotive, metal, and electronics industries driving the growth.
Prior approaches to calibrating robots use measuring devices that either measure the inaccuracies of the robots after the robot is built or devices which measure work piece positions relative to the robots position prior to OLP's.
Some of the prior art includes:    U.S. Pat. No. 7,979,159 (Fixell) discloses an invention which relates to a method and a system for determining the relation between a local coordinate system located in the working range of an industrial robot and a robot coordinate system. The method includes attaching a first calibration object in a fixed relation to the robot and determining the position of the first calibration object in relation to the robot. Then, locating at least three second calibration objects in the working range of the robot, a reference position for each of the second calibration objects in the local coordinate system can be determined by moving the robot until the first calibration object is in mechanical contact with each second calibration object. By reading the position of the robot when the calibration objects are in mechanical contact the relation between the local coordinate system and the robot coordinate system can be calculated.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,945,349 (Svensson, et. al.) discloses an invention which relates to a method and a system for facilitating calibration of a robot cell. One or more objects and an industrial robot perform work in connection to the objects, wherein the robot cell is programmed by means of an off-line programming tool including a graphical component for generating 2D or 3D graphics based on graphical models of the objects. The system comprises a computer unit located at the off-line programming site and configured to store a sequence of calibration points for each of the objects, and to generate a sequence of images including graphical representations of the objects to be calibrated and the calibration points in relation to the objects, and to transfer the images to the robot, and that the robot is configured to display said sequence of images to a robot operator during calibration of the robot cell so that for each calibration point a view including the present calibration point and the object to be calibrated is displayed to the robot operator.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,756,608 (Brogardh) discloses a method for calibration of an industrial robot including a plurality of movable links and a plurality of actuators effecting movement of the links and thereby the robot. The method includes mounting a measuring tip on or in the vicinity of the robot, moving the robot such that the measuring tip is in contact with a plurality of measuring points on the surface of at least one geometrical structure on or in the vicinity of the robot, reading and storing the positions of the actuators for each measuring point, and estimating a plurality of kinematic parameters for the robot based on a geometrical model of the geometrical structure, a kinematic model of the robot, and the stored positions of the actuators for the measuring points.
What is needed are automatic and manual robotic tool finder systems and methods to improve cost and time factors in applications where absolutely accurate robots are not really necessary; examples including body-in-white (BIW) applications, resistance welding, material handling, and MIG welding.
What is needed are automatic and manual robotic tool finder systems and methods for using different robot tools on a shop floor without having to perform a recalibration for each tool.
The primary objective of the automatic and manual robotic tool finder systems and methods of the present invention is to provide a calibration method which is simpler to operate, results in improved precision, involves a lower investment cost, and entails lower operating costs.
Another objective of the automatic and manual robotic tool finder systems and methods of the present invention is to increase the accuracy of the off-line program and decrease robot teaching time, while also negating the need for the technician to “jog” the robot into position as the process is automated.


The present invention generally relates to an oil pump. More specifically, the invention is an oil pump with dual scavenging for a twin cam engine.
It is an object of the invention to provide an oil pump with dual scavenging for a twin cam engine, with more than one pump returning oil from a sump or oil gathering location to an oil storage area or an area away from the engine.
It is an object of the invention to provide an oil pump with dual scavenging for a twin cam engine, with a design that improves oil control within the engine, which improves engine performance by maintaining a dry sump.
It is an object of the invention to provide an oil pump with dual scavenging for a twin cam engine, with a separate oil passageway from the crankcase to a first suction pump and another separate passageway from the cam chest to a second suction pump.
What is really needed is an oil pump with dual scavenging for a twin cam engine, with more than one pump returning oil from a sump or oil gathering location to the oil storage area or an area away from the engine, with a design that improves oil control within the engine, which improves engine performance by maintaining a dry sump and a separate oil passageway from the crankcase to a first suction pump and another separate passageway from the cam chest to a second suction pump.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit structures and processes for manufacturing them, and in particular to an improved power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) structure having higher switching speeds and improved breakdown characteristics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Continuing improvements in integrated circuit fabrication technology have lead to the manufacture of MOSFET's which are capable of efficient high frequency switching of relatively large amounts of power. The power MOSFET represents one of the first power semiconductor devices manufacturable using integrated circuit processing technology. A survey article discussing power MOSFET's is entitled "Switching Lots of Watts at High Speed" by B. Baliga, IEEE Spectrum, December 1981, pages 42-48.
