A well completion method performed in a single trip into a well includes inserting a service tool into the well to a desired location; gravel packing the well; and circulating fluids within the wellbore through the service tool to dislodge and remove filter cake residue. A method of completing a subterranean well performed in a single trip into a wellbore includes running a service tool into the well, the service tool defining multiple, selectable flow paths; gravel packing the well; selecting a different flow path of the service tool; removing a filter cake from the wellbore by circulating a fluid through the service tool; spotting specially fluids within the wellbore at desired locations; and removing the service string from the well.

This invention relates generally to tools used to complete subterranean wells and more particularly provides an apparatus for use in gravel pack operations.
Hydrocarbon fluids such as oil and natural gas are obtained from a subterranean geologic formation, i.e., a reservoir, by drilling a well that penetrates the hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Once a wellbore has been drilled, the well must be completed before hydrocarbons can be produced from the well. A completion involves the design, selection, and installation of equipment and materials in or around the wellbore for conveying, pumping, or controlling the production or injection of fluids. After the well has been completed, production of oil and gas can begin.
Sand or silt flowing into the wellbore from unconsolidated formations can lead to an accumulation of fill within the wellbore, reduced production rates and damage to subsurface production equipment. Due to its highly abrasive nature, sand contained within production streams can result in the erosion of tubing, flowlines, valves and processing equipment. The problems caused by sand production can significantly increase operational and maintenance expenses and can lead to a total loss of the well. One means of controlling sand production is the placement of relatively large sand (i.e., xe2x80x9cgravelxe2x80x9d) around the exterior of a slotted, perforated, or other type liner or screen. The gravel prevents the fine sand from packing off around the production tubing and screen, and the screen prevents the gravel from entering the production tubing. It is important to size the gravel for proper containment of the formation sand, and the screen must be designed in a manner to prevent the flow of the gravel through the screen.
In open hole completions that are gravel packed, a drilling fluid residue is left on the formation adjacent to the borehole in the form of a filter cake. Filter cake removal treatments are conventionally done through coiled tubing after gravel packing. This necessitates the pulling of the gravel pack assembly out of the well and running in the well with coiled tubing for filter cake removal or to spot post gravel pack fluids such as breakers, acids or corrosion inhibitors. The final production/injection tubing is then run in the well after the coiled tubing is removed. The ability to perform the steps of gravel packing, filter cake removal operations and post gravel pack fluid spotting on a single trip would save significant time and expense.
The present invention comprises an apparatus for use in gravel packing operations in wellbores. Some embodiments of the invention enable the running in, washing down, gravel packing, reversing excess slurry, and the spotting of post gravel pack fluids on a single trip.
One embodiment of the invention comprises a housing having an exterior and a longitudinal bore extending therethrough, and a lateral port providing a communication path between the housing longitudinal bore and the exterior of the housing. A first sleeve is disposed within the housing longitudinal bore that has a longitudinal passageway therethrough and is capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the housing. First and second lateral passageways extend through the wall of the first sleeve. A second sleeve is disposed within the first sleeve and also has a longitudinal passageway therethrough. The second sleeve is capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the first sleeve. A first flow passage extends longitudinally through the housing and a second flow passage extends longitudinally through the housing. When the first sleeve is in the upper position, and the second sleeve is in the lower position, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the exterior of the housing, and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the first flow passage. When the first sleeve is in the lower position, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the first sleeve and the second flow passage.
The apparatus can have the first and second sleeves releasably secured in their upper positions with retaining elements. The retaining elements can be of a shear element design.
The first and second sleeves can comprise ball seating elements, wherein the ball seating element of the second sleeve has a smaller diameter than the ball seating element of the first sleeve. The apparatus can further comprise a first ball that can be sized so as to pass through the first sleeve, and to seat within the second sleeve. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the first ball is seated within the second sleeve, the first ball can form a primary seal that restricts communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve. The invention can further comprise a second ball that is sized so as to seat within the first sleeve. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second ball is seated within the first sleeve, the second ball forms a seal that restricts communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second ball and the longitudinal bore below the second ball.
The first sleeve can be in sliding contact with the housing and the second sleeve can be in sliding contact with the first sleeve.
When both the first and second sleeves are in the upper position, the second sleeve prevents communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the first lateral passageway. When the second sleeve is in the lower position, a secondary seal can be formed by contact of the second sleeve with the first sleeve that restricts communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve. This secondary seal can comprise an elastomeric sealing element, which can be an O-ring element, for example.
When the first lateral passageway is aligned with the lateral port, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the exterior of the housing, and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the first flow passage.
When the first sleeve is in the lower position, the second lateral passageway is aligned with the second flow passage and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the first sleeve and the second flow passage. This can also establish communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the first sleeve and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve through the second flow passage. When the first sleeve is in the lower position, the first sleeve restricts communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the lateral port and can also restrict communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the first flow passage.
The apparatus can be connected to a gravel pack screen element, to a packer element, and to a tubing string, each having a longitudinal bore. These tubulars can be located inside a wellbore, wherein an annular space is formed between the tubing and the wellbore. Communication can be established between the longitudinal bore of the tubing and the longitudinal bore of the gravel pack screen element.
An alternate embodiment of the present invention comprises a cylindrical housing having an exterior and a longitudinal bore and a lateral port communicating between the housing longitudinal bore and the exterior of the housing. A first sleeve is disposed within the housing longitudinal bore and in sliding contact with the housing, having a longitudinal passageway and a ball seating element. It is capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the housing and can have a first and second lateral passageways extending through the wall of the first sleeve. A second sleeve can be disposed within the longitudinal bore of the first sleeve, in sliding contact with the first sleeve and have a longitudinal passageway and a ball seating element. It can be capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the first sleeve. The embodiment can have a first flow passage extending longitudinally through the housing and a second flow passage extending longitudinally through the housing. A first ball is sized so as to pass through the first sleeve, and to seat within the second sleeve and a second ball is sized so as to seat within the first sleeve. The ball seating element of the second sleeve has a smaller diameter than the ball seating element of the first sleeve. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the upper position, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the sleeves and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the sleeves. The first lateral passageway is prevented by the second sleeve. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the lower position, the first lateral passageway is aligned with the lateral port and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the exterior of the housing through the lateral port and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the first flow passage. When the first sleeve is in the lower position, the second lateral passageway is aligned with the second flow passage and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the sleeves and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the sleeves through the second flow passage, communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the exterior of the housing through the lateral port is prevented by the first sleeve, and communication through the first flow passage is prevented by the first sleeve.
The apparatus can be located above and connected to a gravel pack screen element having a longitudinal bore and the apparatus can be located below and connected to a packer element having a longitudinal bore. The packer element can be connected to a tubing string having a longitudinal bore and the packer element inserted inside a wellbore, thereby forming an annular space between the tubing and the wellbore.
When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the lower position, the first lateral passageway is aligned with the lateral port and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the exterior of the housing through the lateral port and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the annular space above the packer element through the first flow passage.
When the first sleeve is in the lower position, the second lateral passageway is aligned with the second flow passage and communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the sleeves and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the sleeves through the second flow passage, communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the exterior of the housing through the lateral port is prevented by the first sleeve and communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the annular space above the packer through the first flow passage is prevented by the first sleeve.
The apparatus can further comprise a third lateral passageway through the first sleeve wherein when the first sleeve is in the upper position communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the sleeves and the first flow passage through the third lateral passageway. When the third lateral passageway is aligned with the first flow passage, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the sleeves and the annular space above the packer element through the first flow passage.
A further embodiment of the invention includes an apparatus comprising a cylindrical housing having an exterior and a longitudinal bore and a lateral port communicating between the housing longitudinal bore and the exterior of the housing. A first sleeve can be disposed within the housing longitudinal bore, having a cylindrical wall and a longitudinal passageway therethrough, capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the housing. First and second lateral passageways can extend through the wall of the first sleeve. A second sleeve can be disposed within the first sleeve, having a longitudinal passageway and capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the first sleeve. A third sleeve can be disposed within the first sleeve, having a longitudinal passageway therethrough and capable of being positioned in an upper position and a lower position relative to the first sleeve. A first flow passage can extend longitudinally through the housing and a second flow passage can also extend longitudinally through the housing. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the lower position, communication can be established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the exterior of the housing and communication can be established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the first flow passage. When the first sleeve is in the lower position and the third sleeve is in its lower position, communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the third sleeve and the second flow passage.
When the third sleeve is in its upper position, communication is restricted through the second lateral passageway. When the third sleeve is in its lower position, communication is possible through the second lateral passageway. The second and third sleeves can comprise ball seating elements. The ball seating element of the second sleeve can have a smaller diameter than the ball seating element of the third sleeve. The apparatus can further comprise a first ball that is sized so as to pass through the third sleeve and to seat within the second sleeve, and a second ball that is sized so as to seat within the third sleeve. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the first ball is seated within the second sleeve, the first ball forms a primary seal that restricts communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve.
The third sleeve can be in sliding contact with the first sleeve. The first and third sleeves can be releasably secured in their upper positions with at least one retaining element. When the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the upper position, the second sleeve prevents communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the first lateral passageway.
Yet another embodiment of the invention comprises a circulation tool having a housing with a longitudinal bore, a wall, and at least one lateral port through the housing wall. It can include at least two sliding sleeves, at least one flow passage within the housing wall and a plurality of circulation paths that can be created by the selective positioning of the sliding sleeves.
The circulation tool can comprise a first sleeve movable between an upper position and a lower position and a second sleeve movable between an upper position and a lower position. The second sleeve is capable of being shifted into its lower position independent of the movement of the first sleeve.
The first and second sleeve are in their upper position, fluid communication is established through the longitudinal bore of the tool and restricted through the lateral port through the housing wall, creating a standard circulation path.
When the second sleeve is in its lower position and the first sleeve is in its upper position, fluid communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the second sleeve and the lateral port through the housing wall. Fluid communication is also established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and the first flow passage, creating a gravel pack circulation path.
When the second sleeve is in its lower position, the first sleeve in its lower position, and the third sleeve is in its lower position, fluid communication is restricted between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the first sleeve and the lateral port through the housing wall. Fluid communication is established between the longitudinal bore of the housing above the first sleeve and the second flow passage. Fluid communication is also established between the longitudinal bore of the housing below the second sleeve and one of the flow passages within the housing wall, creating a modified standard circulation path.
Another aspect of the present invention consists of a method of completing a subterranean well that comprises tubing and an annulus between the wellbore and the tubing. The method comprises providing a device as described above and positioning the device within a wellbore wherein the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the upper position. The device is reconfigured so that the second sleeve is in the lower position, allowing communication between the longitudinal bore of the housing and the exterior of the housing. The device is reconfigured so that the first sleeve is in the lower position, allowing circulation through the tubing and device and up the tubing/wellbore annulus.
This method can further comprise using a first ball to reposition the second sleeve from the upper position to the lower position. A second ball can be used to reposition the first sleeve from the upper position to the lower position. The method can further comprise attaching a gravel pack screen assembly below the device and a packer element above the device prior to positioning the device within the wellbore. A gravel laden slurry can be flowed through the lateral port when the first sleeve is in the upper position and the second sleeve is in the lower position, thereby depositing the gravel in the annulus adjacent the gravel pack screen assembly. The device can be released from the gravel pack screen assembly after the gravel laden slurry is placed and the wellbore circulated through the tubing and the device after the first sleeve is in the lower position to place fluids at desired locations within the wellbore.
An alternate embodiment of the invention includes a wellbore completion method comprising providing a circulation tool as described above, positioning the tool within the wellbore, thereby creating a tool-wellbore annulus. The tool is initially configured to provide a first circulation path, the first circulation path being through the tool and the tool-wellbore annulus. The tool can then be reconfigured to provide circulation through the lateral port to provide a second circulation path. The tool can then be reconfigured to seal off the lateral port and provide a third circulation path through the tool and the tool-wellbore annulus. The tool can be reconfigured from the first circulation path to the second circulation path utilizing a first ball and from the second circulation path to the third circulation path utilizing a second ball, the balls sized to seat within the sliding sleeves. The method can further comprise attaching a gravel pack screen assembly to the tool. A gravel laden slurry can be flowed through the second circulation path, thereby depositing gravel within the wellbore outside of the gravel pack screen assembly. Fluids can then be circulated within the wellbore through the third circulation path, following the depositing of gravel outside of the gravel pack screen assembly.
An alternate embodiment of the invention is a well completion method performed in a single trip into a well. The method comprises inserting a service tool into the well to a desired location, gravel packing the well, and circulating fluids within the wellbore through the service tool to dislodge and remove filter cake residue. The gravel packing can comprise flowing a gravel laden slurry through the service tool, thereby selectively depositing gravel within the well. The service tool can define multiple, selectable flow paths through which fluids and slurries can flow. When the service tool is inserted into the well it can be in a first flow path configuration that allows circulation through the service tool. Once the service tool has been inserted to the desired location, the service tool can be reconfigured to a second flow path configuration to enable the gravel packing of the well. After the well has been gravel packed, the service tool can be reconfigured to a third flow path configuration to enable the circulation of fluids within the wellbore, through the service tool, to dislodge and remove filter cake residue. After the circulation of fluids to dislodge and remove filter cake residue, specialty fluids can be spotted at selected locations within the well.
Yet another embodiment is a method of completing a subterranean well performed in a single trip into a wellbore. This method comprises running a service tool into the well, the service tool defining multiple, selectable flow paths and the gravel packing of the well. A different flow path of the service tool is selected followed by the removing of a filter cake from the wellbore by circulating a fluid through the service tool. Specialty fluids are spotted within the wellbore at desired locations prior to the removing of the service string from the well. The gravel packing of the well can comprise flowing a gravel laden slurry through the service tool, thereby selectively depositing gravel within the wellbore. The service tool can be inserted into the well in a first flow path configuration allowing fluid circulation through the service tool. When the service tool has been inserted to the desired location, the service tool can be reconfigured to a second flow path configuration to enable the gravel packing of the well.
In still another embodiment a well completion method performed in a single trip into a well is disclosed. This method comprises inserting a service tool into the well to a desired location and gravel packing the well with a fluid that contains at least one breaker for filtercake removal. Fluids are then circulated or injected within the well through the service tool to displace the breakers away from predetermined downhole equipment. The service tool can be inserted into the well in a first flow path configuration allowing fluid circulation through the service tool. When the service tool has been inserted to the desired location, the service tool can be reconfigured to a second flow path configuration to enable the gravel packing of the well. Once the gravel packing of the well has been performed, the service tool is capable of being reconfigured to a third flow path configuration to enable the circulating of fluids through the service tool.

