A catheter assembly comprises a catheter having a distal end and a longitudinal axis, a stent disposed about the distal end of the catheter, and a stent protector. The stent protector has a stent covering portion disposed about the stent and a catheter engagement portion that removably engages the stent protector to the catheter assembly. The stent covering portion is disposed about the stent without substantially engaging the stent.

A stent is a medical device introduced to a body lumen and is well known in the art. Typically, a stent is implanted in a blood vessel at the site of a stenosis or aneurysm endoluminally, i.e. by so-called "minimally invasive techniques" in which the stent in a radially reduced configuration, optionally restrained in a radially compressed configuration by a sheath and/or catheter, is delivered by a stent delivery system or "introducer" to the site where it is required. The introducer can enter the body from an access location outside the body, such as through the patient's skin, or by a "cut down" technique in which the entry vessel is exposed by minor surgical means.
Stents and similar devices such as stent-grafts, expandable frameworks, and similar implantable medical devices, are radially expandable endoprostheses which are typically intravascular implants capable of being implanted transluminally and enlarged radially after being introduced percutaneously. Stents can be implanted in a variety of body lumens or vessels such as within the vascular system, urinary tracts, bile ducts, fallopian tubes, coronary vessels, secondary vessels, etc. Stents can be used to reinforce body vessels and to prevent restenosis following angioplasty in the vascular system. They can be self-expanding, expanded by an internal radial force, such as when mounted on a balloon, or a combination of self-expanding and balloon expandable (hybrid expandable).
Stent protectors are used to protect the stent before the stent and catheter assembly are implanted into a body lumen. The stent protectors protect the stent from physical damage or contamination due to the transfer of unwanted material and are removed at the time of use to permit deployment of the stent. Examples of stent protectors are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,152,944 and 6,783,542.
Stent protectors have relied on a friction fit between the stent and the stent protector in order to hold the protector in place. However such intimate contact may not always be desirable. Stents are often used as a vehicle for delivering therapeutic agents (e.g. in the form of a coating on the stent). When removing the stent protector the friction fit could result in therapeutic agent being scraped off. In addition material from the stent protector can also be deposited onto the stent.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention can be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.


A catalyst layer (20) for a fuel cell and to a method suitable for producing the catalyst layer (20). The catalyst layer (20) includes a catalyst material (22) containing a catalytic material (24) and optionally porous carrier material (23) on which the catalytic material (24) is supported. The catalyst layer also includes mesoporous particles (21) made from hydrophobic material.

Fuel cells utilize the chemical reaction of a fuel with oxygen yielding water, in order to generate electrical energy. For this purpose, fuels cells contain as a core component the so-called membrane electrode unit (MEA for membrane electrode assembly), which is a combination of a proton-conducting membrane and one electrode each (anode and cathode) situated on either side on the membrane. In addition, gas diffusion layers (GDL) may also be situated on either side of the membrane electrode assembly on the sides of the electrodes facing away from the membrane. The fuel cell is generally formed by a plurality of MEAs arranged in a stack, whose electric power outputs are added up. During operation of the fuel cell, the fuel, in particular, hydrogen H2 or a gas mixture containing hydrogen, is supplied to the anode, where an electrochemical oxidation of H2 to H+ takes place giving off electrons. A (water-bound or anhydrous) transport of protons H+ from the anode space into the cathode space takes place across the electrolyte or the membrane, which separates and electrically isolates the reaction chambers from one another in a gas-tight manner. The electrons provided at the anode are conducted to the cathode via an electrical line. Oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas mixture is supplied to the cathode, so that a reduction of O2 to O2− takes place taking up electrons. At the same time, these oxygen anions react in the cathode space with the protons transported across the membrane while forming water. As a result of the direct conversion from chemical into electrical energy, fuel cells, by circumventing the Carnot factor, achieve an improved degree of efficiency compared to other electricity generators.
The presently most advanced fuel cell technology is based on polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM), in which the membrane itself is made of a polymer electrolyte. Acid-modified polymers, in particular, perfluorinated polymers are often used for this purpose. The most widely common representative of this class of polymer electrolytes is a membrane made of a sulfonated polytetrafluorethylene copolymer (trade name: Nafion; copolymer made of tetrafluorethylene and a sulfonic acid fluoride derivative of a perfluoralkyl vinyl ether). The electrolytic conduction takes place via hydrated protons, which is why the presence of water is prerequisite for the proton conductivity and a moistening of the operating gases is required during operation of the PEM fuel cell. Due to the need for water, the maximum operating temperature of these fuel cells at normal pressure is limited to below 100° C. In contrast to high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEM fuel cells), the electrolytic conductivity of which is based on an electrolyte bound by electrostatic complex bonding to a polymer backbone of the polymer electrolyte membrane (for example phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane) and which are operated at temperatures of 160° C., this fuel cell type is also referred to as a low temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (NT-PEM fuel cell).
The catalyst layer of fuel cells is used for oxidizing hydrogen at the anode and for reducing oxygen at the cathode. The gas diffusion layers are generally constructed of carbon fiber paper, carbon and/or a carbon non-woven and exhibit a high porosity, which enable good access of the reaction gases to the catalyst layers and a good discharge of the reaction products and the cell current. In order to achieve a preferably solid bond between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the catalyst layers applied to either side, respectively, with the anode and the cathode having preferably solid contact with the membrane, the catalyst layers are in general each applied to the membrane in the form of a catalyst ink. It is equally possible to apply such a catalyst ink to a gas diffusion layer and, in turn, to press this together with the corresponding membrane. A catalyst ink generally contains an electrocatalyst, an electron conductor, and, if necessary, a polymer electrolyte as well as a solvent (WO 2007/115898 A1).
The electrodes are made of a catalyst layer. The catalyst is typically a precious metal, such as platinum or another metal of the platinum group in elementary form, as alloys or as a compound, for example, platinum oxide. The catalyst is usually situated on a carbon carrier in the form of fibers and/or granules (US 2005/0238948A1). Due to electrochemical oxidation and reduction processes, a degradation of the catalyst material as well as the carrier material may result, which mutually reinforce one another, in particular, in the presence of product water. Thus, the reduction of a platinum oxide layer with a change in cathodic potential caused by the reaction of the desorbing oxygen species with the carbon results in increased corrosion of the catalyst carrier. The catalyst carrier exists in porous form, in order on the one hand to provide a large active surface and, on the other hand, to ensure a transport of media. Thus, in addition to a power degradation of the fuel cell, corrosion of the catalyst carrier results in a decrease in porosity and increasingly in an accumulation of product water in the electrode area which, in turn, promotes corrosion.
In order to counteract carbon corrosion, a device is known from DE 102007057488 A1, which includes a complex, active ventilation system for preventing the formation of a hydrogen/oxygen boundary surface at the anode of the fuel cell and, therefore, one of the causes of carbon corrosion in fuel cells.
In addition, a strategy is known from DE 102009056034 A1 for avoiding carbon corrosion. To avoid damage to the fuel cell system, the fuel cell system may be switched off using a hydrogen-hydrogen switch-off strategy, in which hydrogen is present at both electrodes (anode and cathode) after the switch-off operation is ended. This is based on the consideration that no harmful carbon corrosion will take place if the fuel system is re-started before air flows into the cathode.

Catalyst layer for a fuel cell and method for the production thereof


A terahertz interaction circuit includes a waveguide through which electromagnetic waves pass, the waveguide having a folded shape and including a narrow open cavity portion; and an electron beam tunnel through which an electron beam passes, the electron beam tunnel penetrating through the waveguide.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a terahertz interaction circuit, and more particularly, to a terahertz interaction circuit having a narrow open cavity structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A terahertz frequency range between a microwave frequency range and an optical frequency range is used in the fields of molecular optics, biophysics, medical science, spectroscopy, or imaging or security. However, there have been few developments in the field of terahertz oscillators or amplifiers for generating terahertz waves due to physical and engineering limitations. Recently, as various new theories and fine processing technologies are introduced, the terahertz oscillators or amplifiers are being developed.
In particular, there has been proposed an interaction circuit for oscillating terahertz waves through the interaction between an electronic beam and an electromagnetic wave in a terahertz oscillator using a vacuum electronic technology. In such an interaction circuit, electric field magnitude and interaction impedance are characteristic factors. As the strength of an electric field magnitude increases, the efficiency of converting the energy of an electronic beam into electromagnetic wave energy is improved. Interaction impedance is a factor in output efficiency and is proportional to the square of the electric field magnitude.
Thus, the electric field magnitude affects the interaction impedance.