One promising technology for the manufacture of advanced power MOSFET structures is VDMOS, meaning MOS devices fabricated using double diffusions in V-shaped grooves. Unfortunately conventionally fabricated VDMOS structures suffer from several disadvantages. Such devices are generally overly susceptible to secondary breakdown of parasitic bipolar transistors inherent in the structure. Furthermore, such structures typically have undesirably large drain to source resistance when on. In addition, the devices switch at undesirably low speeds in view of their relatively large size and therefore high gate capacitances.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of an engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure of a gasoline direct injection engine having improved operational performance.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a GDI (gasoline direct injection) technology has been developed to improve fuel efficiency and performance of an internal combustion engine. The GDI engine technology is to directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber, not into the intake manifold.
Since it is possible to directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber and produce a fuel-air mixture layer by using the GDI engine, it is possible to produce a condensed mixture by concentrate air and fuel around a spark plug. Accordingly, the engine can operate at a very small air/fuel ratio and wall wetting is reduced in comparison to injecting fuel to the intake port in the related art, such that it is possible to accurately control the amount of fuel and improve fuel efficiency and performance, and accordingly, the GDI engines are recently increasingly used.
Various methods of mixing air with fuel well and maximally concentrating an air-fuel mixture around the spark plug has been proposed to smoothly operate the engine at a small air/fuel ratio.
A vortex is generated in the axis perpendicular to the movement direction of the piston or with respect to the movement direction axis of the piston in the internal combustion engine, in which the former one is called ‘tumble’ and the later one is called ‘swirl’.
Since the mixing ratio and concentration of the air and fuel depends on the flow level of the tumble and the swirl, design should be performed in consideration of the tumble and swirl to improve the operational performance of the GDI engine.
The tumble and swirl particularly depends on the shape of the top of the piston, the design of the top of the piston should be improved to improve the operational performance of the GDI engine.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


Modern wireless communication networks typically allocate resources to various devices by allocating certain frequencies to the devices at various time slots. However, it is often the case that uplink transmission signals of one or more devices on the network leak into non-allocated frequencies. Such signals can interfere with communications of other devices on the network and with communications of devices on other networks.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device and image processing method for computer graphics.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of computer graphics, various representations are performed on the screen. One of these representations is the residual-image effect, whereby part of a past image is allowed to remain behind a moving object. Conventionally, residual image processing was performed by software. Residual image processing is performed by gradually altering the transparency of the moving object that is displayed, in accordance with its movement. A number of polygons equal to (number of polygons of the object)xc3x97(number of residual images) are therefore required in order to represent residual images. In the conventional signal processing device, the residual image portion was calculated in the same way as an ordinary object, and rendering had to be carried out, so the efficiency of processing was poor. Also, if a large number of polygons are employed, the amount of processing involved is large, so the processing took a long time.
Furthermore, while it may be intended to produce the same residual image effect for all polygons, there are also cases in which it is desirable that it should be possible to set a desired residual image effect for each polygon or to effect display with desired polygons emphasised.
The present invention was made in order to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device wherein the efficiency of processing can be raised and a speeding-up of processing can be achieved by giving the residual image function to hardware.
Also, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device whereby a desired residual image effect etc. can be attained for desired polygons.
An image processing device according to the present invention comprises a control section that writes generated image data to a first image memory region and a second image memory region, and further comprises a blend circuit that reads image data from said first image memory region and whereby a residual image effect is generated by attenuating the read image data and writing it together with newly generated image data in said second image memory region.
An image processing device according to the present invention comprises: a frame buffer that stores image data; a frame buffer interface that receives pixel data from a preceding-stage circuit and that writes the data to said frame buffer and that reads data from said frame buffer; a blend rate register that stores a blend rate when mixing pixel data from said preceding-stage circuit with pixel data of said frame buffer; and a first blend circuit that mixes pixel data from the preceding-stage circuit in accordance with the blend rate of said blend rate register with pixel data from said frame buffer interface and returns the result to the preceding-stage circuit.