Circulation tool for use in gravel packing of wellbores


A retractor for use in spinal procedures is disclosed. The retractor includes a first frame member defining a first recess and a second frame member pivotally connected to the first frame member. The second frame member defines a second recess. The retractor further includes a first blade assembly operably received within the first recess and a second blade assembly operably received within the second recess. The first blade assembly includes a first blade configured to pivot relative to the first frame member and a first blade extender selectively extendable from the first blade. The second blade assembly includes a second blade configured to translate within the second recess and a second blade extender selectively extendable from the second blade.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to orthopedic surgery. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to retractors for use in orthopedic surgery.
2. Background Art
The human spinal column is a highly complex structure. It includes twenty-four (24) discrete bones, known as vertebrae, coupled sequentially to one another to house and protect critical elements of the nervous system. The spine is a flexible structure capable of a large range of motion. There are various disorders, diseases and types of injury which restrict the range of motion of the spine or interfere with important elements of the nervous system. The problems include, but are not limited to, scoliosis, kyphosis, excessive lordosis, spondylolisthesis, slipped or ruptured discs, degenerative disc disease, vertebral body fracture, and tumors. Persons suffering from any of the above conditions typically experience extreme or debilitating pain and often times diminished nerve function.
Spinal fixation apparatuses are widely employed in surgical processes for correcting spinal injuries and diseases. Recently, there has been considerable development of retractors and retractor systems that are adapted for use in less invasive procedures. Many of the recent developments are based on traditional types of surgical retractors for open procedures, predominantly table-mounted devices of various designs. These devices tend to be cumbersome and are not well adapted for use in small incisions. Standard hand-held surgical retractors are well known in the prior art and may be modified to fit the contours of these small incisions, however, these hand-held retractors require manual manipulation to maintain a desired placement, thereby occupying one hand of the physician or requiring another person to assist the physician during the procedure. Typical retractors are also positioned into the soft tissue and are levered back to hold the wound open, frequently requiring re-positioning if they dislodge, obstruct the physician's view, or interfere with access to the surgical site.
In recent years, minimally invasive surgical approaches have been applied to orthopedic surgery and more recently to spine surgery, such as instrumented fusions involving one or more vertebral bodies. Unlike minimally invasive procedures such as arthroscopic knee surgery or gallbladder surgery where the affected area is contained within a small region of the body, spinal fusion surgery typically encompasses a considerably larger region of the patient's body. In addition, arthroscopic surgery and laparoscopic surgery permit the introduction of fluid (i.e. liquid or gas) for distending tissue and creating working space for the surgeon. Surgery on the spine does not involve a capsule or space that can be so distended, instead involving multiple layers of soft tissue, bone, ligaments, and nerves. For these reasons, the idea of performing a minimally invasive procedure on the spine has only recently been approached.
By way of example, in a typical spine fusion at least two vertebral bodies are rigidly connected using screws implanted into the respective vertebral bodies with a solid metal rod spanning the distance between the screws. This procedure is not generally conducive to a minimally invasive approach. The insertion of pedicle or facet screws is relatively straightforward and can be accomplished through a minimal incision. The difficulty arises upon the introduction of a length of rod into a very small incision with extremely limited access and visibility. A single level fusion may require a thirty to forty millimeter (30-40 mm) rod to be introduced into a one centimeter (1 cm) incision and a multilevel fusion may require a rod several inches long to fit into the same sized incision.
For this reason, it is important that the minimal incision be maintained in an open and accessible condition (i.e. as wide as practicable) for introduction of the rod. Minimally invasive surgery offers significant advantages over conventional open surgery. For example, the skin incision and subsequent scar are significantly smaller. By using more than one small incision rather than one large incision, the need for extensive tissue and muscle retraction may be greatly reduced. This leads to significantly reduced post-operative pain, a shorter hospital stay, and a faster overall recovery.
Most spine implant procedures are open procedures, and while many manufacturers advertise a minimally invasive method, the procedure is typically not recommended for fusions and focuses on more common and accepted minimally invasive spine procedures such as kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty, and discectomy.
In order to be truly minimally invasive, a spine fusion procedure should have a minimum number of small incisions and not require significant tissue and/or muscle retraction. A muscle sparing approach is preferred where the muscle is bluntly dissected with a finger or other blunt instrument. Furthermore, an improved approach should encompass as many variations and applications as possible thereby allowing the surgeon to adjust the procedure to accommodate the anatomy and surgical needs of the patient as presented. For instance, spinal fusions should not be limited to just one or two levels.
Therefore, a continuing need exists for an improved device, an improved system, and an improved method for performing minimally invasive spine surgery.