Terahertz interaction circuit with open cavity portion


A transmitting apparatus using visible light communication generates transmission data into a two-dimensional data code according to a predetermined code method between the transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus and transmits the two-dimensional data code through a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED) that are arranged in a two-dimensional form. Therefore, the receiving apparatus senses light from a plurality of LEDs as an image using an image sensor, demodulates the image into a two-dimensional data code, decodes the two-dimensional data code using a code book, and restores data.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving data using visible light communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of transmitting data using light generating in a light emitting diode lighting device and of receiving data using an image sensor that senses light as an image.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, as a lighting device using a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source is widely used, visible light communication (VLC) technology that can communicate with an LED lighting device has been introduced.
The VLC technology is communication technology that loads data at a visible light wavelength band of light in which a person can recognize with eyes and that transmits the data by wireless. Because the VLC technology uses a visible light wavelength band, the VLC technology can simultaneously perform lighting and communication and thus the VLC technology has a characteristic and a merit different from communication technology using a laser diode (LD) and communication technology of an infrared ray band and an ultraviolet ray (UV) band.
Visible light lighting in which a person can recognize can be variously used for an electric scoreboard, a sign board, a flat panel display back light unit (BLU), and an indoor/outdoor illuminating lamp. Lighting that is used in this way is disposed to correspond to a use purpose using one LED or a plurality of LEDs, and the use number thereof is determined.
The LED is used as lighting using a property that changes electricity to light. Communication using an LED lighting device sustains communication as well as basic lighting as the receiving side recognizes flickering of light of the transmission side. A lighting device in which a person uses should not have flickering for eye-safety, should sustain sufficient illumination Intensity according to a purpose, and should have a dimming function of sometimes adjusting brightness of light. Further, in order to use for communication, the lighting device should have a function of transmitting data by wireless.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional data communication apparatus using visible light communication.
Referring to FIG. 1, a transmitter 10 includes a controller 11, a modulation unit 12, a light source driver 13, and an array light source 14 including a plurality of LEDs that are coupled in series and in parallel, and a receiver 20 includes a photoelectric converter 21 including a photo diode or an image sensor, a demodulation unit 22, and a data processor 23.
The modulation unit 12 modulates transmission data that are input from the controller 11, and the light source driver 13 drives the array light source 14 and transmits data that are modulated in the modulation unit 12 through light that is emitted from the array light source 14.
Further, data that are transmitted through light are received in the photoelectric converter 21 of the receiver 20, are converted to an electrical signal, are demodulated in the demodulation unit 22, are restored to transmission data, and the data processor 23 processes transmission data to correspond to a corresponding application. In this case, technology that performs communication using a wavelength of light that is emitted from the array light source 14 as a visible light band becomes VLC technology.
When transmitting data, the transmitter 10 loads and transmits data by simultaneously quickly turning on/off a plurality of LEDs. That is, a set of a plurality of LEDs is transmitted as one light source. Therefore, a data amount to be transmitted is limited as an ability that can transmit from one array light source 14, which is an assembly of a plurality of LEDs and thus a limitation exists in increasing a transmission data amount.
Further, because the receiver 20 using an image sensor should identify data with a flicker of light within frames per second in a pixel range in which an image sensor can receive, data reception is limited to frames per second in which an image sensor can sense.
"Imaging device and method for reading signals from such device (U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,893 B2)", which are a related art that is related to VLC relate to an apparatus that can simultaneously receive information of different ID beacons, if ID beacon light exists within a pixel position at which an image sensor can receive, when ID beacon light using LED lighting is transmitted from a plurality of different positions. In this case, because information in which each ID beacon generates is individual information, there is a drawback that a data receiving amount is limited to frames per second in which an image sensor can sense.
Further, as another related art, "two-dimensional barcode localization for camera based devices (Pub. No. US 2010/0084470 A1)" is a method of recognizing and decoding a two-dimensional barcode using a camera, and the two-dimensional barcode has a relatively more information amount than that of an one-dimensional barcode, but because the two-dimensional barcode has no function changing on a time zone basis, the two-dimensional barcode has a drawback that can read only a limited information amount.
As another related art, "LED display (Korean Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-2010-0013245) using an optical recognition pen" is technology that puts a barcode beside a display using an LED and in which an optical recognition pen device for recognizing the barcode recognizes the barcode, sends a control command by wireless, and changes display contents of the LED display. The technology changes contents of the LED display by assistance of an external system with fixed and limited barcode information and thus has a drawback that information can be acquired only when a communication function such as a network is mounted.

Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data using visible light communication

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A fret-saw machine comprises a base unit having a table on which a workpiece to be cut is placed, a frame member disposed in the base unit and secured to the table, an arm member having one end portion secured to the frame member and another end portion disposed above the table, a blade holder assembly having first and second slide holder units and first and second blade holder units, the first slide holder unit and the first blade holder units being disposed in the base unit and secured to the frame member and the second slide holder unit and the second blade holder unit being secured to another end portion of the arm member, blade supported at its both ends by the first and second blade holder units and a drive unit supported in the base unit by the frame member and connected to the first slide holder unit to drive the blade. The blade holder unit has a blade nipping member for firmly nipping the blade. A tension applying assembly is disposed to the blade holder assembly for suitably applying the tension to the blade. The blade may carry out its reciprocal motion in an inclined manner. The arm member is fastened so as to be positionally adjustable. The fret-saw machine is further provided with a blade cover having a workpiece pressing function and a rotation preventing structure for the sake of safeness.

This invention relates to a fret-saw machine provided with a blade holder unit of an improved structure for holding a fret-saw blade and with a blade cover and other associated members capable of carrying out effective cutting work and performing an improved operation.
Generally, a fret-saw machine is provided with an elongated fret-saw blade which is set substantially perpendicularly with respect to a flat surface of a work table on which a workpiece is placed and the workpiece is cut by reciprocally driving the fret-saw blade.
The fret-saw machine generally comprises a base table, a driving unit suspended from the rear surface side of the base table to be swingable, an arm member generally having a U shape and having one end secured to a frame member disposed in the base table, an upper holder unit secured to the other end of the U-shaped arm member above the base table, a lower holder unit operatively connected to a motor accommodated in the driving unit at a portion below the base table, and a fret-saw blade having longitudinal ends held by the upper and lower holder units. In such arrangement, the fret-saw blade is adjusted in its position so that the fret-saw blade can be mode in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the base table surface when a workpiece is cut by the fret-saw blade.
Furthermore, in such arrangement, the fret-saw blade is fastened to the machine body by fastening means such as bolt and nut assembly or the like, requiring a troublesome fastening working such as loosening or clamping the bolt and nut assembly before and after the attachment of the fret-saw blade to the holder units.
In such prior art, there is provided a fret-saw machine in which the fret-saw blade can be adjusted in its positioning angle, for example, as disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-13202, which, however, discloses a structure capable of adjusting the blade attaching angle only to a predetermined angle. Therefore, it is desired to provide an fret-saw machine having an improved structure capable of adjusting the blade attaching angle to a desired optional angle.
In the foregoing, there is described a fret-saw machine in which the fret-saw blade is held substantially perpendicularly with respect to the table surface on which the workpiece to be cut is placed, and the blade supported at its both ends by the upper and lower holder units to be vertically movable. However, in such arrangement, there is a case where cut chips are not well removed, and in some case, vertical cut lines may be formed on the cut surface of the workpiece, thus providing bad finishing, and in the worst case, there may cause a case where the blade operation is stopped in engagement with the workpiece now being cut.
In order to obviate such defect, there is also provided a structure for driving the blade. Namely, a pair of parallel upper and lower arm members are swingably attached to both the end portions of the blade. According to such arrangement of the parallel swingable arms, the reciprocal motion of the blade has a component perpendicular to the table surface and a component parallel thereto during the cutting operation of the blade.
However, the fret-saw machine having such fret-saw swinging mechanism has the structure complicated for the precise angular positioning of the fret-saw blade, and the manufacturing thereof is also made complicated, requiring much time and labour.
Furthermore, in the fret-saw machine, it is necessary to stretch the fret-saw blade between the upper and lower blade holders with a predetermined tension for the cutting working. In a prior art, one end side, i.e. following blade holder side opposing to the blade drive side, of the blade is pulled to apply the tension to the blade and fastened to thus pulled state. However, in the prior art technique, it is difficult or troublesome to adjust the fastening of the screw bolt to obtain a desired tension, resulting in complicated work for an operator, thus requiring an improved blade tensioning device or assembly.
Still furthermore, in the fret-saw machine of the prior art, when it is required to change the lateral inclination of the blade with respect to the base table on which the workpiece to be cut is placed, the fastening screw is first loosened and the screw shaft is shifted along the arcuate shape of the hole into which the screw shaft is fitted thereby to move the U-shaped arm around the shaft, thus changing the lateral inclination of the blade holder unit together with the blade. However, in such arrangement, the U-shaped arm is generally secured to the frame member at its lower end portion and to the holder unit at its upper end portion, so that the positioning of the blade between the upper and lower holder units by adjusting the position of the arm is made difficult.
Still furthermore, the fret-saw blade is generally covered by a blade cover which is capable of being rotated for attaching or removing the blade, and a workpiece is supported by a pressing member for preventing the workpiece from being shifted during the cutting working, this pressing member being disposed as a separate member from the blade cover. In the conventional blade cover, there is a fear of accidental rotation of the blade cover during the cutting working, thus being dangerous, and a blade fastening structure for reliably fastening the blade cover to its holder member is also required.


A display device includes a driving circuit layer including a thin film transistor, a display layer at the driving circuit layer and overlapping a portion of the driving circuit layer, a window at the display layer, a first adhesive member between the driving circuit layer and the window, and a second adhesive member between the display layer and the window and spaced from the first adhesive member in a plane view.

1. Field
The present disclosure herein relates to display devices having improved durability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various types of display devices having reduced weight and volume have been developed. Display devices have been used for the purpose of displaying an image in various information processing apparatuses, such as TVs, monitors, notebooks, and mobile phones.
Currently known display devices may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), organic light-emitting displays (OLEDs), field effect displays (FEDs), and electrophoretic displays (EPDs).


The present invention provides methods of detecting and/or quantitating a target oligonucleotide in a biological sample.