An image processing device according to the present invention comprises: a frame buffer that stores, in pixel units, image data, blend rate and slope data, which is a parameter for attenuating blend rate; a frame buffer interface that receives, in pixel units, image data from a preceding-stage circuit, blend rate and slope data, and that writes the data to said frame buffer and that reads the data from said frame buffer; a blend circuit that mixes pixel data from a preceding-stage circuit in accordance with the blend rate of said frame buffer with pixel data from said frame buffer interface; a subtraction circuit that subtracts a value corresponding to slope from the blend rate; a comparison circuit that compares the blend rate of said frame buffer with a blend rate from said subtraction circuit; and a selection circuit that selects one or other of the blend rate and slope of said frame buffer and the blend rate and slope from the preceding-stage circuit in accordance with the output of said comparison circuit and outputs the result to the preceding-stage circuit.
An image processing device according to the present invention comprises: a frame buffer that stores image data; a blend rate register that stores a blend rate when pixel data from a preceding-stage circuit and pixel data from said frame buffer are mixed; a blend circuit that mixes pixel data from the preceding-stage circuit with pixel data from said frame buffer in accordance with the blend rate of said blend rate register and that returns the result to the preceding-stage circuit; and a selector that receives a flag from the preceding-stage circuit and that selects one of the image data from the preceding-stage circuit or image data output from said blend circuit and that writes the selected image data to said frame buffer.
An image processing device according to the present invention comprises: a control section that writes generated image data to a first image memory region and a second image memory region, further comprising: means for writing in the other image memory one of mixed image data obtained by attenuating image data read from one of said first image memory region and second image memory region and mixing it with newly generated image data, and said newly generated image data.
An image processing method for applying a residual image effect to an entire screen according to the present invention comprises: setting the density of the residual image, indicating what percentage of the image data of the previous occasion is to be displayed as residual image, and the separation of residual images, which determines whether the image data to be left as residual image is to be constituted by the data of the previous occasion or the data of the occasion previous to the previous occasion; blending current pixel colour and buffer pixel colour in accordance with the set residual image density and writing the result to a frame buffer; determining in respect of all pixels in a region whether processing has been completed or not, and, if processing of all the pixels has not been completed, repeating said writing step; and determining whether processing of all the regions has been completed, and, if processing in respect of all the regions has not been completed, repeating said writing step.
An image processing method for applying a residual image effect in polygon units according to the invention comprises: setting the density of a residual image, indicating what percentage of the image data of the previous occasion is to be displayed as residual image and the separation of residual images, that determines whether the image data that is to be left behind as residual image is that of the data of the previous occasion or of the data of the occasion previous to the previous occasion; sorting the polygons contained in the image; blending the current pixel colour and buffer pixel colour in accordance with the set density of the residual image and writing the result to the frame buffer; comparing the density of the image of the current pixel with that when the slope data, which is a parameter indicating the degree of attenuation from the density of the image, is subtracted, and writing the larger image density and slope data in the residual image buffer; determining whether or not processing has been performed in respect of all the pixels in the region and, if processing has not been completed in respect of all pixels, repeating said writing step; and determining whether processing has been completed in respect of all regions, and, if processing has not been completed in respect of all regions, repeating said writing step.


Protein C is a serine protease and naturally occurring anticoagulant that plays a role in the regulation of homeostasis by deactivating Factors V.sub.a and VIII.sub.a in the coagulation cascade. Human protein C is made in vivo primarily in the liver as a single polypeptide of 461 amino acids. This precursor molecule undergoes multiple post-translational modifications including 1) cleavage of a 42 amino acid signal sequence; 2) proteolytic removal from the one chain zymogen of the lysine residue at position 155 and the arginine residue at position 156 to make the 2-chain form of the molecule, (i.e., a light chain of 155 amino acid residues attached through a disulfide bridge to the serine protease-containing heavy chain of 262 amino acid residues); 3) vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of nine glutamic acid residues clustered in the first 42 amino acids of the light chain, resulting in 9 gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues; and 4) carbohydrate attachment at four sites (one in the light chain and three in the heavy chain). The heavy chain contains the well established serine protease triad of Asp 257, His 211 and Ser 360. Finally, the circulating 2-chain zymogen is activated in vivo by thrombin at a phospholipid surface in the presence of calcium ion. Activation results from removal of a dodecapeptide at the N-terminus of the heavy chain, producing activated protein C (aPC) possessing enzymatic activity.
In conjunction with other proteins, protein C functions as perhaps the most important down-regulator of blood coagulation. In other words the protein C enzyme system represents a major physiological mechanism of anticoagulation.