A multi-element surgical drape includes a bottom sheet that is placed over a patient and a top sheet that is reversibly secured to the bottom sheet. The two sheets each have a fenestration, and the fenestrations are aligned to provide access to the surgical site. After the surgical procedure has been completed the two sheets are separated. The top sheet is contaminated ("red-bag") medical waste, while the bottom sheet can be disposed of as non-contaminated waste, recycled, or processed for reuse. The invention permits a substantial reduction in the volume of red-bag waste generated by surgery.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical drapes; more particularly, to multi-element drapes that can be separated after use into contaminated and non-contaminated elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical drapes are used to maintain a sterile field in the vicinity of a surgical site, in order to prevent infection or contamination. In the process of use, a surgical drape becomes contaminated with blood and other body fluids. The contaminated drapes must be carefully segregated, so that they do not spread pathogens into the environment. Used disposable drapes must be "red-bagged;" i.e., maintained separately from non-contaminated waste. With the increasing concern regarding the potential environmental and waste disposal problems posed by contaminated medical waste, disposing of red-bag waste in an acceptable manner is becoming increasingly expensive. There is thus an incentive to reduce the amount of contaminated waste generated by surgical procedures (See, e.g., Tieszen ME and Gruenberg JC, "A Quantitative, Qualitative, and Critical Assessment of Surgical Waste," JAMA 267, 2765 [May 27, 1992]).
A number of patents disclose inventions that relate to the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,862, issued on May 24, 1977, to R.F. Colins, discloses a drape that includes auxiliary elements. Specifically, a conventional surgical drape includes a fenestration that is large enough to perform an enlarged surgical procedure, but the fenestration is covered by one or more "frame sheets" removably secured to the upper surface of the drape around the fenestration. The frame sheet has a smaller fenestration aligned with the large fenestration in the drape. Thus a reduced surgical procedure may be performed through the fenestration of the frame sheet or, alternatively, the frame sheet can be removed in order to perform the enlarged procedure.
U.S. Pat. Nos., 4,316,455 and 4,316,456, issued on Feb. 23, 1982, to W.K. Stoneback, disclose a draping system designed to reduce the inventory that a hospital must stock. The system makes use first of a small drape that is placed in contact with the patient and that includes a fenestration for placement over the operative site. Thereafter, a large "standardized" top sheet is placed over the bottom drape. The larger top drape, which has a fenestration that is larger than that of the bottom drape but smaller than the outer periphery of the bottom drape, is positioned so that the fenestrations are aligned. The top drape is then secured to the bottom drape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,860, issued on Oct. 16, 1984, to R.F. Collins, discloses a drape comprising a main sheet that has adhered to its top surface (away from the patient) a transparent sheet, which includes pockets for holding instruments and collecting body fluids, and a reinforcement sheet. A fenestration extends through the main sheet, transparent sheet, and reinforcement sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,316, issued on Dec. 24, 1991, to R. C. Dowdy, discloses a drape for brachial angiography and an instrument pouch that may be secured removably to the drape near the surgical site.
Surgical drapes are known that include fluid-collection pouches near a fenestration for collecting fluids generated during the surgical procedure. Such drapes are available, for example, from Neuromedics, Inc., Sugar Land, Tex. and Alcon Surgical, Fort Worth, Tex. The pouches on these drapes have no provision for closing them after use to prevent leakage.
None of these patents suggest a multi-element drape that permits a separation of contaminated from non-contaminated elements after use. Nor do drapes of the prior art suggest such multi-element drapes.

Multi-element surgical drape with sealable surgical run-off pouches


A tubular structural part made of composite material such as carbon strand reinforced epoxy resin is provided with an elongated flat area along the outer surface of the tubular part to avoid cracking of the part when the part is telescopically engaged with and clamped in an outer tube part. The flat clamp side area of the inner tube part prevents contact between the facing edges of an elongate split in the outer tube part which are drawn together during clamping so that the edges of the outer tube part are prevented from coming into contact with and thus gouging the outer surface of the composite tube causing cracks and eventual structural failure of the inner tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacture of high performance bicycle components and, more specifically, to prevention or minimization of cracking of tubular components due to stresses induced therein by clamps.
2. Prior Art
High performance cycling requires a frame and other components of a bicycle to possess strength, rigidity, and light weight. As is well known, tubular bicycle frames and parts thereof, handlbars, seat posts and other structural components of bicycles and other structures may be made of metal or metal alloys such as steel, aluminum and titanium or they may be made of high strength composites such as carbon or fiberglass reinforced cured resins. In some instances metal tubes may have a composite outer layer bonded thereto. Tubular structural members that are manufactured from composite materials are particularly subject to damage due to clamping since clamping of an end of an inner tube such as a bicycle seat post, handlebar stem or handlebars into an outer tube which is compressed by a C-shaped clamp has been found to quickly destroy the structural integrity of composites through gouging, fretting and point loading. One manner of addressing this problem is through the use of a double articulated clamp such as a two hinge pin clamp for a bicycle handlebar as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/150,626 by Osborne and owned by the assignee of the present invention.

Tubular composite structural parts having clamp area configuration to prevent cracking under clamping stress