Oligonucleotides, such as aptamers and antisense oligonucleotides have been used therapeutically. Oligonucleotides comprising a variety of chemical modifications and motifs have been described. In certain instances, such oligonucleotides are useful as research tools, diagnostic reagents, and as therapeutic agents. Certain antisense oligonucleotides comprising at least a region of DNA-like nucleosides have been shown to reduce protein expression. Certain such antisense oligonucleotides act at least partially through RNase H. Certain RNA-like antisense oligonucleotides are known to inhibit protein expression in cells. Such RNA-like oligonucleotides function, at least in part, through the RNA-inducing silencing complex (RISC). Antisense oligonucleotides may be single-stranded or double-stranded. Antisense oligonucleotides have also been shown to alter processing of pre-mRNA and to modulate non-coding RNA molecules. In certain instances antisense oligonucleotides have been shown to modulate protein expression by binding to a target messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding the protein. In certain instances, such binding of an antisense oligonucleotides to its target mRNA results in cleavage of the mRNA. Antisense oligonucleotides that modulate processing of a pre-mRNA have also been reported. Such antisense oligonucleotides alter splicing, interfere with polyadenlyation or prevent formation of the 5′-cap of a pre-mRNA.
Therapeutic oligonucleotides may be administered to an animal. In certain instances it is desired to detect or quantify the amount of therapeutic oligonucleotides in a biological sample from an animal to which a compound has been administered. Certain assays for such purposes have been reported. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 8,163,477. The present disclosure describes compounds and methods that have improved sensitivity, ease of use, and/or reduced cost compared to previously described assays.

Compounds and methods for detecting oligonucleotides


There is provided a pulsed flow modulation gas chromatograph mass spectrometer with supersonic molecular beams apparatus and method for improved sample analysis. The apparatus includes a gas chromatograph with an injector for the analysis of sample compounds, a first analytical column in the gas chromatograph, a sample storage, a gas pulse generator, a pressure generator, a conduit for transferring the sample compounds into a second analytical column having a different polarity than the polarity of the first analytical column, a second gas pulse generator, a transfer line for transferring the sample compounds into a supersonic nozzle, a member for adding a makeup gas to the output gas flow of the second analytical column before the supersonic nozzle, an element for reducing the flow rate of the added makeup gas, a supersonic nozzle for the expansion of the sample with the combined second analytical column and added makeup gas, a fly-through electron ionization ion source, a mass analyzer, an ion detector for the detection of the ions of the sample compounds after their mass analysis, a data processor and presenter, and a repeater for repeating the cycle of the first gas pulse of relatively high flow rate followed by the second gas pulse of intermediate flow rate.

Gas chromatography (GC) is a central analytical technique that serves a broad range of applications. In GC the sample is typically injected in a mixture with a few or many other matrix compounds, and separated in time by the GC column before its detection and quantitative determination by the GC detector. As a result, the GC separation capability is defined as one of its most important (prime) capabilities. Currently, most GC analyses are performed with a 30 m long non-polar capillary column with 0.25 mm ID, operated with 1 ml/min carrier gas flow rate, and the separation is predominantly based on the sample volatility, so that the elution times follow the boiling temperatures (order of volatility) of the eluting sample compounds. While the most widely used GC detector is the flame ionization detector (FID), the most important GC detector is clearly the mass spectrometer. The combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a known powerful technology since GC-MS, unlike GC-FID, can also be used for sample identification, and it excels in mass selective detection of low level compounds in complex matrices. For a variety of petrochemical, food and other complex samples the GC separation is insufficient, due to lack of peak capacity and limited separation capability, and mass spectral identification is often hampered by extensive co-elution of several compounds that prohibit appropriate identification and quantitative determination. In order to improve the GC separation, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) was pioneered by Phillips and Liu [U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,135,549 and 5,196,039] and later on was further developed by Phillips and co-workers and many other investigators. GCxGC is based on comprehensive two dimensional GC separation, so that the full sample is first separated according to its volatility (boiling point) on typically a non-polar standard column and then in repeated cycles, the eluting compounds are focused (usually cryo focused) in space and pulsed injected into a second short semi polar or polar column for their second dimension separation according to the sample compounds polarity. GCxGC sample compounds that co-elute from the first analytical column typically have similar boiling points. Upon their pulsed injection into a second short column with polar separation film, those compounds that are chemically polar have stronger interactions with the second column adsorption film, are adsorbed for a longer period of time and thus the second column order of elution follows the sample order of polarity. GCxGC recently became a popular research area and it is well described in a few review articles such as J. Dalluge, J. Beens and U. A. T. Brinkman, J. Chromatogr. A. 1000, 69-108 (2003). GCxGC provides the following main advantages: a) Improved GC separation by a factor of about 5 to 20; b) Improved sensitivity by a factor of about 2-7 in view of 4 to 50 times narrower GC peaks; c) Reduced matrix interference in view of the improved GC separation, and d) Provision of additional sample polarity and group type information according to its second column order of elution.
The main added method and hardware element in GCxGC versus GC is the sample modulator. In GCxGC, the sample compounds which elute from the first column, are focused in space and pulse injected into a second short column for their second dimension separation. The sample focusing and pulsed injection into the second column is performed with a device called a sample modulator or modulator in short. The modulator determines the efficiency, performance, reliability and added cost of GCxGC and is hence considered the most important element in GCxGC technology. Several distinctive designs of GCxGC modulators were developed and some are commercially available. Currently, thermal modulators, which are based on sample cryogenic focusing (cryo-focusing), are most abundant and widely used as they provide the best GCxGC resolution through narrowest second GCxGC column injection time width. All the thermal modulators, however, are complex and costly devices, further consuming large amounts of CO2 gas or liquid nitrogen, in the order of three large CO2 cylinders per day or 80-100 liters of liquid nitrogen per day. As a result, despite the superior GCxGC performance over standard GC, its use and applicability are limited, in view of the cost and complexity of GCxGC thermal modulators and their high gas consumption.
While GCxGC was proven to be a powerful technique for improved separation of complex mixtures, most of the research was performed with GCxGC-FID and not with GCxGC-MS. Whenever sample identification and/or confirmation are required, however, the use of mass spectrometry for detection is mandatory. Since GCxGC with the common thermal modulators generates narrow chromatographic peaks with peak width that could be below 0.1 s, GCxGC requires the fast scanning speed of time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometers. GC-TOF-MS is, however, expensive and not as robust as standard quadruple GC-MS, and thus, GCxGC-TOF-MS is not frequently used. In view of the high cost and complexity of GCxGC-TOF-MS, GCxGC with quadruple MS was successfully explored and proved to be a valuable approach, although faster scan speed is still a highly desirable feature.
As a result of the above, GCxGC-MS suffers from several problems that need to be solved in order to make it a generally accepted useful analytical tool:    1. There is a need to solve the problem of adequate scan speed for quadruple MS, in order to enable the proper combination of GCxGC with the robust and low cost range of quadruple MS (or ion trap). Modern quadruple GC-MS are characterized by improved scan speed of >8,000 amu/s that can be >20 Hz in the 50-450 amu mass range.    2. Currently samples are identified mostly via the use of 70 eV EI libraries. However, sample identification with libraries is limited since most of the organic compounds are not included in any library. The identification of unknown compounds can be further confronted by frequent absence (or weakness) of the molecular ion.    3. The problem of frequently absent or weak molecular ions is further exacerbated with TOF-MS for two main reasons: a) TOF-MS uses a multi channel ion detector and do not employ a conversion dynode for reasons of time resolution, so that in GC-TOF-MS, the molecular ion and other high mass ions are relatively suppressed in comparison with quadruple GC-MS that uses conversion dynode based ion detectors, and b) while it is recognized that narrow GCxGC peaks require fast scan speed, it is similarly true although generally neglected that narrow GCxGC peaks similarly require fast ion source response time. Semi-volatile and low volatility samples, however, tend to have lengthy intra ion source adsorption-thermal-desorption cycles, which induce peak broadening and tailing. Thus, the need for 10 times faster ion source response time, also requires ˜70° C. hotter ion source temperature. This increased ion source temperature significantly (exponentially) reduces the relative abundance of the molecular ion and impede sample identification both with and without the library.    4. The known Achilles Hill of GC is its limited range of thermally stable and volatile compounds amenable for analysis. This problem of limited range of compounds amenable for analysis is further exacerbated in GCxGC-MS due to the need to use significantly increased ion source temperature, which promote excessive intra ion source decomposition of thermally labile compounds.    5. Thermal modulators are complex, expensive and require large amount of cryogenic gases.
Thus, there is a long felt need to provide a quadrupole (or ion trap) based GCxGC-MS that will effectively operate without requiring costly cryogenic gases and that will provide trustworthy molecular ion combined with library searchable mass spectra for an extended range of thermally labile and low volatility samples.
Around the year 2000, Seeley and co-workers, (J. V. Seeley, F. Kramp and C. J. Hicks, Anal. Chem. 72, 4346-4352 (2000)), developed and presented a new approach of flow modulation GCxGC as an alternative to thermal modulation GCxGC and later on they further characterized and explored this flow modulation method. According to Seeley's flow modulation method, the output of the first GCxGC analytical column is directed to a storage transfer line column and then injected with typically 20 times higher flow rate (20 ml/min) into the second GCxGC column, while the first analytical column output flow is directed to a second parallel storage transfer line column. After a few seconds the 20 times higher flow rate is modulated and directed to the second storage transfer line column for the injection of its content into the second GCxGC column and such a cycle is repeated for affecting comprehensive GCxGC analysis. Flow modulation is a relatively simple and low cost method for GCxGC modulation, but it suffers from two new problems:    A) Flow modulation GCxGC is characterized by significantly reduced GCxGC separation due to the use of high column flow rate of 20 ml/min in combination of large bore capillary column (such as with 0.32 mm I.D.). The combination of 3 meter 0.32 mm I.D. column operated with 20 ml/min, provides about 20 times less number of theoretical separation plates in comparison with the typically used 1 meter long 0.1 mm I.D. micro-bore capillary columns. This reduced number of separation plates can be translated into 4.5 times poorer GCxGC separation, which serves as a major deterrent from flow modulation GCxGC.    B) Flow modulation requires compatibility with a high second column flow rate of about 20 ml/min, which makes it incompatible with standard GC-MS instrumentation that are designed to work with 1 ml/min column flow rate. Although some GC-MS systems can accept a few ml/min column flow rates, their ion source response is significantly lower with higher column flow rates due to increased intra ion source space charge.
The combination of A and B above and the need to address the problem of limited scan speed of standard mass analyzers (quadrupole and ion trap) explains why despite its cost and maintenance advantages, flow modulation GCxGC was not combined with standard GC-MS.
In the last decade there has been developed and explored the performance capabilities of a new type of GC-MS, based on the use of a supersonic molecular beam (SMB). SMB was used for interfacing the GC to the MS and as a medium for ionization of sample compounds while vibrationally cold in the SMB, either by electron ionization (EI) or by hyperthermal surface ionization (HSI). SMB (with helium as carrier gas) is characterized by intra-molecular vibrational super-cooling of its seeded sample molecules due to relatively low collision energies of sample compounds and carrier gas species during the supersonic expansion. Consequently, the molecular ion (M+) intensity is enhanced in EI with SMB (also named "cold EI") and it is practically always exhibited, yet the library searchable fragment ions are retained. In addition, isomer mass spectral information is significantly amplified and accurate isotope abundance information is revealed (which also provide unique elemental formula information) without any self-chemical ionization interferences. The SMB interface is compatible with high carrier gas flow rate of about 90 ml/min through the use of differential pumping in an added vacuum chamber. Furthermore, SMB is characterized by the fly-through motion of the sample compounds in the ion source and by vacuum background filtration, and as a result, the SMB fly-through ion source is characterized by tailing-free ultra-fast ion source response time regardless the sample volatility, which is an important feature for GCxGC-MS in view of its need to comply with the tailing free analysis demands of sub one second GC peaks. Thus, the use of GC-MS with SMB provides a range of advantages which offset its higher price and added complexity in view of the need for added vacuum chamber and pump.
While evaluating the flow modulation method, it is realized that an important yet not fully appreciated feature of flow modulation is that the minimal GCxGC peak width (injection time) is the collection time (typically 4 sec.) divided by the second column to first column flow rate ratio (typically 20). Thus, flow modulation provides GCxGC peak width that can be controlled, including in the convenient range of 0.2-0.3 s in order to make it amenable for the scan speed of quadruple or ion trap GC-MS. As a result, it was surprisingly found that the previously considered adverse flow modulation feature of increased peak width, hence lost GCxGC separation resolution has an important merit in enabling the use of quadruple mass spectrometry (and other low scan speed MS such as ion trap and magnetic sector) despite its limited scan speed. On the other hand, in order to benefit from this feature, it is required to address the standard GC-MS flow rate limitation of 1 ml/min and enable the use of 20 ml/min carrier gas flow rate without any sacrifice in sensitivity. The solution for this demanding feature is the use of GC-MS with supersonic molecular beam according to the present application that can accept any column flow rate up to 100 ml/min without any adverse effect on its sensitivity.
Consequently, in flow modulation GCxGC-MS with SMB, the problem of limited quadruple mass analyzer scan speed is solved via flow modulation injection broadening of the eluting peaks, which as a result of their increased peak width require less mass spectral scans per unit time. In addition, the molecular ion abundance is significantly enhanced through the use of SMB, ultra-fast ion source response time is provided with SMB regardless of the sample volatility, and the flow modulation requirement of compatibility with 20 ml/min column flow rate is easily addressed by the SMB differential pumping.
Flow modulation seems deceivingly simple but it was found that it possesses several limitations and disadvantages which hampers its effective use including:    1. The Seeley flow modulation "arrangement" is delicate. It is composed of four T union connectors plus six "small" transfer line columns in addition to the GCxGC two main analytical columns, and this complete structure has to be mounted on a piece of mesh introduced into the limited space of the GC oven;    2. The flow modulation structure contains four delicate low thermal mass T union connectors that are the subject of frequent leaks;    3. The Seeley flow modulation GCxGC method development is relatively complicated, as it is based on narrow range of flow rates and flow impedance transfer line columns. As a result, once the flow modulation is based around 1 ml/min first column flow rate, it is inconvenient and not practical to change this flow rate;    4. Flow modulation GCxGC must use constant pressure and is incompatible with the GC industry standard mode of constant flow operation unless an additional electronic flow control is used;    5. Flow modulation GCxGC is characterized by reduced second dimension GC separation. The same desirable feature of relatively broad GCxGC peaks implies lost GCxGC resolution. In addition, the high second column flow rate also implies reduced number of second column separation plates and peak capacity, and    6. The Seeley flow modulation method shares with thermal modulation GCxGC the problem of ghost peaks (also named turn around peaks) in the second analytical column.