The coagulation system is best viewed as a chain reaction involving the sequential activation of zymogens into active serine proteases eventually producing the enzyme, thrombin, which through limited proteolysis converts plasma fibrinogen into the insoluble gel, fibrin. Two key events in the coagulation cascade are the conversion of clotting factor X to Xa by clotting factor IXa and the conversion of prothrombin into thrombin by clotting factor Xa. Both of these reactions occur on cell surfaces, most notably the platelet surface. Both of these reactions require cofactors. The major cofactors, factors V and VIII, in the system circulate as relatively inactive precursors, but when the first few molecules of thrombin are formed, thrombin loops back and activates the cofactors through limited proteolysis. The activated cofactors, Va and VIIIa, accelerate both the conversion of prothrombin into thrombin and also the conversion of factor X to factor Xa by approximately five orders of magnitude. Activated protein C overwhelmingly prefers two plasma protein substrates which it hydrolyzes and irreversibly destroys. These plasma protein substrates are the activated forms of the clotting cofactors, Va and VIIIa. Activated protein C only minimally degrades the inactive precursors, clotting factors V and VIII. Activated protein C in dogs has been shown to sharply increase circulating levels of the major physiological fibrinolytic enzyme, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Activated protein C has been shown in vitro to enhance the lysis of fibrin in human whole blood. Therefore, activated protein C represents an important adjunct to in vivo fibrinolysis in man.
Today, there are few effective treatments available for vascular occlusions, including thrombotic stroke. Treatment with tPA, if administered within three hours from the onset of the stroke, has been recently approved by the FDA. Treatment of strokes with either heparin or oral anticoagulants, although occasionally beneficial, carries a high risk for bleeding into the infarcted brain area.
The use of recombinant aPC (r-aPC) in the treatment of thrombotic occlusion or thromboembolism in a baboon model has been presented by Griffin, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,274 and European Patent Specification EP 0 318 201 B1. Griffin claimed dose levels in the range of 0.07 mg/kg/hr to 1.1 mg/kg/hr for the treatment of thrombotic occlusion. However, applicants have found that these dose levels are in a range above the toxicological level of r-aPC. For example, pre-clinical toxicology studies in non-human primates indicate the safety of r-aPC for a 96 hour infusion is limited at a top dose of around 0.05 mg/kg/hr. Therefore, the lowest dose level taught by Griffin, et al., i.e. 0.07 mg/kg/hr, is at a level greater than the toxic dose established by applicants for humans. Thus, even the lowest dose level taught by Griffin would carry a high risk for bleeding into the infarcted brain area, thereby aggravating the neurological deficit accompanying the stroke. Accordingly, even in view of the teaching of Griffin, et al., there remains a need to identify an effective therapy of arterial thrombus formation in humans with aPC.
Contrary to the teachings of prior investigators, applicants have discovered that only low dose therapy with r-aPC is useful in the treatment of thrombotic stroke. The administration of aPC is also beneficial in preventing the local extension of the microvascular and macrovascular occluding arterial thrombus, thereby reducing the neurological deficit resulting from the stroke.


Power supplies, such as switching power supplies, are used for providing direct current (DC) supply for various electronic devices, such as base stations in a cellular communications system. Such power supplies have certain output current limits, which must not be exceeded. It is common to use circuit breakers in order to protect power supplies from excessive currents due to overloads. The circuit breakers also protect wiring in high energy circuits and limit outages in case of fault conditions. A fault in one unit thus does not cause breakdown of other units of the same power supply.
A common type of a circuit breaker is an electromechanical circuit breaker. Such a circuit breaker has a fixed current limit or fixed tripping curve, and exceeding current limit or tripping curve causes the circuit breaker to trip. A circuit breaker usually has a lever at its front panel for resetting the circuit breaker. Electromechanical circuit breakers are produced in large quantities, and they are standard, reliable and low cost components, which have been approved by authorities.
However, there are some problems related to the electromechanical circuit breakers. After tripping they need to be manually reset. Electrical devices may be installed in remote locations, and it may require much effort and time to travel to such locations. Tripping of a circuit breaker may be caused by reasons which do not require repairing the electrical devices. In such situations it is still necessary to travel to the installation location in order to reset circuit breaker. To solve this problem there are arrangements for resetting a circuit breaker with remote control. Such a solution is disclosed in patent application document U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,227 B1.