In accordance with revealed embodiments of the present invention, a source driver is provided, which is capable of providing a variety of polarity inversion patterns of source driving signals. Additionally, due to properly utilizing a multiplexing device and a switching device, hardware architecture of the inventive source driver is no more complicated than that of the conventional source driver. As a result, the present invention provides a source driver having the greater performance than the conventional source driver without increasing hardware cost and circuitry complexity.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display technique, and more particularly, to a source driver capable of providing a variety of signal polarity converting patterns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid crystal display (LCD) has characteristics such as a planar screen, a slim body, and low power consumption, so it is favored in the market and becomes a mainstream display technique. The operation principle of the LCD is mainly to apply an external electric field to two poles of a liquid crystal (LC) cell. This causes the LC cell to be rotated to different degrees, thereby controlling amount of light transmission. Finally, since different light transmission amounts may generate different grey-level effects, the image is therefore displayed by mixing different primary colors of light. However, if an electric field of a specific direction is continuously imposed upon the LC cell for a long time, it will damage the structure of the LC cell. So, in an actual implementation of driving the LC cell, alternatively switching between different polarities of the driving voltage during a certain period is utilized, which is also called polarity inversion. In order to achieve the driving effect of the polarity inversion, the circuit structure of the source driver which is utilized for generating the driving voltage is specially designed. Please refer to the following description for details of the circuit structure of the source driver with polarity inversion functionality.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a simplified function block diagram of a conventional source driver. As shown in the figure, the source driver 10 includes shift registers (SRs) 11_1-11_2, primary latching circuits (PRI_LATCHs) 12_1-12_2, secondary latching circuits (SEC_LATCHs) 13_1-13_2, level shifting circuits (LS_CKTs) 14_1-14_2, digital-to-analog converting circuits (DAC_CKTs) 15_1-15_2, output buffer circuits (OUT_BUFs) 16_1-16_2, and output circuits (OUT_CKTs) 17_1-17_2. A combination of the shift register (SR) 11_1, the primary latching circuit (PRI_LATCH) 12_1, the secondary latching circuit (SEC_LATCH) 13_1, the level shifting circuit (LS_CKT) 14_1, the digital-to-analog converting circuit (DAC_CKT) 15_1, the output buffer circuit (OUT_BUF) 16_1 and the output circuit (OUT_CKT) 17_1 forms a so-called signal channel 10A. The source driving signal which is generated via the signal channel will be transmitted to a pixel via a signal line. Similarly, a combination of other circuits forms another signal channel 10B. As to each signal channel, the digital-to-analog converting circuit (DAC_CKT) 15_1 or 15_2 may be controlled by a polarity control signal POL to change polarities of output signals of the respective signal channels. For example, if an analog voltage generated from the digital-to-analog converting circuit (DAC_CKT) by processing the digital input pixel data is 20V, the digital-to-analog converting circuit (DAC_CKT) 15_1/15_2 refers to the polarity control signal POL to output +20V or −20V to the output circuit (OUT_CKT) 17_1/17_2 for driving the pixel. However, if it is desired to support a positive voltage output as well as a negative voltage output, the circuit structure of the digital-to-analog converting circuit (DAC_CKT) 15_1/15-2 is more complicated than that of the digital-to-analog converting circuits (DAC_CKTs) which only output voltages of a single polarity. As a result, the whole circuit area of the source driver 10 is increased accordingly.
Therefore, there is an improved structure of a source driver according to the prior art. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a function block diagram of an improved source driver. As shown in the figure, the source driver 20 includes shift registers (SRs) 21_1-21_2, primary latching circuits (PRI_LATCHs) 22_1-22_2, secondary latching circuits (SEC_LATCHs) 23_1-23_2, level shifting circuits (LS_CKTs) 24_1-24_2, digital-to-analog converting circuits (DAC_CKTs) 25_1-25_2, output buffer circuits (OUT_BUFs) 26_1-26_2, and output circuits (OUT_CKTs) 27_1-27_2. Each of the digital-to-analog converting circuits (DAC_CKTs) 25_1-25_2 in the signal channels 20A and 20B may only output voltages of a single polarity (i.e., either positive voltages or negative voltages). With the assistance of the switching devices 2A and 2B, the same objective of making the source driver 20 alternately change the signal polarities of the source driving signals is achieved. However, this structure only switches signal polarities of driving signals output by adjacent signal channels 20A and 20B. Therefore, the signal polarity inversion patterns finally achieved are limited. Besides, the improved source driver 20 has poorer variety of signal polarity inversion patterns than the traditional source driver 10. It is because the source driver 10 is capable of inverting polarities of signals generated from signal channels freely; however, the source driver 20 has to control the switching of signal routes of adjacent signal channels for achieving the signal polarity inversion effect. Therefore, the source driver 20 may only output a driving signal sequence with a regular polarity pattern of "positive, negative, positive, negative, . . . " or "negative, positive, negative, positive, . . . ", and fails to provide a driving signal sequence with any further polarity pattern. Briefly summarized, the conventional source driver structure still has room for improvement.

Source driver utilizing multiplexing device and switching device


A flow of packets is communicated through a data center. The data center includes multiple racks, where each rack includes multiple network devices. A group of packets of the flow is received onto an integrated circuit located in one of the network devices. The integrated circuit includes a neural network and a flow table. The neural network analyzes the group of packets and in response determines if it is likely that the flow has a particular characteristic. The neural network outputs a neural network output value that indicates if it is likely that the flow has a particular characteristic. The neural network output value, or a value derived from it, is included in a flow entry in the flow table on the integrated circuit. Packets of the flow subsequently received onto the integrated circuit are routed or otherwise processed according to the flow entry associated with the flow.

Optical circuit switching has been incorporated into data centers employing electrical packet switches. The article "Helios: A Hybrid Electrical/Optical Switch Architecture for Modular Data Centers" by N. Farrington et al., SIGCOMM'10, Aug. 30-Sep. 3, 2010, ACM 978-1-4503-0201-2/10/08, copyright 2010, describes a hybrid electrical/optical data center switch architecture capable of effectively combining the benefits of both optical circuit switching and electrical packet switching, and delivering the same performance as a fully-provisioned packet-switched network for many workloads but at significantly less cost, less complexity (number of cables, footprint, labor), and less power consumption. The Helios hybrid electrical/optical switch architecture uses hardware flow counters to classify each flow as either a mouse flow or an elephant flow. The subset of traffic best suited to circuit switching is identified. Based on these classifications and flow measurements, the optical circuit elements of the hybrid electrical/optical system are reconfigured dynamically to prevent bottlenecks.

Loading a flow table with neural network determined information


Provided herein are amorphous and crystalline hemisulfate salt forms of the formula (I). Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the amorphous and crystalline hemisulfate salt forms, methods for their manufacture, and uses thereof for treating conditions associated with pyruvate kinase such as e.g., pyruvate kinase deficiency.

Pyruvate kinase deficiency (PKD) is a disease of the red blood cells caused by a deficiency of the pyruvate kinase R (PKR) enzyme due to recessive mutations of PKLR gene (Wijk et al. Human Mutation, 2008, 30 (3) 446-453). PKR activators can be beneficial to treat PKD, thalassemia (e.g., beta-thalessemia), abetalipoproteinemia or Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome, sickle cell disease, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, anemia (e.g., congenital anemias (e.g., enzymopathies), hemolytic anemia (e.g. hereditary and/or congenital hemolytic anemia, acquired hemolytic anemia, chronic hemolytic anemia caused by phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency, anemia of chronic diseases, non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia or hereditary spherocytosis). Treatment of PKD is supportive, including blood transfusions, splenectomy, chelation therapy to address iron overload, and/or interventions for other disease-related morbidity. Currently, however, there is no approved medicine that treats the underlying cause of PKD, and thus the etiology of life-long hemolytic anemia.
N-(4-(4-(cyclopropylmethyl)piperazine-1-carbonyl)phenyl)quinoline-8-sulfonamide, herein referred to as Compound 1, is an allosteric activator of red cell isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKR). See e.g., WO 2011/002817 and WO 2016/201227, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Compound 1 was developed to treat PKD and is currently being investigated in phase 2 clinical trials. See e.g., U.S. clinical trials identifier NCT02476916. Given its therapeutic benefits, there is a need to develop alternative forms of Compound 1 in an effort to facilitate isolation, manufacturing, and formulation development, as well as to enhance storage stability.

Crystalline forms of N-(4-(4-(cyclopropymethyl)piperazine-1-carbonyl)phenyl)quinoline-8-sulfonamide