Pulsed flow modulation gas chromatography mass spectrometry with supersonic molecular beams method and apparatus


To prevent accidental discharge from a cartridge, a dispenser for the dental viscous material comprises a guide shaft 1 having a cylindrical part 1ba at a front end thereof, a guide member 1b having a large diameter part 1bba and a small diameter part 1bbb on the rear side of the cylindrical part 1ba, and a knob for rotating the guide shaft 1h at a rear end, a slide block 2 having a release plate 2c, and piston shafts 2b, a housing 3 having pressing springs 3ea, which press piston shafts 2b, and a lever main body 4 having a lever part 4a rotatable by a predetermined angle from a position in parallel to the housing 3 and a pressing piece 4b projected under the front side of the lever part 4a, to constitute a mechanism of switching of discharge state and discharge release state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispenser for a dental viscous material, which is capable of simultaneously discharging desired amounts of respective viscous materials from a cartridge, where two kinds of viscous materials for the dental viscous material are respectively stored.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As for the dental viscous material comprising the two kinds of the viscous materials, since a chemical reaction is generally generated by mixing both viscous materials, the viscous materials are respectively stored in different containers in general. Thus, when using such a dental viscous material, it is used by measuring the necessary amount of each viscous material in each container (the amounts of the two kinds of viscous materials are equal in many cases), putting these viscous materials on a kneading paper or in a container for mixing, and mixing and kneading these materials by a rod, a spatula or the like.
However, as for such the dental viscous material, the chemical reaction is generally generated immediately after mixing these materials. Thus, it is necessary to carry out quickly a series of works for measuring the viscous materials and mixing and kneading those. More particularly, when the viscous materials are measured, for example, a tube must be used as the container for storing the viscous material, and a paper, in which a graduation line for measuring a length is preprinted, must be used as the kneading paper for mixing and kneading the two kinds of the viscous materials. Further, when the amounts of the viscous materials are equal, the tubes for storing these materials have same diameters of discharging ports, and each tube is pressed so as to discharge these materials with same lengths by referring to the graduation of the kneading paper, to thereby measure the viscous materials. Further, when the amounts of the viscous materials are not equal, the tubes having the different diameters of the discharging ports are used to discharge the viscous materials with the same lengths, or the tubes having the same diameters of the discharging ports are used to discharge these materials with the different lengths. Therefore, there are problems that the measuring work is troublesome and needs much time. Further, in addition to such a measuring work, an operator such as a dentist, an oral hygienist or the like, must carry out a work for mixing and kneading the viscous materials on the kneading paper, while taking care that these materials are fully mixed and bubbles are not immixed. Thus, there are problems that such the work needs not only certain skill but also large force at the time of mixing and kneading since the viscous material has high viscosity.
For solving such the problems, present inventors have developed a viscous material storing cartridge for storing the dental viscous material comprising the two kinds of viscous materials, and a dispenser for simultaneously discharging desired amounts of respective viscous materials from the viscous material storing cartridges.
As the viscous material storing cartridge for storing the dental viscous material comprising the two kinds of viscous materials, for example, following cartridge has been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2000-201951). It is a viscous material storing cartridge comprising two parallel cylindrical bodies having opening parts at rear ends and discharging ports at front ends, and having constant cross-sectional shapes of the inner faces. In this cartridge, the rear ends is round flange parts formed in different shapes according to the stored material, the front ends are respectively connected with connecting parts, the dental viscous materials which are used by mixing with predetermined ratio are stored inside the cylindrical bodies, and opening parts of the rear ends are closed with caps for pushing out the stored materials. Further, a nozzle mounting part is provided at the front end of the cartridge to mount and hold a rear end of nozzle at the discharging port, and this nozzle is for dispensing the dental viscous materials pushed out from the insides of the cylindrical bodies while mixing and kneading those with a mixing tool. Further, the following cartridge also has been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2003-212278). It is a viscous material storing cartridge comprising a viscous material storing part, a rotary shutter, a rotary shutter holding means, and a mixing tool mounting part. In this cartridge, the viscous material storing part comprises two parallel cylindrical bodies having opening parts at rear ends and discharging ports at front ends, and having constant cross-sectional shapes of the inner surfaces, and viscous material pushing out members are respectively fit to these inner faces. The rotary shutter has a size capable of closing at least all the discharging ports of the viscous material storing part, and has a communication hole provided at a position corresponding to the discharging ports. The rotary shutter holding means is provided at the front end of the viscous material storing part, and rotatably holds the rotary shutter, where the communication holes of the rotary shutter and the discharging ports of the viscous material storing part can be changed between a communicated state and a closed state by this shutter. The mixing tool mounting part is provided for mounting the mixing tool, which mixes the viscous materials in each cylindrical part discharged from the communication holes.
Further, as the dispenser for simultaneously discharging desired amounts of each viscous material from the viscous material storing cartridges, for example, the following dispenser has been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2000-308647). It is a dispenser for a dental viscous material comprising a housing, a guide shaft, a lever, an elastic member, a slide block, a pressing spring, a piston shaft, and a braking member. In this dispenser, the housing has a cartridge mounting part at a front end, which is for mounting the cartridge storing the dental viscous material. The guide shaft is supported slidably in frontward and rearward directions in a cavity of the housing, and has a lever engaging part at a predetermined position. The lever is mounted freely on the housing by the lever shaft, where one end is engaged with the lever engaging part of the guide shaft and another end is positioned at the outside of the housing. The elastic member is provided for engaging the housing and the guide shaft with the lever in order to return the guide shaft to the initial position. The slide block has a space opening at the lower side therein and has an external shape in a box shape matching to the shape of the cavity of the housing. A through hole for inserting the guide shaft in the frontward and rearward directions is provided at the slide block. An adjusting screw is screwed at a position being lower than a penetration hole for the guide shaft at a front sidewall. The pressing spring is for forwardly pressing a release plate and provided between a rear side wall member of the slide block and the release plate. The release plate has a hole formed having a little larger size than the thickness of the guide shaft and matching the shape of guide shaft. The release plate is mountable in a state inclining to an axis of the guide shaft by adjusting a backwardly extending length of the adjusting screw. The guide shaft is inserted into the hole. The piston shaft is fixed to the slide block and has an axis which is parallel to the axis of the guide shaft for pressing the viscous material in the cartridge from the rear side. The braking member is provided in the housing, and constantly presses the piston shaft by the elastic force.
By using such the viscous material storing cartridge or the dispenser for the dental viscous material, when the needed amounts of respective viscous materials of the dental viscous materials are measured or the viscous materials are mixed and kneaded, the problems of the troublesome or taking much time are solved. Further, the problems that the skill is necessary and the large force at the time of mixing and kneading is needed since the viscous material has the high viscosity are solved. However, as for such the dispenser for the dental viscous material, the following problems remain unsolved. After discharging the desired amount of the viscous material, the dispenser for the dental viscous material is often put on a work table or kept in a refrigerator or a rack in the states that the viscous material storing cartridge having the residual viscous material is mounted on the cartridge mounting part and a top end of the piston shaft is contacted with the viscous material pushing out member of the viscous material storing cartridge. In such a state, the lever for forwardly transferring the guide shaft is pushed upwardly from the housing by the elastic member. Then, the lever is accidentally pressed downwardly, such as that an object drops down from the upper side, a hand touches the lever during the dental treatment, or the lever is contacted with the rack or object when being kept in the refrigerator or the rack. Then, the trouble that the viscous material stored in the viscous material storing cartridge is discharged against will is caused.
Further, as for the slide block in which the piston shaft is fixed to press the viscous material pushing out member in the viscous material storing cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting part, when an operation for pressing the lever is repeated, the slide block is gradually slid in the front direction in the cavity of the housing. In this case, by visually confirming the position of the slide block in the housing from the opening part at the lower part of the housing, a residual amount of the viscous material stored in the viscous material storing cartridge and an estimated amount of the viscous material discharged from the viscous material storing cartridge can be understood, so that it is convenient. However, when the lever is pressed, the opening part, from which the position of the slide block in the housing can be visually confirmed, is positioned at the lower side of the housing, so that, when pressing the lever actually, the opening part is hidden in a palm. Thus, in order to confirm the position of the slide block in the housing, an operator pressing the lever must once stop the work specially to reverse the housing by 180 degrees. Therefore, there is a problem that such operator pressing the lever cannot carry out the work in actuality while confirming the residual amount or the discharged amount of the viscous material.
Furthermore, when the viscous material storing cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting part is removed after discharging the desired amount of the viscous material, the release plate is pressed against the pressing spring provided between the rear side wall member and the release plate, and the slide block is backwardly pressed while keeping the release plate perpendicular the axis of to the guide shaft, to thereby slide the piston shaft to the initial position, where the release plate is mountable in the inclining state with respect to the axis of the guide shaft. Then, the viscous material storing cartridge is removed from the cartridge mounting part. However, since the release plate and the slide block are positioned at the lower part of the housing, the housing must be reversed by 180 degrees when carrying out such the operation. Thus, there is a problem for actually operating it.


An ingot of Fe-Ni series alloy comprising 30-80 wt % of NI or further 0.001-0.03 wt % and B and the balance of Fe is upset at a forging ratio of at least 1/1.2U, hot forged at a total sectional reduction ratio of at least 30% to form a slab, from which fine crystal grains are formed at final heat treating stage, whereby Fe-Ni series alloys for electronic and electromagnetic materials are economically produced without generating streaks at the etching.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of producing Fe-Ni series alloys having an improved effect of restraining streaks during the etching, and more particularly to a method of producing Fe-Ni series alloys suitable as a material for use in an electronic equipment such as a shadow mask for color television cathode tube, an electron-ray indicator tube or the like.
2. Related Art Statement
Iron-nickel series alloys (hereinafter abbreviated as Fe-Ni alloy) used as a material for a shadow mask of a color television cathode tube are pointed out to have a drawback that white stringer pattern or so-called streak is caused in the production of the shadow mask through photoetching.
As a technique for restraining the occurrence of streak during the etching, there have hitherto been proposed the following methods. For example, Japanese Patent laid open No. 60-128,253 discloses a method of restraining the occurrence of streak, wherein an ingot is heated above 850.degree. C. and forged at a total sectional reduction ratio of not less than 40% per one heat to mitigate a segregation portion of nickel.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-223,188 discloses a method of restraining the occurrence of streak, wherein the segregation ratio of nickel and the segregation zone thereof are controlled through the prevention of segregation in the production of ingots or by subjecting to a diffusion treatment of nickel through a heat treatment in the production step of bars.
However, the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent laid open No. 60-128,253 is a method of conducting the forging at the total sectional reduction ratio of more than 40%, but the segregation of various elements can not substantially be restrained since such a forging is under a usually used loading. As a result, it is insufficient to prevent the occurrence of streaks during the etching.
On the other hand, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-223,188 is a method of mitigating the component segregation through the diffusion of Ni based on high-temperature heat treatment. However, since the sheet thickness is thin as compared with the case of heating at the slab stage, the oxidation loss becomes relatively large and the yield considerably and undesirably lowers.
In the above conventional techniques, there is the following problem. That is, in shadow masks for various displays requiring a higher precision as compared with general-purpose television displays, the size of hole to be pierced is smaller by about 1/2 than and also the number of holes is larger by 2 or more than those in the usual case. Therefore, if it is intended to manaufacture such a high precision shadow mask, the quality of the starting material itself depends upon the uniformity of the hole during the etching. However, the conventional techniques can not completely restrain the occurrence of streaks during the etching because the improvement of the material quality is not proceeded at the present.

Method of producing Fe-Ni series alloys having improved effect for restraining streaks during etching


A tape-shaped magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; and a magnetic layer that is provided on the substrate and contains a magnetic powder. An average thickness of the magnetic layer is not more than 90 nm, an average aspect ratio of the magnetic powder is not less than 1.0 and not more than 3.0, the coercive force Hc1 in a vertical direction is not more than 3000 Oe, the coercive force Hc1 in the vertical direction and a coercive force Hc2 in a longitudinal direction satisfy a relationship of Hc2/Hc1≤0.8, and a value of σ1.5−σ0.5 is not more than 0.6 N in a tensile test of the magnetic recording medium in the longitudinal direction, where σ0.5 is a load at an elongation rate of 0.5% in the magnetic recording medium and σ1.5 is a load at an elongation rate of 1.5% in the magnetic recording medium.

In recent years, as a medium for data storage, a tape-shaped magnetic recording medium has attracted attention. In this magnetic recording medium, various types of improvement in characteristics have been studied. Examples of the improvement in characteristics include improvement in electromagnetic conversion characteristics.
In Patent Literatures 1 to 3, technologies for increasing dispersibility of a barium ferrite magnetic powder to improve the electromagnetic conversion characteristics have been proposed.