Another problem with electromechanical circuit breakers relates to the fixed tripping current limit or fixed tripping curve. There are various situations where the current limit of a circuit breaker needs to be changed. In order to change the current limit the circuit breaker must be changed to a different one. Changing a circuit breaker requires servicing work at the installation location of the electrical device. It is also possible that a circuit breaker with the required current limit is not available. In such case it is necessary to use a circuit breaker with non-optimal, lower current limit. This may cause unnecessary tripping of the circuit breaker.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy systems
2. Description of Related Art
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (“LIBS”) is a type of atomic emission spectroscopy which uses a highly energetic laser pulse as the excitation source. The laser is focused to form a plasma, which atomizes and excites samples. In principle, LIBS can analyze any matter regardless of its physical state, be it solid, liquid, or gas. Because all elements emit light of characteristic frequencies when excited to sufficiently high temperatures, LIBS can detect all elements, limited only by the power of the laser beam utilized as well as the sensitivity and wavelength range of the spectrograph and detector.
If the constituents of a material to be analyzed are known, LIBS may be used to evaluate the relative abundance of each constituent element, or to monitor the presence of impurities. In practice, detection limits are a function of a) the plasma excitation temperature, b) the light collection window, and c) the line strength of the viewed transition. LIBS makes use of optical emission spectrometry and is to this extent very similar to arc/spark emission spectroscopy.
LIBS operate by focusing the laser beam onto a small area at the surface of the specimen When the laser beam is discharged it ablates a very small amount of material, in the range of nanograms to picograms, which generates a plasma plume with temperatures in excess of 100,000 K. During data collection, typically after local thermodynamic equilibrium is established, plasma temperatures range from 5,000-20,000 K. At the high temperatures during the early plasma, the ablated material dissociates (breaks down) into excited ionic and atomic species. During this time, the plasma emits a continuum of radiation which does not contain any useful information about the species present, but within a very small timeframe the plasma expands at supersonic velocities and cools. At this point the characteristic atomic emission lines of the elements can be observed.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mechanized equipment for assisting in making pleated window draperies by mass production, and particularly to a machine for marking the material required by the pleats and for marking the material required for the spaces between the pleats along the top edge of a drapery panel and for simultaneously marking the hem of the pleated panel to assist in folding the drape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most common manner of making draperies employs the hand-measuring of the various panels of drapery material. In recent years, precision machines have been devised to speed up the various operation, both to save labor and reduce the need for skilled labor.
The Caracoes U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,480 discloses a machine for marking the material required to form pleats along the top edge of a drapery panel. Caracoes accomplishes this by a series of pointers mounted on a single lazy tong apparatus. This machine marks (by pointers) the space required for both the pleat and the space between the pleat.
The Tuskos U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,515 shows a drapery pleats marking machine with a workbench that supports two vertically-disposed, lazy tong mechanisms. A marking pen is assembled at each intermediate pivot point of both lazy tong mechanisms. The adjustment of the first lazy tong mechanism changes the spacing P allotted for making material into the pleats, while the adjustment of the second lazy tong mechanism changes the spacing S. for the material required for forming the space between the pleats.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to self-regulating pressure systems and methods for vehicle tires, and more particularly to self-regulating systems and methods in which the tire is automatically replenished from a high pressure reservoir in response to a sensed low pressure condition in the tire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Low tire pressure is an important cause of excessive fuel consumption, tire wear and impaired steerability. A normal tire will typically leak on the order of 25 percent of its pressure per year due to its inherent permeability. It is thus good practice to check tire pressure on a regular basis. However, even checking tire pressure every few weeks may not prevent these adverse affects when a slow leak is present, and the leak may go undetected unless a careful record is maintained of how frequently the pressure in each tire has to be replenished. A fast leak or flat condition can rapidly cause damage to the tire and even render it unusable in a short period of time, but this condition may go unnoticed by an inexperienced driver until it is too late.