The invention provides methods and materials for improving or maintaining hair care. Such hair care compositions can contain a macrocyclic lactone and/or an eicosanoate ester. In addition, the hair care compositions can contain a grape skin extract, a benzophenone, and/or an aryl benzotriazole. Further, the hair care methods and materials can provide increased hair manageability as well as protection against sun exposure (e.g., exposure to ultraviolet radiation) and repeated chemical treatment.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to hair care and hair care compositions. Specifically, the invention relates to hair care compositions that provide increased hair manageability as well as improved styling and conditioning abilities.
2. Background Information
Many different hair care products are used to treat hair. For example, shampoos are used to clear hair, while styling gels are used to increase hair manageability. Not all hair care product, however, result in healthy hair. For example, some hair care products can remove natural components from hair causing damage. In addition, hair treatments such as dyeing, relaxing, or permanent waving can damage hair. Hair also can be damaged or weakened by the action of mechanical, atmospheric, and/or chemical exposure. For example, radicals from ultraviolet radiation and the peroxide treatment step of dying hair can cause damages that result in weakened, dry, and brittle hair. The most apparent effect is the bleached appearance of hair after exposure to intense sunlight during the summer months. Hair also can suffer abrasion damage caused by a multitude of factors such as grooming, combing, blow-drying, and curling.
The invention involves hair care and hair care compositions. Specifically, the invention provides methods and materials for improving or maintaining hair care. The hair care compositions provided herein can contain a macrocylic lactone and/or an eicosanoate ester. In addition, the hair care compositions provided herein can contain a grape skin extract, a benzophenone, and/or an aryl benzotriazole.
The hair care compositions provided herein can (1) impart hair with suppleness, (2) improve the feel of hair, and (3) decrease hair damage. For example, the hair care compositions within the scope of the invention can reduce hair damage caused by abrasion. The hair care compositions provided herein also can provide hair having an improved conditioning feel. For example, hair treated with the compositions provided herein can have a moisturized feeling that is evident by finger or comb-passing ease as well as styling ease. In addition, the hair care compositions within the scope of the invention can provide protection against sun exposure (e.g., exposure to ultraviolet radiation) and repeated chemical treatment. Moreover, the hair care compositions provided herein can be aqueous hair care compositions with superior rheological stability and aesthetic properties.
The methods provided herein can be used to clean, condition, or style hair while providing radical scavenging protection from sun exposure and/or chemical treatment. In addition, the methods provided herein can be used to treat hair such that macrocylic lactone and/or eicosanoate ester molecules bind to hair fibers providing the hair with a lustrous, healthy, moisturized, and youthful impression that can be obtained for long periods of time.
In general, the invention features an aqueous hair care composition containing a macrocyclic lactone. The composition can be a shampoo, conditioner, styling gel, styling spray, or styling non-aerosol mousse. The macrocyclic lactone can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The macrocyclic lactone can be hexadecanolide. The composition can contain an eicosanoate ester. The eicosanoate ester can be a branched eicosanoate ester or a straight eicosanoate ester. The eicosanoate ester can be methyl 11-cis eicosenaote, 18-methyl eicosanaote, or a quaternary ester of 18-methyl eicosanaote. The eicosanoate ester can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The composition can contain a conditioning polymer. The conditioning polymer can be a cationic conditioning polymer. The conditioning polymer can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The composition can contain silicone. The silicone can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The silicone can be, by weight, from about 0.05 percent to about 2.5 percent of the composition. The viscosity of the silicone can be from about 50 cst to about 2,000,000 cst at 25xc2x0 C. The viscosity of the silicone can be from about 150 cst to about 1,000,000 cst at 25xc2x0 C. The composition can contain a surfactant. The surfactant can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The surfactant can be an anionic surfactant, cationic surfactant, or nonionic surfactant. The composition can contain a thickener. The pH of the composition can be from about 4.0 to about 8.5. The composition can contain an eicosanoate ester, a conditioning polymer, and silicone. The composition can contain (a) an eicosanoate ester, the eicosanoate ester being from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition; (b) a conditioning polymer, the conditioning polymer being from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition; and (c) silicone, the silicone being from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition.
In another embodiment, the invention features an aqueous hair care composition containing an eicosanoate ester. The composition can be a shampoo, conditioner, styling gel, styling spray, or styling non-aerosol mousse. The eicosanoate ester can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The composition can contain a macrocyclic lactone. The macrocyclic lactone can be, by weight, from about 0.001 percent to about 10.0 percent of the composition. The composition can contain a conditioning polymer, silicone, surfactant, and a thickener. It is noted that the composition can contain any of the ingredients or characteristics described herein. For example, the composition can contain a fragrance.
Another embodiment of the invention features a method of treating hair. The method includes applying a composition containing a macrocyclic lactone to the hair. It is noted that the composition can contain any of the ingredients or characteristics described herein. For example, the composition can contain a fragrance.
Another embodiment of the invention features a method of treating hair. The method includes (a) applying a composition containing a macrocyclic lactone to the hair, and (b) heating the hair to at least 75xc2x0 C. It is noted that the composition can contain any of the ingredients or characteristics described herein. For example, the composition can contain a fragrance.
Another embodiment of the invention features a method of treating hair. The method includes applying a composition containing an eicosanoate ester to the hair. It is noted that the composition can contain any of the ingredients or characteristics described herein. For example, the composition can contain a fragrance.
Another embodiment of the invention features a method of treating hair. The method includes (a) applying a composition containing an eicosanoate ester to the hair, and (b) heating the hair to at least 75xc2x0 C. It is noted that the composition can contain any of the ingredients or characteristics described herein. For example, the composition can contain a fragrance.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the claims.
The invention provides methods and materials related to hair care. Specifically, the invention provides methods and materials that are used to impart hair with suppleness, improve the feel of hair, and decrease hair damage. In addition, the invention provides methods and materials that are used to protect hair against sun exposure (e.g., exposure to ultraviolet radiation) and repeated chemical treatment. The term xe2x80x9chair care compositionxe2x80x9d as described herein refers to any product that can be used to clean or treat hair. Such hair care compositions include, without limitation, shampoos, conditioners, styling gels, styling sprays, and styling non-aerosol mousse. The term xe2x80x9chairxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to all hair including, without limitation, head hair, eyelashes, mustaches, beards, and body hair. The hair care compositions described herein can contain any of the following ingredients. For example, a hair care composition within the scope of the invention can contain a macrocylic lactone or an eicosanoate ester. In addition, the hair care compositions described herein can contain any combination of the following ingredients. For example, a hair care composition within the scope of the invention can contain a macrocylic lactone, an eicosanoate ester, a grape skin extract, a benzophenone, and a benzotriazole.
Macrocyclic Lactone
In one embodiment, the invention provides hair care compositions that contain one or more macrocyclic lactones. A macrocyclic lactone refers to any compound having the following structure:
where R1 is a hydroxyl, hydrogen, methyl, or ethyl group, and R2 is a straight or branched alkyl or alkenyl radical group having 8 to 24 carbon atoms. Examples of macrocyclic lactones include, without limitation, heptadecanolide, hexadecanolide, tetradecanolide, octadecanolide, 2-hydroxy-hexadecanolide, docosanolide, and eicosanolide. Any method can be used to obtain a macrocyclic lactone. For example, a macrocyclic lactone can be obtained using any of the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,226; Japanese Patent No. 07247279 A2; and Japanese Patent No. 52102288 A2. In addition, a macrocyclic lactone can be obtained from IFF (New York, N.Y.) and Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.).
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a macrocyclic lactone. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of macrocyclic lactone such that the hair care composition provides a sufficient level of manageability to hair. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.005 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.01 percent to about 5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a macrocyclic lactone.
Eicosanoate Ester
In another embodiment, the invention provides hair care compositions that contain one or more eicosanoate esters. The eicosanoate ester can be a straight eicosanoate ester or a branched eicosanoate ester. An eicosanoate ester refers to any compound having the following structure:
where R1 is an alkyl ester containing an alkyl group of from 1 to 5 carbons; R2 is a hydrogen, alkyl, hydroxyl, or quaternary ammonium radical group; R3 is a hydrogen or methyl group where the bond between the two CR3 groups is saturated or unsaturated; and R4 is a hydrogen, alkyl, or alkenyl group. Examples of eicosanoate esters include, without limitation, methyl eicosanoate, ethyl eicosanoate, methyl 18-methyl eicosanoate, methyl 11-cis eicosenoate, trimethylammoniumethyl eicosanoate, methyl 11-trans eicosenoate, hydroxyethyl 18-methyleicosanoate, trimethylammoniumethyl 18-methyleicosanoate, and trimethylammoniumpropyl 18-methyleicosanoate. Any method can be used to obtain an eicosanoate ester.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of an eicosanoate ester. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of eicosanoate ester such that the hair care composition provides a sufficient level of manageability to hair. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is an eicosanoate ester.
Grape Skin Extract
In another embodiment, the invention provides hair care compositions that contain one or more grape skin extracts. A grape skin extract can be an aqueous grape skin extract, a hydroalcoholic grape skin extract, or an aqueous grape skin extract powder. Any grape skin extract can be used. For example, grape skin extracts from red or white grapes can be used. Examples of grapes that can be used to make a grape skin extract include, without limitation, White Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Ruby Red, French Combard, and Cabernet-Sauvignon grapes. The hair care compositions within the scope of the invention can contain a single type of grape skin extract (e.g., Ruby Red grape skin extract) or a mixture of different grape skin extracts (e.g., White Zinfandel grape skin extract and Ruby Red grape skin extract).