A shape memory polymer which is a reaction product of styrene, a vinyl compound, a multifunctional crosslinking agent and an initiator. The shape memory polymer has particular application as a contact lens mold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a shape memory polymer which comprises a reaction product of styrene, a vinyl compound, a multifunctional crosslinking agent and an initiator. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a shape memory polymer thermosetting resin having compatibility with polymers employed as contact lens and thus having particular utility as contact lens molds in the fabrication of contact lens.
2. Background of the Prior Art
In recent years contact lens usage has grown tremendously. This has occasioned a corresponding escalation in development of contact lens manufacturing capacity. This development in manufacturing capacity has been accompanied by manufacturing developments which have resulted in many manufacturing improvements, including improvements in the critical step of forming the actual contact lens.
The current method of forming a contact lens is by molding in which outer male and female metal inserts, fabricated by such methods as diamond point turning to ensure a very smooth surface, accommodate male and female plastic molds. The contact lens is actually molded between plastic male and female mold members. It is this aspect of contact lens production that is the subject of the present invention.
Although the use of plastic mold members eliminates many contact lens quality problems, this solution is presently accomplished at high manufacturing cost. Specifically, the contact lens demolding step involves the insertion of pry fingers between male and female mold members. When the pry fingers are forced apart, the mold members separate. This technique, however, sometimes causes edge tears or chips to form on the contact lens mold members resulting in the subsequent production of unacceptable contact lens.
Yet another inadequacy of present contact lens molds is the elevated thermodynamic conditions under which they are fabricated. Current contact lens mold fabrication is accomplished by injection molding, conducted at high temperature and pressure. A reduction in contact lens mold forming temperature and pressure would reduce manufacturing cost and, at the same time, produce better quality contact lens.
In addition to the aforementioned production problems associated with the manufacture of any specific contact lens design, it must be appreciated that current manufacturing costs associated with the xe2x80x9cmade-to-orderxe2x80x9d nature of contact lens manufacture are quite high. A large number of injection molding inserts, one type of insert for each type of eye correction: power, cylinder and axis, must be provided. In addition, further custom contact lens manufacturing operations, including adapting the lens to corneal topography or correction of wavefront aberration, require additional inserts.
This need to fabricate a very great number of metal inserts is a costly and time consuming process. Additionally, considerable time and cost are expended in changing metal inserts during production runs. Thus, it is apparent that a pressing need exists in the art for improvement in contact lens molding techniques.
The modification of tool shapes used to form contact lens is appreciated in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,204 discloses a heated die that can change its shape to make thermoplastic contact lens. Of course, this development does not address the particular problems addressed above. Not only is die fabrication far removed from mold fabrication but, moreover, the adjustable shaped die of the ""204 patent is not employable in the manufacture of thermosetting contact lens.
Shape memory polymers (SMPs) were developed about 20 years ago and have been the subject of commercial development in the last 10 years. SMPs derive their name from their inherent ability to return to their original xe2x80x9cmemorizedxe2x80x9d shape after undergoing a shape deformation. SMPs that have been performed can be deformed to any desired shape below or above its glass transition temperature (Tg). If it is below the Tg, this process is called cold deformation. When deformation of a plastic occurs above its Tg, the process is denoted as warm deformation. In either case the SMP must remain below, or be quenched to below, the Tg while maintained in the desired thermoformed shape to xe2x80x9clockxe2x80x9d in the deformation. Once the deformation is locked in, the polymer network cannot return to a relaxed state due to thermal barriers. The SMP will hold its deformed shape indefinitely until it is heated above its Tg, whereat the SMP stored mechanical strain is released and the SMP returns to its performed state.
Several polymer types exhibit shape memory properties. Probably the best known and best researched polymer type exhibiting shape memory polymer properties is polyurethane polymers. Gordon, Proc of First Intl. Conf. Shape Memory and Superelastic Tech., 115-120 (1994) and Tobushi et al., Proc of First Intl. Conf. Shape Memory and Superelastic Tech., 109-114 (1994) exemplify studies directed to properties and application of shape memory polyurethanes. Another polymeric system based on crosslinking polyethylene homopolymer was reported by S. Ota, Radiat. Phys. Chem. 18, 81 (1981). A styrene-butadiene thermoplastic copolymer system was also described by Japan Kokai, JP 63-179955 to exhibit shape memory properties. Polyisoprene was also claimed to exhibit shape memory properties in Japan Kokai JP 62-192440. Another known polymeric system, disclosed by Kagami et al., Macromol. Rapid Communication, 17, 539-543 (1996), is the class of copolymers of stearyl acrylate and acrylic acid or methyl acrylate. Other SMP polymers known in the art includes articles formed of norbornene or dimethaneoctahydronapthalene homopolymers or copolymers, set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,094.
A new use of shape memory polymers has recently been identified. This use us as the material of construction of contact lens molds employed in the fabrication of contact lenses. Copending application, U.S. Ser. No. 10/056,773, filed concurrently with the present application, incorporated herein by reference, describes this new utility. Additionally, shape memory polymers can be employed in an agile mold as the molding surface of the agile mold as described in Ser. No. 10/056,773, and in U.S. Ser. No. 09/649,635 incorporated herein by reference.
Suffice it to say, shape memory polymers of the prior art, were not designed to accommodate the special requirements associated with the efficient operation of a contact lens mold. Therefore, this new application of shape memory polymers portends a significant need in the art for a new shape memory polymer useful in this application.
A new shape memory polymer has now been developed finding particular application in the manufacture of contact lens. Specifically, the shape memory polymer of the instant invention is particularly compatible with the polymers of which the contact lens are made.
In accordance with the present invention a new class of shape memory polymers, useful in the manufacture of contact lens molds, is provided. This new SMP is prepared from a reaction product of styrene, a vinyl compound other than styrene, a multifunctional crosslinking agent and an initiator.
The present invention uniquely employs shape memory polymers as the material of construction of mold members in the manufacture of contact lens. Shape memory polymers having the properties discussed earlier may be utilized in the formation of contact lens mold members. Thus, shape memory polymers, which include norbornene homopolymers and copolymers of norbornene and alkylated, cyano, alkoxylated, mono- or diesterified imides or carboxylic acid derivatives may be employed. In addition, the copolymer may include, as a comonomer, dimethaneoctahydronapthalene (DMON). Alternatively, homopolymers of DMON, and well as copolymers of DMON and styrene, acenapthalene or dicyclopentadiene, which may be hydrogenated or halogenated, may be employed.
Although these known shape memory polymers are within the contemplation of the present invention, it is preferred that the shape memory polymer, employed in the formation of the contact lens of the present invention, be a new SMP, a copolymer of styrene and a vinyl compound other than styrene.
This new copolymer is prepared from a reaction mixture which includes, in addition to styrene and the vinyl compound, a crosslinking agent and an initiator. Indeed, by careful preparation of the reaction mixture the glass transition temperature, Tg of the resulting shape memory polymer can be synthesized to match the operating temperature of the contact lens manufacturing process.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reaction mixture includes, in addition to the first monomer, which is styrene, the second monomer, which is a vinyl compound other than styrene, the crosslinking agent, which is a multifunctional compound, and an initiator, a fifth component, a modifying polymer.