It is thus highly desirable to have some mechanism that automatically replenishes the tire pressure when it is too low, and that warns the driver of the low pressure condition. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,376 to Barabino. This patent incorporates a high pressure reservoir into the vehicle wheel, and uses a valve that automatically opens a passageway between the high pressure reservoir and the tire in response to the tire pressure falling below a selected threshold level. Operation of the valve also causes a sonic or ultrasonic signal to be generated which is detected by a sensor mounted in close proximity to the wheel, typically within the wheel well. When it senses a valve operation, the sensor initiates a visual and audio warning for the driver. To differentiate between the different tires, the valve on each tire may be tuned to generate a signal with a unique frequency, or the sensors for the different tires may be tuned to detect different components of a uniform valve signal.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,857 to Gandhi. In this patent the tire valve includes a magnet that moves in response to a falling tire pressure. Movement of the magnet to a low pressure position is sensed by a solenoid mounted on the shock absorber adjacent the tire. The magnetic field from the moveable magnet intercepts the solenoid at each tire revolution, generating a voltage in the solenoid that varies with the magnet's position. When the magnet's sensed position indicates a low pressure condition, a warning is provided to the vehicle operator. If the operator wishes to replenish the tire pressure, he or she actuates a switch that supplies current to the solenoid for the appropriate tire. The solenoid produces a magnetic field that moves its associated magnet to a position at which a valve from a high pressure reservoir within the wheel is opened so that air can flow into the tire.
While the above systems can effectively replenish the air pressure within a tire, they are incapable of distinguishing between normal long term leakage from a tire, a slow leak condition that requires repair, and a fast leak or flat tire condition. The vehicle operator is thus uninformed as to whether a tire repair or replacement is called for. The operator is also not supplied with any information as to the condition of the high pressure reservoir, and whether it requires replenishment. Furthermore, the prior use of separate transmitters within each wheel and associated receivers on the vehicle requires a power source within each wheel and complex electronics, and is unduly expensive.
An after market sensor for low tire pressure has been marketed by Epic Technologies Inc. The sensor monitors tire pressure and causes a radio frequency (RF) signal to be transmitted in case the pressure falls below a predetermined set point; transmission of the RF signal actuates a warning for the vehicle driver. However, the system does not have any mechanism to automatically replenish the low tire pressure.


Modern personal computers (PC) are increasingly used in companies, offices and by private users. Their failure or malfunction may cause severe and costly damage or expensive loss of data and information. Unfortunately, the quality of utility power does not guaranty reliable operation of personal computers. Outages, abnormal voltage and transients disturb or halt the operation, erase precious data and cause deterioration of components and hardware failures.


A remote operator station (ROS) for a machine allows an operator to control the machine from a remote location. The machine may be employed on an actual worksite while the ROS may be positioned indoors. U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,800 discloses an apparatus and method for a control unit which allows for autonomous, manual and tele-operation of mining vehicles. The control unit has a robust system design to withstand the harsh environment of underground mines The control unit allows a tele-operator, in a remote tele-operator station, to use image and operational data, joysticks and foot pedals to remotely control the mining vehicle. In another aspect, the control unit provides safety features such as supervising its operation for operational errors and providing status, warning and error information to the tele-operator station.


DE 10 2007 037 204 A1 discloses a process for manufacturing an optical lens element, in particular for illumination purposes, particularly for manufacturing a headlight lens for a vehicle headlight, in particular for a motor vehicle headlight, wherein a blank is molded from transparent, particularly thermoplastic, in particular essentially liquid plastic material, in particular by means of an injection pressing process in an injection pressing mold, and wherein the blank is subsequently pressed, press-molded by means of a final shape/contour mold to form the lens element.
DE 41 28 915 A1 discloses an apparatus for casting a plastic lens, wherein a first casting mold having a concave optical surface, and a second casting mold having a convex optical surface are arranged such that the optical surfaces oppose each other, and wherein an adhesive tape is placed over the first as well as also over the second casting mold in order to configure a cavity between the casting molds. Plastic material is injected into this cavity and is finally hardened.
US 2006/0284324 A1 discloses a method for producing an optical structural component wherein the structural component is pressed after thermal softening.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,811 discloses an apparatus for producing a plastic-material lens, wherein a flexible molding element is arranged in a mold cavity, which element divides the mold cavity into two partial mold cavities, wherein the flexible mold element is configured such that it transmits a hydraulic force between the partial mold cavities.
DE 699 23 847 T2 discloses a process for manufacturing an optical mold body from thermoplastic resin by injection-press-molding, wherein the volume of a mold cavity expands more strongly than the volume of the optical mold body in question, and molten thermoplastic resin is injected into the mold cavity through an injection molding passage.
According to DE 699 23 847 T2, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,534, EP 0 640 460 and JP 9-057794 disclose a method for manufacturing an optical mold body from thermoplastic resin by injection-press-molding.