A grape skin extract can be made using any extraction method. For example, a grape skin extract can be produced by extracting grape skin and seed pomace with an aqueous medium. The aqueous extract then can be adsorbed in an organic column. Once adsorbed, the extract can be desorbed with alcohol (e.g., ethanol). The collected eluent can be spray dried. Alternatively, grape skin extracts can be obtained commercially from, for example, Polyphenolics Inc. (Burlingame, Calif.) and Bio Serae Laboratories SA (Montolieu, France).
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of grape skin extract. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of grape skin extract such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Alternatively, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of grape skin extract in combination with aryl benzotriazole and benzophenone such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is grape skin extract.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain a grape skin extract that is water dispersible and/or a soluble powder derived from aqueous extraction. A grape skin extract can be standardized for total phenols based on an analysis described by Singleton el al. (Am. J. Enol. Vitic, 16, 144-158 (1965)). Typically, a grape skin extract used in a hair composition described herein has total phenolics from about 15 percent to about 100 percent (e.g., from about 20 percent to about 95 percent or from about 25 percent to about 85 percent). In addition, a grape skin extract used in a hair composition described herein contains an effective amount of anthocyanin. For example, from about 0.01 percent to about 50 percent (e.g., from about 0.05 percent to about 45 percent, or from about 0.1 percent to about 40 percent) of a grape skin extract can be anthocyanin.
Benzophenone
In another embodiment, the invention provides a hair care composition that contains one or more benzophenone. A benzophenone refers to any compound having the following structure:
where each R can independently be a hydroxy, alkyl, alkoxy, sulfonate, phosphate, or carboxylate. For example, one R can be a hydroxy group while the other R is a carboxylate group.
A hair care composition can contain a benzophenone that has compatible physicochemical properties such that the benzophenone is dispersible and/or soluble in an aqueous media. Examples include, without limitation, those benzophenones having sulfonate, multi-hydroxy, dimethoxy sulfonyl, and/or carboxylates as the R groups. For example, a hair care composition within the scope of the invention can contain benzophenone-2, benzophenone-3, benzophenone-4, and/or benzophenone-9.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a benzophenone. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a benzophenone such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Alternatively, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a benzophenone in combination with aryl benzotriazole and a grape skin extract such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a benzophenone.
Any method can be used to obtain a benzophenone. For example, a benzophenone can be obtained from ISP (Wayne, N.J.), Rhone-Poulenc (Cranbury, N.J.), or BASF (Mount Olive, N.J.).
Benzotriazole
In another embodiment, the invention provides a hair care composition that contains one or more benzotriazole. A benzotriazole refers to any compound having the following structure:
where each R can independently be a hydrogen, a straight alkyl or alkenyl radical group, a branched alkyl or alkenyl radical group, hydroxyl, sulonfate, phosphate, sulfate, alkoxy, carboxylate, or nitro group. For example, one R can be a carboxylate group while the four other R groups are hydrogens.
A hair care composition can contain a benzotriazole that is dispersible and/or soluble in an aqueous media. Examples include, without limitation, those benzotriazoles containing a water-soluble functionality as sulfonates, sulfates, or phosphates with 1 to 3 hydroxyl groups. For example, a hair care composition within the scope of the invention can contain sodium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-sec-butyl-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, sodium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-propyl-4-hydroxybenznesulfate; potassium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-sec-hexyl-4-hydroxybenzenephosphate, ammonium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-sec-butyl-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, sodium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-ethyl-4-hydroxybenznesulfonate, sodium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-sec-butyl-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, or sodium-3-(2H-benzotriazole-2-yl)-5-sec-butylbenzne-di-sulfonate.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a benzotriazole. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a benzotriazole such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Alternatively, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a benzotriazole in combination with benzophenone and a grape skin extract such that the hair care composition provides protection against ultraviolet radiation or chemical treatment. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a benzotriazole.
Any method can be used to obtain a benzotriazole. For example, a benzotriazole can be obtained from Ciba Specialty Chemicals (High Point, N.C.).
Film Forming Polymers
The hair care compositions of the invention can contain one or more film forming polymers. A film forming polymer can be used to adhere a UV protector (e.g., grape skin extract, benzophenone, or benzotriazole) to hair. In addition, film forming polymers can be used to improve substantivity and hair styling. Any type of film forming polymer can be used. For example, a film forming polymer can be made of monomers such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N-t-butyl acrylamide, vinyl acetate, vinyl pyrrolidone, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, octylacrylamide, butylaminoethyl methacrylate, vinyl neodecanoate, styrene sulfonate, hydroxyethylmethacrylate, vinyl ether and ethylene, hydroxy cellulose, chitosan, propylene and methoxyethyl methacrylate, or mixtures thereof. A film forming polymer can be a homopolymer or copolymer. Examples of film forming polymers include, without limitation, polyvinly pyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, vinyl pyrroloidone/dimethylamino propyl acrylamide copolymer, deacetylated chitosan, octylacrylamide/acrylate/butylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, vinylacetate/crotonates/vinyl neodecanoate copolymer, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, acrylate/methacrylate copolymer, hydroxyethylamethacrylate/dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate/methacrylic acid copolymer, acrylate/octylacrylamide copolymer, and octylacrylamide/acrylate/butylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer. The film forming polymer can have a glass transition temperature from about xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to about 150xc2x0 C. (e.g., from about xe2x88x9210xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C. or from about 0xc2x0 C. to about 80xc2x0 C.).
The hair care composition described herein can contain a film forming polymer that is soluble and/or dispersible in water or alcohol. Such film forming polymers can have a molecular weight from about 100 Daltons to about 2,500,000 Daltons (e.g., from about 500 Daltons to about 2,000,000 Daltons or from about 1,000 Daltons to about 1,000,000 Daltons).
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a film forming polymer. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a film forming polymer such that the hair care composition provides shape retention, substantivity, thermal protection, and chemical dye protection. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 6 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a film forming polymer.
Any method can be used to obtain a film forming polymer. For example, a film forming polymer can be obtained from BASF (Mount Olive, N.J.), National Starch Chemicals (Bridgewater, N.J.), ISP (Wayne, N.J.), or PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Silicone and Silicone Derivatives
The hair care compositions of the invention can contain one or more silicone or silicone derivative. A silicone or silicone derivative can be used to lubricate hair. Silicon and silicone derivative also can be used as plasticizer. Examples of silicon and silicone derivatives include, without limitation, non-volatile silicone fluids such as dimethicone copolyol, polydimethylsiloxane, cyclic dimethyl polysiloxane, aminosilicones, and phenylsilicones. Other examples include, without limitation, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone copolyol, cetyl dimethicone, cetyl dimethiconecopolyol, and aminopropyl PEG-7 PEG-3 dimethicone copolyol.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a silicone or silicone derivative. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of silicone or silicone derivative such that the hair care composition provides lubrication to the hair. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 4 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 2.5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is silicone or a silicone derivative. Typically, the hair care compositions of the invention contain silicone or a silicone derivative having a viscosity from about 50 centistokes (cst) to about 2,000,000 cst (e.g., from about 100 cst to about 1,500,000 cst or from about 150 cst to about 1,000,000 cst) at 25xc2x0 C.
Any method can be used to obtain silicone or a silicone derivative. For example, silicone or a silicone derivative can be obtained from Goldschmidt (Hopewell, Va.), GE (Waterford, N.Y.), or Dow Corning (Auburn, Mich.).
Chelators and Dispersants
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more chelator and/or one or more dispersant. A chelator can be used to bind transition metals or other metals that act as catalysts for auto-oxidation. A dispersant also can be used to provide binding to transition metals. Examples of chelators include, without limitation, citric acid, citric acid soluble salts, phosphates, nitrilotriacetic acid, soluble salts of nitrilotriacetic acid, sodium carboxymethyl oxymalonate, sodium carboxymethyl oxysuccinate, ethylendiaminetetracarboxylic acid, soluble salts of ethylendiaminetetracarboxylic acid, and polymers and copolymers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and maleic acid. Examples of dispersants (e.g., organic dispersants) include, without limitation, soluble salts of low molecular weight homopolymers or copolymers of polyacrylic acids, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides, maleic anhydride copolymers, and polyaspartic acid. For example, a hair care composition can contain a soluble salt of low molecular weight acrylic acid polymers.
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a chelator or a dispersant. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 5 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 4 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 2.5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a chelator. In addition, from about 0.001 percent to about 5 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 4 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 2.5 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a dispersant.
Thickeners