The second monomer, a vinyl compound other than styrene, is preferably vinyl neodecanoate, vinyl benzoate, vinyl propionate, vinyl stearate, a methylstyrene, which may be a mixture, 3-methylstyrene or 4-methylstyrene, a vinyl pyridine, which may be a mixture, 2-vinyl pyridine, 3-vinyl pyridine or 4-vinyl pyridine, vinyl laurate, vinyl butyrate, vinyl acetate, vinyl stearate, vinyl 2-furate, vinyl phenylacetate, vinyl carbazole, 4-vinylbenzyl acetate, 4-vinylbenzoic acid, vinyl methyl sulfone, vinyl octadecyl ether, vinyl isooctyl ether, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-vinyl-N-methylacetamide, 1-vinylimidazole, N-vinylformamide, N-vinylcaprolactam, vinyl azolactone, N-vinylurea, 4-(vinyloxy)butyl stearate, 4-(vinyloxy)butyl benzoate, 4-(vinyloxymethyl)cyclohexylmethyl benzoate, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate, hexyl acrylate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, 2-n-butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-cyanoethyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, decyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyloxyethyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyloxyethyl methacrylate, dodecyl acrylate, dodecyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, isobornyl acrylate, isobornyl methacrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxyl)-ethyl methacrylate, 2-methoxyethyl acrylate, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-methoxypropyl acrylate, 2-methoxypropyl methacrylate, octyl methacrylate, 2-phenoxyethyl acrylate, 2-phenoxyethyl methacrylate, phenyl acrylate, 2-phenylethyl acrylate, 2-phenylethyl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, propyl acrylate, propyl methacrylate, stearyl acrylate, stearyl methacrylate, 2,4,6-tribromophenyl acrylate, undecyl acrylate or undecyl methacrylate.
Of the vinyl compounds preferred for use in the reaction mixture of the shape memory polymer of the present invention, vinyl neodecanoate, vinyl benzoate, vinyl propionate, vinyl stearate, a methylstyrene, 4-(vinyloxy)butyl stearate or a vinyl pyridine are particularly preferred.
The crosslinking agent of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture is multifunctional, that is, the crosslinking agent is a compound has a polymerizable functionality of at least 2. Indeed, difunctional crosslinking agents are preferred. Crosslinking agents within the scope of the present invention include diallyl fumarate, diallyl diglycol carbonate, allyl methacrylate, diallyl phthalate, diallyl suberate, diallyl tetrabromophthalate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol divinyl ether, N,Nxe2x80x2-dimethacryloylpiperazine, 2,2-dimethylpropanediol dimethacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, dipropylene glycol dimethacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetraacrylate, divinyl glycol, divinyl sebacate, glycerol trimethacrylate, 1,5-haxadiene, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate, N,Nxe2x80x2-methylenebismethacrylamide, 1,9-nonanediol dimethacryalte, pentaerythritol tetraacylate, pentaerythrtol triacrylate, pentaerythritol triallyl ether, 1,5-pentanediol dimethacrylate, poly(propylene glycol) dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol divinyl ether, 1,1,1-trimethylolethane trimethacrylate, 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane diallyl ether, 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane triacrylate, 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate, 1,2,4-trivinylcyclohexane, divinyl benzene, bis(2-methacryloxyethyl)phosphate, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloxyphenyl)propane, 1,3-butanediol diacrylate, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate, 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate, 1,4-butanediol divinyl ether, 1,4-cyclohexanediol dimethacrylate, bis[4-(vinyloxy)butyl]isophthalate, bis[4-(vinyloxymethyl)cyclohexylmethyl]glutarate, bis[-(vinyloxy)butyl]succinate, bis((4-((-vinyloxy)methyl)cyclohexyl)methyl)isophthalate, bis(4-(vinyloxy)butyl)terephthalate, bis[[(4-[vinyloxy)methyl)cyclohexyl]methyl]terephthalate, bis[4-vinyloxy)butyl]adipate, bis[4-(vinyloxy)butyl](methylenedi-1,4-phenylene)biscarbamate, bis[4-(vinyloxy)butyl](4-methyl-1,3-phenylene)biscarbamate, bis[4-(vinyloxy)butyl]1,6-hexanediylbiscarbamate or tris[4-(vinyloxy)butyl]trimellitate.
Of these preferred crosslinking agents, divinyl benzene, bis[4-(vinyloxy)butyl]terephthalate and bis[[4-[(vinyloxy)methyl]cyclohexyl]methyl terephthalate are particularly preferred. Of these, divinyl benzene is even more particularly preferred as the crosslinking agent.
The initiator of the reaction mixture may be a free radical or an ionic initiator. Free radical initiators within the scope of the present invention include organic peroxides and azo compounds. Although any of the commercially available organic peroxides may be utilized, tert-butyl peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide and lauroyl peroxide are particularly preferred. Similarly, although any commercially available azo initiating compounds may be utilized, 2,2xe2x80x2-azobisisobutyronitrile is particularly preferred. The ionic initiators are preferably cationic initiators. Preferred cationic initiators include boron trifluoride, boron trifluoride diethyl etherate, aluminum trichloride and tin (IV) chloride.
As stated above, the SMP reaction mixture may include a fifth, optional component. This fifth component of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture is optional. That optional component is a modifying polymer. The modifying polymer acts as a viscosity adjustor and, additionally provides the requisite toughness to the resultant shape memory polymer. The requisite toughness of the cured shape memory polymer product is a toughness that meets the quantative requirements set forth in ASTM Standard Test Procedures D5045 and D6068.
The modifying polymer of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture is a thermoplastic polymer that is compatible with the polymer formed by the reaction product of styrene and a vinyl compound. Preferred compatible polymers include olefin polymers and styrene polymers. Particularly preferred compatible polymers include polystyrene, poly(styrene-co-butadiene), polyethylene and polypropylene. Of these, polystyrene is particularly preferred as the modifying polymer in the shape memory polymer reaction mixture.
The constituents of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture are present such that the styrene monomer constituent represents between about 30% to about 95%, the vinyl monomer constitutes between about 5% and about 60%, the crosslinking agent constitutes between about 0.5% and about 5%, the initiator is present in a concentration in the range of between about 0.1% and about 4% and the modifying polymer, if present, represents between about 0.5% and about 60%, all of the above recited percentages being by weight based on the total weight of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture.
Preferably, the constituents of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture are present in the following concentration ranges, again reported as percentage by weight, based on the total weight of the reaction mixture: styrene monomer, about 40% to about 85%; vinyl monomer, about 5% to about 20%; crosslinking agent, about 0.6% to about 3%; initiator, about 0.5% to about 3%; and modifying polymer, if present about 5% to about 50%.
More preferably, the constituents of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture include between about 50% and about 80% styrene monomer; between about 5% and about 14% vinyl monomer; between about 1% and about 2.5% initiator; and, if present, between about 10% and about 40% modifying polymer. As previously, these percentages are by weight, based on the total weight of the shape memory polymer reaction mixture.
The shape memory polymer reaction mixture is polymerized by reacting the mixture at a temperature in the range of between about 20xc2x0 C. and about 150xc2x0 C. and a pressure in the range of between about 14.7 psi and about 50 psi over a time period in the range of between about 2 seconds and 4 days to produce a crosslinked shape memory polymer
In a preferred embodiment, the polymerization reaction, to produce thermosetting shape memory polymer of the present invention, occurs at a temperature in the range of between about 50xc2x0 C. and about 110xc2x0 C. and a pressure in the range of between about 14.7 psi and about 25 psi over a period of between about 1 minute and 3 days.
More preferably, the polymerization reaction conditions which the thermosetting shape memory polymer is formed from the shape memory polymer reaction mixture is a temperature in the range of between about 65xc2x0 C. and about 75xc2x0 C., a pressure in the range of about 14.7 psi over a range of between about 4 hours and about 1.25 days.
The shape memory phenomenon in the vicinity of Tg and the ability to set the value of Tg by varying the composition over a very broad range of temperatures allows contemplation of numerous applications in varied uses when thermoreversibility of a geometric shape is the desired aim. The following uses for the shape memory polymer of this invention are cited for guidance and in a non-restrictive manner:
molds for ophthalmic lens manufacturing, e.g. contact, spectacle or interocular lens manufacturing; a deformable surface of an agile mold, e.g. for the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses; molds for composite manufacturing; structural deployment devices for remote systems; games and toys; domestic articles; arts and ornamentation units; medical and paramedical instruments and devices; thermosensitive instruments and security devices; office equipment; garden equipment; educative articles; tricks, jokes and novelty items; building accessories; hygiene accessories; automotive accessories; films and sheets for retractable housings and packaging; coupling material for pipes of different diameters; building games accessories; folding games; scale model accessories; bath toys; boots and shoes inserts; skiing accessories; suction-devices for vacuum cleaners; pastry-making accessories; camping articles; adaptable coat hangers; retractable films and nets; sensitive window blinds; isolation and blocking joints; fuses; alarm devices; sculpture accessories; adaptable hairdressing accessories; plates for braille that can be erased; medical prosthesis; orthopedic devices; furniture; deformable rulers; and recoverable printing matrix.
The following examples are provided to illustrate the scope of the present invention. Because these examples are given for illustrative purposes only, the invention should not be deemed limited thereto.