DE 102 20 671 A1 discloses a plastic lens consisting of a collective lens of plastic material having a high Abbé number, and a dispersion lens connected therewith integrally and in positive fit, of plastic material having, when compared with the plastic material of the collective lens, a lower Abbé number, wherein the thermal expansion coefficients of the respective plastic materials are essentially the same.
Headlight lenses are known e.g. from WO 02/31543 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,992,804 B2, WO 03/074251 A1 and DE 100 52 653 A1. Further vehicle headlights are known e.g. from DE 100 33 766 A1, EP 0 272 646 A1, DE 101 18 687 A1 and DE 198 29 586 A1.
It is an object of the invention to reduce the costs for manufacturing of headlight lenses for vehicle headlights. It is, for example, an object of the invention to specify an improved vehicle headlight including a plastic lens and/or a motor vehicle with a correspondingly improved vehicle headlight.


Countless products are packaged and shipped to end-users in this country and around the world daily. Many products are placed in crates or boxes filled with packing material to minimize or prevent damage during shipping. Some products are stored and packaged in cartons, which may be sealed to prevent the enclosed items from exposure to ambient conditions. Other products are less sensitive and don't require a hermetic seal. Examples of packaged products may range from edible substances to industrial consumables, like welding electrodes. Cartons are commonly constructed from renewable or recycled material like, for example, corrugated cardboard, which is easy and relatively inexpensive to produce.
In many cases, similarly sized cartons are used to package different quantities of products. Some cartons may therefore contain a particular quantity of material leaving free space within the carton for the products to jostle about during shipment resulting in damage. This also affords the opportunity for stacked cartons to compress or deform. As the contents may not be uniformly distributed, pressure frequently collapses one end of the adjacent carton creating an uneven stacking surface. Cartons higher in the stack are therefore prone to falling and hence damage. Falling cartons also lead to an unsafe working environment. Furthermore, the tilted packaged contents look disorderly and unsightly.
It would be useful to provide a carton that automatically collapses under pressure in a uniform manner. Such a container would limit spacing within the container and maintain a level relationship between upper and lower surfaces of adjacent cartons.


1. Field of the Invention
Implementations described herein relate generally to network security and, more particularly, to security perimeters that may be used to protect a customer network from network attacks.
2. Description of Related Art
Network attacks are a real, growing threat to businesses worldwide. These attacks can quickly incapacitate a targeted business, costing victims thousands, if not millions, of dollars in lost revenue and productivity.
One type of network attack, called a denial of service attack, can paralyze Internet systems by overwhelming servers, network links, and network devices (e.g., routers, firewalls, etc.) with bogus traffic. Easily launched against limited defenses, network attacks not only target individual web sites or other servers at the edge of the network, but they also can incapacitate the network itself.
The growing dependence on the Internet makes the impact of successful network attacks increasingly painful (financially and otherwise) for service providers, enterprises, and government agencies. Newer, more powerful tools used by network attackers promise to unleash even more destructive attacks in the months and years to come.
Because denial of service attacks are among the most difficult to defend against, responding to them appropriately and effectively poses a tremendous challenge for all Internet-dependent organizations. Network devices and current perimeter security technologies, such as firewalls and intrusion detection devices (IDDs), although important components of an overall security strategy, do not by themselves provide comprehensive network attack protection.
Current techniques fall short in terms of prevention and/or mitigation of network attacks. Some of the more popular network attack responses, such as blackholing and router filtering, are not optimized to deal with increasingly sophisticated attacks. IDDs offer some excellent attack detection capabilities, but cannot mitigate the impact of the attacks. Firewalls offer a rudimentary level of protection but, like blackholing and router filtering, they were not designed to protect against the types of advanced attacks that are so common today. Still other strategies, such as overprovisioning, do not provide adequate protection against ever larger attacks, and can be costly as a network attack prevention strategy.
Network attacks also make it difficult to keep up with the constant system patching and upgrading required for a successful security system. Many times, implementing significant patches or upgrades is a disruptive event within a customer's network. While overall service disruption can be avoided in a multiple server environment, it still takes time to determine the impact of the patch on the customer's applications and then perform the upgrades.