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more thickeners. A thickener can be a crosslinked polycarboxylate polymer such as a carboxyvinyl polymer. For example, a styling gel, conditioner, or shampoo described herein can contain a carboxyvinyl polymer thickener. Various thickeners are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,053. Any method can be used to obtain a thickener. For example, a thickener can be obtained from B. F. Goodrich Company (New York, N.Y.) under the trade name Carbopol. Another thickener can be crosslinked polycarboxylate polymers marketed under the tradename Polygel by 3V (Weehawken, N.J.). A thickener also can be xanthan gum or a cellulose analog. Xanthan gum is a biopolysaccharide obtained from the growth of Xanthomonas spp. Suitable xanthan gums include, without limitation, products such as Keltrol and Kelzan obtained from Kelco Corporation (San Diego, Calif.) as well as products such as Rhodipol and Rhodigel obtained from Rhodia (Cranberry, N.J.). Cellulose analogs include, without limitation, hydroxypropylcellulose and hydroxyethylcellulose.
When a crosslinked polycarboxylate polymer such as Carbopol 940 is used as a thickener, a weak acid can be dissolved in water prior to dispersing the thickener in order to retard hydration of the thickener. For example, citric acid can be dissolved in water, and the thickener can be dispersed. After dispersing the thickener, a pH adjusting agent can be added followed by the remaining ingredients including optional ingredients such as hair fixatives, surfactants, conditioning agents, vitamins, preservatives, fragrances, and colorants.
In some cases, the ratio of a thixotropic thickener to water can be high. In such cases, the thixotropic thickener can be preblended with a non-aqueous ingredient prior to addition. For example, the thixotropic thickener can be dry blended with a solid ingredient or dispersed in a non-aqueous liquid ingredient prior to addition. It is noted that other process variations may be employed to prepare the compositions described herein. It also is noted that the final pH can be adjusted to a value between 4.0 and 8.5 measured as is.
Surfactants
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more surfactants. A surfactant can be an anionic, cationic, amphoteric, zwitterionic, or nonionic surfactant. Examples of anionic surfactants that can be used include, without limitation, alkylsulfate, alkylolefin sulfonate, alkyl ether sulfate, alkylarylsulfonates, alkylsuccinate, alkyl sulphosuccinates, acyl taurates, acyl glutamates, N-alkyl sarcosinates, alkylphosphate, alkyl ether phosphates, and alkyl ether carboxylates as well as sodium, potassium, magnesium, ammonium alkanolamine, and alkylamine salts thereof. Alkyl and acyl groups generally contain from 8 to 20 carbon atoms and can be unsaturated. Alkyl ether sulfates, alkyl ether phosphates, and alkyl ether carboxylates can contain from one to about 10 ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide units per molecule (e.g., about 2 to about 5 ethylene oxide units per molecule). Other examples of anionic surfactants include, without limitation, sodium oleyl sulfates, ammonium lauryl sulfonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfates, sodium cocoyl sulfates, sodium octylsulfosuccinate, ammonium lauryl sulfosuccinate, sodium lauryl sarcosinate, and sodium alpha-olefin sulfonates. For example, anionic surfactants such as ammonium or sodium lauryl ether sulfates with 1 EO, 2 EO, or 3 EO, ammonium or sodium salts of lauryl sulfates and/or ammonium or sodium cocoglucose sulfosuccinate can be used to provide a clean lather feel in shampoos. Additional anionic surfactants that can be used can be found in McCutcheon""s Emulsifiers and Detergents (1999 North American Edition).
Nonionic surfactants that can be used include, without limitation, alkyl ethoxylates such as those that are formed by condensing one mole of a saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched chain fatty alcohol or fatty acid containing about 10 to about 20 carbon atoms chain length with from about 4 moles to about 40 moles of ethylene oxide or propyleneoxide, alkyl polyglycosides, and alkylalkanolamides. Other examples include laurylamido DEA, palmitamide MEA, cocamide MEA, coco monoisopropanolamide, glycolstearate, stearyamidopropyl dimethylamine, glycoldistearate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate and monostearates, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetereth-20, and alkylpolyglucoside. Additional nonionic surfactants that can be used can be found in McCutcheon""s Emulsifiers and Detergents (1999 North American Edition).
Examples of amphoteric surfactants and zwitterionic surfactants that can be used include, without limitation, alkyl amineoxide (e.g., laurylamine oxide), alkyl betaines (e.g., cocamidopopyl betaine), alkylamidopropylbetaines, alkylsulfobetaines (e.g., cocodimethyl sulphopropylbetaine), alkylglycinates, alkycarboxyglycinates, alkylamphopropionates (e.g., cocoamphoprioionate), alkylamphoglycinates, alkylamidohydroxysultaines, alkyl amphoacetates, and alkyl amphodiacetates.
Examples of cationic surfactants that can be used include, without limitation, quaternary ammonium salts, ricinoelamidopropyl ethyldimonium ethosulfate, isostearmidopropyl ethylimidonium ethosulfate, lineoleamidopropyl PG-diminium chloride phosphate, cinnamidoproyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, behentrimmonium methosulfate, and lanolinamidopropyldimonium ethosulfate. Additional cationic surfactants that can be used can be found in McCutcheon""s Emulsifiers and Detergents (1999 North American Edition).
Cationic Conditioning Polymers
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more cationic conditioning polymers. Cationic conditioning polymer can be used to provide shape retention, increased substantivity, and thermal or chemical dye protection. Examples of cationic conditioning polymers that can be used include, without limitation, cationic cellulose, cationic proteins, and cationic polymers. The cationic polymers can have a vinyl group backbone of amino and/or quaternary ammonium monomers. Cationic amino and quaternary ammonium monomers include, without limitation, dialkylamino alkylmethacrylate, monoalkylaminoalkyl acrylate, monoalkylaminoalkyl methacrylate, trialkyl methacryoloxyalkyl ammonium salt, trialkyl acryloxyalkyl ammonium salts, diallyl quaternary ammonium salts, vinyl compounds substituted with dialkyl aminoalkyl acrylate, and vinyl quaternary ammonium monomers having cyclic cationic nitrogen containing rings such as pyridinium, imidazolium, or quaternized pyrrolidine. Other examples of cationic conditioning polymers that can be used include, without limitation, hydroxypropyltrimonium honey, cocodimonium silk amino acids, cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed wheat or silk protein, polyquaternium-5, polyquaternium-11, polyquaternium-2, polyquaternium-4, polyquaternium-6, polyquaternium-7, polyquaternium-14, polyquaternium-16, polyquaternium-22, polyquaternium-10, and guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride.
The cationic conditioning polymer used can have a glass transition temperature from about xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to about 150xc2x0 C. (e.g., from about xe2x88x9210xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C. or from about 0xc2x0 C. to about 80xc2x0 C.). In addition, a hair care composition can contain a cationic conditioning polymer that is soluble and/or dispersible in water or alcohol. Such cationic conditioning polymers can have a molecular weight from about 100 Daltons to about 2,500,000 Daltons (e.g., from about 500 Daltons to about 2,000,000 Daltons or from about 1,000 Daltons to about 1,000,000 Daltons).
The hair care compositions described herein can contain any amount of a cationic conditioning polymer. For example, a hair care composition can contain an effective amount of a cationic conditioning polymer such that the hair care composition provides shape retention, substantivity, thermal protection, and chemical dye protection. Typically, from about 0.001 percent to about 10 percent (e.g., from about 0.01 percent to about 8 percent or from about 0.05 percent to about 6 percent), by weight, of the hair care composition is a cationic conditioning polymer.
Vitamins
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more vitamins such as provitamin B (e.g., panthenol, phytantriol, or ethylpanthenol), Vitamin A acetate, Vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, tocophryl acetate, and tocophryl palmitate, and/or mixtures thereof.
Botanical Extracts
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more herbal extract such as standardized herbal extracts that are dispersible and/or soluble in aqueous medium. Examples of herbal extracts that can be used include, without limitation, chamomile, rosemary, aloe, nettle, centella asiatica, ginkgo biloba, and witch hazel. Typically, the herbal extract is delivered in a carrier such as water, propylene glycol, hydroalcoholic, glycerine, or butylene glycol.
Other Ingredients
The hair care compositions described herein can contain one or more optional ingredients such as hydrotropes, preservatives, botanical oil, fragrances, colorants, pH adjusting ingredients, and the like.
pH Adjustment
The final pH of the undiluted product should be between 4.0 and 8.5. To obtain such a final pH, the pH of the composition can be adjusted. A pH-adjusting agent can be used to adjust the pH. It will be appreciated that the pH adjustment can be accomplished with any of a wide variety of acids should the composition have a pH too high (e.g., greater than 8.5 before adjustment). Likewise, it will be appreciated that the pH adjustment can be accomplished with any of a wide variety of bases should the composition have a pH too low (e.g., greater than 4.0 before adjustment). Shampoos, conditioners, and styling aids were found to have improved stability when the pH is between pH 4.0 to 8.5. In addition, hair care compositions having a pH within this range are aesthetically-pleasing and compatible with skin or hair.
Methods of Treating Hair
The compositions provided herein can be used to treat hair such that hair damage is reduced. Specifically, the invention provides a method that involves (1) applying a hair care composition containing a macrocyclic lactone and/or eicosanoate ester, and (2) heating the hair so that the macrocyclic lactone and/or eicosanoate ester reacts with the hair. Typically, the hair is heated to at least about 75xc2x0 C. (e.g., at least about 80xc2x0 C. or 85xc2x0 C.). For example, the hair can be heated to a temperature from about 75xc2x0 C. to about 150xc2x0 C. Any method can be used to heat hair. For example, steam, hot oil, a hot iron, or a blow dryer can be used to heat hair. When using hot gas, the gas can contain at least about 1 percent of steam, by volume. In addition to steam, the gas can contain solvent vapor and/or vaporized compounds as well as gasses such as oxygen or nitrogen and/or gas mixtures such as air.
Heating hair exposed to a hair care composition containing a macrocylic lactone and/or an eicosanoate ester can allow those molecules to react with hair forming a covalent amide bond. In addition, the repeated accumulative effect of applying such hair care compositions with heat can create hydroxyfatty amides or fatty amides with hair protein, thus providing long-term lubrication and conditioning. Thus, the methods described herein can be used to generate a greater quantity of amide bound to hair. In fact, the quantity of amides remaining on hair after rinsing or shampooing is greater when heat is used as opposed to when heat is not used.
After briefly heating the treated hair, the hair is cooled. The hair can be cooled rapidly by, for example, subjecting the hair to a flow of air having an ambient temperature (e.g., about 23xc2x0 C.). Alternatively, the hair can be cooled by allowing it to stand at room temperature.
If desired, an apparatus can be used to heat the hair. For example, the devices described in French Patent Application FR-A-2 273 492 can be used to heat hair. Typically, a device is used that can uniformly and homogeneously (1) heat the hair fibers without overheating and (2) cool the hair fibers after being heated.