A lighting system includes a first luminaire. The first luminaire includes a first light source that generates a first light output. The first luminaire also includes a first visual feedback response source that generates a first visual feedback response output. Additionally, the first luminaire includes a first speaker that generates a first audio output. Further, the lighting system includes a second luminaire. The second luminaire includes a second light source that generates a second light output and a second visual feedback response source that generates a second visual feedback response output. Furthermore, the second luminaire includes a second speaker that generates a second audio output. The second audio output is different from the first audio output such that the first speaker and the second speaker output different audio components of a multichannel audio protocol output.

Connected lighting can include lamps, luminaires, and controls that communicate through technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or any other communication protocols to provide an increased level of control of the lamps, luminaires, and controls. The connected lighting may be controlled with smartphone applications, web portals, voice-activated devices, other control mechanisms, or any combination thereof.
In some examples, it may be desirable to enhance user interactions with the connected lighting to provide an enhanced user experience. A connected lighting device (e.g., a wireless communication enabled lighting element) that includes light sources and a speaker may typically provide standard lighting and sound output. Operations of the connected lighting device may lack further audio and lighting control capabilities that enable integration and coordination of audio and visual effects from the connected lighting device.

Luminaire system with integrated, dynamic audio visual control


A roller bearing comprises at least two rows of rollers disposed between an inner ring and an outer ring. At least two tracks guide the respective rows of roller and are defined in the axial direction of the inner ring or the outer ring. At least one flange abuts axial ends of axially-adjacent rows of rollers and extends radially from a radially outer side or a radially inner side of the inner ring or the outer ring. At least one recess is defined on the side of the inner ring or the outer ring that is opposite of the radially outer side or the radially inner side of the inner ring or the outer ring, from which the at least one flange radially extends. The at least one recess at least partially overlaps the at least one flange in the axial direction.

Bearing assemblies are known that comprise an at least two-rowed roller bearing having at least one outer ring, at least one inner ring and at least two rows of roller bodies disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. At least one of the bearing rings may define at least two adjacently-disposed tracks for the two rows of roller bodies. A radially-extending flange configured to abut the axial ends of the axially-adjacent roller bodies may disposed between each two tracks.
Two or more parallel rows of roller bodies are provided in order to be able to support large bearing forces. For example, a four-rowed cylindrical roller bearing can support large radial forces and can be utilized to rotatably support a rotor of a wind turbine. Such bearings can also be utilized, e.g., to rotatably support a gear wheel of a transmission, such that large radial loads on a shaft for the gear wheel can be supported. In such an embodiment, helical-cut spur gears are, in most cases, utilized in the transmission and are required in planetary gear transmissions. Therefore, in addition to the radial loads, axial loads must also be supported when such bearing designs are utilized. By providing the radial-extending flange(s) on the bearing rings, the axial ends of the roller bodies (e.g., cylindrical rollers) can axially abut on the flange(s) of the bearing ring so as to also support axial loads.


In response to receiving an input of a user criteria for operating a system, one or more predictive models are selected in dependence on the user criteria. The predictive models predict behavior of the system and are stored in the memory with one or more system performance models that control operation of the system. The selected performance model(s) is implemented to select a subset of sensors that monitor physical conditions of the system and/or environmental parameters thereof, and is also used to select one or more of the system performance models that conform to the user criteria. One or more actuators associated with the system are controlled according to inputs received from the selected subset of sensors and the selected performance model(s). The same concepts are valid for other areas rather than maintenance, like optimization in the area of the internet of things, dynamic system reconfiguration, preventive healthcare.