The use of liposomes for drug delivery has been proposed for a variety of drugs, particularly those which are administered parenterally. Liposomes have the potential for providing controlled "depot" release of the administered drug over an extended time period, and of reducing side effects of the drug, by limiting the concentration of free drug in the bloodstream. Liposomes can also alter the tissue distribution and uptake of drugs, in a therapeutically favorable way, and can increase the convenience of therapy, by allowing less frequent drug administration. Liposome drug delivery systems are reviewed in Poznansky.
Generally, the optimal liposome size for use in parenteral administration is between about 0.1 and 0.3, and up to 0.4, microns. Liposomes in this size range can be sterilized by passage through conventional depth filters having particle size discrimination of about 0.2 microns. This size range of liposomes also favors biodistribution in certain target organs, such as liver, spleen, and bone marrow (Gabizon), and gives more uniform and predictable drug-release rates and stability in the bloodstream. Liposomes whose sizes are less than about 0.4 microns also show less tendency to aggregate on storage, and are thus generally safer and less toxic in parenteral use than larger-size liposomes.
A variety of techniques have been proposed for preparing liposomes, including drug-containing liposomes (Szoka, 1980). Typically, these methods yield liposomes which are heterodisperse, and predominantly greater than about 1 micron in size. These initial heterodisperse suspensions can be reduced in size and size distribution by a number of known methods. One size-processing method which is suitable for large-scale production is homogenization. Here the initial heterodisperse liposome preparation is pumped under high pressure through a small orifice or reaction chamber. The suspension is usually cycled through the reaction chamber until a desired average size of liposome particles is achieved. A limitation of this method is that the liposome size distribution is typically quite broad and variable, depending on a number of homogenization cycles, pressures, and internal temperature. Also, the processed fluid has the potential to pick up metal and oil contaminants from the homogenizer pump, and may be further contaminated by residual chemical agents used to sterilize the pump seals.
Sonication, or ultrasonic irradiation, is another method that is used for reducing liposome sizes. This technique is useful especially for preparing small unilameller vesicles (SUVs), in the 0.025-0.08 micron size range. However, a narrow size distribution of liposomes can only be achieved at liposome sizes of about 0.05 microns, i.e., after the liposomes have been reduced to their smallest sizes. The very small liposomes have limited drug carrying or loading capacity and less favorable biodistribution properties than those in the 0.1-0.4 micron size range, as noted below. The processing capacity of this method is also quite limited, since long-term sonication of relatively small volumes is required. Also, heat build-up during sonication can lead to peroxidative damage to lipids, and sonic probes shed titanium particles which are potentially quite toxic in vivo.
A third general size-processing method known in the prior art is based on liposome extrusion through uniform pore-size polycarbonate membranes (Szoka, 1978). This procedure has advantages over the above homogenization and sonication methods in that a variety of membrane pore sizes is available for producing liposomes in different selected size ranges, and in addition, the size distribution of the liposomes can be made quite narrow, particularly by cycling the material through the selected-size filter several times. Nonetheless, the membrane extrusion method has several drawbacks in large-scale processing. For one, the pores in the membrane tend to clog, particularly when processing concentrated suspensions and/or when the liposome sizes are substantially greater than the membrane pore sizes. The clogged membranes cannot be cleared, because the filter housing configuration does not allow back flushing. Replacing the filter is likely to compromise the sterility of the extrusion operation and the membranes cannot be steam-sterilized in place, with a high degree of confidence, due to their inherent fragility. Secondly, the total pore surface area is only about 20% of the total surface area of the membrane, restricting the surface area available for extrusion, and thus limiting total throughput.
Co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,323 to "Liposome Extrusion Method" describes a method for sizing liposomes by extrusion through an asymmetric ceramic filter. According to one aspect of the invention, a single pass through the filter converts a suspension of heterogeneous size liposomes with a substantial portion having sizes greater than 1 micron to a relatively homogeneous population having sizes less than about 0.4 micron. One or more additional passes through the filter, especially in an inside-to-outside direction, produce a convergence to a final reduced average size and polydispersity. According to another aspect of the invention, it was found that the average size of the extended liposomes was substantially smaller than the rated pore size of the ceramic filter.
Ceramic filter extrusion is advantageous for high-volume processing, since the filter presents a large surface area, and the pore surface area constitutes a major portion of total area. Further the filter is designed for operation at relatively high pressure. In addition, the filter can be backflushed to prevent clogging, and easily sterilized. The method thus overcomes the major limitations of the polycarbonate membrane extrusion method, while producing comparable liposome sizing.