Hair care compositions and improved hair quality


An area-isolation type solid-state image pickup device is such that an image pickup area is formed on an element formation surface of a semiconductor chip in a way to correspond to an optical image configuration of a subject, the semiconductor chip serving as an image pickup element, and an element drive circuit area and signal processing circuit area formed on a section other than the image pickup area. By doing so it is possible to fully utilize elements on an element formation surface of a semiconductor chip without ruining the element and hence to improve an efficiency with which a semiconductor device is manufactured.

The present invention relates to an area isolation type solid-state image pickup device capable of effectively utilizing its semiconductor chip by dividing an element formation surface of the semiconductor chip into different signal processing areas.
A general solid-state image pickup device is such that its image pickup surface constitutes an area satisfying a standard television's aspect ratio. And is an image pickup element, its drive circuit and an image pickup signal processing circuit are each comprised of an independent IC chip.
As a camera, however, some types not necessarily require any image pickup area satisfying the standard television's aspect ratio, such as an industrial monitoring camera used for the purpose of monitoring only a subject of a given configuration for instance. Some industrial inspection cameras are adapted to inspect a bottle for instance. The camera taking a shot of a bottle is such that, in its image pickup element, an area on which an optical image of a subject is formed is part of its whole area and, in this case, the rest of the area is not used effectively.
In recent years, the semiconductor integration techniques have been markedly advanced to enable more and more elements to be formed on the element formation surface of a semiconductor chip. If consideration is paid to the effective use of such a semiconductor chip, more area has not been effectively used.

Area isolation type solid-state image pickup device for increasing the usage of the element formation surface of a semiconductor chip


A probe for measuring the concentration of an alcohol, such as ethanol, in a liquid, such as water. The probe according to the invention has a membrane that is permeable for vapors of the alcohol but substantially impermeable for the liquid; a measuring chamber having an open end closed against the liquid by the membrane is provided and has an inlet and an outlet; a pump or other pressure means serves to feed a purge gas, such as air, via the inlet into and out of the measuring chamber; a valve is provided near the inlet for controlled passage of the purge gas through the chamber; a suitably dimensioned detector including a pellistor or a gas-sensitive resistor is arranged in the measuring chamber for quantitative detection of the alcohol and for generating an electrical signal in proportion with the detection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a probe and a method for detecting alcohols such as typically ethanol or other alcohols capable of forming a gas or vapor phase. Detection of ethanol is of primary importance herein, it being understood that the term "detecting" refers to a quantitative rather than a merely qualitative measurement.
A field of particular interest for the present invention is the in-line determination of a concentration of ethanol in an "inert" liquid, i.e. any liquid that is not capable of forming an oxidizable vapor, such as typically water, e.g. in the form of the aqueous phase of a beverage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In-line measurement of the concentration of ethanol in a liquid, e.g. an alcoholic beverage, is a problem hitherto solved typically by direct measurement of a combination of two physical properties, such as density, refractive index or sound velocity. Apart from the expense and inconvenience of the use of two independent sensors, such prior art methods suffer interference from variations of pressure, dissolved carbon dioxide, and carbohydrate concentrations.


Systems and associated apparatuses and methods for processing payment transactions. A merchant's data processing system may provide payment transaction data in a first format (e.g., Track 1) to a payment processing network. The payment processing network may determine the issuer to which the data will be provided as part of a process for authorizing the payment transaction. It is determined if the issuer is one that is expecting or requires that the data be provided in a second format (e.g., Track 2). If the issuer is one that is expecting or requires that the transaction data be supplied in the second format, then it is determined if the issuer is enrolled in the appropriate data mapping service. If the issuer is enrolled in the data mapping service, then the inventive system performs the data mapping processes needed to provide the data in the second format to the issuer. The issuer may then use the received data to determine whether to authorize the payment transaction.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for the processing of payment transaction data, and more specifically, to the mapping of data between two data tracks used to represent cardholder and account data on credit cards, debit cards, and other types of payment devices.
Consumer payment devices such as debit cards or credit cards are used by millions of people worldwide to facilitate various types of commercial transactions. In a typical transaction involving the purchase of a product or service at a merchant location, the payment device is presented at a point of sale terminal ("POS terminal") located at a merchant's place of business. The POS terminal may be a card reader or similar device that is capable of accessing data stored on the payment device, where this data may include a consumer's identification data, authentication data, or account data, for example. Some or all of the data read from the payment device is provided to the merchant's transaction or data processing system and then to the acquirer, which is typically a bank or other institution that manages the merchant's account. The data provided to the acquirer may then be provided to a payment processing network (e.g., a system that includes an element that functions as a payment processor) which processes the data to assist in determining if the transaction should be authorized, and assists in the clearance and account settlement functions for the transaction. The authorization decision, clearance, and settlement portions of the transaction may also involve communication and/or data transfer between the payment processing network and the bank or institution that issued the payment device to the consumer (referred to as the issuer).
When a POS terminal or other form of device reader accesses the data on or stored in a payment device such as a credit card, debit card, or contactless payment device, it typically accesses account data or consumer identification data that is stored in a standardized format. This data is provided by the merchant to an acquirer for use in processing the payment transaction, such as by generating a request to authorize the transaction. Typically, there are two formats or data structures in which the data contained in a portable consumer device may be stored and can be sent to an acquirer. These formats are termed "Track 1" and "Track 2", and typically correspond to a first data format and a second data format. Track 1 stores more information than Track 2, and contains the account holder's name as well as their account number and other discretionary data. This track is sometimes used by the airlines when obtaining reservation information using a credit card. Track 2 is currently the most commonly used data track for payment transactions. This data track contains the cardholder's account number, PIN verification field, plus other discretionary data. Track 2 as well as Track 1 in some situations are read by ATMs and credit card readers or point of sale terminals.
Data read from a payment device is provided to a merchant's acquirer and then to a payment processing network, for eventual use by the issuer of the payment device as part of authorizing or declining the payment transaction. In most cases, the issuer is expecting to receive the data in one or the other of the two standard formats, with the format expected depending upon the location of the issuer. For example, issuers located within the United States typically expect to receive data in the Track 1 format, while issuers located outside the United States may expect to receive data in the Track 2 format. This can create an inability to process the transaction data (or other problems) when a merchant data processing system sends data for use in authorizing a payment transaction in the Track 1 format to an issuer expecting to receive data in a Track 2 format. Such a situation may arise, for example, when a consumer uses a payment device issued by an issuer located outside of the United States to conduct a payment transaction inside the United States. In addition, in the case of some payment devices such as certain contactless chips or chip cards, the device may only contain Track 2 data (which may be stored in a memory location identified by a label or "tag"). In such cases, a merchant data processing system may provide the payment processing network with pseudo Track 1 data constructed from the Track 2 data and other information on the chip or card, but does not provide the payment processing network with the actual Track 2 data. This can also create problems for an issuer when they receive the data and attempt to process a transaction authorization request or other aspect of the transaction.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have a system and associated apparatuses and methods for processing payment transaction data that includes the ability to perform a mapping of data in a Track 1 format to data in a Track 2 format. This would enable issuers expecting Track 2 data to process payment transaction data in situations where a merchant provides data in the Track 1 format. Embodiments of the invention are directed toward solving these and other problems individually and collectively.

Track data mapping system for processing of payment transaction data


A passive component for coupling to, and thereby tracking, an intermediary device within a cable television system is disclosed. The passive component includes a tracking circuit separate in functionality from an existing circuit of the intermediary device. The tracking circuit, which is unpowered and uncontrolled, receives a first signal from a first device in the cable television system, modifies the first signal to create a modified signal, and passes the modified first signal to a second device in the cable television system, the second device being configured to determine a type for the intermediary device based on the modification to the first signal. The first device is one of a cable modem or a CMTS, and the second device is the other of the cable modem and the CMTS.

Cable television (CATV) is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fiber-optic cables. CATV network operators, like other telecommunications providers, install considerable hardware into their networks. With respect to tracking, this hardware is often passive, meaning there are no active (powered) components within the hardware and/or means to communicate the hardware's existence to a centralized location. As a result, a network operator cannot accurately track the location of the hardware once it is installed in the field. The current method for tracking installed hardware in the field relies upon data logging into some form of database, manual or otherwise, once the hardware is installed. This method is both time consuming and error prone, if even done at all. Thus, there is need for an improved method of inventory tracking in a CATV system.