In general the initial configuration of industrial and other types of systems assumes the system is new, but as conditions change that early configuration may no longer be optimal. Equipment performance can have severe impacts when operation of the equipment is not associated with prescribed goals. For example, in a production line a certain machine can be targeted to perform different behaviors over time, such as targeting autonomy, energy consumption, or minimize maintenance. There is a need to optimize the use of equipment according to the operator's changing needs, as well as to configure user presets or initial setup to target the desired optimization choice.
For example, predictive maintenance is one area in which equipment is frequently monitored in key variables produced by specific sensors that can sense power consumption, vibration, temperature, humidity, and the like. Prior art FIG. 1A illustrates this concept for evaluating a single bearing for lubrication; in an early phase the bearing is new but as it continues in use over time different sensors can evaluate different aspects of the bearing's performance that may indicate a lubrication issue. Some sensors may look at the bearing itself while others look at upstream components such as the oil supply line at prior art FIG. 1B. Eventually with no corrective action the bearing fails, which the final sensor P6 senses as excessive heat. By executing an analysis over these combined monitored data, it is possible to predict which kind of defect the machine would present. In this case, there is an opportunity to dynamically change the machine's behavior in order to minimize such possible failures or to meet another goals in real-time, for example by managing an electronic equipment controller to slow down the speed at which the equipment is operating, thus extending the period necessary to execute the maintenance.
Some relevant teachings in this regard can be seen at the following patent document references.                US 20140047107 A1—Remote industrial monitoring and analytics using a cloud infrastructure;        US 20140047064 A1—Remote industrial monitoring using a cloud infrastructure;        WO 2010120442 A2—Cloud computing as a basis for equipment health monitoring service;        WO 2011106914 A1—Device monitoring system and method based on cloud computing;        US 20130212214 A1—Cloud gateway for industrial automation information and control systems; and        EP 2414956 A2—Cloud computing for an industrial automation and manufacturing system
Further relevant teachings in this regard can be seen at the following non-patent documents.                A review on machinery diagnostics and prognostics implementing condition-based maintenance [Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 20; Andres K. S. Jardine, Daming Lin, & Dragan Banjevic; Elsevior; 2006; pp. 1483-1510];        Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks: Challenges, Design Principles, and Technical Approaches [Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks: Challenges, Design Principles, and Technical Approaches; Gungor, V. C. and Hancke, G. P.; Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on (Volume: 56, Issue: 10); 27 Feb. 2009, pp 4258-4265];        Wireless Sensor Networks for Industrial Environments, by Kay Soon Low, W. N. N. Win, and Meng Joo Er; [Computational Intelligence for Modeling, Control and Automation, 2005 and International Conference on Intelligent Agents, Web Technologies and Internet Commerce, International Conference on (Volume: 2); 28-30 Nov. 2006, Vienna, Austria; pp 271-276];        Wireless sensor networks for industrial applications, by Xingfa Shen, Zhi Wang and Youxian Sun; [Intelligent Control and Automation, 2004. WCICA 2004. Fifth World Congress on (Volume: 4); 15-19 Jun. 2004; pp 3636-3640];        Wireless sensor network for industrial automation, by M. Yamaji, Y. Ishi, T. Shimamura and S. Yamamota; [Networked Sensing Systems, 2008. INSS 2008. 5th International Conference on; 17-19 Jun. 2008, p 253];        Industrial Control using Wireless Sensor Networks, by K. Khakpour and M. H. Shenassa; [Information and Communication Technologies: From Theory to Applications, 2008. ICTTA 2008. 3rd International Conference on; 7-11 Apr. 2008, Damascus, Syria]; and        Prognostics and health management design for rotary machinery systems—Reviews, methodology and applications [Mechanical Designs and Signal Processing 42; Jay Lee, Fangji Wu, Wenyu Zhao, Masoud Ghaffri, Linxia Liao & David Siegel; Elsevior; 2014; pp. 313-334].

Dynamic and reconfigurable system management

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved winding wheel includes an anchor dock housing a pulley and a movable base located on a lower side of the anchor dock having two biased holes. The pulley has a slant slot matching the biased holes to allow two ends of a cord to pass through in a separated manner towards two sides so that the cord may be wound on the pulley neatly without entangling. A movable anchor lug is provided on an upper side of the anchor dock. The movable anchor lug and the movable base may be lifted and extended to form an upper and a lower open space for the pulley such that the cord may be wound rapidly without obstruction.

The present invention relates to an improved winding wheel and particularly to a winding wheel adopted for use on window coverings such as curtains, draperies, shades and the likes.
Window coverings such as curtains, draperies, shades and the likes usually are equipped with a winding wheel for controlling a cord to open or close the window coverings. The winding wheel generally is installed on a front end, a rear end or a middle section of the curtain track, and is constructed in many different ways. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional winding wheel for mounting to a front end or a rear end of a curtain track. The winding wheel has a closed bottom end. As it does not have openings to allow a cord to pass through, a mounting seat must be installed on the track to hold the winding wheel. The mounting seat has a bottom section with openings formed thereon to allow cords to pass through. The side plate of the winding wheel also has a notch for the cord to anchor and pass through. Such a design and construction is untidy and takes a lot of efforts and more costs to install.
Moreover, the axle of conventional winding wheel set forth above usually is a fixed rivet. It is prone to break loose after using for a period of time. In addition, the winding wheel has two fixed support elements on two sides. When to install the winding wheel on the track, it should be coupled with the track from one end and moved sidewards slowly. Installation is time-consuming and troublesome.
Furthermore, as conventional winding wheels have a closed structure, curtains and draperies have to be mounted on two extreme sides. Installation range and flexibility is restricted.
All this indicates that conventional winding wheels still have problems in operation and installation. There are rooms for improvement.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a winding wheel that has a pulley with a slant slot formed thereon to thread a cord towards two sides and a movable base located on a lower side with two holes formed thereon in a biased angle to keep the cord in a confined location thereby enables the cord be moved and anchored without entangling.
Another object of the invention is to provide a winding wheel that has a pulley which has one side extending to form a worm with double teeth for controlling positioning of the curtain when it is moved downwards.
A further object of the invention is to provide a movable anchor lug on an upper side of the winding wheel and a movable lid on a lower side of the winding wheel that may be lifted and extended to form an angle directing outwards to give the winding wheel open upper and lower spaces to wind the cord without obstruction.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a movable anchor lug which is anchored on two ends to couple with a movable base which is latched securely on a lower side such that a three-point anchoring is formed to enhance fastening of the winding wheel.
Still another object of the invention is to form an opening on the anchor dock of the winding wheel for threading the cord such that installation locations and scope of the winding wheel may be chosen easily without restrictions to match other control accessories of the curtain, and also to facilitate fast installation.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a movable base and a hidden axle to obtain tidy appearance and secured installation without breaking off.
Moreover, the axle hole of the invention has a pointing ridge to match the axle so that the axle and the worm may be aligned accurately to keep the pulley on a horizontal level, and to allow the cord be pulled evenly with less efforts.


A chip card (1) comprises a chip card controller (3), access to at least one power source (7, 8, 10), a display (6), and a display driver (5) operatively coupled to the chip card controller (3), to the display (6), and to the at least one power source (7, 8, 10). The display driver (5) is configured to drive the display (6) and the display driver (5) comprises, as an integral part, a power management functionality (11) configured to manage power that comes from the at least one power source (7, 8, 10) for at least the display driver (5).

In this context, a chip card is any pocket-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit that comprises hardware logic, a memory or a microcontroller/microprocessor which can process information. Chip cards can be categorized in accordance with different criteria. Particularly, chip cards can be categorized as memory-chip cards that comprise a relatively simple logic and as processor-chip cards that comprise, for instance, an operation system. Particularly processor-chip cards can receive an input signal which is processed, by way of an integrated circuit application, and deliver an output signal. Generally, chip cards can be contactless or contact chip cards, or can be a combination of both.
Contact chip cards may include a contact module on their fronts. This contact module may be gold plated and has a size of approximately 1 cm by 1 cm and may contain a chip at the back. The contact chip card may communicate with a reader. When inserted into the reader, electrical connectors of the reader contact the contact module for reading information from and writing information back to the chip card. Since normally the chip card does not include a battery, energy is supplied to the contact chip card by the reader. Contact chip cards are, for instance, standardized by ISO/IEC 7816 or ISO/IEC 7810.
In a contactless chip card, the integrated circuit communicates with the reader in a contactless manner, for instance through Radio-frequency identification (RFID). Contactless chip cards are, for instance, standardized by ISO/IEC 14443 or ISO 15693. Contactless chip cards are also known as transponders which may or may not include an active energy source, such as a battery. Transponders not having a battery are also known as passive transponders and transponders comprising a battery are known as active transponders.
International application for patent No. 94/20929 discloses a chip card that comprises an electronic data memory, an interface means connected to the data memory, to allow access to a reader, and a data display operable to display information indicative of the contents of the data memory.
Chip cards may be used, inter alia, as banking cards, transportation ticketing, loyalty cards, or e-passports. Because of this, a relatively high security level against fraudulent tampering of the card must be assured. Even though the data display may be meant to decrease danger of fraud and tampering of the usage of the chip card, the data display as an additional component potentially allows additional methods for fraud and tampering. Additionally, the display potentially increases power consumption.